Popular Articles - Brutal Doom: Kickass Edition mod for Doom II

As the summary states, the Final addendum for Kickass Edition has Been released, It is so hard to believe that the mod's development has finally come to an end, but I'm happy and thankful for everyone who has shown their love and support for what was quite literally my first ever mod, I'm so glad that I stuck around with this mod, rather than leaving it on v3 (As I intended to do originally), As keeping myself working on this mod has been a stressful, but rewarding experience.

At this point, I think I've added so much shit, that I don't think I could add anything else to the mod, and if that doesn't tell you something about how much I've added in, then I don't know what will...

Good day to you all, Doomers!

@DarynS here, making this release post. @BarefootMapMaker has been slammed with work lately, but we have been able to make some tweaks and fixes to the maps that we did want to get out to you all.

Before we get to the changes, I'd like to make sure everyone is aware that Dragon Sector (The Remake) now requires the use of GZDoom 4.11 to work. This will prevent the crash that happens at startup on older versions of GZDoom. If you download just the PK3 file, you'll need to keep this in mind. However, if you download our Full Pack, this is included, so you don't have to think about it.

Other than that, this should be the last of the 0.5x series. I know we said that before, but there were a few bugs that crept in that we couldn't leave there. Plus, it gave us the opportunity to start sprinkling in the story cards throughout the maps. These should give you more insight as to what happened on this base. They are strictly optional. There's no items to collect, they're just messages left on computer screens for you to read.

We'd like to thank anyone who has downloaded the map set over the past few years, and we hope that you'll continue to stick with us as we learn and grow. We've still got a lot of fun and devilish ideas planned, so if you haven't already, give us a Watch on our main page.

Now then, here are the changes in version 0.53!

• GZDoom 4.11 is now required to run Dragon Sector. This is to avoid the crash when starting a new game.
• Tweaks to all of the maps to make the secrets a bit easier to spot.
• Changed the Supreme Fiend's BFG attack to a shattering projectile. The BFG made the encounter a bit too unfair.
• Added Brightmaps to the Supreme Fiend to make it easier to see when it goes into a darker area.
• Changed how the Friendly Security Bot and Drone work. They can no longer turn on you if you shoot them too much.
• The Security Bot, Drone, and Turrets no longer do damage to the player if they're caught in a crossfire.
• The Security Bot and Drone will stop moving is they are near the player, so it should be easier to have them follow you.
• Integrated CamTex's Flashlight Mod based on some player feedback.
• Started to add Lore to the maps. These take the form of Comm screens you can read, if you want to. We have always had story explanations for the map features we have. It seemed like a good time to start sharing those.
• Many minor bug fixes and optimizations to the maps.

As to the progress of Port Titan (Map 6), there isn't much to report. As I said, @BarefootMapMaker has been really busy with work, and working on a brand new map after a long day of driving is often the last thing on his mind. That said, we'll post some WIP screenshots when there's enough to show off.

Until then, we hope that this more polished version of the Map set will keep you all playing. We love to see your playthroughs, so if you do a video, link it in the comments!

We've also put together a Settings Guide for Project Brutality, which should help getting it set up for the best Dragon Sector experience.

Alright, enough waffling!

Rip and Tear!

@BarefootMapMaker & @DarynS

Hello again, everyone!

We're back today with another release. Version 0.52 also brings with it some changes to the requirements. Due to the scripting functions we are using, Dragon Sector (The Remake) now requires GZDoom 4.10 or above. Because of the crash bug we found in the last release, we're recommending using a 4.11 Development build, which as of now, has the crash bug fixed.

We realize that this is an inconvenience, so for the Full Pack we have bundled the current Dev Build as well as the current build of Project Brutality to make things easier. We hope that as we continue to evolve this project, that you'll continue along this ride with us. We did our best to try to retain legacy compatibility, but to do what we wanted to do and to not crash when you begin a game, it just wasn't possible.

This release should be the last of the 0.5x series, unless we run into another showstopper that needs to be addressed. Now, BarefootMapMaker has started work on Map 06, Port Titan. It's still in its early stages, but you can probably infer something from the name. We look forward to showing you how it's coming along, once it's fleshed out a bit more.

In the meantime, we'd like to thank everyone for the support, and for playing our maps.

Right then! On to the notes!

Improvements This Update:

Fixed a lot of performance issues with map05 - Nuclear Station.

--All monsters in monster traps have been set to dormant, only activating when called upon by player actions. This prevents a lot of CPU bogdown, as monsters only activate when they are needed. There are over 600 monsters in this map, and it was causing a lot of CPU overload. Which, as said, has been fixed.

Security Drones and Bots have been significantly improved. They now do line-of-sight checks, to make sure the player isn't going to be hit by their fire. This prevents a lot of unnecessary fragging by these assets, and it helps them to be used a lot more intelligently and with a lot more confidence. Special thanks goes to inkoalawetrust for his help with these improvements! We're still working on the Drones and Bots. The more we learn, the better they'll get!

We added a nice collection of “Materials” textures to our texture assets. Just tastefully added stuff, to help set the maps off more, without changing the overall feel of the maps. It is a noticeable improvement. Special thanks to Chilvence, KuriKai, Jacob Østergaard - email address(freelanzer@gmail.com), Reinchard, Tea Monster, Ron Goode, for the DHTP, to AndrewMRX for the displacement shader, and DraugraK & Berzerk Doomer for the PBR pack.

We compressed our entire texture library. This helped reduce the size of the pk3 by about 200MB and it helps significantly with texture load during play. Everyone should notice a significant uptic in performance. It is still recommended that everyone precache textures, however, as this always helps with performance when loading in large texture sets.

Made a few minor texture changes across all of the maps. Nothing earth shattering, just stuff changed here and here to help make the maps all look a little better.

Changed how the Rebreather works. It now only lasts for Five minutes instead of twenty. However, the rebreather's battery only depletes when you're using it. There is now also a timer on-screen to let you know how much time you have left. Picking up multiple rebreathers will still add to its time.

Gameplay Changes:

• Map01:
  • changed the Blue Armor to Green Armor in the acid room of the Morgue. The Blue Armor is now in a secret area.

See the tutorial for instructions on how to get up and running.

Rip and Tear!

BarefootMapMaker & DarynS

Hello Doomers!

It has certainly been a hot minute since our last update. If you have been following our blog posts, you’ll know that there has been stuff going on behind the scenes, though. Today we’d like to bring you up to speed officially on what is happening with Dragon Sector (The Remake).

Map 7’s concept has not been coming together. Instead of trying to force it, we’d prefer to have the idea, the main flow and the aesthetic in mind before we get going. BarefootMapMaker doesn’t want to put out a map he is not fully happy with and doesn’t enjoy playing, so for now, this release will only include the six maps previously released.

That isn’t to say that there is nothing new. All six of the maps have received substantial additions, rebalancing of both monster and item placement, and in some cases, completely new areas. So, if you’ve already played through them, it will feel much different now, especially given the recent changes to Project Brutality.

Unfortunately, this also means that savegames you made previously will not be compatible with the new version. So if you have a playthrough going, maybe finish it up before starting fresh with the new version.

There has also been a lot of work done to other aspects of the mod. Several of our monster variants have been tweaked. We’ve also added a new beastie to fight, the Behemoth. Thanks Amuscaria for that one.

Last, but not least, are the changes to the Security Bot. This is the initial implementation of inkoalawetrust’s KAI library. Now, the bot is much better at finding its targets, and much more reliable when it comes to following you around. No more spinning around like a top and veering off at random.

As we continue to move forward, more features will be added, and KAI will be implemented on other actors, like the Drone, or some monsters. It’s taken a lot of work and brain numbing trial and error to get here, but DarynS feels pretty good about what the bot is capable of now, and looks forward to improving it in the months to come.

Here is the full list (that we can remember) of changes to v0.65.

Fixes

• BFG Commando’s Shot now hurts the player again.
• Fixed an error that caused a lot of “Invalid Sound Position” errors with the turrets to appear in the console in Map 04.

Improvements

• Initial Implementation of inkoalawetrust’s KAI Library for the Security Bot.
• Security Bot is now much better at following you and navigating around the level.
• Pressing “Use” on the Bot will make him stop firing at whatever it is fixated on and look for something else to target.
• The bot’s eye now follows the player and targets.
• The Item Magnet’s range has been increased.
• The Item Magnet’s Upgraded Range and Speed have been increased.
• The Item Magnet operates a lot more intelligently than it did before, it now only pulling items that have direct line-of-sight to the player.
• Poison Resist powerups now stack.
• The VitalSphere and related powerups now bestow bonuses based on selected play difficulty.
• The Roach is now quite a bit faster. He also does more damage and regenerates a lot faster. He is now a pretty decent challenge, some weapons much better than others at defeating him, and some not very effective with him at all. Especially when he is encountered in packs!

Map Changes

• Map 01 - Executive Complex
• Ammo increases to help better balance of gameplay.
• Removed the “Magnet” powerup, moving it to map 02.
• A few structural upgrades.
• Added a few monsters in key and in new locations.
• Removed the need for the Blue Key to release one of the security drones.
• Map 02 - Resources Reclamation
• Ammo increases to help better balance of gameplay.
• Reworked the secret reservoir area to add a significant structural upgrade.
• Map 03 - Skyway
• A good number of structural improvements - many decorative but also many functional.
• Ammo increases to help better balance of gameplay.
• Changed some powerup locations to make them make more sense as to placement and relevance to progression of play.
• Map 04 - Fuel Refinery
• Added structure to some areas to make secrets a little less obvious.
• Added strategic elements to some areas of the map’s/play areas’ structure, to help the player make better use of the map’s features for the purpose of dealing with monsters.
• Final area can now be drained, with the addition of a lift that can access the bridge from the area’s floor, after the drawbridge has been raised.
• A new monster added to this map - the Behemoth, which replaced the Mancubi which were there before.
• Map 05 - Nuclear Station
• Changed the monsters that emerge from the portals in the secret area where the blue key is found. This increases the area’s challenge while also giving the player decent chances at additional pickups.
• Reworked the “Boss Encounter” number of pre-fight pickups.
• Map 06 - Facilities Support
• Changed the hoard of monsters that come out of the closed alcoves in the later part of the map, from just Zombie Fodder to a larger variety of monsters.
• Filled the “Void” within the turn of the stairs. It features a large structural set of features and is now the method for gaining that level’s special powerup - The Damage Enhancer.
• Added a larger number of Core Tentacles to the hub area, to make that area of the map a more engaging challenge.
• Reworked the final “Boss” encounter, in addition to adding a significant structural feature to that play area.

Thank you all for your support and for playing and enjoying Dragon Sector (The Remake). We’re far from done, so keep an eye on this mod page and on our ModDB blogs.

Those of you who have made content featuring the mod, with the amount of changes and improvements that we’ve made, you might find it worthwhile to revisit the mod.

That’s it for now. Download and let rip!

BarefootMapMaker & DarynS

Hello again, Doomers!

It's been a good while since our last update, but things haven't been sitting still. We've been hard at work on a bunch of improvements to the existing maps while getting ready to start on Map 5.

@BarefootMapMaker wanted to dedicate some good, uninterrupted time to working on Map 5. Now that's he's on vacation, that time is available, so the ideas that he's been itching to put down on the grid can finally come out.

We've also added a new Security Bot to the Dragon Sector base's roster of helpful assets. While it's still a work-in-progress, it's working more-or-less the way we want it to. There will be some visual tweaks and damage adjustments that will probably happen after this release, but for the most part, it's ready to help you fend off the host of intruders that have taken over the base. Just don't get in its way while it's firing. Just even a second or two in its line of fire, will cost you a lot of health and armor! And, as with all of Dragon Sector's security assets, shooting them too many times will cause them to see you as a threat, and act accordingly. In which case, you're likely to die just as fast as the baddies.

With this release, we'll also be putting out a full package which will contain everything needed (aside from the Doom II wad) to get up and running on Windows. The regular pk3 file isn't going anywhere, though. We're just adding this option for those who want everything they need to play our maps without having to go to a lot of bother.

We would like to thank Agent Ash, Barry Burton, Cherno, Marisa, and the rest of the fine folks on the Zdoom discord for sharing their knowledge and time. You guys have been super helpful and we appreciate it enormously!

A special Thank You also goes out to the content creators who have played our maps and made videos of them. So thank you AndroidFerret, Doom EX, Doomslayer117, DraugraK, Martinoz, and RatteKing, to name the most recent. Check out their channels! They make cool videos!

That's all for now. We hope that you enjoy the many changes and improvements to the current maps, and we're looking forward to bringing you Map 5!

Featured Changes:

• A new Security Bot has been added to Dragon Sector's assets.
• Updated Liquid Texture Pack to v6.7.
• MAP01
  • There is now a blue carded door that will let you return to the landing area if you need to get back there.
  • Replaced the Captured Marines with Security Bot placements.
  • Adjusted some item and monster placements.
  • A number of visual fine-tuning and fixes.
• MAP02
  • Overhauled the reservoir area, making it much better looking.
  • Added a lift to the tower. You can still make the swim from below, but logically it made sense that the base personnel would have a way to get up there.
  • Added a Bot in place of the Captured Marine.
• MAP03
  • This map has seen the most changes of the four. There have been a number of visual changes made that make the map feel more cohesive with the rest of the set.
  • Monster and Item placement have also had a lot of adjustments.
  • Some Security Bots were being unloaded, hmmmm....
• MAP04
  • The walkway area to the control room has received a face-lift. It looks a lot better, now.
  • Added a bot to that area.
  • Sped the doors up so that you don't have to wait to close them anymore.
  • Fixed an issue where you couldn't open one set of doors while the others were in operation.