Hearts of Demons - BARON [0.9.5] 1/22/20 Throw Poll

[Accensus]

Known issue. That one will get fixed once the Bruiser is refactored, whenever that is. I just haven't gotten around to fixing it yet.

[StrixShaolung]

I need help. The HUD is not showing when i play this mod, i'm playing in Gzdoom 3.2.5

[Gollgagh]

I need help. The HUD is not showing when i play this mod, i'm playing in Gzdoom 3.2.5

Did you try pressing the + or - buttons?

[Shadelight]

I need help. The HUD is not showing when i play this mod, i'm playing in Gzdoom 3.2.5

Did you try pressing the + or - buttons?

Or switching off the alternate hud.

[Brohnesorge]

We're back. And heres a little preview into what I'm working on. Be sure to check out the WIP branch to check out (incomplete) features as they come out and check out the Discord to get updates as they happen and chat with the devs.

[AvzinElkein]

I assume you have no plans on making it Hexen-compatible.

[Brohnesorge]

I have no interest in making it Hexen or Strife compatible.

[Shadelight]

adventures of square compatibility when?

[Smashhacker]

I found it funny how this mod managed to set out and outperform what Doom: Rampage Edition failed to be. Good work.

[Brohnesorge]

Thank you, also glad to hear people are enjoying the mod.

Now, as I work on this next update, I find a bit of an awkward thing in it: The Azazel's Magic mode. Personally, I never use it, and am thinking about removing it, but I don't want to jump the shark, so I ask: what should be done with it? Gonna make a poll and I want to hear your thoughts.

Additionally, I'm making a giant TODO for the Road to Release, so to say, so if you have any concerns, ideas or nitpicks, I want to hear them. Tell me your thoughts.

[mofumofu]

hello, apologies in advance if my remarks are unoriginal (already covered in thread) as I did not read all 22 pages.

I love this mod! it is among my favorite gameplay modifications. I just finished playing through Scythe with it, along with the Shades of Doom mod (less fond of that one, but that's another topic), and it was great fun.

I wanted to comment on a few things. first and foremost I feel this mod is crying out for two functions it is missing:
1) offhand claw swipe/melee
2) offhand magic
there were so many times when I wished I could smash some puny enemy out of the way to attack my real target, use defile to gain a quick damage boost, or drop a meteor while on the move. having to slowly change weapons -- usually twice in the case of defile, since it's better used with the Type99 or Belial -- to use the magic powers is a bit of a bummer.

another comment I have is about the progression and balance, specifically the way you level your magic and the rate at which you gain mana. since it's semi-random whether you will ever encounter a mana crystal, I feel that this isn't a great method of progression. maybe having the number of souls you collect play into the level-up system would be good? just a thought.

more pressingly, many of the stronger and boosted spells are very expensive and while you can end up with ludicrous amounts of maximum mana at the end of a mapset (I had over 2500 max mana by the end of Scythe) you simply don't -gain- it that fast; certainly if you're using your spells you will never fill your gauge.

perhaps it's a consequence of the enemy-modifying mods I'm using, I suppose should try playing against vanilla enemies to see how it is. however, my impression at this time is certainly that you are not meant to use your strong magic very much, which is a bit frustrating as while the weapons are fantastic and fun to use, I think the magic is easily the most interesting part of the mod.

along similar lines it's more than a little bit awkward having to use zoom and reload buttons to cycle through the spells to find what I want. I have a few suggestions for optional settings that could alleviate this:
- hotkeys to equip each spell (tap once to equip in left hand, twice in both hands)
- an optional mode that confines attacking spells and utility spells to separate hands, so your left hand gets baron/fireball, immolation, and meteor, while the right hand gets defile, summon hydra, and clone (I'm sure some people would be mad if you removed the ability to two-hand the same spell so I definitely think it should be an option. alternatively you could have weapon special 2 copy the left-hand spell to the right-hand, or similar.)
- my preferred option, "smart cast" keys that simply cast the selected spell on press rather than selecting it -- I like this because it would allow us to put the utility spells on hotkeys and not have to switch to them. alternatively, you could turn them into "items" like the shield, although some people may not care for that. certainly I think clone and hydra could go there, anyway (I never use these, heh)

some tiny notes
- I think the fireball spell strike does far too little damage to be useful. it should be very powerful, otherwise why would you not just right-click?
- is the baron ball spell strike supposed to hang around after you change spells? I like that and hope it is intentional
- I think the type99's accuracy degrades too severely, too fast. it makes the weapon very ammo-inefficient (though still better than the nigh-useless rapid fire mode on the Azazel)
- I find the secondary fire on the belial to be a waste of flak shells, unless you enchant it in which case it seems to be grossly overpowered?
- the standard mode of immolation does incredibly poor damage, is that intentional?
- the FLASH fire modes seem backwards, was that intentional?

as for your question, I also do not use the Azazel's magic mode as it drains too much magic too fast for too little benefit. a simple enchantment that increases the gun's rate of fire in standard mode would be interesting, although it risks obviating the Type99 even further. alternatively, a zoom mode (since that is the button it is on anyway, and the primary fire with 20mm shells is accurate and damaging) could be interesting. I do not see the poll, did you create it yet?

anyway, don't take this post as overly negative even if it has many criticisms. I only bring up these things because I am really enjoying the mod and want to see it improve. it is absolutely incredible for a "first mod" and I am stunned and humbled. I'm really looking forward to your next works!

[Brohnesorge]

Ah! Thank you for your feedback. It's always nice to hear that people are enjoying the mod. I say that a lot, but I really do mean that. Now to address specific points.

Offhand clawing or magic is actually an idea I've bounced around in my head for awhile. I'll put some more serious thought into it; I have a dozen other aspects of the mod I'm working on right now but this will make it's way in at some point.

For progression, I personally haven't had that many issues, but I also have that insider knowledge that gives me an edge when playing, so my experience isn't accurate so to say. I'll bounce it off the team. I don't hate the idea of leveling up based on how many souls you collect, but I wouldn't hold out on this one. The super powerful spells (Meteor, Boosted Fireball, Boosted Immolation) aren't meant to be spammed unless your super powerful because of how overwhelming powerful they are, even for an OP mod like this. I'll experiment with changing some of the values around, though.

Spell selection is a bit of a doozy, and it's kind of an issue I was afraid was gonna come up. I'll be blunt, it's a bitch to work with, but I'll talk to Lud and see if we can figure something out. He's quite busy these days, though. The code required might be outside my skill range, but hey, gotta learn new things at some point! I won't promise anything, but I'll take a look.

As for your tiny notes...
Fireball Spell Strike is actually getting reworked a bit and updated quite a bit in the WIP branch. For example, it's will be effected by the Carnage Rune to make the explosion bigger and Berserk will quadruple the damage of the punch!

BB Spell Strike is supposed to be persistent, yeah. It will actually interact with the other spell strikes to make them skip the brief power up period before they start, so it'll be even better in the next update.

T99 and Azazel both have been rebalanced a bit in the next update. T99 spread gain is slowed down, and it's Enchanted Mode has better accuracy overall. Azazel's rapid fire mode for bullets is going to be almost completely redone.

Belial Alt Fire, eh? Honestly, it only has an alt-fire for consistencies sake. The Enchanted is super OP, but also costs a good chunk of mana, but I'll take another look at both, see if I can do something to make the base better and the Enchanted not as OP.

Immolation standard does huge DPS up close. But it is near useless on Spidermasterminds and Cyberdemons by design. Where you using it one of them?

FLASH modes are that way on purpose. When I was doing research on the weapon, the first thing I saw and latched onto was that fact that they were often loaded with Napalm. So primary. Alt-fire Krak Missiles came later. Either way, this weapon is getting redone for the next update.

The poll has ended, and it has resulted in the Magic Modes getting remade. I just haven't changed the title of the thread to reflect that yet.

Your feedback is greatly appreciated! It's been quiet around here for a bit, but a new update is right around the corner!

[mofumofu]

Offhand clawing or magic is actually an idea I've bounced around in my head for awhile. I'll put some more serious thought into it; I have a dozen other aspects of the mod I'm working on right now but this will make it's way in at some point.

awesome!

The super powerful spells (Meteor, Boosted Fireball, Boosted Immolation) aren't meant to be spammed unless your super powerful because of how overwhelming powerful they are, even for an OP mod like this. I'll experiment with changing some of the values around, though.

that's fair. although I had trouble spamming them even being super-powerful lol. but after I made my post I did some more thinking and, well, I was clearing entire fields of revenants and mancubi with meteor so maybe my perspective was skewed. I am about to load up the mod again right now and play something that isn't so ridiculous, maybe doom2.wad. does the mod play well with the ultimate doom or is there missing content?

Fireball Spell Strike is actually getting reworked a bit and updated quite a bit in the WIP branch. For example, it's will be effected by the Carnage Rune to make the explosion bigger and Berserk will quadruple the damage of the punch!

this sounds very good.

BB Spell Strike is supposed to be persistent, yeah. It will actually interact with the other spell strikes to make them skip the brief power up period before they start, so it'll be even better in the next update.

this also sounds good!

T99 and Azazel both have been rebalanced a bit in the next update. T99 spread gain is slowed down, and it's Enchanted Mode has better accuracy overall. Azazel's rapid fire mode for bullets is going to be almost completely redone.

ahh, improved accuracy is a great idea for the enchantment effect. I would say that it doesn't even need to do additional damage; the T99 is very high DPS!

Belial Alt Fire, eh? Honestly, it only has an alt-fire for consistencies sake. The Enchanted is super OP, but also costs a good chunk of mana, but I'll take another look at both, see if I can do something to make the base better and the Enchanted not as OP.

this is purely just my opinion as someone who loves indirect-fire weaponry, but having the alt-fire be a more arcing attack with middling damage (like a doom2 rocket) but a relatively wide area of effect would make it synergize well with the primary fire.

Immolation standard does huge DPS up close. But it is near useless on Spidermasterminds and Cyberdemons by design. Where you using it one of them?

ahh, quite possibly on cyberdemons. I thought it was on barons but it may indeed have been on cybers. it's hard to tell sometimes with Shades of Doom!

FLASH modes are that way on purpose. When I was doing research on the weapon, the first thing I saw and latched onto was that fact that they were often loaded with Napalm. So primary. Alt-fire Krak Missiles came later. Either way, this weapon is getting redone for the next update.

that does make sense. actually, I am familiar with the FLASH in real life and I was confused when I picked it up since it does not resemble the real-life M202. obviously the FLASH should be an incendiary weapon (it's in the name even) but given the general utility of rocket launchers in doom (and especially since the weapon didn't resemble the real-life FLASH) I thought it made more sense the other way around. totally not a problem, and once again it does make sense for the primary fire to be incendiary.

Your feedback is greatly appreciated! It's been quiet around here for a bit, but a new update is right around the corner!

great! I'll look forward to it with bated breath!

[Brohnesorge]

WE'VE DONE IT. Finally finished with Beta 11 and just pushed it to the master branch. Made a preview vid for it too.

---

Gameplay
-Toggling Enchantments and Magic Mode now animated and slower.
-Missilebox ammo amount increased to 8 from 6.
-Ammo satchel missile amount increased to 8 from 4.
-Additional pickup message added to Soulgems.
-Additional pickup messages added for the first time you pickup a Spell Booster, Enchantment Rune or Ammo Satchel.
-Screen shake added to all weapons.

Weapons
-Micro Missile explosion VFX updated.
-Thrown Barrels now much smaller.
-Thrown Barrels now bounce and have a delay before exlpoding.
-Punching added! To punch, hit Altfire after a claw swipe to combo into a punch. Multiple claw swipes builds up multiple punches. Punch count resets when you return to ready state. Punches do twice the damage as claws, and are quadrupled on Berserk instead of the usual doubled. You can combo a Spell Strike off of a punch with Reload, as well.
-Claws end delay added. Added a small window after every swipe in which you can swipe again at no delay or punch.
-Claws bugfix. Fixed slash VFX being reversed in some cases.
-Claws Buffed screen movement toned down.
-Claws Buffed puff now sprays proper colored sparks.
-Claws Buffed ready sprite updated.
-Claws Buffed Carnage ready sprite added.
-Claws Buffed now costs additional Mana. Base is 1 on hit. Fury is 1 on swing, 1 on hit. Carnage is 2 on swing, 1 on hit.
--Buffed punching follows the same formula. Base is 1 on hit. Fury is 2 on swing, 1 on hit. Carnage is 4 on swing, 1 on hit.
-Claws Buffed now allow you to skip wind up on Spell Strikes.
-Groundslam falling physics tweaked.
-Groundslam Buffed now costs 5 Mana.
-Groundslam Buffed VFX updated.
-Fireball Spell Strike wind up animation lengthened.
-Fireball Spell Strike impact throw back reduced.
-Fireball Spell Strike animation tweaked.
-Fireball Spell Strike punch damage redone. Increased to 96-192 from 100-180, and now quadurpled from Berserk.
-Fireball Spell Strike now effected by Carnage. Creates a stronger explosion.
-Fireball casting animation tweaked. Charges up faster, but winds down slower. No net change in fire rate.
-Fireball VFX updated.
-Fireball no charge level explosion visual shockwave added.
-Fireball Explosion VFX tweaked. All levels.
-Boosted Fireball VFX updated to new standard.
-Boosted Fireball speed decreased to 10 from 20.
-Boosted Immolation redone. Now does a short range, slow moving and very powerful shockwave in front of you.
-Meteor VFX updated.
-Meteor fall speed increased to 48 from 40.
-Meteor radius decreased.
-Meteor scale increased.
-Meteor damage increased to 525-1025 from 120-240.
-Meteor blast damage increased to 580 from 518.
-Meteor blast radius increased to 320 from 256.
-Meteor now does full blast damage across blast radius.
-Slot 3 Belial Flak Cannon animation tweaked.
-Slot 3 Belial Flak Cannon flak shard trails thicker before decelration.
-Slot 3 Belial Flak Cannon flak shards now burn away instead of just fading.
-Slot 3 Belial Flak Cannon range increased.
-Slot 3 Belial Flak Cannon damage degration decreased.
-Slot 3 Belail Flak Cannon Enchanted ready sprites added.
-Slot 3 Belial Flak Cannon Enchanted Main Fire added! Fires peircing shards that are uneffected by gravity.
-Slot 3 Belial Flak Cannon enchanted alt fire shard damage halved.
-Slot 3 Belial Flak Cannon enchanted alt fire shard range limited.
-Slot 4 Type 99 Mark IV Autocannon animation tweaked.
-Slot 4 Type 99 Mark IV Autocannon speed reduction decreased to 25% from 35%.
-Slot 4 Type 99 Mark IV Autocannon winds up slower.
-Slot 4 Type 99 Mark IV Autocannon Enchanted fire explosive damage removed. Puff updated to reflect this.
-Slot 4 Type 99 Mark IV Autocannon Enchatned fire accuracy increased.
-Slot 5 M202 FLASH changed to Moloch Multi Rocket Cannon! Funcitons similarly, except you can also hit Reload to toggle Mult-Fire mode, allowing you to shoot 5 missiles at once.
-Slot 5 Moloch Multi Rocket Cannon missile smoke reduced.
-Slot 5 Moloch Multi Rocket Cannon Napalm missiles effected less by gravity.
-Slot 5 Moloch Multi Rocket Cannon Napalm missile damage increased to 50 from 1-8.
-Slot 5 Moloch Multi Rocket Cannon Napalm missiles no longer bounce off walls.
-Slot 5 Moloch Multi Rocket Cannon Napalm missile speed increase to 65 from 5.
-Slot 5 Moloch Multi Rocket Cannon Napalm missiles now explode with 64 blast damage and 128 blast radius.
-Slot 5 Moloch Multi Rocket Cannon Napalm missile explosion VFX updated.
-Slot 5 Moloch Multi Rocket Cannon Napalm mechanics updated. Now sprays flame 'spawners' instead of the flames directly.
-Slot 5 Moloch Multi Rocket Cannon Napalm VFX greatly updated.
-Slot 5 Moloch Multi Rocket Cannon Napalm damage reduced.
-Slot 5 Moloch Multi Rocket Cannon Enchanted Main Fire added: Magic Napalm Missiles! Spawns Living Flames that chase enemies.
-Slot 5 Moloch Multi Rocket Cannon Alt-Fire changed to MIRV from Krak Missiles. Does big damage on direct impact and explodes. After traveling a short distance, splits into 10 micro missiles that seek enemies.
-Slot 6 Azazel Magic Autocannon Magic Mode now has spirtes.
-Slot 6 Azazel Magic Autocannon bullet mode firing sprites and animations updated.
-Slot 6 Azazel Magic Autocannon bullet mode speed increased to 250 from 150.
-Slot 6 Azazel Magic Autocannon bullet mode explosion VFX updated.
-Slot 6 Azazel Magic Autocannon bullet mode automatic mode now fires two weaker bullets 1 tic apart.
-Slot 6 Azazel Magic Autocannon missile mode explosive damage increased to 320 from 256.
-Slot 6 Azazel Magic Autocannon missile mode explosion VFX updated.
-Slot 6 Azazel Magic Autocannon bugfix. Pickup now gives 20 bullets, instead of 20 of the current selected ammotype.
-Slot 6 Azazel Magic Autocannon Magic Mode spells switch now mapped to Alt-Fire instead of Reload.
-Slot 6 Azazel Magic Autocannon Magic Modes all updated!
--Baron Ball now rapidly fires hit scan Baron Balls.
--Fireball now fires a charge level 1 hitscan Fireball.
--Immolation now lobs a Living Flame.

Sounds
-Added sounds to switching spells.
-Added sounds to toggling Enchantments.
-Tweaked timing of footsteps.
-Added some missing sounds to Heretic items
-Ammo Satchel now has unique pickup sound.
-Berserk now has a unique, uninteruptable pickup sound.
-Soulgem pickup sound now uninteruptable.
-Heartbeat sounds added to Demon and Baron hearts.
-Fireball explosion sound changed.

Misc.
-Fixed more missing Bright frames.
-Various smoke VFX tweaked.
-Demon and Baron hearts now scaled to be closer to actual size.
-Demon and Baron heart animation improved.
-Bullet puff VFX tweaked
-Fixed missing frames from various explosions.
-Rubble now much smaller and physics tweaked.
-Added Controller and D-Touch support!
-Barrel VFX updated. Embers, sparks and flame debris added.
-Changed name of Enhanced Claw to Fury.
-Added Obiturary messages to all Doom monsters and most Heretic ones.
-Added Intermission Text for Doom 1.
-Updated Title and Credits graphics.

There are two major things with this update: melee combos/punch and the Moloch! I'll briefly explain both in more detail.
First off is the new combo system. Now, if you hit Alt-Fire after a claw swipe, you will combo into a punch! Punches do double the damage of claw swipes, but never get faster like claws do. Carnage also does not give punches life steal. Punches also get four times the damage from Berserk instead of the usual double. And this all stacks with the Claw Buff. Multiple claw attacks build up multiple punches. So if you hold down Fire to claw 3 times, you can hit alt-fire at the right time in the 3rd swipe to start punching. Punches can be comboed into more punches, as long as you've built up enough claw swipes. When you stop, and return to the ready state, the punch counter gets reset to 0. You can hold down the Alt-Fire button while clawing to not miss the window, and to burn through all the punches. Finally, you can combo the punch into a Spell Strike! You don't need any punch counters, so you can hold down alt-fire until it stops comboing, then, before you fully retract your fist, you can hit Reload to Spell Strike. Obviously, this is only really useful with the Fireball Spell strike. It sounds much more complicated that it really is and you can completely ignore it if you so choose.

Second, the Moloch. The Moloch replaces the M202, and functions almost exactly the same, except you can hit Reload to activate Multi-Mode, letting it fire 5 missiles at once. Additionally, the Alt-Fire is now a MIRV! If you hit an enemy before it deploys fully, it explodes in a large blast, but given enough space to deploy, it splits into 10 micro missiles that home in on enemies. These are the same missiles from the missile mode of the Azazel Automatic, so you are pretty familiar with them, more than likely.

Also, Azazel Magic Mode remade to not suck as much.

Alright, go nuts. Have fun and keep me posted with any questions, concerns and comments! I'll be focusing on other mods for a bit, but I'll still be around for any minor tweaks that break the shit out of and bugfixes. Also, somethings that I may have hinted at or discussed recently didn't make it in, but don't worry, I haven't forgotten, but it's already been too long since the last update.

EDIT P.S. Delta Touch is now supported so now you can Baron on the go!

EDIT 2 P.S.S As kind of a PSA of sorts, in case you didn't know, there is now a Top Gameplay Mods thread. I personally like the idea of such a thing and actively urge you to go and vote for your favorite mods! You don't even have to vote for Baron, just go vote!

[Brohnesorge]

Just a quick little day 1 mini update.

-Added NODAMAGETHRUST to Meteor to prevent enemies from getting thrown around, especially in Heretic.
-New Player Sprites! Huge thank you to Phobos687!