[1.2.20] Codename: DEMOLITIONIST

[Marisa the Magician]

What is Codename: DEMOLITIONIST?

Back in my old days of UT modding, there was this mod series called SWWM (which stands for Some Weird Weapons Mod). It featured all sorts of wacky weapons, and all was fun... until one day I grew tired of modding that game and working with its janky engine. Now, what does that have to do with this? Well, I'm basically returning to those roots, kind of, and this mod is here as a spiritual successor to that series.

This mod's arsenal is a "best of" of many of my older weapons from the SWWM series, along with other minor mods I made (or didn't make at all), revised and remastered, with all-new visuals and extra features that I couldn't make back then. It also features... a cute main character!

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The titular Demolitionist is a combat robot manufactured by Akari Labs, a robotics company from Kasukabe, Japan. It was designed to defend humanity from potential threats, which of course includes the currently invading demonic force on Earth. You play as the first unit, lovingly nicknamed "Demo-chan" by Akari Labs co-founder Saya Miyamoto, freshly deployed on the US to fight the demons that "those stinky idiots from the UAC" brought with them. There is much to say about this whole setting, but I don't want to rant about lore here, this ain't the right place.

Anyway, before we continue, there's some important things that must be mentioned:

DISCLAIMERS

This mod features loud sounds and flashing lights, which may be harmful to certain people. There are options to dampen some of these effects, but it may still be unsafe nonetheless. Furthermore, the UI design and color schemes of the mod may be problematic to people with color blindness. Certain elements such as healthbars and various numbers could potentially become hard to see under some conditions. GZDoom has sliders for controlling not just brightness, contrast and gamma, but also color saturation, which may be of some help.

The characters and stories featured in this mod are part of my own personal lore. Any similarities to real world individuals or events are entirely coincidental or, in some cases, loosely referential.

The mod’s overarching story and themes often tackle topics of world politics, economy, human rights and others. No work of fiction is free of politics, especially those that reflect the author’s own beliefs. If you feel discomfort from political views opposite to your own, this may not be for you (especially if you’re right-leaning/conservative).

The mod is rated 16+, due to frequent use of foul language and off-handed mentions of sex in the story. While not directly featuring any explicit content (please be wary of the official "side materials" posted on my social media), you must be warned: The mod IS horny (and so am I, as its author).

Now... let's talk about all the stuff in the mod.

The HUD

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Hopefully not very intrusive, and giving all the information you could need. What you're carryin', what you're wearin', how close you and your enemies are to dyin', how much damage you dealin'... all that stuff. As you can see at the bottom, the Demolitionist kinda likes to talk a bit, but don't worry, if you don't like that, you can toggle the voice acting in the options menu. Speaking of options, a lot of stuff in there is configurable, so be sure to check it out, oh and don't forget too to bind important things, as there are some very much needed actions in this mod, such as quick melee attacks, tertiary/quaternary fires, a dedicated dash button... and the Demolitionist Menu:

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One of the most interesting parts of this mod. You can access this menu whenever, and check on various things, such as the current mission (which changes depending on the IWAD you're playing), various player stats (e.g.: travel distances, damage dealt, highest score, etc.), your current inventory (from which you can directly use/drop items you have, including ammo and weapons), your carried keys, a store to buy stuff with your score points... and most importantly, THE LIBRARY: A compendium of DEEP LORE for everything you find, and much much more, including information about various characters and organizations, locations, etc. There is A LOT you can read in here, to immerse yourself into the madness that is me attempting to connect Doom lore with my own. If you don't know how to move around in this menu, you can always press F1 for a nice help screen showing the controls.

Anyway, enough talking about this stuff, let's get to the goodies.

The Weapons

In order to do the demon slayin', you've got a whole lot of fun guns at your disposition. Most weapons have at least two fire modes, some others may have more. All weapons also have a melee attack, so you can punch or bash enemies that get too close. I won't be going much into the nitty-gritty details of each one, you can just check the library in the menu when you pick one up if you want more info.

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Explodium Gun - Slot 2 (from SWWM series)
Your starter weapon. Fires deadly explosive bullets, has infinite ammo (but you still have to reload). As a rather interesting altfire, you will throw the currently loaded mag as a grenade. Watch out for the splash damage! Can be dual wielded if you find (or buy) a second one. Note that the explosive reload can't be used while dual wielding, and instead altfire just shoots the offhand gun.


"Deep Impact" Airblaster - Slot 1 (from SWWM series)
Your second starter. This is mainly a crowd control weapon, its primary fire shoots puffs of compressed air that push away enemies in front of you, it is generally very effective. Also has infinite ammo, but you need to reload it too, it's not like that air tank is going to last forever, you know. For its altfire, you require a full tank, because you're going to shoot ALL of that into one big supercompressed air bullet shot at supersonic speeds, that will tear through most enemies with ease and clear the way in whatever crowded corridor you find yourself in.


"Pusher" Rotary Hammer - Slot 1 (from Ultra Suite 2, unreleased)
The chainsaw replacement. Tenderize your enemies with this powerful drilling tool. Needs no ammo or reloading, just hold the trigger. Altfire will charge a very strong and mighty thrust, for when the enemy's just too hard to crack. Keep in mind that unless you have an actual target to hit, the weapon might slip off, becoming a dangerous projectile.


"Rhino Stopper" Spreadgun - Slot 3 (from Instant Action 3)
A single-shot 6Ga shotgun that replaces the usual shotty. Compatible with all sorts of ammo types, from typical things such as buckshot and slugs, to some more exciting things such as dragon's breath, flechettes, lead balls, plasma, and even the very rare and super-powerful "golden shell". The Spreadgun is a bit awkward to use, especially with how it's reloaded, but you'll find it to be a very trusty companion. Altfire doesn't do much beyond selecting the next ammo type to load.


"Wallbuster" Heavy Armor Breaching Shotgun - Slot 4 (from Total Destruction, unreleased)
An absolute beast of a gun that only someone clearly insane could have devised. Replaces the Super Shotgun and makes it feel like a toy in comparison. The Wallbuster sports 25 barrels of busting action, and has THREE fire modes, depending on how many barrels you want to shoot. One? Five? All of them? Why the hell not! Due to some safety regulations, it is not compatible with "dangerous" ammo types, but everything else is fair game. The weapon reloads in a rather complicated manner, but thankfully the Demolitionist is equipped with a rapid reload routine that will automate the process once you've queued all the ammo through a dedicated menu. True to its name, it can also be used to bust open certain things, such as locked doors, provided you deal enough damage in one shot.


"Eviscerator" High Load Flechette Cannon - Slot 5 (from SWWM series)
Replacing the chaingun is this pain dealer. A curtain of steaming hot metal that will tear all your enemies to shreds (and also yourself if you're not careful). Altfire does what one would expect: just like its cousin the Flak Cannon, fire an explosive shell that will deal the pain somewhere far away from you. Needs no reloading due to its internal magazine feeding directly off your Hammerspace storage. Tertiary fire toggles between wide and tight spread for the primary.


"Hellblazer" Rocket Launcher - Slot 6 (from SWWM series)
Replaces the ol' rocket boi. This puppy shoots small bombs as either rockets or grenades. It has four different ammo type options, whether you want to go the traditional bomby way, you want a cluster of even smaller bombs to be yeeted all over, you want to set the world on fire, or you just want to nuke 'em all. Ammos are selectable in a similar way as with the Spreadgun, but through the tertiary fire button.


Model S-5 Biospark Carbine, aka "Sparkster" - Slot 7 (from SWWM and UnSX series)
One of the two Plasma Rifle replacements. This ancient alien weapon shoots powerful balls and beams of energy with minor heatseeking capabilities. It can also be combo'd like a certain other energy weapon of similar characteristics. Has an extra fire mode that requires at least a half-full mag, and makes a very bigass spark pop up and chase after nearby enemies, frying them good.


Silver Bullet JET - Slot 8 (from Ultra Suite 3, unreleased)
The other Plasma Rifle replacer. A very big gun, which shoots very big bullets. Needs a bunch of jet propelled recoil compensators just so you don't break every bone in your body shooting it, that's how hardcore it is. Also has a scope, so you can blast things from far away. Primary ammo can penetrate multiple targets, and even go through some walls, although it will lose effectiveness as it pierces through. Secondary ammo (which is more rare) explodes real hard all over the place, blasting cleanly through walls, but cannot penetrate multiple targets.


"Taste The Sweetness" Candy Gun - Slot 9 (from Weirdweapons, unreleased)
One of the two BFG replacements. Do not be deceived, this may just look like a recolor of your starting pistol, but it is VERY powerful. It is an Explodium Gun high af on hard candy and pop rocks, and will absolutely destroy your enemies. You may notice that you can carry multiple copies of this gun, and there's a reason for that. If you quickly hold primary fire in the first few moments of altfiring... you will throw the WHOLE DAMN GUN, armed and ready for a DEADLY FIREWORKS FESTIVAL.


Ynykron Artifact - Slot 0 (from SWWM Platinum and UnSX series)
And here it is, the biggest gun that has ever gunned. The second BFG replacer. The deadly death cannon of deathness, the Ynykron Artifact, was devised by a mad god many millions of years ago, as a weapon meant for waging war against other deities. Any mortal entity struck by it is instantly vaporized, as if smitten by the wrath of a fierce god, and will spread this effect around in a chain reaction of insta-die. What you see here, though, is only a replica of the real thing, but it's still hella powerful. In fact, this one additionally has a very unsafe and very not recommended alternate fire mode, which I ask you not to use, at all, please don't.

The Items

What else to have too than some handy little items to pick up and use. Important note: Most of the stuff here can be held in your inventory as "spares", including health and armor, and also powerups don't activate automatically, except healing ones when you take damage.

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Health/Armor nuggets
These replace the ol' bonuses. Do pretty much what you'd expect.


Health geodesics
Tetrahedrons and cubes. Replace stimpacks and medikits, also do the usual.


Blast Suit / War Armor
The two armors. You can wear both at the same time, each of them has their own benefits, but generally both of them provide VERY GOOD protection.


Refresher
Bigass boost of 100HP, and on top of that also gives you some regeneration for a short while. Autoactivates when taking lethal damage.


Grilled Cheese Sandwich
This delicious treat gives you 1000HP and full armor, and is guaranteed to ALWAYS prevent you from dying if it autoactivates on lethal damage.


Ghost Artifact
Very good invisibility, much better than that damn Blursphere that can STILL somehow let enemies see you even if you stand perfectly still and make no sound.


Elemental Coating
Just a straight Radsuit reskin. Makes things look very green though.


Gravity Suppressor
Available on Heretic and Hexen. Turns the game into Descent, for a limited time. If you feel sick you can disable the 6DOF movement in the options.


Safety Tether
Available on Heretic and Hexen. A Chaos Device reskin at heart, but with some extra oomph.


Fuckin' Invinciball
Makes you fucking invincible. 'nuff said.


Ragekit
Amplifies your speed, reduces damage taken, and octuples all damage from your melee attacks. Also makes you scream... a lot.


Mykradvo Artifact
The unexpected return of a SWWM Platinum powerup. The Mykradvo ("Vengeful Heart"), also known as "The Great Anomaly" is an orb of magic energy that will send tendrils of incandescent plasma towards any visible enemies in a 100m radius. This stuff is hella useful when surrounded, so think of it as a sort of "panic button".


Divine Sprite
Another returning gem (heh), but bigger and badder. The Divine Sprite grants you a constant superheal up to 10,000 HP for a whole minute. It's not invincibility, so you can still die if you take a gazillion damage out of nowhere, but hey, it lasts pretty long. Do keep in mind that unlike other health items, it does not auto-activate.


Devastation Sigil
More familiar faces around here. Feel like the Ragekit isn't strong enough? Want to truly exterminate everything with extreme prejudice? Well, this lil' thing is for you, then. Providing a whopping 25x multiplier to ALL damage dealt, you've got slightly less than a minute to obliterate it all. And if that isn't enough, it can even combine with the Ragekit for some pretty serious punching (fortunately this won't make your hair fall off, as you don't have any, you're a robot).


Lämp
A very pretty light that follows you around. May attract moths.


Omnisight Mapping Unit
Works like the computer map, but also highlights on your hud where keys and exits are.


Hammerspace Embiggener
Embiggens your ammo storage capacity (factors are relative to each ammo type, rather than being a flat multiplier). You can do this a total of 8 times, afterwards they will only give some ammo.


Universal Ammo Fabricator
Available when playing Hexen. These lil' things will manufacture ammo on the fly for your weapons. They come in several tiers, each with a different budget and available materials. The highest one, which replaces the Krater of Might, is the only one that can give ammo for slot 8 and 9 weapons.

Requirements / Compatibility

GZDoom 4.8pre-371-gf1d017d0f or later is required. You can find Windows devbuilds here. For Linux, it's easier to build from source, (or install the gzdoom-git AUR package if you're on Arch).

This mod uses 3D models and shaders, so hardware rendering is essential. It WILL NOT WORK in software. In addition, shaders DO NOT WORK in the GLES backend, so use OpenGL or Vulkan (the latter is recommended for best performance). If you experience stuttering when models first load, please enable the "Precache GL Textures" option and restart the game.

Hardware requirements? Well, it's recommended to have a fairly fast CPU (core count is irrelevant), ideally over 3GHz. In terms of graphics, I develop and test everything for a GTX 1060, so there's that. This mod makes heavy use of various visual features, and it's fairly heavy on moving parts as well. Scalability is a problem too, you WILL definitely need something powerful to run this with high-end maps.

The mod is compatible with Doom, Heretic and Hexen (as a matter of fact, the overarching story advances in relation to the IWAD played, as a trilogy of sorts). There is also additional special compatibility for No Rest for the Living, Eviternity and Deathkings of the Dark Citadel. TNT and Plutonia will not have any special plot changes, as the Demolitionist's involvement in these campaigns would be non-canon. Support for Sunder and Ultimate Doom 2 (as an alternative to vanilla Doom 2) has been planned once they are finished.

Other mods that have been tested to complement nicely are LegenDoom Lite, Corruption Cards, and various monster packs including Colourful Hell, DoomRL Monsters and Rampancy among others. There are many mapsets that suit this nicely, usually those of the slaughtery kind, or those that feature large open spaces.

Where do I get this?

You can head over to the GitHub page for the code and clone it from there, or... you can get any of the pre-packaged builds linked below ("latest" is always up-to-date with current git master, while "development" contains stuff that is heavily WIP, and isn't recommended unless you want to follow that sort of thing closely).

NOTE: Please PLEASE make sure the mod is up to date before reporting bugs. I am tired of getting reports for things that have already been fixed.

• latest
• development

• 1.2.20

• changelog

Extras

Glowing tag recolors (texture edit, because this can't be made scriptable yet):

• Blue (very blue)
• Cyan (very sky)
• Dragonfly (very fitting for Eviternity)
• Gold (more like brass, but whatever)
• Green (the default)
• Magenta (opposite of green)
• Orange (kinda Hellblazer-ish)
• Peach (Kirin's favorite flavor)
• Pink (like the Candygun)
• Purple (personal favorite #2)
• Red (not pure RGB red, but still good)
• Violet (personal favorite #1)
• White (handy as a template)
• Yellow (ohhhh, banana)

Updates and Whatnot

There is much planned for this mod looking forward. I want to basically make of it my "big thing" that I'll spend most of my efforts in. Sure, there may be other projects, including some potential "side mods" featuring other characters, but THIS will be the big one.

Now that all the hassles of cleanups and improvements from the 1.2 are out of the way, the road is open to additional weapons. There's so much more of this world's varied weaponry that I want to feature here, and I'm certain there is a very glaring lack of dakka around, so expect some mighty bullet hoses to fall onto Demo-chan's hands in the future. Additional weapons will share slots with existing ones, requiring you to swap what already is there, dramatically changing the dynamics of your loadout. And what else would there be after that? Well, I do have some crazy ideas that could work, maybe. Some finishing touches to crown the "final stage" of the mod's development. Stuff that's hard to do, so I'm of course leaving it for last.

Now, if you want to stay in touch about the mod's development (e.g.: if you'd like to give more direct feedback and whatnot) you can go visit this wonderful discord server, where many other cool mods by some of my friends have their own channels too.

As usual, if you like my work and want to help me keep doing what I do, please consider supporting me on Patreon.

[affandede]

Played this for just five minutes and I must say, this is one of the most unique mods I've ever played. With the usual wacky quality from Marrub to boot.

[fakemai]

Did a couple of required features not make it into current (3.85) LZDoom? Fails to load there with things related to loading fonts.

Code: Select all • Expand view

Script error, ":fonts/tewishaded/font.inf" line 2: Expected identifier but got integer constant '7' instead.

Less normal is it segfaults after clicking the error away too.

[Marisa the Magician]

I guess so. Glyph sheet fonts don't seem to be implemented in it.

[Bodhisattva]

The starting pistol is supposed to be OP for the sake of testing, right? With it, I feel like I'm playing Russian Overkill 4.0.

[Marisa the Magician]

All the weapons are supposed to be OP.

[Bodhisattva]

All the weapons are supposed to be OP.

Oh. I was going to say "But Rhino Stopper is much weaker!" but then I accidentally switched to a different ammo type.
Now I'm scared of seeing what other, unimplemented weapons are capable of.

By the way, the mod looks and feels very nice. You can immediately see that a lot of effort went into all this stuff. Can't wait to play the release version!

Upd: God bless enemy healthbars. So cute.

[UnbornDecay25]

Color me excited to play this, especially with how much ass UT doom kicked

[Marisa the Magician]

Well, with the Spreadgun finally done, it's time to move on to other weapons that won't require as much work (at least until I get to the Wallbuster lol).

[AstartesCitizen]

Looks great. Any plans to make it LZdoom compatible?
I really want to give this a spin.

[Marisa the Magician]

I'm afraid not, I really need those features. Besides, this mod would most likely not run at all on lower end systems.

[AstartesCitizen]

I'm afraid not, I really need those features. Besides, this mod would most likely not run at all on lower end systems.

Oh well, thanks for the reply keep up the nice work, your mods are truly good stuff!

PS: Still having a blast with Doomreal

[Ferretmanjcdenton]

ABSOLUTELY amazing...
I can't pick up the weapon in map 2 /doom 2 in the room after the first switch door ...but like You said it's not ready ..
I absolutely love it

[Ferretmanjcdenton]

I'm afraid not, I really need those features. Besides, this mod would most likely not run at all on lower end systems.

It runs on my smartphone without any problem in more than 60fps

[fakemai]

I'm afraid not, I really need those features. Besides, this mod would most likely not run at all on lower end systems.

I think it's just those font features, doing a bit of commenting out makes it at least load. Also I turn dynamic lights off and a couple of other things but that lets you get away with a really shitty system, I'm happily enjoying your other gameplay mods.