[WIP] Winter's Fury

[Pieruskwurje]

Shamelessly copied from Zdoom forums :(


EDIT: Updated this picture to one that looks alot better.

Winter's Fury

Another one of my various side projects which I shouldn't be working on, but am doing so anyway :P

This will be a 8 map mod for GZDoom. The maps have rather fast paced action, with scripted sequences and of course, boss fights. They can be a bit difficult, but with enough ammo to get you through. The levels are rather short, as they are each split up into 3 parts:

Part 1:

MAP01:90% Complete
MAP02:70% Complete
MAP03:15% Complete

Part 2:

MAP04:0% Complete
MAP05:0% Complete
MAP06:0% Complete

Part 3:

MAP07:0% Complete
MAP08:0% Complete

There is also some little pointers in the mod to teach you about certain aspects throughout the levels. This mod also features replacements for all the weapons, making some faster and others more dangerous. Not only will there be these weapons, there is a whole new set of demons just waiting for you to slaughter.

Some backstory:





This mod is set a few years after the first demon invasion (Doom1 and Doom2). The UAC is on constant watch of activity of demons on earth and mars. The UAC have been completely paranoid more demons could come at any moment, and are finding new technology to defeat them, such as Cybergaze 2.1x and their other secret projects that you, Corporal Elliott Morse shouldn't know about.

You are a part of one of a vast amount of Specialist teams, designed to find and hunt down remaining demons. The latest signal has come from Siberia, inside a fictional mountain named Mt. Baphomet where ironically, the remains of the Giant demon spawner, the icon of sin, Baphomet, whatever you want to call it, was buried in a vault far below the mountain. Within and around the mountains perimeter are hundreds of Pre-Demon war facilities that the UAC took as their own during the first war against the demons. All information about the base has been classified since. A minor team was sent to deal with this signal's inconvenience. That team never returned. Now, the UAC are beginning to panic. They decide to send in one of the most elite teams they could muster.

Leaded by Brigadier General Andrew Luke, this team makes no mistakes. You are part of this team, after showing outstanding skill in all areas. You didn't think you were that good. The leader of Alpha squad in your team, and friend from the Pre-Demon War times, Corporal Markus Dirnberger, believes that the UAC did genetic experiments on demons here. You also owe him 17 dollars. You think he is crazy, but the General almost believes him. He knows from first hand experience, that the UAC always lie.

For our mission, they want us to go in, find the problem, terminate it, and get out. Simple, huh?

The General expects us to follow these orders exactly. He doesn't even want to know what the UAC have done here.

What the UAC actually have done here has saved the lives of thousands...

...But now, it has condemned the life of your team, and possibly the rest of the earth to the demon threat once more.



Or something much worse.





And now for some screenshots:



Old Screens:
http://i33.tinypic.com/2m3k2mu.png

http://i34.tinypic.com/nzhwzl.png

Posted these in the WIP thread a bit back.


New Screens:
http://i46.tinypic.com/14nvxs.png

http://i46.tinypic.com/htspyc.png

http://i45.tinypic.com/2zq9z4i.png

http://i50.tinypic.com/nfnqlk.png

http://i50.tinypic.com/k3t00p.png

http://i46.tinypic.com/vhgcis.png

http://i50.tinypic.com/ip065t.png

I will release a public alpha as soon as map01 is complete. Until then, comment away!

[Vermil]

That fog is way too strong on those outside shots.

[ArmouredBlood]

Vermil said:

That fog is way too strong on those outside shots.

Only cause the sky is actually kinda dark ... otherwise it makes a pretty good whiteout effect. Maybe a darker fog, since it seems like night or heavy cloud cover, or just change the sky completely to something snowblinding.

I really like wads that use that palette change so well, it gives this one kind of a frosted look somehow. The colored lights fit in really well. Can't really say the same for the weapons, they look a bit too realistic in a doom mod.

Story's good.

[Jodwin]

Yeah, the fog looks pretty bad. It's ok in the cave shot I guess, but those open air fog screens are just nasty.

[reki107]

[offtopic]
and here I was hoping to do the infamous "super cool and whatnot" post...
[/offtopic]

This is awesome, but it has waaaay to much fog. Decrease the fog, and you get an a+.

[esselfortium]

I agree that the fog is a bit extreme and needs some work. At least part of the problem, I think, is with fog being inherently tied to lighting in Doom. An example of the problem with that is the gradient lighting on the door in one of those outside shots; instead of the door getting brighter where lights are shining on it, it gets less foggy, which looks weird and makes no sense. Particularly because now the door is actually *darker* where lights are shining on it, because the low light levels are turned white from the fog.

[Jodwin]

Besides, the only screens where the fog seems to make any sense are the cave ones, since those areas seem to have running water in them. You don't normally have fog in winter, and if you do have anything comparable to fog, then you're having a huge blizzard where you won't be able to see anything at all (and the amount of snowfall you're having would indicate that, no, there's no blizzard).

[Graf Zahl]

esselfortium said:

I think, is with fog being inherently tied to lighting in Doom. An example of the problem with that is the gradient lighting on the door in one of those outside shots; instead of the door getting brighter where lights are shining on it, it gets less foggy, which looks weird and makes no sense.

Since this is GZDoom it's easy to fix: There's a fogdensity MAPINFO option that makes all fog in the level the same strength.


Nevertheless, the fog is indeed too strong and should be reduced a bit.

[Graf Zahl]

Jodwin said:

You don't normally have fog in winter, and if you do have anything comparable to fog,

From actual experience I'd say this is wrong. I have seen tons of fog in the winter.

[Jodwin]

Graf Zahl said:

From actual experience I'd say this is wrong. I have seen tons of fog in the winter.

Well I haven't. Then again, where I'm from you don't usually have open lakes and rivers in winters so there's not many ways that fog could form.

[Terminus]

You all keep talking about that fog... I think he already got that he should decrease it.

This looks really nice, I like the plot. Let's just hope the weapons are convenient. Looking forward for this.

[Jodwin]

Ven said:

You all keep talking about that fog... I think he already got that he should decrease it.

This looks really nice, I like the plot. Let's just hope the weapons are convenient. Looking forward for this.

Well if you want to talk about something else than aesthetics, let's hope the map layouts, flow and monster and thing placement are good too. :P Those are much more important than the visuals or story anyway...

[TMD]

If youve ever been outside in the winter you sometimes can only WISH the fog is merely as thick as it is in that wad. This certainly makes it live up to its name.

Am I really the only one who likes the fog usage?

[Terminus]

Jodwin said:

Well if you want to talk about something else than aesthetics, let's hope the map layouts, flow and monster and thing placement are good too. :P Those are much more important than the visuals or story anyway...

Of course gameplay matters much more, and that's not really something screenshots can tell (For the most part, at least). However I do see that monsters aren't placed randomly, and that's pretty good.
And judging by StarScream's previous work (Insanity's Edge, etc.), flow is definitely a trump card in his maps. :P

[gemini09]

I think the fog looks good. Perhaps it shouldn't turn the background completely white this close, but it works for me. 4th screenshot is a good example of what I think looks good.

[Pieruskwurje]

Okay, the fog will be fixed. I think I got enough people telling me that :P

Gameplay is rather fast at sometimes, Then at othertimes it stops you to fight a big battle or clear out a huge room. There is alot of cinematic sequences in the mod to spice up the script functions. Lots of monsters coming out of walls and spawning in aswell. The flow progresses with how the story goes. There is dialoge story that you can skip through, which goes with the flow.

But anyway, thanks for the comments everyone :)

[Pieruskwurje]

There we go:

http://i47.tinypic.com/2jesbxu.png

That function worked like a charm, Graf :)

Still could use some work to blend into the sky better, but this is a start.

Offtopic: Also, 100000 WADs and Mods post.

[Khorus]

The maps look ok enough, if a little tacky, but that duke shotgun edit looks horrible imo.

[WH-Wilou84]

Looking good so far, those screens are appealing.

[Fletcher`]

[WH]-Wilou84 said:
Looking good so far, those screens are appealing.

Omg, a double-duke shotgun. <3

[Philnemba]

The early "foggy" screenshots reminds me of Phendrana Drifts from Metroid Prime ^^
However it looks better when you tone down the fog from the looks of your latest screenshot.

[Graf Zahl]

Starscream said:

There we go:

That function worked like a charm, Graf :)

Still could use some work to blend into the sky better, but this is a start.

Offtopic: Also, 100000 WADs and Mods post.

You should definitely use a brighter sky. Fog combined with a black sky is not so nice.


There's also a 'skyfog' MAPINFO option but I believe right now it doesn't work for cubic skyboxes. Which reminds me that I need to fix that. ;)

[gravitar]

I like the fog actually, but perhaps make it a little darker to be easier on the eyes.

[Pedro VC]

Nice shotgun sprites.

[Guest DILDOMASTER666]

God damn. This looks epic. Totally playing this when it comes out. The color scheme is interesting...

[printz]

I liked the old fog, but if the new fog is a result of GZDoom improvements and not toning down, then I like the new one as well.

And indeed, the sky needs to match the fog.

edit: oh shit what have i done :(

[Ismaele]

Nice shots... and story is interesting too!
I hope the author is still working on it: keep up the good job, Starscream!

[PRIMEVAL]

Aside from the excessive fog, it looks pretty good. The story sounds neat, too. And that Spaz Shotgun reminds me of PsychoPhobia every time I see it :P

[Subatomic]

Looking pretty sweet thus far. Just wondering, how do you get the lights to cast down like that? (http://i33.tinypic.com/2m3k2mu.png) I assume it's a GZDoom feature.

[Xtroose]

It is a middle texture gradient with additive translucency. It even works in Boom if you play with TRANMAPs a little bit.