Back to Saturn X Episode 2 is out of beta! (v1.0.1 Aug 13, 2020)

[Pixel Fiend]

Don't know what caused Bethesda Port of BTSX to have different map names but I hope they aren't final for those wads because this is a TERRIBLE change. I like all Back To Saturn X map names more or less and none of those present in the Bethesda Port, which are consistently bad. I mean, how do you rename "Beneath A Festering Moon" final mission into "Angry Science"? Come on

Edited December 4, 2020 by <<Rewind

[dmslr]

Because legality. Doomwiki:

Quote

Song and album titles from Guided by Voices provide the title, episode names, and map names. Titles and song lyrics are incorporated into the text screens as well.

 

[Pixel Fiend]

Oh I can already see some good GBV titles for Episode 3 then.

[Xaser]

Basically that. We had to pick different names for maps for that release because Legal Concerns(tm) -- it's also why you only ever see the project referred to by the acronym "BTSX" in that version of the wad.

 

re: MAP26, "Angry Science" is the name of the music that accompanies the map, and it more or less fit so we went with that. Also, it's a great title. :P

[dmslr]

On 12/4/2020 at 9:18 PM, Xaser said:

Angry Science

I freaking love this track!

[Dimon12321]

Put a like if you're still waiting for patch 1.02.

[A_D_M_E_R_A_L]

2 out of 4 Viles are stuck in this closet and never come out. (M19)

Edited March 6, 2021 by A_D_M_E_R_A_L

[Andromeda]

28 minutes ago, A_D_M_E_R_A_L said:

2 out of 4 Viles are stuck in this closet and never come out. (M19)

Should be fixed already in the next version, as far as I know.

Edited March 6, 2021 by Andromeda

[almostmatt1]

I don't know if this is known about, and I don't know if you'd care enough to do anything about it (I also don't know if this is the right place to report this), but it's possible to get stuck on map 31. Here's a video example. Skip to about 1:45. 

 

[esselfortium]

3 hours ago, almostmatt1 said:

I don't know if this is known about, and I don't know if you'd care enough to do anything about it (I also don't know if this is the right place to report this), but it's possible to get stuck on map 31. Here's a video example. Skip to about 1:45. 

 

Oh my, lol...

Thanks for the report! Unfortunately those vanilla floor-raise-and-crush specials are fairly jank, and don't actually kill you if you have enough health. One of the weirder oversights among the line specials. Without using the crushing type, though, the setup breaks in other ways (because monsters get in the way of it). I'm not sure if this bug is fixable.

[Gez]

Does the trick of splitting the crusher into several sectors work, so that they all apply crushing damage for a multiplicative effect?

[almostmatt1]

You're welcome! I almost didn't mention it because I figured it was quite unlikely to happen to anyone accidentally while playing... but then I realised that that's exactly what happened to me and was how I found it, haha. :)

 

[UnknDoomer]

Stylistically more diverse episode, compare to first one, some of the levels of which convey the atmosphere of Heretic / Hexen, such as, for example, M2, or play on the theme of lost cities in general (M3 / M18, Mayan-style cities).

 

Settings and other:

 

* GzDoom.

* Complex Doom.

* The second episode has 27 levels. 1 secret and 4 are hubs.

* Difficulty - "Ultra-Violence".

* E2M4 - Dirty Water. A maze map with a significant shortage of ammo.

* E2M5, E2M11, E2M16, E2M23 - small hub maps without opponents and secrets. E2M27 is a stub level, also known as an epilogue.

 

Secret level.

 

The exit to E2M31 is on the large and complex map E2M15. You need to do 3 steps.

 

1. Find the 3 keys that are also required to access the main exit.

2. Find and click 3 secret platforms. 1 in the southwest behind the waterfall, 1 in the southeast of the main exit where the lift is. When the lift goes down a small platform also goes down. It is necessary to stop the elevator once so that the platform stays a little longer at the bottom and then you can have time to go down. I did not remember the location of the third platform, but most likely it is similar to the first / is easily found along the way.

 

 

The secret exit itself is located in the southeast of the map and is pretty heavily guarded.

 

Pros:

 

+ Technogenic style is replaced by an equally remarkable underwater city.

+ As before a good soundtrack.

+ The atmosphere of mysticism on hub maps.

 

 

+ E2M1 - Shadow Port. The level resembles BioShock by its start.

 

 

+ E2M2 - Underwater Explosions. In addition to beautiful views, the map is notable for a large number of barrels, which are often grouped in 3 pieces.

+ E2M6 - Useless Inventions. Those who have missed urban landscapes and warehouses in particular will find this map interesting. With some skill you can find a secret with a red key on it... but I could not find what it potentially opens.

+ E2M7. Speed map referring to the buildings of the Aztecs.

+ E2M12. Demons Are Real.

+ E2M22. Bite.

+ E2M31. Fire King Says No Cheating. Slaughter map with 1400+ enemies. Among them there are about 10+ cyber-demons, 40+ archives for a start. Based on the playful name of the level and at first glance it may seem that it is not passable, but it is not. After entering the map it is enough to hide in one of the stairwells where enemies will practically not reach you and then you can start methodically cleaning the map, combining it with the strategy of attacking demons some of their own kind.

 

 

Among the remarkable moments is a trap towards the end of the map - in a kind of pagoda there will be 200+ imps mixed with a small number of archwiles.

 

 

In the next room, if you are playing with Complex Doom, I recommend using the grenade launcher in the indicated location before pulling the switch. This will greatly simplify the subsequent battle.

 

 

The final battle is the hardest one. There are no shelters. Using invisibility and provoking the nearest 3 cyberdemons to attack nearby enemies you can break through directly and, ignoring other enemies, make a circle, picking up a sphere along the way. Next you can try to maneuver for some time at the starting point with the cyberdemons, so that the next location is cleared by cacodemons from mancubuses and spiders in the towers, thereby making it safer to find. Then you can switch the panel at the end. It opens a passage to the center of the oval, where another pack of demons awaits. The three original cyberdemons will generally stay within their small area. In Complex Doom one may end up flying at the exit, which can create some difficulties. As the inner part is cleaned you can take on the cyberdemons. The switch above the oval will provoke the appearance of the last wave of opponents where, among other things, 2 cyberdemons will again enter the place.

 

Contras:

 

- The regular bias into rather tough battles in small confined spaces with the participation of, among other things, archwiles and cyberdemons, will not be to the liking of supporters of more "meditative" gameplay.

Edited March 23, 2021 by UnknDoomer

[Deadwing]

I'm at map 20 so far and loving it.

 

It's an improvement in every sense from the first episode, with more variated maps, environments and the gameplay is more engaging, being a little more harder than episode 1 and more focused in setpieces.

 

I was expecting to see "too much archvilles" from the complaints I've read, but every battle has been so engaging that I don't see that as a problem lol I love archvilles 

 

Some maps can be a bit too long, but these are few and helps pace well the whole journey, usually having a greater exploratory feeling which I enjoy a lot too.

 

Can't wait to have the resource pack released after episode 3 is done so I can try to create some stuff for fun :D

Edited March 23, 2021 by Deadwing

[baja blast rd.]

E2M22: "Bite" 

Chomp. 

[dew]

On 3/11/2021 at 12:56 PM, Gez said:

Does the trick of splitting the crusher into several sectors work, so that they all apply crushing damage for a multiplicative effect?

Hmm, could work... unless VPO curse strikes, heh.

[esselfortium]

18 minutes ago, dew said:

Hmm, could work... unless VPO curse strikes, heh.

(shaking head sadly)

[Z.Franz]

Ok so, it's not exactly a bug so I don't know if it is relevant, but I have a problem that happens only with BTSX2.

 

I'm running GzDoom g3.3.0 on 320x200 scaling on software renderer (actual resolution is 1366x760). It works fine in emulating the Vanilla Doom look while also allowing me to play more complex mods. For some reason however, when I run this mod (and only this mod) a few line of pixels on the weapon sprites get stretched (like double width). Now, I'm familiar with how the scaling works on a conceptual level, but the problem only exists with this mod.
I took a quick look inside the wad files but couldn't find anything that could cause this to happen.
What could be causing this?

[KVELLER]

I just finished playing this and loved it! My personal favorite was MAP22, I really liked the spooky atmosphere. MAP26 was pretty cool too. As for levels (or level, I should say) I didn't like, I thought MAP15 was a nightmare to navigate, but most of the fights were fun at least. Oh yeah, that Archvile-centric level a la Plutonia was fantastic (and I don't like those enemies at all!) and the hub map was incredibly atmospheric.

 

I'll stop now before I start a borderline uncomprehensible rambling about how much fun I had.

 

EDIT: I don't want to double post, so I'll just say here something I remembered: I spent like 20 minutes running around MAP25 without knowing what to do beacuse I missed the fact that these are, in fact, doors!

 

Spoiler

 

 

They should definitely have some light on them or something. When I saw them I just assumed they were decorated walls. I did have the Computer Area Map, but it's still easy to miss stuff like that in big maps.

Edited March 27, 2021 by KVELLER

[L0l1nd3r]

Ripped the midi tracks with Slade, ran them through fluidsynth piped into ffmpeg to get normalized 24-bit flac files. Now I can listen to the music anywhere.

[Dimon12321]

2 hours ago, L0l1nd3r said:

Ripped the midi tracks with Slade, ran them through fluidsynth piped into ffmpeg to get normalized 24-bit flac files. Now I can listen to the music anywhere.

Isn't it easier to just use a MIDI-oriented converter, like Keppy's MIDI converter? Set a soundfont and a midi - and there you go. No ffmpeg butthurt with commands, yet full soundfont utilization.

Edited June 11, 2021 by Dimon12321

[Bytefyre]

Hey there!  Any update on when the next (hopefully final!) patch version will be available widely?  I know decino got an advanced copy of it for his YouTube playthrough, and there are a bunch of runners (myself included) who are chomping at the bit to start routing and recording demos for these maps once everything is finalized.

[Hitboi]

In Map 26: Beneath a Festering Moon, I got the invulnerability in the secret area, teleported to the area near the big portal, and a fight supposed (I assume) to happen after I get it, but it didn't, I watched some playthroughs and still don't get how to make the fight happen (and raise the lift near the big portal), tried going to the secret area again, still no fight.
Played Map 26 in PRBoom+ UM, using complevel 2.

Also, amazing tunes from Mystproj, Angry Science and Depth Charge!

Edited October 23, 2021 by Hitboi

[Lila Feuer]

Where am I going in MAP06? Can't figure out how to get the keys or progress anywhere else for that matter, I'm on the Switch version.

 

E: Did NOT see those boxes, they blend right in, that you need to climb.

Edited December 10, 2021 by Lila Feuer

[Darch]

Don't know if bugfixing is still going on, but in case it is: there's a Cacodemon stuck in a Pain Elemental on E2M12, Skill level 3. Looks kind of cool, tho.

Fantastic mapset, by the way!  

[Gregor]

I don't know where else to put this and i guess this is the appropriate place for it: I came across this tiny, little HOM on Map 09: Adverse Wind. It's right next to the door leading to the final area of the map. It's really no big deal; in fact i don't think anyone would ever notice it. I only caught it myself because I accidentally still had the HOM detection toggled on in DSDA from several days earlier, and while I was leaning against the wall for cover, this little red line suddenly appeared out of nowhere. When I toggled the HOM detection off, even knowing where it is, it's barely noticeable.

 

I think this is actually kinda cool. Like i found a special hidden secret. ;)

 

[Llednar]

Since this thread got bumped, might as well ask.
Does anyone know, why DSDA still doesn't have a category for BTSX E2? Is the current version still not considered final, even after 2 years?

[Andromeda]

5 minutes ago, Llednar said:

Since this thread got bumped, might as well ask.
Does anyone know, why DSDA still doesn't have a category for BTSX E2? Is the current version still not considered final, even after 2 years?

An update was promised shortly after release, but it hasn't arrived yet.

[Bytefyre]

A small consideration for the final release:  inclusion of a COMPLVL lump that would automatically force -cl 2 in DSDA-Doom.  That way, anyone recording demos wouldn't have to explicitly define the complevel as a command-line parameter.