[v1.0.0] ARGENT - The Streamlined Doom 4 Mod

[Xaser]

EXTREMELY NOTICE: this mod requires GZDoom or QZDoom; it will NOT run with the final release of the (now-defunct) ZDoom.


ARGENT - v1.0.0
- Release Archive
- Github

ARGENT, in a nutshell, is Xaser's own spin on Neccronixis's nu-Doom weapon sprites. In contrast to the other big kids on the block (D4D, D4T, and Zion), ARGENT aims to be a bit more "old-school" in its goals, providing a slick set of smoothly-animated d44m weaponry without introducing a ton of game-changing mechanics. In addition, as of v0.4.x, it's powered by ZScript! Huzzah!

Some key features:

• All SP weapons from Doom-Notfour, quasi-faithfully translated and balanced for use against Doom's classic bestiary*.
• Weapon Mods!
• New powerups! Quad, Haste, and Regen are all toggle-able in the menu.
• Equipment! Rechargeable grenades! Eventually more stuff of the sort like siphons/holograms soon!
• A custom gib system for maximum "splooshiness"
• Several tweak flags for user customization, including the fabled "monsters always gib" setting.
• Gallons of polish (or litres if you prefer), particularly in the animation department.

*all right, between this and the mods, you're a bit more powerful than standard Doomguy. But not gamebreakingly so.

Stuff that's not yet done but on the list:

• Holograms n' Siphons -- Grenades are in, but that's not the end of it.
• Cool Crosshairs, complete with cooldown meters and all that jazz.
• Better Haste and Berserk powerups
• A lock-on indicator for the Rocket Launcher, which I keep forgetting to make for some reason.
• Misc tweaks and bugfixes (of course)
• A post-release expansion pack featuring reinterpreted versions of the MP-exclusive weapons... with mods!

Things that the mod does/will explicitly NOT feature:

• Glory Kills
• 100% new-Doom accuracy
• Enemy sprites or behavior changes (gibs being the exception)
• Randomization elements
• Incremental weapon/stat upgrades or currency systems
• Belching lava

As listed above, weapon mods (in the Doom 4 sense, not just the ZDoom sense) are a thing. To obtain, pick up a Mod Kit (replaces Backpack), use it from your inventory, and use your standard weapon select + fire/altfire keys to navigate the "menu". It's a pretty simple system that's designed to let you apply mods mid-combat without the stress of fumbling through a full-on menu; hopefully it's intuitive to match. ;P

Hey, why should I play this instead of D4D/D4T?
'Cause you want to. Otherwise, play the other ones!

Seriously though, these guys have done a fantastic job, and I encourage folks to try out both mods and pick out which one they prefer. D4D and D4T are jam-packed with features and upgrades, while ARGENT carves out its own niche by focusing on keeping the gameplay a bit more old-school (hence "streamlined") with some ultra-smooth new animation work as the icing on the cake. Check out the videos at the bottom of this post if you're interested, or just give it a spin!

Project Roadmap

The mod has mods now (... how meta), but there's still a few things to be done. Here's what we'll see on the near horizon:

• v0.1.x: Primary fires for all weapons; some things still incomplete (e.g. BFG ammotype).
• v0.2.x: One mod, chosen based on sprite availability and/or whim. Ha ha! I skipped this entirely.
• v0.3.x: Both mods, with a good ol' animated swap feature.
• v0.4.x: ZScript conversion. New SSG sprites. Bugfixes, because bugs happen!
• v0.5.x: Equipment system. Huzzah! Just the grenade for now, but there you go.
• v1.0.0: Current version. Profit. /idgames release. Heat death of universe. Also this is totally just v0.5.x with a bugfix, punted out the door.
• v1.1.x: Kickass animated crosshairs. Also the rest of the equipment, probably! And other things I planned on doing but then didn't!
• v2.0.0: The Expansion, featuring the multiplayer-exclusive weapons (e.g. Static Rifle, Lightning Gun, etc.) included, with mod fires! Got some cool plans for these post-release... once the universe is rebooted, of course.

Screenshots
These are slightly-dated, but still show off the goods:




The mapset shown is Back to Saturn X Episode 2. Ignore the purple plasma -- that's a palette thing thanks to my goofy choice of maps.

Videos



...Github?
Yep. I'm taking a page from Marty Kirra's book and doing something a little different this time: hosting the project on Github. Been using it a ton lately for various things and I figured it'd be a good way to let folks access the latest stuff without having to remember (i.e. always forget) to upload a new version every once in a while, plus I plan on using issue tracking and possibly pull requests -- handy stuff.

Credits

• Hats off to Neccronixis, again, for his killer sprites. Without him this mod would be incredibly hard to imagine existing.
• Magic thanks to Kate for being awesome and catching a lot of silly bugs I made during testing n' development of a semi-secret thing. More on that in the future, perhaps... O:
• The D4D guys for making cool shit and being supportive of my own efforts. Keepin' the "rivalry" friendly.
• Many more, which are mentioned in the credits.txt lump in the pk3. If I'm missing anyone, let me know!

That's all for now. Go forth and... uh... something!

[Flyingcomputer]

How you've put in everything so far feels really smooth and I love using most of the weapons because of that, one thing i noticed though is that the rockets hitbox seems to be too large considering if your'e anywhere near a wall when you fire it usually blows up immediately.

[Cardboard Marty]

Wow! This is really fantastic. I gave it a run with JCPC.wad and it's quite awesome. I love the classic feel of the weapons, not that pretty particles suck but it's nice how well you've blended Doom 4's aesthetics with classic Doom. I'll probably have more in-depth thoughts later but as of right now I've got nothing else to add! Great work!

I'll also echo Flyingcomputer's comment that the rocket hitbox seems a bit too big however.

[Xaser]

Thanks thus far! Glad it's resonating with a couple of folks thus far.

Those darn rocket hitboxes are wonky because the projectile's originates too far to the right, seems like. I could either be a lame-butt and decrease the projectile size or revert to the Psychic/Painkiller-style "screw it, just fire it from the center" philosophy. I'll figure out something, either way.

As an additional heads-up, since I totally forgot to mention this in the OP: The chainsaw and fist are not yet done, naturally, but will be at some point. I also plan on including a bunch of toggle options for controlling various things, like BFG behavior ("Classic"/"Modern"), control/slot layout, and Always Gib (for maximum party-hardy). I'll start populating the Github Issues page with stuff once I get 'round to it.

[FaggoStorm]

Could you, on those toogle options, add an option to disable upgrades?

[Jimmy]

Regarding the rockets, I think it might be due to their inheriting from FastProjectile? I reckon they have much wider radii due to their nature as, well, exceedingly fast projectiles. Probably something Hexen did to alleviate collision bugs, that ZDoom still does for compatibility's sake.

I went in and added "Radius 11" (the regular rocket's radius) to the rocket actor definition, and it did seem to clear things up, without presenting any collision issues ("collissues", if you will). Playing through Plutonia MAP03 with the RL no longer seemed unusually suicidal.

Anyway, thanks a butt-ton for this, Xaser! For some reason I reckoned you'd get in on the whole D44m == DooM thing. All the weapons feel great to use and I have to say I'm quite liking dat smooth bobbing. Mmyes.

[Jeimuzu73]

So you've decided to jump in on the Doom 4 mod bandwagon, eh? So far, the weapons are okay but the I'd prefer the SSG to be two handed. The fist should also look smoother too.
Since you've made Parkour, are you planning to add some features such as double jumping or dual wielding?

[FaggoStorm]

So you've decided to jump in on the Doom 4 mod bandwagon, eh? So far, the weapons are okay but the I'd prefer the SSG to be two handed. The fist should also look smoother too.
Since you've made Parkour, are you planning to add some features such as double jumping or dual wielding?

The fist and chainsaw are still incomplete.

[Xaser]

Regarding the rockets, I think it might be due to their inheriting from FastProjectile?

Oh fook, that would do it -- FastProjectile uses the default Actor radius of 20, making it indeed a helluva lot larger. Good catch!

Regarding other features, I don't want to shoehorn anything in that doesn't "fit" -- at the very least this means no double-jumping or Parkour Dashing. Those were basically free map-breaking tools, anyhow.

I might stray a short bit and add Synthfire dual pistols as a secret weapon (Nazi drop?), because dual pistols are the best thing and pretty much obligatory in a Xasermod.

*adds "collissues" to the Xaserdictionary*

[NullWire]

24/7 but do you gonna add the remaining weapons? and the grenades tho'

Also, this needs some casings

[Xaser]

Added a note about equipment (grenades, etc.) in the OP -- the short version is that I wasn't really planning on adding them, but I may reconsider if folks really want to see 'em.

Casings, i 'unno. I have the sounds for them, so it might turn into a "why not?", but it's low-priority.

[JohnnyTheWolf]

So how do you plan to make your Doom 4 mod stand out from others?

What are the main features?

[SladeEXE]

I get this message:
Script error, "xa-argen_0.1.0.pk3:actors/weapons/pistol.txt" line 32:
Invalid state parameter {

And before you say "Update Gzdoom." I can't. The current version requires opengl 3.0 which my computer does not have.

[Xaser]

Update regular ZDoom, then.

So how do you plan to make your Doom 4 mod stand out from others?

What are the main features?

I'll probably throw together some buzzwords and make a feature list in the OP at some point, though to be frank, I'm not interested in comparing my mod to everyone else's in a "hey look guys mine'f better" sort of way. Everyone's gonna flock to their favorite anyway, and there's bound to be even more crop up.

I do plan on putting up a gameplay trailer at some point, which ought to be enough to sway folks on the fence one direction or another. It's kinda hard to show off the aesthetics at the moment since most of the "secret sauce" is in the animations and feel of things, which you can't get in screenshots.

[zrrion the insect]

Colour me very interested. It is looking good so far!