Faithless - a Heretic hub [FINAL]

[Jimmy]

The walkthrough text file linked in the first post will help you out. You have missed a switch in:

Spoiler

the Savaged Lands (E1M5).

 

[Jimmy]

An update is ready!

 

Download "Faithless" RC2 (15.1MB)
GZDoom required. 4.0.0+ recommended. Only tested in this port/build.
Walkthrough text file (updated as of RC2) - refer to this if you get stuck!

 

Changelog:
 

Spoiler

+ Added the Flame Shield, found in secrets on M4, M5 and M8 only. This armor type grants you 75% resistance to fire damage.
+ Added a rundown of the secrets to the walkthrough text file. It's identical to the output from the SECRETS lump.
+ Added a rundown of all the new content (items and monsters) to the walkthrough text file.
+ SECRETS lump added! You can now keep track of the secrets you've found while in-game.
+ CREDITS page added!
- TITLEPIC modified slightly.
- Fixed weather duplicating on repeat visits. No more performance murder!
- Many puzzle messages have been reworded for clarity. Hopefully now no-one will squirm at the mention of "one half of the puzzle", etc.
- Sabreclaws will no longer drop any lesser runes in E1M4 or E1M5.
- Dark Bishops now slightly more threatening, with 200 HP (formerly 130) and 2x attack damage.
- Added map scroll items to most of the maps.
- Added the Gauntlets to E1M1.
- More sectors in E1M1 now use "indoor lightning".
- More light sources placed in E1M1 and E1M9.
- The storage rooms in E1M2 are now all opened via a switch.
- Fixed the E1M2 silver shield closet having nothing in it on easy skills.
- Added an actual switch to get to the urn secret in E1M3.
- Provided more Emerald Amulets in E1M4.
- Fixed some missing textures in E1M4.
- Some monster count reduced on E1M6 for all skills below 5.
- E1M6's unlit passage to M7 now prints a warning if you enter it before placing the Flame Mask. You won't see this message if you have a torch active.
- The "confirm" switch in the first trial on M7 is now not usable until the three pillars have been lowered.
- The switch to illuminate M7's second trial's floor tiles has been made more obvious.
- In E1M8, the portal back to E1M1 has now been made inaccessible until you kill the Iron Sentinel.
- Killing the Iron Sentinel now kills all enemies, and also causes a quake.
! Corrected a typo which means Stalker leaders can now spawn. Whoops!
! Fixed the missing textures in E1M8. Still don't know how they got there.
! Fixed a Guardian Cube being stuck in the void in E1M8.
! All the Liches in the final room of E1M8 now have the same tid, so all must be killed to awaken the Sentinel.
! Iron Sentinel now has +BOSS, and +FULLVOLACTIVE, so it now plays all its sounds at full volume, and additionally can no longer be killed instantly by the tomed firemace. Again whoops!
- Bumped Boots of the North ice protection from 50% up to 75%.
- Made Boots of the North easier to get to in E1M9.
- Ending text rearranged slightly.
- Miscellaneous balance fixes across all maps.
- Automap cleanup across all maps.
- Various script cleanups, including new text strings (from map scripts and new actors) moved to LANGUAGE.
- Added a few more secrets across all maps.

 

Edited June 11, 2019 by Jimmy

[MTrop]

Still on the fence? Have a Twitch stream where I play through 2-ish hours of it with Jimmy and Tarnsman!

 

 

[Emmanuelexe]

I finished the expansion (with version rc1), really nice maps and fun concept with Heretic and hub/hexen+heretic enemies, it was fun! Thanks!

But about the phoenix rod:

 

i didn't find it and for the last boss i needed it so i checked the walkthr. and found it:

"UNLIT SERENITY
  - Optional: Head RIGHT, towards the SOUTH, then EAST. Re-enter the WINE CELLAR. A door has opened revealing some PHOENIX ROD ammo and a BAG OF HOLDING."
It's the cellar with the gold right? On difficulty 4/5 (skill 3), there isn't the phoenix rod... or i did something wrong, needed to add it with command for the last boss but out of ammo  

Edited May 4, 2019 by Manhs

[Jimmy]

Spoiler

You might be misreading that line in the walkthrough. It says "PHOENIX ROD ammo". The weapon itself isn't found there - instead you have to find a switch in the secret level, Breathless Wastes. Once you've found that, it is spawned in the central Belltower.

 

Very glad you enjoyed it though, cheers for playing!

[Emmanuelexe]

Ah ok! :facepalm: lol
When i will replay it, i will think about it! thx

[Maul]

@Jimmy Hi, looks like a very good Heretic adventure, gonna try it this weekend;) Did you join our Heretic/Hexen Discord? I have an idea to create a separate channel for your project to help you getting the direct feedback from players if you’re interested. Let me know. If you guys didn’t join us yet on Discord, everyone is welcome! https://discord.gg/X86ySZr

[AschTheConjurer]

A Heretic hub, of all things. That statement just by itself threw me for a loop twice in a handful of words.
I haven't actually used GZD 4.0.0 yet, and I'm always hurt for not having any new Heretic maps to play, so I guess this is on the list for later tonight.

[Jimmy]

Final release seems good to go? Last chance to play through and report any problems!

 

Download "Faithless" RC3 (15.3MB)
GZDoom required. 4.0.0+ recommended. Only tested in this port/build.
Walkthrough text file (updated as of RC3) - refer to this if you get stuck!

 

Changelog:

Spoiler

- Fixed ice damage resistance on the Boots of the North - they were set at 25% instead of 75%.
- Fixed Flame Shield only having 25% normal damage resistance (half the Silver Shield's).
- Fixed MacePickup not being so mod-friendly (it inherited from WeaponGiver, but works better as a RandomSpawner).
- Changed "puzzle fail" sound to that of the Cleric.
- Noxious Spores now create pods at a slightly further distance and at a higher forward velocity, to mitigate getting stuck in newly-spawned pods.
- Added a switch to the far SW lift in E1M5.
- Fixed some dormant ghouls appearing on skill 5 on E1M7.
- Fixed E1M7's first trial's center switch being usable more than once.
- Moved the enchanted shield in E1M8.
- Made some impassible walls more obviously impassible in E1M8.
- Sabreclaws spawned on returning to M5 will no longer drop runes.
- Iron Sentinel/Guardian projectiles now use Heretic IWAD sprites.
- Ghoul sprites converted to Heretic palette.

 

Edited June 12, 2019 by Jimmy

[Jimmy]

Final release out. See first post.

Edited June 30, 2019 by Jimmy

[Jimmy]

Up on /idgames!

 

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/heretic/Ports/faithless

[Not Jabba]

Congrats on the release, and thanks for making a fun episode!

[ReaperAA]

I finally got to play and complete it today (+using Wayfarer's tome). Its awesome and definitely deserves a cacoward. Hell I even liked it more than Deathless TBH. 

[AschTheConjurer]

Music: Frank Klepacki

AUDIBLY EXCITED VIBRATING

Edited August 8, 2019 by AschTheConjurer

[Hisymak]

25 minutes ago, AschTheConjurer said:

Music: Frank Klepacki

Heh. When I got into the swampy map, I just thought for myself: "Hey, the music sounds like Legend of Kyrandia!"

[ReaperAA]

For me, whenever I see the name "Frank Klepacki" I am reminded of the glory days of C&C

[Maul]

@ReaperAA hehe, did you see this? 

 

[ReaperAA]

2 hours ago, Maul said:

@ReaperAA hehe, did you see this? 

 

Yup I say it a few months ago and I really liked it.

[UnknDoomer]

Fairly high-quality WAD, an expanded version of which was included in the top 10 winners of Cacowards 2020. Hexen could have become such, if he combined his innovations with what was laid in Heretic, but the story turned out differently. New version, which consists of three episodes, i.e. two more have been added, is still in beta, so I review this one for now.

 

Of the remarkable things in it, in addition to what is in this one - 3 new types of weapons, 2 possible endings, apparently a few more new items to use, such as, for example, the ability to summon a friendly minotaur.

 

Settings and Features:

 

* GZDoom.

* Passed in combination with Heretical Doom, https://forum.zdoom.org/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=56762

 

There are two critical bugs at the end. In particular, the final boss does not attack and cannot be killed. Therefore, if this moment is important to you, then wad should be passed without Heretical Doom and other similar mods.

 

* Difficulty - "magister" (analogous to "Ultra-Violence" from Doom).

* Hub level system, similar to Hexen.

* 9 levels; moderate, on average within 150 per location, the number of monsters.

* New items - 6 in total.

* Instead of 3 keys, 4 are used - green, blue, yellow, red.

* While you returning to old locations 4-7 new opponents will appear. As a result there is always no way to clean those to 100%.

* At location #7 the boss will be waiting - minotaur. The dead of such will lead to the discovery of an easter egg secret in location #6 - in addition to ammo for one of the weapons gold is stored there.

* 100% of found secrets and killed enemies.

 

Elixir of Life: a shimmering emerald potion that restores 50% health over 10 seconds.

Toxic Spore: throw these gaseous seeds on the ground to create a combustible pod that will then explode in front of an enemy.

Emerald Amulet: protects against poison, including slime and clouds for 120 seconds.

Northern Boots: protects from the cold and adds 75% resistance to ice damage.

Flame Shield: 200 armor points + 75% resistance to all fire damage, in addition to 50% overall defense.

Granite icon: a mysterious stone face, who knows what secrets it keeps...

 

* New types of opponents - 12 in total, 6 moved directly from Hexen. The other 6 are new, but using old sprites.

 

Afrit (Hexen): a gargoyle blazing with mystical fire. Moves chaotically and throws fireballs at opponents. HP: 80.

Wendigo (Hexen): a creature fed by a stinging cold and even more icy contempt. HP: 120.

Stalker (Hexen): swamp-dwelling, half-human, half-amphibian. Can thrown poison balls. HP: 90.

Dark Bishop (Hexen): A less dangerous form of the adept. Operates with streams of rotating projectiles. HP: 200.

The Green Chaos Serpent (Hexen; used in Heretic as a kind of substitute for a horse for the final boss): a tall reptile that attacks with fire breath. HP: 250.

Brown Chaos Serpent (Hexen): a slightly stronger version of the poisonous breath snake. HP: 300 points.

 

 

Red Chaos Serpent: a highly resilient and deadly variant of the serpent that releases three fireballs at once. HP: 350.

Ghoul: a wandering mummified corpse with a poisonous projectile attack. HP: 150.

Ice Stalker: a swamp entity that attacks with shards of ice.

Ice Lich: a colder version of the iron lich. It has two attacks - icy breath at close range and an ice ball at long range. HP: 700.

Iron Sentinel: guards the gates of the iron fortress. Has a number of powerful attacks, including the ability to generate guard cubes. HP: 3000.

Guardian Cube: weak but persistent floating cubes that attack with streams of fire. HP: 80.

 

* New music.

 

Pros:

 

+ Beautiful, atmospheric locations. Each has its own style. Swamps and caves, volcanoes and fire, a secret ice world with falling snow (which can be reached by solving a puzzle with statues in fire), a city, a garden where the wind scatters the autumn fallen leaves.

+ Balance.

+ Interestingly arranged secrets that are not annoying to find.

+ Puzzles.

 

Contras / compatibility features:

 

Ryuhi (Heretical Doom author):

 

Quote

there are a few bugs with Faithless, as it was not intended to be played with other weapon or monster replacers

a lot of it kinda works, but some stuff like custom enemies and custom pickups can make things break with it

 

1. It is not possible to use iron bracers in combination with this mod. Earlier, it seems, I have not met such an error. The new staff is not bad in it's own way, but the latter, when in particular there are no ammo, still can help out.

 

 

2. It is impossible to pick up the secret in the garden, because trees cannot be burned due to the use of the Heretical Doom.

 

3. This particular wad uses a red key, in addition to yellow, green and blue. The mod interface assumes the use of only 3 standard keys.

 

 

4. The door at the beginning of the last location does not open. You need to use the console ~ and type noclip to get through it. A similar problem with the next door. It looks like they should have opened after the destruction of opponents, but since they have been changed and the script does not work.

5. The final boss cannot be killed.

Edited February 6, 2021 by UnknDoomer

[Jimmy]

I appreciate the bug reports and the kind words about the set!

 

I don't have any intention of updating the original release, however, and certainly it's not within my interest to fix things that are broken by weapon mods - even game-breaking things like the final boss not being beatable. It should kind of be expected when you load custom content onto other custom content.

 

I forget whether I changed E1M8's final fight at all in the full version of the set, but it may be worth seeing if Heretical Doom still breaks the map in Faithless: Trilogy. If yes, then it's entirely on the mod's end and there's nothing I can do about it.

[UnknDoomer]

@Jimmy, I've mentioned it's in contras not like an "bad" parts, more like an a warning for players that will try to combine it. Mod author probably will fix those in upcoming months, but currently it can have up to 6 bugs in total, more/less in one or another WAD. #6 is a trouble with hero mirror, if it used for gameplay mechanics.

 

 

[RonLivingston]

Faithless, Heretic needs some attention, just like Hexen when the ultimate doomer made serpent resurrection

[Kristian Nebula]

I finally got into playing this and I have to say that it's really, really great stuff! One of the most fun wads I had in a long, long time. Immersion level 100 and the amount of love and creativity put into it is just off the chart. So much fun and interesting puzzles, and perfect combination of Heretic & Hexen resources with everything else. New weapons were fun too, and an engaging storyline. Get it now if you haven't already! :)

Edited November 22, 2021 by Kristian Nebula