Doom 3 or Halo 2. Who got the graphics?

**trabucles** · 09-06-2003

I was watching trailers of both games at gametrailers.com and Doom 3 really got incredibly ultra detailed monsters.. and whole better looking than Halo's covenants. I know both games will come out in our XBOX, but which one you think has the better graphs ?. (I know the important about games is gameplay, but at this moment we can't choose which of both got it.)

**MerimacHamwich** · 09-06-2003

For graphics I am a Doom 3 man all the way.

For me though, the deciding factor on which one I get first (notice, not which one I get.

) will be the support of HDTV and Dolby Digital 5.1 / Digital Theater Surround support.

**ramprider0** · 09-06-2003

Man thats a hard one because Doom has really detailed monsters but halo's enviorments are really great so I think its a toss up between the two!

**Shadow20002** · 09-06-2003

I think they will support it.

**Adawg** · 09-06-2003

I voted for halo all the way.The graphics are sick and the gameplay will be even sicker...but I must come clean and say Im not much of a doom kinda guy.

**cjskater** · 09-07-2003

Star Trek is using the same graphics engine as Doom 3, saw it on tech tv, and it didn't look as good as Halo 2. Halo 2 all the way

**Sodacider** · 09-07-2003

this is a loaded question actually, it can't be answered one way and be correct

but i think it comes down to this- doom has the technical talent to put together some decent graphics, but beyond that the company has never produced quality (Doom and Quake may have been popular, but it's a far cry from quality).

Now some things to quickly point out- the Doom 3 designer claimed that he invented ragdoll effects for this game. Note, he said he invented ragdoll effects. What are they, for those of you wondering? In Soldier of Fortune 2, Halo, and several other games, after a person is killed their body is still in the physics engine and is manipulated by its environment- i.e., you were hit by a grenade and you die- instead of a sprite (image) of your body appearing, your body flies up an d lands on an edge, then contorts to fit the edge. That's ragdoll physics, it's been out for years, and the Doom 3 designer really thinks he's the **** for inventing it for this new game.

Technically speaking, Doom 3 has to take superiority in graphics simply because it's first and main platform is the PC and not the XBox. As a reality, that means Doom 3 can take much higher resolutions and be that much sharper than the Xbox.
HOWEVER, on the Xbox, Halo 2 is going to be far superior to Doom 3, and when Halo 2 heads up to the PC, it will again be far superior. Because resolution to resolution, i.e. when Doom 3 has to compete in the same resolution as Halo 2, Bungie's quality in graphics meets and surpasses anything ID software has ever produced.

Then we have to get into the most important part of all of this, the reason that Halo 2 wins hands down. Quality. Doom 3 has got some neat looking monsters, but none of them are really uniquely scary. Doom 3's environments are bump mapped wonderfully, but wait, Unreal 2 had (and has) the best graphics available on the market, yet the environments were still stale.
Halo 2 presents us a whole new world with realistic and incredible enemies. Instead of putting us in corridors as Doom 3 would have us do, or putting us in odd spots on alien planets as Unreal 2, Halo 2 is going to make us feel like we're a part of something, like Halo the original. Without reference to the original Halo I can make this argument--- In the trailer, the depth and importance the graphics bring aren't just in the bump mapping and lighting (though amazing), but are, in fact, in the way we feel that an entire city is in peril, that we are part of a living and breathing environment, that everything we do affects everything around us and vice versa.

John Carmack (doom 3 designers) may feel that his ragdoll effects were really cool when he took a shotgun to a zombie (this relates to one of his early interviews), but I much prefer seeing the Major order an airstrike on a Covenant cannon emplacement. The dark moody atmosphere Carmack attempts to create in Doom 3 may be just what some depressed 30-somethings are looking forward to, but I'll take what is possibly the best science fiction story told in a decade any day (sorry star wars fans and trekkies, ya just dont cut it for me).

**Stormlord** · 09-07-2003

Too hard to tell. Both look incredible and we haven't really got to see these things running on our consoles and PCs. You see devs get more powerful machines than anything on the market. Yes there's even more powerful Xboxes given to devs. It can run fine on their Xboxes and PCs but we still have to wait and see how it will do on ours. Halo 2 will no doubt support Dolby and HDTV (hopefully 720p and 1080i) and since the gaming industry is competitive Doom will have to if it doesn't want to be a weak link. I can assume that Doom will do the same to stay ahead or keep up. I say wait a little more to see which does look better. So far Doom's environments look unique and the characters look badass. Same thing goes for Halo. If Halo does implement real time lighting and destructable terrain then I'll lean more to Halo. Right now I'm neutral, hopefully in another month they'll release more gameplay footage of both.

**xboxman_1** · 09-07-2003

That's ragdoll physics, it's been out for years, and the Doom 3 designer really thinks he's the **** for inventing it for this new game.

You may have taken his quote out of context - are you sure he wasn't saying that he invented it for an older game? And you don't need to diss on Carmack, he's done so much for video games its not even funny. He was doing 3-D shooters when Nintendo was still doing side-scrollers.

John Carmack (doom 3 designers) may feel that his ragdoll effects were really cool when he took a shotgun to a zombie (this relates to one of his early interviews), but I much prefer seeing the Major order an airstrike on a Covenant cannon emplacement.

First of all, Carmack codes the engines, he's not a designer. Secondly, the Major calling an airstrike was staged, its not like it happened on the fly.

In conclusion, Doom 3 will have better visuals, but Halo 2 will be a better game.

**DocHoliday78** · 09-07-2003

Doom 3 all the way ( PC version alteast)

**rough_rida** · 09-07-2003

DOOM 3 has betta graphics but i think Halo 2's gameplay will make up for the graphics.

**Snoopy7548** · 09-07-2003

Originally posted by Sodacider
Now some things to quickly point out- the Doom 3 designer claimed that he invented ragdoll effects for this game. Note, he said he invented ragdoll effects.

yeah, i think you interpreted this wrong. he said that he invented ragdoll effects for THIS GAME. he's not saying that he completely invented ragdoll effects. the ragdoll effects on doom 3 may be different than the ones in other games.

**shapoopy** · 09-07-2003

i just saw a pic of doom 3 it's good but i say halo

**Dre** · 09-07-2003

Graphically speaking they are both beautiful games that push the current envelope. If put on the same playing field (i.e. same resolution), I believe that Halo 2 will be the overall nicer looking experience since it was being developed for that platform and devs have some tricks up there sleeves to use lower res's to their advantage. Comparing Doom3 on PC to Halo2 on xbox isn't really fair, I'm anxious to see some Doom3 Xbox footage to make a real comparaison.

One thing's for sure, both games are going to be incredible. Halo2 will be much better though simply because of the amazing XBL experience that is being promised. Can't wait!

**KboT** · 09-07-2003

Originally posted by cjskater
Star Trek is using the same graphics engine as Doom 3, saw it on tech tv, and it didn't look as good as Halo 2. Halo 2 all the way

No it's using the same Graphics as the QUAKE III engine.

They Metioned that it's Game Engine is "showing it's age" and Doom III is not even released yet.

**Sodacider** · 09-07-2003

Originally posted by xboxman_1
First of all, Carmack codes the engines, he's not a designer. Secondly, the Major calling an airstrike was staged, its not like it happened on the fly.

He is a designer, and the airstrike being staged is still an example of what I'm saying- environment and atmosphere are far better on Halo 2.

**Dre** · 09-07-2003

Originally posted by Sodacider

He is a designer, and the airstrike being staged is still an example of what I'm saying- environment and atmosphere are far better on Halo 2.

Last I checked, he was a famous engine programmer at ID. There is a difference. He makes the code that powers the game's graphics, but designers still need to create a game using his engine.

I agree with you however that Halo2 has an environment and story much larger scale than Doom3. Doom3 looks like its going to create a really scary sit-on-the-edge-of-your-seat atmosphere though and that looks like a helluva lot of fun too!

Bottom line is, we Xbox owners are getting both these titles and they both will be insanely amazing and fun!

**OC Noob** · 09-07-2003

Originally posted by rough_rida
DOOM 3 has betta graphics but i think Halo 2's gameplay will make up for the graphics.

I agree totally. Halo is great and all, but lets not be totally biased.

Unlike a lot of people I don't think Carmack is the second coming or anything, but he is absolutely the #1 gfx engine maker.

DIII is easily going to have the best graphics in the gaming industry. ID has always dominated the gfx engine market and most of the PC games out there are based of some build of IDs quake engines.

If you've seen the leaked demo then you know it beats anything out now and looks better then even the glimpses of HL2.

Bungie isn't known for their gfx engines and it would take a monumental evffort to be DIII as far as gfx are consered and I very highly doubt it will happen.

Landscape, monsters type and environtment have nothing to do with the quality of graphics. Those are things you do with gfx.

That being said Halo 2 will be a much much much better game because of the story, gameplay, environments and all that other stuff. DIII is just a shoot em up to display what the the engine can do. Its an engine first, a game second and Carmack has said as much.

Will I buy DIII...maybe, maybe not. Will I buy Halo 2..OH HELL YEAH!

**E Nomini Patri** · 09-07-2003

Originally posted by xboxman_1
The Major calling an airstrike was staged, its not like it happened on the fly.

And monsters climbing out of vents isn't staged? I'm sure that happens completely at random...

Bungie said you can call airtstrikes on targets, so it does happen on the fly. The major needed that turret taken out, so he called in some air support. You can do that in the game on your own if you so please. Go read the EGM mag with the Halo 2 special.

**SPARTAN VI** · 09-07-2003

Originally posted by OC Noob

DIII is easily going to have the best graphics in the gaming industry. ID has always dominated the gfx engine market and most of the PC games out there are based of some build of IDs quake engines.

Always dominated the "graphics engine market"? They seemed to have missed quite a few years between Q3 and DIII, and have been topped in numerous occasions since (Unreal2 or Halo, anyone?) But yes, Cormack made a flexible engine, so it was constantly being used, regardless of it's age...

If you've seen the leaked demo then you know it beats anything out now and looks better then even the glimpses of HL2.

If you have the leaked demo, you'd know that Doom3 better not work anything like that. But since it's only an alpha, I can expect a lot more from the full version.

And monsters climbing out of vents isn't staged? I'm sure that happens completely at random...

Xboxman got PWN3D!!1!