Quake IV - a little news...

[StormHammer]

There is a brief interview with Rick Johnson over at Gamespy concerning Quake IV. There's not a lot of detail, just a bit of insight into how the development is coming along, and although the game is mainly focused toward SP, there will be MP - probably in a similar vein to Doom 3.

 

Hopefully this little snippet is the first of many, and I certainly hope we start to see some more concept art for QIV soon.

 

Sort of in the same vein, there's an interesting little quote from John Carmack, where he was interviewed on Gamespy. Here's a shameless rip...

 

GameSpy: As a triple-A company, can id work on any smaller ideas?

John Carmack: I thought it would be kind of neat if we took the DOOM renderer, and we had a team take previous games-don't touch the game, just revamp it graphically. Just take Quake II, and just use the DOOM engine to make brand new graphic models and everything. But don't spend time messing with the gameplay because we know that is pretty good. Just release it as Quake II Remix with brand new graphics technology and sell it at a middle-level price instead of a boutique price.

 

I thought that was a pretty good idea.

 

I was sceptical at first, when I read that. I mean, it's basically a way of money-spinning off old titles. However, it does have some validity in the context of Quake IV. It would be great to see Quake II revamped using the new engine, so that it could be played prior to the release of Quake IV, to smooth the transition, and possibly include some of the newer model assets as 'prototypes' on view.

 

I don't really see anything wrong with 'remaking' older games, if the production values are high, and they can make a good job. I mean, if they can do it in the film industry (and some remakes have actually been quite good, and stand as good movies in their own right), then I'd say go for it.

 

I'd prefer to see a QII Remix get packaged with QIV, though, maybe as a Deluxe edition that costs a bit extra.

 

Anyone else looking forward to the next Q game?

[Lost Welshman]

Co.Ol

 

Quake 2 was fun, although I can't remember much about the story. Quake 3 was a bit pants, nice intro's for bad guys though.

 

A quake game with Doom 3 style graphics would be great. Thanks for the heads up Stormy.

[El Sitherino]

bout bloody time.

 

I've been waiting so long for another quake game.

I love playing quake3.

[KBell]

I'd rather spend my money on Doom 3.....*Drool* I just read a preview in PC Gamer for Doom 3.....*Drool*

[ZBomber]

Nice. I just bought Quake I and II for N64. Never played 3. Can't wait for the 4th. ^_^

[Acrylic]

Q3 is purty fun.

 

I can't wait for 4.

[BCanr2d2]

Doom 3 got delayed for those who care....

[GUNNER]

I have never played a quake game. Which one is the best in your opinion?

[toms]

depends what you are after... mutiplayer, singleplayer?

 

IF you like FPS games i'd recommend getting both 1 & 2. THey are showin their age (and im not sure what the deal is with running Q1 with hardware accelleration under modern OSes) but are worth a blast and you can probably get them both dirt cheap and play through them pretty quick.

 

Q2 at least attempts a plot (although not really) (and the first levels will probably remind you of the first few levels of JO ) Q1 is just a collection of cool levels. (and a crappy ending).

 

as for Q3... well, i never really played it... somehow UT appealed more. but i have always been more of a single player at heart.

 

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Remakes of old games (to imporve graphics, interface and compatibility, rather than totally change the game) appeal to me. SOme of my all time fave games are almost impossible to play now. Updates rather than remakes maybe. Ones i'd like to see include:

 

-Terminator FPS games with HW support

-Chrono trigger on GBA

 

The new virtua fighter 1 you get with VF4 evolution is a cool extra.

 

Im playing the X-wing collectors series at the moment. THe updates to the graphics aren't that special, but the fact it is easy to play under windows is priceless.

 

I bougt Zelda - Wind Waker (and my gamecube) more for the Ocarina of time update than the new game. NOw if only they would have included an update of Goldeneye with Agent under fire....

 

:D

[GUNNER]

FPS is all I play. The only multi player i have played is CS and UT.

 

I just need more SP games to take up my free time.

[BCanr2d2]

Look for a version of the original Quake, known as GLQuake, that uses the OpenGL library to do proper 3D...

[ShockV1.89]

Maybe Q4 wont suck as hard as Q3 did. Argh, I hated that game... Now UT, on the other hand....

[KBell]

Yeah i heard about the Doom 3 delay in PC Gamer, but hey, its Carmack, if HE thinks they should delay it, its for a very good reason. All the more better to buy this game that might happen to be nearly flawless

[StormHammer]

Originally posted by BCanr2d2

Look for a version of the original Quake, known as GLQuake, that uses the OpenGL library to do proper 3D...

 

Yes, GLQuake is okay - but I know some people have had a few problems getting it to work on occasion with current systems. The key thing you have to remember is to rename the opengl.dll file in the game directory to something else, so that it looks for your graphics cards OpenGL renderer, rather than Glide.

 

Anyway, I actually prefer playing Quake using the Tenebrae update to the engine, along with the revamped textures (from the Retexturing Project). If you have a graphics card that can handle it, Tenebrae is really very good, and makes Quake even more eerie and atmospheric.

 

As Toms said, Quake II basically tried to introduce a more cohesive game model and a story into the proceedings, which actually worked. I enjoyed playing Quake II, although I thought the 'plot' was ripped straight from Starship Troopers (both film and book). The Strogg were actually very well done, though, in terms of design, and of course Quake IV is a direct sequel to Quake II, so it will continue the Strogg story.

 

I've never played Quake III either (except for the demo) - I too preferred Unreal Tournament.

 

You should still be able to pick up both Quake and Quake II on budget release somewhere.

 

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As far as Remakes go...Doom 3 is basically a remake of the original Doom, only with those higher production values I was talking about. Current estimates for the new Doom's release is Q1 2004 - but that may be subject to change. I can't see it taking much longer, though, considering Id has Splash Damage working on the MP side while they finish up SP.

 

From all accounts, Doom's MP is going to be quite restrictive anyway. So far it's just 4-player DM, and AFAIK 4 players is the maximum limit that the engine can handle online at the moment. So you might as well kiss bye bye to CTF and the like. There's supposed to be a lot more going on in the MP levels, though - machinery working, steam, lighting effects, among other things, and it's all dark and atmospheric. It will obviously also be slower-paced, because the movement in Doom is slower for one thing. And apparently when you get hit, your vision will swim, and it will take you a couple of seconds to recover your aim... So I can see it being a more stealthy and tactical style of play.

 

I mention this, because QIV is based on the Doom tech (obviously), so I imagine QIV's MP will be similar to Doom 3's. If the maximum player limit cannot be increased, I think this is going to have a serious impact on how the MP community views these titles.

 

So keep this in mind, all those who keep asking for the Jedi Knight series to be ported to the Doom engine. Yes, it would certainly look better...but unless they can radically improve net code and optimise clientside and serverside system performance, you're going to be stuck with vanilla DM with a very limited number of players. 1v1 or 2v2 duels would be no problem, I imagine...but something like Siege would be out of the question without serious modification...

 

Still...it would be nice to see Quake II SP remade on the newer tech.

 

And Toms...there is a new Terminator game currently in development for PC, based on T3...which apart from the SP (where you get to play as Arnie) will apparently allow for 32-a-side MP online play, with Humans vs Machines...

[txa1265]

I have a few thoughts:

 

- I'm concerned what the Doom3 'few enemies at a time' model will do to gameplay in general (not just MP, either).

 

- I'm hoping that Raven and id will work out a qay for Quake IV to have more action oriented gameplay than Doom3 looks to have - especially for MP games, but also for SP.

 

- limits of 4 players for MP will be 'fine' for Doom, which wasn't going to have MP initially, but Quake IV needs kick-butt MP.

 

- The whole thing of re-imaging games with new-tech engines is very intriguing. The Dark Forces mod purports to do this, and the first level looks cool, but a small official team with access to all of the assets could have had it out a year ago, and sold it well for $9.99.

 

Mike

[BCanr2d2]

Originally posted by StormHammer

Yes, GLQuake is okay - but I know some people have had a few problems getting it to work on occasion with current systems. The key thing you have to remember is to rename the opengl.dll file in the game directory to something else, so that it looks for your graphics cards OpenGL renderer, rather than Glide.

 

Glide??? Unless you are unfortunate and stuck with a 3dfx card, then Glide should be nowhere near the system!!! I agree with the delete, let it find the newer version that is part of 2000/XP

[StormHammer]

Originally posted by txa1265

- I'm hoping that Raven and id will work out a qay for Quake IV to have more action oriented gameplay than Doom3 looks to have - especially for MP games, but also for SP.

 

I hope so too. I'm actually a bit more confident because of Raven's involvement, in light of the extreme level of modification they have undertaken on the Quake 3 arena tech. If they can apply similar mod techniques to the new tech. (even if it means paring down particular features to optimise the engine for increasing the number of AI on screen), then it could be quite acceptable.

 

- limits of 4 players for MP will be 'fine' for Doom, which wasn't going to have MP initially, but Quake IV needs kick-butt MP.

 

I totally agree. The Quake series as a whole in MP has always been renowned for it's fast frag-fests, and has considerable support from the mod community with a variety of team-based play modes. If the player limit online is so restrictive, I believe it will be considerably damaging to ongoing support from that community, and this is something Raven really needs to take on board, especially in light of Unreal Tournament 2004. AFAIK UT2K4 will still be allowing the same amount of players online as UT2K3 - which is something like 32, isn't it? The Q3 engine also caters for these larger numbers. If the new Doom tech cannot be tweaked to support at least 16 players online, then I can't see a lot of team-based players (particularly clans) moving to the new format.

 

Maybe that's not the overall aim, perhaps. Maybe for D3 and QIV they're not really trying to target the MP community, and are quite happy for people to continue to support Q3. Well, that's fine in that instance. But they may be underestimating the impact this will have on game sales. I know a lot of people who bought Quake, Quake II etc., just for the MP part of the game - they never even touched SP. If that incentive is taken out of the equation, then there is always the danger the level of sales will be lower. This may not actually matter for Doom 3, which we have known for some time is very SP based - and I expect D3 to sell well anyway because of the size of the fan base. However, I suspect that once people have played Doom 3's MP, and found it restrictive, this could potentially harm sales of Quake IV.

 

- The whole thing of re-imaging games with new-tech engines is very intriguing. The Dark Forces mod purports to do this, and the first level looks cool, but a small official team with access to all of the assets could have had it out a year ago, and sold it well for $9.99.

 

Mike

 

Again, I agree, and perhaps game developers should start to take this on board in a more realistic fashion. Instead of trying to 'stop' the TC type mods for older games in newer engines, the developers should actually start to encourage their development, and support those mod teams. Why not actually hire them, give them the assets and support they need, and access to a modern engine they have already licensed, in order to reconceptualise old ideas for the modern mainstream? Yes, I still fire up DF on occasion (I played through it again within the last 6 months), but it's definitely showing it's age, and I'd much prefer to play a completed DF mod in the new engine, and not have to put up with the sound issues I have running the original game.

 

I'm just grateful the DF mod has been allowed to continue - and we all know the reason why. It's because people who want to play it have to buy Jedi Outcast (or potentially Jedi Academy), so Lucasarts are not actually losing any sales. If anything, the most extreme fans of DF might actually choose to buy JO/JA just to play that mod, so it is a potential sales increase, however marginal.

 

We all know that SW mods using other engines (i.e., TC's of other games) have been closed down - because the game developer is not making any money from the game sales, while their assets are being used. That's fair enough, and I can fully understand that view. It's not good business sense.

 

So the heart of the problem seems to lie with the developer actually releasing a game on a 'modern' engine, so that engine can then be used by mod teams to develop further material using those assets for their mod creations. So in those terms, it comes down to the willingness of the game developer to adopt an engine that is more mainstream, and perhaps already supported by the mod community - or developing an in-house engine with modability as a primary factor (which Valve have done with the Source engine). As we all know, Valve have been incredibly successful mainly because of their ongoing support of the mod community, and opening up new avenues for mod teams - even to the extent of buying that talent in-house, and turning mods into commercial products (like Counter Strike).

 

So a question mark remains over the long-term marketability of Quake IV - or indeed, any further Id engine games - from an MP stand-point. It would be nice to have some kind of confirmation that the 4-player MP limit touted at QuakeCon is actually a restriction that can be lifted and surpassed through more creative coding...