MaraDamage - Marathon to Damage Incorporated Map Converter
This converter translates maps which work with Bungie Software's Macintosh games Marathon 2 or Marathon Infinity to work with Paranoid Production's game Damage Incorporated, as published by MacSoft. MaraDamage will convert any map which works with Marathon 2 or Infinity, whether it was created by Bungie (and shipped with Marathon 2 or Marathon Infinity), whether it was created with Bungie's level editor Forge, or if it was created with a third-party editor, such as Pfhorte. It works with either single level map files, or with multi-level "merged" map files, in the latter case allowing you to chose which map to convert. Sadly, the converter does not work with levels created for the original Marathon. The converter runs on both 68k and PPC Macintoshes, and requires 2MB of free RAM.
The converter works simply enough: run it, and it will allow you to open up a Marathon level. MaraDamage will then prompt you for a few conversion options (which texture set to remap to, which landscape to use, what to name the new level), as well as allowing you to select which map to convert (if a multi-level map file was opened). It will then prompt you for somewhere to save the translated level: your original Marathon level will remain, unaltered.
You can now use the translated level to play, depending on the type of level translated, network or single player games of Damage Incorporated. To do so, move the new map to the folder with the Damage Incorporated application on your hard drive. You can now select the Map from the Environment section of the preferences. Consult the documentation which came with Damage Incorporated to see how to select and play 3rd party maps, such as the one you just created.
WARNING: A small bug in Damage Incorporated itself causes the following to occur, when using third party maps: in a single-player game, when you die, the game will fade out to black. If you have not yet saved your game, a dialog/alert will come up warning you that you're using a 3rd party map, but since the screen's completely black, you won't actually see the dialog (you will hear a system beep notifying you of its presence, however). At this point, hit RETURN to close this invisible dialog and reincarnate your character.
Converted Levels
MaraDamage attempts to translate a Marathon level into a Damage Incorporated level as best as possible. It is designed to make an existing Marathon level, without modification, mostly playable in Damage Incorporated. (Those of you interested in creating levels in a Marathon map editor such as Forge with the intention of then converting them into DI levels should look at the Conversion Notes section below.) Keep in mind, however, that due to the different nature of the games, the conversion cannot be perfect, and some aspects of Marathon levels are unimplementable in Damage Incorporated. In particular:
- Teleportation: There are no teleporters in Damage Incorporated, and hence all teleporters in your Marathon level will not work in the translated level. This means you may not be able to access everywhere in the converted level.
- Terminals & Chargers: Damage Incorporated also has no terminals or health/shield rechargers, so these will be absent from the translated level.
Postcard-Ware
As long as you include this Read file, you are free and encouraged to distribute this tool wherever and however you see fit, via electronic, magnetic, optical, or whatever media you may desire. Give it to your friends, enemies, and all other people you may happen to know. However, this tool is provided as Postcard-Ware. If you like it, use it a whole bunch, and you've got some free time and an extra stamp, send us a postcard, at:
Paranoid Productions
P.O. Box 1216
New York, NY 10276-1216
Sending email does not count as a postcard, so get off your keister and write.
Non-Warranty
This tool is provided as is. Richard Rouse, The WizardWorks Group, and Bungie Software make no warranties as to the performance of this software is any way, nor are we responsible for any effect it may have on your computer or spleen. Use this tool at your own risk.
Bug Reports
That said, we are interested in hearing about bug reports. If you think you've got one, please email a description to paranoid@panix.com.
What is this Crazy DAMAGE INCORPORATED Thing?
The third non-Bungie game to use the Marathon 2 engine, Damage Incorporated was developed by Paranoid Productions and is published by MacSoft. The game casts the player as a present-day Sergeant leading a team of up to 4 Marines in real-time, death-permeated, 3D warfare. Combining first person combat with real-time strategy, the game is almost certainly different from anything else you've seen. For more info check out the MacSoft web page at
http://www.wizworks.com/macsoft
or the Damage Incorporated page at
http://www.cs.uchicago.edu/~bcy1/damage
or contact MacSoft at 800-229-2714 or 612-559-5301.
What's this Wacky MARATHON Thing?
Surely you jest. If you haven't heard of Marathon, you're living proof that Bungie's plan for world domination has not yet reached everyone. If you haven't played Marathon, you really should, it's quite a bit of fun (personal favorite, Marathon 2). For more info, check out their web site at
http://www.bungie.com
Conversion Notes
For those of you that care, here's how MaraDamage converts the different parts of Marathon maps into Damage Incorporated maps. This may be useful if you're interested in creating maps with a Marathon map editor with the intention of converting them into Damage Incorporated levels.
Textures
First and foremost, fence and media textures are remapped to their equivalent in the destination DI environment (except for the Masonry DI environment, which has no fences). Some other textures from Marathon, that are common to the majority of Marathon texture sets (such as bright lights, metal meshes, and doors) are remapped as best they can. All other textures in the Marathon sets are too diverse to be grouped into categories, and as such are just remapped to an arbitrary texture in the selected DI environment.
Switches, Terminals & Chargers
Switches are translated over exactly, though sometimes textures may not be lined up perfectly. Damage Incorporated has no Chargers or Terminals, and as such these are removed and turned into normal walls in the Damage Incorporated map.
Enemies
Here's a rough list of how the enemies from Marathon translate into Damage Incorporated foes.
Pfhor Fighter -> White Paladin
Compiler -> Minute Militiaman (M16)
Hummer -> Minute Militiaman (M9)
Yeti (Sewage/Water) -> TaKBA (Shotgun)
Yeti (Lava) -> TaKBA (Grenade)
Trooper -> Grazziano Fellini Guard
Defender -> Grazziano Fellini Worker
Cyborg -> RoboTank
Enforcer -> Seekers of Desu High Priest (Flamethrower)
Hunter -> Shocktrooper (MP-5N)
Juggernaut -> Shocktrooper (SMAW)
Tick -> Hostage
Bob (Regular or Fusion) -> Hostage
Bob (Regular or Fusion Exploding) -> Seekers of Desu Disciple (TNT)
Items
This list shows how MaraDamage converts Marathon weapons and items into their closest Damage Incorporated equivalents.
Flechette SMG & Flechette Clip -> MP-5N & MP-5N Ammo
Invisibility, Infravision, Extravision Powerups -> Flak Vest
Invincibility Powerup -> Heavy Flak Vest
Oxygen, Energy Powerup -> Health Pak
Double & Triple Energy Powerups -> Medical Kit
Spht Door Key -> Purple Access Card
Uplink Chip -> Red Access Card
Ball -> Rubber Lizard
Scenery
Most scenery in Marathon is random junk lying on the ground (puddles, body parts, etc.). Generally, DI doesn't have scenery of this type, and so most Marathon scenery is removed when the map is converted into a DI map. Some Marathon scenery types (lights, trash-cans) do have equivalents in DI, and are remapped to appropriate DI equivalents as best as possible, depending on which DI environment was chosen.
Sound
Marathon sounds, both Ambient and Random, actually match fairly well to Damage sounds, so this may well be the most seamless part of the conversion. Some slightly-bizarre Marathon to Damage Incorporated sound remappings are: Siren to Creaking Stone Door; Alarm to Creaking Wooden Door; Alien Noise to Crickets & Frogs; Jjaro Ship to City; and Jjaro Creak to Moo.
