Doom 4 Message Board

Link(s) To The Past is a new weekly feature in which we look back at least year's big news and analyze how far we have (or haven't) come.This week Microsoft's Adam Orth told people to "deal with" always-on consoles, BioShock Infinite got us talking, and rumors painted a troubling picture of Doom 4.Read more...

Wolfenstein: The New Order will release on May 20, but perhaps the bigger news is that preordering it gets you access to the beta for the next Doom.Read more...

It was a bit of a shock when John Carmack, who co-founded the company, left Doom creators id Software in November. Until now, we didn't really know why.Read more...

You know what was cool about Pacific Rim? All those giant mechs. You know what's cool about Hugo Martin, the guy who designed those mechs? He's now working on Doom 4.Read more...

Well, this came out of nowhere. Actually, no, wait. I suppose I should say that all the evidence was there, but I refused to let it add up in my brain because come on: this is John Carmack we’re talking about. He’s id’s divine ego, the pulsating mutant hyperbrain that looks upon desolate worlds and says, “Let there be graphics.” Now then, it must be noted that Carmack is apparently not leaving id, despite his new gig as Chief Technology Officer at Oculus Rift. But the eyeball gateway to other worlds is now Carmack’s number one priority, with id and, er, outer space taking a backseat.

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It’s time for another grand QuakeCon tradition! Ever since the paleo cretacean era of 2008, I’ve asked id Software the same question once a year: “So, where’s Doom 4?” Then we have a quick, largely insubstantial discussion about something else entirely. Eventually, however, my dogged determination to mention Doom 4 at least three times per sentence and occasionally roll my eyes back and just start screaming its name prevails, and my reward is a few tasty, tasty tidbits. Here’s this year’s conversation, preserved in that most immortal of fossilized tree saps: language.

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Somewhere in the deep, dark, distant future, there exists a world beyond Doom 4. It is a strange and alien place – one in which id has pried the bolts from its lips and… wait, no, it’s never done that. Always “when it’s done.” Always. But still, there are more id games in this far-flung universe, and also I have cool cybernetic laser nostrils. I know, for I have seen it. Briefly, ever so briefly, id creative director Tim Willits took me there. Here’s what he said.

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The day foretold in The Prophecy is finally upon us. Every year, for just a few/ten/fourteen hundred shining hours, the planets are drawn into potentially cataclysmic alignment by the gravitational field surrounding John Carmack’s brain. During this time, all eyes turn to QuakeCon‘s majestically orange-hued stage, where id Software unveils a new Doom 4 logo (NEXT YEAR WE PROMISE) and then Carmack erupts into a Mount Krakatoa of consciousness that cakes the audience in molten genius globules. It is seriously unlike anything you’ll see anywhere else – all at once fascinating and beguiling. Unless you’re incredibly tech savvy in very specific ways, most of it will be entirely over your head. And yet, Carmack makes it downright fascinating, even for my sad, shriveled rain cloud of a brain. The stream starts SOOOOOOOON. 4:30 PM Central/2:30 PM Pacific/10:30 PM London.

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Todd Hollenshead, president of the embattled studio id Software, has left his position, Bethesda confirmed to us today. Full statement: "After many years with the studio, Todd Hollenshead decided to leave id Software to pursue other personal interests. While Todd was not part of the development teams, he was an integral part of id Software’s success as the business head of the studio, and we wish him the very best in his future endeavors." (via IGN)

The now Zenimax/Bethesda-owned id have been eerily quiet since Rage met a mixed reception and underwhelming sales. I quite liked it, non-ending aside – it might have nothing on BioShock Infinite’s visual majesty, but the people-filled non-combat hubs between its more tunnelish combat were more convincingly alive than Columbia’s Auton population. In any case, Rage wasn’t the combeback Carmack and co needed, leaving us hoping that the in theory forthcoming Doom 4 would be. Half a decade on, there’s neither hide nor hair of it to be seen, and alleged sources close to the project have told Kotaku why that could be. Clearly there’s something in it, as it prompted Bethesda’s Pete Hines to acknowledge that id had indeed switched to making “a new version” of Doom 4 after an earlier one “did not exhibit the quality and excitement that Id and Bethesda intend to deliver.”(more…)

It says something about John Carmack’s status in the gaming industry that he can hold a talk that lasts for three and a half hours and the majority of people are simply delighted. So, if you’ve got nothing else on for the next 210 minutes, here is said relaxed, cheerful, full-throttle, ad-libbed and fascinating QuakeCon speech in full. id’s brain o’brains chats about the problems with Rage and its messy PC launch, his love-hate relationship with the PC as a platform, those Oculus Rift VR goggles that are getting Kickstarted hearts all aflutter, Doom 3 BFG, 3D displays, just the tiniest smidgen on Doom 4 and, of course, a sustained stream of characteristically uncensored techspeak about the past, present and future of computing. Such as viewing images by firing laser beams directly into people’s retinas. Er…

Impressively, as well as talking for so damned long, he doesn’t sit down until the 90-minute point.(more…)

John Carmack didn't actually show Doom 4 during his QuakeCon keynote yesterday, but he did offer a status update - along with the tautological pronouncement that the shooter will be "done when it's done."

"When it's done" will be a little sooner, as Carmack revealed just how devoted id Software is to its development. The mobile games division, responsible for Wolfenstein RPG, Rage HD and other mobile games, has been shut down, to shift focus to big games, including Doom 4. In fact, following Doom 3 BFG, all of id will focus on Doom 4.

QuakeCon is basically a safari. People stalk through the halls of the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas, tracing steps and leading packs of highly trained dogs in search of one mythical creature: Doom 4. Legends tell of a time many moons ago when its logo briefly appeared on a big screen, and in the moment, the hunt was on. So now I tip-toe through the case mod jungles of the BYOC, glancing every which way and– STOP. What’s that rustling around behind that row of NASA-grade supercomputers shaped like characters from My Little Pony? Could it be…? Oh, never mind. It’s just Big Foot. Nothing to see here. I have, however, picked up a few clues.

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Speaking at QuakeCon today, Id's John Carmack said they're hard at work on first-person shooter Doom 4 and it will be "done when it's done." More »

While we’re talking Id, there’s something else that came out of E3 that you might find interesting. Bethesda frontman Pete Hines told Eurogamer that despite the lukewarm reception for Rage, they have big plans for it: “We’re looking at doing some things with Rage. But obviously the first thing out of anybody’s lips now when we talk about id is not, hey, what else is up with Rage? They’re asking the question they’ve been asking for five years, six years, seven years, which is, where’s Doom 4? What about Doom 4? As far as where we are with Rage, the future for that is still TBD.”

Which is interesting, because whatever the do with Doom, I felt like Rage was a move in the right direction, but didn’t quite go all out on any of the things that it was hinting at. The half-formed racing, half-formed exploration, half-formed crafted all pointed to a deeper game which, if they concentrate on just one of those elements next time, might yet yield something beyond the usual adventure with shotguns. Id are also working on another shooter, which has yet to be revealed.

#rumor These images, supposedly from Doom 4, have popped up. It seems they were inadvertently spilled by the portfolio of artist Thao Le, a senior environmental artist at id Software (and since taken down). More »

For the second time in under six months, Bethesda Softworks has had to go on defense and shut down rumors of DOOM 4's cancellation. The latest volley came from AllGamesBeta, which reported a rumor that development of the game had ended and showed what are allegedly screenshots of the game.

"DOOM 4 isn't cancelled," Bethesda's VP of PR and Marketing Pete Hines told Joystiq. "When we're ready to talk about it and show it off, we'll let everyone know."

In late October, a rumor also made the rounds that Doom 4 had been "indefinitely postponed."

So, if the rumours are to be believed, the future of Doom 4 might be in doubt. Which raises a question: what do we want from a fourth Doom game anyway? Should the next Doom game keep it old skool with a key-collecting run-and-gun? Or should it up updated to compete with the contemporary manshoots? Do we still want demons on Mars? And should it showcase the next generation of graphics, or do something new with the way shooters work? If you were in charge, what would you do?

Personally I quite like the idea of re-releasing a blow-by-blow remake the original game in an astonishing modern engine, with the only gameplay concessions to modern design being mouse-look and so on. Failing that, a single-button iPhone game, like Canabalt with cacodemons. (Not really. Likely.)

This is pure rumour, but the Big K are reporting that a source inside Bethesda told them the company has made the decision to “indefinitely postpone” development of Doom 4. This move, made at a recent meeting in Dallas, apparently comes as a response to general disappointment with Rage, which was buggy on release and earned review scores of a less than 8/10 average (gasp!)

The story says that the issues surrounding Rage’s launch have resulted in “a serious lack of confidence in the project management at id”. This might be nonsense, of course, but it’s believable nonsense. That said, I am not sure why the company would deny id Doom 4, which seems like a game that would sell no matter how it was managed…

QuakeCon 2011 is underway, and most of the talk this year is about Rage, id Software's first major release since Doom 3. It's a sensible focus considering Rage comes out in less than two months, but still, what's going on with Doom 4, first announced way back in 2008? According to id Software pre...

QuakeCon. QUAKECON. QUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKE-A-CONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN. Just saying that name makes me laugh: truly, it is the most testosteroney of all gaming conventions. If QuakeCon and BlizzCon were ever to merge, terrible, terrible things would happen. Fortunately, id’s being owned by Bethesda these days means there’s no risk of that happening. QuakeCon ’11 isn’t far off – the doors open August 4. It’s going to be a big one, because that date means it’s a mere month before RAGE finally ships so doubtless there’s going to be a ton of exciting hands-on access for atendees. And could it maybe, maybe, pretty please maybe entail a first glimpse at Doom 4?

One way to find out (actually there’s two, but ‘watching the internet around that time’ scarcely seems like making an effort): pre-register now.(more…)

That’s what id’s design director Matt Hooper told has told Eurogamer.

“They’re [the Doom 4 team] going in their own direction,” Hooper added. “They’re doing something Doom fans will be happy with. I try to support them as much as possible. It’s a good thing. We’re separated enough to be able to go our own ways, but still connected where we can help facilitate both those directions. It is distinct enough. It would be dangerous… We don’t want to make a re-skinned Doom [with Rage] and then Doom 4 be a re-skinned Rage. That would be bad.”

My speculatometer points to this being an attempt to return to the demonic themes of the original games. Odds on for an unveiling at QuakeCon this summer, and a late-2012 release. But I guess we’ll see…

#doom4 Doom 4 was a no-show at this year's QuakeCon, and id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead told me he'll take the arrows for raising expectations it would be there. He also share with me a sliver of details about the game. More »

id Software aiming to be more efficient.

#doom4 Doom 4 was a no-show at this year's QuakeCon, and id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead told me he'll take the arrows for raising expectations it would be there. He also share with me a sliver of details about the game. More »

#quakecon2010 We really thought that id Software would give us an update on Doom 4 at this year's QuakeCon. After all, id CEO Todd Hollenshead said at last year's event that we'd hear more about the next Doom in 2010. More »

The wait continues.

#id Musician Trent Reznor has had a long relationship with game developer id. He scored Quake and did music for Doom 3 that did not make it into the game. No wonder there have been rumors about Reznor and Doom 4. More »

While id is currently keeping Rage at the forefront of its media presence, it looks like things are starting to accelerate for the next entry in the Doom series. Bethesda has made a note on its official blog that id is currently hiring, with "several programming positions open, as well as positions in Animation, Art, Design, IT, and Management." While the post doesn't directly specify that the company is hiring for Doom, it does point to the image at right as a clue to what the studio is "ramping up for." Announced in 2008, the next Doom project is "not a sequel to Doom 3, but it's not a reboot either," according to id's Todd Hollenshead. It won't be called Doom 4 either. Whatever it is, we probably won't be hearing about it anytime soon.