[William Gee]

Have you considered putting your content all together red and shaky and other stuff? And make a Merlijn pack?

[ck3D]

William Gee, on 16 August 2023 - 12:19 AM, said:

Have you considered putting your content all together red and shaky and other stuff? And make a Merlijn pack?

I was having the exact same thought the other day. I think that would be the best way to update the mod, regardless of a boss map for Red, or at least it would be neat to see all the Red maps grouped up within the same USER.CON and available as an 'official' download on ModDB somewhere sometime (doesn't matter if separate from SG, in fact probably should have its own 'twin' page), with the episode selectable in the menu just like SG is. To me seems like both series earn their respective praise from their respective generations of players, but only the die-hard nerds few make the connection between both series (or even think of making it, usually fans of SG aren't even aware of Red) when I'm sure they actually would love to if it were introduced to them, and that way you'd nullify the chasm with a schism. It's just a possible way to go though.

[William Gee]

Passed level 3, I think I beta tested this so I do remember it, but the part after the red keycard really surprised me, in a very good way, looked real amazing, and fun battles, and then got even better with cool jumps / runs and then an amazing upside down inception world wtf man you are a crazy amazing artist on a hole new level to make that! So much patience and skill went into that ending! Also loved the audio at the end I don't remember from my original play! onto the next level.

Attached thumbnail(s)

• 

[Merlijn]

William Gee, on 16 August 2023 - 12:19 AM, said:

Have you considered putting your content all together red and shaky and other stuff? And make a Merlijn pack?

Maarten and I were planning to do an 'Oostrum mega pack' which would include 4 episodes: Shaky, Red, Another Attack and a 4th episode with just the rest of the maps (Clear the Coast, Abba etc.)
Since Another Attack is now dormant and may not be finished at all, this idea has also been put on hold. After all, it wouldn't make much sense to have 2 full episodes and an unfinished one with just 2 maps..

Maybe I'll release it like you said, just have a Shaky version 2.0 with the Red episode as an added bonus.

Quote

Passed level 3, I think I beta tested this so I do remember it, but the part after the red keycard really surprised me, in a very good way, looked real amazing, and fun battles, and then got even better with cool jumps / runs and then an amazing upside down inception world wtf man you are a crazy amazing artist on a hole new level to make that! So much patience and skill went into that ending! Also loved the audio at the end I don't remember from my original play! onto the next level.

It's great that you rediscovered the map like this! Yeah the Inception-styled ending is one of my favorite moments in the episode. On a technical level it's not even that difficult, it's just the large scale and messing with the player's perspective that makes it stand out. As for the audio, that makes sense. IIRC it wasn't recorded yet during the beta test. I asked James Stanfield to do it since I wanted an authentic Brittish voice instead of my Dutch accent.

Also RE your screenshots of map 2: I kinda get a kick of the Supa 2 reference haha. Even if only a handful of people will get it.

[ck3D]

Oh yeah, James' version of the message completely caught me off guard during my recent playthrough. Guess I had only ever played the earlier version before, and it's pretty wild how in comparison James' (paradoxically) felt 'fake', I understand it sounds more legitimate but your own delivery on the original of the take was that memorable I guess, I almost could still hear it instead as though my brain was reciting it over the new one. I especially missed your tone on the final question!

[Radar]

One thing I would love to see is an updated version of Imperium, either edited to work with the vanilla game, or perhaps Alien Armageddon since it appears to have superceded Duke Plus and more likely to receive longterm support as Dan adds content to it rather than starting from scratch with a new mod. It's just a shame to see so much content made for Duke Plus that is not readily playable these days.

[William Gee]

It would be cool to have a updated version of imperium but I'm not sure what you mean by readily playable, I just downloaded and started imperium with no problems. Just needs the duke3d.grp.
Probably the best thing to do for a start is the removal of 3dmodles.

[William Gee]

Passed level4
Took me 31 mins to pass, killed 207 enemies.
I died many times where the cycloid boss is.
Screenshots of things I liked...
Really loved when you go down the tunnel with the broken road parts, also the big and dark underwater area was really moody and atmospheric.
The Giant underground generator was wild too, super awesome to see reminded me of Doom 2016.
Progression was very good and the music fitted the level perfectly. The only place I died was the cycloid room and that took me alot of ties to get passed.
Thanks onto the next level.

Attached thumbnail(s)

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

[William Gee]

Passed the last level, no screenshot of the ending cause I had to concentrate on the battle.
Nice explosive ending.
I don't think I ever found a shrinker in the episode, there must be one as I saw expander ammo.
I liked the style of this level very different from the previous 4 as there is no city stuff.
Cool use of Pal and alien tech, nice escape pod too!
I enjoyed the gameplay and build up towards the end!
Finally finished Shaky Grounds! Thanks Merlijn!

Attached thumbnail(s)

• 
• 
• 

[Merlijn]

Thanks for playing, I'm glad you enjoyed! I see you found one of the super secrets (with the message on the wall), you may actually be the first.
There's a hidden shrinker in every level, they can be somewhat tricky to find but not any harder than the regular secrets. Just gotta keep your eyes peeled hehe.

Quote

I liked the style of this level very different from the previous 4 as there is no city stuff.

The episode is structured similar to LA Meltdown: a set of 5 maps that has you starting in the city and eventually ending up in a strange alien place (as I mentioned before, the 2 final levels have some nods to The Abyss).

Quote

One thing I would love to see is an updated version of Imperium, either edited to work with the vanilla game, or perhaps Alien Armageddon since it appears to have superceded Duke Plus and more likely to receive longterm support as Dan adds content to it rather than starting from scratch with a new mod. It's just a shame to see so much content made for Duke Plus that is not readily playable these days.

I could see Imperium working in Alien Armageddon, with Sebs new aliens replacing those predator models. Perhaps the nightvision puzzles will have to be removed then, I think that feature was unique to DP.

[Radar]

William Gee, on 18 August 2023 - 03:56 PM, said:

It would be cool to have a updated version of imperium but I'm not sure what you mean by readily playable, I just downloaded and started imperium with no problems. Just needs the duke3d.grp.
Probably the best thing to do for a start is the removal of 3dmodles.

Is that with a new EDuke32 version or the one included with the zip (assuming there is one)? Honestly I just assumed the mod couldn't be played for a certain reason or other these days. For me personally, just the fact that it uses Duke Plus renders it unplayable for me. It has way too many cheesy and questionable aesthetic decisions that were common for the time like all the 3D models and high res assets mixed in with classic textures.