Multiplat DOOM: The Dark Ages

[Dizzy]

Previous game iterations didnt work like this. AI aggression, but most importantly AI damage output was used in difficulty settings. Character speed that the player could achieve wasnt dependent on game difficulty setting or a game speed slider.

Im fine with general accessibility options for those with conditions. This however screams lack of game design leadership and overall vision. id Software appear lost on who their target demographic is.

I don’t think that’s the case at all. This allows players to play the way they want.

Perfect example, I’m playing on UV but I turned the parry window down because it was throwing me off. The tighter window flows better for me than parrying when a fireball is 20 yards away.

Customization is a good thing.

 

[The Clark]

Re: letting the player choose the speed and parry window and such, it does seem to be a drastic change from the design philosophy in Eternal. Hugo was very vocal about how if the player doesn't play id's way, they would kill them. It was important that people played the "right" way. So, regardless if giving the player more options and expression is a good idea, it does feel like a 180 from last game.
Hugo also went into detail about how Eternal's bright colors and sound design (like the loud ping for weak point hits) was intended to help clearly communicate information to the player in such busy and multifaceted battles. And I see none of that in Dark Ages. I can't believe that they would abandon what they believed to be important design decisions, especially after the universal praise Eternal received. It feels like concessions were made to appeal to dudebro gamers, or maybe just a wider audience in general.

 

[KidBaize]

I turned down my parry window to the lowest setting as well, just to learn the proper timing. The default is ridiculously big. It's hardly a parry anymore, more like a block at that point.

I wonder if they'll rebalance the difficulty at some point. People are finishing UN runs within a couple days of early access which is pretty silly.

 

[KidBaize]

Re: letting the player choose the speed and such, it does seem to be a drastic change from the design philosophy in Eternal. Hugo was very vocal about how if the player doesn't play id's way, they would kill them. It was important that people played the "right" way. So, regardless if giving the player more options and expression is a good idea, it does feel like a 180 from last game.
Hugo also went into detail about how Eternal's bright colors and sound design (like the loud ping for weak point hits) was intended to help clearly communicate information to the player in such busy and multifaceted battles. And I see none of that in Dark Ages. I can't believe that they would abandon what they believed to be important design decisions, especially after the universal praise Eternal received. It feels like concessions were made to appeal to dudebro gamers.

Yeah they bowed to all the complaints that Eternal was too hard and they wanted to appeal to a wider audience. At least that's what it looks like.

 

[KaNesDeath]

Customization is a good thing.

This level of customization you want performed at the modding level. Not within the base game difficulties.

 

[Dizzy]

I think people really need to let this game be what it is. The endless comparisons to Eternal are kind of exhausting.

Overall I still prefer Eternal but I’m having a blast with this.

 

[Zer]

I love Eternal to death, but I feel the DLC really pushed its mechanics to the absolute limit, to where it often felt cheap in how it increased difficulty. Now I wouldn't really have minded if they just gave us more of the same, but I think progressing from the DLC to offer more challenge would have resulted in a truly exhausting game (I know many people feel Eternal was exhausting even before the DLC). So I'm not really surprised they decided to change up the game mechanics like they did, overall it was probably a wise choice. I enjoy the game but prefer Eternal

 

[Satur9]

It does feel a little strange to have all those difficulty options. The amount of options in total feels like I am starting a 4x game. And it is graphically same-ey so far.

That said, I am having fun. Came in with lowered expectations and still enjoying myself.

 

[KidBaize]

Who is the hardest enemy so far?

For me it has to be cyberdemon. He kills me more than anybody else and I still don't really have a good strategy.

 

[deviake]

I love Eternal to death, but I feel the DLC really pushed its mechanics to the absolute limit, to where it often felt cheap in how it increased difficulty. Now I wouldn't really have minded if they just gave us more of the same, but I think progressing from the DLC to offer more challenge would have resulted in a truly exhausting game (I know many people feel Eternal was exhausting even before the DLC). So I'm not really surprised they decided to change up the game mechanics like they did, overall it was probably a wise choice. I enjoy the game but prefer Eternal

I actually really didn't like Eternal's DLC, I thought it was a total letdown. It didn't feel finely crafted, the difficulty for the most part felt annoying and artificial compared to the campaign.

Eternal breathed new life into boomer shooters and even the new Postal borrowed from it, it expanded the FPS genre. I'm going to start replaying Eternal tonight.

I didn't want an Eternal clone but Eternal added added A LOT of new, badass things that are all gone.

 

[deviake]

Re: letting the player choose the speed and parry window and such, it does seem to be a drastic change from the design philosophy in Eternal. Hugo was very vocal about how if the player doesn't play id's way, they would kill them. It was important that people played the "right" way. So, regardless if giving the player more options and expression is a good idea, it does feel like a 180 from last game.
Hugo also went into detail about how Eternal's bright colors and sound design (like the loud ping for weak point hits) was intended to help clearly communicate information to the player in such busy and multifaceted battles. And I see none of that in Dark Ages. I can't believe that they would abandon what they believed to be important design decisions, especially after the universal praise Eternal received. It feels like concessions were made to appeal to dudebro gamers, or maybe just a wider audience in general.

This happened to the Splinter Cell series. They were basically obligate stealth games, then they made them more action oriented, I'm guessing to make it easier and give it broader appeal. Well, those of us who loved it for the strong stealth aspect - what the entire gameplay was through Chaos Theory - weren't happy about that.

 

[mixmastermo]

I think people really need to let this game be what it is. The endless comparisons to Eternal are kind of exhausting.

Overall I still prefer Eternal but I’m having a blast with this.

I just got the game in spite of all the people whining..

I was going to wait cuz I have other games I am playing but I said fuckit. Been a while since I bought a PC game anyway.

Regarding PC performance- Bethesda/id really ought to update the minimum and recommended specs. According to the miminum specs I shouldn't be able to even run the game with the CPU I have, but I am getting over 120 FPS at 4K with everything on Ultra Nightmare...

They are scaring people off with those ridiculous system requirements.

I've only played part of the first level so no impressions for me yet.

 

[HereticBD]

It does feel a little strange to have all those difficulty options.

Yeah, what is it, like 8 tiers? LOL

That said, I have no issue with them trying to make it a game for everyone. There's nothing wrong with a game like this not being anything more than just a pure power fantasy for anyone and everyone. It's just fun to blow shit up. It's no more "easy" than most games on the default setting. If you want to crank it up, you can do that.

There's some weird "pride" shit going on with gaming these days, where for some reason, more advanced players feel slighted by difficulty sliders. Nobody is stopping anyone from cranking it up to "Dry Ass Fucking" difficulty. I understand if there is an actual design philosophy around it, like what Fromsoft does, but this is just a shooter. Who cares? Did anyone give a shit when cheats were discovered in the original, that gave you God like powers to destroy everything? No.

The whole "gatekeeping extreme difficulty" thing is so dumb.

 

[Satur9]

Yeah, what is it, like 8 tiers? LOL

That said, I have no issue with them trying to make it a game for everyone. There's nothing wrong with a game like this not being anything more than just a pure power fantasy for anyone and everyone. It's just fun to blow shit up. It's no more "easy" than most games on the default setting. If you want to crank it up, you can do that.

There's some weird "pride" shit going on with gaming these days, where for some reason, more advanced players feel slighted by difficulty sliders. Nobody is stopping anyone from cranking it up to "Dry Ass Fucking" difficulty. I understand if there is an actual design philosophy around it, like what Fromsoft does, but this is just a shooter. Who cares? Did anyone give a shit when cheats were discovered in the original, that gave you God like powers to destroy everything? No.

The whole "gatekeeping extreme difficulty" thing is so dumb.

Well that, and changing the timing of a game mechanic and things like that. The amount of changes one can do is pretty high, and that in itself is strange for the genre. Strange isn’t bad. Exchange it with “different”. Either way. I personally like more options.

 

[mixmastermo]

I'll just say this

id fucked up big time by pissing off Mick Gordon.

This score is...

 

[Zazen]

It may be premature asking this but where would you like them to go with the franchise next? I'd love for them to double down on the cult stuff and go more horror. All the games in the modern trilogy have been a blast but none were particularly scary or cultish. I think it would be neat to have something like that.

 

[deviake]

It may be premature asking this but where would you like them to go with the franchise next? I'd love for them to double down on the cult stuff and go more horror. All the games in the modern trilogy have been a blast but none were particularly scary or cultish. I think it would be neat to have something like that.

I think they need to give Doom a rest and make a Lovecraftian Quake.

 

[Dizzy]

I'll just say this

id fucked up big time by pissing off Mick Gordon.

This score is...

I turned it up which helps but yeah, it doesn’t hit as hard.

Weird because the individual tracks sound fucking rad on their own. I was listening to some on the digital soundtrack.

 

[Chubz]

Who is the hardest enemy so far?

For me it has to be cyberdemon. He kills me more than anybody else and I still don't really have a good strategy.

He's a real asshole. One tactic I've discovered is to lay into him from a distance with a mid-ranged weapon (like the dual-barrel Plasma gun), then the instant he launches a skull at you or starts spraying with his minigun, raise your shield and run right up to him. At very close range he'll do almost nothing but parryable attacks, so parry them and get a few melee strikes in (to do damage AND refill your ammo), before retreating to a safe distance and repeating the same exact process.

You can also just close the distance right away and do nothing but parry and melee him nonstop. I find that method results in you being locked in place a little too long though, which can in turn lead to all of the fodder demons and other enemies surrounding and pummeling you while you're focused on him.

 

[Chubz]

It may be premature asking this but where would you like them to go with the franchise next? I'd love for them to double down on the cult stuff and go more horror. All the games in the modern trilogy have been a blast but none were particularly scary or cultish. I think it would be neat to have something like that.

I would love for this to be the last Doom game for at least 10 years, to give the franchise a much-needed break. I feel The Dark Ages is an excellent stopping point because we've already seen such a vast array of environments and gameplay styles.

What I would like to see id do next is a badass third-person game, to distance itself from Doom and give them a fresh start.