: It's going to be a slow going for the next week or so, but I should be able
: to get back on a more regular schedule after that. Here's the next level
: in the Rubicon Volunteers' series - Molten Dihydrogen Monoxide. I hope to
: have Deep in the Aardvarks finished by the end of the week.
:
: All right – let’s go save the admiral! This is a fun level with lots of
: action, lots of exploration, some important clues for the future and a
: straight-forward mission – lowering the blast door at the main entrance to
: the mining complex so that UESC forces can launch an assault. And as the
: name of the level suggests, the environment is soggy with lots of that
: wonderful slime that you first saw on the level Sea of Slime . One of the
: first things that you’ll discover almost as soon as you teleport in is
: that some good old friends are here to great you. Get out your magnum and
: knock those wasps out of the sky. If you’re using Aleph One, however, be
: careful shooting at the lookers – in some versions you may get a nasty
: crash – better use your fusion rifle if you find that happens. You’ll also
: be encountering a new type of Pfhor – a worker slave. I guess not all
: Pfhor are cut out for battle – or perhaps this is a glimpse of humanity’s
: fate.
: There are actually numerous ways to approach the tasks at hand and a number
: of ways of getting into the mining complex besides the route outlined in
: the Spoiler Guide. For information on alternate pathways and on the
: various secrets on this level, check out my Rubicon Secrets Guide . The
: mining elevators are a major means of getting around, here. One general
: bit of advice, however – look for ammo on the open terraces, but be
: prepared for a fight. If you’re experienced, this will be no sweat. If
: not, remember, keep moving and get the monsters to kill each other. This
: good advice for almost any Marathon scenario.
: Although the only objective is to destroy a set of wires so that the blast
: door will lower, there’s a lot of information on the terminals, so it’s
: well worth exploring and reading them all. When you first arrive, you’ll
: likely first come across a terminal in a central area. Here Durandal tells
: you:
:
: The T' fa 'ral mining facility was once the pride and joy of the Pfhor
: homeworld . . . Unfortunately, bureaucratic ambitions once again outpaced
: the technical expertise of Pfhor engineers . . . the environmental hazards
: are likely to kill more men than the Pfhor do.
:
:
: Isn’t that comforting? It’s too bad that the Rubicon team didn’t include
: any major traps (e.g. collapsing caves) to lend some more realism to the
: environment. In any case, there are plenty of Pfhor to keep the player
: busy!
: There are some wonderful Pfhor terminals that provide a glimpse into their
: bureaucracy:
:
: Engineering Officer Fourth Class hereby submits a formal request (?plea)
: for the reclassification of the southern wing shafts of the mine . . .
: reclassification is long overdue . . . health hazards are currently
: significantly disrupting moral of mine crew. To which comes the reply:
: The oversight committee reaffirms commitment to upkeep of crew morale, but
: duly denies reclassification request (stamp improper) on grounds of
: overestimation of importance on limiting debilitating injury. Something
: tells me they don’t have much of a Workers Comp. system! Oh, and they also
: have something to say about us: Regarding feasability of human
: resistance (?invasion), council notifies all posted units of
: security-level upgrade to universal alert status. . . Justification for
: modification (?alteration) of said policy will be disclosed to all units
: of clearance Hf'rah and above in forthcoming documents under stamp:
: morale.
:
: The Pfhor sound just like some of the people I’ve worked with in the past.
: They say that the only thing you can count on is death and taxes, but I
: think that bureaucracy is pretty universal, too. In any case, there’s also
: a Tyco terminal here:
:
: You and your human friends won't find the good Admiral here, he's ten
: thousand feet under, so to speak. Don't worry. I'll let you see him soon
: enough. Then again, you and I have some more important business to
: discuss. Curious? Good.
:
: Hmmm . . . I wonder what that could be about! Well, I guess we’d better
: get over to Deep in the Aardvarks to rescue the Admiral, and maybe we’ll
: find out.
Hmm, I haven't checked my email in ages (sorry to all those who sent stuff, 301 unread messages), but i saw an email saying that Rubicon was started in volunteers. Molten Dihydrogen Monoxide (a.k.a. water) was a fairly large level to vid, but fun. Usually I just jumped with a rocket launcher to save most of the trouble of exploring. I havent played rubicon for ages however so im having a bit of a memory lapse. I'll try to get it installed this weekend.
