Everytime they make a breakthrough in their game engine graphics, they get owned by someone else. I remember when Doom III was briefly the best looking game before Half-life 2 stole the title. Now same happened with Rage HD and Infinity Blade. Am I wrong?
They don't get owned. Technology pushes on and graphics/physics always get better with time. You can only be on top for so long, then the next dev pushes the envelope further and then someone else does the same. It's very cyclical and is the nature of the industry.
Doom 3 was their most profitable product to date when it was released. I don't think they were too sad. The fact it sucked wasn't really related to the graphics though... more the dated gameplay.
What about licensing the graphics engine? Does ID do that? I only remember that Half-life used the Quake 2 engine. I don't know. I feel stupid.
That's cause the Doom 3 engine sucked compared to Unreal Engine 3 and this time around Id have made an FPS with more variety to show their new engine can do a bit of everything. That said what have Id done since Quake 3? Nothing, their talent left a long time ago and now they all just ride the Carmack hype wave. I loved RTCW, but that wasn't them and the new Wolfenstein sucked which also wasn't from them. Doom 3 was a major let down and Quake 4 or Quake ET wasn't what they shoulda been, which I also think wasn't from them. One word sums up Id for the 00s and that's disappointing. I think Carmack has changed since he's had kids though, not sure if he'll ever been relevant with hardcore games again. He seems to love his casual Wii stuff far too much for my liking. That said I can't wait for Rage to hope they prove me wrong and I wish'd Carmack worked for Valve. Though Rage will have crap Multiplayer because there is something about plastic looking skin on games and bad MP.
Why are you comparing IDTech4 to a late 2007 Unreal Engine 3 ? They are technologies made more than 3 years apart... Also, it is a tradition for ID Software to release their source code under the GNU public license, which is pretty unique. I found doom3 to be great..It was an awesome game, with a unique atmosphere thanks to gorgeous shading techniques...Hadn't jumped on my seat since original AVP..pretty scary stuff... The only annoying things were the constant monster spawn behind just about every door, and the lack of attached flashlight (having to switch). BTW, an internal demo was leaked by ATI almost a year before its release, which set the bar for the competition. Also, Rage HD is nowhere near their new technology, it is an upgraded doom resurrection engine (if i remember right they used megatexture technology and painted/baked the texture with radiosity lightning etc using the IDTech5 editor)
id are not a game making company essentially. Yes, they make games, too but they get their BIG money from licensing their Engine. Making games is more like a fun time occupation to them. Not a business. We have to see what Rage will bring, still.
