NOVA: The Birth - v1.1 release now on idGames!

Thanks again Caleb, I will try to fix those.

I've been poking away at fixing maps, it's coming along slowly... there's a lot of fiddly stuff on MAP16, which kind of slowed me down. One odd thing is that you can get the yellow key just by straferunning, avoiding the rest of that branch entirely, I don't know if that was the intent or not but I don't really want to change that because it would take some serious reworking of that section.

Hope everyone enjoyed their ZDaemon NOVA game.

Probably better to steer away from any serious reworking of maps Plums, things like that were put in by some authors as hidden shortcuts and we want to preserve their original intentions.

Caleb13 said:

Okay, we encountered one MP-related bug during the TNS session: we couldn't re-open bars (sector 799) in Map31. Add a switch so other players can open them again. Also, I think I saw similar bars at least at one more location, though they didn't block our progress.

If we encounter other bugs, I will let you know when we play the rest of the maps in 2 weeks or so.

Edit: I just remembered acid pit around blue key in Map15. Firstly, the lift (sector 188) is not damaging when it is still down. But what is worse, the pit is inescapable until the lift is raised. I suggest you add normal lift(s) or teleporter(s) around the pit.

There would be no fun without inescapable pits :P
The raising platforms can be made damaging though as it disappears when the switch is pressed.

I was just thinking, for the v1.1 release, should we throw in 'Immundum' by dobu gabu maru as a secret MAP33 just as an easter egg? The only reason why it was rejected was due to its sheer difficulty and proportion so it might be a nice idea as other megawads have had hidden maps in the past.

Hmm, I thought he was using it for DMP2014?

Still slowly poking away at this, most maps are done apart from 16 and 22.

didn't I already fix MAP22 myself?

I changed the other exit by having you telefrag barrels there instead. yes, I did that myself.

Yeah, I just haven't gotten around to integrating it + checking for other errors -- there were a few.

In case you were interested, the other problems in PrBoom+ -complevel 2:
* A few spots with enemies stuck in sectors that weren't tall enough for them, which prevents sectors from lowering in complevel 2.
* The first explosion near the switch has one of the barrels exploding late. Not critical but I was going to see if it was easily fixed.
* The AVs in the cages are supposed to be floating, but there are large HOMs in software mode. Hard to see normally, since it's so dark, but if your gamma is up you can notice it easily.

Would it matter if Immundum appeared in DMP2014 as well as a hidden map in NOVA? Mrthejoshmon's maps featured both in NOVA and in his own independent project and a map called 'Midnight Tek Frenzy' was released on its own after being culled from CC4 only to later be reincluded as a hidden map in that same megawad. Just a thought, doesn't have to be implemented if it is too much trouble.

kildeth said:

Would it matter if Immundum appeared in DMP2014 as well as a hidden map in NOVA?

I'd prefer Immundum to stay in DMP2014 largely because no other difficulties have been added yet (or will be for a few months) and I'm sure there's a dozen things that break non-Zdoom/PrBoom ports. Thanks for the consideration though.

Ok then we won't be worrying about a map33 then. :)

Just in case anyone was interested, the rest of Nova will be played in Thursday Night Survival organized multiplayer game on August 28:

http://forums.zdaemon.org/viewtopic.php?t=16089

...and here are some more bugs I noticed in Zdoom 2.8pre-417:

-Map17: vertically misaligned textures on linedefs 3891 etc.

-Map17: HOMs when area around sector 817 is viewed from certain angles. See screenshots.

-Map17: secret sector 1009 is very narrow and therefore can't be "found" very reliably. Make sector 1008 secret instead.

-Map17: Not exactly a bug, but when playing from pistol start, I run into severe ammo shortages in the red key area and on my way to the red door, even though I found most secrets along the way. Compared to that, the ammo is very plentiful in blue key area. I suggest you redistribute a few shell and rocket boxes from there.





-Map18: secret sector 843 is very narrow and therefore can't be "found" very reliably.

-Map20: sector 118 shouldn't be secret.

-Map21: inside sector 21, there are several "exit" linedefs which serve no purpose (?).

-Map22: it is a bit unfortunate 100% kills are unobtainable due to 4 barons for "bad ending" in sector 427... maybe they could be replaced by acid floor + crusher combo?

-Map23: for multimplayer, it wouldn't hurt to add 4 or 5 radsuits into sector 425 or around it.

-Map24: sector 576 shouldn't be secret.

-Map24: many linedefs around "grassy" outdoor areas are impassable for monsters. While I understand it was done so the player wouldn't be overwhelmed by the monsters right after start, it looks weird that pinkies and cacos can't go somewhere just because there is different floor texture...

-Map26: sector 87 should be openable from the starting area (needed for multiplayer).

-Map28: two imps (things 52 and 54) are stuck.

-Map28: add more radsuits for multiplayer.

-Map29: sector 550 doesn't need to be secret, IMO.

-Map30: some monsters didn't teleport into playable areas, see screenshot.



Not sure if they're bugs, but I also noticed those thin vertical lines in some maps (forgot how they're properly called), mostly in Map22 and 30...

Caleb13 said:

-Map21: inside sector 21, there are several "exit" linedefs which serve no purpose (?).

The area used to be for deathmatch untill someone replaced it to be in the actual area.

Thanks again Caleb. Some of those I have already, and some I will not fix unless the author chimes in (block monster lines on MAP24 for example) but it's good to have another pair of eyes on everything.

Almost there! Will be finsihed before September.

feel free to add some multiplayer rad suits to map 28.

plums said:

Thanks again Caleb. Some of those I have already, and some I will not fix unless the author chimes in (block monster lines on MAP24 for example) but it's good to have another pair of eyes on everything.
Almost there! Will be finsihed before September.

Oh, OK. But be absolutely sure to fix that door on Map26, that blocked us during TNS, as I expected.

-Similar problem exists for sectors 895 and 507 in Map19 - if someone enters the yellow key arena and dies, the other players can't get inside. I know there is linedef 8605 to open them again, but it is on the other side of the map... not exactly intuitive.

-Similarly, in Map29, change linedef 3313 to WR, those bars at the top of the map blocked us, too.

-Map21: sector 149 should be secret.

-Map23: MP starts are missing. I vaguely remember this is the case on some other maps too, check it out.

-Map23: some HOMs are created around lifts near entrance into lava area (sectors 295 and 424). I believe they're visible only in MP, when the players raise or lower the lifts in order which is not possible in SP. Nevertheless, they're pretty big, so IMO they should be fixed. See screenshots.







On a side note, I think September release date is far too rushed - in a project this size, you can always uncover more bugs like these (how they could get into original release in the first place is beyond me, BTW). Are you sure you won't leave in it in beta version for another month or two, just in case?

Caleb13 said:

Are you sure you won't leave in it in beta version for another month or two, just in case?

Technically it's out of beta but I agree that we should wait until all possible bugs are squashed. Thanks a bunch for all the finds Caleb!

Also it was stated a while back but regarding MAP31 there's a teleport near the start that MP players use to bypass the whole starting maze, putting you past the bars. However I guess plums could add a WR door trigger right before the bars too to ensure they open in case anyone misses the tele.

Just a bump since not a lot has been said for a while. How's bugfixing going? Is the 1.1 release ready to go yet?

Nope, sorry. TBH my motivation really dried up on it after getting kinda sick in August, and I've found it hard to get back into it. I've been poking at it here and there though. Maybe I should upload what I have so far?

Yeah, do that. What's still left to go on it? If no-one wants to do further fixes we could just upload the 1.1 release as is as I'm sure most of the bugs have been stamped out by now even if it isn't quite done.

I've got a fix for deathmatch on maps 25 & 30 so let me have it before it goes onto ID Games.

Caleb13 said:

-Map20: sector 118 shouldn't be secret.

Yep, that's a mistake on my part. Probably left over from before I understood how the secret sector tag worked. Definitely feel free to remove that secret tag on the window.

Has there been any progress on the bugfix release? The last post in this thread was half a month ago.

Who actually has the latest bugfix now? Is Plums still working on it or has it been handed over to Jaws In Space?

I do not have it yet.

What should we do? Plums has been gone for nearly a month and I'm not sure when (s)he's coming back. There is a more recent update for NOVA than the one on /idgames so if you want Jaws In Space, you can just apply your updates to that and then I'll send it to /idgames as an update if Plums is still not here by December. How does that sound?

Newest NOVA update (I'm pretty sure?)
http://www.mediafire.com/download/uki53gdd757nip0/NOVA11b3.zip

If Plums does come back at a later date and wants to continue working, we can always make a 1.2 update.

Sorry about the delay, here's the updated map 25 & 30.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/12ldap00nk6okgf/NOVA11b3.zip?dl=0

Thanks! I might work at it a little bit myself now just to do some of the fixes Caleb13 brought up and then we should be good to upload to /idgames.

Bump. Any news on Version 1.1? It sounds like it was almost done over a month ago.

Sorry to necropost, but I'd rather do that than create another thread with little reason.

I really hope V1.1 comes out eventually. I have friends that I would like to show my levels to, but have been waiting for the bugfixed version.

Oh yeah I forgot about this. How exactly does updating wads on /idgames work? Do I just upload the most recent beta through FTP and shoot Ty an email asking to replace the original NOVA.WAD?