chemo

I like the new designs for the basic zombies because while yeah, they don't look all that menacing, I think it's fitting since they're meant to be the most weak and frail enemies in the roster. Yet, aspects such as the pentagrams carved into their foreheads and their malnourished, skinny appearances give them a grotesque edge, giving an insight into the suffering they've possibly gone through (also, they're a nice Iron Maiden reference). Even taking into account the technical limitations of the time, the monster designs of OG DOOM still strike me as leaning more towards a stylized look rather than trying to be all gritty and realistic. However, I do think that the exact original designs would look outdated in the new game, but I feel that Id made enough adjustments to them in Eternal so that they don't look out of place while still being faithful. For comparisons sake, I'll bring up the Arachnotron and Pain Elemental as you mentioned as examples; The Arachnotrons and Pain Elementals in classic DOOM look amateurish or even laughable by today's standards. In Eternal, the Arachnotron was given more fleshy, graphic detail in its organic bits, has a more horrific facial structure, and its robotic parts look high-tech and professional yet give off a bit of an uncanny, hellish vibe. For the Pain Elemental, he was given longer and more muscular arms, jaws that unhinge not only horizontally, but also vertically, with rows of sharp, prominent fangs, additional detail on its forehead, and a more prominent pupil that gives it a menacing stare. Yes, obviously they're stylized, but what's stopping them from looking "sinister"? This trend doesn't necessarily dictate the kind of direction Id goes with in all their games considering that this all spreads across multiple IPs and these titles you've mentioned come from a time when Id's games were basically glorified tech demos. Nowadays, while Id Software are still some of the biggest tech guys in the industry, they wish to make fun games first and foremost, if you know what I mean. Not to mention, Quake 3 was Id's most technologically advanced game at release, yet is one of their more over-the-top and silly ones. The problem I have with these designs is that they make the Mancubus look like a creature in pure, withering agony rather than one in bloodthirsty rage. When I look at this guy's expression, I can tell how much he's thinking of wanting to bite my face off, not how much he's thinking of wanting to be put out of his misery. His new version has the exact same energy IMO. To be honest, a problem I had with DOOM 2016's Mancubus and Cacodemon designs in particular is that they don't really look they want to be in the fight. Obviously, for me that's been solved with the Mancubus here, but also the Cacodemon now seems to grin more often and looks a lot more enthusiastic about wanting to have the Slayer for lunch

I think DOOM 1 and 2 are about equal in terms of how good they are all-around, but while DOOM II has some of the best moments of the classic series, it also has some pretty bad ones, whereas U-DOOM doesn't reach the same heights as often but is overall more consistent in quality and I think the later episodes live up to E1.

I really like how DOOM Eternal's version of Earth is done. It looks very contemporary what with how the buildings and such are designed (that "bailey and sons" one is a great example) and that people still use things like traditional four-wheeled vehicles, metro transit, shopping malls and parking garages, yet it also has a slight sci-fi flair to it so it doesn't feel out of place in this time period. It's pretty much how I would expect a modern rendition of DOOM II's Earth to look like. Given the rather obscure spot that door is placed at, I'm wondering if it's perhaps an entrance to a secret/optional level or if the game has some metroidvania elements. BTW, apparently that "Heaven" place shown is called "Sentinel Prime", so at least it probably has a strong connection to Argent D'Nur and the Night Sentinels.

As bj25x said above, it's not just for looks; it keeps the game at a fast pace since you no longer need to lower your weapon when throwing a grenade or something. Also, a little bit of not-really-related trivia I want to get out there; the arm-blade was added in primarily because it made coming up with glory kills easier, specifically with the larger demons like the Mancubi.

What boggles my mind the most is that Zenimax/Bethesda/Whoever the fuck made this decision thought it was a good idea to put RAGE 2, a sequel to a game that isn't all that fondly remembered, on a platform with not only a very harsh stigma, but also one that just hasn't found much of an audience yet. At least if they put DOOM Eternal on there, It kinda makes sense because it's extremely hyped up and I bet a lot of people excited for that game would be willing to bite the bullet and deal with Beth.net's shit (as much as I'd hate to see that happen). Putting a game like RAGE 2 on there is just setting themselves up for it to be a flop on PC. A damn shame too because I've really been looking forward to RAGE 2. Hopefully Bethesda takes the constant shitstorm they've been receiving over the past month as a hint that maybe they should be changing course. It shouldn't be too hard to put that game on Steam since it has no multiplayer whatsoever and they already have previously Beth.net-only games on there like ES Legends and Quake Champions. EDIT: Yeah maybe that's the case. That GMG link is the only third-party seller page I can find that hasn't either not been updated or haven't been put up at all. Not even the Humble Store, which sells Fallout 76, has the page for RAGE 2 up yet. Still, I'm really worried.

Whelp, it looks like RAGE 2 is going to a Bethesda.net game. If you go to the store page on that site (https://bethesda.net/en/games/RA2CS1PCBG01BASE), it doesn't say "Steam DRM" in brackets next to "PC Download" above the "add to cart" button like some other games in this store do. Also, if you go to the GreenManGaming page for it (https://www.greenmangaming.com/games/rage-2-pc/), it lists "Bethesda" as the game's DRM, which is also notable because this page previously said that it was going to use Steam. I'm saying this because this means that DOOM Eternal is probably much more likely to be chained to that awful service. God-fucking-dammit Bethesda, why did you have to put all your eggs into one basket? I had a feeling that Pete's reasoning for Fallout 76 being on Beth.net was bullshit.

The difference is, Fallout 76 is made by a con artist (aka Todd Howard), DOOM Eternal isn't. I think a good example of how much Id is confident in their games vs Bethesda Game Studios is that game journalists and convention-goers were already able to play a pre-release demo of RAGE 2 at E3, and that game won't be out until some unknown date in the spring. With Fallout 76, no such people were able to get a hands-on with that trash until about a month before release. I know RAGE 2 is a single-player game and Fallout 76 is some kind of pseudo-MMO, but still.

Perhaps it did help influence the direction of game atmospheres going forward, such as the use of grotesque images, but I think DOOM's part in that aspect wasn't as big as what it had in action-focused FPS (or at least it was more indirect). Also to correct you Alone in the Dark predated DOOM, so there's that I guess.

The problem with most of moments like you have mentioned is that they can either lose their feeling of complete dread when you can still easily take out what's in front of you (Phobos Lab room, Hall of the Damned maze), come off as less like a method of causing tension and more like a cheap way of taking health away from you, especially with it clashing with the action focus of the rest of the game (the damaging floors in Limbo), or they're so brief and uncommon that they don't have much of a bearing on what makes DOOM's atmosphere and tone what it is. Even if a game hasn't aged well in certain aspects I can at least appreciate them for how innovative they were to the industry at the time. For example, I think Half-Life 1's story isn't all that special for today's standards and the game is filled to the brim with unintended cheese what with all the scientists with only four distinct faces and the same voice screaming "STAHP!" in a low bitrate, but I still see it as a landmark title for video game narratives (though it helps that as a shooter it's still fun today). With DOOM, it had clearly set the way for action-based first-person shoot-em-ups for years to come and the many "DOOM clones" of the 90s like Rise of the Triad and Duke Nukem 3D make that clear. Even if DOOM's gameplay didn't age well (though obviously it has), I would still appreciate it in that respect. Did it set us for atmospheric horror titles? Not really. Alone in the Dark, System Shock, and especially Resident Evil were basically the ones to start that trend.

I'm not sure what you're talking about when the originals games had an "atmosphere of danger". The thing is, even in the creepier levels of the original game I don't feel very vulnerable when I can often just obliterate the foes in front of me with a plasma gun. There's some creepy moments, sure, but when I come across them I more often than not think "These demons need to pay for what they have done to innocent people!" rather than "Oh fuck I'm screwed!", which I feel DOOM 2016 and (even judging from the 16 minutes of gameplay we have) DOOM Eternal encapsulate pretty well. Then again, I don't find DOOM 3 scary either (and I think it's even outright laughable at points when I got used to its tricks) and IMO it doesn't compare to something like AVP Classic 2000 so idk.

I didn't say that DOOM is all about action. Hell, I think that if there's some horror elements in-between large fights, then it helps in preventing the game from becoming monotonous and it puts into perspective the kind of evil demonkind is (and as I mentioned in my previous post, it's not like it's something that DOOM 2016 completely lacks and I'm still optimistic that Eternal is the same). But even so, at the end of the day the original is primarily an action game. The manual even bills it as an "action-oriented slugathon".

Yeah I mean classic DOOM does have its moments here and there, but they're a background element, not the focus. Not to mention, I'd argue that DOOM 2016 handled horror in a similar way, such as the various scenes of the aftermath from the demonic invasion and some of the holograms, especially the one of the ritual in the Lazarus Labs. I think DOOM Eternal will be in a similar way, I'm already getting those vibes with the hallways made of flesh especially.

If you think that the older DOOM games (sans DOOM 3) are about being oppressed rather than going on a demon-slaying slaughterfest you're looking at it through rose-tinted spectacles, especially if your experience came from when you were younger. Like, honestly, we're talking about a game where you can hold as many big guns as you can find (with Doomguy putting on a slasher smile when he finds a new toy), intermissions messages pop up that feel like they were written by someone on a testosterone overdose, and you can punch demons so hard that they literally explode into blood and gibs. If your younger self saw DOOM 2016 (or DOOM Eternal, for that matter), then you'd probably be shitting bricks at those games as well. I remember when I was young that I found a fuckin' Jimmy Neutron game scary. Being scared of games was just how we were back then.

With the Steam version of Quake Champions at least while it does require making a Bethesda.net account, you only need to put in this info on the first start-up in the actual game and the launcher itself isn't used.

DOOM 2016's Steam page didn't pop up until about 6 months before the game's release. I think it's too early to tell if this is an indicator of it not being on Steam. Also, Bethesda said in an interview that they haven't decided if games after Fallout 76 (including DOOM Eternal) will require the Bethesda.net launcher and as of right now FO76 is a special case.