As per our last contact, the aliens have intensified their attack and the teleportation network is unstable. Ossinder has teleported us (not sure how, though) to a maglev terminal where we are to board a train to take us to our next destination. In the meantime, Shaki and Mece have taken to directly attacking each other and Mece is retaliating by destroying parts of the colony. Aliens, suicidal AIs - what more could we ask for?
This is the start of a trilogy of levels in which we are to make our way to the main hanger, where the PSS Kinetic is about to land. Both Mece and Shaki want the ship's occupants, but for very different reasons, and Ossinder is going to help us get there first. I’ve taken the liberty of combining the first two levels into one post, as the second is really just a continuation of the first.
In Maglev Magnum, our task is to simply board the maglev when it arrives. We start up under attack and once we have dispatched the aliens, we can open a large door to an outdoor area with more aliens. Once they have been cleared. Another large door is straight ahead, but it is locked. The switch to control it is up in a control room overlooking the outdoor area. Hit the switch and you're home free. The problem is that there are projectile fighters taking pot shots at you from both sides of the walkway and you can't get to them directly - I bet John hates this - you have to take them out at a distance if you want to get a free shot at that switch. Unfortunately, there seems to be a bug and sometimes the fighters are not visible, so that you have to fire at the source of the projectiles. One other bug – you can easily be thrown off the walkway to one side or the other, from which you cannot return short of using your SPNKR. Once you do get that door open, be prepared for an assault by more monsters. Once they're cleared, you can use the 3X shield recharger and save your game, and then wait for the train to appear.
What's that, you ask? Isn't there more to the level? Well, you probably already discovered the PB back in the entry room, and there is a 1X recharger in a winding corridor off of that room but, except for collecting a little bit of ammo, there really isn't anything of interest beyond this. Yes, there is a somewhat cool looking room to jump down to, and a very extensive maze to make your way back up, but there is no real reason to visit any of these areas. Matt, you might want to find a way to integrate these more into the story - add a secret or two, maybe an important terminal that the player wouldn't want to miss - otherwise the maze is a waste of time. Now the arrival of the maglev is pretty cool. Do heed the warning not to play on the tracks - you will take damage if you do. Matt, I have a suggestion for getting on the train. Although it's not possible without B&B code to have a real train that you can enter via real doors, rather than have the player teleport on board via the terminal, why not use the doors themselves as a trigger? You could make the door texture passable and place a switch behind each door, so that the player tabbing on any of the doors would activate transport to the next level. I think this would be slick.
In Public Transit - the player only needs to pass the time while waiting for the train to arrive at its destination. Unfortunately, the player isn't the only one on board, The objective is to make your way through the train from one end to the other. Through a really cool trick involving a horizontally moving texture, the player really does have the illusion that the train is moving - unless they try to get off the train. Should the player jump off the back end, they will die a slow death, thanks to the floor textures being set to cause major damage. Matt, I think it might be more realistic to use a crushing platform back there - death should be more instantaneous.
Oh well, on to Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
