It's Critter Time!

I got called out and had to make this thread, behold

The Boomshoot City

In this house we talk about Quake, Doom, Duke 3D, Blood, HL and the likes

This is it, bring the boomshoots of new and old...!

As said briefly in Enbyeon's stream, give a shot playing Death Wish for Blood someday if you haven't yet, it's a piece of wizardry and it's meant to have a 4th episode made sooner or later.
The mod dev is still hard working and it looks fantastic while keeping the spirit of Blood in itself all around~

https://www.moddb.com/mods/death-wish-for-blood

For newer stuff, I can't help but vouch highly for Amid Evil with how beautiful it looks and how nearly everything in it is screenshot worthy~
Highly great Quake and Heretic feeling game.


Got also poked recently by a friend about a Quake engine game that was made recently which is to be seen to be believed.
Friend basically described it to me as 'Ronaldhino Soccer meets Quake'
Have a trip to Brazil, with Brazilian Drug Dealer 3

Finally a thread in which to expound upon our love for William Shatner's TekWar!

More seriously, I first got hooked on FPSes with Descent. It was diving into the deep end of the pool managing a 6DOF shooter as your first real experience with the genre, but I was immediately hooked. My neighbor had Doom, but it felt lackluster compared to Descent at the time. Of course, I've now learned to love the boomstick and became a True Doom Murderhead, but for a kid being able to spin around and fly into the ceiling was incredible.

I even got my parents to buy a registration key for Kali, a DOS TSR program (and later Win95 app) that tunneled IPX over TCP/IP so you could play non-Internet ready games like Descent over your 28.8 modem.

Mixi Blacksand wrote: Wed Jul 16, 2025 8:32 pm Finally a thread in which to expound upon our love for William Shatner's TekWar!

More seriously, I first got hooked on FPSes with Descent. It was diving into the deep end of the pool managing a 6DOF shooter as your first real experience with the genre, but I was immediately hooked. My neighbor had Doom, but it felt lackluster compared to Descent at the time. Of course, I've now learned to love the boomstick and became a True Doom Murderhead, but for a kid being able to spin around and fly into the ceiling was incredible.

I even got my parents to buy a registration key for Kali, a DOS TSR program (and later Win95 app) that tunneled IPX over TCP/IP so you could play non-Internet ready games like Descent over your 28.8 modem.

Oh! Descent! Haven't tried it yet but I saw vids of it around and some friends loving it around/streaming it!
Feel it'll be a thing to add in list of things to try around, closest I ever played was Forsaken 64 which was pretty nice for what it was from what I remember!

Wasn't there some spinoff or something for Descent named Freespace or something?

Boy howdy I'd love to talk about how bullshit Blood's hitscanners are. You round a corner and they immediately lock on and begin gunning you down. Trying to hit them around a corner with dynamite kind of helps but sometimes you're just that low on dynamite and need to save it for bigger crowds of melee-range enemies.

Some of the suffering I've been experiencing with that game might be because I'm playing through it on Well Done, which might be "Ultra-Violence, but harder"

I still need to sit down and play Citadel; people have described it as "Eroge with some shooting in the middle" and I imagine that's... a wee bit oversold but it looks neat.

I've been playing through Halo MCC lately and I forgot just how jank at least the first two installments are. Like "Boy howdy I know you turned around and cleared that door an ambush squad comes out of three times now, but what if we did it a fourth time? " jank.

And also one day I kind of want to try to get a bunch of casual dorks together for Xonotic because the only people still playing Xonotic are the ones who have been playing Quake-likes for 25 years straight and you have no chance.

Trysdyn wrote: Wed Jul 16, 2025 9:10 pm I still need to sit down and play Citadel; people have described it as "Eroge with some shooting in the middle" and I imagine that's... a wee bit oversold but it looks neat.

I've been playing through Halo MCC lately and I forgot just how jank at least the first two installments are. Like "Boy howdy I know you turned around and cleared that door an ambush squad comes out of three times now, but what if we did it a fourth time? " jank.

And also one day I kind of want to try to get a bunch of casual dorks together for Xonotic because the only people still playing Xonotic are the ones who have been playing Quake-likes for 25 years straight and you have no chance.

Checking quick Xonotic and that looks kinda nice!
May need to check that one along with maybe booting back Quake Live sometimes, might be nice!

Halo 1 and 2 are indeed rough at points XD Still the BR and Halo 1 pistol are always forever top tier

redacted_cat wrote: Wed Jul 16, 2025 8:52 pm Wasn't there some spinoff or something for Descent named Freespace or something?

Freespace got sold under the Descent name but has pretty much nothing to do with it. It *IS* a much beloved space sim in the vein of Wing Commander if you're into that.

Mixi Blacksand wrote: Wed Jul 16, 2025 9:32 pm

redacted_cat wrote: Wed Jul 16, 2025 8:52 pm Wasn't there some spinoff or something for Descent named Freespace or something?

Freespace got sold under the Descent name but has pretty much nothing to do with it. It *IS* a much beloved space sim in the vein of Wing Commander if you're into that.

Oh ok! Was a bit curious since I saw name around before but knew nothing about it, do like me some spacesims here and there and mechsims so that'd be a nice thing to check

redacted_cat wrote: Wed Jul 16, 2025 9:36 pm Oh ok! Was a bit curious since I saw name around before but knew nothing about it, do like me some spacesims here and there and mechsims so that'd be a nice thing to check

There's *another* Descent spinoff: Descent to Undermountain. It's... not as good as Freespace. Interplay were making a D&D game and decided hey, we've got this 2.5D engine, let's just use that! It did not turn out well.

Mixi Blacksand wrote: Wed Jul 16, 2025 9:42 pm

redacted_cat wrote: Wed Jul 16, 2025 9:36 pm Oh ok! Was a bit curious since I saw name around before but knew nothing about it, do like me some spacesims here and there and mechsims so that'd be a nice thing to check

There's *another* Descent spinoff: Descent to Undermountain. It's... not as good as Freespace. Interplay were making a D&D game and decided hey, we've got this 2.5D engine, let's just use that! It did not turn out well.

Oh wow, so it's kinda like they tried just making a not super subtle Ultima Underworld clone but not as good huh? Checked a bit vid and I was getting heavy Ultima Underworld vibes right off the bat XD

*In the distance, the sound of someone running into the thread full-tilt grows louder and louder*

Selaco! Selaco! Selaco! Selaco! Selaco! Selaco!

SELACO!!
Selaco is, in my opinion, the absolutely best and most incredible retro shooter we've had in the last five to ten years. It is a phenomenal experience that hits all the high notes, and more than doing any one particular thing extremely well, it is a collection of VERY good parts that make an incredible whole.

Also, this thing is running on the GZDoom engine, apparently?? Which is kind of completely insane??

The game is a sci-fi shooter set on a distant space colony after a tremendous calamity has befallen Earth. You, the main character Dawn, are recovering in the hospital when an alien invasion hits the colony and everything goes sideways in a hurry. From that point on it's a non-stop fight for survival against the aliens, as they track and attack you with multiple squads throughout the entire colony.

The game pays serious homage to Half-Life, but wears its biggest inspiration front and center where no one can deny it: F.E.A.R.

The game involves exploration peppered by set-piece encounters with squads of alien adversaries, and the way they track you, try to out-maneuver you, and coordinate against you makes for really thrilling gameplay. This is not a game where "run forward and shoot" will bring you much victory. Nor will "hide behind cover and take potshots". You need to use your full movement arsenal (jumping, sliding, jumping out of a slide to deliver a flying kick to some fool and then following it up with a well placed Roaring Cricket blast to the face) to survive. The aliens will keep you on your toes.

And the radio chatter? The confident call outs of the aliens that melt gradually into panicked shouts of disbelief as you whittle down their ranks? Mmm-wah! *Chef's Kiss*

This is a video is from an early build of the game, but it does demonstrate the squad action and radio chatter in play, and I think it's still a good illustration of what the game has to offer:



I could go on and on and on about how much I love Selaco, but I will admit it's not for everyone. It's not even for every Retro Shooter fan! Some folks don't particularly care for the pace, and others find the map layouts confusing and easy to get lost in.

But for my part, I still can't get over how well all the moving parts fit together. I think the level design is amazingly detailed and feels incredibly good, with excellent combat arenas being found in immersive environmental layout. I think the weapons all feel incredible to use, and have unique upgrade paths that matter. I think the options available to you in combat are refreshing and ridiculously fun, and that the open-ended nature of engagement keeps the game fresh to the very end. I think the game is straightforward if you want it to be, but also is loaded with secrets that are rewarding to find if you seek them out. And I also think the music is bumpin', and adds another layer to the combat that gets your blood pumpin'.

Now, full disclosure: Selaco is still technically in early access, with only one episode of a planned three (or so) available right now. But I will say that the single episode that's out there currently feels like a whole game (with the admitted exception of missing a final boss battle). I bought Selaco at release, and I did not feel like it skimps for the pricetag even without the follow-up episodes available.

Anyhow, I am sorry to gush and prattle.

I just really think this game is neat!!

Slowly but surely exploring HROT nowadays and won't lie that's gonna be one hell of a trip lol

High tier game, relatively hard but quite an hilarious Quake/Chasm-like that doesn't take itself too seriously

Enemies in it are a treat, without spoiling any of the weird things in it. It's a fever dream that has to be experienced.

Tiden wrote: Wed Jul 16, 2025 9:00 pm Boy howdy I'd love to talk about how bullshit Blood's hitscanners are. You round a corner and they immediately lock on and begin gunning you down. Trying to hit them around a corner with dynamite kind of helps but sometimes you're just that low on dynamite and need to save it for bigger crowds of melee-range enemies.

Some of the suffering I've been experiencing with that game might be because I'm playing through it on Well Done, which might be "Ultra-Violence, but harder"

Playing Blood on any difficulty above middle is just asking for it (and good lord play the patched version that doesn't set you to highest difficulty on reload!)!

From what I understand, crouching will actually reduce hitscanner accuracy, so ducking and sliding around is helpful (not like moving helps with hitscanners much)! I love Blood, and wish its sequel wasn't an unfinished mess, pushed out by the publisher.

Weasel wrote: Tue Aug 05, 2025 4:10 pm

Tiden wrote: Wed Jul 16, 2025 9:00 pm Boy howdy I'd love to talk about how bullshit Blood's hitscanners are. You round a corner and they immediately lock on and begin gunning you down. Trying to hit them around a corner with dynamite kind of helps but sometimes you're just that low on dynamite and need to save it for bigger crowds of melee-range enemies.

Some of the suffering I've been experiencing with that game might be because I'm playing through it on Well Done, which might be "Ultra-Violence, but harder"

Playing Blood on any difficulty above middle is just asking for it (and good lord play the patched version that doesn't set you to highest difficulty on reload!)!

From what I understand, crouching will actually reduce hitscanner accuracy, so ducking and sliding around is helpful (not like moving helps with hitscanners much)! I love Blood, and wish its sequel wasn't an unfinished mess, pushed out by the publisher.

Yup, crouching rly helps vs hitscanners and you definitely don't want any of them to swim too lol
That one aqueduct level was a pain in one of the expansions lol

If wanting more of it and want some crazy stuff, legit suggesting checking Death Wish, legit great mod and a 'very proper' fan sequel imo. Talking more about it is a big spoiler for how magical it is lol

https://www.moddb.com/mods/death-wish-for-blood

I actually bought Brazilian Drug Dealer 3, but haven't booted it up yet.

Some already good recommendations here. I'm a big fan of HROT and DUSK. As far as the classics go, I always enjoy messing around in Serious Sam and Painkiller. I have a pretty big backlog of things to get through though...

Enbyeon wrote: Tue Aug 05, 2025 11:30 pm I actually bought Brazilian Drug Dealer 3, but haven't booted it up yet.

Some already good recommendations here. I'm a big fan of HROT and DUSK. As far as the classics go, I always enjoy messing around in Serious Sam and Painkiller. I have a pretty big backlog of things to get through though...

Briefly tried Brazilian Drug Dealer and can confirm it's a legit silly one

It's basically a full on Quake mod/map pack lol, if having played Quake you kinda already know guns you'll have and enemies in there but it'll all be reskinned in silly ways

It's a legit one, can highly confirm.

HROT is nuts, legit one of the best fever dreams I played in a while

Forgot mentioning around but won't lie I also tried recently a thing that legit blew my mind too, tried that last weekend with friends of mine off stream.

Archipelago Doom is very high tier, may it be single player or on an Archipelago setup with others.

The whole thing is reworked to have a level select/hub and be played out like some sort of metroidvania with how you get keys and guns, it's stupidly crazy and some insane wizardry. Can even do it with Doom 2 or Heretic and think I saw there's another branch allowing GZDoom WAD support, so may do a bit of investigating around that one too.