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What are your hopes/expectations on the new Doom The Dark Ages Soundtrack that's not being composed by The Legendary Mick Gordon?
AtimZarr1 replied to Consistent-Money-990's topic in Doom: The Dark Ages
Wouldn't be surprised if the trailer music was from some random third-party instead. That's what they did with 2016's launch trailer and Eternal's glory kill trailer. -
Classic Doom - New Update on Steam
AtimZarr1 replied to AtimZarr1's topic in Doom General Discussion
Where are the downloaded mod files saved at on the desktop? There are some mods that don't seem to show up in the browser's "Subscribed" filter anymore so I can't unsubscribe them to remove them from my Play list. -
LEGACY OF RUST - overall thoughts?
AtimZarr1 replied to Captain Keen's topic in Doom General Discussion
Finished the campaign earlier today, except the secret levels. I hope they're able to patch the AI bug soon since I felt like I cheesed it badly whenever I had to reload and the enemies would just start migrating off in some direction unless I politely tapped on each of their shoulders. Legacy of Rust is decent mapset overall, if a little crazy at times - but I can't help but feel if it'd make more sense for it to have been published under Featured Mods. Being placed as part of the default menu of Classic Doom campaigns is a bold statement, especially as the Slayer's Club website describes it as "the first official episode since Doom II to feature new demons and weapons." For a lot of casuals diving into the Doom I + Doom II edition, that statement will be true. For someone already familiar with the PC modding community, it's a bit of an awkward occasion. There have been plenty of megaWADs over the past many years that featured new enemies and weapons and made with such quality that it makes Final Doom as a commercial release seem quaint in retrospect. What can Legacy of Rust do to justify its aspiration? --- Firstly, I think the approach to the new enemies is pretty excellent. Being based on unused sprites as well as rounding out the roster to accommodate a few needs is a good approach at making the new additions feel justifiably plausible. I like each of the new enemies, and do have a few comments regarding each: - Ghoul. Seeing the Beta Souls realized is a pleasure and with more flying enemies, the better. I really do wish they had a hitscan attack instead, it would certainly be cruel on a flying enemy - but also faithful to its original concept. A minor pet peeve, but it bugs me these are named "Ghoul" when "Ghoul" is already used as a class of Revenant in Doom RPG (not that anyone cares, but I do!). If we had to borrow a name, I'd vote for Forgotten One because I think reusing that joke from Doom 3 fits rather well here too. - Banshee. A bit of a goofy enemy with its sound and face, but I actually like it. I can't really think of what else could've been done with it, I think this is a pretty well-realized product from those unused sprites. - Shocktrooper. I always like the idea of Plasma Soldiers and seeing it executed here is great. It's deadly but I think it's fair - it's carrying a plasma gun after all. I do wish they dropped Plasma Rifles though, taking the weapons and ammo from dead zombie soldiers is always the fun part of Classic Doom encounter design. I do wish it had an original appearance - the helmet and armor keeps pulling me out of it whenever I see them. "Shocktrooper" is also a bit of a straight-faced name though compared to his other undead contemporaries - "Zombie Man", "Shotgun Guy", "Heavy Weapon Dude". To be fair, I can only think of "Plasma Bro" as an alternative. - Mindweaver. Nice to see this especially since the Mastermind is a bit much to map around with its gigantic size. Mindweaver is a decent name for it, although I think calling it Spiderdemon would've been a funny reference - since the Mastermind had the name change officially in Doom II. Not like it was using it anymore, and would fit a "scaled-down" Mastermind. Also, it seemingly having the same health as the Arachnotron seems a bit weird to me, since I feel the different weapons they wield would justify having different health pools. - Vassago. I was a bit skeptical of a freshly new enemy compared to everything else thus far since it might feel "too custom", but the PSX Doom growls they make instantly won me over to them. It's a pretty interesting enemy too - I like that it introduces an element of persistent area control with its fiery attacks. The radius on those feel a bit off - either the damage radius is too big, or the visual radius is too small. At first I thought I was taking a damage-over-time effect, but it seems rather I was just taking damage from the fire despite being notably away from it. - Tyrant. An appreciably similar functional role to the Mindweaver, and it being called the Tyrant for it is a fun reference. The lack of horns is definitely cursed, I think having fewer cyber parts would've maybe been more palatable (like the Harbinger of Doom). Also wish they appeared more often in the episodes, but in any case, a cool addition nonetheless. To talk about the weapons for a bit as well: - Incinerator: I really ended up liking this weapon. It's super effective at close-range with its high rate of fire incurring a lot of pain. It has saved me a good number of times I normally would've died normally. It does need a bit of estimation of space at a given moment since it can backfire, but that's the fun of the weapon. "Incinerator" feels a little excessive, I think "Flamethrower" would've been enough of a name since most Doom weapon names are functional (except the BFG, but that's a special case). - Calamity Blade: I also liked this weapon more than I thought I would. It's very satisfyingly powerful, although it did take a bit for me to realize it could be "charged up" with its shots. Its use in Soul Spire is especially fun. I also think calling it Destroyer Blade would've been a fun reference, but that's the naming scheme nitpicks I have... but I do wish the new weapons didn't replace the Plasma / BFG respectively, it makes them feel less like new weapons and more like LoR-tied custom weapons. --- The reason I feel Legacy of Rust would've made more sense as a Featured Mod however is because of the campaign structure and overall theming. Even the name itself "Legacy of Rust" is a little odd - it gives a similar energy as "The Trooper's Playground", "BTSX", or "Syringe". It's a creatively unique name for its purpose (especially I think if it was just a Featured Mod) but compared to other official Doom releases, it doesn't have the similarly straightforward, if not ominous, weight to its subtitle - "Sigil", "No Rest for the Living", "Hell on Earth", "Resurrection of Evil", etc. I could feel the hesitant confusion coming from my brother and dad when I told them I was playing the "Legacy of Rust" expansion for Doom. What legacy, what rust? It doesn't actually matter, but it's a nitpick at the back of my head when I realized I wasn't drawn into playing it as soon as possible (despite its impressive three-way production), converse to something like "Dimension of the Machine" for Quake. The story itself actually is effective as a standalone entry. The idea of the UAC building a base in Hell is a fun twist. And really it's not anymore out-of-place compared to something like TNT: Evilution or The Plutonia Experiment before it. But just like those, they exist in a vacuum that's somewhat separate from the much more exhausted marine depicted across Doom II and Doom 64. But I think that's fine. The triple "3" numbering in the story synopsis was cute, and general concepts depicted across the maps were intriguing enough to pique my interest - the portal room, the Vassago trap, the nukes, etc. The visual direction of the levels were quite strong, and I love the inclusion of the PSX Doom's fiery skybox. The levels themselves are considerably impressive with a great deal of detail and art direction. Its ordering does feel a bit disjointed, other than the first and last map. Like the significant jump in populations between some maps, E1M6's unique yet difficult spike, or those 1-2 maps in Episode 2 that suddenly didn't have the newer enemies. Personally, I tend to prefer "short and simple" progression-type maps for Classic Doom, but it is a testament that I never really noticed the length of these maps being longer until the score screen - they're paced pretty solidly. There were some moments where I had to "switch hunt", which I don't really enjoy but I may have missed obvious visual cues. Similarly, the lift tunnel puzzle in one of the earlier maps left me confused for a while because I completely forgot / didn't see the (second) lift button, so I wandered around for a good while thinking I was supposed to do something else instead. The combat encounters are designed with gleeful cruelty yet they're solvable even for me, but I do think some of them are a bit overkill to have in official content. E1M6 feels like it should've been a secret level, its certainly unique with its singular focus on the newer weapons and enemies while also sporting a large and open map space that pushes for second encounters. That's cool but probably a bit much for a casual player, which there will be more of exploring the latest new thing (compared to Featured Mods). It's a bit like having Go 2 It as a Plutonia secret map. Speaking of slaughter, some of the slaughter encounters near the end of the campaign feel a bit much too. The Calamity Blade does put in the work, but maybe 10% fewer monsters would've been nice. I honestly still don't get the penultimate swarm with Vassagos and Arch-Viles (I accidentally cheesed it with the reload...), but even the Tyrant rush after that felt more manageable. There's also the rather-tight ammo economy - I think it works pretty well for the most part, but there were points where it was clear you had to weave around, encourage in-fighting, or come back for seconds. There were also parts where I was starved and cornered, which were rather not fun. As for my favorite level, I think I would pick the first one - there's a charming simplicity to it which is my favorite kind of Doom map anyways, plus the portal visual was really cool. The tight ammo economy combined with the longer levels and the brutal action certainly makes it a tense and demanding experience, which can be fun to master. But maybe once, or twice at most for me. I'd like to play again properly when the AI bug is fixed, but I don't know if this campaign really fits the "standard journey" of an official Classic Doom adventure. It's tense, demanding, and admittedly rather exhausting. That's why I feel this would've fit better as a Featured Mod - I've completed all of those on UV, had my fun, and that was the end of that. All of them were great and I consider them "extra" if I'm ever in the mood for a quick standalone play that's a bit more involved than the official material. But putting Legacy of Rust on the official campaign list is putting a lot of undue pressure on it. I'll basically either have to willfully skip it or "put myself through it" whenever I go through my Doom marathons. --- Legacy of Rust is unique, intense, and made for enthusiasts; it's a fun playthrough and would have no problem sitting alongside the other Featured Mods by the community. But I think something newly official should've played a bit more to the likes of Dimension of the Machine from Quake or Lost Levels from Doom 64 - a bite-sized high-quality campaign that is the game at its core with modern mapping techniques. Something to recommend for casuals to try when buying the new remastered edition. The new enemies/weapons and visual direction of the maps certainly hit that level, but I think the gameplay asks for a lot from the player that may turn them off before they can fully appreciate Legacy of Rust's style. Anyways, hope the read was enjoyable. I nitpicked a few random things that would not matter normally, but I did it here because Legacy of Rust is described as an official campaign, so I tried to consider it from that angle rather than just a community mapset. -
That's incredible! Looking forward to experimenting with this.
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Classic Doom - New Update on Steam
AtimZarr1 replied to AtimZarr1's topic in Doom General Discussion
They didn't actually - according to the release note FAQ on the Slayer Club's website, Switch users can only access featured mods and not browsing. -
Classic Doom - New Update on Steam
AtimZarr1 replied to AtimZarr1's topic in Doom General Discussion
Regarding the masses of WADs posted, I think being able to filter by a minimum number of Likes would be nice, i.e. filter out anything below a set number like 5, 10, etc. Similarly, being able to follow certain uploaders to filter for their uploads specifically - that way people can follow more prolific mappers. -
Love the game for its pacing and oppressively dark atmosphere. Been trying to dip into mapping recently as well. Definitely recommend a campaign replay on VR if anyone gets the chance for it (Team Beef's version is very good).
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Classic Doom - New Update on Steam
AtimZarr1 replied to AtimZarr1's topic in Doom General Discussion
I kind of wish the beta souls had a hitscan attack since they were supposed to be psychic during development iirc, but it's still really cool for Legacy of Rust to use some material from the alpha/beta. According to the id Vault, the Incinerator weapon is based on a combination of the unknown weapon sprite and the lower half of the extended Plasma Rifle. Speaking of the Vault, it's nice to see unseen documentation but I also wish they had a compilation of every weapon and enemy (like in the Quake 2 remaster) - could even bring back the original manual descriptions for each entry. -
New Doom The Dark Ages gameplay was revealed at quake con...behind close doors
AtimZarr1 replied to Consistent-Money-990's topic in Doom: The Dark Ages
Interesting note on the purple halo. Were the "glory-like kills" similar to the melee attacks in the reveal trailer (like when he finished off that mounted demon) or were they more in the flashy style of 2016/Eternal's glory kills? Also, unironically was there any jumping during the gameplay? -
Classic Doom - New Update on Steam
AtimZarr1 replied to AtimZarr1's topic in Doom General Discussion
Did you find out if respawn limits are the only thing added in modern co-op? I actually like the idea tbh but I guess it depends on how it's executed, as long as it's an option anyways. -
From QuakeCon livestream: Official website info: https://slayersclub.bethesda.net/en-US/article/doom-eternal-pc-mod-preview idstudio link with guides: https://idstudio.idsoftware.com/
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Classic Doom - New Update on Steam
AtimZarr1 replied to AtimZarr1's topic in Doom General Discussion
Level Select -> Difficulty Modifiers -
Classic Doom - New Update on Steam
AtimZarr1 replied to AtimZarr1's topic in Doom General Discussion
I'm so glad that Pistol Start and Fast monsters are selectable parameters. Looks like UV+ is gone, but you can effectively recreate it anyways. Also looks like you can browse uploaded mods with the semi-official content from before (i.e. Deathless) categorized under "Featured Mods". Someone uploaded Fistful of Doom, and it looks like it works. I can't recall if the featured mods supported multiplayer in the Unity port, but none of them do in this version anyways. Someone can correct me if I'm mistaken. Interestingly, there's an option for "modern cooperative" but I'm not sure what that is. -
Classic Doom - New Update on Steam
AtimZarr1 replied to AtimZarr1's topic in Doom General Discussion
If they can use that from PSX Doom AND are already willing to replace the OST, then... -
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2280/DOOM__DOOM_II/ Didn't see anyone post it yet. Doom and Doom II are now combined, new "Legacy of Rust" episode (16-map collaboration between id Software, Nightdive, and MachineGames) with new enemies and weapons, a "new Deathmatch map pack featuring 25 maps", online multiplayer support for up to 16 players, in-game mod browser, option for Andrew Hulshult's OST with new Doom II tracks, etc. Happy QuakeCon