Shadows, Weapons and Scripts

Shadows and lighting

The first thing that strikes you about the graphics engine is the extraordinary quality of the lighting and shadows in Doom III. Once you see the dark brooding environment created, with flickering overhead fluorescent lamps creating and swaying overhead, creating real, true swirling shadow patterns on the ground based off the geometry of the models and the level…every other lighting you see in any other game feels fake. On large monster models you can see the model casting shadows on itself. Depending on the distance and intensity of the light source, shadows cast long or cast short, cast strongly or cast softly when it is appropriate. Somehow id software has raised the bar for graphics engines yet again, and the rest will have some catching up to do, while us gamers grumble about having to upgrade our systems yet again.

Weapons

Getting back to the game, the first weapon our hero pulls out to shoot zombies is a simple pistol. One striking thing about the pistol, was that it had to be reloaded – there were about 17 shots in the clip. Reloading is again, something that’s been in many games forever but had yet to appear in an id software game. Other weapons we noticed from the game included an Aliens style pulse rifle that had a digital counter on top of it to remind you of how many bullets you had left. To my recollection this weapon did not have to be reloaded but the counter on it did say [x]/345 where x was the number of bullets left in the gun, because it decremented as it fired, and presumably 345 (it was a number in the mid 300s, but 345 may not be exactly correct) is the number of rounds it can hold at once. Obviously in such an early build, these attributes can and will change.

The fat zombies

There was also a pump action shotgun, which did need to be reloaded with shells every now and again (aside from the pump between shots). One of the zombie soldier types carried a huge Jessie-Ventura-in-Predator-style Gatling gun. This weapon needed to be spun up before it started spitting out rounds, but whoever was playing the game seemed really afraid of this gun, and rightly so. Unfortunately it didn’t seem as though the gun could be picked up for player use in this build.

Scripted sequences

As our hero made his way through the ruined research facility shooting the zombies and monsters that attacked him, we noticed some environmental interaction (tapping out a code on a 10 digit keypad to enter a room, operating large factory machinery via computer console, etc) as well as tons of scripted sequences. Sometimes we’d come across zombies dragging bodies away, leaving bloody smears on the ground behind them. In one room, we saw a standing shelf set rattling in the background shadows as some boxes and assorted items got knocked off of it. Our hero pours fire in that direction, shooting off some items from the shelf a la Metal Gear Solid 2. In another sequence, our hero passed a hallway with some steam pipes running along the left sidewall. As we reached a certain point we hear a thud and see a fitting from one of the pipes fall off in front of us and clatter on the metal grating floor at our feet. Just as the hero looks down, we hear a big crash and see a huge four-legged demon/cyborg monster breaking through the pipes! One more smash into the wall and the monster is free and chasing after the hero in the hallway.