DOOM Includes a Permadeath Mode that Even the Devs Can't Beat

[ffronw]

DOOM Includes a Permadeath Mode that Even the Devs Can't Beat

//cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/library/deriv/1317/1317738.jpgThe new DOOM not only includes a permadeath mode, but no one at id Software can beat it.

If you're worried that DOOM will be too easy this time around, you can likely dismiss that fear, at least for the included "Ultra-Nightmare" mode. This mode adds permadeath to the game, meaning that each time you die, you're sent back to the beginning of the entire game. All that's left to show that you existed is your helmet, which marks the spot of your demise.

Executive Producer Marty Stratton and Creative Director Hugo Martin told IGN [http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/04/28/nobody-has-beaten-dooms-hardest-difficulty-level] that no one in the studio has beaten the mode yet. In fact, there's apparently a competition within the office to see who can finish it first, and no one has even gotten close.

Permadeath is the only difference between Nightmare and Ultra-Nightmare mode, so if you want the difficulty without the ultimate challenge, you can do that too.

DOOM is set to release on May 13 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

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[fix-the-spade]

So within days Youtube will be full of Ultra Nightmare No Damage only used the basic pump shotgun runs that took an hour and a half.

That at least will be worth watching.

What I really want is a Doom classic mode for the multiplayer, disable all those melee and movement sync animations, 1.5x movement speed, no loadouts, pick up guns, no Demon, no stupid damage number popping out of people's eyebrows. That would make me ecstatic.

 

[Saulkar]

What I really want is a Doom classic mode for the multiplayer, disable all those melee and movement sync animations, 1.5x movement speed, no loadouts, pick up guns, no Demon, no stupid damage number popping out of people's eyebrows. That would make me ecstatic.

Ditto though we will probably have to wait for mods/hacks before we get our wish. Given that it does not sound like this game will be mod friendly it might be a while.

 

[Worgen]

Apparently when you die in this mode, it leaves a helmet behind that otherplayers can see. Kinda like the blood pools in darksouls.

 

[Karadalis]

Devs not actually good at playing their own games?

Nah... thats totaly not a thing... not that this hasnt happened in the past or anything...

But yeah... we will have youtube vids up one week or less after release with people pulling this off.

 

[Rad Party God]

If John Romero still worked at id Software, he would boast about how many times he's finished it... In under 3 hours. Or less.

 

[Rad Party God]

Apparently when you die in this mode, it leaves a helmet behind that otherplayers can see. Kinda like the blood pools in darksouls.

That's... actually kind of amazing =)

 

[Metalrocks]

i also take this with a grain of salt. but i have decided not the get the game anyway since the beta was a letdown and just recently i have watched a 15min SP playthrogh and i was bored. its so slow. looks mundane. nothing i have seen so far got me excited.

 

[SilverLion]

Probably no-one could finish it because after half an hour they became depressed at how much they've failed to create a DOOM game and not multi weapon Call of Duty that takes more potshots at actual successful franchises than Bad Company 2.

 

[Something Amyss]

I don't know why "even devs can't beat" is a thing here. The Division pulled this crap with Falcon Lost or whatever, and people solo'd it within a day or two. It's empty hype.

 

[Vigormortis]

That's neat. Could make for an interesting challenge when playing, not unlike soloing Ultra Realism mode in Left 4 Dead 2.

And you know...looking at how this community has responded to this game, I find myself excited for two things:

1: Finally playing this game, and more than likely enjoying my time with it.

2: Having this community call me a mindless shill for having fun.

The cynicism of the Escapist is truly a thing to behold. I hope you never change, Escapist Magazine. (or, at least for whatever little time you have left)

That's... actually kind of amazing =)

Shh! Be careful! You don't want the other posters to see you saying something positive about Doom.

You'd better lay low for a while. I think I hear the sharpening wheels spinning up and the torch fires crackling...

 

[MHR]

Oh man

Oh man

I'm lovin this so much. Kind of sucks that it's Nightmare and not on ultraviolence or something. There's probably going to be too many times you get 2-shot and get locked into the kill cutscene, but I LOVE permadeath! Really keeps you on edge.

There's no tension these days when you just hit F6 when you die or go back to the last checkpoint that was 30 seconds prior. People don't understand that. Any slight inconvenience, and it's off to complain about it.

 

[Saulkar]

2: Having this community call me a mindless shill for having fun.

The cynicism of the Escapist is truly a thing to behold. I hope you never change, Escapist Magazine. (or, at least for whatever little time you have left)

I would give the impression of cynicism but to be honest I am deliberately beating down my own expectations in the hopes that I will be pleasantly surprised when it finally rolls around. Lastly, I do not look down on anyone for liking something that I do not, just when the tables are turned and I am called out for not liking something that others (of an nondescript number) enjoy. Looking at you ME3 ending, DAMMIT!!!:

 

[Arnoxthe1]

So within days Youtube will be full of Ultra Nightmare No Damage only used the basic pump shotgun runs that took an hour and a half.

That at least will be worth watching.

Have you seen this yet?

What I really want is a Doom classic mode for the multiplayer, disable all those melee and movement sync animations, 1.5x movement speed, no loadouts, pick up guns, no Demon, no stupid damage number popping out of people's eyebrows. That would make me ecstatic.

While we're at it, maybe we should make the graphics 2D too and get rid of any jumping. And let's bring back sprites. Everything except the bare level is a sprite now. Actually, you know what, let's get rid of the Railgun and the Heavy Machine Gun weapons as well because those weren't in the original Doom either. Just weapons from the original Doom and nothing else.

>_> Look, I understand wanting a game to stay true to itself, but we need to and should progress. Doom 4 at its heart is still very much a run-and-gun game in the vein of the original Doom's and Serious Sam, so calm the hell down. (pun intended)

 

[Li Mu]

>_> Look, I understand wanting a game to stay true to itself, but we need to and should progress. Doom 4 at its heart is still very much a run-and-gun game in the vein of the original Doom's and Serious Sam, so calm the hell down. (pun intended)

Devs change things = people complain that they want everything as it was in previous games
Devs don't change things = people complain that it's a lazy remake with nothing new

90% of complaining takes place before anyone has even played the game.

 

[Metalrocks]

>_> Look, I understand wanting a game to stay true to itself, but we need to and should progress. Doom 4 at its heart is still very much a run-and-gun game in the vein of the original Doom's and Serious Sam, so calm the hell down. (pun intended)

Devs change things = people complain that they want everything as it was in previous games
Devs don't change things = people complain that it's a lazy remake with nothing new

90% of complaining takes place before anyone has even played the game.

not that you are completely wrong but look at COD. that game is really the same with very minor changes and it sells like hot cakes on release.

 

[Vigormortis]

I would give the impression of cynicism but to be honest I am deliberately beating down my own expectations in the hopes that I will be pleasantly surprised when it finally rolls around.

Fair enough. I'm not trying to raise my expectations nor lower them. I'm just taking the game by what I've seen, heard, and experienced thus far.

And so far, I'm liking it. The multiplayer beta, while not a note-for-note copy of old Doom, was still enjoyable and fun. It's something I can see myself sinking hours into after I've played through the campaign a few times.

As for the campaign, most of what I've heard seem positive. A few odd design choices, but I'm trying to remain as 'spoiler' free as I can.

Yes, I know it seems odd to attempt to remain spoiler free for a Doom game, but my concern is less with having the plot spoiled and more with having cool encounters and set pieces ruined for me. I'd rather discover them while playing than told what to expect.

Lastly, I do not look down on anyone for liking something that I do not, just when the tables are turned and I am called out for not liking something that others (of an nondescript number) enjoy. Looking at you ME3 ending, DAMMIT!!!:

Which makes you a rarity around these parts. I've already been called a mindless sheeple, a tasteless shill, and a host of other names, simply because I dared to admit that I liked games like Half-Life, Halo, and Call of Duty, and didn't like games like Skyrim, Mass Effect, and Planescape: Torment.

I've always operated by the mantra "To each their own"[footnote]Excuse the obviously poor grammar.[/footnote]. I wish more people could do the same.

While we're at it, maybe we should make the graphics 2D too and get rid of any jumping. And let's bring back sprites. Everything except the bare level is a sprite now. Actually, you know what, let's get rid of the Railgun and the Heavy Machine Gun weapons as well because those weren't in the original Doom either. Just weapons from the original Doom and nothing else.

Don't forget no free-look (the view must remain horizontal), an awkwardly large HUD at the bottom of the screen, no dedicated servers (only peer-to-peer TCP/IP connections that have to be done outside the game client), no resolution above 800x600, and no audio format better than midi.

>_> Look, I understand wanting a game to stay true to itself, but we need to and should progress. Doom 4 at its heart is still very much a run-and-gun game in the vein of the original Doom's and Serious Sam, so calm the hell down. (pun intended)

It's 2016. "Having Fun" is verboten. We must be cynical and brooding and hate everything that dares hearken back to something we may or may not have loved in the past. Even if the reasons we loved that thing may or may not be entirely clear to us now.[footnote]I've played Doom and Doom II off and on since the day they came out. Having just recently replayed both I can attest that the whole "Doom 4 sucks because it's too slow!" nonsense just rings hollow. Most of ones time in the original Dooms isn't spent running around the levels at 60mph. You spend a good chunk of it moving slowly to avoid bumping into traps, hidden enemies, or trying to avoid falling off of ledges. Especially when playing at the higher difficulties.[/footnote]

not that you are completely wrong but look at COD. that game is really the same with very minor changes and it sells like hot cakes on release.

But taken in context, things are much different.

Sure, besides a few outliers, most changes in Call of Duty are incremental between each iteration. However, there've been a LOT of iterations. Just compare Call of Duty: The Latest One to the original Call of Duty games from years of old. They are dramatically different.

Also consider that, since 2003, Call of Duty has seen twelve titles released, not counting add-ons and spinoffs. Doom, on the other hand, has seen three titles released since 1993. That's three games across twenty three years, as opposed to twelve across thirteen years.

The point I'm trying to make is - Call of Duty: Now is a lot different than Call of Duty: The First. It's not that odd for Doom: Now to be a lot different than Doom: The First. But because the changes have come so quickly to Doom it feels more jarring.

 

[fix-the-spade]

While we're at it, maybe we should make the graphics 2D too and get rid of any jumping. And let's bring back sprites. Everything except the bare level is a sprite now. Actually, you know what, let's get rid of the Railgun and the Heavy Machine Gun weapons as well because those weren't in the original Doom either. Just weapons from the original Doom and nothing else.

What's the matter, afraid you won't be able to handle actually having to aim?

What on earth in my post necessitated such an aggressive reaction? I wasn't asking for anything removed from the game, just a mode that plays like actual Doom. What you seem to think is progress I called blind homogeny, there is no need to make a game that plays like Halo and only like Halo, Halo already exists. The general reaction to the beta suggests that I and millions of other players actually wanted to play Doom when we downloaded the Doom beta, shocking!

PS, there was a railgun in Doom.

 

[Li Mu]

not that you are completely wrong but look at COD. that game is really the same with very minor changes and it sells like hot cakes on release.

Good point. Hmmm...I have no idea what to think anymore. I think that gamers just love to complain about everything.

 

[Arnoxthe1]

What on earth in my post necessitated such an aggressive reaction? I wasn't asking for anything removed from the game, just a mode that plays like actual Doom. What you seem to think is progress I called blind homogeny, there is no need to make a game that plays like Halo and only like Halo, Halo already exists. The general reaction to the beta suggests that I and millions of other players actually wanted to play Doom when we downloaded the Doom beta, shocking!

PS, there was a railgun in Doom.

I've just been seeing a lot of hate directed at Doom 4 which really ticks me off considering that this is finally another AAA game that isn't total ass but actually pretty darn good. In any case, it seems a lot of actual passion went into it. As contrasted to The Division which is such a bland generic shooter that it's downright embarrassing, and Halo 5 which shoves its always-online idiocy and completely stripped down Custom Games options down your throat with a lackluster story and no split-screen. All the complaints about Doom 4 that I've seen have been literally 95% BS. The only thing I've heard that was kind of a legit complaint was the executions. (Which were in Brutal Doom yet everyone loved that to pieces.) And you can completely ignore those if you want. You can even turn off the graphical effect the enemies have which shows when they can be executed.

I watched an hour and a half playthrough of the SP Campaign with some commentary by the devs and at the very end of it all, the biggest thing that they wanted to say to everyone was to just give it a chance. Whether you're buying it, renting it, playing it at a friends house, he didn't care. He just wanted people to play it first before they make any judgements at all. And he also said, for the record, usually when you're developing a game for 3 years or even beyond, the game, no matter what it is, will usually wear thin on you. Except apparently, a lot of devs now still like playing this game even after so long in development which is a feat.

This honestly looks like the next Halo 3, and if it really is when it comes out, I will not stop parading this game around and shoving it in a lot of developer's and publisher's faces saying, "LOOK AT THIS. THIS IS HOW YOU MAKE GAMES."

But anyway. Oh, and the Railgun was never in Doom 95, 2, or even 3. And I will bet $50 right now, cold hard cash that I'm right without even looking it up. That was Quake's thing. Or at least, it was. Not that I'm complaining at all though.