After a few tries I made it through. Aleph One version 20110731 crashed with the included sounds so I removed them. The premise is to stay out of the light or the Pfhor on PCP will ruin your day. This esoteric sneak style gameplay contrasts the norm and introduces another layer of creativity for shifty scenario designers. I'm rating this 4 out of 5 because I believe the author could have included a more applicable demonstration.
Every map maker has at some point in their early days made a map like this. What better way to learn the tools than to build what comes to mind. Mine was a heavily modified version of Pfhactory for M1 with droves of endlessly respawning bad guys that gave me loads of entertainment.
Texture and lighting issues aside I must say that my largest concern for this is the limited visual scope causing far too many encounters turning corners. I agree in saying games of 3 players would allow for the best combat enjoyment.
This small map would cause high death counts. Probably best for a duel only. Multistory with passing texture choices and some shine. There are some texture issues, lack of ambient sound, and one platform temporarily blocks player advancement to a teleporter that should have a different destination. The sniper nook introduces an added element to strategy. Nice touch.
irons may have unknowingly juxtaposed himself next to aronofsky.
Dugit : Did you seriously give 4 out of 5?
Thanks for getting this informative set of examples online. I love seeing what pushing Marathon can accomplish.
Though the architecture is basic the map is interesting. Entirely too dark for fun online play, though. Add some highlighted areas at key spots to cause dark corridors to become backlit. Also, what's up with the force fields of death? Rocket launchers would be a poor choice for this map.
I kinda like it. Keep up the good work.
The textures need variety. Why are parts of this map 3+ world units tall? The teleporters should relocate their destinations. Lighting? As far as layout goes I would recommend limiting weapon choices to dual wield shotguns. Small groups of 2 or 3 only for optimal enjoyment.
The layout is pleasing and the size is just about right. Smaller groups would encounter pursuits while larger groups would default into a rocket launcher fiasco. The 2x energy pickup was a neat idea. One spot had me think it was a teleporter, but irritatingly it turned out to be nothing. This may cause a curiosity killed the cat situation during play. I encountered a platform that did not return to its normal state as quickly as the others. Finally, the central pillar has raised polygons that should be lowered some to reduce movement confusion.
The dark lighting reminds me of Marathon 1 netmaps. Despite not having aesthetics I see this being fun online.
This map shows potential. Object placement and texturing need work. Would benefit from even a minimal amount of differential shading. Layout is a multiple storied blend of walkways and tight corridors around an open center. Seems ideal for small groups.
Drifty textures and smearing are the best this has to offer. Simply crude.
An interesting concept. This is the very idea of adapting an offensive strategy that reflects limited resources and spatial constriction. The map itself is very plain and lacks variety of monsters present. The objective is obvious and game play straight forward. Reminds me of an early training level from Ohkawa's Academy for Planetary Defense scenario.
this is so fucking sweet dude! Just one problem the main menu is like normal which is kind of lame :/
Interesting... that is all.
My computer exploded the first time I used these sounds, and I had to get a new one. Well done.
Having rattled through Rubicon, Eternal and Phoenix a number of times over- having done the same with the Aeon public beta 1.0 a few months a go- I decided to have a go at it again. Frankly, I'm astounded as to how far the learning curve on this scenario has progressed.
Earlier levels from Our Lives a Mimicry to Rise and Fall of Dugit (bar Eternal Lucid Dream) have amazing attention to detail, but the texturing is still a little sloppy. It's good to see that for Asphodel and onwards, this has been rectified.
I'm not a particular fan of being given everything at the offset, but it's good to see that we're given a choice between pure carnage and more structured fights in the divergent chapters. My favorite, personally so far, is Venom.
By levels, however, I need to be a little more consice. Levels like Vae Victis/Command, Frameshift, and Lapsus are some of the best levels I've seen in a long time.
Keep up the good work. I'm still waiting on 1.9 :)
As someone who cut their marathon teeth on 3rd party scenarios like Siege of Nor Korph, Evil, Tempus Irae, Rubicon etc I'm very intolerant of maps where not enough thought and effort is put into lighting and making maps "feel" right. This is a scenario where the attention to detail really shows through. I took my time wandering around just enjoying the views (once I'd survived the great battles!). There are really only 2 things I'd suggest that stop me rating this scenario a 5 to of 5 (and perhaps these things will be rectified by the time the finished version is released). 1. Don't give the player so many weapons so early in the game. One of the things that made a scenario like "Evil" truly great was the weapons and ammo were handed out very sparingly and you often had to back up and play through sections again making more effort to conserve it as you would run out. Having to make do with a magnum for a while makes you REALLY appreciate it when you finally get a a shotgun or something. I would say there needs to be less health packs also and make some longer sections without save terms. Makes it harder but so much more rewarding. 2. (and this is critical to make this a truly 5 star scenario) It needs an art director. The menu, chapter screens and terminal art just aren't up to the quality of the maps. Great scenarios always have a great mapmaker and a great art director, not usually the same person! Other than these issues this is first class stuff and I haven't enjoyed playing a scenario this much since Rubicon (which this reminds me a little of). Great work!
It's good to see that you're utilizing differential shading properly, although in one or two places it's still not that convincing. In terms of flow, there's no glaring problems, and there's good variation in floor/ceiling heights. We're around a classic Marathon: Infinity level map at this point.
There's something flickering that looks like a teleporter but isn't. Please fix. Also, some platforms aren't as obvious as they could be, and a few raised portions of the map (with ammo) are irritatingly just out of reach. Bad in a net game.
Variation in floor/ceiling heights is present. At this point, we're at an M1-level net map. There's plenty of room for improvement, though. It's good to see that weapons and ammo have no problems.
The map is still very cramped. For any more than a two-player duel, three-player at a push, the gameplay would deteriorate.
Please raise the headbanger ceiling in the center of the map.
There is also little variation in lights, giving the map an appearance without volume. I recommend you play some popular net maps, or even solo scenarios, to get an idea of differential shading.