DOOM Eternal On Switch Will Target 30fps

30 with dips was fine for the first one on Switch. I really enjoyed playing it and all this news of a new one coming makes me want to start a second play-through.

That's an interesting comment they've made. Sounds to me they're being more wary of how to implement the game into Switch rather than settle for a potentially crude compromise.

I have been enjoying doom on the switch. If I cared about 60fps I just buy it for my ps4.
Its worth the sacrament to play on the go.
The game still looks and plays great.

Still surprised this is coming to the switch, looking forward to playing new doom on the go. Def purchase.

@HAMILTONHOWES "Its worth the sacrament"

If there were too many sacraments given to the Switch version it would have been a very different game and not set in Hell.

What a weird statement: Other platforms at 60 fps and Switch at 30 fps, "and really it was no sacrifice to the experience".

@Nincompoop
Means they will tweak everything to make the game almost the same (aside of the noticeable lower fps) including physics.

They said the same about Wolfenstein 2 so you can take that game as reference.

We are all going to HELL

I’m ready

If you want the "cinematic experience", get the Switch version of D00M

This is acceptable. DOOM 2016 was great on Switch. Bring it on.

30fps for this game was a given. Sounds like it might be better optimized for the platform than DOOM 2016, though, which is exciting.

hopefully they can boost the resolution up to 900p at least cant rule out 1080p since switch version is being built from the ground up and since its using a brand new engine and 30fps is fine.

PSVR has a processing unit that interpolates 60 fps to 120 fps. Why didn't Nintendo put a chip into the Switch that interpolates 30 fps to 60 fps? It will make all these 3rd party games run smoothly. Oculus also has a similar technique called Timewarp.

@RandomLeo00 Yes but they said no sacrifice, which is a lie... of course there is a sacrifice: frame rate, and resolution which they didn't mentioned.

This is really great and amazing to hear. Not the 30 fps part (that was kind of obvious given the performance of Doom 2016 on Switch) but this:

"before, we made the game and then we brought it to Switch, and now we are making the game with Switch in mind. It's nice to know the platforms we want to hit up front."

THIS is the crucial segment that this article IMHO should have focused on, not on the 30 fps. This is the first time a 3rd party developer is making a AAA game with the Switch as one of the main systems for the game. In the interview by Eurogamer Stratton also says, "we have made the decision to make Switch a, what we call internally, 'first class citizen'."

This is big. Kudos to Bethesda for putting the effort and focus on the Switch. Based on Panic Button's previous efforts this should turn out well.

@Nincompoop It's funny cause the developers at Quakcon made it sound like hitting 60 fps for the other systems was essential to feel of the gameplay experience.

But hey whatever man. I'm just happy it's really coming to Switch.

@shadow-wolf Bethesda's really out here supporting the Switch, and that makes me want to support them!

One of the developer's comments suggest that, unlike the last DOOM, the game is being made with the Switch in mind. Which is really encouraging for the end product on Switch.

Probably going to double-dip on both PC and Switch.

Cool. As long as it runs fairly well on Switch in portability, I'll still take it.

Unrelated to the topic: I hope Nintendo preps the 64 GB cartridges on time. Doom Eternal is looking to be the game that needs the huge room

This is one of those rare games that it worth the 60 bucks at launch in my eyes. Switch version for me!

GIVE ME NOW.

This was a great surprise. Def probably getting Day 1, as I loved the first and Wolfenstein. The Switch has garnered interest in these kinda games from me and so I'm definitely in support of Bethesda!!

No need to hit the Pan!c Button, the Switch version is in very safe hands.

I bought both Doom and Wolfenstein on Switch day 1 and this will be no different.

I still need to play the 2016 entry.

That's awesome Bethesda is making a game with Switch in mind. This hopefully means the performance should be pretty clean (hopefully). Looking forward to this.

Sounds good to me.

Thanks Bethesda and Pan!c button. I'll be double dipping to show my support. (Switch & PS4)

Just don't take months to patch any bugs(if they're any) okay?

The fact that Marty Stratton said the Switch was being treated as a "first-class citizen", makes me so happy!

Considering the game is being built to efficiently handle the Switch's hardware from the get-go, I just hope that we at least get a resolution bump from 720p to 1080p or at least 900p in Docked Mode.

It's good to have confirmation that it will launch alongside the other versions. Was that already known?

This article was kind of bad news to me though, for some reason I thought it was launching this year. So to read 'sometime before the end of 2019' is a bit of a blow.

What a year 2019 is shaping up to be though

Daemon X Machina
Bayonetta 3
Doom Eternal
Metroid Prime 4
Fire Emblem
Yoshi
Pokémon

30 fps is fine, as long as it is at least as stable as Wolf 2 on Switch. Im more worried about resolution. Wolfenstein 2 was somewhat ruined at some spots by being rendered at ~360p. If they could keep it at no lower than 540p this time, and with majority of gameplay at 720p or like 680p handheld, it would be really nice. Im keeping my hopes up, Panic Button makes better and better ports and they have plenty of experience by now porting advanced Id tech-games to Switch.

@JayPley

I think a PC-gamer would stick to that story about 60fps, yes. I prefer to play games on console and have never had any issues with 30fps.

"no sacrifice to the experience"

It runs at 30fps so that counts as a sacrifice.

Even while Doom plays and feels very different on 30fps, it's still a damn fun game and I don't mind 30fps on the Switch, even with a slower pace I'll adjust to that.

HOWEVER I do want a stable framerate on higher difficulty, on Doom 2016 the framerate is fine on easy or normal but above there are way more framedips because of more enemies at screen.

I will get this on PC and Switch, happy to see Switch will get it.

Cool

Cannot wait for this.

I'm excited.

Fraggin' YEAH! DOOOOOooooom!!!
I hope they can implement motion controls a la Splatoon 2. The added motion control to DOOM was great, but Splatoon still does it better...

Unless you live life on the road I really can't see why this exists. Just play it on your PS4/XO/PC. Why settle for a vastly inferior experience?

@ramu-chan
So you don't understand why this version exists, but you do understand why the PS4 and Xbox versions exist? Why settle for those vastly inferior experiences if you can play it on PC?

@Alber-san The PS4 and XO versions are unlikely to be greatly inferior, as you well know. They will be 60fps, which in a game like this is absolutely critical, they will use MIP1 textures (Perhaps even MIP0 on XOX), and they will be 1080p at least (perhaps even 4K on XOX). The only major compromise is having to use a pad rather than a mouse.

@ramu-chan
And the PC version will probably reach 120fps 4k, making those versions vastly inferior. Switch also adds portability but you can ignore that factor just because you don't see the appeal of it. After all, everyone has the same tastes as you do /s

Expected.

@Alber-san You're grasping at straws. The human eye cannot perceive frame rates higher than around 70-80. (read the research)

The difference between the PC version of this and the XOX will be minimal. The drop down to the Switch version will be catastrophic. If you want to play a 20-30fps version with MIP4 textures at 360p, then knock yourself out.

More than excited for this title, the only other game I'm more excited about is Bayonetta 3 but Doom Eternal getting announced for Switch definitely made my day and put a smile on my face.

DOOM 2016 is the best fps game I've played for a long time and ended up getting for both PS4 and Switch and its easily in my top 3 for either machine. It's great to see one third party taking Switch development seriously so I hope it does well. I'm currently building a PC so I'll definitely get it for that and for Switch a little later on to play at work

I bought Doom for pretty cheap on the ps4, think it was £14 but while it seemed great only played a few hours. It always hard to get in big screen mature gaming in and I move on or forgot about it. Double dipped for switch on a whim to have a game with me when I was headed somewhere and I ended up doing two full play thoughs. If your going to play on the big screen your better getting it on another platform by the handheld experience was a demon smashing party to hell and back. I'll pick this up, should pick up wolfenstian also but I just cannot get enough of Hollow knight at the moment. I've put in over 100 hours!! its so cheap, so very very good and still has a hornet expansion coming along!!

@ramu-chan
No, you're the one grasping at straws saying that a difference between 60fps and 30fps is so noticeable it makes the Switch version vastly inferior and not even taking into account the portability aspect of the console which might not be worth it to you, but totally justifies the existence of this version. The PS4 and Xbox versions are objectively inferior to the PC version and offer no advantages over it (while the Switch version does), so by your logic, shouldn't exist.

Think some people are getting way ahead of themselves. Hoping for 1080p or 900p is bit much.

The base Xbox one version will be 900p maximum so have no idea why people would think the switch version could hit that.

Even at 30fps I can see the switch version keeping its dynamic Res which hopefully can be a more stable 720p.

@ramu-chan come into a nintendo forum, start a fanboy war just to get a reaction. Saying stuff like why does the swtich version even exist. Why can't you be happy more people get to experience doom eternal. Why should you care if people choose to play on switch?

How old are you? Going on like a 15yo.

"Before, we made the game and then we brought it to Switch, and now we are making the game with Switch in mind. It's nice to know the platforms we want to hit up front."

30fps? I don't care. I'll keep this as the BIG news. I love you Bethesda! That's how things are done right!

I really enjoyed Doom on my PC, silky smooth 4k carnage was awesome.

However, I played Doom more on my Switch on the go, it got me through many a bored train or plane trip, and the drop to 30fps was noticeable, but quickly forgotten. I can't wait for the sequel!

Games play fine at 30 fps.

@ramu-chan
Is there a reason why both versions can't coexist? You're already getting what you want in the other formats, so why not enjoy that instead of crapping on the Switch?

@TheDanslator it's this thing called console elitism. It's pathetic!

I'm just glad to hear that they are developing the game with the Nintendo Switch in mind.
That is impressive actually and kudos to Bathesda for thinking about all the systems and not focusing only on PS4 as the others normally do.

Guys, you cannot argue with a tech head. 60 fps is quantifiably more than 30 fps. If they lack either the prowess to cope with 30 fps, or the imagination to see beyond specs, then that's on them...and not someone I want to enter into an argument with lol. But on the flip side, I don't appreciate what worth there is coming on to a Switch website saying it's not as good as an XBoxX unless you work for Microsoft, trying to hawk XBoxes (worse still if you don't actually work for them!)

I played Doom 2016 on PS4 and on Switch and got the same experience from both. 30fps is fine with me on Switch.

Doom 2016 is my favorite FPS of this console generation. I really look forward to playing the sequel either on my PS4 or Switch— just haven’t decided which. I played Doom 2016 on both, so I know it played well on both

Let's face it. If you want to buy a multi platform game with the best performance, you aren't buying the Switch version. Buy the Switch version for the versatile nature of games on the platform. Buy on PC for the best performance. Usually anyway.

Ppft. They'll likely compromise on the cartridge version.

I'm hoping that cartridge prices will drop significantly a year from now, but I'm not overly optimistic that Bethesda will be forking out the goods for 32GB cartridges if their treatment of Doom 2016 and Wolfenstein II are any indication of things to come.

Fair enough. Switch is underpowered as a home console. ID Software know where to make the right compromises (and Panic Button are basically the Lords of Ports). And more importantly, they are making a statement that it's worth the effort to make these compromises in order to launch on Switch. On top of that, they're saying that in their eyes the compromises don't significantly detract from the game's experience. A subjective statement of course, but it's very relevant that the developer fully supports the Switch version as a representation of their triple A game.

@ramu-chan Actually those console versions are compromised, they can't be played on the train when I am heading to work every morning I can live with 30FPS when I am not tied to my house with the game.

@ramu-chan I don't own an Xbox One or a PS4, but I own a Switch. I enjoyed the port of DOOM 2016 on it, as well as the Wolfenstein II version it got. Why wouldn't I want to buy and support the new game? Yeah, it's gonna be technically inferior to the other versions, but perfectly playable, so I don't see why we Switch owners shouldn't get it. And if the technical stuff matters that much, one of course could get the versions on Xbox One, PS4 or even better, PC! That way everyone can be happy!

was playing wolf 2 on the tube yesterday, ill take the hit from 60 to 30 instead of carrying a ps4, hdtv and battery source to do the same

I bet if you develop a stable 30fps game and tell people it is 60fps then 99% of people won't notice. Somehow we have become obsessed with the number of frames per second - I'd much rather have a stable game running at 30 than one which tries to run at 60 and slows down massively on occasion.
Maybe I'm getting too old, all I care about is 'does it play well and is it fun'? Some of the best games of all time have fps at less than 20 (looking at you Zelda OoT & Goldeneye!)
A
side from this, really looking forward to seeing what Bethesda/Panic Button can do with a game which is developed from the ground up, bearing in mind what amazing jobs they've done with their previous ports.

Day one buy.

I am curious. All these elitists spec nerds. Did they not grow up with video games or are they now just entering the hobby claiming they know everything (spoiling it for the rest of us!) I only wonder because I just can't image them putting up with 20 fps, loading times, draw distance, flicker, limited sound channels, limited colour palette, colour clash, resolutions, lack of sprite scaling, poly-wobble, clipping. The list goes on. As gaming evolved, it has overcome so many limitations...but the way folk carry on, they make out like we have arrived at some peak of human attainment (usually because of nothing more than the year is 2018). Lol.

If it can't hold at least 720p docked, then no thanks. I'm grossed out by the 360p garbage of Wolfenstein 2, it makes the Switch feel like some 15 year old junk. It feels really pathetic.

I get that it's a tablet and all, but even the Wii U had better looking games running at native 720p. If you can't surpass that on the Switch, then just stay away please...

@Sculptor how about you stay away and play the game on another system rather theen wishing the game wasn't on switch. How does the game being on switch stop your enjoyment of playing on another system.

Oh and lol about the Wii U comment. Doom and and Wolfenstein wouldn't run on the machine.

@ramu-chan Don't underestimate portability. A lot of people are re-buying games so they can take it on the go. Even as a PC gamer with a high end video card, I personally enjoy being able to play my games anywhere.

And no, dropping down from 60 to 30 is not catastrophic, and you ought to re-read the research yourself: Simply assigning a "framerate range" to our eyes oversimplifies how they work.

@Nincompoop They might be using per-object motion blur and temporal antialiasing, so the "motion rate" technology might be unnecessary. I think it introduces input lag into games, but I'd have to double check that.

@ramu-chan

You dont have to live on the road to play DOOM portable. Maybe you want to play on your vecation, on the plane, car etc.

Reminds me of playing the original Doom (or anything after 1990 really) on a 386 PC, where you'd have to find the sweet spot between screen size and framerate to get anywhere. ^_^

30fps is fine. DOOM 2016 doesn't feel like a compromise even with the occasional performance dip, and this sounds like it will be even better.

If you want portability, Switch. If you want it visually intact and fluidity, home consoles or PC.

If looking for The True no compromise Doom experience, PC.

FPS is like acceleration in a car. When you're going at a constant speed, you don't feel the speed, but when the car accelerates or decelerates, you feel the change in speed.

Stable FPS is far more important than the actual number of frames per second.

I expected 30fps given that's what the first game was. It didn't bother me in the slightest, and I won't mind it here either as long as the frame rate is stable.

I’m sure the game will still be great, but I think it’s a bit bold to claim that a drop to 30 frames per second is no sacrifice, especially for a FPS. What’s the point of pursuing a higher frame rate in the first place, then (e.g. the other platforms for the game)? For something other than a better experience? I don’t quite get it.

@kobashi100
Don't be such a sissy, man. It's annoying when kids go "stay away bluh blah" as soon as they read something about their videogame toy that hurts their precious feelings.

First of all, I don't know where you've read that I'm wishing the games weren't on the system, because I never said so. In fact, I own them and I enjoy them for their portability.

Also, whatever runs on a portable Switch can run on a Wii U. But when I'm comparing third party games I simply notice that titles like Black Flag, Most Wanted or Blacklist look way better than Doom or Wolfenstein on Switch, while staying perfectly locked at 720p. This is just strange to me, because all the advanced effects that make Doom and W2 tough to run have been stripped on Switch, to the point where BF, MW and Blacklist are both graphically more advanced and running at a higher resolution on weaker hardware.

Thus we come down to my point: if the developer is not going to optimize their game enough to have 720p as the lowest dynamic resolution instead of 360p (360p in 2018... 360p!! Are we seriously talking about this? This is lower than N64!) then no, I don't need their ancient blurred crap until they've fixed it - or at all. The resolution thing really is a problem for me.

That's an opinion I'm perfectly allowed to voice on here. I don't need brainless QQ in return.

@Sculptor I not got a problem with difference of opinion. I have a problem with people urging others to buy games on better spec consoles or asking developers to not bother.

Also please stop with the 360p stuff. You speak as if the whole game is 360p when you know full well this isn't true. digital foundry confirmed it.

@kobashi100
You just urged me to buy it on another platform.

Also I'm clearly talking about 360p as the "lowest dymanic resolution" and not the res for the full game. But hey, read what you wanna read...

@shadow-wolf It's pretty surreal to hear id Software talking about the unveiling of the next incarnation of Doom, and saying a Nintendo console....let alone a portable Nintendo console, is one of the lead target platforms in primary development. Not that id haven't supported Nintendo for ages (Doom goes back to the SNES after all) but in the post-Bethesda era it's pretty stunning all the same.

@OorWullie Well the end of 2019 statement wasn't even confirmed either

There was no mention of a release window let alone a release date at QuakeCon

@ramu-chan The number one reason to get any game on the Switch that is also on other platforms is portability.

That's always the reason. A valid one too since that's basically the selling point of the Switch.

Like I said before. I have a Xbox one x and a switch. I am definitely getting the switch version.

Loving it, and yes for me the experience is the same. A game is not necessarily better in a higher resolution. Maybe I am one of few that can appreciate a certain blur. Wolfenstein 2 is impressive on Switch, as was Doom. Yes 60 fps would be brilliant, but I am getting to old/slow anyway for this [removed]

Magnificent. It's great to see the standards of 30fps being adapted here as opposed to 60fps, which just sounds slow and glitchy. 30fps also sounds like it meets the ISO specification better.

@JayPley Yeah I hear ya, it’s really nice to see them so dedicated to supporting the Switch. I would support them but I have no interest in Doom so unfortunately I won’t get it. But anyone who’s interested should definitely consider getting it!

@NEStalgia You made a good point. It is super surreal when you consider that Switch is essentially a handheld system. Honestly I think this is the beginning of a trend where games that are AAA but don’t need a whole lot of power would be fine running on the Switch with sacrifices, it shows what we all have been saying for years how console generations experience smaller jumps and the gaps between home and portable consoles are small enough that it’s feasible to do something like what Bethesda is doing with Doom Eternal.

@shadow-wolf I'm not sure it's a trend. At least not with switch 1. I think most aaa games are targeting a "mainstream enthusiast gamer" which is the type that's not into Nintendo, and this Nintendo doesn't represent too serviceable a market for them. Bethesda games don't sell as well as those other big publisher games, at least outside fallout and to a lesser degree tes. They sell more to am ultra nerd core gamer audience that generally skews older, more comfortable with complicated, rickety mechanics, and with a longer history in gaming to appreciate the pedigree if their games..... Which is to say they have a ton of overlap with the current Nintendo"core"market" than makes up their non family/social market.

You wouldn't think it at a glance since Bethesda tends to be harder than hardcore..... But the people that remember and love classic id, fallout, and huge wonky crpgs tend to be the same people that loved the nes and snes... And tend like Nintendo and the switch concept.

The rest of the aaa market is a bit younger skew, largely teen and early 20s market. Not as much reverence for classic Nintendo, id, or crpgs.

@Nincompoop No it isn't. Maybe this might come as a shock to you, but games like Destiny 1 and 2, The Division, etc all run at 30 fps on PS4 and especially Destiny 1 I played for over 18 months straight and had a blast playing with friends!
Never ever did the 30 fps affect the gameplay. Ever!

Maybe with high competitive e-Sports games, 60 fps might make a difference, but for the average gamer it's a non-issue.
The whole 30 vs 60 fps has always been overrated in my book, as long as they can lock in a solid 30 fps it's fine!

@Nincompoop yea if there’s “no sacrifice” then why do they target 60 FPS on home consoles?

Because it does matter.

@GrailUK lol, I remember putting a game on to load, watch tv for 20 mins, coming back to realise there was an error because the tape volume was wrong

@Beckerjr They target 60 fps, because they can and it's part of marketing these days due to so many gamers being literally obsessed with 60 fps.

The Switch simply doesn't have to power to run these games at 60 fps. So to not sacrifice graphic fidelity too much on the Switch, they target 30 fps on the Switch.

This is what they meant with no sacrifice. By not having to tone down graphics drastically to run it on the Switch.
Reducing AA, Particle effects and complex shader and rendering distance can already have an enormous impact on performance without having to immediately resort to butchering texture resolution (which would impact graphic fidelity the most).

@Gerald Lol, those were the days

This will be a day one purchase for me. I am mostly looking forward for a good arena shooter experience.

There was and is sacrifice to the experience. These game are reliant on framerate, reaolution, and texture detail. These are graphics dependent tiltles. So lower framerate and resolution affect the game experience.

@PixelStef Please mind your language!

@Sculptor The Wii U has older technologies and likely doesn't have modern APIs available. The Switch is consistently getting higher resolutions, more stable framerates, and more detailed graphics whenever something is ported over to it from the Wii U.

On paper, some parts of the Switch might not seem as impressive as the Wii U, but it has been shown time and time again the more modern architecture of the Switch makes it a more powerful machine than the Wii U.

It's all good for me! 30 FPS is fine! The original Doom was impressive and I love it!

@Octane
Thanks for pointing that out!

I get a feeling this will turn out better than Wolfenstein and Doom, partly because this time they're not trying to shoehorn a game built for meatier machines onto the Switch, they're actually developing a version with the Switch in mind from the get go. Curious to see how this pans out.

I cant play first person shooters at 30 fps... or with a game pad. That's why I'll play it on my PC at 144fps. That said I do like the fact that it is getting a switch port for all the people that don't have gaming PCs.

I have yet to play the first doom. I am glad that it is getting a switch port but I will be passing on it as If I were to get the game it will be on PC just to have 60fps. There is some games where I don't care if the game is 30 or 60 fps (one example turn based rpgs) but if I can get the game to run at 60fps I will lower every settings I can for the game.

If the game had an option of quality (as it is now) and a performance mode (lowering the shadows down and lighting) to achieve a steady 60 then I may consider getting the game. I wish more console games had this option so it gives gamers a true option on which they prefer.

@CobraA1
Exactly. Actually, a game like Fast Racing NEO pushed the Wii U to its absolute limits while running 60fps at a sub-720p res. Playing it in splitscreen with more than 2 players caused the 60fps to drop to as low as 15fps.

After being ported to Switch under the name Fast RMX, it became full 1080p while still maintaining 60fps - it even held 1080p60 with 4 players in splitscreen. That's an extremely big difference, while they ported it in a few months. A testament to the Switch's superior power.

That's why I'd love devs to stop putting out 360p garbage on it, in games that look worse than five year old Wii U third party ports.

@Sculptor Doom (and Wolf) run on ID TECH 6, which is one of the most potent engines on current gen systems. Look at the gameplay footage of Eternal to see just that this engine is capable of.

Frankly, it's a stunning achievement to get it running at all on the Switch, so there are obviously going to be huge cutbacks to resolution, frame rate, and texture resolution.

Personally I want to play this in the highest fidelity possible, and on a mouse/keys, so I'll be buying the PC version. If you want to play it on the toilet/train/plane, then buy the heavily compromised Switch port.