EarthBound Doom

EarthBound Doom, or EBDoom is an EDGE partial conversion created by Baron of Sigma. EBDoom applies elements from the Super Nintendo RPG "Earthbound" and other Role-Playing Games.

The current version of EBDoom is Beta 6.55. There are not many new levels for the conversion, many of the existing maps being heavily modified versions of Doom and Doom 2 maps to test new features. At its current stage, EBDoom exists as a "monster modification" and a "concept modification". A new version has not been released in over a year, and it is more than likely in hiatus.

It has received mixed criticism from the Doom community due to its perceived low quality, some regarding it as little more than a Joke WAD. Others see it as having more potential if given more work. Regardless of opinion, many modders have used EBDoom's resources, in particular its conversions of monsters from other games.

Four demo levels have been released so far. It appears that the main enemies of EBDoom are the Serpent Riders, the major bosses of the Heretic-Hexen trilogy. The three riders have been (as of now) unknowingly resurrected and have gained a form of 'monopoly' over several scattered and demoralized forces of monsters. The mod features the aliens from Duke Nukem 3D (supposedly they have lost their main leader and are weakened in power), the minions of Zilla in Shadow Warrior (the story also says Zilla has vanished and no longer leads the remaining forces), the weakened and scattered forces of a prequel-modification's leader, as well as brand new forces, in addition to their own original forces from their original games, and of course, for Doom fans, the demons of Hell.

The Serpent Riders have initiated an invasion of Earthbound's version of Earth, sometime after the Giygas wars. According to the README file included with the game, the four main characters of the original Earthbound will eventually all be selectable with their own plotlines to stop the efforts of the Serpent Riders. Each character will have their own unique Hit Points, speed, weapons, levels and other abilities to make the game more interesting. However as of now, only Paula, the second of the characters, has any amount of character mechanics created, and she only has 4 demo levels, an intro level, and some tutorial levels. Some of the maps are short and incomplete, likely a main reason for the criticism the mod has received.

As of now, EDGE 1.28a is required for this modification to run properly.

Features and Uniquities
EBDoom's most promising aspect appears to be that its author is a skilled DDF programmer and likes to include complex helpers, items, monsters and other concepts in his games. The DDF system appears to have helped him considerably in many of the features:


 * Players, enemies and helpers can inflict "critical hits" with melee attacks that can do up to 4 times the normal damage. This makes close-combat unpredictable for either the player or the monsters. This also gives the mod more of an RPG feel to it.
 * Players have "Hit Points" instead of "Health", and run by a solid number, instead of a % system. For example, Paula (the only current playable character) has 332 hit points. Also, Doom-engine game 'helpers' such as Doomguy and Corvus run on a heightened HP system that also seems to factor in armor as well.
 * Several monsters and helpers have more than 5 different attacks they can use in the game. One boss, Babel; has the ability to wield over 20 weapons in his strongest form, according to the README file. In addition, various imported monsters have evolved abilities and/or new powers. As an example, the Afrits can damage enemies with the flames around their body just by touching a nearby player, monster or helper.
 * A heavily edited Brain Shooter has been made that can spawn the majority of the game's monsters, including the new monsters
 * Some levels appear to have "monster randomizers" and "item randomizers", to make the gameplay more unpredictable. However this likely gets some critism in that in one visit to a level a weak monster can be in one place, while in the next visit a more powerful monster will appear in the same place.
 * One weapon in the game can be used to heal the player, and another can be used as a 'barrier' of sorts to repel monsters and block almost all projectiles, but at the expense that the player cannot attack without lowering the barrier.
 * The Sigil from Strife is currently in the game as an easter egg weapon. The weapon acts virtually identical to the original Sigil, with only some minor infractions.
 * Various characters have resistances and immunities to specfic types of attacks outside of homogenous monsters. The Serpent Riders for example seem to be immune to each others' attacks in order to avoid monster infighting.
 * Archviles seem to be able to revive more monsters, including their own species and some bosses such as Cyberdemons and Spider Masterminds. It is hinted at in the readme they can even revive dead players if one runs near a dead player by luck.
 * Various enemies and helpers actually patrol and wander the maps, in an attempt to catch players by surprise, or other monsters off guard.
 * The Spider Mastermind has been shrunken by around 25% and has increased manuverability. It now uses a chaingun-speed shotgun with rapid-fire.
 * Lost Souls can now redirect their aim in mid-attack, and make a multi-charge in an attempt to surprise the player.

New Creatures and Creatures not imported to EBDoom
In addition to importing many monsters from Heretic, Hexen, Duke Nukem 3D and other various games, other 'evolved' versions of existing monsters appear in EBDoom.


 * Chainsaw Trooper - Wields a chainsaw and has 2.75x more HP than the common Zombieman. Said to be able to saw through a Demon in 2 seconds.
 * Missile Ranger Sargeant - Wields a mini-missile launcher and make surprisingly good snipers when placed on high elevations. They have roughly 1.8 times the HP of a normal Shotgun Guy
 * Baby Cacodemon - The first listed monster that wanders around from the startup of the level instead of waiting to hear a shot or see the player. They are one of the few 'enemies' that do not actually attack you on sight. They are tiny versions of normal Cacodemons that have recently been born. They will only attack when attacked themselves, not old enough to acknowledge the player as their immediate enemy, and wield weak, but VERY fast fireballs, and will even attack older-aged Cacodemons if they are hit by them. They take roughly double the damage of a Zombieman
 * Momma Cacodemon - Another EBDoom-exclusive variation of the Cacodemon, these female Cacodemon looks identical in structre to the average Cacodemon, but are about twice as big. They take almost identical damage to a Baron of Hell and shoot out large and powerful, though slow-moving versions of normal Cacodemon fireballs. Their bite can also do over 300 damage to a player according to the online monster guide. They are also stated to be the 'spawners' of the Baby Cacodemons and will usually be found where a lot of babies hang around. They do not roam the map on startup, unlike their babies.
 * Baron of Hell Ghost - When Barons of Hell are slain in EBDoom, they have a small chance of releasing their soul in the form of a unrelenting ghost that is transperant, can fly, and can move through walls, and can even resurrect other enemies(including their original corpses), much like the Arch-vile. They also appear to possess stronger fireballs. However they take less damage than their living forms, and they will completely vanish from the map when they die, so the player does not have to worry about them respawning on Nightmare level.
 * Elder Mancubus - A larger(although taller looking than fatter), dark-skinned version of the Mancubus, these creatures are roughly three times as hardy as their younger brethren, and instead of launching fireballs, they shoot railgun slugs from their cannons in a relentless aim that does not stop until the player gets out of their site. They also roam and wander the map on startup as opposed to waiting for an enemy to enter their sight. Also, a 'helper' version of these creatures are common in the game that will actually attack other enemies. These 'helper' Elder Mancubi seem to be more common than the hostile versions as well. Lastly, both versions shrug off explosions much like the Cyberdemon and the Spider Mastermind.
 * Super Cyberdemon - A much larger, but slower version of the original Cyberdemon, they are 1.5 times as strong, and they have a rocket launcher on each arm. They also fire larger and more damaging rockets(in twos), and like the Elder Mancubus, their aim is continuous until the player gets out of their view. However they have little manuverablity in low-elevated areas due to their guargantuan sizes. They also hurt the player if they are at close range when they die, as do the original Cyberdemons now.
 * Gold Lich - A stronger Iron Lich, they take double the damage, and move almost twice as fast. In addition to the common Iron Lich attacks, the Gold Lich can fire a medium-long range flamethrower continously that can take down mid-level creatures in seconds, and can also spit out Bob-ombs to try to trick the player, although they usually just end up damaging themselves with the bombs.
 * Maulotaur Ghost - Similar in ways to the Baron of Hell Ghost in the fact they sometimes rise from the corpse of a slain Maulotaur. However they do not appear as often, although they usually wait longer to rise up when they do in order to lower the player's guard. They are transperant and can climb up cliffs instaneously, although they cannot fly. They also lose their goring attack in exchange for the ability to fire a angular swath of either the original Maulotaur's flame snakes, or a swath of Arch-vile like fire. They take identical damage to their living forms, and are considered a challenge.
 * Scorpion Tank - An enemy that was appearantly meant to appear in the add-on for Duke Nukem 3D and was never added. The Scorpion Tank is a stronger and more menacing form of the Riot Tank. They fire continous lasers and rockets from their front cannons, and the tail of the tank can fire three successive railgun slugs in a row after a small warm-up period. They are twice as armored as the original Riot Tank, and lack a self-destruct button on the back, and Pigcops might still emerge from them when destroyed.
 * Coolie Leader - An evolved version of the Coolie monster in Shadow Warrior. They look identical to their minions, but instead they appear to have some portal technology in their TNT crates and will use it to randomly throw around sticks and sometimes even bundles of TNT as they move around. Some are rumored to also be able to jump, although this appears to not yet be supported. They cannot hurt themselves or their minions with their explosives, but can easily damage other players and monsters around them.
 * Clones - A surprising type of enemy in a Doom game is the clone monster. Currently only Paula clones exist, but one can only assume if Baron continues working on EBDoom that the other characters will also get clones. In the actual game, clones can either be good or evil depending on both the situation and the area the player is roaming. There are 3 levels of each clone[good and bad]. The stronger the clone, the more attacks they can use and more armor they possess. It is rumored in the DDF code of a 'Doppelganger' boss, but this boss has not really been encountered yet.
 * Freakcrappoo Guys - Easily the most peculiar enemy in about any Doom modification, the monster guide says they are a less-evolved version of an enemy in a sister-modification. These versions of the enemy come in either a small, medium or large size and have varying degrees of health. Also, they shoot Baron slime, and have the ability to inflict a "Super Critical Hit" at close range that usually kills the target instantly if it connects.
 * Cerberus Puppy - Although they look identical to the Cerberus of Blood, they are actually smaller puppy versions of the original Cerberus[in EBDoom's universe, Cerberus has a neutral alligence and serves none of the actual bosses in the game and is stand-alone, although his puppies on the other hand can serve any of the major enemies, or even serve the player in some levels as allies]. These monsters are considered the most dangerous of the 'common-level' enemies because they shoot small, yet fast and powerful fireballs that can even be 'smart-fired', or led to hit a moving target based on their movement pattern. Each of their two heads must be destroyed to defeat it, and each head takes the damage of 2 normal Cyberdemons, so it is not an easy foe to kill.

Additionally, some monsters from existing games were NOT imported for various reasons:


 * Stalkers and Stalker Bosses - Appearantly, the type of code required to effectively use these creatures is not implemented yet into DDF, plus with the feature of submergable liquids, Baron says they just wouldn't be of much use now unless a 'swimming' version of these creatures were somehow made.
 * Alien Queen Boss - The queen boss of Duke Nukem 3D's add-on is also absent, according to the monster guide, it is more of story reasons than compatiability issues, although their Protector Drone spawn still remain, except now wielding electricial blasts instead of shrinking rays, in some form of tribute to the queen boss.

Levels
Note: Baron uses unique map names for many of his levels, such as E0M0, or MAP00 for example.


 * E0M1: Training Arena
 * E0M2: Briefing Room (a level for testing the many monsters and helpers in the game, according to the message in the level)
 * E1M0: Intro Level
 * MAP01: Paula's Prison
 * MAP02: Bubbling Lava is Scary
 * MAP03: Manical Castle: Let's Kick Some Iron!
 * MAP05: Demon Star
 * E0M6: Podded from the Demon Star