Walpurgis 1.0 (For Doom/Heretic/Hexen) [GOLD RELEASE!]

[eharper256]

And it wouldn't be right to have a video about the new Dagon's Cane without us also showing off the also new Ventus Gladii in use in Zone 400 by Paul Corfiatis, which I recently discovered came out last month. I like alot of PCorf's work, notably WoS, for its fast flowing levels, and Zone 400 doesn't dissapoint. You can get it here: https://www.doomworld.com/forum/topic/123296

[eharper256]

Just want to also bring to people's attention this Hexen WAD called Talparun that I discovered through chance browsing through Doomworld's Hexen wads, which was released completely silently last week:

Pretty good set of three levels (this shows 9 mins of the third). You can get this here:

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/level ... u/talparun

You also get to see the upgraded primary of Aestus from 0.94 in action with its faster fire-rate! (and me failing at ice-jump puzzles and everso nearly activating Fly in frustration lol).

[PresBarackbar]

Loving the update so far! I've got some feedback about Aestus and its upgrades:

As much as I adore the "snap and set your hands on fire" animation for drawing it, during gameplay it becomes a pretty noticeable drawback, especially when you consider that none of the other Mage weapons have a draw animation. I could totally see this as an intentional point of balance, but Aestus isn't more powerful than either Fulgur or Algor. I'd suggest limiting the snap animation to recovery from the flame whip (since you light your hands back on fire after expending the flame to do the attack) or make a draw animation for the other mana using spells (which would obviously be more time consuming and might not be worth the effort).

For Aestus' upgrades, I have to say that the meteor is the only one I don't like. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE shooting meteors at enemies, but the problem is that every terrain feature or piece of clutter in the Doom engine has such an enormous hitbox that I often find my meteors detonate nowhere near my intended target. Ive also had enemy projectiles set them off, and it really sucks to take a bunch of damage because the table you're standing next to detonated the meteor in your face. I'm not necessarily sure what could be done to rectify that but it definitely makes the upgrade feel a lot less useful unless you are in a super wide open area (which there aren't many of in a lot of mapsets).

[Turin Turambar]

This is a great gameplay mod, however, I noticed it can break some levels. For example, map03 from this WAD, try it
https://www.doomworld.com/forum/topic/1 ... l-megawad/

In that map, there is a series of triggers that activate upon picking a piece of armor in some places, and it seems with how you are replacing that kind of pickups, it breaks the map. I don't know if you could think of some solution to the problem.

[eharper256]

This is a great gameplay mod, however, I noticed it can break some levels. For example, map03 from this WAD, try it
https://www.doomworld.com/forum/topic/1 ... l-megawad/

In that map, there is a series of triggers that activate upon picking a piece of armor in some places, and it seems with how you are replacing that kind of pickups, it breaks the map. I don't know if you could think of some solution to the problem.

Yes, unfortunately, if the mapper takes the route of relying on a trigger on something specific like 'Picks up a Blue Armour' this mod (In fact ANY mod that replaces those items) will break that trigger. This is because Doom's namespace never allows identically named actors of different types to exist in the code unless they are direct replacements (and even then, its not really a good idea from a coding perspective). Because this mod has multiple classes, I need a variety of armour for each of them, so the mod replaces the armour with a spawner that checks the current class and then spawns the correct armour (which is actually in two pieces which silently activate because of the weirdness of Hexen's AC system) before killing itself.

There is literally nothing I can do about that. The correct way to do this in map editing is to trigger based on TID/Map ID, because this is preserved when items are replaced. So, if the map has a wall that lowers when Thing #204 is collected (even if collected via Voodoo Doll shenanigans), this will still work fine. The problem occurs if it is looking for an item specifically called "BlueArmor" by string rather than ID; as this no longer exists. I will triple check the spawner code to make sure it does maintain TID parity, but I already sanity-checked this recently in the 0.93 Hotfix (because I messed it up on a couple of monster spawners, which is what the hotfix fixed) so I don't anticipate anything wrong there. I may know a workaround that I'll investigate at some point though (no guarantees it'll work though).

Loving the update so far! I've got some feedback about Aestus and its upgrades:

As much as I adore the "snap and set your hands on fire" animation for drawing it, during gameplay it becomes a pretty noticeable drawback, especially when you consider that none of the other Mage weapons have a draw animation. I could totally see this as an intentional point of balance, but Aestus isn't more powerful than either Fulgur or Algor. I'd suggest limiting the snap animation to recovery from the flame whip (since you light your hands back on fire after expending the flame to do the attack) or make a draw animation for the other mana using spells (which would obviously be more time consuming and might not be worth the effort).

For Aestus' upgrades, I have to say that the meteor is the only one I don't like. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE shooting meteors at enemies, but the problem is that every terrain feature or piece of clutter in the Doom engine has such an enormous hitbox that I often find my meteors detonate nowhere near my intended target. Ive also had enemy projectiles set them off, and it really sucks to take a bunch of damage because the table you're standing next to detonated the meteor in your face. I'm not necessarily sure what could be done to rectify that but it definitely makes the upgrade feel a lot less useful unless you are in a super wide open area (which there aren't many of in a lot of mapsets).

Hmm, I get what you're saying with the Thanos Click; Druid Wolf-Form also has a similar issue. It's only 21 tics (slightly less than 2/3 of a second since the engine runs at 35 tics a second) but I guess every moment can help if you switch in the midst of combat. I would say that with Magister, as you are naturally squishy, you should always try to be in a safe place before switching and try to always switch between 1 and 2 and 3 (yes, switch back to Vis if you can) to optimise your mana use, which only leaves us with auto-switching. One thing I could do is make sure Algor is prioritised over Aestus on an auto-switch I guess?

Yeah, with the Meteor, it itself has a big hitbox as well. But stuff getting in the way has always been a thing since I had early issues in the 0.7 era last year with Algor's Ice Spears getting snagged on walls and the Axe's Vorpal Slash dissappering prematurely. I have previously considered reducing the hitbox size of clutter things; but I've always eventually rejected it because there are some levels that rely on things like impassible posts and torches preventing the player from skipping parts of the level (much like how you're supposed to avoid jumping in Doom).

Finally, as for it detonating when shot; that is actually an intentional feature, its supposed to be similar what an Unreal Shock Rifle does, you can detonate your own rolling stones and meteors with the primary fire!

[PresBarackbar]

Hmm, I get what you're saying with the Thanos Click; Druid Wolf-Form also has a similar issue. It's only 21 tics (slightly less than 2/3 of a second since the engine runs at 35 tics a second) but I guess every moment can help if you switch in the midst of combat. I would say that with Magister, as you are naturally squishy, you should always try to be in a safe place before switching and try to always switch between 1 and 2 and 3 (yes, switch back to Vis if you can) to optimise your mana use, which only leaves us with auto-switching. One thing I could do is make sure Algor is prioritised over Aestus on an auto-switch I guess?

It's not a problem per se it just kind of sticks out because none of the other weapons have a draw animation. It'd make sense if all of them had one, but its the only one that does.

Finally, as for it detonating when shot; that is actually an intentional feature, its supposed to be similar what an Unreal Shock Rifle does, you can detonate your own rolling stones and meteors with the primary fire!

That I didn't know, pretty cool!

[Turin Turambar]

I discovered an oversight with the new auto-use-health pickups system: it fails if you have already the max allowed (20), as it tries to pick up and then use it. So you can have 40hp, walk upon it, and nothing happens.

[eharper256]

I discovered an oversight with the new auto-use-health pickups system: it fails if you have already the max allowed (20), as it tries to pick up and then use it. So you can have 40hp, walk upon it, and nothing happens.

Yep, I was aware of this; this is actually in place to prevent infinite loops. Because when you pick up items, for whatever reason all the code in the pickup executes all-at-once in a single tic (why items do this specifically when nothing else does, I don't know and the wiki doesn't explain it other than to shrug and say it does this).

So in the case of [I have too much HP to insta-use + I have a full inventory of flasks], the smart flask dissapears and replaces itself with an old dumb flask variety. If you watch closely in this circumstance, you'll actually see the flask play the DM respawn animation on the spot. So if you then come back later with less HP, as you say, it won't insta-use, unfortunately. This is because, if I prevent the pickup and replace the smart flask with another smart flask, the pickup code will constantly execute again in an endless loop of picking up and killing itself and respawning due to that all-at-once behaviour above. Which as you imagine, hangs GZDoom. Mildly entertaining from a coding eccentricity perspective but not a fun user experience.

There might be a huge workaround, again, where I actually just drop a dummy flask thats not even an item that sets a timer and then creates a new smart flask after a while. But how long do I set the timer? 20 seconds? What if you just need it 5 seconds later? Fun times.

It's not a problem per se it just kind of sticks out because none of the other weapons have a draw animation. It'd make sense if all of them had one, but its the only one that does.

Yeah, maybe I'll make more animations, who knows. Such things are pretty low priority on the things to do list, and its a big list.

That I didn't know, pretty cool!

Not quite a remote rocket, but close enough.

[Turin Turambar]

It's ok if you still haven't implemented all the weapon upgrades and show a message instead...

...but don't consume the upgrade item!

[eharper256]

It's ok if you still haven't implemented all the weapon upgrades and show a message instead...

...but don't consume the upgrade item!

Yep, I think I've mentioned this before that I keep forgetting to implement a safeguard against this because I know not to do it myself lol.

If you've accidently done it and want your upgrade back, type

Code: Select all

summon UpgraderItem

into the console and you'll get one back in front of you.

Don't try and use the Give command, the above makes sure you get the correct item for the class.

[SallazarSpellcaster]

Been having fun with the new weapons and upgrades for Aestus.

I found a "bug"/ unintentional feature - when attacking straight down with the Ventus Gladii, you can JUMP, and I mean, JUMP so high you can hurt yourself upon falling. This is great for sequence breaking, and quite fun to do - even if it's not intentional, I'd recommend keeping it because it's quite simply, fun. Just think of a buff barbarian hitting the wind so damn hard he flies. Fun times.

[Turin Turambar]

It's ok if you still haven't implemented all the weapon upgrades and show a message instead...

...but don't consume the upgrade item!

Yep, I think I've mentioned this before that I keep forgetting to implement a safeguard against this because I know not to do it myself lol.

If you've accidently done it and want your upgrade back, type

Code: Select all

summon UpgraderItem

into the console and you'll get one back in front of you.

Don't try and use the Give command, the above makes sure you get the correct item for the class.

Thanks for the help, although I learned that actually, it's better not to use the upgrader items. To be honest, the baseline power of the classes is already higher than normal Doom (which is what I'm playing) and with the upgrade is goes even more over the top.

Oh by the way, the new druid staff shows the message saying there is no upgrades in this version, but it's a lie, you are multiplying the ice projectile by three!

[Turin Turambar]

Another possible issue: with your custom modification of enemies, the Revenant cannot fire the guided rockets. Or are super mega rare at least.

And let me extend a bit more on the balance side of things (from the perspective of Doom balance, at least). IMO, the mod needs a nerf:

Your equivalent to rocket launchers don't have splash damage that hurt you.
Some weapons are overturned (their rate of fire and pain chance means they can stunlock all non-bosses enemies)
Ammo consumption is overall low, I never had to use the ammo item for example.
a group of 4 archviles? no problem! just one application of the toxic cloud from the druid and they are dead! Seriously, the CC aspect is very interesting, but the damage in exchange should be lower. Right now it's almost better than the ultimate weapon from the Druid!
Don't forget you receive extra help as you can store and use items later from your inventory. Doom wads won't be designed around that. it isn't the biggest thing but it all compounds, together the other points. I feel items in exchange should be slightly nerfed.

[eharper256]

Another possible issue: with your custom modification of enemies, the Revenant cannot fire the guided rockets. Or are super mega rare at least.

This is inspired by the 'less annoying revenants' mod. Revenants do still fire homing rockets, but they always lose their homing after 3-5 seconds, because nobody likes homing rockets.

And let me extend a bit more on the balance side of things (from the perspective of Doom balance, at least). IMO, the mod needs a nerf.

Have you tried the various options to increase difficulty? The menu has Doomed Souls Mode and the ability to crank up the Elite Spawns if you're finding things too easy. And Walp's Difficulty 5 is harder than Doom's standard Nightmare (it gives monsters +20% HP, +10% Damage, FAST, and gives up to 2 respawns).

But ultimately a mod, like any art, is an expression of its creator, and frankly, I suck at Doom. I always play at HMP and still die at HMP, even with Walp. Especially on alot of contemporary levels which tend to favour 'big and pseudo-slaughter'. Heck, Ancient Aliens is too hard for me.

However, I appreciate that many people are better than me at it, which is why I added the sub-focus on extra difficulty with the Elite Spawns and now the aformentioned Doomed Souls mode. The goal is to allow it to range from the lower end of power fantasy mod (where Pillowblaster's awesome mods lay) up to around a similar difficulty to Vanilla (when all the difficulty enhancing stuff in enabled), and that has always been the "Design Brief" for it.

If its still not hard enough for people, Walp is happy to play with other monster alteration mods. Simply turn off Walp's monsters from the menu, and then load Colorful Hell or something later in your load order AFTER Walp.

And if you're talking about Vanilla Doom rather than custom maps... well pretty much any gameplay mod of any kind trivialises the vanilla episodes and vanilla Doom II to an extent; heck even just adding mouse-look and WASD kinda trivialises it.

Oh by the way, the new druid staff shows the message saying there is no upgrades in this version, but it's a lie, you are multiplying the ice projectile by three!

There are a couple of things that technically work like this, but they're not finished. I rather say 'its not there' than have people assume that's the final version.

Been having fun with the new weapons and upgrades for Aestus.

I found a "bug"/ unintentional feature - when attacking straight down with the Ventus Gladii, you can JUMP, and I mean, JUMP so high you can hurt yourself upon falling. This is great for sequence breaking, and quite fun to do - even if it's not intentional, I'd recommend keeping it because it's quite simply, fun. Just think of a buff barbarian hitting the wind so damn hard he flies. Fun times.

Yep, I'm aware, and its intentional: its the fun interaction of a projectile with A_Blast that erupts near the player: you can see me accidently propel myself backwards off a cliff in the Ventus Gladius Zone 400 video due to this (lol).

You can also use it to get out of a melee that's become too scary, and its kinda of a rocket jump option, so I'm okay with it being there (The Myrm's upgrade Tertiary Fire on the Gauntlets also allows a jump using the stomp attack anyway).

[Turin Turambar]

Well, I have the feeling the mod lied to me. It says:

https://i.imgur.com/VlEDX1B.png

which sounds like the changes are cosmetic and very subtle things, but taking the only enemy with guided projectiles and making them not guided is SUPER BIG change. It 'breaks' some encounters, as the author of the wad designed with the concept of guided shots in mind. Another big change I saw is Barons fight another knights and even another barons too!

I decided to turn the custom monsters off, no problem then right? Choices for everyone. Well, wrong, even with the setting OFF, I noticed the mod is still messing with the enemies. The Archvile is doing less than half the damage than originally, and with less randomness too. Uh. Shouldn't have the setting in OFF actually mean no enemy changes at all?