Here's what to expect from this weekend's Doom multiplayer alpha

[Shawn Knight]

Bethesda Softworks began accepting sign-ups to participate in the new Doom multiplayer alpha last week. Those who paid the price and were lucky enough to get selected have quite a bit to look forward to this weekend.

For the rest of us, today brings the opportunity to check out what all the fuss is about as Bethesda has published gameplay footage to salivate over.

Executive Producer of Doom for Id Software, Marty Stratton, goes over what alpha players can expect – one map, one mode and one demon with a handful of weapons to choose from. I don’t know about you, but I got a heavy Unreal Tournament vibe (not that there’s anything wrong with that).

Stratton reiterates that this isn’t a game demo or even a beta which means it doesn’t necessarily represent what the final game will look like. The purpose is strictly to test the gameplay experience as well as all of the backend servers and whatnot. Anything Bethesda can do to try and avoid the all-too-familiar launch day disaster is acceptable in my book.

As per the non-disclosure agreement, alpha participants won’t be allowed to share content from the game although I’m sure something is bound to leak out at some point over the coming days – after all, this is the Internet we're talking about. The alpha kicks off on Friday, October 23 at 12:01 ET and runs through Sunday, October 25 at 11:59 ET.

What are your thoughts on the gameplay footage? Do you plan on picking up Doom when it launches? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/62530-here-what-expect-weekend-doom-multiplayer-alpha.html

 

[kuroiei]

I have a big gripe with id right now... I'm really glad they're making another Doom, I like the honesty in this video (they seem to be aware of the growing hate for dead-on-lanuch game releases), but as much as I love the original Doom (spent years playing it, mostly singleplayer) I kinda this like this one. Just... I don't know. Maybe it's that I'm used to more simplistic graphics in fast-paced games.

But the point is - don't call it Doom, please! Call it Doom IV or Doom 4. Don't rob the future generations of missing out the original Doom confusing them with this particular name for your incoming production!

 

[davislane1]

I have a big gripe with id right now... I'm really glad they're making another Doom, I like the honesty in this video (they seem to be aware of the growing hate for dead-on-lanuch game releases), but as much as I love the original Doom (spent years playing it, mostly singleplayer) I kinda this like this one. Just... I don't know. Maybe it's that I'm used to more simplistic graphics in fast-paced games.

But the point is - don't call it Doom, please! Call it Doom IV or Doom 4. Don't rob the future generations of missing out the original Doom confusing them with this particular name for your incoming production!

I concur with the first paragraph. I am looking forward to a proper shooter hitting PS4 (The New Order notwithstanding), but, while I like what I am seeing on an intellectual level, I feel nothing watching this video.

As for the original trilogy... That will likely be released along side the new game in a future special edition. They did that a few years back when Doom 3 was ported to PS3. Bethesda also did it recently with Skyrim.

 

[TheBigFatClown]

Well, my problem with entertainment these days, be it a movie or a game trailer, is the speed at which they wanna present what they are selling to you. It's so ridiculously fast that I feel like I might have a seizure watching some of the trailers. I think Americans these days, including me, have some form of ADD and I don't say this as a joke. It's just the way the world works now days. But I get turned off just as easily by being presented with something too fast as much as I do by being presented with something that is too slow. There has to be a balance. But it seems everyone uses the same formula.

Beginning portion of trailer - switch scenes every 10 seconds,
Middle portion of trailer - switch scenes every 5 seconds,
Last portion of trailer - seizure mode - hit the viewer with as many random bits as we possibly can. Hoping that they mistakenly attribute their feelings of dizziness to "wow, this must be one cool something, even though I can't recall what I just seen".

The graphics look amazing but I didn't see much strategy in the game which is actually what makes a shooter fun.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

It looks OK from what I've seen so far but I'll wait to see what the singleplayer campaign is like and how long it is as it's the only one I'll play If it's as short as COD's always is I'll pass. I'm not stupid enough to preorder it for launch day, what with all the bugs and extortionist price, I'll wait a bit until it goes on special, I always do. I don't mind being late to the party at all.

 

[Adhmuz]

Looks a lot like a quake/ut clone to me. Nothing that I see, other than graphics, look terribly good. Every weapon is either from the unreal series or quake, level design even feels familiar? I really have high hopes for the single player campaign, multiplayer can't interest me less. But Doom has never been about the multiplayer experience anyways.

 

[Mugsy]

Graphics are awesome (natch) and being able to play a demon is interesting, but honestly, one would expect *player movement* to have evolved in the past TWO DECADES to feel more realistic.

Comparing the way the player/camera "slides" through rooms looks exactly the same today as Unreal Tournament looked back in 2000. Time for someone to get creative.