So what's up with all the Build games re-releases?

[674405efbd744voodoo47]

the fact that this is java still weirds me out to no end.

anyway, I'd much prefer a proper eDuke port.

[674405efbd964voodoo47]

speaking of proper eDuke ports, bam, PCExhumed. 2019 was not a bad year for Build games.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6HaMv6FYvE

[674405efbdb7bvoodoo47]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oAgCRGRfLs

surprisingly, it seems like he liked Twin Dragon better than Wanton Destruction. also, 6:38 hell yeah, that's the stuff - I'm still unsure why the grenade launcher is just so much fun in this game.

[674405efbdcdavoodoo47]

yet another abandoned Blood remake demo;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKpusm2MxDI

this one actually looks decent.

[674405efbe0dbCreamy]

yet another abandoned Blood remake demo;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKpusm2MxDI

this one actually looks decent.

Hard disagree. Way too dark, and more lens flares than a J.J Abrams movie.

[674405efbe24avoodoo47]

I didn't say great or perfect (yeah, the lens flares are bleh, the overblown flames as well), but unlike the demo from 2017, this actually looks like it could spawn something that I would be interested in playing.

"serviceable" was perhaps the word I've been looking for.

[674405efbe3ffvoodoo47]

seems like all NBlood builds newer than 1.01 have removed support for texture filtering (and hires sky textures). boo.

The issue is a bit more complex than that since all textures are loaded in to an atlas, the underlying logic on how textures are loaded was thus changed. Filtering as it existed was incompatible with this.
This was done to improve VRAM usage and performance on lower end systems with integrated graphics.

so no more texture filtering for the foreseeable future, it seems.

[674405efbe51avoodoo47]

also confirmed, the NDS PowerSlave(K)EX is going to be based on the PS1/Saturn version, not the pc DOS version. really hope they are not going to omit full mouselook in this one.

[674405efbe785JDoran]

I'm glad NDS's remake is of the console versions, as we can play the PC version perfectly already, via BuildGDX and PCExhumed.

Unfortunately, thanks to NDS's traditionally awful public relations, we customers don't know what consoles, if any, the remake will be ported to. NDS's attitude to customers is all the more unfortunate when you consider that the company occupy a niche position in the gaming industry that appeals to a not too large but very loyal and die-hard demographic, the gamers who love great but old (or obscure) games and want to see those games running on modern systems with a fresh coat of paint and maybe a few quality of life improvements. There is a lot to like about NDS, but their customer relations really sours things.

[674405efbe913voodoo47]

yeeah, the info about console ports has been kind of sketchy, but not sure whether "awful" would be the word I'd use.

anyway, Ion Fury/Maiden is now 50% off on steam, so I'm going to give GOG a couple of days to offer a similar discount, and if they won't, I'll grab it on steam, 10 bucks is a price I'm willing to pay (and risk the game not running properly on my decade old rig). //managed to miss it in the end. ah well, pretty sure GOG will slap a 50% discount on it sooner or later.

[674405efbec96JDoran]

yeeah, the info about console ports has been kind of sketchy, but not sure whether "awful" would be the word I'd use.

Well, I'm judging by the fact that every time I've asked Mr Kick a question, I've received nothing at all by way of reply. That doesn't exactly make me see them as a friendly and approachable company. And though I didn't buy Blood: Fresh Supply (I was really hoping that they would port it to the PS4, but on the PC I use BuildGX with the One Unit Whole Blood collection, which is great) I have seen enough posts by dissatisfied users over the state of BFS, and the (still ongoing, to the best of my knowledge) lack of information regarding when BFS's remaining flaws will be fixed.

[674405efbf054icemann]

Well, I'm judging by the fact that every time I've asked Mr Kick a question, I've received nothing at all by way of reply. That doesn't exactly make me see them as a friendly and approachable company.

Did you "@stephenceo" him on discord? The few times I did that, I often got a response from him. You could try Daniel or Karlee as they usually reply semi quick. If there is an aspect I'd praise NDS on, it's been their communication, with the streams and discord side.

For example last year, I asked him on discord about one of the Tex Murphy games (Overseer) as I was not impressed with their port of that AT ALL. Got a response.

[674405efbf169JDoran]

No, I've never really bothered with Discord much. I might give it a go, though, thanks.

[674405efbf337Join2]

Blood seems to be more popular than other build games these days, which is odd. Total classic but in my opinion Duke 3D > Shadow Warrior > Blood.

[674405efbf4adZylonBane]

No way, Blood is much better than Shadow Warrior. Shadow Warrior isn't bad, but there's nothing really memorable about it.

[674405efbf711voodoo47]

Shadow Warrior isn't bad, but there's nothing really memorable about it.

the grenade launcher.

[674405efbf829ZylonBane]

Don't remember that.

Oh, I remember there was a nuke launcher... that did jack shit against the first boss.

[674405efbf953voodoo47]

yeah. but oh come on.

[674405efbfcceJoin2]

Blood has more memorable set pieces and a very persistent mood, but Shadow Warrior is just the more competent game. Blood has its small but notable share of mediocre levels, half of its enemy roster is questionable, and a few of its weapons too.

Enemies: hand is not fun, gill beast is useless (especially so on land, but they're rarely a problem in water too. Unreal's Slith is an example of how these guys should be -- rather scary in water, stunted but still a threat on land), bunch of non-enemies like rats, bone eels and baby spiders, phantasms are...sure they're invincible for all but a few frames but I don't think one has ever killed me. You would have to be overwhelmed by large groups of enemies or snuck up on w/enemy placement which never happens (they like to scream very loudly also), bloated butchers are slow as fuck and barely a threat, and of course the overused hitscanning bastard cultists. They're decent foes but the game relies on them heavily all throughout and its a step back from the Doom Nukem way. The only actual competent enemies are cultists, cerberus pups, gargoyles and to a much lesser extent axe zombies (they're perfect, since they're low tier melee enemies and fill that role nicely).

Weapons: Aerosol can is mediocre. Voodoo doll lol, Life Leech ammo is super rare and also gone in seconds after which it drains your health just as fast, it's essentially best used as the alt fire turret which is boring, lastly sword >>> pitchfork. Pitchfork is barely even used past the first few levels. Shadow Warrior the only questionable weapon is perhaps the redundant second melee (fists). I suppose the heart that summons a Lo Wang clone is about as boring as Life Leech turret too, perhaps even more so as turret placement is important and it is not as overpowered as a second Wang running around.

Levels: Episode 3, starting with the very first level. Not up to par with the rest of the game at all. Very low detail by comparison, little going on, really quite boring. Level after is a bit better but you have to suffer an ear-piercing air siren throughout half of it. There's a couple later levels in this episode that also stand out and feel like OK fan maps or something. No such problems in Duke and Shadow Warrior. Episode 1 and 2 are great though, for the most part.

"Oh, I remember there was a nuke launcher... that did jack shit against the first boss."

Lies!

[674405efbfe44voodoo47]

also (in Blood) hitscanners are everywhere, and some AIs are bullet sponges to the point the game seems broken. and the bloody keyhunting sometimes, urgh.

anyway, already said pretty much everything I could say about build games (agree that Duke3D>Shadow Warrior>Blood, though it's still pretty close and all are very good).

[674405efc06d5RoSoDude]

I say Duke 3D > Shadow Warrior = Blood. It has the best mix of memorable level design, varied weapons, and highly differentiated enemies. Shadow Warrior gets a lot of points for its all-around great arsenal and challenging enemy roster, but the level design can sometimes be extremely frustrating, particularly the bullshit deathtraps (I will never forgive Randy Pitchford for the rocket trap in Sumo Sky Palace. How was I supposed to know I had to frob the open wall panels to block them?) which forced me to abandon the iron man "one save at level start" rule I hold to for nearly every other classic FPS. Where Blood has a peerless core arsenal and one really good enemy (cultists), it's lacking in level and encounter design (the only kind of challenge on offer is "ambush around the corner", everything else is braindead easy) and the second half of the arsenal after the napalm launcher is disappointing.

I'm not going to tally this up in some arbitrary way, but here's a sense of the comparison in my mind:

Level design: Duke 3D > Shadow Warrior > Blood
Enemies: Shadow Warrior > Duke 3D > Blood
Movement: Blood > Duke 3D > Shadow Warrior
Core arsenal: Blood > Duke 3D > Shadow Warrior
Melee: Duke 3D > Shadow Warrior > Blood
Power weapons: Shadow Warrior > Duke 3D > Blood
Inventory items: Duke 3D >= Shadow Warrior >>> Blood
Other pickups (powerups, health/armor, misc): Blood > Shadow Warrior > Duke 3D
Charm Factor: Shadow Warrior > Duke 3D > Blood

Regarding weapons/items:
Blood's core arsenal is quite fun, but the Voodoo Doll is meh from a mechanical standpoint and the Life Leech is underutilized and I honestly don't understand how the alt fire is supposed to be balanced. Aerosol can is useful but also quite boring to use.
Duke 3D and SW arsenals were arguably better rounded out and more creative mechanically, even considering Blood's fire modes which SW actually rivals in depth. And their power weapons are more fun. Melee too. But Blood's shotgun, tommy gun, flare gun, dynamite, and napalm launcher are very satisfying to use compared to the core in Duke's (pistol, shotgun, chaingun, pipe bomb, RPG) or SW's (shuriken, Uzi, riot shotgun, sticky bomb, grenade launcher) arsenal.
My problem with SW's core is it often feels unreliable. Shurikens never go quite where I want and can't always be picked up from walls, Uzi is okay at medium range but doesn't stagger very well, the riot shotgun can run out of ammo at inopportune moments, and the sticky bomb is pretty hard to land. Grenade Launcher absolutely owns, though.
I give Duke's melee the win because of its combination with the freezethrower and shrink ray, plus steroids and potential for finisher hits with a gun in hand. SW melee is the best taken alone and the fists/katana option is great too, but I'm usually not trying to melee anything but bees and coolie ghosts
SW has good items but I constantly forget to incorporate all of the bombs and caltrops into my gameplay. Duke 3D has a nice set with the medkit, holoduke, steroids, jet pack, (meaningful!) night vision, protective boots, and scuba gear. Blood's medkit, jump boots, scuba gear, and useless beast vision are lame.
Blood's other pickups are a winner though, with the armor system and notable powerups such as guns akimbo, reflective shots, and invisibility cloak. Shadow Warrior has two tiers of armor, seeker cards/nukes, and repair kits which are worth exploring for. Duke 3D just has health and armor, really, everything cool is an inventory item.

Regarding levels/enemies:
Duke 3D: most intricate level design, nice variety in encounters. Sometimes you have to get the drop on enemies with burst damage and explosives, but open combat is also viable. Difficulty pacing and resource distribution is very fair, inventory items are very useful and make for rewarding secrets. I also genuinely love Episode 2 and don't understand the hate outside of "muh realistic city levels" and the whining about the kamikaze bots, which I thought added to the formula.
Shadow Warrior: Nice cast of enemies, weapons are varied and fun. Open combat is very viable for the most part, and the most lethal enemies are actually the ones with projectiles. Level design is sometimes very good but also has a lot of bullshit deathtraps, and can also be confusing to navigate. Still, lot of great fights and clever challenges, and the secrets feel the most earned to me.
Blood: Combat is so dominated by hitscanners early on that the only correct move is to get the drop on enemies with explosives and other cheese. Levels quickly improve as you get more equipment (armor!) and get into the groove, but remain fairly straightforward and notably decline in quality after the first episode, which is excellent all around. The problem is Blood only has one type of challenge -- enemies that try to surprise you in tight spaces. You never have meaningful crowd control with multiple enemy types in a single encounter, all of the difficulty comes from dudes around corners. It's fun, but gets repetitive.

[674405efc082dvoodoo47]

might as well take a look at Redneck Rampage, if you are picking everything apart.

anyway, I also probably am influenced by my movie preferences - always enjoyed over the top action flicks and kung-fu movies, but never cared too much for horror.

[674405efc0999icemann]

Absolutely love both personally. Grew up on a healthy mix of action (eg Bruce Lee, Arnie, Clint Eastwood etc), and horror (Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street etc).

Each has it's place, and are not at all similar (except in cases like Predator, Aliens and a few others). Both in their more traditional forms have died off somewhat. Horror is COMPLETELY different nowadays and less slasher and more gore fest, and action movies are more guns over martial arts for the most part. Cobra Kai being the exception, though that's a TV show.

[674405efc0ed8voodoo47]

the hitboxes are atrocious

so, if you want to see someone b!tch about this for almost fifty minutes..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpUf_1eOwFs
also,

I'm playing with autoaim off, avoiding a whole lot of awful, it seems

yes.