Mortila (HEXEN MOD) [BETA 2.66 RELEASED]

[BigProjectAlone]

Hey, i should have posted this sooner.. My great friend Darsycho is doing a full playthrough of the beta 2.31.
And he post all of the videos on hes youtube channel. For any of you that is interested to see that, you should take a look!
He also do many other playthrough and videos!!

Here's the link to hes channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/jackthemaster101/videos

And here's Mortila playthrough PART-1:

[SallazarSpellcaster]

Next progress report.

I entered the gate in Disorder Realm, it works without issue. I liked the concept in the Lair of Darkness map, as floating platforms in the void is always a very neat scenery. Looks like the story will have some pretty interesting twists in that place there. For this place, I'd recommend some indication that one can access the door, just something where the player says "What's that door floating in the void for?" or something like that, so it becomes clear that one might enter.

After that, I found the last pieces I needed for the contraption. Admittedly, I had used "give weapons" so far, to test it. That's why I had to press 4 twice, as you said, it was selecting the unblessed holy weapon and that's what made it work iffy. It works perfectly, my bad on that one.

I entered the Darkness Realm, and the cutscene with the giant head is awesome! Especially the movement of the eyes; I know I'd seen it before, but it's still so damned cool. I'd recommend, though, that the gates to the Bridge of Immortality shouldn't open until you defeat the minions, as it makes awakening the head rather pointless. I went as far as the Valley of the Damned, and HOLY SHIT are the Isuldar ghosts damned overpowered. In one hit, one brought me down from 138 HP, to 3... That's rather ludicrous.

For this part, as the Artificer, I actually feel heavily underpowered now, as the ammo needed to kill a single enemy is too high to be efficient.

What I'd recommend is seriously toning down the damage they inflict, or alternatively, keep their damage but make them very easy to kill, to compensate for their strength. Also, Protection Scroll doesn't completely block their attacks, they still pack quite a punch. In this part, progressing has become very difficult, as they move really quickly and pack a really hard wallop.

As it is, the Artificer needs a makeover: Aside from upping the damage of his weapons, I'd recommend giving the Contraption a secondary attack that uses flammable liquid, causing quite some damage. Maybe, also, reduce the number of scrap pieces necessary to craft it (I actually had to use the give command because I couldn't find the last four pieces.) I really like the class, but towards middle-end game, it's too underpowered to continue. I've actually restarted the game as the Cleric.

Overall, I really like the Artificer, he still needs some tweaks and fixes, but he's still a really unique and interesting class on his own.


EDIT:

Something that just occurred to me: Have you considered having certain items and "weapons" as "Skills" for the player? Allow me to exemplify with the axe you get at the beginning, letting the player keep it (in slot 5 or something like that) and around the world have certain trees that can be felled by it, to hide some secret areas or to progress through the world. Basically, something similar to what Legend of Zelda does, having certain things that allow the player to further explore and do different things. So far you have the Talisman of the Depths for one, it could be given as a reward somewhere, rather than being sold at the gem shop, and allow you not only to explore the Water Temple but further the story. Same with the Ring of Fire Resistance. And well, other common stuff, such as something that gave you a double jump skill, or things like that, it could further the sense of exploration and discovery of the whole experience.

Also, playing as the Cleric I noticed something: How do you get Wraithverge? Its pieces aren't for sale at any of the shops.

EDIT 2:

Daaaamn, I hadn't noticed the weather effects in Mortila. A small detail that might go unnoticed, but it really adds a lot of atmosphere to the place, kudos on that.

[BigProjectAlone]

Hello Sallazar!! nice to have some news from you!

Time to answer to all of this!

For the floating door of disorder realm you got a nice idea there making a text appears like that will certainly help so the player know that those doors is accessible.

Did you reached Halmfolk will collecting those Junk pieces ?? cause there you could find the last junk pieces needed to obtain the contraption.

Yeah, i will fix those problem on the darkness realm, the door wont be open before the head cutscene and i will probably reduces the damage of the isuldar ghost a litle bit.

I actually managed to beat the beta with the artificer though, using a lot of scrolls ofcourse. But i guest it will be better to do reduce their damages.

For contraption yes, many other attacks is planed, i can't tell more on that yet but the artificer weapons will have much more to offer in the next beta.
Especially the flamethrower and the contraption.


And that ideas there

"Have you considered having certain items and "weapons" as "Skills" for the player? Allow me to exemplify with the axe you get at the beginning, letting the player keep it (in slot 5 or something like that) and around the world have certain trees that can be felled by it, to hide some secret areas or to progress through the world. Basically, something similar to what Legend of Zelda does, having certain things that allow the player to further explore and do different things. So far you have the Talisman of the Depths for one, it could be given as a reward somewhere, rather than being sold at the gem shop, and allow you not only to explore the Water Temple but further the story. Same with the Ring of Fire Resistance. And well, other common stuff, such as something that gave you a double jump skill, or things like that, it could further the sense of exploration and discovery of the whole experience."

That is pure genius!!! i freaking love that and it will be done for sure!.


And for the wraithverge, Quietus and Bloodscourge, they are only sold at halmfolk shoppe.


Thank you again Sallazar, and i hope the cleric will be fun to play!! i didnt have tested the cleric to the end yet so.
Give me news on that too if you have the times!!

[SallazarSpellcaster]

I did reach Halmfolk, but I guess I missed a few, as I was missing 4 that I couldn't find anywhere. Maybe as a form of aid to the player, you could offer an item in the gems shop that highlights scrap pieces whenever they're found in a map? Of course, letting it be a rather expensive item.

Sounds like the Artificer's weapons will be really fun to use. And yea, I could finish the beta as the Artificer, but I'd be using SO many scrolls I could well open my own library lol.

Well, as far as I can tell (or at least it seems like it,) Mortila is quite heavily influenced by the Zelda games, or at least has a rather similar gameplay style, so stuff such as that would give a lot of depth to the game as it is, and open up avenues for exploration and the satisfaction of finding kickass stuff. An immediate example, for er... example, is the area with the trees in Mortila, where you need fire to clear them out and find the couple chests. THAT Kind of stuff is what I'm talking about: Things that aren't immediately apparent but that open up rewards and secrets. Add up the feeling of progression of getting new items and things as rewards for following through the story, and you have an adventure with so much replayability it's ludicrous.

Aah I see I see. I did check the shops at Halmfolk but I didn't remember that small detail, thank you for the information.

Of course. So far he feels far stronger than the Artificer; also, if you thoroughly explore Mortila, you can get both Firestorm and the Serpent Staff before you get to night time, which is nice as it's a reward for exploring and knowing what you're doing.


EDIT:

IMPORTANT Bug report: As the Cleric, the entrance to the shoppe in Mortila doesn't work, neither to go in or out. Had to use noclip to access it.

Another thing I noticed, is that mana potions are pointless. They give you 20 mana and cost about half of what a Krater does, and Kraters give you 200 of each mana, 10 times more.

[BigProjectAlone]

"Maybe as a form of aid to the player, you could offer an item in the gems shop that highlights scrap pieces whenever they're found in a map? Of course, letting it be a rather expensive item."

Well that is an interesting idea hm, since if the player reach halmfolk and still miss some parts to built the contraption.
It will help him find the last pieces, it could be sold at Halmfolk only, great idea there again!.

"Well, as far as I can tell (or at least it seems like it,) Mortila is quite heavily influenced by the Zelda games, or at least has a rather similar gameplay style"

I never really played Zelda games except Twilight princess on Nintendo Gamecube long ago. But if you say so, i will take that as a compliment since the Zelda games are really well know.

Those secret places using special thing to open them is a real nice idea, i will work on that before the next beta. And i will hide some Unique items in some of those ..

"As the Cleric, the entrance to the shoppe in Mortila doesn't work" I did test that and everything works well ?? or are you talking about the Artificer shop ??

Yeah, those mana potions need something more... maybe reducing the price or make them give more ?

[SallazarSpellcaster]

That's actually what happened to me: I reached Halmfolk and there were about... 5 pieces or so that I missed, and honestly have no idea where they might be.

It is a compliment, and actually, I've been playing Twilight Princess myself, of late, for the first time and I can't help but see a few parallels, which is really awesome.

Hmm I couldn't replicate that actually. I started a new game just to test that out, and I was able to enter without any issue. Tried getting thrown into jail and then taken out, and it's still okay. Seems to be a one off thing.

Well, reduce the price considerably and make them give more. Or maybe make them separate like the Artificer's items? Like, have a green and a blue mana potion, and have each give 100 mana or so, and cost about 30 each, so that with 60 gold you can get full of one mana, and 120 for both types of mana, so in the end the Krater would still be cheaper. To balance it though, it'd be best to place a limit on Kraters, like say, 5 or so. Basically, something similar to the Artificer.

[armymen12002003]

Nice job with this even if i'm not really into the fantasy shooter, rpg genre this goes right up there with Serpent Resurrection but i do have a couple suggestions first of all i'd love to see a witchhaven class and second i would really suggest you use some madcats medieval stuff over on the zandronum forums as they would really fit in with your mod. https://zandronum.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=4445

[BigProjectAlone]

That's actually what happened to me: I reached Halmfolk and there were about... 5 pieces or so that I missed, and honestly have no idea where they might be.

It is a compliment, and actually, I've been playing Twilight Princess myself, of late, for the first time and I can't help but see a few parallels, which is really awesome.

Hmm I couldn't replicate that actually. I started a new game just to test that out, and I was able to enter without any issue. Tried getting thrown into jail and then taken out, and it's still okay. Seems to be a one off thing.

Well, reduce the price considerably and make them give more. Or maybe make them separate like the Artificer's items? Like, have a green and a blue mana potion, and have each give 100 mana or so, and cost about 30 each, so that with 60 gold you can get full of one mana, and 120 for both types of mana, so in the end the Krater would still be cheaper. To balance it though, it'd be best to place a limit on Kraters, like say, 5 or so. Basically, something similar to the Artificer.

Weird bug with the shoppe door hmm really interesting.. i find some bug myself too some times and many apperently cannot be replicated, thats weird..

And that is an interesting idea for the mana potions, i noted it.

Thanks again for the kind word and reports! and hope you will have fun playing as the cleric to the end!
Don't forget to tell anything you found!

Nice job with this even if i'm not really into the fantasy shooter, rpg genre this goes right up there with Serpent Resurrection but i do have a couple suggestions first of all i'd love to see a witchhaven class and second i would really suggest you use some madcats medieval stuff over on the zandronum forums as they would really fit in with your mod. https://zandronum.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=4445

I've took a look at Witchaven and the player class seem interesting, so yeah i could add this class to the game.
I will try to do it before the next beta release.

For the Madcats medieval stuff i will take a look at those. Thanks for class idea and the links!!

[armymen12002003]

No problem man.

[BigProjectAlone]

No problem man.

Thanks again Armymen12002003 for the Madcats wad.
Has you said, i've found many stuff to use in this so they will all be added before the next beta!

[armymen12002003]

Your very welcome man looking forward to seeing some of madcats monsters in the next beta

[SallazarSpellcaster]

"I want whatever he had:" DAMN Titulas sure has some stamina. I hadn't thought about him much, but as a suggestion: have you considered making him stop now and then? Not slowing him down mind you, but act more as a villager would and "cower in fear" whenever more isuldari appear? Thing is that I noticed that I might be dealing with a group of soldiers, and Titulas would either keep going, or try to engage a giant that's more than twice his size. I admire his guts, if not his brains; so making him stop whenever a group of soldiers spawn, and then having the player activate him so he keeps going may make that whole section more enjoyable overall, or at least making it so he doesn't engage the isuldari.

Another suggestion, and this is more of a general thing, have you considered making the Town Portal scroll purchasable with gold? I take it that Town Portal is inspired by games such as Diablo and Torchlight, so it may be convenient to have it available since the shoppe in Mortila, and be rather cheap. It's more of a convenience to the player, really, because when it becomes available in the gem shop, there're many items far more useful than the portal scroll, so it may go largely ignored.

Another suggestion: As the weapon4 for the Hexen classes is available only in Halmfolk, why not make it sort of a Zelda-ish instance where you get a quest to find the "weapon of the hero?" Basically, let the player explore a couple dungeons and get his final weapon as a reward for his efforts. Though I think you do the same with the unblessed holy weapon?

So far, playing as the Cleric has been easier than the Artificer, not only does he deal far more damage, but the wide availability of Kraters makes it more of a blast. My suggestion about mana potions and Kraters still stands, just to avoid letting the player be overpowered. Another suggestion would be making the entrance to the Dwarven Camp shop and blacksmith quest-related; you did save the dwarf (I forgot his name,) so that could allow you to enter the camp in the first place, but to earn their trust you could do something to win their favor. This could be something such as killing the Ice Golem, the fight may have to be moved somewhere else, but it could make the boss come less out of nowhere. This, because getting to the various scrolls, that make everything quite easier, would be best in my opinion if it was a reward rather than a given, because otherwise a good strategy for the whole game would be to reach the Dwarven Camp as soon as possible and stock up in scrolls, making future boss fights and large fights in general quite easy.

On that same vein, it might be a little annoying early on, but convenient nonetheless for progression's sake, to have the Dwarven Camp blacksmith carry the 3d weapon of every class, and for the Heretic the Hellstaff and Phoenix Rod (with Halmfolk selling the Firemace.) And to avoid confusion in this case, have an NPC in the smithy at Mortila comment something like "Have you heard about the dwarven camp in the frozen lands? I heard they have some premium quality weapons and armor," or something along those lines.

So far, as you can see, those suggestions are just tweaks or balance stuff.

Also, the monster pack that Armymen suggested really has a lot of badass looking creatures that would, indeed, fit like a glove with the atmosphere of Mortila.

[BigProjectAlone]

Yes Titulas is SUPOSED To break at some point, dont know if he did or not ? in my test he do... at least at Isuldar.
I should add more break as you said "cover in fear" whenever more isuldari appear.
i will try improving this.

About the townportal i dont think it will be possible to do this, since you not suposed to have them before the Destruction of Mortila.
And i think they are better to be purchased with jewelry.

You mean, let the player can bough them or remove them from the shoppe and only make them available by doing search on some dongeons ?

About the mana potions and Kraters yeah, i could make the price of the Kraters a bit higher, then the mana potion would be lower, and giving more mana.

For the dwarfs, yes other quest is planned, and i like that idea to like, unlock the scrolls by doing some quest for the dwarfs before.
For the ice golem.. i dont know, but i might add more places to that ice land so maybe another boss somewhere or dongeons..

The 3d weapons in dwarfs campment only, and the heretic weapons Hellstaff and phoenix rod, and the firemace in Halmfolk.. this is not big deal, i can do that. and yeah, i did nt though about that but that is a nice idea.

I took about 20monsters in the monsterpack! so yeah there will be more villains!! mwahahah.

Thanks again for your suggestions Sallazar!!

[SallazarSpellcaster]

Yea he does take a break in Isuldar, and I think the Burned Forest, but it's only for a few seconds and far and in between. Mostly, the only nitpick there is that he engages the isuldar, and that makes him get in the way for stray shots. No joke, I've killed him more times than Isuldar have because he stops to fight them lol.

Damn I forgot it took you back to ravaged Mortila, my bad. In that case you're right, they work best with jewels at the store.

Remove them from the shoppe, and make them available through an optional dungeon/quest or a series of them for each piece. Just to make them more meaningful to get and let the player explore more. For the Artificer, instead of a weapon he can find something else.

That could be an option. The idea is that using a Krater to fully restore mana is still cheaper than using potions, but potions being more accessible at the beginning. In fact, you could make the Krater available from the Dwarven shoppe, so that potions are a player's first option in Mortila.

Nice, quests are always welcome and fun to do. And not so much unlocking the scrolls, but access to their shops. AND More ice land places would be awesome! Like a frozen forest or something like that; admittedly, personally I have a soft spot for frozen areas and ice lands, those two maps are among my favorite.

It may make things more difficult for the player at first, though; to compensate, I'd suggest slightly reducing the health of a few monsters, particularly the Ice Maiden, as they have a lot of health unless you hit them with fire.

As a final suggestion, maybe a few more NPCs you could interact with, that gave you tips or hints about what to do. Like at the beginning, the guys who tell you to go to Atiss, more like those, telling you that certain enemies are weak to some attacks, that some items work well against some monsters, that kind of thing.

Nnnnnnnnnice! More villains, more bosses, and creatures and all that. Cool stuff.

You're welcome, glad to be of help.

[BigProjectAlone]

Yeah i should make him not attack at all ?

Yes the townportal is for Mortila's ruins.

Ok i see the idea for the weapons, and that is really nice.
i will work on that, i dont know if it will be done before the next beta or later on though.

Ok for the kraters at Dwarf's campment. That will be better, and now the mana potion will be usefull for sure.

Me too!, i love the ice lands and frozen places. Those places are awesome in game.

Yeah that is the point of the ice maiden, you need fire to kill them easely but if you dont have any... you are in big troubles.

A TONS OF VILAINS AND BOSSES !! yup!

Thank you again sallazar!!