Hearts of Demons - BARON [1.1.0] 7/29/22

[Brohnesorge]

Toggling the spawn of the Bruiser Sphere is a damn fine idea and I'll actually begin working on that soon-ish. I'm laying the ground work for another mod but when I get a chance I'll put that in.

[kadu522]

You way want to add the following mod to the recomended list.

Link:viewtopic.php?f=43&t=57819

It basicly adds marine enemys. good luck on those trap rooms now since almost everybody has a gun!

Regarding the movement itself. besides of the steping on top of enemys when you melle then. i don't think it needs work. however when combineing with certain mods (That i do know that does not replace just enemys [sometimes editing on my side solves this] and even mods that do replace just enemys like touhou-doom], the baron refuses to walk normaly and gets stuck on the not runing speed. even with auto-run on.

Regarding the "Belial?" The weapon that uses more then one ammo. i like the versatility but i think it kills stuff to fast for its cost (The bullets and alt-fire rocket are fine. especialy the mini-rockets since it does the same total damage a normal rocket would) The rest however need some work.

(BTW. i made a OP varient for personal use. when i'm in the mood too )

[Brohnesorge]

While I have played and rather enjoy CW, I can't recommend it because it reacts strangely with HoD-Baron. The laser dudes with the stun ray, when they use the stun ray on you, causes you to slow to a crawl and never recover. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with an interaction with nashmove. Pretty sure that's the issue with other movement related interactions, as well. Not too much I can do about it; I refuse to remove nashmove because I do not like Doom's slippery movement for something large and heavy like The Baron.

That would be the Azazel you're talking about; Belial is the flak cannon. It's getting reworked completely, as previously stated. When, I don't know as I'm currently working on something else, but soonish.

[argv]

The difficulty gap between Baron and Archon is really wide. Baron is a walk in the park; Archon makes it almost impossible to stay alive long enough to reach E2M6.

[TheNightATK300]

You way want to add the following mod to the recomended list.

Link:viewtopic.php?f=43&t=57819

It basicly adds marine enemys. good luck on those trap rooms now since almost everybody has a gun!

Regarding the movement itself. besides of the steping on top of enemys when you melle then. i don't think it needs work. however when combineing with certain mods (That i do know that does not replace just enemys [sometimes editing on my side solves this] and even mods that do replace just enemys like touhou-doom], the baron refuses to walk normaly and gets stuck on the not runing speed. even with auto-run on.

Regarding the "Belial?" The weapon that uses more then one ammo. i like the versatility but i think it kills stuff to fast for its cost (The bullets and alt-fire rocket are fine. especialy the mini-rockets since it does the same total damage a normal rocket would) The rest however need some work.

(BTW. i made a OP varient for personal use. when i'm in the mood too )

Ah, I took of that. Yeah, it can be more of a recommended mod for that. But here's the problem with one thing:

While I have played and rather enjoy CW, I can't recommend it because it reacts strangely with HoD-Baron. The laser dudes with the stun ray, when they use the stun ray on you, causes you to slow to a crawl and never recover. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with an interaction with nashmove. Pretty sure that's the issue with other movement related interactions, as well. Not too much I can do about it; I refuse to remove nashmove because I do not like Doom's slippery movement for something large and heavy like The Baron.

True, the 'Stun' system of the Pulse Marine is quite buggy. That's one bug that, me, as a newbie modder can't really fix. But hey, atleast you enjoyed it much as I enjoy your mod.

[Brohnesorge]

Alrighty just pushed the newest update to the master branch on GIT, go pick her up!

---

Gameplay
-Lowered monster health multiplier and removed NoCheats from Archon of Hell difficulty
-Tome of Power effects spells!
--Only Baron Ball for now.

Misc
-Made various code easier to read.
-Added an option to toggle the Bruiser Sphere spawning.

I know its not a very big update, but the making code easier to read too a very long time, and was pretty damn exhausting and I've been mostly focusing on HoD-Revenant (Release date: TBD). Damn past me sucked and current me isn't much better. And I've been sick all week, but I'm still plugging away at the Azazel rework, and will be added the other spells Tome of Power modes as we go as I do with this mod. Goal of the next update is a Fireball rework. Not changing it's damage or anything, but I plan on updating its VFX 100% so it actually resembles a fireball as opposed to an energy ball and give it it's Tome of Power: Cluster Explosion. Also a slight M202 update is coming. I have new sprites for it from Lt.blam that I've been sitting on forever but have been too lazy to implement.

[SHayden]

You started working on HoD-Revenant? That's cool man, if you need any suggestions or tips we're here

[Brohnesorge]

So, not a full update, but I've pushed part of the next update to the WIP branch of the Git. If you're interested, go grab it. It's a partial update to all the flame VFX. It's been quite a while so I figured I'd (kinda) release what I have done, but not as an official update. It is, as the name WIP branch would suggest, still very work in progress, but I'm losing steam and want to get a feel for how others thing about it. It's also been going super slowly and want to show that yes, I'm still working on it, but its taking 10x longer then I was expecting it to.

Anyway, right now the fireball main fire, alt fire explosion are done, and the Immolation main fire is done. I still need to work on new sprites/effects for the Fireball alt-fire projectile, tweak existing ones, update the charging sprites for Immolation and all Bruiser stuff.

For details, check out the changelog on the Git.

[Dalse]

I have been playing a bit on the last highest level of difficulty with colourful hell , and only having sucess with Bruiser with non-slaugher maps , so I have been thinking:

How about having more options regardig the difficulty like High Noon drifter? Like , having fast enemies or level of health gained by soul? Is it because the jump from Baron to Archon is so great , that I think something like that would help.

Also , a pet peeve: I think melee on Archon difficulty is so unrealiable! It is almost impossible to attack without taking damage and sometimes they go through the hitstun. Maybe I am doing it wrong or something?

[Brohnesorge]

Archon difficulty is kind of a shit show in general. I think the melee issue is from Fast Monsters, specifically. One advantage to it being on Git is how easy it is to modify. Try opening MAPINFO in Notepad and deleting FastMonsters from the Archon of Hell difficulty and see if that helps anything. It's a band-aid I know but I'm focused elsewhere for now.

I like the idea of having a lot of options for difficulty, and HND has done a lot to make me want to step up my game (as well as being a little intimidating to me; Balissa is almost everything I wanted the Bruiser to be, but better). I...really don't like working with CVARs, however. I feel they bloat the already super bloated code of HoD-Baron. I can suck it up, though. It may be the solution we've all been looking for.

[Brohnesorge]

It's been awhile, but I return with great news: The Baron's coming back in a big way! Currently, Lud and I are working our butts off (okay, most of the hard stuff is being handled by him) to convert and rewrite the mod from Decorate to ZScript! In the meantime, we are also addressing some issues and reworking certain features along the way!

Such as new movement! Check out the video description for more details.

Basically, you have momentum like a large creature would, and have a delay to jump from you squatting down before taking off. Trust me, it sounds like it sucks, but it feels great.

So when's this coming? Unknown, but I'm hoping to have it playable again by next Monday. As it stands now, the new movement code needs some tweaks (you're still a little too slidey while walking) and the Claws and Azazel are disabled, but the new movement really makes you feel like a big heavy creature slamming around the level. You'll also be able to trample and push aside smaller monsters, too!

These are the most obvious changes, as most of the others are under the hood, like a rework of the Magic that just makes it easier on me to modify, but functions exactly the same as before to the player.

[Accensus]

Now with new HUD as well.

[Brohnesorge]

Is this spamming yet?

More video previews, this time of said HUD and the Azazel rework WIP. I'm super excited to get this out, but don't want to rush it. HUD by LUD. Azazel sprites by Lt.blam.
Super huge Thank You to both of them. Without them, this little big project of mine would be half the mod it is now, nor half the mod its going to be. On top of all the people who have helped in the past.

[Gideon020]

Yes, this is great. Any thoughts towards editing the regular Baron sprite to show it wearing old armour or something to further mark it as unique from the rest?

[Brohnesorge]

That's something I'll consider for sure. Probably a last, minor detail thing, just because you rarely see yourself, unless you run around in Chasecam.

But here we are ladies and gentlemen. Probably the biggest single update to date. The mod has been successfully converted from Decorate to ZScript. Huge round of applause to Lud, as without him, this wouldn't have been half the update it is. Check out the repo and download the Master branch as soon as you can. I'm extremely proud of everything we've (mostly Lud) have done here. And its only going to get better and better.

---

Gameplay
-Base damage reduction returns.
-Damage reduction boost from melee runes and Bruiser Sphere greatly increased.
-Melee kills now have a small chance of making enemies drop a Demon Heart. The higher the enemy's HP total, the higher chance of a drop.
-New movement! Walking is slower but more controlled. Running has build up, and you have less control, but you trample over smaller enemies killing them and doing damage to larger enemies that can stop you.
-Bruiser disabled for now. Bruiser sphere still gives 2x health and Mana Regen, but doesn't change your spells at all.
-Enchantment Mode mechanics updated. Instead of each weapon having a unique Enchantment, they are generic Enchantments based on what Spell you have readies. Effects are:
Baron Ball - 2x damage, 1 mana per shot
Fireball - Explosive shots, 5 mana per shot
Immolation - Peircing fire rays do damage as base projectile, 20 mana per shot

Weapons
-Baron Ball VFX updated slightly.
-Baron Ball explosive damage and radius lowered.
-Boosted Baron Ball alt homing updated.
-Boosted Baron Ball alt damage increased.
-Boosted Baron Ball alt no longer bounces.
-Fireball Spell Strike physics updated greatly.
-Fireball all VFX greatly updated. Trails and explosion now resemble a fireball and reflect blast radius.
-Fireball damage formula changed. Does around the same but follows a standard now.
-Fireball explosive damage decreased slightly. Blast radius increased slightly.
-Fireball alt-fire explosion VFX updated.
-Fireball alt-fire damage increased slightly, similar to above Fireball change.
-Fireball alt-fire damage decreased, blast radius increased.
-Fireball alt-fire mechanics updated. Now it explodes on direct contact with enemies and only sucks in enemies if it hits the wall/ground.
-Fireball main and alt MaxDmgRadius set.
-Fireball main fire casting time reduced.
-Fireball Boost Mode VFX updated to match new normal fire.
-Fireball Boost Mode damage decrease, blast radius incresed, both slightly.
-Fireball Boost Mode spread greatly reduced.
-Immolation all VFX updated.
-Immolation windup added. Both normal and Boost.
-Slot 3 Belial Flak Cannon flak shard graphics updated.
-Slot 3 Belial Flak Cannon flak shard speed lowered greatly.
-Slot 3 Belial Flak Cannon flak shard damage increased greatly.
-Slot 3 Belial Flak Cannon mechanics changed. Now shoots flak directly...and it bounces around.
-Slot 4 Azazel Rapid Autocannon remade into Azazel Magic Autocannon. Main Fire shoots. Alt Fire switching ammo mode. Reload toggles rapid fire. Zoom toggles new Magic Mode. Bullet mode is the same, Flak Mode fires faster and tighter than Belial, but strongly effected by gravity. Magic Mode form of attack varies based on spell selected and requires an Enhantment Rune to toggle. Baron Ball fires hit scan Baron Balls rapidly, Fireball shoots a short range fire wave, Immolation fires peircing fire rays. Also has dynamic crosshairs.
-Slot 5 M202 Sprites updated
-Slot 5 M202 Rate of fire increased
-Slot 6 M61 Vulcan is now Type 99 Autocannon. Less rate of fire with around the same firepower. Much easier to control and doesn't burn ammo away instantly, but slows you down and loses accuracy as it fires.
-Slot 7 Devastation removed.

Sounds
-Spell sounds added

Misc.
-New HUD! Holy shit Lud.
-Mod converted to ZScript. Much of the code has been optimized by quite a bit.

Most of the changes are under the hood, but let me tell you the biggest ones.

-Azazel Rework
With new sprites (huge thank you to Lt.blam for his constant contributions to the visuals of the mod!) and new mechanics, the Azazel is a brand new weapon. It can still use every ammo type, but the effects are different, and ALT FIRE changes your equipped ammo type. New to it is its Magic Shot abilities. Once you have an Enchantment Rune, you can channel your spells through Azazel for alternate effects. Hit Zoom to toggle this. Reload toggles the Auto Lock. This does nothing for Magic Shot; no mechanics are involved, so locking it does nothing. Also features Crosshairs by Lud.

-Movement and Trampling
With Lud, who can, you know, actually CODE joining the team, many things can be updated and made more advanced. Such as the movement physics and TRAMPLING. Trampling is something I've been wanting since day one, and we finally have it. Sprint to pick up speed and run over lighter enemies, usually crushing and gibbing them. But you have less control; its hard for a large creature to go fast and steer at the same time. It feel great. Jumping is also updated; hold down the button to crouch down and jump, instead of jumping instantly. Its immersive as fuck.

-Spells
Alright, you guys probably won't notice too much with this, but Spells have been completely redone under the hood, making it easier to modify current spells and add more. It also allows for the new Enchantment system to exists.

-HUD
JUST LOOK AT IT! Huge thank you to Lud for this.


Lastly, I was convinced to make a Discord for my mods, so if you wish to join for a more direct communication line with the team behind this, Soldier Z and the upcoming Hearts of Demons - REVENANT, feel free to join. Link is here.

Have fun and keep me posted with issues.