Doom: The Dark Ages |OT| Mod City

BigLee74 said:
Level 17 of 22.

Like every other Doom game, I can only play in small doses (a chapter at a time) as it is just relentless.

But dare I say this is shaping up to be my favourite of the new Dooms? (and I liked both previous entries).
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Me too, i can only play in short bursts. That being said i play a chapter then take a pause and play another one at the same day. But i need breaks.
 
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Justin9mm said:
Someone hasn't played Ancient Gods Part one.. Maybe slight exaggeration but the difficulty is way higher than equivalent difficulty for the main game.
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I've completed Eternal's main story and both Ancient Gods 1 & 2 all on Nightmare.

It is known that the DLC is decidedly more difficult than the main campaign. Ancient Gods 1 on Ultra-Violence is absolutely on par with the main game's Nightmare.

But I'm Too Young To Die? Yeah no lol. It's not a "slight" exaggeration, it's a huge stretch to say that beating Ancient Gods Part 1 on the easiest difficulty level is like beating Eternal's campaign on Ultra Nightmare. It's simply not that hard.
 
Just completed doom eternal and both DLCs again. Now I can give a clear opinion for myself without nostalgia goggles.

Each game excels at one thing or another, or impresses in its own way. There will definitely be people who prefer one of the three over the other two. Dark ages still has dlc coming that can up the overall package.

That said Eternal is without question for me the best of the bunch. It hits all the right notes :
-Gameplay loop is moment bliss that keeps you on your toes. It's legit a hard game if you turn up the difficulties.
-Encounters feel varied. Depending on which enemies happen in a room, and what sequence, etc can make you adapt to what's happening.
-Visuals both graphics wise with rtx etc and just art direction are superb. Clearly see enemies, beautiful lighting, smoke , fire, cloud etc effects. Top shelf,
-Wonderful story, bad ass moments, and the right amount of exposition.
-Best soundtrack in a fps. Just keeps you juiced but knows how to keep ambience going in no action moments.

The second best would be 2016 for me. It's amazing how well this game still holds up in all fronts. I was surprised how good looking it is, and how well it played without being long in the tooth.

So where does that leave dark ages? What does it do well?
-Unique new combat in a fps. Could birth new ideas for others to follow with parries.
-Much easier to manage combat than eternal especially for controller players.
-The coolest looking DoomGuy
-Fantastic boss fights
-Some of the coolest places to go in doom.

However, too much is left behind from eternal and I assume it was the game being rushed. Where are the icons and profiles? Where's the fun extra modes? More skins? Why is the game so damn dark?

Seriously you go to Sentinel world areas in eternal and it makes amazing use of lighting and making the world look beautiful and dangerous. There is something extremely wrong with dark ages for either who is in charge of lighting or the team is completely blind.

All that said though Eternal is the hardest of the games to go back to IMO cuz it's so damn long especially if you want to do the dlc too. Dark ages is tough to go back to as well because levels 1-11 IMO are mid. 2016 is the best for replay value.

Eternal 9/10
2016 9/10
Dark Ages 8/10

DLC and patches could bring it back on par, but it's the weakest offering overall with every encounter feeling the same, the lighting sucks, mechs suck, etc.
 
Kacho said:
Awww shit. Here we go.

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Watched some of this vid and basically it's not so much a review as it is him explaining basic mechanics? I find myself giving Civvie less and less clicks as the just rambles on and on about "x button does this thing and the thing goes on cooldown then but after you can use it again and it is fun"-type stuff.
 
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Did prison level.

Amazing stuff.

Playing next level after…. same thing.

In terms of size, scope, pacing etc, its reminding me of Half Life 2 so far. Both big games with large levels. Will last me a while, already 25 hrs in. Have not even 100% some of the levels, few are in 70s even.
 
vaibhavpisal said:
Did prison level.

Amazing stuff.

Playing next level after…. same thing.

In terms of size, scope, pacing etc, its reminding me of Half Life 2 so far. Both big games with large levels. Will last me a while, already 25 hrs in. Have not even 100% some of the levels, few are in 70s even.
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Half Life 2?
 
They don't have DLSS working yet with this mod, but its only been out a few days. I'm going to wait a couple weeks and it should be working.


 
vaibhavpisal said:
Size of the game, uniqueness of levels etc.
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Not seeing it myself tbh.

Great game though. I'm nearing the end of my play through. Some of the levels are a bit long and the encounters are a getting a bit repetitive but the game plays like a dream. Could've lived without the dragon and mech sections but they where inoffensive and didn't outstay their welcome.

But not worth the premium price as the package stands. For what they are charging I'd expect a lot more than just a great campaign. Horde mode, scoring with leaderboards etc.

Very solid entry in the series and looking forward to what they add in the future.

8.5/10
 
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clarky said:
Not seeing it myself tbh.

Great game though. I'm nearing the end of my play through. Some of the levels are a bit long and the encounters are a getting a bit repetitive but the game plays like a dream. Could've lived without the dragon and mech sections but they where inoffensive and didn't outstay their welcome.

But not worth the premium price as the package stands. For what they are charging I'd expect a lot more than just a great campaign. Horde mode, scoring with leaderboards etc.

Very solid entry in the series and looking forward to what they add in the future.

8.5/10
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It was a casual comparison. Big maps are still coming even 25 hrs in.

I did bought premium edition over gamepass. I think its good value at that.
 
vaibhavpisal said:
It was a casual comparison. Big maps are still coming even 25 hrs in.

I did bought premium edition over gamepass. I think its good value at that.
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I bought the premium through CDkeys for £70 i think, not bad but £70 for the base game is a bit steep as things stand. The 2 previous entries cost less and offered more.
 
The first DLC or Eternal was released about a half year from the main game. I wonder if we looking at the same time period for the first DLC for TDA.
 
amigastar said:
The first DLC or Eternal was released about a half year from the main game. I wonder if we looking at the same time period for the first DLC for TDA.
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I hope they add other content in the meantime.

Eternal has so much content now to keep going back to it for.
 
Off topic a great bit, but currently playing through Doom 2016. Just got to the Argent Towers so still early on but the gameplay is pretty addictive.

Story isn't the strongest, but keeps me coming back for more.
 
Stratostar said:
I've completed Eternal's main story and both Ancient Gods 1 & 2 all on Nightmare.

It is known that the DLC is decidedly more difficult than the main campaign. Ancient Gods 1 on Ultra-Violence is absolutely on par with the main game's Nightmare.

But I'm Too Young To Die? Yeah no lol. It's not a "slight" exaggeration, it's a huge stretch to say that beating Ancient Gods Part 1 on the easiest difficulty level is like beating Eternal's campaign on Ultra Nightmare. It's simply not that hard.
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Are you that guy that when someone says 'oh man I had like 100 things to do today' you start questioning, getting them to list what the 100 things are just to prove to you that they did and when they say it was an exaggeration, you call them out on it..? You must be really fun to be around!
 
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New game plus would be awesome for this game and no, returning to completed levels isn't the same since there is no ammo for newer weapons in the levels.
 
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Am kinda seeing why they went story heavy (or rather lore heavy) with this entry.

They wanted to do different locations than Hell, Earth, Mars etc. No way to do that without establishing some new lore.

Am not finding story to be distracting. Cut scenes come at end of generally large chapters and ton of fighting, offer some respite. Its to the point and doesn't waste my time, exactly how I like it.

New locations am finding to be great. So well worth it. I can see new Doom entries going places.
 
Just wanted to say that the game is surprisingly good balanced. The difficulty is just right and the combat is finely tuned. And people said it wouldn't be balanced because of difficulty sliders. Nonsense.
 
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Alex11 said:
Yes it is, I made 2 runs of Eternal on normal difficulty and wanted to try Ultra violence. It's not even funny how much more of a challenge it is compared to Dark Ages, lol.

Yeah, Ancient Gods, I'm not even thinking of trying it above normal. Finished both parts and it's brutal, but in a good way, maybe in some places a tad psychotic, lol, but I liked it.
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I would consider myself average at best skill wise (I had to put Khazan down to easy lol).

I've beaten Eternal about 5 times on Nightmare with a controller. It's definitely very hard but I think it's manageable once you really learn it's mechanics.

It's much fairer than other hard games. No bullshit like in Soulslikes. No one hit kills and because of the resource management you can always always get back in a fight if your on the back foot. If you can get through Nightmare you will absolutely crush Ultraviolence.

Now ancient God's part 1 and especially the MASTER LEVELS they are brutal.
 
Finished this last night via GamePass. I enjoyed most of it. Got about 65% of the achievements without really trying. Took me around 13/14 hours.
Gameplay, controls, art, music are all good.
The story was alright. Does DOOM need a story? Probably not but it wasn't obtrusive or anything.
It's a 7.6/10 for me. Don't pay £70 for it, that's crazy.

I know Snapmap got a mixed reception in DOOM 2016 but I hope it gets patched in. It added a lot of replay value in my opinion.
 
CompleteGlobalSaturation said:
Two mins in - he's correct regarding the graphics.

Doom The Dark Ages doesn't look much different from Doom Eternal which doesn't look much different from Doom 2016.

The graphical leaps utterly abysmal.

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Thats bullshit.

I finished the game last night and stuck on 2016 immediately afterwards. DA is miles better looking than the still decent 2016. Some of the later levels are jaw droppingly awesome.
 
amigastar said:
Just wanted to say that the game is surprisingly good balanced. The difficulty is just right and the combat is finely tuned. And people said it wouldn't be balanced because of difficulty sliders. Nonsense.
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I feel sliders were added cause id wasn't sure how shield + parry would be received by FPS crowd.

I didn't change much. Now that I have found a good balance, they are redundant for me.

Might be useful if anyone wanna do a second playthrough.
 
I'm about halfway through the game and keep having to force myself to play it.

2016 was amazing because of what it *didn't* do. It was a great example of simplification and purifying a core idea down to its essentials.

Eternal took that formula to stratospheric heights, and while I think took a larger swing and a miss with its story and lore…it was so well improved in the gameplay that it was forgivable.

Dark Ages answers the question "what if we made the gameplay way worse, AND made the story way worse?"

It may be the best modern example of why it's important to never listen to fans. 95% of people complaining about Eternal were just getting filtered. They listened to Reddit and now here we are with a game that has absolutely no teeth or balls to tell the player they are doing things incorrectly.

Shame.
 
PurePlatinum said:
I'm about halfway through the game and keep having to force myself to play it.

2016 was amazing because of what it *didn't* do. It was a great example of simplification and purifying a core idea down to its essentials.

Eternal took that formula to stratospheric heights, and while I think took a larger swing and a miss with its story and lore…it was so well improved in the gameplay that it was forgivable.

Dark Ages answers the question "what if we made the gameplay way worse, AND made the story way worse?"

It may be the best modern example of why it's important to never listen to fans. 95% of people complaining about Eternal were just getting filtered. They listened to Reddit and now here we are with a game that has absolutely no teeth or balls to tell the player they are doing things incorrectly.

Shame.
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Eternal was just as polarising as this game. I understand those that liked it, loved it, but there was just as many that didn't.

If they made Eternal 2 then I think it would have sold less than Eternal also.
 
CompleteGlobalSaturation said:
Asset quality is higher in Dark Ages yes.

But 10 years on it's such an abysmal upgrade in visuals.
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The same could be said of most current games.

I think it looks fantastic, but so did 2016 and Eternal. More of a credit to ID tech rather than a negative IMO.

Its still one of the best looking games out right now and the full RT isn't even implemented yet.

"Abysmal" is a bit hyperbolic.
 
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I'm up to Chapter 12 and I'm already tired of it. As soon as I opened up the map and saw it was another large, layered area, a big wave of "No fucking thanks" washed over me.

We'll see if I return to it later in the year. I don't think it's a bad game at all, but I just can't do 10 more chapters of it.
 
Chuck Berry said:
I'm up to Chapter 12 and I'm already tired of it. As soon as I opened up the map and saw it was another large, layered area, a big wave of "No fucking thanks" washed over me.

We'll see if I return to it later in the year. I don't think it's a bad game at all, but I just can't do 10 more chapters of it.
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Yup, the game needs breaks.

I have been doing that since the beginning. Not finding it easy to binge. Not sure how some here finished in a week.

Surprisingly, after chapter 12, maps get even bigger and more packed with enemies. Whatever they had uptill now, its amped up.

I am however hooked to the gameplay. Short breaks I get ready to slay some demons again.
 
vaibhavpisal said:
I feel sliders were added cause id wasn't sure how shield + parry would be received by FPS crowd.

I didn't change much. Now that I have found a good balance, they are redundant for me.

Might be useful if anyone wanna do a second playthrough.
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Honestly i think it goes beyond that. Thats why we have 150% gamespeed options and such. They thought it would be a novelty to have sliders. And to fine tune the difficulty for sure but things like 150% were added for fun.
 
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vaibhavpisal said:
Yup, the game needs breaks.

I have been doing that since the beginning. Not finding it easy to binge. Not sure how some here finished in a week.

Surprisingly, after chapter 12, maps get even bigger and more packed with enemies. Whatever they had uptill now, its amped up.

I am however hooked to the gameplay. Short breaks I get ready to slay some demons again.
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Yep same here. The maps are pretty big and tales me 1-2 hours to clear. Ive needed several breaks and its not a game I want to rush through.

On level 15 I think and its been an awesome experience. Ultra Violence is tough sometimes, Ive had to replay a couple of encounters 20-30 times to get it right.
 
amigastar said:
Honestly i think it goes beyond that. Thats why we have 150% gamespeed options and such. They thought it would be a novelty to have sliders. And to fine tune the difficulty for sure but things like 150% were added for fun.
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I remember when they introduced all the mechanics for this game, they immediately started talking about sliders.

At that point I felt maybe it was done to make everyone comfortable with parry and shield.

But yes, I feel it should be a lot of fun to tinker with it.
 
vaibhavpisal said:
Did prison level.

Amazing stuff.

Playing next level after…. same thing.

In terms of size, scope, pacing etc, its reminding me of Half Life 2 so far. Both big games with large levels. Will last me a while, already 25 hrs in. Have not even 100% some of the levels, few are in 70s even.
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I dont know about HL2 but maybe youre seeing something I dont. Ive been thinking it reminds of Halo 3 - in terms of making the levels feel like part of a greater battle going on, and also Gears of War 2 with the vehicles and turrets.
 
Orbital2060 said:
I dont know about HL2 but maybe youre seeing something I dont. Ive been thinking it reminds of Halo 3 - in terms of making the levels feel like part of a greater battle going on, and also Gears of War 2 with the vehicles and turrets.
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HL 2 also has this feeling while playing it ….. wait, there is more to this game?

And it introduces another large map.

Last 5 chapters in that game, I was sure current was the last one.
 
CompleteGlobalSaturation said:
Two mins in - he's correct regarding the graphics.

Doom The Dark Ages doesn't look much different from Doom Eternal which doesn't look much different from Doom 2016.

The graphical leaps utterly abysmal.

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I mean, how do you enhance the graphics on a series that already has amazing graphics? Clearly there are some shorter leaps going from one game to the next, but the size of the maps has increased with every iteration.
 
The game is pretty fun. There are some good encounters. Sometimes I ace the difficult battles with ease and other times I get wrecked. I like the parry and I like the mace. I got the third one and switched back to the mace.

I think I have done 16 levels.
 
AJUMP23 said:
The game is pretty fun. There are some good encounters. Sometimes I ace the difficult battles with ease and other times I get wrecked. I like the parry and I like the mace. I got the third one and switched back to the mace.

I think I have done 16 levels.
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The last few levels are the best imo. The final boss is done really well.
 
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