7/29/2004

HardOCP has more info on the hardware setup for Doom 3. Here's a nice interesting tidbit:

As we used increasingly faster video cards and were able to raise the resolution, we discovered something interesting that we had never seen before in a game: antialiasing was not necessary.

That's correct. We found that increasing the resolution, up to 1280x1024 and 1600x1200, was simply a better alternative than using antialiasing. One reason for this may be that the darkness, shadows, and fast action pace of the game simply downplay any aliased lines that are present. There isn’t much more we can say other than we recommend turning up the texture quality and raising the resolution as high as you can before you consider using antialiasing, though it may be important to you if your monitor does not allow high resolutions.

7/27/2004

Are you still running Win 9x?  No Doom 3 for you!

Creative has so many patents they've stifled any form of competition and apparently can be successful in stifling any code that even resembles what they do with sound.  For example, this article describes how id is now integrating EAX sound into Doom 3 because, for some reason, Creative has just about every patent dealing with something dealing with shadows on computers.  So, id, rather than paying patents or possibly getting sued for making a similar algorithm to solve a problem, they agreed to make Creative EAX the "official" sound for Doom3.  

Creative bought out, amongst others, Aureal who did have some great sound cards at one time but they were sucked into the Creative fold and Creative did nothing with it, just like they haven't done much with the entire sound field as a whole.  Is it any wonder why graphics cards are still separate and highly advanced while sound cards are integrated into motherboards and no one gives a crap?  Competition is the key.  As tAE said on his site, "It's like having a patent on multiplication and then getting a nickel every time does a math problem."

I really enjoyed Painkiller but the expansion sounds a little bit too much. In this interview, the developer goes into some details:

Our goal is to make sicker, scarier and even more atmospheric levels than the original. An example level is a partially burnt down orphanage, with not only evil nuns as your enemies, but also the children themselves. Generally speaking one idea is left intact: that every level will be very different from the others.

Now, I'm all for shooting bad guys.  Zombies, evil bugs, Nazis, or a genetic hybrid of all three. But babies and children?

7/26/2004

Robert Duffy (programmer at id) gives a nice explanation about all the graphic detail settings for Doom 3 and what you can expect from the game given your existing graphical (and audio) hardware.  

I'm starting to see people post in the computer specs their memory timings.  I don't understand that but fortunately there's an article that explains it all right here.

7/24/2004

Sadly, I've been following the threads circulating about how Nvidia and Carmack are bedfellows and id purposely tanked the Doom 3 code to make ATi run crappier on it.  Personally, I don't believe any of that and chalk up the fact that Nvidia normally runs OpenGL better while ATi runs Direct3D better.  Since Doom 3 is OpenGL (I believe), therein is your answer. Regardless, you're talking about a few frames difference so big deal.  Anyway, Gamespot rumor's mill is churning out some info that EB is bundling Radeon cards with Doom 3. 

I've now only played about five minutes of Far Cry but without question I feel bad for not having tried this game sooner.  The graphics on this thing are incredible.  

I have no idea how that water rippling effect is made but dammit if that ain't slick. Since I'm so easily amused I'm not afraid to admit that the most fun thing I've done so far is push boxes around and watch the water ripple as the boxes fall into the water. Thanks to my buddy Maulf for sending me this game which came bundled in his Nvidia 6800 card.  He already had it so he sent me this extra copy.  I get the feeling I better enjoy all these colors now since when Doom 3 comes out in a few weeks.

7/23/2004

Fortune article today:

In an even more troubling sign for id's future, Carmack has begun to give indications that he's getting bored. Married since 2000, he's expecting his first child in August. And he has spent the past three years devoting 40 hours a week to Armadillo Aerospace, his four-year-old company that is working to develop customized rocket ships.

 WTF does Carmack getting married and having a kid have to do with him being bored? "Oh he must be non-commital and bored since he's in love and making babies." Yeah, brilliant. And besides which, doesn't the game engine have to be developed long before the actual game can be made? Therefore, he's probably got some time to kill and do things like Armadillo Aerospace.

Look, if Carmack and id are making games like Doom3 when they're bored, I wonder what the hell they'd do if they were "inspired" and "focused." GG stupid article. 

Also, What does ToddH do exactly? He's a nice guy (met him at Quakecon 2002), but id's success or failure seems to be dependent on Carmack's brain not being damaged in some way shape or form. If Carmack were to bail it seems ToddH's ability to negotiate with Activision in regards to licensing and rights would be severely curtailed if not wiped out completely.

I'm not trying to badger him (as if he reads this site.. hah!) but I'm just throwing that question out there.

So the 9/11 Commission puts out a report today that said, "We must act."  Well damn you think so buddy? Hell where do I send the check for your brilliant mind to continue running this country and represent your constituents?  Next up on the Commission's agenda: "Breathing. Good or bad?"

And just how much hype is Doom 3 getting? Well, they're even interviewing people associated with the music and not associated with the music.   The music?!?! Bah!! I just turn that stuff off so I can hear the double barrel shotgun better. 

But in an important piece of news, [H]ardOCP has some Doom 3 benchmarks for high end card users which probably doesn't include too many of us right at the moment.  Bottom line: high end Nvidia 6800 and ATi x800 will run things fine but for the best performance get the 6800 from Nvidia. What I'm interested in is the middle of the machines like mine.  If the 9800 performance is any indication in the charts, I think the 2x for AA and AF should be fine on my 9700 Pro.  

7/22/2004

I am honestly more hyped up for Rome: Total War then I am Half-Life 2. Does Half-Life 2 have elephants rampaging enemy ranks? Does Half-Life 2 counter elephant rampages with burning pig formations (an actual tactic)? Does Half-Life 2 have rampaging dogs of war? Does Half-Life 2 have you controlling up to 5000 units at one time?  You see my point.  Total War 4 and Half-Life 0.

Doom 3 wallpapers?  Yes, please.

Dammit Carmack would you take it easy? Just for a few minutes!

7/20/2004

The low end specs for Doom 3 were released today. The Sanitarium found some screenshots of what the game looks like with those specs:

While I am admittedly not a huge fan of MMORPG type games, I'm really intrigued by this whole Matrix Online game. There's some nice graphics and it appears there are many areas to explore and practice your wire-fu. Maybe I can get in the Beta.

7/18/2004

RtCW 2 confirmed (WAV file).  Good Gawd let it be true!  I think the voice is Hollenshed from id. 

Thanks to everyone who signed the petition, I received this reply from the Quakecon organizers today:

Well, as you said... there is really no chance of changing the tournaments at this point. But we DO appreciate the effort that went into the petition and we know how seriously bummed people were that ET and RTCW were excluded this year.

Without going further into it than already has been discussed on the forums... we had our reasons, and that's just the way it is. But getting confirmation like this about how much support ET/RTCW has out there will make a strong case for having it make a triumphant return next year. 

Thanks for understanding!

So there you have it.  It's not a promise but it's a positive response and bodes well for next year in 2005 for Quakecon!

Also, Happy Birthday to my friend Desiree'.  Been a while since I heard from her but she's still a good friend. 

7/16/2004

Doom 3 was originally going to be a weak ass peer-to-peer system which hadn't been done since friggin Doom 2.  Fortunately, they wised up and made it client server again (as a shooter should be dammit!)  

Better still, the dedicated server component for Win32 will work right out of the box. Again, as it should be. 

The Win32 dedicated server works out of the box and the dedicated Linux version should be available around when the game hits store shelves. That does not mean it will be available but it should be.

Grab a Molson's and lets go north to our fine Canadian brethren for our outsourcing needs!  Bless you Canada, you produce people who are even paler than me!

7/13/2004

The desktop board game now to be PC game Axis and Allies has been delayed yet again.  You know, if I remember my history, the press in 1940 had a term for such a war: The Phony War. 

Can you get enough Knights of Old Republic 2 news? Good! Neither can I!

Keep patching those Windows boxes folks.  Even if you're using Firefox or Mozilla or whatever. Patch it!

7/12/2004

Yeah, petitions never work, but the numbers on the one I started keep on rising.  550 as of today. Thanks to you all. 

Looks like all the IE debacle recently has given new attention to browser alternatives. Here's an interesting article regarding a review of Firefox and Mozilla. I'd suggest Firefox since I have used it and it's slick.

So just does how 64-bit compare to 32-bit? Personally, I think it's too early to say but the boys over at Anandtech disagree.

7/10/2004

I just love it when people have a positive attitude about trying to help others and maybe themselves.  Read here for some of the feedback regarding the petition I've got going.  Two days and already 200 signatures.  I don't think that's too bad. While it won't put in ET in this years competition, maybe it will help get it back for next year. 

As for the rest of those people with the negative feedback: screw you! Yes I know petition normally don't do much good but at least I've tried to do something to make a difference rather than just bitch in a forum. 

Doom 3 to ship early August? Perhaps August 3rd.

You want tedium?  Empire Earth 2 is being worked on right now. 

7/8/2004

Once again, my riding the fence mentality of the validity of a higher power is leaning towards no. The reason? Here.

The Rock to star in Doom? You know what this means, right? They're going to try and have dialogue in it. Dammit why ruin a good thing? Imps, rocket launchers, cacodemons, and shotguns. That's all you need. 

7/7/2004

Patches and more patches. First up, the visceral pleasure of Painkiller is now patched up to 1.3. Best part is you can also download and install a dedicated server. Nicely done. Hopefully the bandwidth issues I read about with Painkiller are fixed as well.  

I also spy with my little eye that Ground Control II has a dedicated server. Now, I'm really interested to see if a tactical RTS can do this well since most RTS  games don't have a dedicated server and I really wish they'd get off their ass and do it so my buddies could play their favorite game whenever they want to since I'm just that sort of a nice guy. 

7/6/2004

Quakecon news circulating.  Tourneys will include Doom3 and Quake III.  Wait, where's Wolfenstein you might ask?  Not there. Nevermind that it's still pretty dang popular.

Is anyone else excited about Rome: Total War? Look dammit! Attack dogs! You have to get excited. Fall of 2004. Gamespy says 9/15/2004.  Dammit you!! Get excited!!!

The movie industry went broke in June.  Nevermind the $1 billion in profits. They're broke. Yeah, it's all those hax0rz fault

7/1/2004

Phew, at least I'm not this much of a loser

Is your processing chip registered? It's a weapon, y'know.