Doom 3: Phobos

[Gzegzolka]

I can confirm it works on GoG version of Doom3, just copy files and it runs well, widescreen need some changes in cfg files to works.

[HavoX]

Congratulations on completing a long and tumultuous journey, Team Future! You even managed to beat the deadline for Doom 3's 20th anniversary.

Now that the trilogy is complete, what are your plans for the future?

[Shaviro]

20 minutes ago, HavoX said:

Congratulations on completing a long and tumultuous journey, Team Future! You even managed to beat the deadline for Doom 3's 20th anniversary.

Now that the trilogy is complete, what are your plans for the future?

 

Thank you!

As for what's in the future, I think that should come to light real soon :)

[Gez]

1 minute ago, Shaviro said:

As for what's in the future, I think that should come to light real soon :)

RTC-3057 hub 2! :p

[AtimZarr1]

 

Spoilers/Thoughts:

 

I recorded long-form non-commentary gameplay of Phobos Episode 3 for those interested in seeing someone's approach to the encounters and levels. I played the previous episodes (but never recorded them) on Ultra-Violence years ago, but decided to do Hurt Me Plenty for this one to make sure I could finish the campaign without embarassing myself while recording - but LOL, I wasn't expecting nearly 7 hours, most of which felt like I got lost and confused trying to figure out the puzzle solutions (or dying a lot more near the end). I did feel quite proud that I didn't look up the solutions to any puzzles (unlike episode 2 iirc), but I do admit I started feeling frustrated after a while. Could be because I got exhausted playing continuously, but it did sometimes feel like I was fighting for 10 minutes to follow with 30 minutes of head-scratching back-and-forths. I had a similar impression with the Darksiders franchise - I enjoyed the combat but would get annoyed by the puzzles since I could never intuit most of them on the first go. That being said, it was satisfying to solve them all eventually with time. It could be like a Doom 64 thing where I didn't like the leaning into puzzles but when I replayed it later, I ended up enjoying it a lot more since I knew the general solution pattern to look for. The recording is interesting from that perspective of seeing where I miss things and what it takes for me to figure out the solution for that unspoken eureka moment.

 

I really quite enjoyed almost all of the combat encounters, it's been a while since I played the earlier two episodes so I couldn't remember if they were in there too - but the modified enemies are really refreshing as someone who plays/played a lot of Doom 3. The enemies being faster, less predictable, and having new abilities just makes the gameplay a lot more engaging. Plus even on Hurt Me Plenty, it's tough. I was doing well enough early on in the video but could feel the pressure building near the end. Some of the fights are maybe a bit too claustrophobic. You generally need a good understanding of the enemies to dispatch them as quickly as possible, but because of Doom 3's extreme headshaking-on-being-damaged quirk, getting hit once by something like a Pinky or even a Wraith/Maggot here is generally going to get you killed most of the time, especially with the added enemy aggression and greater quantities in Phobos. I kinda wish the Rocket Launcher didn't do splash damage, or there was a new type of heavy weapon (think Gauss Cannon from 2016), that can give me a "fuck off hellspawn" option for close-range - because the best ones currently are Chaingun and Plasma Gun but both are automatic weapons and are risky to depend on in a close encounter if caught off-guard. Maybe I could've used the SSG more often (fits the definition at least) but I always felt low on Shell ammo, that I felt compelled to conserve for the regular Shotgun in case the Machine Gun ran out (which it rarely did tbh). That being said, I actually liked the ammo economy in Phobos - it's very, very easy for Doom 3 ammunition to spiral out of control but I actually felt that Phobos was a perfect balance between "just enough" and "not enough". It encouraged me to look around but I didn't feel like I was starving either. Good stuff.

 

The only thing I disliked about the combat really was probably that Arch-Vile boss battle - I didn't get it and began worrying I'd soft-lock myself into running out of ammo. I couldn't get a good hit on the spiraling Souls at first, but managed to figure it out relatively quick - and it's a decent gimmick for a boss. Then when the six of them appear, I had no idea what to look for. They were seemingly invulnerable so I thought maybe it was a timed thing. Nope, apparently one of them are glowing at a time and I have to shoot that one. I couldn't really tell I was damaging it though, or if it was meaningful, because it spawned Zombies - and it took me a (long) moment to realize the "glowing" effect had shifted to another Arch-Vile and I was supposed to damage that one, but the glowing effects are kind of difficult to notice, or any feedback by damaging them. And during one such attempt, they ended up dying and to be honest, I don't really know what I did differently other than live/shoot for a bit longer. As an aside, their flame explosion attacks feel a bit too wide - it's reliable to jump away but that gets tricky with the spawns and pillars, getting kinda claustrophobic quickly for a fiery demise. I could feel my heart sink when two Hell Knights (I don't know what these new variants are called) spawn in right after that - and I had basically only Rocket ammo left. Or my heart sinking even further when one seemingly respawned shortly after dying - I thought it was another puzzle I had to figure out. But thank god the bastards finally died. Granted, this was the final encounter of the episode so it makes sense for it to be difficult - but holy heck, I'm on Hurt Me Plenty lol

 

The actual level and world design continues to be impressively immersive across all three episodes. There's so much detail packed into the world and I appreciate how some of the levels loop back into themselves, or make clever use of their geometry - like that sequence where you use the tram/lift/thing to access a floor, then ascend the floor out a vent shaft to crawl across the top of the tram/lift/thing to get to the other side of the facility and into another vent shaft. Very satisfying. Some of the looping about can definitely make it confusing where I'm supposed to go, especially if I'm on a puzzle sequence and I can't tell if I'm going the right way or not. For example I discovered that vent/lift/crawling moment before it was supposed to be important for your progression - so I spent a long time on the other side wondering what I missed. That's compounded by having some "stuck" solutions often involving interacting with a small maintenance shaft's GUI tucked in a corner, or a well-hidden set of ladders in a corner the eye would pass by generally - these mandatory solutions would just encourage me try to inspect every nook and cranny for way longer than I probably should be at any given moment I felt unsure. Which likely contributed to my feeling of "fighting 10 mins, then looking around for 30 mins" feeling I had.

 

Story (some spoilers + Firewatch?)

 

Spoiler

I don't want to talk too much about the story until it's actually over (yay for the "To be concluded" at the end), but I'd like to share my thoughts on the approach to the story. I would say that my feelings about it are the same across all three episodes, although I did feel a bit more interested in the third episode's happenings and execution of certain moments like the heightened tension and slow unraveling of discovery at Benson's home). Unfortunately, I do not like the approach overall very much. The combat sections and the Earth flashback sections feel, even three episodes in, very different from each other - as if they're both covering different games in a juxtaposed whiplash-y manner (which might be the intent). The opening flashback sequence being 25 minutes long felt like overkill. There's more whiplash later on when you return to these Earth flashbacks - and while Sam and Lee are discussing their hopes about moving away, I'm just reminiscing about the barrage of Revenant rockets and onslaught of Imp fireballs that I endured 10 minutes ago. To go from Classic-inspired brutal claustrophobic action to a slow and thoughtful emotional drama about friends and dreams - especially when it goes on for what feels like a long time - is such a weird whiplash. It risks making the rather tragic backstory into feeling like a side-story melodrama, when it's intended to be the emotional crux of the story. And I really liked Firewatch (admittedly the only "walking sim" I've ever played) - but I don't know if combat sequences would do its story any favors. It's been ages since I played episodes 1 and 2 for their approaches, but as for episode 3, I felt like the demons/Hell/etc. portion of the world was "underplayed" in the story. Like you could probably splice the talking bits in episode 3 together and it'd make a cohesive story, since the demons don't really come up other than characters saying "what happened here" maybe once. By the time we get to the Praeleanthor lore about the Dark Realm and Light Realm by the end of the Episode, that itself feels like it comes out of nowhere. Even Sam's demeanor in the present day caught me off-guard. I do vaguely remember him being shocked in episode 1, but it was so strange to go through hours of play in Episode 3 - running through hallways and shotgunning demons - only for him to talk in his rather smooth and relaxed voice to Samantha. Sam's pondering over the truth of his identity and his past really threw me for a loop too - would this man have any fucks left to give? I gave them all out hours ago to embody the figurative killing machine needed to survive - and I had the luxury of living in real life yesterday. Sam here has been wandering in metal tubes and knee deep in demon guts without end - but he's talking to Samantha like he just met her at a coffee shop. It's the kind of juxtaposition that I feel like undermines the story's themes. For example with Firewatch, I felt genuinely sad when I realized the protagonist wouldn't meet the radio lady at the ending after talking and bonding with her all game long. When it's revealed that Samantha lied to Sam about his identity in Episode 3, I didn't feel anything. My reaction was more like "huh, okay". But that revelation is what apparently ruined Sam's mood though. It's a weird dissonance between the narrative and the gameplay. Sam was concerned with Sam baggage, and I, the player, was concerned with killing demons. Honestly the most excited I got for the story was when it teased the Soul Cube Box probably about to save Lee's soul at the very end - that was actually neat, plus with the To be Concluded tease since I do want to see how it ends. I assume the narration at the start is a flash-forward since Lee talks about remembering "burning wood and gasoline" when asked about how it started, which is how she's about to be executed.

 

I didn't mean to make a long-winded wall-of-text about the story, but I had feelings about it and wanted to share it. I do want to see where things end up in Episode 4 though so I can feel a bit more certain talking about it. Also, I would recommend adding some sort of PDA with character/place/thing names/notes because everybody is faceless and after playing an episode after a few years, it's easy to forgot what's going on and who is what.

 

Overall though, I enjoyed Episode 3 and look forward to seeing whatever's made next. I had some issues with pacing and story but the combat sequences, level, and world design held their own well enough. I did play 7 hours of it non-stop after all. I do think some of my opinion is probably influenced by playing for that long in a single sitting lol. Hope the gameplay is interesting to comb through and that my thoughts/feedback were enjoyable to read.

 

P.S. - There's a bug at 48:00 in the video where you can fall into the slime pool without taking damage and walk around. Also the interact and biohelm keys were unbound for me at the start, which led to confusion pre-recording when I couldn't figure out what to press at the start of the game.

Edited June 2 by AtimZarr1

[Hydra]

Hi I'm experiencing a crash on startup of doom 3 Phobos and would like some help with this

 

WARNING: file def/moveable_items.def, line 60: entityDef 'moveable_item_skull_pork' previously defined at def/d3xp-items.def:519
WARNING: file def/moveable_items.def, line 70: entityDef 'moveable_item_head_pork' previously defined at def/d3xp-items.def:530
WARNING: file def/moveable_items.def, line 80: entityDef 'moveable_item_torso_pork' previously defined at def/d3xp-items.def:541
WARNING: file def/moveable_items.def, line 90: entityDef 'moveable_item_rup_arm_pork' previously defined at def/d3xp-items.def:552
WARNING: file def/moveable_items.def, line 100: entityDef 'moveable_item_left_waist_pork' previously defined at def/d3xp-items.def:563
WARNING: file def/moveable_items.def, line 110: entityDef 'moveable_item_lup_leg_pork' previously defined at def/d3xp-items.def:574
WARNING: file def/moveable_items.def, line 120: entityDef 'moveable_item_rup_leg_pork' previously defined at def/d3xp-items.def:585
WARNING: file def/moveable_items.def, line 130: entityDef 'moveable_item_rup2_leg_pork' previously defined at def/d3xp-items.def:596
WARNING: file def/moveable_items.def, line 140: entityDef 'moveable_item_pelvis_pork' previously defined at def/d3xp-items.def:607
WARNING: file def/moveable_items.def, line 149: entityDef 'moveable_item_armor_security' previously defined at def/d3xp-items.def:186
WARNING: file def/moveable_items.def, line 158: entityDef 'moveable_item_medkit' previously defined at def/d3xp-items.def:198
WARNING: file def/mp.def, line 295: entityDef 'projectile_plasmablast_mp' previously defined at def/d3xp-mp.def:273
WARNING: file def/mp.def, line 460: entityDef 'player_doommarine_mp' previously defined at def/d3xp-mp.def:163
WARNING: file def/pda.def, line 19: entityDef 'moveable_item_pda' previously defined at def/d3xp-items.def:407
WARNING: file def/player.def, line 1127: entityDef 'player_doommarine' previously defined at def/d3xp-player.def:462
WARNING: file def/powerups.def, line 27: entityDef 'powerup_berserk' previously defined at def/d3xp-powerups.def:17
WARNING: file def/powerups.def, line 44: entityDef 'powerup_invisibility' previously defined at def/d3xp-powerups.def:39
WARNING: file def/weapon_bfg.def, line 89: entityDef 'moveable_item_bfg' previously defined at def/d3xp-items.def:423
WARNING: file def/weapon_chaingun.def, line 107: entityDef 'moveable_item_chaingun' previously defined at def/d3xp-items.def:433
WARNING: file def/weapon_flashlight.def, line 79: entityDef 'moveable_item_flashlight' previously defined at def/d3xp-items.def:442
WARNING: file def/weapon_handgrenade.def, line 90: entityDef 'moveable_item_grenades' previously defined at def/d3xp-items.def:451
WARNING: file def/weapon_machinegun.def, line 105: entityDef 'moveable_item_machinegun' previously defined at def/d3xp-items.def:461
WARNING: file def/weapon_plasmagun.def, line 109: entityDef 'moveable_item_plasmagun' previously defined at def/d3xp-items.def:470
WARNING: file def/weapon_rocketlauncher.def, line 102: entityDef 'moveable_item_rocketlauncher' previously defined at def/d3xp-items.def:479
WARNING: file def/weapon_shotgun.def, line 105: entityDef 'moveable_item_shotgun' previously defined at def/d3xp-items.def:488
WARNING: file particles/ktest.prt, line 14134: particle 'pointsoflight_red' previously defined at particles/ktest.prt:3035
WARNING: file particles/stlightbeam2.prt, line 30: particle 'stlightbeam2' previously defined at particles/stlightbeam.prt:56
WARNING: file particles/stlightbeam3.prt, line 30: particle 'stlightbeam3' previously defined at particles/stlightbeam.prt:86
Initializing event system
...534 event definitions
Initializing class hierarchy
...153 classes, 237096 bytes for event callbacks
execing default.cfg
Initializing scripts
--------- Game Map Shutdown ----------
--------------------------------------
********************
ERROR: Error: file script/phobos_events.script, line 3: Unknown event 'FindMonsterToResurrect'

********************
Error during initialization
Shutting down OpenGL subsystem
...wglMakeCurrent( NULL, NULL ): success
...deleting GL context: success
...releasing DC: success
...destroying window
...resetting display
...shutting down QGL
...unloading OpenGL DLL


That's the error I get plus at the top it says error during initialization.

If someone could please help me figure this out I would be greatly appreciative.

[geX]

Do you have Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil installed?

[Hydra]

Yes I do

 

[geX]

Do you have other mods installed?

How do you launch the mod?

[Hydra]

I have no other mods installed and I launch it via the phobos batch file

[AmethystViper]

Dumb question, but is your game updated to v1.3.1?

[geX]

Open the readme and try and go through it and maybe try to launch it via the shortcut instead of batch file.

[Hydra]

My doom 3 is v1.3.1 and I have tried the shortcut method with no success.

 

[Marty McFly]

Hello everyone, when will episode 4 be released

 

[geX]

14 hours ago, Marty McFly said:

Hello everyone, when will episode 4 be released

 

 

When it's done

[Zemini]

So the image and resolution is very very bad.  I cant read the options or can change the resolution.  Any suggestions?

 

Tried the config file fix but still looks messy.  Maybe i just havn't played of Doom 3 in a very long time.

Edited June 11 by Zemini

[Tetzlaff]

17 hours ago, Zemini said:

So the image and resolution is very very bad.  I cant read the options or can change the resolution.  Any suggestions?

 

Tried the config file fix but still looks messy.  Maybe i just havn't played of Doom 3 in a very long time.

 

Try some of the config settings in this thread: 

 

[zak1615165s]

hey everyone ! i have problem that is my gloves are not brown but white i mean like the video bellow : any help ? 

 

[SaiNth]

This mod and specially the last episode is a complete work of art, I would like to give some feedback by sections:

 

Spoiler

 

- Story: Like it as it starts to converge with the mars-demons-hell etc plot, but i would sugest to implement the ability to skip the flashbacks at least for the subsequent runs, if i want to replay some map i would be forced to revisit the flashbacks again and some of them are a bit long.

- Enemies: the fast pacing is refreshing, as it feels like a mid-point between the sloweness of the original doom3 and the fast pacing of 2016/eternal, also really like the monster variants and their redesign and skills, maybe the wraith is a bit overpowered speed-wise, but it doesn't feel out of place for me.

- Weapons: The tuning of the values of some or them fits the increased dificulty of the enemies and the faster gameplay, maybe I felt a lack of shotgun ammo but it forced me to stop spamming ssg as I usually do, so its ok

- Map design: The only thing I can say for this point is that is completely awesome, better than original games and of course the best map designs I have seen for this game, the combination of puzzles, how they fit the gameplay and the atmosphere without feeling out of place is a miracle of the design. Maybe some parts as the map with the rotating pipes in the silos can be confusing for some players but I encountered it incredibly satisfiying, I mean, its difficult to understand at the begining, after a bit you start to understand how the map is configured and you can infer how to progress and feels satisfying to verify that everything is coherent.

- Boss battles: The first encounter with the PE its OK and fits with the weaponry you have at that point, the arachnotron feels a bit overpowered for me, maybe it has so much HP, i would sugest to tune down his HP a bit, allowing to be used as a regular enemy more often in higgher numbers, or maybe having an arachnotron boss vs another "regular" arachnotron with tuned values, idk. Finally, i had problems of ammo in the final archvile boss, i would sugest to implement some sort of refill ammo mechanic there as there are "potentially unlimited" waves of demons.

 

One another thing I love of the mod besides the level design is the "atmosphere progression" of the levels, you feel that the hell is consuming the base and corrupting it like in the original games but you have taken it to another level here, a perfect example of my point is the map where you are opening floodgates one after one. Another one is especially the bulwark as the concept of the "most secure place of mars" that has been completely overrun by archviles to decimate all the human resistance that you can clearly apreciate that were there hours before.

 

 

That being said, contratulations for the team, you made the best mod for this game so far and its even better i expected any mod for this game could ever be, cannot wait for the next episode.

[OANJEE]

Spoiler

I'm very impressed with this mod. So I made a full map overview.

Edited June 19 by OANJEE

[Caffeine Freak]

Holy fuck. How did you do that, exactly? I'm assuming you loaded each map into the editor, but only loaded the worldspawn brushes?

[Arl]

On 6/16/2024 at 7:14 AM, SaiNth said:

This mod and specially the last episode is a complete work of art, I would like to give some feedback by sections:

 

  Hide contents

 

- Story: Like it as it starts to converge with the mars-demons-hell etc plot, but i would sugest to implement the ability to skip the flashbacks at least for the subsequent runs, if i want to replay some map i would be forced to revisit the flashbacks again and some of them are a bit long.

- Enemies: the fast pacing is refreshing, as it feels like a mid-point between the sloweness of the original doom3 and the fast pacing of 2016/eternal, also really like the monster variants and their redesign and skills, maybe the wraith is a bit overpowered speed-wise, but it doesn't feel out of place for me.

- Weapons: The tuning of the values of some or them fits the increased dificulty of the enemies and the faster gameplay, maybe I felt a lack of shotgun ammo but it forced me to stop spamming ssg as I usually do, so its ok

- Map design: The only thing I can say for this point is that is completely awesome, better than original games and of course the best map designs I have seen for this game, the combination of puzzles, how they fit the gameplay and the atmosphere without feeling out of place is a miracle of the design. Maybe some parts as the map with the rotating pipes in the silos can be confusing for some players but I encountered it incredibly satisfiying, I mean, its difficult to understand at the begining, after a bit you start to understand how the map is configured and you can infer how to progress and feels satisfying to verify that everything is coherent.

- Boss battles: The first encounter with the PE its OK and fits with the weaponry you have at that point, the arachnotron feels a bit overpowered for me, maybe it has so much HP, i would sugest to tune down his HP a bit, allowing to be used as a regular enemy more often in higgher numbers, or maybe having an arachnotron boss vs another "regular" arachnotron with tuned values, idk. Finally, i had problems of ammo in the final archvile boss, i would sugest to implement some sort of refill ammo mechanic there as there are "potentially unlimited" waves of demons.

 

One another thing I love of the mod besides the level design is the "atmosphere progression" of the levels, you feel that the hell is consuming the base and corrupting it like in the original games but you have taken it to another level here, a perfect example of my point is the map where you are opening floodgates one after one. Another one is especially the bulwark as the concept of the "most secure place of mars" that has been completely overrun by archviles to decimate all the human resistance that you can clearly apreciate that were there hours before.

 

 

 

 

 

That being said, contratulations for the team, you made the best mod for this game so far and its even better i expected any mod for this game could ever be, cannot wait for the next episode.

 

 

Thanks for the review! glad you like it.

 

 

2 hours ago, OANJEE said:

  Reveal hidden contents

I'm very impressed with this mod. So I made a full map overview.

 

 

Woa!