Work-In-Progress Build #5 (w/ Download Link) news - Ratchet & Clank: Hot and Bothered mod for Doom II

This release comes a little premature, but I feel an important milestone has been reached. I have said in the past that the weapons were complete, and at the time I was sure of that, but after some time, the issues with certain guns became more apparent and more people (including myself) complained about the same ones, prompting me to dive back in and see what I can do. In addition some outright replacements, many weapons have seen an audiovisual update. If you have been keeping up with the WIP releases, you have noticed some of these changes already.

Now, at long last, I am finally putting the weapons of Hot and Bothered to bed. The only changes from here on will be for the purpose of re-balancing and fixing bugs. The same can most likely be said of monsters, as I am totally out of ideas for improving them. That said, I am still open to ideas on this front.

With all that out of the way, let's dive straight into what's new with WIP #5!

Maps

Progress has been made in putting together the Tower of Power. The first map (the base of the tower) is pretty much done apart from some possible detailing, and the first floor has been started. However, with this region still very much in its early stages, I am not going to share any screenshots yet. Expect those in the next WIP update! In the meantime, feel free to have a look at them yourself. See the changelog at the end of this article for map numbers.

Sprites and Sounds

There has been quite a lot of change in this department. A lot of gaps have been filled in for the most part. I won't go into full detail on all of the changes, but here are some highlights.

Wouldn't you know it, the Buzz Blades sprites changed again! The canon model for the weapon doesn't look too good as a sprite, so I went with the Alpha Ravager turned on its side as a nod to the "gangsta guns" cheat from Ratchet: Deadlocked.

The biggest change comes in the form of the Pulsar and Blackstar Cutlass. Yes! I finally found a canon representation for the slot 2 melee weapon. The Pulsar Cutlass functions identically to the Scorpion Flail, just with a complete audiovisual overhaul. The Blackstar Cutlass is quite different in its execution, but I'll let you all discover that on your own.

Some screens have also gotten a fresh coat of paint: the main, skill, and "Read This!" screen namely. Check them out!

Finally, the Premium and Ultra Nanotech pickups have been altered to match their appearance in the games.

All of this comes in addition to the two weapons that were completely replaced since the initial pre-alpha release of v1.2: the Nanoswarm Glove and Lacerator replacing the Decoy Glove and Lava Gun respectively.

Mutators

We have a total of eight new gameplay mutators added to the list in this build.Force Fast

• Monsters/Jumping/Crouching/Freelook - These are all self-explanatory, so I won't go into detail on these.
• Gib Souls - Upon being gibbed, Imps and Pinkies (this includes Spectres) will release a Lost Soul eager to avenge its fallen host. Let me know what you all think of this one, if you think I should mix it up with different types of soul, give it to more monsters, etc. Consider the current state an experimental version.
• Nanotech Mode - This can be set to apply a 1-point health regeneration or degeneration effect, based on the "Sleeper Round" condition in Up Your Arsenal's Annihilation Nation. When set to degeneration, it will only go down to 1 health, so it cannot kill you. Additionally, the regeneration is not something that can be used as a crutch in battle, as it would take over five minutes to restore yourself to 200 health from critical condition. It can, however, give you some peace of mind while hunting secrets. Powerups and damage scaling also have no impact on these, as they forcibly set the value of your health rather than heal or damage you.
• Monster Base Health/Damage - You now have the option of adjusting these properties at any time. These work in conjunction with game skill and level scaling and can be set between 50% and 200%. Note that you must wait until the next map begins for these to take effect.

What to Expect from WIP #6

I will be resuming work on the Tower of Power. I think waiting until it is done might be unrealistic, but we will see. That being said, I am going to have a full plate for the foreseeable future. Classes are starting back up next week, and I am preparing a research proposal for the ACM Southeast conference in April. On top of that, I have a possibly marketable database project to get started on. It should go without saying that those come first, but I will find time to work on this.

In the meantime, if you have any ideas or suggestions or would like to pitch in, feel free to contact me! The best ways to do so are in the comments of this article or at one of the following:

• Discord (Scarlet Mango #9198)
• Twitter (@_ThatBlindGuy)
• Email (thatblindguy92@gmail.com)

The main area swhere I need help are in testing and map-making, so if you're intersted, hit me up!

Changelog So Far

ADDITIONS
-Three Annihilation Nation-exclusive weapon pairs: Pyrocitor/Magma Vulcan, Electro-Grinder/Spiralizer, and Spitting Hydra/Tempest.
-Option to toggle dynamic lights, trails, Nash Gore, and debris.
-Arena boss monsters: Overlord, Ogre, Arachnorb Queen, Motherdemon, Terminator.
-Secret difficulty, Highway to Heck.
-BOSSTEST map for... testing bosses.
-A punch for every weapon. Monsters killed with this have a 25% chance to drop a 5% ammo capsule. Said capsule is able to restore slot 8 weapons below V5.
-Auxiliary/altfire actions for most weapons that lack a scope or detonator. Harbinger and Supernova have gained a scope.
-Sets of prop and trap actors for use in Annihilation Nation. These are subject to being expanded at any time.
-Monster base health and damage scalars in Gameplay Mutators.
-Mutator option to disable the bolt pickup time limit.
-Mutator option to enable health regeneration or degeneration.
-Mutator options to force fast monsters, jumping, crouching, and freelook.
-Mutator option to have Lost Souls spawn from gibbed Imps and Pinkies.

COMBLETED MAPS
-NATION00
-NATION01
-NATION09
-NATION15
-NATION19
-NATION28
-NATION30
-NATION41

MAPS UNDER CONSTRUCTION
-NATION31

MONSTERS
-Made Blots immune to Dance-type damage.
-Ethereal Souls now take time to appear before attacking. They also do not disappear under standard behaviors.
-Poison souls spread less gas. Gas clouds do more damage initially, but this drops off with time as its radius increases.
-Homing Afrit balls are less aggressive.
-NEVERRESPAWN flag added to summoners and Lost Souls.
-NEVERFAST flag added to any monster projectile with a speed of 40 or greater. This prevents them from being impossible to dodge when fast monsters are enabled.
-Orange, green, and black Hellspawn firing patterns are easier to read.
-Fixed some projectiles still rolling a D8 when they should have been rolling a D5.
-Chaingunner fast-fire damage reduced.
-Monsters that can float up now check vertical position. They shouldn't float off into space any more.
-Arachnorb attacks reversed. It now fires a spread normally, and in bursts when hurt or under aggressive behaviors.
-Enemy turret sprites changed for better distinction. Idle sound added. Time between detecting the player and firing increased.

WEAPONS
-Many, many audiovisual changes to weapons. We'd be here all day if I listed every single one.
-Synthenoid reaction time decreases with each level. Self-destruct melee attack removed.
-Gave weapons the kickback they should have had from the beginning.
-V1 and V2 Chopper fire rate reduced, V3 and V4 fire rate increased.
-Bomb Glove and Meteor Gun damage increases faster with each level.
-B6 Obliterator fire rate slightly increased, damage dramatically increased, reload sound and animation changed, time reduced. Now fires in a horizontal line.
-Mini/Mega-Turret Launcher, Gravity Mine, Singularity, Feltzin Device bombs, Synthenoids, and Zurkons have restrictions on how many can be active at once. Detonator added for clearing the area of them. This is used by pressing the Auxiliary key and also applies to Hoverbombs.
-Multiple Hoverbombs can be fired in succession.
-Singularity ripping damage reduced.
-Soaring Comet homes in on targets. The meteors it breaks into have much more aggressive homing.
-Flux/Splitter Rifle adjustable zoom removed in favor of being able to move while aiming.
-Lava and LN2 Guns replaced by the Lacerator and Dual Cryolators.
-Combustor range increased.
-Tesla Claw and Thunderbolt range increased, spread decreased. Tesla Claw ammo capacity increased.
-Hydra Saw damage reduced.
-The wrench can now deflect projectiles. Weapon switching is now possible while the wrench is in flight, as is punching.
-V3 and V4 Arbiter accuracy increased. One might actually be able to hit something now!
-Blitz Cannon charge shot uses less ammo.
-N90 fires two shots for one unit of ammo, and its projectiles move much faster and do more damage, but accuracy is slightly reduced and homing is removed.
-Decoy Glove and Zapper replaced by the Nanoswarm Glove and Hive Hand.
-All altfire actions aside from punching (scope, detonator, bash, etc.) have been moved to an "Auxiliary" key.
-Plasma Storm now fires single bolts of lightning at individual targets.
-Arbiter and Decimator damage increased.
-The majority of weapons now have auxiliary actions.
-R.Y.N.O. II renamed to R.Y.N.O. V. Spreads of bullets now fires along with missiles.
-Chopper renamed to Buzz Blades.
-Hydra Saw renamed to Doom Blades.
-Omniwrench now has an array for its required XP to level up. It is no longer based on a formula.
-Omniwrench added to the weapon wheel.
-Mini-Turret sprites changed to match enemy turrets.
-Scorpion/Leviathan Flail changed to the Pulsar/Blackstar Cutlass. The Pulsar Cutlass behaves identically to the Scorpion Flail, but the Blackstar Cutlass throws an energy wave when swung. This always uses ammo, but the auxiliary remains the same.
-Blackstar Cutlass max ammo and fire rate increased. Damage decreased compared to Leviathan Flail.
-Bindings for Auxiliary Fire and Punch have been swapped. Auxiliary is now on AltFire (as it should have been from the start), and Punch is on Zoom.
-Morph-O-Ray and Beakinator beam now emit rotating spirals in a lattice pattern. Rail core width reduced.
-Combustor/Magmabustor now do all their damage in a low-radius splash to try and enhance their effectiveness.

ITEMS
-Warp Pad beacons no longer factor in vertical distance when checking proximity and make a sound when they disappear.
-Holoshield is now always forward-facing and has been recolored. Height reduced.
-Bolt pickup sounds are much softer and less obnoxious.
-If bolts fall into deep liquids, they will bypass their wait for contact with the floor and begin searching for a nearby player.
-Bolts no longer check for vertical position.
-Groovitron fires sound waves that carry its effect beyond walls.
-Warp Pad teleport fog changed to something less blinding.
-Premium and Ultra Nanotech changed to soda cans.
-VR Training updated to better suit the weapons in their current state. Air combat room pillars have a darker texture, and the lava only does 10 slime damage instead of 20.

OTHER
-Renamed the Enhanced GFX option to Smoke and Flames.
-Moved graphical options from Gameplay Mutators to Enhanced GFX.
-Fixed key display on the status bar.
-Updated and corrected typos in MENUDEF.
-Added custom help screen.
-Difficulties have been tweaked in order to remove changes to monster health.
-Maximum health in challenge mode increased to 800.
-Terrain definitions added to custom textures.
-XP mutators removed, as they would render Annihilation Nation unplayable.
-Option added in Enhanced GFX to reposition the gadget icons in the event the player's resolution causes issues with them.
-Combined all arena assets excluding ACS, monsters, and laser traps into rc-AnnihilationNation.wad.
-Pressing reload only equips main weapon. It does not equip the wrench.
-Overhauled the main and skill menus to use sprite patches instead of text. Mod Options removed, its contents added to the main menu.

BUGS FIXED
-Landing on solid objects would not reset the double jump script. Solution: Check for the player's vertical speed in addition to their distance from the floor.
-Sometimes, kill taunts play at the start of a map. Solution: Set the token's InterHubAmount to 0.
-Bolognese and ice deaths caused graphical conflicts. Solution: Use the player's damage type as a flag to prevent the spawning of Bolognese gore.