One seemingly random day, I was sitting around doing nothing... when it hit me: The perfect way to make true reloading weapons in Zdoom. It worked like a charm in an example wad I put together, but I thought that a simple demo wad with a single test level would not do the reloading trick any justice... so two weeks later, I brought you this: Zen Dynamics, a Zdoom Revolution.
Zen is a 7-level partial conversion, with 10 new guns, complete with reloading, new baddies, music, textures, you name it. It has some pretty damn memorable moments, particularly in Map04 and Map07, and is not just some quickly thrown together wad.
This wad was originally released on the ZDoom forums, as a "public beta" of sorts, before releasing to the /idgames archive for all you crazy people to enjoy. :P
The initial release only took two weeks to finish, but as always, it was littered with random bugs and such. I released several revisions that fixed said bugs, but I got bored at just fixing minor stuff... so for the fabled 2.0 release, I added several things: a new level, a new weapon, and some story elements and such.
And now, I present you with the Anniversary Edition, packed with tons and tons of new features -- Altfires, Two more new weapons, and a brand-new map, Core Zero, perfect for mass-destruction addicts! :P
Yes, there's a small storyline involved, with the usual stuff like gateways and UAC and such, but the intro does a pretty good job at telling it, IMO. :P
The highlight of the wad is probably the weapons, which are pretty much a first in Zdoom history. Just the combination of advanced weaponry with Zdoom features like ACS and portals (which I know you'll love so much more after you've played Map04).
Either way, it's been way too long since I've released anything memorable, and I guarantee you will not forget this wad. :P Sorry for all the bragging and such, but hey.... it's true. :P
Credits:
SPECIFIC CREDITS:
Maps:
Malcolm Sailor - Mega-huge thanks for msscraps.zip (in the prefabs directory at /idgames). Most of the levels are based on something-or-other from that set. Thanks, man! :P
B. Vanatta - Whatever the B. stands for, does it even matter? Anyway, the base for Map02 was obtained from his Danzig15.wad deathmatch map. Muchas gracias y cosas!
Zero Prophet - A bit of 'ghostwriting' in a couple areas -- he created a the 'background' scenes in two maps: Map08's city skyline and Map03's outdoor fight-scene. Kick ass. :P
Weapons:
NMN - Kickass weapon artist. He's responsible for creating the Assault Rifle. Corrupt Marine - the Dual Plasma SMGs and the fusion cannon are his work. Keep up the insanely awesome work! Scero - He drew the graphics for the Scorcher weapon. Nice work! Shinjanji - He did the hand for the Bloodsphere weapon, which fits perfectly. Good job! Xenophon - Created the awesome bullet casing code, used in the game's bullet weapons. I still can't thank you enough for that! Caligari_78 - Creation of the new and improved bullet puffs. Your name shall live on forever or some such! :P
Monsters:
LilWhiteMouse - The genius behind the Hell's Battery, which is possibly the most awesome enemy ever created! She was also the first one to create the boss health bar script, although I scripted my version myself. Anyway, big huge thanks to her!
Misc. Graphics:
Apothem - Created the menu graphics and such, which kick total ass and such! MasterOFDeath - Put together the DOOMDEFS lighting definitions for use with GZDOOM... I can't believe I forgot about this for 2.5's release. ;P
Bug testers:
Belial - Found LOADS of bugs everywhere, ranging from weapons to maps, and everything in between. Thanks a hell of alot and stuff! Zero Prophet - He's probably played the wad more than anyone else... myself included. Nearly everything in the wad has been bugtested hundreds of times, so muchas gracias, mi amigo! Pika135 - Discovered a strange bug where you could jump through the windows to Map04's supercharge room, therefore getting stuck.
RANDOM CREDITS:
(in no order whatsoever) Randy, Id, Graf Zahl, Grubber, Malcolm Sailor, KronoS, Vegeta, Cory Whittle, Scero, Chilvence, WildWeasel, Chronoteeth, TheDarkArchon, Xenophon, Dron, Edward, NMN, Corrupt_Marine, Maggot_Army, Nanami, Assmaster, Destroyer, Giest118, Pink, Cyber-Menace, QBasicer, BioHazard, GeeDougg, Espi, DD_133, Cyb, Bouncy, Tormentor667, LilWhiteMouse, Quasar, The Ultimate Doomer, Daniel, TeamTNT, Enjay, Shinjanji, Belial, HobbsTiger1, Phobus, Kirby, Biff, HotWax, Carnevil, Russel Pearson, Valve Software, MasterOFDeath, ACE Team Software, Rage, Purple Motion, Acidbox, Timelord, Maelcum, Capcom (for DMC, heh), Ebola, Hyena, Tom_D, Metamidnight, Jazzy, Zandor, B. Vannatta, Speed Racer, my Mom, God, and whoever operates the section of my mind that controls dreams, for that dream I had last night where I beat the crap out of that evil kid I hate so much at school... Okay, a bit off topic, but it was certainly awesome while it lasted. :P
I don't even know why I'm thanking over half of these guys, but oh well. :P
Base:
Most are based off levels found in msscraps.zip, found in the /idgames/prefabs directory. Bigass thanks to Malcom Sailor for the maps and stuff. :P Map02 is based on danzig15.wad, so thanks to B. Vanatta for making that map. :P (Don't worry, both of the textfiles to these wads allowed modified levels and stuff, so try not to complain or anything. :P)
Build time:
As of version 2.5, exactly ONE YEAR. Happy anniversary!
Editor(s) used:
Doom Builder, XWE, Sound Recorder, Paint Shop Pro, Windows Paint, Notepad, Impulse Tracker, and so on and so forth. :P
Bugs:
There is a minor HOM on the outdoor part of Map04, but that's due to the dodgy rendering of the portals and such. Blame Doom's quirky rendering engine. :P Hopefully, you won't even notice it's there. :P
Also, the interior room of Map04's cathedral tends to slow down the game a hell of alot, so I hope you have a fast computer. :P
Running the wad with GZDoom fixes both of these problems, but not the following one...
Due to Map08's complexity, many of the outdoor areas have the infamous 'sky clipping' effect (ie, a portion of sky obscures other structures when it's blocking your view... you'll understand what I mean). Unfortunately, this is impossible to fix without spending days splicing the level and rebuilding EVERYTHING using portal effects, which would be time consuming and slow down the wad like hell on a stick. Sorry for the inconvenience... just blame Zero. :P
