After being a parasite on AMUG for nearly a year, I feel it's time to give a little back. Here are six of my Marathon network levels. Following is a brief description of each. They have been created over a matter of 8 months or more. Many of you may find some of them small and simple but this is because, prior to this year, my campus was local talk only...this meant small games (2-4 players) and small maps in order to achieve any degree of performance. Now we are ethernetted and things are getting a bit more interesting. All levels were created with various versions of Phorte (d13-d25) by Steve Israelson, not only the best Marathon editor around but a tribute to fan ingenuity.
Please E-mail me and let me know what you think of the levels (good or bad) & feel free to offer your creative input.
Thanks for your interest,
Jason Parkhill < PA97LJ44@acs.wooster.edu >
Torque (level 0)
Drawn over the summer without a network to test it on...a center room featuring a raised platform bisected by a tunnel...four narrow, sharply curving hallways...low gravity...can you "fly" clear across the room with the flame-thrower? Good with three to four players.
Dementia (level 1)
Open this one up with Phorte and you won't be very impressed, but we have had an incredible fun on this one...an arena type level featuring several raised levels along the perimeter...not many places to hide...gotta watch your back...sudden death is the rule...put that caps lock down and don't stop moving! All the weapons are in the center of the main room...watch the bodies pile up there! Good with three to six players...has proven to be an outstanding team level.
Throne Room (level 2)
Very straight-forward level that is ruled by the sharp-shooter...don't get caught up in the alcoves...they offer little cover and only concentrate the SSM missile blast...get what you need and get out! Given the compactness of the playing area, each player regenerates in his own room embedded within the walls...everyone starts out with an after-market weapon...but not all of the same type. Good with two to four players.
HellHole (level 3)
What was I thinking!?! An extremely small level...just a spiral staircase from floor to ceiling...designed specifically to be a blood-bath-total-carnage-sudden-death- spectacular-kills-on-film-level...low gravity encourages mid-air confrontations...same regeneration concept as seen in "Throne Room"...center of the floor features a four-way transporter to various locations on the staircase just to add to the confusion...how high can you push the DPM on this? Good with any number of players.
Angles (level 4)
An alien-texture level...along the same lines as "Dementia" with several important changes...called "Angles" for the prominence of sharp angles throughout the level...fosters a high suicide rate...do you >really< think you can fire the Spanker through there? Many places to hide here...watch out going around corners! Can you find the flame-thrower? Playable with two, best with three to six players.
High Rise (level 5)
An extensive level...an experiment in multi-layering...offers something for everyone...good lighting and poor lighting...an arena and a maze of hallways...stairs, pits, and platforms...four separate levels of play stacked on each other...a civil engineering disaster but the Marathon engine seems to like it...Marathon treats sounds in the same manner as motion sensor data (i.e. there is no vertical range-you can see/hear things on other levels if they are within horizontal range) and this just adds to the paranoia-was that door opening right behind you or in the basement? Is that Spanker launch meant for you or someone two levels away? Good with three to four, best with five to eight players.
