ZDoom Wars Birthday Week Finale: Virus Unit Reveal, and 2.9 new stuff

The Virus faction will gain the Shield Drone

 Cost: 8/2 Health: 300

 Attack: Ranged Damage: N/A Role: Support/Defense
Shield Drones are, on their own, near completely harmless. However, when used in support of other units, they become an important part of an advance. The Shield Drone constantly attracts the attention of enemies and absorbs damage so its lighter armored comrades can survive longer. It will also occasionally let loose a short range, prolonged wave of projectiles that will block incoming fire, set off explosive projectiles early, or stop charging units.

The Shield Drone is unlocked alongside Greater Prisms, and will hopefully give Virus some added punch in a siege or big brawl.


As for ZDWars 2.9, there are many balance changes to accompany the inevitable paradigm shifts that will be brought about by the new units. Some of these have been covered before, but I'll go over the high points again:

-The F1 help screen has been updated with some more info, and the url to reach the documentation.

-C-375's height code has been made much more solid by evilspacetomato, and there is also an altitude indicator for Virus players. The max flight height is 384 units.

-Despair Canyon's slime will now dispose of monsters that fall in it, as will the water below the bridge in Valley (no more deathpit!)

-Da Void's funky skybox now works, and parts of it have been made more accessible and flow better.

-Yes, that sector in Something Epic is fixed (so says Damage :P ).

-Cyberdemon price raised from 130/115 to 140/125.

-Spider Masterminds have been slightly reworked so they are better at spraying multiple units. Try e'm out.

-Pain Elementals and Archviles will now try to keep a distance from the foe.

-Enchant has an increased radius, and Enchanted units are immune to radius damage from other enchanted units.

-Crusaders are now much cheaper.

-Normal Crusader's missiles now have a slight homing ability, so they are useful at extreme ranges.

-pre-upgraded Sniper Templars are now much cheaper.

-Stalkers had a width reduction.

-The Programmer will attempt to keep a short distance from foes.

-The chance of repair drone resurrection has been increased.

-The Commonus Split upgrade now effects spores spawned from Meteors as well.

-Common flemoids were given a slight buff.

-Flem spore spawning has been altered some, and the spores are more likely to create Bipeds or Larva now.

-Spores were given a slight buff.

-Air Carriers were buffed.

-Virus units are now immune to the death explosions from other Virus units.

And quite a few bug fixes. It's gonna be pretty sweet, even aside from the new units. We'll see what new strategies pop up.

ZDoom Wars Birthday Week: Chex Quest Unit Reveal

The Chex Quest Faction will gain the Slime Carrier

Cost : 30/8 Health: 600

Attack: Ranged Damage: N/A Role: Support/Shock

As the flemoids encounter the forces of other dimensions, they adapt and grow. In response to fortresses, the flemoids have created a new slime-form.

The Slime Carrier acts as a sort of troop carrier for the flemoids. Unlike other air units, it must be spawned on the ground, where it will undergo a period during which it is inactive while in synthesizes the fuel it uses to float, and grows its batch of flem spores. Upon activation, the carrier rockets a short distance into the air, and is awakened. When closing to within a short distance of the foe, the Slime Carrier unleashes its payload, rocketing around violently as it deflates. The ensuing swathe of flem spores (and even some resurrection slime) can break a battle line or swamp a garrison, or simply be used as an instant army. As the Slime Carrier loses health, its payload decreases, and if killed before beginning to unload, it has no effect.

ZDWars Birthday Week: Strife Unit Reveal

The Strife Faction will gain the Order Turret

Cost: 10/4 Health: 225
Attack: Ranged Damage: High Role: Defense/Skirmish
Burst firing and deadly. At least they can't chase you.
Order Turrets are sentry units, effective in combat at short distances, where they fire a burst of bullets that deals heavy damage. As they fire, they emit glowing beams that point to their target, alerting the Commander of the enemy presence. They have an incredibly quick reaction time as well, so don't expect to sneak past them. Not good if you want to stay hidden. Order turrets do not block other monsters, or players, and can hit ghosts.

Again, no surprise here (hopefully), though the additional sentry abilities will heighten Strife's siege capacity, and make them additionally effective when inhabiting outposts or establishing forward positions. Your turrets can give you that head start warning while you're busy spawning stacks of Stalkers in a corner. Heed their relatively obnoxious warning! Turrets are unlocekd alongside Reavers.

THE MIND BLOWING AWESOMENESS of the last two units is yet to come!

ZDWars Birthday Week: Hexen Unit Reveal

The Hexen Faction will gain the Stalker 

Cost: 18/5 Health: 200 

Attack: Ranged/Melee Damage: Medium/Medium Role: Skirmish/Shock

Stalkers are aquatic reptiles with huge talons designed to rend their prey into bite-sized morsels, and can fire slime projectiles.

Swamp Stalkers are a particularly effective harassment unit with high endurance. Spending most of their time burrowing, they only emerge to attack, and then quickly dive below the surface again. They are quick and can harass groups of enemies or surprise enemy commanders with ease. Though they cannot be hit most of the time, a Swamp Stalker will quickly perish if caught in a melee.

Of course it's the Stalker, what were you expecting? Mushrooms? REALLY? There's a whole functional, not ridiculous monster floating around, and the friggin' MUSHROOM was one of the theories? Bejeebus.

Anyway, don't spawn him in water, because he'll act as dumb as the next guy. He's unlocked along with Chaos Serpents.

Also, I don't care that it's 3 PM, it's Sunday. Love to all my haters.

ZDWars Birthday Week: Heretic Unit Reveal

The Heretic Faction will gain the Gas Pod

Cost: 25/8 Health: 300/75
Attack: Ranged Damage: High Role: Defense/Shock
These volatile organic pods grow all over the place, making a walk in the park a little hazardous.
Gas Pods are ideal for defense or for containment. Their primary function is to explode upon death, injuring nearby friend or foe. Upon spawning the first “Primogenitor” Pod, it will spawn four lesser pods around it. The Primogenitor Pod has more health than the pods it makes, and is larger. When alert to enemies, the Primogenitor Pod will attempt to spawn another pod nearby every eight seconds when an enemy is visible, up to 20 over its lifetime. This time span can be interrupted if the pod is hurt. The Primogenitor pod is immune to splash damage, but the lesser pods are not, so chain reactions can result. All Pods are immobile, but can easily be pushed.

So, Heretic receives a solidly siege or defense focused unit. A lot of times, Heretics hordes can fall short in a pitched melee against an Enchanted Hexen force or a Flemoid horde without its elite units, who themselves aren't as tough as other factions elites. So, when you unlock Ophidians, another unit useful for defensive purposes, you also gain the Gas Pod. Heretic operates on a middling level with high numbers and some decent artillery, but sometimes need an extra bang.

The Gas Pod is that literal extra bang. Upon the instance of its spawn, it's not that dangerous. In an open area, it's not that dangerous. The Pod will require finesse to use, as the Pod Field will draw fire from the foe. Still, when given a bit of view and the time that it takes an approaching army to reach your defenses, a pair or trio of Primogenitor pods can construct a disruptive defense that can break groups of enemies or shatter momentum, allowing Heretics units to use their speed to fill in the gap and rout the foe. Pods can also be interesting as traps, both for enemy monsters and an unlucky player, whom can be crippled by a chain reaction.

ZDWars Birthday Week: Doom Unit Reveal

The Doom Faction will gain the Lost Soul

Cost: 3 Health: 70

Attack: Ranged Damage: Low Role: Brawler/Meatshield
Dumb. Tough. Flies. On fire. 'Nuff said.
Lost Souls are a cheap air unit which attacks by charging their foe. Useful for soaking up damage and pinning down enemy formations, Lost Souls have a relatively accurate charge when at medium ranges, but may miss from too far away. Lost Souls spawned by the player are tougher and larger than those spawned by a Pain Elemental, and lack their suppression and KaBoom vulnerabilities. Lost Souls are vulnerable to snipers.

Many folks saw this one from a mile off, both because it fit my criteria, and because it was clear in the picture. And there are some of those people who think that spawning Lost Souls would be lame, presumably based on the fact that it could be seen as redundant or unexciting.
However, you will note that when a Pain Elemental spawns the Souls, they are weaker, and you can't decide where they are spawned. Direct control over Lost Soul spawning also allows having Lost Souls without having a Pain Elemental, which still fits the Pain Elemental's role as a Support unit: It supports both your army, and your spawning efforts.
Lost Souls will be unlocked alongside imps, chaingunners, and pinky demons, giving Doom a varied second tier, as well as a cheap, albeit unconventional, air unit. Lost Souls can be used to unlock Cacodemons, just like imps can.

ZDWars Birthday Week

On July 1st, ZDoom Wars will have been in development for exactly two years. So that sets the date for version 2.9 for July 1.

Naturally, I'd want to do something special for the Birthday wad, so today begins ZDWars Birthday Week!

Version 2.9 will contain the normal fixes, balance adjustments, and map maintenance, but there will also be a special add-on. It is my honor to announce to you:

I'm doing this Super Smash Brothers style. Each faction will be receiving a new unit, each of which is featured in the background of this image. Some are obvious by their shape, others can be determined by what has been asked for in the past, and others may be a complete surprise. Each day from here until the 30th, I'll be showing and introducing each new unit in the traditional faction order: Doom, Heretic, Hexen, Strife, Chex Quest, and finally, Virus.

None of these units are particularly elite, and most will be available midway (or earlier) in each tech tree. Each has an interesting behavior and use that will greatly expand each faction's gameplay, and fill in needed strategic weaknesses. Since they're new, don't expect them to come out of the gate well balanced, but do expect there to be a big shift in certain gameplay factors.

Sieges will be changed forever. Field battles and defense will be more devious than before. Some factions will gain special defensive units, others fresh attack units, and one faction even gets a new Support unit. Your old strategies may need adjustment or abandonment, as every single faction is getting a unit that has the potential to change how the game is played.

(Don't expect another monster add-on. Ever.)

Let the speculation begin!

All Server Owners...

Ya'll should change the max connections from a single ip address (sv_maxconnectionsfromip ?) to 4, because I've been trying to LAN party at one of my brother's friend's house.

I mean, I'm just sayin'. Yeeeaaaah.

Optimization

It's a well known fact that ZDoom Wars is ridiculous, by its very nature. So, I'd like to enlist some folks willing to comb through the code and/or propose methods by which ZDoom Wars can be made to run more efficiently.

Supergod quotes ZDWars as currently sucking up about 150 kb per second, per player. I mean, wow.

So, if you know, or are, someone adept at optimization, do tell. Supergod has stated that he personally has no issue with the bandwidth useage, but that, obviously, certain players do. At any rate, it couldn't hurt to make the whole darn thing work smoother.

Every morning at the mine...

...you could see him arrive, he stood six foot six, and weighed two forty-five. Kinda broad at the shoulder an' narrow at the hip, everybody knew you didn't give no lip to Supergod.

There is now a Supergod ZDWars server. Make bets on how long until he flees in horror at the bandwidth consumption.

Anyway, it's called [FR] SuperGod's Server #27 > > Last Man Standing : ZDoom Wars v2.8 < <

Some info on 2.9

There's a decent group of changes coming with 2.9, as well as a couple minor map fixes. Among these things:

-Blazing Colosseum scripts revised to eliminate the double deep and damaging ground bugs, by evilspacetomato.
-Cyberdemon price raised from 130/115 to 140/125.
-All Enchant-able Units are now immune to radius damage coming from other Enchanted units.
-Adjustments to make Crusaders worth your buck, and cost less.
-Stalker width reduced from 30 to 20.
-Some changes in Virus to make it a little more satisfying.

It seems that less changes are being made in more recent versions. Is this because the product is improving? Hopefully.

Damage talks about watching his own porn movie:

<`Damage`> I saw myself getting hit by my own balls.

More with his interview with Barbara Walters tomorrow night on 20/20.

New Dedicated Server

There is now a new ZDWars server, based in America: Demon RiderZ Server (wumbo) #27: -=ZDoom Wars =-