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Good Quake maps

Biscotti

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Absolutely stunning map. There is no mapping community more talented and skilled at their craft than the Quake mapping community.
 

Durandal

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May 13, 2015
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New Eden
My team has the sexiest and deadliest waifus you can recruit.
I forgot, does Quake allow you to switch directions mid-jump?
No, though you can strafe to a limited extent while mid-air, and holding Back while mid-air cancels all your forward momentum, which is really useful to precisely land on platforms instead of overshooting them.
 

Twiglard

Poland Stronk
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Strap Yourselves In Codex Year of the Donut
I forgot, does Quake allow you to switch directions mid-jump?
No, though you can strafe to a limited extent while mid-air, and holding Back while mid-air cancels all your forward momentum, which is really useful to precisely land on platforms instead of overshooting them.

Not true, with bunny-hopping you turn arbitrarily, moving the momentum you had in other direction.
 

LESS T_T

Arcane
Joined
Oct 5, 2012
Messages
13,582
Codex 2014

This is out: https://store-uk.nin.com/products/quake-vinyl

And fuck Bethesda:

*NOTE
WE DESIGNED THIS REISSUE TO INCLUDE A BOOKLET CONTAINING ESSAYS FROM ID SOFTWARE’S JOHN CARMACK AND AMERICAN MCGEE. A CERTAIN UNNAMED VIDEO GAME PUBLISHER MADE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO INCLUDE THIS IN THE PACKAGE, SO PLEASE HONOR THEIR WISHES BY NOT CLICKING HERE TO EVEN SEE THE ESSAYS OR HERE TO PRINT THE BOOKLET OUT FOR YOURSELF.

JOHN CARMACK AND AMERICAN MCGEE REFLECT ON THE MAKING OF QUAKE AND HOW NINE INCH NAILS HELPED DEFINE THE MODERN VIDEO GAME SOUNDTRACK

QUAKE_essay_collage_pixelated_web.jpg


AMERICAN MCGEE:

IN HINDSIGHT IT MAKES SENSE. A GROUP OF TECHNO WIZARDS WORKING TO OPEN THE DIGITAL GATES TO HELL FROM WITHIN SUITE 666 OF A NONDESCRIPT OFFICE BUILDING IN MESQUITE, TEXAS END UP COLLABORATING WITH A BAND OF DIGITAL MAESTROS OCCUPYING AN OLD FUNERAL HOME 500 MILES AWAY IN NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA. OF COURSE A NAIL GUN WOULD BE INVENTED SO THAT THE NINE INCH NAILS “NIN” LOGO COULD BE PLASTERED ON AN AMMO BOX FULL OF NAILS.

WE WERE ALL CHANNELING AN INTENSITY, DYSFUNCTION, RAGE, EXCITEMENT, AND CREATIVITY WHICH PERFECTLY MESHED IN THE FINAL PRODUCT. THERE REALLY COULDN’T HAVE BEEN A BETTER SOUNDTRACK FOR THOSE DAYS OF FAST CARS, VIOLENT DEATHMATCHES (BOTH IN THE GAMES AND IN REAL LIFE), UNBRIDLED EXPRESSIONS OF INTELLIGENCE, EGO, MASCULINITY, CURIOSITY, AND DISCOVERY.

THE MUSIC, SOUNDS, VISUALS, PERSONALITIES, AND TECHNOLOGIES MERGED ALMOST PERFECTLY.

IT ALL STARTED WITH A FAX. THAT ANACHRONISTIC PRECURSOR TO THE DIGITAL WAVE UPON WHICH OUR GAMES AND MUSIC RODE INTO THE ‘90S. “NINE INCH NAILS IS COMING TO DALLAS AND THE DEVELOPERS AT ID SOFTWARE ARE INVITED TO THE SHOW.” THE ID OFFICES WERE FREQUENT STAGE TO TRENT’S MUSIC. JOHN AND I WOULD TAKE TURNS BLASTING PRETTY HATE MACHINE ALONGSIDE COHORTS SUCH AS MANSON, MEAT BEAT MANIFESTO, AND DEPECHE MODE. BUT THERE WAS SOMETHING SPECIAL ABOUT NIN’S MUSIC WHICH EVEN BEFORE THE INVITE WE KNEW TO MESH WITH WHAT WE WERE DEVELOPING.

“THEM BOYS NEED TO TAKE THEIR RITALIN,” MUTTERED THE CLEANING GUY AS HE SWEPT UP PILES OF BROKEN AUDIO AND VIDEO CARDS FROM THE FLOOR OUTSIDE DAVE TAYLOR’S OFFICE. MYSELF, JOHN ROMERO, AND SEAN GREEN, HAD JUST FINISHED A ROUND OF “PC CARD NINJA” – FLINGING DISCARDED COMPUTER EQUIPMENT AT A SHEET-ROCK WALL UNTIL A HOLE LARGE ENOUGH TO FIT A HEAD THROUGH HAD BEEN MADE. THE GAME STOPPED WHEN A FLYING VIDEO CARD NEARLY DECAPITATED DAVE.

AT THE SHOW IN DOWNTOWN DALLAS WE WERE OUT OF OUR ELEMENT. GEEKS IN THE MOSH-PIT. BUT WE KNEW AND LOVED THE MUSIC AND WERE EXCITED TO MEET TRENT FOR THE FIRST TIME. COMING BACKSTAGE HE WAS KIND AND HUMBLE. WE WERE FANS. HE WAS A FAN. WE DID AN AWKWARD ROUND OF “LOVE YOUR WORK”AND PROMISED TO FIND A WAY TO CONTINUE TALKING ABOUT GAMES AND MUSIC. AT THAT MOMENT I ALREADY HAD A SENSE WE WOULD WORK TOGETHER AND RETURNED TO THE ID STUDIO FULL OF ENERGY AND EXCITEMENT.

THE FIRST TRIP TO NEW ORLEANS WAS, LIKE ALL THE REST, SURREAL. PICKED UP AT THE AIRPORT BY CHRIS “PODBOY” VRENNA IN HIS VOLKSWAGEN CABRIOLET. WHISKED THROUGH THE STREETS OF THE GARDEN DISTRICT TOWARDS THE NOTHING STUDIOS ON MAGAZINE STREET. “ANNE RICE LIVES THERE,” SAID CHRIS AS WE PASSED VICTORIAN MANSION. “AND THAT’S TRENT’S PLACE,” AS HE POINTED AT A NEOCLASSICAL MANSION.

THE STUDIO WAS A FUN-HOUSE LIKE SOMETHING RUN BY A DERANGED WILLY WONKA. FILLED TO THE BRIM WITH EVERY IMAGINABLE ELECTRONIC MUSIC TOY AND TOOL. THERE WERE A RAGTAG COLLECTION OF COLLABORATORS AND BANDS IN LEAGUE WITH THE NIN CREW. CHARLIE CLOUSER, JEORDIE WHITE (TWIGGY RAMIREZ), AND MANSON MATERIALIZED WILLY-NILLY IN THE LABYRINTHINE CORRIDORS OF THE BUILDING COMPLEX. “WORK” ON THE SOUNDS AND MUSIC FOR QUAKE CONSISTED OF DAILY REVIEW OF NEWLY PRODUCED SOUND EFFECTS BY THE HUNDREDS, A BREAK TO WATCH SUPER-DEVIANT PORN UNTIL SOMEONE WRETCHED, THE PRODUCTION OF CHILD-LIKE ANTHEMS AND MINI MUSICAL BITS TO BE BROADCAST AROUND THE STUDIO FOR THE AMUSEMENT OF ALL, SWAMP TOURS, CAJUN FOOD, AND MARATHON BAR HOPPING ACROSS THE WATERING HOLES OF THE FRENCH QUARTER. MANY AN INSANE NIGHT ENDED AT CHECKPOINT CHARLIE’S.

”DO YOU WANT A LINE?” SEEMED AN ODD QUESTION FROM THE GIRL WHO’D JUST EXITED THE BATHROOM IN FRONT OF ME. “UH…” I WALKED BACK TO THE BAR. “I THINK THAT GIRL JUST OFFERED ME COCAINE.” TO MY SIDE SOMEONE SPOKE IN A “DADDY KNOWS BEST” VOICE. “LISTEN, AMERICAN. DRUGS ARE BAD. COKE IS BAD.” MUFFLED LAUGHTER FROM THE GROUP. “YOU GUYS ARE FULL OF SHIT,” I OBSERVED. EVERYONE LAUGHED.

THOSE VISITS TO NEW ORLEANS RESULTED IN A COLLECTION OF SOUND EFFECTS AND MUSIC WHICH LIVED OUT ON THE EDGE OF WHAT COULD BE DONE WITH ORGANIC AND MEATY SOUNDS IN THOSE EARLY DAYS OF DIGITAL MUSIC. IN MUCH THE SAME WAY THE DOOM AND QUAKE GAMES PUSHED THE BOUNDARIES OF WHAT THE TECHNOLOGY WAS CAPABLE OF TO RENDER PIXELS REPRESENTING THE DARKEST DEPTHS OF HORROR AND PAIN. EARLIER GAMES AND MUSIC LACKED THE FIDELITY TO MOVE YOU EMOTIONALLY IN THE WAY QUAKE AND ITS SOUNDSCAPE DID. AND LATER OFFERINGS BECAME ALMOST TOO LITERAL, TOO SHINY, TOO REAL.

IN THE DIRTY, FUZZY OUTPUT FROM ID AND NIN WAS SOMETHING PERCEIVED AS SHARPER AND MORE REAL THAN THE INDIVIDUAL BITS. IT REQUIRED YOUR BRAIN TO WORK AND TO FILL IN THE SPACES WITH IMAGINED SHADOWS AND BARELY HEARD WHISPERS BEHIND A MAELSTROM OF CHAINSAW BUZZES AND FLYING GORE. THE OVERT SATANIC TONES GAVE WAY TO A DARK HUMOR ONLY ACHIEVED BY THOSE WHO ARE STRUGGLING IN THE ABYSS WITH NOVEL TOOLS TO CREATE SOMETHING REAL.

AFTER QUAKE AND QUAKE II ID BEGAN TO CHANGE. THE OLD GUARD WERE SLOWLY REPLACED BY A NEW CREW. THE CONNECTION TO THE GRIT OF WHAT MADE QUAKE AND THE COLLABORATION WITH NINE INCH NAILS SO GREAT WAS LOST. THE INTERNAL, PERSONAL STRUGGLES THAT LENT ENERGY TO THE CREATIVITY WAS SUPPLANTED BY A CORPORATE MENTALITY OF SCHEDULES, DESIGNS, DEADLINES, AND GUIDELINES. RULES WERE IMPOSED. THE CHAOS WAS REPLACED BY ORDER.

BUT THIS SOUNDTRACK REMAINS AS A REMINDER OF THOSE MESSY DAYS OF INVENTION AND EXPLORATION.

Dhs030_AmericanMcGeefeb27_web-1.jpg


AMERICAN MCGEE AT ID SOFTWARE IN 1995 — PHOTO: IAN MAPLESON



JOHN CARMACK:

FOR A LONG TIME, COMPUTER GAMES WERE THE DOMAIN OF THE SHUT IN GEEK. THE REQUIRED EFFORT OF IMAGINATION TO BELIEVE THAT THE LITTLE COLLECTION OF DOTS MOVING AROUND THE SCREEN WAS ACTUALLY A MIGHTY HERO OR TERRIFYING MONSTER MADE IT EASY FOR MOST PEOPLE TO DISMISS THE MEDIUM.

BUT THEN CAME DOOM.

SUDDENLY, THE BROADER WORLD WAS SEEING SOMETHING THAT MADE AN IMPACT, EVEN IF YOU DIDN’T UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS GOING ON. THE VIOLENCE AND DEMONIC IMAGERY FROM A FIRST PERSON VIEW WAS KEY TO THE EXPERIENCE, BUT IT WASN’T COMPLETELY COINCIDENTAL THAT IT DID A PRETTY GOOD JOB OF OFFENDING THE EASILY OFFENDED. WE GOT TO SEE CONGRESSIONAL OUTRAGE TACK FROM EXPLICIT SONG LYRICS TO VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES, WITH SENATORS WAVING COPIES OF OUR GAMES AROUND ON TELEVISION.

THE SUCCESS OF THE GAME LED TO SOME SURPRISING PLACES, INCLUDING PICKING UP BACK STAGE PASSES LABELED “DOOM” AT THE WILL-CALL WINDOW FOR A NINE INCH NAILS CONCERT.

THE MEDIA HERALDED US AS ROCK STAR GAME DEVELOPERS, AND WE DID HAVE SOME OF THE INDULGENT TRAPPINGS OF GREAT SUCCESS AT A YOUNG AGE, BUT THERE WE WERE TALKING ABOUT GAMES WITH TRENT REZNOR, WHICH REALLY IS A DIFFERENT SORT OF THING.

IT WAS GREAT TO MEET TRENT AND TALK ABOUT OUR WORK, BUT WHAT IF WE COULD ACTUALLY INVOLVE HIM DIRECTLY IN QUAKE, THE NEXT BIG PROJECT? THAT WOULD BE AWESOME!

HE AGREED.

THE NEW LIGHTING AND LEVEL DESIGN CAPABILITIES WERE LEADING US IN A DIRECTION EVEN MORE DARK AND MOODY THAN DOOM, AND YOU COULD SAY WE WERE ALREADY INSPIRED BY THE NINE INCH NAILS CDS IN HEAVY ROTATION AT THE OFFICE.

WHILE IT IS AMUSING TO IMAGINE TRENT COMPOSING MUSIC FOR THE CHINTZY FM SYNTH SOUND CARDS OF THE DAY, WE HAD A NEW TOOL AVAILABLE TO US WITH THE ADVENT OF CD ROM DRIVES – WE COULD RUN FULL QUALITY MUSIC IN THE BACKGROUND WHILE THE GAME PLAYED. LEGAL COMPLICATIONS PREVENTED THE USE OF ANY VOCALS, BUT THERE WAS A WIDE OPEN FIELD FOR BUILDING THE SOUNDSCAPE OF THE GAME.

OVER THE COURSE OF A YEAR, AMERICAN MCGEE REPEATEDLY MADE THE TRIP DOWN TO NEW ORLEANS TO WORK WITH TRENT AND HIS CREW AS THEY DOVE INTO SOUND EFFECT CREATION AS WELL AS THE BACKGROUND AUDIO. THERE WASN’T ANY REAL THEMATIC ARC TO THE GAME, SO WE HAD THE FREEDOM TO MIX AND MATCH THE COMPOSITIONS WITH WHICHEVER LEVELS JUST FELT RIGHT.

AS A FINAL TOUCH, WE HAD “NAIL GUN” AND “SUPER NAIL GUN” WEAPONS IN THE GAME, SO WITH ONE MORE CHECK OF THE LAWYERS, WE ALSO WOUND UP WITH A NIN LOGO ON THE IN-GAME AMMO BOXES.

QUAKE TURNED OUT TO BE A VERY DIFFICULT PROJECT TO SHIP, DUE TO BOTH SCOPE AMBITION AND INTERNAL ISSUES – THE ROCK STAR GAME DEVELOPERS BROKE UP AT THE END OF IT WITH THE EXIT OF CO-FOUNDER JOHN ROMERO. STILL, BY ALMOST EVERYONE’S ACCOUNT, IT IS AMONG THE MOST INFLUENTIAL GAMES EVER MADE, AND IT WAS A FORMATIVE EXPERIENCE FOR A GREAT MANY OF THE DEVELOPERS BUILDING THE HITS OF TODAY.

SEVERAL YEARS AND GAMES PASSED, AND ID SOFTWARE EVENTUALLY TURNED OUR ATTENTION BACK TO DOOM. THIS LED TO THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY. TRENT WAS EXCITED TO WORK WITH US AGAIN ON AUDIO, AND ACTUALLY PRODUCED HUNDREDS OF MEGS OF SOUND FOR THE PROJECT BEFORE IT ALL FELL APART IN NEGOTIATIONS WITH HIS THEN-MANAGER. EVERYONE CAME OUT OF IT BURNED.

AFTER OVER TWENTY YEARS MAKING GAMES AT ID SOFTWARE, I MOVED ON TO WORK ON VIRTUAL REALITY AT OCULUS. IN AN ODD BIT OF SYNCHRONICITY, NOT LONG AFTER TRENT SCORED THE SOCIAL NETWORK, FACEBOOK ACQUIRED OCULUS.

ON THE LAST NINE INCH NAILS TOUR THROUGH DALLAS, AN INVITATION WAS AGAIN EXTENDED TO MY TEAM, AND I CARRIED AN EARLY PROTOTYPE VR HEADSET BACKSTAGE, WHERE I ENTHUSED ABOUT THE EXCITING POTENTIAL OF VIRTUAL REALITY FOR ALL SORTS OF CREATIVE EXPERIENCES. OUR TWO BRAND NEW ENGINEERS WERE LEFT WIDE-EYED: WORK HARD, BUILD THE FUTURE – AND MEET ROCK STARS!

I’M STILL HOPING TO SOMEDAY GET TRENT INVOLVED IN BUILDING A SEMINAL VIRTUAL REALITY EXPERIENCE THAT WILL LEAVE A MARK ON PEOPLE. MAYBE THERE WILL BE ANOTHER GENERATION OF RETROSPECTIVE LINER NOTES WHEN WE ARE BOTH PUSHING SEVENTY.

qdev-7_web2.jpg


JOHN CARMACK AT ID SOFTWARE IN 1995 — PHOTO: JOHN ROMERO


One of the glorious Quake screenshots from the booklet, in the same resolution people played at that time!

CsGJ8sM.png
 

Wunderbar

Arcane
Joined
Nov 15, 2015
Messages
8,817

Stormcrowfleet

Aeon & Star Interactive
Developer
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Sep 23, 2009
Messages
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It's my personal opinion that all FPS level designer out there (and dare I say ALL level designer) should play Quake, Quake wads and build at least a couple of Quake before going and making shitty maps*

*except for people that have been designing other kind of maps for years or decades like dungeon masters, etc.
 

luj1

You're all shills
Vatnik
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Jan 2, 2016
Messages
13,294
Location
Eastern block

prengle

Savant
Joined
Oct 31, 2016
Messages
356
And fuck Bethesda:

*NOTE
WE DESIGNED THIS REISSUE TO INCLUDE A BOOKLET CONTAINING ESSAYS FROM ID SOFTWARE’S JOHN CARMACK AND AMERICAN MCGEE. A CERTAIN UNNAMED VIDEO GAME PUBLISHER MADE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO INCLUDE THIS IN THE PACKAGE, SO PLEASE HONOR THEIR WISHES BY NOT CLICKING HERE TO EVEN SEE THE ESSAYS OR HERE TO PRINT THE BOOKLET OUT FOR YOURSELF.
lol and it turns out the microsoft-zenimax acquisition was announced days after this petty bullshit was publicized, so i guess this really is the last unimaginably shitty thing bethesda/zenimax will ever do as a private corp - the icing on top of the shit sundae ;_;
 

Riskbreaker

Guest
Both of these look sub par
Dwell contains some quite impressive maps, you would surely revise your opinion after playing it. The maps by Pinchy and VoidForce are particularly worthwhile, the former reminded me of Tronyn's 'Nyarlathotep'.

As for 'Raven Keep', it is more of a curiosity I guess, but the scripting and architecture of the central map are impressive for the work that went into them even if their visuals don't do much for me. And it plays alright, with a fair bit of optional exploration. Sif and Maria are happily located on a secret map which most folks will miss, so I guess that is a plus.

there is something (some light sources maybe?) in this map that kills the framerate. I had no problem with the whole Arcane Dimensions.
Edit: To be fair, it only happened in a couple of places for now; I'm still enjoying it.
I had this happen to me in the central castle, around that throne hall. The framerate dropped to single digits for a bit and then it normalized all of a sudden, whatever caused it certainly wasn't immediately visible. It happened once more when loading an autosave.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

robinox

Educated
Joined
Mar 28, 2020
Messages
65
[...]
there is something (some light sources maybe?) in this map that kills the framerate. I had no problem with the whole Arcane Dimensions.
Edit: To be fair, it only happened in a couple of places for now; I'm still enjoying it.
I had this happen to me in the central castle, around that throne hall. The framerate dropped to single digits for a bit and then it normalized all of a sudden, whatever caused it certainly wasn't immediately visible. It happened once more when loading an autosave.
Yeah it happens here and there.
 

Baron Dupek

Arcane
Joined
Jul 23, 2013
Messages
1,870,825
I also got framerate issue with RavenKeep, had to use -heapsize 524288 in bat file. Beside different look and tweaked weapons there is nothing more to say, cetrainly in good way. There are better sources of inspiration than nuFROM games.
 

schru

Arcane
Joined
Feb 27, 2015
Messages
1,132
Regarding the recently released sound track remastering, LGR has uploaded a video about it with some track samples:

 

Wunderbar

Arcane
Joined
Nov 15, 2015
Messages
8,817
https://www.moddb.com/games/quake/downloads/arcane-dimensions-v180

New version has been released.

What started out as just a small update eventually turned into a giant collection of new features, a couple of new maps and some new game play modes to enjoy vanilla ID content with. It has been a very long two years of development and probably should have been released in smaller chunks, because the new feature list reads more like a novel than a quick note!

The preferred client for Arcane Dimensions is Quakespasm-spiked as it retains the original feel of the game and offers plenty of Quality of Life enhancements, like unlocked frame rate, better network support and advanced particles. As always Arcane Dimensions will work with many different engines and simply adapts to what engine features are offered.

Arcane Dimensions now comes with custom HUDs, which does not not sound like much of a big deal, however Quake engines have typically not allowed any modifications. The new HUDs only work with advanced engines (QSS / FTE / DP) and are enabled by default. To change the HUD style or switch them off, please refer to the quake.rc (text file) for further details.
 

Baron Dupek

Arcane
Joined
Jul 23, 2013
Messages
1,870,825
https://www.moddb.com/games/quake/downloads/arcane-dimensions-v180

New version has been released.

What started out as just a small update eventually turned into a giant collection of new features, a couple of new maps and some new game play modes to enjoy vanilla ID content with. It has been a very long two years of development and probably should have been released in smaller chunks, because the new feature list reads more like a novel than a quick note!

The preferred client for Arcane Dimensions is Quakespasm-spiked as it retains the original feel of the game and offers plenty of Quality of Life enhancements, like unlocked frame rate, better network support and advanced particles. As always Arcane Dimensions will work with many different engines and simply adapts to what engine features are offered.

Arcane Dimensions now comes with custom HUDs, which does not not sound like much of a big deal, however Quake engines have typically not allowed any modifications. The new HUDs only work with advanced engines (QSS / FTE / DP) and are enabled by default. To change the HUD style or switch them off, please refer to the quake.rc (text file) for further details.

nice, still have old saves

one of the new maps
 

Sjukob

Arcane
Joined
Jul 3, 2015
Messages
2,060
Anyone played that?

Guise, another new episode!
https://www.quaddicted.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=4108#p4108

This community is sure becoming incredibly productive as of late.


So I've played both of those. EoE was good, but nothing outstanding, except for the secret level, which was crammed with intense action, I loved it, some creative encounters in later levels, and the boss battle in the end, which was rather difficult. Fine set of maps, good visuals, solid gameplay, don't know why it wasn't built around AD, but whatever.

Dwell is different. It comes with an in-built copper mod, which brings a bunch of gameplay changes, some of them of cool, others I outright dislike. You can read about it here, but I will give you some examples myself:
  1. Armor quality degrades as you take damage, I strongly disagree with this;
  2. Super shotgun is less accurate, super nailgun has spread now. I dislike these changes the most, to me it seems like a dumb and lazy way to make less powerful weapons more viable. In the end I can't help but feel like I'm just wasting ammo by using SSG and SNG, unless I'm shooting targets with massive hurtboxes, like vores, shamblers or ogres;
  3. Ring of shadows makes monsters attack and whiff their attacks randomly, the accuracy offset is really big, so it's very helpful, not like in Doom where partial invisibility screws you over;
  4. Invincibility makes you truly invincible, your armor doesn't get damaged if you get hit while the power up is active, very nice;
  5. Enforcers have received a massive boost to their fire rate. This one is interesting, because originally enforcers were just slightly tougher cannon fodder, now they are more of a glass cannon type of enemy;
  6. Nightmare skill reduces your max HP to 50. I think this is a much more interesting mechanic than whatever vanilla nightmare offers.
The maps come with a good variety, although ancient egypt is the dominant theme. One of the main ideas of Dwell is the ever spreading corruption, so you will see some pulsating flesh, living structures, rivers of blood and some other nasty stuff during your playthrough. Aside from the first two maps, the soundtrack consists of the very depressing ambience, fits Quake, but pretty often I was catching myself thinking that I would've preffered something more lively, closer to Doom midis from various custom maps.

The gameplay has a good flow to it, but if you don't come back to get respawning ammo pick ups you will find yourself ammo starved, also not finding secrets may leave you handicapped in certain situations, on higher difficulties at least, but I guess it's fair. The pre-final map - Darkstar Triumvirate is kind of a clusterfuck at the first glance, you can go anywhere and get teleported to random places, but it becomes very manageable after you spend some time to learn it, generally there are a lot of opportunities to break the intended flow by rocket jumping in the last two maps, but I guess it's part of the fun. There are some annoying vore encounters closer to the end of the episode, but nothing too crazy, I generally hate vores (worst fucking thing in Quake) and think they are terribly designed. When I played Dwell for the first time I kind of struggled, but then I replayed it and couldn't believe that I was having trouble beating it, it's not a difficult map set, but some things do require you to get used to them. There are no new monsters or weapons (except for the boss and his minions, they were taken from dissolution of eternity expansion, there are also mummies from the same expansion, but they are just a reskin of the zombies), at least I haven't found them although the description on quaddicted says that Dwell adds some new toys to your arsenal. Well, I found over 90% of all secrets in the episode but no new weapons, so unless the new stuff is super-secretive there just isn't any.

I've seen some people talking about how end boss is hard, but I disagree. The battle isn't hard, you just have to play it safe. Don't try and spam the boss to death, he summons 5 waves of monsters and the summoning triggers when you deal enough damage to him, so don't hurry, trigger one wave, wipe it out, replenish your health, ammo and armor (it constantly respawns) and then beat the boss until he summons another wave, repeat 5 times. The boss himself doesn't really do anything, he just throws vore projectiles at you, but since he's doing it constantly they stack up in a big claster and can deal a lot of damage to you if you happen to get stuck in the monsters or stumble into some obstacle, luckily it's very easy to reset their count, just use one of the teleports on the sides of the arena, the projectiles will just hit the platform the boss stands on, it won't damage him, but at least you won't get punished as much for making a mistake. I beat that fight on the second attempt, I even recorded a video showcasing the process. It's a pretty long battle I must say, I think 5 waves is too much, 3 would've been enough. In the end I found end boss from Epochs of Enmity to be much more of a pain in the ass than this.


I liked Dwell a lot, looking forward to play future episodes when they get released. Guys, I'm ignorant of what happens in Quake community and have no clue about cool projects that get released, so I would be glad if you keep highlighting good stuff for me in this thread, thanks.

Some screenshot dump:

Epochs of Enmity
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Dwell
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