Venturous 1.5 Release

[EvilSoran]

Thanks for the information i somehow completly missed the credits file, also did checked and i think i must have heard it in some other doom mod or maybe quake mod.

[GarethDread]

I have just upgraded from Venturous 1.3x to 1.5 - the difference is very noticeable and is a huge improvement! Thoroughly enjoying Venturous; thank you so much for your hard work! Best Doom Mod EVER!

[Colerx]

Looks very good! definteley going to play this

[PresBarackbar]

This is a seriously awesome project! It really feels like an Indiana Jones themed Doom clone that somehow got lost to time.

[Enjay]

Very nice mod.
Great to see some sprites and monsters that I have never seen before.
Nice level design, good integration of story.
Perfectly captures the "The Mummy/Indiana Jones/Tomb Raider" vibe that was intended.
Lots of fun.
Definitely worth downloading and playing.

[edit]
I finally got to the end (not because the game is long - it only took about 3.5 hours play time - but because I had other things going on). I just thought I'd drop by again to re-state how much I enjoyed this TC. I honestly think it's one of my favourites. It looks and plays really well, there is good progression throughout the levels that exist and I was surprised to be facing new, engaging, good-looking enemies and getting the chance to use new weapons right through. It took me too long to realise that the alt-fire for the dynamite gave it a short/immediate fuse, thereby making the dynamite much more usable in combat.

Fights were varied and challenging and good fun.

Everything worked - no uncompleteable bits, or missing keys or anything.

Level design is good and I like the size: each map was big enough to take some time, but not so big and sprawling as to become too long. I only really got lost once near the end (and thereby spent a bit too long wandering back and forth trying to figure out what I needed to do). To be fair, it was late at night and I was tired. So, that could have been a factor.

The look of the levels and the integration of the sprites within them was good and the game had a pretty good "everything looks like it's meant to be together" aesthetic, rather than having the jumble of styles that is very easy to create when making a TC (often necessary due to lack of resources etc).

The story is engaging and cohesive, and it's illustrated with some really nice full screen graphics between the maps. Just as welcome, the story wasn't presented in a manner that made it get in the way; it moved things along nicely rather than becoming frustrating interludes and walls of text that interrupted the gameplay.

Throughout, it was a good, fun gaming experience. I've paid money for commercial games that didn't look as good or play as well. It's hard to believe that this is PixelFox's first Doom editing outing.

There is only one very minor nitpick (and that's all it is) relating to level design and the use of keys. It was a tip that I was given years ago and, once it was pointed out, it just seemed so obvious to me. If a map is set up so that you will find a key before you find the door/switch that the key unlocks, there's actually no point in the key because, functionally, it's just the same as an unlocked door (i.e. when you come across the door for the first time, you can already open it). So, you just walk up to the door and open it. If, however, you find a door that needs a key that you don't already have, you now know that your task is to find a key and return to that door. It's not that big a deal, but there were a few places in the game where I already had a key and then came across a switch/door that needed the key I was already carrying.
[/edit]

[Ferretmanjcdenton]

How did you manage to optimise this so amazingly well?
It even allows for the usage of RELIGHTING add-on on mobile. Which is quite insane.

[PixelFox]

If a map is set up so that you will find a key before you find the door/switch that the key unlocks, there's actually no point in the key

That's a good point. I think I even know which keys you mean. And I feel like I should have been aware of this rule, since I can now recall Civvie11 also pointing it out in one of his videos. But yeah, I kinda messed that up in a few places. I think I used some keys as a way to ensure the player had to visit an out-of-the-way corner before proceeding, and not skip a section of the map. But that's using a key to address a flow problem.
I may try to move a few things around to remedy it, if there's enough other required tweaks for an 1.5.1 update.

I appreciate you taking the time to write up all the other comments. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

How did you manage to optimise this so amazingly well?
It even allows for the usage of RELIGHTING add-on on mobile. Which is quite insane.

Heh, so I saw the 'optimized' comment in a couple of other places too, and I'm really not sure why it's considered as such. I didn't know what I was doing half the time, so anything optimized is most likely accidental. The only thing I'm aware of keeping an eye on was limiting the number of dynamic lights.
I'm actually surprised it works with other mods, I was sure I'd unintentionally done stuff that would break compatibility.

[Darman Macray]

I just finished playing Version 1.5, and I have to say--As a big Indy fan--This is quite the treat.

So much creativity is on display here, from the level design, to the monsters, to the weapons, to the story. The build-engine inspiration is apparent, but I like the more earnest, straight-laced tone you've gone for in the narrative much more than Shadow Warrior or Duke's more farcical, brash and nihilistic worlds. This is a lean, mean, adventure with a ton of bite.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that I also really dig the character designs. The style reminds me of stop-motion claymation, and I'm in with love it.

I'm looking forward to seeing how the mod progresses, but as it stands with 1.5, The Great Circle has a run for its money.

[Ferretmanjcdenton]

How did you manage to optimise this so amazingly well?
It even allows for the usage of RELIGHTING add-on on mobile. Which is quite insane.

Heh, so I saw the 'optimized' comment in a couple of other places too, and I'm really not sure why it's considered as such. I didn't know what I was doing half the time, so anything optimized is most likely accidental. The only thing I'm aware of keeping an eye on was limiting the number of dynamic lights.
I'm actually surprised it works with other mods, I was sure I'd unintentionally done stuff that would break compatibility.
[/quote]


Oh nice, others noticed too? That's awesome. Yeah, relighting as an example is infamous for making a playable map unplayable. But it's to be expected since it's basically black magic being infused intravenous into John carmacks biochemical clone which comes with every iteration of doom you download.

But seriously. I was baffled. Maybe some modders could get some info on how to make what you did and optimise their awesome but hard to run games.

Also.. "cut down on lighting"? Seriously? Your mod has some of the most beautiful lighting I've seen in maps so far.

You made other mods?

I would love to welcome you on my discord/telegram. I have a few famous mod creators there and we try to have a "helpful and open for everyone who is nice" community.

[PixelFox]

You made other mods?

I would love to welcome you on my discord/telegram. I have a few famous mod creators there and we try to have a "helpful and open for everyone who is nice" community.

No other mods, no. 2 previous maps for RAMP 2021, but that's the extent of it. I only started playing Doom again in 2021, having not played it since ~1996.

I'd happily join your Discord, though you'll find I'm mostly a lurker.

[DoomKrakken]

SWEET, another episode and expanded episodes.

Gonna have to give it a try after finishing another EOA/BIOPUNCH development bout.

BTW, I forgot if this was asked already... but from where did you source the textures? Or did you make them yourself?

[artistPanda5]

I enjoyed the 1.5 update! The new levels were enjoyable, and helped tie parts of the game together a little more. I also liked that there was a small tutorial-like section explaining how to use the Machete for long jumps (I didn't figure that out for a while when I first played the mod, I never really considered that it could be used that way).

Also, I know this was around since the first version of the mod, and wasn't added in 1.5, but I like the cartoony character models that were used in this mod! I find the designs appealing.

[PixelFox]

BTW, I forgot if this was asked already... but from where did you source the textures? Or did you make them yourself?

I reckon 50 - 75% of the textures are mine. The rest are OTEX and Hexen2. Hope you enjoy the new stuff!

I enjoyed the 1.5 update! The new levels were enjoyable, and helped tie parts of the game together a little more. I also liked that there was a small tutorial-like section explaining how to use the Machete for long jumps (I didn't figure that out for a while when I first played the mod, I never really considered that it could be used that way).

Thanks! Yeah, so I've been watching just about every playthrough on Youtube to make notes, and nobody seemed to notice the machete long jump thing. It's needed to reach several secrets, but not for anything else, so I didn't draw attention to it before. But some players came up with really unexpected workarounds, like using the recoil from the jezail to throw themselves into the secret areas backwards. So I thought I'd better add a tutorial. The khopesh will do the same, btw.

Fun fact, the long jump wasn't planned. I made the machete pull you forward and into the target for combat reasons, and then only later discovered that caused a long jump.

[Cianez]

Outstanding mod!
I've been playing it in the past week. I've found some missing textures here (v1.5):
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/ ... ef117b5ab&

You should open a Discord server for this. Probably the best Doom 2 mod I've ever played so far! If this was a standalone game on Steam, I would definitely buy it!
One thing though: would you be able to make the ironsights function more responsive? It takes a bit to enable and disable it (it's a default GZDoom thing so I'm not blaming you for this of course), it would make the game more enjoyable in my opinion.

Overall, great job!

[Redneckerz]

This could be a release on its own judging by how good it looks. Does it use a lot of Doom's stock?