So, we are long past the point of safe return with over 600 minor warnings, 1 critical warning and almost double the amount of segs above normal limit. Fortunately, it does not crash yet, cause i am not anywhere near the end. Yes, true is the fact that in my experience - all of the maxed out remakes take about 4 to 6 weeks for a level. And here i am going for something even more maxed out than the "maxed out within the normal limits".
I have thought about ways to circumvent the visual issues that arise due to the limits of the engine, and came up with some tactics to work around it. In this level, it does work pretty well. If my starting point was "i want this type of structures in my mod", the next step for me is the usual "how do i make this type of structures work my way". Yes, i know that if i were to do this stuff in gzdoom, then i'd have all possible limits removed and no issue with any type of architecture. Well, alas, i'll have to do just with ingenuity and a thinking cap. Not saying it's perfect, but so far, it is shaping up nicely. I am even strongly considering removing the fog from the level, so as not to detract from the visual merit. But that is not yet certain. I will decide on that after a good amount of testing, when the level gets closer to the conclusion.
This one surely puts some brakes on the mod's development cycle, but if my Hexen remake is to be the game that stands the test of time, - no effort is to be spared. And i aim for something way higher than a test of time: the return of it to my own top 5. Now that's much harder to accomplish, but i will be giving it my best.
A small taste, - a comparison between the vanilla and Legend-9. I have prepared some preposterously funny comparison screenshots, that excel to illustrate how lazy the original is (same scale as the Seven Portals remake, lol), but i'll keep those for an upcoming big article on Darkmere and the mod's progress. This is just a very small taste.
Well done. When I read about Gzdoom for a moment I thought you would switch ;)
I would, if i could. Most definitely. The lack of proper shadows in Doomsday is what bothers me the most. That, and certain technical limits. However, the reality check dictates otherwise. The total number of features and enhancements (aside from levels) in Legend-9 is quite staggering, and in my estimation - it would take a ZDoom expert(!) at least half a year to transit everything successfully, taking into a account that this would not be the only task in his (hers?) life. Probably, pulling a 9-to-5 on ZDoom - 5 days a week shifts - would most likely cut the time in two.
But, since we're talking about someone who knows literally nothing about modding in ZDoom, - learning up to the level of implementing advanced features and then doing all that de facto - would stall the mod for at least couple of years, in my estimation.
Add to this the fact that my current ETA on the full version is May 2023...
Undertaking such a venture would have a high chance of me abandoning all of my ID-Tech1 based mods and doing something else instead, lol. So, no thanks :-)
I wouldn't mind, however, cooperating with someone who would want to take the mantle of doing this very task.
But, in order to have even a perspective of something like that - a full version
needs to be there, and it has to be as good as i claim it to be. Full circle.
In all honesty, do what you wanna do, even dealing with the technical limits. While I have not used Doomsday for a long time and the mod as well, I'm still astonished with the amount of effort you put into the levels. I wouldn't recommend switching to GZDoom at this point, really.
Well, that was never the intention, simply because i can't. Just like i told the man in the comment above. It would be akin to having an English test that would suddenly switch to an alien language.
As for the levels...i do want to make something memorable. And it took me a good amount of time to come up with a design plan, some tricks, techniques and an approach to level styling. The idea was to make levels that would not fall short of the classic games that i hold in high regard. Or better yet - surpass them. (which is not impossible) I also want to inspire others to make quality content for Hexen, just like some mods out there have inspired me. Boring empty corridors have long overstayed their welcome, and it's time they finally buggered off Hexen mods. A little known fact, but my main inspiration for skyrocketing Legend-9 into its current stylistic standards - was a well-known little mod "KDiZD". While neither Doom, nor ZDoom are my thing, but that mod was just so well made, that it found even a hard to please player like myself - among its fans.
And i aim to achieve the same effect.
More so, over half of KDiZD style and eye candy - results not from
a more advanced engine, but from the simple fact of proper vision, mature dedication, understanding of design concepts, diligence and love toward the project. And this combination always wins. Even against superior tech.
This is a interesting little fact and that I can somewhat relate to. A year ago, I kind of wanted to remake Heretic and Hexen maps with some GZDoom tech but, I realized that I'm nowhere motivated to do any mapping stuff than tinkering both of Heretic and Hexen's gameplay the most. I decided to abandon those ideas and focus on 2 gameplay mods until I'm done with that someday.
Anyway, getting inspirations always helps and after I seen mostly all of the images and video previews that were updated, I still think that this is probably one of the best looking mapsets for Hexen, albeit a pretty special one since your remaking the original Hexen and Deathkings maps with a different style. Even against the superior tech, it is still genuinely impressive and it does give me some ideas to consider from well, you know, that remake idea I just mentioned.
It is always interesting to discover about other potential remakes of Hexen (or Heretic)! For all i know, only three tangible remakes of Hexen exist(ed), so it is curious to learn that there could be more. On that note, if you are still serious about Heretic remake, i can send you almost complete remake of Heretic levels (first 3 episodes) from a mod i no longer work on. It is unfinished and has zero polish, also - its quality varies greatly as i was working on it during vastly different stages of my mod-making path. It's got stuff ranging from basic remakes and up to highly imaginative and complex.
Deathkings' turn will come, most definitely - because i was never able to play this game. Both due to it being fugly and even more so - due to its insane enemy respawn. After many years, i have come up with a brilliant solution to the respawn problem (for a non-programmer, it was beyond impressive), and with the fully upgraded Hexen on the gameplay, stylistic and aesthetic level (meaning: Legend-9 core) - Deathkings will be perfectly ready to be played even after all these years.
On the Hexen front, i know only of one mod, which shows truly inspiring design skill, and that's "Shadows of Chronos" (a.k.a. "Kaiser28") It is a rather forgotten one, but it surpasses anything else out there for Hexen. Easily. But since there is just one, that's why i always looked up to Hexen II and Heretic II for guidelines on design subjects and techniques.
And, this mysterious screenshot:
Sendspace.com
Obviously, comes from a project made by a highly experienced professional. But i was never able to find this mod.
Honestly, I'm still serious about the heretic remake except like I said, idk when will I get to that when I'm actually done with the said gameplay mods someday. I'm actually surprised with that note which I wasn't really expecting but I think it can help with the ideas I'd like to consider regardless of the map qualities. Either way, I look forward to see what it looks like.
As for the screenshot, I may be wrong but this definitely looks like Hexen: Curse of the Demon Lord. It's unfinished but it's still playable and you can find it in Doomworld Fourms.
Well, since it sparked your interest, - i'll give you some more info. Basically, it's an abandoned mod, which is even listed here on Moddb. It wasn't always abandoned, - and people still don't know that it actually is. Over time i have turned it from a mod into a training exercise, eventually leaving altogether. There were three reasons to do so. First one was the Heretic's resource limitation which i have no clue how to surpass. The second was the gameplay: step by step i came to highly dislike the gameplay. Especially the enemies flying away shtick. I guess it wasn't 1996 for me anymore. The final and the biggest reason was - that as i evolved in my design skills to its present level, i realized that to achieve the same in Heretic as i did with Legend-9 - would take me years (as in many years, lol) and that's something that is unacceptable to me in any way, shape or form. All three reasons combined - it's a triple-reinforced sky-high wall, made from alien super metal that makes T-1000 weep with envy :-).
But the mod has quite a lot going on for it and is an excellent headstart for anyone with a remake in mind. (minor issue that it's built for Doomsday). It's just too far from Legend-9.
During the years when i still had hopes for it, i posted videos of some test walkthroughs for its better level reimaginings.
You can check it out here:
more:
If you like what you see, i can send you the level itself,
and you can try it first hand and decide if you want more or
is it rightfully on the finish line to abandonware-ville.
Soon enough i will officially state that the mod is dead.
But the enhanced levels - even as they are now, even with the lack of polish - are still far better and way more interesting than the vanilla. It'd be a waste to just erase them.
Curse of the Demon Lord...well well...the guy who made it - is probably working as a professional in a game design industry as we speak, and that's probably why the mod was unfinished. The only reason i can think of. I'll be sure to check out the shadow of what could be a masterpiece.
Hey, i wanted to update you about something regarding Heretic. After my conversation with you, i decided to not let things go to waste and to opt for a DEMAKE of the mod of sorts. I will delete everything unfinished, and strip the mod of all gameplay or other eye-candy and whatever features achieved through Doomsday and will only address texture alignment in the levels. With that made, i'll revert most of the graphics back to vanilla (except levels and textures, of course) and thus make it compatible with any sourceport and any gameplay mod out there. Which is exactly the goal of this decision. Cause i visited it a few days ago, and it was clear to me that while the mod is as far from Legend-9 as it can possibly be, but it is still about 10 times prettier and more interesting than the vanilla Heretic. And, the icing on the cake - if anyone (such as yourself) wants to use this as a base for a derivative work - then that will definitely be a go. I will all be for it.
This way it will be a highly accessible, highly compatible mod segment that can be enjoyed both as a standalone, with a custom gameplay mod - or as a headstart for someone else's project.
And with a minimal amount of work from me to deliver this little number. So it's a win-win.
In that case whenever I find myself bored with messing around both of the gameplay mods, that would be pretty nice.