SimonOC - Arcane Dimensions, Info Page

Arcane Dimensions

	Version 1.80 (Including Patch 1)

	Additional mirror sites (Moddb and EU)

	Patch 1 (Only works with AD 1.80)



	What started out as just a small update eventually turned into a giant collection of new features, a couple of new maps and some new game play modes to enjoy vanilla ID content with. It has been a very long two years of development and probably should have been released in smaller chunks, because the new feature list reads more like a novel than a quick note! The recommended client for Arcane Dimensions is Quakespasm-spiked as it retains the original feel of the game and offers plenty of Quality of Life enhancements, like unlocked frame rate, better network support and advanced particles. As always Arcane Dimensions will work with many different engines and simply adapts to what engine features are offered. Always download the latest stable build of any Quake client. The zip file is now organinzed into PAK files which means its no longer a loose file format. With so much community content available for the mod its getting confusing to know what is essential anymore. Therefore I recommend that AD be installed in a new directory and all community content be migrated over or downloaded from Quaddicted again. Arcane Dimensions now comes with custom HUDs, which does not not sound like much of a big deal, however Quake engines have typically not allowed any modifications. The new HUDs only work with advanced engines (QSS / FTE / DP) and are enabled by default. To change the HUD style or switch them off, please refer to the quake.rc (text file) for further details. To anyone interested in mapping for Arcane Dimensions 1.8, all of the new features are shown working in a large collection of test maps. Unfortunately the documentation file is not up to date and I highly recommend mappers to check the DEF file for full entity options and the test maps collection for working examples and source files.

	Version 1.70

	Patch 1 (1st Feb 2018)



	With the final map Forgotten Sepulcher finished after a long year of development, Arcane Dimensions is now a complete project. All the map hub portals are full of places to explore and the only thing left to do, is create one final downloadable zip file! Since the release of AD 1.6 there has been a new release of the Quakespasm engine (0.93) which is recommended for running this MOD. The special AD mod engine is not necessary anymore, but it still works fine if you liked the extra features (The front menu had a MOD option and there was an alternative version (QSS) with better particles) The AD zip file is getting too big and inconvenient to download and I think its about time to start splitting stuff off into separate files. The AD map source files are not necessary for running the mod, but if anyone wants to see them, download link here. This download contains all the previous maps, some new extra code and features, lots of bug fixes, some new mapper features (check documentation) and as a final bonus, a couple of extra maps hidden away in the main map hubs, good hunting!

	Version 1.60 ( Install 1.50 First )

	New Quake client for PC/WIN

	New Quake client for MAC/OS



	The Forgotten Sepulcher is the final map missing from the previous release and comes with a new code base (1.60) which includes all previous code fixes. This is not a standalone release and will require a new Quake client and the previous version 1.50 to be installed first! The map has an enormous amount of extra routes and shortcuts to find and there are plenty of opportunities for replay value. There are many books hinting at the story behind the place and over fifty secrets to discover or drive you mad! The map includes new monsters, art assets and special AI features to cope with a map of this size. The new Quakespasm-spike client supports DP style particles (smoke and extra blood) and a new weather particle system. If the performance is bad, the weather particles can be turned off via the config file (quake.rc) or with a new console command (impulse 160). With so much to explore in the map it can be overwhelming to keep track of everything, which is why the readme file has a detailed list of where all the objectives and secrets are located. If you are curious to know more about the map and how it was created, there is a small 'map waffle' section at the beginning of the readme file. An Installation Guide for Quake and Arcane Dimensions mod.

	Version 1.50

	Patch 1 (18th Dec 2016)



	Another long year of development to create a new hub map with five finely detailed maps designed to take full advantage of all the familiar mod features. Several of the new maps contain unique boss fights and a wealth of new artwork and model assets. The new hub map (ad_chapters) is missing one map called 'The Forgotten Sepulcher' which will be added later once its complete. The documentation (readme file) and editor files have been updated to include all the new features. To help mappers use the mod for their own projects all the assets have been broken down into various dev style kits (listed below).

	Version 1.42

	Patch 2 (31st Jan 2016)

	Patch 1 (30th Dec 2015)



	After two long years of development with hard disk crashes and endless code / map issues, Arcane Dimensions is finally finished and ready for release! Containing seven extremely detailed maps (top floor of hub map), a large collection of test maps to demonstrate new features and various classic remix maps (bottom floor of hub map). The mod contains a wealth of mapper related documentation (buried) in the readme file which discusses all the new features and how to use them. All of the source files for the maps in the mod are part of the final release, so that its easier to find out how a new feature has been setup. Most Quake editor config files have been included and there is a large list of credits and references of where all the assets came from at the end of the readme file.

	DevKit 1.7

	Patch 1 - Extra AD + Quoth monsters

	Patch 2 - Extra Hexen2 monsters



	The Dev Kit are based on AD 1.70 source code and assets. Each dev kit contains just the minimum amount of assets to run the included test maps.

Extra Test Maps (For Mappers)



	Many of the new features and ideas of AD started life in small test maps and not all of them made it into the final AD release. This is a small collection of test maps (designed for mappers) which highlight new / existing features.

Custom Quake bosses (version 1.5+)


	The original Quake bosses (Chthon and Shub) are very strict in what they can and cannot do. They are essentially gimmick bosses that work in one set way and do nothing else. One of the AD level designers requested that the original Quake bosses could be more flexible in what they could do and be a good alternative for map endings. The first test map shows Chthon (with fire and slime skin/setup) and a wave based setup. There is examples of how to spawn additional units during the transition phases. The second test map is a fightable Shub boss with waves and a slow moving projectile attack. My favourite part of this test map is ceiling Shub!

Multiple Floor Platform (version 1.5+)


	Moving platforms and doors in Quake are binary state systems, they are either open/close or up/down when setup in maps. Sometimes there are situations when moving platforms could be in multiple states and that is solved with train mover entities and path corners. The train entity in AD has many new features for moving around, changing speed and which direction to go. One of the new features is being able to move forward and backward through a path corner entity chain. With the aid of trigger entities the path corner chain can be changed so that the train can go easily to different points in the chain. This test map shows a platform moving between three floors via buttons and was used in ad_magma / ad_sepulcher to connect multiple floors via a single platform.

Monster Tether System (version 1.5+)


	Quake monsters usually run at the player in a straight line and can easily get stuck on architectural edges. This is often abused by players to "cheese" encounters by exploiting the pathing behaviour and making sure monsters get stuck. The AD tether system allows monsters to roam a certain distance away from a path corner and not follow the player. This means that encounters can now guard areas and not get lured into stupid locations where they can get stuck. The system has many parameters and options and does depend on which monster type is being used for how effective it will work.

Map Variables (version 1.7+)


	This is a new system which allows for mappers to update, query or toggle variables that can be used to trigger events. The variables are stored in the player save file and can work across multiple maps or be used in a hub map to record progress for an episode. The test map shows all of the map variables as a wall of buttons on one side of the map and the other side is for specific examples of how to query, update or toggle values. There is no exact use for this system, its really up to the mapper to use it however they want.

Extra Quoth Monsters (version 1.7+)


	The Quoth mod has many new and interesting monster designs which can be fun coding (QC) experiments to work out how they are implemented. (Quoth source is not available) These extra monsters are not used in any AD maps (which is why they are a separate download), but some of their features did turned out useful for developing other systems. The test pack contains the Sentinel, Death Guard and Death Lord in a simple wave setup so its easy to see how they react. The zip file contains folders which needs to be unzipped in the main AD folder because the extra model / sound assets have to be in certain location.

Christmas Monsters (version 1.7+)


	When I heard about the Xmas jam I thought about the monsters from the Twisted Christmas mod by Twisted matrix and wondered what they would be like. When I played the original mod I found the reaction times for the monsters was super fast and weirdly broken, but I did like the visual style and thought they would be perfect for the jam event. I spent about a week converting the monsters over to AD with brand new code and different behaviour patterns to the originals. I spoke to a couple of people entering the jam about the Xmas monsters and unfortunately no one was interested in using them! I decided to leave the code in AD and release my test map after Christmas instead.

60+ Feature Maps (version 1.8+)


	During the development of AD 1.8 all of the new features were tested with the use of test maps. I have always tried to create new features from a level design point of view, which is why these test maps were so critical in exploring the best ways to use new features. The readme file included with this zip file group all the test maps into categories so its easier to find relevant features together. Unfortunately not all of these features were used in the final released of 1.8 and hopefully the quake community will find them useful instead.