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[Game Hunter]

I've spent a lot of time lately working on modding Heretic (wiki link) for the DoomRL sandbox. The completed version will hopefully incorporate several levels from the original game (especially episode enders), as well as all weapons, enemies, items, and special nuances. In the meantime, however, I'd like to present a demo version, just so you get an idea of what it looks like so far.

HereticRL Demo

There's a readme file included in the zip directory, just follow it (installation requires very few steps) and everything should run smoothly. Let me know what you think! (And in case I missed any critical errors, let me know ASAP so I can take care of them.)

[Ander Hammer]

Holy crap!

My question is, how different is this going to be from DoomRL? There are quite a few differences between the source games, after all...

[thelaptop]

My question is, how different is this going to be from DoomRL? There are quite a few differences between the source games, after all...

Try it out and see first.

;-)

[Game Hunter]

I would definitely test and take a look for yourself, as you should already begin to notice some changes in how items and whatnot work. As to what's in the demo that greatly diverges from DoomRL:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

• The Tome of Power. I've hard-coded all of the weapons so that their stats, projectiles, etc, change whenever you equip the weapon during the "powertome" effect. The weapons showcased in this demo aren't drastically affected, but it definitely changes up the gameplay. I may even expect players to be forced to use the Tome of Power on specific levels just to survive (and of course one will be given to you on such a level).
• The Torch, as well as other duration-based artifacts (excluding the Tome because it's special like that) are going to take up the "boots" slot. When equipped, they cannot be removed nor repaired and their durability decreases by one for every action you take. As such, you'll only be able to have one artifact on at a time, but the benefits will tend to be strong enough so that this isn't a huge issue. (Also, I don't want players saving all their artifacts just to use them all at once against bosses. They won't be THAT hard.)
• Ammo clips come in big and small sizes. This probably SHOULD be in the actual game, but ammo packs in .994 will probably ensure they don't, so this will likely be unique to HereticRL.

Depending on how well I can familiarize myself with the multilevel module (as well as the scrolling demo), I'd like to try making special levels that exist either across several floors or several screens, so that there can be a more expansive feel to the game. I don't think "height" will be very possible unless I can truly make a hacked masterpiece, but I can certainly aim for the illusion of height.

Overall, there won't be extra weapons/items/enemies added to the game (other than something from Hexen, Hexen II, and/or Heretic II), or at least that's as far as I'm looking into the long-term right now. The focus will be less on novelty and more on immersion.

[Ander Hammer]

Try it out and see first.

;-)

I did, silly. I was thinking more in later-stage terms. If Game Hunter hadn't gotten to it first, I'd have designed a game with a different skill set, a different means of progression to differentiate it from a mere 'DoomRL clone'.

I was impressed by how much the tome of power changed everything noticeably; lol at murderstaff. The warriors even throw two kinds of axes...

What exactly does the torch do?

[Game Hunter]

If Game Hunter hadn't gotten to it first, I'd have designed a game with a different skill set, a different means of progression to differentiate it from a mere 'DoomRL clone'.

I haven't yet looked into changing the current level-up system but I suppose that would certainly be yet another possibility. I'll keep it in mind.

What exactly does the torch do?

It's supposed to increase your vision (like Cateye), although it wouldn't be very noticeable on that map, heh.

EDIT: I'd just like to note that any input into the development stages would be appreciated, as well. So far I've already completed the weapons and items in full (although not all of them are ideally constructed due to game/coding limitations) and am currently getting bosses done, then I'll be moving on to fleshing out what kind of additional map-like tiles should appear (fire/ice walls and floors, pods and pod generators, painted windows you have to break, etc), at which point I can really work on some more interesting maps. Afterwards, I'll begin to work with the multi-level/scrolling modules to make a full, playable episode. Whether or not there will be randomly-generated maps I'm not sure (I'd have to work closely with some of the more astute modders to figure out how to hack the generator to suit HRL's needs), although it would certainly increase replayability in the long-term.

If you have suggestions, criticisms, or the like, you can reply here, or you can go to the Chaosforge IRC channel, where I try to reside as often as I can.

[Ander Hammer]

As for my input on how leveling up works - sort of a mix between DoomRL's traits and traditional RPG level-ups. Maybe a few points per level and different 'trees' based on the elements, since you're a magic elf person. All of them would have some utility, and each might have a few weapon types linked to them with a simple mastery skill for flexibility and customization. Other things involve, for example, Fire reducing the effects of lava or increasing splash damage, Water providing defense and quicker/more shots, Air for speed bonuses and maybe a 'master trait' that gives you permanent 'ghost' status (another Heretic thing that changes the game - ghosts immune to some weapons, and maybe in HereticRL they're more vulnerable to others), Earth for more passive defense... stuff like that.

[sklres]

It doesn't work on Linux, because paths on Linux are case sensitive. I had to rename all files in the sound directory to match those in heretic_sound.lua to get it to run. Also, the command to run the mod on Linux should contain slashes (/) not backslashes (\).

I really like the level design - especially the double-wide corridors. It feels like a finished game, not a demo ;)

Could you make gargoyle & warrior projectiles move a little faster? A few times I moved while a projectile was still in the air, which allowed them to take free shots at me.

[Game Hunter]

@sklres: I fixed up the sounds. I'll consider speeding up the projectiles in other versions, but I'm going to leave this current version as-is.

If you want to see progress, check in the IRC channel periodically. I'm gonna try to pump out another map this weekend and link it over there.

[Game Hunter]

Since people have been asking about this mod, I'm going to bump the thread.

What's the status of HereticRL? ;)

Well, it's not updated for 0.9.9.5, that's for sure. I think I mentioned in another thread that I was going to try and get a demo for people to check out soon: that is still in the works. As for actual content, this is what it looks like:

• Enemies: Everything requires AI (admittedly the biggest part); still need to design boss stats. (As it turns out, the bosses basically needed special AI to function properly, so it's probably good that I didn't make them.) I might end up using a lot of the game's AI anyway, we'll see.
• Items: Done. Some will probably want or require some rewrites due to the new capabilities of the game but everything's at least written out. There are no exotics/uniques at this time: this might change, but I wouldn't expect it for an initial release.
• Levels:
  
  • The demo map, The Docks, was finished long ago.
  • Since multi-level maps (see Simon-v's module sitcky) aren't "legit", I'll be attempting to design my own generator with unique changes from the base game's. (These have yet to be started but I am already chock full of ideas.)
  • Since it's going to be similar to DoomRL in random/special levels, I still need to come up with the specials. They will likely be based on original levels from the game.

[Trar]

I need to play Heretic myself, but I'm still looking forward to this mod. Hope you haven't given up on it.