[Release 1.7i] Lost Frontier - a Strife mod

[Jarewill]

Hello everyone, this is really my first project post here, so I hope I will get everything alright.

I want to present to you Lost Frontier.
In short, Lost Frontier started both as a heavily-inspired "realism" mod for Doom and as me testing how well I can use ACS mixed with DECORATE to make a mod.
However, with time I decided to rewrite the entire mod in ZScript, which ended up being a good learning experience for me.
I also decided to make it a Strife mod this time, because Strife needs more mods.

---

Back in about February of this year, I saw Dr_Cosmobyte's project idea in the ideas thread.
After being inspired by their post and getting some ideas, I decided to give it my own spin.
Of course, another mod also was a big inspiration for me, Hideous Destructor.
The mod also was meant to be a sequel of sorts to a previous mod of mine, Lost Weaponry, which was a very early attempt at modding by me.
I started writing it down in DECORATE and ACS, but that version was full of hacks to get things working.
So I decided to rewrite it in ZScript, of course not completely in ZScript as there are still some ACS scripts. (Mostly for custom shops or spawning items on maps)
However, since HD already works for Doom, and it works far better than anything I could have made, I decided to make it a Strife mod, because Strife is my favorite Doom-engine game from the 90s.
This is about it for the backstory.

So after some time, I got it to a state that I can call "1.0 release" and after getting the blessing of Dr_Cosmobyte of Nightshift and Matt of Hideous Destructor, I am ready to release this mod to the public!
Enjoy!


[Download]
Tested to work on GZDoom v4.4.2 and LZDoom v3.86a.
New versions might break old save files. Update with caution!
Included are two patches, one designed for sabord.wad (Absolute Order) which adds a weapon smith to the firing range. And the other spawns a new merchant on maps with secret areas that functions as all 4 shopkeeps. Useful on custom maps. (Spawning code done by Accensus)
As a bonus, I have also included the old Doom version and Lost Weaponry, a prequel of sorts to this mod.

---

v.1.7i
- Fixed ammo satchels giving too many magazines.
- Fixed player augments disappearing on respawn.

v.1.7h
- Fixed a VM abort if the player respawned with more copies of a single weapon.
- Fixed all A_Log calls to only be on the local side, not server side.

v.1.7g
- Changed behavior of the degnin ore: It will now also deal heavy damage to robotic enemies. A few of these will even take down an Inquisitor.
- Made the scope follow weapon's bob.
- Fixed the laser sights being blocked with the shield.
- Fixed a typo.

v.1.7f
- Fixed Mauler's ammo consumption.
- Lowered the arcs of bolts. (again)
- Added a laser sight to the rifle's foregrip upgrade, that means the Acolytes will use it too.

v.1.7e
- Fixed another item that wasn't updated for the medical overhaul. That's what happens if you don't test enough....
- Fixed the Sigil damaging armors.
- New CVar: lf_amadjust will lower certain HUD elements so they don't obstruct the automap.

v.1.7d
- Shield fixes: Now it can be holstered and is generally more usable. Walking (not running or sprinting) will not put the shield down. Also shield now alerts the order, because it wouldn't make much sense for a peasant to walk around with an Acolyte shield, no?
- Fixed super speed if sprinting while auto run was off.
- Fixed rebels walking on water. (Also applies to the rebel merchant addon)

v.1.7c
(!) Because the ACS for this update was modified, previous saves will no longer be compatible.
- Fixed the crash when trying to reload guns at times.
- Crossbow scope was added.
- Fixed upgrades not being kept when switching through guns of the same type.
- Updated the manual by removing informations that no longer apply.

v.1.7b
(!) Because the ACS for this update was modified, previous saves will no longer be compatible.
- Unloading the last bullet from the rifle will now put it into "reserve" instead of simply deleting from existence. Bullets from "reserve" will count as normal bullets next time the player reloads magazines.
- Fixed medic's shop from incorrectly displaying health upgrades.
- Acolytes now drop the proper assault guns.
- Made some basic multiplayer fixes: Player's "back" body will now be invisible to other players, (Thanks to josh771 for the relevant code) as well as the game won't crash on map load or when a player respawns. Still needs proper testing for multiplayer, but I lack ways to do it.
- New CVar: lf_speedster will halve the speed penalties on high pain / low stamina. It was made into a CVar in case someone still wants the harsher penalties.

v.1.7a
- Medical gun can now heal damage again. Done with [Altfire] with the secondary firemode. Cycle firemodes with [Weapon State 1].
- Fixed Crusaders not doing anything if the player walks into them from behind.
- Made the medical gun more effective at closing wounds and stopping bleeding.
- Fixed the player endlessly burning when playing Raiding the Dam
- (LFRebelMerchant) Added another check to [hopefully] fix merchants duplicating when loading a saved game.
- Forgot to write notes of what was changed, because I feel like I'm missing something here.

v.1.7
(!) Because the ACS for this update was modified, previous saves will no longer be compatible.
- Clips of bullets and energy pods now are considered magazines and have special mechanics.
- Mags and armors have similar binds now:
[Use item] will check current status (ammo / durability)
[Use]+[Use item] will cycle through available instances
[Run]+[Use item] will do a special action (equipping armor / sorting ammo)
- Damage system functions differently now:
Health is now considered pain and regenerates pretty quickly. It also affects your actions more than before.
Damage done to the body is a separate counter now. (can be checked with the medical gun scanner) It lowers max health (pain) and when it reaches 100 the player dies. Slowly regenerates, but surgery kits can speed it up.
Bleeding is also a separate counter now. Check blood status with the scanner, if it reaches 0 the player dies. Medical gun's altfire now heals blood level rather than health.
Toxicity is added by sewage or gas grenades. Check status with the scanner, if it reaches 100% the player dies. Slowly heals.
Sigil now applies a "dosage" to the player. Slowly heals, but when it reaches 100% the player dies. Uncheckable, but it takes 10 level 5 shots to die from it.
- Reavers and Crusaders can be set to self-destruct when activated from behind. Takes 4 seconds for the explosion to happen, so back away.
- AI has been improved: Acolytes, Templars, Reavers and Crusaders will go to the last known location of the player and if they can't find them, they will start wandering about looking for them. The player can approach them from behind to backstab / activate self-destruct.
- More stuff to sell at the rebel. Junk that robots drop can now be picked up and sold.
- If the player has too much weight (double the max capacity) they will be unable to move.
- Regeneration speed can be set with a custom CVar in the options. Bleeding can also be turned off completely.

v.1.6b
- Tweaks to the Inquisitor to make it slightly less dumb.

v.1.6a
(!) Because the ACS for this update was modified, previous saves will no longer be compatible.
- Fixed some oversights.

v.1.6
(!) Because the ACS for this update was modified, previous saves will no longer be compatible.
- Hopefully fixed the issues with shop menus lagging the game.
- Fixed armor not counting towards weight.
- Fixed Acolytes not being alerted while getting shot.
- Ledge climbing: hold space while facing a wall with dagger equipped. (Or while sprinting)
- Flamer, missiles and electric bolts have been buffed: more range on the flamer, more damage on the missiles and electric bolts now stun most robots for a period of time.
- Robots are no longer completely immune to fire damage.

v.1.5a
- Made player shields slightly better against Acolyte bullets.
- Replaced grenade launcher sprite with one from the beta.

v.1.5
(!) Because the ACS for this update was modified, previous saves will no longer be compatible.
- Repair kits! Can be purchased from the weapon smith in town. 150 gold for 5 uses and each use repairing 10% of any valid weapon.
- Alternate loadouts! You can now start with either a crossbow or a rifle in rough condition. Basic supplies are also included!
- Options! Took that long to include them. Encumbrance can now be customized or turned off completely. Also an option to remove alternating punches and charge attacks from the dagger.
- New punching sprites by EndHack!

v.1.4
(!) Because the ACS for this update was modified, previous saves will no longer be compatible.
Keep that in mind before updating.
- Added a shop where the player can sell back some of their items.
Talk to the rebel next to Irale / weaponsmith at new Front's base.
- All shops now support mouse movement. This should make them easier to use.
- Fixed the weaponsmith being inaccessible in Island of Peril.
- Killing all blue acolytes now triggers Blackbird dialogue and updates the mission log.

v.1.3a
- Killing all blue acolytes should no longer softlock the game.
Blackbird's dialogue will still not trigger though.

v.1.3
- Dagger can now be charged for a power attack by holding [Fire].
Power attack can be cancelled at any time by pressing [Reload].
- Merchants now give hints on how to operate the new shop menu.
- Enemies now properly get alerted when stabbed/punched.
- Turrets now turn slowly and fire only when they have the player in line of fire.

v.1.2b
- Acolytes can no longer shoot through each other without dealing damage.
They however will not fire if aiming directly at their comrades, but it's possible to trick them into firing.

v.1.2a
- Player can no longer jump if over encumbered.
- Acolytes and rebels not lootable while in Templar suit.

v.1.2
(!) Because the ACS for this update was modified, previous saves will no longer be compatible.
Keep that in mind before updating.
- Players can now hold multiple weapons/armors of same kind.
Switching between weapons by dropping them / pressing [Weapon State 4].
Switching between armors by using them while holding [Run].
- Modified some existing random dialogue of peasants/acolytes to give tips.
- Added an "over encumbered" indicator to the HUD.
- Punching acolyte shields will lower them for a split second.
- Acolytes can now drop their guns rarely in poor condition.
- Additional ammo satchels can be looted for ammo now.
- Fixed Quincy not talking.
- Assault gun upgrades are now described.
- Assault gun now jams only slightly more often.

v.1.1a
- Hopefully fixed a VM abort in LZDoom.

v.1.1
- Stalkers have been nerfed health-wise.
- All ammo items now weight half as much.
- Bolts are less subject to gravity, increasing their range.
- Rifle should jam less often now.
- Rifle ammo pickups now are worth half as much.

---

I hope I got most of the things written here and I didn't forget about something important.
In case I did, I'll update this part.

---

The player moves more slowly in Lost Frontier than they do in Strife.
However, the player can break into sprint by pressing the [Run] button.
Sprinting takes stamina, which can be regained by standing still or moving very slowly.
If you jump while sprinting, you will do a quick hop that covers more terrain, but isn't as high as a normal jump.
If you hold the jump button while facing a wall and having the dagger equipped, (or sprinting) you will be able to climb the ledge if it's not too high.

Many aspects of the player can be upgraded by the Front's medic at the new base, with augmentations.
Those can increase the player's health, speed and strength, but also install a HUD that displays the current ammunition or health status.
Beware though as those upgrades are rather pricey.

Most items have weight now and the player has a limited capacity that can be upgraded with an ammo satchel or with strength augments.
Encumbrance can be turned off or modified in the options.

The green bar at the bottom of the screen shows in how much pain the player currently is.
Green shows that everything is fine, or at least mostly fine, yellow means pretty hurt and red means in severe pain.
Your current health level will lower maximum pain tolerance, so at lower health you will be less hurt.

---

All the weapons (except the Sigil) have been modified a bit:
All weapons:
- [Weapon State 3] will unload most weapons.
- [Weapon State 4] will cycle between multiple instances of current weapon in inventory.
- Pressing [Reload] will check the current ammo status, while holding it will reload the weapon if it can be reloaded.
- Ammo can be managed from the inventory bar.
- Acolytes and Templars will start attacking the player if they are holding a deadly weapon. (Crossbow, rifle, flamer, etc. not dagger)

Most weapons have condition now and can jam when it's low.
Weapons will never jam as long as they are above 75% condition.
Each weapon jams slightly differently. For example: rifle will jam, flamer will stop spewing flames for a bit.
You can now purchase field repair kits from the weapon smith, which will increase the condition by 10% on each use. (Cost is 150 gold per 5 uses)

Punch Dagger:
- Now alternates between a stab and a punch if attacking too rapidly.
Taking a bit between attacks will make it always stab.
- Hold down the attack button to charge for a stronger stab.
- Backstabs have increased damage on human enemies and make them die quietly.
- Can be upgraded for increased damage. Can get as sharp as a Reaver's blade!
- Can be upgraded with the Loremaster's hook later in the game. (Altfire)
- Take off armor with [Weapon State 3].
- Alternating punches and charge attacks can be turned off in the options.

Crossbow:
- By default requires reloading after every shot, but upgraded can be loaded with 6 bolts at once.
You will have to pump the crossbow after firing with altfire to load the next bolt.
- Can also be fitted with a laser sight that shows rough position of where the bolt will land.
- Electric bolts work great on machines.
- Switch bolt type with [Weapon State 1].

Assault Gun:
- Unupgraded kicks a lot, but with upgrades it becomes easy to handle.
- Is now select-fire, able to fire in semi-auto, full-auto and 3-round bursts. Switch with [Weapon State 1].
- Can have it's bolt replaced with a heavier one for slower firerate, but more accuracy.
- It can be upgraded with a vertical front grip that comes with a handy laser sight.
- Can be fitted with a basic scope. Use with [Zoom].
- There are rumors of a certain Acolyte carrying what looked like to be a custom-made assault gun.
He was last seen around the entrance to the Catacombs. Command says it might be worth looking into.

Grenade Launcher:
- Now has a single barrel and is considered a light weapon.
- Makes grenades explode on impact.
- Can be upgraded with more range.
- Switch grenade type with [Weapon State 1].

Flamethrower:
- Flame has increased range and can be upgraded even further.
- High ammo capacity that can be upgraded even further.
- Still as satisfying as before.

Mauler:
- Torpedo mode has to be bought now, but it has been buffed. (It still can one-shot an Inquisitor with good RNG)
- Switch modes with [Weapon State 1].
- Still as devastating as before.

Grenades:
- Can now be tossed by hand, but they have a 4-second fuse.
- Grenades can be kicked by pressing [Use] on them.
- Grenades can be shot to explode instantly.
- Switch grenade type with [Weapon State 1].
- Throwing can be cancelled with [Reload].
- Can be armed with [Altfire].

---

Med Patch:
- You can bandage open wounds with a weapon on [Slot 9].
- Switch the type of bandaging with [Weapon State 1].
- Basic slow bandaging, does not consume anything.
- Quick bandaging, consumes a med patch.

Medical Kit:
- Upon opening it up, the player obtains a medical gun [Slot 9] and a med patch.
- Medical gun staples open wounds with [Fire] and applies healing salve / blood packs with [Altfire].
- [Altfire] depends on the current firemode, cycle it with [Weapon State 1].
- Pressing [Reload] checks current supplies and holding it checks current health status.
- Medical gun requires armor to be taken off. Take it off with [Weapon State 3].

Surgery Kit:
- Deploy by using. Let it do it's job. Pick it up after it's done.

Armors:
- Check current durability by using.
- Equip armor by using while holding [Run].
- Switch between armors by using while holding [Use].
- Shadow armor now counts as armor and is more protective than metal.

Magazines:
- Clips of bullets and energy pods have special mechanics:
- Check current ammo by using.
- Switch between mags by using while holding [Use].
- Quick sort mags by using while holding [Run].

Environmental Suit:
- Put on by using.
- Check filter status by using while holding [Use].

Targeter:
- Put on by using.
- Check battery status by using while holding [Use].
- Switch mode by using while holding [Zoom].
- Reload batteries by using while holding [Run]. Requires energy pods.

Shield:
- [Use] will unholster the shield and protect you as long as it's up. [Use] will holster again.
- Shield will be raised when holding a weapon. (Crossbow, rifle, flamer etc. not dagger)
- Standing still or walking slowly will keep it raised, while running or sprinting will put it down.
(!) Due to a weird bug, the shield has to be holstered for the player to be able to talk to any of the NPCs. Shopkeepers still work just fine with the shield out.

---

Templar Suit:
- Obtained late in the game.
- Is indestructible. (The player will die inside it)
- Can be upgraded. (Each slot can only have one upgrade: primary weapon, secondary weapon, addon)
- Using from front will reload rifle, (if it's the current weapon) using from left or right will reload left or right shoulder weapon, (if any) and using from back will enter the suit.
- Activate life support with [Weapon State 1].
- Life support and energy weapons use suit's power. Disable life support to generate it.
- Exit the suit with [Weapon State 3].
- Can't sprint or jump in suit, but the player will be able to walk up stairs twice the normal height.
- Landing on a human enemy will instantly kill them while in suit.

---

Nothing major except for a few enemies. Other enemies got a simple statistic buff.
Acolytes:
- Two major variants exist: shielded and shieldless.
- Shielded acolytes will enter a battle stance with their shields raised to attack the player.
- Shields block incoming attacks that don't explode or don't penetrate.
- Shieldless acolytes will retreat to heal if below 50% health.
- Acolytes can be downed by attacks, after which other acolytes will be able to heal them, so they can stand up and keep fighting.
- Dead acolytes are lootable. Press [Use] on their corpses a few times to find some goodies.
- Scanning crew acolytes are equipped with targeters, making them more accurate, but they don't fire in full-auto.
- Gold elite acolytes are equipped with advanced filters and gas grenades.

Stalkers:
- Will now kamikaze at low health, dealing a lot of damage. Keep your distance.
- Can now fire their guns, but have limited capacity.

Reavers:
- Will turn transparent for a while after getting hit.
- Their shotguns now have limited capacity.
- When out of ammo, they will speed up and cut twice as fast.

Both Reavers and Crusaders can be quickly destroyed by [Using] them from behind.

---

Gameplay by ZikShadow.

Short play through the Sanctuary

Play through the Prison

---

Templar Suit in action!

---

Lost Frontier - a gameplay mod for Strife

Scripting:
Jarewill and the people over at ZDoom Forums for their massive help:
Matt for the sprinting, WRF_ALL, weapon state jumps, weapon variables and use to pickup
Mikk- for the backstabbing
Arctangent for custom ripper projectiles
Accensus and Kzer-Za for checking velocity
Cherno for checking nearby monsters (with BlockThingsIterator)
m8f for checking weapon states
josh771 for fixing "player's body" for multiplayer
pazz199 for the improved rifle jam system

Sprites:
Rogue Entertainment - Strife sprites
Lagi - Shieldless Acolyte sprites
EndHack - Punching sprites without the dagger

Sounds:
Rogue Entertainment - Strife sounds

Special thanks:
Matt - Inspiration with Hideous Destructor
Dr_Cosmobyte - Inspiration with Nightshift

Any feedback and/or bug reports will be highly appreciated.
I've managed to seize the Castle when play testing, before changing something in ACS and making my save no longer compatible.
So I can at least confirm that this mod is at least semi-playable with enough trial and error.

Now with this mod done, I can start working on rewriting my other mod I planned to release in ZScript.
Currently it's done DECORATE code-wise, but it's just lacking the sprites and I don't want to keep pestering my friend about them.
When they will be done, I'll be glad to finally release that mod too, but I'll be able to at least make it better, now that this is done.

Fight for the Front and have fun!

[JuliusKoolius]

Hey I keep getting this when I try to load it up:

jw_LostFrontier_Strife.pk3:zscript/items/powerups.zs, line 78: Attempt to override non-existent virtual function AbsorbDamage
jw_LostFrontier_Strife.pk3:zscript/items/powerups.zs, line 540: Attempt to override non-existent virtual function AbsorbDamage

Execution could not continue.

2 errors, 0 warnings while compiling jw_LostFrontier_Strife.pk3:zscript.zs

[Dr_Cosmobyte]

A STRIFE MOD???

Man, although my favorite Doom-licensed game is Hexen, i definitely think Strife needs some love. I also posted another idea for Strife back some pages in the same thread!

In any case, as soon as i get my PC back, i will give this baby a ride. Fight for the front!

[Captain J]

Hey I keep getting this when I try to load it up:

jw_LostFrontier_Strife.pk3:zscript/items/powerups.zs, line 78: Attempt to override non-existent virtual function AbsorbDamage
jw_LostFrontier_Strife.pk3:zscript/items/powerups.zs, line 540: Attempt to override non-existent virtual function AbsorbDamage

Execution could not continue.

2 errors, 0 warnings while compiling jw_LostFrontier_Strife.pk3:zscript.zs

Maybe update your GZDoom? The current version is v4.4.2.

So the strife mod itself is quite fine and normal. But it feels like the black acolytes in the beginning got a lot of debuffs, unnecessarily. But much appreciated!

[JuliusKoolius]

Yeah, it works now, thanks Captain J! and the mod is pretty good, but I do agree with Captain J here, the Black Acolytes seem too weak

[Jarewill]

Hey I keep getting this when I try to load it up:

Sorry, I forgot to add to the OP that it needs the newest GZDoom version like Captain J said.

So the strife mod itself is quite fine and normal. But it feels like the black acolytes in the beginning got a lot of debuffs, unnecessarily. But much appreciated!

How exactly are they weakened? Because when they start firing, the player will be quickly dead.
Is it about stunning with the dagger? I decided to make it like that so the player has chances of getting out of the beginning area and the original strife also did that.
Think of the acolytes as not that capable in close quarters, but deadly at a distance. And they really are deadly there.
The problem starts to show when playing on higher difficulties though, where there are two acolytes at once.
Still, if you got any ideas on how I could improve them, I'd love to hear them!

[Blue Shadow]

Sorry, I forgot to add to the OP that it needs the newest GZDoom version like Captain J said.

I suggest that you use [wiki=Object_scopes_and_versions#Versioning]versioning[/wiki], so the player gets a more meaningful message if they're using an old version of the engine.

[Jarewill]

I suggest that you use [wiki=Object_scopes_and_versions#Versioning]versioning[/wiki], so the player gets a more meaningful message if they're using an old version of the engine.

Okay, thanks a lot Blue Shadow!
Updated the download with this little change.

[Captain J]

How exactly are they weakened? Because when they start firing, the player will be quickly dead.
Is it about stunning with the dagger? I decided to make it like that so the player has chances of getting out of the beginning area and the original strife also did that.
Think of the acolytes as not that capable in close quarters, but deadly at a distance. And they really are deadly there.
The problem starts to show when playing on higher difficulties though, where there are two acolytes at once.
Still, if you got any ideas on how I could improve them, I'd love to hear them!

They now have no shield and just simply punch you when you're too close. So i have to say, it's obvious that simple impact from flesh is much weaker than a burst of lightspeed bullet.

[ZikShadow]

Been playing this mod, some very good stuff here.

And yeah, I imagine the reason why you could stunlock low level acolytes with the dagger is so that 1 on 1 fights are stacked in your favor. Any more than that and the other cultist'll gun you down while you're busy whittling down the other acolyte. I was completely unable to do the dagger fight on Elite at the start of the game, had to sprint outside backstabbing the door guard while being shot at and acquire the crossbow first before I have any chance at killing the troublemakers.

[Techy_koi]

HDest in Strife sign me up!! Also maybe the spawn has to adjusted but nonetheless it is a great mod, you sir deserve more attention.
Also how did you achieve the FPS-ish body can this be achieve too in HDest and other mods curious on how you did it.
Again great Realism mod to Strife, may good fate be bestowed upon ye!!!

[Jarewill]

They now have no shield and just simply punch you when you're too close. So i have to say, it's obvious that simple impact from flesh is much weaker than a burst of lightspeed bullet.

There are still Acolytes with shields, I tried to make every one of the 9 variants at least slightly different. (Another thanks to Lagi for the amazing shieldless sprites)
Yes, both shielded and shieldless variants have melee attacks that are nowhere near as good as their rifles, but at close distances they can't really use their guns effectively.
The melee attack is not meant to be damaging, but rather to knock the enemy back a bit. It's more noticeable with the shield bash.
And after playing up to the castle with the mod, I noticed that such close encounters with Acolytes are rather rare. So they still remain quite a threat, at least after the Sanctuary.
Still, if you have any ideas on how I could improve them, I'd love to hear them!

Also how did you achieve the FPS-ish body can this be achieve too in HDest and other mods curious on how you did it.

It was rather simple:

---

I defined an "actor pointer" variable in the player class, and in the Tick override I wrote this:

Code: Select all

		If(backplaye==null) //backplaye is the pointer variable and if it's null then spawn it
		{
			bool spawn1; Actor spawn2;
			[spawn1, spawn2] = A_SpawnItemEx("LFPlayerBody",flags: SXF_SETMASTER); //SETMASTER so the player is the body's master
			backplaye=spawn2; //Also set the body as the pointer
		}

The body itself looks like this:

Code: Select all

Class LFPlayerBody : Actor
{
	Default
	{
		+NOGRAVITY; +NOBLOCKMAP;
		+FORCEYBILLBOARD; +FLOORCLIP;
	}
	Override void Tick()
	{
		Super.Tick();
		If(master==null||master.health<1){Destroy();} //If master is null or dead, destroy the actor
		If(master.pitch>=55){sprite=master.sprite;}Else{sprite=GetSpriteIndex("TNT1");} //If the master is looking down, set the body's sprite to the master sprite, else set it to invisible (TNT1)
		frame=master.frame; //Also set the frame to master's frame
		translation=master.translation; //Translation too
		A_Warp(AAPTR_MASTER,-16,0,0,0,WARPF_NOCHECKPOSITION); //Warp the body behind the master
	}
	States
	{
	Spawn:
		HMN1 A 1;
		Loop;
	}
}

I had ideas to even make it in DECORATE, so doing this shouldn't be a problem to other mods.
You could probably also make an universal mod that spawns a body by giving the player an inventory item that does the checks above in the DoEffect override.

Probably not the best to do it, but I haven't had problems with it so far.

I was completely unable to do the dagger fight on Elite at the start of the game, had to sprint outside backstabbing the door guard while being shot at and acquire the crossbow first before I have any chance at killing the troublemakers.

Wow! Great job with that!
I expected nothing less from the legendary "no failure run" ZikShadow.

ZikShadow wrote: Been playing this mod, some very good stuff here.
Techy_koi wrote: Again great Realism mod to Strife, may good fate be bestowed upon ye!!!

Thank you!
Have fun with the mod!

[Captain J]

There are still Acolytes with shields, I tried to make every one of the 9 variants at least slightly different. (Another thanks to Lagi for the amazing shieldless sprites)
Yes, both shielded and shieldless variants have melee attacks that are nowhere near as good as their rifles, but at close distances they can't really use their guns effectively.
The melee attack is not meant to be damaging, but rather to knock the enemy back a bit. It's more noticeable with the shield bash.
And after playing up to the castle with the mod, I noticed that such close encounters with Acolytes are rather rare. So they still remain quite a threat, at least after the Sanctuary.
Still, if you have any ideas on how I could improve them, I'd love to hear them!

Well if you buffed up your stamina, you can kill acolytes in one or two hits with your dagger. So some player might attempt to attack them up close and figure out how defenseless they are in close-ranged combat.

But yeah, they're still a scary snipers. I imagine the things might get worse if they have some kind of bayonet or something.

[Somagu]

Actually, the Elite fight isn't as bad as it looks. You don't need to actually kill them, just scare them enough that they run away and heal. It took me a while on my first try, but on any subsequent starts it went much more smoothly.

To which end, I have some feedback for early game:

Control-related muscle memory aside, there's a few things that are bugging me for a proper playthrough. I'll hold back on a long-winded feedback post for now, before I've played for longer, but the biggest thing that comes to mind right now is the early mechanical enemies, combined with how clumsy the crossbow is. Stalkers have a lot of HP. A lot. They're incredibly annoying, but electrical bolts are awkward to use, owing to how small stalkers (and turrets) are, the ?delayed? DoT on the electrical bolt, the parabolic drop, the fact that it fires much lower than the targeting device or muscle memory would have you believe (requiring its own pricey laser sight just to fire with any real accuracy, short of memorizing it), and not least of all how prohibitively heavy they are. Just 6 bolts is 90 some-odd weight, nearly 1/10th of your un-upgraded carry capacity, and you might kill a stalker in 2 of those shots if you're lucky.

Ammo economy in general needs some tweaking, something I'll go over soon, if and when I get the chance. Assault rifle rounds are so common that you'd never even conceivably have to worry about it before the gun starts jamming on you. I haven't look at the internals myself on whatever the jam rate is, but the moment I hit around 70%, I usually can't get off two bursts without a failure to fire, which gets tiresome pretty quickly for me. (That's not an exaggeration, back before HD was zscript mod, I would consistently jam on the first magazine of every ZM I pick up per update. It was tradition at that point.)

That said, I'm enjoying this a lot, and I appreciate the concept and most of the execution of this. Good work! I'll have more feedback soon, hopefully.

[Jarewill]

Helpful stuff

I got it, Stalkers have been nerfed HP-wise and the bolts have been improved with range and removing the delay from the electric shock.
I don't understand how they are firing lower than the targeter though, as I am sure I kept the 5-unit viewheight-to-attackzoffset difference.
The only thing that comes to mind is that the bolts now fall with gravity, so I made them less subject to it.
I have also decreased the weight of all ammo items by half, hopefully this makes things slightly better now.

As for the ammo economy, I understand that the rifle ammo is incredibly common, not sure what I can do about it though except halving the pickups.
For now I made every pickup give 15 rounds and looted Acolytes dropping half as much, I'll see if that helps or not.
As for the jamming, I have already modified it once when play testing myself, due to how often it jammed.
It's mostly a matter of chance: if current condition is below 75%, it picks a random number between X and max condition and if the number is higher or equal to current condition, it jams.
I already modified the values once and my assault rifle stopped jamming as much, which as it turns out was only because I was lucky.

I have modified the function itself this time and after testing a lot. (firing over 2000 rounds from the rifle, then restarting the game to reset my "luck" and firing 1000 more rounds)
I only seemed to jam commonly when the rifle was below 20%. I hope it wasn't just luck this time.

Thank you for the feedback and I hope to hear more soon!
For now though, I'll release a quick 1.1 bugfix with the above fixes.