Hocusdoom RELEASED (in /idgames)

[Fletcher`]

Does anybody remember the classic game Hocus Pocus? It was an old sidescrolling platform game made by Apogee in 1994.

What would happen if Hocus Pocus was a fps like Doom, rather than a sidescroller? Inquiring minds wanted to know! Hocusdoom is a Total Conversion for Doom 2 that attempts to bring Hocus into the third dimension in a dazzling new adventure!

Link to Zdoom Forums page

[===== Download: =====]
Requires the latest stable version of GzDoom and Doom 2.
Be careful using unstable devbuilds, as obviously they may not always work.

version 1.1 candidate:
Current playable version for 12-27-2019
https://www.dropbox.com/s/6cpmlrajvxwgf1c/HOCUS.pk3?dl=1
Ogg versions of music (updated)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/h4wlfocvkewtmrj/hocusogg.pk3?dl=1

 

Release Version:
https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/megawads/hocus
Ogg versions of music
https://www.dropbox.com/s/h4wlfocvkewtmrj/hocusogg.pk3?dl=1

 

[===== Changelog: =====]

Spoiler

changelog for - 12-27-2019

• fixed stair bug in map22
• fixed powerup flashes
• fixed a bug in map37 where certain monsters would keep spawning every time you entered a specific sector. only spawns them once now.
• added monster blocking lines to most lava areas in map22
• removed switch and replaced with a crystal on map21
• updated help pics
• fixed fence textures in map28
• made a door in map17 easier to activate by drunk brits
• made electroman mines visible in the dark
• fixed texture misalignment in map25
• stairs lower on map25 when you first reach the top of the library, rather than at the key
• fixed bug with 3d blocks rendering through each other

 

changelog for - 10-15-2019

• completely redone torches again. use so much fewer actors now.
• all bosses have rebalanced resistance to the power wand. they take half damage now.
• Trolodon's health changed from 3000 to 2000
• Wraith's projectile speed cut in half.
• power wand shots are now homing.
• fixed typo in one of the Wizard's chat strings.

 

changelog for - 08-13-2019

• power wand now has alt mode. press [reload] to switch (much like the secret weapons)
• changed language entries for throw bombs and weapon mode switch in controls.
• new enemy - tree spirit
• cosmetic updates to maps 25 and 26
• changes to HARD difficulty. lowered health to the same as normal, but dialed up aggressiveness.
• more various bugfixes in maps
• disabling the lasers in map20 plays a sound now
• fixed sequence string in map13 not showing up properly
• allow the ability to restart a map upon completion, in case you want to try again for a better score.
• fixed sound issue with that one lift in map17
• moved a flower enemy out of a tree in map18
• fixed a clipping issue with the tower in map22
• adjusted the brightmap for the egyptian tesla model
• changed thing portals in map29 to line portals to speed them up a bit
• moved starfield effect to a camera texture (automap no londer overlays them in intermissions)
• abyssal hydra are more dangerous now
• power wand shots use fewer particles (three rays instead of 4 for each shot)
• player no longer takes double damage in hard difficulty. instead the time a player is unable to be hurt after taking damage will be longer or shorter depending on skill.
• decoupled player pain flash from rapid fire flash scripts.
• completely new particles for torches. hopefully less intensive.

 

changelog for - 01-26-2019

• few minor fixes in levels
• fixed stray pixel on Terrexin sprite
• fixed stray pixel on magic crystal sprite
• fixed ceiling portal in map15
• fixed a bug where dormant bosses still blocked shots. apparently it matters when you declare the Monster combo.
• fixed several more ceiling portals and added one to map25
• removed a crystal entirely on map25. I spent way too many times completely passing it by, as I'm sure did everyone else.
• more various missing textures fixed, and maps touched up.
• easter egg treasure no longer counts to total treasure
• weapon powerups no longer give score
• added a jump pad in map34. I don't like inescapable pits.
• altered powered up launcher for jazz secret
• expanded boss arena on map40 and prevented boss from getting suck on the sign
• fixed various issues with ULTRA difficulty, hopefully.
• raised a power bomb off of the slime in map14 so that you can get it without taking damage.
• added laser barriers for the trolodon fight so you can't go back down until the next phase. This solves the issue of trolodon not targetting you through a portal, and gives the fight a little more urgency.
• spiders jump now. experience fear.
• remade treasure room in map39
• testing autofire for your main weapon. its slower than clicking (even at level 1 power), but I've had a lot of people ask for it over the years.

 

changelog for - 01-13-19

• fixed volume for music in map40
• added a Death.Massacre state for base enemies. No more deafening explosions or slowdowns when using Massacre cheat
• fixed an error with map40 pointing to map30. now points to the correct next map.
• fixed some texture alignments on map02
• fixed a softlock issue on map19
• forced the outer door in map39 requiring the power wand, mostly so you can't miss it. The fight practically requires it anyway.
• lightning upgrades now let you shoot extra shots occasionally, not randomly. more upgrades shoots them more often. ring on the finger will glow when next shot will double. needs testing as it may throw all balancing off?
• fixed background transparency for menu.
• added brightmaps for models, sprites, and textures
• cheaty method of getting read of bloodsplatters permanently. replaced the graphics themselves.
• added AUTOMAP.TXT
• fixed trigger for a lowering floor in map07. Now only triggers once.
• fixed a graphical glitch in map04 with some weird passable walls showing up on a sloped floor.
• fixed several texture alignments
• raised one of the crystals higher in map27 so you can just run into it. was confusing when it was lower?
• fixed several sections of ledges in map38 to be either obvious you can't progress on them, or you can get back in-bounds
• made progression behind the gold door in map38 more obvious
• added message on death to hit the use key to continue.
• Damagefactors for Electro robots changed to 1.0. No more issues with certain shots not doing damage. Not sure why I did that in the first place.
• new sprites for greater health potions and super health potions to differentiate them from small potions
• wizard chat no longer pauses music. Thank you Kinsie!
• wizard chat also no longer has a delay before stopping time.
• made pharoah shots less aggressive

 

changelog for - 9-23-18

• give all enemies +DONTBLAST (really only useful in the secret level)
• sprites, weapons, textures for map40
• started and finished map40
• various small fixes

 

changelog for - 07-28-18

• fixed conflicting sprite names for bombs and smartbombs
• remade mushroom minibosses.
• lowered base damage for bombs from 10 to 5
• increased resistance to bombs for minibosses
• added +DONTSPLASH to various traps that explode like the volcanic vents
• added terrain effects for sand
• added healing oases in egyptian levels
• switched names for 'Shifting Sands' and 'Mirage'
• fixed more portals and hopefully fixed a lot of framerate issues around them
• on a side note, a LOT of fiddling with map16 to ease up on the framerate. Tried to cut a
  bunch of extraneous stuff out, especially sand dunes you can never actually see anyway.
• added a 'particle limit' for heavy effects like rain and snow to try and speed things up a
  bit
• added a particle limit for basic particle effects too--mostly particles that get used the
  most like the basic square particles. the limit scales with particle gen scaling
• added larger, more detailed snowflakes that occasionally spawn on map05. All this work for a
  weather effect that's only used on one map.
• does anyone read these?
• changed music for map35 and map36 to m_meso instead of m_gloom2. Whoops?
• more brightmaps!
• bug that caused thrown bombs to inheret a player's color flashes no longer happens. somehow
  fixed itself?
• more changes to bomb damage
• revamped power wand, hopefully for the last time
• ammo icons for alt hud
• changed projectiles for flamethrower powerup
• added vertical lightning traps for later maps
• reworked some of the skyboxes to make easier to change later on
• updated graphics for powered up ammo bars
• added +NOBLOODDECALS to all enemies and shots, as even though everything has +NOBLOOD,
  sometimes they'd still splatter on walls
• renamed particle options to be less confusing
• bug where ricochet projectiles will get stuck in corners. No idea how to fix this yet.
• finished map36
• finished map37
• finished map38
• finished map39
• gave power wand its own damage type to tweak it for boss use.

changelog for - 04-08-18

• more work on map30
• bees now die on their own (and die faster, and give off no particles)
• added +NODAMAGETHRUST to player shots (maybe it'll stop enemies from spazzing out when you hit them) (it doesn't)
• completely reworked secret ore vein actors/treasure they drop
• cleaning up scripts
• treasure and crystal tracking uses levelinfo, rather than each actor adding to a variable (this could be broken easily if you collected items before it added to the total)
• changed flash color for crystals (The red was too simililar to the pain flash)
• changed flash color for secret gem to be opposite of crystals (....so now its red. fuck)
• made most numbered global scripts into named scripts, and altered actors that use them accordingly
• forgot to add ammo flash icon for active flamethrower powerup
• ammo number on full hud had the wrong color. should be UNTRANSLATED
• more progress on transferring all strings to LANGUAGE, so maybe someone in the future can translate them to other languages.
• give +WEAPON.CHEATNOTWEAPON to secret weapons
• changed damage for LightningPowerShot from 1 to 4
• Supercharge will now refill your power wand ammo if you still have it
• teleporting retains your current weapon again
• added invulnerability powerup
• health icon for when invulnerable
• split skill definitons to a separate file
• animated ammo icons when you have flamethrower or rapid fire active
• used the wrong torches on map24
• changed power wand again (and again and again)
• power wand no longer self destructs upon depletion. instead, now you keep it, but it has very slow recharge
• hitting enemies with regular shots replenishes power wand ammo faster
• changed LaserShot damage from 1 to 2
• changed death for skeletons. instead of spawning a new enemy (which I admit was annoying), now they explode and spawn a ring of bone shots
• all key switches now use 'Actor Hits Floor' sector activator
• small change to liquid flat glowing
• moved all ednums to a separate file to keep better track of them
• added sand jet particles
• updated flamethrower shots to be more useful
• secret weapon/super weapons now are affected by rapid fire and flamethrower powerups
• I just discovered sector special 195. Time to hide all those skyboxes
• finished map32
• finished map33
• finished map35
• new textures and models for flags
• fixed a bug in map28 that caused a crash entering map29
• minor fixes in LANGUAGE
• new enemies for final realm
• replaced Twin Shot with Ricochet Shot
• Floaters from the Night levels now occasionally shoot to the side to catch you off guard (eventually more enemies will have different variations)
• cleaning up ceiling portals, hopefully making some levels run a little faster.
• changed color of secret level gem to green, and made the flashes less intense.
• made the key pickup sprites thicker so they stand out more
• added throwable bombs for altfire. because I got bored.
• added bombs to most levels. You start finding them after map13
• raised y offset for weapons on the main status bar up by 8
• weird bug found, but no idea why it happens. bomb projectiles are also affected by player palette translations.
• made the sludgy projectiles in maps 13 and 14 faster. This way they don't linger too far and make the hallway hard to traverse.
• updated many player projectiles (ROLLSPRITE is so cool)
• changed order of weapon powerups. basically put split shot on the bottom below ricochet
• various fixes to previous maps. Lots of changes.

 

changelog for - 10-03-2017

• finished map22
• finished map24
• finished map25
• finished map26
• finished map27
• finished map28
• finished map29
• finished map30
• finished map31
• fixed particle bridges moving up if you're underneath it.
• particle bridge inherits from a zscript actor that lets you jump onto it from underneath. Thanks To Gutawer for zscript help!
• changed automap strings for kills,treasures,crystals (now that its available)
• teleport particles only activate when teleporting, freeing up memory otherwise used by it
• rewrote script for Power Wand, and may actually use it. Its a bit weird so I'll need more feedback on it.
• added handling for if your time is greater than 999.
• lowered chance for ghosts to fade to 1/4
• dragon boss done, added dinos (John Hammond would be so proud)
• picking up new special weapons doesn't remove other weapons (You still lose them at the end of a level though)
• returning from a teleport sets your last used weapon back (due to change above) (nevermind still need to fix)
• IDFA cheat no longer breaks weapons (good news for you cheaters!)
• lowered tree demon boss's health to 175
• made fireball much more destructive
• fixed a bug where some scripts were still using setammocapacity when no longer needed.
• fixed minor texturing & scrpting in map01
• renamed Gargoyle to Devil to avoid conflicts with another enemy
• added several E4 enemies
• added laser trap for E4
• fixed bug where explosive shots were throwing decorations in map20 around like crazy. WHUT
• added stuff for secret level
• new alternate hud sprites for powered shots
• new powerup - flamethrower!
• made the eastern crystal a bit more visible on map21 and tweaked bridges to it some.
• more small changes to early levels
• added small hints for multi-switch puzzles
• made jump and teleport potions fullbright to match other potions (and to make more visible)
• tweaked all 3d models to be gzdb friendly (most of them at least)
• lowered lava damage from 2 to 1.
• rewrote script for Power Wand again. (This is version six or so. I guess I don't know what I want)
• added secret weapon
• new weapon powerups for E3 secret level
• cookies!

 

changelog for - 01-27-17

• added smartbombs. Kill any monster within a very large radius, but can also be tied to certain enemies too.
• finished map23
• added name particles to most item pickups. These can be disabled in Hocus Options.
• Fixed picking up rapid fire when already under its effect-thus wasting the pickup.
• Tweaked breakable boxes so they don't get destroyed by smartbombs. (Why were they ignoring damagetypes from A_Explode that weren't called by projectiles? BECAUSE ZDOOM)
• Made shooting a little faster. Its amazing how much a single frame makes a difference!
• added rudimentary code for Highscores table. Not part of the menu yet, so check Hocusdoom options to bind it to a key!
• Also built in support for future bonus episodes too! This thing is ugly as sin but seems to be working.
• added TEXTCOLO
• fixed various minor areas in most other maps
• expanded last room on map13
• rewrite most of particle handling again. should be a bit more flexible now. This also changed the CVARS that handled them so be sure to check your settings
• convert TEXTURE1 to zdoom's TEXTURES and moved to main archive. hocustxt.wad no longer needed
• moved boost pad script to library and fixed.
• replaced hocus_mp3.pk3 with hocusogg.pk3 for reduced filesize

changelog for - 01-04-2017

• tweaked laser shots blasting through breakable boxes.
• lowered the volume for spooks.mp3 It was far louder than all the other tracks. (Why did I wait so long to do this?)
• finished map19
• added particle controls to LeafBlower and fixed HocusMagicSmoke
• changed the flame jet traps so they can have a delay before they shut off. Easier for making trap chains
• changed Maxamount for MonsterMaxHealth from 0xFFFFFFFF to 1000 because it breaks in linux zdoom. Whoops!
• finished map20
• finished map21
• started map22

changelog for - 11-28-2016

• fix all instances of A_SpawnItem and replaced them with A_SpawnItemEx. They were broken in later versions of gzdoom BECAUSE ZDOOM
• fixed minor graphical bug with one of the exit strings. Was the wrong color
• completed map18
• completed map19
• more work to particle options (add leaf spawner too)
• reworked end of episode intermission screens. Should be bugfree.
• changed inconsistent method for damage for spikes. now uses terrain instead of A_explode
• added extra frame & sprites for eskimo attacks. Not sure if they were unused in the original game or I missed ripping them. Thanks to Hisymak for their work on a Hocus Pocus editor.
• with lava becoming much more dangerous to touch, I had to add some extra pathways in some levels to get out of big pools of lava without taking too much damage.
• removed +SOLID from pillows in the egyptian levels.
• changed the hudwrap width for wizardtalk from 200 to 250. Gives a little more room for when he feels like being wordy.
• added several new enemies: skeleton, ghost, another floater (from unused graphics, thanks to Hisymak)
• added +NOGRAVITY to keys. Now I can place them anywhere!
• gave the flamejets a damagetype. Monsters could kill themselves on them.
• made the flamejets less intensive. Did every projectile really need a light?
• added +DONTSPLASH to several particle effects. They were getting on my nerves.
• crystal ball pickup sound should not be overridden by anything anymore (hopefully)
• made the secret platforms in map10 a little more visible.
• included Hisymak's GENMIDI. Sounds pretty close to the original. I'll still keep the mp3s around though.

changelog for - 03-07-2016

• nerfed monster trap on map11. forgot to when I nerfed the rapid fire powerup.
• implemented some actual difficulty levels. Monsters on HARD don't have as much health, but will still do more damage, and will be more of them. EASY won't be quite as pushovery either. ULTRA will still fuck you. Sorry, not sorry.
• rapid powerup no longer uses powered shots, thus encouraging you to fire freely without wasting ammo
• updated music entries so intermission music resets on new level (it wouldn't reset if it had the same music as map)
• added map16
• started map17
• started map18
• started map19
• added collapsing bridge actors
• new sounds for lava terrain and fire-related actors
• added option to disable the intro help screen
• removed the vertical sprites from player shots as they weren't working properly.
• fixed some minor lighting issues in previously finished maps
• cleaned up some old textures
• added +NOGRAVITY to upwards fire jet
• completely remade map10 with new enemies

changelog for - 09-08-2015

• updated switch textures (they were badly scaled placeholders from an older era)
• added map12
• added snow effects on maps map05 and map06
• added options menu to disable or reduce excess weather particles
• more reorganization of decorate scripts
• added fog for some maps
• removed +SOLID flag for icy rocks. God they were annoying.
• added options to disable enemy health bars (or show numbers instead)
• added map13
• added map14
• added laser shot powerup (uses fastprojectile; railgun attack isn't ideal)
• made all player shots slightly faster (feels better)
• added a bunch of little decorative flowers/grass to fill out levels a bit.
• added secret weapon for a secret level
• added GAMEINFO lump to change startup colors and title
• added map15
• updated mapinfo and language to add formatting to level names
• stable teleports are now a thing! these rifts don't dissapear like teleport potions
• increased the damage radius of fireballs to make them more effective.

changelog for - 04-06-2015

• changed icy water in the Ice levels damage from 5 to 1
• finished map08
• finished map09
• added several new models & decorations for maps 13 & 14
• finally fixed the scrolling secret gem platform in map04 (after forgetting to fix it several updates in a row)
• nerfed the ambush to the crystal above the bridge in map06. It was too annoying.
• made Egg Dragons shoot only one egg instead of 1-3, since they're severely powerful
• also made the fire shots from eggs affected by gravity.

changelog for - 02-02-15

• made player shots smaller so you could shoot alongside walls easier
• added better support for althud, thanks to Gez
• changes to map01 and map02 to make them a little easier (also map02 had no mushroom chargers)
• lowered weapon sprites so they didn't obstruct your view too much
• made power shot sprites smaller for the same reason (they should stay fairly large though)
• added speed/jump boost floors
• fixed some minor things in most of the maps
• used a different method for the ladders in map10. No longer uses swimmable 3d floors (no way around reverb effect and using ThrustThingZ works better)
• changed weapon sprites yet again. Not quite as in the way now (and is almost pointing now)
• made the rapidfire less powerful (overlapping shots). In turn nerfed many mass ambush areas to compensate. They're not as grindy anymore.
• Super Health Potions will now give you 20 health (with sbarinfo updated to represent it as gold hearts atop of the red hearts :D
• Heart icons updated to be less ugly
• added +GHOST to monsters and +THRUGHOST to projectiles so now they are no longer impeded by other monsters. (like in the original game)
• added the 10 story pages. Put them at the end of the help screens because I don't know if you can define a totally separate set of help pages

changelog for - 01-24-15

• Completely redid map06. No longer lags and flows much better.
• added map07
• started map08 (Not finished)
• started map09 (Not finished)
• added map10
• added map11 (episode 2)
• added sprites and mechanics for hocus player. (jumping animation works too!)
• changed projectiles for Power Wand again. The blue and Red just didn't feel right.
• Fixed floor check for the jump potion particles. Should work now. (a bit goofy if you hit a ceiling)
• New weapon sprites to match the toony look.
• Made Monsters return to their original position when they despawn
• Reverted monster returning because it doesn't work yet.
• added some E2 enemies (blackbeast, mummy, bat)
• added some E3 enemies (secret enemies)
• added A_SentinelBob to flying monsters to see how they work (works nicely)
• added sound variants for power/rapid fire weapons
• added some secret stuff
• added textures and decorations for Egypt and Night 2 sets
• Reworked how bosses work. They should despawn and reset the boss health bar scripts fine now.

changelog for - 08-05-14

• added map06
• fixed a bug where enemy health bars wouldn't work after loading a savegame
• Fixed Progress screens, both when you win a level, and when you die. Now you can't interrupt the death window by pressing a key. Also, they fade out properly now. Unfortunately now there's an issue with the camera spawning inside walls.
• Updated decorate and scripts for Monk bosses
• Fixed a bug where when you restart a level after dying you retain upgrade shots.
• Health Potions give 1 heart instead of 3. Added Big Health Potions that give 3 instead.
• Reorganized decorate lumps so that when I start the other episodes it won't be as confusing.
• Due to the way the death script works, I had to fix a bug where you'd keep your score after death. obviously your score should reset to where it was when you first entered the level.
• Made the Iron Key darker to differentiate from the Silver Key
• Fixed a minor issue where the teasure checker wouldn't reset if there was more treasure spawned after you found everything.
• added map07
• added frames and changed how bosses work (won't be seen until map09 anyway)
• (debating: do I change mapnames to ExMx format?)
• made player projectiles wider to make shooting enemies easier. (is it too wide now?)
• added decorations for Moon Castle levels.

changelog for - 05-21-2014

• New sprites for Lightning Spell
• Added new enemy - Tengu
• Added Map05
• Fixed some issues with Wizard talk. Still waiting for new changes to TimeFreeze to fix music not playing
• Did some more work for the Full-screen hud
• Added to the huds a background meter for your max number of shots
• Changed Power Shot. Instead of doing 10 damage to one enemy, now splits into 10 lightning shits.
• Changed Hard difficulty. Monsters now have 1.5 health and their shots do twice as much damage.
• Added secret difficulty. Rage mode ensues.
• Power Shot gives 20 shots instead of 10
• Splitter Shot gives 30 shots instead of 20
• Homing shots gives 40 instead of 50
• More work with the Power Wand. Shots do the same damage as regular, but recharge time is faster and autofires.
• cosmetic changes to some actors.
• I don't know if I want to have backers to Wizard conversations, but I thought I'd try them out anyway. They don't look half bad, actually.
• Changed the par time for map04 to something more sensible. Probably not possible to get EVERYTHING in 300 seconds. Someone prove me wrong.
• Completely remade the font and moved item strings to language.enu
• Monsters now play their sound at full volume regardless of where you are
• Monsters deaths are more satisfying now. They really do *POP* :P

05/11/2014

• Made the radius for player shots larger so that they hit enemies easier. also made them slightly homing.
• Toying with autofire. The main spell weapon won't have autofire, but is more responsive.
• The Power Wand WILL have autofire though.
• Hitting enemies will give you a point of recharge. Now rewards you for getting into the fray by letting you shoot faster when up close.
• Cleaning up various scripts that I haven't touched in years.
• Fixed an issue with the fireball prematurely detonating on breakable blocks. Works fine now!
• Added the Super Jump Potion. Thanks Kate! -Unavoidable issue where landing on a bridge or breakable block won't cancel glitter effect.
• Help page updated to reflect new Power Wand
• Moved music in _mp3 into a folder to alleviate some hotloading issues

 

[===== Screenshots: =====]




Full gallery: http://imgur.com/a/SolQd


[===== Features: =====]

Hocusdoom will have relatively the same features as the original Hocus Pocus. You complete maps by collecting all available crystals. However, you can also find red crystals that let you warp to secret maps at the end of the level. You are awarded points for finding treasure, killing enemies, and completing each map within a time limit. At the end of every episode your highest score will be recorded.


Powerups:

Rapid Fire - Fire a long continuous stream of shots lightning-fast. Lasts for 30 seconds and doesn't use extra shot ammo.

Flamethrower - Fire a short-range stream of fire that leaves smoldering ground. Incredibly powerful and rare! Lasts for 30 seconds and doesn't use extra shot ammo.

Extra Lightning Bolt - Lets you fire lightning bolts faster. Your shots slowly recharge, but charge faster if you hit enemies.

Twin Shot - Shoot two bolts at one time. Gives 40 shots per bottle.

Splitter Shot - Shoot three bolts in a spread pattern. Gives 30 shots per bottle.

Laser Shot - Shoots a beam of lightning that pierces through enemies. Gives 20 shots per bottle.

Power Shot - Shoots a single large ball of energy that splits into smaller shots. Devestating against single enemies and tight groups. Gives 20 shots per bottle.

Fireball - Gives 3 shots that will obliterate and pass through any baddie. Bosses are a bit tougher but will still go through them!

Power Wand - Special secondary weapon that is incredibly powerful, but ammo is limited! Make short work of those monsters! This weapon destroys itself when you run out of ammo.

Jump Potion - Lets you jump super high. Only useable once.

Teleport Bottle - Warps you to another area of the map. Only useable once.


Treasure:

Along the way to find those crystals you'll grab treasure to get the top score!

Ruby - 100 points
Diamond - 250 points
Goblet - 500 points
Opal - 750 points
Emerald - 750 points
Crown - 1000 points
Ankh - 1500 points

Other types of secret treasure await, worth much more. Happy hunting!



[===== Credits =====]

Project lead, mapper, graphics, compilation - Ravage

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Games/Resources:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
iD Software - Doom
Apogee/Moonlight Software - Hocus Pocus, Blake Stone
Epic Megagames - Jazz Jackrabbit, Jill of the Jungle, Tyrian
D'India Software - Darkwolf
Raven Software - Shadowcaster/Hexen textures & sprites
Psygnosis - Hexx: Heresy of the Wizard textures & sprites

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Scripting:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Kate Stone - Scripting
Gez - Scripting
Gutawer - Zscript
Hisymak - GENMIDI & resource tool for Hocus Pocus
Blue Shadow - Zscript
Kinsie - Zscript

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Sprites/Graphics:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Captain Q - Sprite work
Osjclatchford - Sprites (power wand base)
Scuba Steve - Apogee Card & general cheerleedering
CGA Gillian Seed - ENDOOM, proofreading, music fixes

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Testing:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Strigon
Captain Q

-----------------------------------------------------------------
A Pun:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
SaintAbsol

If I have forgotten anyone, please let me know so I can add you to this list!

 

Edited April 3, 2020 by rf`

[Nevanos]

My friggin' childhood, transformed to 3D. Looking forward to this - go for it!

[General Rainbow Bacon]

This looks freakin' awesome. I never played the sidescroller, but I love the new textures and things. DON'T LET THIS DIE. I'll repeat it:

DON'T LET THIS FAIL.

Okay one more time:

DON'T LET THIS PROJECT DIE.

okay, that's all.

[SFoZ911]

Nevan said:

My friggin' childhood

Freakin' this. you just kicked me in the stomach with nostalgia.

[Clonehunter]

Don't know what Hocus Pocus is, but I'm interested because this mod looks friggin' insane, in a good way. In fact, I'd say that it's downright beautiful.

[scifista42]

Very nice surreal world, things and creatures. However, I'm not sure what makes the right "Hocus Pocus" balance, but don't you think that the basic weapon is horribly underpowered? Each of the numerous enemies needs a lot of hits to die, and the weapon doesn't even fire automatically, you must press the fire key repeatedly. I think you should do something about it. Just for the sake of better balance. I realize there are powerups and stuff, but I still found the beginning shooting to be uncomfortably tedious.

Or the player would at least encounter weaker enemies early on.

[Mechadon]

This is super mega cool and I can't wait to try it out :D

[Fletcher`]

scifista42 said:

Very nice surreal world, things and creatures. However, I'm not sure what makes the right "Hocus Pocus" balance, but don't you think that the basic weapon is horribly underpowered? Each of the numerous enemies needs a lot of hits to die, and the weapon doesn't even fire automatically, you must press the fire key repeatedly. I think you should do something about it. Just for the sake of better balance. I realize there are powerups and stuff, but I still found the beginning shooting to be uncomfortably tedious.

Or the player would at least encounter weaker enemies early on.

On normal difficulty, most enemies have 4 hit points. Easy mode everything's halved; on hard they're all doubled. So on hard, yes, it'll take a while. I might add more powerups for that difficulty.

In later maps there'll a powerup that basically doubles your damage output.

[Salt-Man Z]

Holy crap! Not only does this mod look amazing, but I had forgotten the original game even existed until I Googled it and saw the screenshots. I still don't remember a thing about the game—only that I played it as a kid—but I certainly remember those switches, gems, the goofy heads on the wall...! Thanks for the trip down memory lane!

Edit - Ooh, and I can buy it for only $6? Tempting... I should download the shareware version for sure.

[Gez]

Clonehunter said:

Don't know what Hocus Pocus is, but I'm interested because this mod looks friggin' insane, in a good way. In fact, I'd say that it's downright beautiful.

A cool little platformer. Gameplay and controls were kinda mediocre to be honest, but the background graphics were super-cute and the music was super-catchy.

Salt-Man Z said:

Edit - Ooh, and I can buy it for only $6?

Also on GOG.

[Obsidian]

Good grief, 40 levels? Here's hoping you have the dedication to finish them all. Thumbs up! :D

[Walter confetti]

can't wait for playing it! Already downloaded!

[RUSH]

This looks super trippy and awesome, but I have no idea how to run the demo. Normally I just drag the wad + deh files onto zDoom.exe - however with this I get tons of missing textures. Not sure what to do.

[Darch]

rf this is looking gorgeous. But, as already said, gameplay seriously needs balancing. You're introducing new mechanics and health system, giving no time to the player to get used to it.

The very first horde has 6 monsters with 4 hit points each (24 in total), against 10 hit points for the player. At the first room of map 01 out of 40? Why? When I gave my first steps out the first scene, I had 2 health points. Didnt find any health inside the castle, either. You could start with 1 hit point monsters. The visuals and music are so good that nobody will mind to start just wondering around a bit, killing easy monsters and figuring out how the game works. This is the kind of project that HAS to be fun, and you have another 39 maps to develop difficulty anyway.

Also, I don't know how hocus pocus works, but remember that players will be 99% doomers, so everyone will be happy if you let us just hold the fire button. Tapping the fire button so many times gets boring, specially with 4 hit points per enemy.

I hope you don't mind this criticism, I'm only saying all this because I'm really hyped by this project and want to play it :)
And balancing it is so close, anyway.


One last little nitpick: monsters have some black borders that don't really match the other visual style, I'm no graphic artist, but I think it would look better with other colors instead of black. I made a test with the gargoyle:


Again, hope you don't mind these suggestions and wish you good luck with this project, looking forward to play it!

[Shadow Hog]

Darch said:

One last little nitpick: monsters have some black borders that don't really match the other visual style, I'm no graphic artist, but I think it would look better with other colors instead of black. I made a test with the gargoyle:
http://i.imgur.com/1TSm7Qi.png

This complaint's more against the original artists than rf`, really. Hocus Pocus had beautiful backdrops, but its sprites all had black borders like that.

Actually, I'd probably recommend keeping that for authenticity's sake, but that's me.

[Salt-Man Z]

Just played through the first 2 levels (and started the third) after downloading and playing the original shareware game for a while. Anyway, this WAD is amazing!

I have no problem with the black-outlined baddies; I think they look adorable! As for the monsters' hit points, I played on easy and thought it felt about perfect. I realize (I think) you're duplicating the hit point levels from the original game, but three dimensions makes it more difficult already, IMO.

A couple of things I hope to see implemented:

• A crystal counter. I didn't see one, which kept me thinking, "Is this the last crystal? What if there's more treasure?"
• Autofire. I realize that one of the powerups does this, but maybe allow a slower autofire by default.
• Some way for autoaim to give enemies priority over destructible walls. There were a couple times where I would start destroying a wall (autofire would be nice here, too) and it would reveal a monster, but my shots would continue to fire at the walls, presumably because they were closer?

I'll say it again: this is absolutely brilliant! Like others have said, I really hope you're able to see this through. Just fantastic work so far!

[Fletcher`]

Obsidian said:

Good grief, 40 levels? Here's hoping you have the dedication to finish them all. Thumbs up! :D

It will be a labor of love.

Darch said:

rf this is looking gorgeous. But, as already said, gameplay seriously needs balancing. You're introducing new mechanics and health system, giving no time to the player to get used to it.

The very first horde has 6 monsters with 4 hit points each (24 in total), against 10 hit points for the player. At the first room of map 01 out of 40? Why? When I gave my first steps out the first scene, I had 2 health points. Didnt find any health inside the castle, either. You could start with 1 hit point monsters. The visuals and music are so good that nobody will mind to start just wondering around a bit, killing easy monsters and figuring out how the game works. This is the kind of project that HAS to be fun, and you have another 39 maps to develop difficulty anyway.

I may revamp that map to be a little more lenient in the beginning. I realize that many monsters at once is a bit much to start out for someone who never played it--then again the original game was not always that forgiving either.

Also, I don't know how hocus pocus works, but remember that players will be 99% doomers, so everyone will be happy if you let us just hold the fire button. Tapping the fire button so many times gets boring, specially with 4 hit points per enemy.

I'd have to completely rework the weapons, given that you're supposed to find more lightning upgrades in order to fire faster. I had to compensate given the original game only let you fire one shot per screen, plus any extra powerups you got.

I hope you don't mind this criticism, I'm only saying all this because I'm really hyped by this project and want to play it :)
And balancing it is so close, anyway.

No problem! Helpful criticism should help me make this better!

One last little nitpick: monsters have some black borders that don't really match the other visual style, I'm no graphic artist, but I think it would look better with other colors instead of black.

As someone else pointed out, that was an art decision held over from the original game. Besides, it helps them stand out better from the rest of the map.

Salt-Man Z said:

• A crystal counter. I didn't see one, which kept me thinking, "Is this the last crystal? What if there's more treasure?"

The main hud has a crystal counter. I forgot to add one to the fullscreen one. I honestly don't know what to do about the ALThud though.

• Autofire. I realize that one of the powerups does this, but maybe allow a slower autofire by default.

I'm not sure how I want to approach this given what I just said earlier.

• Some way for autoaim to give enemies priority over destructible walls. There were a couple times where I would start destroying a wall (autofire would be nice here, too) and it would reveal a monster, but my shots would continue to fire at the walls, presumably because they were closer?

I'm wondering if making all shots slightly homing, or have a larger radius will help with this? Also giving breakable blocks +NEVERTARGET to prevent them from being homed in on? I'm not entirely sure how that flag works to be honest.

[Doomkid]

I hope you continue with that labor, because this looks damn fun, and verrrrry interesting for a Doom mod - I'm really looking forward to this one!

[Gez]

rf` said:

The main hud has a crystal counter. I forgot to add one to the fullscreen one. I honestly don't know what to do about the ALThud though.

Give them the +COUNTITEM flag and they'll be taken care of by the built-in item counter.

[Fletcher`]

Gez said:

Give them the +COUNTITEM flag and they'll be taken care of by the built-in item counter.

I could do that since regular treasure isn't counted with it.

[Gez]

You could also use the built-in score system by making treasure scoreitems.

[Suitepee]

My livestream channel moderator used to love this game, and I've briefly played a bit of Hocus Pocus myself, so I might end up playing the finished version of this wad. I'll certainly keep my eye on this one, 40 levels and all! Looks interesting to see Doom so....colourful and bright.

[FireFish]

Those screenshots look amazing.
But i cant but feel a bit odd about those old-school realistic hexen style hands going up against the cartoon style enemies.

This must be tedious mod to build and complete.

[Salt-Man Z]

FireFish said:

Those screenshots look amazing.
But i cant but feel a bit odd about those old-school realistic hexen style hands going up against the cartoon style enemies.

It does look a little goofy in the screencaps, but in-game I think it actually looks just right.

[Shadow Hog]

I dunno, Hocus was supposed to be a late-teens/early-20s guy, as I recall, so seeing hands so veiny that they make him look like a 60-year-old strikes me as a bit off.

[Fletcher`]

I haven't really had a chance to change the hands yet. If anyone is willing to 'youthify' them, let me know. :P

[Acid]

Wooooah, I remember these screenshots floating from the Doom General PYP thread from a while ago. Definitely have to try this out, amazing job so far!

[kmxexii]

Just wanted to say that this looks totally badass and I loved me some Hocus Pocus back in the day. Thank you for this blatant nostalgia trip <3

[MajorRawne]

Never heard of this game, but your mod looks amazing. A couple of points:

1. What's the point of introducing high-hitpoint monsters on the hardest difficulty, then providing power-ups to overcome them? You may as well just use more monsters with the normal hitpoints, or introduce higher tier monsters sooner.

2. Consider this an opportunity to fix common complaints about the original game, not replicate them. I can't imagine that many people want games with 1980s difficulty (i.e. cheap with a steep curve). Provide a gradual introduction with a decent learning/difficulty curve. Bring people into it, don't turn them away.

[Clonehunter]

Darch said:

One last little nitpick: monsters have some black borders that don't really match the other visual style, I'm no graphic artist, but I think it would look better with other colors instead of black. I made a test with the gargoyle:

I actually thought the black borders added a bit of flavor to the design. Even if that's how they always were, it's actually a fairly fitting style choice, imo.