Hey. I am sure that as we get closer to the ETA - you're all wondering what's up and where we stand. And indeed, the time has come to put all the cards on the table. And in case you haven't tried my Legend9-like DOOM escapade yet, you are very welcomed to:
And back to Hexen we go. For starters, my current progress position in the mod: i am refining the 2nd hub. Dealing with quality gaps between segments that belonged to the revision 3 maps (that's the old shit from version 8.33), the segments that belonged to the revision 3.5 (for an interim 8.43 which never happened) - and the up to date revision 4, which is the latest in quality and my design strategies and style. And these belong to Legend 9. Compared to them, anything that i built earlier, at any point in time - just looks bad. So, i have to track those pieces down and remake or redesign them. Sometimes having to delete them altogether and come up with something completely new. Such is the case with the (ex) Wastelands level. I did all kinds of fixes and some more fixes on it in the past. Here a fix, there a fix. This detail, that detail... Alas, my final conclusion was that the level was just too boring, needlessly convoluted - because it followed the original Raven's structure. A bad idea in the first place. So, i have erased almost everything in that level and made new stuff from scratch. Also, i am making this level extremely streamlined. The direct opposite of what i did with the Darkmere remake. If the misty battleground is gonna keep you there for quite a while with its sprawling subsections, this one is far more direct. And i'll say good riddance! No amount of fixes could make these boring corridors right.
Don't worry, the redesigned level is pretty. It's just streamlined. And the name "wastelands" - will obviously be dumped too. Still a work in progress.
This larger flame animation appears when you use the sword in the ultimate weapon mode. Otherwise it has smaller flames, just like the basic mode of this weapon in the demo. In the upcoming release, the basic mode of this sword is much more powerful and a couple of animation frames were added. This extra flame animation, however, is currently not finished. And likely will not be fixed until the final version of the game. Otherwise the weapon is fully functional. Its ultimate mode works exactly the same as the original.
The thing is, that i largely based the redesign process on my lasting impressions of how terrible the levels originally were. So some levels which i would end up skipping when playing the vanilla game - would initially get royal redesign treatment (Deathwind Chapel, Dragon Chapel, Wolf Chapel, Griffin Chapel). The levels that i had to see a lot and their primitive ineptly made appearance would be both too heavy on the eyes and the experience - would get double(!) the royal treatment, including complete 180 degree concept revisions (7 Portals, Guardian of Fire, Guardian of Steel, Guardian of Ice). However, there were some levels - that i thought were "like magic" (Darkmere, Dungeons, Effluvium)...and i was convinced that these levels were originally so good, that they need minimum to no work done on them. Well, maybe in the eyes of the child who never saw a fantasy FPS. In reality - they were not. I could not have been more wrong deluding myself with that. And then, there were levels which were a kind of in-between, - where i did some cosmetic work, but still relied on the original designs too much. (Shadow Wood, Bright Crucible, Caves of Circe, Gibbet). Alas, the truth is - they must all be treated equally: with the same bulldozer. LOL So, that's where all the level work comes from. I overlook things and then find out as they rear their ugly head with a vengeance.
Now, let's get to the full version facts, which i will list below as a list of key points of what to expect.
1) It most definitely will not be a FULL version. Not with my Doom detour shaving off two months.
2) It's gonna be more like an "early access" thing. Almost half of the game. More than half or less than half - that will be determined in the nearest 10 days. I will let you know. But I really want to release this version with THREE complete hubs, NOT two.
3) If the circumstances demand it, i will delay the ETA for another 2 or three weeks for the sake of finishing the third hub as well.
4) The third hub (monastery) largely does not require much intervention. It does require it, but not nearly to the extent the second or the first hub did. Beside the retroactive texture corrections (issues caused by my multiple texture revisions that i did to make the new Darkmere), almost all the levels there appear up to date and pretty, with all the boring sections properly removed, with alternative replacements instead. So i expect a reasonably smooth sailing there.
5) Beside the levels themselves, there is the incorporation of the new enemies, balance and testing that stuff in action.
6) Warrior's arsenal is still being tested. There are serious issues there, which derive from the fact that i have squeezed all the manipulations i could out of this specific Doomsday version. And that has some heavy restrictions on what is possible to mod in this one. I will have to see if Doomsday supports Dehacked patches and whether i can make something there. Otherwise, the best decision right now is to give the Fighter yet another magical weapon and forget the macho-bravado nonsense "the fighter uses melee blah blah blah". Legend 9 shifts the combat much further toward a shooter, as in you shoot stuff. Melee attacks are all good and useful to a certain extent, but the game dictates that anything beyond the first weapon - has to be ranged.
7) Ultimate weapons MAY not be available for some of the characters until the full version is launched.
8) Story graphics are not present beyond the 7 Portals intermission. The story itself is present for hub 2 intermission, but no graphics yet. The story for hub 3 intermission is being worked on as we speak.
9) Mage's Sapphire Wand has an unfinished animation.
10) Warrior's Flame Sword - 4th weapon mode has an unfinished animation.
11) There currently is a slight gap in quality in hub 3, - between revision 3.5 levels (Monastery and Orchard of Lamentations) and everything else, which is revision 4. I will let it slide TEMPORARILY, until the final version for the sake of expediting this release.
Waiting <3
Doing my best, working on it every day without exception, whatever time i can spare. Nonetheless, it appears that one final delay is going to be unavoidable. There is still work in the second hub, and if i want to add the third - it's gonna be a tall order.
On the other hand, this time i am aware that i am releasing something not yet finished and merely interim, yet first of all i do want the Hexen and Legend fans to detach from that outdated demo which seriously pales in comparison to what i am working with, and secondly - i am planning an immediate departure from Hexen for a a good few months, - into the direction of Doom 3 and Quake 2. I can't wait to finally work on and provide the maxed out version of Doom-3-Bravo and see what i can add to Quake 2: Heavy Metal. I saw that recent hideous remaster where nothing is fixed (as usual with that lazy Nightdive bunch), and that only accentuated to me how good the fan-made engines like Quake2Max look like, compared to that weird nonsense. Too bad Q2Max is an abandoned project and is incompatible with many things (including my Q2HM), but i'll keep on working on my part of this game.
I will wait. I can patiently wait.