[Solais]

Wait, you can actually kill the Beyonders? I thought the MIA gun was there as the only way to battle them, huh. Then again, the first time I played this level, I completely missed/forgotten about the Psionic Shield too.
(Kinda wished that I'd get a research from MIA-ing a beyonder tho.)

Speaking of that, it seems MIA-ing a Beyonder causes some sort of bug, as the sound of their reappearance starts to play looping like 5 times after each other/overlapping each other, and this sound loops randomly playing through the whole level until the end in regular intervals.

[TheDragonLiner]

Solais, on 08 May 2019 - 12:41 AM, said:

Wait, you can actually kill the Beyonders? I thought the MIA gun was there as the only way to battle them, huh. Then again, the first time I played this level, I completely missed/forgotten about the Psionic Shield too.
(Kinda wished that I'd get a research from MIA-ing a beyonder tho.)

Speaking of that, it seems MIA-ing a Beyonder causes some sort of bug, as the sound of their reappearance starts to play looping like 5 times after each other/overlapping each other, and this sound loops randomly playing through the whole level until the end in regular intervals.

Yes indeed you can kill them but you have to use energy weapons to harm them. Therefore Laser Pistol, Auto Cannon's alternate mode, and Electric Cannon. It takes something like 4 shots of the latter two.
As for the Psionic Shield, it will block off Beyonder attacks only AFTER having depleted your Spirit Armors. You can't protect Spirit Armor with the item.

[Jblade]

They take drastically reduced damage from energy weapons; but don't forget that they're not just tough but also limitless - you only fight about 1 or 2 at a time and that's with the odds stacked heavily in your favour in this map set. You won't say the same when the skies are filled with them and you don't have spirit armour or the Vajra device to protect you

[TheDragonLiner]

Final Feedback about Maps.

_Debriefing : Well to avoid spoilers it's hard to find constructive stuff to say. My first and main remark will be that, for once, James talks about the optional missions. And this is making me suspect that IF you didn't play these missions yet when you finished the game then he wouldn't be talking about it. I'll never know but I'm heavily suspecting such a mechanic has been pulled off and I'm liking it !

As for the story, it's a good resumé of the story and a good stressing of the importance each mission had, even though Zaxtor, Umbriel and Xuglop's missions didn't seem to have much of an impact, but my imagination is still stimulated enough by these words to give each mission their respective importance. As for the extended ending it makes me think of 2 things. On the one hand, only 2 of the main bad guys remain which gives a feeling of progression. On the other hand we don't know about Jekyll and Vilmos. In the case of Jekyll I already know we'll get over with him in the next episode but what about Vilmos ? In past episodes, it didn't seem like he had been dead in his confrontation with Highwire, yet it feels like he's totally gone as if he were dead.

In any case, expectations and drooling though the scene gives more than in the previous episodes IMO.


_Conclusive conclusion : Well what can I say ... just like Ep2, this is epic win and it brings the TC ever so closer to the patheon of gaming, as if it weren't already. What I especially like in this episode, compared to the others, is the nature of the levels. They're way more open, spacious and some of them are non-linear, it's a good change IMO. They're also VERY varied both case-by-case and within each case. This is also the episode in which Sniper Scopes have a REAL use while it was marginal in the previous episodes.

An element I already stressed is the characters. They ALL got something to do or to say in this episode which I find enormous compared to what happened in Ep2 ! And the only characters who didn't have a specific mission yet now do. And Highwire also has stuff to do. Even though Mikko still talks in this episode, it's kinda too bad he doesn't have anything to do but since he had 3 missions in the previous 2 episodes, it's okay. Gotta clear some room for the others man !

As far as content is concerned, the level may not be as numerous as before but the quality and length greatly compensate. As for weapons there are good things, though I'll talk about it more in detail in future entries. MANY researches, a fair bunch of them are usefull, and they give some enemies more use (namely all the non-cycloid ones). Only one new Artefact and no Melee though, that's the only small blackspot there >_> (I'm always dreaming of seeing a useable Pick Axe like in Silent Hill 4 in AMC ^^)


If I had complains to formulate in general there would be 1_ Severe performance issues ! Because of the new EDuke32 I'm pretty sure. I played Trequonia recently and it runs better ! (apart from that freaking texture cache >_<) and 2_ Gun sounds. I'm having a REAL HARD TIME getting used to the new gun sounds mostly because many of them are less punchy and satisfying than before ... Especially James' UMP-45 ! It's a 45 cal ! The new sound definitely doesn't translate that ! Will be discussed more case-to-case in future entries.



In any case, KEEP UP THE F***ING GOOD WORK MAN !!

[TheDragonLiner]

Alternate Feedback ?

Alternate Ammo.


_Explosive Shells : New explosion sound ... I REALLY prefer the old one because the new one is WAY TOO tame for what it is !


_Flechette Shells : New hitting sound. Applies to all nail firing guns. I like the new hitting sound, more punchy than before.


_Incendiary Shells : New stuff. Firing sound is okay. It's basically Zaxtor's Firestorm and Sang's Hellfire Staff's alternate fire in a nutshell. Therefore it is very useful when you can be arsed using it. And just like the other 2 guns, since it leaves a lot of trails of fire, you don't need to even hit the enemy in order to deal the damage. Very powerfull stuff against Cycloids and Anthros in overal, I aprove.



_Silver Bolts : Short. Feels like they've become more powerful because I don't remember being able to kill a sorcerer in one hit before.



_Atomic Bomb : Short. New explosion sound is better than the overly tame old one.


_Heat Seeking Card : Short. Now we can upgrade them to be worth 10 shots instead of 5. Since I don't use them often it doesn't change much to me but it's still nice, I admit only 5 is a bit few.



_Armor Piercing Slugs : Short. Nice to see we can have them now. I found it too bad that we could only have the normal ones.


_Electro Slugs : New stuff. It's basically the main fire of Sang's new Sacred Manacle. Electricity = Effective against everybody + Bonus on Metal and Underwater. Pretty solid stuff then. Surely I won't assign it but it's good to have around. I made good use of them when I played Egypt with Sang and the temporary AKs we find arround the place. I aprove.


_Cryo Slugs : New stuff. Same as above though like Sang's spell instead. It's not as potentially devastating as the Electro Slugs and it only fires 1 projectile but still nice to have. And it's Ice so I like it either way. In short that's some ice stuff, I mean nice stuff.



Conclusion : Well there wasn't much to talk about but there was already much to play with as it was. My only black spot is the new explosion sound for the Explosive Shells, apart from that the new additions are good, especially the Incendiary Shells, and the old ones have gotten more enjoyable to use (apart from Explo Shells).

[Jblade]

Old sound was just far far too loud and drowned everything out, which made them kind of obnoxious.

[Micky C]

Thanks for your exhaustive effort giving feedback TheDragonLiner!

My character says "Damn that was annoying" whenever one of the TV screens is broken that was showing a commercial for the University of Straya.

That commercial coincidentally bears some resemblance for a commercial for an unrelated university.

[TheDragonLiner]

I hope I didn't exhaust YOU with all my carpets of paragraphs
Not done yet though !

GET EQUI ..... I already did this one

Equipment.

So I like the new equipment loadout system. However I would say, despite the high cost it would induce, it kinda makes levels potentially easy. Right off the bat, having both Armor (and/or Shotgun Loading Belt) and Health Kit at the start of a level is too much IMO. That's pretty much why I restrict myself with less than 6k.



_Body Armor : I've noticed that armor in general isn't as effective as before. Some enemies can still harm you through it and explosions now break through the armor. It makes the overal game a tiny bit harder, especially on higher difficulties where having armor and keeping it was the game-winner's strategy. This strategy almost no longer works now. So now you can upgrade them with Strength and Plating. It basically makes the armor closer to the splendeur it used to have in Ep2 actually.


_Spirit Shield : Personally, as useless as ever. Especially since it still suffers from that glitch that makes you pick them up while you have less than 100 points and so waste it all. Besidse, since armor is no longer as effective as before it's even worse ! Even for the one or 2 levels where it could be of use, it's not that much usefull, especially when your character has 20 Spirit Armor by default and recharging.


_Energy Armor : It's basically Snowfall's forcefield but without having Body Armor at the start of a level. It's indeed a valuable thing to have, especially on Armagedon difficulty even though it's not THAT determining. Obviously it is useless to Snowfall since it doesn't stack on top his natural one. It's hefty though for a good reason. And with that "Personel 23" research it's be EVEN MORE of a good reason for it to be hefty ! Imagine if it could stack on Snowfall's natural force field, it would be 100 ! Clearly the best addition to this list though the hardest to exploit.



_Heat Vision : So the fact Night and Heat are separate is good though too bad it's Night by default for everyone. I ALWAYS prefered Heat vision (though I still keep night for some characters). I find it more useful than NV because it higlights enemies while NV no longer does, and I just love that red filter !


_Night Vision : Same here for 1st part. Now Night Vision no longer highlights enemies. It's only use now is to max out the field of vision. It's a good way to differentiate it from Heat Vision. Though there are still cases where it higlights stuff. Namely the player himself, enemies in "sleeping" state and Slimes.

_Ghost Vision : Basically an intermediary between the previous two and with a nice black and white shade that I like a lot. I assigned it to Merlijn and Rusty because I'm too sad to see they no longer have their good old black and white visions. It works mighty fine in Zaxtor's level. I'll have to check if it works as much in other levels but I somehow doubt is. I'm hoping it will be as usefull in Ep4.


_Balistic Mask : I don't really see the difference personally. I only remember James said it makes it so that you don't die from Red Cultists' special CQC attack. And I remember he said something about the Protozoid Slimes but I didn't see any protection against them. It says it prevents vision from obscuring but this happens so rarely to me ... I still gave it to Mikko for diversity's sake and because it kinda suits him but it's not terribly useful IMO.



_Health Kit : Not gonna develop on what I said earlier so I'll instead talk about its upgrades. Firstly, Emergency Foam is very usefull. Being able to fill it from Health Devices on walls is cool (the best thing), super usefull in the Under Attack level (especially with Zaxtor) ! Saves us some potential backtracking. Anti Toxin ? I have no idea what it does since I don't remember seeing any form of poisoning >_>. De-Thawing Kit can be useful I guess but it happens so rarely (and swiftly) that it never has the occasion to be of real use. And first time I use it it sets the screen in perpetual blue shade (I'm blue dadabee dabouda !). And the speed increase is good, though it sometimes oddly gives me between 1 and 4 HP OVER my normal limit O_o


_Riot Shield : So it's basically Merlijn's Shield for all characters except not repairable. It works well, just like Merlijn's shield though not as much as Merlijn's used to be in Ep2. Sometimes it doesn't block projectiles I thought it would somehow. Still I like it and gave it to Snowfall because he has many guns he can use alongside, he's the best character to use it with. Besides it goes well with his colors. And I like the visual in all cases.



_Protective Boots : So now we can have them ? Well not terribly useful having them early IMO since we're given them in levels most of the time. Durability Upgrade is nice though, especially if there are Purple Sludge arround. At least it's fairly cheap. Gave it to a character or two in order to even out my overal loadout costs.


_Flippers : Well what I thought was a level-exclusive happens to be equipable. It's very cool to have, being able to swim as fast as sprinting and doing diagonals with it, though it's not a massive change. At least it's ultra cheap. Gave it to James since he's the only one to have flippers when having Suba Gear. BTW good thing there is no glitch in the Egypt levels when you find the Flippers while you already got them, I've tested it.



Conclusion : Well there has been a fair share of work here. The new system works well even though I voluntarily restrict my exploiting it for it can make certain levels too easy, but for first time players it can be of good help. My favorites are the Riot Shield, the improvements to the Health Kits, Energy Shield despite being potentially OP and finally being able to switch between NV and HV. I made it so that characters who used to have HV in Ep1 now do in Ep3 (Zaxt, Sang, Geof and Mikko). My only complain comes from the Spirit Vest which is as useless as ever IMO.

[Solais]

Personally I feel that the loadout system/equipment is almost useless on the earliest difficulties, as it often costs more than what you earn from missions. But I did try out a harder difficulty run recently just for the fun of it, and the money I got just from a single level seems to be exponentially larger than on Normal, so I can see the system being useful on those harder difficulties.

So it's not only me who feels like sometimes some enemies attack through armor... and from what you describe, it seems Ep2's armor is still a thing on Easy, because I can go entire levels without losing it, it just blocks most attacks, while on Normal and up, it's a whole lot less effective.

[TheDragonLiner]

Solais, on 09 May 2019 - 11:16 PM, said:

Personally I feel that the loadout system/equipment is almost useless on the earliest difficulties, as it often costs more than what you earn from missions. But I did try out a harder difficulty run recently just for the fun of it, and the money I got just from a single level seems to be exponentially larger than on Normal, so I can see the system being useful on those harder difficulties.

So it's not only me who feels like sometimes some enemies attack through armor... and from what you describe, it seems Ep2's armor is still a thing on Easy, because I can go entire levels without losing it, it just blocks most attacks, while on Normal and up, it's a whole lot less effective.

The length of missions also has an influence. Since missions in the first 2 episodes aren't as long, and filled with enemies, then it's problematic to take many pieces and stil be in benefit. however in Ep3, missions are so long, and there are so many enemies, that you can make up for your stuff quite easily, especially in the first half !

It's possible they added some new tweaks regarding difficulty that I'm not aware of. Personally I played old Ep1 V1 on Easy ONCE and NEVER EVER played easy again. In Ep2 I specialized myself too much on Expert, to the point I played Ep3 on Expert right away without noticing ^^

[Solais]

I tried playing Megabase on Professional (skipping over Expert, because why not), and there a whole lot more enemies on the level than on Normal (different types too). So what I noticed that while on Normal, I maybe got, dunno, around 2-3k cash, on Pro, I got more than 10k.

On the other hand, the final mission of Ep2 on Normal, despite being super long, every time it changed character, the loadout cost was removed, while not having enough enemies to compensate. So while my characters only had loadout costs of 2-4k, at the end of this very long mission, I ended up in the negative cash. So it seems, using any loadout that costs more than 2k, on Easy or Normal, is simply a waste of money, while I can see it being a whole lot more useful on Pro and above.

Speaking of that Pro run of Megabase, didn't know I could equip a mop as a weapon. Or that it's one of the strongest weapons in the game.

[John Brown]

Quick question, for the "stealth update" mentioned a while back, do I just need to reinstall the v3.2 patch from moddb, or do I need the entire episode 3 download as well? I'd like to try for those research upgrades I missed (cryo + electric ammo, and also de-thawer I believe)

[Jblade]

nah it's just the patch, that's all you need.

[TheDragonLiner]

Jblade, on 10 May 2019 - 07:15 AM, said:

nah it's just the patch, that's all you need.

It would be nice if the Changelog were updated alongside the "stealth" updates >_>

[John Brown]

Jblade, on 10 May 2019 - 07:15 AM, said:

nah it's just the patch, that's all you need.

Thank you. I'm most of the way through the big Egypt level, with Merlijn (on normal difficulty, I need a breather), so I can unlock those grenades finally. I will say, the funniest thing so far is seeing a legit Kalashnikov rifle in that Dark Souls ripoff HUD (see attached).

Also, I forget if this was reported already, but when moving between levels, Merlijn's shield always resets to 100, no matter what it was before the level switch (this includes to/from the hub, as well as from Aqueducts to Deep Waterway). It's not a huge problem to me, I just thought I'd mention it. And for his fully upgraded Blunderbuss, is there supposed to be a sight on it, going by the pictures on the upgrade machine? In-game, I just see the bag of glowing ammo (which itself looks awesome). Again, this also is not a big problem for me. I also rarely use the Blunderbuss so if this is how it always was, I just never noticed before (I'm too used to... very stubbornly trying to use the Tibetan Cannon instead).

Attached thumbnail(s)

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[TheDragonLiner]

Merlijn's Shield is reset to 100 when you enter a level for the first time. If you go back to levels you've already been to then it will reset to the last value you had at that time. Example : If I loose the Shield in The Tomb, I'll have it back at 100 when I go elsewhere, but whenever I'll go back to The Tomb, it will be in broken state again. And so on .... I already reported that in Ep2 with the HK levels.

Feedback !!

I'll deal with Temporary Weapons this time, however it's extremely long, and yet I removed a few entries, so I will split it in 2 or 3 parts.

Temporary Weapons (p1)


_AK-103 : Our character's hand still dissappears when using the grenade launcher. New firing sound, Not as punchy as before but I still like it because it's still has punch and it's easier on the ears. New reloading animation when empty less classy than before but silhgtly quicker, just like with the FAL. It's also more credible I would say all things considered.


_Assault Rifle that can overheat : New gun. Well it looks good. The pick-up sprite could use a slight aesthetic improvement. It plays well too. It's basically Micky's Prototype Assault Rifle but available to all. Firing sound isn't as stylish as Micky's but it remains good. I aprove ! Too bad it can't be unlocked for the Loadout Editor because I would REALLY like to assign it to Snowfall ! It compensates his default AR's weaknesses quite well !


_Barret Sniper Rifle : New firing sound. Personally I kinda prefer the old one which had a good punch, it's a .50 BMG after all. And I like to see that the first person sprite has been tweaked. It looks better, personally I think it should have a brand new sprite but it still looks better. Especially since our character's hand is no longer at the muzzle !



_Callico SMG : New sounds. For the firing sound I'm mixed because the old and new ones are kinda equivalent to me ... However I prefer the old reloading sound (same as James' PP-19).


_Chaingun : New gun. It looks good, though the pick-up sprite could use a tiny bit of work, it behaves good and it's more ballanced and easier to use than the Riot Minigun. Firing sound's okay. It doesn't pierce body armor though and it's surprisingly weak, for ballance I presume. It could use a tiny increase in accuracy IMO. Temp Weapon for Geoffrey has always been problematic to me, this gun somehow managed to settle my problem ^^


_Crossbow : So it seems the bolts have become a tiny bit more powerful because I can one-shot grey and red cultists reliably while in the previous version it sometimes required a second attack so that's good news. And the new sound for when a new arrow is loaded is there but I don't know what to think of it compared to the old one. Also it's nice to see the difference between Normal and Silver bolts. Only thing I don't like is that, now, when the bolts hit a target they barely make any sound. In old V2 at least you knew when it hit and it made them feel like a good punch. Lastly I definitely aprove of the fact Merlijn can use it with the shield !


_Enforcer Gun : The firing sound has a lower sound quality than before, it's not as crispy as before, like in vanilla Duke which makes it less punchy than before. It is sad T_T. However we now have a new alternate fast-fire which is nice, gives the gun a bit more versatility, especially in CQC, and I always like using it ^^ Especially with the Red variant !



_Flamethrower : New look ... I really prefer the old one, namely because seeing this WGR2 one everywhere kinda feels tiresome ... I really prefer the old one's more unique look. New firing sound is okay though, less simplistic than the old one.


_FN FAL : It now has a voxel, and a good looking one too. New iron sight is good. Not much of a difference but still. New firing sound ... it lacks a punch compared to its previous incarnation but it's easier on the ears. And reloading animation when empty is same as with AK-103. And the reloading sound is VERY tame compared to before and the very visible charging handle isn't even cocked. At least the accuracy is now no longer glitched and THIS lends a big service !

[TheDragonLiner]

It looks like we're not in Texas anymore ...

(my first American joke, watch out !)

Temporary Weapons (p2).


_Green Laser Gun : Now we can see our character's hand, it's okay. New firing sound ... I will aprove of it JUST because it no longer sounds like a cute "piou piou piou". It could, at least, use a bit of an increase in volume. Oh and we can zoom-in now, always nice. I think I remember that the laser tended to spray a bit on very long distance shots, it's not the case here. The weapon therefore behaves better.


_Katana : No difference, apart from the new sound when hitting solid stuff which is more fitting than the tame old one. It even matches most of the surfaces we can strike. I would have liked the swinging sound to be different though.


_M-60 : New firing sound. I prefer the old one. It was WAY more punchy and classy than the new one (recurring thing). Also it would have been nice to have a new first person sprite because it looks ridiculously small compared to what it really is, especially now that it's more centered on screen.


_MIA Gun : It now has a fancy new firing effect, same deal with the Mini-Shrinker. And you're no longer blinded when you hit an enemy which makes it more agreable to use.


_Missile Launcher : I like the new tweaks to its sprites in overall.


_Nailgun : New firing sound. It may sound a bit generic but it's way more punchy than the old one, and the new hitting sound on nails emphasizes that effect. More feeling and more satisfying to use than before therefore.


_Plasma Gun : The new pick-up sprite looks much better than before, it no longer looks like it has wooden grips. As for the new firing sound, it's more punchy and less generic than before and it even has the firing effect to go with it. Approved !


_Police Shotgun : New sound is okay, better than the old one, though it could be better. Personally the biggest concern is still the First Person Sprite which really needs a makeover.

[TheDragonLiner]

Getting over with the temporary weapons. Next time we'll tackle all the character-specific feedback like for Ep2.
Before that a small report. When using the MAC-10s, Snowfall's hands are white instead of blue >>

Temporary Weapons (last).


_Railgun : New gun. Another one from Shadow Warior. I like the "Sniper Scope that actually works !" referring to there being no working scope in the game. Gameplay-wise it's basically the same gun as Geoffrey's Railgun though with slightly slower speed. For sounds it doesn't sound as punchy as Geoffrey's but it still sounds way better than in SW, just like with the Riot Gun ! The gun doesn't bring much but I must admit I gave it to Snowfall for a long while because it went well with him. That's the kind of weapon, like the M-60 for instance, which really brings something only within levels, because I don't find a real use for it as a loadout weapon.


_Red Enforcer Gun : No difference ALTHOUGH the new sound system makes firing it sound more punchy than before, I aprove. Also it is affected by the new high ROF alt-fire research and it makes using it a freaking blast ! And it compensates well for its, sometimes, surprisingly low power.


_Riot Minigun : The new sound system makes it feel more satisfying to blast off with it !


_Ripper Hear : The heart beat sound is more tame and realistic than before, I aprove because it's easier on the ears and more credible. However it feels like the clone isn't as effective as before, just like the NPCs they fire 2/3 of their shots off-target it's kinda sad ...


_Tommy Gun : Firstly we can see our character's hand on the grip which is a nice touch. Then the fact the drum changes color depending on the used ammo is also a nice touch. Same for the gun's bolt moving when shooting. The new sound at first I was sceptical but with time I like it. It is more adapted to the new fast rate of fire compared to the old version and also more adapted to its actual power. Also the old alternate fire is gone, I can understand this new itteration rendered the old alt-fire redundant. In overall, it became more satisfying to use !


_Zilla Missile Launcher : A VERY fancy new crosshair when using an atomic bomb it's very nice. And a new explosion sound for the atomic bomb ... It could be better but at least it's no longer shy as freak like before.

Conclusion : So in overall there are limited additions but lots and lots of tweaks. In terms of gameply and aesthetics there are good improvements. I especially like the new Assault Rifle that can Overheat, too bad we can't unlock it for the loadout T_T Only black spot on the list is the firing sound of one or two gun, namely the M-60, which will be a recurring thing and I'm sorry in advance for it >_>

[TheDragonLiner]

Time for James Leadfield ... I mean James Standfield !

So James now has totally new voice acting. It's as good as before though with better sound quality. it's weird but there are some phrases in the first 2 episodes where it sounds like he still has his old voice O_o. About the armor indication, it sure looks kinda weird when we pick-up a Super Armor because the Spirit and Fire armors have a weird yellowish shade ... Surely it makes it clear that we have more than 100 of these but still ...

_Glock : New firing sound ... way less punchy than it used to be, and the power upgrade doesn't change anything. I just used to LOVE the old version's power upgraded firing sound ! Sad T_T


_OT-27 : New firing sound. Though I prefer the old one, at least since it's supposed to be a low caliber gun I guess it's still okay ... I guess ...


_PPK : So now it's forcefully silenced. New firing sound is good, more punchy than the old one. And the new reloading sound is okay, more fitting to the gun than the old one IMO. Aproved !


_Golden Jericho : Ah yes, finally a firing sound that's good for it ! And I like the slight tweak to the reloading sound. They also seem to be a bit more powerfull. The gun has become more enjoyable to use than before, to the point I take them more often than the 5.7. Definitely aproved !



_Protecta Striker : Just a new firing sound. Just like before, it lacks in puch compared to the old one, but it's easier on the ears. With time I growed to aprove of the new sound.


_Browning Auto 5 : New firing sound, I like it actually. And I appreciate the fact it doesn't make that clinging sound when we aim. Also it seems as if we can no longer snipe enemies from kilometers away. I made some small tests with alternate ammo and it doesn't seem to trigger the glitch like it used to guarantee it which I TOTALLY aprove.


_KSG-12 : Firstly thank goodness you replaced the "cling cling" sound when changing tubes. New firing and reloading sounds. Firing sounds good, didn't loose in punch. The reloading sound is less tame than the old one. I still kinda prefer the old firing sound but by a very small margin.


_Golden USAS 12 : Now that's unexpected ... Well it's still better than having a color swap of the Jackhammer. It has the same performances apart from the fact it's semi-auto. The firing sound could use an increase in volume. And the reloading is kinda weird since it makes it look like it's bull-pup while it's not O_o And it shows a charging handle that isn't there when idle. I still approve of the change for the sake of variety, and I kinda like playing arround with it, just like the Jerichoes now.



_MP-9 : New sounds. The new reloading sound is good I prefer it over the old one. New firing sound however is less punchy, tamer than before so I prefer the old one.


_MP-5 : New firing sound. More punchy than the old one. I like it for that reason, besides it doesn't run along the typical video games line that suppressors reduces the gun shot down to 10 decibels (exaggeration). New reloading sound's okay. Just because of the new firing sound I'm satisfied of the gun's new itteration.


_PP-19 : New firing sound ... I am mixed because on the one hand I prefer the old one because of the more punchy sound but on the other hand I kinda like this one when going full-auto so I'll remain neutral. Also nice seeing a charging handle trick when empty reload.


_UMP-45 : New sounds ... I prefer the old ones. This doesn't sound as punchy as a .45 would suggest and the reloading sounds were more ass-kicking before. I'm sorry but, to me, this is just too tame for a .45 caliber.



_Feat Ranger Rocket Launcher : New gun. First off it looks very good. Voxel isn't the best looking one out there but it's very far from being the worst but the First Person Sprite is very good though. In terms of gameplay it's basically like the Zilla Missile Launcher but with a faster rate of fire. Compared to the default gun, you sacrifice a great deal of power (a dozen shots for a Battlelord !) over multi-purpose and armor piercing capability. I like the fact that, like the other ZML kinda weapon, there's a display for the different ammos you have. My only complain will come from the sounds which are too tame IMO. Even though I'm not a fan of the ZML kinda weapons, It's still 100% aproved because it's a better weapon than the ZML from SW !



_Laser XM-8 : New firing sound is okay I guess, at least it's more audible than the old one and more punchy but not by much. New reloading sounds is okay too though could use a small increase in volume. Also 20 mag capacity I aprove because 50 was too much IMO for the power it boasts, we could never really appreciate its power and capacity because of lacking suitable enemies so now that it's down to 20 I'd say it's better. However the alternate mode has become extremely weak compared to before ! You've been too harsh there guys O_o


_Auto-Crossbow : The shooting sound feels more punchy than before so I aprove. Though only 5 shots per mag now ? Feels kinda harsh to me. I suppose it's for ballance because it's true spraying 20 bolts all over the place was utterly devastating ! However still 20 for the silver ones ?



_Steyr AUG : New firing sound. Less punchy than before but easier on the ears and when going full auto it remains statisfying. Also the accuracy seems to have been fixed and the grip upgrade seems to be worth the trouble (even though 50 credit wasn't a real waste IMO). 400 ammo !? Hell yeah ! It's good given how the gun can be surprisingly weak in certain circumstances, I aprove.


_M4-15 : New gun. On the looks department it's okay though the reloading sprite is a bit pixelated, must be because of Rotate Sprite. As for sounds, for a silenced gun it sounds kinda punchy, could be better but it's still okay to me. Then in combat situation it does the job, it's very accurate though not as much as the others. I'd say it has power in-between the AUG and the LR-300 though it feels surprisingly powerful against PigCops and Enforcers alike. It obviously pierces body armor. It's a good gun in the end, it's basically the most ballanced one of the bunch and it sounds kinda punchy for a silenced gun, all in all 100% aproved !

_G-36 : New Gun. Without noticing I've played quite a bunch with this weapon. It looks okay, voxel's very nice. FPS sprite could be a tiny bit better. Good sounds overall, punchy fire ... Hollow Point = DEVASTATING ! Though it is supposed to be inefective against armor I still managed to defeat a PigCop with it but with an entire magazine ... And another M203 grenade launcher ... I'll say we're starting to have too many of those. In any case, I REALLY like that gun. It plays super well and feels super good to use. It won a place in my usual loadout straight away, it's my favorite addition to James's arsenal. DEFINITELY aproved !



_M-16 : So now the shotgun can carry 3+1 instead of 6. Sounds more credible for such a small piece. It makes it a bit tedious to use but it's more credible. The ROF upgrade is now more worth the trouble to me.


_AN-94 : The charging handle still moves on its own when empty reload ... the charging handle sound better than before IMO, because it's more fitting to the actual gun compared to Highwire's VAL from V2.


_Gilboa Snake : New gun. Talk about exotic stuff. I would say that it is complementary to the AN-94. It has intermediary power despite firing 2 by 2 (in real life that's not how it works though). It looks good, voxels good, sounds good and plays good. I would say, that during the reload animation, the guns is slightly pixelated and the front of the gun when idle looks kinda small, but that's pretty much the only reproach I can find. I'll still prefer the AN-94 for its gameplay but originality FTW, and going full-auto at close range has more feeling than the other 2. Aproved !



Conclusion : So in the end James has gotten quite the work-arround O_o I approve of the gameplay tweaks to the guns and the new additions (especially the G-36, it's my favorite !). However when it comes to firing sounds it's a different story. I must admit to you that, when I tested out the guns to spot differences with all characters I started telling myslef "What the hell did they do with those gun sounds damn it >_<" but with time I got used to some of them and tempered my feelings. I'm still sad about the Glock and UMP which severely lost in punch T_T Apart from that I still like the new additions, and the guns I use the most got better in overall. Choices have ALWAYS been problematic to me for James, and the G-36's arrival contributes to solving my problem ^^

[Solais]

So, did Dis Base and Abyss on Professional now... I guess my Pro run is on. It's really interesting. Never before I played any FPS above normal difficulty, not to mention, jumping over Expert. There's just something special with AMC TC that makes me want to play it more. Sure the game is super hard, but it's interesting to play more carefully like that. Also, seeing how I get a lot more funds per mission, and also having all upgrades already, I feel more free playing around with different loadouts (and the energy shield which is a godsend), making this playthrough a lot different than the previous one.

[TheDragonLiner]

The most badass fury is here !

Zaxtor Znort.


_Auto Rifle : I REALLY approve of its new accuracy because it was the main factor that made Zaxtor weak in long-range combat. The fact we can now reload on our own is okay, I didn't mind not having the possibility. It's mostly going to be useful on Pro-like difficulties to me. Firing sound is okay, easier on the ears than before but it kinda lacks in punch, besides applying the power upgrade doesn't change its sound so it's kinda too bad. Quick mention of the fact we can now carry 300 rounds, I was used to the 200 but with 25 ammo per pick up it sure was kinda fast to reach maximal amount and start wasting potential ammo. Quick mention of the new reloading animation which is smoother than before and it lets us catch a tiny sight of a bullet at the top. Quick mention of the new explosion sprite for the grenade laucnher upgrade. It's still nice to see something new though the new explosion looks kinda tame compared to before IMO. It at least has the advantage of being way less obstrusive to the player's sight I'll definitely give it that !


_Golden Auto Rifle : New firing sound. I aprove of it because it no longer sounds like "piou piou piou".


_MP-5K : New gun. It looks like an old sprite to me. However the sounds and animations are good and it plays well so I aprove of the addition. A thing about the reloading animation, it looks as if the magazine drops from/gets into the main grip instead of its usual place, a small mistake. Wait WHAT !? 600 max ammo O_O !? Yikes, I already thought that Geoffrey's 500 on the default SMG was much >_> After spending time with it, it's really enjoyable to use. I'll still stick to the other 2 guns for gameplay and strategic reasons but in EDF Missions it works quite well !



_Super Shotgun : I like the new, smoother, animation. It's nothing much but it's still nice and a breath of fresh sight (weird). However I must say I liked the older firing sound better. Just like before it kinda lacks a bit in punch compared to before (not by much though), and it could use an increase in volume.


_Quad-Shot : New firing sound. Sounds good but could be better for a 4-barrel shotgun, at least a slight increase in volume would be nice. At least it no longer sounds like an explosion ^^



_Default SMG : I like its new firing sound since the old one made it sound like it was silenced. So the new sound is way more coherent than the old one. And nice being able to zoom-in when using one. It has a scope for a reason now, though it doesn't seem to really gain in accuracy, just like the RC-AP I had reported long ago. Also the fact we can now choose to dual-wield it or not is nice because we will now never be locked out of using it when on a motorbike or other. As for the fact we can shoot left or right independently, it's okay though I would say it doesn't bring much, but hey better to have it than not to.


_RC-AP SMG : Well just copy and paste the last 3 things I said in the previous one. Though it seems only the right gun is armor piercing, not the left one. We have a need here !


_Super Galil : New firing sound. It took time getting used to it so now I kinda like it. I was going to say I prefer the old one but it's true it was kinda hard on the ears. It still kinda lacks in punch as usual ...


_Plasma Launcher : New gun. So it's basically the same one as in PYP. Stronger than the Laser RPG and effective against everything but it has no real splash damage and you get less ammo than usual. Even though I would have liked a model that is different from the old PYP one I still welcome it for it both fits Zaxtor's style and it's a novelty weapon compared to the overal arsenal, it contributes to the diversity. However the grip has a color problem, parts of it are black while some other parts are grey. 95% aproved !



_Laser Devastator : The smoke effect is no more and I aprove because it basically rendered the enemy invisible and harder to fight (along with causing framerate drops). Also the shooting animation has been corrected which is cool. It also feels like it has gotten a slight buff in damage ? Became an overall better gun to use.

_Firestorm : New sound. Not sure if I prefere the old one or not so I'll stay neutral.


_Trip Mines : I like to see the good old Oblivion sprite that's for sure. Too bad they're just regular mines and not the sonic ones from Ovlivion but maybe it would have been cheated of a weapon ?


_Petrify Gun : I like the new sprite which is not only widescreen friendly (like the RPG) but it is also more classy and polished. Too bad the weapon still doesn't PETRIFY like its name is supposed to suggest ... (like in Oblivion)



Conclusion : So limited changes but changes for the better in most cases. Glad to see he's got some new voice-acting for completion and a very good new gun. I already liked the character as it was and I like him better than before. I'm very satisfied.

[Solais]

Noticed some HUD problems regards to the rechargeable shield:

Mentioned it before but for Snowfall, the shield meter overlaps with the fire and spirit armor meters.
For Highwire, the shield meter is located at the exact same place as the armor meter, overlapping it.
And as for Sang and Rusty, they are missing the shield meter completely.

Edit: James' Shield meter also overlaps with the armor meters.

[Solais]

Finished Episode 1 on Professional! It was quite a thing, and I'm slowly getting used to this. Of course, the main thing will be Episode 2, which I always found to be the most difficult of the three. However, after I did all main missions, I still didn't get the extended ending, until I did Revolution too. That means, I have to do all side missions too on Pro? Including Zaxtor's levels? Gulp...

Discovered two bugs:

1 - I don't know what caused this, but just randomly, as I was reloading James' default shotgun (had extended mag upgrade for it), the HUD suddenly broke for it, and I could no longer fire the weapon. Screenshot: https://i.imgur.com/bVueqXN.jpg

2 - In the end credits when the characters are introduced, Episode 1, this is what it says instead of introducing Rusty: https://i.imgur.com/xMPJQij.jpg

[Zaxtor]

In Oblivion it pretrify ( even in the updated oblivion )

[TheDragonLiner]

Zaxtor, on 14 May 2019 - 06:17 AM, said:

In Oblivion it pretrify ( even in the updated oblivion )

Will it have the updated graphics ? Just curious ...

[TheDragonLiner]

C'est parti pour Merlijn l'enchanteur !
Merlijn Van Oostrum.


Firstly brand new HUD. Surely now it is the Shield that is hidden but I prefer this over hiding the weapon. Surely we no longer know exactly how many HP we have but I guess it fits Merlijn's more antique style. Complain on the fact the ammo count doesn't tell you when you use alternate ammo or not and how many you have (Tested with Crossbow only). I also notice that he has new leg sprites which are more fitting to his 3rd person sprite and it's no longer a mere adaptation from Duke3D. I'm also glad to see that he can now wield the Crossbow and his shield at the same time, aproved. Lastly he no longer has his metalic noises when he walks, I neither cry nor celebrate their absence. And I like to see he has a new bunch of catch-phrases and gets to intervene in cutscenes.


_Dagger + Golden : No difference although it seems we now always start with 10 instead of 3 or 4 previously, I aprove because it's VERY easy to lose them (especially when they fucking clip through enemies I HATE IT >_<). And they have become more powerful because we can now one-shot a Pigcop with the Golden one, I aprove !


_Sword + Golden : No difference. Though we can now wield 2 at once. It doesn't bring much but it's cool. And they have both become more powerful, same commentary as with Daggers.


_Bow + Compound : They seem to have gotten more powerfull too, to the point the Compound one is almost devastating, especially against Battlelords.


_Holly Hand-Grenade : They no longer bounce no matter what. Personally I prefer them to bounce T_T And they still can't destroy breakable walls like the Dojo's outside wall or the green one from ABBA, the disapointment T_T


_Magic Sword : The Flame Sword is quieter than before and there is a different sound when we swing it, it's okay however it makes the game lagg like crazy after 2 swings O_o. The Ice Sword, apart from widescreen friendly sprite, feels more powerfull because I don't remember being able to one-shot or two-shot a Mamano before (it used to reliably require 3 full hits). As for the Thunder Sword it's the same as with Freeze though it has a new firing sound, which I do prefer over the old one.


_Blunderbuss : New firing sounds and new animation. The new animation at least makes it so that we can still see our enemy despite the camera moving upward (less than before). The new firing sound is good, more punchy than it used to be. Power upgrade doesn't change it much though.




Conclusion : Nothing much changed but everything became better, especially the HUD. I'm only disappointed by the fact the Grenades no longer bounce and still can't destroy certain breakable walls, it's the only black spot on my list. The overall buffing up of weapons makes taking the risk of playing as him more rewarding and satisfying. It was frustrating needing 2 sword hits or 2 Golden Dagger throws in the previous itteration. Changes are limited but since he gets a new HUD, a mission for himself and gets to intervene in several cutscenes I'm still very satisfied.

[Jblade]

I appreciate the feedback, but this minute level of feedback isn't really helpful since I'm going to be changing stuff in the future and I don't like the idea of someone going over everything with a fine tooth comb and pointing it out to everyone just thoughts on the story is more interesting and useful to me.

[TheDragonLiner]

Jblade, on 14 May 2019 - 10:52 PM, said:

I appreciate the feedback, but this minute level of feedback isn't really helpful since I'm going to be changing stuff in the future and I don't like the idea of someone going over everything with a fine tooth comb and pointing it out to everyone just thoughts on the story is more interesting and useful to me.

Oh >_>

Then maybe I'll skip directly to Snowfall's feedback ? He's the new character after all, maybe this would be more worth the trouble ?

And so I think I am now going to make one big checking spree for accuracy problems, because I have the feeling there are a bunch of guns that have faulty accuracies ^^

Oh one last thing. Maybe you could make a research project that increses the duration of R Items ? Would make them a bit more usefull then they already barely are ... OR You could make them "Activateable", like the jump boots in Blood, that would help make them more usefull as well.

[Zaxtor]

TheDragonLiner, on 14 May 2019 - 11:35 AM, said:

Will it have the updated graphics ? Just curious ...

Monster pal is 7 when petrified, same as old oblivion, always been like that
if you refer to the hit effect

[Forge]

TheDragonLiner, on 14 May 2019 - 11:47 PM, said:

Then maybe I'll skip directly to Snowfall's feedback ? He's the new character after all, maybe this would be more worth the trouble ?