Doom 4

Doom 4
Developer(s)	id Software
Publisher(s)	Bethesda Softworks[1]
Writer(s)	Graham Joyce[2]
Series	Doom
Engine	id Tech 5
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Release date(s)	TBA
Genre(s)	First-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Doom 4 is the upcoming multi-platform installment of the Doom series by id Software. The game will use the company's new id Tech 5 engine^[3] and is slated for simultaneous release on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.^[4] Although rumors were published that because of the mixed reviews and technical issues from the October 4 release of Rage, the development of Doom 4 would be indefinitely postponed,^[5] this was later denied by Bethesda, stating that "no title under development at id has been postponed – indefinitely or otherwise."^[6]

Development

The game is neither a sequel to Doom 3 nor a reboot of the franchise. It was announced as in production on May 7, 2008,^[7] after John Carmack hinted at it at QuakeCon on August 3, 2007.^[3]

ID's CEO suggested that, like Doom 2, it will take place on Earth,^[8] and will feature gameplay more akin to the original Doom games rather than the horror styled gameplay of Doom 3.^[9]

On August 1, 2008, John Carmack, the co-founder and technical director of id Software said that Doom 4 will look three times better than Rage does, as it runs at 30 frames per second, on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, rather than 60 that Rage targets.^[10] In Windows, Doom 4 will run at 60 frames per second with state-of-the-art hardware.^[11] In 2009 he revealed that the multiplayer component is being developed separately and will run at 60 frames per second.^[12]

On April 10, 2009 GameSpot published an interview with id Software's CEO Todd Hollenshead in which he revealed that Doom 4 was "deep in development." He stated however that the game was "not [in] pre-production". The development team is "relatively new" and id is "still actually hiring people" onto the Doom 4 team. GameSpot asked Hollenshead if Doom 4 would be "a sequel? A reboot? A prequel?" and his response was "It's not a sequel to Doom 3, but it's not a reboot either. Doom 3 was sort of a reboot. It's a little bit different than those." ^[13]

On June 23, 2009, ZeniMax Media, best known for Bethesda Softworks, acquired id Software and announced that all future id Software games will be published by Bethesda Softworks, Doom 4 being one (in addition to Rage and future Quake titles).^[14]

During QuakeCon 2009, Hollenshead announced that there would not be any news released for Doom 4 until the next QuakeCon in 2010.^[15] But during the beginning of QuakeCon 2010 Hollenshead said the development team was not ready to give a demonstration on the game.^[4] Tim Willits did however talk to the press in May 2010 to boast that "it'll be even more awesome than Rage."^[16]

In a 2009 interview, actor Brad Hawkins said "I do know we are dealing with a post war/post apocalyptic event that civilians and military are fighting for their survival."

id Software technical guru John Carmack has told OPM UK anyone expecting to wait a long time for Doom 4 will have a shorter wait than first thought. Carmack told the magazine that the shooter should not take as long to get out the door, unlike Rage, which was announced in 2007 at QuakeCon, and later released in October 2011.

At E3 2011 John Carmack was interviewed with GameSpot and mentioned that "as soon as Rage ships, the core tech team moves over to start making things happen on the Doom 4 project." In addition, Carmack said that Doom 4, with regards to consoles, will run at 30 frame/s for single player and 60 frame/s in multiplayer, stating that "you can't have 30 guys crawling all over you at 60 frames per second at this graphics technology level because it's painful. -- So [in single player] we can have 30 demons crawling all over you on there."^[17]

At QuakeCon 2011, John Carmack said that "there is really not any news" on Doom 4 and that he wanted to devote this year solely to Rage. He also mentioned that Doom 4 will be using a new scripting language that is based on C++ and called it "super-script". This so called "super-script" is a subset of C++ with features like "scheduling", "full performance" and "type safe". Carmack added that once Rage ships, its development team will move to Doom 4 – to speed up on that project. Doom 4 might also feature dedicated servers unlike Rage.^[18] On October 21, 2011, a rumor came into circulation that Doom 4 has been postponed indefinitely because of the disappointing results from Rage. Bethesda has dismissed these claims as false.

References

1. ^ Sinclair, Brendan (June 24, 2009). "Bethesda Softworks' parent company acquires id Software". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/news/6212479.html?tag=result;title;0. 
2. ^ Ogden, Gavin (January 15, 2009). "Doom 4 writer revealed". Computer and Video Games. http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=205696. Retrieved 2009-01-15. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Berghammer, Billy (2007-08-03). "QuakeCon 2007: John Carmack Talks Rage, id Tech 5 And More". Game Informer. Archived from the original on 2007-10-29. http://web.archive.org/web/20071029050912/http://www.gameinformer.com/News/Story/200708/N07.0803.1731.12214.htm?Page=2. Retrieved 2007-08-24. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Totilo, Stephen. "Doom 4 Targeted For Console And PC, Wolfenstein In ‘Thinking About It’ Phase". Kotaku. http://kotaku.com/5613904/doom-4-targeted-for-console-and-pc-wolfenstein-in-thinking-about-it-phase. 
5. ^ Plunkett, Luke (2011-10-21). "Doom 4 "Indefinitely Postponed" Following RAGE's Disappointing Launch". Kotaku. http://kotaku.com/5851953/doom-4-indefinitely-postponed-following-rages-disappointing-launch. Retrieved 2011-10-21. 
6. ^ "Bethesda: Doom 4 shelving report is “complete bollocks”". VG247. 2011-10-21. http://www.vg247.com/2011/10/21/rumour-doom-4-development-shelved/. Retrieved 2011-10-21. 
7. ^ Jason Ocampo (2008-05-07). "Doom 4 Announced". IGN. http://pc.ign.com/articles/872/872097p1.html. Retrieved 2008-05-07. 
8. ^ "DOOM 4 Now in Development, Takes Place on Earth". http://www.dailygame.net/news/archives/007681.php. 
9. ^ "John Carmack Sheds Some Light On Doom 4". The Escapist. 2008-08-06. http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/85484-John-Carmack-Sheds-Some-Light-On-Doom-4. Retrieved 2010-07-01. 
10. ^ "Doom 4 "three times" Rage visual quality". Eurogamer. 2008-08-01. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/doom-4-three-times-rage-visual-quality. Retrieved 2010-08-02. 
11. ^ "QuakeCon 08: Quake Live Will Have No Mod Support; Doom 4 to Run at 60Hz on PC, Locked at 30Hz for Consoles". Maximum PC. 2008-07-31. http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/quakecon_08_quake_live_will_have_no_mod_support_doom_4_run_60hz_pc_locked_30hz_consoles. Retrieved 2010-11-30. 
12. ^ "John Carmack on Rage". CD-Action. 2009-07. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_Ge-35Ld70. Retrieved 2010-10-30. 
13. ^ Tor Thorsen (2009-04-10). "Hollenshead Rages about PC gaming, E3 surprises
    Q&A: id's CEO discusses his studio's new multiplatform strategy, aversion to Wii development, Quake Live, Doom 4, and unannounced projects.". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/news/6207773.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=topstory&tag=topstory;title. Retrieved 2009-04-10. 
14. ^ "Bethesda publishing Rage". http://www.gamespot.com/news/6243433.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;1. 
15. ^ "No News For Doom 4 Until Next QuakeCon". Total Gaming Network. 2009-08-13. http://www.totalgamingnetwork.com/main/showthread.php?t=201838. Retrieved 2009-08-13. 
16. ^ "Bethesda: 'Doom 4 Will Improve on Rage'". Now Gamer. 2010-05-10. http://www.nowgamer.com/news/3118/bethesda-doom-4-will-improve-on-rage. Retrieved 2010-07-01. 
17. ^ "E3 2011: John Carmack talks Wii U, PlayStation Vita, and next-gen Rage". Gamespot. 2011-06-09. http://e3.gamespot.com/story/6318725/e3-2011-john-carmack-talks-wii-u-playstation-vita-and-next-gen-rage. Retrieved 2011-06-09. 
18. ^ "Carmack's Keynote at QuakeCon 2011". Mattc0m. 2011-08-05. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zgYG-_ha28. Retrieved 2011-08-12. 

External links

• id Software
• ZeniMax Forums