For myself, I would prefer to see the manufacturer of the game provide detailed information on what's really being supported in the PC version (of said game). Perhaps certain things may be mentioned in the fine print somewhere, but I am tired of seeing (apparently) over-hyping of a game which in reality is primarily intended for consoles, but incidentally has a PC-port just for completeness.

Things I would like to see explicitly called out:

Hardware related:
- True 64-bit support: yes/no
- Multi-core support: yes/no
- DX11 support: yes/no
- Real Hi-Res images: yes/no
- Real PC keyboard remapping support: yes/no
- Modding ability: yes/no

Gameplay related:
- Invisible walls: yes/no
- Cookie cutter monsters: yes/no
- Game controlled save points: yes/no
- Hop & chop gameplay: yes/no
- Linear story: yes/no

P.S. And I'm not encouraged by Windows 8 either

Consoles don't support these things in the current generation, so its not viable for them to be in the PC port of it. Also calling it "true" 64-bit is just plain wrong



New games yes, but this is not fair to ask of a game that was already made 8 years ago.


Indeed

Your post is probably more relevant for a more general topic elsewhere as what we are talking about here is a re-release of an 8-year-old game that was originally PC only. I'm going to deal with it in specific terms of BFG Edition here so I'll come across as harsher than I probably would in that hypothetical other context. Up-front however I am in broad agreement with you in general terms, but here we're just talking BFG so that's where the rest of my reply starts and ends. None of this should be read as "so you think (insert crap console feature X) is a good thing?"

It's completely unreasonable to expect a full 64-bit port in the timeframe allocated to make this re-release.
The original had multi-core support but it was fairly primitive (true consumer-level multicore didn't really exist back then, or at least was hugely uncommon).
DX11 is irrelevant to an OpenGL title.
High res images are irrelevant to an 8-year old game.
Keyboard remapping is present and correct.
Modding ability has been in the original and will be in this re-release following the source code release.

Most everything in this part of your list would require a huge re-architecting of the game. Remember - this is not a new game. This is a re-release of an old game, and it must largely operate within the constraints originally set down by that old game. So are id going to pull all of their texture artists off Doom 4 to make higher-res versions of the original's textures, for example? Get real.

Yes, changes were made to the game (and yes, not all of them were good changes) but it's nothing much beyond what a talented and dedicated mod team with previous experience of the technology couldn't have accomplished in a similar timeframe. Why should you expect anything more? Again - this is not a new game.


Again, we're talking about an old game here. An old game that was originally PC only, that has been re-released largely unchanged, and that was originally released before the current console FPS malaise even existed. You can level criticisms at it over some of these items for sure, but not in the context of that current console FPS malaise. Calling it out over a linear story is completely unreasonable in that context, but it was and is a fair criticism of the original game, for example. The only item in that list that's valid is the annoying save points that pop up and halt gameplay every so often, which should not have been added to the PC version, but that's only half a criticism as the PC version (I don't know about and have no interest in the 360 or PS3 versions) still has the ability to manually save whenever you want.

What I'm saying in all of this is - if something was already in the original game, then you have no justification whatsoever for crying "console port!" if it remains in BFG Edition. If you don't get the latest über-gfx from it, remember that it's an 8 year old game that just got a fairly mild tidy up, not a complete redesign. If it's an objectionable new feature of BFG Edition - like those automatic saves, or the daft default FOV of 80, for example - then criticise away and I'll be right there supporting you.


I fail to see the relevance of this to the specific topic of Doom 3.

Some interested points in your response. Yes, my list did actually go off topic and on a bit of a rant; intended mainly for brand new games and in a broader context. Probably should have been in the general forum.


Unrealistic expectations, then? I'm not sorry for wanting more.

However, I'm glad that I chose to dig deeper into what the BFG edition is actually comprised of: Basically a tweaked re-release of an 8 year old game.


True, but it just feels so *right*. Oh, and I think Microsoft should bring back the Start button too.

That is more of less all that it is, yes. And from where I'm sitting I never saw much indication that it would be anything else (in fact I was calling this out months in advance of the release).

Now, as for the merits and demerits of those tweaks when compared to the original, they're worthy of discussion.

One correction for this discussion: Doom 3 was not PC only when it was released. It was PC and Xbox only. In addition, the original Xbox release plays just fine on the Xbox 360, too.

In other words, let's not exaggerate the potential market for Doom 3 BFG.

Wrong, you might want to look at the release dates
Doom3 PC: 2004
Doom3 Xbox: 2005

So Doom 1 and 2 are Censored

http://www.facepunch.com/showthread.php?t=1218935

The first release of Doom3 pre-BFG edition was fairly different from the PC edition. The BFG edition is closer to the original PC release, so the market is there for sure