Heartland - final version available on idgames

[skillsaw]

Thanks everyone!

 

@Spectre01 - this is a map bug. Thanks for letting me know. Tarnsman found a similar bug on MAP05.

 

I've put up rc1b here, which fixes both issues: https://www.dropbox.com/s/jq1qxh079022nbl/heartland_rc1b.zip?dl=0

[Turbine2k5]

We found two more unkillable Zombiemen on MAP03 as well.

[skillsaw]

3 minutes ago, Turbine2k5 said:

We found two more unkillable Zombiemen on MAP03 as well.

 

Could you post a screenshot? Would help me track them down.

[Turbine2k5]

12 minutes ago, skillsaw said:

 

Could you post a screenshot? Would help me track them down.

Here's the area that they were found. I was watching Dwars play through it and there's at least one rocket zombie that ended up like that.

[Egg Boy]

Just finished it, and I don't like to throw the word masterpiece around but...

 

Anyway, I also ran into a few unkillable monsters, this only happened once on map05 and thankfully it was in an area that I had already finished and didn't really need to backtrack to, so I simply reloaded a save and avoided the area. 

In terms of more general thoughts, it was absolutely stunning in terms of encounter design, the latter 3 maps especially ramp up the intensity. Not sure if I prefer the shorter first few maps, or the insanely detailed half an hour treks of the last half. So, I'll pick 2 from each category.

Map02 really did it for me, the music almost overshadowed the map, lovely stuff from Stewboy. The extremely vertical progression is what made the map, tight combat through a construction sight, almost like you turned an Erik Alm map 90 degrees. Beautiful stuff.

Though the final map was awe inspiring, I'll have to go with Map06 for my second choice. So many amazing ideas stuffed into a single map, the intro with the bridge you go over and under, the trolley with monsters spawning on either side, the ridiculous final bout with over 500 monsters, need I say more? (the title also makes me giggle).

Really, every map is filled with these amazing ideas I could go on and on about, the first map's subway cars dropping off opponents, the last's axe gladiator arena. I'd be here all day if I were describing every excellent set up and additions to the weapon and enemy roster.

 

It was alright 6.5/10

Edited March 4, 2021 by Egg Boy

[ReaperAA]

4 minutes ago, Egg Boy said:

It was alright 6.5/10

 

Gave me a good laugh :D

[Doomkid]

Really digging those screenshots!

[ReaperAA]

A question for those who have played it, how does it compare against, say Ancient Aliens from a gameplay, atmosphere and difficulty perspective.

 

I really want to play this now, but I am going to be busy in the next couple of day :(

[TJG1289]

I have waited so long for a new Skillsaw release! Those screenshots look incredible. AND another new Stewboy soundtrack I can totally buy on Bandcamp Friday tomorrow? HELL YEAH. I definitely need to finish DBP32 ASAP to get to this.

[Biodegradable]

Witnessing history right here. Congratulations on the release, Skillsaw!

[Swalzi]

I only played one minute of the first level, but I have to go work soon. The intro is so cool.

[Pseudonaut]

This is the first time I've downloaded the Eternity Engine. I'll probably try this out tomorrow.

[SP_FACE1]

6 hours ago, northivanastan said:

I was not expecting to hear about a new Skillsaw mapset today, this looks quite cool! Guess I might have to install the Eternity Engine now...

Pretty much this. I've had no reason to try Eternity before. Now I cannot avoid it anymore. (I do hope Eternity has a working coop play, my friends love Skillsaw maps.)

[Deadwing]

Awesome! congratz on the release!

[sapphics]

A new Skillsaw release? Hype!!!!  This just made my day coming home to see this. Can't wait to play.

 

Grats on the release fellas :)

 

Edit: Thanks for the fireman's axe.

Edited March 4, 2021 by sapphics

[SP_FACE1]

Fantastic maps!

 

 

7 hours ago, Turbine2k5 said:

Here's the area that they were found.

For me the unkillable enemies appeared after I pressed this switch the second time:

Spoiler

 

 

Edited March 4, 2021 by SP_FACE1

[Linuxmaster1992]

Beautiful! It's nice to see the Eternity engine finally getting some love :)

[Sotenga]

Unfortunately, I had never used Eternity before and I was too tired to figure out how to properly configure the keys, lol. But what little I tried out is already astounding. I've never seen locations in Doom look this realistic. Agreed with anyone who compared it to Build engine games, it's giving me some major Duke vibes. I see it has a few kinks to work out but I'll be ready to play it soon!

[Altazimuth]

I will be modifying the EDF to fix all possible unkillable thing issues before the next RC. This shouldn't be too huge an undertaking.

[SP_FACE1]

In MAP05 the crushers got stuck after I quicksaved an then quickloaded the game:

Spoiler

 

[Altazimuth]

Just now, SP_FACE1 said:

In MAP05 the crushers got stuck after I quicksaved an then quickloaded the game:

Check the known issues. :P

11 hours ago, skillsaw said:

In 4.02.00 Forseti, an engine bug causes crushing ceilings to stop moving when loading a saved game. This affects MAP05. The map is still completable if the crushers stop, but an optional area will no longer be accessible. If you wish to avoid this bug completely, please use a devbuild as the bug has since been fixed.

[Uni]

100%'d MAP01 and had and absolute blast. Even though I never used the Eternity engine before, playing this made me completely forgot I was using a source port I have never touched before. I really liked the added gameplay elements such as the reworked animations, a new melee weapon (which was both cool-looking and fun to use), the akimbo pistols and some revised new items. The music was also amazing.

 

MAP01 is pretty hefty but because of how the level plays, it doesn't feel like a drag. Ultimately there so many ways opens up, the map layout becomes this interconnected hub that helps you keep close to whatever section you want/need to visit next. I liked the architecture and texture usage, especially some of the design ideas like the subway and the highway (bonus point for that one truck on the highway) plus the sewer-system, not to mention the garage and the carwash. Everything that was "doomcute" was done in a very well-made manner and fitted into the spirit of the map completely. Also, riding trains may not be as cool in real life, but here it was great and really helped driving the progression forward in a very interesting way. Loved it.

 

Gameplay-wise was also extremely satisfying. A standard opener with the usual baddies but as you progress more, you "unlock" more biffy opposition being mixed with the lower ones in an interesting and engaging way. Loved the idea of monsters coming out of huge crates (and the back of the truck) and the way the layout has been made, monsters had a lot of ways to get to you and easily flank you. The akimbo pistols was a great way of starting the level and they remained extremely effective throughout. I also thought that the introduction of the new enemies was spot on, it gave that thrill of encountering a somewhat known enemies but they had the element of surprise advantage, really good stuff.

 

Overall, I had a really good MAP01 experience (took me around 60 mins to beat) and I eagerly look forward to the next map. Thank you for sharing!

 

I didn't encounter any mapbreaking bugs or that sort, but I did encounter instances of glass shards never disappearing after being shattered. 

Edited March 4, 2021 by Uni

[SP_FACE1]

On MAP05 you can get locked in here:

Spoiler

 

[skillsaw]

Thanks everyone for reporting issues and for all the comments.

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/a8evvbk8ag25rn2/heartland_rc1c.zip?dl=0

 

Here is RC1C. The only change is to include @Altazimuth's generalized EDF fix for the invulnerable monsters -- which should prevent monsters from ever entering this invulnerable state. I'll fix the various other mapping related issues reported here in a later build (not coming soon if I can help it), but I wanted to get this fix out there because it is pretty critical, since it's likely there are other undiscovered instances of this bug. Assuming this stabilizes things I'll slow down the updates from my end :)

 

 

[Scuba Steve]

This is the "killer app" Eternity has needed for 20 years; Heartland showcases the incredible power and flexibility of the Eternity Engine which no project has done thus far. This project will single-handedly ensure people who have never used Eternity before will install it just to play this mapset... it's that good.

 

Since this is just RC1... here are some minor fixes I'd love to see:

• Fix widescreen axe frame
• Rocket launcher flash frames are mistimed and sometimes don't match the firing frame underneath it
• Use the vsmooth reloading frames for the combat shotgun

[Poncho1]

Do excuse me for being really dumb, I'm not at all an expert in such subjects, but I feel the need to ask: would a Boom source port be compatible with this... or not? I dunno...

[Linuxmaster1992]

2 minutes ago, Poncho1 said:

Do excuse me for being really dumb, I'm not at all an expert in such subjects, but I feel the need to ask: would a Boom source port be compatible with this... or not? I dunno...

No. This uses eternity only lighting effects, portals, definitions, and an alternative to decorate called edf. Even GZDoom can't run it :o

[skillsaw]

Just now, Poncho1 said:

Do excuse me for being really dumb, I'm not at all an expert in such subjects, but I feel the need to ask: would a Boom source port be compatible with this... or not? I dunno...

 

Not at all, thanks for asking because I'm sure many who haven't looked into editing for Eternity have questions... I probably should have included some explanation in the OP.

 

There's a lot more going on under the hood, but in general Eternity provides some MAJOR features that prevent this from ever being ported to a Boom standard:

• EDF.
  • EDF is a definition language for things. It's much more extensible than dehacked (the Boom-supported standard for thing modding) and allows me to make many more changes to weapons, monsters, and decorations, and those changes to be more sophisticated in nature.
• Linked portals.
  • Linked portals offer a way to segment a map so that you can completely ignore Doom's "room over room" limitations by building areas separately in the map and linking them with portal specials. This allows large scale 3d structures that aren't possible without linked portals [or GZDoom 3d floors]. Look at the room-over-room stuff going on in the OP screenshots for example - Boom can't do stuff like this.
• Other mapping features
  • Just stuff like scripts to make the maps dynamic, polyobjects to make geometry that moves horizontally, etc.
• I'm sure there's more....

[Doom64hunter]

Is this the first multi-map Eternity-only wad that didn't turn into vaporware? Amazing.

[NokturnuS]

34 minutes ago, Doom64hunter said:

Is this the first multi-map Eternity-only wad that didn't turn into vaporware? Amazing.

 

I uploaded an Eternity-only mappack with 4 levels sometime in january if you're interested:

It's in beta state now but fully playable. More updates coming soon (sorry for the auto-promotion skillsaw!)