Tranquility (On Hold, 2017-08-12)

[Caligari87]

Tranquility

Description
A tactical realism mod for Doom, inspired by Hideous Destructor, Receiver, Arma, and other games which don’t forgive.

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News
2017-07-04: Trying to add a shotgun revealed several underlying problems in the code which I'm unable to resolve or get help on right now, probably due to the fact that ZScript is still new enough that very few people know how to troubleshoot it. I've gotten extremely frustrated and have little desire to bang my head against a wall any longer, so I'm going to shelve this and put it on hiatus for a while. I'll probably come back to it in a few months with yet another refactor when my mind is clear and I'm not mad at the code anymore. Maybe by then I'll have some new ideas to bring to the table, more than just a Receiver clone.

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2017-07-04: New update basically makes the pistol feature complete, I believe. Most of the tweaks are under-the-hood refactoring, but everything should sound/look/feel better now. Additionally, the code is almost finally in a place where I can start adding new weapons with minimal copy/paste! Expect to see a shotgun, carbine, and maybe an SMG in the next major version. This version also includes a preliminary stamina system affecting movement speed and aim accuracy, with health being a "cap" on max stamina regen. There's no HUD display for it, but you'll know when it gets low. As long as you're not sprinting and bunnyhopping everywhere it should stay mostly out-of-the-way.
2017-06-06: You think you've seen sexy? You've never seen anything this sexy. New alpha release showcases polished magazine reloading as a new "weapon" on slot 2 with the pistol. You can load rounds to a mag with [Fire], unload with [Altfire], or pick another mag with [Reload]. Make sure to find cover when you do this! Also damage output has been increased to compensate for slower gameplay, plus a few other tweaks and bugfixes.
2017-05-29: After several months of non-work and much stumbling in the dark, a new alpha version has been released, based on ZScript instead of ACS/DECORATE. This consists of (yet another) source code refactor to enable what I feel is something truly unique in Doom: The experience of actually managing all aspects of your weapon manually. If you've played Receiver, this should feel rather familiar. Be advised this version does regress slightly from previous versions (no enemy changes, no movement tweaks, etc) but these will be re-added in time. As of now, my goal is to release this to a wider audience and (hopefully) get some comprehensive feedback on the new direction.

Instructions
You start with an empty 9mm pistol. You may hold Altfire, Reload, or Zoom to access additional weapon interaction contexts. For example, holding Reload then tapping Altfire will select the next magazine in your inventory (provided there is not already one in the weapon). Conversely, holding Altfire then holding Reload will pull the slide, ejecting any round in the chamber. Holding Zoom will tighten your sight picture and cause you to do a slower, more accurate trigger pull. You may wish to perform drills before entering combat.

You can see the current pool of "spare rounds" as Doom's default "Clip" ammotype. You cannot use these bullets directly in the gun, but must reload your magazines manually. There is a secondary "weapon" on slot 2 where you can reload mags that aren't in your gun, using Fire to insert a round, AltFire to remove a round, and Reload to grab another mag. Again, drilling this skill is recommended and should be performed far from combat situations.

Your (somewhat slower than normal) movement speed is directly affected by your Stamina, which decreases with running and jumping. Your maximum stamina is capped by your current health. As either decreases, you will gradually get slower. Healthpacks will restore you as in normal Doom gameplay. Basically, try not to get shot.

Download
Alpha 2017.07.04 (.zip)
Alpha 2017.06.06 (.zip)
Alpha 2017.05.29 (.zip)

[Josh771]

I've recently been messing around with wildweasel's Terrorists! by adding authentic bullet speeds to the different ammunition types (makes the thing so difficult it's nearly unplayable). This kind of attention to detail is something I can definitely appreciate; I'll download this, give it a shot, and let you know anything that comes to mind.

EDIT: Just a minor issue here -- the filename is "Tranqulity.pk3," not "Tranquility.pk3." It took me a few confused tries before I realized why it wasn't loading (I use batch files like a stubborn fool, hehehe).

EDIT 2: Alright, so I gave this a quick run-around, and I love how bullets go exactly where you point. That being said (and I know this is WIP), it's currently too easy to land impossible shots -- e.g. sprinting a semicircle through a room and picking off 4 or 5 targets one after another. I think the crosshair sway severity should be affected by the player's velocity, perhaps.

Of course, the player still moves like a race car and the guns don't reload, so... heh, I know, I know, it's WIP. Still, I like the way you're calculating damages based on muzzle velocity. I assume you're also calculating accurate speeds for the FastProjectiles?

[Freaklore1]

i get an error when starting the mod.

script error, ''tranquility.pk3:weapons/15000.txt'' line 29: unknown identifier 'SPF_INTERPOLATE'.

script error, ''tranquility.pk3:weapons/15000.txt'' line 30:expected ')', got ','.

[Hellser]

I can see into your folders, Doctor! I see GZDoom, I see this mod.. I see.. OUTDATEDNESS!

[Matt]

I've replaced the Pistol with a right-handed version

boo hiss rating 0/0
(that in mind, if you're already willing to increase file size to replace those sprites you might as well add pistol zombie sprites for balance purposes.)

I see what you're trying to do with the wobbling aim but it seems terribly excessive (and nauseating), especially with no way to control it. Maybe reduce it when the player hasn't turned in a few tics?

Just a thought: maybe use uservars to tie bullet speed to damage somehow? (Or would the ranges at which that would make a difference not be worth the bother and increased performance demands (there being basically no range in TUD in which a pistol bullet would fail to hit a target where a rifle bullet would have)?)

[Freaklore1]

I can see into your folders, Doctor! I see GZDoom, I see this mod.. I see.. OUTDATEDNESS!

Thank you for your help,i can sometime be so distracted i forget certain things,would you like some jelly babies ?

[Caligari87]

Thanks for the feedback! Yeah, I know it's a little too easy to land shots, but I will be scaling the sway by the player's velocity for sure. As-is, I'm not satisfied with it, because it just traces randomly everywhere, even turning you completely around. I'd rather some way to have it smoothly stay within a certain average area of the player's general direction, but I'm unsure of the math involved. There's not a lot of formulas out there for weapon sway.

I actually have not converted the projectile velocity to match the muzzle velocity though. Really as far as the ranges in Doom, bullets are instantaneous. That said, it's not completely off the table, just not high priority. Same with pistol zombies, which I was actually considering as well, just after everything else is done.

I'll try to keep working on it and maybe get another version updated this week (busy with school and all). If there's any other feedback or suggestions, feel free to leave them!

[JimmyJ]

Curious question, are you planning to implement reloading or keep it classic Doom style? Obviously it's not in now, but IDK if that's because it's early or you don't plan to.

[Caligari87]

I'm considering it, not quite sure yet. My spriting skill is just about nil, so I wouldn't be able to come up with much.

[Josh771]

Thanks for the feedback! Yeah, I know it's a little too easy to land shots, but I will be scaling the sway by the player's velocity for sure. As-is, I'm not satisfied with it, because it just traces randomly everywhere, even turning you completely around. I'd rather some way to have it smoothly stay within a certain average area of the player's general direction, but I'm unsure of the math involved. There's not a lot of formulas out there for weapon sway.

Check out my Drunk Doom jokewad. I used trig to make the player camera sway in a perfect circle, which means you keep your facing -- you just get really disoriented and can't hit the side of a barn. Perhaps you can find a way to use trigonometry to give your random sway bounds?

I actually have not converted the projectile velocity to match the muzzle velocity though. Really as far as the ranges in Doom, bullets are instantaneous. That said, it's not completely off the table, just not high priority. Same with pistol zombies, which I was actually considering as well, just after everything else is done.

Actually, you'd be surprised. Converting actual bullet speeds to Doom map units can fall anywhere between 250-500, in my experience. That's enough to create some small delays on larger maps -- fun, fun for a sniper, hehehe. It would be neat if we could somehow simulate gravity on the bullet as well, since FastProjectiles do not receive gravity IIRC.

[rollingcrow]

It would be neat if we could somehow simulate gravity on the bullet as well, since FastProjectiles do not receive gravity IIRC.

ThrustThingZ in the spawn state does the trick:

Code: Select all

Spawn:
	PUFF Z 1 NoDelay ThrustThingZ(0, 2, 1, 1)
	Loop

Changing the duration or reducing ThrustThingZ's force will make it fall slower.

[Slax]

HURK COFF .308 COFFA HUFF HUFF COFF

[Matt]

ThrustThingZ works, though you can also add bullet tumbling with a single A_ChangeVelocity call:

Code: Select all

A_ChangeVelocity(frandom(-0.9,0.9),frandom(-0.9,0.9),-1)

Based on my calculations in HD, a pistol bullet should have a speed of around 350-400 while a rifle bullet should be over 1000.

For a pistol bullet at muzzle speed 350 and 100% gravity (z-velocity -1 every tic), if you shoot from the northeastmost corner of Map15 southwards into the southernmost wall at zombie chest height (or possibly a bit lower - in HD you basically shoot out of your eyes so I was aiming down slightly), your shot may end up falling low enough to end up impacting somewhere inside the crack in the ground. Rifle, you'd scarcely notice a thing.

It helps to set up a dummy trail actor and call it with MissileType for testing purposes only - at the distances where there's any noticeable difference looking for bullet holes can be a real chore and it's hard to know what's really going on without seeing the entire arc.

[Caligari87]

Excellent information, thanks! Bullet drop and speed will definitely be addressed next time I work on an update, since they're probably pretty easy fixes.

[Hellser]

I enjoyed what you got going on, Cali. I might use a similar system in the future for my mods. In the mean time - the swaying did get annoying for those precise shots - and the shotgun felt oh so enjoyable being that accurate.