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id Software developer says Microsoft treated the team as "useless" despite best-in-class titles | AltChar (www.altchar.com)
submitted 4 months ago by to c/pcgaming@lemmy.ca
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[–] 119 points 4 months ago (20 children)

I mean really, what does id software know about gaming? It's not like they single handedly created the FPS genre and one of the most recognized IP in all of gaming history. /s

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  • [–] 70 points 4 months ago (15 children)

    I'm on the side of this was an insane move by Microsoft that they'll regret, but that's not a great argument.

    This isn't the same id software that did those things. This is an id software that has only released sequels rehashing mechanics with no original new IP since 2010. This is an id software who's engine has direct competitors with similar tech.

    Now sure they're a vast, highly competent workforce with strong technological knowledge and passion and great systems, and still insane skill, but they're a different company now than the revolutionaries you're talking about.

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  • [–] 33 points 4 months ago (9 children)

    No, of course you are right that it's not the same team from 1993, but they are the ones who fixed the FPS shooting in FO4.

    Doom isn't the singularity it was in the 90s, but it is still a well loved and unique franchise.

    And as others have pointed out, even without their own IPs, this team has a lot of knowledge and skills that can be applied to other MS properties.

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  • [–] 6 points 4 months ago (5 children)

    I'm one of the ones who's been arguing letting their skill go was insane.

    And even Fallout 4 was over 11 years ago. Still a very different time and company then.

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  • [–] 38 points 4 months ago (3 children)

    Chaps, I believe we can all agree that even if Id Software consisted of a cage filled with deranged chimps they'd still be more qualified and useful than any Microsoft exec.

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  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago (2 children)

    Then why aren't syndicalizing?

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  • [–] 4 points 4 months ago (2 children)

    It's crazy how well the original Doom and Doom II have aged. While modern source ports have improved it with higher resolutions and level limits, the underlying gameplay is as fun as ever even today. Other, more advanced competitors of the day like Duke Nukem 3D haven't aged as well.

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  • [–] 3 points 4 months ago

    The shooting and movement mechanics of the OG Dooms are still great, but I can only tolerate them for a few levels due to the keycard driven gameplay combined with the maze-like level design, which I think aged quite poorly, and was something that bothered me even in the 90's.

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  • [–] 2 points 4 months ago

    I played them both a lot when they came out, and still have it installed on my PS4.

    For 30 years I've almost always had some form of Doom and or Doom II available to play, and you are 100% right, the gameplay and feel, there just isn't anything else like it.

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  • [–] 13 points 4 months ago

    This is an id software who's engine has direct competitors with similar tech.

    Regardless if they have competitors with similar tech, what they're doing on the engine side of things is pretty amazing stuff. Personally, I don't think any engine comes close in terms of responsiveness and professionally, their work and techniques they have chosen to do and implement on rendering is very unique.

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  • [–] 10 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (2 children)

    At the very least, who made the call to layoff id tech devs while infinity ward still struggles to wrangle their IW engine abomination?

    There's so many games in the Microsoft collection that could have leveraged a shared optimization group similar to PlayStation's ICE Team and they just flushed an option.

    Edit- upon further thought I guess that niche would be filled by the Xbox Advanced Technology Group... either way I have a lot of respect for id software and find these decisions beyond foolish.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 4 months ago

    This is an id software that has only released sequels rehashing mechanics with no original new IP since 2010.

    id lost their touch when Bethesda bought them. All the cool modding stuff is gone. The last GPL engine release was Doom 3.

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  • [–] 10 points 4 months ago (3 children)

    John Carmack, Adrian Carmack, John Romero, Tom Hall. These were the founders of ID software. None of them are there now. It's a different company.

    That's not to say that Microsoft isn't stupid and evil for this and many other things, but they didn't lay off the people who revolutionized the game industry.

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  • [–] 6 points 4 months ago (1 child)

    But the devs at ID are still very above average, likely due to that legacy. Their engine runs so well even with all the modern rendering turned on. If microsoft just turns whatever is left of them into another unreal engine slophouse, thats when it will truly be a different company.

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  • [–] 2 points 4 months ago

    My only meeting was that the "they" who revolutionized gaming are not the same people who are in the company now. I have no doubt that they are absolutely top-tier game developers.

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  • [–] 4 points 4 months ago

    Of course not, and Henry Ford for some reason doesn't run Ford anymore. It's still the company that invented the assembly line, and id software created the FPS.

    There is institutional knowledge that makes id software unique, and MS is making a big mistake firing so many.

    I watched a few videos about this situation last night and have a better idea what's going on.

    The shift in focus to the core IPs, which at this point appear to be Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Wolfenstein, could be a great idea, if it means we get one of them every 18 months or so, as vs the decades between main releases the current model is heading towards.

    What I really hope is that all this talent being released into the wild gather together to form some new developers.

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