QuakeCon 03 Wrap-Up August 20, 2003 Brandon Bell

Introduction

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For the past several years, every summer gamers have made the trek to Dallas Texas for QuakeCon, a celebration of id Software’s first true 3D shooter, Quake. Originally organized, promoted, and run entirely by fans, QuakeCon has grown tremendously in more recent years due to the success of each previous event as well as the direct sponsorship and participation of id Software and Activision. What was once an event dedicated to one game has grown into something much larger, with a tournament and other contests taking place, as well as demonstrations of upcoming games built using id Software’s game engines.

Of course, with so many games on display, it’s only natural that there’s a good selection of PC hardware being demonstrated as well. AMD and VIA have sponsored multiple QuakeCon events, while ATI (2002) and NVIDIA (2001 and 2003) have also participated as the primary graphics sponsor. This year’s QuakeCon was no exception, so we dropped by ABIT, MSI, and VIA’s booths, as well as checking out the highlight of QuakeCon 2003: Doom 3.

ABIT DigiDice

The biggest surprise at the ABIT booth was their new small form-factor (barebones) PC, DigiDice. One of the biggest complaints enthusiasts have with small form-factor setups like the Shuttle XPC is their limited expansion potential. Typically you’re limited to one 5.25” drive bay and two 3.5” bays (one external, one internal) for storage duties, while one PCI slot and one AGP slot (on some models) round out your expansion options. With most gaming rigs outfitted with multiple drives for optical storage, hard disks, and the latest AGP and PCI cards for graphics and audio, this leaves no room for anything else.

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ABIT graphics/MSI

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NV35 gets OTES: The Siluro FX5900 OTES

Besides DigiDice, ABIT had their GeForce FX 5900 powered OTES card on display, the Siluro FX5900 OTES. Like the Siluro GF4 Ti 4200 OTES we reviewed last year, the Siluro FX5900 OTES utilizes heat pipe technology for cooling. This time around ABIT sticks to NVIDIA’s specifications, with the core clock frequency at 400MHz while its 128MB of memory is clocked at 850MHz. ABIT outfits the card with a blue LED but unfortunately chose to omit video input support, a decision we have seen other manufacturers take with their GeForce FX 5900 products.

In addition to the Siluro FX 5900 OTES, ABIT also plans to make an OTES card based on the GeForce FX 5600 Ultra, the Siluro FX5600 Ultra OTES. As of right now, no plans are in the works for an OTES GeForce FX 5900 Ultra card, much less even a regular GeForce FX 5900 Ultra card with more conventional cooling. The Siluro FX 5900 OTES is shipping now; expect a full review of this card to be published shortly on FiringSquad.

MSI

Like ABIT, the highlight at MSI’s booth was small form-factor. In MSI’s case, the MEGA 651 was the product being showcased, with fully functional MEGA 651 systems up and running in MSI’s booth. Based on the SiS 651 chipset, the MEGA 651 supports Intel’s 400MHz and 533MHz front-side bus Pentium 4 processors up to 2.8GHz. Like other small form-factor systems, the MEGA 651 offers PCI and AGP slots for expansion, as well as a 200-watt power supply.

What really sets the MEGA 651 apart however is its front panel LED display, the first of its kind in the industry. The display kicks in for playing audio CDs, displaying the traditional information you’d find on a consumer CD player. The front panel has controls for adjusting volume, as well as your standard play/pause, stop/eject and fast-forward and rewind buttons. MSI also ships the MEGA 651 with an IR remote.

One of the biggest criticisms aimed at the MEGA 651 is its SiS 651 chipset. This is technology that is extremely outdated. When you couple this with the hi-fi nature MSI is shooting for with the MEGA 651, MSI’s use of the Realtek ALC650 AC’97 CODEC seems like an oxymoron.

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MSI (cont’d)/VIA

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MSI NBOX

At the back of MSI’s booth was an NBOX N5900 Ultra card. This is the GeForce FX 5900 Ultra card with MSI’s custom Twin Flow cooling, an 800dpi optical USB mouse, and the game bundle consisting of Battlefield 1942, Command and Conquer: Generals, and Unreal 2: The Awakening.

We reviewed this card last week and found its performance to be in line with other GeForce FX 5900 Ultra cards but the game bundle itself to be an extraordinary addition to the hardware. Reaction among readers was mixed, with some loving the card’s added cooling and games, while others didn’t like the $50 price premium the N5900 Ultra retails for. MSI is watching how the market reacts to the NBOX, and already has a few plans in the works for follow-up versions. It’s possible that MSI may tone the bundle down to include fewer games (as three AAA titles is kind of pricey) while they are also considering a larger mouse design or replacing the mouse with something else entirely.

Unfortunately we can’t be more specific at this time, but it is reassuring to see how closely MSI is watching the situation. Also, as of right now, MSI has no plans to bring the N5200 Ultra and N5600 Ultra to the US market, but we’ve seen MSI reverse course before with previous products. It’s all about demand, if MSI USA perceives these products will do well here, they’ll green light these products.

VIA

Not to be outdone, VIA was showcasing a few new and upcoming products of its own. For starters was its PT800 chipset for the Pentium 4 platform. Like SiS 648FX and 865P, PT800 supports Intel’s latest 800MHz FSB Pentium 4 processors and utilizes a single-channel memory architecture. PT800 is aimed squarely at the aforementioned chipsets as well as Intel’s 865PE “Springdale” chipset in the mainstream segment. VIA plans to use price and feature set to win over consumers, with the PT800 offering support of more USB ports than SiS 648FX as well as native Serial ATA.

Like Intel 865PE with ICH5R, PT800 supports RAID, although VIA’s solution is more flexible with RAID Levels 0, 1, 0+1, and JBOD supported. The PT800 can also support up to four Serial ATA hard drives when used in conjunction with a Silicon Image external physical layer interface chip. Price of retail motherboards based on the PT800 chipset are expected to hover around the $90-100 range although we’re still waiting to see how these boards will perform in comparison to the competition.

If you need a little more horsepower, VIA is also hard at work on its PT880 chipset. Like 875P, this chipset boasts a dual-channel memory architecture, with a DDR400 configuration yielding up to 6.4GB/sec of peak memory bandwidth. This will also be the first product to take advantage of VIA’s Quad Band Memory (QBM) deal with Kentron Technologies that was announced last year. QBM doubles the bandwidth of DDR memory, so a single QBM module operating at 400MHz boasts up to 6.4GB/sec of bandwidth. VIA is still working out the kinks of its QBM implementation in PT880, so the demo system VIA had on hand was using conventional DDR400 memory in a dual-channel configuration.

Not to be outdone by the Pentium 4 chipsets, VIA also had a dual Opteron system up and running with its K8T800 chipset. Unlike the other systems, which utilized VIA reference boards, this PC was equipped with a motherboard manufactured by MSI (the MS-9130). Hopefully this is a sign that retail motherboards based on this chipset aren’t far off from hitting retail.




SIDEBAR: VIA’s latest chipsets support a newer V-Link connection between the North and South Bridge chips. Bandwidth tops out at 1.06GB/sec.

DOOM 3

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The following are Brandon’s impressions of DOOM 3, which was the showcase of QuakeCon 2003.

Lighting

The most striking aspect of the DOOM 3 multiplayer level that was being demonstrated at QuakeCon was lighting. Actually, I should say, the lack of lighting: the map was dark. Shadows were used extensively in the multiplayer level, in one encounter we ran upon an opponent that was shooting at his own shadow! id has stated that they intend to scare gamers with DOOM 3; one critical way to accomplish this is via the environment and atmosphere in general. The multiplayer level definitely scored highly in this regard, with dead bodies strewn throughout as well as booby traps and other obstacles that would literally kill you if you weren’t careful. If id gets the monsters right (and screenshots suggest they will) DOOM 3 will be the scariest shooter to hit the PC since the original DOOM.

Aiming: Critical to success in DOOM 3

The second trait that really stood out was the per-poly hit detection for objects and models within the game. Traditional shooters rely on hit-box detection, meaning that player models are broken up into boxes. The player’s legs could be one box, while the torso and arms could be another (or broken into multiple boxes), the head would be the final box. Hit-box detection trades accuracy and realism for ease of use, oftentimes shots are registered as hits even though the shot technically missed. With per-poly hit detection, the polygons on the player models themselves must be hit in order to register damage on your opponent.

Soldier of Fortune is the most notable title to implement this feature, with the original game doing so well that Raven increased the number of areas for the sequel. You could literally shoot your opponent in the foot rather than his shin. Of course, this also means that bullets can pass between your opponent’s legs, so accuracy is critical. Hitting your opponent naturally becomes more difficult in DOOM 3 due to the limited lighting. When you combine this with the disorienting effect from getting hit by a bullet or other projectile, gunfights become more difficult. It was not uncommon to empty a pistol clip shooting at your opponent, reload, and repeat the process all over again. Interestingly enough, DOOM 3 is also the first id title to feature weapon reloading, which can seem to take forever in the middle of an intense firefight.

The weapons

Speaking of weapons, the multiplayer level featured the pistol (your default weapon), shotgun, machine gun, rocket launcher, and plasma gun. Your fists and flashlight could also be used as melee weapons, and a power-up (the berserker) was also present in the level. The pistol was weak; think Quake II blaster and you’ve got a good idea of how powerful this weapon is. The shotgun is devastatingly effective at close range; you could practically rip your opponent to shreds if the weapon was employed accurately. I borrowed an old Counter Strike tactic used with the Benelli auto shotgun and rushed my opponent whenever I had this weapon, dodging and evading until I was up close and personal before opening up on him. This tactic worked beautifully thanks to the low lighting level of the map, and was ultimately used on me a couple of times. The shotgun reminded me most of the Quake/Quake III super shotgun.




SIDEBAR: Check out the DOOM 3 screenshots from Quakecon in the DOOM 3/Call of Duty Gallery!

More weapons

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Machine gun and rocket launcher

The machine gun was best used for general-purpose work. It didn’t have the punch of the shotgun at close range, but it still could dish out a good amount of damage. Medium range is where it really shined, although you had to fire in bursts to ensure accuracy. I never got a chance to use the plasma gun, although its telltale blue signature stood out easily in the dark level.

The rocket launcher was disappointing, it definitely served out a wealth of damage when you scored a hit, but splash damage wasn’t as pronounced as previous id titles. You literally had to aim at the wall or feet of your opponent to do damage. And again, due to the dark nature of the level, you often found yourself upon opponents with little or no warning, firing your rocket was suicide at close range. Based on all this, it will be interesting to see how the rocket launcher fares in the final game. It would certainly be nice if the explosion of the rocket was indicative of its blast radius (a la Quake 3). Right now this just doesn’t seem to be the case.

Berserker: Play-balancing or just too much?

The berserker power-up is an interesting throwback to DOOM. With it you’ll run twice as fast and inflict more damage, you can literally kill your opponent with one swing from your fist! This makes it incredibly powerful, as you can use the dark environment and the fairly small size of the map to your advantage. This addition could give less experienced players a fighting chance against battle-hardened veterans, or it could allow a skilled player to dominate his opponent(s) even more. It’s still way too early to tell as we’ve only seen one map and we don’t know the details of how it will be implemented in the final game. For instance, there may be another power-up or item to pick up that can be used as a counter, or it may only spawn a limited number of times in a match. One thing is certain though, berserker will scare the hell out of your opponents. And your first instinct (to run) only plays to its advantage.

Movement

Player movement speed was somewhere between Quake III and Quake II. Obviously, since the focus of DOOM 3 is single player, id didn’t want the game to move along at hyperspeeds like the original DOOM games and Quake; immersion is key. But at the same time, the snail’s pace of Quake II (id’s previous shooter with an emphasis on single player) wasn’t very well received either. This is an important aspect of gameplay, so getting it right will be important to id and Splash Damage.

Gameplay

Overall I walked away from the multiplayer demonstration with positive thoughts on the gameplay. The game felt like a traditional id shooter in all regards but one: damage feedback. Unlike previous id shooters, I just couldn’t get a good feel for how much damage I was doing with each shot. Perhaps it was the low level of lighting or maybe just the newness of it all, but for one reason or another I just couldn’t tell how hurt my opponent was. I’d hate to give Senator Joseph Lieberman more ammunition in his fight against violent video games, but DOOM 3 needs more blood to show exactly how effective your attacks are. This is one area where id shooters have had an advantage, so I doubt DOOM 3 will be any different in its final form.



SIDEBAR: When you pick up the berserker power-up, your body morphs into some sort of super wolfman.

More gameplay

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Dealing with campers

Another aspect that can’t be forgotten is camping. With shadows being employed throughout the game, DOOM 3 could be ripe for abuse by campers. Screenshots just don’t do the shadows and lighting in DOOM 3 justice, there are countless areas for a player to camp in. Fortunately campers tend to be less skilled players, so the per-poly hit detection will make it more difficult, but could you imagine if a player like Thresh were to camp the RL? You could kill a player in one spot and move to another shadow for your next kill in seconds. Running routes is a perfectly acceptable way to control a map, but camping in one area is not. Level designers will have to ensure that they don’t overdo it with the shadows or else this could become a problem. Hoping that the camper’s shadow will give him or her away really isn’t enough.

Performance

Shadows impose another interesting problem: performance. With shadows everywhere, ragdoll physics, and weapons such as the plasma gun draining frame rate, many complained over the performance of the multiplayer demonstration. This again is something that the level designer will have to take into account when creating maps.

id/Splash Damage set out to create a level that would highlight the strengths of the game engine, as well as surprise gamers and members of the press with some of the elaborate effects within the level itself. For instance, in the main area a red beam would fire from an apparatus hanging from the ceiling, lighting the entire room in a red glow and with sparks flying everywhere. This just isn’t the type of stuff you see in a conventional deathmatch map, and when you couple this with something that kills frame rate like shadows, even the latest hardware is brought to its knees.

Obviously techniques like NVIDIA’s UltraShadow technology and the RADEON 9800’s enhanced Z-cache will be interesting to evaluate. With shadows everywhere, this could give gamers a strong incentive to upgrade to the latest and greatest. But for everyone else, level design will be crucial to keeping the frame rates high and thus ensuring good gameplay. Making the level smaller isn’t necessarily the answer either, as smaller levels tend to create more mayhem. It’s no small coincidence that we chose Q3DM1 for our fscrusher demo for Quake III.

Final thoughts

Since I played the multiplayer level on Thursday, I’ve now had nearly a week to reflect on things. In hindsight you really get the feeling for how early DOOM 3 multiplayer still is. The game is nowhere near the state of Q3Test, and we all know the numerous changes that were implemented between 1.05, 1.07, and ultimately, the final product. The look is certainly there, and shadows will definitely add a whole new dimension to deathmatch. The new physics engine will also turn heads: whereas killing an adversary with the rocket launcher in Quake would send him flying in an almost comical nature, in DOOM 3 the realism is cranked up several notches. You’ll always remember that first time you shot your opponent through a window.

The four-player limit and peer-to-peer networking do raise some concerns. With these limitations, will DOOM 3 offer enough to compete with games like Half-Life 2 and Halo 2 in the multiplayer realm? id has made it clear that the focus for DOOM 3 is single player, but lets face it, id has a huge installed base of gamers, ranging from DOOM and DOOM II, all the way up to Quake III, each preferring one style of play for one reason or another. You can’t just ignore them all. Yet the public really hasn’t received solid answers on why these changes were made.

In the end though I ultimately I walked away from DOOM 3 multiplayer wanting more. If that’s not a positive sign, what is?



SIDEBAR: Looking forward to DOOM 3 or are you disappointed with its 2004 release? Chat with others about this topic and other aspects of this article in the news comments!