[Multiplayer] Agony Accel

[Arctangent]

fancy logo or gameplay video hopefully to be here soon

Way back when, when video games were only just starting to become something notable, there was a sub-genre of shoot 'em ups that nowadays we don't really see much of. Sure, Asteroids has remakes and ports on basically every system ever existed, but new inertia-based shooters are few and far between, if they are even created at all. It's a bit of a shame, since there's a certain appeal to fighting not only your opponent but your velocity as you constantly manipulating your speed to keep dodging while still keeping yourself from careening into oblivion.

Agony Accel is a mod for deathmatch-based modes that takes a lot from those old inertia-based shooters; there is zero friction, absolutely none, and as a result your velocity won't change until you put effort into doing do. Or until you slam in to a wall, but that's not recommended. As a result, maximum speeds are far, far higher than any old space marine could dream of reaching, and to go along with the speed and the classic-style gameplay death from your opponents comes very, very swiftly - only one or two direct hits from enemy projectiles should do you in.

Also, you play as Pain Elementals. That should be worth about a billion bonus points right there.

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To help incentivize moving around, there are metal-with-green-insets pads scattered around the maps that spawn powerups every couple of seconds. Simply fly into them to collect them - no need for complicated inventory shenanigans here!

As a side note, even when powerups would not give you any bonus, you can still pick them up to deny them from your opponents.

Soul UP: Increases the maximum number of Lost Souls you can have in-flight at a time, up to a maximum of 8.
Explosion UP: Increases the explosion level of your Lost Souls, up to a maximum of 4 for a maximum explosion level of 8. The explosion level not only increases the radius of the explosion, but the damage to boot.
Acceleration UP: Increases your acceleration by 50%, making it easier to control your speed.
Detonator: Allows you to remotely detonate your Lost Souls mid-flight by pressing the secondary fire button.
Soulsphere: Restores all of your health.
Invulnerability Sphere: Renders you impervious to damage for 20 seconds - but you can still be knocked around!

Current Version: v1a

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• Forgotten One ( Detonator ) sprites by CaptainToenail

• MAP01: Devmap textures by CodeImp

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• MAP01: Devmap by Arctangent
• MAP02: Geometric by Arctangent
• MAP07: Cramped Simple by Arctangent

The map roster could really use some help, so if you're willing to give it a shot, look below for information!

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Agony Accel very much requires maps specifically tailored for it, as zero-friction environments are a core feature of it. As well, the significance of each individual map unit is far smaller than with normal maps, making open areas a necessity. As such:

• A good minimum width for hallways is 512 units. Similarly, about 512 units from one corner to the next is another good minimum. Smaller spaces can work, but keep in mind that the explosion radius of the players' projectiles start at 400 and only go up the more powerups they get. As well, too small spaces can make it difficult for players to control their speed.
• It only takes a 40-unit differences in height for players to be unable to directly hit each other. For this reason, floor heights should be relatively flat except in cases where the change in Z position is desired for gameplay reasons.
• Every horizontal surface the player can collide with should deal 100 or so damage if they hit them. This can be done by giving each of these lines the Thing_Damage special and setting them to "Repeatable action" and "When player bumps."
• I'd prefer it if the power up pads remained consistently designed. You can copy them from another map and then paste them where ever you want. Don't forget the MapSpot - that's required for spawning the powerups!
• Player spawns should preferably be in the open but not in the direct line of fire, as well as not really have any advantage relating to powerup pads. I've found that placing them about 90 to 381 units away from corners works well.
• Finally, scripting is recommended as it can easily set the friction and is how the powerups are spawned. That said, the basic stuff isn't terrible complicated Here's an example from MAP01.

Code: Select all

#include "zcommon.acs"

script 1 OPEN
{
    Sector_SetFriction(0, 255); // Set the friction of all sectors to 255 - 0 friction. ZDoom is weird.
    Sector_SetFriction(101, 255);
    Sector_SetFriction(102, 255);
    Sector_SetFriction(103, 255);
    Sector_SetFriction(104, 255);
    Sector_SetFriction(105, 255);
    Sector_SetFriction(106, 255);
}

script 2 OPEN
{
    int r;
    
    while(TRUE) // Repeat endlessly
    {
        Delay(35 * 10);
        
        r = random(101, 106); // TIDs can be replaced, first TID than last TID respectively
        Thing_Remove(r + 100); // Remove any powerups already on that pad.
        SpawnSpot("BoxSpawner", r, r + 100, 0); // And spawn the new one.
    }
}

As a side note, it seems like Zandronum's bots don't like the altered friction at all, and crash upon attempting to move. Sorry, but it seems like playing solo isn't currenly possible.