Doom Year Zero

Courtesy of the FTC vs MS/ABK hoopla:

https://www.eurogamer.net/leaked-bethesda-roadmap-reveals-unannounced-releases-including-dishonored-3

New Doom is in the works, guys.

Sounds like we're going back where it began. We'll see what they have to show on the 30th anniversary.

Probably not much, to be fair - those are pre-Coof dates so everything has been kicked down the road somewhat.

Still, interested to see where they take it.

I got survivalism.

Originally, I was adamant on id making their next title a Quake reboot/sequel/whatever.

Then kind of taking everything happening with Doom Eternal post-launch and The Ancient Gods:

I suspect that this may be id Software essentially calling for a mulligan after COVID-19 basically screwing development up for both the base game and its DLCs.

Assuming that id’s next title is a Doom title.

22 minutes ago, Man of Doom said:

I suspect that this may be id Software essentially calling for a mulligan after COVID-19 basically screwing development up for both the base game and its DLCs.

This list is from July 2020, so they've probably had another DOOM game planned for a while.

I swear, if it's just a doom remake, i'm going to scream.

Please, Bethesda, make it an opposing-force like game.

17 minutes ago, Biz! said:

I swear, if it's just a doom remake, i'm going to scream.

Please, Bethesda, make it an opposing-force like game.

Enemy Territory: Doom Wars

IF this is legit I predict it will be based during the sentinel war against the demons. 
There was a ton of lore that was talked about in Eternal that is just begging to be dug into. 
Though the idea of a prequel is always a bit hit and miss. 

Eternal started development right after 2016's release and came out almost 4 years later.

Because of how different the games are (engine included), i always assumed a new Doom based on the current formula should take even more time to come out so they get enough ideas for a new one and even improve the engine and all that stuff.

(some id employee please read all the stupid ideas i wrote on my blog or that one Rentry thing, that's more than enough material for a new game or two, you'll thank me later)

Because i also don't want to see Doom feel saturated with close releases like this when at some point, a new Doom release was a rarity.

Like it's some sort of special event, which can't apply to franchises like COD or Pokemon.

The name suggests a sort of a "restart" (and people are reminded of NIN but Ghost might be a more direct reference because of the Satan themed song, even if Doom Eternal doesn't have those direct references or obviously the nudity element; kind of why i thought it was weird when people compared Doom to Berserk but anyway)

A prequel to 2016 could be interesting because they could do more with Sentinels as a theme like new weapons or even designs for ingame pickups.

And there could still be new ideas for demons even if they avoid tech ones because of the retcon of "UAC made these now".

I also wonder if they'll try to touch anything related to classic Doom, since a lot of the lore focuses on the new universe and id doesn't really expand on the classic lore. (not like it's needed and in some ways, some fans would complain about it)

I also would like to see melee being developed if Doomguy carries a non-argent energy sword.

A tie-in between 2016 and Eternal would also be interesting, even if they had plans to put that story in a comic.

But it could also be an opportunity for a story where you play as a UAC/ARC soldier or even another Sentinel character.

Pretty sure that's related to some info about expansions before TAG happened.

Literally, just excuses to come up with new weapons, enemies, power ups etc.

Like even if they look into cut/unused ideas from the series or things like weapons in 2016 Multiplayer.

I'd love if the Plasma Powered Revenant was actually used as an enemy because i even thought of an ideal gameplay idea for it to make it different from the Cybermancubus.

Maybe "year zero" could still be a sequel like Doomguy being brought back again and some weird stuff going on with Hell and Urdak.

I like to think the Sentinels and Earth would get together even with stuff like Sentinels looking down on Earthlings or the UAC getting too greedy on what they want from the Sentinel.

Even crazier would be a "reboot" where the Doom universe is "reset" but you're still the same Doomguy.

If they try to reboot the lore, maybe they could do stuff like Samuel Hayden without a Maykr background but still do weird things like the BFG actually being of Sentinel origin.

Like a try at "what if's".

I know a "remaster/remake" of the old Doom games is pointless and i've already listed a bunch of reasons why.

But a new reason: Doom is a series that has different "iterations" which is why games look different, play different and even canon differs.

And there are game remakes that are more interesting BECAUSE of how different they are from the classic versions instead of feeling just like "tame" versions of a classic.

So if id were to remake old Doom, might as well get too creative to the point it's another reboot.

Because that would still be "in-field" for a series like Doom.

Apropos nothing, and this speculation could be for shit, but perhaps they thought the story leading up to DOOM 2016's opening (probably recycling a few concepts from the aborted 'DOOM 4' prototype, which some people; myself included; found interesting at the least) might be a neat direction to explore after DOOM Eternal's DLC wrapped up that end of the story.

I'm all for exploring the same scenario from different viewpoints personally. But I'm also of the opinion that this direction will absolutely disappoint many, nuDOOM ain't nuDOOM without the slayer, etc.

Happy to have more Doom as long as it's good, but I was hoping for the next Id shooter to be a single-player focused Lovecraftian take on the Quake series.

Lately I've been watching John Romero's twitch streams from time to time. He sometimes mentions he's currently working on a big FPS game but he's not allowed to say which game it is... it's unlikely, but it would be really cool if he was talking about Doom Year Zero. 

The title and setting to the game will all be the dressing for me ontop of everything else. Biggest concerns I have with the newest AAA Doom:

-Further refining the “combat loop” and playstyle specializations.

-Meeting and exceeding the multiplayer, coop, and player customization standards set with 2016.

-Matching and surpassing the approach other FPS developers have taken regarding custom content and mod support.

I don’t consider Eternal to be fully indicative of the direction they want to take because I regard it as more of a “sequel expansion” trying out some new ideas, and not a fully standalone title like 2016 was.

The fuck is a Doom Year Zero.

What is it, a waterless world in Doom?

I was hoping for the next title to be a reboot based on Quake 1, but it's not entirely surprising that they would continue Doom with its proven success - plus with the continued cross-promotions and recently released Mighty Doom, so it was clear they wanted the franchise to remain relevant. "Year Zero" is an interesting title, possibly a working one as Fallout 76 was referred to as Fallout Worlds in that same document.

My immediate thought goes to a 2016 prequel set during the Slayer's time on Argent D'Nur - as that was certainly year zero for the Sentinels. However, it wouldn't exactly be a "year zero" for our hero - maybe as his start as the Slayer, but his story began on Phobos. Plus, I recall Hugo Martin expressing hesitancy about the idea for a DLC set between 2016 and Eternal because it would be awkward in terms of power level or explaining why he loses his weapons again - I feel like that would be applicable here. Not like either of these considerations strongly contradict the initial thought of a Year Zero set during Argent D'Nur.

A more out-there alternative interpretation of the title, aligned with the current year being Doom's 30th anniversary, makes me wonder if they could possibly do a modern remake of Classic Doom to make it aligned with 2016/Eternal. It's a shaky thought though, I don't think id Software would be interested in "redoing" something as classic (or abstract) as Doom, and it might come off as quite similar to Doom 2016. Another interpretation, if we view 2016 as a redo of Ultimate Doom and Eternal as a redo of Hell on Earth - is if Year Zero could perhaps be a "redo" of Doom 3 set in the past, featuring a different protagonist and another try at action-horror. Not sure how that would work realistically though, or if they would be willing to part ways with the Slayer in the next "big" Doom game.

Perhaps I'm just hesitant to accept a "Year Zero" because I would honestly prefer a Doom Eternal sequel over a prequel, and that's if they absolutely had to pick Doom over Quake. Granted, the document doesn't contain any information about the then-unreleased Quake remasters - I'm not quite certain if they would appear there or not based on how developmental timelines go, but perhaps it's a sign that things could change. So maybe there's still hope for Quake. That said, I'm not complaining about more Doom either - it's my preferred franchise.

I wonder if we'll see an announcement later close to December because of this year's significance - but that also seems unlikely to me because I feel as if QuakeCon would've been an opportunity to announce something for a new game. Although if Starfield got delayed by about two years according to the document, maybe we can apply the same delay to Year Zero - and if so along with past release timings, that would suggest a cinematic/gameplay reveal for Year Zero this year (2023), followed by a release in 2025. I'm 50/50 on that timeline, mostly hesitant because they skipped the opportunity at QuakeCon - so the only other opportunity would be announcing the title at The Game Awards, which is just three days before Doom's anniversary - so perhaps that could be aligned well enough for them.

On 9/21/2023 at 10:59 PM, Midway64 said:

The fuck is a Doom Year Zero.

 

What is it, a waterless world in Doom?

You get to experience the creation of Earth from its infancy, the asteroid killing off the dinosaurs, the start of man, the beginning of civilization.

Then in like the final 10 minutes the actual gameplay starts and it's just E1M1. Thanks for playing!

1 hour ago, Mr Masker said:

You get to experience the creation of Earth from its infancy, the asteroid killing off the dinosaurs, the start of man, the beginning of civilization.

Doomguy: Dinosaur Hunter?

Rar rar till it's all rar 

The final map of Quake 1s 20 years anniversary DLC "Dimension of the Past" is also named "The Year Zero". Coincidence? 

2 hours ago, igg said:

The final map of Quake 1s 20 years anniversary DLC "Dimension of the Past" is also named "The Year Zero". Coincidence? 

Most likely not. As it was pointed out, there is a Nine Inch Nails album by that name.

With Quake, we know it's a NIN reference but it's also a term that existed elsewhere.

Either way, i do hope Year Zero continues the semi-official tradition of redesigning the mainline demons in not just their visuals but even their gameplay.

10 hours ago, whatup876 said:

 

Either way, i do hope Year Zero continues the semi-official tradition of redesigning the mainline demons in not just their visuals but even their gameplay.

I don't disagree wholly, but I think it's funny that you picked an example where they overshot their mark and ended up correcting back to basically the original design.

Well, the Tyrant still has his own differences from the classic Cybie and i thought most people were okay with the Baalgar (think it was the D3 Cybie that most people weren't much into it).

And Eternal also mixed up a lot of classic designs but under a modern paint, so there's some differences.

Because of that, i imagine you can always bring back old concepts but mix them in something new.

Like if the new Arch-vile design brought back the face tubes but the main new design had multiple arms.

Then there's how the "main" Hellknight has the D3-ish "brute" design in Eternal while the classic HK is given to the Gladiator, who still has his own differences.

Maybe a good way to bring back classic designs is to modify them like they're a subspecies/variation while the main iteration of a demon is a new design.

Even with D3 you had the "Lost Soul" being a very different design and the Forgotten Ones look closer to the classic LS but still with differences like horns placed to the sides and no flames in the eye sockets.