DooM3
Me hopes for early to mid July, somewhere around the 17th would be nice ;), I am starting the upgrade process this weekend in preparation.

Half-Life 2
No matter how many gameplay movies I've seen though I cannot for the life of me get excited about HL2
Thank the Lord, I am not alone, I have exactly 0 interest in HL2. But no doubt it will be hugely popular and enjoyable to those who like that type of thing. 

A map from the CBP2 map pack for UT2004, I never bothered trying it, as I thought it was a bit of a joke/gimmicky, (gimmicky, which it is) But what a blast, thoroughly enjoyable, humorous. Try it out if you are in the neighborhood.
Going for the DoubleDamage will never be the same. 

Half-Life 2 will be great, I've no doubt. But I would be amazed if it has the impact of the first one. From what I've seen, there are too many gimmicky features in the game - bot ai sidekicks, all the physics hype, drivable vehicles etc. Valve should have taken what was good in the first one and amplified it, rather than introduce a load of extra stuff that may fall flat. So far all the hands-on previews I've read from gaming magazines have a been a bit underwhelming.

Now Doom 3 is a different kettle of fish. By its very nature, it will be a less complex game than HL2, in fact, from what I've seen, it looks to be a Hellified version of Half-Life 1. C'mon, it's obvious - basically the same plot - replace Black Mesa Complex with Mars Base, Aliens with Demons, and Xen with Hell. I can't see any difference in the concept. It's obvious id are trying to "do a Half-Life", and with their art team, and of course the big JC, they might just win this summer stand-off. I'm a little bit concerned about all the cut-scenes though - I'm not sure why they chose to go down that route after the success of HL's very much in-game scripted sequences, but time will tell. 

all the shooters are clones of original WOLFENSTEIN :D
they just have various settings and monsters, but the goal is one: kill everyone who tries to kill you :) 

.. it'a kind of "jungle law".. kill or be killed... what do you prefer ??? 

maps are available here with screenshots

http://www.levelsource.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=484 

it doesn't look like this incarnation of Geocomp has lived up to previous years. Gleeb's looked good, and the one by Cyberdemon (shudder) might be nice, but most of those maps look like n00b efforts.

On the Doom 3 Vs. Half Life 2 front, I really don't know what to think anymore. When I first saw D3 i thought it was awesome, but that was the 1st time i saw realtime bumpmapping. Then when I saw HL2 i thought it looked much better. Now, thinking about it, i dont really care... not too excited about either 

I don't understand why id, with all the money they having rotting away in the bank, have to stick with such a small dev. team. They could double their staff, and Doom3 would still rake in a massive profit (and probably would have been finished last year as well).

Q3A was one of the cheapest shortcuts in the history of gaming. With a few more level designers, they could have banged out a proper single player game in the same time, and still kept the deathmatch component. 

some of the team concentrated on spaceship building atm, so game developing is like a hobby now ;) 

On when D3 and HL2 might be out...

I'm not fussed really, as long as they are good. I've a few games to play in the meantime =). Personally I'd prefer autumn/winter, darker nights and grimmer weather gives a better gaming experience.

On Kinn's thoughts on HL2...

From what I've seen, there are too many gimmicky features in the game - bot ai sidekicks, all the physics hype, drivable vehicles etc.

All of those aspects can really enhance the gaming experience if they are used well. They're not necessarily gimmicks, but can be excellent features that improve the look, atmosphere, immersion, and gameplay potential. I wouldn't be so dismissive of them. Of course, it still depends what is done with those features.

On the two games overall...

I'm looking forward to both, both look good and sound good. D3 appeals to me more, simply because it's more my style. That's all =) 

...as long as the astronauts don't start hitting suspiciously-painted wall panels with an axe to try to find secrets - that's just asking for trouble. 

All of those aspects can really enhance the gaming experience if they are used well

That's true, Shambler. But what made Half-Life amazing for me was the creepy, claustrophobia of it all. Sidekicks and vehicles make for a very different experience; probably still good (Valve know they can't drop the ball on this one), but different nonetheless.

I'm looking forward to Doom3, but from what I've seen, I don't know how much of the shit-your-pants-monsters-jumping-out-from-the-shadows gameplay I can stomach. If it's anything like playing a marine vs aliens from AVP, I don't think I'd enjoy it. Overly scary != fun, in my opinion. 

that was meant to say "shit your pants monsters jumping out of the shadows", without quotes and with hyphens.

And yes, I'm aware I seem to have contradicted myself in that last post. :P 

I think the two games will be enjoyable to play.

About Doom III: I'm still a big fan of the Doom series (I play sometimes on my old PlayStation with Final Doom), and I hope the black-oppressive-weighty atmosphere of the first games will be preserved and improved... I'm also hoping the gameplay will be better and looks like more than a "kill them all / find the keys / and clear the level"... Furthermore, I hope the final released will not be "post-poned" this time... Sure I will not miss this game !!

About HL2, I really enjoyed playing HL(1).. even if I think the game is little bit too "linear".. The HL2 screenshots I've seen looks really good, and if it's designed in the same spirit, the should be great too..

To resume: wait and see, and try it ASAP !!! 

I'm looking forward to both. For those who aren't interested in on or the other or both, consider perhaps future mods for the games that might sway you. With all the engine advances, this could make way for even more fun mods. 

Legos Op-flash mod:
http://mods.moddb.com/gallery/1089/?start=0 

I completely lost what little excitement I had about Doom3 the moment I saw screenshots of that upside-down-head-on-spider-legs monster. Such nonexistant/fucked monster design does not belong in a title with such a high quality engine and production values. I can only hope that (once again) other companies will license the Doom3 engine and make much better games with it.

HL2 does interest me more, though I'm not super excited about it. If it had been released when it was supposed to be, it would have been awesome, but looking at the screenshots and stuff now is kind of like 'meh' because it seems that a lot of games are coming out that look as good as/better than HL2.

By the way, I can't agree with statements like all the physics hype. Its not hype, a nice physics system + a dynamic world = instant gameplay. I'm serious! There's so many more possibilities for the game/level designers if they care to use them, but even if they don't, its a lot of fun for the gamer to be able to push things around, blow stuff up, cause amusing ragdoll deaths etc (well, its fun for me!)

Anyways, I don't know too much about either game, as I tend not to pay too much attention to previews and hype (even for such highly anticipated titles). I am not super excited about either of them though. Perhaps I'm just getting jaded and cynical in my old age. 

Cool stuff.. it remind me the old Commando arcade game I loved play when I was 15... ;-) There was a long time now... sigh.... 

Or The chronicles of riddick - escape from butcher's bay to be more specific..

It's easily one of the best first person sp games I've played. Gameplay successfully alternates between pure action, sneak-em-up and some small adventure gameish bits. Doom 3 like graphics with normalmapping and superb animations.

I guess one reason many people here haven't played it is because it's only available on xbox but one can always hope there will be a pc version at some point. 

Overly scary != fun, in my opinion.

:O you must have hated System Shock 1/2.

personally, i love scary games. the scarier, the better. scare me to death, i always say... ;)

i think both games will be great, but i think i'll like hl2 more. some of the monsters in d3 look kind of goofy. i'll probably like the gameplay in d3 more, but prefer the story of hl2. 

I practice a lot windsurf, and a friend of mine e-mail me this web link.... It can be easily transposed to mapping stuff... he he he...

http://www.americanwindsurfer.com/../mag/back/issue2.3b.html

Enjoy !!! 

I think you've answered your own question there.

Shots do look good though, albeit very "random industrial sci-fi rooms". 

'I completely lost what little excitement I had about Doom3 the moment I saw screenshots of that upside-down-head-on-spider-legs monster.'

but I hated the look of that thing too. I would have had my sketch book thrown back in my face if I suggested to a client something that self evidently kitschy and I design tatoos, the ultimate kitsch art! How did it pass muster for the Id crew? 

That mod looks highly amusing. 

I can't remember where I read it, but Carmack's "physics toy" comment sums up my feelings pretty well. Does anyone remember the interview this came from? Anyway, I don't have anything against realistic physics in games as such, but every HL2 article I read just goes on and on about the "gravity gun" or whatever it's called, and how prominently it features as a gameplay device. It just sounds a little bit gimmicky, that's all.