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Re: PF Volunteers - Under the Sea
Posted By: Dr. John SumnerDate: 7/11/04 3:27 a.m.

In Response To: PF Volunteers - Under the Sea (Steve Levinson)

: This level also introduces us to another native species, the dreaded desert
: shark that we'll learn more about in a later level - we can see one
: swimming around in one of the water tanks near the entrance, but we'll
: have a chance for an up-close and personal encounter soon enough.

I don't now if Matt and Andrew got the idea of these sharks from EMR, but they remind me of the water creature from that scenario. I don't even try to fight these enemies, though I have seen one of the native beasts take them out in a later level.

: The route to
: the right is a dead end, but it contains a large circular room with ample
: space to take out even the troopers with the use of the hook only (this is
: definitely John’s kind of room)

Oh yes, I love rooms like this. It also serves as a nice place to retreat to if the fighting becomes too difficult in the hallways or other areas.

: and there is a new weapon here - the
: faser (yes, it's spelled with an "f").

Another nice feature of this weapon is that it will activate switches, as will the Magnum and the Fusion pistol.

: As we'll learn later, however, unlike the
: fusion pistol, the faser doesn't work in vacuum.

Yes, this was a disappointment for me personally. One upcoming level contains numerous high switches and is also a vacuum level. I had to resort to the Magnum for those. In case anyone is wondering so what? Remember, you can use almost all of a weapon such as the Faser, and then later pick up a new one (only on TC if I recall). That will leave the player with a fully loaded Faser and no net loss of Faser ammo. Unfortunately, the same trick does not work for the Magnum. So, if you are clever with your use of the weapons around switches, you can save some ammo by picking up later copies of the weapon.

: John, I don't know if you succeeded in
: taking out all the monsters without using ammo, but I don't think I could.

Ok, I did manage to finish this level without using any ammo. Frankly, I think this particular section is another place that is a bit unfair on Total Carnage. My hat is off to Steve if he was able to jump down and survive any way he could. I tried that approach, but never had much success. So how did I handle things? As Steve mentions, lean out over the water shoots without falling down them. If you do that for both shoots, you will wake up all the enemies. After taking care of the wasps, continue to lean over the southern shoot while facing north. The remaining enemies tend to congregate in the hallway at the northern end. From the southern shoot though, they can see you. In my experience in playing both times, the Troopers will see you and fire their grenades at you. You have to be patient because they do not fire continuously. Eventually the missing grenades will take their toll on one of the other Troopers and it will berserk. Carnage really ensues below as the berserked Trooper takes out all (or almost all) of the remaining enemies. I then jump down and clean up after that Trooper. That is how I handled that section both times I played. I even have a vid film for this level showing that technique. It's certainly cheaper than "diving into the melee", but it works for me!

However, I don't think this is how Matt and Andrew intended for the player to deal with this section. I assume they expected the player to jump down the shoots and blast away at the enemies. Frankly, I think that is suicide on TC unless you first wake up the enemies as Steve and I did. Even then, the chances of survival is slim when jumping down. There are too many remaining enemies. So what would I do to change things if I could? Well, I suppose one could ease up on the number of enemies. But I would prefer either to provide a teleport poly back to the surface, or make either or both shoots one-way elevators.

: All-in-all, I really liked this level. It is very nicely done - the physical
: layout is precise and the place feels real. Monster placement is just
: right and there is an ideal convergence of exploration and action.
: Progression through the level is superb. Great job!

Except for having to jump down the water shoots, I agree with Steve. A very fun level to play!!

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Pre-2004 Posts

Replies:

PF Volunteers - Under the SeaSteve Levinson 7/10/04 7:57 p.m.
     Re: PF Volunteers - Under the SeaDr. John Sumner 7/11/04 3:27 a.m.
           Re: PF Volunteers - Under the SeaSteve Levinson 7/11/04 7:52 a.m.
                 Re: PF Volunteers - Under the SeaDr. John Sumner 7/11/04 8:57 a.m.
                       Re: PF Volunteers - Under the SeaSteve Levinson 7/11/04 9:56 a.m.
     Re: PF Volunteers - Under the Seamattschenk 7/11/04 7:39 p.m.

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Pre-2004 Posts

 

 

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