[Universal] Pistol Starter - More Inventory [Up 2/4/2021]

[DevilBlackDeath]

  Based on Always Pistol Start by JP LeBreton

Download Pistol Starter

What does this mod do?
With this mod you can Pistol Start every map of every episode without a care in the world ! No console command to input, no alias to bind, nothing. The mod handles it for you. On top of that, the mod also offers a togglable menu option to let you keep inventory items. This way, most gameplay mods should keep their progression (XP, weapon upgrades...) even if you do start with only the default weapons on every map !

This is compatible with my other mod, Inventory Keeper. Combined together, they're only ever useful for gameplay mods with actual non-weapon items tied to the played inventory. BE CAREFUL however, you need to turn on "Keep Inventory Items" in Pistol Starter for the combo to work properly, otherwise Pistol Starter WILL wipe your inventory on a map change. "Keep Weapons" from Inventory Keeper has no use however, as Pistol Starter will always wipe your weapon (I mean, it's the whole point of this mod, what did you expect ?)

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Let's say you're playing Death Foretold and want to Pistol Start every map, but you want to keep your mods and weapon upgrades, backpack upgrades and so on. By combining both you'd be able to do that, even in WADs with Death Exits

Further notes
Hope you enjoy, afaik this should work forever, for every gameplay mod in GZDoom and in every version running ZScript. However mods replacing weapons as a means of weapon upgrading won't let you keep weapons on Pistol Starting. Unfortunately there's not much to be done there. Even a very complex mod wouldn't be able to make that universally if I'm not wrong.

No promises, but I'm working on an exception list. The way this would work would be for more "advanced" users as it would require inputting the class names. But in the end this would let everyone customize their experience. Taking Death Foretold as an example again, you would be able to keep your mod upgrades, but remove your equipped grenade, or the other way around and remove the backpacks. If I manage to add this feature, I'll extend it to the opposite feature in Inventory Keeper, making a deletion list of classes to specifically remove from the player on a Death Exit.

Proper credits are given, I also added credits in the archive compared to the original work. The original author was also contacted and I told them they could have complete ownership of this topic if they so wished.

Credits :
- Me for the changes in this mod (enhancements and all extra features)
- Jimmy and id Software for the font (mod logo)
- id Software for the pistol sprite (mod logo)
- JPLeBreton for their "Always Pistol Start" mod without which I would never have been able to do all of this !

Minimum Recommended GZDoom version : 2.5.0
(feel free to correct me, the used ZScript version IS 2.5.0, but I don't know if this is directly tied to GZDoom's version)

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Updated on 1/30/2021 : Added a safety mechanism in case of failure. Before this update failure would have meant crash. While failure SHOULD not happen, I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Updated on 2/1/2021 :
- Fixed a huge oversight that would have caused issues in multiplayer
- Used a better way to reset health so as to take into account potential health upgrades made by mods
- Also added a menu option (disabled by default) to keep inventory items in between levels, so as to not screw progression of certain gameplay mods

Updated on 2/4/2021 :
- Fixed a problem where ammo would never get removed from the player's inventory when turning "Keep Inventory Items" on
- Changed menu labels

Download : Mediafire : pistolstart.zip

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Simply load the pk3 contained in the archive after everything else, this should cause no conflict whatsoever !

Since it disregards completely UNDROPPABLE and UNTOSSABLE I don't recommend using this in mods where key items necessary for progression are used in the inventory.
Addendum : You can now keep inventory items, so this should be completely safe for mods relying on inventory for upgrades and progression. This is disabled by default, so think about enabling it when starting a new game with a mod !

ENJOY !

[dmslr]

What is the difference between your mod and this?

[Misery]

You don't need a mod for pistol start. You can jus' type "map" and map number number in the console, and bind it to a key for additional convenience.

Code: Select all

bind p "map map01"

[3saster]

The point of it is that you can play "continuously" while still starting every map with pistol start. You can quickly and smoothly blast through without interupting by opening up the console. A niche mod, for sure, but it has it's usage; I myself wrote a similar mod for myself that I've been using for a while.

[Misery]

I'm interrupted every time I die, and I'm currently playin' Sunlust, so I'm interrupted a LOT. So unless you can beat every level in one try, you'll be interrupted eventually. I mean, if two seconds to type in a couple of words is that much of a hassle, I suppose this mod is very good for you. But it jus' seems more like gettin' in your car to drive to your next door neighbor's house.

[DevilBlackDeath]

What is the difference between your mod and this?

As far as I know, none, aside from the fact it gives additional properties. If you need a raw pistol start with no extra ammo and no backpack the code is much simpler. I'll actually keep both, though I'll keep IDClever starter alongside Armament Tuning. Let's just say if you don't want the temptation to somewhat "cheat" this is much more basic. Also last time I tested it (quite a bit ago, at release) it didn't work with UNDROPPABLE and UNTOSSABLE weapons Now it does though.

I'm interrupted every time I die, and I'm currently playin' Sunlust, so I'm interrupted a LOT. So unless you can beat every level in one try, you'll be interrupted eventually. I mean, if two seconds to type in a couple of words is that much of a hassle, I suppose this mod is very good for you. But it jus' seems more like gettin' in your car to drive to your next door neighbor's house.

Huh, is there any error popping up ? Can you tell me what combination of mods you use and which version of GZD you use ?

Also the whole point is to have nothing to do AND not forget. Some players (including me) play mostly without pistol start, and want to do it only for mappacks MEANT to played with pistol start. The problem is, when you're not used to it, you can bind all the keybinds in the world, you'll likely forget it at some point, which is annoying. This enforces it

Edit : Oh you meant the interruption made it easy to type the command ? That's actually a... weird argument. If you forget it and don't die you won't be interrupted. Plus when you die GZDoom will autoload the last save, which is probably on level start. So if you forgot to do and to save after, you'll autoload and have to type in everytime. So going by that argument, you're better off just typing the command and saving. I get that for someone who play everything pistol start it is intuitive, but for someone who only play pistol start for mappacks meant exclusively for pistol start it's really not

[Misery]

No, the interruption I was referrin' to was dying. But I don't see how you could forget to pistol start. If you're startin' a level, and you have more than the pistol, it should remind you. But that's jus' me. I mean, it's obviously a useful mod for people who don't like to restart a map in the console, I suppose. I jus' don't get it. But that's a'ight. There's lots of things I don't get.

But I wouldn't say it's intuitive for me. I actually only started playin' pistol start a couple of months ago. After I beat all the original levels on Ultra-Violence, I figure the next step was beatin' it on Ultra-Violence, with fast monsters enabled, and pistol start. Good stuff.

[Twitchy2019]

Is there a way to do the opposite effect of this mod, which would be to allow all weapons for a wad even if there were levels that forced a pistol start, like Eviternity for instance? I hate pistol starts that isn't level 1 or a death and would like to see a continuous weapon mod.

[dmslr]

If you're startin' a level, and you have more than the pistol, it should remind you.

Sometimes you just forget because of hot starts. Happens not that often and you'll eventually realize that you didn't restart the level anyways, but it's still annoying.
Since I had started using IDCLEVer (a similar mod), I completely got rid of these issues. I just start playing the level. That's it.

Is there a way to do the opposite effect of this mod, which would be to allow all weapons for a wad even if there were levels that forced a pistol start, like Eviternity for instance? I hate pistol starts that isn't level 1 or a death and would like to see a continuous weapon mod.

viewtopic.php?f=43&t=66213
But you can't do anything about death exits that forces pistol start. Unfortunately for you, Eviternity uses death exits.

[DevilBlackDeath]

No, the interruption I was referrin' to was dying. But I don't see how you could forget to pistol start. If you're startin' a level, and you have more than the pistol, it should remind you. But that's jus' me. I mean, it's obviously a useful mod for people who don't like to restart a map in the console, I suppose. I jus' don't get it. But that's a'ight. There's lots of things I don't get.

But I wouldn't say it's intuitive for me. I actually only started playin' pistol start a couple of months ago. After I beat all the original levels on Ultra-Violence, I figure the next step was beatin' it on Ultra-Violence, with fast monsters enabled, and pistol start. Good stuff.

Well it's just as I said, if you tend to pistol restart a lot, it makes sense you won't forget, especially if you want to play like that. Personally I play most megawad that are meant for both pistol start and continuous play in continuous play, pistol restarting only if it means continuous play breaks the intended balance. So having to remind myself, when once in a while I play a pistol start style wad, to do it, is not something that I will think about every level, and eventually after ending a level I always wonder "damn did I do it last level?" At least here we don't have to wonder. IDCLEVer starter and armament tuning go even further by targeting people who REALLY want to pistol start absolutely everything, even WADs that are openly not meant to be pistol started at all, but same concept, it's all about avoiding typing console command. Not that I'm inherently against typing console command, but when I'm starting a Doom Playthrough I like to be able to just launch it and enjoy without further "effort" than the initial setup and configuration. Hope that makes sense

Sunlust UV Fast monsters Pistol start ? Now that's masochism Though afaik Sunlust maps do take Pistol Start into account, much more than Vanilla Doom/Doom 2 right ?

But you can't do anything about death exits that forces pistol start. Unfortunately for you, Eviternity uses death exits.

I have to wonder though. Since you can override death to make the player live on or that kind of stuff, wouldn't ZScript include logic to handle death exits ? In which case I also know that the respawn logic have a bit of code specifically meant to carry over the inventory of the dead player to the respawned player. As such I think it's totally possible to override the Death Exit logic IF and ONLY if its code resides in ZScript (or there's at least some event responding to death exits. Gonna have alook this afternoon and I'll try to answer

[StroggVorbis]

If all else fails, you can still use the "changemap" command to load another map, keep your inventory and keep the state of the previous map if applicable, e.g. Hexen or Strife hubs.

[DevilBlackDeath]

If all else fails, you can still use the "changemap" command to load another map, keep your inventory and keep the state of the previous map if applicable, e.g. Hexen or Strife hubs.

So I remember seeing yesterday someone mentioning overriding death and stuff. This might be a good lead : viewtopic.php?f=122&t=63491. maybe ZScript have equivalences to these on death scripts ? Not sure. In which case it might be possible to detect death exits. Not entirely sure !

[Misery]

Sunlust UV Fast monsters Pistol start ? Now that's masochism Though afaik Sunlust maps do take Pistol Start into account, much more than Vanilla Doom/Doom 2 right ?

Oh god, no. Sunlust I still play without fast monsters. It's hard enough at regular speed. But everything else I do play with fast monsters. And yes, Sunlust is designed for pistol start. It's actually easier that way. It's a bit harder at the beginning, but it's easier when you don't have to worry about finishing the level with low ammo or health. Jus' as long as you beat it, with all secrets and kills, o' course.

[DevilBlackDeath]

Sunlust UV Fast monsters Pistol start ? Now that's masochism Though afaik Sunlust maps do take Pistol Start into account, much more than Vanilla Doom/Doom 2 right ?

Oh god, no. Sunlust I still play without fast monsters. It's hard enough at regular speed. But everything else I do play with fast monsters. And yes, Sunlust is designed for pistol start. It's actually easier that way. It's a bit harder at the beginning, but it's easier when you don't have to worry about finishing the level with low ammo or health. Jus' as long as you beat it, with all secrets and kills, o' course.

Makes sense in terms of health, though losing all potential saved ammos, be it cells, or shells or rockets might hit hard no ? Generally you're able to save at least one of the three most important ammo resources. Should probably give that a try in pistol start with EVP then Yeah Sunlust fast monsters must be... violent, to say the least !

[DevilBlackDeath]

Updated on 2/1/2021 :
- Fixed a huge oversight that could have caused issues in multiplayer.
- Used a better way to reset health so as to take into account potential health upgrades made by mods.
- Also added a menu option (disabled by default) to keep inventory items in between levels, so as to not screw progression of certain gameplay mods.

Edit : As an aside I'd like to point out I will do the same opposite effect for my inventory keeper add-on ! I will add the ability to NOT keep weapons while keeping the inventory, allowing for people to play gameplay mods with progression on mapsets like Scythe 2 or Vanguard without losing progression after death exits, but still losing weapons. That, I think, is probably what would be the most useful feature for most people !