It's been a while and the forum is starting to go downhill, so we may as well get started...
SoNK was the first solo scenario released by Randall "FrigidMan" Shaw, who had done only network levels until then. It introduced a number of very useful tricks which have appeared in countless maps since, and laid the groundwork for the later scenario Evil, but we'll get to that later. The readme reflects FM's trademark confrontational style, and provides a bit of story background. One important story item to notice for later is that the player apparently is not the Marine from the original games.
Fortunately, I am playing on Normal, not a "sucky looser difficulty like Kindergarten". I'm also, in the interest of accurately reproducing the scenario, using the original Marathon 2 version of the scenario, not the Infinity version, and the modified Shapes file I used for the M2 Volunteers run.
Another important thing to remember about this scenario is that it's a product of its time. It was made with the quirky 3rd-party map editor Pfhorte, before Infinity was released, and back then computers were slower and had less RAM, maps were simpler, and most of the things we take from granted had never been done before or were considered unusual displays of mapmaking prowess. The maps aren't going to be as complex as the ones we just finished in Tempus Irae. The views are simpler, there are fewer details, and so on. Of course, the gameplay is the important part.
Compound was a bit confusing as the initial terminal contains a huge amount of information. Basically, you have to clear the north area, hit every visible switch, then go back into the "hub" and head underground to clear the tunnel network, then head west to enter the compound proper and find the Gatekeeper computer to further infiltrate the facility. The Bobs will accompany you for quite a while, but they all died during this run as the Hunters were a bit much for them.
A very commonly used trick on this level is hiding switches behind slightly darker panels on outdoor walls. This forced me to try tabbing entire areas, a pretty big no-no. I wonder if they would have been easier to spot had I been running in Thousands or 256-color mode, since Millions allows for much smoother lighting. Finding all the switches will net you a few secrets in the north compound, with some extra ammo in them. One area I especially liked was the "overpass" inside the compound, where the player must climb into a tube running over a large area while fighting off enemies in the area below.
