by Amuscaria » Wed Apr 11, 2007 7:30 pm 
(thanks a ton to Icarus for making a review of the Alpha
)Hell-Forged is a Doom spin-off for Doom 2 and the reboot, and sort of a sequel, to Demon Eclipse's second episode. Thanks to Tarnsman's feedback from some years ago, he's convinced me to focus on the Hell-tech theme of Demon Eclipse instead of having two essentially different games in a single package. This project takes a lot of inspiration Hexen, Quake, Blood and Duke3D, while trying to make it look and play as authentically Doom as possible.
DOWNLOAD (1.10 Hotfix): https://www.moddb.com/games/doom-ii/dow ... orged-v110
GAMPLAY CHANGES
While Hell-Forged aims to preserve Doom's gameplay style as much as possible, somes use of ZDoom's features were implemented.
Spoiler:
-Movement: While never required to beat the stage, jumping, rocket-jumping, crouching, and occasionally swimming, will be be required to reach certain secrets.
-Weapons: All weapons in HF have an alternate attack. Each weapon is also designed to fill a niche and will never be made redundant by later pick-ups. All weapons can by powered-up by the Doomsphere (see items). Weapons all have a certain elemental damage that are affected by monster resistances.
-Health & Armor: Health pick-up is less abundant in HF because certain weapons can actively recover health. Armor has been simplified - each armor piece is essentially a large armor bonus that gives varying amounts of protection, all saving 50% of damage, and stacks up to a maximum of 200.
-Monsters: HF's monsters are designed to blend seamlessly with Dooms' original cast, but have some notable changes. Some monsters have armor that function like health to all weapons except the soul-type ones, which pierces armor. Mechanical monsters are lifeless, and thus life cannot be siphoned off of them, nor will they trigger the Wheel of Pain explosion. Molten enemies are resistance against fire attacks, while Soul-type enemies' attack ignore armor but are also very weak towards other soul-type attacks. Monsters that summon souls are resistant to soul-type weaponry. Boss-type monsters are too large for the Nail-type weapons to rip thru.
===========================================================================================================================
LORE
Spoiler:
[Background]
Your kingdom had been embroiled in a war against foreign invaders for decades. With supplies and resources all but spent, the King became desperate for anything that would turn the war in his favor. Just as defeat seemed inevitable, the Royal Scholars made a momentous discovery within a sealed tomb lost to time - tomes with instructions of how to construct weapons utilizing unknown magics. The discovery was brought before the Royal Court. Without hesitation, the order was given to proceed with production immediately. Despite the Templars Grandmaster's warnings regarding the dark magics, the King was desperate, and this wasn't the time for doubt.
In a matter of weeks, the first batch of weapons made their way to the front lines, and their power was made immediately apparent. The front-liners quickly pushed back the enemy, decimating them on the way and regained territory they've been fighting for years in a matter of days. These weapons, however they worked, made the Battlemages unnecessary almost over night. Magical spells that would have taken decades to master, could now be put in the hands of any layman. As the reports of victory came back from the front, the King rewarded the discoverer of the technologies and deemed him "Vicar" and made him head of the royal academy.
Within a year, all of the foreign invaders have been driven from the homeland. The King, however, had greater ambitions in mind. Decades of seeing his men slaughtered on the battlefield fueled his desire for retribution, and the newfound technologies only fanned his flames for conquest. The King asked for the Vicar's advice, and it was suggested a grand factory be built on the slopes of Black Mountain, using the fires within to power the forges necessary for the war effort. The location was chosen to be just across the valley from the Templar's ancient temple - a subtle insult.
The plan did not go over well with the Grandmaster, and once again he protested before the court. This time, his complaints were met with open hostility from the Vicar and his supporters. With accusations of treason levied against them, the King ordered the Templars out of the court and to never speak of this matter again. Just like that, the once noble Templar were cut off from all official business and their powers only continued to wane over the following decades.
[Your Story]
You are a lowly Templar squire, living a life of seclusion dedicated to the studies of the ancient martial arts. A few decades ago, this would have been seen as a position of prestige, but now the Templar are all but forgotten. Your life is simple enough - martial and academic training in the morning, followed by maintenance duties around the temple in the afternoon. A simple and peaceful life; but one that wouldn't last. Early in the morning, the crater atop Black Mountain suddenly erupted without warning. The basalt cap that covered the mountain ignited and turned into a lake of fire and molten rock. Lava poured down the slopes, burying the workers' homes. You and your fellow Templar watched in horror as entire villages vanished in the valleys below. The temple is fortunately situated on higher ground, but even that wouldn't provide protection from what was to come.
Days after the eruption, the alarm bells rang and you were called from bed to do battle. Men clambered to gear up and fight the monstrosities barging thru the main gate. In the ensuing chaos, you were knocked out; the faint echoes of men screaming and swords slashing filled your ears as blackness took you. When you came to, you were buried under the bodies of Templar and monster alike, and all was quiet. In a daze, you thought you heard a faint voice calling to you. It beckoned you to go and reclaimed the weapon of the Templar's Patriarch - the Vorpal Blade. The Voice became louder and clearer, as visions of the Patriarch fighting off the forces of Hell filled your mind. You knew then what you had to do. Grabbing your sword you make your way to temple and prepared yourself for the fight to come.
[History]
Many centuries ago, a champion emerged to defeat the Hellsmith that ruled over his Hellscape. With the Hellsmith's death, his soul was banished back to the depths of hell, and the dark powers that warped the land dissipated. With the corrupting powers gone, the world returned to its original splendor, and the mortal slaves that were warped by hell's influences reverted back to their human selves. Fearing the Hellsmith's resurrection, the mysterious Hero rallied the strongest he could find amongst the freed and formed the Templar Order. He passed onto them his martial arts and knowledge so that they could defend mankind should the Demon return. The Templar, lead by their new Patriarch, scoured the land, slaying any hellspawn left behind by Hell's retreat. For decades the Hero fought untouched by time. Finally, satisfied with work, he left his sacred sword, the Vorpal Blade, with the Templars and tasked them to continue their vigil. The Hero then left, going back into hell willingly despite the pleas of his followers. The Templar constructed a temple in the Hero's honor, and sworn an oath to fulfill their duty as guardians.
Centuries passed, and mankind spread across the world to to find lands to could call their own. As nations rose, conflict festered. For a time, the shared respect for the Templar allowed them to serve as emissaries of peace. But as the domain of man continued to grow, it soon outpaced the reaches of the Templar teachings, and their influences began to wane. Over time, without the watchful eye of the Order, schools of Magic would emerge to study the arcane, even the lingering power left behind by Hell. Arcane scholars would eventually discover how to use what the Templar had cautiously tried to keep from them, and with wanton disregard introduced magic onto the battlefield. A social class of Battlemages would rise and fill the upper echelon's of society, both feared and respected for their power, and desperately sought after in times of war. Guilds would form, becoming corrupting concentrations of power.
It became obvious that the time of the Templar was ending, and as difficult as it was, the Grandmaster of the time recalled all of the Templar back to their native Kingdom, where they can focus their efforts on stamping out the lingering influences of Hell, whereever it might surface. For the following decades, the Grandmaster watched with a weary eyes as nations fell to the corrupting powers of magic and warfare. On his deathbed, the Grandmaster gave one last decree: The Templar will actively seek out those that would abuse the powers of magic and eliminated them. From that day forward, the Templar waged a secret war against the Mage Guilds and their ilk.
It didn't take long for the Mage Guilds to become aware that their research was being purposefully sabotaged, and their influential members killed, by the Templar's assassins. Many began to ban together, placing their differences aside to focus on their common enemy. With vast wealth and influence at their disposal, the Guilds rallied nations together and declared war on the Templars and those that aligned with them. The Great War had begun.
Having refused to teach the most dangerous magics to their followers, those allied with the Templar found themselves to be at a severe disadvantage on the battlefield. The enemy used their powers without restraint, and quickly decimated the armies of the Templars and their allies. Defeat would have been swift if not for the ruthless and mistrusting nature of the Guilds. Disputes over territory and riches caused rifts between the Guild alliance and infighting quickly erupted. The Alliance fractured as quickly as it formed and In the chaos, the Templar and their native Kingdom managed to retreat behind the walls of their city and held on. But for how long? No one knew.
THE ARSENAL
Unlike the arsenal in Doom where later weapons made earlier ones obselete, each weapon in HF is designed for a specific role, and will not become redundant. Furthermore, all weapons except the Templar sword (atm) have an alternate attack.
Spoiler:
[Templar Sword]: The standard weapon for the Templar order. This trusty steel blade is sharp, but was not built to hack thru the thick hides and hardened bones of demons. Better find something else for the job.
(Primary: Normal Swing | Alternate Attack: Kick, knocks enemies back)
[Vorpal Blade]: Ancient sword of the Templar's founding patriarch, rumored to have been used to fight against the forces of hell long ago. Each strike charges up the Vorpal Blade with demonic essence that can be unleashed in a powerful attack when it's fully charged, cutting down even the strongest of hellspawn.
(Primary Attack: Normal Swing | Alternate Attack: Release Energy wave (only at 100%))
[Immolator]: This was one of the first weapons built for the war effort based on the lost technology rediscovered. It blasts out jets of scorching hellfire that ignites on impact, burning enemies to a crisp.
(Primary Attack: Hellfire jet | Alternate Attack: Fire-bomb; sets the floor on fire)
[Wheel of Pain]: This mysterious artifact ignites life energy within the victim explosively. Those that don't immediately turn inside-out will be blasted by a powerful shockwave. With each blast, a small amount of life energy is siphoned from the victim to mend your wounds.
(Primary Attack: Blast enemies to siphon life force | Alternate Attack: continuous drain to replenish Blood Ammunition)
[Nailgun]: This rapid fire weapon turned the war around for your Kingdom. It's repeating barrels throw volleys of piercing nails that rip thru enemies with ease.
(Primary Attack: Fire piercing nails | Alternate Attack: Fire fragmenting nails that don't piece, but deal more damage)
[Hellbolt]: Fueled by demon blood, the Hellbolt launches spheres of pure hatred, blasting away multiple foes at once on impact. Get too close, and it's fiery blast will consume you too.
(Primary Attack: fires long-range projectile | Alternate Attack: lob short-range bouncing projectile that deals more damage)
[Mauler]: Excellent for both long-range and close-quarters, the Mauler is a "super" nailgun that fires torrents of nails from distance, or delivers a blast of shrapnel up close.
(Primary Attack: Super-nailgun, shoots out 2 nails at once | Alternate Attack: Shrapnel blast)
[Basilisk]: Named after the two-headed fire-breathing serpent of Legend, the Basilisk lives up to its namesake. It's capable of bombarding enemies with explosive rockets, or roasting the few that gets too close with gouts of hellfire.
(Primary Attack: repeating rocket barrage | Alternate Attack: dual-flamethrower)
[Soultaker]: Of the weapons technologies that were discovered, none are more frightening than those that use souls. The Soultaker assaults the spirit directly, bypassing armor. It's power grows as it attacks, increasing the Soultaker's lethality until either the charge dissipates or is used up by the alternate attack.
(Primary Attack: Soul-draining attack, charges weapon and increases damage | Alternate Attack: Spends charge to get health, and armor for each enemy hit)
[Reaper]: The ultimate weapon in your arsenal, the Reaper calls upon the damned to ravage your foes. The spiraling orbs of death it launches instantly blasts away most, and finishes off the stragglers with a packs of hungry ghasts.
(Primary Attack: Spirit missile that detonates on impact, summoning a pack of spirits | Alternate Attack: Summons more spirits at the expense of impact damage. )
BESTIARY
Along with a familiar cast of hellspawn form Doom I & II, Hell-Forged brings a cast of new monsters that come from the deepest pits of hell. Some of them are more powerful variants of old favorites, others straight out of your worst nightmares. Some enemies are limited to a specific episode.
Spoiler:
[Devils]: Stronger cousins of the Imps, these sadistic humanoids are often found leading their lesser kin.
[Bloodfiends]: Nastier relatives of the common Pinkies, the Bloodfiends have evolved the ability to lob toxic demon bile from a considerable distance.
[Phantoms]: This ghostly variant of the Bloodiend is difficult to see. Their attacks strike at the spirit, making armor useless against them.
[Infernals]: These molten beasts are born from the cauldrons of Hell. They spew exploding orbs of magma when they attack and when they are destroyed, making them a danger dead or alive.
[Draugr]: Powerful armored enforcers of Hell, these undead warriors are single-minded servants of their demonic masters.
[Aracknights]: These quadruped demons serve as patrols within Hell's haunted halls. The repeating energy casters they carry will make you pay for your carelessness.
[Corpulent]: Lumbering Corpulents serve as the heavy hitters. Like their Mancubi counterpart, they can bring and take a lot of punishment.
[Guardians]: These lifeless mechanical constructs patrol the halls of the Fortress of Anguish. Given will by a damned spirit and powered by hellish magic, intruders they come across are quickly dealt with a barrage of magical orbs they emit.
[Sentinels]: Commanding the numerous Guardians, the Sentinels oversee the protection of their master's fortress. They possess powerful magical attacks, including the nasty ability to summon more Guardians.
[Directors]: Tasked with executing the complex stratagems of Hell's conquests, Directors prefer to stay out of battle. Despite that, they are more than capable of defending themselves with the Mauler they carry.
[Helldukes] If the Directors are the brains, then the Helldukes are the brawn. Selected from the strongest of hell's arch-demons, the Helldukes are found towering above all those they command at the front lines. The Hellbolt they carry quickly dispatches their foes at distance.
[Behemoths] These massive armored juggernauts were created to hold key positions during Hell's campaigns. They shrug off all but the heaviest weapons and can dish out a lot of pain from the Basilisks they wield. Careful not to get trampled.
[The Hellsmith]: The master of the Fortress of Anguish, and the undisputed ruler of his hellscape. The Hellsmith gave your Kingdom the weapons necessary to win the war, only to have it delivered to him in the end. He's personally crafted many of the monstrosities you've put down so far. He's been put down once before, now you must do it again.
ITEMS, POWER-UPS AND INTERACTABLES
Spoiler:
AMMUNITION
[Phlogiston]: Found in steel canisters and large tanks, combustible phlogiston fuel the fires of the Immolator and Basilisk. (Pick-up Amount: 5|25; Maximum Capacity: 150)
[Demon Blood]: Vials and urns of Demon Blood can be found thru-out your journey. They power the Wheel of Pain and Hellbolt. (Pick-up Amount: 2|10; Maximum Capacity: 100)
[Nails]: Cartridges and boxes of nails are relatively common. They are used by the Nailgun and Mauler. (Pick-up Amount: 20|100; Maximum Capacity: 400)
[Souls]: The rarest ammunition are souls; found in orbs and large globes. Extracted from prisoners of war, the Soultaker and Reaper uses these to unleash their power. (Pick-up Amount: 10|50; Maximum Capacity: 200)
[Rucksacks]: Picking up a rucksack gives you some ammo and allows you to carry more of it.
HEALTH & ARMOR
[Large Health Bonus]: These bottles of healing elixirs are common. They give 3 health points when consumed, healing beyond your normal 100 health.
[Life Force]: Extracted from the living, these decanters of life-energies heals a substantial 20 health points.
[Rejuvenator]: Filled to the brim with life-energy, a Rejuvenator will heal you to full health over 5 seconds, restoring a maximum of 100 health.
[Steel Armors]: Made for the war-effort, sets and pieces of steel armor can be found scattered about. Picking them up gives varying degrees of protection, up to a maximum 200 armor points.
(Note: all armor in Hell-Forged reduces your damage by 50%)
POWER-UPS
[Doom Sphere]: This artifact supercharges your weapons, altering some of their behaviors and greatly increasing their damage for a time.
(Duration: 90 seconds)
[Juggernaut Sphere]: While under the effect of this orb, damage taken is reduced significantly, while you become immune to area damage and environmental hazards.
(Duration: 1 Level)
[Spectral Sphere]: Picking this orb up phases you out of the physical plane temporarily, allowing most projectiles to pass harmlessly thru you, and making you harder to see.
(Duration: 60 seconds)
[Regenerator Sphere]: This power-up is similar to the Soul Sphere, but replenishes your health back to 100 over time for the rest of the level.
(Duration: 1 Level)
[Annihilator Sphere]: This powerful sphere gives you unlimited ammo for a short duration. Blast away at your heart's content with the most powerful piece in your arsenal.
(Duration: 30 seconds)
[Vision Sphere]: With this power-up, you will be able to see perfectly in pitch blackness and light up otherwise invisible enemies and objects.
(Duration: 180 seconds)
[Chrono Sphere]: When used, space and time no longer hinder you. You to fire at double speed, jump insanely high, and run inhumanly fast.
(Duration: 30 seconds)
[Destroyer Sphere]: Picking up this power-up completely replenishes ammunition and weapon charge.
INTERACTABLES
[Phlogiston Canisters]: Numerous raw unprocessed canisters of phlogistons are stored across various maps. These volatile containers can easily be set off by any attack.
[Blood Barrels]: Radiating with demonic energies, barrels of demon blood can be interacted with in various ways. Life or Blood ammo can be siphoned off by the Wheel of Pain's 2 attacks, but any or fire explosive force will cause them to detonate. You were warned.
COLLECTIBLES
[Sentient Mushrooms]: One sentient mushroom can be found in each of the 9 maps. Completing the episode with all of them collected will reveal a surprise.
SCREENSHOTS
Spoiler:
FULL CREDITS LIST
List of companies and people from which I've borrowed resources from, or have inspired me greatly over the years as a Doom-modder.
Spoiler:
[SOFTWARE COMPANIES]
-id Software: For Doom (I , II & Ultimate), and Quake (I, II & III) graphics and sounds.
-Raven Software: Heretic and Hexen, Hexen II graphics and Quake IV sounds and music.
-Blizzard Entertainment: Starcraft, Diablo 2 and Warcraft 3 sounds. Diablo 2 for inspiration.
-Monolith Entertainment: Blood graphics and sounds.
-Banjo Software: Hacx graphics and sounds, inspiration.
[Modding Teams]
-Team TNT: Title Music and inspiration
-Gothic DM Team: Gothic style inspiration.
-Alien Vendetta Team: Mapping inspiration.
-TVR! Team: Mapping and map balance inspiration
[Texture Credits]
-Anthony Czerwonka (Adelusion): Gothic DM textures.
[Sound]
-Alice Jameson: Female Player sounds.
-Gothic DM: SSG Sounds (original source unknown).
-DBThanatos: Sound Resource Wad/package.
[Music]
-Mark Klem, Marc Pullen (Fanatic) and David Shaw: Gothic DM and 98/99 music.
-Chris Laverdure (Dashiva): Alien Vendetta map 20 midi.
-yakfak: TVR! Map15 "Sappers & Moles" midi.
-Alfonzo: TVR! Map21 "Unearthed" midi.
-Jeremy Doyle: Selachian Citadel level music (original title unknown, D_Betwee from Osiris).
[ZScript Sorcery]
-Comet1337
-Blue Shadow
[Alpha and Beta Testers]
-Comet1337
-Blue Shadow
-Captain J
-Gez
-Jimmy
-Talon1024
-Terminus
[Streamers]
-Mr.Icarus
-Pagb666
-R. Belmont12
[Other Assets]
-Woolie Wool (Colormap)
-Skymarshal and SamVision (brightmaps and GLDefs)
[Special Thanks]
-Randi Heit and Graf Zahl: Zdoom and GZdoom source ports.
-Scuba Steve: Ghostbusters Doom 2, inspiration to start Doom-modding.
-Collin Potratz: Hellstorm mod that first got me into Doom-spriting. Original Hellstorm monster sprite designs.
-Vader and NMN: Spriting inspiration.
-Jimmy: For the fine midis.
-Tormentor667 and Kirby: Early Demon Eclipse development, and inspiration.
-Xaser: Inpiration and crazy ideas.
-Cutmanmike: Inspiration.
-Esselfortium and Vader: mapping inspiration.
-Tarnsman: livestream feedback and inspiration for refinement.
-Wildweasel and Shadelight: Forum support.
-BlueShadow: His fine work on repackaging Demon Eclipse: Episode 1 as a stand-alone.
-Ed The Bat, TheDarkArchon, NiGHTMARE: Decorate help in DE.
-Zdoom Forums: For 17 years of support.
==========================================================================================================================
Spoiler: "NOTICE"
There is currently a bug for version 1.10 in the 6th map (HF1M6 - The Hellkeep) where two Aracknights count as secrets when they shouldn't, making getting 100% secrets impossible. Should be a simple do-it-yourself fix, for the time being, or wait for the 1.11 patch.
)
