GameplayDoom 3, like its predecessors, is a first-person shooter featuring a variety of enemies and weapons. The sole objective of each level is simply to survive while also collecting key codes or to trigger events that open locked doors in the player`s path. The player is given a collection of 10 weapons over the course of the game, ranging from conventional shotguns and pistols to experimental and high-power ordinance. Many enemies from the previous Doom games return for Doom 3 with new designs while still providing a mix of both ranged and melee attacks to be dealt with by the player. The level design in Doom 3 is primarily centered around building an atmosphere of fear. Rooms and corridors are rarely well lit and are often strewn with blood stains and corpses. One of the design decisions that most heightened the tension of gameplay was the player`s inability to use the game`s flashlight in tandem with any other item or weapon. This forced the player to choose between sight and self-defense, which added to the horror elements in the level design. (At QuakeCon 2012, John Carmack admitted that this choice was based on performance concerns rather than aesthetic ones.) The player primarily interacts with non-player characters through radio transmissions as well as videos and messages downloaded into the player`s PDA. Security codes used to unlock doors and containers are also stored on the PDA. Doom 3`s gameplay was not as fast-paced as the games before it. Almost all of the game is extremely dark, and there is no Light amplification visor, nor do weapons have a flashlight attachment. Instead the player must rely on, rather infamously, the flashlight that can only be used in place of a weapon. There are few tactics involved other than grabbing the biggest weapons. Much of the game takes place in dark close-quarters with demons ambushing from every direction. By contrast the Hell level of the game is considered by many to be the best, as it is more similar to the Doom games of the past, featuring more open areas and making use of unique effects.
Difficulty
Difficulty | g_skill | Damage |
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Recruit | 0 | 75% | Marine | 1 | 90% | Veteran | 2 | 170% | Nightmare | 3 | 350% |
There are four difficulty levels in Doom 3: Recruit, Marine, Veteran, and Nightmare. The first three are always available. On Recruit difficulty, there are fewer monsters, but it is a negligible amount. The principal difference between the difficulties is the amount of damage the player receives. The chart on the right indicates the amount of damage the player will receive on each difficulty level, relative to the definition files (.def). Upon completion of a campaign regardless of difficulty level, the player unlocks the "Nightmare" difficulty setting. When playing the game on this setting, the player`s health falls in 5-point increments at 5-second intervals until it reaches 25, where it remains steady. Additionally, there are absolutely no medkits throughout the game; the only means of procuring health is either by the health stations, which are still operational, or use of the Soul Cube, which is given to the player at the very start of the game. The difficulty setting can be controlled by the controllable variable, g_skill . The damage changes take effect immediately, but a map restart or change is necessary for the rest. For example, if a player begins the level on Recruit difficulty and then enters g_skill 3 in the console, immediately their health will begin its drop to 25 and they will receive Nightmare damage. However, the Soul Cube is not given, medkits remain in the level, and the amount of monsters does not increase.
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