Matt McMuscles: Doom 64 - What Happened?

IbizaPocholo

IbizaPocholo

NeoGAFs Kent Brockman


This video explores the complex development history of Doom 64, detailing its unique journey from conception to release and the eventual resurgence in appreciation decades later.

Origins of Doom 64
The development of Doom 64 began as ID Software initially partnered with Midway Games to create a new installment in the Doom franchise for the Nintendo 64. After a tumultuous start due to earlier issues with Nintendo's policies, ID Software reconsidered their decision to work with them as the ESRB transformed content regulations.

Technical Challenges and Innovations
The N64 hardware presented unique challenges, notably limited storage space which resulted in cut content like multiplayer modes and certain original monsters. However, it did allow for new creative additions including the Unmaker weapon and a horror-focused soundtrack.

Initial Reception and Impact
Upon its release in 1997, Doom 64 received mixed reviews. While praised for its atmospherics, it faced criticism for lacking significant gameplay innovation compared to earlier installments and contemporaries. The absence of multiplayer options contributed to a decline in interest.

Legacy and Rediscovery
Over time, Doom 64's reputation improved as it was recognized for its technical merit and unique horror approach. The rise of modding communities and remastered versions on modern platforms reignited interest, leading to its regard as an integral part of the Doom series.
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I have super fond memories of DOOM 64. I remember playing it the summer after it released. I took my N64 with me to visit my father in Tennessee. He bought me DOOM 64 at the local PX before we flew out. I loved it, and he had a blast watching me play it. Maybe it was just the Marine in him, lol.
 
FoxMcChief said:
I have super fond memories of DOOM 64. I remember playing it the summer after it released. I took my N64 with me to visit my father in Tennessee. He bought me DOOM 64 at the local PX before we flew out. I loved it, and he had a blast watching me play it. Maybe it was just the Marine in him, lol.
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Same bro. Dad was a marine, loved getting me PC games whenever he was coming back from wherever and he'd just buy himself a case of beer and watch me play Doom, Diablo, Red Baron, Tomb Raider, Wolfenstein 3D, and Duke Nukem man. He was an ornery ole cuss lol. You reminded me of someone I dearly miss :).
 
DOOM 64 might as well be the most underrated N64 game ever (at the time).

Just a year before DOOM 64 everyone was praising the PS1 DOOM port and how good it looks/runs. Yet, it's still a very compromised port compared to the PC version. The maps are still based on the simplified Jaguar ones. And the frame rate, while better than most other ports at the time, is still not stable 30 fps and still drops quite a lot. There are even some odd issues like the elevators/doors moving at half the frame rate or the maps being horizontally stretched for some reason.

A year later DOOM 64 completely destroys the PS1 DOOM console port and not only that, it even surpasses the original PC version, technically. While all other versions had sacrifices (even the PS1 one) the map complexity/geometry in DOOM 64 surpassed the most complex DOOM 2/TNT/Plutonia maps on PC. The new smooth lighting looked much better than the funny looking PS1 colored light sectors and the frame rate was perfect 30fps.

DOOM 64 is still the best looking/most advanced, officially released DOOM engine game. And yet, at the time it got mostly ignored because of things like Turok and Goldeneye. But in the end, DOOM 64 aged better than almost everything on that console. Not only because of it's map complexity and smooth performance but also because It's one of the very rare games that don't suffer from the traditional N64 blur issues. Some of the VI filters are disabled, which makes the image less blurry than 99% of N64 games. The textures are also more detailed and sharper than most games as well. It's pretty weird, it almost looks like a game running on a different console. But it was still too early to tell how most N64 games would look (and suffer) so the clean look/performance of DOOM 64 went unnoticed.

It did have some drawbacks, such as the very dark image and the lack of reload animations for the shotguns. And some of the enemy redesigns were bad (the Cacodemon for instance) and some others like the chaingunner and Revenant were missing.

I'm just glad it's getting the praise it deserves nowadays.
 
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nkarafo said:
DOOM 64 might as well be the most underrated N64 game ever (at the time).

Just a year before DOOM 64 everyone was praising the PS1 DOOM port and how good it looks/runs. Yet, it's still a very compromised port compared to the PC version. The maps are still based on the simplified Jaguar ones. And the frame rate, while better than most other ports at the time, is still not stable 30 fps and still drops quite a lot. There are even some odd issues like the elevators/doors moving at half the frame rate or the maps being horizontally stretched for some reason.

A year later DOOM 64 completely destroys the PS1 DOOM console port and not only that, it even surpasses the original PC version, technically. While all other versions had sacrifices (even the PS1 one) the map complexity/geometry in DOOM 64 surpassed the most complex DOOM 2/TNT/Plutonia maps on PC. The new smooth lighting looked much better than the funny looking PS1 colored light sectors and the frame rate was perfect 30fps.

DOOM 64 is still the best looking/most advanced, officially released DOOM engine game. And yet, at the time it got mostly ignored because of things like Turok and Goldeneye. But in the end, DOOM 64 aged better than almost everything on that console. Not only because of it's map complexity and smooth performance but also because It's one of the very rare games that don't suffer from the traditional N64 blur issues. Some of the VI filters are disabled, which makes the image less blurry than 99% of N64 games. The textures are also more detailed and sharper than most games as well. It's pretty weird, it almost looks like a game running on a different console. But it was still too early to tell how most N64 games would look (and suffer) so the clean look/performance of DOOM 64 went unnoticed.

It did have some drawbacks, such as the very dark image and the lack of reload animations for the shotguns. And some of the enemy redesigns were bad (the Cacodemon for instance) and some others like the chaingunner and Revenant were missing.

I'm just glad it's getting the praise it deserves nowadays.
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Doom 64 was indeed one of the best games for the N64 in 1997 and one of the best ports available. I would argue that Turok and Quake were all pretty good too for their own reasons. The look and feel of Doom 64 is both comfortable and it's own thing at the same time. Technical marvel honestly compared to other early releases. It's gems like this that made me appreciate the N64.

In early 1997 N64 releases were so spread out and hard to come by, Doom 64 was a pleasant surprise, exceeded all expectations.
I look forward to revisiting it once the Analoge 3D ships (one day).
 
Despite growing up in the Doom/Wolfenstein Era, I only just recently played through Doom 64 with the most recent re-release. Had a good time with it. The original is still my favorite, but its cool that this version was its own unique thing from the first 2 games.

Since N64 was very popular as a multiplayer game system with Mario Kart, Smash and Goldeneye, this probably would have been more well received if they managed to get some multiplayer working.
 
I still play it from time to time on original hardware. The soundtrack is stunning.
 
In 1997 Doom was old news and 64 didn't stand a chance to stand out, especially at the price of the average N64 game.

I played through half of the rerelease and was pleasantly surprised by the solid level design. Definitely better than a chunk of Doom 2. But the "open random door, get Hell Baron" shtick got old and predictable quite fast, this has to be said.
 
Definitely my favorite Doom game. Excellent level design and the mix between fast-paced action and horror is sublime. And of course the dark ambient soundtrack by Aubrey Hodges is like the icing on the cake.
 
cyberheater said:
I still play it from time to time on original hardware. The soundtrack is stunning.
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I have to say that the remaster, including a faithful N64 like three texels bi-linear texture filtering shader implementation, fixes some of the QoL issues (including improved but not ruined brightness levels), adds new content, adds widescreen, and can be experienced easily at 120 Hz on modern consoles. Definitely worth it over the original HW I think. Same for DOOM I&II and Quake I&II, the remasters are the ultimate versions IMHO.
 
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nkarafo said:
DOOM 64 might as well be the most underrated N64 game ever (at the time).

Just a year before DOOM 64 everyone was praising the PS1 DOOM port and how good it looks/runs. Yet, it's still a very compromised port compared to the PC version. The maps are still based on the simplified Jaguar ones. And the frame rate, while better than most other ports at the time, is still not stable 30 fps and still drops quite a lot. There are even some odd issues like the elevators/doors moving at half the frame rate or the maps being horizontally stretched for some reason.

A year later DOOM 64 completely destroys the PS1 DOOM console port and not only that, it even surpasses the original PC version, technically. While all other versions had sacrifices (even the PS1 one) the map complexity/geometry in DOOM 64 surpassed the most complex DOOM 2/TNT/Plutonia maps on PC. The new smooth lighting looked much better than the funny looking PS1 colored light sectors and the frame rate was perfect 30fps.

DOOM 64 is still the best looking/most advanced, officially released DOOM engine game. And yet, at the time it got mostly ignored because of things like Turok and Goldeneye. But in the end, DOOM 64 aged better than almost everything on that console. Not only because of it's map complexity and smooth performance but also because It's one of the very rare games that don't suffer from the traditional N64 blur issues. Some of the VI filters are disabled, which makes the image less blurry than 99% of N64 games. The textures are also more detailed and sharper than most games as well. It's pretty weird, it almost looks like a game running on a different console. But it was still too early to tell how most N64 games would look (and suffer) so the clean look/performance of DOOM 64 went unnoticed.

It did have some drawbacks, such as the very dark image and the lack of reload animations for the shotguns. And some of the enemy redesigns were bad (the Cacodemon for instance) and some others like the chaingunner and Revenant were missing.

I'm just glad it's getting the praise it deserves nowadays.
Click to expand...


I still prefered the ps1 version. To me, it felt like a massive upgrade to other console versions. Basically a definitive version to my 1990s eyes with the additions. Felt flawless at the time.

I got doom 64 day one and absolutely loved the atmosphere and environment style but hated the sprites and animations.

Purely subjective, but I felt it was a big step back from the original. The sprites have this slight cartoony art style that is supposed to look evil and doesn't. Some are better than others, but overall I couldn't stand the change. The pinky has all these added teeth and claws, 2x the size to compensate, and ends up looking less scary and sort of goofy.

The original looked like some badass version of a first person diablo 2. Sinister and gritty, even it was more pixelated. The higher quality doom 64 sprites ended up look that much more janky with the old style animations too. Just wasn't a good fit for me

I still liked the gameplay of Doom 64.
 
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To play the original versions of Doom on consoles, the best version was the PSX one (all the others were a disaster), DOOM 64 was also very good...and expensive.
 
It was an interesting watch, but I was hoping for some beta footage. I've always wondered what the prototypes might have looked like, because just as the video alludes, it's said that the game was quite different in its earliest stages.

Not that anyone's been able to furnish actual evidence of this, of course.

Doom 64 is one of my faves, if only for the excellent soundscape and overall hellish atmosphere. DOOM is at its best when you feel vulnerable. This whole edgy, cheesy, wanna-be "black metal" fantasy thing it's turned into now is just disappointing.
 
Domm 64 is awesome, I liked the distinct color palette and the atmospheric music
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Naaaaah, it was fuck*ng trash, boring, generic, ridiculously easy and the levels were shorter, puzzles made no sense and what has happened to the soundtrack... and why is the game so dark!?!

There was also no multiplayer. You do know that the whole point of the N64 was to play with 4 friends right out of the box, no add-on needed, right? People were mad about that, critics too, back in the day. And sorry if you got that as your only game at Christmas when you were 11 Matt and stuck with it for months, but still… You could play better stuff pretty much anywhere, even Final Doom on the PSX. It's always been like that, I don't get why people are trying to pretend otherwise.

 
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