ss121883

:) IMHO, gamepads actually work real well. I got turned onto the Doom/gamepad thing with the Playstation Doom, which has notoriously great controls. Once you get used to it, movement is silky smooth (it would be a different story if you had to freelook). ZDoom in Windows 95 was kinda slow, so I settled on the DOS version of ZDOOM at 320X200. It runs good, and the gamepad works great.

I want to play Doom on a P150 w/32 megs of RAM with a Gravis gamepad. I want to be able to strafe using two buttons (left/right, not the default toggle feature), and be able to switch between weapons via the controller; exactly like the PSOne doom, basically. DOOM95 won't let you do this. Doomsday does, but my laptop doesn't meet the minimum requirements. So, is there a custom Doom launcher that can do what I want, but can also be run on my laptop?

Yeah, Doom is most definitely about its gloomy atmosphere, but to me it's also about its fast-paced intensity. Call the sprite-based enemies and the inability to freelook flaws if you want, but I thought that the game ended up being better for them -- I, at least, think that the view limitations make it scarier and the sheer NUMBER of enemies and fast speed make it far more playable and purely enjoyable than most other games of its ilk. Who didn't love the feel of rushing frantically from room-to-room, dodging fireballs scampering to the nearest open space to avoid thirty of forty imps and sergeants who are hot on your tail, only to see even more in the new place that you've entered?To me, newer games feel slow, dull, and lethargic in comparison. Doom is a pure adrenaline rush. That it also manages to be about its atmosphere as well -- the gloomy, oppressive, unnerving darkness that manages to be very palpable, even though you barely have enough time to stop and sink it in, makes it a masterpiece in my book, by far the greatest first person game ever made. That's what I associate with the "Doom" name and I don't want the franchise to be castrated and turned into something that it's not. I suppose most other people prefer the newer style, with flashier visuals, fewer enemies, and a slower pace, but to me a Doom game wouldn't be "Doom" if its basic gameplay essence was changed. That's not to say that I'm complaining that the graphics are going to be updated, or that you'll be able to freelook (its a necessary evil, I suppose). I just want it to have that same frantic, high-adrenaline Doom feel. I say again, there's no point in calling it Doom if it doesn't provide the basic Doom experience.

Well... that's all good and everything, but it's not Doom. I have no quibbles with iD trying something new, but I'd prefer that they not do it with the Doom name. I guess games like Quake and even Half-Life have a sort of laboriousness about them -- they just aren't as free, streamlined, and playable as Doom. I'd prefer something retro -- the same edge-of-your seat, you-vs-a-million-minions-of-hell, fast-paced, breathless, rushing down hellish corridors in adrenaline-soaked horror feel that Doom has, not something like Resident Evil (and that's not to say that I have any problems with the Resident Evil games, it's just that Resident Evil is Resident Evil and Doom is Doom). Doesn't look like they're gonna do this, though. Oh well.

Does anyone know if Doom 3 is going to be similar to the Doom games of old, or if it is simply going to be Quake 4 with a different name? I've played the Quakes, Half-Life, etc. and liked them, but they just haven't grabbed me like Doom did. In fact, I got Doom for my Playstation a little while ago and I've had as much fun with it as I've ever had with a video game. I'd prefer a really high-tech, pumped up version of the old Doom. That means no free-looking (which I'm sure won't happen, but I can dream...), similar weapon/character designs, similar level designs, but also with new characters and weapons and, obviously, highly updated graphics. I'd be in ecstasy if ID ever released a game like this, but I'm afraid that the new Doom will have more in common with Quake than with its namesake. I dunno, I guess Doom has a certain "something" that all of the newer FPS's just don't have. I find it infinitely more gripping than any other First Person game ever made and I think that it would be a real shame for it to be reduced to just another Quake clone. But that's just me. Do you guys think that a game like this would be preferable to yet another Quake knock-off, or would you rather the new Doom go the way of current First Person Shooters? And do we know which direction ID is going in yet? My prediction is the latter, unfortunately.