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  Title    : BFG-9500  
ͼ

Filename : BFG10.ZIP
Version  : 1.0

Date     : 11/27/96

Author   : Jonathan E. Wright

Web Page : http://www.trailerpark.com/phase1/nelno/

           Check here for the latest updates to Cujo, BFG and the
           Blaze Gun.

Email    : nelno@interpath.com

Credits  : ID Software for desiging Doom first and then bringing us Quake!


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  Type of Mod  
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Quake C  : yes
Sound    : yes
MDL      : yes


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  Format of Quake C  
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unified diff  : no
context diff  : no
.qc files     : yes
progs.dat     : yes

See the included file PROGS.SRC for a list of which files have been
modified and which were added.


ͻ
  Description of the Modification  
ͼ

This Quake C modification make a weapon which functions _very close to_
the BFG-9000 in Doom and Doom 2.  There are a few minor differences
because of the variations between the Quake and and Doom engine.  See the
Technical Details section below for a quick description of how the Doom
BFG and Quake BFG's work (if you think you knew how the BFG worked, then
you probably don't, so read about it, it will make your use of this
weapon much more effective).

The operation of the Quake BFG was based on the BFG-9000 FAQ by By
Tony Fabris, without which I would not have known how to emulate the BFG.
This FAQ can be found on various pages across the web.  Just use a search
engine like Yahoo's to find BFG 9000 FAQ and you'll be there.

This mod can be used on servers, as long as the unique BFG sound from Doom
is replaced so that anyone can log on.  Trace hits, initial impact, and
shot sprites all use Quake sprites.

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  How to use Modification  
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Start your game with quake -game BFG, where BFG is the directory in which
the BFG patch is installed.  If you're using the BFG installed with Cujo,
then BFG should be whatever directory you installed Cujo in.

To select the BFG you must have picked up the lightning gun already.
Simply select the lightning gun twice and you will be armed with the
BFG-9000, Quake style.

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  How to Install the Modification  
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(if you have Cujo v1.3 or greater, follow the directions in CUJO1x.TXT to
install the BFG).

To install BFG 1.0, make a directory in your Quake directory called BFG.
Unzip into that directory using PKUNZIP's -d option.  For instance:

PKUNZIP -d C:\DOWNLOAD\BFG10.ZIP

If you do not use the -d option the mod will not work correctly, if at all.
If you are using WinZip, it is normally set to do this automatically.

To start Quake using the BFG mod, go to your Quake directory and type:

QUAKE -GAME BFG

where BFG is the directory where you unzipped the BFG10.ZIP archive.

Select the BFG by selecting the lightning gun twice.  If you do not have
the lightning gun, you don't have the BFG.  If you have one, you have the
other.

The source for the BFG-9500 is included in this archive and will unzip
in the BFG\SRC archive.


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  Technical Details  
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How the BFG works:

Doom:
  The initial BFG shot travels at a speed of 25, faster than the player
  can run, but still slow enough to be avoided easily.  The initial impact
  does 100-800 points of damage to the entity it impacts.  Approximately
  0.2-0.4 seconds after the impact of the initial shot, a damage cone
  extends *from the player* in the exact direction that the BFG shot was
  fired -- this is not necessarily the dirction from the player to the
  impact of the intial BFG shot.  Rather, if you were to fire the BFG
  northward, then run around until it hit, the damage cone would extend
  northward from wherever you are standing, 0.2-0.4 seconds after the
  impact.

  The damage cone consists of 20 rays (actually more like planes which
  are perpendicular to the ground, since they can hit any object at any
  altitude as long as it is visible to the player).  If any ray impacts
  an entity, it does 5-15 points of damage to that entity.  Entities can
  be hit by multiple rays.  If all 15 points of the ray are not used up,
  the  ray keeps travelling and can hit other entities until all its
  energy is exhausted.  There may or may not be a period of time while
  the damage cone remains lethal.  Please read the included BFG_FAQ.HTML
  if you want a more accurate and detailed description.

Quake:
  The initial BFG shot travels at a velocity of 500, faster than the player
  but easily avoided if you're paying attention (I used this value because
  it felt right, not because it worked out to any factor of Doom speeds).
  The impact of the shot does 70-300 points of damage, scaled down from
  the damage in Doom because nothing in Quake has as much health as
  the Cyberdemon in Doom.  This way, single play mode is left a little
  more challenging since Shambler's cannot be killed by a single direct
  hit.

  The damage cone fires a random time between 0.2 and 0.4 seconds after
  the impact of the shot.  The FAQ said 0.4 seconds, but it seemed a tad
  long, so I randomized it.  The cone covers 60 degrees and starts 30
  degrees to the left of the player, firing in the same direction that
  the initial shot was fired (not towards the impact point!).  Because
  Doom was effectively 2D and traced planes instead of rays, the Quake
  BFG casts 5 rows of 40 traces, above and below the horizontal plane
  in which the BFG was fired.  This gives approximately the effect of the
  Doom BFG, even though it is not using the exact same number of rays.
  If only one row were cast in the plane the BFG was shot, only entities
  even on that horizontal plane would be hit, which is *not* how the Doom
  BFG worked.  The traces also do more damage than the Doom BFG, but this
  was changed so the effect of multiple bodies gibbing seemed closer to
  the Doom BFG.  Traces do not continue until all their damage is
  absorbed -- the first entity effectively absorbs the ray, even if it
  does not take maximum damage from it.

  If you have any complaints or suggestions about how I can make the
  BFG-9500 more like the Doom BFG-9000, please email me at
  <nelno@interpath.com>.


ͻ
  Future Enhancements  
ͼ

This all depends on what people think of the initial implementation.  The
whole idea is to make a weapon that very closely parallel the _effects_ of
the BFG in Doom.

I had intended to include Doom's BFG-9000 sprites and model the BFG 9000
to the weapon, which I may still do, but I cannot get SPRGEN.EXE to
package the sprites without commiting a GPF.  If you have any experience
with getting SPRGEN.EXE to work, please email me if you can help.


ͻ
  Revision History  
ͼ


Changes in version 1.0

 Initial release.


ͻ
  Copyright and Distribution Permissions  
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Authors MAY use these modifications as a basis for other publically
available, not-for-profit work, provided they inform the author of any
modifications which are made.

You may distribute this Quake modification in any electronic
format as long as this description file remains intact and unmodified,
is retained along with all of the files in the archive and the
author's name and email address are never removed from the code,
despite other modifications which might be made.

The above permissions do not apply to Actura Software, who may not do
anything, in any form, in any way, by any means with these files,
including, but not limited to, sale and redistribution of the software.

If anyone else would like to include this modification in a collection
of Quake modifications, whether for sale or otherwise, you must contact me
and let me know about it.
