Pulp Adventures Mod Released!

[BentonGrey]

Hello my friends, the Pulp Adventures mod is released!  This is one of my favorite projects I've ever done, and I am pretty happy with how it all turned it. 

It tells an original tale of danger and daring do, teaming many classic pulp heroes and several modern characters cut from the same cloth!  It features a huge cast of characters, including all of the two-fisted heroes gracing the awesome artwork above there, as well as a host of other crusaders for justice.  The story features several classic pulp villains and a twisting, turning plot that ties in to the settings and adventures of many of the starring characters.  So, what are you waiting for?  Come, ride with Britt Reid, laugh with the Shadow, swing the trees with Tarzan, and buckle your share of swashes with Zorro!

http://greylands.freedomforceforever.com/PulpAdventures.exe

Patch 1:
http://greylands.freedomforceforever.com/PulpAdventuresPatch1.zip

Patch 2:
http://greylands.freedomforceforever.com/PulpAdventuresPatch2.zip

You can see the release page on my site, here:
https://bentongrey.wordpress.com/2016/09/21/pulp-adventures-released/

Spoiler

Howdy folks, as many of you know, I've been working on a mod teaming up a lot of the classic pulp heroes like Doc Savage, the Shadow, and the Green Hornet, plus some anachronistic guys like Indiana Jones and the Rocketeer.  It started out as a simple little one-shot, but as these things are wont to do, it grew exponentially as my ideas and the story snowballed mercilessly. 

Nevertheless, I'm getting pretty close to the end here, so I'm starting to think about getting it ready for release.  Is there anyone out there interested in doing some testing for me?  Ideally, I'd like to have someone start playing through it soon while I finish off the ending, as it is not a small project (clocking in at 14 missions at the moment).

Spyder has been awesomely testing the mod for me, and I am almost entirely done.  I'm in the final stretch, and I wonder now if someone out there would be willing to give me a hand with some map making. 

[spydermann93]

Howdy folks, as many of you know, I've been working on a mod teaming up a lot of the classic pulp heroes like Doc Savage, the Shadow, and the Green Hornet, plus some anachronistic guys like Indiana Jones and the Rocketeer.  It started out as a simple little one-shot, but as these things are wont to do, it grew exponentially as my ideas and the story snowballed mercilessly. 

Nevertheless, I'm getting pretty close to the end here, so I'm starting to think about getting it ready for release.  Is there anyone out there interested in doing some testing for me?  Ideally, I'd like to have someone start playing through it soon while I finish off the ending, as it is not a small project (clocking in at 14 missions at the moment).

I'm willing to take part in this.  Don't know how much I'd be able to do (hopefully 80%, if not all of it) because of school, but I'd love to help out as much as I can.

[BentonGrey]

Excellent Spyder!  I'm going to put the finishing touches on this mission, and I'll send you what I've got.

[BentonGrey]

Spyder has been awesomely testing the mod for me, and I am almost entirely done.  I'm in the final stretch, and I wonder now if someone out there would be willing to give me a hand with some map making. 

[BentonGrey]

Bump!  It's fairly minor work I need, just placing objects for the most part.

[BentonGrey]

Okay, I've solved some of my map problems, but now I have new ones.  I need help!

I've got the Pan's Temple map from FF1, using the MapPack version for FF2, and I've got the map itself working fine, but when I point it at the level_layout file I copied over from my main directory, all of the objects vanish.  I've got the map detecting its terrain file properly, but even though I've got all the necessary objects in place AND I've pointed the level_layout to area_speciff1, none of the objects show up.  What do I need to do?  This is unusual.

[Epimethee]

I really wish I could help you; hopefully someone can chime in. If not—map-making being a rare skill, especially nowadays—, I suggest PM'ing our cartographer par excellence, CmdrKoening.

[BentonGrey]

Cmdrkoening is my go-to for map questions, and Dana has helped me out more than I can ever say, but unfortunately he's pretty busy with real life stuff at the moment.  I'm hoping someone with some bit of arcane knowledge will pop in with a solution.

[John Jr.]

Great to know you are still modding, Benton and this one looks very interesting.
Good luck!

[BentonGrey]

Thanks JJ!  I recommend your awesome mods to someone just the other day. 

[John Jr.]

You're welcome, buddy. And thanks for the recommendation, I'm flattered.
I'll try to visit often, really missed you guys.

[BentonGrey]

Hey guys, does anyone know how to play a short sound file in a mission?  Do I need to set it up as dialog or something?  I don't want it to be music or anything, but I'm thinking of playing the intros from the various character's radio shows at the beginnings of their missions.  I'm not quite sure how to go about it, though.

[daglob]

Someplace I have recordings of some of the Doc Savage radio show...

[BentonGrey]

Neat!  I've never been able to track those down!

[daglob]

Yeah, but he resembles Dr. Fate more than he resembles Doc Savage. It's the mystic hood version.

[BentonGrey]

Whoa, I've never even heard of that!

[daglob]

http://comicvine.gamespot.com/doc-savage-comics/4050-26235/


Better choice is the NPR versions. I think I saw one of them available online not long ago.


https://tim-byrd.com/2009/11/21/fear-cay-doc-savage-on-the-radio/

I don't know if it just streams or if you can save it.

[BentonGrey]

Man, how bizarre!  Golden Age stuff was pretty crazy.

I actually just read about that Fear Cay adaptation.  Neat!

[BentonGrey]

Okay, I think I can probably do this as dialog...but I don't know where to put the sound files for that or how to set it up.  Anyone know where to find that info?

[Cyber Burn]

http://www.mediafire.com/download/ckw0q59cme1ji3v/Making_a_Freedom_Force_MOD.pdf

I haven't gone through all of this, but hopefully it will at least help a little bit.

[BentonGrey]

Hmm, that is a cool resource, CB, but unfortunately I didn't see anything about adding dialog.  Bah.

Well, it's okay for the moment.  I found a workaround.  I just added these things as music files, added some incidental music after the dialog and had the next encounter change to a new music file, so it shouldn't have time to repeat. It isn't perfect, but I have to say, it works pretty well.

Now the first Shadow mission opens with the Shadow's laugh and the intro from the old radio show!  Same for the first Green Hornet mission. 

[WyldFyre]

Just out of curiosity Benton, whose voice are you using for the Shadow?  I listen to Radio Classics on XM and there are several different actors (Orson Wells being a favorite).

[BentonGrey]

Howdy WF.  Well, there is actually a Shadow voice pack floating around out there, and that is what I'm using.  It's made by a community member, though I'm not sure who.  It sounds quite fitting, though, and is well made. 

I love those old shows!  I liked Well's turn, but I think Bret Morrison may be my favorite.  They all did a pretty great job, though, so it's hard to say.

I didn't know they had classic radio drama on XM!  That's reason enough for me to get it. 

[BentonGrey]

Just a heads-up for those who are interested: I'm writing the final mission right now!  I may have a secret bonus campaign to go with it, but the mod will be mostly done soon.  I've got some awesome folks making more characters who I will add, but most of the heavy lifting is done.  Now I'll just have to test the last few missions, and this sucker could be ready for release.

Depending on how everything shakes out, I may release the mod and then release the bonus campaign as an update.

[BentonGrey]

The Pulp Adventures mod is finished!  I just finished testing the very last mission tonight.  Other than adding in the new characters that are being created by a couple of awesome folks, Pulp Adventures is complete.  I'll probably keep tweaking the voices and the custom music I've put in, but it is playable from start to finish with a big cast of characters (that is going to get bigger soon)!  It clocks in at 17 missions, and it features everything from Nazi punching to dinosaur wrangling!  If you're a fan of pulp movies, classic radio shows, or the old stories themselves, I hope you'll give this a look when it is released. 

I think this MAY be my favorite project I've ever made.  It's just got a completeness and an originality that none of my other mods have achieved.  The amazing art created by Naitvalis is a big part of that.  Anyway, I'll be posting some screenshots as I tweak things this next week.  With any luck, I can get this released with Marvel Adventures before the semester starts!

[spydermann93]

Can't wait to see all that you've added, Benton!

I'm super excited for both of your mods to get full releases.

[daglob]

 

[kkhohoho]

Wowza. I gotta' say Benton, as someone who thought he already played all of the major mods and wasn't sure what else to do in FF, this looks like it'll prove me wrong on both fronts. On top of that, I've recently been interested in getting into the Pulps, but so far, all I've read is Tarzan, and I'm still on Chapter 6 of the first book. This looks like a good opportunity to get a taste for a lot of the classic Pulp heroes in one place, and I'm sure it'll be a hoot. Seriously Benton, this is shaping up to be something special here, and I never say that lightly. Great job here, really.

Also, do you think you could give a list of just what heroes are going to be in the game? I'm going to play it regardless, but it'd still be nice to know just what the full roster's going to be.

[BentonGrey]

Thanks guys!  I'm really excited about this project.  I've even got an expansion planned, and some ridiculously talented folks are making content for it as we speak!

Kk, I'd be happy to list the roster.  At the moment, the mod features these heroes:

• Doc Savage
• The Shadow
• The Spider
• The Spirit
• The Avenger
• The Green Hornet
• Kato
• Indiana Jones
• Zorro
• The Lone Ranger
• Tonto
• Tarzan
• Conan
• The Phantom
• The Rocketeer
• Miss Fury
• Dick Tracy
• The Green Lama
• Captain Midnight
• Flash Gordon (MP)
• Buck Rogers (MP)
• John Carter of Mars (MP)

If things go as planned, I'll soon be adding:

• Mandrake the Magician
• Jungle Jim
• Kolu (Jim's partner)
• Monk and Ham (Doc's aides)

If you are interested in the pulps, I'd definitely recommend the Doc Savage books (they're tons of fun) and the classic radio shows (The Shadow, The Green Hornet, Jungle Jim, Flash Gordon).  The John Carter novels are also great, rip-roaring adventure fun.

[kkhohoho]

Sounds good Benton. Also, no Dick Tracey? I could have sworn you were doing something with him, but maybe that was something else. Still, for one campaign, that's a lot of characters. It even gives the FF campaigns a run for their money, not that I'm complaining. Also, what does 'MP' mean? (Other than 'Magic Points', because I'm pretty sure this ain't a RPG. ) Does it mean they're only available in multiplayer or the Rumble Room, or does it just mean they're recruitable characters that otherwise aren't part of the main story? Which would make sense given just who they are, but still.