[WIP] Red Dawn

[Scripten]

So I've been working on and off on my first Zdoom-based wad, and I figured it was time to tell everyone on the forums about it, and maybe get a little help with continuing the work I've done, since I've hit a bit of a rut. Now, don't expect anything spectacular, as it is, of course, my first project, and is also very, very alpha-release at the moment. However, what's there works... at whatever it does.

To get to the point, Red Dawn is a survival-based Doom mod. Rather than killing all the monsters in the map and getting to the end, or even killing the monsters at all, the idea is to survive. Very few, if any, weapons are provided, and the randomly spawning monsters become more and more numerous as time goes on. Also of note are the hunger and thirst levels, as well as the clock, which controls a dynamic day-night cycle. (Streetlights come on at night, as well, as a sort of graphical [possibly gameplay] element.)

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Standard fare urban-style map with a few imps


Different perspective of the example map along with a different time of day (Also notice that I'm getting a little thirsty)


Not sure why I took this, but it's a nice picture of a pinky's mouth


Bigger monsters come through less often than smaller ones, but make life much harder


Getting supplies is generally more dangerous than anything else, but you'll die of thirst, and if you neglect it TOO much, hunger


Getting a bit too thirsty here, so I took a drink of water


Yeouch! Also, the total monster count is amazing


Just showcasing the amazing linguistics brought forth when one ingests food


And finally the climax of another tragic hero's story

And thus I bring forth my problem. I don't know what to make the goal of the game be. Just surviving is incredibly boring. The monsters aren't as aggressive as usual, as that would make the game far too hard, but this also means that finding a nice quiet corner can keep you safe for in-game days. (It took roughly ten minutes for five days to pass, as each hour is equal to six RL seconds.) It's also a bit boring to just survive, as gathering food and water lasts a reasonable amount of time. I'm considering bringing the time taken to starve and dehydrate down drastically, but if there's anything that comes to mind that might help the mod become more fun, I'm open to suggestions.

By the way, here's the current version with an intact SCRIPTS lump and all:

[Ixnatifual]

You could implement a few types of repeatable missions for the player to accomplish. One type of mission could be to rescue another survivor (perhaps he asks for help over radio). Make several random spots where the survivor can spawn, so it isn't the same place every time, but explain the general area for each spawn location so the player doesn't have to search the entire map for him. The reward for completing missions could be a higher score. Then the ultimate objective could be to have as high a score as possible before finally dying to the monsters (perhaps more monsters arrive the higher the player's score is).

Other types of missions:
- Delivery (NPC at <random safe spot*> requires 1 <random item> from <random dangerous area>. Fetch it and bring it to the NPC)
- Extermination (A special breed of <random monster> arrives in <random dangerous area>. If left unchecked these monsters will multiply rapidly. Kill them all to eliminate the danger)
- <random safe spot*> under attack by group of <random monster>. Defend the area by killing all the monsters there, hopefully before they break through and compromise the safe spot.

* A safe spot could be a barricaded building with refugees inside.

[XutaWoo]

Nash had a much similar project to this, straight to the hunger, thirst, time, and spawning monsters. Are you sure you didn't still the idea from him?

Regardless, this seems like it'd be fun when it's done.

[Snarboo]

WOLVERINES!

Er, sorry...I had to. :p

Anyway, this sounds like an interesting idea. I'm not sure how you could make the game more interesting, but sometimes surviving is its own reward. Perhaps you could create a goal system, with one large goal followed by smaller ones? Small ones could be simple things like procuring food and weapons, while the large goal could be to escape the city. You could use a hub system to make a larger city the player can wander in. This would allow for interesting puzzles, such as finding a radio in one map and a radio antenna in another.

Players would have as much time as needed to escape the city and could solve each goal in a nonlinear fashion.

Edit:
Obviously, meeting the requirements for a given goal would become more difficult as time progressed. Also, the player might need to watch his needs more closely so they don't powerhouse through the maps. Perhaps as the days get more dangerous, there could be greater rewards for waiting, such as rare weapons and items? Safe houses could also be compromised using scripts that spawn monsters in a given location should the player abuse a safe house for too long.

[DoomRater]

Definitely missions, definitely bosses every now and then.

[Nash]

Except mine was related to zombie survival... (and I didn't steal from L4D - I started mine waaaaaaay before L4D was ever heard of!)

[Scripten]

While a lot of the ideas seem a bit different, I'm seeing a lot of agreement that randomized missions are the best option. I'm really liking the idea of having the game become more difficult. Of course, having more monsters as time goes on and limited resources is a good idea. Possibly having missions that unlock more of the city would work out, so that as the player completes more missions, the level gets both larger and more difficult.

The biggest part of the mod is to allow most of it to be map independent, which I think I can do pretty well with what's been suggested. Thanks a bunch to everyone, and version 1.1 will be coming once I get the scripts written.

(Also, what's the name of this Nash survival mod? I think I recall something like that, but nothing other than model-based zombies and helicopters comes to mind and I'm interested.)

[Snarboo]

(Also, what's the name of this Nash survival mod? I think I recall something like that, but nothing other than model-based zombies and helicopters comes to mind and I'm interested.)

That actually sounds like Cutmanmike's zombie mod, which I forgot the name of.

[Scripten]

Ah... well, then I'm stumped. I have no idea what mod is being referred to. Either way, work is progressing and there should be something in the next few days if I don't end up getting obscenely lazy.

[Davidos]

Ah... well, then I'm stumped. I have no idea what mod is being referred to. Either way, work is progressing and there should be something in the next few days if I don't end up getting obscenely lazy.

... I still got a copy of that somewhere...

[Ixnatifual]

While I haven't tried it in its current edition, I'm looking forward to trying it when you've put more stuff in for the player to do, as the survival concept interests me.

[Alwique211]

Great concept. Looking foward to it being expanded and released. I've got a few ideas I'll like to give to you.
1.Gun store: Carries Hand guns, Shotguns(Super Shotguns), Clips, Shells, and Boxes of Shells
2.Pharmacy/Hospital: Carries Medikits, Stimpacks, and Health Bonuses
3.Food store: Carries Food and Water, of course
4.Houses: Carries Food, Water, Chainsaws(Oh yeah!), and A Random Weapon/item
5.Each Hub has each of these to a certain extent(just an idea )
6.Multiplayer Support
7.Player Classes: Such as Civilian, Doctor, Military, Gangster, and Biker, Etc.

Thats all I have to give right now, can probably list more as time goes on,
Good Luck Friend.