[Submission] Probjectile

Info:
Name: Probjectile
Class: 6
Type: Hitscan, Railgun
Palette: Doom
Summon: Probjectile
Ammunition Type: RadioTagCell1 (custom), RadioTagCell2 (Custom)
AltFire: Yes
Powered States: No
Added States: No
Precompiled ACS: Yes
LOADACS: Yes
ACS Source: Yes

Description:
This little railgun pistol may not pack much of a punch, but it lets you see enemy stats. Alt fire shoots a weaker slug at a faster fire rate.

Credits:
Submitted: Ultimate Freedoomer
Ammo Decorate: Ultimate Freedoomer
Weapon Decorate: Vanilla Doom pistol decorate, modified by Ultimate Freedoomer
ACS Source: Ultimate Freedoomer
LOADACS: Ultimate Freedoomer
Precompiled ACS: Ultimate Freedoomer
Weapon Pickup Sprite: ZDoom pistol pickup sprite pre-v2.8, modified by Ultimate Freedoomer
Small Ammo Pickup Sprite: Freedoom v0.10.1 small energy recharge pickup sprite, modified by Ultimate Freedoomer
Large Ammo Pickup Sprite: Freedoom v0.10.1 large energy recharge pickup sprite, modified by Ultimate Freedoomer
All Other Sprites: Freedoom v0.10.1 Pistol, modified by Ultimate Freedoomer
Sounds: Freedoom Polaric Energy Cannon, modified by Ultimate Freedoomer
Idea base: Probjectile from the Doom Bible
World Sprite:
View Sprite:
Download:

When I try to run it, I get the following error:

Script error, "Probjectile.zip:probjectile.wad:DECORATE" line 30:
Expected ')', got ','.

You need to update your ZDoom/GZDoom.

Well, it doesn't work with the most recent version of ZDoom, which I think needs to be disclosed in the info. (It DOES work with the most recent official version of GZDoom, though, but man, this build SUCKS. I think I'm going to revert after testing this out.)

As for functionality, I think the "scan" effect is interesting, but speed value doesn't look to be calculated correctly, as it doesn't match the actual speed of the monster you point it at. (I think this is because the variable to hold the speed is on the same line as the variable for HP, with no semicolon to separate them.) Reaction Time also doesn't seem to be reported correctly; it shows as "0" for all stock Doom monsters, for example (the default is "8", and most Doom monsters aren't modified from that). Also, the scan effect continues to display, even after switching to a different weapon--the ACS is only checking if the weapon is in your inventory, and not if it's actually in-use.

The attack itself doesn't do anything for me. For starters, I'm not sure a handgun with a fixed damage of 10 points merits using a rail attack. Second, you can't hear the custom sounds, since the railgun sound takes priority. On top of that, the alt-fire is kind of pointlessly weak, and can also be used if you're out of ammo (at least, by holding down the fire button as ammo depletes). Since the main function of the weapon is its scan ability, I'd recommend against a secondary fire--it feels unnecessary. I'd work on polishing up the primary attack.

The shots also don't leave a decal.

MagicWazard wrote: It DOES work with the most recent official version of GZDoom, though, but man, this build SUCKS.

If you're having issues with it, then report them.

Blue Shadow wrote:

MagicWazard wrote: It DOES work with the most recent official version of GZDoom, though, but man, this build SUCKS.

If you're having issues with it, then report them.

I know how to report issues. I will first have to see if they haven't been reported already, or for that matter, been addressed in a debug build (which may have very well happened, as I didn't even know they rolled out a new build so quickly until last night).


Anyhoo, back to the original topic, one thing I forgot to mention is that I don't care for the pickup sprite in use. It doesn't really match the style of the first-person sprites. (Same problem it had when it was the ZDoom Pistol sprite.) It's not a bad sprite in and of itself, but its revolver-y appearance doesn't really match the semiautomatic appearance of the first-person sprites. (Which also, in and of themselves, don't scream "scan pistol" to me, but get the job done.)

About the read-out thing... I don't know, I don't feel it belongs. I find it to be a strange feature for a weapon to have.

MagicWazard wrote: ..., but speed value doesn't look to be calculated correctly, as it doesn't match the actual speed of the monster you point it at. (I think this is because the variable to hold the speed is on the same line as the variable for HP, with no semicolon to separate them.)

The speed is being cast as an integer when printed, which is wrong. Speed is float/fixed, so it should be cast as such.

This is an interesting idea, but like Blue Shadow said, the monster information that is displayed on the screen looks a bit out of place. It seems like it would be used more for a hud mod of some form rather than a single weapon. I'm not entirely sold on the rail attack that is being used here either.

I have to agree that the secondary attack doesn't entirely make sense. I was able to hold down the alt-fire button and stun lock a demon in place, which made it unable to retaliate.

Well:

• The whole "readout stays when you switch to another weapon" thing was intentional. The altfire being usable without ammo, however, was not.
• I implemented the readout the way I did so it'd work with the ALTHUD & so you'd have access to it when you don't have access to the gun.
• No idea why the reaction time doesn't register right. If someone could look at the ACS for me to see what's causing that, that would help.
• Originally it fired plasma balls. I changed it to a railgun because I couldn't think of another way to implement it without it being redundant (That, & the only Railgun on the repository is the Skulltag Railgun)
• I used Freedoom's sprites because I suck at (& am really OCD when it comes to the smoothness of) spriting.
• It's the size of a pistol. Of course it's gonna be pretty weak for a Railgun. Besides, if you look at the alpha HUD icons from the actual game, that's what the probjectile looked like.

Also, how does the RNG work in regards to rail attacks?

Ultimate Freedoomer wrote: The whole "readout stays when you switch to another weapon" thing was intentional.

Well, I'd say "permanent" readout would be a more appropriate behavior for an inventory item then. Having the script continually run as long as the weapon is in your inventory makes actually using the weapon as a weapon somewhat irrelevant, especially since it's not a particularly strong weapon anyways. (And what if the user finds the readout distracting? They'll have no way to turn it off short of removing the weapon from their inventory.)

Ultimate Freedoomer wrote: No idea why the reaction time doesn't register right. If someone could look at the ACS for me to see what's causing that, that would help.

The ACS looks OK to me, but I'm wondering if it's perhaps related to what Blue Shadow pointed out about the Speed value--I think ReactionTime might also be a float/fixed point value, like Speed, since it's measured in 1/35 of a second. I don't have any way to say for sure if that's the problem, though; Blue Shadow might be able to say if that's correct or not.

Ultimate Freedoomer wrote: I used Freedoom's sprites because I suck at (& am really OCD when it comes to the smoothness of) spriting.

It's the size of a pistol. Of course it's gonna be pretty weak for a Railgun. Besides, if you look at the alpha HUD icons from the actual game, that's what the probjectile looked like.

To clarify, I didn't necessarily have a problem with using a rail attack function for a pistol. My main concern is that it has an awful lot of particle effects for a 10-damage pistol shot, what with having full-density rings and core. I'd eliminate the ring, and reduce the density of the core. Even then, though, I'm not sure a 10-damage bullet would warrant the overpenetration of a rail attack function, but I'd be willing to chalk that up to personal preference.

Also, I don't necessarily mind the Freedoom sprites for the first-person weapon; I'm just saying that the ZDoom/Skulltag-derived pickup sprite doesn't match the first-person sprites well, what with the first-person sprites being an automatic pistol, and the pickup sprite being more of a revolver.

Ultimate Freedoomer wrote: Also, how does the RNG work in regards to rail attacks?

You just have to come up with a custom damage formula of your own, since the rail attack doesn't use have an option for randomization. So instead of putting "10" for damage, you could instead, for example, put "Random (1, 5) * 3" to simulate the damage of the regular Pistol (which averages 10, with some shots doing more or less).