Aetherius (GZD 4.7.1) (Doom/Heretic/Hexen/Strife) [hiatus]

[Lord Misfit]

DISCLAIMER: Compatible with GZDoom, but not ZDoom (due to full-color images and GZDoom rendering effects) or Zandronum. Multiplayer will probably never be a thing for this mod. Sorry. D:

Links [Best not to make you scroll forever to find them]:

• -- Main download @ https://github.com/LordMisfit/DV-DS-ComboPack
  -- Patches for iDTech1 games download @ https://github.com/LordMisfit/DV-DS-iDTech1
  -- Compatibility Packs downloads (Bloodstain, Deus Vult 1+2, Resurgence, Scythe 2, Switcheroom) @ https://github.com/LordMisfit/DV-DS-CompatPacks
  -- Compatibility Packs downloads (Going Down, HellBound) @ https://github.com/LordMisfit/DV-DS-CompatPacks1
  -- Compatibility Packs downloads (PSXDoom, Doom64) @ https://github.com/LordMisfit/DV-DS-CompatPacks2
  -- Compatibility Packs downloads (Knee Deep in ZDoom, The City of the Damned: Apocalypse, The Ultimate Torment & Torture) @ https://github.com/LordMisfit/DV-DS-CompatPacks3
  -- Compatibility Packs downloads (Sitnalta & Starship) @ https://github.com/LordMisfit/DV-DS-CompatPacks4
  -- Compatibility Packs downloads (DUMP[1-3], Epic, Epic2) @ https://github.com/LordMisfit/DV-DS-CompatPacks5
  -- Compatibility Packs downloads (Happy Time Circus [666], Happy Time Circus 2, Hell Ground, Strange Aeons, Unloved) @ https://github.com/LordMisfit/DV-DS-CompatPacks6

SUMMARY:
Ohai there everyone. :V

You might know just a little about me. I'm that goofball who's responsible for what some have called a pretty "crazy" project that plays for Duke Nukem 3D via EDuke32. You might know about "Naferia's Reign: Invasion of the Dark Mistress", this crazy-ass RPG-FPS hybrid modification that adds features like a multiple-character [up to 15] party, enhanced enemy/player interactivity with the environments, a series of RPG-like statistics and inventory systems and whatnot, among other things. Some of you who follow Naferia's Reign might have wondered for some time, why there's been such a tiny amount of progress made on it in the last few years?

Well, see starting in late 2010 events concerning the dying of my old laptop's AC adapter basically lead me to a different and less powerful rig for a bit, where I would mess around a bit with a ZDoom mod known as "DoomSpellV2". Unfortunately the download for DoomSpellV2 came with no text documents or credits to a person, and the original download file has long since dropped off the face of the internet. [so I don't know who I can properly credit for its' existance] D:

The mod had a basic idea though: you kill monsters, get experience points and level up, and you would gain magic spells, 1-2 per level [though you only gained MP and spells, you didn't gain extra HP or other stats], and your magic "rank" changed. Etc. At the time, it was the closest mod I had to have RPG elements [before Thetis's "Wrath of Cronos" and especially Kyle873's "DoomRPG" came into the picture among others]. In a way, most of my ACS training and experience I have to thank to DoomSpellV2.

When my old laptop's AC adapter got replaced, I went back to the laptop and started to remove the hard-link "DoomSpellV2" had with Doom2's maps, and decide to try it out with a harder wad, and Huy "Doom Marine" Pham's "Deus Vult" ended up being the one I drifted to most. As I modded the DoomSpellV2 aspects, I added in more "traditional" RPG things like HP max going up on a level, as well as adding various attributes [Strength/etc], and I began to make a sort of RPG-ified version of the original Deus Vult [the seperated 4 maps, not the combined MAP05 since my old laptop wasn't that strong :V]. Thus the mod's first real "name": "Deus Vult: DoomspellV2 Edition" was made. >.>;

Keep in mind it's been about 6 years now since those initial events. The mod is no longer linked solely to Deus Vult the mapset [or it's sequel mapset as it also had been for a short time], although in it's present state, slightly modified versions of DV1 and DV2's maps come with then as "extra" episode for the Doom version, but the maps' architectures are basically unchanged [more of monster and item placement changes]. More so, two new character classes were added, a more magically oriented marine than the first class, and later when the DV2 stuff was started, a third more "pure-mage" like class, who would essentially become the "face" and main character-class of the mod itself.

So yeah, welcome to "Aetherius", formerly known during it's more beta phases of development as "Deus Vult: DoomSpellV2 Edition" [DV-DS for short].

FEATURES:

---

Three different character classes, at least for the "Doom" mode.

--- Deggaris Montegger and Illucia Hendershot: Two marine classes who use all of Doom's original weapons plus a few extra, such as akimbo pistols, a minigun, the plasma repeater, the karasawa high-energy plasma cannon, the BFG2407 alt-fire for the BFG9000, and the double-bladed chainsaw. Also updated melee combat with punches, an uppercut altfire for the punch weapon, and quick-kicking, Duke Nukem style w/ all of their weapon to get yourself out of a pinch if an annoying pinky is up in your face while you have the rocket-launcher equipped for example. Additionally, these marines have access to an extra array of magical spells, though some different based on which of the two characters you use. They also have two new classes of expendible armor to help them against the hordes of Hell.

--- Flora Briscoletti: A non marine style character considered to be the closest thing to a "pure mage/spellcaster", at least in theory. Though she indeed has the best magicial capability, and a glassy-level of durability on the surface, she has a hidden edge in close-combat [if you're brave enough] with her ruby orbbed Sceptre of Empyrea which has a very wide arc and hits for incredible damage on multiple close targets at once. Additionally the sceptre can be used as a shield to block/reflect enemy projectiles and hitscan attacks. While she lacks firearms and the armor of the marines, she has her own set of rarely-dropped PERMENANT armor that never deteriorates once collected, while not as powerful in raw defense as the highest tiers of marine armor, also give her other nice passive effects. She also has some unique weapons as the sniper-like Diaris Longbow with it's Holy arrows great for sniping rows of enemies trying to get at her, as well as some other surprises. She too also has punching/uppercutting and quick-kicks as a melee option, though no chainsaws. Additionally, she can even draw in the "Hellcore" souls of specfic hellspawn, learning how to use their own attacks against them [only natural attacks, nothing cybernetic]. (she is also playable on all gamemodes while Deggaris and Illucia are exclusive to "Doom" gamemodes)

Experience point combo chains where you can get bonus EXP for killing many monsters in a short amount of time [inspired by both "DoomRPG" and "Wrath of Cronos"]

Stat points called "Aeon Points" [which while most often gained by leveling up can also be gained through various other mini-achievements, like killing a certain # of monsters, etc] can be used to either increase individual stats short term, or can be saved up for perks [below]

A perks system that also includes character-specfic perks. Want to make Deggaris's BFG stronger, use less ammo and emit more tracers? Want to make Illucia's Karasawa rifle a faster fire-rate and more effective ripping power? Want to increase the strength of Flora's Hellcore souls and lower their "heating" at the same time? Or do you just want your character to have more HP or MP or Stamina than normal? Multiple options for perks, via an in-game menu system. [no learning skills this way though, ala Wrath of Cronos, sorry D:]

Compatibility with all official four iD-Tech1 engine games. Yeah, there's many mods like The Trailblazer, and The Guncaster of Pillowblaster's that work with multiple iD-Tech1 engine games, but "Aetherius" also has STRIFE support [like Wrath of Cronos and unlike Trailblazer], including a functional modded Sigil [something NOT in Wrath of Cronos, and thanks to the efforts of FishyClockwork for making a mod-friendly Sigil weapon which this is based on]. Granted, Flora is the only playable class in Heretic, Hexen and Strife's modes [for now, though I want to add back properly modded versions of the original characters of those games too, but that'll take a lot of time to get to :V]
IMPORTANT NOTE: Doom 1 and Heretic are also now all played as one unified game instead of in seperate episodes, due to the RPG nature of the main mod. Perhaps in a future version I'll be able to link Hexen and Deathkings as a unified game, but not yet.

A ton of versatile options for things like difficulty modifiers, perk availability, hitscans vs. tracers, BFG9000/2704 Alt-Fire mode, Monster-Lifebars/Damage Indicators, Death-Exit/Forced-Pistol-Starts, Monster-Stat-Calculations, Randomizer options, EXP/Stat multipliers, selecting a "game over" theme, etc. So you can make the game easier or harder, or mix it up.

-- Among these options includes an optional monster randomizer [yes I hear some people groaning, and others cheering like mad, but again, you can turn it off ]. However the monsters you get are based on the base species of the monster in question, so Imps aren't turning into Hell Knights or something odd like that. Also, the chance of them "evolving" into a stronger monster is partially based on your options and how far along into the game you are. Again, please note you can alter settings for these or turn the entire thing off altogether if you don't want that. And yes, a lot of the new monsters are Realm667 monsters, but I have done some actual modifications on a lot of them, so they're not just ripped off the site, plopped in and left to fend for themselves. You might find some of their new tactics a bit unexpected. Most of the new monsters are in Doom mode, but Heretic, Hexen and Strife mode also have a couple of potential new monster types as well. >.>

-- A randomized chance of some monsters going into a "stealth" state on spawn [not ZDoom style stealth, just "really transperant & hard to see like the spectre" kind of stealth, hence my quotation marks :V], making them harder to fight, for those who want more challenge. They will become more visible when attacking, damaged and dying, similar to ZDoom style stealth monsters, but light amp visors [or Night Vision spell] will also make them somewhat more visible even when they're just moving around/idle. The visibility of "stealth" monsters is also somewhat customizable [50% to 93.75% transperant]. Like randomized monster evolutions, the chances of their appearance can be altered, or even turned off as well if you don't want to deal with them.

-- Monsters in general are also able to grow stronger (in RPG-style levels like the player) based on multiple factors, such as their own Level, the difficulty level, how far into the mapset you are [specfically, the map #], among other things. Above certain levels, monsters adapt somewhat faster movement and/or different attacks, or are just more aggressive in general. If you see a group of standard Imps and one or two of them are moving around faster than the others throwing Hell Noble plasma for example, that's one such difference. This can be turned off [the alternate behavior] or on in the specialized options though.


Lot of versitility in character abilities. In addition to the RPG-system and stat gains, your characters also have special abilities that allow them to [potentially] turn around certain bad situations they get into [since monsters are generally stronger on Skill 4 and 5 (which doesn't have -fast or -respawn by default anymore) than the average player is used to)]:

-- Magic Spell Casting. Basically spells are off-hand abilities that don't take up your current weapon slot, and can be used at any time [no cooldowns for now either, might be added in eventually], as long as you have the required MP for the current spell, or as long as you've not been silenced. The "spells" tab in the in-game menus will give you information on what each spell you have does. Spells can heal, attack, give buffs, summon monsters, etc. If you hold down <ZOOM> with most projectile magic spells, that projectile will gain a seeking property and go after the closest enemy [though it might not always quite hit the target if they're above you and behind a waist high wall, for example, so make sure you ascertain if they can reach their target first].
NOTE: This requires you to bind at least three keys, for cycling the current spell, and for casting them. Basically, you need to do some key binding with this mod no matter what, and most of the required binds are at the bottom of the binds list, but some like "Weapon State 1" are closer to the top. :V

-- Quickspell Binds. You'll be able to bind up to TEN quickspell slots [I personally use the KP# buttons for each slot's keybinds, but you use from your own preferences]. Hold down <RUN> with the <KEY FOR THE SPECFIC SLOT NUMBER> to bind your currently selected spell. Press <THAT SLOT NUMBER'S KEY> on it's own to cast/fire that binded spell.
TIP: For quickspell bind keys, I personally use the KP# keys since they're easy for me to remember, but I suppose it's up to you what keys you personally want to use.

-- Dashing, in a similar manner to "Demonsteele" and The "Trailblazer". You double tap to dash, Unreal/Trailblazer style [I might make an option to toggle how you activate the dash in the future, but holding down a second button just to dash like in Demonsteele feels counter-inuitive to me x.x]. Dashing will consume a small amount of STAMINA [a bit more if you AIR-dash] do the following (things even the other two aformentioned mods don't allow their dash feature to do):
--- You become pretty much impossible to hit and damage for the dash's duration, like a "dodge" maneuver in various other games. Even works against damage-floors and crushers. :V
--- You become ghostly and can dash THROUGH obstacles, projectile-attacks and monsters. Good for if you're cornered, though be careful of stopping inside a prop [if that happens, just dash again to wiggle free]
--- Inactive monsters will not notice you while dashing, so you can dash between two sides of a corridor to avoid detection, for example.

-- Focusing Magic. Slightly based on a similar concept introduced in "DoomRPG", it allows you to speed up the regeneration of your Mana/MP, but where DoomRPG's requires you to stand in place and to hold it down a long time for a good effect, movement is still possible in conjunction with "Aetherius"'s "Focus". However, other things will happen while you use it. [NOTE: Hold down the <RUN> and <ZOOM> buttons together to Focus]
--- It was start by quadrupling your MP regeneration speed, and slowly speeding up more over time.
--- Each occurance of MP/Mana regeneration during Focusing is boosted by +25% of the normal regenerative amount.
--- However it will blind your vision with a blue hue, making it nigh-impossible to see what's going on.
--- Additionally, it will make you take FOUR TIMES MORE DAMAGE while in use, meaning you don't want to be caught with your guard down, else you'll likely get badly hurt or one-shotted while using it.
--- And while you can move, you'll be four times SLOWER than normal while using it, so you won't really be able to run away very well.
--- It will additionally drain away and basically trade your STAMINA to recover MP. You also need your stamina for dashing, most melee attacks, and psyching up [below], so choose your time to focus wisely.
--- NOTE: Your MP bar will glow blue while FOCUSing, and your Stamina bar will go into a dark purplish brown color.

-- Psyching Up. Though playfully mocked as being similar to "going Super Saiya-jin" by various observers of the effect, the concept does come from a game series where Akira Toriyama also did the character designs, so it's not completely untrue. But basically, you "Psyche Up" by charging your TENSION [NOTE: Hold down <RUN> and <USE> together to Psyche Up]. :V
--- You have multiple "levels" of Tension: Starting with the usual "5", "20", "50", and "100". However you also have three higher levels than the original series the concept comes from: "250", "500" and finally "1000".
--- Each level amplifies your damage output, defensive stats, movement speed and even the strength of healing magic by up to from 1.7x to as much as 25x (for damage output and defense specfically, speed won't be multiplied by nearly that much, else you'd have no control on your movement :V).
--- However the higher your level, the harder it is to successfully transition to the next level when your psyche bar reaches full.
--- Additionally, once you perform an attacking action, or a healing spell, your "tension timer" will count down, and it will only last a few seconds, so choose your time to attack wisely. Higher Tension levels give you a longer "timer" to work with though than lower ones. [Hint: use healing artifacts to heal without a tension effect and thus starting this timer's countdown].
--- There is also a smaller red "cooldown" bar next to your Psyche and Tension Timer bar. This fills up when you move around or when your current tension timer runs-out/disappiates. When the bar is filled in any way you will be unable to Psyche Up, as to prevent you from psyching up and moving around at the same time, or immediately doing so again for a while after Tension runs-out/disappiates.
--- Additionally an "OverPsyche" meter will begin to run up after your Tension activates. The body can't hold Tension infinitely before it starts to hurt it, but this is way less threatening at lower levels of Psyche than it is at levels beyond "100", but once the "OverPsyche" meter fills up, you'll slowly take damage until you disipate your current stock of Tension by using healing or attacking enemies.
---- NOTE: Psyching Up also drains some stamina to use.

-- Survivability Rate [SV%]. Based originally on the "Guts" mechanic in EarthBound [and also used by many other RPG mods for Doom and Duke Nukem 3D, like DoomRPG and Naferia's Reign ], this basically means you have [#]% chance to NOT DIE when otherwise hit by an attack that would do enough damage to kill you, leaving you at 1 Health/HP. Some also call it "Last Stand Chance". Whatever you call it, this is a stat in "Aetherius" and the higher it is, the better chance you can pull yourself up by your teeth. :V
--- When this happens, you'll flicket for a few moments, where you cannot be hit/damaged again, allowing you a chance to collect yourself and get the hell out of dodge if possible [or heal if you're fast enough].
--- Some "perks" also utilize this mechanic and if activated, will give you various boosts or recovery when surviving a lethal hit occurs. One example is a perk that gives the chance to auto-psyche-up to a specfic level of Tension when almost killed, for example [though those particular perks are expensive ].
--- NOTICE/WARNING: This does not block telefrag damage though, but it might also allow you to avoid a "death-exit" in maps like ones in Resurgence, etc, if it kicks in at the moment you're supposed to die, and you won't lose some of your stuff like intended by the map author.

-- Evasion Rate [AB%]. Allows you a chance to completely evade all the damage from an attack even if it appears to have hit you head on.
--- "Invisibility" spells and your ever-so-hated "BlurSpheres" will add up to an extra 33.3% Evasion when in effect [as well as making you Ghostly, Heretic style]. Basically this gives partial invisibility an extra use to offset the problem people have with circlestrafing INTO misaimed shots. :V
--- Keep in mind shots do NOT go through you though when Evasion is in effect, and for now, there's no surefire notice to indicate you evaded an attack. Bullets will still create blood impacts on you even if you "evade" the damage, etc. This will need to be tweaked in the future. Maybe "ZScript" can deal with this issue if it ever gets a "stable" release. >.>
--- NOTICE/WARNING: Also, the actual effect of Evasion taking effect is making you silently invulnerable to all damage for the tic it's active, INCLUDING death-exit and crushing damage. So this can "break" a death-exit in maps like ones in Resurgence, etc, if the Evasion happens to kick at the moment you're supposed to die, and you won't lose some of your stuff like intended by the map author.

[BIG HINT: "READ THIS" will allow you to go through all the mod's help screens (including the original help screens from the game in question), explaining a lot of these abilities, as well as statistic information, as well as special notes about Flora and her weapons, etc if you need a refresher course.]

COMPATIBILITY PACKS:

---

A slowly growing list of "Compatibility Packs" that allow "Aetherius" to be ran [close-to] flawlessly with certain mapsets and/or mods.
--- Deus Vult 1+2 [Combo pack, the original 'campaign' for "Aetherius" before it was grown to be a more-gameplay mod type of mod]
--- 10x Universal [gameplay mod by "The Zombie Killer"]
--- LegenDoomLite (v1.1) [gameplay mod by "Yholl"] [NOTE: The LDL packaged with "Aetherius" is somewhat modified to make Legendary monsters even more challenging and adds more modifiers to things like monster Defense, Speed and Mass, and also adds mod specfic drops for them to give up when they die.]
--- Happy Time Circus (both the first and the second) [Doom 2 mapset]
--- Epic [Doom 2 mapset]
--- Epic 2 [Doom 2 mapset]
--- Going Down [Doom 2 mapset]
--- Hell Ground [Doom 2 mapset]
--- Knee Deep in ZDoom [Doom 1 style mapset]
--- Resurgence [Doom 2 mapset]
--- Scythe 2 [Doom 2 mapset]
--- Switcheroom [Doom 1 mapset]
--- The City of the Damned: Apocalypse [Doom 2 map] (made by Tormentor667 and others)
--- Unloved [Doom 2 mapset] (created by "Blue Eagle")
--- Sitnalta [Heretic mapset] (made by ArgonianLord)
--- Starship [Hexen mapset] (made by
--- All three of the "DUMP" (Doom Upstart Mapping Project) projects [IMPORTANT: your inventory/stuff will no longer be reset for each map due to the RPG nature of the main mod if you play it with these projects' Compatiblity Packs though]
--- PSXDoom Mod [Doom 2 mapset]

WEAPONS:

---

- Deggaris & Illucia: (only in Doom and Doom2 game modes)
-- NOTE: This only lists their NEW weapons since these two are similar to playing as a Doom Marine already, so all of the original Doom/Doom 2's weapons apply to them.
-- NOTE: ALL weapons can be used alongside a "quick-kick" alt-fire. Hit <WEAPON STATE 1> in order to do this.

-- Martial Arts (slot 1): Main fire throws punches, alt-fire will Uppercut, and "weapon state 1" will make you throw out a stunning kick to push back enemies and stun them, or for decent damage. Berserk still has a full 10x damage effect.
NOTE: Deggaris and Illucia can make this stronger with the "Berserker Fit" perk

-- Double-Bladed Chainsaw (slot 1): Nothing too different, but more damage than the normal Chainsaw. Replaces the original chainsaw completely once found. Randomly appears where the normal chainsaw does. Is also given a 75% damage boost by Berserk now.
NOTE: Deggaris and Illucia can make this stronger with the "Berserker Fit" perk

-- Dual Pistols (slot 2): Deggaris starts with two, Illucia will have to find an extra, but it basically becomes about as good as the chaingun. Each bullet doesn't a touch more damage than the normal pistol does too.

-- Minigun (slot 4): Similar to the Skulltag/Zandronum minigun, except that it can occasionally cooldown faster than normal after a volley of shots, and each bullet has slightly more punch than the chaingun.

-- Plasma Repeater (slot 6): A sort of plasma-chaingun [hitscan] weapon that lets off a torrent of shots after a short warmup period.

-- Karasawa High Density Rifle (slot 6): A high-powered energy rifle that will bounce shredding energy shots off surfaces and through multiple enemies. (Illucia has an unique perk that can tweak the weapon too)

-- BFG2704 (slot 7): The "beta BFG" alt-fire for the BFG9000 returns. (Deggaris has an unique perk that can tweak both firing modes of the BFG as well)

- Flora: (all game modes)
-- NOTE: ALL weapons can be used alongside a "quick-kick" alt-fire. Hit <WEAPON STATE 1> in order to do this.

-- Martial Arts (slot 1): Main fire throws punches, alt-fire will Uppercut, and "weapon state 1" will make you throw out a stunning kick to push back enemies and stun them, or for decent damage. Berserk still has a full 10x damage effect.
NOTE: Flora can make this stronger with the "Martial Arts Mastery" perk

-- Sceptre of Empyrea (slot 1): Flora's primary weapon of choice, discovered in a mysterious cave on her homeworld under the care of a particular powerful deity. The sceptre is melee only, but it has multiple uses. It has more range than Flora's martial arts, and it hits multiple enemies in an arc with a single swing, dealing 275-325 damage per hit [at it's base level]. It swings a bit slow, but it also can destroy projectiles, both with it's swing, and also with the alt-fire mode, where Flora will use Stamina and MP to spin the sceptre really fast like a shield to block and deflect damn near ANY projectile or hitscan attack that goes at it (also reducing damage she receives from unprotected angles. If your sceptre's level is 2+ and Flora's level is 8+, holding down <STRAFE LEFT> and <STRAFE RIGHT> when attacking will allow Flora to do a spinning attack in a 360 degree motion. Berserk still has a full 10x damage effect, so using it with the Sceptre can be devastating even against boss-level demons, if you dare to get close.

-- Sapphire Wand(s) (slot 2): Yes, they're the same as Hexen's, but they are a magic weapon of sorts that subsititues for Flora not using a pistol-type weapon. Find a second, and you'll be able to dual-wield them. Alt-fire will fire off a three-shot burst, each shot a bit weaker and less accurate, but for a faster firing rate. Will consume MP/Mana for ammo.

-- Diaris Longbow (slot 3): A winged longbow with a prismatic, holy sheen. Fires Holy-elemental arrows in a perfect line that rip through multiple enemies, like a sniper rifle. Hold down attack to keep the bow primed and release to fire, or press alt-fire (while having an arrow primed) to dearm the arrow.
NOTE: Holding down an arrow to fire will significantly slow you down.

-- Hellcore Souls (weapon slots 4-6): Essentially Flora can temporarily collect the souls of slain Hellspawn and use their attacks against them, for a cost of it causing her soul to slowly heat up [represented by her "HLCR" meter]. Hellcore "heat" will cooldown slowly, but if you overheat yourself [HCLR goes over 100%], using a Hellcore attack will deal increasing amounts of damage to Flora [which can kill her as well]. Alt-fire will toggle the type of attack if a Hellcore soul has multiple attacks [like Bruiser Demon or Archon of Hell souls, for example].
--- Imp, Dark Imp, Cacodemon, Cacolantern and Abaddon souls are bound to slot 4
--- Hell Knight, Baron of Hell, Belphegor, Bruiser Demon, Archon of Hell and Pyro Demon souls are bound to slot 5
--- Death Incarnate, Archvile, Diabloist and Flying Balrog souls are bound to slot 6
NOTE: These are only available in "Doom" related game modes right now. Not sure if "Abysscore" souls [Heretic/Hexen style Hellcore souls] will be a thing or not in future versions. Also, right now the weapons look like a claw since the original idea was they were meant to be the limbs or eyes of the monsters but I revamped the concept to be souls instead of limbs that allow usage of the attacks and haven't gotten the proper sprites to replace them yet. :V

-- Heretic's Weapons (weapon slots 2-7): If you're playing in "Heretic" mode, Flora is basically able to use all of the game's weapons due to their magicial nature [as opposed to Doom's weapons being the kind of stuff she's unfamilar with]. With exception to the gauntlets of the necromancer, she'll be able to use these weapons, both their normal and alt-fire mode. She won't need a Tome of Power, but it will cost MP to fire off the alternate firing modes of these weapons. A couple of other surprises await with these weapons as well.

NOTE: All exertion-based melee weapons consume stamina to use, so you can't use them endlessly, though Stamina of course will regenerate.

CREDITS:

---

Original DoomspellV2 Mod
- [sadly my original files for it don't give a name, so I'm still trying to find out D:]

Current Sceptre Graphics
- LordMisfit [aka myself, who made the main graphic in PSP9 using 5-6 preset shapes ]
- Sgt. Shivers [for supplying the parts of hands and arms I put together for the gripping frames]

Current Diaris Bow graphics [placeholders]
- LilWhiteMouse [& and her mod "Chosen"]

Imp Claw/Current Hellcore Weapon graphic-placeholder
- Bouncy

Illucia's Weapon sprites (with hands)
- Sgt. Shivers [Pistol(s), Shotguns, Minigun, Chainsaws, Plasma Rifle]

Flora's Punch-Weapon Sprites
- Sgt. Shivers [Punches]
- Sgt. Shivers [Uppercut]

Flora's Kicking-Weapon Sprites
- Sgt. Shivers [Duke3D style thrust kick]

Flora's Gauntlet-Punch-Weapon Sprites
- Sgt. Shivers [Punches]
- Sgt. Shivers [Uppercut]

Flora's Dragon Claw specfic Sprites [Heretic Mode]
- Sgt. Shivers [for supplying the parts of hands/arms used to fit the claws over]

Flora's Sigil specfic Sprites [Strife Mode]
- Lord Misfit & mostly Sgt. Shivers [for "dehanding" the original sprites into a base for adding new hands onto]
- Sgt. Shivers [for supplying the actual Flora hand graphics]

SpreadSphere [3-way and 7-way] graphics
- Sgt. Shivers

"TITLEPIC" background, "CONBACK" background, "FIGHT1" borderflat
- Images commissioned by LordMisfit [me] and created by ProfessorMegaman [@ http://professormegaman.deviantart.com/ ]

Flora's poses for the different game mode TITLEPICS
- Images commissioned by LordMisfit [me] and created by ProfessorMegaman [@ http://professormegaman.deviantart.com/ ]

Flora's poses for the HELP screens
- Images commissioned by LordMisfit [me] and created by ProfessorMegaman [@ http://professormegaman.deviantart.com/ ]

Doom 1 TITLEPIC image
- GodSynthesis @ http://godsynthesis.deviantart.com/ for the background Barons of Hell
- Emortal982 @ http://emortal982.deviantart.com/ for the Spider Mastermind

Doom 2 TITLEPIC image
- Alexiuss @ http://alexiuss.deviantart.com/ for the background
- homerid @ http://homerid.deviantart.com/ for the Archvile

Heretic TITLEPIC image
- liamythesh @ http://liamythesh.deviantart.com/ for D'Sparil & for the Dome of D'Sparil images.

Hexen TITLEPIC image
- highdarktemplar @ http://highdarktemplar.deviantart.com/ for the creepy mage image.
- bloo_dkai12 @ http://bloo-dkai12.deviantart.com/

Realm667 monsters
- (All credit goes to their original creators. Check "README/CREDITS" folder)
- (Also note that pretty much ALL of these monsters have been given AI-type modifications by LordMisfit via DECORATE/ACS)

Cyberdemon & Cyber-Annihilator Stomp Attack
- Whoever actually coded the effect for Brutal Doom / Project Brutality [not actually sure if it was Sgt. Mark IV or not though, if someone can clarify for me so I can credit them proper :V]
- Whoever made the sprite edits for the Cyberdemon and the Annihilator's stomping animations [again, I don't actually know, so if someone can give me that info I can correct this :V]

Modded Sigil for Strife Patch
- FishyClockwork

Various Ideas related to melee combat [impact radius/shaking screen/etc]
- TerminusEst13 [& and his own mod DemonSteele @ http://forum.zdoom.org/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=46787 & https://github.com/TerminusEst13/Folded1000Times ]
- Combine_Kegan [& and his own mod GMOTA @ http://forum.zdoom.org/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=45115 ]

Voice of Flora/Nera
- Polly Eachus [voice files ripped from Dragon Quest Heroes]

Playtesters
- SeriousCacodemon
- ArgonianLord
- WhamNinjaMoleHill
- JohnSuitePee

Also if anyone else has playtested this and isn't afraid to tell me, lemme know and I'll add you here

DEMO VIDEO:

---

OTHER NOTES:
-- Skill 5 does not turn on fast monsters or respawning monsters by default. The mod options menu has fast access to both options though if you do want to turn either back on. Skill 5 does still make the game harder than Skill 4 in other ways though.

BAT FILE COMMAND LINES:
Assuming you have the proper subdirectories ["DV-DS-ComboPack-master", "DV-DS-CompatPacks-master" and "DV-DS-iDTech1-master" being folders within your main GZDoom folder], make bat files with the following in them [for the main game modes].

The "-master" in the directory names is assuming you're downloading the repos in zip from off the github site, not using a direct client like TortoiseGit to download them. If you are directly using a Git client, you should assume the "-master" suffix in the directories will be absent and alter the command lines accordingly.

Code: Select all

gzdoom.exe -iwad doom2.wad -file "DV-DS-ComboPack-master"

- Doom 2

Code: Select all

gzdoom.exe -iwad doom.wad -file "DV-DS-ComboPack-master"

- Doom 1

Code: Select all

gzdoom.exe -iwad heretic.wad -file "DV-DS-ComboPack-master" "DV-DS-iDTech1-master/Heretic"

- Heretic

Code: Select all

gzdoom.exe -iwad hexen.wad -file "DV-DS-ComboPack-master" "DV-DS-iDTech1-master/Hexen"

- Hexen

Code: Select all

gzdoom.exe -iwad hexdd.wad -file "DV-DS-ComboPack-master" "DV-DS-iDTech1-master/Hexen" "DV-DS-iDTech1-master\HexDD"

- Hexen [DeathKings]

Code: Select all

gzdoom.exe -iwad strife1.wad -file "DV-DS-ComboPack-master" "DV-DS-iDTech1-master/Strife"

- Strife

One other important note is if you're playing in a >4:3 ratio mode, the new HUD will look squished on startup. Go to "Aetherius Options > HUD Options > (NEW) X-Offset (>4:3 Modes)" and set it to "240" or a similar number. The value is how many pixels to the left/right the left and right ends of the HUD will be moved. This is because the new HUD is currently ACS powered (besides the inventory bar), and to be frank, ACS's "SetHudSize" function doesn't support non 4:3 modes, so I had to "cheat" to make it look right w/ larger aspect ratios by adding an extra var to alter things on the left and right sides. Sorry. x.x

WARNING: Have AUTOSAVES enabled for this project to avoid minor breakage on completely fresh death-reloads.

CHANGELOG (Since 6/16/19):

- Stealth-type magic spells replaced by "Attack/Defense/Speed Booster" spells, and "Minor/Major Invulnerability" spells removed for "Minor Fear Aura" and "Minor Raging Spirits", and Invulnerability spell is now a single late-level spell that gives 15 seconds for ~250MP per cast. (6/16/19)
- Removed "Freezing Glyph", added "Minor Time Freezer". (6/16/19)
- Damaging/Killing enemies can make sounds Q3A/QC style. This is an "Misc" option. (6/16/19)
- Damaging/Killing enemies can 'delay' the countdown speed of the EXP Combo meter, giving you more time to get more kills for a better combo. (6/16/19)

- Option for Dynamic Inventory Limits for more challenge. This limits the amount of each type of inventory item based on factors like Level, Strength, Perks, # of backpacks held), etc. Set off by default though. (6/8/18)
- Monsters and other NON-Players can now deal critical hits, both to the player and each other. The same logic [2x damage, defense ignoring, partial armor-ignoring] applies. Some monsters [i.e. Lost Souls, etc] have higher natural crit rates, but other factors affect it as well. Beware. :V (5/19/18)
- Old HUD has finally been removed. Rip Old HUD, you served your role well, but times have to move on. ;_;7 I have been considering a secondary "size" for the now-only HUD leftover, one that's smaller-ish than the current, problem is meter notches don't show properly when in smaller modes. (week of 5/13/18)
- Critical Hits retooled. Deals ~2x damage now instead of ~3x but now ignores the defenses of the monster hit with them [more ZScript related tweaks]. (Oct 1, 2017)
- "Missed!" now shows on the [new] HUD when you successfully evade an attack [this was the intended case with the evasion mechanic, but I had to use ZScript+ACS in junction to finally make the notice appear recently.] (Sept 28-29, 2017)
- "The Ultimate Torment & Torture" compatibility pack added, based on "The Ultimate Torment & Torture: Supportive Edition" [@ viewtopic.php?f=42&t=57854 ] (Sep 13, 2017)
- Massive update to AI in CompatPacks and Idgames1 repositories. This means monsters in Heretic/Hexen/Strife/other mapsets can use Crisis attacks, etc. (Aug 28, 2017)
- Mod is now prepackaged with GZDoom 2.3.2 [it was 2.3.0 before] :V (Jan 29, 2017)
- New "Tracer Speed [Multiplier]" option to alter the velocity of bullet-tracers. Also tracers' have their default speed doubled [160 from 80]
- Minor tweak to sceptre main attack that should stop possible view jumps when hitting particularly wider enemies. [Hopefully, thanks to SeriousCacodemon for finding this] :V
- Added "Quickspell" display options for both HUDs. (Suggestion by AdmiralAjax)


I'll probably have to update this post in the future with a changelog, and other pieces of relevant information.

Also though I expect the odd critique of my ideas or choice of characters or weapons [NR's gotten various critique of various nature in my past], I'd still appreciate constructive criticism [instead of things like "lol y u suck man" :V] Not that I expect too many people [outside of my beta testers] to give much care about this mod anyways. Gotta freely admit there are many other fast-paced like gameplay mods like Demonsteele or GMOTA people can be playing to instead of this "crappy" mod. Not that I won't admit it'd feel good to know this mod gets interest from some people.

[AdmiralAjax]

Been playing this a bit and it's been pretty interesting so far.

By the way, what option gets rid of the quickspells on the right side of the screen? I don't use those so they take up some space on the screen.

[Lord Misfit]

Been playing this a bit and it's been pretty interesting so far.

By the way, what option gets rid of the quickspells on the right side of the screen? I don't use those so they take up some space on the screen.

If the quickspells are on the right side of the screen, you must be using the old-style hud. The new style HUD [the one that probably should be used], will have the Quickspells in icon form in a bar on the bottom left instead. Check "Aetherius Options > HUD Options" and toggle to what you want. You can't currently get rid of the quickspell bar in new-style HUD or the list of the right in the old-style. I'd recommended binding quickspells personally, since you'll never know when you'll need them. Perhaps I'll consider an option to make Quickspell displays optional though.

EDIT: I added options in the HUD Options menu for displaying Quickspell stuff recently, along with fixing a view-adjustment issue with the Sceptre's main attack hit.

[PlayerLin]

Okay...I'm admit I just forgot your NR:IotDM since you didn't reporting your progress anymore on duke4.net...
Maybe I sure find some time to try it again...

I love the mod supports all games on the same engine so I can try a lot of different maps/themes with the mod, nice try!

Since I already played NR years ago so I already get used to the mess of HUD shit but I like the DQH-like one(even I didn't played DQH), oh and the level up music, lovin' it. xD
(And the custom death music, seriosly? lol)

Normally I won't play a mage-based character as I prefer melee/gun ones but Flora just made an exception for me, powerful, can easy take down those low-tier monsters but also can get her killed easily...(I tend to rush into enemies so the result always so bad, poor Flora. ) But her spells also powerful so I guess it's fine...I just needed stop try to rushing and save a lot.

I see you put a lot of effort on your mod, even may not everyone would like it but I think you do nice job.

EDIT: Just ask, do you have plan to bring more character into this mod? Even I guess you already have balance problems with the 3 characters now, I'm fine with these 3 ones so just ask.

[Lord Misfit]

Long time no see PlayerLin, I do remember you from NR. Maybe I'll try to do more work on it in the future, but as you've seen, this has been the focus of my modding time lately. :V

Also thanks for your thoughts on this. And yeah, she was made to be a bit subversive of the usual "mage" trope, having a strong close range weapon that encourages taking risks in close range, and also allowing you to shield yourself with it from the front with the alt-fire [except from Railgun attacks] :V

Granted, don't forget to try out the other two classes in Doom mode and see how they play too when you got time.

EDIT: Missed your edit, so to answer: I want to have Corvus, and the other player characters from the other game modes available for their proper modes, but that might be a long time away. Also, no multi-character party shinanigans like NR. GZDoom might have some way these days to do it, but that's not the intent of the mod this time.

[PlayerLin]

Also thanks for your thoughts on this. And yeah, she was made to be a bit subversive of the usual "mage" trope, having a strong close range weapon that encourages taking risks in close range, and also allowing you to shield yourself with it from the front with the alt-fire [except from Railgun attacks] :V

Yeah, the alt-fire shield does nice job when deal with powerful enemies but I always forgot it needed MP, doh!

Granted, don't forget to try out the other two classes in Doom mode and see how they play too when you got time.

I know, I will try them after I tired with Flora, but I guess it's not that fast yet. lol

EDIT: Missed your edit, so to answer: I want to have Corvus, and the other player characters from the other game modes available for their proper modes, but that might be a long time away. Also, no multi-character party shinanigans like NR. GZDoom might have some way these days to do it, but that's not the intent of the mod this time.

Sounds good, and I'm sure we don't needed other NR mod again, that one is enough.

--

I think the HUD(DQH or the old one both) could shows some level statistics like kills/items/secrets, also I think the current spell icon and those stat values on the right side of it can move to the right side of screen since I think it's a little crowded with rest of char. stats...
And I'm not sure if that's GZDooM's limitation or something, the item list window isn't visible on HUD(DQH or old one both), at least on DooM/DooM2/Final DooM, I have to go automap or alt HUD to see that, which is a little annoying. (Not sure with Heretic/Hexen/Strife, not play with those IWADs yet)

[Lord Misfit]

I think the HUD(DQH or the old one both) could shows some level statistics like kills/items/secrets, also I think the current spell icon and those stat values on the right side of it can move to the right side of screen since I think it's a little crowded with rest of char. stats...
And I'm not sure if that's GZDooM's limitation or something, the item list window isn't visible on HUD(DQH or old one both), at least on DooM/DooM2/Final DooM, I have to go automap or alt HUD to see that, which is a little annoying. (Not sure with Heretic/Hexen/Strife, not play with those IWADs yet)

If you're talking about the inventory item bar, yeah... the thing to understand is the new HUD is pretty much all ACS-coded, except for the inventory bar, which is still governed by SBARINFO. ACS doesn't have options to track what inventory item you have selected or display an inventory bar of it's own [as far as I'm currently aware, if there is a way to do this via ACS, someone please let me know], so you have to rely on the SBARINFO version. I think if you toggle the hud size [usually "-/_" and "=/+" keys], you can make the bar show, but depending on your screensize, the bar might be small or large. Again, out of my control, due to the inventory bar being linked with SBARINFO and not ACS like I'd want it to.

As for tallies. I considered it, but I'm not sure if I really want to show those unless they're made optional [also GZDoom's "automap options" can allow you to see item counts in the automap view as well]. And the reason the bottom left has all the real-estate is because it's similar to the DQH style of hud as you mentioned in your first post. Moving that stuff over to the right side would feel off at this point. >.>

[PlayerLin]

Since I only play 800x600 on DooM in most of time, so the Alt-HUD would be fine for that inventory window, I understand the DQH style HUD does like the one in the DQH game so I think it's OK.

I wonder if you ever considering to do a SBARINFO version of new HUD for this mod, but I can think it would be a lot of works...so maybe I can just stick on the ACS ones. :\
(Suggest about "tallies" just due the new HUD covered GZDooM's build-in AltHUD so I can't see them, doh! )

[Lord Misfit]

Unfortunately, SBARINFO doesn't have a lot of the options to allow me to make a proper and faithful recreation of the ACS status bar, so that's probably not going to happen. :\

[Doctrine Gamer]

I wanted to try but I got lost and I made a error in the long list of commands for shortcuts [my fail] but by the videos it is perceived that it is a great job.

[Wivicer]

My only complaint is that the HUD (I'm using the DQ-Style HUD) seems a little intrusive. I feel like some of the elements could be spread out a bit more.

[Lord Misfit]

My only complaint is that the HUD (I'm using the DQ-Style HUD) seems a little intrusive. I feel like some of the elements could be spread out a bit more.

While I'm not sure this will happen any time soon, it does help to know some specifics about what might need to move around [besides the fact the item/inventory bar is SBARINFO-controlled as opposed to the DQH-hud's ACS control] so I have a better idea of what to consider moving around. I won't outright say no if I can get some good suggestions, but I also don't want to start moving stuff to the top of the screen either because of normal game messages and all being up there.

[Wivicer]

Right. My first suggestion would be to move the indicator for selected spell to above the character portrait on the left side of the screen. While it's not technically in the way where it is, it feels like it's intruding on the center where I'm aiming. If that makes any sense.

Edit: I'm dumb

[PlayerLin]

Unfortunately, SBARINFO doesn't have a lot of the options to allow me to make a proper and faithful recreation of the ACS status bar, so that's probably not going to happen. :\

Not a problem any more, since after I posted that suggest and then I saw this thread by Graf Zahl...well, maybe the new "ZSCRIPTBAR" will be better option for you.

While I'm not sure this will happen any time soon, it does help to know some specifics about what might need to move around [besides the fact the item/inventory bar is SBARINFO-controlled as opposed to the DQH-hud's ACS control] so I have a better idea of what to consider moving around. I won't outright say no if I can get some good suggestions, but I also don't want to start moving stuff to the top of the screen either because of normal game messages and all being up there.

While I agree your reasons, I still feel like if I can have more "customize options" about the new HUD...but it's up to you to do or not.

I noticed the there are 5 of portrait PNGs for Flora in graphic data, but I checked those related codes but only found 2 of them actually using, I'm not sure I missed something and I didn't get how the game choose them...?

[Lord Misfit]

Well, wivicer and I talked more about his particular issue, and I found it that he hadn't yet tried out the "(NEW) X-Offset (>4:3 Modes)" in the Mod's HUD options. In effect, it bumps both sides of the HUD [#]px to the left or right [the left side of the HUD goes more left, the right side goes more right, assuming positive values are used]. I use "240" myself. The HUD, being it currently uses ACS, uses "SetHudSize(1440,1080,0);" but since SetHudSize cannot use non 4:3 aspect ratios right, the basic intent is that the HUD is meant to be for 1080p [though it'll still scale down properly on lesser resolutions like my wacky-ass 1424x801 I use.], and if you want it to be at the full ends of the screen assuming 1920x1080, that option I mentioned should be ~240, :V


Also yeah, there's a few extra portraits of her in there. Ideally, I'd like to have a more mugshot-equse portrait in the future where the characters react like in the classic mugshot to getting hit, grabbing items, etc, or special reactions to specific buffs and/or debuffs, but art isn't cheap, and I'm saving $ for a new rig soon, so I can't commission from my usual guy that does some of those arts of her at the moment.