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Frustrations with Doom Dark Ages Experience

May 14, 2025

Lecture on Gaming Experience with Doom Dark Ages

Introduction

  • Speaker's Frustration: The speaker expresses frustration with the game Doom Dark Ages due to frequent crashes, making it nearly unplayable.
    • Experienced 20-21 crashes during a 4-hour play session.
    • Avid Doom fan, with a deep appreciation for the franchise, specifically Doom Eternal.

Specific Issues

  • Driver Update Requirement: The game prompts players to update drivers for optimal performance.

    • Users are advised to update to driver version 57640.
    • Many users, including the speaker, experience persistent crashing after updating.
    • Known issue across the community, with documentation of driver-related crashes.
    • Criticism of the expectation to update drivers as it led to more issues.
  • Blame on Users: The speaker points out an unjust blame on users for the crashes.

    • Users argued to be at fault for following update suggestions.
    • Speaker finds this blame akin to victim blaming, illustrating it with extreme analogies.

Troubleshooting and Testing

  • Efforts to Resolve Issues:
    • Speaker rolled back drivers, resulting in reduced but persisting crashes.
    • Extensive troubleshooting to find a stable configuration for the game.
    • Criticism of the need for players to perform troubleshooting post-launch.

Comparison with Other Games

  • Expedition 33: Cited as a well-optimized game with no issues, contrasting with Doom Dark Ages.
    • Shows that optimized game releases are possible.

Broader Criticism

  • Gaming Industry Standards:
    • Criticism of modern gaming industry standards for releasing buggy products.
    • Expectation that AAA games should be optimized for a majority of users.
    • Discontent with shifting blame towards players instead of addressing corporate responsibility.

Conclusion

  • Final Thoughts: Despite enjoying the game content, the speaker is frustrated with technical issues and industry responses.
    • Highlights the need for focusing on corporate responsibility for game quality.
    • Experience with Doom Dark Ages reflects a broader issue with PC game port optimization.
    • Hope for improvement in game stability following personal troubleshooting efforts.