Hearts of Demons - ARACHNOTRON 0.0.2 Alpha [7/23/24]

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Brohnesorge
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Hearts of Demons - ARACHNOTRON 0.0.2 Alpha [7/23/24]

Post by Brohnesorge »

GZDoom 4.11.0 or higher recommended!
Discord Server for my mods

Download the Latest Release
GitLab Repo

GZDoom can run zips like it can pk3 or WAD, so after downloading just load it up like you would any other mod.

3000 years ago we conquered our home dimension. All intelligent life bowed to our superior technology and psionic powers. So we developed the means to conquer other dimensions. Our current campaign takes us into a so called Hell. Resistance is little, but resistance must still be crushed.

My name is Qol'thurmackquti'thresnbadad, but the demons who inhabit this land merely call me Qol. I am the apex male of my species. I am...



An Arachnotron.

My duties send me all over Hell, crushing defiant demons where I go. Hell's Demon Lords have started an invasion of a neighbor dimension on a planet called "Earth". This has only been advantageous to us. Humans have weak minds, very easily crushed and taking over by our psionic abilities and have developed ways to combat the demons we would never have dreamed of. Between my enhanced arsenal and my psionic powers, my mission is always a success.

Most Arachnotrons have lost their way, becoming too dependent on their robotic legs, being unable to even float any more. I am a rare breed, born of intense training.

My arsenal is perfect for taking out the demons who resist us. And traitors that sympathize with the demons. I need to make sure my legs are set up correctly. Main Fire fires my main weapon, and Alt fire fires my sub weapon. Zoom cycles through my Psionic Powers, and Reload casts them. Weapon State 1 is used for switching my equipped sub weapon, while Weapon State 2 is used for changing the ammo type of my guns. With my enhanced mech legs, I can pick up a second copy of most of my weapons to twin link them. Thanks to our technology, an universal ammo type was developed and as such all weapons take the same ammo.
Spoiler: My Weapons
Spoiler: My Subweapons
Spoiler: My Powers
Spoiler: Items I will find
Welcome to the early alpha of Hearts of Demons - ARACHNOTRON! This is a early release and much work has yet to be done, but I figure its time for the public to get their hands on it. Its a bit janky but perfectly functional. I don't plan on adding anymore weapons, sub weapons or powers but I do plan on a lot of cleanup and a lot of...uh...beautification.
Last edited by Brohnesorge on Mon Jul 22, 2024 11:11 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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openroadracer
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Re: Hearts of Demons - ARACHNOTRON 0.0.1 Alpha

Post by openroadracer »

So, preliminary test drive here and I'm pretty impressed. However, I notice that you don't have a Chainsaw replacement.

To which, I ask: Could you let me double up the basic "Birdeater" Plasma Repeater? It'd be fun, I think, and not let it get totally outclassed by the other weapons, especially the Black Widow Flechette Cannon.
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Re: Hearts of Demons - ARACHNOTRON 0.0.1 Alpha

Post by Brohnesorge »

You can in fact, double up the Birdeater. A second one spawns over the SSG.
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Re: Hearts of Demons - ARACHNOTRON 0.0.1 Alpha

Post by openroadracer »

Brohnesorge wrote: Thu Aug 18, 2022 9:49 pmYou can in fact, double up the Birdeater. A second one spawns over the SSG.
Yeah, I just found that out by switching from DooM 1993 to DooM II. Going to run Bourgeois DM with it, since that lets you have all weapons pretty easily.

That said, I still think a Chainsaw replacement should be made. I think some kind of electric stun prod would work. What do you think?
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Re: Hearts of Demons - ARACHNOTRON 0.0.1 Alpha

Post by Brohnesorge »

Its not a bad idea, but I just don't plan on having a chainsaw replacement for now. I'm considering it more since it's been mentioned.
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Re: Hearts of Demons - ARACHNOTRON 0.0.1 Alpha

Post by DarkkOne »

Chainsaw replacement could be a non-weapon. Maybe something basic like a psychic channeler - when it's out, the psychic powers have enhanced abilities, or something?
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Re: Hearts of Demons - ARACHNOTRON 0.0.1 Alpha

Post by openroadracer »

One thing I've noticed with this mod is that EVERY weapon that is on the map is picked up as soon as you walk over it, even if your ammo's already at max. I'd suggest having a poke around in the code of Pillowblaster's Trailblazer on how to handle weapons that can double up without making it where you always vacuum up every gun you meet.

EDIT: Alright, after more time experiencing this mod, I have to say that I'm quite impressed.

The weapons aren't as powerful as they were in Baron or Revenant, and that's fine. They're still rather overpowered vs. vanilla, but I imagine this mod is meant to go with your LEGION enemy pack.

Even in its basic, single-gun form, the Birdeater Plasma Repeater offers a high rate of fire and good accuracy. The alternate ammo is much slower firing, but I presume it's supposed to be a miniature BFG shot. Doubled up, the Birdeaters unleash a deluge of plasma fire that rips through basic enemies with ease and rapidly kills everything short of boss-tier targets.

The Recluse Plasma Caster provides a better short range effectiveness than the Birdeater, sacrificing rate of fire and accuracy for more damage. Doubled up Recluses actually do a great job of substituting over the Super Shotgun, blasting out rapid volleys of plasma great for wiping whole groups at a time. Both plasma weapons are great "workhorse" guns with strong usability even into the late game.

The Black Widow Flechette Cannon has to be my favorite weapon in the mod right now. Offering higher velocity than the two plasma weapons, it also offers a truly blistering rate of fire, ESPECIALLY when doubled up, even more so with the barbed steel projectiles of the alternate ammo. It's also a great way to just humiliate Archviles, with the hail of steel barbs stunlocking them to death.

The Vinegaroon Slug Cannon is an excellent "sniper" weapon. I mostly use it on its primary ammo mode, since explosive shots seem more useful most of the time. With it stuck to only being a single gun, however, it ultimately feels lackluster compared to the rest of the armory.

The Goliath Chaingun, honestly, twin Goliaths is just insane. It's the unholy cross between the Black Widow and the Vinegaroon, and it just trivializes boss encounters. The only thing I could suggest is maybe have a piercing round for an alternate ammo.

As far as sub-weapons go, I honestly haven't used them as much as I probably should. The Prosoma grenade salvo is good for breaking up crowds, but the upward launch angle makes it difficult to get them on target while keeping my main gun on them. The Satae rockets are much more useful to me, since they fly straight at my target. The Scorpion Tail laser just consumes too much ammo in too little time for my tastes.

Lastly, I've really not dabbled much with the Psionics. The one I've used most is Force, and that really just because I'm kinda obsessive about popping every barrel I meet. It certainly hits hard, though. That said, there seems to be an issue with using Possess and the end-of-level kill counter, as it seems Possessed enemies no longer count towards your kill total even though they're still part of the overall monster tally.

I look forward to others showing me what this four-legged cyberbrain can do.

EDIT 2: I just have to ask: Would you consider adding some "novel" upgrades to the spawn slots for the radiation suit and the light amplification visor? Because seeing those spawn spots empty is kinda weirding me out a little.
Last edited by openroadracer on Sat Aug 20, 2022 6:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Hearts of Demons - ARACHNOTRON 0.0.1 Alpha

Post by openroadracer »

If there's one thing I'd suggest, I'd actually ask if you could change the player character sprite in this mod to the DooM 64 Arachnotron sprites. Even better, Spriter's Resource has a sprite sheet of the D64 Arachnotron.

The reason I suggest this is because the original DooM II Arachnotron has a single gun, but the D64 version has twin guns. With this mod allowing you to double up all of your primary weapons except the Vinegaroon Slug Cannon, the D64 Arachnotron sprites would work nicely.
Spoiler:
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Re: Hearts of Demons - ARACHNOTRON 0.0.1 Alpha

Post by GoalDude-00 »

I didn't really expect LZDoom would run this, so I was pleasantly surprised it actually worked a-ok aside from a crash to console when I acquired another Birdeater and accidentally tapped slot 2 twice. I wasn't able to reproduce this and didn't snag a screenshot of it when it happened, sorry.

I don't expect it to remain compatible with LZDoom but it's pretty fun to just run around as an arachnotron. The rather complicated HUD perfectly captures Qol's cybernetic nature, sometimes it feels less like I'm in control of a living being and rather piloting a small mech (which is the mod's goal in a sense).

No suggestions here, this is just fun to play as it is. Excited to see what comes next. :)
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Re: Hearts of Demons - ARACHNOTRON 0.0.1 Alpha

Post by openroadracer »

I suppose something else I'd suggest is making it where the various Psionic powers, instead of being available at start, are instead found in levels as "chips" that each contain the knowledge of how to utilize the powers.

Force and Renew would still be given when you start a new game; but Mind Blast would sometimes spawn over either Shotguns or Super Shotguns, while Possess should be saved for a "power weapon" slot, like BFG slot.

Going back to the ideas about things to replace the Chainsaw, Rad Suit and Night Vision: the chainsaw could easily be replaced by a small primary ammo pickup if you're not going to put a weapon on that spawn slot; the Rad Suit could be replaced by a regular Focus Gem or some other boost to the player's Barrier; and the Night Vision could be replaced with a leg upgrade module that enables you to climb walls.
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Re: Hearts of Demons - ARACHNOTRON 0.0.1 Alpha

Post by Brohnesorge »

Funny you mention a leg upgrade, that was something I was brainstorming myself. Maybe even make it where you can leave your legs to get into a varity of different types of legs...
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Re: Hearts of Demons - ARACHNOTRON 0.0.1 Alpha

Post by openroadracer »

Brohnesorge wrote: Wed Aug 24, 2022 2:45 pmFunny you mention a leg upgrade, that was something I was brainstorming myself. Maybe even make it where you can leave your legs to get into a varity of different types of legs...
So, you got anything for that giant of a post of mine up there? It was originally going to be three separate posts.
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Re: Hearts of Demons - ARACHNOTRON 0.0.1 Alpha

Post by shaodoomkahn »

ok, now i wanna see Hearts of demons - Zombies
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Re: Hearts of Demons - ARACHNOTRON 0.0.1 Alpha

Post by AvzinElkein »

shaodoomkahn wrote: Wed Aug 24, 2022 4:29 pm ok, now i wanna see Hearts of demons - Zombies
...that better be a joke.
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Re: Hearts of Demons - ARACHNOTRON 0.0.1 Alpha

Post by openroadracer »

shaodoomkahn wrote: Wed Aug 24, 2022 4:29 pmok, now i wanna see Hearts of demons - Zombies
Actually, considering the "Imp Mage" boss enemy in Hearts of Demons: LEGION(yes, I'm going to call the enemy set that), I was honestly thinking more along the lines of Hearts of Demons: IMP.

Think about it. Use Human weapons and armor, learn spells, gain power, unlock the true potential within. Being able to combine usage of firearms and spells is already seen in Hearts of Demons: BARON, and Hearts of Demons: REVENANT used to have human guns you'd wield in your hands.

HoD: IMP would be technically somewhat similar to BARON, but the difference in the Imp's scale is what would make it different. Instead of a .50cal Ma Deuce, you'd wield an M249. Instead of a Mk.19 grenade launcher, you'd wield an M32. Maybe you'd be able to imbue the power of your spells into your guns, to make them even more powerful.

The big thing here would be the variety of spells and effects the Imp could wield. Master the elements: Fire, Ice, Lightning, Wind, Rock, maybe even Poison and/or Acid. Find ways to combine them, like using Water with Lightning to create deadly electrified puddles, or Rock with Fire to throw magma in your enemies' faces.

Of course, there's an easier way to power, but you've seen what happens to your cyborg brethren: they've lost their potential, given up their ability to use magic. But there are many Human technologies that don't require such invasive actions, things you might even be able to augment with your magics... Just be careful. No one knows what might result if you push too much Mana into the wrong piece of tech.

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