https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCkJwPBctJN0WX0mziYdAteAXGO3CIkys
Here is a link to the current playlist of maps I have recorded. So far it contains all Ancient Cambodia & Deserted El Deratto levels. Remainder of levels will be updated to this playlist and I will comment here when that happens.
TODO - Add chapters & pinned comments to videos to help skim to relevant areas, finish recording & uploading remaining levels.
Finally got around to watching these. Got through the Angkor chapter at this point. I must say, based on what you were saying in the other thread I expected you to be a lot harsher. But I think your criticism has been fair. Though I do think we might have different views on difficulty; I for one consider dying a couple times part of the learning process. That's not to say I don't get carried away sometimes.
I notice that you're using an earlier version; one where the monkeys' dying animation is still broken. An issue that's been fixed since. That also means that some of the problematic bits you mention have also been reworked since. But I've been terrible at keeping track of updates and versions.
If you want, I can send you an invitation to the Serious Sam Classics Discord server, where most discussions around the mod take place. People have been talking about fast monsters lately, you might be interested in reading that.
I feel dumb for not replying to this sooner. Yes I am interested in joining the Classics Discord server if it means I have a more direct line of communication with sharing feedback on the mod.
The version I am playing I believe is "Update 41" as the latest one labeled "A temporary fix" for some reason made the game crash to desktop without any warning after loading any level. Full disclosure though, at the time of downloading I just used the "- The Mod Itself -" hotlink to download the mod, so for all I know it could have led me to an earlier version of the .gro file.
Lastly I have finally updated the playthrough to contain all of the Planet Atlantis levels. I won't sugar coat it though, I got pretty pissed off during some key fights, so expect some long winded rants that are pure rage venting that really don't offer any meaningful feedback. I am hopeful that I provided enough useful feedback in these commentaries and that if nothing else the footage will help you out in further refining combat encounters.
I hope to complete the remaining 2 levels soon and update those to the playlist, will send an update when that happens.
EDIT: I also wanted to say that I wholeheartedly agree with you that dying a couple times is part of the learning process and is entirely expected when playing on the hardest difficulty. Where I personally draw the line is when fights are unable to be beaten consistently despite having a good understanding of the fight itself. I would argue that any good fight should be able to be beaten consistently with enough practice and skill. If the player has practiced a fight countless times and has a good grasp on their arsenal and what enemies they can expect to face then they should be rewarded for their efforts, not thrown into a blender to see how many times they need to slam their head into a wall before they can break through.
The challenge should ultimately come from the basics of dodging and shooting; knowing which weapons are effective against which enemy types, learning enemy attack patterns, and how to dodge them when overlapping with other enemy attacks.
Here is an invite to the Discord server. The mod should be in the Workshop section.
https://discord.gg/qdj6mt5z
Okay, some good news regarding Fungal Caverns.
First of all, the Yog-Sothum enemy, the one that shoots small homing bugs, has been reworked in a previous update. It still now has a unique projectile, as opposed to reusing the Exotech Larva's bugs. It's much slower and there's a delay before its explosion, where it makes a distinct noise and visibly swells up before exploding. The Myconid's running speed has also been reduced significantly. (I'm also thinking of giving it a slow turn speed.) Second, most of the problematic fights have already been reworked. The gnaar brutes in the "bad spider fight" have been replaced with small lava golems. In the big hall with the masks, the sheer amount of enemies has been greatly reduced, along with additional health and armour pickups added. The dark fights' waves have been shortened as well. Though the last one I'm still going to rework a bit, since I did rush its design a little. Maybe add some additional tunnels the enemies run out of, as opposed to spawning right on the ground. Also, a minor thing, but the glowing mushrooms now have static light, instead of the animated pulsing. This was originally because textures were bugging out from all the lighting updates, but it did help in the dark sections a little bit.
You said something about cannonballs. Your version seems to be the same that Serious Vovan played, so it might be before the update that introduced weaker cannonballs. Jade Guardians, Mammoths and Cannon Turrets all shoot weaker cannonballs now, so they don't destroy you in one hit (it might be a different story on serious).
Anyway, all of these levels are still going to receive more updates in the future. The very big update I'm currently working on, is going to include some updates on the currently existing maps.
I'm glad to hear that some of the negative aspects of this mod I have experienced have already been fixed or at the very least are being looked into, very encouraging news!
I genuinely hope that you will consider making "fast monsters" optional as opposed to being on by default for Serious Difficulty though as I truly think most of all the balancing issues stems from it.
At any rate I hope that I have provided some useful feedback in my videos despite my negative rants at times. I really want to see this mod succeed as there really isn't anything else like it available for the Sam franchise. This mod has so much untapped potential and I wish nothing for the best for you.
I will eagerly be awaiting any new version of this mod available to be tested!
