Doom (2016)

"We were standing on the edge of discovery. A powerful technology with infinite possibilities. Instead, we let them in. Fused an unholy union of flesh and metal. And now this brave new world has gone to Hell."

- E3 2014 Teaser Trailer

Doom (previously known as Doom 4 and stylized as DOOM) is a soft reboot of the Doom franchise produced by id Software and published by Bethesda Softworks. The game was released on May 13, 2016. It is currently available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, and was released on Nintendo Switch on November 10, 2017.

The game according to Tom Hall and Quake Champions stars the original protagonist previous games in the series back to the original Doom, but apparently takes place in an alternate Earth universe which protagonist brought to by the alternate UAC, after being discovered in Hell.

First Iteration
Work on a new Doom game began in the years after Doom 3. John Carmack confirmed in August 2007 that the fourth Doom was in the future plans of id Software. On May 7th, 2008, id announced that the development of Doom had begun.

On June 23, 2009, ZeniMax Media, best known for Bethesda Softworks, acquired id Software and announced that all future id Software games will be published by Bethesda Softworks, Doom being one (in addition to Rage and future Quake titles).

In a 2009 interview, actor Brad Hawkins said that "I do know we are dealing with a post war/post apocalyptic event that civilians and military are fighting for their survival."

At QuakeCon 2009 Todd Hollenshead mentioned that id Software will reveal new Doom information at QuakeCon 2010, between 12-15 August. At the beginning of QuakeCon 2010, Hollenshead said the development team was not ready to give a demonstration on the game. Tim Willits did however talk to the press in May 2010 to boast that "it'll be even more awesome than Rage."

id Software technical guru John Carmack has told OPM UK anyone expecting to wait a long time for Doom will have a shorter wait than first thought. Carmack told the mag the shooter should not take as long to get out the door, unlike Rage, which was announced in 2007 at QuakeCon, and will not be out until next year, producer Tim Willits told VG247 back in May. “Well we’ve got Doom 4 going on right now below our feet here,” he said. “The Doom team are all sped up and working on this technology base – I’m not really at liberty to discuss much about it, but it’s going full steam ahead right now." He adds: “It shouldn’t take as long to ship as Rage. It’s already in the pipeline and we feel good about it.”

On August 16, 2010, id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead apologized to Stephen Totilo of Kotaku for the game not appearing at QuakeCon in 2010, before mentioning the game is being targetted for a simultaneous release on Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, saying "That's absolutely what we're thinking."

In 2011, after the release of Rage, work shifted back to Doom within id Software.

On February 29, 2012, several screenshots were leaked, these can be seen at IGDaily's website. These images, however, have been confirmed as fake by id Software's creative director Matthew Hooper via Twitter. In his tweet, Matt said "Those images have nothing to do with what you're gonna see in Doom. When we officially show things you'll see awesome."



On March 2nd 2012 a couple of screenshots were leaked []. Those images, however, have been neither confirmed nor denied as real or fake.

On August 3, it was revealed that Doom will be virtual reality-supported.

In April of 2013, it was stated that Doom was in Development Hell when Kotaku published an article revealing that, after half of a decade, the people at Id had almost nothing to show for Doom. Bethesda's Vice President for marketing and PR confirmed that an earlier build of Doom was not of the high quality that Id and Bethesda intended to deliver, and as a result the game was being rebuilt from the ground up.

The pre-reboot build of the game was supposedly compared to the infamously linear and heavily scripted campaign segments featured in the Call of Duty franchise. It was also stated by an unnamed source that the best parts of the game generally consisted of cinematic horror and shock elements, but the action segments consisted of "contrived shooting galleries of hoards [sic] of uninteresting enemies".

Second Iteration


The game was rebooted in 2013. This involved a team reshuffle under Marty Stratton, consisting of id veterans and new talent. The tone of the reboot was the first point of discussion, and it was decided that the game should emulate the first two Doom games.

Doom 4 is being built on id Software's id Tech 6 game engine. John Carmack has stated that the game will have better graphics than Rage, but is targeted to run at a lower framerate of 30 frames per second (on the PC version's multiplayer, it will run at 60 frames per second). Id Software also intends to make Doom's multiplayer mode better than Doom 3's.

Graham Joyce wrote the Doom storyline.

On 19th February 2014, It was announced that Wolfenstein: The New Order would ship bundled with a beta access key for Doom once it arrives in May 2014.



On June 10, 2014, the first official teaser for the game - simply titled "Doom" - was shown. It depicts robotic components being grafted onto a large demon, creating a Cyberdemon, accompanied by a female narrator lamenting the failure of her teleportation experiments. A shotgun being cocked is heard and the door opens with the Cyberdemon looking down at what is presumed to be the Doomguy.

On July 17, 2014, a closed gameplay demo was shown to attendees at QuakeCon 2014.

On May 18, 2015, an eleven-second gameplay teaser trailer was released by Bethesda, showing approximately three seconds of footage. A quick glimpse at a loading shotgun is seen, followed by a screaming Revenant firing missiles from its shoulder-mounted launchers. A full gameplay reveal took place at Bethesda's E3 conference on June 14th, 2015. [16]

On February 4th 2016, a new trailer was uploaded to YouTube and a release date of May 13th, 2016 was announced for the game.

The game's beta opened on the 15th of April 2016.

Features

 * The game uses id Tech 6 (also known as id Tech 666).
 * DOOM SnapMap – a robust, powerful, but easy-to-use game and level editor – allows for limitless gameplay experiences on every platform. Without any previous experience or special expertise, any player can quickly and easily snap together and visually customize maps, add pre-defined or completely custom gameplay, and even edit game logic to create new modes. Instantly play, share it with a friend, or make it available to players around the world – all in-game with the push of a button.
 * Unique power-ups allow you to play as a demon.
 * Fast-paced Deathmatch (similar to Quake III: Arena) and Co-op with waves of Demons (in the fashion of Killing Floor).
 * Multiplayer is being built in collaboration with Austin game developer Certain Affinity.
 * Campaign is a one-player action mode, in a new canon (possibly separated from the old games)
 * Singleplayer will feature Secrets that the player can find old DOOM maps for the player to play.
 * Can run on certain graphic cards, for more gameplay experience and more detail in brutality

Plot
The game is set on Mars, with a UAC facility being invaded by the forces of Hell. The Doom Slayer awakens chained to a sarcophagus in a UAC facility. Breaking free and regaining his "Praetor Suit", he crosses the Martian surface to restart the base satellite systems. Finding recordings of Dr. Olivia Pierce scattered through the base, it becomes apparent that she became fixated on Hell and deliberately encouraged the opening of portals, resulting in the mass death of staff and the collapse of the base.

Contacted by the UAC Chairman Samuel Hayden, one of the few survivors of the incident, the protagonist is directed through the base to prevent its complete collapse. With the guidance and Hayden's AI, VEGA, he learns from the diagnostic report that casualties and damages are catastrophic; with the exception of Pierce and Hayden, all staff have either became demons or died horribly. After stabilizing the Foundry before a meltdown occurs, Doomguy learns that Pierce plans to use the UAC's Argent Energy Tower to tear a permanent portal into Hell.

Seeking to deactivate the tower, Hayden instructs Doomguy to carefully dismantle the Argent energy supply cases to protect the unlimited energy sources; despite Hayden's protests, Doomguy shatters all control panels and their lenses, completely destroying the renewable Argent supplies in the solar system. Reaching the tower, Pierce is spotted carrying an Argent Accumulator tube; found at the apex, she activates it before jumping into an Argent stream, tearing open a temporary portal that drags the player to Hell.

Landing in the Kadingir Sanctum, the player has to fight through the forces of Hell in order to return to Mars. Following holograms of Hayden's first expedition, during which he recovered Doomguy's sarcophagus as a failsafe, Doomguy eventually reaches a portal back to Mars. Returning to the UAC Argent Facility, now destroyed, he meets with Hayden, who applies a teather system to his Praetor Suit in order to pull him back from Hell as needed. Noting that Pierce was working on something with great power, he sends Doomguy to gather information from her office in the Lazarus Labs.

Passing through the Advanced Research Complex, Doomguy learns of a Hell artifact named The Crucible. Requiring another Argent Accumulator to return to Hell, Doomguy explores the Lazarus Labs and comes across an escaped Cyberdemon; rebuilt and revived with Argent energy, he defeats the Cyberdemon and tears an Accumulator from its chest, transporting them both to Hell where he finishes the Cyberdemon.

Pushing deeper into Hell, Doomguy finally reaches The Necropolis. Defeating the Hell Guard watching over it, Doomguy retrieves The Crucible before Hayden pulls him back to Mars. Arriving at VEGA Central Processing, the AI guides him through the process of sacrificing his control facility, allowing him to use its huge Argent stores in order to propel him back to Hell one last time. Using The Crucible, Doomguy destorys the energy sources powering portals between Hell and Mars, and enters the depths of Argent D'Nur.

Reaching the end, he finds only Olivia Pierce, horrified at the realization she was merely a pawn. Struck by a large Argent beam, she transforms into a Mastermind, eventually dying to Doomguy's hand. Pulled back to Mars, Doomguy finds himself captured by Hayden. Taking The Crucible for his own ends, he insists that, in spite of everything, research must continue as humanity needs an answer to its energy needs. Since he can't kill Doomguy but worries of his interference, he has him transported to an unknown location, saying they will meet again.

Gameplay
The game is fast paced, with sprinting, double jumping, and mantling being possible. The Doomguy is faster than almost every demon in the game, and it is intended that movement is the key to both offense and defense. No reloading mechanics are present (there are ammo pickups however) nor regenerating health (instead possessing health packs along with armor to reduce damage taken). In the campaign, players are not limited in the number of weapons they can hold, while SnapMap has a two-weapon-limit. The weapons are displayed on a weapon wheel, with time slowing down significantly while doing so. The gameplay is intended to harken to the classic games in the series. A "karate system" is featured where the player can engage demons in melee combat. Fatalities, also known as Glory Kills, feature in a manner similar to Brutal Doom, with the enemy glowing blue when available to do so, and orange when you are close enough to execute. Keycards are used to open doors. Weapons can be modded, as well as the Praetor Armor.

Game modes
Developer id Software has teamed up with Certain Affinity to develop the multiplayer part of Doom. It is not the first time Certain Affinity has partnered with a well-known studio to work exclusively on the multiplayer segment of a game; the studio has contributed to the multiplayer development of Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Call of Duty: Ghosts, and Halo 4, among others.

The following game modes for multiplayer have been confirmed: Players can pick up a Demon rune that spawns randomly on a timer during multiplayer and can become a demon for a limited amount of time.
 * TDM (Team Deathmatch)
 * Clan Arena
 * Freeze Tag
 * Domination
 * Warpath (modified King of the Hill, moving control point)
 * Soul Harvest
 * Infernal Run (teams fight over a 'ball' to score by moving it into the enemy's goal)

The player can not pick up health bonuses or other power-ups while playing as a demon.

Bots are available in Deathmatch.

Playable demons

 * The Revenant
 * The Baron of Hell
 * The Mancubus
 * The Prowler
 * The Harvester (DLC)
 * The Cacodemon (DLC)
 * The Spectre (DLC)

Power ups
Players can also pick up power ups. Confirmed power-ups include:
 * Quad Damage (Also available in Singleplayer)
 * Invisibility
 * Regeneration
 * Haste (Also available in Singleplayer)

Maps
Included multiplayer maps:
 * Excavation  - A modest-sized UAC mining outpost. Watch out for the rock grinder!
 * Infernal - A mid-sized Hell map with both interior and exterior elements. Lots of platforms and chasms, along with teleporters.
 * Chasm  - This massive map takes you deep below the polar ice caps of Mars. A great place to play Freeze Tag.
 * Disposal  - This smaller map is the main waste processing facility for the UAC research and residential complexes. Unsurprisingly, it's full of radioactive slime.
 * Helix  - This is where they experiment on demons and develop advanced weaponry. Which, naturally, makes it perfect for a quick round of Clan Arena.
 * Perdition  - Disjointed and sadistic, this ancient arena is populated by the agonized moans of unfortunate souls who have suffered within its realm.
 * Sacrilegious  - Set within a fracture of Hell, this map offers clear lines of sight. Move fast... or die faster.
 * Heatwave  - An industrial UAC facility with glistening halls that will soon be slicked with human (and demon) blood.
 * Beneath  - Before being beamed to Earth, the energies of Hell are harnessed in this symmetrical and cavernous location.

DLC maps:
 * Ritual - Go to the frozen wasteland of the Martian polar core where the UAC has recreated cultish experiments around a demonic artifact.
 * Cataclysm - Visit an off-world space station where the UAC has opened a permanent portal to Hell in this map with split environments and player teleporters.
 * Offering - Discover an ancient temple fortress built on a pool of Argent energy in this map featuring ancient hell environments, lava pools, and deadly voids.


 * Argent Breach - Battle among ancient burial ruins of the Templar, where statues of heroes past overlook the machinery of a fallen society.
 * Molten - Clash in a world littered with volcanic temples and fight inside a crumbling facility dedicated to harnessing energy from the lava that envelopes the entire planet.
 * Orbital - Fight in low gravity aboard a robotic station in deep space. Surprise opponents from above, but be careful not to fall into the vastness of space below.

Weapons and Equipment
The weapons are intended to be a mix of futuristic and conventional weaponry. There are some 27 weapons in the final game. Additionally, mod system exists in the game that allows the player to give most weapons one of two alt-fire capabilities. These capabilities can be unlocked through locating Field Drone collectables, and can be further enhanced with upgrade points; once all bonuses have been unlocked, a final upgrade becomes available once a "Weapon Mastery Challenge" is completed.

Singleplayer

 * BFG9000 - Counted as a tool like the Chainsaw, requires special ammunition and can only hold three shots maximum. Like in other games, shots will arc lightning to any nearby targets they passes, before causing a huge explosion upon colliding with a target or environment. Cannot be modded or upgraded.
 * Chaingun - A rotary machine gun with a very fast rate of fire, but requires a short wind up before firing.
 * Gatling Rotator allows the weapon to be spun without firing, and carries damage bonuses at its final upgrade level.
 * Mobile Turret unfolds the weapon into multiple barrels, allowing for greatly increased fire rate.
 * Chainsaw - Has an ammo counter that slowly increses to 6, with stronger enemies needing more ammunition to kill. Ammo must be replenished with special gasoline cans. Kills with the chainsaw cause the victim to instantly die and drop a large pool of randomized ammunition. Cannot be modded or upgraded.
 * Combat Shotgun - A pump-action close range weapon that fires relatively slowly. Holds 20 shells.
 * Charged Burst - Alt fire charges up to three rounds in for a burst release with tighter spread.
 * Explosive Shot - Fires a single explosive round in an arc.
 * Delta V Jump-Boots - Boots that allow for a smaller second jump while airborne to increase maneuverability.
 * Fists - Just fighting with your unarmed hands which include finishing kills. They are only available after using a Berserk powerup.
 * Frag Grenade - Hand held explosive weapon.
 * Gauss Cannon - A weapon that accelerates large caliber, steel flechettes to incredible velocities through a magnetized chamber resulting in extreme accuracy and power.
 * Precision Bolt - Zoom in and charge a high-damage shot.
 * Siege Mode - Overcharge a shot while standing still.
 * Heavy Assault Rifle - An automatic LMG that fires high damage rounds at a fast rate. Holds 60 rounds.
 * Tactical Scope - Allows for zoomed shots that can pierce and deal additional headshot damage.
 * Micro Missiles - Opens a small rack of missles that stick on targets and deal explosive damage.
 * Hologram - A image projector of a still Doom Marine used to distract enemies.
 * Pistol - Directed-energy handgun which is the weakest weapon in the game, has unlimited ammo, and is only in the campaign. Can be upgraded but not modded.
 * Plasma Gun - An automatic directed-energy weapon that fires off a stream of concentrated plasma. Holds 150 rounds.
 * Stun Bomb - Fires an arcing pulse shot that electrifies targets, stunning them for several seconds.
 * Heat Blast - After accumilating heat from firing, alt-fire vents a 360 degree ring of energy at no ammo cost.
 * Rocket Launcher - One of the weapons with a slower fire rate, it fires off rockets to cause massive damage, both directly and via splash. Holds 16 rockets.
 * Remote Detonation - Rockets can be detonated manually with alt-fire. Upgrades can change the detonation to smaller attached shrapnel bombs that don't destroy the missle and cause bleeding.
 * Lock-on Burst - After locking on to a target, firing launches three homing missiles at the target in a quick burst. Mastery allows for dividing the shot across a maximum of 3 enemies.
 * Siphon Grenade - The Siphon field created on impact leeches health from the enemies and returns it to the thrower.
 * Super shotgun - A more powerful version of the shotgun, which requires a reload after every shot. Holds 20 shells. Shares the same ammo pool as the combat shotgun, and cannot be modded.

Multiplayer

 * BFG9000 - Available as a power weapon.
 * Burst Rifle - Repeating rifle that fires three-round bursts. Only in Multiplayer.
 * Chainsaw - Available as a power weapon. Generates ammunition upon killing.
 * Gauss Cannon - Available as a power weapon.
 * Grenade Launcher - A 5 shot weapon that launches grenades that detonate on impact.
 * Hellshot - A semi-automatic hell-energy weapon. Secondary fire can cause flame damage over time.
 * Kinetic Mine - An item introduced in the Unto the Evil DLC. It's a mine that leaps out at the victim when in close proximity.
 * Lateral Thrusters - A multiplayer counterpart to the Delta V Jump-Boots, which allow for triple jumps.
 * Lightning Gun - Short range energy weapon that fires a constant stream of electricity.
 * Mark V Pistol - A pistol introduced in the Unto the Evil DLC.
 * Personal Teleporter - Used to teleport the player to where it is deployed.
 * Reaper - A Hell weapon that fires six-round bursts introduced in the Hell Followed DLC.
 * Shield Wall - A device that, when activated, creates a shield that neither enemies or projectiles can pass through.
 * Static Cannon - Charges up to deal more damage as the player moves around.
 * Tesla Rocket - A device that uses electricity bolts to attack every enemy on its thrown path, slowing down as it passes.
 * Threat Pulse - An item introduced in the Hell Followed DLC. It's a device that highlights enemies within the player's radius.
 * Threat Sensor - A device that, when thrown, attaches to a surface and highlights enemies within its radius.
 * Vortex Rifle - A beam sniper rifle that can charge energy when zoomed in.

Enemies
Enemies can be dismembered and can infight. The game includes both classic monsters and new ones, such as:

Possessed Humans

 * The Possessed
 * Possessed Engineer
 * Possessed Security
 * Possessed Soldier
 * Unwilling

Demon (Standard)

 * Barons of Hell
 * Cacodemons
 * Harvesters (Multiplayer Only)
 * Hell Knights
 * Hell Razers
 * Imps
 * Lost Souls
 * Mancubus
 * Cyber-Mancubus
 * Pinkies
 * Spectres
 * Prowlers (Multiplayer Only)
 * Revenants
 * Summoners

Demon (Boss)

 * Cyberdemon
 * Hell Guards
 * Spider Mastermind

Demon (Other)

 * Gore Nests

Levels

 * 1) The UAC (Rip & Tear)
 * 2) Resource Operations (Know Your Enemy)
 * 3) Foundry (Meltdown)
 * 4) Argent Facility (Beginning of the End)
 * 5) Argent Energy Tower (Argent Tower)
 * 6) Kadingir Sanctum (Into the Fire)
 * 7) Argent Facility (Destroyed) (Hell on Mars)
 * 8) Advanced Research Complex (A Brighter Tomorrow)
 * 9) Lazarus Labs (Lazarus)
 * 10) Titan's Realm (Titan's Realm)
 * 11) The Necropolis (The Crucible)
 * 12) VEGA Central Processing (I am VEGA)
 * 13) Argent D'Nur (The Well)

Classic levels
Every level contains a hard-to-find lever, which when activated will reveal a secret zone, and a 'classic level' will be unlocked for play in the main menu.
 * 1) Entryway
 * 2) Hangar
 * 3) Nuclear Plant
 * 4) Toxin Refinery
 * 5) Halls of the Damned
 * 6) Slough of Despair
 * 7) Underhalls
 * 8) Phobos Lab
 * 9) Tower of Babel
 * 10) Phobos Anomaly
 * 11) House of Pain
 * 12) Command Control
 * 13) Pandemonium

Codex Entries

 * Environments
 * Database
 * UAC Personnel
 * Weapons
 * Monsters
 * Artifacts

Collector's edition
The game will feature a collector's edition. It features a 12" revenant statue and a steel case for the game.

Trivia

 * In credits player can notice a name of Steven Serafin (marked as "Technical Producer") and a kneeling transculent Marine. Steven, who passed away in 2014, helped present the DOOM demo at Quakecon in 2014.
 * There are many rumors that the game might be a sequel to Doom 64