Hexen is next in line for revival?

[UnknDoomer]

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“I was looking at the IP list, I mean, let’s go!” Spencer said. “ ‘King’s Quest,’ ‘Guitar Hero,’ … I should know this but I think they got ‘HeXen.’ ”

“HeXen,” indeed an Activision Blizzard property, is a cult hit first-person game about using magic spells. Microsoft’s pending acquisition of Activision Blizzard also means owning the rights to many creations from gaming’s past, including Crash Bandicoot, the original Sony PlayStation mascot. There’s also the influential and popular Tony Hawk skateboard series and beloved characters like Spyro the Dragon.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2022/01/20/xbox-activision-blizzard-phil-spencer/

[Dusty_Rhodes]

I really hope so. Would a new game that's heavy on lore, puzzles, RPG elements. IE, less of an FPS. I enjoy Hexen, but it's level design isn't the best. So I always lean into the atmosphere and get my enjoyment out of that. If they kept FPS gameplay stuff I wouldn't be upset. I just want more Serpent Riders stuff. I feel Heretic would be revived before Hexen though.

[xX_Lol6_Xx]

Hopefully, I'd love to see a HeXen remaster of sorts, like the Doom Unity Port

[Somniac]

I'd like to be wrong, but I think the best thing for the series is to leave it. It's been long enough. I just don't think I trust these people not to screw it up. Hexen II was already quite bad and that comes from the "classic" era. 

[7Mahonin]

I mean, he mentioned it by name. Out of ALL the stuff they’ll now soon manage, for him to specifically mention HeXen gives me high hopes. I just hope it'll lead to more than a rerelease of the original games.

Edited January 25, 2022 by TelicAx7 : spelling

[Rudolph]

3 hours ago, VisionThing said:

Hexen II was already quite bad and that comes from the "classic" era. 

Really? How so?

 

I am asking as someone who has only played the Hexen 1 shareware and was left... underwhelmed by the experience.

[Murdoch]

It's also worth pointing out that this merger is not 100% confirmed. It could still fail for anti-trust reasons.

Not sure I would be keen on a remaster of Hexen given it's tiresome level design. And the "Story" of the trilogy is essentially complete. So a reboot would seem more likely and sensible.

[Nine Inch Heels]

18 minutes ago, Murdoch said:

It's also worth pointing out that this merger is not 100% confirmed. It could still fail for anti-trust reasons.

Yeah, adding to a mild buzzkill right there, I'd lower my expectations with regards to what they may or may not actually do...

 

The revival of old franchises, even if we're going under the assumption that something will come back from the grave, is also - and arguably primarily - a prospect that's been paraded around in front our eyes to distract from the reality that, if this deal goes through in 2023, microsoft will be the biggest holder of successful IPs on the market, which is the harbinger of a paradigm shift that has yet to manifest itself clearly... But it's not one that's gonna be all tea and crumpets...

[gwain]

darn was wishing it was quake was next in line for a new game but hexen seems cool

[UnknDoomer]

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darn was wishing it was quake was next in line for a new game

Unlikely, I guess. Last time when this question was surfaced the answer from the developers side was like Quake mostly remembered by the community by the Quake 3 Arena, rather then other titles. Same as, by other hand, Quake Champions is still in foggy early access, after all this years, and recently were have got Quake II RTX, Quake I remaster.

 

In compare to it, by other hand, nowadays Doom story is currently finished (sort of), Wolfenstein will, probably, get "last" third game this year. So the only "well known" thing left around on ID side is Heretic/Hexen series. There is also Rage exist, but after the controversial second part it's not clear... Same as, well, now Raven is on the same boat.

In addition to it. Hellraid gone, but became part of the Dying Light, Dark Souls related games are quite popular now. Also combination of those two might release in early access in the end of the year.

 

 

And, well, it plays more/less on the same field.

Edited January 25, 2022 by UnknDoomer

[MrFlibble]

That new gameiin the trailer looks nice, but apparently it's going to be in the same Painkiller/Serious Sam style of wandering between scripted battle arenas/rooms? Not that this is bad per se, but pretty far away from HeXen for sure.

9 hours ago, Rudolph said:

Really? How so?

 

I am asking as someone who has only played the Hexen 1 shareware and was left... underwhelmed by the experience.

HeXen "shareware" (actually a demo that is Unwinnable By Design) does not give a very good experience of the full game IMO, mostly because Seven Portals is indeed an underwhelming hub. It gets better after that, both Shadow Woods and Heresiarch's Seminary are quite well done -- they mostly deliver what the Winnowing Hall opening level promises. I'd say when you play the full game, slogging through Seven Portals is worth of what you get next.

 

I played a bit of HeXen II recently, mostly for a sort of nostalgia's sake coupled with curiosity. Before that, I had only played a demo for a short while. It's rather fun at first, and I've grown to appreciate the transition into full 3D, which is something that I detested back in the 90s. But sometime later I got bored. Instead of switch-hunting from the first game, now there's a "sort of" quest hunt for items, and I got stuck because I missed something, then found it but that involved running around the same scenery in circles for a dozen of times, which is no fun at all. Also combat is a bit awkward to my tastes. BTW, suddenly I realised that regarding scenery, HeXen II is quite comparable to CHASM - The Rift.

 

In short, I'd say it's a nice game to check out, you can grab the demo (be sure to get the latest one with all characters and more levels) and see if you like it. But be prepared that at some point you might want to drop the full game, possibly for reasons described above. I'm still intrigued about later hubs with different themes, including the quasi-Roman and Egyptian ones, but this has not been a motivation enough to resume playing so far.

[RDETalus]

13 hours ago, Rudolph said:

Really? How so?

 

I am asking as someone who has only played the Hexen 1 shareware and was left... underwhelmed by the experience.

 

I liked Hexen 2 as much as Hexen 1, but they both have their moments of obtuse puzzles that can ruin the mood

[DuckReconMajor]

16 hours ago, VisionThing said:

Hexen II was already quite bad and that comes from the "classic" era. 

 

I remember a time when people hated Hexen 2, but it feels like public opinion has (rightfully) softened on it in recent years.

Like the first game, it's a great time if you're not too proud to consult a walkthrough.

[unerxai]

I hope the classic Heretic/Hexen games finally get the treatment they deserve. Right now they are in the same shitty state as Quake 1 used to be, with no CD Audio music, obviously (only midi) and glitchy GL exe. The iwad of the Deathknights expansion pack of Hexen 1 isn't even patched so there's no music on that one.

 

Edit: At least that's how they are on Steam. Maybe GOG is better.

 

Portal of Praevus needs to be on there too. 

Edited January 26, 2022 by unerxai

[Dusty_Rhodes]

15 hours ago, DuckReconMajor said:

 

I remember a time when people hated Hexen 2, but it feels like public opinion has (rightfully) softened on it in recent years.

Like the first game, it's a great time if you're not too proud to consult a walkthrough.

I love Hexen 1 and 2. Great games, which I would love to see revived. I always found the universe really interesting.

[UnknDoomer]

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Edit: At least that's how they are on Steam. Maybe GOG is better.

Meanwhile Heretic II not available anywhere. Perhaps this might be changed too now.

[MrFlibble]

On 1/26/2022 at 8:34 AM, unerxai said:

with no CD Audio music

I think the HeXen CD came with CD Audio music, but did it play in-game?

 

I just checked, my GOG version of HeXen II comes with OGG versions of CD Audio tracks, which is what plays by default.

[RandoBust]

While we're on the topic, does Hexen/Heretic work on GZDoom? 

[Jello]

1 hour ago, RandoBust said:

While we're on the topic, does Hexen/Heretic work on GZDoom? 

Yes they do. Just put GZDoom in your Heretic or Hexen folder, select the respective .iwad and away you go.

[unerxai]

6 hours ago, MrFlibble said:

I think the HeXen CD came with CD Audio music, but did it play in-game?

 

I just checked, my GOG version of HeXen II comes with OGG versions of CD Audio tracks, which is what plays by default.

I had forgotten Hexen also had CD music. IIRC you had to go to setup.exe to select it. I wonder if GOG gives you the option since you can mount CDs on DOSBox.

[MrFlibble]

I just realised that HeXen II has a peculiar charm because the devs evidently tried to make the most of true 3D while designing locations. There's as much detail, particularly in the interiors, as they could put in given the practical hardware limitations of the time, lots of destructible scenery -- I suppose the part in Blackmarsh where you need to use a scorpion/ballista to destroy a castle tower in order to gain access to a portal felt really innovative back in 1997. It's cool in the sense of the first bold steps taken in true 3D of the time, when this was still largely unexplored territory.

[Master O]

On 1/29/2022 at 3:26 PM, MrFlibble said:

I think the HeXen CD came with CD Audio music, but did it play in-game?

 

I just checked, my GOG version of HeXen II comes with OGG versions of CD Audio tracks, which is what plays by default.

 

The Hexen CD does come with CD Audio music.  When playing Hexen, you must have the CD inserted in your CD drive, as well as go into Hexen's setup file to explicitly enable CD Music, then run Hexen.exe accordingly at the DOS prompt.

 

Using Imgburn, when backing up the CD, that program creates two files: hexen.bin and hexen.cue, which shows that it uses CD audio for the game's music. If you use Dosbox to play Hexen, you have to imgmount hexen.cue to get the CD music running.