Text File
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Archive Maintainer : please replace the currently-archived copy of this modification with this new one
Update to : rslproto.zip in /combos subdirectory, this is RELEASE #6+!
Advanced engine needed : GZDOOM 1.5.6 (no GLDEFS) / GZDOOM 2.1.1 (OpenGL renderer) for the "Zen Soldier" class
Primary purpose : Single play
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Title : The Prototype: A Tribute Mod
Filename : rslproto.wad (main modification), ZenSoldier\rslpzens.wad (extra class)
Release date : June 15, 2016
Author : Richard Smith Long
Email Address : [redacted]
Other Files By Author : rslvenge.wad, rslrebel.wad
Misc. Author Info : AKA "Dick S. Long"
Description : Many years have passed since the original Phobos incident.
The war between Earth and Hell enraged throughout decades, human losses
were enormous. Now, a new and unprecedented scientific project
promises to be the cure of it all... The Prototype.
My rationale:
------------
I wasn't really into DOOM modding until when I discovered the possibility of weapon modifications.
Since their release, I had the chance to play and praise projects such as Zen Dynamics (zendyn_x.wad)
or Zero Tolerance (zp-zerot.wad), whose rich array of hyper-detailed weapons immediately caught me.
This modification stems from the above two, by integrating together a wide variety of additional sources,
and adding original elements as well, to build up a (hopefully) consistent arsenal.
To sum it up, it is my modest attempt at creating a 'tribute mod' for all the great and
established weapon modders in the (G)ZDOOM community (and beyond), on whose works I learned the
nuts-and-bolts of DECORATE editing.
DISCLAIMER: this modification is -not- a ripfest. A quick look through the DECORATE lump and other resources
can easily show how much effort and rewrite has been put into this project.
The original weapon indicated aside each one provided here is sometimes only a mere inspiration.
Changelog:
---------
Nov. 08, 2009: initial release.
Dec. 11, 2009: release #2.
- fixed Fate Warfare Device "reload" bug.
- fixed random spawners for inventory items.
- added "cluster" behaviour for boosted compact rockets' cruise mode.
July 11, 2010: release #3.
- added custom HUD.
- when nuclear-boosted, carradyne and fate now unleash auto-targeting projectiles;
fate's one is also greedier and disintegrates weaker targets, leaving no resurrectable corpse.
- former humans may now occasionally drop shotgun shells.
- commented out +CHEATNOTWEAPON by popular demand.
August 31, 2010: release #4.
- added fallen prototype actor - an additional Zen-II can be found near him
(making the weapon accessible even in Ultimate DOOM).
- made sentry turret inventory item durable across levels.
- changed fate primary rail attack to vertigo-like.
October 28, 2010: release #5.
- improved weapon switch timing.
- bugfixed thruster shell casings ejection.
- added custom fullscreen HUD.
February 17, 2011: release #6.
- added default melee weapon: "Twin Knuckles".
Can be nuclear-boosted.
June 15, 2016: release #6+.
- added a new class: the "Zen Soldier". Incorporates three new weapons
(EgoSmasher, Aknai, Scorcher) but does not exploit nuclear boosting.
Exploited the 'playeralias' keyword for some peculiar custom sounds.
Removed all references to Nuclear Booster.
Added a specific blood system mutuated by 'Return Of The Triad'.
- fixed display scaling with normal HUD.
- added HUD smooth interpolation.
- improved Twin Knuckles effectiveness.
- added target lock system for Carradyne and Fate.
- added weapon tag names.
- added blend effect for "Zen Soldier" burning death.
- fixed HUD fragcount.
- fixed A_WeaponReady extra calls for Beavertooth.
- added custom teleportation effect.
- balanced Twin Knuckles with small altered effects,
both in standard and boosted form.
- customized special crosshairs.
- tidied up DECORATE lump.
- added custom small font for "Zen Soldier".
- tweaked the "Zen Soldier" mugshot.
- fixed HUD gauges inconsistency.
- slightly customized "Zen Soldier" statusbar.
- added GAMEINFO lump for "Zen Soldier".
- added special gore system exclusive to the "Zen Soldier" enablement.
- made magazines ammunition independent from skill level.
- fixed behaviour of particle actors on moving flats (MOVEWITHSECTOR).
- improved spawners for "Zen Soldier" exclusive weapons.
- improved appearance of still actors whenever applicable (FORCEXYBILLBOARD).
- rationalized directory structure of the modification.
- added brand new weapons exclusive to "Zen Soldier":
- Zen Dynamics 'Zen Machete';
- Zen Dynamics 'ChaosZero'.
- integrated the modification with multiplayer-specific improvements.
- fixed bugs affecting multiplayer.
- added new teleportation effect to "Zen Soldier".
- added new explosive barrel replacements to "Zen Soldier".
- added new blood/gore system to "Zen Soldier".
- added new death animations to "Zen Soldier".
- added brand new 'Mental Elongations' and 'Physical Elongations' attack systems
to "Zen Soldier", heavily inspired (and explicitly authorized) by PillowBlaster.
- implemented variations to more entries in the original "Prototype" roster
for "Zen Soldier":
- Knucklebusters (hosting Physical Elongations as alternate attack),
- Carradyne-Rory (propels rustling, heavier rockets),
- Fate 2.0 (with brand-new plasma geometry / electrified plasma attacks),
- Bouncetooth (projects new, potentially-rebounding nails).
- added new "Zen Soldier" helmet-like HUD by Fiendzys at 'none' scaling.
- improved Zen-II role by giving it greater stunning power - especially on weaker foes.
- rebalanced ammo ratios in "Zen Soldier".
- improved "Zen Soldier" poisonous barrel behaviour; nerfed ground damage for both
acid and napalm types.
- fixed sound behaviour of chainsaw-toting zombies (at last!).
- improved performance of "Zen Soldier" extra gory deaths (now lighter and quicker).
- marked unsupported video modes in the appropriate (G)ZDOOM menu.
- introduced several realistic movement-feel effects via scripting for "Zen Soldier":
- realistic aim;
- Quake-styled strafe tilting with
- midair support,
- mouse support,
- underwater support.
- fixed a number of bugs induced by "Zen Soldier" Physical Elongations (i.e. if
exploited when ending a level or upon death).
Modification details:
--------------------
Weapons:
slot 1: Mixom-125 "Beavertooth" strip-start gas chainsaw
- the beloved melee tool coming from zp-zerot.wad; it has been imported and DECORATE-translated,
but without substantial behaviour modifications.
Primary attack: comboable slashing.
Secondary attack: continuous stabbing.
Primary attack, NUCLEAR-BOOSTED: same as above, with increased damage.
Secondary attack, NUCLEAR-BOOSTED: same as above, with increased damage.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
slot 2: Zen Dynamics "Zen-II" 9-gauge sub-machine gun
- symbolic firearm of the Zen Dynamics universe, a good rapid-fire weapon for beginnings.
20 rounds. Requires reload. Can be dual-wielded.
Primary attack: continuous, mostly-accurate hitscan fire.
Primary attack, NUCLEAR-BOOSTED: projects bouncing metal shards that rip through foes.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
slot 3: UAC "Thruster" 12-gauge shoulder-mounted shotgun
- an advanced shotgun that allows for fast rearming and sports a good price/performance balance.
Try it at point-blank range and you'll know why it has such a name.
6 rounds. Requires reload.
Primary attack: a generous pellet spray, highly inaccurate.
Primary attack, NUCLEAR-BOOSTED: same as above, but with much improved accuracy.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
slot 4: Zen Dynamics "Sawtooth" 9-inch nail projector
- a fast, aggressive weapon that has perforating abilities, and a generous magazine.
50 rounds. Requires reload.
Primary attack: a steady sequence of nails, -often- ripping through opponents.
Primary attack, NUCLEAR-BOOSTED: same as above, but heavily sped up, and guaranteed to -always- rip.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
slot 5: UAC "Carradyne" compact rocket detonator
- the long-overdue upgrade to UAC standard issue explosive weapons, this electronically-served RPG
allows for better speed and accuracy over its predecessor.
3 rounds. Requires reload.
Primary attack: a target-tracking, swift compact-rocket.
Primary attack, NUCLEAR-BOOSTED: same as above, but upon explosion, cluster-clearing explosive fragments are released.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
slot 6: Zen Dynamics "Orion" fusion assault rifle
- a staple of modern warfare, this cell-fueled assault weapon is ideal for clearing heavily-crowded areas.
80 rounds. Requires reload.
Primary attack: emits a stream of fusion particles that hit-and-bounce-on foes almost endlessly.
Primary attack, NUCLEAR-BOOSTED: same as above, but fusion particles now permeate their targets.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
slot 7: Zharkov Labs "Fate" warfare device (prototype)
- the ultimate tool for sustaining demanding duels. Incorporates two firing modes.
Primary attack: a powerful, highly-accurate railgun shot.
Secondary attack: a complex and morphing plasma projectile that seeks the given target and tears through it until exhaustion.
Primary attack, NUCLEAR-BOOSTED: same as above, with increased damage.
Secondary attack, NUCLEAR-BOOSTED: same as above, with improved price/performance ratio.
(*) backup slot 1: UAC standard issue "Twin Knuckles".
A pair of knuckledusters that allow for a swift punches-knee-kick combination.
If NUCLEAR-BOOSTED, the sequence gets faster and deadlier.
Zen Soldier-only exclusives:
> EgoSmasher : a powerful double-barreled, chain-fed shotgun. 'Nuff said.
> Aknai : a versatile RPG, allows to propel up to three heatseekers at once. Alternate fire loads
one extra missile into its triple chamber, primary fire deploys all that is loaded.
> Scorcher : a special trail-based flamethrower, ideal for clearing entire areas with a single round.
Beware of the fire backlash - make sure to use it in wide and crowded open areas only.
> ChaosZero : beefier variant of the 'Zen-II' SMG. Includes a handy cluster-shard alternate fire that
suffices for some of the stronger demonic infantry.
> Zen Machete : don't underestimate the power and versatility of this weapon. Learn to master quick, combined
primary/alternate combos. Try it with ZenRoids... ;-)
> Knucklebusters : allow for a quick, double-jab combo (AKA "Zombiemen's Killer"). Even better with ZenRoids.
Reload selects among available Physical Elongations, alternate fire exploits the current one (see below).
> Bouncetooth : this new incarnation of the popular nail projector can be fed with longer nails, and its firing impulse
can make metal spikes bounce off surfaces, bypassing corners.
> Carradyne-Rory : a Carradyne RPG modified to propel rustling rockets: more pyrotechnical and powerful. Sports a quick
three-in-a-row rapid firing capability.
> Fate 2.0 : the newer, perfected version of the once-prototypical high-range weapon, hosts two brand-new attacks:
"plasma geometry" (primary) represents a newer implementation of the well-known BFG9000 operating mode,
while "electrified plasma" (alternate) constitutes an extremely-powerful rapid fire offense
whose power discharges quickly propagate through crowded areas.
> Mental Elongations: the Zen Soldier possesses one peculiar ability - that of evoking apparently-uncontrollable forces
xXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx by the mere usage of his mind. This ability grants him an undefiable edge during warfare matters
with hellspawn, and can be augmented throughout each of the fiercest battles with them (Arachnophytes).
Available Mental Elongations are:
- Gathering Of Souls: unleash a storm of rageing souls on the enemy - the spirits keep tearing targets
------------------ in sight, and once finished with them, they fly in circle on the corpses for a while,
waiting for new victims to approach.
- Light Sentinel: who does not favor the mind projection of an enormous, friendly dragon to protect
-------------- themselves? This is exactly that: a light impression of a giant dragon head shielded
behind a light cage, that snipes enemies around and ends up creating a devastating
volcano - this one spits out fire and lava for a while before disappearing again
into the ground. Hard to master in not-so-open areas...
- Blackwall: this mental impulse effectively creates a wall of dark fire that pervades all the space in
--------- front of the Zen Soldier, and damages a large number of creatures around, also projecting them
up in the air. A striking way to get out of dire situations, but keep in mind that the floating
effect does not last long.
NOTE: Mental Elongations can be invoked whenever desired, and independently from the weapon being wielded at the moment.
Dedicated keys need to be configured for selecting, exploiting and quick-exploiting these powers; see
the 'Footnotes' section.
> Physical Elongations: the Zen Soldier is also able to extend the range and nature of his physical attacks. His knucklebusters
xXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx become much more once he develops new abilities by defeating samples of another greater hellspawn (Cyberdemons).
Available Physical Elongations are:
- Thunder GodFist: just like a superhuman being, when exploiting this special skill the Zen Soldier is able
--------------- to fly with his fist raised upfront; once he hits his designed target, a thunderstorm ensues
and clears most of the area. Beyond his offensive power, this elongation is excellent also
as transfer-by-flight utility.
- Cold Kinesis: this ability allows our hero to manipulate movable entities at a distance, and is in effect
------------ a special form of telekinesis. Living beings are frozen shortly after and can be exploded against
or nearby other creatures, thus causing a freezing chain reaction; waste containers can be tossed
around like high-power projectiles. 'Very Cool'.
- Gravitational Paradox: perhaps the weirdest and most useful of the three, the Paradox creates a flock of
--------------------- celestial-matter bodies spinning around the invoker like satellites; the more the
elongation is exploited, the more these satellites grow in number. The spinning barrier
constantly damages all appoaching foes, and when invocation is suspended, all of its
instanced projectiles fly out and explode in all directions. A lifesaver, also considering
that during orbitation the invoker is sheltered from incoming attacks!
NOTE: Physical Elongations can be used when not holding any weapon (i.e. with 'Knucklebusters' on):
reload cycles between conquered powers, alternate fire exploits the currently-selected one.
*** ELONGATION-WIDE SPECIAL NOTE - start ***
> every elongation consumes an appropriate amount of Chi power; your Chi power can be increased whenever an elongation instance is found,
but most easily by absorbing the soul of killed foes - provided that their body is not destroyed in abrupt ways, i.e. by fire, ice or any
other special means <
*** ELONGATION-WIDE SPECIAL NOTE - end ***
> newly-introduced waste material containers: the Zen Soldier shall encounter a new variety of hazardous barrels, whose nature he needs to know
to avoid the consequences of exploding them, or to use them at his own advantage:
Explosive barrel - deflagrates with a few shards spreading.
Acid barrel - scatters harming acid pools all around. These get absorbed away in a while.
Napalm barrel - leaves ground fire around, effectively making the area around them impassable (for a while, that is).
Electronic barrel - explodes quickly with a flash, and stuns everybody nearby.
Coolant barrel - ignites slowly, but then releases a larger/mightier-than-average freezing explosion.
Poisonous barrel - its poisonous miasms affect every creature around, for a short timespan.
Nuclear barrel - no chance of surviving if it detonates in direct line-of-sight. Take cover.
Items:
UAC 9-gauge portable sentry turret (carriable)
A tactical addon for many dire situations, this turret activates when deployed on the ground,
seeking for targets at mid-range and rapidly dispatching them with 9-gauge bursts.
Beware of its explosion.
Zen Dynamics prototype enhancer kit (instant activation)
This biochemical stamina upgrade designed especially for Prototypes guarantees medical patching,
armor improvement and a reflective endurance effect that lasts for a limited amount of time.
Zen Dynamics nuclear booster (instant activation)
When one of these nuclear energy cores is found by a Prototype, his/her weapons offer improved performance
especially in the areas where they lacked before. Unfortunately, such effect does not last forever.
Footnotes:
(1) The suggested commandline for launching the modification is the following one
(assumes that the modification has been decompressed in subdirectory 'RSL' of your (G)ZDOOM directory):
(g)zdoom.exe -iwad <IWAD_PATH>\<IWAD_FILE> -file <CUSTOM_LEVEL_PATHNAME> RSL\rslproto.wad
(if under GZDOOM, add option '+gl_nogl 1' to disable hardware rendering)
(2) To experiment with the advanced "Zen Soldier" class, utilize the following commandline:
(g)zdoom.exe -iwad <IWAD_PATH>\<IWAD_FILE> -file <CUSTOM_LEVEL_PATHNAME>
RSL\rslproto.wad RSL\ZenSoldier\rslpzens.wad
(3) Do not forget to bind a key for weapon reload under 'Options > Customize Controls'
in (G)ZDOOM.
(4) Do not forget to bind keys for Mental Elongations (MEs) control under 'Options > Customize Controls'
in (G)ZDOOM. Available keys are:
- next ME;
- previous ME;
- exploit currently-selected ME;
- quick-invoke 'Gathering Of Souls';
- quick-invoke 'Light Sentinel';
- quick-invoke 'Blackwall'.
(5) To obtain the complete set of weapons and/or carriable items for quicktesting
without breaking the weapon set at your disposal, type 'rsl' in the console.
(6) To obtain the complete set of Mental Elongations for quicktesting,
type 'me' in the console.
(7) To obtain the complete set of Physical Elongations for quicktesting,
type 'pe' in the console.
(8) The modification is compatible with the following IWADs: The Ultimate DOOM, DOOM 2, Final DOOM.
WARNING * WARNING * WARNING * WARNING * WARNING * WARNING * WARNING * WARNING * WARNING * WARNING
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By reading the following credits you may spoil certain "surprise monsters" in the modification...
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WARNING * WARNING * WARNING * WARNING * WARNING * WARNING * WARNING * WARNING * WARNING * WARNING
Additional Credits to : Various sources for resources and/or inspiration (see below):
eliw00d for the Player class redefinition example
(check out his masterpiece 'GZDOOM Advanced')
WildWeasel (wwhcdiaz.wad) and Zero Prophet (zp-zerot.wad)
for the bullet puffs and sparks
Xaser for his Radioactive waste barrel (zendyn_x.wad)
DoomRater for the reload-oriented DECORATE actors
Vaecrius for the recoil ACS script
Zero Prophet for the original Mixom-125 "Beavertooth" gas chainsaw
(zp-zerot.wad)
Xaser for the original Zen Dynamics "Zen-II" 9-gauge sub-machine gun
(zendyn_x.wad)
TheDarkArchon for the Zen Dynamics twin "Zen-II" 9-gauge sub-machine guns
(TaintDec.wad)
Cory Whittle (icd-deh.wad) and WildWeasel (ww-strng.wad)
for the UAC "Thruster" 12-gauge shoulder-mounted shotgun
Xaser for the Zen Dynamics "Sawtooth" 9-inch nail projector (zendyn_x.wad)
TheDarkArchon (dmntrlty.wad) and WildWeasel (wwhc-di.wad)
for the UAC "Carradyne" compact rocket detonator
Xaser (zendyn_x.wad) and Luiz Eduardo (le-gnsse.wad)
for the Zen Dynamics "Orion" fusion assault rifle
Xaser and Zero Prophet for the Zharkov Labs "Fate" warfare device (zharky_x.wad)
Cory Whittle (icd-se.wad) and Mike Kasten (dm-inu.wad)
for the UAC 9-gauge portable sentry turret
Daniel for the Zen Dynamics prototype enhancer kit idea (arsenal.wad)
Luiz Eduardo for the Zen Dynamics nuclear booster idea (le-guns3.wad)
Nash Muhandes for the blood and gore effects
Bouncy and Graf Zahl for the Chainsaw zombie
Ixnatfual for the Zombie marine
Nanami, Mike Watson, and Brad Carney for the different Dark imp breeds
Nanami and Ebola for the Afrit
LilWhiteMouse's Hell's Battery for the 'Cyberdemon, higher class' concept
Xaser and Quasar for the Arachnophyte
Banjo software for the PEK item
3D Realms for the Nuclear Booster item
The STRAIN team (strain.wad) for mugshot graphics
WildWeasel and PerKristian for the Twin Knuckles original graphics
Xaser for the EgoSmasher
Spazzoid, MG_Man and NMN for the Aknai
Xaser and Scero for the Scorcher
Rogue/Velocity for the Fire Death
The Skulltag crew for the Zen Soldier skin
Raven Software for the Zen Soldier sounds
The FreeDOOM team for the Zen Soldier mugshot
Xaser for the target lock system
El Zee for the Zen Soldier altered blood system
Ryan Cordell and Lloyd Irving for the exclusive Zen Soldier gore system
Banjo software for the custom teleportation effect
TerminusEst13 for the new "Zen Soldier" teleportation effect
Yholl et alii, Xaser / Zero Prophet / PillowBlaster / WildWeasel
for the new "Zen Soldier" explosive barrel replacements
Eric_ / Blox for the new "Zen Soldier" blood/gore system
A.Gamma for the new "Zen Soldier" death animations
PillowBlaster for 'Gathering Of Souls'
The AEoD team and Chilvence for 'Light Sentinel'
DIP and PillowBlaster for 'Blackwall'
PillowBlaster and The AEoD Team for 'Thunder GodFist'
KeksDose and PillowBlaster for 'Cold Kinesis'
KeksDose and PillowBlaster for 'Gravitational Paradox'
PerKristian for Knucklebusters
Xaser and osjclatchford for BounceTooth
TheDarkArchon, WildWeasel, KeksDose, PillowBlaster for Carradyne-Rory
Xaser, Zero Prophet, Masters Of Insanity for Fate 2.0
Fiendzys for the new "Zen Soldier" helmet-like HUD at 'none' scaling
SidDoyle for realistic aim ACS and
Nash for Quake-styled strafe tilting ACS
(Gollgagh for added midair support,
Ral22 for added mouse support,
Ozymandias81 and MaxED for underwater support)
Mr. O'Phant, Lester (AKA 'Lest' O'Phant) and Bertino, Al for deep inspiration! ;-)
...Phew!!
All other authors I forgot to mention: please forgive me! I tried to be accurate as much as I could.
If you here notice some of your resources un-mentioned, please notify me and I will try to remedy.
===========================================================================
* What is included *
New levels : None
Sounds : Yes
Music : No
Graphics : Yes
Dehacked/BEX Patch : Yes
Demos : No
Other : (G)ZDOOM-specific lumps
Other files required : None
* Play Information *
Game : DOOM
Map # : None
Single Player : Designed for
Cooperative 2-4 Player : Maybe (untested)
Deathmatch 2-4 Player : Maybe (untested)
Other game styles : None
Difficulty Settings : N/A
* Construction *
Base : New from scratch
Build Time : 3 months
Editor(s) used : Adobe Photoshop, GoldWave Audio Editor, Notepad, XWE
Known Bugs : 1. Widescreen modes are not supported. Sorry.
2. With "Zen Soldier", it sometimes happens that a 'screen flashing mode' gets activated for no
apparent reason. The screen sometimes flashes with a purple-ish glow similar to those
experienced when exploiting 'Gravitational Paradox'. To my dismay, while I have tried to
re-examine the scripts related to that elongation I have yet to find out about the cause
of such malfunction. The effect luckily appears to go away whenever the current level is completed.
NOTE: probably fixed; related to teleportation effect instead.
May Not Run With... : Ports not supporting DECORATE; level WADs with heavy amounts of DEHACKED / DECORATE modifications
* Copyright / Permissions *
Authors MAY use the contents of this file as a base for modification or
reuse. Permissions have been obtained from original authors for any of
their resources modified or included in this file.
You MAY distribute this file, provided you include this text file, with no
modifications. You may distribute this file in any electronic format (BBS,
Diskette, CD, etc) as long as you include this file intact. I have
received permission from the original authors of any modified or included
content in this file to allow further distribution.
* Where to get the file that this text file describes *
The Usual: ftp://archives.3dgamers.com/pub/idgames/ and mirrors
Web sites: None others than the IDGames archive
FTP sites: None others than the IDGames archive