"DOOM" caught the attention of fans ever since it was revealed during E3 2015. Fast foward to last week during a private briefing with NVIDIA, id Software turned heads once again when it showcased some exclusive gameplay of its latest entry in the series running on the just-announced GeForce GTX 1080.
Video of the breathtaking footage was quickly uploaded online - but it could only be truly appreciated by those who were at the event. Those who weren't there had to settle for footage from cameras, so the gameplay wasn't as clean, crisp or detailed as it looked in-person.
Now, with "DOOM's" release one day away, NVIDIA and id Software want fans to see the game at its very best and have released the gameplay on YouTube in its full, uncompressed glory.
To clarify, the direct feed is 2.1 GB uncompressed and is running 1920x1080 at 60 FPS. Furthermore, as opposed to the GeForce GTX 1080 that was showcased at the event, this one is running on a GeForce GTX Titan X. Apparently, this happened because id Software executive producer Marty Stratton forgot the GTX 1080 at the event when packing up.
"We weren't capturing live, (and accidentally left our GTX 1080 at the event when packing up - argh!), but we came back and captured this re-play of the demo," he said. "This gameplay is from a PC running Vulkan on a Titan X at 120 FOV - with the player's personal upgrades and rune perks set for advanced speed and movement capabilities."
Despite the footage "only" coming from a Titan X, with a GeForce GTX 1080 behind the wheel, a Vulkan-accelerated "DOOM" will be capable of running even faster and running smoothly at higher resolutions. For example, during the demo last week, the game ran as high as 200 FPS when the frame limit was removed.
The Vulkan API (Application Program Interface) mentioned in this article is rather important. First off, it's the successor to Open GL, offering an open-source alternative to DirectX API. Furthermore, where as DirectX API is exclusive to Windows and other Microsoft platforms, Vulkan is cross-platform and will be supported by Google's Android and Valve's Steam OS.
Overall, it promises to give PC games the Daft Punk treatment, making them harder, faster, stronger and better. To understand more about the Vulkan API, check out a writeup about its background HERE.
"DOOM" will arrive in stores on May 13, while the NIVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 will arrive two weeks later on May 27.
