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[NAM] Tangerine Edition 1.1

Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2022 4:13 am
by ZikShadow



DESCRIPTION:

For the longest time I've had an interest in a fair number of Vietnam War-based videogames. It's not everyday you see a videogame depicting a war where the protagonist (usually a US soldier, though there are some with NVA/Vietcong ones) inevitably loses at some point. Naturally as a result a game like NAM caught my attention not too long ago when I was informed of its existence.

I tried playing it for 10 minutes, and promptly quit the game. It wasn't an enjoyable experience.

NAM is a game that strives to kick the player in the shins but often times without giving the player a chance to kick some shins themselves. And even without that in mind, it's dead obvious that the development team for this game had barely anything at all to work with. It looks and sounds like a glorified DN3D mod, trying too hard to be "realistic" without acknowledging the limitations of the engine and how it can severely affect one's enjoyment, giving barely any thoughts whether or not the experience is even remotely fair. Yes, I know, war is unfair, but videogames should be. To name all my grievances would be to write several paragraphs worth of basically the list below, so if you wanna know my list of complaints, imagine the list entries but they weren't implemented.

I was immensely annoyed with this game in many aspects, but at the same time I also find myself enjoying it in others. Which is why I decided out of the blue to start figuring out Build Engine modding from scratch in order to cobble up this little addon. Now, I will say, it's not much. I'm no expert Build modder, literally just started tinkering with stuff a few days ago. Don't expect a full remake of NAM or anything, but the changes here have made my experience with the game go so much better, enough for me to finish the game, and I figured I might as well release it for interested parties.

Now, about that list:

LIST OF CHANGES:
Spoiler:
Regarding installation, the way I play the mod is by putting the .zip from the .7z in the same folder as Raze (don't extract the .zip), making a shortcut of Raze and then adding `-con z_NAM_tweaks.CON -file z_NAM_tweaks.zip` to the end of the Target line. I think it might work as well for sourceports like EDuke32, but I haven't tested thoroughly. This addon was pretty much made with Raze as the played port.


DOWNLOAD:

The Stench of Tangerine in the Afternoon


SCREENSHOTS:
Spoiler:

VIDEOS:
Spoiler:

CREDITS:

- Mod Author : ZikShadow
- Helped in Figuring Out Stuff : Victorious_Games
- 99% of New Sounds : Heart of Evil Team
- Flamethrower Sound : Valve
- Handed the M16 : JoeyTD
- Removed the M16's wheel and lines : ChopBlock223
- Boots : 3D Realms
- M14 : TNT Team
- Menu Photo : Nightdive (taken from GOG page)
- E1 End Photo : iStock
- E2 End Photo : Pexels
- Map Tally Photo : Getty Images
- Loadscreen Photo : 123RF

Re: [NAM] Tangerine Edition

Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2022 4:59 am
by Graf Zahl
I'm gonna try this out when I'm back home. I always felt that NAM still has potential but requires quite a bit of fine tuning to get there.

Re: [NAM] Tangerine Edition 1.1

Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2022 2:06 pm
by ZikShadow


Updated the addon with more stuff. Enough for 1.1, atleast.

Code: Select all

LIST OF CHANGES (1.1):

- Replaced the 4:3 menu stuff. Maybe not the intro, but everything from the episode end screen all the way to the help and credits screen are wide, now. Photos are replaced entirely with existing text modified on to be more concluding.
- Edited the looping cricket sound not have that incessant popping. Tried looping it a bit better.
- Weapon pickup sounds re-added. No player lines like in DN3D, just used the ammo pickup sound.
- Replaced the VC voices with ones from HoE. Not the Engrish ones, heavens no. Death sounds are less pronounced so they sound less uniform when you're strafing a group with the M60.
- Changed the emplacement system so you don't lose your ammobox the moment you stray a centimeter away from the emplacement. Changing carry item still does, though.
- Changed Equipment to Carry to shorten the text and allow me to expand the text a bit to inform players that some items could be used by crawling and hitting use at the same time.
- Modified both mounted M2HB and M60 sprites to lose the ammo belt. Considering you need an ammobox to use them in the first place, it'd be weird to see some ammo still in the gun.
- Modified M79 projectile to not look so oval thanks to just reusing the grenade sprites. Might have an effect on M16 mine cluster sprites as well.
- Modified US ammoboxes to have bold yellow letters and those high-low top covers compared to VC crates. The mortar ammobox in particular is now wooden.
- Modified Ithaca 37 view sprites to have the other half of the hand under the pump instead of above. Should be consistent with how Alan holds the gun.

Re: [NAM] Tangerine Edition 1.1

Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2022 10:38 am
by DannyMan
This mod and its improvements sounds nice, but can we have old sounds as an optional thing?

Re: [NAM] Tangerine Edition 1.1

Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2022 1:29 pm
by ZikShadow
You can have the old sounds again by opening up the .zip, removing all the wavs, and then removing all the references to the .wavs in the .def file (you can crack that open with any text editor). I've made sure to categorize the lot in the .def file for easy sorting and removing if need be.

Might wanna keep everything that has the DS_ prefix however 'cause that's the sound enemies use when they're firing at a distance, unless you want that gone as well.

Re: [NAM] Tangerine Edition 1.1

Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2022 7:09 pm
by DannyMan
ZikShadow wrote: Mon Aug 08, 2022 1:29 pm You can have the old sounds again by opening up the .zip, removing all the wavs, and then removing all the references to the .wavs in the .def file (you can crack that open with any text editor). I've made sure to categorize the lot in the .def file for easy sorting and removing if need be.

Might wanna keep everything that has the DS_ prefix however 'cause that's the sound enemies use when they're firing at a distance, unless you want that gone as well.
Alrighty then, it makes sense now. Have fun developing the promising mod, might play it one day.

Re: [NAM] Tangerine Edition 1.1

Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2022 1:09 am
by ZikShadow


Updated the mod to add one tiny thing. Not big enough for a version change, but enough for me to jam it in to 1.1 anyways.
The M16A1's carry handle in OG NAM used to be completely filled in, a bit of an oddity when you're used to the knowledge that it houses the rear sight of the gun. Decided to try adding the ol' thing back. ChopBlock223 helped with removing the wheels and lines to make it even more like an A1. Don't expect a completely faithful-to-the-artstyle addition, I lack the skills required to replicate that 90s 3D model look, but I'd like to think it's a decent enough change.

Re: [NAM] Tangerine Edition 1.1

Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2022 3:35 am
by Panzermann11
Will a similar mod be made for WWII GI aswell?

Re: [NAM] Tangerine Edition 1.1

Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2022 11:30 am
by ZikShadow
Haven't played WWIIGI yet. Maybe when I get around to it and encounter things I'm not too fond of.

Re: [NAM] Tangerine Edition 1.1

Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2022 5:34 pm
by irukanjji
Is this compatible with Raze and BuildGDX ?

Re: [NAM] Tangerine Edition 1.1

Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2022 10:16 am
by ZikShadow
It is made with Raze in mind, and since I'm not using any fancy languages aside from the already included CON, it theoretically should be compatible with other sourceports. I haven't tested with BuildGDX, though.