[Release] Gene-Tech: Before the Storm

[Enjay]

I decided to burn the not-quite-midnight-oil to review this right now. I didn't run into any issues or anything like that myself. It has some minor spoilers in it, although I don't think that would detract from the map if you knew about it beforehand.

Getting late here so I'll check that properly tomorrow. Thanks very much for doing it though.

I think secrets are best when they're not too difficult and use common ques like a different grate, a wall with a crack in it, or a monitor with a minor texture difference. It's kind of a language that you use to go 'pay a bit more attention since there's something different here' Of course I know there's people out there who want their secrets myst-lite style

Most of the secrets are along those lines i.e. "that computer looks a bit suspicious", "that console is a different colour to the others or is flickering", "why is that panel a different colour to the others", "why is that light not on when the others are" etc etc and most of the ones like that are just simple, small closets with an item in them (or they open a closet nearby). Then there are a few more cunning ones that involve a bit of looking around or working stuff out but none of them are entirely hidden or without some kind of visible clue. Two secrets require you to find another secret first. One of those is really sort of an Easter egg but does have some goodies in it too. The other is quite valuable but can be accessed quite early on and so is deliberately tricky to get.

The world seemed really interested based on the mod and what I remember reading on the site about it a long time ago (a mars corporation owned by vampires I think I remember?) Liberation inspired quite a lot of things with the AMC TC, it would be nice to see another entry in the universe someday, but of course I'm not the one who has to make it so easier said than done

The Mars corporation owned by vampires is "Red Giant". Curiously enough, that's a story arc that I don't think has had a mod released for it (though I did stuff for it privately by re-purposing other people's maps for my own use). Bits and pieces have made it out though. e.g. my old NJTrain mod was originally done as part of a level set for a Red Giant story and there is a reason that one of the enemies in this Gene-Tech mod has the in-the-code actor name of RGMech. I'm not saying that there will definitely never be another instalment for that world (I hadn't actually realised that people were so interested to be honest); just that I have no current plans in that direction. Indeed, even if I did have plans, my current RL workload would mean I couldn't do anything about them anyway. That's partly why this Gene-Tech mod came about. I knew I had a finite time to do something over the Summer and, although I did overrun a bit (getting carried away with making a whole new scenario instead of just sticking with simpler, ready-made concept), I got it mostly done in the window that I had identified.

[MaxED]

I ran into CowerDeath bug issue. Strangely enough, it only happened with CivilianMale, not CivilianFemale. Putting "Stop" at the end of CowerDeath state fixed the issue for me (why? IHAVENOCLUE).
Also, "GunnerGrenade" model is defined in both MODELDEF.StroggBiatch and MODELDEF.StroggGunner (I noticed it when it crashed GZDB when I tried to open the map ).

[SyntherAugustus]

BTW I Nominated your level.

[MaxED]

Also:

Code: Select all • Expand view

    TNT1 A 0 A_JumpIfInventory("MaleCowerCheck",1,"CowerDeath")
    TNT1 A 0 A_TakeInventory ("MaleCowerCheck", 255)  //glitch preventer - I hope  <- NOOOPE, we jumped right to CowerDeath on the previous line


[Enjay]

BTW I Nominated your level.

Oh my goodness! Thank you.

I ran into CowerDeath bug issue. Strangely enough, it only happened with CivilianMale, not CivilianFemale. Putting "Stop" at the end of CowerDeath state fixed the issue for me (why? IHAVENOCLUE).
Also, "GunnerGrenade" model is defined in both MODELDEF.StroggBiatch and MODELDEF.StroggGunner (I noticed it when it crashed GZDB when I tried to open the map ).

Excellent, thank you very much. The omitted Stop was definitely an oversight by me. It should have been there and I have looked and looked at it but not seen that it was missing.

Thanks also for the modeldef report. Again, an oversight by me. I'll get these things fixed and reupload tomorrow. It's late here and I have work in the morning. I actually meant to open the project in GZDB myself because I know it is quite good at picking up modeldef problems, but I didn't.

Also:

Code: Select all • Expand view

    TNT1 A 0 A_JumpIfInventory("MaleCowerCheck",1,"CowerDeath")
    TNT1 A 0 A_TakeInventory ("MaleCowerCheck", 255)  //glitch preventer - I hope  <- NOOOPE, we jumped right to CowerDeath on the previous line


Yeah, that was just a wild hope in case somehow the NPC was getting sent back and forth between the CowerDeath and the end of the main sequence. I didn't really expect it to do anything. It was just there as a trial.

[Enjay]

OK, not in bed. Made the changes suggested by MaxEd (thanks again) and am currently uploading. Downloads will not work for the next 15 minutes or so.

[edit] Quicker than expected. Modified mod up and download has been tested for integrity. [/edit]

[edit2] Ack, I just realised that I left some of the A_Die pointers in there. Oh well, they're harmless. That's what I get for rushing things when I'm tired. I'll remove them tomorrow. [/edit2]

[grouchbag]

Just played some of it.Very impressive!

[Kostov]

I wonder if there are more than one player spawns (multiplayer support), I'd just like to know before I bother one or more of my friends to use and setup this. The reviews seem to be flowing positively. I'm very tempted to try this.

[Captain J]

hyped and hyped, good luck, enjay!

[Freaklore1]

I gotta say i am impressed with what i see,you did a good job with this mod.

It seem lately more modders have started showing up with 3d models mods and they all look impressives. (yours,Hunter's Moon by Revilution and Ulti Doom by skornedemon)

The mod made Doom feel more like Quake or a bit like Half life,and not just because of the ennemies or the npc's,but because of the weapons,the level design and the pace of the mod,wich to me is great.

Man,that final boss take a lots of damage,he's like a sponge,how much health did you put it compared to a Cyberdemon and Spidermastermind ?

You should continue working on this and expand on it,it's magnificient.

Would it be possible to do a separate wad/pk3 wich contain only the ennemies,weapons and items,i need to test out the feel of the mod without the level to see if its different.

I would also like to nominate your level but i still get the same message on Doomworld about my account not being activated yet or the thing about editing someone post,its been like what 2-3 months since i tried to make an account on Doomworld.

[Captain J]

okay, i played it for a minute. i say the models are pretty new and great, also nice graphics! but to bad this mod is really hard to play. because this mod lacks medkits and armors. so i'm always get dusted by hitscan enemies even i through the map so far.

autosaving is highly recommended.

EDIT: okay, i just had a pretty lucky run. but even i found a health keg, still armor was nowhere to be found.

[Sgt. Shivers]

Just played through the wad, I'm stunned! Absolutely loved the colour scheme and the new enemies and weapons, even though I didn't get the full arsenal. Yet another fantastic wad from you, Enjay!

[Enjay]

Thanks for all the comments. I really appreciate people taking the time to give me feedback and I'm glad that people seem to be enjoying this.

I wonder if there are more than one player spawns (multiplayer support), I'd just like to know before I bother one or more of my friends to use and setup this. The reviews seem to be flowing positively. I'm very tempted to try this.

I'm at work so can't check but from memory, I put some multi-player starts in mainly to keep the DeePsea error checker quiet. It's not set up for DM but it *might* be OK for co-op. Very few scripts rely on the player being in a particular place at any one time and I *think* I left it so that any doors which trap a player during a fight can still be opened from the other side so that additional players can get in... I think.




As for the boss, yes, he is tough. HP wise he isn't too much tougher than a cyberdemon (I forget exactly) but he also has damage factors to reduce how vulnerable he is to attacks and that effectively bumps up his health too. Personally, I haven't found the boss himself too tough. He is pretty slow moving, there is a lot of cover to hide behind and his nastiest attacks have quite a bit of warning that they are incoming before they actually start. Of course, during the boss fight, there is other stuff going on and that has to be dealt with too. You may notice that towards the end of the fight he changes appearance to use a damaged-looking skin. At this point, most of his attacks are weaker but he also starts using an additional "desperation attack" which is quite nasty if you get caught by it.



As for medical supplies, it can be tight near the start but there are quite a few stim packs and medikits dotted around the map. Most major fights are not too far from health supplies. Lack of health wasn't something that my tester complained about and it was even questioned whether I'd been to generous with health.

[Captain J]

nevermind about the health items now, after that lucky run, i just realized this mod is easy when you're practicing it. but still without armor, it's easy to die much faster, since hitscan damages are ruthless without any protections from covers or items when they're multiple or rapid.

anyway i can own that boss tank with railgun, but his AUTOMATIC RAILGUN is the real-deal, also his commander reinforcements.

[Enjay]

You could have a point about the armour. There isn't much. There are three regular (100 point) armour items but two of those are in secrets and the third is quite far through the map. There are three 200 point armours but two are in secrets and the third is in the final area and only on the easy setting. There is a Mega powerup (200 armour) in a secret near the end. There are also 10 of the 5 point armour bonuses but five of them are in the final arena and some of the enemies drop random numbers of armour shards (1 point each). So, although that is quite a long list, it's a big map and not much of the armour is available without finding secrets. Perhaps I should add some more easily-findable items. I'll have a look at where might be suitable.

As for the Boss' auto-railgun, it seems to have the exact effect that I wanted. Sure, it does actually do quite a bit of damage but it is nowhere near as powerful as people generally expect railguns to be. Also, the way he strafes it around makes it look impressive by filling the air with rail particles but you'd have to make a real effort and actually try to be hit as many times as possible from a single volley. The idea was to create something that made the player go "oh shit, his got an auto railgun", make it threatening enough that you don't want to be hit by it but not totally overpowering.