[WIP - G/ZDoom] The Trooper - 0.2.4.1 Released! [DUAL REVOLVERS]

Crosspost from ZDoom forums:



A gameplay showcase video, courtesy of Glaice:

I am currently trying to give The Trooper a Zandronum-compatible version - if this interests you, the reader, follow either this link or this other, RDND-compatible link. The Zandronum versions are current to The Trooper 0.2, lacking zoom features and quick-melee.

The Trooper is a simpler, more relaxed project compared to Project Operation Unthinkable or Helsturm; it's not heavy on mechanics nor boasts a massive (theoretical) arsenal - it's just you and these ten guns, plus a knife and sword (which you can quick-melee with using User1 and User2, respectively):


Surfeit Torment - A powerful explosive revolver originally belonging to Unthinkable's Sergei, this thing puts down most weaker enemies in one or two shots. If you're not willing to get too close to the explosive death, altfire launches a highly accurate spread-shot. A copy of the gun exists, somewhere...and if you find it, can be dual-wielded via the Zoom function. Complete - it does almost everything!


Avtomat Sokova, model of 1946 - Lightweight, cheap, and durable, the AS-46 is a reliable workhorse weapon, suitable for most enemy types. It can also fire a highly explosive grenade. Complete, ready to lock and load!


Pulsar-D - A burst-fire weapon chambered in the heavier 6x60mm Hildebrand round, the Pulsar-D takes out enemies with greater range and precision than the AS-46. Paced bursts are ideal; rapid firing can mute the advantages of using this burst rifle. Complete, ready for field issue!


Gehiron M83 GPMG - A general-purpose machine gun chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO, the M83 has a reputation for both high accuracy and recoil force. It can also load armor-piercing ammunition. Complete - don't have too much fun!


Sturmman M97 - One of few in its class, the M97 is a double-barreled automatic shotgun...that is, ridiculously powerful and nearly impossible to control. Still, it offers unrivaled damage output at close range, making this a monster you'll be coming back to often. It can fire slugs as well as shells. Complete - help, it knocked me over and I can't get up!


KSR VSK7 Nightshade - A versatile, semi-automatic shotgun with considerable stopping power, superior handling, and a tight spread. Can be used to fire explosive shells. Complete, already spent all of my shells in testing.


UAC Prototype Model 302 "Last Salvo" Handheld Explosive Railgun - Exactly what it says on the tin, this weapon fires a massive explosive slug at incredible speed, carving a bloody pathway between you and your target. Can fire perforated slugs that spread after firing. Complete, just don't fire at close range, it WILL kill you.


Lost Guardian DGA-3 - A prototype design, this directed energy weapon fires seven powerful beams in quick succession. Best used at close to medium range, as the beams lose coherence at longer ranges. With the right battery, it can be configured to fire single beams that maintain coherence much more properly... Complete, does need a new muzzle flash, though.


Aries Sharpshooter Prosthesis - The literal arm of an alien machine, this powerful beam rifle deals massive damage at any range. Kicks like a bionic mule. Can be scoped-in with the Zoom key. Complete, could do with a more effective explosive radius...or a smaller explosion.


Crimson Spectre - A massive antimatter cannon with no apparent function or purpose other than pure, unadulterated destruction. IFF tags of unknown manufacture prevent this beast from vaporizing its wielder via collateral damage from its main blast, though the leftover bursts of matter annihilation can't be good for you. I wouldn't fire this thing while standing on any sort of narrow platform, if I were you. It can also turn its antimatter cores into shootable mines - just remember that the mines don't care if you're friendly. Complete - that humming sound it makes, that's completely normal.

Extra weapons - sometimes you need a little more gun:
CREDITS ARE IMPORTANT, TOO:
DoomNukem: Surfeit Torment base, firing sounds, and ammo pickups, Sturmman drum, Pulsar-D base, GPMG sight
PillowBlaster: Various sounds, some code references (too many to list)
wildweasel: Various code references, some sounds (also too many to list), Revenant tracer fix
zrrion: Lost Guardian, Sharpshooter arm, muzzle flashes
Seidolon: New Lost Guardian pickup, voxel pickups
Enjay: Revenant tracer fix (code)
Neccronixis: New Last Salvo and Sharpshooter Arm sprites
HazeBandicoot: Crosshairs
Blox: Shiny shiny Nishimura Seven sprite
Sgt. Shivers: GPMG HUD sprites
Carbine Dioxide: Considerable testing and feedback, base for GPMG pickup
Albertoni: Zandronum version testing and feedback
Glaice: Gameplay video
Robinson Brewery: logo base

If I'm forgetting to credit anyone for anything, please let me know and I will promptly rectify the issue.

Leap ass-first into danger here! Last updated 16 June 2016.

Extra weapons! Load after any version of The Trooper, before loading any other patches. Not Zandronum compatible. Last updated 06 June 2016.

Hopefully Zandronum 3.0 compatible build?

Same as above, but with RDND compatibility.

Vanilla movement patch, load after any version of The Trooper.

MaxStepHeight-only patch, same as above. Do not use with the vanilla movement patch.

Do you like voxels? I like voxels. Dive first-ass into voxel pickups here, courtesy of Seidolon. Voxel pickups are incomplete at this time.

This rocks, one of my fav gameplay mods! The explosive pistol is a thing of beauty, check this out folks!

PsychoGoatee said:

This rocks, one of my fav gameplay mods! The explosive pistol is a thing of beauty, check this out folks!

I've noticed that the pistol seems to be the favorite weapon in the mod - about half of the comments over on the ZDoom forum thread are about it!

At any rate, I've updated The Trooper to version 0.1, superseding the 0.x## naming scheme as the arsenal is in its complete form, barring the possible reintroduction of the Sharpshooter Arm. Changes include:

*Last Salvo explosions should be more intuitive, but less laggy. Explosion radius reduced to 128 (equivalent to the vanilla Rocket Launcher) and overall damage reduced slightly.
*Surfeit Torment now deals more noticeable damage to groups of enemies.
*Sokova 46 ammo occasionally replaces explosive magnum bullets, in the hopes of providing more AS-46 ammo around Chaingun spawns and reducing availability of magnum bullets. AS-46 now only gives 30 bullets when first picked up - all future pickups only give 10, like the Chaingun does.
*All ammo limits except for Surfeit Torment reduced considerably.
*Explosive magnum bullets now spawn in increments of 1, 2, 3, or 6, with drops being weighted towards the first three. Players now spawn with 24 bullets instead of 36.
*VSK7 Nightshade now gives 8 shells on first pickup, and anywhere from 1 to 4 on subsequent pickups.
*Last Salvo gives 4 slugs on first pickup and 1 to 4 on future pickups. Railgun slug boxes now contain 4 slugs instead of 8.
*Sturmman M97 now gives 32 on first pickup, 16 each following.
*Pulsar-D gives 60 on first pickup, 30 each following.
*Errant Quad Damage values corrected.

If some variety of ammo seems unusually abundant or some weapons feel underutilized compared to their function, please let me know so I can make corrections as necessary.

The only problem with this mod is that the legions of Hell are no match for your new arsenal. :P

JohnnyTheWolf said:

The only problem with this mod is that the legions of Hell are no match for your new arsenal. :P

That might change a bit this update.

I've fixed a couple of incorrectly labeled pickup actors for the DGA-3 and added a new weapon - the Gehiron M83 General Purpose Machine Gun, replacing one in every 256 AS-46 spawns:



In addition, I've made a few tweaks to a few of the basic Doom monsters to more closely match The Trooper's intended gameplay speed:

*Zombiemen and shotgunners can now refire, and will attack sooner.
*Imps, Hell Nobles, Arachnotrons, and Cacodemons react more quickly, and can attack repeatedly.

So, I've drastically reduced damage values across the board and rearranged the slots - Sturmman M97 moves to slot 5, the GPMG to 6, Last Salvo to 7, DGA-3 to 8, Sharpshooter Arm to 9, and Crimson Spectre to 0. I've also changed the Surfeit Torment''s altfire - it now fires conventional (non-explosive) bullets, and has its own ammo type. To compensate for the lack of explosiveness, it is now equally as accurate as the primary fire.

*Surfeit Torment now deals 8d3+13d3 explosive instead of 10d3+15d3 explosive
*VSK7 Nightshade deals 8(random(5,6))d3 instead of 8(random(6,8))
*Sturmman M97 deals 8(random(5,7))d3 instead of 8(random(7,9))
*Sokova 46 deals random(5,6)d3 instead of random(8,12)d3
*Pulsar-D deals random(16,20)d3 instead of random(24,28)d3
*GPMG deals random(20,24)d3 instead of random(32,36)d3
*Last Salvo deals 11x(2d3+9d3 explosive)+(9d3+9d3 explosive) instead of 11x(3d3+10 explosive)+(10d3+10d3 explosive)
*Sokova 46 altfire deals 30d3+60d3 explosive instead of 30d3+100d3 explosive

The player now spawns with twelve normal bullets in addition to the normal twenty-four explosive ones.

Cool, but would it not make more sense to have the Surfeit Torment's fire modes reversed?

Also, I am not sure why you moved the Sturman to Slot 5. What was wrong with it sharing the same slot as the Shotgun, since they share the same ammo?

JohnnyTheWolf said:

Cool, but would it not make more sense to have the Surfeit Torment's fire modes reversed?

Also, I am not sure why you moved the Sturman to Slot 5. What was wrong with it sharing the same slot as the Shotgun, since they share the same ammo?

It would make more sense, but it was an explosive revolver first, and I really just prefer it that way. The Sturmman M97 got moved to Slot 5 because I generally get tired of having to switch to one to get to the other, though I might move it back to 3 and just separate the Sokova 46 and Pulsar-D instead.

Have some gameplay:

Also, I think you may need to tone down the excessive missile spam I see in high enemy maps as the hitscanners can be ruthless too.

I also made a combination of this mod and RDND to remove minor conflicts. Not everything was added (IE random gore decoration), mainly just the monster changes.

Glaice said:

Go right ahead, and RDND is my own mod put together from other assets. It's basically a super light Brutal Doom without all the bullshit attached to it and very compatible with most weapon mods.

It looks like I'm gonna have to combine the mods to get what I want (Done! Get it here!), you're free to use it as a base if you want to.

Also, I think the use of refire on the enemies is making them a bit too aggressive...maybe lower the refire chance?

I've updated the refire chances on projectile-throwing enemies. I lowered them for a bit on the hitscanners for a while, but they kind of proved somewhat hapless afterward.

I've also applied this to your RDND combo pk3.

TheRailgunner said:

It would make more sense, but it was an explosive revolver first, and I really just prefer it that way.

I dunno... this feels like having the Grenade Launcher be the primary fire mode on an assault rifle. Usually, the secondary function of a weapon is more powerful and/or explosive. It just goes against FPS conventions and it can lead to many accidental deaths.

JohnnyTheWolf said:

I dunno... this feels like having the Grenade Launcher be the primary fire mode on an assault rifle. Usually, the secondary function of a weapon is more powerful and/or explosive. It just goes against FPS conventions and it can lead to many accidental deaths.

Well, the GL is a much more powerful explosive weapon than the revolver's explosive bullets. Besides, you would have to shoot yourself with the revolver a considerable number of times before doing serious harm in most cases.

I'm trying something new with the revolver's altfire - Magnum Shells.

All I am saying is that the secondary weapon mode should feel special and not just feel like a basic attack.

Anyway, I noticed many monsters now seem to have had their movements sped up and not just for their attacks: sometimes, it almost feels like they are running for cover. Is this a feature? I have not noticed anything about that in the mod's description.

JohnnyTheWolf said:

All I am saying is that the secondary weapon mode should feel special and not just feel like a basic attack.

Anyway, I noticed many monsters now seem to have had their movements sped up and not just for their attacks: sometimes, it almost feels like they are running for cover. Is this a feature? I have not noticed anything about that in the mod's description.

It is a new feature, actually. I just added a secondary altfire - the Explosive Magnum Shell. The reload key switches altfire types.

I feel the altfire should expand on the weapon's capabilities or lack thereof - the revolver's default fire can't be used up close, so the alternate fire grants this ability. Its signature ability is that its bullets explode, and I prefer to keep it as the primary.

Sounds like a good idea.

So, if I understand right, monsters running around is a feature, not a glitch?

JohnnyTheWolf said:

Sounds like a good idea.

So, if I understand right, monsters running around is a feature, not a glitch?

Pretty much - I would like to make them more direct in their efforts to seek cover, but I don't know if that's possible in Doom without some crazy Decorate stuff.

I've done a few little things:

*Shell drops have new sprites, and are randomized in groups of 1, 2, and 4.
*The VSK7 and M97 can now toggle extra altfires - reload switches them between explosive and slug shells.
*The M97 now has a lower rate of fire across the board.

I like the new altfire for the pistol. :)

However, the problem with your new ammo system is that it is not easy to keep track of the special ammo count. If I use the regular hud (not the one with the mugshot), I need to keep switching back and forth between weapons in order to know to know how much special ammo I have left. Even with the alternative hud on, it took me a while to figure out which type of ammo is being spent.

Also, it does not seem like there is an ammo count for the pistol's explosive shells.

So, I've given The Trooper a custom HUD after noticing that extra ammo types couldn't be seen:

Any feedback or criticism would be much appreciated.

I like it! :D

I've moved to a blue HUD, and applied the following changes:

*Shotgun ammo bugs fixed, along with the altfire toggle sound issue.
*Weapons now switch faster - should make a difference in-game.

I would recommend making the green areas darker to contrast more with the numbers, but maybe that is why you changed to blue.

Empyre said:

I would recommend making the green areas darker to contrast more with the numbers, but maybe that is why you changed to blue.

Indeed it was.


I've added a new ammo drop - Bullet Bags, which contain an assortment of normal (non-alternate) bullets for the Surfeit Torment, Sokova 46, Pulsar-D, and GPMG. Smaller bags occasionally replace clips while larger ones sometimes replace clipboxes.

The Sokova 46's damage has been increased slightly.

I've made the HUD slightly more transparent, and added a new weapon: the Francis-G8K assault rifle, which deals more damage than the Sokova 46 at a slightly lower rate of fire and greater bullet spread, but overall stays on target much more easily.

I've added two new weapons - the XM27 Submachine Gun (slot 2) and the Nishimura Seven Battle Rifle (slot 9).

Gave it a quick play, I can see this becoming a constant DM mod for me and my friends if this is Zandronum compatible.

Albertoni said:

Gave it a quick play, I can see this becoming a constant DM mod for me and my friends if this is Zandronum compatible.

Zand compatibility would be a good advertising point...I remember at one point someone on the ZDoom forums mentioned that it was compatible with Zand 3.0, but that was back in early April during the initial release.

The XM27 can now be dual-wielded.

Is it normal that "give all" does not give me a second XM27?

Also, I really wish you could reassign the Sturmman to Slot 3.

JohnnyTheWolf said:

Is it normal that "give all" does not give me a second XM27?

Also, I really wish you could reassign the Sturmman to Slot 3.

Hit the reload key - the second one will come out. "Give all" gives you two, but doesn't automatically equip the second one.

TheRailgunner said:

Zand compatibility would be a good advertising point...

But sadly:
Script error, "the_trooper.pk3:decorate/weapons/demons_blood.txt" line 65:
Expected ')', got ','.

This is for the latest 3.0 alpha, 160229-1221.

Albertoni said:

But sadly:
Script error, "the_trooper.pk3:decorate/weapons/demons_blood.txt" line 65:
Expected ')', got ','.

This is for the latest 3.0 alpha, 160229-1221.

I've updated both versions of the mod, so it shouldn't run into this error again.