Heretic (computer game)
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| Heretic | |
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| Developer(s) | Raven Software |
| Publisher(s) | id Software, GT Interactive |
| Engine | Doom engine |
| Release date(s) | December 23 1994 |
| Genre(s) | First-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer 2-4 player deathmatch or cooperative |
| Rating(s) | BBFC: PG RSAC: V3: Blood and gore USK: 18 |
| Platform(s) | PC (MS-DOS), Mac. RISC OS |
| Input | Keyboard, Mouse |
Heretic is a fantasy first-person shooter computer game created by Raven Software, published by id Software, and distributed by GT Interactive in 1994.
Using a modified Doom engine, Heretic was one of the first first-person games to feature inventory manipulation and the ability to look up and down. It also introduced multiple gib objects spawned when a character suffered a death by extreme force or heat. Previously, the character would simply crumple into a heap. It's notable that besides background music, the game also used randomized ambient sounds and noises to further enhance the atmosphere, such as evil laughter, chains rattling and water dripping. All music in the game was composed by Kevin Schilder.
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[edit] Versions
The original version of Heretic has three unlinked episodes - the City of the Damned, where the player must go through an abandoned ancient city overrun by monsters, Hell's Maw, which is set in Hell, and The Dome of D'Sparil, which is set in a city at the bottom of the ocean, protected by gigantic crystal domes. A stand-alone retail edition, Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders, was also made available and features two additional episodes - The Ossuary, which takes the player to the shattered remains of a world conquered by the Serpent Riders centuries ago, and The Stagnant Demesne, where the player enters D'Sparil's home stronghold (which was designed to be the hardest episode of the game). A patch was freely downloadable to enhance the original Heretic up to Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders and add the missing episodes. A shareware version was also released which contains the first episode of the game.
The first sequel, Hexen, which also uses a modified Doom engine, was released about a year after Heretic in 1995. The next game in the Hexen/Heretic universe, Hexen II, was released in 1997 and was based on a modified Quake engine. Later in 1998, Heretic II was released, using a modified Quake II engine.
In early 1999, the source code of Heretic was published by Raven Software. This resulted in ports to Linux and other operating systems, and updates to the Heretic engine to utilize 3D acceleration.
[edit] Enemies
The game features numerous enemies, all of which are supernatural in origins.
- Gargoyle - A small, red flying creature with only a claw attack. This is the first creature encountered in the game.
- Fire Gargoyle - Indistinguishable from a gargoyle until they attack, these can throw small fireballs.
- Golem - These humanoid rock creatures have only a melee punch attack. They will sometimes drop wand crystals upon death.
- Nitro Golem - Resembling normal golems, they can erupt in flame and fire homing skulls at the player. Like normal golems, they will sometimes drop wand crystals upon death.
- Undead Warrior - Skeletons clad in armor, they throw green ethereal axes at the player. Occasionally, they will throw a red, more damaging axe instead. They sometimes drop ethereal arrows.
- Disciple of D'Sparil - These appear to be shrouded humanoids, though underneath their black robes is only shadow. They can fly and attack with a spell that shoots purple rings in a spread of three. They will occasionally drop claw orbs, and rarely drop Tomes of Power.
- Sabreclaw - These vaguely humanoid armored figures have scorpion tails and iron claws. While they don't have a ranged attack, their melee attacks are rather formidable. They occasionally drop lesser runes.
- Weredragon - These large beasts have draconic features and shoot large fireballs. When they die, they sometimes drop ethereal arrows.
- Ophidian - Appearing starting in the third episode, these creatures have the lower body of a rattlesnake while the head is humanoid with serpentine features. They wield tridents from which they fire shots of magic in bursts. They will occasionally drop flame orbs.
- Iron Lich - First appearing as the boss of the first episode, these rather deadly creatures are found in many levels in later episodes. They appear as large metal skulls with glowing eyes and massive grins. They have a few attacks including a whirlwind, which chases the player and tosses them into the air. Occasionally, they will drop a claw orb or Morph Ovum.
- Maulotaur - Appearing first as the boss of the second episode, theses minotaur-like creatures can shoot volleys of fireballs and can charge the player, knocking them back. They can drop flame orbs which give the player as many phoenix rod shots as inferno orbs. They can also drop mystic urns on occasion.
- D'Sparil - This is the final villain the player encounters, one of the Serpent Riders. He initially appears riding a chaos serpent, wearing red and gold robes. When the player deals him enough damage, his mount dies and he becomes even more formidable. He can summon disciples, teleport, and hurl electrical charges at the player. In the game, he appears only in the final level of the third episode. It is interesting to note that his chanting, when played backwards, says, "surrender to D'Sparil".
Some enemies, namely golems and undead warriors, sometimes appear as translucent ghosts that can only be hit with certain weapons. A few of the enemies reappear in Hexen: chaos serpents are separate and fairly common creatures, maulotaurs can be summoned by the player to attack enemies, and the dark bishops and the Heresiarch appear similar to the disciples.
[edit] Weapons
Despite the difference in setting and design, Heretic is very similar to Doom, especially in regards to its weapons, which are (for the most part) equivalents.
The game has 8 weapons in all, each of which has an alternate powered up mode activated by the Tome of Power item. The weapons are;
1 - Staff/Gauntlets of the Necromancer; the staff is made of wood and is used to "poke" enemies, doing a very small amount of damage. The staff is a non-magical weapon, and cannot hit non-corporeal enemies (ghosts). It is like the fist in Doom. When the Tome of Power is used, the staff becomes charged with electricity, increasing the damage per attack, though it still can't be used against ghost monsters.
The Gauntlets of the Necromancer cause a green electricity-like discharge to emit from their fingers when the player attacks. The gauntlets will freeze an enemy in place and do continuous damage to an enemy. They cause slightly more damage than the Staff and at increased range. They are analogous to Doom's famous chainsaw. Neither requires any ammunition.
When under the influence of a Tome of Power artifact, the Staff is electrified, does more damage, and has knockback. The Gauntlets' electrical charge changes its colour to red and does more damage with a much greater range, and drains health points from the enemy transferring them to the player. This powerful ability renders the player near-invincible in most conditions.
2 - Elven Wand; a staff topped with a magical crystal that shoots weak projectiles at slow rate, manifested by a gold-coloured "spark" at the point of impact. This is one of two hitscan weapons in the game. Analogous to Doom's pistol. When under the influence of the Tome of Power, the wand fires a spread of 5 sparks as well as 2 crystal-like projectiles at both ends of the spread. It uses wand crystals and crystal geodes as ammunition.
3 - Ethereal Crossbow; a more powerful weapon, shooting green "ethereal" arrows travelling in clusters of three. The centre arrow is more powerful than the two on either side, can hit ghosts and is not blown around by the wind. Analogous to Doom's shotgun, except for its not being hitscan. Under the influence of the Tome of Power, the crossbow fires 5 bolts per attack, three of which have the same properties of the central one of the original attack as described above. The crossbow uses ethereal arrows as ammunition, which are either found loose or in quivers.
4 - Dragon Claw; a helmet-like weapon worn over the fist with claws mounted on its top; it shoots projectiles at high rate manifested by a blue-colored "spark" at the point of impact. This is a hitscan weapon, and is mostly analogous to Doom's chaingun. When fired under the influence of the Tome of Power, the weapons spark is more powerful and releases five spiked balls on impact that tear through anything it touches, aside from the player who uses it. In exchange for this, the weapon uses five times as much energy per shot and has a slower rate of fire. The Dragon Claw uses special "claw orbs" or energy orbs as ammunition, the latter being a more potent source.
5 - Hellstaff; a staff topped with a horned skull that shoots red projectiles at a high rate, doing more damage than the Dragon Claw and, unlike the Dragon Claw, possessing some stopping power. Analogous to Doom's plasma rifle. Under the Tome of Power, the rate of fire is greatly reduced. However, the weapon fires a larger projectile that homes in targets and does more damage than the standard Hellstaff projectile which requires five times as much ammunition to fire. In addition, the projectile causes energy bolts to rain down on the area where it lands, causing heavy damage to whatever is underneath. However, the Maulotaur and D'Sparil take lesser damage from the energy rain than lesser monsters, making the weapon less effective against them. The Hellstaff uses runes as ammunition, which come in two varieties, small and large.
6 - Phoenix Rod; a golden staff topped with a phoenix-like design, shooting a fiery, smoking, moderately fast projectile that explodes upon impact into a phoenix-like shape. The projectile deals splash damage to anything near it, including the player but excluding the Maulotaur and D'Sparil. This makes it very similar to Doom's rocket launcher. The projectile goes straight through ghosts, although ghosts still take splash damage from the weapon. The weapons recoil will throw the user back a short distance with each shot. The Tome of Power turns the weapon into a flamethrower, which reduces the weapons range but deals heavy damage to anything the flame touches. Unlike the fireball projectile, the flamethrower attack is effective against ghosts and bosses. It only takes about two powered up ammo units to kill a maulotaur. Flame orbs or inferno orbs are used as ammunition, with inferno orbs being more potent than flame orbs.
7 - Firemace; a mace-like staff that shoots exploding cannonball-like projectiles at high rate. The spheres, powered or not, cannot hit ghostly enemies and will disappear into any liquid at their impact points. Has no Doom analog; the BFG9000 operates completely differently. When under the influence of the Tome of Power, the firemace has a slower rate of fire but shoots out large metallic spheres for the cost of five normal spheres that can home in on targets with each bounce they make and can instantly kill any enemy in the game, aside from the Iron Lich, the Maulotaur and D'Sparil. Unlike most projectiles, the large firemace sphere can travel through teleporters and thus can telefrag anything at the other side and the speed at which they travel is directly influenced by the players speed when they fire the weapon, to the point that they can be fired backwards if the player backpedals fast enough. Mace spheres are used to power the firemace, which can be found in small and large piles.
Heretic also has equivalents of Doom's exploding barrels of toxic waste, which appear as large green thorny spheres. Like Doom's barrels, they can be used as weapons by shooting them when enemies are standing next to them. Unlike Doom however, the spheres can be nudged around by the player. In some areas the spheres spawn automatically from apparently nowhere.
[edit] Artifacts
In Heretic, many items are stored when picked up to be used later. The player loses artifacts at the end of each level so that the player starts the next level with only one of any artifact that he possessed in the previous level, with the exception of the Wings of Wrath, which are lost on exit.
- Quartz Flask - Looking like a bottle of purple liquid, this item adds 25 to the player's life total and is used automatically if the player reaches low health.
- Torch - This item brightens the area around the player for a limited amount of time.
- Shadowsphere - This item appears as a greenish orb with a face on it. It gives the player partial invisibility, making the player harder to hit.
- Mystic Urn - A grey urn with a golden ankh, this gives the player full health when used. It is used automatically if the player reaches low health.
- Darchala's Chaos Device - This item looks like a grey disk with a red Symbol of Chaos on it. When used, it teleports the player to the level's starting position; if used in deathmatch, it teleports the user to any of the level's spawn points.
- Torpol's Morph Ovum - An egg surrounded by green electrical energy, when used it fires a volley of eggs in front of the player. Any non-boss creatures hit are turned into chickens and can be easily killed.
- Valador's Ring of Invulnerability - A gold ring with a flashing gem, when used it renders the player temporarily invincible and turns the screen a golden color.
- Delmintalitar's Time Bomb of the Ancients - This item looks like an hourglass, and when used it is dropped and explodes a few seconds later. The Maulotaur and D'Sparil are immune to the effects of this artifact
- Tyketto's Tome of Power - A black book with a silver skull on the cover, when used, it powers up the player's weapons for a limited amount of time, giving them stronger attacks which can have very different effects than normal (see the above weapons section).
- Inhilicon's Wings of Wrath - This item looks like a golden skull with bat wings. When used, it allows the player to fly for a limited amount of time.
[edit] Other Items
Like many other first-person shooters of its time, such as Doom, Heretic had several items, which were used automatically when picked up.
- Crystal Vial - This small vial filled with blue liquid restores 10 health when picked up.
- Bag of Holding - When first picked up, this item doubles the player's ammunition capacity. Whenever it is picked up, it gives the player a small amount of each type of ammunition except mace spheres.
- Map Scroll - When acquired, this allows the player to see all areas not yet explored on their map screen.
- Shield - This small, round, silver shield grants the player 100 armor. A silver shield absorbs half the damage the player takes until it's depleted.
- Enchanted Shield - This large, black kite shield with a silver skull grants the player 200 armor. An enchanted shield absorbs three-quarters of the damage the player takes until it's depleted.
[edit] Sequels
Hexen: Beyond Heretic, released in 1995 is set within a separate dimension that is invaded by another of the Serpent Riders. Heretic II, released in 1998, is the direct sequel to Heretic.
