Someone once parodied Gone Home by merging it with Doom in the humourous video Gun Home. But now ex-BioShock and The Cave developer JP LeBreton is taking that seemingly ludicrous juxtaposition of first-person games seriously in his upcoming Doom 2 mod / memoir Autobiographical Architecture.
Doom 3 BFG Edition
Spotlight
Digital FoundryFace-Off: Doom 3: BFG Edition
Digital Foundry assesses id Software's in-house remastering.
Digital FoundryDoom 3: BFG Edition DFPC 768p vs. 1080p Video
The Digital Foundry PC running Doom 3 BFG at maximum settings, with 2x MSAA. Performance is almost perfect, as you'd hope it would be with a game of this age. Here we pit our token resolutions, 768p and 1080p, against each other and find only the latter d
Digital FoundryDoom 3: BFG Edition Xbox 360 vs. PC Comparison Video
Additional layers of anti-aliasing, plus excellent motion blur differentiate PC from Xbox 360.
Digital FoundryDoom 3: BFG Edition PS3 vs. Xbox 360 Comparison Video
The two console versions battle it out - in terms of image quality there's not much in it, aside from dynamic scaling artifacts and torn frames.
Key events
20th October 2012
19th October 2012
19th June 2012
30th May 2012
30th May 2012
Doom 2 modder Doug Keener has recreated Jerry Seinfeld's classic NBC sitcom in id Software's 1994 shooter.
Speedrunner sets new world record for Doom... 3?!
Sprints through campaign in under 65 minutes.
With all the hullabaloo around id Software's shockingly sterling Doom reboot, folks have been revisiting previous Doom titles. One such series fanatic, YouTuber Corpseflesh, even set a new world record for blazing through 2005's Doom 3 in record time.
Doom 3 BFG Edition and Monaco playable on Xbox One
The list grows.
Doom 3 BFG Edition, the re-release of id Software's Doom 3 that came out in 2012, is now playable on Xbox One via the console's Backward Compatibility feature.
John Carmack to get this year's BAFTA Fellowship award
C++ for acceptance speech.
Legendary and maybe part-machine programmer John Carmack will receive this year's BAFTA Fellowship award, joining the likes of Gabe Newell, Shigeru Miyamoto, Will Wright and many others. He'll receive the award at the BAFTA Games Awards 7th April in London - an event happening alongside EGX Rezzed.
Todd Hollenshead and his hair leave id Software after 17 years
That salon time.
Todd Hollenshead has walked from id Software, Bethesda has confirmed.
Doom 3 BFG Edition source code poured onto internet
Re-Carmack those paths.
What ho, the Doom 3 BFG Edition GPL (general public licence) source code has been officially released for the PC mod community to have is devilish way with.
Evidence points to Doom Classic Complete on PSN this week
UPDATE: Bethesda's announced it. £12.
Update: Bethesda's announced it.
Original Doom 3 returns to Steam
Costs six quid.
The original Doom 3 is back on Steam.
If you want the original Doom 3 from Steam you have to pay £76
UPDATE: Bethesda: "We're looking into options" for those who want to buy the original Doom 3.
Update: When contacted about this, a Bethesda rep offered the following reply:
UK chart: FIFA 13 scores fourth week top, 007 Legends in 12th
Skylanders, Doom 3: BFG Edition in top 10. Dance Central 3 flops.
FIFA 13 remains top of the UK all-format charts for a fourth week, seeing off competition from toy phenomenon Skylanders Giants and Bethesda's Doom 3: BFG Edition.
Digital FoundryFace-Off: Doom 3: BFG Edition
Digital Foundry assesses id Software's in-house remastering.
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Xbox 360
PlayStation 3
Digital FoundryDoom 3: BFG Edition DFPC 768p vs. 1080p Video
The Digital Foundry PC running Doom 3 BFG at maximum settings, with 2x MSAA. Performance is almost perfect, as you'd hope it would be with a game of this age. Here we pit our token resolutions, 768p and 1080p, against each other and find only the latter d
The Digital Foundry PC running Doom 3 BFG at maximum settings, with 2x MSAA. Performance is almost perfect, as you'd hope it would be with a game of this age. Here we pit our token resolutions, 768p and 1080p, against each other and find only the latter d
Digital FoundryDoom 3: BFG Edition Xbox 360 vs. PC Comparison Video
Additional layers of anti-aliasing, plus excellent motion blur differentiate PC from Xbox 360.
Additional layers of anti-aliasing, plus excellent motion blur differentiate PC from Xbox 360.
Digital FoundryDoom 3: BFG Edition PS3 vs. Xbox 360 Comparison Video
The two console versions battle it out - in terms of image quality there's not much in it, aside from dynamic scaling artifacts and torn frames.
The two console versions battle it out - in terms of image quality there's not much in it, aside from dynamic scaling artifacts and torn frames.
Digital FoundryDoom 3: BFG Edition PS3 vs. PC Comparison Video
The weakest SKU faces off against the strongest in this head-to-head video.
The weakest SKU faces off against the strongest in this head-to-head video.
Digital FoundryDoom 3: BFG Edition Performance Video
Cut-scenes and gameplay analysis of the console versions reveals a marked 360 advantage in places.
Cut-scenes and gameplay analysis of the console versions reveals a marked 360 advantage in places.
Blast the past!
This review is intended purely as an assessment of how Doom 3's content and gameplay stand up today. If you're interested in the features and technical aspects of this new version, Digital Foundry will have extensive coverage for you over the next two days.
If anything encapsulates Doom, in all its wide-eyed and gory glory, it is the three letters BFG. In an age where arms manufacturers lobby publishers to include real-life killing machines in FPS games, there's something quite innocent, even sweet, about the idea of shooting a green plasma ball from a Big F***ing Gun.
The BFG does seem to sit oddly, however, in the most recent and somewhat humourless entry in the series. Doom 3 mostly takes place in an oppressive, winding research facility on Mars - a cold metal labyrinth of funnelling corridors, filled with the remnants of the recently deceased and subject to constant invasion from hell's forces. It is an environment designed to induce claustrophobia, always hemming you in and frequently blocking you off. A world that, regardless of the plentiful monsters, is never a nice place to be.
Digital FoundryWhat's new for PC in Doom 3: BFG Edition?
A computer conversion of a console remaster of the PC original?
No advanced graphics settings, no field-of-view adjustments, no out of the box support for mods - on first loading up Doom 3: BFG Edition, it's difficult to avoid the impression that id Software has turned its back on the PC fanbase that supported it for so many years. Some might even describe the new release as a downgrade in many respects compared to the 2004 code - a port from current-gen console remixed from the PC original. But it would be churlish to ignore some of the improvements and refinements made to the overall package.
Digital FoundryDoom 3 PC: Original vs. BFG Edition Video
Comparison video pitting the 2004 original up against the 2012 BFG edition on PC.
Comparison video pitting the 2004 original up against the 2012 BFG edition on PC.
Installing Doom 3 BFG on Xbox 360 makes Dooms 1 & 2 unplayable
UPDATE: Bethesda notes the games will still be playable, but must be accessed through the dashboard.
Update: Bethesda noted that if you do decide to install Doom 3 BFG, the previous games will still be available from the Xbox 360 dashboard, just not from the in-game menu. Here is the official response:
FeatureOculus Rift impressions: It's amazing until it makes you want to hurl
The VR goggles' central flaw and what's being done to fix it.
Prior to my appointment to see the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset on Sunday at PAX Prime I'd heard nothing but great things about it.
EGXDishonored and Doom 3 BFG Edition playable at Eurogamer Expo
Get the UK's first public hands-on with Bethesda's latest.
Thick and fast. That's how we like our Eurogamer Expo announcements now that everyone's signing them off and we can tell you what to expect. This morning we announced that Halo 4 is playable and Frank O'Connor from 343 Industries is doing a developer session. This afternoon we can add that Dishonored and Doom 3 BFG Edition will both be playable too!
id Software: Doom 4 will be "done when it's done"
Doom 3 BFG Edition trailer is set in hell, but looks heavenly.
id Software co-founder John Carmack didn't offer much hope for a timely release of Doom 4 at QuakeCon earlier today where he said that it will be "done when it's done."
Snazzy VR headset takes to Kickstarter with the Oculus Rift
UPDATE: John Carmack has nothing to do with it.
Update: We erroneously reported the Oculus Rift as John Carmack's headset, when it turns out he's simply endorsing it, but not "backing it."
FeatureJohn Carmack on Virtual Reality - Uncut
By popular demand, a complete transcript of our E3 interview.
At E3 last month, I got the chance to interview John Carmack and try out his prototype virtual reality headset, using the device to play the forthcoming Doom 3: BFG Edition. It was, as I wrote at the time, a memorable experience:
Digital FoundryWhat Went Wrong with Stereo 3D?
Why mainstream 3D is losing traction and how John Carmack could change everything.
It was supposed to be The Next Big Thing - a perfect storm of movies, TV and games. The future of display technology was stereoscopic, bringing a new level of immersion to both passive and interactive entertainment. James Cameron's Avatar set the stage for a mainstream takeover, sporting events looked phenomenal in three dimensions, while 3D gaming got the best possible backing via exceptionally strong support from Sony. Nintendo even launched its new handheld off the back of its glasses-free auto-stereoscopic display.
Carmack: next-gen visuals "will be what we already have, but a lot better"
"In many ways I am not all that excited about the next generation."
Some gamers and game developers are crying out for the next-generation of consoles in the hope they will herald significant advances in graphics.
Doom 3 BFG Edition launches in Europe on 19th October 2012, Bethesda has announced.
It launches on PC for £19.99 / €29.99 and on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 for £29.99 / €39.99.
The new version includes the original Doom and Doom 2, Doom 3 and its expansion Resurrection of Evil plus The Lost Mission, a never-before-seen single-player story for Doom 3 spread over seven fresh levels. Re-mastered graphics, support for 3D and head-mounted displays, 5.1 surround sound, improved rendering and lighting will also feature. Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions will, naturally, include Achievements/Trophies.
FeatureJohn Carmack and the Virtual Reality Dream
VR is back - and it works! We chat to id's mad professor and try his amazing homebrew headset.
It was, to be frank, the best E3 appointment I have ever had. Today I met id Software founder and legendary coder John Carmack and tried his bonkers homebrew virtual reality headset.
Doom 3 BFG Edition announced for PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Remastered version with hours of new content, plus Doom and Doom 2.
Doom 3 BFG Edition, a re-mastered and expanded version of Doom 3, will be released for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 this autumn, developer id Software has announced.
The new version includes the original Doom and Doom 2, Resurrection of Evil plus The Lost Mission, a never-before-seen single-player story for Doom 3 spread over seven fresh levels.
Re-mastered graphics, support for 3D and head-mounted displays, 5.1 surround sound, improved rendering and lighting will also feature.
