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Other Roguelikes => AliensRL => Topic started by: Kornel Kisielewicz on June 10, 2007, 15:29

Title: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: Kornel Kisielewicz on June 10, 2007, 15:29
If you wonder why you missed beta 1 - it is in the Chaos-access part of the forum. I decided to make the AliensRL beta versions public, to recieve more feedback. Please comment! This is unstable beta version, so please do not advertise it outside of the board.

Due to popular demand it's time to resume development of AliensRL! I hereby bring you the second beta version for the upcoming release. Test it 'till it dies!

aliensrl-win-0.8-beta2.zip (http://dl.chaosforge.org/dl.php?f=aliensrl-win-0.8-beta2.zip)

Major changes in this version include the introduction of enhanced radiation, inc grenades, master skills and finally the much anticipated save/load. I know that the gameplay enhancements are very unbalanced, please help me to balance them!

Compared to Beta 1 this version includes all the fixes mentioned in the Beta 1 thread, and target remembering and XP dingbat.

The zipfile contains only the non-media files to reduce download time. You should copy the music/sound/voice directories into it.

I also decided to change my naming scheme -- "0.8 beta 2" means "second beta version on the road to 0.8".

Full changes list
-- save/load added!
-- max medpacks reduced to 5
-- medpack use in combat is half effective
-- radiation made more deadly
-- radiation suits
-- added exploding fuel barrels
-- master skill levels unlocked
-- heavy weapons master skill added
-- sidearms master skill added
-- medical master skill added
-- light weapons master skill added
-- temporary technical master skill added
-- initial grenade capacity = 3/type
-- fitness increases grenade capacity by 1/level
-- implemented inc grenades
-- varied starting ammo/medcount between classes
-- XP dingbat added
-- fire mode remembers last target
-- typo fixed
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: Blade on June 10, 2007, 16:50
Wow! Have played a little and here are what i noticed:

Auto-aiming seems to never work when there are more than one enemy in sight. It also not always works even with one enemy(haven't noticed any dependance when it not works).
You still start your game inside the wall.))
Incenerate grenades rocks!

That's all for now.))
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: DaEezT on June 11, 2007, 00:09
/me downloads so he can play at home.

Stupid ISP D:
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: Behrooz Wolf on June 11, 2007, 19:21
Picking up a "Suicide?  Too Easy" self-targeting message then points the auto-aim at the player as the last target, even when you've moved somewhere else and a valid enemy target is visible.
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: Karry on June 12, 2007, 06:07
When i switch to fullscreen - the DOS mouse cursor is shown. This always nagged me in ADoM sage, but this bug didnt exist in DooMRL.
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: Newts Revenge on June 18, 2007, 14:30
Finally got a chance to play through the new version. YAVP below :)

Firstly, congrats on the excellent update :) With one exception, the new features all work really well. If there is any instability then I didn't find it. The balance is also pretty good, and I didn't find the game any harder or easier than the previous version. The incendiary grenades ROCK, but their awesome power is balanced by the reduced carrying capacity for grenades overall.

Here are my observations and suggestions so far:

-The new aim cursor is really a problem. It almost got me killed several times by automatically jumping to an alien miles away instead of the one that was in my face. It should always preferentially target an alien right next to you, most dangerous first. It would also be nice if the aim cursor never automatically started on a Worker that hadn't seen you. It's damn annoying to accidentally shoot a worker who was previously no threat :(

-Grenades should go off properly even if they're targeted on an empty space. Why should the player have to throw a grenade directly at an alien for it to work? This was not too great an annoyance with the old grenades, but with the inc grenades it can be really galling. I threw an inc grenade next to a group of aliens expecting to wipe them all out in the ensuing inferno, but nothing happened :(

-Shooting range shouldn't be limited by visual range. If the player knows where something is, even if it's beyond their light radius, they should be able to shoot at it with reduced accuracy. It's annoying in the storage tower where the only safe way to set those barrels off is with grenades (unless there's another way that I missed).

-Fuel barrels shouldn't be visible outside the light radius. If the player wants to safely shoot barrels in the storage tower, they should have to first go into the room, and then remember exactly where the barrels are when they retreat :)

-When entering look mode and no aliens are in visual range, but some items or objects are, the look cursor should automatically jump to the nearest item or object that is in visual range.


Code: [Select]
-- AliensRL (0.8 (BETA 2)) Post Mortem -------------------------------

  Name     : Apone
  Class    : Marine
  Rank     : Veteran
  Result   : Killed the alien Queen and escaped

  Total Experience : 11275
  Experience left  : 335
  Game length      : 70281 truns

  Armor   : Plasteel armor [3]
  Sidearm : M4A3 pistol (11/12)
  Primary : M41-A pulse rifle (60/60)
  Medpacks: 5

-- Graveyard ---------------------------------------------------------

  .............#-########
  #######-###............
  ..........#..##########
  ...%...|..#..#.........
  ..........#..#.........
  ..|.......#..#...|.....
  ###########..#.........
  #....#....#..##########
  #....#....#..#A........
  #....#....#..#........%
  #....#....#..#.].......
  |....|....#..|...A.....
  #....#....#..#.........
  #....#..A%#..#...%.....
  #....#....#..#######-##
  #....#....#..#...A.....
  #-#########..#.........
  ..A..A....#..#.........
  ..........#..#.....A...
  ..........#..#.........
  ..........#..#.........
  ###########  ##########

-- Skills ------------------------------------------------------------
  Sidearms      : advanced
  Light weapons : basic
  Heavy weapons : untrained
  Technical     : basic
  Medical       : advanced
  Fitness       : expert
  Perception    : advanced

-- Ammunition --------------------------------------------------------

  9mm ammo      : 273/400
  .44 ammo      : 14/150
  M309 ammo     : 245/500
  M250 ammo     : 450/500
  60mm gren.    : 36/40
  12g. shells   : 200/200
  frag grenade  : 4/3
  inc grenade   : 2/3
  krak grenade  : 2/3

-- Kills (620) -------------------------------------------------------

  226 juveniles
  7 workers
  123 warriors
  173 hunters
  90 elites
  1 queen

-- Messages ----------------------------------------------------------

 Choose direction to open/close or
 activate... You close the door.
 You open the door.
 Choose direction to open/close or
 activate... You close the door.
 You open the door.
 Choose direction to open/close or
 activate... You close the door.
 You enter the corridor. Entering
 Civilian Tower, level 1...

Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: Newts Revenge on June 25, 2007, 08:42
Something else I noticed when playing another game (I'll post YAVP later, don't have it on this machine right now) is what seems to be minor bug with the radiation. When it lowers your max health, your max health displayed at the top right of the screen doesn't change.

Also, the new radiation turns out to be not really very evil at all :-/... Because you're using medkits regularly anyway, the damage is always healed before it becomes noticeable. I searched a whole irradiated floor without a rad suit and was never under any real threat from the radiation damage.

Another almost inconsequential bug that you can see in my YAVP above, is that the extra grenade capacity from the Fitness skill isn't shown in the mortem.
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: SaThaRiel on August 16, 2007, 04:22
Hm, will you compile this version on linux someday? Also i fear that after all those hardening changes i wont survive the first level i really need the save function.
Looking forward to more improvement, AliensRL is really great :)
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: Fjell on August 24, 2007, 22:56
I LOVE THIS GAME! I recently tried to get into rouge-likes, downloaded nethack but hated it. I cant seem to get any further then the first few rooms of the civ tower. Keep running out of ammo like an a**hole. ummmm I thought aliens spit acid? I dont know if they do or not, but it didnt seem like it... Would be cool if you could search bodies... ummm i think thats all i have to say... keep up the great work!

ewwwww I just download this beta and i get 

critical error: <tsound/0/0> registermusic<music\abta.mod>: Couldnt read from 'music\abta.mod'

nm im retarted....
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: archaon on September 01, 2007, 22:44
Sorry guys, but where do I get the abta.mod file?

edit:
Nevermind, lol. I guess I should have spent longer than 3 minutes searching for it before asking.

Wish me luck in the game! :)
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: Beppo on December 11, 2007, 15:46
YASD! Unfortunately the map doesn't seem to work properly. Or are the aliens just roaming aroung after they've eaten the hero's remains?

Code: [Select]
-- AliensRL (0.8 (BETA 2)) Post Mortem -------------------------------

  Name     : Amiodarone
  Class    : Scout
  Rank     : Veteran
  Result   : Killed the alien Queen and died while escaping
  Died on  : Main Tower, level 1

  Total Experience : 11430
  Experience left  : 1010
  Game length      : 37367 truns

  Armor   : Gyro-stabilizer [0]
  Sidearm : .44 colt (5/6)
  Primary : 12g. combat shotgun (reload)
  Heavy   : M56 smartgun (45/50)
  Medpacks: 5

-- Graveyard ---------------------------------------------------------

  ########  #############
  .......#..|............
  .......#..#............
  .......#..#....%.......
  ..+....#..#............
  .......#..#............
  .......#..#............
  .......#..#.....]......
  .......#..#############
  ########..#............
  |....|.#..#............
  .......#..#............
  .......#..#............
  .......#..#.......%....
  ########..#..........+.
  .......#..#######.#####
  ..%..+.#..#A....#.#..+.
  .......#..#.....#.#....
  .......#..#.....#.|%...
  ......A#..#.....#.#%...
  ########..#.....#.#....
  ..........#.....#.#....
  ########..#.....#.#....
  .......#..#.%...#.#####
  .......#..#.....#.#...%
  .......#..#.....#.#....
  .......#..#.....#.#....
  .+.....|..#.....#.#....
  ##-#####..#.....#.#-###
  ..........#....%#.%....
  ########..#...../.#####
  .....A.#..#.....#.#AAA.
  .......#..#.....#.#A...
  .......#..#.....#.#....
  .......#..#.....#.#....
  .......#..#.....#.#....
  .......#..#.....#.#....

-- Skills ------------------------------------------------------------
  Sidearms      : advanced
  Light weapons : basic
  Heavy weapons : basic
  Technical     : untrained
  Medical       : expert
  Fitness       : advanced
  Perception    : advanced

-- Ammunition --------------------------------------------------------

  9mm ammo      : 400/400
  .44 ammo      : 126/150
  M309 ammo     : 60/500
  M250 ammo     : 30/500
  60mm gren.    : 1/40
  12g. shells   : 119/200
  frag grenade  : 3/3
  inc grenade   : 5/3
  krak grenade  : 5/3

-- Kills (677) -------------------------------------------------------

  266 juveniles
  18 workers
  127 warriors
  191 hunters
  74 elites
  1 queen

-- Messages ----------------------------------------------------------

 The hunter dies. The hunter shreds
 you! The hunter shreds you!
 Your weapon is empty!
 Move around the cursor and look
 below the map screen.
 You let go of your weapon and grab
 the sidearm!
 You lightly hit the hunter! The
 hunter shreds you! The hunter shreds
 you! You die. Press <Enter>...

This far three of my space heroes have got bored to death after they've searched for the power armor with no avail. This one pulled himself together, fried the alien queen but got killed while trying to spare some smartgun ammo. I think the game works excellently when it comes to tactics about choosing weapons and armor. Maybe your armor should also affect your movement or does it do so already? That way it wouldn't necessarily be wise to look for the power armor. At least there would be some solace after discovering that you can't find one.

Also it would be great if you could find a sound for the alien crawling out of the ventilation. I think it's one of the best features adding to the atmosphere of the game. They get me almost every time as I'm tap-tap-tapping along a once cleared corridor or room.

There's a minor bug with the autoaiming: When you shoot aliens in a row, aiming at the closest one, next time your target is the last one of the row. I figured that the autoaimer simply reckons the last alien that got hit but you might know better.

Anyways, by far the most annoying thing is what Newts already mentioned: the grenades act quite absurdly when thrown past a target. It doesn't make sense that they only deal damage when aimed at an alien. It would really add to the tactics if you could clear dark rooms by blindly throwing frags from outside. Though it would make the storage tower somewhat unruffled. I like the idea of dud incendiaries. Only they shouldn't occur so often, when you throw an inc against the wall or on the floor. Maybe they could also burn down walls, if thrown against one? And maybe the technician skill should affect the chance of failing to detonate the grenade.

Kornel, I deeply thank you for your efforts. You have the aptitude and patience that most roguelike geeks only dream of. The features you've been promising for future releases seem marvellous. I'm really looking forward for new betas to be tested!
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: kyosenmurasame on July 14, 2008, 12:41
Hi Roguelikers! I have downloaded the ++ version, it's older than 0.8 beta 2 version?
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: Malek Deneith on July 16, 2008, 14:57
Yep, it's older... ++ is stable, this is a beta
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: skarczew on October 18, 2008, 09:43
Question about this beta:
Are all skills unlocked on master level ? Or just the one that depends on the starting class ?
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: skarczew on October 24, 2008, 03:11
I would really like to have my question answered :) .
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: Blade on October 24, 2008, 04:43
I would really like to have my question answered :) .

I'm not completely sure, but as fas as i remember, only the one that depends on chosen class. Other skills you can up only to Expert level.
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: skarczew on October 24, 2008, 07:29
Quote
I'm not completely sure, but as fas as i remember, only the one that depends on chosen class. Other skills you can up only to Expert level.

Kornel mentioned about "unlocking master level", so I was not sure what to think about it (and I am still unsure :P ).
As for now, it works like you mentioned - tested on one (already dead from boredom) Elite Marine :) .
I noticed one small silly bug though - after taking a master level in skill, there is another level - "maximized".
You can't take it, but there is still the cost (in experience points) next to it.
In my opinion it would be better just to show "master" with a special color (golden/yellow or sth like it) and without a cost to a "next imaginary level".
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: ZZ on October 25, 2008, 10:20
Hello everybody. I've found one interesting bug: if you get near the barrel, and alien bite you then BARREL TURNS INTO BLOODED WALL. Don't you know what's it? And about aliens - the really bleed with acid. I think this can be used. And one bad thing that you can't store rad. suits. It has 0 dmg protection and you don't know when oyu've go into radiation.
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: skarczew on October 27, 2008, 01:57
Yeah, I found strange "bloody walls in a middle of a room" too - Just I had no idea why they were there.

As for armors - it would be ok if you could unequip an armor (drop to floor). Now you can only switch them with the one that is already on ground, I think.
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: ZZ on October 27, 2008, 02:59
And the most unfun and uncool thing is there isn NO MELEE WEAPONS and MELEE FIGHTING. I've once ran out of 0.44 ammo and I was a Scout so I didn't have any bonus weapon and that damned A have killed me
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: skarczew on October 28, 2008, 05:19
A (warriors) are quite easy to get killed with almost everything, so maybe you should search for other weapons / ammo ?

Personally, I do not remember too many melee weapons in the Alien film series or AvP games, and I do not think melee fight would be suitable for humans.
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: ZZ on November 01, 2008, 12:01
Getting to Storage level with a thought of GOOD ammo, and getting stupidly cornered by A isn't the time to think about new pistol. And when I was really thinking about this, I've found 6 M1A4(or what's the name) and 00 0.44 Colt(the one I was with i've found on lvl1CivT). I think a melee weaponry must BE, maybe only for Scout's, but it is the fact.
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: skarczew on November 04, 2008, 07:51
I never run into such problem, because I am usually prepared for the lack of a certain ammunition.

Adding some kind of Combat Knife to a game could be possible, but I wonder what kind of damage would it do.
6/L ? :]
And the only slot it could go to is the Sidearm, imho.

I wish the creator would say what does he think about it :) .
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: ZZ on November 04, 2008, 10:13
Maybe Kornel could add some new slot and trait and class, but I'm afraid this would be "many work". And you're prepared for the lack of ammo, not the lack of weapons:).
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: skarczew on November 04, 2008, 10:26
And you're prepared for the lack of ammo, not the lack of weapons:).
My experience (so far) tells me that most of the needed weapons can be found relatively fast. You just need to search for it in certain towers :) .
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: ZZ on November 04, 2008, 11:05
And to the scertain towers there are certain exits. AND THAT EXIT ARE COVERED WITH A
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: Kornel Kisielewicz on November 05, 2008, 01:32
The lack of close combat in AliensRL is an INTENTIONAL design decision. It intends to simulate the panic the moment you look that you're running out of ammo. And also the fact that without guns you don't stand a chance.
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: skarczew on November 05, 2008, 01:59
Kornel:
Rofl :D .

My only moments of panic in AliensRL are:
- When I meet the first Elite;
- When few hunters manage to "jump" few tiles and get next to me;

P.S. I wish the game was like AvP - I would really love to kill marines with an alien/hunter :D .
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: ZZ on December 01, 2008, 12:50
About AvP(2) As I remember, marines had a melee weapon there, so if idea about making A.. like AvP so there WAS melee weapon, and it REALLY could kill alien, but it was stupid.
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: Kornel Kisielewicz on December 02, 2008, 03:29
Gameplay is more based on the Alien Breed series. Also, from the point of view of the Alien universe, the idea of fighting an alien in melee with anything less than a cargo machine or being a Predator seems ridiculous.
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: skarczew on December 02, 2008, 08:13
Gameplay is more based on the Alien Breed series. Also, from the point of view of the Alien universe, the idea of fighting an alien in melee with anything less than a cargo machine or being a Predator seems ridiculous.
You are right, the idea is stupid (and even Predator would have problems with Aliens in close contact - thats why he uses mid-range weapons against them).
Still, it is better to use knife or even fists/legs rather than standing and watching your health dropping - thats ridiculous, too.

Imagine critically wounded lesser Alien (lets say few HP left, heh) shredding you every second with its claws. In this case combat knife could save your life (at the cost of huge HP drop).
Of course using such tactic on a full-HP Alien would lead to a fast and painful death ;) .

EDIT:
In short - as far as it would be nice to have melee fight possible, it should not be worth using almost at all. IMHO.
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: skarczew on December 07, 2008, 10:57
My few thoguhts after winning a game (with Marine):

- grenades have to be fixed, seriously; it is nothing more frustrating than wasting 3 * or * and not getting anything from that;
- / (RPG) is the biggest failure out there; I think the blast damage uses similiar code to a grenades - and as a result, it is very unreliable; it happened to me 75% of time that I properly hit the alien with a rocket, but no alien was damaged in the process (the animation shows blast, but there is no effect at all); on the other side - one rocket missed my target one time, went off screen, hit something and killed aliens BEHIND wall;
- / (saw-off shotgun) is a medicore weapon; while it can make a huge damage, it needs reload after each use; the basic pistol is better because you can start firing from range and kill every kind of alien except Elite (and Worker) before it gets to you; this weapon may be only usable for an engineer - but I need to test it out;
- the shotguns seem to be the only weapon that damage barrels outside vision range - this could be fixed, too; and barrels should not appear outside vision range, I guess;
- "walk till something in sight" button should be implemented;
- remove Workers from auto-targetting (unless they turn aggressive);
- tagetting order should be tweaked from: "last alien hit"(most important)->"last object targetted"(least important) to: "last alien targetted when firing"(most important)->"most dangerous alien"->"nearest alien"(least important)

EDIT:
- one more thing: please change color of the ammunition for a Colt from light gray to white (the same color the colt is); it will make the life easier :) ;
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: ZZ on December 23, 2008, 11:11
Do you really want to take Colt ammo instead of 9mm or 12g shells. There's really no difference between your suggestion and the real things.
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: skarczew on December 23, 2008, 13:56
Quote
There's really no difference between your suggestion and the real things.
You are wrong.
Quote
Do you really want to take Colt ammo instead of 9mm or 12g shells.
Yes. I am very often 400/400 of 9mm ammo, but it takes time to find the one for Colt. When I open a room full of aliens and I see few ammunition stacks (Colt/9mm) I have to look at each them to decide whether it is worth my time, or not.
Adding a color would make it few times faster.
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: oohhboy on March 07, 2009, 05:52
Quote
-- AliensRL (0.8 (BETA 2)) Post Mortem -------------------------------
  Name     : oohhboy
  Class    : Scout
  Rank     : Badass
  Result   : Killed the alien Queen and escaped

  Total Experience : 24740
  Experience left  : 2340
  Game length      : 106917 truns

  Armor   : Power armor [4]
  Sidearm : M4A3 pistol (12/12)
  Primary : M41-A pulse rifle (60/60)
  Heavy   : M56 smartgun (50/50)
  Medpacks: 5

-- Graveyard ---------------------------------------------------------

  ....#.....#..#-########
  ....#.....#.......A....
  ....|.A...#..#####-####
  #####.....#..#A........
  .A..#+....#..#....A....
  ....#AA...#..#.........
  ....#.....#..#.........
  ....#....|#..#.A.].....
  ....#.....#..#.........
  ....#..A..#..#########-
  ....#.....#............
  ....#.....#..###-######
  ....#.....#..#.....A...
  ....#A..|.#..#|........
  ....#.....#..#.........
  ....#.....#..|.........
  ..|.#.....#..########-#
  ....#.....|..#.A.......
  ....#.....#..#...A.....
  ....#.....#..#......../
  .%..#.....#..#.....]...
  ###########  ##########

-- Skills ------------------------------------------------------------
  Sidearms      : master
  Light weapons : expert
  Heavy weapons : advanced
  Technical     : basic
  Medical       : advanced
  Fitness       : expert
  Perception    : basic

-- Ammunition --------------------------------------------------------

  9mm ammo      : 65/400
  .44 ammo      : 113/150
  M309 ammo     : 245/500
  M250 ammo     : 195/500
  60mm gren.    : 40/40
  12g. shells   : 200/200
  frag grenade  : 6/3
  inc grenade   : 6/3
  krak grenade  : 6/3

-- Kills (2237) ------------------------------------------------------

  903 juveniles
  71 workers
  493 warriors
  579 hunters
  190 elites
  1 queen

-- Messages ----------------------------------------------------------

 You hit the hunter! You lightly hit
 the hunter! The hunter dies.
 You reload your weapon.
 The elite shreds you!
 You heavily hit the elite! You
 lightly hit the elite! The elite
 dies.
 You reload your weapon.
 You enter the corridor. Entering
 Civilian Tower, level 1...

That took quite a few hours...

First thanks you for making both DOOMRL and ALIENSRL, as incomplete as they maybe. I won't badger you with suggestions/bugs (skarczew covered the ones I noticed) Kornel, but I would like to request for both games a OSX version. However it isn't a really a biggie as far since these games use so little power I can run them in Virtual PC (However DOOMRL music is terrible since in plays really slow). Both work on something as low as a 400 MHz PPC.

As for the 9mm VS .44 I go 9MM, just because it is at least 20 times more common and the only real place you can use the colt is inside storage tower since that is where it spawns. Also the performance of the .44 is nowhere near enough to compete with the 9MM once you take in to account how much ammo you can carry for each. To cap a juvenile, it on average still takes 2 shots of either guns, same for hunters, but the colt does do slightly better against warriors. 400>150 Hard to argue. I switch to colt so I can rebuild my 9MM. However it does have it's early uses as a light armor pricer until you get a M41-A pulse rifle to replace the terrible MP5.

If you really want more Colt ammo, just burn off the 9MM until you build the .44 up again. walking around with ZERO ammo for any of your active weapons is a bad idea. ALIENSRL is more of a resource management game than DOOMRL. Since you don't have to deal with inventory, there is no penalty for carrying ammo you can't use other than the fact you can't/don't use it. By switching your sidearm back and forward you can save a lot of your more powerful weapons for when you really need it. Hell, switch to the sawed off and rebuild both 9MM and .44 however you only want to do that on the lower levels since that weapon is only surpassed in it's awfulness by the MP5.

One last message for Kornel. Don't listen to your fans base too much. You have a keen sense for game design and even though both games are incomplete, they are surprisingly fair and balance(There are always BS deaths...). Looking forward to your next release.
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: skarczew on March 09, 2009, 05:26
My few comments:

You played as a Scout - and he is destined to use 9mm, thats right (mastery is trully impressive). With it you should be able to kill Elites pretty fast.

On the other side, Sidearms for other classes are weaker, thus you have to use both weapons.
I usually left one in a place that I would remember and came back later when my ammo was low - I did it both with Sidearms and Primary weapons.

.44 ammo appears in other towers as far as I remember.

MP5 is trully sucky, thats right - but you seem to forget about Combat Shotgun there :) . Along with Pulse Rifle, Combat shottie is modelled very nicely - lives up to its expectations.
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: oohhboy on March 09, 2009, 11:06
The 9MM is still quite impressive even if you don't have master for it. Master allows you to cap elite inside 6 shots while you shouldn't try it at lower levels. The key is the right weapon for the right target.

.44 does appear in other towers, but it appears in quantities so low it might as well not be there. It's great in the supply tower. You can use it all you like in there and most of the time your pick up would be greater than your burn rate.

The combat shot gun is no replacement for the Pulse rifle. Great during the lower levels, but it's has zero penetration rendering it useless against workers you would no doubt set off. The workers aren't directly dangerous to your health, but they suck up a lot of ammo or a nade for little gain. That is dangerous in itself. No 12g is going to replace my love for my caseless armor piecing explosive rounds.

Elite show up well before you find a smart gun and enough ammo for it. That's if your willing to sacrifice protection for the Gyro rig. You will need some AP ability and the .44 isn't going to cut it in the long run without you running out of ammo for it or burning up a lot of your primary on juveniles of which there are massive number of. You also have to take into account that readying your heavy weapon takes a massive amount of time. Sure what ever you point that thing at is going to die but they will be all over you before you can whip it out. Switching to the primary isn't that bad, going to sidearm is effortless.

You don't need to master sidearm, but you do need to bring it up to the highest level your class will support just so you have a rabbit gun to shoot the small stuff with from juveniles, warriors (Not too many now) and the odd singular hunter at sufficient range. It falls to the 9MM just because it is so common in every other tower and you can pack 400 rounds. If you like to wander in low light in supply tower where you can use the .44 then that's great. The only time I go to supply tower is for supplies and I never stick around. Too easy to get jumped.

You just have to remember that every shot made is a shot lost forever since unlike DOOMRL, Aliens aren't your fleshy ammo bags. You can't kill them all and the only way to be sure is to nuke them from orbit.
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: skarczew on March 09, 2009, 14:33
I am shocked you dont like CS :P .

I used to have 2 sets of weapons (playing as Marine):

1. 9mm, PulseRifle, Smartgun
2. .44, Shottie, Smartgun

First set is typical and does not need to be explained. I used 9mm for everything except Elites; Pulse Rifle in more dangerous situations. Smartgun acts there mostly as slayer when the aliens form a line - one serie from smartie can kill 3-4 of them.

Second set ...
Marine Mastery bonus to Primary Weapons is firing 30% faster. This was more than enough to kill dozens of Aliens with just few shots. Remember that Shotgun is special regarding area of damage. I had very often situations that 4-5 Hunters started to run towards me. When they were 2-3 cells away I just opened fire. With proper timing all the alien horde can be shred to pieces with just as few as 5 shots from CS. The key is to make them positioned pretty tight, so they all get damage from each shot.
I used .44 in this set to kill alone Hunters and Elites (possible to damage them when you start).

Yes, CS has VERY low penetration ability. But on the other side - it kills everything except Elites and Workers. With some luck you can kill more bugs than shells you have used to fire :P .
And Workers are no danger anyway - when they start running after you, just lead them to an empty room, run back and close door. Problem solved :) . This leaves only Elites, which can be killed via smartie, grenades, .44 (possible when skilled enough) or just ignored (there is method to leave them closed in rooms, waiting for you).
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: Baby Alien on April 16, 2009, 06:06
Thanks for making this. Won it twice.

BUG: After going up a level, I was attacked by an invisible warrior. Only after walking around did it appear. It must have spawned on the same spot as me.

Suggestions:
1) Reduce hunter attack damage. Due to their high speed, they tend to attack twice, making them way more powerful than the other aliens.
2) Remove spawning of aliens right beside player. The have been able to spawn and attack immediately esp at the end of the game.
3) Spawn .44 and colt in main/military/security to make it easier to swap .44/shotty and 9mm/rifle. I've been travelling back and forth between .44 spawning areas just because I love to use the shotty. You pretty much need the .44 with the shotty unless you are a Scout.
4) Still couldn't find the power armor, maybe increase the %? Otherwise why risk going up there and waste ammo.
5) Saw-off shotty is too weak, increase range or give 2 ammo?

Yeah my suggestions are for easier & convenient gameplay.
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: skarczew on April 16, 2009, 15:04
1. Personally, I disagree. They attack fast, but die fast as well. Almost every weapon can make short work of them.
2. Agree. Fixing this will help with point 1 as well.
3. Disagree. Too much .44 = game will be too easy :) .
4. Hard to say. Never found it, but I may have been unlucky.
5. Agree.
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: Baby Alien on April 17, 2009, 06:10
Re .44, the same amount of ammo currently available can be distributed over more towers.
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: Baby Alien on April 18, 2009, 02:46
Another door that doesn't work.
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: skarczew on April 18, 2009, 04:13
I agree about ammo distribution.

About pic:
Heh, got it once or twice, too.
Funny thing is, you can see there is hole in the wall - if code allowed it, you could leave the tower :) .
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: skarczew on August 12, 2009, 04:04
This game is popular ... not :( .

Few bugs I found:

1. A hole in the wall.
2. Strange pillar next to door.
3. Hole in the tower.
4. Error I managed to reproduce few times.
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: skarczew on August 12, 2009, 10:09
Ok, i found out the source of the error:
This all happened thanks to invisible Warrior. After using the lift I spawned on the same cell as the alien. I used Inc granade (explosion damaged me a bit - I was in the range - the alien was too).
After moving away from cell game crashed.

Proposal for fix:
-kill all the aliens that are standing on elevator cells - after you use the elevator; this only should apply to aliens being on the other map (floor);
-if the player has aliens standing on the same map (next to him), the aliens should be transported with him to other map ;) ;
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: Kornel Kisielewicz on August 12, 2009, 11:22
I hope AliensRL will get some love soon :). Thanks for the bug report!
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: skarczew on August 12, 2009, 13:24
I hope AliensRL will get some love soon :).
Me too. I really love Aliens theme ^_^ .
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: Newts Revenge on August 16, 2009, 14:51
I hope AliensRL will get some love soon :). Thanks for the bug report!

Does this mean that there's a new version on the way?

I'd long ago given up hope...
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: zasvid on January 17, 2010, 11:22
Is this the right place to say that it would be cool to see this game get more love? I tried it out, because skarczew recommended it and it's quite awesome with the theme and scary feel like in the movies or AvP games.
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: skarczew on January 19, 2010, 05:59
Wow, seems like the AliensRL fans group grew up by another 100%, thanks to zasvid ;D .
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: Kornel Kisielewicz on January 19, 2010, 06:12
You need something more -- DoomRL has it's Supporters, DiabloRL has a coder, BerserkRL has my fanboyism....
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: skarczew on January 19, 2010, 11:39
AliensRL has a theme and a potential to be even more scary (think about first Alien episode in Alien vs Predator 2).
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: sammyboy0120 on March 11, 2010, 13:20
Is o.8 Beta 2 the current version of this game?
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: Kornel Kisielewicz on March 11, 2010, 13:39
Yeah, but it's a couple years old. However, a new version *may* appear soon!
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: thelaptop on March 16, 2010, 19:31
Only may?

Dang...  >.>
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: skarczew on March 17, 2010, 03:12
Only may?

Dang...  >.>
One quote from the author of the game many of us have played:
"Never again will there be an ovrly ambitious release schedule that leads to a delay of more than 18 months."

Hehehe...

If only AliensRL had so much love as the DoomRL has ... :( .
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: Kornel Kisielewicz on March 28, 2010, 10:24
AliensRL got some love.

Now I need to build up a feature list for 0.8 final. Anything else that should go in?
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: thelaptop on March 28, 2010, 20:19
In b4 dragonslayer...

<.<
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: skarczew on March 29, 2010, 02:48
Now I need to build up a feature list for 0.8 final. Anything else that should go in?
Just check my suggestions I made in this topic (some previous posts). Be sure to include "auto-walk-till-something-in-sight" - it will make game more user friendly.

Talking about new things, I would introduce one godly weapon - Minigun. It is a must have for every AvP game :) . It should be spitting 10 bullets per serie, each for damage of Smartgun one. It could be using 9mm ammo, I think.
Such weapon should be very rare - lets say on very last level of Security or Storage tower.
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: Kornel Kisielewicz on April 04, 2010, 01:10
AliensRL in glorius Full-HD

(http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/6619/1103475947aliensrl.png)

xD
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: skarczew on April 04, 2010, 04:41
It is huge o.o .

As for other additions:
 - I was thinking about the possibility of using flares (should be stored & used the same way as grenades, after hitting the ground they should disperse the shadows around);
 - Motion scanner; useful to notify about movements in the darkness / behind the wall;
 - Image Intensifier; when used it makes the FoV wider, at the cost of everything being in greenish tones; should be unusable (blinding effect) where there is too much light;
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: Kornel Kisielewicz on April 04, 2010, 14:15
BTW, AliensRL webpage has got a lift up for the upcoming release ;)
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: Thomas on April 05, 2010, 04:49
Yeah, but the template you used still has "DoomRL" instead of "AliensRL" above the screenshots/downloads/features links.
Title: Re: AliensRL 0.8 Beta 2
Post by: skarczew on April 06, 2010, 04:57
Thomas is right, I've just noticed it too.