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Re: Hearts of Demons - BARON [0.9.1] 2/13/19 The Final Beta

Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2019 6:20 pm
by Brohnesorge
That and many other things have been fixed in this new update! Going forward, I'm breaking down all the work needed for 1.0 into 4 parts, or "phases" and fixing current bugs and weirdness was Phase 1. I'm hoping that with this update, that'll be the end of Phase 1 (fat chance I just remembered some other things I need to fix) and I can move into Phase 2 : Improvements!
Spoiler: Changelog
I'm still on the look-out for erroneous behavior, and I am always interesting in any and all comments, concerns, praises, gripes, etc. Feedback in general.

Re: Hearts of Demons - BARON [0.9.1] 2/13/19 The Final Beta

Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2019 3:14 am
by Goregrinder
I've missed a whole bunch of versions of this but i've taken the new version for a spin. First off, great job on everything, I'm really impressed by how far the mod has come in terms of polish and stuff, it's really cool.

in terms of feedback I've only got a few things, some of which are just bizarre gripes and some of which you might already be aware of.

- There is a LOT of functionality with the guns and spells and abilities in general, which its fun to experiment with, but also might be overwhelming to some people. It would be cool to have either an F1 screen to explain some of the stuff, or a button you can hold down for a tooltip explaining your currently equipped gun like Final Doomer has. I think it would make the mod more accessible to a wider audience, which imo it deserves.

- The azazel seems to be kind of a workhorse gun that you get early (at least in the wads i've been playing), but it's all the way on button 6. Feels strange to have something you use a lot be further down the line than more specialized guns. this is probably one of the weird gripes.

- The new gun sprites are awesome, but the rocket launcher first person sprite looks totally different to the rocket launcher pickup sprite. Im guessing you're well aware of that, but I figured i'd mention it.

- The new claw sprites are good, and its great you can see your spells at a glance, but they are much higher res looking than the gun sprites. For a more unified style I think you could pixelate them a bit more and it would mesh better.

- I know this is something you've been nagged about before, but the 'bang for buck' of some of the weapons could use tuning. At times it feels like I can get a lot more use out of some ammo types by putting them in the azazel and setting it to rapid fire (particularly the flak shells vs the belial) than I can using it in another weapon. I think definitely the balance is better now than it was in previous versions, but you might be better off moving some of the rapid fire options over to the weapon the ammo type originates from? I know the configurability is the azazel's thing, but it already brings using multiple ammo types in unique ways to the table, and now that you can fire spells out of it I really think it has more than its fair share of options.

Fantastic mod though, I love anything where you get to play as a monster, and all the lore and stuff you've invented to flesh out the baron and the other demons is really cool. This mod really has enough content in it that someone else might have split it into two mods, a more barebones spellcasting focused playable baron mod, and a total gun replacement mod. I like that it's all one thing, it reminds me of guncaster in that sense.

It would be very cool to in the future see a monster replacement mod that sees you facing off against like your lore versions of all the monsters that would work with this mod and the revenant mod and whatever else you come up with. Fighting against tougher, cybernetic minions of the spider mastermind. This isn't a request (it'd be a ton of work and you're busy enough already) so much as me saying how much i like the lore you've added with this mod, its good enough that it would make for an engaging total conversion basically.

Re: Hearts of Demons - BARON [0.9.1] 2/13/19 The Final Beta

Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2019 5:58 pm
by Brohnesorge
Thanks for the enthusiasm and feedback! I say it a lot, but it always makes me happy to hear when people are enjoying the mod. Now address specifics...

Help screen is incoming, I just need to sit down and make it. The only reason there isn't one already is just pure laziness on my part.
Rocket Launcher pickup sprite thing is getting worked on, slowly.
Aaaaand damage balances are going to get tweaked, re-examined and almost totally redone over the coming updates. Cause, yeah, I've noticed an issue with it too in my own play. As noted, the Flak on rapid fire seems to be especially guilty of this. You aren't the first person to point that out either.

As for the enemies, I am designing an enemy mod to go with my mods, but it's development is very slow, even by my standards, so I don't want to say too much about it other than it is a thing in the works but it's barely off the ground and I haven't even looked at it in damn near a year. But it will be coming. Eventually.

Re: Hearts of Demons - BARON [0.9.1] 2/13/19 The Final Beta

Posted: Sat Mar 02, 2019 3:53 am
by Goregrinder
I figured you knew about that stuff and were probably working on it, but it's really cool to hear that there is a monster mod in the pipeline, regardless of how far away it might be.

Another issue I've found is that for some reason if I load the mod with a custom wad (i've tried back to saturn, jenesis, sunlust so far), I can't use the baron jump or crouch. I'm using ZDL to load stuff, and the latest version of GZDoom. I don't know if I'm fucking something up, so sorry if its something on my end, but I figured i'd mention it.

edit: i should add it doesnt seem to be affected by load order

Re: Hearts of Demons - BARON [0.9.1] 2/13/19 The Final Beta

Posted: Sat Mar 02, 2019 8:51 am
by CanisLaticanis
Goregrinder wrote:Another issue I've found is that for some reason if I load the mod with a custom wad (i've tried back to saturn, jenesis, sunlust so far), I can't use the baron jump or crouch. I'm using ZDL to load stuff, and the latest version of GZDoom. I don't know if I'm fucking something up, so sorry if its something on my end, but I figured i'd mention it.

edit: i should add it doesnt seem to be affected by load order
Go into Options -> Gameplay Options and change 'Allow Jump' and 'Allow Crouch' from 'default' to 'yes'. This isn't a mod thing, it's actually a compat option set by the WAD's MAPINFO lump.

Re: Hearts of Demons - BARON [0.9.1] 2/13/19 The Final Beta

Posted: Sat Mar 02, 2019 5:08 pm
by Goregrinder
Thank you friend, i thought it might be me fucking up somewhere

Re: Hearts of Demons - BARON [0.9.1] 2/13/19 The Final Beta

Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2019 4:45 am
by Goregrinder
One compatibility thing i've noticed is that I think the mod replaces a sprite that other stuff that adds fire effects also calls on, so when using some monster replacement mods you can get disproportionately huge glows:

https://i.imgur.com/9DqFvJA.png
this was an imp's fireball fading out with brutal doom monsters

https://i.imgur.com/kOq3Il4.png
and this was a barrel burning, again with brutal doom monsters.

I think i've seen it happen with another monster replacer mod (i'm trying to nail down which one, i was trying a bunch to find out which I liked best with your mod), but its most noticeable with brutal doom monsters, as the teleport-in effects and cacodemon fireballs that mod uses all use that giant sprite, which can make caco-intensive zones pretty confusing to navigate.

like i said its less of a problem with your mod, and more just a weird compatibility thing, it's not a huge problem by any means, just looks strange.

also, back on the subject of weird far-future modding ideas, are you thinking of any other Hearts of Demons mods after the Revenant?

HoD Mancubus, where you have to figure out how to eat cheeseburgers with two guns for hands, and your biggest enemy is narrow doors?

HoD Archvile, where you have to kill and revive your fellow demon friends to free them from cybernetic control, like a demonic sonic the hedgehog?

Re: Hearts of Demons - BARON [0.9.1] 2/13/19 The Final Beta

Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 8:56 am
by Brohnesorge
hmmmmmMMM. Sounds like I named the flares too generically, and there might be a sprite conflict on top of it somewhere. Easy enough to fix, just have to sit down and do it. At some point.

As for future HoDs...Planned right now are Archvile and Archanotron. I don't want to say too much about the plot or gameplay of either, as both are just concepts right now, but that's about all I have planned for HoDs. None of the other monsters are interesting enough to me to expand upon, or I don't think I could make them fun to play. Archvile will focus on being an absolute Arcane terror, enough to make The Baron look like a hedge mage with reviving being one of your main spells, and Arachnotron will focus on using psionic powers and your robot chassis to dominate foes from afar.

Re: Hearts of Demons - BARON [0.9.1] 2/13/19 The Final Beta

Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 7:29 pm
by JadedLexi

Re: Hearts of Demons - BARON [0.9.2] 5/17/19

Posted: Fri May 17, 2019 6:15 am
by Brohnesorge
I know I said final beta.

I lied. There is still a shit load of work to be done so I'm breaking them into smaller updates so that the mod doesn't sit silent and seemingly dead for a year.
Spoiler: Chamgelag
Real quick because I'm sneaking in this update before I go to work but highlights of this update are T99 is now a M2HB, muzzle flashes have brightmaps, Meteor buff, Belial nerf, Moloch was remade, flame effects were improved and some terminology changed. Boosted is now Apex, Fireball is now Incineration and Baron Ball is now Flare. Oh also you can quick cast a weak Incineration by tapping the button.

As always keep me posted and have fun!

Re: Hearts of Demons - BARON [0.9.2] 5/17/19 Throw Poll

Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2019 12:35 pm
by Brohnesorge
Hey hey. So work has slowed a bit as my motivation peeters out, but one thing I am hung up on is the style of throw in the new animation for Incinerate. That's Fireball for the old timers.

So, I'm polling it! I am fully neutral between the three, and all have their advantages and disadvantages when it comes to animating them. So I'd like to see and hear from ya'll what you think. This poll is also running on the Discord server, and I ask that if you've voted in one refrain from voting in the other.

E: Now that I'm at a keyboard, I can go into more depth. With how I animate spell casting (Pose in Blender, render image, repeat for all frames, align in Slade, mirror and align in Slade for other hand, add VFX with GIMP) each poses different challenges. I'll kinda give a brief overview of the options and why I am consider them all equally good.

Thrust: Kinda like it was before the hand remake. Pull hand back, palm forward, charge up and thrust forward. Kinda like Ki blasts in Dragon Ball, specifically Vegeta shooting the flurry at Frieza. Easiest to animate to be honest, and can justify speeding up the casting time, too. Is also the most disconnected from other Barons, showing The Baron's mastery of Destruction magic.

Overhead: Pull hand back and high, palm up, charge up and toss kinda like a baseball. Like classic Barons do! Hardest to animate and have it look right, but most connection to Barons. May also be the slower in terms of casting time. Shows the species connection between The Baron and normal Barons, even if The Baron is using it to cast a much more powerful spell then them.

Swipe throw: Pull hand back to the side, palm slightly inward, charge, then reel back and toss by drawing hand in front of the body, swiping. Think like a Deathclaw in FO3/FO:NV attacks. Also in the style of Doom 4 Barons, who alternate between this kind of throw and an overhead toss. Possibly the most "powerful" looking animation, showing The Baron's great strength and physique, even compared to other Barons. Also connects The Baron more to Doom 4 Barons, who are the primary inspiration for the spell. Moderately difficult to animate, but also potentially has the slowest casting time.

Re: Hearts of Demons - BARON [0.9.2] 5/17/19 Throw Poll

Posted: Mon Jul 01, 2019 12:33 pm
by Spazlord 5000
Hello. I just wanted to say that I really, really dig this mod. Super fun stuff. But the M2HB’s look just doesn’t really fit somehow. Other than that, It’s pretty much perfect.

Re: Hearts of Demons - BARON [0.9.2] 5/17/19 Throw Poll

Posted: Tue Nov 05, 2019 1:36 am
by PinkerZ
Where did you get the new sprite for The Baron? Did you make it or did you just find it? It looks cool.

Re: Hearts of Demons - BARON [0.9.2] 5/17/19 Throw Poll

Posted: Tue Nov 05, 2019 10:52 am
by Brohnesorge
It was made by Phobos867 for his D4D submod. I just asked for permission to use it.

E: Also might as well take this opportunity to mention I'm back to actively working on BARON, and you can check out the WIP branch of the repo to see coming changes.
Spoiler: Small list of things done

Re: Hearts of Demons - BARON [0.9.2] 5/17/19 Throw Poll

Posted: Tue Nov 05, 2019 11:33 pm
by PinkerZ
With the Old HUD barons, is that optional or are you just switching back?