Topic: Omens: PTMC Vesta Covert Facility

[Hunter]

Omens: PTMC Vesta Covert Facility

So over the the past few weeks I've been putting together a new singleplayer (and multiplayer co-op) level for Descent 3 that will feature new enemies and weapons from OVERLOAD, re-created with permission from Revival Productions. This is something of a combination project that brings back an old level idea with a new set of mods together.  Statistically, OMENS is one of the largest Descent 3 levels ever built - if not the largest ever built - but from a physical size perspective it's probably about the 3rd or 4th largest after some of the Outrage levels. To wet your appetite, here are some screenshots:















The level will feature the following:

* A handful of new robots based on OVERLOAD, including several variations of each
* 12 weapons from OVERLOAD
* Two entirely new boss robots
* A custom soundtrack from Jerry Berlongieri and much more!

Omens brings a kind of classic Descent style back into Descent 3 with slow, bulky and tough enemies. It gets pretty hard on the higher difficulties.

I cannot make any promises, but the level is nearly complete and ready to ship, so expect to see it this month!

Edit: Released!

The level is now available!

Grab it at Descent 3 Sector: https://sectorgame.com/d3/downloads/?nav=display&file=880
Or at MODDB: https://www.moddb.com/mods/omens

[Scyphi]

A custom soundtrack from Jerry Berlongieri

Now, how the hay did you rope that? Not that I'm complaining, of course. 

Also...two boss bots for just one level? Must be a heck of a level.

[-<WillyP>-]

Sounds like a most awesome project!

[Hunter]

Yes, two bosses, but one is more of a mini-boss. I haven't decided which one is harder on an individual basis, but the final boss room should be a challenge for all but the hardiest of pilots.

[Hunter]

The level is now available!

Grab it at Descent 3 Sector: https://sectorgame.com/d3/downloads/?nav=display&file=880
Or at MODDB: https://www.moddb.com/mods/omens

Fair warning: You may need up to 2 hours to play through the entire level, if you want to find everything! Savegames do *not* work.

You may need the GOG version to play this. I fixed a bug and re-uploaded the level  - simply DL again

[Hunter]

Based on feedback I've received it would seem the level is too dark. I think this is likely due to my monitors being exceedingly bright, so it didn't seem all that dark to me. I will be increasing the ambient brightness and making a few other small tweaks.

[D2Disciple]

Tried to start playing this on my laptop, but since D3 plays like junk with a M&K, and I keep getting graphics glitches and annoying pop-up notifications from my driver utility every time it tries to switch resolutions, I'm probably going to have to wait until I can take a crack at it on my older desktop with a joystick.

That said, early impressions are extremely positive... I find a lot of mods tend to have a less-than-endearing "modness" to them that clearly outs them as something non-professional. This looks and feels positively superb and polished, like an official add-on mission. And with Jerry laying down the beats... It kindof is.  Can't wait. To play through the whole thing when I get the chance.

[Hunter]

Thanks!

The patched version has been uploaded. Download the level again to get the changes.

[Hunter]

The soundtrack is now available for download: https://sectorgame.com/descentfiles/download/dXBsb2Fkcy9NdXNpYyUyMCUyNiUyMFNvdW5kJTIwRWZmZWN0cy9GYW5tYWRlJTIwTXVzaWMvSmVycnklMjBCZXJsb25naWVyaSUyMC0lMjBPbWVucyUyMCUyOFBUTUMlMjBWZXN0YSUyMENvdmVydCUyMEZhY2lsaXR5JTI5Lm1wMw==/h/230bd50e87edf56cc4e156bc69849448

or stream:

! No longer available

I probably could've added this to the community album if I'd of thought of it. 

[Kaiaatzl]

You'd have needed to prove to me you had Jerry's permission, and I'd have vastly preferred if he was the one to submit, but yeah.
You know what it reminds me of is the extra music tracks for Trackmania 2's platform mode.

[Scyphi]

Realized I never said, but I did download and play this sometime back. Fun level! Sadly, it also reminded me about just how old D3's getting. Not as young and spry as it once was, D3.

[Hunter]

I'd never have used Jerry's music without permission, and this is something he actually provided for the project. He's also fine with the track being available for download, but alas it's not necessary to include it in the community album now.

Realized I never said, but I did download and play this sometime back. Fun level! Sadly, it also reminded me about just how old D3's getting. Not as young and spry as it once was, D3.

Yeah it was painfully obvious when working on it too - so much stuff had to be tweaked because I'd forgotten how cranky D3 was. I'm glad I got it working well for CO-OP though, it's been played quite a bit by that XPs guy and some others.

[Scyphi]

It doesn't help that we have more modern games like Overload to compare D3 with and see just how old the game's gotten. 

It's been getting a chore to get it to run stably on modern systems, too. I fear the day's going to come soon that I won't be able to get it run at all anymore, not without third-party modification, something I also worry nobody's in a hurry to come up with. Especially since D3's source code never did get released.

...I wonder if the guys at Revival still have a copy of that lying around...I wonder if they also have to get Interplay's permission first to release it...

[Hunter]

D3 certainly could use some tweaks for newcomers at least. As it stands right now it's very difficult for a new player to get running. An update to the renderers, menus, FOV options and such would be great. It runs great on Linux (WINE) but you still have to fiddle about with command lines to get a good showing from the game.

It had a good run for itself though - It may look dated compared to Overload but the D3 engine has stood the test of time quite well. Overload is a fantastic game but it lacks the features that D3 had (20 year gap not withstanding): such as a sophisticated scripting engine, extensive modding support and diverse multiplayer modes.

Edit:  And I'm always tempted to keep making things for D3 because I enjoy the fulfillment it brings, I just don't know if it's really worth it at this very late stage.

[Pumo]

The only thing D3 engine needs are mainly graphical updates, and some changes on ship movement and mechanics (specially with mouse, as it's such a pain in the ass as it currently is), and less screen resolution jumps! (as Hunter said, revamped menus, automap, hud, etc)

The engine is still pretty good, just imagine what you could do with it if you add high-poly 3D models and modern texture mapping and lighting effects (normal maps, reflection effects, etc)