Re: Evil Volunteers: Hackers


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Re: Evil Volunteers: Hackers

Posted By: Steve Levinson Date: 1/26/04 6:14 a.m.
In Response To: Evil Volunteers: Hackers (Mark Levin)

: The first map actually done by FM since the beginning of the scenario,
: Hackers is formed mostly from a series of concentric curves. The map
: writing invites one to zoom out in Forge, but I must admit I have no idea
: what the map looks like. Also, from Forge, it appears that the rocket
: launcher room is purely a tease.
There are very interesting spaces in Hackers, but understanding the map is impossible. This isn't a real place - things don't fit neatly together and there are some very obvious 5-D effects. Looking at it in Forge (or Pfhorge), the "swimming pool" area is layered on top of everything else, yet it's at a lower height than one of the circular passages you traverse. This is a very enjoyable map to play and it feel's real, but anyone with a keen sense of 3D space will find themselves significantly disoriented by this map, as did I. I'm not sure if this was on purpose or if FM liked the appearance of his work too much to alter it to be physically real. The room with the rocket launcher is a cruel touch, but nothing that Bungie didn't already do to us.
: You're accompanied in many areas by vacuum Bobs, who did a decent job of
: standing up to the enemies on Normal.
Not so on TC - none left standing.
: You'll also notice pretty quickly
: that the Cyborgs which have apparently emerged from the crashed alien ship
: will readily fight the Pfhor without even needing to be bezerked (of
: course, with no Pfhor available, they'll attack you as usual).
Let's backtrack a moment and explain why we're exploring a crashed ship. As you'll recall, we were using an IPIT to teleport our entire crew back to UESC space, to the nearest base of operations. When we read the first terminal here, in addition to learing about General Dire's abberrant behavior, we learn that an alien ship of unknown origin has crashed on a nearby planet and that the Pfhor were instrumental in bringing it down. If the Pfhor want it, there must be a reason and so we want it, too. All we have to do is exterminate the Pfhor.
: on this level are two "boss"
: monsters. The first of these we'll encounter is a Mystic in a circular
: room to the north. The Mystics are a very well-drawn monster, even if they
: aren't all that dangerous. They fire a stream of projectiles at you, and
: are also armed with an energy shield that makes them tremendous ammo sinks
: (at least until we get the Pfhor staff). Their sound effects are also
: excellent, with a slimy, sibilant quality that's unlike anything in the
: original games. Unfortunately, they have a huge weakness in that they
: flinch when they take damage; keep your fire on them and they won't ever
: get a chance to hit back. You can punch them to death easily without even
: having to dodge around, but it takes a very long time. Also watch out for
: the (tiny) explosion that results from their death.
Not all that dangerous? Taken on singly, they can easily be punched to death if you're patient as Mark noted, but we'll soon be seeing them in groups and dealing with them can be a challenge. Their energy projectiles are guided and will follow you around corners, and their spacing is too tight to dodge them individually. One other annoyance is that the Mystics never, ever fight each other and they cannot be beserked. Fortunatley, we'll be getting some weapons that are much more effective against them than anything we have now.
: The second unique monster is General Dire, who turns out to be an assimilated
: VacBob with a ton of health (I believe his death blast is also upgraded).
: How this thing managed to reach a command position in the human military
: will be explained later in the scenario.
Still a weak plot element IMO, but we'll be discussing this more later.
: Once he's dead, you can pick up a new weapon: The Athena railgun. This can be
: very powerful if used properly, mostly due to its use of the
: "persistent and virulent" physics flag, which causes its
: projectiles to pass through monsters and do additional damage to anyone
: else they hit until they crash into a wall. The secret to the Athena's
: power is that its shots have a small blast radius, as you can see by
: shooting a monster with it at point-blank range and taking a huge amount
: of physical damage (strangely, this doesn't happen if you merely shoot a
: wall with it).
Wow, I didn't realize all of this. It certainly is a great weapon for long-range - the only real sniper weapon in the Marathon Universe.
: At the end of the level, we see what the Mystics are: A Pfhor "master
: race" like the S'pht'kr. This doesn't contradict anything canon, but
: unlike the S'pht, the Pfhor masters are radically different physically
: from their servants. We're also sent off to find a second spaceship that
: also crashed on the planet a very long time ago; surely a master race
: would have more reliable transport? :P
In some ways the Mystics more resemble the S'pht, but these floating entities have feet that resemble the Pfhor. The fact that they bear less of a resemblance to the modern Pfhor is probably not an issue - Rubicon went even further with this theme - forms among the same species vary widely in the insect world. In any case, the reason that the Mystics crashed a couple of ships here so close to UESC space will become apparent in the end, as well as the fact that they were involved with bringing you through that rift in the first place.
But what about the Pfhor. If this is their master race, why did they expend so much effort in attacking this ship? There's more to the story here, and I'm not sure that the scenario really ties the plot threads together.

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Pre-2004 Posts

Replies:

Evil Volunteers: Hackers Mark Levin 1/25/04 1:41 p.m.

Re: Evil Volunteers: Hackers Steve Levinson 1/26/04 6:14 a.m.

Re: Evil Volunteers: Hackers D-M.A. 1/26/04 6:32 a.m.

Re: Evil Volunteers: Hackers Andrew Nagy 1/26/04 10:44 a.m.

Re: Evil Volunteers: Hackers Keith Palmer 1/26/04 12:50 p.m.

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Pre-2004 Posts

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: There are very interesting spaces in Hackers, but understanding the map is : impossible. This isn't a real place - things don't fit neatly together and : there are some very obvious 5-D effects. Looking at it in Forge (or : Pfhorge), the "swimming pool" area is layered on top of : everything else, yet it's at a lower height than one of the circular : passages you traverse. This is a very enjoyable map to play and it feel's : real, but anyone with a keen sense of 3D space will find themselves : significantly disoriented by this map, as did I. I'm not sure if this was : on purpose or if FM liked the appearance of his work too much to alter it : to be physically real. The room with the rocket launcher is a cruel touch, : but nothing that Bungie didn't already do to us. : Not so on TC - none left standing. : Let's backtrack a moment and explain why we're exploring a crashed ship. As : you'll recall, we were using an IPIT to teleport our entire crew back to : UESC space, to the nearest base of operations. When we read the first : terminal here, in addition to learing about General Dire's abberrant : behavior, we learn that an alien ship of unknown origin has crashed on a : nearby planet and that the Pfhor were instrumental in bringing it down. If : the Pfhor want it, there must be a reason and so we want it, too. All we : have to do is exterminate the Pfhor. : Not all that dangerous? Taken on singly, they can easily be punched to death : if you're patient as Mark noted, but we'll soon be seeing them in groups : and dealing with them can be a challenge. Their energy projectiles are : guided and will follow you around corners, and their spacing is too tight : to dodge them individually. One other annoyance is that the Mystics never, : ever fight each other and they cannot be beserked. Fortunatley, we'll be : getting some weapons that are much more effective against them than : anything we have now. : Still a weak plot element IMO, but we'll be discussing this more later. : Wow, I didn't realize all of this. It certainly is a great weapon for : long-range - the only real sniper weapon in the Marathon Universe. : In some ways the Mystics more resemble the S'pht, but these floating entities : have feet that resemble the Pfhor. The fact that they bear less of a : resemblance to the modern Pfhor is probably not an issue - Rubicon went : even further with this theme - forms among the same species vary widely in : the insect world. In any case, the reason that the Mystics crashed a : couple of ships here so close to UESC space will become apparent in the : end, as well as the fact that they were involved with bringing you through : that rift in the first place. : But what about the Pfhor. If this is their master race, why did they expend : so much effort in attacking this ship? There's more to the story here, and : I'm not sure that the scenario really ties the plot threads together.

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Evil Volunteers: Hackers	Mark Levin	1/25/04 1:41 p.m.
Re: Evil Volunteers: Hackers	Steve Levinson	1/26/04 6:14 a.m.
Re: Evil Volunteers: Hackers	D-M.A.	1/26/04 6:32 a.m.
Re: Evil Volunteers: Hackers	Andrew Nagy	1/26/04 10:44 a.m.
Re: Evil Volunteers: Hackers	Keith Palmer	1/26/04 12:50 p.m.



	Your Name:
	Your E-Mail Address:
	Subject:
	Message: : There are very interesting spaces in Hackers, but understanding the map is : impossible. This isn't a real place - things don't fit neatly together and : there are some very obvious 5-D effects. Looking at it in Forge (or : Pfhorge), the "swimming pool" area is layered on top of : everything else, yet it's at a lower height than one of the circular : passages you traverse. This is a very enjoyable map to play and it feel's : real, but anyone with a keen sense of 3D space will find themselves : significantly disoriented by this map, as did I. I'm not sure if this was : on purpose or if FM liked the appearance of his work too much to alter it : to be physically real. The room with the rocket launcher is a cruel touch, : but nothing that Bungie didn't already do to us. : Not so on TC - none left standing. : Let's backtrack a moment and explain why we're exploring a crashed ship. As : you'll recall, we were using an IPIT to teleport our entire crew back to : UESC space, to the nearest base of operations. When we read the first : terminal here, in addition to learing about General Dire's abberrant : behavior, we learn that an alien ship of unknown origin has crashed on a : nearby planet and that the Pfhor were instrumental in bringing it down. If : the Pfhor want it, there must be a reason and so we want it, too. All we : have to do is exterminate the Pfhor. : Not all that dangerous? Taken on singly, they can easily be punched to death : if you're patient as Mark noted, but we'll soon be seeing them in groups : and dealing with them can be a challenge. Their energy projectiles are : guided and will follow you around corners, and their spacing is too tight : to dodge them individually. One other annoyance is that the Mystics never, : ever fight each other and they cannot be beserked. Fortunatley, we'll be : getting some weapons that are much more effective against them than : anything we have now. : Still a weak plot element IMO, but we'll be discussing this more later. : Wow, I didn't realize all of this. It certainly is a great weapon for : long-range - the only real sniper weapon in the Marathon Universe. : In some ways the Mystics more resemble the S'pht, but these floating entities : have feet that resemble the Pfhor. The fact that they bear less of a : resemblance to the modern Pfhor is probably not an issue - Rubicon went : even further with this theme - forms among the same species vary widely in : the insect world. In any case, the reason that the Mystics crashed a : couple of ships here so close to UESC space will become apparent in the : end, as well as the fact that they were involved with bringing you through : that rift in the first place. : But what about the Pfhor. If this is their master race, why did they expend : so much effort in attacking this ship? There's more to the story here, and : I'm not sure that the scenario really ties the plot threads together.
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