Strange Aeons v5.7

[Average]

I just tried to record using Shadowplay as I have a decent Nvidia card. Loaded up the game, hit alt-F9 and... nothing. No file was in my videos folder (where it's supposed to default too. Not sure what I'm doing wrong...

[ImpieTwo]

The sprite work is awesome! Really like those dianoga-like creatures in the sewers. The guy in cloaks weilding shotguns are very cool too.

Well, all the critters in the game are from realm667 in some form or another, so I don't take credit for those. All I can take credit for are the maps and the story.

I just tried to record using Shadowplay as I have a decent Nvidia card. Loaded up the game, hit alt-F9 and... nothing. No file was in my videos folder (where it's supposed to default too. Not sure what I'm doing wrong...

If you use Bandicam, you just hit F9 to record/stop. If you're using something else, I can't help ya...

[Scripten]

Just finished playing the first episode. So far, really great overall! I love the atmosphere and the consistency of the DECORATE work, which is impressive considering that so many of the resources are from different places/people. Good eye on that. The writing is also above par, which is nice to see in a Doom mod. The levels all flow quite well and are never too long, which is refreshing. Maps that overstay their welcome make me sad. However, the final E1 map is kind of made of bullshit. Resurrecting enemies are just ridiculous, especially when they are essentially hitscan Revenants. Other than that and a few door tracks that are not unpegged in the Hallways of Insanity (?) level, I didn't see any glaring flaws.

Question: Did you ever play Cold as Hell? The first episode felt a -lot- like the end to that mod.

[ImpieTwo]

However, the final E1 map is kind of made of bullshit. Resurrecting enemies are just ridiculous, especially when they are essentially hitscan Revenants.

Oh man, you're in for a treat when you get to Episode 3 then, when the immortal skeleton minions show up. At least the Death Incarnates can be gibbed to perma-death.

Other than that and a few door tracks that are not unpegged in the Hallways of Insanity (?) level

Ah thanks for reminding me of those. I left them that way so the doors would look heavier and more mechanical, but it doesn't look quite right after all.

Question: Did you ever play Cold as Hell? The first episode felt a -lot- like the end to that mod.

I never played very far into it. Ep 4 will probably give you more flashbacks though, since it's also set in a snowy wasteland.



Thanks for the feedback! From Ep 2 and onward, the maps are a bit larger I think.

[Average]

Hey Impie. I installed Bandicam and recorded 10 minutes for you to see. I'm not sure why but the bloom effects don't seem to look as nice in the video. On my machine while playing it looks a lot nicer. Still, at least you can see how nicely the Doom64 water and nashgore WADs work with Strange Aeons.

https://youtu.be/XWgkC-noZrw

PS: I play with a controller so the movement may seem a little stilted.

[BFG]

"Even death may die" Wooo! this is friggin amazing! I love this concept.

[ImpieTwo]

Update 8/29/2015: The 4-episode-and-actual-ending-graphics edition of Strange Aeons (3.3) is uploaded to my site and ready for playing. If anyone wants to play through the whole thing and leave detailed notes, I'd be extremely grateful. Hope it doesn't disappoint.

Hey Impie. I installed Bandicam and recorded 10 minutes for you to see. I'm not sure why but the bloom effects don't seem to look as nice in the video. On my machine while playing it looks a lot nicer. Still, at least you can see how nicely the Doom64 water and nashgore WADs work with Strange Aeons.

https://youtu.be/XWgkC-noZrw

PS: I play with a controller so the movement may seem a little stilted.

Damn that hud is pretty sweet. How does the mod play with a controller? I haven't tried it myself.

[Average]

Glad to see another build. This is one of my favourite WADs to have come out for a really long time.

Yeah, the HUD is really cool. It really helps with the immersion thang. These days I can't really play Doom without it!

The mod plays well with the controller. In all honesty, I'd prefer playing with mouse but I'm old and I've got a very painful wrist. The good side is that, now that I'm used to the controller, I can lounge on the couch and play on the telly in 5.1 surround...

Have you tried playing through the mod with the Reshade package? It's really nice. Pity the video doesn't convey the subtle yet powerful (subjective) improvement.

Anyway, dude, I really like your work - I even bought your book! Looking forward to see what you do in the future.

[ImpieTwo]

Anyway, dude, I really like your work - I even bought your book! Looking forward to see what you do in the future.

Thanks man! Even though it's a nonprofit thing, I appreciate the support. Also glad you like the mod (also glad to be done with it for the most part).

[Scripten]

I'm almost at the end of the second episode. More than happy to give some feedback on it. Are the earlier maps changed in the new version or does it just add the fourth episode?

EDIT: Just finished the second episode. Overall, I didn't like it quite as much as the first. The levels were longer and more challenging, but they often didn't flow quite as nicely. Those with narrow hallways and identical rooms were the worst offenders. I wasn't keen on the new bestiary, in a lot of cases. Far too much hitscan or hitscan-equivalent danger. (There's a reason, after all, that Revenants and Arachnotrons have projectile weapons, after all.) Also, in one map, you have an instant-death teleporter trap, which should just not exist at all. Ever. That being said, the outdoor levels were very fun and I greatly enjoyed the boss battle. It was a definite improvement over the last episode's final map, IMO. Also, I noticed that in the penultimate map, there is a HOM on an untextured wall. (It's in the red skull key door, between the pedestal with the key and the path that falls into the slime. (Which you cannot escape nor can you shoot the switch, as far as I can tell.)

About to start episode three.

[ImpieTwo]

Took me a minute to realize what you meant: not the actual door that's locked via red skull, but the room WITH the red skull? You must mean the bridge that collapses. Never noticed that HOM before so thanks for pointing it out. It'll be fixed in 3.4.

I believe all the maps were tweaked for 3.3, but I can't remember now. I'm sure a few of them were. I know the final map of E1 was.

How do you mean that the levels "don't flow as nicely"? Can you be more specific, maybe comparing it to E1 for reference? Is it a matter of environmental consistency?

[Scripten]

I think it has a lot to do with the amount of distinct hallways and rooms in the interior maps. They often end up being mazes of orthogonal walls. Like I mentioned, the outdoor maps suffer significantly less, and also tend to have more vertical movement going on. E1 often pushed the player in the right direction by setting them up in front of the next goal, or at least in the general area. While by no means was E2 the worst offender I've ever seen, it did fall victim to switch hunting on occasion. Environmentally it wasn't too bad. I felt like it was mostly consistent, possibly too much so. (Though it may well be that it's more space fortresses in Doom, while the first episode was new and refreshing.) My suggestion would be to play up the ruinous or ancient environment more, since the maps didn't often feel like they were set in a crumbling technological ruin. There are certain maps from Quake 1 that managed to feel old, despite being almost entirely metal, so I would probably start looking there for comparison. (Not that I mean to tell you how to map! Feel free to disregard any of my rambling.)

[ImpieTwo]

It appears the final boss of e4 is still easily breakable in 3.3, but I THINK I fixed it. Keep checking the link in the OP for the 3.4 download.

[The Ultimate DooMer]

However, the final E1 map is kind of made of bullshit. Resurrecting enemies are just ridiculous, especially when they are essentially hitscan Revenants.

Oh man, you're in for a treat when you get to Episode 3 then, when the immortal skeleton minions show up. At least the Death Incarnates can be gibbed to perma-death.

But the skeletons are simple melee monsters that can be avoided quite easily (or taken down briefly with a couple of shells from the big piles of ammo available). The revenants are far worse because of the hitscan, and (moreso) the fact they can't be gibbed with 1 rocket...it usually takes a hit from another weapon first (and even then it can still fail in certain conditions).
They are used quite sparingly though (which is good), the only map that has any real trouble with them is the hospital. (due to low numbers of rockets and high numbers of nightmare imps)

Overall it's not a bad set of monsters, a few different things to watch out for and for the most part the balance is ok. I would cut down on the knight/cultist hitscanners though (especially in E4 where there isn't nearly enough health in some maps) and tone down the hospital a bit. (particularly with that being the first encounter with nightmare imps and black revenants)

[ImpieTwo]

Updated. Nightmares and Star Vampires are easier to kill, and E4 should have slightly more health. A few other changes as well, which I can't remember now 'cos I'm totally unprofessional.