[Micky C]

When was he meant to have said it? I can’t find an opportunity in this thread where Merlijn’s fixed damage levels would have come up. Besides, as a free TC, it’s not James’ job to inform people of all changes and bug fixes.

In any case, there’s no harm done from any misinterpretation so I wouldn’t worry about it.

[TheDragonLiner]

Micky C, on 18 August 2020 - 03:24 AM, said:

When was he meant to have said it? I can't find an opportunity in this thread where Merlijn's damage levels would have come up. Besides, as a free TC, it's not James' job to inform people of all changes and bug fixes.

In any case, there's no harm done from any misinterpretation so I wouldn't worry about it.

What I was meaning by "earlier", was refering to that moment where I mentioned that Merlijn's blades (among other weapons) was overly nerfed. THAT is when he should have said something like "You're mistaken, there was a glitch that caused them to be too powerfull".

Indeed there is no harm done ... except to ME, because, due to this small episode, I was constantly presented with the middle finger by James for 2 years, and it iis not his job either.


Anyway, let's forget about this.

[Radar]

Merlijn can be a fun character on the right map, but my quip about the character is actually the artwork. Ever since the redux version, the cutoffs on the HUD weapons have made it difficult for me to find interest in using the character. This is not a rip on Sebab as I love his work. I just don't know why Merlijn's weapons were fudged like that.

[Jblade]

I didn't give you the middle finger, you've already been called out before for getting far too emotional about the TC and balancing stuff. I can't help you anymore so please keep the tantrums to yourself.

Radar, not sure what you mean about the cut-offs; you mean they go off the screen? More work is being done on his weapons, mainly new hands but I'm also intending to re-add blood to them.

[Radar]

By "cutoffs", I mean the sprite art ends where the screen does. Sometimes I can see the cutoff if I walk or attack at the right moment when the weapon is bobbing or swaying. Ideally, the art for the entire weapon should be included and simply positioned to go offscreen.

[Jblade]

oh right, yeah that's an ongoing thing I'm fixing over time.

[Micky C]

I did about having the full weapon art quite a while ago. Apparently it’s much easier said than done due to perspective problems.

[StrOf10kBabies]

Jblade, on 17 August 2020 - 10:08 PM, said:

We've got an artist onboard who's doing all the weapons for consistency but I appreciate the offer of art regardless.

Cool. Yeah I saw the updated sprites for AMC TC, but would it be possible that I could get in contact with him? If he's doing the art I'd still like to submit the idea for a medieval polearm like a bardiche/halberd possibility. I do like the changes that will be upcomming with the class. Looking forwards to the next episode release!

Edit: I'm aware of the Guan Dao as being the go-to polearm for Merlijn, but what I had in mind was a possible reskin or a completely new weapon (not sure if you are planning on adding new weapons in EP 4). I did see options to "recolor" weapons for different characters like Jame's Aug, but was wondering if it would be possible to have a possible "reskin" system for Merlijn since weapon recoloring wouldn't make any sense for him.

[DukeLover69]

Ok I have a controversial idea. Is it revolutionary? No. Is it going to make this mod a whole lot of views? Yes.

Just hear me out.....

Spoiler

Nude Tayne.

edit: On a more serious note, another Christmas level called "There's Another Santa Claus" where all the enemies are the Santa Claus dukebot from Nuclear Winter.

[DukeLover69]

I'm pretty sure the Cultist is basically a joke character but I suspect that he's actually a psychically-prone AMC agent who got his brain scrambled by close encounters with the occult.

-Wears blue rags, the same colors as the AMC troopers

-Has an AMC/EDF PDU which has been modified with -a- cultist symbol

-Exceptional combat skills, closely mirroring AMC practices and abilities

The fact that he was able to sneak into the building to live in the vents can be explained as a combination of using his old credentials to get past security and occult forces tipping the scales for him to not get red-flagged as being an AWOL agent-or just happening to "find" a wrist-teleporter.

He could have been a somewhat talented data analyst who helped find Geoffrey during recruiting based on a "hunch" before Episode 1 kicked off.

I don't have a real suggestion regarding this character, frankly I'd just like to see him remain a lunatic forever if he's ever given another mission.

[DukeLover69]

I saw elsewhere the idea that the spa on the moon would be a place to visit if a character was fatigued, I think it's an ok idea with a few changes: Don't require the player to find the spa and visit it to get the benefit, frankly I more or less forget the layout of New LA every time I visit and I'm not attached to any character enough to make the trip so for players like us it would be a wasted feature, it can be an option to visit but instead there should be an option to hire a masseuse/buy a spa upgrade from the clerk, for about 10K and then a small spa room is created in the base but the real benefit is that there is about a 40% chance that any fatigue or exhaustion that is creeping up is automatically nullified without having to visit either location. This would be a great benefit in longer missions such as Red Saga or Lost Highway, I was crawling across the finish line for those two.

[Jblade]

Yeah I'd like to do something with the spa but my hands have been full pulling episode 4 together. Not sure what you mean by Tayne though, did you mean Jane? The Cultist is kind of a gag character so he's not really going to get a spotlight beyond easter eggs and stuff.

[DukeLover69]

Jblade, on 16 July 2022 - 02:29 AM, said:

Yeah I'd like to do something with the spa but my hands have been full pulling episode 4 together. Not sure what you mean by Tayne though, did you mean Jane? The Cultist is kind of a gag character so he's not really going to get a spotlight beyond easter eggs and stuff.

Sang: Hello James, I'm Sang your latest dancer. I can't wait to enter-Sang you.
James: Now Sang I can get into!

[DukeLover69]

For real though everytime I use the mission comptuter I start giggling because of that skit.

EPSILON: "Excuse me James. Jane is on the phone. It's an emergency."
James: "I'll get it later. We have important work to do!"
*Sang's hat wobbles*

[DukeLover69]

I have this idea for a mission set- if it never gets created then its fanfic that was fun to write.

It takes place a few months after the destruction of the AMC base but before the completion of the new one. Everybody is off on their own for a bit so full AMC support is not available. The concept is vaguely "Highwire & Mikko are buddy cops in Miami"

Highwire receives a message from Vlad regarding somebody named Maksim Kim, alias "Max Kimmons": A former midlevel bureaucrat in Siberia during the Empircal Unions reign. Competent but unremarkable, he disappeared as soon as the fighting started. Vlad has become aware that he has resurfaced in Miami as a player in organized crime, but more importantly, Max is due to receive some nuclear material from Siberia that is being smuggled there for use in some kind of "Tsar Bomba". Highwire finds it hard to believe this random guy who quit so soon could possibly be after revenge but is obligated to investigate.

Mikko is in town on MS-Corps business: One of his management team has temporarily rebranded with a green logo and are proposing an initiative to restore some local swamplands. Mikko is disgusted and is here to personally put a stop to the madness, before Highwire lets him know what's going on. With suddenly more at stake then reputation, Mikko agrees to assist in taking down Max.

Mission 1: The Handover

Vlad's tip leads them to a warehouse complex on the dots, connected with Max's crime gang. Enemies are Mercs on the docks and lower levels, and then some EmpUnion soldiers are in the offices, both reskinned in Triad business suits. For fun, some actual Triad might be in some warehouse nearby in a "secret area".

They find the warehouse that had received the material only to be outraced by an orange hovercraft speeding away from the area.

Flavor notes: Mission takes place at night. A television shows a weather report of an incoming hurricane advisory. The EmpUnion crooks should have white suits, come on it's Miami.

Mission 2: The Chase

The Hovercraft is a luxury vessel with stealth capabilities and cannot be reliably chased from the air or tracked by satellite. Highwire and Mikko must follow in their own hovercraft and not break eye contact until they have a chance to overtake or otherwise disable the craft. The craft races along the beach on the "New Strip" until it takes an inlet and tries to lose the player by going through a short maze of curving inlets. The chase ends with the player successfully following the craft into a shack/camp located in a swamp.

Flavor notes: Also a night mission. The chasee Hovercraft is the orange one that showed up in the mission "Guerrilas in the Mist". Is it possible to switch out the speed and handling of the motorcycle to the hovercraft, along with disabling the guns? I think that would suit this level better.

This version of Miami is kind of like Venice with more neon lighting owing to the effects of rising sea levels. If the player loses sight or gets to far away from the vehicle they should explode to end the level or restart.

Mission 3: Fingerlickin Good

After a shootout with the craft Mercs, Highwire and Mikko try to radio back only to get no response, no signal. Assessing the area, they see that the place is somewhat wrecked with nobody around trying to stop them. Exploring the area, they might find in one of the buildings a collection of green slime eggs about to be fed into some sort of scanning device. There's a very small collection of orange/yellow slime eggs as well nearby a truck loading stop and an alligator and/or shark food farm.

A mission-necessary shack holds some trigger-happy EDF soldiers who might shoot the player a tiny bit as soon as they open the door-immediately they cease fire upon seeing it's a human and explain what is happening here:

The regular green slimer eggs are being sterlized and converted into "Royal Slime", a golden variant that is a potent drug that had picked up the moniker "Tsar Bomba": Addictive, impossible to overdose on, and mentally alters the recipient to be fully immune to ghosts/cultist magics. With that effect, the authorities were all too happy to turn a blind eye given what has been happening with all these cultists running around and wrecking shit with reality altering powers.

However, the Royal Slime eventually turns those who partake into imperfect Protector Drones, either about as tough or slightly weaker than the original Drones. Furthermore, anybody that the drone kills also becomes a Drone.

This EDF soldier recounts that he and his crew were on the take and accepting bribes when one of the process workers fell to the ground and morphed in front of his eyes. Before he knew it they were under attack from all sides and he witnessed people who were not partaking being turned into these Bomba Drones. He finishes by telling where Max's penthouse is located

As soon as he finishes the dialogue another wave of Bomba drones attack. And then another. And then another. After about 2 or 3 waves the player is notified that they will keep coming and that they need to get back to warn everybody. The player makes their way thru the rest of the camp and tries to escape using the hovercraft but both hovercrafts have been torn up by the drones. Amid continuing waves of drones and intermittent Merc and EmpUnion encounters, the player escapes through the swamp and finds a shack with a fishing hovercraft.

Flavor notes: This mission takes place in the daytime, but heavily overcast. It looks like the animation for the "Guy on fire and running animation" has variations between Pigcops, Lizardmen and humans/humanoids like troopers. Would it be possible to use this animation for a weird-ass looking Protector Drone? I think it'd look "off" in the right way. Highwire might mention that he needs to get this illegal weapon that was mentioned in the "Protector Drone purges" book but I'm not sure what that was.

Mission 4: Storm Surge

Upon landing the hovercraft nearby,Mikko and Highwire fight through one last small section of swampland ,then they split up: Mikko goes to the EDF and to rally his MS cultists for an all-out fight across the US and possibly the world, and Highwire fights his way through to downtown and to Max's penthouse for a confrontation, lab samples, any kind of solution or resolution that can be found.

Flavor notes: Evening/Twilight mission. beginning area is short swamp segment followed by urban district. Sky is cloudy and starting to lightly rain, abundant lightning.



Mission 5: Landfall (Im tempted to call this Wet Nightmare)



The bottom areas are being flooded and the top is under severe rainstorm. Highwire and Mikko fight their way through some small labs, luxury apartments and finally the penthouse. After dispatching the Emp Union soldiers, they look around and realize Max is nowhere to be found, when suddenly Max appears in a circling Hind chopper and shoots missles and intermittent vulcan spraying.

After a tough fight the chopper goes down.

A time skip epilogue reveals the outcome: The Bomba Drones age very quickly in oxygen rich environments, and most of them died in the countryside, surrounded by bushes and trees, without major fighting. Everything that could be classified, has been, but rumors abound. Investigations are underway to learn the extent of the corruption.

Flavor notes: Dark and stormy night. I really love the oil rig level and want to see effects used again at least one more time. Since the AMC base is destroyed, it'd be a hoot to find an MIA gun with 1 shot, and then when its fired (if it hits anything or not), a message is heard: "Doo-doo-dooo: We're sorry, this teleportation cannot be completed as fired. Please check target destination and fire again."

As for the boss fight, maybe it can be like a reskinned and resized Wasp drone that zips around on the outside of the building.

[DukeLover69]

More fanfic:
Mission: Pink Slip
This one concerns Geoffreys last days on the straight and narrow (sort of)

Geoffreys bio reads:

"Originally a graphics designer, Geoffrey was hired by a mysterious client to help create a new logo - however this client turned out to be a fascist state. After the war, Geoffrey's name was discovered in documents and was accused of being a collaborator. He was forced to flee and live as an outlaw on Mars. Eventually he was approached by James. He originally declined the offer to join the AMC, until offered the chance to clear his name from any association with the fascist state."

To me this reads like a mostly accurate cover story with some flourishes.


Before his stint as a fugitive, Geoffrey worked as tech maintenence for that private colony I can't remember the name of. He enjoyed the simple pleasures of life but definately did have an "artistic" side: Once in a while, he would pocket and take home the unique credit plates to practice a bit of "graphic$ de$ign" to reward himself for all his hard work.

The mission begins with the player making their way from a VR work station back to Geof's apartment, just past the mines. Soon after Geof puts the new plates on, but before any credits come off the roller there's a knock on the door. His extracurricular activities have caught up to him: Local bylaw enforcement is here to take him in and they are notoriously brutal. The player must jump out of the 3rd story window before they blow in his door and shoot him to death. Coincidentally, flared tensions have lead to the local miners rising up, angry at their mistreatment.

First segment is Geoffrey running past shootouts and grabbing his workstation Firewall id, then logging on to chart out his course of escape: Delete his file, load in an alias and then use that to board a shuttle from the next colony over.

This first VR segment is timed, understanding that he doesn't have enough time he logs off to jump in from somewhere else: a slightly fancier apartment occupied by his jerk coworker, whom he hates. He leaves the work station once again and makes his way over, this time in the opposite direction from his apartment/mines and heads into a shopping district. More drones (the Paradigm flyer models) are making their way through the slightly upscale district to quell the uprising but recognize him as a fugitive and he must get away, still unarmed.

One he kicks in the door of his frenemies apartment it's back to work: No timer this time. He successfully deletes his file but when poking around where to load in the alias, he notices something strange: a program is running that is working overload the mining equipment, exploding it and killing everyone in the lower levels. He surmises this is their ultimate solution to quell the problem: Blow everything up and then call it an accident. He deletes the program and then sabotages the mining equipment protocals as to where it would no longer function, slowing down any further such plots. With some local authorities still after him, he leaves the apartment and heads back into the mines. After the deletion, the flying droids no longer shoot at him but the human security does.

Geof makes his way through the mines, catches a tram at a nearby colony and rides away into his destiny.

[Danukem]

@Dukelover69 Have you ever considered writing fanfics for Duke mods? Your ideas are sometimes pretty good, but it's not realistic to expect the devs of the mods to actually use them. One problem I have as a coder/writer/project manager is that a lot of the work is quite tedious. Coming up with ideas is *the fun part*. This isn't limited to story ideas, but it certainly includes them. The last thing we want to do as devs is grind through all the tedious work only to leave a part we actually enjoy to someone else. Also, we usually have a ton of ideas already that we don't talk about in public, and the chances that your detailed suggestions would dovetail with our existing plans is pretty slim. Thus, my fanfic suggestion for you. I don't know how much of an audience it would have, but who knows? If it's really good then maybe a lot of people will want to read it.

[DukeLover69]

Danukem, on 20 July 2022 - 01:07 AM, said:

@Dukelover69 Have you ever considered writing fanfics for Duke mods? Your ideas are sometimes pretty good, but it's not realistic to expect the devs of the mods to actually use them. One problem I have as a coder/writer/project manager is that a lot of the work is quite tedious. Coming up with ideas is *the fun part*. This isn't limited to story ideas, but it certainly includes them. The last thing we want to do as devs is grind through all the tedious work only to leave a part we actually enjoy to someone else. Also, we usually have a ton of ideas already that we don't talk about in public, and the chances that your detailed suggestions would dovetail with our existing plans is pretty slim. Thus, my fanfic suggestion for you. I don't know how much of an audience it would have, but who knows? If it's really good then maybe a lot of people will want to read it.

I totally understand, my calling these "fanfics" is a tongue-in-cheek acceptance that they'll probably never get done unless I do it myself but it's enjoyable to word-vomit them out, I'm not going to be heartbroken if they're ignored forever and I'm looking forward to the next installments. Thank you to everybody

[Sangman]

The problem as always is manpower to execute the dozens of ideas floating around. We'd need more mappers to be precise..

[MC84]

Sangman, on 21 July 2022 - 02:43 PM, said:

The problem as always is manpower to execute the dozens of ideas floating around. We'd need more mappers to be precise..

Do you have specific maps/locations that need to be made? I'm not putting my hand up, but I'd be more inclined to spend some time on a map if I had clear instructions as to what needs to be made.

[Jblade]

Well we're always on the lookout for mapping help, if you're interested than you can always join up to the AMC discord. Maybe wait till episode 4 is released (not too long now) and see if you like where the project is going, since we can always use help for ep5 to bring it out sooner.

[Sanek]

Jblade, on 22 July 2022 - 03:45 AM, said:

Well we're always on the lookout for mapping help, if you're interested than you can always join up to the AMC discord. Maybe wait till episode 4 is released (not too long now) and see if you like where the project is going, since we can always use help for ep5 to bring it out sooner.

Do you accept leftovers by any chance? I have some bits and pieces of maps that i don't think i'll ever finish, and they're just collecting dust on my hard drive for years.

[Jblade]

not really I'm afraid, but thanks for the offer!

[DukeLover69]

Jblade, on 22 July 2022 - 03:45 AM, said:

Well we're always on the lookout for mapping help, if you're interested than you can always join up to the AMC discord. Maybe wait till episode 4 is released (not too long now) and see if you like where the project is going, since we can always use help for ep5 to bring it out sooner.

"Where the project is going"? Wow I didn't see Knight Court coming but maybe the name "Law of Knights" should have been a tipoff

[DukeLover69]

I was playing Jungle Base and thinking what gameplay would be like if it involved a "Predator"-type foe: a player is trying to navigate thru the trees, meanwhile they come under random attack from a cloaked being who teleports in, lobs some plasma bursts and then teleports out to ambush somewhere else randomly. If a player is lucky enough to land some shots on it, the "Preda-not" responds by a flurry of furious slashing and then teleporting out.

This type of random hard harassment then evasion can also be applied from other enemies in the toughest "Armageddon" difficulty, either instead of-or in addition to- the 2x damage multiplier.

Gameplay-canon wise it makes more sense to be occuring in later episodes, as a response from the bad guys to AMC's growing prestige in the universe- a highly specialized team of gold mercernaries trying to hunt down and kill off the team, but I don't think players mind if they're applied to any episode.

So in conclusion: A prestige team of gold foes that presents a tricky challenge that can appear in either higher/Armageddon difficulties and/or later episodes.

[Jblade]

I do like the idea, and have thought about something similar (like X-COM2 war of the chosen) but it would have to be for a future episode if I ever did something like it.

[DukeLover69]

Jblade, on 10 August 2022 - 06:09 AM, said:

I do like the idea, and have thought about something similar (like X-COM2 war of the chosen) but it would have to be for a future episode if I ever did something like it.

or do both and break the fourth wall: After the revelation that they are sending elite troopers thru a time portal (explaining why they show up in earlier episodes) to stop the team James turns to the camera and says "By jove, this will have given our earlier missions the ARMAGEDDON DIFFICULTY SELECTION"

[DukeLover69]

A few more things

1) It takes a bit of getting used to but I enjoy the "master-save" system that this game uses to carry information from one episode to the next. It allows me to do random side missions basically simultaneously as the main missions and I really appreciate that flexibility. Don't change it please


2) The player buys factories and those make supplies that the player can then use on supply drops, but past episode 2 they don't seem to be utilized as much. At the same time there is an option to perform mining operations around the solar system for some fast easy cash. These two concepts can be merged by adding an option to sell the supplies once they have reached a certain high point, like 90% allowing for a fast payday of 20,000. This may not sound like much (what is that like 2 short EDF missions?) but the more factories are bought, the faster that 90% capacity is reached for what is basically an instant payoff.

Furthermore, there can also be a random chance for these factories to come under attack for a straightforward tower defense mission. My computer was a brick tied to a potato for the longest time but I understand Imagination World had some sort of defense mode that featured waves? That sounds pretty cool but I wasn't able to find any youtube videos.

Enemies can be seeking to file past a certain point or into a target location, that if too many reach, might end the level in failure. Or maybe they can damage equipment that breaks over time. The enemies can also be randomized and mixed and matched based on location, for instance if the factory in Africa is attacked- Cycloids, Guerrillas or Cultists. If Asia factory- Triads+Shadow Realm, Cycloids or Mercenaries. If Ganymede-Cycloids (they get around), Pitfiends, Abyssian or Robots, and so forth.



3) I totally get if you're all done with previous side missions but I have some suggestions for the Jungle Base, I think most would be somewhat simple fixes but if you're 100% complete, I understand.

1- Cycloids should have the jungle paint camo because it's cool.

2- It's too much like a Sunstorm/Duke Nukem level and not an AMC level, Zax should be able to use his special ability more. To that end I would plead to put in claw-climbs out of death pits, on at least one tree midlevel and at the end of the first jungle portion right before the base is entered. The clawclimb marks can be placed on the wall opposite of the base entrance, allowing players to escape if they fall into this area too soon and not letting it be a death pit.

3- Too many trees are too clean, the trees that are impassable and act like walls should have moss on them or an obvious visual clue that they are impassable, this might make for easier navigation.

4- I found the rope, used it on the base cliff near the entrance, but after I entered and exited the base interior it disappeared. I don't think anybody would mind if there was another rope drop near that entrance base cliff even if they didn't find it in the attic.


Finally, a combination lament/suggestion but the concept of the powered wall that's overpowered with repeated missle strikes is a very cool but very underused concept. Tying this in with the factory defense suggestion above, this kind of interplay thing can act as the go-between between what the player has to protect during the factory attack- like in theory there is an invisible EDF soldier (just there to draw fire from baddies, doesn't shoot or interact) protected by the power wall and with too much damage the wall breaks and the factory is busted.

[Jblade]

I do defo want to do more with the factory/building stuff, it's just been a case of focussing on episode 4 since it's not set on Earth so overworld mechanics would of been wasted effort; but it's on my radar at some point in the future. I do want to have some kind of a return for the defense mode stuff, since we made a bunch of MP invasion maps that are basically useless now lol

Quote

1) It takes a bit of getting used to but I enjoy the "master-save" system that this game uses to carry information from one episode to the next. It allows me to do random side missions basically simultaneously as the main missions and I really appreciate that flexibility. Don't change it please

Thanks, and it'll never go away since its integral to AMC's identity heh heh.

[DukeLover69]

Jblade, on 17 September 2022 - 08:09 AM, said:

I do defo want to do more with the factory/building stuff, it's just been a case of focussing on episode 4 since it's not set on Earth so overworld mechanics would of been wasted effort; but it's on my radar at some point in the future. I do want to have some kind of a return for the defense mode stuff, since we made a bunch of MP invasion maps that are basically useless now lol

Thanks, and it'll never go away since its integral to AMC's identity heh heh.

rgr, thanks for all you and yours dedication. In that case feel free to skip the following cuz it's even more words about Jungle Base

I tried a few clean save playthroughs on professional (no starter weapons, no research, no gear) and the trees don't play as big a role as I remembered so changing them probably wouldn't matter at all. The level became more about the exploring and rewards/loot that came with it once I found where to jump around the trees to get to the base entrance quickly, and I did post it to the wiki but I also think a more organic way of replicating that is to place down a big crack down the warp entrance cliff wall, put a Zax clawclimb behind the crack that becomes accessible when its blown up, and the "WEAK STRUCTURE" PDU popup. The level would still require some exploring since the player can't bring both a ghost weapon and an explosive weapon with them, and common sense would say it's good to find everything anyway. I don't know about you guys but when I replay Hollywood Holocaust, to this day I still go through the trouble of collecting all the loot I can so gameplay wise I don't believe it would be a detriment at all to the overall gameplay.

Thinking more about the power wall inside the base, I think an even better spot for that room would be as an extra section near the zombie lab part along with a monitor console warning "DO NOT OVERLOAD THE POWER WALL WITH ROCKETS AGAIN! THIS IS COMING OUT OF YOUR PAYCHECKS". I didn't even know what to do with this wall until I checked the wiki and it would be nice to get a little hint

This can come into play again for the reactor segment: On top there is a scientific looking elevated cylinder thing holding a health amulet, but it's protected by one of those walls. Once a player overloads this obviously vital part of the reactor, alarms go off and there is a message - "STABILIZING RODS ACTIVATED". The meltdown is momentarily averted, but as the player climbs down to cause more damage there are 3 or 4 long thin rods inserted into the reactor core, organically allowing for slightly easier platforming.

I might try to do this as a project but I make no promises.