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The game now requires official GZDoom 1.6.00 (r1418) or higher.
Added a new player character - Qinefer, the assassin (Nerina in the RPG mod). She's a tough gal who favours speed and dirty tricks, as her starting weapon suggests (a poisoned dagger). Like the Hexen 2 assassin, her other weapons (except the big ones) are more conventional but still contain some magical properties. Anvar and Braxus gain an extra point of health per level, but Anvar starts with 10 less health than before. Added some new sounds to all characters, mainly from Hexen 2 (which was the main source of Qinefer's sounds). Added a new player boss - Elysia, who resides in the same place as the others. Added a new bedroom to map 14, a connecting cave to map 12 and a new signet ring to map 13 as a result of the above. The spell ingredient from map 14's "pool of life" room has been removed, as it now drops from the new player boss.
Fixed instant death bug upon starting any map (newer SVN's) and added an 'exploratory mode' for map warping as a result. Fixed a bug that was causing some items to randomly appear at the wrong height. Fixed a bug that was allowing all enemies (not just those with hands) to open doors on Heroic mode. Improved the reward for finding the map 01 warehouse jump secret. Some health has been added to map 03, and a little to the village maps as well. Fixed a bug with the weapon 5 pickup in map 09, it now gives both versions to the fighter as intended. The cemetery gates in map 12 and the wooden lever in map 16 are now activated like a switch, as they were broken in newer SVN's. All secret ceiling switches are now the same size as the non-secret ones in map 19. The steel machine in map 20 now requires only 8 cogs, and has been visually improved when you turn it on. Improved the rewards for rescuing the villagers in map 21. Fixed a bug that was causing only 1 item to disappear from the waste chute in map 22 when you collect them in map 21. Removed the broken arch secret in map 23. The palace towers now have something useful on top of them. Some areas have been toned down, particularly the ruby key area in map 05 and on the return trip (minus the city itself). Health potions have been added to the end of map 25, and to map 02 for the return trip. A few mobs have been moved in the city (return trip) so they don't see you straightaway. The icy bridge in map 20 isn't noisy anymore. Fixed Eidolon so he's not invulnerable while preparing to charge you in Tourist/Heroic skill.
The satyr archer's attack speed has been slowed down, and can no longer spawn in random encounters in the palace maps. (can still spawn in the dungeon though) The orc warlord now correctly fires all of his attacks in Tourist/Heroic mode. Crystal golems can no longer be morphed by the porkalator, and are even more resistant to melee damage than before. Holy temple priests and dead monks have new sprites. Beggars now appear in the city as a result of the above change. King Rimoah now wears a crown instead of a hood.
Damage reduction based on skill setting has been increased to 75% for Tourist, 50% for Easy and 25% for Normal. This is aimed at reducing the difficulty on Normal mode, while leaving the challenge of Hard/Heroic mode intact. Anvar and Braxus have had their max strength limit increased by 5, and max dexterity limit decreased by 5. Starting stats slightly altered as a result of the above change. Base jump height increased slightly. The max armour limit has been increased by -1 for all classes. Spell/item durations and cooldowns are now taken into account when skipping cutscenes. Banedon's end-of-escort cutscene in map 18 and mid-escort cutscene in map 21 are no longer skippable as a result of the above change. (since you can move and do things during them)
All melee weapons for all classes have had their damage formulas adjusted - everything except quietus (which was way ahead) does more damage now (purifier and mana-using axe significantly more) and scale much better with strength. Melee hits from powered weapons can no longer be blocked by shield-bearing enemies. Anvar's fist and melee purifier have had their range increased. Quietus shot damage increased. The sorcer grenades have been replaced with a golden claw. It fires a shot that does the same damage but can hit ghosts, has no bounce (gravity cut in half to compensate) and no self-harm from the splash. Melee version has a faster strike rate and greater damage rate than the old. Trident shot damage increased, and wider bosses have a slight resistance to compensate (similar to Firestorm). Purifier shard damage and mana cost have been reduced. The serpent staff no longer drains life in melee range - this was done because it's a bit OP, as part of the gold-balancing measures, and the max health increased as a result of the 4th player class means it won't work anyway). Serpent staff shot damage and mana cost have been doubled as a result, because the weapon was painfully slow to kill with. (especially in the later stages) Fixed firestorm's raise/lower sprites. Raven staff shots now have a much shorter duration. Wooden staff bolt (power spell) now does splash damage. (not hurting the player) Bloodscourge shot damage increased. Scarab staff beetles now fire in streams of 1 instead of 4 (making it easier to manage ammo) and have less gravity. (meaning they can travel further) Firestorm, bloodscourge, lichbane, timebomb and inferno spell can now blow up certain trees/shrubs as in the original Hexen. (this was actually an issue in the standalone RPG mod but I found a fix while sorting the trident) Fixed the snout offset bug.
Magic ring capacity has returned to 15 and no longer increases with Sorcery. In addition, they give 2 magic points if you are Sallazar. Magic regen is now exclusive to Sallazar, and the rate has been redesigned to give a smoother increase per point of Sorcery. Sallazar now only knows the first 2 spells off by heart, this was done as part of the gold-balancing measures. (and he's only a student so it makes sense he only knows basic spells off by heart) The power spell now works on all of Anvar's melee weapons and increases their range as well as speed, but the fist has lost it's brighter graphics and extra damage. The summon spell and shrapnel spell have swapped slots and magic costs (but not their positions in the maps). The shrapnel spell's shot speed has been increased but range has been decreased. The penetrate spell has been reworked again - it fires only 1 shot a second instead of 3 but now lasts for 20 seconds, shot damage has been adjusted accordingly.
A new piece of armour has been added - an enchanted bracelet, it gives -1 and can be worn by any class. Speed and jump boots now raise your speed/jump to a fixed amount. Fixed the torch so it no longer blacks out the surface of low ceilings. The prices of scrolls and some other items have been reduced. Inventory rearranged slightly for Sallazar, scrolls for the first 2 spells (which he has infinite versions of) are no longer in a fixed position and now appear at the end of the inventory. The first 2 spells now correctly play the item use sound when cast by Sallazar. Bags of gold dropped by enemies no longer scale with level, instead each one gives a random amount from the same range. Some more bags of gold have been added to the earlier maps, as part of the gold-balancing measures. Bags of gold which land on the chasm floor in map 06 (ie. those dropped by frozen enemies) now get thrusted back up to a height where you are.
Spoiler: In cases of tl;dr, here is a rough breakdown of how things are affected:
Fighter: All melee weapons except quietus do more damage now, and they're better balanced in terms of strength (which can reach 40 now for even more damage). The fist has a longer range, the new weapon 5 won't hurt you although you can't bounce shots with it. All melee weapons can be used with the power spell now, quietus shots hit harder and purifier costs less mana. Cleric: The mace does a lot more damage now if you choose to stack strength (which can reach 30 now too), and the reworked penetrate spell is rather useful now for sorcery players. Life drain is gone, but you'll have more than enough gold for the extra health potions and the weapon itself kills twice as fast now. Mage: Bloodscourge is worth using now (due to damage boost) and the staff hits harder (it's viable on some mobs in the early stages if you put strength to 5). Infinite fear and summon spells are gone, but you'll have more than enough gold for the extra scrolls. Sorcery is also worth a lot more beyond 20, going from there to 30 will triple your magic regeneration and going from there to 40 will do so again.
The lowest 3 skill settings are now a bit easier thanks to additional damage reduction, this together with the gold balancing (which was aimed at making it less tight at the start and removing the huge surplus at the end) should make Normal an easier ride with less emphasis on making ends meet. So if you're one of those who gave up in map 03-07 cos you thought it was too difficult...try playing the new version with Normal instead of Hard
The RPG mod is a standalone version of the RPG system (works with the original Hexen, Deathkings and any custom hub without new weapons/monsters/items) and the weapons mod is just the weapons (likewise).
Serpent: Resurrection is a Hexen adventure designed to merge the speed and action of FPS'es with the progression and strategies of RPG's. It takes place in another world, some time after Shadowcaster ended. Most of the story will be explained in-game but in short, some crazy dark mage has resurrected the three Serpent Riders on the largest island of a nearby archipalego and (as expected) failed to control them. The adventurer from Shadowcaster was sent out to defeat them but nothing was heard for a while so the best fighter/cleric/assassin/mage (whichever you choose) is sent out after him.
Summary: A Hexen adventure like no other. The FPS side of the game brings the classic high-speed monster mashing that the Doom engine has always given us and combines it with Hexen's puzzles plus some more tactical encounters in the style of newer games. The RPG side of the game means that the classes are a lot more different compared to each other than just a new set of weapons...their basic abilities, health, armour and item usage all differ, leading to vastly different playstyles and strategies for each class. The world is designed with realism and cohesion in mind, if somewhere looks a bit barren that's because it's meant to look like that since those sort of places do in real life!
Spoiler: Features
Environment: Once he/she reaches the island the player will be trekking across all manner of natural terrain together with man-made structures and magical realms. He/she will need to jump, crouch and look all around, sometimes with magical assistance to find his/her way. (25 maps in all, with no official hub structure ie. you can go anywhere at any time)
Creatures: The island is crawling with all sorts of entities, from wildlife such as rats and spiders to corrupted humans to undead and demonic beasts (there will be huge amounts of new enemies from a variety of sources, and the bosses are somewhat different to normal). There is also a dynamic gameplay element, which ensures that no two games are identical.
Artifacts: Some Hexen items have been removed, some new ones added and a magic system comprising of scrolls (one-time cast) and magic points (needed to power the casts) gives the player a variety of spells to use - for protection and utility as well as destruction.
Weapons: The player now has 7 weapons at his/her disposal, with 2 new mana types. The first 4 are the same as always (except the mage who gets a wooden staff instead of a sapphire wand) but some with altered mana costs, the 5th will use yellow mana, the 6th will use red mana and the 7th is a two-parter that will use both red and yellow. Each class's starting weapon can be powered up by a spell.
Music: A full mod soundtrack.
Roleplay: There are 5 attributes covering various abilities, each one can be improved over time by spending skill points which are awarded every time you gain a level. An interactive menu handles this, and as you might expect there are various strategies you can play and various ways to spec your character. There is also a monetary system, where gold drops from various enemies and items can be bought/sold at specific places.
Read the text file - I cannot stress how important this is...I know it's uncommon to require it, but if you don't read it you won't have a clue what's happening when you start, or what anything does etc.
This mod is loooooong - in fact it could be one of the longest ever...make sure you set aside plenty of time to play. It's also not really possible to get an overall impression from just the first few maps, it's more of a long-term thing in that respect.
This is not a classic-style mod - it has a world, a story, and the first 2 maps in particular are designed to set the scene etc. so don't worry about them. The gameplay is a bit different too...weapons, keys & puzzle items have to be found, rather than just being put in front of you. Features such as jumping, crouching and even trading will be required to progress, along with the odd puzzle but there's no obscure switch hunts. There are help features available if you get stuck, but try not to use them before that point.
Hard skill is not the benchmark - Normal skill is the one aimed at first-timers, Hard assumes that you know what you're doing (in terms of the mod's features, strategies etc.) and Heroic is for experts only!
Last edited by The Ultimate DooMer on Wed Oct 31, 2012 7:56 pm, edited 116 times in total.
Very interesting so far, though some areas might need additional work (yes, the old "Needs more Detail (tm)"), especially the buildings in the last shot, the repeating CTYSTUC pattern looks a bit ugly.
Only real complaint I have visually is that the tops of the mountain-y regions all cut off at the same spot -- i.e. it's all the same height. Breaking it up with some height variation would greatly improve the look and feel.
Though, admittedly, as long as it plays well, the sensible ones are not likely to hate it. ;P
Update as of 16 Sep: ------------------------ Number of attributes increased to five. Exp/Levelling curve adjusted as a result. Two new items in, replacing two others. Weather effects added to some maps. Map 25 is mostly complete, save for epic boss encounter.
I thought it was going to be a kick ass mod, but these shots needs more detail. And the fact that the monsters come from "a variety of sources" drops my hopes, I was expecting actually new monsters
5th shot not detailed enough? (that's a complex 3D floor structure inspired by a real-world place)
new graphics
True, the only sprites I've made are small ones for items etc. (and usually based off something else) but you'll meet plenty of monsters with behaviour you've not seen, even if the sprites came from elsewhere.
Update as of 23 Oct: ------------------------ Another map completed, just 4 remain unfinished now. Initial balancing of all weapons, spells, items, hazards and monsters complete.
I'm aiming to have the first beta ready in a few week's time for testing.
(that's a complex 3D floor structure inspired by a real-world place)
