Monster Enhancement 01/08/98
================================================================
Title                   : Monster Enhancement v1.03 
Author                  : Roscoe A. Sincero
Email Address           : legion@keg.zymurgy.org
Description             : This is basically the same as soldier enhancement
                          but with additional shields for all three types
                          of soldiers, enforcer, berserker, and gunner.
                          These Stroggs are generally too weak.  With
                          shielding, they are now tougher.  If you don't
                          have the soldier enhancement mod, you can get
                          it at Inside3D.  Look for December 25th news in
                          the archive.  It is posted on that day.
Web site/Home page      : NONE
News site               : Inside3D (http://www.inside3d.com)
Additional Credits to   : id Software for Quake2, especially Paul Steed of 
                          id for giving out the stats for the enemies

                          Matt Barnett for leading target code for Iron Maiden
                          (http://ds.dial.pipex.com/town/terace/qg20).  The
                          actual code used is a modified version of his.

                          SumFuka of QDeveLS
                          (http://www.planetquake.com/qdevels)
                          File I/O routine comes from the MOTD tutorial

Misc                    : This replaces m_shield mod (the monster shield
                          enhancement mod).  You will need version 3.09
                          of Quake II.
================================================================

* Play Information *

Single Player           : yes
Deathmatch (2-16)       : No
New Sounds              : No 
New Graphics            : No    
New Music               : No 

* Construction *

Base                    : Quake2 DLL Source
Editor(s) used          : Microsoft Visual C++ v4.0
Known Bugs              : Who knows.  Well, the monsters have a tendency
                          to run up to you and stare at you for a little
                          bit (or run straight at a wall) before finally
                          shooting.  Also, when it gets too close to the
                          walls, it can get stuck as usual.  That hasn't
                          change.  Since the soldiers now move often, you
                          should see this problem a quite a bit more (
                          unless, of course, you don't move towards the
                          walls at all).
Build Time              : I don't know.  Forgot.

* Install Instructions *

1) Make a dir under your quake2 directory (c:\quake2\dmsg)
2) Unzip the gamex86.dll into the dir created in #1 
   (i.e. C:\quake2\soldier)
3) Run Quake2 with the command line "quake2 +set game dir" where "dir" is the
   directory where you copied the gamex86.dll
   (i.e. quake2 +set game soldier)
4) start a new game 

* Other Info *

This is my fourth attempt for this mod which is my very first Quake II mod
and my very first C program.  Well, it is my "third" Quake II mod if you
consider the soldier mod and the m_shield mod as two separate mods.  I
consider them all the same mod but with different names.  It is my "second"
C program if you take into account the "Hello World" program I created.
I did create a couple of C++ programs using Visual C++ several months
ago that calculated equations found in an upcoming Environmental Engineering
book.


* Version Info *

v1.03 (January 08, 1997)

- Infantry now can block.  Skill 3 and less, absorbs 50% of damage.  Skill 4
  and higher absorbs 75% of damage.  Remember, Infantry can not shoot while
  blocking nor can they move.  Instead of always dodging and absorbing
  100% of the damage, they can also choose to block.  I didn't think the
  original blocking frames were very much use until I used this approach.

- Brain (the one with the tentacles) now move faster when "running"

- A welcome message pops up (a message of the day).  Place a
  "welcome.txt" file in your main Quake2 directory.  If no file is found,
  then a default welcome message will be used.  The contents of the message
  is placed in the center of the screen.

- Flyer's "running" speed has been increased by an additional 30%,
  Flyer can strafe like soldiers a little bit.  And, flyers move while
  firing.  Strafing most effective in "melee" situations.

- Increased Hover's "running" speed by 100%


v1.02 (January 06, 1997)

- Fixed it so that shotgun soldiers now spawn when it should instead of
  Iron Maidens

- Stroggs with special ability from the Mega Armor will now disable this
  ability when player is killed

- Iron Maiden will now resurrect and they now have shielding

- The shark's swimming speed increased by 1/3rd.  Flyer's "running" speed
  increased by 100%.

- Soldier, Mutant, Infantry, Iron Maiden, Gunner, Berserker,  Medic, Shark,
  and Parasite's health is doubled for skill levels greater than 7 (e.g.
  skill 8 and higher)

- Maximum skill setting is 2000

- "Deathmatch items" will not spawn in single-player games for skill levels
  3 or less.  Unchanged from previous versions but was never mentioned in
  text.  They never RESPAWN in single-player so use your new found ammo
  and weapons wisely.

- "NEARBY" Stroggs are alerted of your presence.

- Mega Power Armor makes Stroggs translucent.  From a distance, they look
  invisible.  So those of you who like to shoot at Stroggs from a distance
  will find them a little harder to hit.  This is unchanged from previous
  versions--it is the "secret" new ability I mentioned before.

v1.01b (January 03, 1997)

- Recompiled for v3.09 of Quake II
- Tweaked aiming for leading target.  In a certain range, the lead will be
  reduced by 80%.  This is to take into account that players can strafe
  quickly left and right to trick the Strogg into firing in the wrong
  direction.  With this "tweak", the error will no longer be as large.
  If the target is far away, no correction is used.  If the target is
  very close, no correction is used.

v1.00 (December 31, 1997)

Here's a list of things added or changed from the original.  The list is
not in any typical order.

The soldier will display animations normally not seen very often in the
original release.  The run and shoot as well as duck and shoot animation
sequence will be seen more often in this mod.  Also the run, shoot, and
trip sequence can now be seen.  Originally, Quake II did not show this
oddity at all.  Lower skilled soldiers will trip more often.

The "move and fire" sequence comes in two variations--running straight
at you (low skill) and strafing (high skill).  These two variations
are randomly "augmented" with the tripping animation.

Some sequences can only be seen at certain skill levels.  The trip
sequence has been further "augmented" at higher skill levels.  It might
look like there is a new model involved but trust me, this is all
done "in software".  The animation frames were originally part of the
initial release.

At skill setting of three or higher, the Stroggs now have shielding.  They
are a little tougher with shielding.  Gunners, Berserkers, Soldiers, and
Infantry are the only Stroggs that have been modified to include shielding.

In my previous revisions, the machine gun soldiers were basically the
same as id's original release except for ducking more often and shielding.
Now, the machine gun soldiers can move and attack at the same time.  Unlike
the previous two types (light guard and shotgun guard), this soldier will
not trip.  This means they are tougher than the previous two.

At skill 0, you do double the damage if you "surprise" the enemies (all of
them, not just the soldiers).  Originally, the player does double damage at
ALL skill levels.  At higher skill, you do not do double damage.  At skill 2
and higher, the Stroggs do not attack each other.  Originally, the Stroggs
will attack each other at all skill levels.

New to Quake II is the Mega Power Armor. It is only slightly more effective 
in reducing damage than the normal shell Power Armor (absorbs 75% vs. 66%).
However, the energy consumption of the mega power armor is 250% more efficent
than the normal power armor.  Only the monsters can use the mega power
armor, unfortunately for you.  In addition, the armor gives the monsters a 
new ability. You will have to play the game to find out.

The movement code has also been modified.  At lower skills, the monster will
freely walk off the ledge.  In some cases, this might actually make the game
a little tougher since they can now "chase" you down from a ledge.  However,
if you use your brain correctly, you can trick the monsters into falling in
areas that will make it more difficult for it to follow you--very effective
against Stroggs that have only melee attacks.   This is the reason that the
higher skilled monsters do not possess this modified movement code.  At
skill 0, there is a 100% chance it will walk off the ledge.  At skill 1,
there is a 10% chance.  At skill 2, there is a 1.2% chance and at skill 3,
there is only a 0.03% chance.  At any higher skill, there is no chance.
Regardless of skill, they usually do not walk into lava, slime, or water.
You might think that the probablity is quite low for skill settings at 2 and
3.  Remember, this chance is calculated every time the enemy reaches the
ledge.  In any given situation, the monster can be repeatedly running to the
ledge so this chance is calculated quite often.  Smaller numbers, much
smaller numbers are required because of this little fact.  So do not consider
the percentages as a barrier preventing the monster from falling.  Consider
these percentages as a "delay" factor--the monster will fall but when will
it fall is the question.  The length of this delay is random so at any
given moment, it may appear that the monster can fall off the ledge in no
time at all while in other situations, it hesitates for quite a long time.

Because I am now using the "move and fire" animation sequence, the combat
abilities of the soldiers and gunners are now different.  Besides
strafing while running towards you, they can also circle strafe when they
are close enough to you.  Soldiers can now duck and fire.  Originally, you
have to aim a projectile weapon at their heads for the soldiers to duck and
only then there is only a 25% chance that it will actually duck and depending
on skill, they can either duck or duck and shoot.  Now, it will duck and
shoot when it chooses to.

The obituary has been modified for new death messages when killing yourself
and when a monster kills you.  It is not complete.

Soldier resurrection has been added.  At skill 4, there is a 50% chance that
the monster will resurrect.  At higher skill, there is a 100% chance.
Of course, gibbed Stroggs do not resurrect.  The length of time the monsters
stay dead is random but they stay dead for at least 2 seconds.  At skill 10
and higher, they stay dead for only 2 seconds.   At this time, you have just
two seconds to gib the dead body or it will be resurrected.  Almost forgot,
mutants resurrect, too.

The Stroggs are actually a little bit more difficult than the original.
However, if you want to see actual difficulty, you will need to play a skill
setting greater than three.  The "hard" level is only at skill 2.  If you
are a beginner who wish to have a challenge, I recommend skill 6.  More
skilled players who want a challenge should use skill 15 or higher.  Make
sure you pick a map with Iron Maidens, Soldiers, Infantry, Mutants, Gunner,
and Berserker.  These are the Stroggs that have been modified.  

Soldiers now give out correct pain sounds.  This was a bug in the original
dll.

Iron Maiden will lead target at medium skill and higher.  Soldiers will lead
target using the same routine as Iron Maiden at skill 5 and higher.  At
skill levels 1 to 4, the soldiers will lead target plus add some random
value to encourage "missing" the target for targets that are moving at a
constant speed and constant direction.

Type "cmd trailbeam" at the console.  This will toggle on/off (default off)
for showing the "bread crumb" trails used by the monsters.  

* Monster AI Correction *

v1.00 (December 31, 1997)

There was one bug that I found with the monster AI that prevented it
from chasing the player effectively.  Chasing, in this context, refers
to the monster's action when the player is NO LONGER in sight and he/she is
running away from the monster.  The bug occured when the player creates
the trail of points for the monster to follow.  The bug causes the player
to spawn a bunch of trail points at the same spot.  Only a certain number
of points can be used--eight.  

There is a slight improvement on the chasing.

Additionally, there was another bug in which the first trail point is not
spawned when the player first enters the level.  This has been corrected.
As far as  I can tell, the game play has not been changed in removing this
bug.  At least, it did not change while playing on BASE1.

NOTE: Keep in mind that if you are within the monster's sight, it will not
use its chasing routine.  This means that the "bread crumbs" will not be
used.  In general, it will try to run after you using a zig-zag, strafing,
or straight line path towards you.


* Misc Info *

A little side note, the chase AI will *NOT* work in COOP mode.  By design, it
can not work.  So all those COOP patches have Stroggs that are no smarter
than Quake I monsters (or DOOM monsters or Wolfenstein enemies).

This patch is a beta so I expect features that are supposed to be in the game
but for some reason are not working at all or have some other bug that keeps
it from working properly.


* Legal Stuff *

If you want to use this patch in anything that will be redistributed, please
e-mail me first. (This excludes CDROM.COM and mirrors which may of course
distribute it freely without asking.)
