Re: Marathon References : Descent


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Re: Marathon References : Descent

Posted By: The Last Nakh Date: 10/7/19 3:23 p.m.
In Response To: Marathon References I found in other games (Lion O Cyborg)

The first Descent game, developed by Parallax Software, in tandem with Interplay, and published by Interplay and MacPlay, had many weapons which you could attach to your little Starfury-like ship: primary weapons which either drained from energy reservoirs, which were steadily recharged from your onboard fusion reactor, or fired slugs --- only the Vulcan Cannon did this; secondary weapons which were racks of missiles.
The one which interested me was the Fusion Cannon: if the key or joystick button used to fire your selected primary weapon was held down rather than tapped, the FC would charge up for a stronger bolt. If, while charging, you depleted the energy you had reserved in your batteries, it would begin depleting your shields. You could only hold a charge for twenty seconds or so --- I cannot remember exactly…
Well, it rather reminded me of the ZEUS pistol in M2D. Descent was first released on the MS-DOS in March 1995; so although it is unlikely that either Bungie or Parallax knew of the other, it is possible that someone in Parallax knew of the original ZEUS fusion pistol, a.k.a plasma pistol, from M1.
ref. http://budwin.net/insectoid/dos/descent/d1weapons.html
You could also rapidly recharge your energy batteries by flying through these things which were like sparkley carwashes. Shields could only be replenished by collecting Shield Boosts, however.
Not too much like recharge panels in Marathon, of course.
The goal of each level, or mine, was always the same: Find your way to the reactor core in each mine, disable its safety mechanisms, then book it to the emergency-exit tunnel which opens whenever the reactor is on the fritz. Oh, make sure you discover the location of aforementioned escape prior to triggering the reactor's self-destruct.
Of course, you also contended with haywire mining robots, facilities which assembled new robots, and rescuing human hostages trapped in the mine when the robots were infected and reprogrammed.
So, although it was much better than Id Software fare, it didn't have any complex objectives or story aside from what was told in the briefings between missions.
My memory is fuzzy, but maybe one or two or three of the mines resembled levels in M1. I'm thinking the twelfth mine and Ingue Ferroque were especially similar.

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: The first Descent game, developed by Parallax Software, in tandem with : Interplay, and published by Interplay and MacPlay, had many weapons which : you could attach to your little Starfury-like ship: primary weapons which : either drained from energy reservoirs, which were steadily recharged from : your onboard fusion reactor, or fired slugs --- only the Vulcan Cannon did : this; secondary weapons which were racks of missiles. : The one which interested me was the Fusion Cannon: if the key or joystick : button used to fire your selected primary weapon was held down rather than : tapped, the FC would charge up for a stronger bolt. If, while charging, : you depleted the energy you had reserved in your batteries, it would begin : depleting your shields. You could only hold a charge for twenty seconds or : so --- I cannot remember exactly… : Well, it rather reminded me of the ZEUS pistol in M2D. Descent was first : released on the MS-DOS in March 1995; so although it is unlikely that : either Bungie or Parallax knew of the other, it is possible that someone : in Parallax knew of the original ZEUS fusion pistol, a.k.a plasma pistol, : from M1. : ref. http://budwin.net/insectoid/dos/descent/d1weapons.html : You could also rapidly recharge your energy batteries by flying through these : things which were like sparkley carwashes. Shields could only be : replenished by collecting Shield Boosts, however. : Not too much like recharge panels in Marathon, of course. : The goal of each level, or mine, was always the same: Find your way to the : reactor core in each mine, disable its safety mechanisms, then book it to : the emergency-exit tunnel which opens whenever the reactor is on the : fritz. Oh, make sure you discover the location of aforementioned escape : prior to triggering the reactor's self-destruct. : Of course, you also contended with haywire mining robots, facilities which : assembled new robots, and rescuing human hostages trapped in the mine when : the robots were infected and reprogrammed. : So, although it was much better than Id Software fare, it didn't have any : complex objectives or story aside from what was told in the briefings : between missions. : My memory is fuzzy, but maybe one or two or three of the mines resembled : levels in M1. I'm thinking the twelfth mine and Ingue Ferroque were : especially similar.

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Marathon References I found in other games	Lion O Cyborg	9/11/19 7:35 a.m.
Re: Marathon References I found in other games	Rhody49	9/11/19 4:20 p.m.
wow, are spam-bots getting better? NM	ukimalefu	9/11/19 9:35 p.m.
Re: Marathon References I found in other games	General-RADIX	9/12/19 3:25 a.m.
Re: Marathon References I found in other games	Lion O Cyborg	9/12/19 5:20 a.m.
Re: Marathon References I found in other games	Durandal_1707	9/12/19 8:02 p.m.
Re: Marathon References I found in other games	Yossarian	10/7/19 10:40 p.m.
Re: Marathon References I found in other games	General-RADIX	10/8/19 3:31 a.m.
Re: Marathon References : Descent	The Last Nakh	10/7/19 3:23 p.m.
Re: Marathon References : Descent	Lion O Cyborg	10/8/19 1:09 p.m.



	Your Name:
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	Message: : The first Descent game, developed by Parallax Software, in tandem with : Interplay, and published by Interplay and MacPlay, had many weapons which : you could attach to your little Starfury-like ship: primary weapons which : either drained from energy reservoirs, which were steadily recharged from : your onboard fusion reactor, or fired slugs --- only the Vulcan Cannon did : this; secondary weapons which were racks of missiles. : The one which interested me was the Fusion Cannon: if the key or joystick : button used to fire your selected primary weapon was held down rather than : tapped, the FC would charge up for a stronger bolt. If, while charging, : you depleted the energy you had reserved in your batteries, it would begin : depleting your shields. You could only hold a charge for twenty seconds or : so --- I cannot remember exactly… : Well, it rather reminded me of the ZEUS pistol in M2D. Descent was first : released on the MS-DOS in March 1995; so although it is unlikely that : either Bungie or Parallax knew of the other, it is possible that someone : in Parallax knew of the original ZEUS fusion pistol, a.k.a plasma pistol, : from M1. : ref. http://budwin.net/insectoid/dos/descent/d1weapons.html : You could also rapidly recharge your energy batteries by flying through these : things which were like sparkley carwashes. Shields could only be : replenished by collecting Shield Boosts, however. : Not too much like recharge panels in Marathon, of course. : The goal of each level, or mine, was always the same: Find your way to the : reactor core in each mine, disable its safety mechanisms, then book it to : the emergency-exit tunnel which opens whenever the reactor is on the : fritz. Oh, make sure you discover the location of aforementioned escape : prior to triggering the reactor's self-destruct. : Of course, you also contended with haywire mining robots, facilities which : assembled new robots, and rescuing human hostages trapped in the mine when : the robots were infected and reprogrammed. : So, although it was much better than Id Software fare, it didn't have any : complex objectives or story aside from what was told in the briefings : between missions. : My memory is fuzzy, but maybe one or two or three of the mines resembled : levels in M1. I'm thinking the twelfth mine and Ingue Ferroque were : especially similar.
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