The Ashes 2063, DMW, and Afterglow gaming and Q & A thread

The Dutch Ghost

Grouchy old man of NMA
Moderator
This is No Mutants' Allowed thread for the Post Apocalypse themed Doom 2 single player total conversion Ashes 2063, its sequel Afterglow, and its spin off Dead Man Walking.

Here you can discuss the games themselves such as the contents and the design and any post any thoughts, suggestions, or criticisms you have on these subjects.
Your feedback is appreciated and it will be read but do understand that there is already a general design plan in place and that your ideas, how good they may sound will not necessarily be used.
Suggestions on how to improve the gameplay are welcome but we can not customize the mods for every individual gamer or some may not be technically feasible (the engine the project uses has its limits, and we do not have full time coders on the team).

But you can also come here if you have any problems with any of the games. If you are stuck somewhere in any of the the campaigns and don't know how to go further or are looking for any particular secret (please mark these with spoiler tags)

And of course you can also ask here for any technical assistance you need with running Ashes 2063, Afterglow, and DMW, or problems you may encounter during playing.

In general the Gzdoom engine is used for these mods, and it comes standard with the stand alone package, but people might want to run it on their own preferred Doom port.
If it is possible we will mentioned it here.


Any new updates that are not big enough to get a full new article of its own will also be posted here.
For example about new mods that are compatible with the Ashes mods such as new weapons, creatures, items, etc. made by modders.


In case you are interested in what went on during the development of Ashes 2063, Dead Man Walking, and Afterglow or pick up some interesting bits from behind the scenes, you can check out the following links that lead to these mods' respective threads on the Zdoom forums.
You may also find answers or solutions for problems you are having such as being stuck on a level, or technical problems.

Do note that the original Ashes 2063 thread and Dead Man Walking thread are now closed, they are kept for historical purposes.
Only the Afterglow thread is still open for new posts in case you want to post a comment or question there.


If you want to read NMA's articles on Ashes, its expansion Dead Man Walking, and Afterglow, you can check their threads out here, here, and here.


Links to the games themselves and related materials can also be found here, and links for possible future content will also be added as soon as they are made public.

The complete Ashes package no longer requires players to have their own copy of Gzdoom, and the Doom 2 game files. Great for those of you want to play this mod but don't have any experience with working with Doom ports.
A complete stand alone downloadable rar file can be found on the Moddb Ashes 2063 page under the 'files' tab button.

Here you can also find the separate .pk3 files for each of the Ashes episodes (Episode 1 includes Dead Man Walking) for those who want to use their own Doom port.

The Moddb page link

For those of you want to listen to the music of Ashes 2063, Afterglow, and Dead Man Walking, you can find these on the website pages of John S Weekly aka Primeval, the man behind the music, here and here.

And if you want to support him through Amazon, you can do so here and here.

Have a good discussion time.
 
This is so valuable for everyone wanting to get into the Ashes series. Thanks!

e: And don't forget your review of Ashes Afterglow, it's an important source of information.
 
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Ashes is pretty much the only «franchise» i am playing these months and i am playing at a very slow pace.
I replayed Ashes 2063 and DMW and still had a blast.
My only complain were the platforming segments and the lack of plot twists in DMW.

I am enjoying Afterglow so far.
Just finished the flooded district, and i was very much impressed by the sheer size of this level, and the fact there are so many doors leading to already explored areas.
Although, i was a bit less impressed by the character i've met in the end.
It felt a bit like the dev wanted me to have a specific impression/feeling about the character, but it feels like it was overdone a bit.
 
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Possible bug
When i talk to Silver in Prosperity, asking about a job, when i tell him i have to clean the tunnels of mutants, Silver answer the same as if i asked about how his friends look like.
 
Possible bug
When i talk to Silver in Prosperity, asking about a job, when i tell him i have to clean the tunnels of mutants, Silver answer the same as if i asked about how his friends look like.

His quest is not in the tunnels but rather the nuclear power plant.
The mechanic's quest is in the tunnels.
 
You didn't get me.

Silver wants me to find his friends.
When I ask him how I know that I found his friend. He gives me answer AAA about how they look like.

Then, I have other dialogs with silver. There is a category of dialogs on which I talk with him about the other quests I have in the city. Like a different question and a different answer for each quest.

When I mention the quest about mutants in the tunnel. His answer should be answer BBB, about the tunnels and the mutants. Instead, He gives me the answer AAA about how his friends look like, which is an entirely different quest. So there is a bug in his answers.

Do I need a screenshot or you got what I am saying ?
 
Sorry, I misread you Naossano

A screenshot would be useful as I have no idea why Silver should mention the mutants in the tunnels, or why the player can bring up the mutants in the tunnels.

Silver's quest to find his friends and the mutants in the tunnels are completely unrelated.
It should not even been brought up.

I did not experience it during my own walkthroughs.
 
A screenshot would be useful as I have no idea why Silver should mention the mutants in the tunnels, or why the player can bring up the mutants in the tunnels.
s.

Once the initial dialog happened and Silver invites you into his building, and you open dialog again, there a dialog section in which you can ask him question about several quests in the city. I guess the protagonist is more inclined to seek advices from the people in the same line of work.

PS: I am playing on 1.05 version.
 
Once the initial dialog happened and Silver invites you into his building, and you open dialog again, there a dialog section in which you can ask him question about several quests in the city. I guess the protagonist is more inclined to seek advices from the people in the same line of work.

Oh, I did not know Vos had added that part. Interesting.
But do make those screenshots so I can relay the possible bug to him.
 
I had to took a hiatus from playing it as there is a lot going on IRL at the moment, so the screenshot will be delayed.

I didn't see this video as i am afraid of possible spoilers, but it might be a good one.

 
I am very late on these screenshots. Didn't play it for months, and then forgot.

I asked question 2 on first screen, then question 1 on second screen.
Instead of answering about the mutants, he answers about his friends.

afterglow doesnt really work on the computer i use today
Does it run Windows 3.1 ?
 

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I finished Ashes: Afterglow yesterday, having played Ashes 2063 and Dead Man Walking beforehand.
I don't have a way with words, even in my native Spanish, so I'll keep this comment short...ish. Be it as it may, I tried like 5 times to write a short comment, and I'm simply unable to. I'll simply drop a list of bullet points to summarize my thoughts.
  • Ashes stands alongside the greats of post-apocalyptic canon, such as classic Fallout and Wasteland. For Fallout fans, old and new, Ashes is a must play.
  • There are hardly any low points to both games. I say "hardly" because I can't think of any at the moment.
  • The aesthetic and sound design are top notch. You just need to play through the first level of 2063 to come to terms with this. The soundtrack is just killer.
  • The games don't waste your time anymore than Doom does. That is, it's a thrilling ride from beginning to end, with "where is that key" being the only thing you need to bother with.
  • Itemization is short and to the point. If you can pick it up, then you will have a use for it. If you don't want to use it, you will be able to trade it for valuable cash.
  • The weapon selection is *chef's kiss*. My only criticism, if anything, is that some weapon modifications made the guns look uglier instead of more awesome. So I didn't take them. :smile:
  • The story is actually very nice! In true Fallout fashion, it isn't spoonfed to the player. No exposition dumps. No constant retread of stuff you already know. You uncover more and more of the world as you play through it, and it is great because it lets you speculate and see whether your theories paid off.
I burned out on Fallout: New Vegas in the past few months, wondering when (if) I will replay the game. And Ashes 2063 and Afterglow showed me exactly why. Virtually everything I disliked about the game was either 1) Not present in Ashes, 2) Addressed.

A basic example that explains what I mean: in classic Fallout, locations used predetermined music tracks. This let developers set the tone for those areas. Bethesda scrapped that, and New Vegas sort of followed, with exceptions. Engine limitation or not, Ashes also uses predetermined music tracks. Not just for levels, but also during levels. At times you will be rocking an awesome song, only for the soundtrack to go mute minutes later... and you begin to fear for your life. It's so effective, yet so simple in hindsight. And the games are choke full of great details like these.

I took so many screenshots of these games which I would love to share. But the locations and characters encountered in Ashes are so fascinating that even sharing them would feel like spoiling the experience.

I do have a question to ask, though @The Dutch Ghost Dutch: is something wrong with my install, or was the neat colored dialogue removed in favor of plain white text? All videos I find use that colored dialogue, but then again, they are older than the latest release.
 
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Thank you for that write-up! Ashes is at the top of my list of games to play now.

You are welcome!

I did play Doom and Doom II in preparation for my Ashes playthroughs. It didn't feel right otherwise, plus I scratched off those two from my "games to play" list. Amazing games.

The pace of Ashes is signficantly different, being more narrative oriented, with levels resembling plausible locations as opposed to a mechaflesh fever dream where nothing makes any sense whatsoever (even if the gameplay is fantastic). I can't recommend these games enough.

My only other (probably engine-related) criticism is that I couldn't seem to take screenshots during dialogue. :cry:
 
I finished Ashes: Afterglow yesterday, having played Ashes 2063 and Dead Man Walking beforehand.
I don't have a way with words, even in my native Spanish, so I'll keep this comment short...ish. Be it as it may, I tried like 5 times to write a short comment, and I'm simply unable to. I'll simply drop a list of bullet points to summarize my thoughts.
  • Ashes stands alongside the greats of post-apocalyptic canon, such as classic Fallout and Wasteland. For Fallout fans, old and new, Ashes is a must play.
  • There are hardly any low points to both games. I say "hardly" because I can't think of any at the moment.
  • The aesthetic and sound design are top notch. You just need to play through the first level of 2063 to come to terms with this. The soundtrack is just killer.
  • The games don't waste your time anymore than Doom does. That is, it's a thrilling ride from beginning to end, with "where is that key" being the only thing you need to bother with.
  • Itemization is short and to the point. If you can pick it up, then you will have a use for it. If you don't want to use it, you will be able to trade it for valuable cash.
  • The weapon selection is *chef's kiss*. My only criticism, if anything, is that some weapon modifications made the guns look uglier instead of more awesome. So I didn't take them. :smile:
  • The story is actually very nice! In true Fallout fashion, it isn't spoonfed to the player. No exposition dumps. No constant retread of stuff you already know. You uncover more and more of the world as you play through it, and it is great because it lets you speculate and see whether your theories paid off.
I burned out on Fallout: New Vegas in the past few months, wondering when (if) I will replay the game. And Ashes 2063 and Afterglow showed me exactly why. Virtually everything I disliked about the game was either 1) Not present in Ashes, 2) Addressed.

A basic example that explains what I mean: in classic Fallout, locations used predetermined music tracks. This let developers set the tone for those areas. Bethesda scrapped that, and New Vegas sort of followed, with exceptions. Engine limitation or not, Ashes also uses predetermined music tracks. Not just for levels, but also during levels. At times you will be rocking an awesome song, only for the soundtrack to go mute minutes later... and you begin to fear for your life. It's so effective, yet so simple in hindsight. And the games are choke full of great details like these.

I took so many screenshots of these games which I would love to share. But the locations and characters encountered in Ashes are so fascinating that even sharing them would feel like spoiling the experience.

I do have a question to ask, though @The Dutch Ghost Dutch: is something wrong with my install, or was the neat colored dialogue removed in favor of plain white text? All videos I find use that colored dialogue, but then again, they are older than the latest release.
Share some screens and just post them in spoiler text or I will never play this lame ass mod.

:smug:
 
I did play Doom and Doom II in preparation for my Ashes playthroughs.
I just finished Duke Nukem 3d so I could gladly do with some Doom right about now. However I need to not stray away too much from my slow Fallout: Tactics playthrough.

Wrong thread maybe but what's the best way to play Doom 1&2 in 2022? I haven't tried any of those new fancy mods either, Brutal Doom and others. Are they worth it?
 
Wrong thread maybe but what's the best way to play Doom 1&2 in 2022? I haven't tried any of those new fancy mods either, Brutal Doom and others. Are they worth it?

I used the GZDoom source port. It improves the resolution, and it has neat visual features if you are into them.
I definitely enjoyed them! And this was the first time I played them, mind you (as a kid I remember my brother playing Doom from time to time). Certain levels are worse than others. It just shows that in an FPS arguably the most important thing is level design.
 
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