Strife 2026 (WIP)

[Thelokk]

As the project has reached the 'it's not if, it's when' critical mass, figured I could do things different for once and actually hold myself accountable by documenting a WIP, instead of just plopping the thing down in the wild once it's done.

May 15th of this year is Strife's 30th birthday, and I think a little present is in order; that's the deadline I've given myself. Four maps are pretty much done (as much as they can be, considering carryover ammo and map from map movement), out of a planned seven or eight. New textures - some frankensteins, some entirely from scratch, a new monster (new as in actually new, not Realm667 stuff), an actual story with interactable NPCs and missions, and a plot corny enough to rival with the IWAD.

Target port is UZDoom, the set is supposed to be a homage to the original's aesthetics and gameplay so I'm trying to be tasteful with UDMFisms: some 3D floors, scripting, and little else. It might or might not have an entirely new OST - I recently got back into mod music after years of hiatus, we'll see how that goes.

I'll update the thread as things get done; you can also find me on Discord or Blueksy for semi-regular updates.

[Enjay]

Nice to see Strife getting some love. It really has to be the poor cousin of the Doom family as far as community interest is concerned. I remember when I released a Doom mod that used some sprites from it a long time ago, there were several comments asking where they had come from because so few people at that time had even heard of the game. I suppose that there's also an irony that I was using the sprites in Doom, not Strife.

So, anyway, looking forward to this. From what I can see, you've definitely got the Strife vibe going on but with just enough in the way of modern touches to bring it up to date but without it becoming something other than Strife. From your comments, it's sounds like that's what you were going for. Very nice.

[Thelokk]

Thanks, I am admittedly taking a few liberties with the two secret levels - one takes advantage of Z-axis to require Quake style rocket jumping.

Maybe it's the game's overall lack of popularity, maybe it's the objective higher difficulty in crafting a balanced experience (something I didn't really succeed myself in my previous sets), I think Strife will pretty much always be relegated to the sideline - which is a shame, it has in my opinion a more imaginative premise and setting compared to Doom. While I don't think this set will stake a claim at being the 'definitive' Strife experience, I am certainly stretching the game's assets and mechanics as far as they can go before dipping into partial conversion / TC territory, which is something I'm not really interested in doing. Good chance to try my hand at some texture creation tho.

In the meantime, another little shot from the current WIP map in the set:

[Thelokk]

Update: trudging along, the architecture part of the set is pretty much done but in the meantime I've fallen into the RPGMaker rabbit hole and this project has sort of taken a backseat. Still looking at a Strife birthday release but we'll see how it goes.

Currently chipping away at this chunky boy, likely the largest Strife map ever made and not even halfway through detailing.

[Enjay]

I'm looking forward to it, but take your time with it if you have other priorities ATM. Screenshots look good.

[Thelokk]

Thanks, set is now pretty much done and in testing phase with the help of a few friends. An exceedingly long process in a hub based game with inventory - adding a health pick up often means replaying the whole thing from start to finish.

I also have to come up with a name for it, apparently.