Venturous 1.5 Release

[DoomKrakken]

-I just counted the tics on the shotgun's alt fire. It's faster than regular fire by 1 tic (35 compared to 36). I can't believe you noticed that. Its damage output, spread and rate of fire is identical to the stock Doom shotgun.

A 1-tic discrepancy across a whole second? Damn I never figured I would've noticed even that... hot damn, I'm having a hard time believing I noticed that too.

-Pistol is 33% weaker...

... but starts with more ammo, and pickups are 12 instead of 6.

-SMG rate of fire increased from 4 tics to 3, damage increased by about 40%
-MG42 damage very slightly increased
-Fixed the audio issue on the Ranseur, and sped up the alt-fire as a stop-gap
-Panzerschreck guys' health dropped from 200 to 120, movement speed and fire rate increased.
-Headshot stimpacks now give 10 health, 20 from officers

YUS

Oh wow, 200 health?! No wonder the Panzershreck soldiers were able to survive a direct rocket... :O

By the way, after downloading the updated file, I was able to blaze my way through to where I last left off since I had to restart (did another "Adventurer!" difficulty run). The SMG still feels kinda weak, but it's not useless anymore thanks to its fire rate buff. Thanks to that and the abundant amount of ammo provided for it, I can save my more useful ammo for bigger targets/crowds now.

Finally finished the game!

I've had the opportunity to give the Khopesh a spin. It's pretty weak, though maybe it's balanced by the fact that it's a ripper projectile? Even so, it's not nearly as effective as the Macuahuitl for dispatching enemies.

I also gave the Vampyr a try. It seems identical to the original submachine gun now that the original got a buff (plus the nightvision scope), so I'm thinking maybe that should actually be an upgrade to the submachine gun so that we don't have two matching weapons in the same slot? I could provide code to make that happen if you'd like...

It appears the sound issue is still present in the Incandescent Ranseur. When I looked into your code, I found that in your Hold state sequence you have the lance fire a burst of two balls, but the firing sound only plays once... and the CHANF_OVERLAP flag is not specified in that call to A_StartSound (as it uses A_PlaySound). Fair bit of warning, though... it may sound a bit ugly if you do wind up fixing it fully... but at least then it'll sound like it's consuming all that ammo.

Another suggestion would be to just have it not fire as fast. Take out the extra call to spawn another projectile. It'll be easier to manage the ammo there and the sound will actually be synced to the fire rate. Also, personally, I'd like it if these projectiles would fly faster as well.

In any case, I had a BLAST with this thing. Thanks for sharing!

[invictius]

One of the weapons just has someone come up to me and fills the hud with their boot, nothing I can do to get rid of it. Imgur doesn't upload properly for me, so: https://ibb.co/SRVcPLb

[PixelFox]

I found that in your Hold state sequence

D'oh! I tweaked FIRE but forgot to fix HOLD. I've removed the second fire and added CHANF_OVERLAP. It sounds a bit different now, but it should now really be fixed.
I'll play around with the speed of the projectile, and the Kopesh later.
What did you have in mind for the vampyr?
Thank you for playing, and thanks for the feedback!

One of the weapons just has someone come up to me and fills the hud with their boot, nothing I can do to get rid of it.

That's one of several cutscenes that have to occupy unused weapon slots, only accessible through cheats. I've now added CHEATNOTWEAPON to everything that isn't a weapon.

[ZikShadow]

Currently playing through a bit of this myself, some very nice mapping and artstyle here. The aesthetics are mostly very lovely. However, I do have a few concerns. Nitpicks perhaps, but I still noticed them nonetheless.

- I noticed that pretty much all of Venturous' sprites have an anti-aliased edge look to them, slightly blurry around the edges. Noticed it around a few textures as well in the first map. I wouldn't have minded it myself since it's consistent throughout all of the sprites in the mod, but it does clash with the unreplaced Doom sprites that all have a sharp edge to them. Any plans to sharpen them up or perhaps replace the vanilla ones?

- There also seems to be some sound quality dissonance, with some sounds that are Doom quality and some sounds that are highres. Mainly noticeable with the MP40 that sounds very different to the other weapons.

- Seems like the cutscene "weapons" don't work if a player has their autoswitch weapons settings off. Might need to force equip them through scripting.

- Muzzleflashes are all sorts of off, staying in place while the gun moves. Super noticeable with the Webley. I noticed it happening to enemies as well sometimes. It isn't an explosion that pops out from the gun, but still burning gasses leaking out of the barrel. It should still be attached to the barrel (and would likely burn out well before the barrel even rises from recoil, but that's not a problem for me). Not just that, but muzzleflashes seems to be placed haphazardly as well sometimes, with some guns having muzzleflashes pop up under or to the side of the barrel of the gun when they should be centered in the middle. Also noticed that the panzerschreck enemies only have muzzleflashes on the back of their launchers while yours have it on the front, should be on both sides.

- The lack of custom HUD is understandable, since it's a demo release of sorts, though quite missed for a mod with such a high effort. Thoughts about taking a bit of an inspiration from Indy games in the past, like Emperor's Tomb? I cobbled up one myself for my own run, but it's mainly just an edited Final Raider HUD.

[DoomKrakken]

I found that in your Hold state sequence

D'oh! I tweaked FIRE but forgot to fix HOLD. I've removed the second fire and added CHANF_OVERLAP. It sounds a bit different now, but it should now really be fixed.
I'll play around with the speed of the projectile, and the Kopesh later.
What did you have in mind for the vampyr?
Thank you for playing, and thanks for the feedback!

There are several ways to handle it. You could handle the scope as an Inventory item, which allows you to attach or detach that scope, and it'd show up as the Vampyr pickup. There's an easy way to do it in DECORATE, and a super easy way to do it in ZScript. For your sake I'll do it in DECORATE.

Here, the MP40 would handle its "Vampyr" mode as well.

---

Code: Select all

Actor MP40 : Weapon 12400
{
	Radius 32
	Scale 0.5
	Weapon.SelectionOrder 910
	Weapon.AmmoUse 1
	Weapon.AmmoGive 20
	Weapon.AmmoType "Bullets"
	Inventory.PickupMessage "Scavenged an SMG"
	Inventory.PickupSound 0
	Obituary "%o was riddled by %k's MP40."
	Decal "BulletChip"
	Inventory.Icon "HMPIA0"
	Weapon.SlotNumber 2
	Weapon.SlotPriority 7
	Tag "MP40 SMG"
	+WEAPON.MELEEWEAPON //[DoomKrakken]: I don't get it, but I'll leave it as is...
	+NOALERT
	+NOAUTOFIRE
   	States
   	{
   	Ready:
   		VAMP A 0 A_JumpIfInventory("Vampyr", 1, 2) //[DoomKrakken]: If done, this will jump to a state that copies the last displayed sprite frame.  Else it falls through to a different state to display a different sprite frame.
   		MP40 A 0
     		#### A 0 A_JumpIfInventory("VampZoom", 1, "ReadyScope")
	 	#### A 1 A_WeaponReady
     		Loop
   	ReadyScope:
    		SCOP A 1 A_WeaponReady(WRF_NOBOB)
    		Loop
   	Deselect:
     		TNT1 A 0 A_TakeInventory("VampZoom", 1)
	 	TNT1 A 0 A_TakeInventory("PowerLightAmp", 1)
     		TNT1 A 0 A_ZoomFactor(1.0)
   		VAMP A 0 A_JumpIfInventory("Vampyr", 1, 2)
   		MPRE A 0
	 	#### A 1 A_Lower
     		Wait //[DoomKrakken]: Repeats the last state in the sequence
   	Select:
   		VAMP A 0 A_JumpIfInventory("Vampyr", 1, 2)
   		MPRE A 0
    		#### E 0 A_StartSound("MPCock")
    		#### EF 2 OFFSET (0, 32)
		#### G 5 OFFSET (0, 32)
		#### HIJ 2 OFFSET (0, 32) 
 		#### A 0 A_SetCrosshair(0)
    		#### A 0 A_Raise//(20)
		Wait
   	Fire:
   		VAMP A 0 A_JumpIfInventory("Vampyr", 1, 2)
   		MP40 A 0
     		#### A 0 A_JumpIfInventory("VampZoom", 1, "FireScope")
     		#### B 1 Bright A_FireBullets (5, 4, 1, (random(7, 16)), "BulletPuff", FBF_USEAMMO|FBF_NORANDOM)
	 	#### B 0 Bright A_playsound ("MP40/Fire")
	 	#### B 0 A_AlertMonsters
     		#### B 0 A_AttachLightDef ("muzzle", "Weaponlight")
     		#### C 1 A_SetPitch (pitch - 0.4) 
     		#### DA 1 A_SetPitch (pitch + 0.2) 
     		#### A 0 A_RemoveLight("muzzle")
	 	#### A 0 A_ReFire
     		Goto Ready
   	FireScope:
		SCOP A 0  A_AttachLightDef ("muzzle", "Weaponlight")
     		SCOP A 1  A_FireBullets (7, 6, 1, (random(7, 16)), "BulletPuff", FBF_USEAMMO|FBF_NORANDOM)
	 	SCOP A 0  A_playsound ("MP40/Fire")
	 	SCOP A 0 A_AlertMonsters
		SCOP A 0 A_AttachLightDef ("muzzle", "Weaponlight")
		SCOP A 1 A_SetPitch (pitch - 0.8) 
		SCOP AA 1 A_SetPitch (pitch + 0.4) 
		SCOP A 0 A_RemoveLight("muzzle")
		SCOP A 0 A_ReFire
		Goto ReadyScope
	AltFire:
		SCOP A 1 A_SetCrosshair(8)
		SCOP A 0 A_GiveInventory("Infrared")
		SCOP A 0 A_ZoomFactor(1.2, ZOOM_INSTANT)   //Zoom in here-----------------
		SCOP A 2 A_WeaponReady(WRF_NoBob)
		SCOP A 0 A_JumpIfInventory("VampZoom", 1, "ZoomOut")
		//fallthru
	Zoom1:
		SCOP A 1 A_ZoomFactor(1.2, ZOOM_INSTANT)
		SCOP A 0 A_GiveInventory ("VampZoom", 1)
		Goto "AltFireDone"
	ZoomOut:
		SCOP A 0 A_SetCrosshair(0)
		TNT1 A 0 A_TakeInventory("PowerLightAmp", 1)
		SCOP A 0 A_ZoomFactor(1.0, ZOOM_INSTANT)
		SCOP A 0 A_TakeInventory ("VampZoom", 1)
		Goto "AltFireDone"
	AltFireDone:
		SCOP A 1 A_ReFire
		Goto "Ready"	
	Flash:
		TNT1 A 5 Bright A_Light1
		Goto LightDone
	Spawn:
		MP40 E -1
		Stop	
	}
}

Actor VampyrPickup : CustomInventory 12415
{
	States
	{
	Spawn:
		VAMP L -1
		Stop
	Pickup:
		TNT1 A 0 A_JumpIfInventory("Vampyr", 1, 3)
		TNT1 A 0 A_GiveInventory("Vampyr")
		TNT1 A 0 A_GiveInventory("MP40")
		Stop
		TNT1 A 0 A_JumpIfInventory("Bullets", 0, 2) //[DoomKrakken]: Specifying 0 here will check if you have the maximum amount (whether or not you're full).
		TNT1 A 0 A_GiveInventory("MP40")
		Stop
		TNT1 A 0
		Fail
	}
}

Actor Vampyr : Inventory {}

Also I just realized the Vampyr is capable of dealing slightly more damage than the MP40. Maybe my point is moot.

Off-topic... you ought to have the double-barreled shotgun be able to reload if you fired off only one of the barrels (and have enough ammo to load it, of course).

One of the weapons just has someone come up to me and fills the hud with their boot, nothing I can do to get rid of it.

That's one of several cutscenes that have to occupy unused weapon slots, only accessible through cheats. I've now added CHEATNOTWEAPON to everything that isn't a weapon.

Meant to mention that... glad it's getting addressed now.

One of the weapons just has someone come up to me and fills the hud with their boot, nothing I can do to get rid of it. Imgur doesn't upload properly for me, so: https://ibb.co/SRVcPLb

You used Give All, didn't you?

[PixelFox]

Any plans to sharpen them up or perhaps replace the vanilla ones?

I'd like to eventually replace the few remaining vanilla ones.

- There also seems to be some sound quality dissonance, with some sounds that are Doom quality and some sounds that are highres. Mainly noticeable with the MP40 that sounds very different to the other weapons.

I'm a quite tone deaf to audio quality issues, but certainly the MP40's sound is getting replaced first. I've never really been happy with it, but haven't found something I like better that's royalty free/CC yet.

- Seems like the cutscene "weapons" don't work if a player has their autoswitch weapons settings off. Might need to force equip them through scripting.

Thanks for mentioning this, it never occurred to me to allow for that, and it needs urgent fixing. I had a bit of trouble forcing it in ACS, but I think I've found what the issue was, so that will be addressed in the next update.

- Muzzleflashes

I'm happy to address the Webley soon, but the other sprite changes are going to have to be low priority, as that's quite a bit of work, and I'd like to focus on balance and compatibility for now.

custom HUD

Unfortunately, coding a custom HUD with bars like that is beyond my skill. I'm pretty happy with both of Doom's HUDs, especially the Alternate one as that's more or less what I would've done anyway if I had to make a custom HUD. And I don't mind if the HUD reminds players they're playing Doom, since I've always considered this a reskin more than a standalone thing.

[PixelFox]

There are several ways to handle it. You could handle the scope as an Inventory item, which allows you to attach or detach that scope, and it'd show up as the Vampyr pickup. There's an easy way to do it in DECORATE, and a super easy way to do it in ZScript. For your sake I'll do it in DECORATE.

Here, the MP40 would handle its "Vampyr" mode as well.
...
Also I just realized the Vampyr is capable of dealing slightly more damage than the MP40. Maybe my point is moot.

Awesome, thanks for taking the effort with this. Even if I end up not using it for the MP40, I'm going to save this for in case the K98 gets a sniper scope later.
The MP40 needs some rethinking to make it work with the torch, since that's also a comment that I want to address. But using it one-handed (so the other hand can hold the torch) is going to look weird, so I'm considering replacing it with something like an MP18 instead, and saving the MP40 for the Vampyr (and making that even faster).

Off-topic... you ought to have the double-barreled shotgun be able to reload if you fired off only one of the barrels (and have enough ammo to load it, of course).

It'll be the only weapon with a reload function, but I could probably figure out how to make that work.

[DoomKrakken]

Off-topic... you ought to have the double-barreled shotgun be able to reload if you fired off only one of the barrels (and have enough ammo to load it, of course).

It'll be the only weapon with a reload function, but I could probably figure out how to make that work.

Remember that GZDoom comes with its own built-in Reload key. While this key doesn't necessarily have to be used for reloading (for example, I use it for mod-swapping animations for my weapons in EOA, and PillowBlaster often uses it for switching firemodes for certain weapons in many of his own mods), it's still better than coming up with your own function for that.

To use it, simply add the WRF_ALLOWRELOAD flag in any calls to A_WeaponReady where you wish for the reload to be triggered - if the player has the key down at the moment - so that it will jump to the "Reload" state sequence.

[ZikShadow]

Something about the torches bothered me a bit during play, and I think I figured out why. A lot of times, throwing them is necessary whenever a fight occurs in dimly lit areas and I need a way to brighten up the environment to gain the visibility advantage. However, the fact that thrown torches can be destroyed accidentally if enemies waltz into them while they're midair makes doing that a bit tricky, especially since a fair amount of encounters in Venturous are in close quarters with enemies that move fairly fast.

There's also the problem that picking up torches are automatic. You can very easily accidentally pick them up in the heat of battle, taking away immediate visibility when fighting in the dark. You have to not only actively dodge the enemies you're fighting, but also the torches that you've thrown on the floor. Often times for me, it's less about lighting the nearby area to see the enemies and more throwing the torches as far away as possible from the current fighting environment to envelop the background in enough contrast to pop the enemies' silhouettes. I'm not sure if that's the intent of the torches' use.

[PixelFox]

thrown torches can be destroyed accidentally if enemies waltz into them while they're midair makes doing that a bit tricky,

To be fair, they're doing up to 100 damage to that enemy
I'm happy someone is throwing them for distant light sources. So far I haven't seen many players use them like that, and that was always the intention. In an earlier build, they were non-pickupable after thrown, but then the playtesters just saved them to use offensively, and never used them for lighting. So I had to make them collectable to encourage reuse.
That said, the mod isn't meant to be so dark that you actually need them outside of a few specific corridors in each level. Especially not in larger battles. But that's my bad. I have my sector light mode set to Standard, but it seems the default is Software, so I'll be lightening up many of the darker sectors for a future version.

[ZikShadow]

Noticed a broken bit of the pillar here in map01 that you can climb to the wall with. No clips to block the player from going through the shrubbery and edges of the map.




Also found a bit in map02 that allows you to do the same thing.




Here, too.

[PixelFox]

Thanks for this, I'll address them soon! Weird, I thought I set up Impassable/Block Player lines on all locations like these, but clearly I missed several.

[ZikShadow]

It's possible to run back out this door before it shuts behind you, since it's a bit of a slow door, softlocking the player. The only way back in would be to use the aforementioned over wall jump.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/ ... 76b0f06c57&



Unrelated, seems like the Webley has no recoil? Seems odd compared to the MP40 that's shooting a weaker round to it.

[Bigbad75]

This mod is awesome, great job.

[PixelFox]

It's possible to run back out this door before it shuts behind you, since it's a bit of a slow door, softlocking the player. The only way back in would be to use the aforementioned over wall jump.

Oops. Thank you, I'll address this.
Re the Webley, I removed its recoil because if felt off, and the sprites have a big recoil already. But you're right, it probably needs something. I'll look at that again.

Thanks Bigbad