- Finally and after a little long hiatus of time, I'm proud to announce the version 2.5 for HeXeReTiC Fantasy! To be honest, this one has taken me a bit longer than I expected some months ago, mostly due to a few implementation issues on some of the new features. But luckily, now everything is solved and finished! And what is new in this new release, you ask? Well, mainly one of them is a whole fresh horde of monsters that further increase the existing bestiary, including in addition some new Big bosses to confront with, but of course this is not the only new thing. For the time being, here you have the list of the most recent enemies introduced:
+ Eerie Cloak (a somehow evolved form of the Phantom Cloak, which in fact is much more aggressive and dangerous than the aforementioned one, since it is capable of launching elemental magic bolts of all kinds. You'll recognize them immediately by their reddish color instead of the bluish ones, so keep your guard and be careful when you face one of them!)
+ Weregoat (a strange anthropomorphic beast from an unknown place, which as its name suggests, is half man and half goat. Quite hostile in nature, this creature usually attacks its adversaries by jumping towards them and then hitting their chests with its claws. Also, they are able to attack at long range throwing some kind of small explosive devices, similar to grenades. At least these monsters are not too robust, so some magic strikes from your weapons should be enough to take them down rather quickly).
+ Wereibex (yep, as you'll have guessed this is the stronger variant of the Weregoat, that although it is rarer to find around, its ferocity and aggressiveness are way much greater than those of its younger brother. If you wanna survive, do not let it get close to you under any circumstances, and be very careful with its improved bouncing grenades!)
+ Cursed Golem (here it comes another of these awful monsters, one of the latest creations from the evil Disciples of D'Sparil which turns out to be quite more threatening than the rest of the lower-rank golems, and besides this thing moves faster than them. About its offensive tactics, its seeking-soul shots are similar to those of Nitrogolems, but somewhat quicker and more harmful. If you manage to weaken it enough, it won't fall down before you, but instead it will teleport to a safe place and won't bother you again until another time.)
+ Flame Serpent (another of those hateful chaos serpents with which you have faced so many times, although this new specimen is even scarier than its other close relatives. This beast can choose between two attack types, depending on how far you are from it: if you are several steps away from it, it will try to shoot you down with its volcano-type fireballs, but at a closer range it will attempt scorching you alive with its flame breath. Watch out and stay alert!)
+ Bewitcher Beast (quite similar in appearance to a Wendigo, however apparently this monster has decided to follow the same steps as those Disciples of D'Sparil, learning all about darkness and cursed magic, and using it for its own purposes. When you face one of these creatures, remember that just like their siblings, they are very powerful in attack but rather slow in movement, so you should take advantage of your greater agility to beat it and make it bite the dust).
+ Blizzard Creep (this menacing icy monster is neither more nor less than the pre-evolved form of the gargantuan Blizzard Fiend boss. In fact, this is commonly its previous phase before becoming an adult specimen, and it is in this specific phase when it turns out to be especially dangerous and aggressive, not even when it is younger. So better beware of them, as they can be as hazardous or even more than those Hoarfrost Dogs. You've been warned!)
+ Osseous Imp (one more of that kind of creatures that have been directly brought from that hellish and doomed -yes, doomed after all- universe that we talked about some time ago. But in order not to dwell too much on that kind of stories, let's stick to what really matters: this skeletical enemy uses an attack method that is as curious as it is disgusting: it rips off its own bony limbs and throws them at its opponent with the purpose of knocking him out and making him lose consciousness. And what is worse, it always manages to auto-regenerate again its limbs, the same way that a lizard regenerates its tail when it is cut off...)
+ Guillotiner [Mini-boss] (a horrifying name for a horrifying monster, this tremendous mini-boss is undoubtedly one of the most atrocious opponents you will face. A huge, mossy-looking and bipedal toothed beast with claws as sharp as knives, and it also moves at a quite high speed that contrasts with its enormous size. But the worst of all -that is where it gets its name- it always throws a spinning sickle-shaped projectile which seeks and shreds each and every foe that gets in its way. And that, if previously it doesn't slice its victim with a quick slash sequence. If you want to survive against this big monstrosity, DO NOT STAY at open field, but stick to walls and corners and use your most powerful weapons to kill it as quickly as possible).
+ Weresquid Emperor [Big boss] (one of the most recent signings of the Serpent Riders, and also a really strengthful guardian that will be really difficult to knock off. It might be defined as a repulsive fusion between a strongman and a cuttlefish which has been primed with steroids. This gruesome aberration loves places like large ponds, swamps and other areas with high humidity, and it has rarely been seen outside of those environments. In addition, it is armed with a strange big cannon with which it is capable of firing snake-shaped projectiles, which not only may cause great damage, but also they have a sort of poison that could seriously intoxicate the opponents and put an end to their lives in a hideous way. And as if that were not enough, it is said that it also possesses certain camouflage powers, which further accentuates its great dangerousness).
+ Replicant Devil [Big boss] (long ago, the elder elves of Parthoris realm told our hero Corvus III that there once existed a terrible entity, a kind of sinister demon that came from the underworld who wanted to challenge the strongest warriors and wizards that existed in their lands at that time. Many of them agreed to fight it, but none were ever victorious, since the powers of that evil demon were really incredible. Those who watched the combats from afar, most of them claimed that when the fight began, the demon suddenly changed its form with which it copied the appearance and abilities of its adversary, who normally felt intimidated from start. And those who did not abandon the fight in terror, were mercilessly massacred by the devil, which soon received the name of Replicant Devil, as a result of its tactics used in fight. So then, Corvus III promised himself that if he ever had the chance to engage that fierce demon, he would use all his strength and each and every one of his powers without any fear, to defeat the devil forever and avenge all those who died under its dark claws... The question is, will he ever make his promise come true?)
- Of course, to balance things out a bit against such a horde of new monsters, you will have a little more help available from now on. Knowing everything that has come, the
Allied Mages have prepared for you a big surprise! All members of the guild have collaborated with each other, working hardly at top secret and without being discovered by the enemy, and finally they have created a special secret weapon for your exclusive use: a
Grey Mana Cube with which will award you with the
Magical Spellbinds! This way, and once you have it in your possession, you'll be fully able to use with your own hands certain special magic abilities that some of the well-known Bosses and Mini-bosses use against you. The only bad thing is that they are not allowed to trade with this type of articles, so they have chosen to hide some of those
Grey Mana Cubes in certain unknown places, and finding them may take you some time. There are a total of five different attack spells available to use, which can be toggled at any time pressing the secondary fire button. Here is a detailed description of each one:
- Fire Spells Mode: you start with this one by default. With it you'll perform the fearful fireball attack from the Death Wyvern. As you'll remember, these fireballs can release on impact a bunch of explosive flames which cause heavy radius damage. (Cost: 4 Mana Points per attack)
- Ice Spells Mode: if you switch to this mode, you will be able to replicate the powerful freezing breath from the infamous Blizzard Fiend. You'll find it useful, specially against fiery and stoney enemies! (Cost: 6 Mana Points per attack)
- Hell Spells Mode: changing to this mode will grant you one of the abilities from the Underworld Paladin: the hellish sword blast, which consists of throwing sharp blades that on impact cause a big circle of damaging flames. Quite harmful if you use it well! (Cost: 8 Mana Points per attack)
- Ethereal Spells Mode: you might like this one a lot, because this mode awards you with the same special ability that the horrid Guillotiner uses against its victims. It takes a little time to charge, but in few instants you'll release an ethereal spinning sickle that will seek and slice any enemy on its path! But be aware: it might be hardly effective versus stone enemies or those with extremely hard skin. (Cost: 5 Mana Points per attack)
- Curse Spells Mode: the fifth and last mode grants you perhaps the most powerful of all available spells, but also the most expensive in terms of Mana Points: the Heresiarch's purple spheres wave cast! Using this one you'll be fully capable to replicate the big demoniacal sorcerer's favourite attack, spewing out rapidly a large number of these cursed projectiles in a whiplash pattern. I'm sure you would bet anything for seeing the funny face it would put when you use the same powers as it! (Cost: 10 Mana Points per attack)
NOTE: The Mana Points used by the
Magical Spellbinds are automatically regenerated as long as the player does not perform certain actions like attack movements or similar -excluding walking, running, jumping or taunting- and also the
Magical Spellbinds weapon must be currently selected (Slot 8), so if you switch to any other weapon the auto-regeneration process will be halted. The maximum Mana Points allowed is always 200, regardless of whether you get a
Bag of Holding or not. Additionally, and like the rest of magic weapons, the
Magical Spellbinds are temporarily upgradeable when they're under the influence of the
Tome of Power, which will double the amount of magic projectiles released, but at same time will double the Mana Points required for each attack.
- The lately heard rumors claim that once ago the henchmen of the Serpent Riders took as prisoners a large group of young rebellious elves which belonged to a magic training camp, known as the
Helper Elf Club, but that instead of being exterminated they were imprisoned in some lost dungeons and hidden under a dimensional magic seal. Seems that the
Disciples of D'Sparil were planning to brainwash these
Helper Elves and then forcing them to join the dark side, because most of those poor young elves were very talented fighters and the Disciples could turn that talent into extra evil forces. Luckily, and thanks again to the good
Allied Mages, the dimensional magic seal that retained them in an unknown plane has been seriously damaged and making it possible for them to be rescued, although not immediately and simultaneously (damn it!) However, if you manage to take down a certain number of enemies (and also with a bit of luck) it is likely that you could meet one of them by chance, randomly materializing himself near to where you are. If you free him by getting close enough, he will gladly join your side and gratefully help you fight against the adversaries around you. So then, try to rescue as many as possible, and make sure these good
Helper Elves can safely return to their homes!
- A new artifact is available from now: the
Keykeeper Talisman! This one is a quite rare special item with very particular powers; finding one will allow you to become a
Keykeeper and being granted to open any locked colour key doors. This way, you'll have a chance to reach the exit warp much sooner on some of those long, labyrinthine and tiresome maps. Use this item wisely and you will go far away!
- Finally, and after some time, our mighty hero has learnt to use properly the
Otherworld Rifle scope! So then, instead of firing a burst of four shots through secondary firemode like before, now he will switch to 'sniper mode' and shall be able to use the zoomed rifle scope to shoot enemies at a greater distance and even with further precision. Also, he'll be able to shoot it slightly faster than before. Cool, isn't it?
- Now we're talking about artifacts and weapons, a stranger has recently revealed us the existence of a really curious and strange weapon which information that has been collected about it is pretty scarce, and also its current location is completely unknown... But in turn, there is a small probability that with a bit of luck and good will, it could appear by chance and quite unexpectedly before your eyes... Regarding the information about it and according to some comments out there, seems that some time ago (shortly before the arrival of the
Serpent Riders to the Parthoris realm) the last one seen with such a rare weapon was nothing more than a little elfish boy, who apparently thought that it was just a toy for having fun with his playmates; but soon the evidence revealed that such toy had come from another unknown world. In deduction of the questions that the adult elves asked the young boy, he simply told them that an outsider friend (presumably an unidentified being from that same other world) had given it to him. A few days later, the young boy had mysteriously disappeared from the town and since then, he has never been seen again...
- Added a small visual recoil effect to each and every one of the weapons that use gunpowder to work. (That is, all those that are set in Slot 0).
- Included
Inventory.Icon and
Inventory.AltHUDIcon auxiliary properties for each and every weapon in the mod, for adding extra compatibility with GZDoom/LZDoom's alternative HUD and some other external addons or mods.
- Added some new dynamic light definitions and fixed a few missing and/or erroneus ones, like those related with the new
Colour Key Gizmos (it took me a while to figure it out, sorry...)
- Updated the HUD for compatibility with the Magical Spellbinds weapon and the Mana Points counter.
- Several bugfixes, a few more tweakings and code optimizations.
by Hexereticdoom » Wed Sep 30, 2020 7:58 pm 
