[TerminX]

Forge, on 30 June 2018 - 10:35 AM, said:

my comp only bogs down after half a dozen or so queen of the hill levels when there are a lot of enemies on the screen

We have a patch for that coming out soon. I wanted to have it out by the end of this month, but that's today... maybe I should push a beta to Steam so I can say I was still technically correct.

[Forge]

TerminX, on 30 June 2018 - 10:39 AM, said:

We have a patch for that coming out soon. I wanted to have it out by the end of this month, but that's today... maybe I should push a beta to Steam so I can say I was still technically correct.

If you push it now, I might see it at 3dr in time for my birthday on the 19th

[Honza]

Phredreeke, on 30 June 2018 - 09:12 AM, said:

You do realise Ion Maiden and eduke32 have the same developers? As for polymer read on...



2.5GHz is pretty low. Build isn't multithreaded BTW, so the extra cores or threads don't add to the game's performance, and AMD GPUs performs poorly in general with OpenGL which both IM and eduke32 uses. With Polymer your performance would be even lower.

No I didn't know that, to be quite honest the fact that the polymer was missing is really sad, actually I don't quite get it why it would be missing in the first place. Eduke32 with polymer in place had little issues on that PC - at least the build we tried like a year ago.

TerminX, on 30 June 2018 - 09:54 AM, said:

Do you have the current version of the game, Honza? I have no problems maintaining framerate here anymore, at 2560x1440, on an AMD CPU from 2012.

Not entirely sure - I wasn't playing it on my PC.

But like I said - the performance is probably the least of my concerns.

[Perro Seco]

Honza, on 30 June 2018 - 08:41 AM, said:

Levels are generally interesting - reminds me of DN3D though it seems "too empty"

What do you mean with "empty"? Because I found them ultradetailed, which I think gives them more replay value.

And...

Honza, on 30 June 2018 - 08:41 AM, said:

Graphics are way too simple and dated to my taste

I think that's the intention.

[Phredreeke]

There's a ridiculous amount of secrets found in the game, if you think levels are empty you haven't been looking hard enough

[MrFlibble]

Perro Seco, on 01 July 2018 - 04:32 AM, said:

What do you mean with "empty"? Because I found them ultradetailed, which I think gives them more replay value.

I understood this that the enemies are not very densely packed compared to Duke3D and other titles from the 90s, which is the impression that I also got from playing. I think this might be because Ion Maiden's environments are larger and more spacious - indeed such large spaces would probably not be possible to accomplish in the 90s due to hardware performance limitations.

I'm thinking that maybe some kind of "persistent world" would be in order to compensate for the large areas. Kind of like in Hexen you get basic grunts teleporting in from time to time.

[Forge]

MrFlibble, on 01 July 2018 - 08:49 AM, said:

I understood this that the enemies are not very densely packed compared to Duke3D and other titles from the 90s, which is the impression that I also got from playing. I think this might be because Ion Maiden's environments are larger and more spacious - indeed such large spaces would probably not be possible to accomplish in the 90s due to hardware performance limitations.

^this

look at the games he's using for comparison. A good portion of those games are corridors and smallish rooms. It's easier to give the impression of a detailed environment, when the environment is compact. When those games did have large open areas, they were pretty barren.

[Jimmy]

Freeway is a good example of this.

[Micky C]

Honza, on 01 July 2018 - 01:35 AM, said:

No I didn't know that, to be quite honest the fact that the polymer was missing is really sad, actually I don't quite get it why it would be missing in the first place. Eduke32 with polymer in place had little issues on that PC - at least the build we tried like a year ago.




Not entirely sure - I wasn't playing it on my PC.

But like I said - the performance is probably the least of my concerns.

You're only getting good performance with polymer and the HRP in Duke 3D because the levels are quite small, both as a whole, and with regards to individual areas. If you tried applying polymer to the large environments of IM, your graphics card would melt. This is no accident; getting good performance was a critical priority of the original game. I gather the philosophy for IM was more "build something cool, the engine should be able to handle it these days", which is quite fair, because the kinds of open, interconnected areas you're seeing are at odds with the level design performance optimisation tactics employed in the past.

Also, polymer is an unfinished renderer, and doesn't even support some basic features like the skybox IM uses. Keep in mind that the devs are putting in a lot of work to make the game run faster. It's come a long way so far, and it should become faster still before the final game comes out.

[MrFlibble]

Jimmy, on 01 July 2018 - 01:21 PM, said:

Freeway is a good example of this.

I've always had the impression that the outdoor areas in Episode 3 feel somewhat cramped, e.g. L.A. Rumble and Bank Roll. Very certainly this is related to performance optimisation. In a way, E1L1 and E1L2 are better at pretending to be real streets (at least, for me), even though they're similarly limited.

Personally I'd love more outdoor levels in the style of LameDuke (e.g. E1M6, E2M4 and E4M1). It's a pity this kind of design approach was limited by performance considerations, at least Shadow Warrior and its add-ons addressed this to some extent (BTW, am I the only one who feels that some city level stuff in Twin Dragon was inspired by LameDuke?).

[NNC]

Perro Seco, on 01 July 2018 - 04:32 AM, said:

What do you mean with "empty"? Because I found them ultradetailed, which I think gives them more replay value.

And...
I think that's the intention.

I actually think they are overdetailed a bit, well, the first level at least, the second is just right. I'm not sure what the guy misses here.

[NNC]

MrFlibble, on 02 July 2018 - 01:20 AM, said:

I've always had the impression that the outdoor areas in Episode 3 feel somewhat cramped, e.g. L.A. Rumble and Bank Roll. Very certainly this is related to performance optimisation. In a way, E1L1 and E1L2 are better at pretending to be real streets (at least, for me), even though they're similarly limited.

Personally I'd love more outdoor levels in the style of LameDuke (e.g. E1M6, E2M4 and E4M1). It's a pity this kind of design approach was limited by performance considerations, at least Shadow Warrior and its add-ons addressed this to some extent (BTW, am I the only one who feels that some city level stuff in Twin Dragon was inspired by LameDuke?).

No, this is because Blum was a better leveldesigner than Levelord. Hollywood Holocaust, Red Light District, Freeway, Duke Burger and Going Postal (not to mention modern maps like Golden Carnage or even High Times) gave the impression of a real place with proper scale and a feel for the actual theme. Levelord's maps gave the impression they are played in the Universal Backlot. LA Rumble is actually an exception, I always thought that map is easily the most appropriate level for an episode named "Shrapnel City" from the bunch that were shipped. His glued maps in The Birth actually suffered from the same problem. Not to mention his latest levels. It's not related to performance.

[NNC]

Can you guys disclose some information about some mapping ideas from the final version? What kind of places will Shelly visit or such... Washington cities only, or other cities, rural areas, snowy locations, forests, castles etc. One preview pic showed a forest type area with some building entrance. Another showed a mine part as I guessed.

[Fox]

Nancsi, on 04 July 2018 - 01:39 AM, said:

No, this is because Blum was a better leveldesigner than Levelord. Hollywood Holocaust, Red Light District, Freeway, Duke Burger and Going Postal (not to mention modern maps like Golden Carnage or even High Times) gave the impression of a real place with proper scale and a feel for the actual theme. Levelord's maps gave the impression they are played in the Universal Backlot. LA Rumble is actually an exception, I always thought that map is easily the most appropriate level for an episode named "Shrapnel City" from the bunch that were shipped. His glued maps in The Birth actually suffered from the same problem. Not to mention his latest levels. It's not related to performance.

Most of Levelord maps used to have big open areas that were cut during development.

Nancsi, on 04 July 2018 - 06:48 AM, said:

Can you guys disclose some information about some mapping ideas from the final version? What kind of places will Shelly visit or such... Washington cities only, or other cities, rural areas, snowy locations, forests, castles etc. One preview pic showed a forest type area with some building entrance. Another showed a mine part as I guessed.

Washington Foreskins stadium

[Forge]

Fox, on 05 July 2018 - 03:53 PM, said:

Washington Foreskins stadium

if she tried out for the team, would she make the cut?

[Master O]

If you guys are looking for level background inspirations, why not have one of the secret levels look like the album cover from Iron Maiden's "Powerslave"?



This game has to get at least one Iron Maiden reference in there. Her own name is Ion Maiden after all....

Maybe call the level "Power Babe"?

[NNC]

One of my favourite Iron Maiden song is Paschendale from the Dance of the Death album. That is based on a WWI place in France, I can imagine it as a secret level too.

[Fox]

Master O, on 07 July 2018 - 01:55 PM, said:

If you guys are looking for level background inspirations, why not have one of the secret levels look like the album cover from Iron Maiden's "Powerslave"?



This game has to get at least one Iron Maiden reference in there. Her own name is Ion Maiden after all....

Maybe call the level "Power Babe"?

You will like of the enemies in the full version.

[Master O]

Fox, on 12 July 2018 - 06:40 AM, said:

You will like of the enemies in the full version.

Does that mean there will be an enemy that looks like Iron Maiden's mascot "Eddie"?

[MusicallyInspired]

$99.99 USD for the box? Yeesh...don't have that kind of money. I understand it comes with all the extras...but is there a version of the box we can get that's not the Founder's Edition with all the extras? I just want the box and the disk really. Otherwise I'ma hafta pass. I hope they sell well either way.

[Mark]

WOW. There are going to be a bunch of fanboys crawling out from mom and dad's basement to go and sell blood to save up enough.

Or...they'll have to choose between pimple cream or IM.

[Hank]

It read at Ion Maiden web site:
Already own the Ion Maiden Early-Access version on Steam?
We’re giving all Steam owners of Ion Maiden a 10% discount on the Founders Edition.
Click below and follow the step-by-step guide to connect your Steam account and receive your discount code.

So, Steam gets preferred prices? 3D Realms and GoG buyers are again second class here?

Thank you! Thank you very much.

[TerminX]

Hank, on 17 July 2018 - 08:48 AM, said:

It read at Ion Maiden web site:
Already own the Ion Maiden Early-Access version on Steam?
We’re giving all Steam owners of Ion Maiden a 10% discount on the Founders Edition.
Click below and follow the step-by-step guide to connect your Steam account and receive your discount code.

So, Steam gets preferred prices? 3D Realms and GoG buyers are again second class here?

Thank you! Thank you very much.

I think 3DR buyers automatically get the discount as it's the same storefront. GOG users are screwed because allowing external organizations access to the customer data required to do such a thing would be a GDPR issue, and they don't want to. Literally nothing anyone can do about that.

[Forge]

Even at $90.00, that's still way out of my reach.

Regardless, I hope you sell thousands of units.

[Mr. Tibbs]

The new screenshots look damn good (I spy two new enemy types)!

[Hank]

TerminX, on 17 July 2018 - 08:57 AM, said:

I think 3DR buyers automatically get the discount as it's the same storefront. GOG users are screwed because allowing external organizations access to the customer data required to do such a thing would be a GDPR issue, and they don't want to. Literally nothing anyone can do about that.

Hmm, the receipt from 3D Realms says $ 99 + Shipping, so if they plan(ed) to give 3D Realms' customers a 'deal' it's not yet implemented.

p.s. I wanted this. Just mouthing off here.

[TerminX]

Hank, on 17 July 2018 - 01:30 PM, said:

Hmm, the receipt from 3D Realms says $ 99 + Shipping, so if they plan(ed) to give 3D Realms' customers a 'deal' it's not yet implemented.

p.s. I wanted this. Just mouthing off here.

I checked on this. Apparently when you log into the store on 3drealms.com, there's a button to generate a discount code which works for the boxed release. There are still some left, so you could probably cancel your existing order and place a new one with the discount code if you want. I thought it would be automatic myself.

[Hank]

TerminX, on 17 July 2018 - 01:44 PM, said:

I checked on this. Apparently when you log into the store on 3drealms.com, there's a button to generate a discount code which works for the boxed release. There are still some left, so you could probably cancel your existing order and place a new one with the discount code if you want. I thought it would be automatic myself.

No luck. I get, when logged it: 'Already Owned' (The Preview Campaign, game only); but no extra links or buttons under Ion Maiden [Games and My Games] or anywhere else.

Maybe it's my browser (Chrome) is hiding it?

Either way, waiting now for the box to come, save and sound.

[Zaxx]

So basically if you've already bought the game for 20 bucks they are giving you a 10 dollar discount so you can buy the thing you've already bought again. Lol, 100 bucks is already a bit too much (okay, it's not that bad for a CE, I just don't want a CE), I don't like the figurine and the only thing I wanted was a box and a floppy so no thanks.

[TerminX]

Zaxx, on 17 July 2018 - 03:24 PM, said:

So basically if you've already bought the game for 20 bucks they are giving you a 10 dollar discount so you can buy the thing you've already bought again. Lol, 100 bucks is already a bit too much (okay, it's not that bad for a CE, I just don't want a CE), I don't like the figurine and the only thing I wanted was a box and a floppy so no thanks.

In this case, it sounds like the future production runs would be more interesting to you. They will basically just be the box, the floppy, and probably the soundtrack disc, for a much lower price.