Zan the Bonebreaker

Open Beta Testing Announcement

Hey guys! 

As you may have heard, I'm planning to release the 1.5.0 update for Hedon which is the definitive version for the first and current episode of the game. 

I'm planning to hold a 3 day (20-22 Oct) beta testing mainly focused on the new starting area and content.  Here's your chance for you or a friend of yours to get a free Hedon key! 

All you have to do is message me (anywhere you can, although Discord is best -...

New Map01 Overview and 1.5.0 Beta

Here's how the extended Map01 looks like!

Tomorrow I hope to released the closed beta for you guys to check out, and on the 23rd I'll be sending it to GOG. This is the final version for the chapter 1 content, so it needs to be as good as it gets, especially as I moved to GZDoom 4.2.1, and new bugs/performance issues might appear.

Stay tuned!

New Assets

Tons of new textures on their way, I'm nearly done with the new textures for the Map01 extension, hoping to finish it this week. Not a whole lot of time left until GOG's publish deadline, so I'm soon going to release a test build and take in as much feedback as I can before this goes live.

Expect news by Friday.

Gothicc

A screenshot with the room posted below, as well as a teaser for the new update.

Oh hey, don't forget to follow me on Twitter.

Gothic Arches in GZDoom Builder?

Surprisingly doable.

Starting Shot

This will be the new starting room from the next update on.

One thing I like about old school shooters is that they always have sort of an iconic start, and this should definitely be a lot more memorable than the previous cave wake-up.

Map01 Extension/Flashback Intro

Okay, let's finally address the elephant in the room - the extension I plan to add with the future update that will add a new area to map01 which will be the new starting area.

There are many things this extension is meant to improve, but generally, it's supposed to address general player confusion, ranging from gameplay and all the way to story and lore.

1. Controls. Like a true boomercore game, Hedon uses the entire keyboard, and this addition plans to better st...

Milsim Hedon?

Check this out, it's gold :^)

Many thanks to ZikShadow for featuring this!

General Status Update

Okay, a lot of stuff has piled up so I'll do a TL;DR

1. Next patch and GOG release - by the end of October

2. Hellblaze - done

3. Hellclaw - done

4. More bug fixes, balancing, adjustments and stuff like general gore improvements + extra frag death for Cerberus (note that almost every monster now has a separate death state for Fragshot/Acid/Crylance which I call "frag death")- done

5. Map11 - ~25% done, on hold until the definitive episode 1 patch I'm working on i...

Hellblaze Spritesheet

Phew. Finally. Here's the Hellblaze. Two different attacks and three different deaths.

I'm thinking about adding a third death to the Cerberus too now, since I decided to bring them to mid-tier enemies too.

But yeah, I've yet to implement this chonker in game, hopefully he'll be in and running by Tuesday. 

Hellblaze Animation Progress

Only two faces to animate for movement, I'm hoping to be all done with this monster by the end of the week.

Hellblaze Base Sprites

Phew. Finally. Now to animate this beast...

The Hellblaze

Here's the new monster I've been working on. They're some sort of bull/gorilla Demon and employ the Hellclaw as a weapon (and also drop it on death). They're smarter than a feral beast to the point where they are capable of some speech, but they're definitely less intelligent and more savage than an average humanoid.

I honestly find the traces of "humanity" they posses to make them even more aggravating and creepy than a pure chaos Demon brute.

Front, side and back sprites for now...

Tiny Map05 Extension & Misc. Stuff

I've had a busy week and unfortunately have a whole busy month ahead, so I had to refocus from Map11 to catching up with some feedback and suggestions.

First, I finally got to do something I've been meaning to for a while and add an extra room in the Reaver HQ that would open an extra alternative path. You can now get into the medical area through a vent grate, and this is now the intended route if you go for a stealthy approach.

I also added a nice little script when stepping int...

Hellclaw Preview

Here it is at last!

It's pretty much finished, although I expect to need quite some time to balance it. I will eventually make a Wiki page with a proper description but until then here's a small gif preview.

Primary fire shoots a stream of projectiles that do similar damage to Spikeshots. They are much slower and less accurate, but have a faster rate of fire (and the average projectile damage is the same, except the Hellclaw's Hellballs have a fixed damage value).

The Hellcl...

Hellclaw Animation WIP Shots

Hellclaw is almost done, here's a sneak peek at the animation and spriting for HUD process.

The Hellclaw

Here's the first new weapon coming with Episode 2, and the one that goes on the 4th slot (also it won't be the only one).

The design, at least, it's definitely going to be a challenge to make the HUD sprites and all. 

Anyway, it's a Demon weapon, sort of a magic gauntlet held together by stone flakes, chains and hellish energy. It's going to function like some sort of Doom Plasma Rifle, with streams of slower energy projectiles and no reloading required. Alt fire will throw m...

Map11 Progress

Here's the first part. Man this took a lot of work. I kinda want to stick to the detail standards of the final map from the first episode from now on.

Next I want to work on a new weapon and enemy, after which I'll finally get to extending Map01 as I've been planning for a while :^) Hopefully will have the patch in time for the GoG release, whenever that will happen.

Then I'll finally go back again to this beast.

Zan + Sentry

Once again, many thanks to Jessy for all this amazing fanart, it's an honor!

If you have't checked out his other work, go ahead and click here - https://www.artstation.com/jessyruiz

Path

Map11 is fleshing out nicely so far!

I.D. Lineup

Another awesome fanart from Jessy, featuring all the Iron Division girls!

I actually used this for an in-game image too, which will be up in the next patch!

Check out his gallery here - https://www.artstation.com/jessyruiz

Goodness Girl :o

Jessy is at it again with more fantastic artwork :^)

Check his other stuff here -  https://www.artstation.com/jessyruiz

Map11 Start

Here we go, started fleshing out the map proper. This is the starting area, which has some points to make.

That middle pillar basically drops instantly and Zan falls into the water after being teleported here, following Nithriel. As soon as the level starts, there will be a small reminder of how you move and jump, as well as some visual story telling elements that should get the player back on track with what's going on.

There will be a bunch of items teleporting in around, implyi...

Map11 Sample Room

Here's a sample room I made to test out Map11's aesthetic and new graphics. Complete with a working falling leaf system. :^)

Bearzerk Fanart!

More amazing fanart from Jessy Ruiz! Check his other work out here - https://www.artstation.com/jessyruiz

Badguy292's Reward

More catching up with Patreon rewards. Here's Badguy292's Merishya with a Fragfire Gun and a Great Axe >:D

LukePwner's Reward

Catching up with some art rewards these days. Here's Luke's Sheila.

Map11 Concept

This is it. The main ideas I'll get to work with, and a few explanations that will hopefully give you a peek behind the map's story and inner workings.

Yet another Map11 sketch

Making more progress with the design, at this point I laid out the paths and progression. Hopefully next upload will be the full digital sketch with some of my own explanations and insight over it.

This is a thing

Not going to post much on it, will mostly use it to reach out to other people instead of digging up emails, but just so you know, it exists.