Hideous Destructor: any other "realism" mods?

[ÑóẊîöʼn]

So I was lurking on the Doomworld forums when I came across a link to the Hideous Destructor mod. It looked interesting so I thought I'd check it out.

Good grief is it hard! It slows down the pace of the game so much that the standard Doom music no longer felt appropriate, so I had to change it to the Ambient Pack. The music fits much better now.

However, I have yet to get past the first level of Doom 1. Even when taking a far more cautious approach, it's just so easy to get wiped out by even the lowliest zombieman. This is in stark contrast to the mods I'm more used to playing, including Brutal Doom, Russian Overkill and Aeons of Death. Any tips on how not to die so easily in Hideous Destructor would be appreciated!

Failing that, are there are any other "realism" mods that aren't quite so unforgiving?

[wildweasel]

I don't have links handy, but look for Caligari's authentic weapons mod (forgot the name...), Crossfire, and my Build Your Skill proof of concept mod.

[Caligari87]

Heh, I wouldn't call mine a completely "realistic" mod yet, just a more weighty and powerful feel with regard to the weapons. It's currently under the title "Shattered Tranquility" in the projects forum, although I think there's a couple bugs in the current version I haven't fixed yet, like the shotguns not using proper ammo.

[Matt]

Yes, the Ambient Pack was a surprisingly good fit for HD.

I still remember the early releases of BD where the player was slowed down and everything did crazy amounts of damage - the difficulty and feel was quite close to HD then (but with gore and fatalities and non-horrible melee combat of course).

HD was inspired in large part by Twilight Warrior so you might want to check that out if you haven't already. (Warning: Dehacked)

Weasel is being unhelpfully modest here, some of his stuff may be exactly what you're looking for.

I've heard good things about Real Guns Hardcore but I know little of it.

As for tips to survive (at least past the first canon map) in HD:

• Read the manual to make sure you are aware of all the available controls.
• Shoot first.
• Always be setting up the situation so you are the one who is shooting first.
• Don't go pistol start. The armour you get from every other class is crucial - the E1M1 armour room shotgun guys go from nearly impossible to merely difficult, and if you have a grenade launcher that goes down from merely difficult to mildly ominous.
• IDDQDIDFA your way through a couple maps and experiment a bit with the weapons and movement.
• Resist the urge to get in that one last shot when you begin to take fire, unless you are absolutely sure you will kill, stunlock or scare off your last assailant.
• Consider playing without music. Max out the # of channels in your sound settings and turn on HRTF filter to ensure that you are able to locate any locatable sound as soon as you hear it.

[mincartoon]

I think going one-man-army against the minions of Hell isn't realistic enough...

[idGamer]

WildWeasel's Accessories to Murder always felt kind of realistic to me. Maybe not to the same degree as HD, but the guns have some real kick to them, and the enemies are pretty dangerous.

Also, it's not a gameplay mod, but Cold as Hell has some very realistic combat.

[leileilol]

Marines Doom of course! (TW: deh file inside)

[Hoodlook]

Looking around, there really isn't anything comparable to the realism and tactical-ness of Hideous Destructor.