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Loudmoor [Beta Release]

#1

Consider this, and anything else I was working on, cancelled.

Well, I've gone as far as I can for the time being, so here is my new release, Loudmoor. What this is, is a very small, survival-horror-type add-on, which requires both DukePlus and Polymer, you should be able to play it without the HRP, but I still reccomend using it as this was never tested without it, here are some screen-shots (some of which are out-dated, but nothing has vastly changed).
Posted ImagePosted ImagePosted Image

Here's the story;
After wiping out the Aliens on Preston Road, Duke set off along the track to Hedon, he didn't intend to go to Hedon, instead leaving the track halfway and heading for the docks. Duke realised it was getting dark again despite being morning, there was no explanation as to why. After some time, a house loomed in the distance, next to the house was a sign "Welcome to Loudmoor" - Duke had never heard of such a place, it was not on any map he had ever seen. He carried on along the road, it went around a corner, it looked as if it would be quite a walk, he turned around and noticed a truck parked near the house, he also noticed that there was a body on the ground... Wait... Aliens didn't kill chicks... did they? He walked back along the road a little, and realised it ended over a drop, he couldn't see the bottom and realised that the only way out was through this Loudmoor place, having exhausted his supply of ammo in his previous adventure, he decided to investigate the house, he had to make it to that dock and use the radio equipment to warn EDF of the alien presence and whatever else was going on, Duke remembered a time when EDF had owned a building nearby, but they had left when the government cut funding after aliens took over it for a while, apparently the computer Duke had blown up in the process of dealing with the aliens was too expensive to replace.

Duke walked up to the body, wondering, just what he was about to encounter.

Inventory
I have an idea how to make a resident-evil type inventory... But it seemd too much work for such a small project, as a result, you see the items you have at the right of the screen, all you really need to do is find the correct place to press the Use key and Duke will use them automatically.

Be sure to read the readme.txt as you may have to change some settings.
This add-on might require you to tamper with the controls to make them more comfortable, the Readme contains an example of how you should lay them out, also, you may need to disable "Enhanced F7 Viewmode" in DukePlus as this causes FPS to drop, you might also want to enable "Enhanced AI" to make the stalker (now a Newbeast) more of a threat. I forewarn you, when I said survival horror, I meant it, there is NO health in the map, you will have to plan things out carefully, either outwitting, outrunning or hiding from your stalker to survive. Duke can not even kick his way to safety, as this is disabled - oh, and don't think DNWEAPONS will help you, it won't.

The .con and .def file combined are almost the same size as the .map file, there are over 1000 lines of code. There may be a point where the ambient soundtrack changes to a track you already heard, this was due to a quick-fix where I removed a track that was over an hour long (30MB) and replaced it with one that already existed. You can use the sound effects for yourself in another project as they came from freesound.org. If you play without Polymer, an angry message will display, ignore it if you will, but don't blame me when the whole screen turns black due to there being no light.

I feel I owe an answer as to why the stalker was removed in favour of the Newbeast, in short, I couldn't get my AI to work, and it's something I'd feel guilty asking for help with, the AI and stalker are still included but absent from the map, if somebody wants to play with it or fix it, then that would be cool, but, in short, his intended behaviour like a newbeast that couldn't die and only used mele attack, the newbeast that chases you does only use mele, so don't worry about being shrunk.

Among the things you need, there is a hidden item in the game, if you find it, you will know it, but it might ruin your experience a little.

I am unable to properly test this mod further, as due to technical problems, I am currently unable to run EDuke32 or Mapster properly, if, however, you find a bug (other than the malfunctioning doors, lack of displaying text for reasons unknown, randomly broken sounds and crappy controls for the Bulldozer) let me know and I will try to fix it despite the fact I am blind. If this never gets it's final polishing, then I at least hope somebody can have some fun, if people see potential and this does well, don't be surprised if I start trying to assemble a small team to make something bigger than this.

There was a download link here, want it back? Good luck with that.

P.S. That 1996 computer you are using may need an upgrade.

This post has been edited by High Treason: 10 December 2011 - 12:02 AM

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User is offline   Forge 

  • Speaker of the Outhouse

#2

Tried it out and didn't get very far (after the initial car ride, the newbeast cornered me on the road)

looked cool, nice atmosphere, and i liked the concept


different style of game play than what i'm used to so i had some problems:
several instances of when i couldn't see what i was doing or where i was going because the bad camera angels (that's how the newbeast caught me - i think i got stuck behind a car, but i couldn't tell because all i could see was a light pole and the side of a car)
hard to know where objects are to pick them up, had to make lucky guesses and click on everything
hard to use/pick up objects, if i get too close to what i'm trying to get/use them on, they won't work/pick up, so i had to scoot back and forth until the proper distance was obtained

these are my initial impressions, but i'll keep playing it until i get the knack of it.

This post has been edited by Forge: 25 November 2011 - 08:56 AM

0

User is offline   Forge 

  • Speaker of the Outhouse

#3

this is where i kept getting stuck

Posted Image



when i try to move down the road (that can't be seen, on the far side of the image, due to the objects blocking the view), i keep popping back to this screen. the trick was to move forward slowly then as soon as i pop back to this screen, walk backwards & it takes me to the next screen

edit:
there are several screens after this along this path that it becomes very difficult to move from one location to the next because i keep popping back to the area i just left
i kicked the newbeast to death
got to the dozer, found two keys, got stuck on what to do next, and gave up. just when i was starting to get used to it too

This post has been edited by Forge: 25 November 2011 - 08:46 AM

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#4

Ok, thanks for trying it out, I'm moving cameras around and fiddling with the "item handlers" - I'll test them as much as I can and add a link to the new files when I do. It's probably not worth playing again though as you were practically at the end with the key hunt, these are deliberately difficult to find, even I keep forgetting where one of them is¹. I might move that newbeast to the next area or else modify the area it currently appears in - I'm thinking of having it teleport in with a music stab as the player attempts to leave that area, as it is currently hard to read the note in that area. Either way, I'll make a list of what's broken and try to fix them.

On another note, that shot looks like there are no trees there, there are supposed to be trees, do you have the latest DukePlus from fissile materials? If not, I'll have to try and figure out why those are not loading, as they are used to hide the end of the playable area.

¹
Spoiler


Thanks for the feedback.
0

User is offline   Forge 

  • Speaker of the Outhouse

#5

The first key you mentioned is the one i didn't find. I'm using dukeplus 2.30 from may 2011. Once i got used to the physics of the game the only detractions were how difficult it was to find the necessary objects needed to progress and the problem with moving from one location to the next.

It was still pretty neat and worth checking out

it worked fine on my system, if you would like help testing stuff just shoot me a note so i catch the updates
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User is offline   Micky C 

  • Honored Donor

#6

I'm wondering if this is the type of thing we should be making news items about these days. Perhaps you should submit a news item High Treason, after you've fixed some bugs.
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User is online   zykov eddy 

#7

I like the idea, but can't play this at the moment. My PC can't run 32 bit open GL mode correctly (it just freezes after some time). I don't understand why you choosed DukePlus, you can just make all con tricks by yourself (since not so many DP features used in the mod) instead of forcing people to download and play this on DukePlus. The new camera feature is a bit annoying, but I hope I'll get used to it. It feels like something new and fresh.

View PostMicky C, on 26 November 2011 - 02:49 AM, said:

I'm wondering if this is the type of thing we should be making news items about these days.


Why? What makes this mod so special compare to more complicated works released those months?

This post has been edited by zykov eddy: 26 November 2011 - 07:13 AM

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User is offline   Forge 

  • Speaker of the Outhouse

#8

I re-installed dukeplus. the trees loaded & the object's "glow" showed up so it was quite a bit easier to find things. i'll replay certain parts to see if the problem with moving from screen to screen is fixed as well.

edit: no change with the problems of getting from one area to the next. still have to walk forward into where the next area is supposed to be, then walk backwards into it when the transition fails. also helps to keep walking backwards until a fair amount of distance from the edge of the screen to keep from "popping" back to the entry point in an endless loop.

This post has been edited by Forge: 26 November 2011 - 08:09 AM

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User is offline   Micky C 

  • Honored Donor

#9

View Postzykov eddy, on 26 November 2011 - 06:55 AM, said:

Why? What makes this mod so special compare to more complicated works released those months?


Nothing really, but I just thought we were supposed to make news out of mod and map releases these days. And I can't think of anything else released lately, unless you mean Forge's map. Maybe a news item about the two of them?

Discounting the WGRealms 2 news item, which was old news to begin with, the last item was posted a month ago, so now's a good a time as any to get news from other sources such as this IMO.
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User is online   zykov eddy 

#10

Finally fixed the Open GL problem and checked it up. I have a lot of complaints about this.
It feels like something new and has some good ideas, but it's just unplayable. One of the main problems is that this thing requires too much just to start up - polymer, HRP, DukePlus, and you also have to change the basic controls to be able to play normally. The camera is horrible, it's almost impossible to move around without using a map. It's also impossible to get through some of the teleporters to another locations (Forge already mentioned that). The gameplay is boring, you just walk around and nothing happens, and you can't defend yourself from the alien creatures. I understand that this is a survival horror mod, but it's not scary at all, just annoying. It's also easy to get stuck because you'll never know where to go, and you can't see some of the objects which you have to pick up.

View PostMicky C, on 26 November 2011 - 02:37 PM, said:

Nothing really, but I just thought we were supposed to make news out of mod and map releases these days. And I can't think of anything else released lately, unless you mean Forge's map. Maybe a news item about the two of them?


It would be nice to mention CrackDown and Duke 12_12. Loudmoor looks like a very early alpha version, and it's just not completed enough to be worth mentioning in the news, imo.

This post has been edited by zykov eddy: 27 November 2011 - 11:35 AM

1

#11

Right, complaints noted. Im not changing the camera system, though I may reposition some cameras, besides, it's better than the camera system in Silent Hill, as are the controls and everyone loved that game, If people had stayed Keyboard only, it wouldn't be an issue, doesn't EDuke have the Restore Classic Defaults button anymore?

I intend to remove DukePlus dependence at a later time as all it uses is gust spawner, models and something I've forgotten about (I'll just wait and see what breaks) and now I'm stuck with only 8-Bit, fix things so that the HRP isn't required. Polymer dependency will remain, we aren't in 1996 anymore and if my aincient computer can run it at an average 30-40Fps then so should everyone elses.

One thing I won't let slide (everything else is constructive criticism, and that's just fine, otherwise this stuff would never get fixed.) is "gameplay is boring, bla bla bla." - you just described the gameplay in A.Dream 2 perfectly, and you designed that, as with that map, it's all about the atmosphere, but maybe that didn't work for you with my map. You're not meant to be able to defend yourself, it took me a while to figure out how to stop that and I've no intention of changing that either, but as you don't like control scheme, that was bound to cause problems for you.

Not sure what's up with the teleporters, aside from the ones that the use button activates, I'm going to set those up so that you have to walk away from them before they will work a second time, the normal Duke ones work for me, but I'll mess around with them regardless as there is clearly a problem here.

No, this is not worth a news article, maybe when it is finished I will submit it and leave it to the admins to decide wether it's worth posting.
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User is offline   CruX 

#12

Can't play this. Never had an interest in the HRP, so I don't know my ass from a hole in the ground when it comes to setting it up, and I definitely wouldn't know how to run it with DukePlus and this mod combined. Just having looked at the texture files for the stalker model, though, WTF is that Evil Ernie?!?
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User is online   zykov eddy 

#13

View PostHigh Treason, on 27 November 2011 - 11:10 AM, said:

One thing I won't let slide (everything else is constructive criticism, and that's just fine, otherwise this stuff would never get fixed.) is "gameplay is boring, bla bla bla." - you just described the gameplay in A.Dream 2 perfectly, and you designed that, as with that map, it's all about the atmosphere, but maybe that didn't work for you with my map.


Don't agree. At least in A.Dream 2 there was more complicated puzzles, new design ideas and scripted events, so it's almost nothing like your mod except of the similar concept.
So, you still have a whole room for improvement.
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#14

@EmeicaSkater; Fair enough, those dependencies will be cut back on anyway, yes, that is indeed Evil Ernie, it was sitting with a bunch of old models somewhere on an old drive, it was the best one I could find, I think it was for Quake II but I'm not entirely sure, and I could actually be violating the license by using it as I've long since lost the readme file that came with it. Unless you're implying Evil Ernie exists outside of the the moddeler's immagination (i.e. he is from a movie or something) in which case I was not aware of this and will find something else - or just stick with the newbeast as that seems to get on people's nerves enough.

@Zykov Eddy; You may not agree, but it's fact, it was no more complicated than this, don't get me wrong, I like A.Dream 2, it is possibly one of my favorite maps but it consisted of walk around, pick this up, use this here, proceed to next area and most of the time the objects were the normal keycards so it was obvious where they went. Scripted events? Maybe, but this also has scripted events (Currently unfinished jump-scare actors). New design ideas? It had no more than this does, in fact, you could argue that mine has more as it completely changes gameplay and the camera system makes me have to think harder about how to make the level actually work¹ (It has an advantage however, as I can leave certain areas without detail as they are never seen.) I am, however, not about to deny there is room for improvement, the fact that the title says beta release is probably a good indicator of that.

What are you going to attack it with next? That I copied you? That I may be right but you did it better? That I'm completely wrong? Some of your comments are completely unfounded and I have no intention of discussing the matter any further.

¹ If you've ever tried to make such a camera system you will quickly learn a lot about how the engine draws the game environment, mask-walls are not drawn if the player has his back turned, sprites and even entire rooms pop in and out of existence - I dread to think what would happen if the camera was in one of these rooms - and to round it off, Polymer lights can be unpredictable, there is a slight suggestion of this on the bridge where a light sometimes goes out when the player is a certain distance away.
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User is offline   CruX 

#15

View PostHigh Treason, on 28 November 2011 - 10:47 PM, said:

Unless you're implying Evil Ernie exists outside of the the moddeler's immagination (i.e. he is from a movie or something) in which case I was not aware of this and will find something else - or just stick with the newbeast as that seems to get on people's nerves enough.


Yup, Ernie's a comic book character. If I were you, I'd leave him in. If this STALKER thing you're talking about is indestructible, Ernie actually fits the bill pretty well, and would make an interesting cameo for guys like me that would recognize him. I don't really think anybody's going to care that you're using a third party model from a 14 year old game in another 14 year old game, and with the reception this mod's getting right now, copyright/licensure concerns should probably be the least of your worries.

View PostHigh Treason, on 28 November 2011 - 10:47 PM, said:

What are you going to attack it with next? That I copied you? That I may be right but you did it better? That I'm completely wrong? Some of your comments are completely unfounded and I have no intention of discussing the matter any further.


Like I said, I haven't played this, so it wouldn't be logical/fair for me to outright take Eddy's side, but I don't really see how anything he's said thusfar amounts to an "attack". He's stated several times that it's a good concept, but a poor execution.
Not that I expect you to care or anything, but TBH what I've seen in the screens and one of the videos doesn't impress much. I can tell in at least one of them that Duke's sprite is still semi-transparent, which would be a huge buzz-kill all on its own.

I hope you won't take what I'm about to say seriously, as it's just the speculation of a guy who hasn't even played the mod, and I really hope you won't take it personally since I'm not trying to be a dick by saying it, but do you think when you figured out a workable system for the cameras you might've gotten a bit too excited, jumped the gun, and booted this out the door as quick as possible just to have a release on a (relatively) novel concept? The abrupt release, what I'm seeing in the screens, and what Eddy's saying kind of suggests that the whole thing could've been a rush-job. Course if I'm totally off the mark, go ahead and call me on it, but if I'm not, I'll just say that the concept deserved better. If you've got the means, what I would do is strip the entire thing back down to just the camera system, and start reworking it, so it'll actually be its own thing, and by own thing, I mean give it its own aesthetic, like what the A.dream maps had, that this project may (or may not) be lacking. There's always guys like me and DT in the modding section that can help you out with whatever extra codework you'd need, and eDuke is compatible with such a wide range of resources, it'd seriously be a shame to just leave this as "actionless DukePlus with fixed cameras".
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User is online   zykov eddy 

#16

Thanks EmericaSkater, that sums up everything. High Treason, please sorry if I was too rough.
I'd like to point out that enemies in your mod isn't well introduced. I little scripted scene would be nice. I also didn't understand the idea of the transparent creatures/ghosts, what are they?
Here's an advice how to improve the teleport system: you may remember a similiar system in a.dream 2, where the played goes inside some of the houses. I used both SE 7 and SE 23 to do this, two for going in and two for going out. You may like to check this out in mapster and make the same system in your mod. The only problem is that both locations must have the same angle.
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