Project Osiris - Alien Breed 3D for GZDoom

[Nobby_UK]

The Brown water was mentioned at the start of the Thread

Don't know anything about CD32 music...

My Icons attached

[honx]

thx! i think, i'll use ab-3d icon!

regarding water, i might suggest making its brown colour optional. in other words, an option to switch water colour between original and brown. in this case the one who want brown can use brown and we others who like the original colour can have original colour. win/win for all.

[honx]

another question, how can i make automap transparent?

[Nobby_UK]

Something like:
Options
Automap
Overlay

[honx]

thx, automap is now transparent.

i still can't get music to work. i copied "CD32 Music fix.pk3" file into osiris-0.9 folder, tried it.
then i created a skins folder within osiris-0.9 and moved that .pk3 file to there, tried again.
then i dragged that .pk3 file onto gzdoom executable, and still no fckng background music!
these were suggestions that guy on youtube gave to me who did a playthrough with music!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...PYKLlSboFCynL3

[honx]

btw. that "CD32 Music fix.pk3" file is only about 23.4mb big.
is this even big enough to contain music tracks for all 16 levels?

[Dunny]

There are only four files in there - you can see them for yourself if you open the .pk3 file as a zip. And no, I can't get them working either

[honx]

and that youtuber i linked to is not able to explain how he got the music working.
and the developer of osiris doesn't read or post in this thread anymore it seems.

[Dunny]

Found the fix on another forum. Put the pk3 file into the root of your Osiris install folder. Then edit the GZDoom-USERNAME.ini file in Notepad, and add this to the bottom of the file:

[Global.Autoload]
Path=$PROGDIR/CD32 Music Fix.pk3

Then save it and run Osiris. Then head into Options, Project Osiris Options (at the bottom of the options page) and turn on CD32 music at the bottom of that page.

[StevenJGore]

Awesome, thank you!

[honx]

it works! thx!

[honx]

in level 15 (cooling tower) some floor textures seem a bit cut, missing two sides, see screensot.
and loading game screen also is missing something. (screenshot 2)

[honx]

i just finished playing alien breed 3d project osiris, now i'm looking for such an remake of alien breed 3d II!

[Dunny]

The author wasn't interested in doing AB3D2, and I'm not sure it can be done in gzDoom anyway - it has per-pixel lighting on the enemies for starters.

I've made a start on Breathless in GZDoom though, and I also have Fears on my radar for later.

[honx]

oh yeah, fears! that's good news!

[Cherno]

Originally Posted by Dunny

The author wasn't interested in doing AB3D2, and I'm not sure it can be done in gzDoom anyway - it has per-pixel lighting on the enemies for starters.
[...]

If you mean the proto-normal maps, for lack of a better word, that make monsters be shaded differently depending on the direction of the nearest light source, then yes, this can be done in GZDom with a fragment shader.

[Twiggy]

Ooh, Fears, that'd be good.

[Nishicorn]

I wanted to do something similar as well - just to see how those AB3D textures would look in higher resolution. However, after examining them, I realized they're a bit lores textures, and you can't really 'go home again', as AB3D in 'more hires graphics' will always remain a dream belonging in the past.

In any case, one can't probably get the same 'feel' that one got from playing the game originally back in the day, while dreaming about higher resolution (and the patch that never came). I wish I could get my hands on the concept pics though, they were pretty cool - the sequel was such a disappointment due to many factors, especially the bad FOV that felt way too 'zoomed in', which made you feel claustrophobic and annoyed.

A couple of points about your project - I want to appreciate the hard work and low-level tinkering that must have gone into it, that's real dedication that only an Amiga can inspire..

However, there are some flaws in attempthing something like this. Even Quake engine isn't adequate to faithfully convert the AB3D levels, and because AB3D engine uses real, or at least 'seemingly real' 3D, while Doom engine does not, you CAN'T reproduce crucial, amazing things that made AB3D better than Doom, like the bridges, where you can stand in the same spot in two different heights.

So using a Doom engine is a failure, when even Quake engine can't quite replicate the AB3D's complicated, three-dimensional and massive levels.

Another thing is, you are not using the original textures, but some kind of 'interpretation', as you can see even from the screenshots, the colors have been washed out. Your game is very colorless compared to Alien Breed 3D - and the color was one of the great things that made it so atmospheric, it was so fine-tuned to perfection (accidentally or intentionally).

I have also downloaded these 'wrong textures', and while they look structurally sound, the colors are all wrong - just compare the texture colors on a real Amiga and the textures floating around in the internet - the real AB3D will always show you more color than these textures.

It might've been better to either try to mimic the colors from AB3D by eye, or just take enough screenshots and then look at what exact colors exist, and re-colorize those textures that way.

But in the end, as the textures are kind of small and simplistic, perhaps it would've been better to just re-draw everything from scratch by hand, and while you're at it, make fully your own game that doesn't destroy the memory of an old Amiga classic that has a more capable engine than Doom can muster, and more beauty and color in the textures, and thus more and better atmosphere.

Also, there's the 'imagination factor' - when you can just plainly -see everything-, it diminishes the immersion somewhat, because your imagination is no longer involved.

When you play AB3D on a real Amiga, your imagination is always trying to render what it thinks a 'hires version' might look like, even sub-consciously, while you are playing.

AB3D had masterfully designed levels, but in some places, it gets really confusing and claustrophobic (bad game level design at some points), so your imagination actually gets more active here, too.

If you take imagination, color and the bridges ouf of the equation, it's not really AB3D anymore.

Since you admitted you couldn't quite replicate the levels, so it's 'its own thing' anyway, why not just make it fully its own thing, instead of this odd half-breed (no pun intended)?

EDIT: Without testing, I read that people debate about water being brown (what the .. why?), and this reminds me - Doom's water-effect is ALSO completely primitive and inadequate compared to the massively impressive (at the time), real-looking, 'background-altering', transparent water-effect that you just can't replicate with Doom engine. I wonder if even Quake could do it (Quake's original water effect is completely wrong and illogical anyway - the 'waving' should only happen on the surface, not inside water itself - only when you look THROUGH the surface, should anything look wavy)

Maybe it's best to leave those magnificent classics with superior effects, colors, 3D and level design untouched, so we can all appreciate their original glory, none of which can be converted or brought over to the 'Doom side'.

What kind of wonderful, completely NEW game you could've created, had you not tried to rob from the classics or cling to the past..(and thus cheaply exploiting name recognition like the most crappy Ocean license games just to bring more attention to your project than might otherwise happened).. now we'll never know.

[Havie]

Harsh comments mate. When I play it brings back happy memories for me (and others). Perhaps you have over analysed...

[Dunny]

Originally Posted by Nishicorn

However, there are some flaws in attempthing something like this. Even Quake engine isn't adequate to faithfully convert the AB3D levels, and because AB3D engine uses real, or at least 'seemingly real' 3D, while Doom engine does not, you CAN'T reproduce crucial, amazing things that made AB3D better than Doom, like the bridges, where you can stand in the same spot in two different heights.

EDIT: Without testing, I read that people debate about water being brown (what the .. why?), and this reminds me - Doom's water-effect is ALSO completely primitive and inadequate compared to the massively impressive (at the time), real-looking, 'background-altering', transparent water-effect that you just can't replicate with Doom engine. I wonder if even Quake could do it (Quake's original water effect is completely wrong and illogical anyway - the 'waving' should only happen on the surface, not inside water itself - only when you look THROUGH the surface, should anything look wavy)

Emphasis mine. I think it's safe to say that you're talking utter crap as you haven't even tested it.

Why do you think this has no bridges? Have you any idea whatsoever what capabilities the ZDoom engine actually has?

The point about the water stands currently because it's not been addressed yet. The ZDoom engine can indeed "do the water" via shaders. And it's a very minor point. Your bilge about textures doesn't stand either.