Bellatrix : Tales of Orionis (Idgames link)

[franckFRAG]

 

Bellatrix: Tales of Orionis is an episode of 11 vanilla maps compatible.

This is the first episode of the three that will count the full version of Bellatrix.

 

Description:

- Bellatrix is not Swift Death (Phew...)

- This is an adventurous and relaxing mapset

- Gameplay focused on exploration and discovery

 

Theme:
The theme of this episode is the greenery intertwined with the technological bases of the UAC, and the remains of an ancient civilization.
Only the textures of Doom2 are used, except the blue sky of Bellatrix.

 

Story:
You wake up next to your survival pod, not knowing what planet you’re on. You don’t remember anything, and a version of yourself remained in hyper hibernation. By tapping on the control screens, you quickly understand that you are on a planet that was part of the former colonization of the UAC, Orionis.
You then decide to take the path to the nearest town, but the inhabitants of the surrounding area seem hostile.

 

Known Bugs (Vanilla):

Maps 5/8/10 will cause savegame overflow.

Some inacessible sectors (achievable with IDCLIP) might potentially generate HOMs or VPOs.

 

Some screens:

Spoiler

 

 

 

Download:

 

Bellatrix : Tales of Orionis - Idgames Link

 

-----------------------------------

 

Bellatrix : Tales of Orionis - RC1 

 

Bellatrix : Tales of Orionis - RC2

Edited November 1, 2022 by franckFRAG

[Walter confetti]

Looks wonderful 

[Herr Dethnout]

Oh cool, the screens look good, I Will play it later.

 

Just there's something that bothers me...

 

41 minutes ago, franckFRAG said:

Bellatrix: Tales of Orionis is an episode of 11 vanilla maps compatible. 

 

Yet...

 

42 minutes ago, franckFRAG said:

Known Bugs (Vanilla):

Save in map05, map08 and map10 does not work on Chocolate-Doom and DOSBox. Because these maps are too big.

 

So is actually a 8 vanilla compatible wads, you lied yo me :c

[philcul]

49 minutes ago, franckFRAG said:

Description:

[...]

- This is an adventurous and relaxing mapset

- Gameplay focused on exploration and discovery

 

Theme:
The theme of this episode is the greenery intertwined with the technological bases of the UAC, and the remains of an ancient civilization.
Only the textures of Doom2 are used, except the blue sky of Bellatrix.

 

Story:
You wake up next to your survival pod, not knowing what planet you’re on. You don’t remember anything, and a version of yourself remained in hyper hibernation. By tapping on the control screens, you quickly understand that you are on a planet that was part of the former colonization of the UAC, Orionis.

You then decide to take the path to the nearest town, but the inhabitants of the surrounding area seem hostile.

 

Oh, that sounds wonderful! I've been looking for a wad that I can play for a little bit of relaxation und exploration.

This seems to be perfect for my needs right now, can't wait to try it out! :)

[Mr Masker]

Haven't played it yet but the logo already looks great

[Roofi]

I playtested this wad and it contains sector trees, so 100% recommanded.

[Not Jabba]

I remember playing an earlier version of this in your unfinished projects dump. Looking forward to more of it!

[Fernito]

 

4 hours ago, franckFRAG said:

- This is an adventurous and relaxing mapset

- Gameplay focused on exploration and discovery

 

This caught my attention! And, of course, the gorgeous screenshots. Definitely gonna give this a go :)

[rzh]

Just played through the first level.

Really great stuff, highly recommend. I hate Doom 2's textures usually, but here they're combined in a way that makes them look fresh, and the sky is gorgeous.

It's giving me fake nostalgia.

Edit: up to level 5 now, this WAD managed to jumpscare me, twice.

It's really dark, but in a good, atmospheric way, not to the point where I can't see where I'm going.

It has this slight gothic vibe to it, which is unexpected since the environments are mostly natural/ techbase.

Edited September 4, 2022 by rzh

[knifeworld]

enjoying this wad a ton! I'm at map 7 now. Wonderful mapset so far, dripping with atmosphere and great use of stock textures.
So far I've only noticed two small issues, and one typo in the first text screen: (world is typo'd to word).

There's a lost soul on map 2 that doesn't wake up unless you know it's there and shoot it from a very specific angle dangerously close to the exit linedef.
idk if it's there to troll stubborn uv max enjoyers like me that decided to play using gzdoom today, (it was the last enemy alive), but it's not really an issue at all given the focus on adventure and fun in this wad. Just thought I'd point him out if the maps are intended to be "maxable" as well as being fun adventures.

Spoiler

You can press this switch on map 5 from below:

Spoiler

 

[russin]

beautiful and simple. Love this

[Andromeda]

4 hours ago, Herr Dethnout said:

So is actually a 8 vanilla compatible wads, you lied yo me :c

All levels work in vanilla, just on those three levels you cannot save. Take it as a way to challenge yourself :)

[Biodegradable]

What a lovely surprise, Franck! This WAD looks gorgeous and will no doubt be great fun. I look forward to playing it! :^D

[Kyka]

@franckFRAG Been a fan of your stuff since PRCP.wad :) Very pleasantly surprised to see this. I want to wait for the full megawad though.

 

Wonderful stuff. I have bookmarked this thread for future reference.

 

I almost missed this thread entirely. Thanks @Andromeda, I happened to be on your homepage here and saw you had commented on this thread, and here I am.

 

 

[TheShep]

Downloaded. Will likely play next week.

[Fernito]

I played through the first 2 levels: the architecture, atmosphere, gameplay and storytelling are superb! Great music too. Very inspiring stuff, I'll definitely finish playing it :)

[fai1025]

Nice Toliet :)

 

here's something i don't like about the maps, so there's too much of window snipers, or enemy above your view height.

it's extremey annoy if you play with mlook off, which is how i normally play, sometime i just don't know where the shot came from and end it up dying to an addition of spectres and imps

I mean who doesn't want to climb up and beat the bloody revernant standing on a tall tower that been sending homing missile while you busy playing dodge ball with Hell knight 

especially Map04, I hate those imps in the windows that you have to either deal with it outside or get on a lift and getting inevitable melee damage

Edited September 4, 2022 by fai1025
criticism

[egghead07]

Quite solid first few maps! Aesthetically pleasing and fun gameplay. Navigation is a little tricky I'd say as I had to turn to my map to find keys and doors but it's solid designed maps just sorta like twisty/weavy and little pockets and  of entry that you can easily miss or a lift that masquerades as a wall so i resorted to clicking on every surface to see it reacted.

Edited September 4, 2022 by egghead07

[franckFRAG]

On 9/2/2022 at 4:50 PM, Not Jabba said:

I remember playing an earlier version of this in your unfinished projects dump. Looking forward to more of it!

 

You’re not mistaken, I had quietly posted an unfinished version probably two years ago.

 

On 9/2/2022 at 5:30 PM, knifeworld said:

enjoying this wad a ton! I'm at map 7 now. Wonderful mapset so far, dripping with atmosphere and great use of stock textures.
So far I've only noticed two small issues, and one typo in the first text screen: (world is typo'd to word).

There's a lost soul on map 2 that doesn't wake up unless you know it's there and shoot it from a very specific angle dangerously close to the exit linedef.
idk if it's there to troll stubborn uv max enjoyers like me that decided to play using gzdoom today, (it was the last enemy alive), but it's not really an issue at all given the focus on adventure and fun in this wad. Just thought I'd point him out if the maps are intended to be "maxable" as well as being fun adventures.

  Hide contents

You can press this switch on map 5 from below:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

Thanks Knifeworld for your feedback :) 

 I'll check it out for the lost soul.

For this switch in the map05, it's intentional for the speedrunning, but maybe it’s too obvious, or visible, I’ll see to slightly move it.

 

On 9/2/2022 at 8:46 PM, Kyka said:

@franckFRAG Been a fan of your stuff since PRCP.wad :) Very pleasantly surprised to see this. I want to wait for the full megawad though.

 

Wonderful stuff. I have bookmarked this thread for future reference.

 

I almost missed this thread entirely. Thanks @Andromeda, I happened to be on your homepage here and saw you had commented on this thread, and here I am.

 

 

 

Oh! I didn’t think you were a fan of my work :) or that I had fans of my mapping at all :P

Thanks Kyka! I hope to make a megawad, but it will take a long, long time.

 

 

17 hours ago, fai1025 said:

here's something i don't like about the maps, so there's too much of window snipers, or enemy above your view height.

it's extremey annoy if you play with mlook off, which is how i normally play, sometime i just don't know where the shot came from and end it up dying to an addition of spectres and imps

I mean who doesn't want to climb up and beat the bloody revernant standing on a tall tower that been sending homing missile while you busy playing dodge ball with Hell knight 

especially Map04, I hate those imps in the windows that you have to either deal with it outside or get on a lift and getting inevitable melee damage

 

Ah, I understand what you mean. I think that unfortunately, putting monsters up high, is my trademark, which can probably create frustration.

Maybe I should add a block monster line to avoid the melee damage with those imps.

 

 

Edited September 4, 2022 by franckFRAG

[rparhkdtp]

I finished it in two days.

 

I watched and downloaded 'This is an adventurous and relaxing mapset'.
I'm a little interested in the menu screens and music. It was an intro that reminded me of the JRPG of SNES.
The music in maps 1 and 2 was very interesting. It was very calming to me, combined with the consistent dark blue sky.
I thought it was peaceful music that didn't suit Doom, but I really liked the play itself.
The music that calms my heart the most is map 4.
map 4? 5? It was also interesting that the top and bottom gimmicks were emphasized.
map 6? 7? (I can't remember, I did from 1 to 9 yesterday) I also liked the place decorated with a cross on the cave map.
On map 10, I forgot to go down the valley. I complained about not seeing the trigger and fixed it with a cheat. My mistake :/
It looks like you made good use of the vine texture in some places on the map. I was reminded a bit of Plutonia in a certain place.
Very plentiful of items throughout the map. I found this to be very beginner friendly.
You can also easily find your way without looking at the map. As the author writes, you can venture into your comfort zone. I think this is also a good advantage of this map. I've only hit Tab twice, except for map 10.
And today, when I went out after seeing the ending, the image of ENDOOM was also neat and I liked it.

 

It was fun.

[Jacek Nowak (jacnowak)]

I recorded video of my playthrough (FDA) of maps 1 to 5.
Very enjoyable and indeed relaxing mapset, I like what I see so far!
I will continue playing, @franckFRAG let me know if you would like me to record the rest of my playthrough.

 

[franckFRAG]

Hi, thanks for your feedbacks :)

 

I’ve been very busy these past few weeks, but I’ve been able to fix the RC1.

Now we have an RC2!

 

Corrections:

- Softlock fixed in map08
- Textures alignment fixed
- No floating objects (I hope)
- Removed a corridor near a secret in map10 (which could create more confusion on the road that had to be taken afterwards)
- Rebalancing ammunition and health on some maps (some really had too many)
- The secret of soulsphere in map10 is no longer marked like a secret, (probably too frustrating to have)
- Added missing credits for some music, unfortunately I couldn’t find them all (thanks Roofi for both)
- Correction of a typo in the intermission between map06 and map07

 

DL link:

Bellatrix : Tales of Orionis - RC2

[Jacek Nowak (jacnowak)]

Just finished this. I had great time! Very classic Doom feeling and fantastic layouts, I highly recommend the WAD for anyone who likes non-linear maps with lots of optional areas to explore that are not too difficult!

[franckFRAG]

This is the time to share the final version ! (I hope)

 

Many thanks for taking the time to test the wad ! Espescially @jacnowak and @JC !

 

Bellatrix : Tales of Orionis - Final release

 

 

[Firedust]

53 minutes ago, franckFRAG said:

This is the time to share the final version ! (I hope)

 

When you say final release, you mean final release of the first episode, right? Or have you decided not to work on the project anymore? :(

[franckFRAG]

1 hour ago, Firedust said:

When you say final release, you mean final release of the first episode, right? Or have you decided not to work on the project anymore? :(

Yes, you are right, I'm talking about the first episode :)

I posted a screen in the Doom Pictures Thread, this can give you a clue :)

[phoo]

I've got to give this a try! Screenshots look excellent.

[WH-Wilou84]

Congratulations once again for this release, Franck !

Best of luck for the remaining two episodes.

[Xymph]

Please don't use UTF-16 for the .txt file, then it becomes readable and parse-able. UTF-8 (or ASCII) works.

 

Edit: I manually fix this one in the gamers.org archive (though not inside the .zip file).

Edited November 1, 2022 by Xymph

[NightFright]

I already wondered why I couldn't open the readme with DoomRunner (it opens the readme when clicking on the wad, provided names are identical and both files are in the same dir).