Objects are the main thing you use to give your map some substance. Sure you could have a map of a kewl house and sorts, but, if you don't have anything IN that house, it will pretty much be boring. You can only have 64 different Object types per level, and 384 objects total. Going over these limits, will cause a bomb right when you hit the "Begin New Game" button in marathon.
The following subjects explain the necessities of Object Placement, and handling.
  • Objects are placed using the Object Point Tool. When you put a point down on the map
in a polygon, you the get the Object Inspector:
 
The above is what it looks like if you havn't ever pressed the "Make Default" button located on the right side of it. By using the Type popup, you can then choose to make the object of one of the following types:
• Monster: This turns the dot into a red pacmac, where the mouth points into the direction that the monster is looking. These are the starting position for monsters. These are needed if you plan to make monster NOT enter at a Random Location (see below Object Placement Info).
• DeltaZ: This is universal for all objects. For monsters, it is the height at which they
enter at. This is how Bungie made aliens fall from the sky, or have jugernauts appear
high up on entry.
• Facing: This is the direction the monster is facing looking top  
down at them in respect to your map. Direction is handled like
the diagram:If you plug in 0 for the Facing field, the monster
will be facing right looking top down at them. Use this to make
monsters start facing a certain direction. If you make the
monster facing the wall,and have the monster "deaf" and "blind",
then the monster will never see or hear you.
• Flags: Monsters can be set so that they aren't just placed into a level 
and wander around endless till something kills them. With the flags
you do can do what you want:
• Invisible: Makes the monster (or bob) teleport in like you did.
Really neat, and is common practice if you make a solo level.
• Hanging: Don't use this with monsters AT ALL.
• Blind: When a monster regenerates, or first appears at this spot
with this flag, the monster will not do anything until until it hears or feels
something. Being blind means it will start out in a stopped spot. Once the monster
activates, it can see again. You set this so that if a monster is standing in a spot and
you want to make it so that a player can sneak by without being seen, then set this.
This will make the monster not see anything until it gets disturbed.
• Deaf: Just like the blind, but the monster won't hear anything until it activates. Once
it is arroused from its sleep, then it can hear again. If both Blind and Deaf are set,
then the monster will not do anything until it is activated by a polygon floor trigger,
or it is hit with some sort of weapon (or body). Bungie used that combo along with
invisible, to make aliens teleport in only when you have steped into a certain room,
or past a certain point. Pretty sneaky huh?
• Floating Sound: Check this to make the monster teleport OUT after they have
finished what they were doing. Use this for bobs to make them go away after killing
all the aliens. "See ya starside"
• Network Only: This makes only that spot used during a network game.
• Monster Type: Don't ever place a "Marine", it crashes Marathon.
I would go through each one and show you a picture of everything in the popup, but if I did
that, this guide will be 8megs in size!
 
• Weapon: This makes the dot turn green, and doesn't have a direction.
• Flags: Weapons are NEEDED and how you set the flags determines how they appear in the
level, either teleport or pop in, floating etc.:
• Invisible: Makes the weapon teleport in when a player steps on a item trigger
polygon within a given zone (refer to chapter "Polygons").
Really neat, and is common practice if you make a solo level.
• Hanging: makes the weapons stuck to the ceiling. If you blast your self up then you
can get the wepons. Really pretty stupid in my opinion, use the DeltaZ instead to make
a weapon high in the air.
• Blind: Can check this for weapons, but it doesn't do a thing.
• Deaf: Can check this for weapons, but it doesn't do a thing.
• Floating Sound: Can check this for weapons, but it doesn't do a thing.
• Network Only: Use this to make certain weapon spots be only Net game weapon
spots.
• Weapon Type: Don't ever place a "Knife", It crashes Marathon.
I would go through each one and show you a picture of everything in the popup, but if I did
that, this guide will be 8megs in size!
• Balls: There are eight different Ball types to put into a map. The only one that acts
like the skull used in the bungie net maps, is the RED ball. All other balls act like
plain objects. You can pick them up, and you can still run, you don't show up as radar
and it doesn't give you time. In otherwords, its just an annoying object. The colors of
balls mean nothing. It doesn't change the actual color of the ball, it just changes the
name that is shown when you have the ball.
Fun things to do with them: Put one of each type and one red ball in an area...then
during the game it's hard to find the right ball...really funny. Another thing to do is
play MOCK capture the flag. Do this by making a map that is base-like, where certain
areas are almost like compounds. Then place a ball in it of a color. Then place a note
on the map at that area, and say Green Team base. Then do the same for another. Then
during game play, you try to steal the other teams balls, and bring them to your
place. I guess who wins is who had the most balls in their compound. Unfortunatly
Marathon won't give time to anyone when you do this. So winning is judged by all the
people who played.
 
• Player: This is a blue dot that looks like a pacman, like monsters. At least ONE of these is needed for a map to even be loaded. Having more than one point will make the player randomly pick between them all. Makes for net games, where the player doesn't enter in the same spot everytime.
• Facing: This is the direction the player is facing looking top  
down at them in respect to your map. Direction is handled like
the diagram. If you plug in 0 for the Facing field, the player
will be facing right. Use this to make players face a direction
when they enter a game. This is very handy than having a plyer
enter staring at a wall. USE THIS! I can't tell you how annoying
it is to keep starting a net game staring into a WALL!
• Flags: Careful with some of these flags, because they cause
strange side effects to a persons physical being in the game, you have been warned:
• Invisible: Makes the player have no substance. I did this to see if it would make the
player teleport in when they rejoin like the monsters do, but found out it did't. It
instead made the player have no substance and was able to pass right through other
players and monsters. Really strange, but in a way, intriguing. Didn't make the
player walk through walls tho.
• Hanging: Can check this for players, but it doesn't do a thing.
• Blind: Can check this for players, but it doesn't do a thing.
• Deaf: Can check this for players, but it doesn't do a thing.
• Floating Sound: Can check this for players, but it doesn't do a thing.
• Network Only: If set for all points but one, that one will be the only entry point
for a solo game.
 
• Scenery: These dots are, by default, all white. These are stationary things that don't move from their spot, and connot be picked up. Some however can be destroyed, like lights. Useing this stuff, you add character to your maps. Use of too many will add way to much clutter and slow a persons computer.
• Flags: Really the only one used is the Hanging flag for lights.
• Invisible: Don't use this with Scenery.
• Hanging: Makes the scenery stuck to the ceiling. Use this to place lights on the
ceiling, or the occasional bone.
• Blind: Can check this for scenery, but it doesn't do a thing.
• Deaf: Can check this for scenery, but it doesn't do a thing.
• Floating Sound: Can check this for scenery, but it doesn't do a thing.
• Network Only: This only makes it show up only in net games.
• Scenery Type: All the scenery have a number in front of them. If you would recall
from an earlier chapter, then number represents what texture set they go with. If you
are using Texture Set 3, and place scenery with a number 2 in front, then you will crash
marathon when you player sees that piece of scenery. So if you use Set 3 use only the 3
number items in the Scenery types.
I would go through each one and show you a picture of everything in the popup, but if I did
that, this guide will be 8megs in size!
 
• Sound: This is all discussed in the Chapter Sounds.
• Goal: These little points are for showing the red targets points in a map view from within a comm terminal. It doesnt work now, so ignore them. Just leave em alone, and you won't get hurt.
You edit the object placement in one of two ways. Either by using the menu item "Edit Object Placement" under the "Edit" menu, or by selecting an object type, and using the Object Inspectors bottom half. The easier of ways to just go through the list and change everything is to use the menu. You get a dialog like the one below:
 
This has a popup for all Monsters and Weapons (weapons include such things as powerups, chips, keys, and anything you PICK up).
The information in both the Edit Dialog, and the Object Inspector, are the same. It just gives you two different ears to edit the info. The Object Inspector lets you do it on the fly, but is not handy for when you need to go back through them all to make a few minor tweaks.
• Type: The only two things you really shouldn't put in a level are "Marine" and "Knife", these are bogus crud that crashes marathon when placed in a level.
And as I said before, I would go through each one and show you a picture of everything in the popup, but I have yet to be able to extract the graphics from Marathon2 to do it well.
• Count: This shows you how many points of that type of monster is in the level. This is helpful to know exactly how many points of that type is out on your map. This number really doesn't matter if you use Random Location.
• Random Location: Click this to make the current select object randomly appear in the level. If you Object Points for an object that is randomly placed, then it might appear in those spots. Random Objects appear in the Center of any valid polygons it can. INvlaid polygons are: Platforms, Item Impassable, Monster Impassible, and Teleporters. Items will randomly appera in all others, and to make sure an item doesn't appear where you don't what it, set the polygon to Item Impassible.
• Random Count: This is how many items of this type will regenerate into this level. Set this to -1 to make it an infinite ammount of objects. If you have one spot on the ground and want only four tozt units to ever show up during the level, then set it to 4. If you only wany so many monsters regenerated then set this too. I set it for Juggernauts, so that only three or four of those bad boys ever show up in a net game. Most net levels have anything you put into the level set to -1.
• Frequency: Adjusts how quickly an item regenerates. If set to half way, the item or monster will regenerate fairly quickly. I do a number around 25000 for ammo, and about 15000 for aliens. Things I want to show up vary rarely I set to around 1000. Some numbers to judge yours off of. The bullet with a circle around it is a button to change from keyboard input, to slider bar.
• Initial Count: How many of this Objects will be present at the very beginning of a level. When you set this number over zero, Marathon will then place that many objects where it can and how it is supposed too(random or not). A example would be a solo level and ammo: If you wanted a set amount of ammo around, and no more, you would set this to how many you want. Also set the random count to 0 and minimum count to 0. If for a net game you mark Aliens to have an initial count of, say, 5. Then Five aliens will be present at the beggining of a net game REGARDLESS if Aliens was checked on or off in the Gather Net Game setup.
• Maximum Count: This is how many objects of this type will be present in the level at any given time, whether ON a person or not (for weopons). If you have a max count of 0, but have an initial count of 5, then 5 will be in the level at start, but no more ever will be present afterwards, regardless of what other things you set.
• Minimum Count: Like maximum count but more dangerous. If you have this set then regardless of how many items are set in the Random Count, there will ALWAYS be the amount of objects specified by this edit field. This is good to make sure there is alwyas a certain item in game play. I use it for ONE SPNKR, so that one SPNKR will alwyas be in the game at all times.
Using the above information with the flags and Object Point tool, you can place your objects and govern how they will be in any level. Remember, you have control over it, it doesn't have control over you.
Placing Objects on shelfs to be picked up: This can ONLY be done with AMMO. Weapons have to be walked ONTO to pick them up, so you can't put a weapon on a shelf and bump up to the shelf to pick it up. Only Ammo can be put on a shefl to be picked up by bumping up to the shelf. This has caused much frustration for people, and I would like to just let you know why its so hard to put a weapon on a shelf. You CAN however put a weapon on the shelf, but you also need to be able to physically GET ONTO that shelf in order to pick it up.
