And perhaps you are asking yourselves... Why this new release? Didn't was the Final Edition the last one? Is it that Hexereticdoom has gone crazy?
Well, the truth is there are several reasons for having published finally this update... But for being brief and not boring anyone, I won't explain them all just now. I'll just say that it was one thing that I needed to do, because somehow, I have felt some weeks ago that what I called the 'last update' of H-Project, it was still lacking some interesting features that I would been like to include by then, but for one thing or another, they were not included into that 'last update'... Several rejected ideas, lack of appropiate resources, and yeah, also some lack of inspiration depending of the day, have been a few of the causes that have made the so-called Final Edition not being the 'true' final one. A proof of this are the small updatings of FE that I had to publish in shape of revisions, for trying to polishing and fixing some remaining bugs that still were there...
But now that's over. So then some weeks ago I picked up again the mod, I removed it the dust and with help of my faithful Doom edition programs, I decided firmly to bring up what was still missing and then after some time of pretty intense work for new features incorporation, and after and active on-game testing and every possible bug removing (at last I tried) it's time for you to meet the fresh updated, face-washed, and closer to be called 'final' version, HXRTC GE.
And what does it bring after all? Yes, now we're going straight up to the interesting part, that is, the list of changes... Of course it still includes all known features from the Final Edition, plus some new exclusive features, tweaks and improvements as an expansion, as it has been usual all these years, and as you could expect, right? Now let's go to the changelog at once, no more waiting and nonsense talking, finally here it is...
- - A total of SEVEN new weapons have been included! Yeah, seven no more no less! If you thought the HXRTC Marine's arsenal was quite enough huge and was not being expanded anymore, sorry, you were wrong! This means almost every weapon slot has gained a new toy to play & kill with, so it will be better to give more details for each and one of them:
- + Wrench: A pretty big tool mainly intended to fix machinery things by some UAC engineers. I'm sure that if you get one in your hands, will become a handy tool for fixing the killer instincts of almost all your opponents!
+ Laser Musket: A quite wonderful weapon, product of an attempt for making a powerful shotgun with laser technology, as an alternative to the already known W-Shotgun. Like this one, the Laser Musket also works from using traditional shotgun shells, thanks to their revolutionary internal catalyst system. However, the accuracy of the Laser Musket is pretty higher, and its shots can be even more harmful.
+ Electro Fusil: Another cool toy, specially dedicated to all electricity lovers. This portable combat device is able to shoot dangerous electric bolts at any range, and also can stun momentarily the chosen living target. Note that its medium-low trigger speed may not be suitable for all confrontations, so better use it with care. Avoid using it against stoney or electric enemies!
+ Flux Wave Cannon: An experimental prototype presented as a valuable alternative to classic plasma rifles. The Flux Wave Cannon uses the concentrated energy of special echo-sonic waves, using them as lethal projectiles that can rip apart and cause major damage to an entire army, with just a few shots. On the other hand, its efficiency can be questioned with very hard-skin rivals, like those ones made of stone...
+ BFG-667: You'll love this one for sure. Some people say this heavy weapon was assembled and deeply tweaked from a standard BFG, but the fact is its notable devastating power, only surpassed by very few large-scale attack arms. Perhaps its weak point could be the intensive use of Energy Cells as main ammunition, but if you have a good reserve in your backpack, it shouldn't be a serious problem.
+ Tartarus Keeper's Magic Staff: Now we move on to acquirable special monster weapons, which as you will know are a bit harder to obtain than standard ones. This rare magic staff as its name says, is obtainable from the hands of the Tartarus Keeper (formerly known as the Spear Keeper), and only if it not gets broken when killed. Once equipped, you'll get the same powers as the Keeper, with the special benefit of not requiring any type of ammo to work! Pretty cool, huh?
+ Scorpio Scepter: Probably you'll remember the poisonous Acid Arbalest as a very-hard-to-find weapon, right? So then you will like to know there exist another ultra-rare legendary venom weapon, a very fearful one by the way, that only the truly fortunate ones will be able to find out. You can be really proud of yourselves if you manage to get one!
- + Wrench Beater: a female UAC scientist with a very personal way of fixing things. As her name says, she's equipped with a Wrench that could be yours with a bit of luck.
+ Chemical Sprayer: another former scientist equipped with the highly toxic UAC chemical product on his hands. Smash this guy and get your reward!
+ Cryogenic Gunner: this a more dangerous zombie than he appears at first. He comes equipped with a Cryogenic Repeater, ready to freeze your dreams of glory.
+ Spook Imp: a very sinister relative of standard Imps. It uses a camouflage method similar to classic spectral enemies, so it could be problematic in certain dark zones.
+ Techno-Demon: a fearful cybernetic pinky with a chaingun attached to its mouth. Doesn't this sound menacing? Wait until you have to confront with a bunch of them...
+ Techno-Spectre: same as above, but in spectral shape. Sincerely, I hope you have good skills to take apart this nasty beasts, or you'll soon become history!
+ Pandemoniac: a member from the capital of Hell, as its name denotes. You'll recognize a Pandemoniac immediately: it resembles like a standard Hellknight with dark reddish skin, plus some strange green spheres orbiting around its waist.
+ Flame Genie: a fiery spiritual version of the common hellish guardians. It floats around freely and can attack throwing big fireballs to burn its targets and turning them into a smoking pile of ashes. You might require some ice to chill its pyromaniac instincts!
+ Assault Ship: just a Shotgunner piloting a small flying combat airship. May not sound too dangerous, but if you are not careful, this troublesome guy could take the control and blast you with his powerful laser shots.
+ Scary Shocker: a sparky Lost Soul variation that has been exposed too much time between the machinery of the UAC power stations, which has conferred it some strange electrical powers to attack anyone at its range.
+ Cacodemental: you guessed it, an artificial genetic fusion (by courtesy of crazy UAC guys, how could it be otherwise) between a Cacodemon and a Pain Elemental. This horrid monstrosity may be quite menacing on open fields, so better stick to a corner to avoid its spawned seeking mini-souls.
+ Pebble Bones: a hellish skeleton made entirely of rock. That's it folks. Which means that it has a solid defense against most attacks, unlike its boney colleagues, but also its walking speed is slower than normal due to its heavy weight.
+ Electric Slug: if you thought the Frosty Slug and the Sewer Slug were a real pain, prepare to meet its energic and diabolic cousin. The electromissiles that will launch from its upper cannons can blast you away and make heavy damage, so proceed with extreme caution!
+ ArachnoDemon: another hell worthy franken-mix, yeah. A pinky with Arachnotron's legs and a quite high walking speed. Phew! At least this one doesn't have a long-range attack, which does not mean you should not be careful when it approachs to you furiously.
+ High Voltagecko: oh yeah, another cousin, but this time relative to old famous evil guys known as Hell Necromancer and Toxis Lizard. Coming with lightning and storm as their main attack powers, you should better be prepared for confronting this walking nightmare.
+ Apocalypse (Big Boss): what could be worse than a Cyberdemon? Or even worse than an Annihilator or an Executioner? Don't you know? Well then, I'll tell it to you: it exists, and it is known as Apocalypse. This daemonic hunter is a true master of pain and suffering, and a big expert launching multielemental rockets to anything that moves around him. If you manage to get seen and become his prey, maybe you'll think about never having left home in all likelihood...
+ Space Brainiac (Big Boss): the first time you face this beast, probably you'll remember the fearful Arachnophyte. But apart from keeping a certain similarity, you'll discover this flying aberration has much more destructive power than the aforementioned one. If you achieve to avoid its quite harmful plasma projectiles, perhaps you won't have the same luck as soon as it releases big loads of bouncing bombs. So please take care of yourself and good luck against this one...
- + Hunting Dog Whistle: what the heck, a dog whistle? Yes, but not an ordinary one. As soon as you use it, a loyal canine friend will appear instantly at your side and will run around to help you biting and killing nasty foes. Hunting Dogs are well trained and are a good reinforcement for clearing certain areas of enemies. You can call as many helper dogs as you wish, but remember that each whistle can be used only once.
+ Ace of Knives: this strange card could make you think to be good for playing Poker, but in fact it is more useful than a simple table game. It has some unearthly an uncommon powers; when you decide making use of it, a burst of spinning cards will be thrown in front of you and they'll explode in contact with anything. If somebody is hit by one of these cards, he/she/it will lose instantly 1/2 of their current health points. So then, this inventory item could be extremely useful versus all those high-healthed or hard-skin enemies, specially big bosses!
+ Exit Warp Bomb: it is possibly the best special item ever dreamed for all those lost and frustrated players, but also can be tricky to find around. This rare and amazing device will allow you to get almost instantly teleported to current level exit area and accessing directly to next map, all this without even moving a single finger! If you are fed up of those tedious, never-ending levels that become apparently unfinishable, try using one of these warping explosives and let its magic take you to a whole new unexplored area!
- Several new pickup items available, ready to be gathered and stored in your pockets: Ammo Belt (a useful fanny pack containing a little basic ammo for your first weapons), Micro Berserk (a handy tiny kit smaller than a Mini Berserk, which will give you increased strenght and a few extra health points), Pepperoni & Anchovies Pizza (a new and delicious fast food piece, eat it up to gain some health and armour points), Maiden Bracelet (a rare and valuable wealth item, it will increase notably your money score), Silver Bars Pile & Gold Bars Pile (ultra-rare and big-reward wealthy pickups, only available from special Mistery Boxes).
- Talking about special Mistery Boxes, there is a new exclusive one available: the Golden Mistery Box! What kind of surprises will hide this one? Weapons? Big powerups? Nasty enemies? That's something that you'll have to discover yourselves, my dear friends...
- A bunch of new decorative items are also available: Candle Stubs, Spilled Blood Chalice, Devilish Busts, Devilish Bust Pillars, Commando Headstick, Impaled Marine Torso, Trash Bin and Marble Columns (with alternative colours).
- There are also a couple of special decoration elements to mention apart: the hostile Mini Volcano (found mainly on some desertic areas, and can spit regularly and randomly some harmful fireballs around itself) and the startling Red Strobe Light (some alarm devices the UAC placed up on ceilings long time ago, that since the monsters arrival have not stopped sounding at any time. So welcome to Silent H... err, hell I mean, hehehe).
- The global difficulty of the mod has been raised up a bit through a special feature; from now, there is a small chance (around a 15%) that some extra numbers of Renegade Marines get teleported near you with each enemy that you manage to shoot down. They could appear randomly at any position, in any corner, so if you hear a teleporting sound close around your current location, watch out: they could chase you quickly if you're not careful. Don't let your guard down in any moment! (But hey, for compensating a little this increased difficulty, specially at first map levels, you will now start your adventures with a Golden Armour, instead of the classic and weaker green one).
- Recolored the classic grey HXRTC HUD for this recent mod version, granting it a new nice golden scheme. Gold, gold everywhere!
- Changed and replaced partially the default Doom fonts for the Memento Mori II ones (courtesy of Jimmy's MemenTwo Style Fonts pack).
- Lots of minor bugfixings, plus some tweaks and code optimizations since last published mod updates. - + Wrench: A pretty big tool mainly intended to fix machinery things by some UAC engineers. I'm sure that if you get one in your hands, will become a handy tool for fixing the killer instincts of almost all your opponents!
Download links are awaiting for you at first post, as the usual thing, so go and get your copies and please enjoy the H-Project Golden Edition!
And yeah, of course... Have a nice Doomsday, everyone!