Your first impressions?

My impressions: 

+ Loving the chaos of battle! It's so much more than 2016, and unlike that predescessor, it disguises the whole arena lockdown thing MUCH better.

+ The whole feel of it, from the guns to the music, is real old-school iD. It feels like Quake 2 with Doom's hordes in some ways, which is a good thing. 

+ Guns are punchy. 

+ pickups and ammo are much more distinguishable and readable than in 2016, where I could hardly tell one ammo type from the other. 

+ Hell on Earth so far looks AMAZING. 

+ Enemies come across as more viscous and with more attitude. Even the imps seem more demonic this time. 

+Shotgun is much better than in 2016.

- The platforming can really go screw itself. I especially disliked the stuff on the way to the Betrayer so far.

- Not enough ammo. I know you're supposed to harvest it from the demons, but it seriously does seem way too scarce at the get go. 

Overall, I'm loving it so far. Note though; I started on UV, but holy shit this game kicks your ass...I had to tone it down to HMP by the end of the Betrayer level. 

With destructible enemies and polygonal models, doesn't Doom Eternal require MUCH MORE PRECISE AIMING than Doom 2016, especially if you HAVE to shoot off the threatenng weapons the enemies hold?

I mean, Doom games previously had hitboxes that only required "general direction" aiming before Doom 3 came along with its "per polygon" aiming, meaning that rockets could go between the legs of a Baron of Hell and other such realistic misses that simply didn't happen before. So now, Doom Eternal requires precise aiming for the weapons ON enemies' polygons to detect hits (as opposed to the polygons of the whole enemy in Doom 2016)?

In that case, it seems that a traditional general shooter like Doom now requires SNIPER skills.

3 minutes ago, Foebane72 said:

With destructible enemies and polygonal models, doesn't Doom Eternal require MUCH MORE PRECISE AIMING than Doom 2016, especially if you HAVE to shoot off the threatenng weapons the enemies hold?

 

I mean, Doom games previously had hitboxes that only required "general direction" aiming before Doom 3 came along with its "per polygon" aiming, meaning that rockets could go between the legs of a Baron of Hell and other such realistic misses that simply didn't happen before. So now, Doom Eternal requires precise aiming for the weapons ON enemies' polygons to detect hits (as opposed to the polygons of the whole enemy in Doom 2016)?

 

In that case, it seems that a traditional general shooter like Doom now requires SNIPER skills.

 

As long as you're pointing at a demon's center-of-mass, you should kill it with no problems. You only need to "snipe" to disable weapons, and the only enemy I find that necessary to do on is the Arachnotron.

I've been getting back into the game for a bit and I'm getting more used to the combat. Not quite got the hang of it but I'm improving.

Right now I'm experiencing a problem I have with all sorts of FPS games and unfamiliar Doom WADs, I'm fucking stuck and not sure what to do next. I'm still at the Cultist Base and I've reached the room where they've got what looks like a giant crucified Doomhunter. I was having problems earlier when I didn't realise you had to punch the thing while the column was raised. But I'm flummoxed now.

EDIT: Found a walkthrough video and found the way. I underestimated how long I could travel using jumping and dashing.

2 hours ago, jazzmaster9 said:

Reminds me more of the classic Doom games where you have to choose the right weapon at the right time.

Knowing your surroundings and pressing one button is not enough.

Doom have much more limited arsenal, bestiary and even space than Serious Sam. You cant play straight-flush with only quarter of the deck.

 

9 minutes ago, Bauul said:

 

I see your logic definitely. But it does feel like Doom Eternal goes a little overboard on the different ways that you're required to kill enemies.

 

In classic Doom, during a fight you basically need to worry about three controls: movement, shooting and weapon select. In Doom Eternal, in addition to those, you also have Alt-Fire, Change Mod, Chainsaw, Melee, Dash, Grenade, Change Grenade, Flamebelch, and any Rune specific controls (like holding Alt-Fire to slow down time when you jump). On top of that you have cooldowns to worry about, Glory Kill and Blood Punch, contextual attacks, and weak spots. Overall, it's a lot to hold in your head at the same time. 

 

It's not necessarily bad, and once mastered it opens up a huge range of combat possibilities, but it is probably the most complex FPS I've ever played in terms of control options.
 

I said "reminds" not "the same".
In SS you can play as you want, but if you too often pick wrong weapons for the current situation you will be punished for that. Like, you can blaze through level, without even strafing, by holding W and constantly shooting from minigun. But sooner or later you lefts into situation where you should face with ten kleers and all you have left in you pockets is an explosive weapons. While its possible to kill them using only rocket/grenade launcher, in tight spaces it takes too much time, tries and you nerve cells, which are not regenerates.
Again, only if you do it constantly. If you just "meh, gun down this red mech from minigun this time" youll be fine.
Doom Eternal much more stricter in this. While it push such system forward, it doing so in not the best way. If you dont play as developers intended, you will always stay without ammo, armor and health. Step to the right, step to the left from this - escape attempt, execution without jury trial and investigation.
I almost sure that after upgrading of...everything I think, this problem will go by the wayside, but....

So I've only completed the first level and am currently on the second, but I'm already kinda fatigued on the whole thing. There comes a time in almost any shooter for me when I feel like I've experienced everything there is to experience in the game and the rest is just getting to see the end etc. I don't know if it's because of all the pre-launch material but I kinda feel like I'm already there. It seems to be an expertly crafted game for a very specific and extremely narrow focus, so I'm not trying to knock it. It may just not be for me.

Aside from the combat that doesn't really feel like a shooter at all I think what bothers me the most is that the whole setup and presentation is all over the place. Now you're on a barely recognizable earth. Now you're on a weirdass spacestation. Now you're some place weird. The environments seem to be crafted 100% for the combat and then a "location theme" is painted on top. It doesn't really matter if you're in hell, on earth or in...weirdplace...A broken down metro train, weird tunnels or a temple of sorts. It's all the same in the end and so, so inconsequential. Nothing is ever grounded in any sort of context. It just goes from fight to fight in a really predictable way.

I do like all the nods to the original games in terms of soundtrack and visuals. I also like what little of the weapons I've tried. I just wish I could have the freedom to play the game in a more traditional way and not constantly be forced to play Star Craft 2, the fps.

Again, to each their own. For me it just seems like they took Doom 2016 and doubled down on all the features I found questionable and then ignored the things I enjoyed. Nothing wrong about that as so many people seem to enjoy it. More power to you!

I'm of course still going to give it another chance, but so far I'm really struggling to see where the fun lies, so to speak.

47 minutes ago, Foebane72 said:

With destructible enemies and polygonal models, doesn't Doom Eternal require MUCH MORE PRECISE AIMING than Doom 2016, especially if you HAVE to shoot off the threatenng weapons the enemies hold?

 

I mean, Doom games previously had hitboxes that only required "general direction" aiming before Doom 3 came along with its "per polygon" aiming, meaning that rockets could go between the legs of a Baron of Hell and other such realistic misses that simply didn't happen before. So now, Doom Eternal requires precise aiming for the weapons ON enemies' polygons to detect hits (as opposed to the polygons of the whole enemy in Doom 2016)?

 

In that case, it seems that a traditional general shooter like Doom now requires SNIPER skills.

 

It's a bit more forgiving than what you're implying here. I've blown off demon's weapons using a fully-charged heat blast mod on the plasma gun; given that's an area of effect attack immediately around the player, it doesn't require anything more demanding than the ability to get close. I've done it using the sticky bomb mod on the shotgun, which I don't think is too hard to do if you pick your moment. Using the scope on the heavy cannon is definitely the trickiest method, I don't think I've done it more than a handful of times, but if I can do it then it can't be that hard.

The Dash and the Grappling Hook are great addtions to 2016's double jump and manteling, but the swing bars and climbing walls feel out of place. The combat can be a little too frenetic at times, and I often find myself running for space just to reorientate and assess the situation. The game feels too strict with enforcing a certain playstyle through ammo shortages and a bewildering array of cooldowns. There's an obvious MMORPG influcence on the writing too, which doesn't compare well with the smart and concise storytelling of the previous game. HMP and UV don't feel all that different in difficulty, I tend to die for same reasons, either blindsided or caught out of position, or I've mistaken the super imp for it's smaller comrade and am at a loss as to why my chainsaw attack isn't connecting. (Ok, I just got slaughtered on UV part way through mission 3, there's a difference.)

I'm enjoying Eternal, and it's clearly a labour of love but I can't help but feel 2016 did DOOM better.

1 hour ago, Foebane72 said:

With destructible enemies and polygonal models, doesn't Doom Eternal require MUCH MORE PRECISE AIMING than Doom 2016, especially if you HAVE to shoot off the threatenng weapons the enemies hold?

 

I mean, Doom games previously had hitboxes that only required "general direction" aiming before Doom 3 came along with its "per polygon" aiming, meaning that rockets could go between the legs of a Baron of Hell and other such realistic misses that simply didn't happen before. So now, Doom Eternal requires precise aiming for the weapons ON enemies' polygons to detect hits (as opposed to the polygons of the whole enemy in Doom 2016)?

 

In that case, it seems that a traditional general shooter like Doom now requires SNIPER skills.

 

Not really, there seems to be some pretty heavy bullet magnetism going on, I got some solid shots on weak points when I was only aiming in the general area of the part that needed to be hit.  This was on PC with keyboard and mouse as well.

I got the X-Box pre-order and the PC deluxe pre-order. The controller is damn near unplayable, so I switched to the PC.

I found myself ramping up the difficulty by the third map. When you really get into the combat rhythm, you can be virtually untouchable if you make the right moves at the right time. Those decisions are thrown at you every 1/2 second during combat. It's extremely satisfying to bounce between hotkey moves, switching to the right weapon for the right situation, knowing what weak points to aim for.

I can understand why the game is a turnoff for some players, but Eternal is the ultimate FPS combat experience for me. I love Diablo and was a big WoW fan for a minute. That kind of strategic combat is something I didn't know I wanted in an FPS until I got it. 

1 hour ago, Kronecker–Capelli said:

Doom have much more limited arsenal, bestiary and even space than Serious Sam. You cant play straight-flush with only quarter of the deck.

Point still stands. 

Doom Eternal's game play still requires you to use the right weapons at the right time just like the classic Doom games.

Thats just fact.

ONe more impression I forgot to note...

The music is FUCKING AWESOME. 

This game... is Freaking Amazing.

I have my gripes of course, those being how finicky the climbing mechanics can be at times and the weird glitches I run into (pretty sure it's driver-caused glitches though, weird invisible wall glitch in the main hub and an invisible Cacodemon at the Doom Hunter Base... no I'm not kidding.).

But anything else just feels and plays like how I wanted a Doom game to be: Fast, difficult, and badass. MP is surprisingly decent as well and the customization is fairly anti-monetized since you can get skins and customizations fairly quickly (finished my weekly and have already gone halfway through the series). Only problem I feel with MP is that the Slayer is a bit on the harder side to play right. It feels pretty easy to get absolutely murdered by the demons so I would personally like a nerf to the demons (increase loot block cooldown, lower time your shade is visible, give the marauder actual downtime between axe throws, etc...)

I played it for 15 minutes and requested a refund. It felt like more of what I didn't like about Doom 2016, endless, boring arena combat. I might buy it again when it goes on sale for $30, but as of right now, it's a no go.

Got the PC preorder a few hours before launch. Game is very cool. Only played for about 3 hours tho.

I have gripes. Glaring question marks in secrets (should only be on automap IMHO). You can't backtrack to previous areas in some places. You can jump up here but not over there type of stuff.

Otherwise, the gameplay, weps, monsters, etc are all cool. Arachnatrons are very well done. The music is awesome. Game has a lot of atmosphere and the graphics are damned nice. Love all the ruined buildings and shit.

Just now, Jello said:

I played it for 15 minutes and requested a refund. It felt like more of what I didn't like about Doom 2016, endless, boring arena combat. I might buy it again when it goes on sale for $30, but as of right now, it's a no go.

You pretty much missed out on the bigger combat arenas that would unfold. Game is frankly really chaotic (3x more than 2016). You can get through up to the first slayer gate before refund period to know whether its your style (best way too, slayer gates are insane).

Ok played it for about an hour and then semi-thoroughly skimmed this thread.

First of all, I haven't played a lot of modern games but this game looks incredible.

I did a PC upgrade this year and am able to up the settings (except motion blur, which people use I guess?) and the setpieces and backgrounds just look great.

Pretty much agreeing with the sentiment of a lot of the posts, @Bauul's post sums it up most nicely to me. I was thinking wow I've gotten so much worse at FPS, but turns out, as others mentioned, those side-mechanics of Doom16 are now just necessary to proceed at all. I'm slowly coming up to speed on all of this.

Stupid Arachnotrons are the devil. I know it said to aim at the little turret on top (at least I think it said that) but that seems to make no difference.

Also as mentioned, I can't just melee weak enemies until they drop health. The melee does nothing until glory kill time.

I'll keep trying to tough it out on Hurt Me Plenty.

I actually love the platforming so far, though am still getting the hang of it. My only thing so far (and why I closed the game a few minutes ago) is when it's unclear how to proceed. I stopped at that part with the broken train, the power lines, and the climbing wall.

also: @NoXion I had that exact same issue for Bluetooth headphones/speakers playing Modern Warfare a few months ago. It looks like your solution is the same but for me I went into Windows Sound Control Panel and disabled any "Hands-Free" inputs or outputs.

Here's a video of me playing badly. I'm off to give the game another try. I had to turn HDR off so to me it doesn't look as good but of course it will differ with monitors.

I've only beaten two levels so far. Playing on Nightmare because I'm stupid that way.

I'm having fun, though I have some problems which I foresaw based on the information available prior to the release.

Absolutely not a fan of all the extra mechanics with the countless cooldowns and buttons involved in it. The gameplay feels mechanically bloated and the good old run and gun seems almost unimportant underneath all the management BS. As I expected, I find myself really wishing they didn't have all these weird ways to force enemies to drop whatever you need at the time, and the half a dozen meters and cooldowns at the same time feels like such a ridiculously stupid thing to have in a Doom game.

Another thing I expected to dislike and do heavily dislike are the weakpoint things and these ways the game forces you to approach stronger enemies the one correct way. I absolutely hate having to switch to my shotgun every time a cacodemon appears because he dies in one grenade shot but without that he's a huge sponge.

Basically, they are trying to force you to play the one exact way they thought was fun, which is having to engage in a multitude of bad mechanics that are just awkward patches on top of other patches all on top of the initial design choice to implement these pinata mechanics. Now you get all ammo equally, so now you don't have to vary your weapon choices based on which ammo you have and how much, so they force you to have to switch weapons for tedious and annoying reasons instead.

To balance these grievances, I actually do like the platforming quite a bit, and I'm enjoying the lore.

There are some other gripes about level structure but they are less important. I can't wait to get back to playing and see the next levels and whatnot, but I can already tell that gameplay-wise this is likely to be my least favorite Doom game just because of how bloated it is and how simple run and gun is not allowed anymore because you have to keep using stupid abilities and very specific ways to kill some enemies. It's strange because I'm having fun learning to deal with all this shit and yet I can't overstate how big of a mess this game feels in terms of gameplay design so far.

Not gonna lie, this game feels easier on UV than Doom 2016 did in the beginning.  The added mobility makes such a massive difference and the game is getting much harder not easier unlike Doom 2016, currently on level 10.  There's only one thing so far I *really* don't like and it happens about midway through (won't post out of spoilers).

53 minutes ago, Jello said:

I played it for 15 minutes and requested a refund. It felt like more of what I didn't like about Doom 2016, endless, boring arena combat.

You pretty much missed all the bigger arenas that addresses the confined issues of DOom 2016...

6 hours ago, STILES said:

There's only one thing so far I *really* don't like and it happens about midway through (won't post out of spoilers).

So I'm an idiot, didn't preorder game and have to buy both 64 and Eternal sepearately.

In the meantime, I rented Eternal, tried it for 2 hours on HMP (plan to play UV when actually grabbing my own copy soon) and I must say game is amazing.

The story is a bit confusing (how did he escape from stasis?) 

Ammo felt too scarce on first 2 levels and I kind of hate that glory kills are mandatory now.

Some elements can be a bit overwhelming, namely the upgrades.

Combat is punishingly fun. Graphics are stunning, don't look too colorful to me though.

Map design is a vast improvement and I like that you can interact with certain combat-based environmental elements now.

I personally like platforming, but I understand why some people are disliking it. 

Overall, definitely an improvement over 2016.

Around level 4 the game reaaaally picks up. Level 5 made me fall in love with the game. Level 6 made sure that love was permanent. 

Do any of you remember how the Japanese version of Super Mario Bros. 2 was called "Super Mario Bros. for Expert Players?"

This is Doom 2016 for Expert Players.

Any idea when the game will come down in price? I'm finding the £50 price prohibitively expensive, especially for something I know I can't run yet.

I was hoping there was at least a demo of some sort, but I can't afford the GTX 1650 Super I was aiming for for WEEKS.

3 minutes ago, Foebane72 said:

Any idea when the game will come down in price? I'm finding the £50 price prohibitively expensive

Probably at least 2-3 months after release.

I have a GTX 960 at the moment, but it only has 2Gb. Could Doom Eternal run on it at all, with lowest settings and in the earlier stages, just so I can see if I like it?

The GTX 1650 Super upgrade is inevitable, but it will take me at least six weeks, and for all I know, it will have been superceded by then anyway, so I'll simply buy the new budget king of the cards.

You all may be SHOCKED to learn that I haven't upgraded my graphics card in FOUR YEARS, since I got it for Doom 2016!!!

Made it roughly 2/3rds through the game, and while I was prepared for it being really good I find myself thinking something I never though I would think...

This may be the best Doom game ever released.

Obviously I am only comparing the retail games themselves, and ignoring the custom content (or lack thereof) for this conclusion, but my god they managed to take everything good they did with 2016 and turned it up to 11. Weapon mods feel like they have been balanced to have both choices actually be viable enough to swap on the go, weapons themselves are really satisfying to use and swap on the fly with, the new enemies range from cool to VERY awesome while returning faces are made even meaner and more dangerous, the levels are both absolutely stunning and engaging to blast through, I really don't know what else to say really. Despite the meme of Doomslayer being super tough and unstoppable, the actual gameplay does a really good job of absolutely ripping you a new one at the start only to build you back up with getting the hang on the updated controls and player abilities. UV at the start of Eternal gives me the same vibes as Nightmare in 2016 in that the early levels will bust your balls until you get more weapons and gear, and once you do start getting more and more gear in Eternal it is just nothing but up.
 

As far as the limiting of ammo goes, that is certainly gonna be a pretty big change that obviously won't vibe with everyone going into the game. From my personal preferences at least, I feel that being tighter on the ammo may have actually been the best thing they could do in going the direction of gun play they are after. For me, I actually really like the resource management and having to constantly balance my weapons ammo in the midst of a fight. Again early in the game it is gonna really suck, but once you get into the habit of using the fodder as walking pickups it makes keeping ammo much easier. Doubly so when you start getting more guns that you can use much more effectively and cheaply against certain enemies. The dynamic of having to keep all these factors in mind, combined with the urgency to keep moving and dashing through the air while needing to be able to scan and select targets to engage and avoid, makes a lot of the fights actually avoid the whole Power Fantasy angle only to replace it with a frantic urgency of always having to stay one step ahead and on top lest you get very very dead. Because of this the boss fights (Doomhunter, Marauder, ect.) and the more intense fights (ESPECIALLY THE SLAYER GATES) are hands down the most fun I have had in a retail Doom game yet.

Bonus points for the game running and looking pretty sick on my machine despite me still boosting only a GTX 970 and i7-6700k.

6 hours ago, jazzmaster9 said:

just like the classic Doom games. 

Yes, but its way too primitive.
Because there are 2 guns "I want to save some ammo" type, shotgun, stronger shotgun, extremely strong shotgun, stunlock gun, rocket launcher and plasmagun.

It’s definitely a learning curve trying to juggle resources while smashing baddies. So far so good! Been playing nonstop and it’s been a real blast. I’ve died a handful of times, burned through my extra lives, all of this on Hurt Me Plenty lol.  Just like Shia Labeouff said to Optimus Prime “No sacrifice no victory!” I just finished with the Doom Hunters and now I have to take a break. Gatorade me, Hugo.

My first impressions are that it’s good. I prefer it to 2016 for sure.

I want to end on a high note, so bad first:

• Glory/chainsaw kills. I hated these in 2016, and now even more as you have to do both regularly. I grok the mechanics, but the static animations make them both really shitty. I think a point blank weapon execution could have served as well without the control interruption. And I have to use a rune slot for the privilege of them going away quicker?
• Invisible barriers. Games get this wrong all the time. Movement is part of the power fantasy. Seeing somewhere you can clearly reach according to the games own physics but plummet down in front of Marcel Marceau style if you actually try, is retarded. It makes no sense, violates what the game has taught you about traversable distance and hollows out the environment. Dishonored 1/2 show that mostly avoiding this is possible with clever design. 
• It’s as slow as 2016. There’s dash, but I’ve disliked it as an FPS mechanic ever since it was introduced in Unreal Tournament 1999. It breaks movement flow, and here gating it behind a cool down is even worse. Gimme faster base movement any day.
• It’s still 95% arenas so far. Feel there’s even less exploration than Doom 2016, the first two levels have been really basic. The secrets being so obvious and the amazing environments begging for exploration make it worse. It’d be too expensive dev-wise to do it any other way though I guess.
• The environment is dead. A film set. I realise this was probably so they could put everything into the combat.
• Too much levelling and upgrades for my taste. Weapons, runes, ammo, health AND armour? Then some XP bullshit between levels but at least it's ignorable. 

The good stuff:

• The guns, and how the enemies respond to them. The demons stumble and sway even as they run towards you, non-vital body parts flying off as your firepower slams into them, it’s fantastic and feels so dynamic.  I never had the feeling that I was watching a preset animation.
• The setting. The SETTING. This is the Doom 2 cover brought to life. The environment is such a superb realisation of hell on earth, on first sight of the city I had a cretinous urge to clap alone in my seat.
• The enemy behaviour. I love the arachnotron’s fast crawl AI, the jet packing zombies, even the hell-knight charges seem less linear. It all feels dynamic and dangerous. Nowhere feels beyond reach. The weak points add some tactical prioritisation too, the AV effect from classics writ small.
• In general I like the complexity of the combat — except for the gazillion abilities.
• The soundtrack uses little bits from the classic music in very nice ways. Even little phrases from some of the crappier MIDIs are lent so much atmosphere.
• The performance. It doesn’t look like a cutting edge game, but it flies along at 60fps on high/ultra on my ageing laptop. I think they made the right call — everything serves the combat, including compromising on graphics to keep it smooth for more people.
• I love how they’ve embraced the colourful, cartoonish style of the originals with the pickups and monsters.
• Best particle effects I’ve seen I think, e.g. sticky bombing a group of demonic piñatas looks as fantastic as it feels satisfying.