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This mod does not require any Iwad to run, and (64-bit) GZDoom 3.2.0 is included.
The project is nowhere near finished, so I was a bit hesitant to post this here, but I could use feedback and bug reports, since I become uninterested after having to play through it myself constantly. There are some bugs that I'm aware of, such as infighting not working properly, and monsters occasionally attacking breakable objects. Also the experience/leveling system is not finished, but in a later update will allow you to spend stat points to increase basic things like health and strength.
Credits, some placeholder sprites and some code I borrowed from other mods:
Spoiler:
- Butcher & Cobalt:
>XHud ACS From Psychophobia v1.11
>Many decorate from Phsychophobia and ZBlood Pack
- Michaelis
>A_ChaseX code from Zblood+
- JDoom/Doomsday:
>GLDefs
>Flames and other effects
- Tormentor667:
>Various world Decorate code (Torment&Torture)
- Sgt.MarkIV:
>Kick code and puke ("DoKick")
- JohnnyFive:
>Pickup message ACS from Cold as Hell: SE.
This is amazing! The combat is very satisfying. I didn't know I could parry until I accidentally did lol. Very awesome! Atmosphere is spot on too!
This is very inspiring as well. I've wanted to make something as technical as this as well, and this just shows me that it is possible. Amazing work.
EDIT: Okay, I could see where the combat is lacking. Parry doesn't always work, but this is still WIP... I thought it was done well, better than Total Chaos for sure, but needs some refinement.
Last edited by R4L on Fri Oct 13, 2017 9:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
I played this a little bit and, while I thought the general atmosphere was amazing, the gameplay itself was... not great. I don't know what another post was on about saying the combat was "satisfying". Constant monotonous hit and run against enemies that take far too many hits to die is not exactly what I'd call satisfying. Someone mentioned the parry, I personally found no use for it. The weapons don't respond quickly enough to let you salvage a whiffed attack by parrying, Maybe it's a little tense the first few times, but once you get into the rhythm it's just repetitive and boring. You're punished for trying to speed this up by the weapon degradation mechanic, which traps you into a conundrum I can't personally solve. Do you use your nice weapons to speed up the combat, but have them break on you when you need them the most, or do you use inferior weapons and turn every fight into a slog? I haven't even bothered trying to use a bone for anything other than breaking open containers, I hate to think how garbage it would be as an actual weapon.
I think the combat will probably speed up once the leveling is introduced, but as the mod stands at the current time, it's just not fun to play. It is, at least, beautiful to look at, even if it's more than a little monochromatic.
Thanks for the feedback, and I understand your complaints about the current state of the mod and it's combat. I am aware of the very sluggish, and rather under powered feel of the few (unbalanced) weapons, and how some things don't make much sense, such as the amount of hits it takes to kill (what would appear to some be weak lowly) enemies, how a lite dagger is just as slow as a heavier morning star, and how the same steel morning star has the exact same durability as a wooden club.Things such as the breakable weapons and parrying are more gimmicky and experimental, and may be cut later in development if they only continue to drag things down, and perhaps some other mechanics will be scrapped (Hunger and the basic crafting) since may seem useless to many, and because I wish to avoid making a confused cluttery mess of a mod.
About parrying, one thing that I added to make this mechanic slightly useful was by having enemies enter a stunned state after you parried their attack, but due to a bug this does not always happen. The "Highwayman" or Marauder encountered on the second map, is one of the few enemies that is capable of Feigning their attacks, and parrying your own strikes, followed by a quick counter attack that I realize gives players very little time to react. The ability to kick, and dodge, which has been utilized in dozens other mods is present, but because of the short delay and what you said about the response times, it only adds to the slow and repetitive movements.
I know that this mod and it's gameplay (or at least in it's current state) won't appeal to everyone, since being a Doom mod, it's probably expected to be as fast paced or play very similar to the game that it's being built on. A while ago, someone had mentioned to me that the combat was similar to the first Condemned game, but I admit that it has been done much much worse here, because of the (non existent) learning/difficulty curve, long delays between attacks, too many monsters encountered at once with the lack of other combat options, under-powered weapons, enemies having unfair/cheap attacks, and just due to me becoming blind to these issues when play-testing my maps, since I often took the same slow paced tactical approach (if you could even call it that), which I know will be a huge turn off to potential players, and just makes the game feel much more like a chore.
I will look into these issues to and see what I can do to improve the mod.
I love this. It reminded me so much of King's Field and Arx Fatalis (which I also love), but it still felt totally original. I can't wait to play more.
I know I don't exactly represent the average gamer, but here are my observations:
The slow pace absolutely suits it in my opinion, but it's true that you can't react quickly enough to anything. Recovering from swinging a weapon really shouldn't take that long, even if it's a zweihander. Kicking was hard to aim, but it was still more useful for stunning the enemy than parrying most of the time; maybe you could combine those two things somehow? It's also hard to judge how far away a melee attack will connect, and it seems like even knives have a 10 foot reach both for you and your enemies, which really feels weird.
I think the combat isn't bad, though. It was pretty intense in general and it had gravity. I could play through an entire game like that. Maybe it's one of those cases where it depends on what you're comparing it to, and I thought of it more like a first-person RPG than action or horror per se.
Getting to explore a strange world that's full of secrets is my favorite thing, and you nailed it. It's really good at being tense, spooky, and mysterious, too.
I didn't know what to do for Hemi, but I love that he was there and that I got to find him.
It's either too dark or too monochrome...or something. I like the art and I appreciate what you're going for, but lots of times weapons and items just become invisible on the ground. Everything might as well be wearing camo. A little more color would go a long way, like maybe just a little color in the dynamic lights attached to pickups. Learning what to look out for was interesting, but even after that it was hard to see things that were right in front of me.
I didn't understand most of what the HUD was showing me, and I never figured out what most of the items do. I had no idea there was crafting and I still wouldn't know how to do it. There are lots of references to cooking, and I kept trying to cook with no success. I wanted to be able to cook, too. I like mystery and having to figure things out for myself, but there wasn't a lot of feedback that I understood.
I kept picking things up, then later realizing I only made them cease to exist since I already had that weapon or the max amount of that item.
I didn't know what leveling up did for me. All I noticed was that SP changed from 0 to 3, but I had no idea what that meant.
I didn't know why I could run at some times but not others.
I don't feel like I ever had more fun because of breakable weapons (in any game). Having them wear out with the ability to repair them is fine because it makes me try new things, but I like getting weapons as rewards and knowing they're just going to break takes that away from me. Pretty much the same deal with armor: I'd find a leather helmet and put it on, and literally one hit later it's gone.
I love that there's a shop, but again I didn't really know what most of that stuff was. There was a door I couldn't find a key for, so I went back and bought lockpicks, but that didn't help at all.
