DescentBB

Xfing

I also agree.

Xfing

Actually it is, with some work, possible to make a level nigh indistinguishable from D1 in D2. That requires: - meddling with the HAM file and restoring weapon values such as laser power, spread power and blob speed, fusion power. Requires a replacement HAM. - exproting D1-exclusive textures from th...

Xfing

Well, far as custom missions are concerned, D2 indeed gives us much more possibilities. Personally I wouldn't mind weapon balance tweaks, though, to bring them back to their D1 values. But I've already expressed my woe about the cut D1 contend plenty of times

Xfing

I play Rebirth. And Hotshot is probably too much for me anyway

Xfing

★■◆●, you got me there. The difficulty got me and I don't think I played after level 5 since that, to be honest! I need to pick it up again

Xfing

Look, the point is: robot placement has to be handled AFTER the levels are made to have better control over the difficulty progression. It was done that way for TEW, for example. Just let us see the level layouts so we can decide if they make the grade or not.

Xfing

Counterstrike's biggest downfall as far as aesthetics are concerned was the designers' insistence to use the new graphic content so heavily that they neglected the D1 graphic content, which was perfectly fine in its own right. Luckily they rectified this in Vertigo and then some.

Xfing

Don't worry about the items and robots, place only those that you insist that must be there because they're part of your vision for the level. I'll take care of the rest. Update: I've started working on Eris finally. So far, it's turning out quite D1-lvl26-like, as I intended. I'll post some screens...

Xfing

My Sedna level uses predominantly dark orange and brown, but also pink and has plenty of Martian red - Sedna is supposedly the second reddest body in the Solar System after Mars. As for "Biden", it's only a provisional name, until they can come up with something official. I wonder what co...

Xfing

Back on topic: The Eris level (penultimate Solar System level) is next in line. I haven't started on it yet, but I will when I sort out some real life stuff. It will be practically entirely industrial-style gray with lots of grating and steel. Eris looks bright gray and his a high albedo, even more ...

Xfing

Do what you want! In the worst case scenario you'll just get a different slot, that's all

Xfing

Sedna appears to be pinkish in color too. And they're calling the other dwarf planet, VP-113, "Biden" . There's no accounting for taste when naming celestial objects. :lol: http://www.king5.com/news/pink-world-solar-system-fringes-252488201.html My Sedna level uses predominantly dark oran...

Xfing

As techniques improve, I think we're going to find a whole lot more of these things. I understand they think that one has rings comprised mostly of water? Interesting. Yeah, I read about it the other day too. Seems like it's not really a dwarf planet, but at the very least a large planetoid. The ob...

Xfing

Descent is what's gotten me hooked on astronomy in the first place. After playing it when I was a kid (could have been as early as 1996 or 7 TBH), I got enamored with planets and moons. The Solar System and planetary science, primarily. So, if Descent 2 was being made today, we would have potential ...

Xfing

There were also three red levels in a row in D1, namely the Mars levels. Yet they were all architecturally distinct enough and small enough to keep things interesting. While D1 levels were not themed in terms of design (one and probably the only exception that comes to mind is Secret Level 2), they ...

Xfing

I'd like to know do Vertigo's designs also tend to avoid having super-huge, somewhat randomly laid out maps (ala some CS levels)? Some Vertigo levels are naturalistic, while some are based on symmetry. Overall, they can be considered to be hybrids of D1 and D2 levels, both in architecture and textu...

Xfing

Vertigo is fantastic. It's all but impossible to make better Descent 2 levels.

It could use some Descent 1 content which was axed in the transition to the second game, though. But that's just my taste letting you know of itself, haha

Xfing

"Brimspark fatigue", what a dead-on term, haha. I couldn't even design a level as big as that, I'd run out of ideas halfway through. What doesn't help is that the Parallax levels are mostly naturalistic, so they're designed without a geometrical theme in mind (most of them). Just tunnels, ...

Xfing

Even though the architecture itself in Descent 1 is lazier, less inspired and less trailblazing than in D2 Counterstrike, the weapon balance is better, the atmosphere created by the textures is stronger and the robots are better. The latter two things make Descent 1 more intense, more memorable, and...

Xfing

Well, since the thread prohibits secret levels, I can't really say D1 S1, but it was one amazing level, one of the best and most atmospheric in the game. I have to say that as a kid, finally getting to the levels from the stock demos carried an amazing sense of accomplishment. So I sure like playing...

Xfing

Hard to say. I love playing D1 level 12 for some reason. From D2, it would be level 2 or 3.

The Apocalyptic Factor rules all, though. Any level from the pack could qualify.

Xfing

I've updated Sedna. - added two new areas: one being an alternate route to the blue door room with another blue door, the other being a semi-elaborate room with another red door. There's a twist to that route, though. - added a rather elaborate secret teleporter puzzle - not extremely difficult to p...

Xfing

Thanks for the info.

Ignore that part, I was browsing object triggers then.

I've already updated Sedna, gonna make a mention in the mission thread

Xfing

I'm having trouble making a trigger working as such: the boss dies and two non-auto doors open. I know it's possible with a reactor (like D2 secret level 1). The new version of the editor has something with it that prevents me from figuring out how it was done - most triggers there appear as though ...

Xfing

LightWolf wrote:Status Update: A worst-case scenairo has happened. The lapotp that I am working on currently has a battery that refuses to charge. Seeing about buying a new battery, but it will take a while.

That's horrible news! I feel for you man : (

Xfing

Of course they do. You can't bring back the information that an 11khz sound is missing compared to a 22khz sound just by converting it into a 22khz sound, because you can't restore something that isn't there in the first place. It's still going to sound like an 11khz sound. The only difference is t...

Xfing

I have uploaded a boss testing map series based on the boss room from D1 level 7. You have more supplies than you could possibly need to take care of any of the bosses, and you can observe the changes applied to them, in identical environment. Keep in mind that it is intended to be played with the D...

Xfing

Well right now another problem has sprung up: how to make sdl mixer affect replaced sounds. It turns 11k sounds into 44k for Descent 1, but won't do the same for sound files exported from D1 and integrated into D2. For some reason, those files still stand out in quality, in a bad way.

Xfing

Well, gotta admit some of that coding was pretty sweet, like for example the Fusion defense mechanism for the final boss. It sure does discourage the use of fusion, I'd dare say even better than Fusion's lame power in D2 :P A propos: does Fusion actually damage the final boss when it penetrates and ...

Xfing

Yeah. Too bad the code didn't get carried over to D2. Like, seriously. I'll never forgive Parallax the way they made D2, sacrificing so much perfectly good D1 content in the process. Sure, the game would have been bigger, but still...

Xfing

I would play the ★■◆● out of D2X-XL if only it had a vanilla mechanics toggle button. A single function that would let you switch between regular and enhanced game mechanics. Such as being able to hoard powerups and activate them at your leisure. I feel I'm cheating when I do this, the powerups acti...

Xfing

Haphazard boss placement in D1,5 could remedy this issue, at least partially. Let's just hope that not everyone who downloads missions from DMB frequents this forum

Xfing

Sure, the first boss didn't spawn bots at all. And that's another thing you can't have in D2 - if a boss doesn't spawn bots, it doesn't cloak or teleport either. The AI for the D1 boss robots got tragically castrated in D2. As for hearing the boss sound right off the bat or later, it provides two di...

Xfing

Lucky you! BTW, I thought about this one more deeply only two days ago... the D1 bosses used more advanced scripting than the D2 ones. In D1 you could hear the perpetual ticking sound - the stuff of nightmares - at all times, even right after opening the red door. And in D2 it's only activated once ...

Xfing

I think DTX2 displays the filename of the sound in the far-right column of the sound editor. But I just checked the filenames (which is easier to do with a D2X-XL setup) and the filename of "Fade" is... fade.wav. The only explanation I can think of for why it doesn't show up in HAXMEDIT i...

Xfing

Interesting... I have always wanted to take a crack at Doom designing (especially after playing the wonderful CC4), but I think I'll stick to Descent for the time being

Xfing

BTW, I really like when a game's rewarding. But to be rewarding, a game must also be challenging. I remember back when I was a kid, I got stuck on D1's first boss for months. On Trainee. For some reason I couldn't do anything against it, except cower in the entry tunnel and hope for a miracle. When ...

Xfing

I've honestly really hated bosses that needed to be attacked from behind. So was TEW Level 25 your attempt to spread the hate? Because mission accomplished. :P Anyway, looked through the modded HAM's for Descent 1.5 and those are some freaking high HP numbers you gave to the bosses, Xfing. I had pl...

Xfing

Tell me about it. I'm currently stalled on a 50-level set of Descent Arcade. I've finished 10+ levels, but I'm just a bit pooped out on the whole matter. I'll eventually release what I have, but not until its fully finished! Dammit, and here I was hoping to get a level or two from you as well. And ...

Xfing

A bit too ambitious perhaps. But look at the Doom community. I have no idea how different is the time needed to create a modern Doom level to the time needed to create any Descent level, but those guys whip up full megawads in mere months. But there's plenty of them, alright. Trying to do that same ...

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