I'll start by saying that this is a fantastic project. I couldn't be happier that one of my favorite DOS games is getting some attention.
Radix is one of those DOS games that is just plain fun even after all of these years. There are some DOS games that I play for nostalgia, but haven't stood up to the test of time. Radix is a great example of a relatively lost genre of games, the free-flying FPS.
RAD breathes new life into Radix by bringing it fantastic graphics in the OpenGL version, along with some quality of life improvements over Radix 2.0, including being able to set up controls (for the most part) within the game itself, rather than a separate setup executable.
The Doom-style gibbing is awesome, and the added effects to the explosions, projectiles, and other effects makes this a delight to see on screen.
Options and configuration is very generous with this port of Radix. RAD has a whole slew of things to play around with that fixes the limited in-game options of the original, which I found rather slim back in the day.
The sound reworking is also very nice. There are some sounds that have been added, such as impact sounds for energy projectiles fired by enemies (either that or this port made them far more noticeable).
Some areas of constructive criticism are warranted, though. I could not find a section within the control config to change the mouse buttons; the middle mouse button makes you go forward by default and I wanted it to be the right mouse button. To change this, I had to go into the .ini file and change the numbers under the mouse input options; all in all, not a huge deal.
The biggest area that needs improvement is sorta hamstrung by the Doom engine itself. Aiming is atrocious. If your target is on the same plane as you, there is no issue, but if your target is above or below you, your weapons will fire far above or below the crosshair, making it difficult to fight in a crowded room. Radix occassionally forces the player into battles of attrition with hordes of enemies, so there are times where the player only needs to control a bottleneck to pick enemies off one at a time; aiming is not an issue in these situations because it usually involves tight hallways next to huge rooms where the enemies come from. With that said, being able to fire at angles is an essential part of taking on enemies in large and open areas. In this aspect, this port falls behind the original. Anyone who has played Doom knows that in most Doom engines (original and some other engines), diagonal aiming blows; Doom attempts to get around this with autoaim. However, in RAD, this is a major drawback. In addition to difficulties aiming at targets above or below you, sometimes your weapon stream (especially with the Neutron Cannon), will diverge and just kinda shotgun around the room when there are several targets. I could not find a setting to turn this off. The limited aiming makes this game difficult to fully enjoy in its present form.
I hope this port continues to evolve and improve. I am happy to see that is has come so far, and look forward to future versions.
Download
