[WIP][Horror] Divine Frequency (Demo Updated)

[Jabronii-chan]

I like the idea of making doors standout more. I’m noticing it’s not really as big a deal in Ch2, but there is quite a few doors that don’t open in Ch1. I know BoA has golden handles for openable doors and Marisa had the map color for the door change in Soundless Mound depending on if they were openable or not. Curious if you got something similar planned. Regardless, looking forward to the changes!

[Kaaven]

Amazing mod! The atmosphere's thick as hell. It takes some time to get used to, since it's much different to most other mods, but boy it is fun.

Two things that I found myself struggling a bit is the UI - played for about two-three hours and still not sure what half of the HUD means or does (the symbols/numbers bottom right, above items - no clue). Second thing (which might be by desing, really not sure) is where to go - without a map and with no clue what my objectives or goals are, I am lost in the dark most of the time. Especially since all the graphical filters make a great job at making navigation harder. Lack of map is actually fine - works well with the theme - but maybe a note or something to describe what the player is supposed to do will probably be apprecieated.

Overall tho, one of the most creative ZD mods I played so far. Massive congrats on the scope of your vision mate!

[cryptods137]

Here's an odd glitch I found. When first launching this, if you, when dragging the pk3s onto the exe, click and hold on anything other than the Data or Sounds pk3 when you begin dragging and dropping, the launcher will report a fatal error. That might be a weird way to describe it, but hopefully you understand what I mean.

[Ghost Prototype]

@Jabronii-chan
Oh, if it's specifically an ACT-I complaint, then I can actually take the easier route without killing the atmosphere. Replacing most lock doors with brick textures. Lol.

@Kaaven
I'm going to redesign one of the Codex entry and specify what each symbols are (by also including a corresponding picture and description). But if you're still curious,
at the bottom left, going from top to bottom, it's Poison status, Radiation status, Ehkis Organ amount, and Exp-I meant Exaltation. At the bottom right going from left to right,
it's a vague description of the selected weapon, Essence amount, Oil amount, and Lockpick amount.

Also, where did you get lost at? I can add in land marks and somewhat vague notes to help point you in where you need to go. Thanks.

@cryptods137
Yeah I actually noticed that too on Icarus' stream. I'm going to try and make a .bat file and see if that resolves the issue.

[Kaaven]

I'm going to redesign one of the Codex entry and specify what each symbols are (by also including a corresponding picture and description). But if you're still curious,
at the bottom left, going from top to bottom, it's Poison status, Radiation status, Ehkis Organ amount, and Exp-I meant Exaltation. At the bottom right going from left to right,
it's a vague description of the selected weapon, Essence amount, Oil amount, and Lockpick amount.

Also, where did you get lost at? I can add in land marks and somewhat vague notes to help point you in where you need to go. Thanks.

OK, so a couple of things.
Is there any way to "use" those organs/exaltations (also there was something about runes I believe), or does that only happen at some specific point I haven't reached yet?

Second thing is that it seems I experienced a bug (caused by an oversight?). It seems I missed the room where player finds the "data box" for items and a tonic bottle. Only saw it today on the MrIcarus video - he has entries for items on the "Items" tab and can gather the blue bubbles that emanate from some objects. In my game, I have entered that room but left to search the other tunnels and never came back and for the rest of the gane had no item descriptions and did not pick the bubbles. And now in my save I have already killed the first boss and am now in the "fleshy hell" section of the Chapter 1. So yeah, not sure if that's something that should happen as it surely added a lot to my confussion

As for being lost, I never really been lost per say (except missing a super-important room apparently). More like, aimless - not really knowing what I am supposed to do next or what to expect to happen and just following the corridors pretty much at random. Even the boss fight came out of nowhere. But then again, it might be on purpose since the trippy nature of the setting... So I don't know, maybe add a note or two to create a build-up for some sections.

Still, don't want to sound too critical. The mod is insanely good, the puzzle-combat sequences are definitively a highlight and the mood is fantastic.

[Ghost Prototype]

Updated to v0.5f.
Mostly quality of life changes

---

-Revised 'resource' entry in the codex. Icons on the hud should now be less ambiguous.

-Minor map changes, locking off one area and replacing most 'stuck' or 'broken handle' doors with walls.

-Clarified how armored status is achieved.

-Created a batch file that starts up the game without having to drag nd drop .pk3 files. (Needs further testing)

[Ghost Prototype]

@kaaven
1. Yes, those things do in fact play a role later on after the first act.

2. I actually didn't expect anyone to miss that. Lol whoops, but you can open the console and do "give tonic" & "give cube". That will give you the healing tonic and fill out the item tabs in the Codex. I'll sit around and think how to attract the player's attention to that fog gate, any suggestion is also appreciated.

3. Oh, aside from a few minor tutorial objectives, the goal is to just explore really. Explore and kill bosses. Is there a way I can help hint at this better?

[kadu522]

Hello! i played this project yesterday and i was really inpressed with how well made this is but i unfortunaly ran into something that i don't really know if it is a bug or a stroke of genius.

Basicly at what i asume its the end of MAP02A. there is this weird mushroom that you give a warning if you want to eat it or not. i originaly avoided it,found the first place you can upgrade your stats then i got boddied by the boss several time then i went why not? let's take it.

And after the psychodelic mushroom trip the game just... crashes.

after that i had to use changemap to MAP02B to continue (at least until i got stuck on the next main boss. The one with loads of health,cus i could not figure out what type of enviromental damage i needed and i forgot to get rune upgrades before the point of no return)

[kadu522]

i am runing with autoautosave mod on. but i don't think that would be affecting as that is only a auto-save mod and does not affect gameplay in any way.

[Ghost Prototype]

@kadu522
Is there a way you could replicate the mushroom trip crash? I can definitely take a look and try to patch out that bug. As for the the boss with the large health pool, the way to defeat is by

---

-Having 4 Str and pushing a boulder on its head
-Having 3 Wits and poisoning the filtration device, which slowly kills it. You won't even have to fight it when it drinks the blood.
-Finding 5 runes and destroying them.
-If you still have a save before going into the boss arena, open up the console and do 'give exaltation 40000' and then 'use levelup' to get your stats up. There's no other ways to defeat it.

[Kills_Alone]

Amazing, navigating the environment is a real treat.

Still need to update to the latest release, here is the batch file I used:

Code: Select all

"C:\games\Brutal FreeDOOM\gzdoom.exe" -iwad DOOM2.wad -file DF_Maps.pk3 DF_Data.pk3 DF_Sounds.pk3 DF_Misc.pk3

The beginning cinematic sequence (just before swimming up in the water) is so quiet, seems like there should be some sound/music/distortion playing even if its barely anything at all.

I encountered a problem with the red emergency light twice. Each time it became unstuck from the player and would remain in the area I turned it on until turned off, but still the issue remained when using it again making it near impossible to navigate properly. Might want to make it more cl;ear to the player that this never runs out, also have you considered glow sticks or flares?

Kinda strange giving the shotgun first rather then a knife or the pipe wrench but this is probably on purpose so you don't load up on ammo too soon.

The small Half-Life 2 style room was a nice nod to a classic. Love when games let me break stuff like crates and walls to reveal new items or paths.

The combat; weapons feel good so far but the enemies feel so fast and powerful, even with full armor some encounters took me out before I could react. The first boss you get to follow you and such, I didn't even notice the crusher at first. The dogs worked well except the mine only killed one so I had to waste my throwable dynamite to kill the other. Then the final bosses in Act 1 were a real bitch, still not sure if there was any other way to deal with them rather then the shotgun.

Found two secrets in the first section.

Really love the level design, subtle clues, and how you used existing Doom assets in new and creative ways but never too much. If you combined some aspects of this mod with Ashes you might just have the best mod ever made. Not to take anything away from this, it is one of the most unique experiences I've ever had in a mod, I'm just not much of a Souls fan, I love the exploration but some of the combat feels far too punishing. Perhaps I'll feel different when I get a little more used to the systems at play.

[Jabronii-chan]

I seem to be having issue collecting runes in Ch2. I've tried grabbing them from all angles and its not letting me pick it up. Happened with both the Aeromancy Rune and Pyromancy rune. (I can't even leave the Pyromancy Rune arena without cheating since I cant pick it up)

Also I really really like the inclusion of the emergency light. Really nice but doesnt break the game.

[Ghost Prototype]

@Kills_Alone
-Were there no sounds playing in the water? I noticed some sounds missing using GZDoom v4.5, that's why I suggested using a fresh v4.4.2 build for the time being. But this could also be something else, could you specify further on this?

-I'm gonna look into the emergency light right now, this seems like a collision thing, maybe also add in a Codex to suggest that it can be activated indefinitely.

-The final boss in Act I is armored. Look at the Codex, I tried my best in designing the audio cues and displaying damage numbers to hint at and dissuade players from using the trenchgun. Use the handgun instead, it fires AP rounds, which defeats armored enemies with relative ease. Again, this is all stated in the Codex.

-Aside from that, thanks for playing I know this won't be everybody's cup of tea, but I'm glad you found some enjoyment out of it.

[Ghost Prototype]

@Jabronii-chan
Thanks for reporting this! I haven't received any feedback from anyone for the third map yet. I'm glad you caught this game breaking bug though. To equip those runes, you need to first have the Guardian's Blessing. There's an empty room in the cleaner parts of the 'Upper Levels' with a light switch, flip that on.

[Kills_Alone]

Forgot to mention, the very first skeleton you run passed into the portal, he died the first time I played. Not sure why, I'm guessing he fell ...? And right before that, I'm guessing that blast is to serve as a lesson of how dangerous this game is.

Regarding the pistol, armor, & the bosses, I did read about the weapons in the Codex but forgot about it by that point, hah. I was pretty distracted as the bosses do so much damage and are so fast I didn't pay attention to the hit points.

The part with the water, I heard rain but don't remember any water noises otherwise, after updating I'll be sure to check again. Oh and yes I was using GZDoom v4.4.2.