Project Osiris - Alien Breed 3D for GZDoom

[ArcturusDeluxe]

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

Originally Posted by Dunny

The alien AI for the troopers can be gamed - they didn't have as much "activation range" in the Amiga version, I think? I can easily farm them by just popping into a room and then letting them bottleneck into a narrow corridor. On the Amiga I would generally have to get into their room as only the closest would chase me.

Yeah the monsters use Doom's standard A_Chase function, so they tend to make a beeline for you at the moment even if they have ranged attacks, there isn't much else I could do with them without learning ZScript, which would be a bit of an undertaking. A lot of AB3D enemies tend to be less aggressive and hang back more - which I'd like to have represented more in this. Maybe in a future version!

Originally Posted by Dunny

The graphics are very nice indeed, though the rocket launcher needs to fill up the right-hand third of the screen.

The problem with this is, as far as I know, weapons in Doom are rendered from the bottom centre of the screen. There might be a work around using the HUD or something, but I don't know how I'd get this to look good, and I'd have to spend ages drawing massive rocket launcher sprites either way. Honestly, I think the original RL taking up a third of the screen was a bit much anyway. It is always possible that someone could mod this in, though!

Originally Posted by Dunny

Different water colours are interesting, but I think I prefer the light blue of the original. And somehow getting the water refraction animation in there would be just sublime.

I get people are generally going to prefer nice blue water over pooey brown water, but to be fair it is a sewer network and the story texts seem to suggest the water there is meant to be gross.

As for the refraction, I couldn't find a way to do this yet, the water shaders only seem to effect the surface texture and not what's underneath. This is a GZDoom engine thing, so it's probably out of my hands at the moment. I will look into it though as it's something I'd love to add!

Originally Posted by Dunny

Just a thought, but would it be possible to port the AB3D demo disk map too? Possibly as a playable secret level? That really would be the icing on the cake for me (and proper water too).

I did have this thought, I'd also love to get the map from the rolling demo in as well. Not sure if Girvin's tools work with the demo versions, if someone can extract them to a Quake .map, or really all I need is some way of seeing the geometry of the maps from above so I can reference it, I'd gladly convert them. And yeah I put in the green alien in anticipation of doing this, I didn't finish balancing their difficulty or drawing view angles or anything, but feel free to play around with them as you wish.

[d4rk3lf]

Amazing.
Someone finally did it!
And is a conversion I could only dream for.

I like the AI behavior, and I also like the fact that you can pretty easy run out of ammo (I think, more easier then in the original). This is so cool.
I've played with mouse a little, and it's awesome, but for the sake of nostalgia, I switched on cursor keys, and ctrl as a fire.

Question:
Is it possible that we somehow get (at least) first map, as some 3ds, obj, fbx format? I'd like to import it in Unreal, and play with it.
I won't attempt recreating the game, or anything big like that, just one level (even without enemies), I would like to try and see how it would look in modern engines.

Cheers and thank you so much for this gem.

[Glen M]

This looks awesome and I can't wait to try it.

[grond]

Has anyone made this run on linux? My distribution only has a slightly outdated gzdoom and I get some script error on startup. I haven't had time to dig into this.

[Dunny]

Ok, Map 08 - Test Arena Gamma. Where the hell is the green key? I can finish the map, but can't complete it 100%.

[ArcturusDeluxe]

Originally Posted by Dunny

Ok, Map 08 - Test Arena Gamma. Where the hell is the green key? I can finish the map, but can't complete it 100%.

I might have hidden it a bit too well to be honest - the dark U-shaped corridor off the main arena that is blocked in the middle has a secret door. I might edit the map to telegraph it a bit better.

[manossg]

Tried it out and I must say it looks fantastic!

*nudge* Amiga Version? *nudge*

[kriz]

Will it work in the ZDoom engine as well ? http://aminet.net/package/game/shoot/ZDOOM_AGA

[eXeler0]

Originally Posted by kriz

Will it work in the ZDoom engine as well ? http://aminet.net/package/game/shoot/ZDOOM_AGA

Most likely no, its never that easy ;-)
That being said, it could probably be done but that would mean more work and surely some compromises since each of these modernized retro engines have their own set of features and limitations that work with when you do a TC or map..

Just look at the pile of Quake engines out there, the new maps done today always almost rely on modern versions of the engine and will not run at all or very poorly on other/older engines.
I made a Quake map a year ago which did use extended map size,m but other than that I really tried to keep it as close to vanilla as possible (avoiding fancy transparency materials etc) but it still didn't work on any 68k Quake engine port...

[vulture]

Oh man, you've done a great job, thumbs up! Any thought of doing the killing grounds as well in the future?

[no9]

Originally Posted by Bren McGuire

I love this! It'll make me finally play this game

Same here. I liked Gloom on Amiga, but could never force myself to play AB3D/2 for a longer time without being discouraged by that pixels.

This looks interesting.

[ArcturusDeluxe]

Originally Posted by kriz

Will it work in the ZDoom engine as well ? http://aminet.net/package/game/shoot/ZDOOM_AGA

Would probably need a lot of reworking to do it. I've only really taken modern GZDoom features into account and like eXeler0 said a lot of compromises would have to be made. Not impossible though, and if someone else wants to have a go at this, that's cool, I don't really have the time to dedicate to it I'm afraid.

Originally Posted by vulture

Oh man, you've done a great job, thumbs up! Any thought of doing the killing grounds as well in the future?

Gotta be honest, I just don't really like TKG. It's an interesting tech showpiece but not a good game in my opinion. If I did do a project like this it would have to be more of a total reimagining than a straight up port, with new maps and everything. I do think the general idea of a new second episode set on spaceships and then an alien world could be cool, just not the way TKG did it. This isn't an announcement by the way, just vague ideas right now!

[Nobby_UK]

Here's what ZDoom PC said:

[grond]

AB3D with its horrible copper-chunky screen desperately needed this sort of facelift, The Killing Grounds has a more eye pleasing resolution and thus IMO is of lower interest for this sort of project. It's not the legendary type of game that needs a fan project like Half-Life either, it flopped badly due to its exaggerated hardware requirements.

[Dunny]

Originally Posted by grond

AB3D with its horrible copper-chunky screen desperately needed this sort of facelift, The Killing Grounds has a more eye pleasing resolution and thus IMO is of lower interest for this sort of project. It's not the legendary type of game that needs a fan project like Half-Life either, it flopped badly due to its exaggerated hardware requirements.

Agreed with all you said, but it would be nice to get this kind of treatment applied to TKG too, for the complete set.

[Cherno]

Originally Posted by Nobby_UK

Here's what ZDoom PC said:

Download the latest GZDoom version, or use the one packaged with Project Osiris. Your ZDoom(!) version is four years old, it's no wonder it's not compatible

[Nobby_UK]

Originally Posted by Cherno

Download the latest GZDoom version, or use the one packaged with Project Osiris. Your ZDoom(!) version is four years old, it's no wonder it's not compatible

I am using the Full Package

I just dropped the file on my old Zdoom to see the result

[Tsak]

Fantastic work! This is a spot on conversion and manages to capture perfectly the original and expand it in the best way possible. Well done, very impressive stuff!

Here's some (extremely nitpicky) feedback:

-Overal difficulty is great I believe. In general it tends to be a little bit on the hard side but that's fine. I love it! I also love the required ammo management which is in line with the 2d series. You had to be very careful and not waste too much ammo there as well. Someone suggested you should be finding armor sooner. If it doesn't completely break difficulty this could be a nice addition. Especially for tougher parts of the levels, where you tend to die very easilly after a couple enemy shots only. With more inclusion of armor finds and some smart placement, you could also eliminate further the need for backtracking.

-In regards to sound design, the one thing I missed the most is some of the ambient enemy howls that are present in the original. There's a lot silence going on here in general. Another interesting ambient that could be added is some of the noise present in the 2d series that added a lot to the atmoshphere. Not sure how any of the above could be implemented though.

-I found the menu designs a bit blocky and too 8-bit like (same goes for the sfx used). I think you could take cues from earier entries in the series (see f.e. the 'intex' interfaces in the older 2d games). Part of the presentation also (story, stats, levels e.t.c.) could be done in a similar manner.

-I saw various people complaining about the shotgun design. I think it's ok as it stays very true to the original, but could be improved further perhaps. If you stick with this design one tweak you could do is fix the excessive dark outline, especially at the right part. Also make it a little bit thinner maybe.

-Weakest weapon design so far I think is the hand+knife. That could use some extra love.

-I found the plasma weapon a bit underpowered. It's slow as well (both regarding projectile speed and firing rate) and not a very good fit against most enemies, especially hitscan ones. Plus it has this nasty habit of getting wasted in the corners far too easilly. I think this weapon needs some edge in some deparment or some extra balancing cause right now it kinda sticks in between the shotgun and the rifle while being the less handy option from the two.

-The grenade launcher could also be more refined. This weapon was already notoriously innaccurate and clunky in the original game, plus it poses a major threat to the player as well. I think one improvement you could do (other than tweaking the weapon itself) comes in the level design, speciffically in the part where you first pick it up. There should have been a section up ahead where the player could safely shoot and experiment a bit with it's range and how it works, so he gets to know it a bit better. The original level design in there is really bad, the gap is too small and you don't see where the projectile lands and how the weapon behaves. Also the wall part above the gap and the tight corridor behind the player makes it far too easy to die from your own fire. The weapon should have been first introduced in a more safe environment.

Other than the above and in regards to the original AB3D in general, while I love it, I always considered it a huge wasted opportunity. It really doesn't stick to what made the older 2d games so great. First off the overal graphics quality is way beyond average, even for Amiga doom clone standards. The enemy design is terrible, instead of the iconic Giger-esque abominations you get to face in the other games you are pitted against puny red-dogs and green cartoonish alien troopers. In similar fashion the textures used are a mixed bag of ok-ish stuff together with some very bad colour and design choices for others. But what hurts the game the most and departs it from the other episodes in the series imho is the game design itself. Gone is the intex system and credits, gone is the keycard management, the various mission objectives per level, the story elements you found and the hectic shutdown sequences. It could have been much more than the simple barebones doom clone it tried (and kinda failed) to be. Something which this conversion surely rectifies at least

just read this thread and dashed off to download lol , done 1st 2 maps then died lol, but wow what can i say, this is brilliant, many thanks for all your hard work, this is Alien Breed 3D Remastered i think if it was possible this kind of game would sell like hotcakes on today's consoles, obviously licensing and permissions issues aside, could imagine this would sell loads on the Nintendo Switch etc, but probably way to much work to make it happen.

But from what i was expecting to what i got, im blown away, thankyou v much

[cry]

just completed this and had a blast, thank you so much for your hard work Arcturus Deluxe. I honestly have forgotten most of this game from the Amiga but some areas brought that nostalgia back in a big way. loved all the weapons, the grenade launcher was a lot of fun in particular. I especially liked the gib effects when you got a kill, very satisfying. the later levels were more engaging simply due to the increase in enemy numbers, but i enjoyed exploring all the levels (didn't manage to 100% all the secrets tho).