[New download demo 1.0.1 available] Paradise Rebirth

[gwHero]

I changed the checkpoint system in the game in a way that it's now more appropriate for the open world style of the game. From the beginning it wasn't mandatory to reach the checkpoints to advance to the next level, but they did have a sequential ordering and if you missed them (deliberately or not), even though you could return to previous levels, they were lost once you crossed the border of a map.

I removed this sequential dependency; now if you want to you could rush through a couple of maps, miss all the checkpoints, and then return to each of them, while still having the possibility of reaching all the checkpoints in the previous maps.

The compass has been changed accordingly; while it first only showed the next checkpoint (besides the position of the sun and moon and the cardinal directions), it now shows the directions to all checkpoints in a map, plus the exit sign.

[gwHero]

Some new screenshots

[gwHero]

Update March 2, 2020: development is continued since Feb 1, 2020.

I had to take a sabbatical after 18 months of work on this TC. This gave me the benefit of a fresh look and resulted in removing all the crap and mistakes.

New Screenshots







The first 2 maps are almost completed, so there will be a demo version ready for download soon.

[Agentbromsnor]

It looks like a very artsy indie game. Definitely has a great art-style to it.

This is exactly why I love open source stuff like GZDoom, because it enables developers to push the boundaries beyond just "simple" Doom mods.

[Captain J]

Super excellent. Glad this project is back and it's impressive than ever. And please do upload the demo version! Can't wait-

[Tormentor667]

This looks so beautiful Very special kind of design!

[gwHero]

Thank you all for the encouraging words. Glad to announce that the demo with the first 2 complete levels will be ready for download in a couple of days.

[gwHero]

I'm pleased to announce that a demo version is ready for download.

Links available in the first post: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=59532#p1040811

[gwHero]

Official screenshots demo version 1.0.0 added on first post : viewtopic.php?f=19&t=59532#p1040811

[Redneckerz]

It feels like Another World had a happy little sibling. Very sweet, very polished.

[Captain J]

Beautiful, dreamy and immersive game! The atmosphere and the terrains are natural and outlandish at the same time. This definitely reminds me of Dear Esther but with Alice in Wonderland. I actually thought the flat colors won't gonna describe the terrains of mother nature nicely, but i stand corrected. You certainly did a great job with the mapping. You really don't need the detailed textures for this!

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I guess the third person sprites for player is unprepared yet? Because i'm a tiny mammoth!


- The Auto Save button disappears when you're not playing and would take you back to the title screen if you click on it.


- Weirdly enough, my default crosshair is still there. It has no guns in this TC, no? Would be nice if you could remove this automatically or make a pack contains both this TC and the launcher.


- Some small creatures like bats, fish and rats are able to block me physically. The player's speed is very low, so it's quite of an annoyance.

Speaking of player's speed, can you just increase it a little? Because this TC actually has numerous backtracking and it does not goes well if the map is massive and the clues are well hidden.


- Let's talk about his sundial puzzle. You have to do the time lapse until the pointer's shadow points the yellow sun, and then the green gate opens. However you have a short amount of time to get inside or the gate would close and you have to do this all over again. There's actually a switch behind the gate that opens it, but temporarily, not completely...


- Some switches like this one are rather small and blends with the scenery, hence it makes the switch-hunt puzzle even more harder. Can you just trim the switches with some bright colors, at least?


- There are no dialogues nor the voices in this TC. But the popups with the informative text exist. Why not implement the popup even more so i actually can interact with the fairies?



- Those trees and vines look weird when i look up or down. Can you add FORCEYBILLBOARD flag to them?


- I guess this church is not big enough to contain this friendly checkpoint fairy.


- Cows go moo, right? But they would never moo!


- The 2nd map was trickier to navigate. Because some locked doors require a certain key yet they have no key signs at all. It's very important to add at least one or two clues to the problem so people won't get lost instead of actually inferring the problem.


- I see the secrets and monsters count on the automap. Is there any way to remove it? I mean, there are no monsters and secrets to find, no?

- I actually dropped the apples out of some apple trees and i have no idea what to do with them. Are they really necessary?

- I still can hear the birds chirping during the late night. I would like to hear more of realistic and immersive sound effects depends on the ambient you're in. Like if you're in a cave, echoes would play. If it's night outside, crickets would sing.

- Also one more thing. The player lacks footstep sound effects so it did not feel like i was there. Maybe i could help you with this one if you're inclined.

In the end, this TC is the true definition of endless GZDoom modding possibilities. You want to make a game with no ultra-violence but solving the mystery? Done! Making certain games are very easy in Doom. And i would like to see more person modding something like this.

[gwHero]

"Also may i show you some of my suggestions?"

Yes you may! I'm very pleased with your suggestions. Some were anticipated, but some not, so I'm happy you mentioned them. I will get back to them later with a corrected version for at least some of your remarks. Thank you, very much appreciated!

[gwHero]

New demo version 1.0.1 available for download on first post : viewtopic.php?f=19&t=59532

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This is an update for the demo version containing the first 2 maps that was released on March 14.
Changes:
- removed blocking for small creatures like bats and fish;
- player speed increased (by 10% for walking, 20% for running);
- introduced interaction Angels;
- introduced 'speak' function;
- some changes were implemented for the sundial puzzle (MAP02);
- FORCEYBILLBOARD added to Trees Firs Bushes;
- corrected placement Angel in church (MAP01);
- added small improvements in visibility for door signs & switches;
- removed possibility to drop apples from apple trees (made no sense);
- added Angel character descriptions/instructions to the info pages (read this! page 2)

[theroguemonk]

i can help spriting

just let me know

[gwHero]

Some answers to Captain J's remarks (thanks for adding them!)

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I guess the third person sprites for player is unprepared yet? Because i'm a tiny mammoth!
Correct (this is a dummy sprite). Chasecam is not supported at the moment. I'll see if I can do something about the flickering when it's activated.

- The Auto Save button disappears when you're not playing and would take you back to the title screen if you click on it.
I could not reproduce this yet. I'll check this out for a next version.

- Weirdly enough, my default crosshair is still there. It has no guns in this TC, no? Would be nice if you could remove this automatically or make a pack contains both this TC and the launcher.
I assume that you downloaded the ipk3 only and added it to an existing gzdoom folder? I don't think I can do something about that; I added set Crosshair 0 to the DEFCVARS of the game, but this did not overrule the setting if it was already was enabled for Doom itself. Of course this problem does not occur running PR from the complete package.

- Some small creatures like bats, fish and rats are able to block me physically. The player's speed is very low, so it's quite of an annoyance.
Blocking removed for these creatures.
Speaking of player's speed, can you just increase it a little? Because this TC actually has numerous backtracking and it does not goes well if the map is massive and the clues are well hidden.
A beta tester reported same complaint. I increased walking speed by 10%, and running speed by 20%.

- Let's talk about his sundial puzzle. You have to do the time lapse until the pointer's shadow points the yellow sun, and then the green gate opens. However you have a short amount of time to get inside or the gate would close and you have to do this all over again. There's actually a switch behind the gate that opens it, but temporarily, not completely...
Very good point! I redesigned this sundial puzzle in a way that the player can avoid this problem.

- Some switches like this one are rather small and blends with the scenery, hence it makes the switch-hunt puzzle even more harder. Can you just trim the switches with some bright colors, at least?
- The 2nd map was trickier to navigate. Because some locked doors require a certain key yet they have no key signs at all. It's very important to add at least one or two clues to the problem so people won't get lost instead of actually inferring the problem.
Applied some small changes on several spots that should make these kind of things a little bit less difficult.

- There are no dialogues nor the voices in this TC. But the popups with the informative text exist. Why not implement the popup even more so i actually can interact with the fairies?
This is a very good point which I had planned for a future release, so I thought why not implementing this already. Now available in version 1.0.1.

- Those trees and vines look weird when i look up or down. Can you add FORCEYBILLBOARD flag to them?
Done!

- I guess this church is not big enough to contain this friendly checkpoint fairy.
That was indeed a flaw. Corrected

- Cows go moo, right? But they would never moo!
But they are sheep Sound missing, will be corrected later.

- I see the secrets and monsters count on the automap. Is there any way to remove it? I mean, there are no monsters and secrets to find, no?
Same issue as with crosshair. In the DEFCVARS these are suppressed, but apparently this works only on a fresh installed package.

- I actually dropped the apples out of some apple trees and i have no idea what to do with them. Are they really necessary?
No. Removed this - a remnant from ideas I had applied in earlier stages of the development. Made no sense anymore.

- I still can hear the birds chirping during the late night. I would like to hear more of realistic and immersive sound effects depends on the ambient you're in. Like if you're in a cave, echoes would play. If it's night outside, crickets would sing.
Great idea, will be applied in future version.

- Also one more thing. The player lacks footstep sound effects so it did not feel like i was there. Maybe i could help you with this one if you're inclined.
Thanks for the suggestion! Had not thought about at all. I will give it a thought!