Jump to content

Day of Defeat

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Day of Defeat
Developer(s)Valve
Publisher(s)
Composer(s)Michael Gordon Shapiro
EngineGoldSrc
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows,OS X,Linux
ReleaseWindows
  • NA:May 6, 2003
  • EU:May 15, 2003
OS X,Linux
  • WW:March 29, 2013[1]
Genre(s)First-person shooter
Mode(s)Multiplayer

Day of Defeatis a team-basedmultiplayerfirst-person shootervideo game set in theEuropean theatre of World War IIon the Western front. Originally amodificationof the 1998 gameHalf-Life,the rights of the modification were purchased byValveand released as a full retail title in 2003.

Set in the midst ofWorld War II,Day of Defeatincludes no single-player campaign, with focus left only on the game's multiplayer aspects. The game favors teamwork and features objective-based gameplay in combination with its system of classes. Maps are primarily made up of narrow paths, all of which typically lead to a few key locations. An official remake of the game,Day of Defeat: Source,was released by Valve in 2005.

Gameplay[edit]

Day of Defeatis amultiplayerfirst-person shooterthat simulates squad-levelinfantrycombat between the adversaries ofWorld War II'sEuropean Theatre;theAlliesand theAxis powers.Players can choose to join either theAlliedorAxisarmies, with the Allies includethe United StatesorGreat Britainand the Axis include Germany.

A round begins with two opposing teams starting simultaneously in their respectivespawnarea of a map, both acting towards the goal of achieving their respective objectives whilst preventing the enemy team from accomplishing theirs.[2]A round ends when one team accomplishes all of its objectives, with that team claiming victory. Eventually, the game ends with the expiration of a set time limit, and the team with the most objectives achieved is the winning team regardless of kills or casualties, except in the case of both teams having not achieved any objectives or having achieved the same number of objectives.

Weaponry in the game attempts to realistically portray those that would be found in World War II, and the gameplay reflects this aesthetic choice. Recoil can be heavy and the game doesn't allow the player to fire while running or jumping.[2][3]The game also features a stamina bar, preventing the player from sprinting for long periods of time and forcing them to actively conserve energy.[2]

Setting[edit]

A player takes cover behind rubble in order to avoid enemy fire.

Day of Defeat'sinitial retail offering included fifteen maps, each depicting different scenarios with variation in size and thematic locations.[2]These often drew inspiration from historicalWorld War IIbattles, such as the battle atOmaha Beachand street-fighting in the Italian city ofSalernoduringOperation Avalanche.The game also features a Glider mission wherein the American101st Airbornelands in aWACOGlider and destroys such objectives as aradio antennaand Flak88 mm gunanti-aircraftgun.

Weapons in the game are also of historical significance, with much of the weaponry being accurate representations of those used in World War II.[2][3]The weapon selection is also realistic in its usage, with recoil and accuracy representative of the gun's real-life counterparts.[2]

Development[edit]

Day of Defeatbegan as a third-partyHalf-Lifemodificationin 2000.[4]In the initial release of the modification, each class' movement was unique. This differential, however, was removed with the release of Beta 2.0 in October 2001. Beta 2.0 also introduced new weapons and reduced player accuracy while moving, which caused significant changes to the gameplay. In July 2002, Beta 3.0 was released with a new class, the Allied Sergeant, and a new game mode in which players would onlyrespawnupon the beginning of a new round.

While the first versions ofDay of Defeatwere distributed over the internet at no cost, the rights to the game were later purchased by Valve and the modding team hired. Valve then produced a stand-alone retail version of the game, published by Activision and released in May 2003.[4]The retail version included a number of changes from the modification, including improved graphics and fifteen maps, ten of which were completely new. Friendly-fire, which was previously enabled by default, was disabled in the retail version,[2]bleeding - losing small amounts of health over time caused by injuries which "bled" - was removed, and amini-mapwas added to more easily facilitate navigation and cooperation between fellow team members. UI improvements, including identifiers for differentiating team members from enemies and help messages that acted as a tutorial for new players, were also introduced in the retail release.

At the end of July 2004, Valve shut down the World Opponent Network (WON) in favor of their digital distribution serviceSteam.[5]All servers using the former were shut down and migrated to Steam, forcing players to use the new storefront to accessDay of Defeat.In 2013, Valve released an update forDay of Defeat,alongside otherGoldSrcgames developed by Valve, which included versions of the game forMac OS XandLinux.[1] A major update of Half-Life was released on November 17, 2023. This update carried over to Day of Defeat, providing improved graphics and game options. A number of patch updates have occurred since then and are ongoing as of early 2024.[6]

Reception[edit]

Day of Defeatreceived "generally favorable reviews" according to thereview aggregationwebsiteMetacritic.[7]IGNpraised the game for its use of narrow spaces to stimulate the game's "relentless pacing",[2]andGameSpyspoke highly of its attention to detail.[3]Reviewers also praisedDay of Defeatfor its promotion of teamwork through purposefully tight corridors that force players to cooperate, lest they be killed by an enemy outside their field of vision.[3][10]

Both GameSpy andGameSpotlevied criticism against the game for its sub-par visuals and "downright ugly" color palette, blaming the agingGoldSrcengine for the aesthetic issues.[3][10]Many reviewers drew parallels betweenDay of DefeatandBattlefield 1942,the latter of which had been released only six months prior to the former. Both games were set inWorld War IIand featured gameplay that was heavily reliant on their respective class-based systems, which lead reviewers to make direct comparisons between the two in their reviews ofDay of Defeat.[2]The game was also faulted for its lack of usable vehicles, contrastingBattlefield's usage of operable vehicles as a key gameplay component.[2][3]

PC Gamer USawardedDay of Defeatits 2001 "Mod of the Year" prize. The editors wrote, "Made by amateur developers not yet of American drinking age,Day of Defeatabsorbed entire weeks of office LAN play. "[16]

Legacy[edit]

Main article:Day of Defeat: Source

Day of Defeatwas followed byDay of Defeat: Source,a remake of the game that runs on Valve'sSource engine.[17]The Source remake included significant changes toDay of Defeat's gameplay, new maps, updated graphics, and improved physics.[18]

Released on September 26, 2005 to favorable reviews, the game was praised for its gameplay, audio, and graphics.[19][20][21]Post-release, the game was supported by Valve with a number of subsequent updates, including versions of the game for OS X and Linux released in 2010 and 2013 respectively.[22][23]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^abAlfred (March 29, 2013)."Day of Defeat update released".Steam.Valve.Archivedfrom the original on January 3, 2014.RetrievedJanuary 2,2014.
  2. ^abcdefghijkButts, Steve (May 23, 2003)."Day of Defeat".IGN.Archivedfrom the original on March 10, 2013.RetrievedMarch 16,2014.
  3. ^abcdefgSuciu, Peter (May 26, 2003)."GameSpy: Day of Defeat".GameSpy.Archivedfrom the original on October 25, 2009.RetrievedMarch 16,2014.
  4. ^abGameSpot staff (April 4, 2003)."Valve signs with Activision, exclusive Day of Defeat screens".GameSpot.Archivedfrom the original on February 25, 2014.RetrievedFebruary 25,2014.
  5. ^Golze, Benjamin (July 15, 2004)."Valve to shut down WON servers".GameSpot.Archivedfrom the original on January 15, 2014.RetrievedMarch 17,2014.
  6. ^https://store.steampowered /news/app/70/view/6941797379568863069
  7. ^ab"Day of Defeat for PC Reviews".Metacritic.Archivedfrom the original on May 13, 2013.RetrievedFebruary 26,2014.
  8. ^Green, Jeff (August 2003)."Day of Defeat"(PDF).Computer Gaming World.No. 229. p. 76.RetrievedDecember 10,2017.
  9. ^Brogger, Kristian (August 2003)."Day of Defeat".Game Informer.No. 124. p. 102. Archived fromthe originalon September 23, 2009.RetrievedDecember 10,2017.
  10. ^abcOsborne, Scott (May 22, 2003)."Day of Defeat Review".GameSpot.Archivedfrom the original on March 16, 2014.RetrievedMarch 16,2014.
  11. ^Raymond, Justin (June 9, 2003)."Day of Defeat - PC - Review".GameZone.Archivedfrom the original on September 26, 2008.RetrievedDecember 10,2017.
  12. ^Griliopoulos, Dan (July 2003)."Day of Defeat".PC Format.No. 150. Archived fromthe originalon August 30, 2003.RetrievedDecember 10,2017.
  13. ^"Day of Defeat".PC Gamer UK.2003.
  14. ^Chan, Norman (August 2003)."Day of Defeat".PC Gamer.p. 72. Archived fromthe originalon March 15, 2006.RetrievedDecember 10,2017.
  15. ^Miller, Skyler (June 24, 2003)."'Day of Defeat' (PC) Review ".X-Play.Archived fromthe originalon June 28, 2003.RetrievedDecember 10,2017.
  16. ^Staff (March 2002). "The Eighth AnnualPC GamerAwards ".PC Gamer US.9(3): 32, 33, 36, 36, 37, 40, 42.
  17. ^McNamara, Tom (September 2, 2005)."Day of Defeat: Source Is Coming".IGN.Archivedfrom the original on March 16, 2014.RetrievedFebruary 28,2014.
  18. ^Adams, David (February 22, 2005)."Day of Defeat: Source Is Coming (2)".IGN.Archivedfrom the original on March 16, 2014.RetrievedFebruary 28,2014.
  19. ^Adams, David (September 26, 2005)."Day of Defeat: Source Released".IGN.Archivedfrom the original on February 28, 2014.RetrievedFebruary 28,2014.
  20. ^Colayco, Bob (October 3, 2005)."Day of Defeat: Source Review".GameSpot.Archivedfrom the original on March 16, 2014.RetrievedFebruary 28,2014.
  21. ^"Day of Defeat: Source for PC Reviews".Metacritic.Archivedfrom the original on January 7, 2013.RetrievedFebruary 28,2014.
  22. ^Adams, David (June 29, 2006)."Day of Defeat: Source Updated".IGN.Archivedfrom the original on January 16, 2013.RetrievedFebruary 28,2014.
  23. ^"Now on Mac! - Day of Defeat: Source".Steam.Valve. July 12, 2010.Archivedfrom the original on October 9, 2013.RetrievedFebruary 28,2014.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Day_of_Defeat&oldid=1220406512"