What are Strife's label hints? (9001 to 9006)

[Gez]

I was working on making some more DB2 configurations when a conflict of number with the MapSpot of Hexen and ZDoom led me to discover those:

hints
{
	color = 13;	// Light Magenta
	arrow = 0;
	title = "Explosives and Hints";
	width = 20;
	sort = 1;
	
	94
	{
		title = "Explosive Barrel";
		width = 10;
	}
	92 = "PowerCrystal-LowSect128Lt0";
	59
	{
		title = "Degnin Ore - for FFG";
		width = 16;
	}
	25
	{
		title = "Force Field Guard - use ore";
		width = 2;
	}
	9001 = "Label Hint 1";
	9002 = "Label Hint 2";
	9003 = "Label Hint 3";
	9004 = "Label Hint 4";
	9005 = "Label Hint 5";
	9006 = "Label Hint 6";
}

So what are these label hints? What are they supposed to do? Are they found in a map?

[Quasar]

In the Strife 1.2 executable these objects' locations (with DoomedNum's 9001 through 9010) are stored into an array of 10 mapthing_t's (the most recent one seen in the process of loading the level is the one that will set this data). However, this array is never referenced anywhere else in the program, meaning that it is effectively dead code.

Graf Zahl says they are found in the demo version of Strife, which is significantly earlier than the commercial build, and has offered a few conjectural possibilities for what they might have been used for, such as providing some type of sector property, but I think it's most likely that they were meant to mark some small collection of points, similar to deathmatch spots.

They could have perhaps been related to the canceled but partially implemented "Capture the Chalice" game mode, for example, but that is also complete speculation. With so few ideas available from the disassembly, we'll really never know what they were going to do.

[Darkman 4]

Quasar said:

In the Strife 1.2 executable these objects' locations (with DoomedNum's 9001 through 9010) are stored into an array of 10 mapthing_t's (the most recent one seen in the process of loading the level is the one that will set this data). However, this array is never referenced anywhere else in the program, meaning that it is effectively dead code.

Graf Zahl says they are found in the demo version of Strife, which is significantly earlier than the commercial build, and has offered a few conjectural possibilities for what they might have been used for, such as providing some type of sector property, but I think it's most likely that they were meant to mark some small collection of points, similar to deathmatch spots.

They could have perhaps been related to the canceled but partially implemented "Capture the Chalice" game mode, for example, but that is also complete speculation. With so few ideas available from the disassembly, we'll really never know what they were going to do.

"Capture the Chalice" game mode? Do you have any more info about it and how complete it is when the game shipped?

[Quasar]

All that's known about it is that it would have obviously been similar to CTF, and would have revolved around the Chalice. The only trace of it we have found, which exists even in the latest versions of the game, is that any player carrying a Chalice in his/her inventory will drop the item when killed in Deathmatch mode.

[Gez]

I see, thanks.