Two ideas for .64 - please review

[ellmo]

I have two ideas, that may be easy to implement (dunno, I'm not a programer, but I just suppose so):

-add a ACS COMMAND that takes the value of lightning of the current sector the player is in. We could use it later to check if the player is visible for the monsters or not (a thief like script

-add flags for ACTORS, that will make them invulnerable (no damage), or irresistable (2x damage multiplier) for specific Player weapons...

Can it be done?

[Michty]

I don't know, but assuming that damage taken is stored in variables etc, (I have not looked at an appropriate part of the zdoom source code) then it should be possible to manipulate it....

As for your first query, I think the command is possible, but I'm not sure about the visibility idea at all.....

Graf? Randy? Care to add something?

[Graf Zahl]

The damage stuff is a little problematic. There has to be a way that links each projectile's specific properties to the monsters it affects and there are currently no means to do so. With a little thought a solution may be found but it will more likely involve more than a little work...


The light could be easily added as an actor property with something like GetActorProperty(tid, APROP_Sectorlight)

[David Ferstat]

A neat idea, ellmo. Certainly adding stealth as a tactic can greatly enhance gameplay for the more realism-oriented type mod/TC.

[Sphagne]

I have suggested it before, but here it goes:

If someone adds this formula after the calculation that decides if the target is in the sight of the actor, (inside A_Look, and A_Chase), i.e. if it is not blocked by geometry, then we can have true stealth in our levels:

d < (l*l*s*v)/360000

Where:

l=(0-255)=Light value of target's sector
s=(0-255)=Actor sight
v=(0-255)=Target visibility
d=(0-25000)=Maximum visible distance between actor and target

And you can play with the value 360000 to fine tune it.

Example sights:

Actor helpers (humen) : 100
Mancubi : 110
Archviles : 125

Example visibilities:

Spectres : 50
Normal actors : 100
Lost souls : 200

Visibility suggestions:

I think blur spheres should halve the visibility factor for the duration of their effects.

Stealth monsters should have visibility of zero when they are hidden.

When the actor's sprites are full bright (shooting frames) then their visibility should be double their normal visibility.

Note: this requires that we add two properties to the actor object classes: Sight and Visiblity that are by default 100, but we could define them in DECORATE.

There would have to be an option in MAPINFO to activate this for the MAP or HUB, and we can have an option in the main menu to let the players be able to select this actor sight checking for the older levels, if they like it.

Note: there can be ACS functions to access the sight and visiblity values.

I know, I have suggested it before, but maybe it is easier to implement after DECORATE.

[Hirogen2]

The damage stuff is a little problematic.

WFDS and UT-style damage callback functions.

[Bio Hazard]

WFDS

i seriously doubt that doomscript will ever happen...

now SuperDecorate on the other hand...

i dunno... maybe randy will change the DECORATE lump to ZDMSCRPT

WFSD

[BouncyTEM]

WFDS

Who Needs Doom Script? (R)

[Macil]

-add a ACS COMMAND that takes the value of lightning of the current sector the player is in. We could use it later to check if the player is visible for the monsters or not (a thief like script

Dont u know that monsters dont need light to see???!!!

The light level could be 0 (or -999999 if DooM supported negative light) and ANY MONSTER CAN STILL SEE YOU PERFECTLY!

[wildweasel]

Agent ME: Maybe ellmo wants them to need light to see...not everybody makes their mod in the Doom universe...

[The Ultimate DooMer]

WFDS

Who Needs Doom Script? (R)

It's catching on...

[Killo Zapit]

The damage stuff is a little problematic. There has to be a way that links each projectile's specific properties to the monsters it affects and there are currently no means to do so. With a little thought a solution may be found but it will more likely involve more than a little work...

Personally I have often wished for a NOFIREDAMAGE, NOICEDAMAGE, and maybe NOPOISONDAMAGE (for hexen/strife poison projectiles) and NOLIGHTNINGDAMAGE (for some new lightning damage type flag) flags on monsters to make them immune to projectiles with those flags. After all, Fire/Ice/Poison damage already exists in ZDoom. Why not make monsters that are immune/weak verses them? Also on a related subject, with monsters it is still possible to make monsters that can only be killed by fire or ice like with breakables? (Aka, no normal death frames, just ice/fire death frames.)

[chopkinsca]

Also on a related subject, with monsters it is still possible to make monsters that can only be killed by fire or ice like with breakables? (Aka, no normal death frames, just ice/fire death frames.)

Their normal death state could just be 'GOTO see' and that should work. Maybe...
Then again, that would mean it would be running around with health in the negatives, and how that would work, I don't know.

[Killo Zapit]

With brakeables, you just don't give a death state right? I am talking like the pine tree from hexen.

[GameArena]

The damage stuff is a little problematic. There has to be a way that links each projectile's specific properties to the monsters it affects and there are currently no means to do so. With a little thought a solution may be found but it will more likely involve more than a little work...

If you just want to control damage based on a certain weapon, it wouldn't take very much work to first check whether the inflictor is a player, then check the current weapon with the corresponding weapon name. Actually matching it wouldn't be much trouble, but it would take a little work (more time than complexity) to set it up an interactive and easy to use damage system via Decorate or ACS.