Now that id Software has been launched Doom Eternalthe second expansion of, The Ancient Gods – Part Two, the studio is focusing on upgrading the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X to the game. We spoke with Marty Stratton of id Software about what to expect from the updated, new generation version of the game.
Stratton was cautious about the release date, but gave some tips on the update, saying that id Software is already in a good position to take advantage of what the new consoles can do.
“I’ve been at id for a long time, so I probably think the technology is a little obvious and the scalability of the technology just because it’s rooted in the id Tech culture,” said Stratton, listing the features that id focuses on engines: “scalability, high frame rates, high resolution, regardless of the platform you’re playing on ”.
As id Software has always been focused on the PC, and its games tend to advance the state of the art in some way, the company starts looking at new consoles and GPU technology from hardware manufacturers, which helps inform planning of games like Doom Eternal even years before launch. But there are the creative decisions when it is time to actually get the game running on the new consoles.
“Once we have the hardware in hand, it is really just a kind of back and forth between the technology team and the creative team,” explained Stratton. “Ray tracing is a great example. What does this mean for the visual style of the game? This is gonna change? How do we want this to change? It ranges from theoretical conversations and laying the groundwork for real decisions about how things look, as you play the game and make sure it still fits what the game really needs and what players expect from the game, and giving them options. “
It looks like we can expect PS5 and Xbox Series X versions that put a lot of the control we’re used to PC games back in the hands of players when it comes to how the game should look and run, and where the priorities are in the settings.
“We usually give players tons and tons of options,” Stratton told Polygon. “Our video configuration menus, our gameplay and our control settings, I mean, we really try to give players as many options and sliders as we can.”