[RC4.1] Chex Quest 3: Vanilla Edition

Whoops, it looks like I accidentally marked some DM-only sectors I added as secret areas in CQ1M5, since the version of SLADE I'm using causes any new sectors attached to a secret sector to also be marked as secrets. I don't really think it should be doing that.

Since this would prevent 100% secrets in single player / co-op, I'm doing an emergency RC2.1 release which can be downloaded here: chex3v_rc2_1.zip

Just finished playing through all of it with Crispy Doom and works flawlessly. 

Honestly, it's about time we got a vanilla compatible version of the whole trilogy.

Excellent work!

RC3 has been released! The most notable part of this is the introduction of the DOS package! I assume everything in that package is legally fine to redistribute, but if something isn't please let me know so I can remove it in another update. See the spoiler for a list of changes in this version.

Download (for source ports): chex3v_rc3.zip
Download (for DOS): chex3v_dos_rc3.zip

12 hours ago, Melodic Spaceship said:

RC3 has been released! The most notable part of this is the introduction of the DOS package! I assume everything in that package is legally fine to redistribute, but if something isn't please let me know so I can remove it in another update. See the spoiler for a list of changes in this version.

 

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Download (for source ports): chex3v_rc3.zip
Download (for DOS): chex3v_dos_rc3.zip

Well technically, yes:

• Though nobody ever at ID cried wolf, supplying that Doom.exe is technically illegal. Without a Doom IWAD though, that exe won't do much, but push-stove..
• CQ3HACK, i love the fact you include a seperate utility for it, but i do know that @OpenRift can include quit messages/par times directly. However, i'd love to see the source of CQ3HACK!
• I like the idea of CQ3V.EXE, very nifty. However, i do want to point out VULD which provides enhanced functionality.

Let me know if i can help with anything else, as i love these projects.

10 hours ago, Redneckerz said:

Though nobody ever at ID cried wolf, supplying that Doom.exe is technically illegal. Without a Doom IWAD though, that exe won't do much, but push-stove..

Okay, so does this mean you recommend I exclude DOOM.EXE in the next version? I don't think removing it should be much of a problem as INSTALL.BAT is already set up to handle the executable not being included with the package.

10 hours ago, Redneckerz said:

i'd love to see the source of CQ3HACK!

Okay, here's the source:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>

/* CQ3HACK - Hacks DOOM.EXE or DOOM2.EXE to have quit messages that fit in with Chex Quest, because DeHackEd can't do it. */
/* Also changes the par times to the ones in the BEX file, because why not. */
/* This is to be run AFTER DeHackEd does its thing. */

unsigned int pars[29] = {15,75,120,180,200,240,300,15,110,0,240,90,90,120,90,240,360,340,200,0,240,300,90,150,90,90,360,420,360};
unsigned int originals[16] = {0,80,160,240,320,400,480,560,640,720,800,880,960,1040,1120,1200};
unsigned char* replacements[16] = {
"Don't give up now...do\nyou still wish to quit?",
"Don't quit now, there are still\nflemoids on the loose!",
"Don't give up -- the flemoids will\nget the upper hand!",
"Don't leave now.\nWe need your help!",
"I hope you're just taking a\nbreak for Chex(R) party mix.",
"Don't quit now!\nWe need your help!",
"Don't abandon the\nIntergalactic Federation of Cereals!",
"The real Chex(R) Warrior\nwouldn't give up so fast!",
"Don't give up now...do\nyou still wish to quit?",
"Don't quit now, there are still\nflemoids on the loose!",
"Don't give up -- the flemoids will\nget the upper hand!",
"Don't leave now.\nWe need your help!",
"I hope you're just taking a\nbreak for Chex(R) party mix.",
"Don't quit now!\nWe need your help!",
"Don't abandon the\nIntergalactic Federation of Cereals!",
"The real Chex(R) Warrior\nwouldn't give up so fast!"
};

FILE *input_exe;

int main(void) {
  unsigned long i;
  unsigned long par;
  unsigned char q_index;
  q_index = 0;
  printf("CQ3HACK - Because DeHackEd doesn't like family-friendly quitting!\n");
  if ((input_exe = fopen("DOOMHACK.EXE","rb+"))!=NULL) {
    fseek(input_exe, 0L, SEEK_END);
    i = ftell(input_exe);
    fseek(input_exe, 0L, SEEK_SET);
    if (i == 709905) {
      printf("Doom 1.9 detected.\nWarning: Though supported, Ultimate Doom is preferred.\n");
      fseek(input_exe, 0x99D36L, SEEK_SET);
      par = 0x99BC0L;
    } else if (i == 715493) {
      printf("Ultimate Doom detected.\n");
      fseek(input_exe, 0x9AF3AL, SEEK_SET);
      par = 0x9ADC4L;
    } else if (i == 722629) {
      printf("Final Doom detected.\nWarning: Though supported, Ultimate Doom is preferred.\n");
      fseek(input_exe, 0x9B56AL, SEEK_SET);
      par = 0x9B3F4L;
    } else {
      printf("Unknown or unsupported executable!\n");
      fclose(input_exe);
      exit(1);
    }
    printf("Applying new quit messages...\n");
    for (i=0; i<0x800; i++) {
      if (q_index<16 && i == originals[q_index]) {
        fprintf(input_exe,"%s",replacements[q_index]);
        fputc(0,input_exe);
        i += strlen(replacements[q_index]);
        q_index++;
      } else {
        fseek(input_exe,1,SEEK_CUR);
      }
    }
    printf("Applying new par times...\n");
    fseek(input_exe, par, SEEK_SET);
    for (q_index=0;q_index<29;q_index++) {
      putw(pars[q_index],input_exe);
      putw(0,input_exe);
    }
    fclose(input_exe);
    printf("Executable patched!\n");
  } else {
    printf("Failed to open DOOMHACK.EXE.\n");
  }
  exit(1);

  return 0;
}

Note that it's meant to be compiled with Borland Turbo C, though it's possible other compilers may work.

28 minutes ago, Melodic Spaceship said:

Okay, so does this mean you recommend I exclude DOOM.EXE in the next version? I don't think removing it should be much of a problem as INSTALL.BAT is already set up to handle the executable not being included with the package.

I've included modified Doom EXEs in my install and nobody really told me to take them down because of that. There are modified Doom EXEs on the /idgames archive, and nothing bad has come from those being there (afaik), so I think that makes it fair game to include.

2 hours ago, OpenRift said:

I've included modified Doom EXEs in my install and nobody really told me to take them down because of that. There are modified Doom EXEs on the /idgames archive, and nothing bad has come from those being there (afaik), so I think that makes it fair game to include.

Okay, then. However, Chex 3 Vanilla only includes the unmodified DOOM.EXE along with utilites and a batch file to easily patch it. Is that any different from including a modified executable?

10 minutes ago, Melodic Spaceship said:

 Okay, then. However, Chex 3 Vanilla only includes the unmodified DOOM.EXE along with utilites and a batch file to easily patch it. Is that any different from including a modified executable?

I mean, Doomkid includes the vanilla EXEs in his big vanilla WAD pack.

back in grungo time, we had berry quest, we ate berry for breakfast

10 hours ago, Melodic Spaceship said:

Okay, then. However, Chex 3 Vanilla only includes the unmodified DOOM.EXE along with utilites and a batch file to easily patch it. Is that any different from including a modified executable?

My own two cents:

Since the source code was released at all, it means that, technically, the original EXE _only_ is redistributable (not really the later modified console and Unity ports), and considering this is in the context of the Doom modding community only (that is, your not claiming this is 100% original and/or charging money for it, and you are giving proper credit where it is due), I would be inclined to think id/Bethesda/Zenimax more lenient in this particular regard only.

EDIT: So you can also share your modified EXE too. As long as it includes some disclaimer for the changes (public github repo containing the originals and modifications), you really should be fine here.

This is really cool! Thx for making this! Now im playing Doom megawad but after that i definetly gonna teleport some slimes to another dimension!

I'd like some feedback on if there's any possible improvements on representing the original levels. For this, you may need to get the original ZDoom Chex Quest 3 if you haven't already. Note that if you originally downloaded Chex Quest 3 from ModDB, then you have an outdated version. Chex 3 Vanilla is derived from the newer 1.4, which you can download at http://www.chucktropolis.com/gamers.htm or https://www.chexmix.com/chexquest3.

Additionally, as much as some of you may appreciate my work on Chex 3 Vanilla, it's ultimately mostly just me making edits to Charles Jacobi's work. To that end, I'm planning to make an optional PWAD later on which will act as the fourth episode of Chex 3 Vanilla consisting of fully original level designs by me and @Plerb (and they will still be vanilla-compatible, of course).

One more thing, last week I uploaded the additional MIDIs introduced in Chex 3 Vanilla to YouTube:

2 hours ago, Melodic Spaceship said:

I'd like some feedback on if there's any possible improvements on representing the original levels. For this, you may need to get the original ZDoom Chex Quest 3 if you haven't already. Note that if you originally downloaded Chex Quest 3 from ModDB, then you have an outdated version. Chex 3 Vanilla is derived from the newer 1.4, which you can download at http://www.chucktropolis.com/gamers.htm or https://www.chexmix.com/chexquest3.

I replayed Chex Quest 3 fairly recently (a couple of months ago I think?) and thought you did a fantastic job, I was surprised how well the levels translated to vanilla. The only thing that stood out to me as different was the central command area in E3M1, which I assume you walled off due to the visplane limit.

On 4/6/2024 at 2:21 AM, Melodic Spaceship said:

Okay, so does this mean you recommend I exclude DOOM.EXE in the next version? I don't think removing it should be much of a problem as INSTALL.BAT is already set up to handle the executable not being included with the package.

 

Okay, here's the source:

  Reveal hidden contents

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>

/* CQ3HACK - Hacks DOOM.EXE or DOOM2.EXE to have quit messages that fit in with Chex Quest, because DeHackEd can't do it. */
/* Also changes the par times to the ones in the BEX file, because why not. */
/* This is to be run AFTER DeHackEd does its thing. */

unsigned int pars[29] = {15,75,120,180,200,240,300,15,110,0,240,90,90,120,90,240,360,340,200,0,240,300,90,150,90,90,360,420,360};
unsigned int originals[16] = {0,80,160,240,320,400,480,560,640,720,800,880,960,1040,1120,1200};
unsigned char* replacements[16] = {
"Don't give up now...do\nyou still wish to quit?",
"Don't quit now, there are still\nflemoids on the loose!",
"Don't give up -- the flemoids will\nget the upper hand!",
"Don't leave now.\nWe need your help!",
"I hope you're just taking a\nbreak for Chex(R) party mix.",
"Don't quit now!\nWe need your help!",
"Don't abandon the\nIntergalactic Federation of Cereals!",
"The real Chex(R) Warrior\nwouldn't give up so fast!",
"Don't give up now...do\nyou still wish to quit?",
"Don't quit now, there are still\nflemoids on the loose!",
"Don't give up -- the flemoids will\nget the upper hand!",
"Don't leave now.\nWe need your help!",
"I hope you're just taking a\nbreak for Chex(R) party mix.",
"Don't quit now!\nWe need your help!",
"Don't abandon the\nIntergalactic Federation of Cereals!",
"The real Chex(R) Warrior\nwouldn't give up so fast!"
};

FILE *input_exe;

int main(void) {
  unsigned long i;
  unsigned long par;
  unsigned char q_index;
  q_index = 0;
  printf("CQ3HACK - Because DeHackEd doesn't like family-friendly quitting!\n");
  if ((input_exe = fopen("DOOMHACK.EXE","rb+"))!=NULL) {
    fseek(input_exe, 0L, SEEK_END);
    i = ftell(input_exe);
    fseek(input_exe, 0L, SEEK_SET);
    if (i == 709905) {
      printf("Doom 1.9 detected.\nWarning: Though supported, Ultimate Doom is preferred.\n");
      fseek(input_exe, 0x99D36L, SEEK_SET);
      par = 0x99BC0L;
    } else if (i == 715493) {
      printf("Ultimate Doom detected.\n");
      fseek(input_exe, 0x9AF3AL, SEEK_SET);
      par = 0x9ADC4L;
    } else if (i == 722629) {
      printf("Final Doom detected.\nWarning: Though supported, Ultimate Doom is preferred.\n");
      fseek(input_exe, 0x9B56AL, SEEK_SET);
      par = 0x9B3F4L;
    } else {
      printf("Unknown or unsupported executable!\n");
      fclose(input_exe);
      exit(1);
    }
    printf("Applying new quit messages...\n");
    for (i=0; i<0x800; i++) {
      if (q_index<16 && i == originals[q_index]) {
        fprintf(input_exe,"%s",replacements[q_index]);
        fputc(0,input_exe);
        i += strlen(replacements[q_index]);
        q_index++;
      } else {
        fseek(input_exe,1,SEEK_CUR);
      }
    }
    printf("Applying new par times...\n");
    fseek(input_exe, par, SEEK_SET);
    for (q_index=0;q_index<29;q_index++) {
      putw(pars[q_index],input_exe);
      putw(0,input_exe);
    }
    fclose(input_exe);
    printf("Executable patched!\n");
  } else {
    printf("Failed to open DOOMHACK.EXE.\n");
  }
  exit(1);

  return 0;
}

 

Note that it's meant to be compiled with Borland Turbo C, though it's possible other compilers may work.

apologies for the late reply. No, i don't recommend excluding it for the simple reason nobody incl ID have ever made a fuss over this and they are unlikely to do so.

Thanks for the source, by the way! Could you also include that in your package? I am fascinated that you went to such lengths to enable this version, so thank you!

Really cool TC! here's a list of the bugs i found:

E3M1:

-Linedef 789 is missing a texture
-Linedef 794 seems to be misaligned in a way that isn't intentional

uhhh i think that's it. E3M2 is insanely ammo light but i think that's part of the original map so i dont know if that really counts lol

10 hours ago, Ludi said:

-Linedef 789 is missing a texture
-Linedef 794 seems to be misaligned in a way that isn't intentional

I think that was a bug in the original, but I went ahead and fixed it anyways because it's a minor texture bug that doesn't really affect gameplay.

Also, fun fact: The original 1996 version of the Caverns of Bazoik level is technically not vanilla-compatible, as there's a visplane overflow somewhere in the boss room. This is fixed in Chex 3 Vanilla of course.

I've been meaning to ask about this discrepency between the official e3m1 and the e3m1 in your wad. I'd really like to know why there are now walls in the central command room for the little circle platforms:
 

15 minutes ago, No-Man Baugh said:

I've been meaning to ask about this discrepency between the official e3m1 and the e3m1 in your wad. I'd really like to know why there are now walls in the central command room for the little circle platforms:

The walls were added because without them there was too much drawsegs visible and it was causing a drawseg overflow in vanilla.

1 minute ago, Melodic Spaceship said:

The walls were added because without them there was too much drawsegs visible and it was causing a drawseg overflow in vanilla.

Thanks for the quick answer!

I figured it would've been due to vanilla limitations, but I don't think about overflow glitches too often and didn't think about them when seeing that room

may i pls formally request that this mod be filtered as a doom mod and not a chex quest mod since it uses the doom entities and not chex quest entities. it would make it much more compatible with certain mods (like my own), and theres not a lot of user-end benefit as far as i can tell for making it be filtered like this. to be clear, the issue is that the Config is set to smth like "chex.chex3vanilla" which causes any gzdoom mods with filter folders to wrongfully load chex related folders and ignore doom related folders.

17 minutes ago, OliveTree said:

may i pls formally request that this mod be filtered as a doom mod and not a chex quest mod since it uses the doom entities and not chex quest entities. it would make it much more compatible with certain mods (like my own), and theres not a lot of user-end benefit as far as i can tell for making it be filtered like this. to be clear, the issue is that the Config is set to smth like "chex.chex3vanilla" which causes any gzdoom mods with filter folders to wrongfully load chex related folders and ignore doom related folders.

Hmm, that's kind of tricky to decide on because on one hand it makes sense for things like status bar replacements but on the other hand it does probably mess with the expectations of some gameplay mods that support Chex Quest. Maybe it might still be better to change it, I'll have to think about it.

Hey, I've been having some trouble with trying to start up the DOS version. This always shows up when I try to start it:

It might be my inexperience with DOS, but I'm pretty sure this isn't supposed to happen

Never mind, just ran INSTALL.BAT and there it went lol. Not a bad wad, pretty fun

So proper way to play is CQ3 1.4 as a iwad and vanilla edition as an pwad, right?

1 hour ago, Zaratul said:

So proper way to play is CQ3 1.4 as a iwad and vanilla edition as an pwad, right?

Both are standalone IWADs, though vanilla edition can also be run as an Ultimate Doom PWAD.

17 hours ago, Zaratul said:

So proper way to play is CQ3 1.4 as a iwad and vanilla edition as an pwad, right?

16 hours ago, Shepardus said:

Both are standalone IWADs, though vanilla edition can also be run as an Ultimate Doom PWAD.

Yeah, Shepardus is correct here. The only reason I brought up Chex Quest 3 1.4 was so it could be compared against Vanilla Edition, not to directly run one on top of the other.

Thx for answer. When i play Vanilla Edition as an iwad with Woof\Nugget i have OG Doom 1 episodes names instead of CQ episodes names. DSDA has correct episode names.

6 minutes ago, Zaratul said:

Thx for answer. When i play Vanilla Edition as an iwad with Woof\Nugget i have OG Doom 1 episodes names instead of CQ episodes names. DSDA has correct episode names.

Yeah, I already reported that in the Woof thread and it's been fixed in dev (not in stable release yet). The skill names are also affected; the fix for that one is in progress.

Anyways, getting back to the issue about how this should be filtered in GZDoom, I think "doom.chex3vanilla" might have its own set of issues given the extensive DeHackEd modifications (as well as some DECORATE when loaded in ZDoom) and lack of violence that Chex Quest is supposed to have.

An idea I had was to make the filter simply "Chex3Vanilla" and treat it as entirely its own thing rather than being filtered as a sub-game of Chex Quest or Doom. If it's treated as its own thing that should remove any issues that making it a sub-game of Doom or Chex has, and I think GZDoom does a similar thing with Harmony which likewise does most of the actor modifications with DeHackEd. How does that sound to you, @OliveTree?

On 4/16/2024 at 10:16 PM, Melodic Spaceship said:

Anyways, getting back to the issue about how this should be filtered in GZDoom, I think "doom.chex3vanilla" might have its own set of issues given the extensive DeHackEd modifications (as well as some DECORATE when loaded in ZDoom) and lack of violence that Chex Quest is supposed to have.

 

An idea I had was to make the filter simply "Chex3Vanilla" and treat it as entirely its own thing rather than being filtered as a sub-game of Chex Quest or Doom. If it's treated as its own thing that should remove any issues that making it a sub-game of Doom or Chex has, and I think GZDoom does a similar thing with Harmony which likewise does most of the actor modifications with DeHackEd. How does that sound to you, @OliveTree?

i think this would correct the issue, but i wouldnt know without testing....

RC4 has now been released! There are a lot of changes in this version, and you can view the full changelog under the spoiler, but I'll go over a few highlights.

First of all, I went ahead and used the idea in my previous post to change the GZDoom autoload/filter name to "chex3vanilla", except now that's actually a new filter category, consisting of "chex3vanilla.cq3" which is the main WAD you've probably already been using and "chex3vanilla.d2". The latter is another addition to this version: a Doom 2 based WAD called "chex3d2.wad" which contains most of the same resources as the main WAD but is in the Doom 2 format instead.

Unlike "chex3v.wad" it doesn't contain its own levels (not counting the dummy levels) and is solely meant to be the foundation for other PWADs. You can make a PWAD based on this instead of the main WAD if you'd prefer to use the Doom 2 style format or want to make use of the Super Large Zorcher or Megasphere in levels. Due to it only being of interest to modders and anyone wishing to play a PWAD that requires it, it's included in its own separate package. It currently doesn't have a DOS version.

Lastly, the source code of the CQ3HACK utility is now included in the DOS package as per @Redneckerz's request. At any rate, enough rambling. Grab it here:

For DOS: chex3v_dos_rc4.zip
For source ports: chex3v_rc4.zip
Modding version: chex3d2_rc4.zip

Full changelog: