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	Re: RED Volunteers: Mmmm... Tastes like Evil
	Posted By: Steve Levinson	Date: 4/13/04 1:00 p.m.
	In Response To: RED Volunteers: Mmmm... Tastes like Evil (Mark Levin) : This is it, folks. The last really difficult level in the scenario. If you : beat this, it's clear sailing to the end. But first, you have to beat it : :P I can't tell you how many times I attempted this level - I lost count - but beat it I did, and on Deathwish. This may be the last really difficult level as in difficult in toto, but there remains one incredibly difficult room near the end of the scenario - more about that in a future post. : When you leave the room, a swarm of Beetles attacks from a sort of hive : hanging over a teleporter. These beetles are infinitely and rapidly regenerating, so attempting to kill them all followed by recharging your shields and saving your game is futile - thre will always be more beetles wating for you. My advice is to stand off to the side of the door before opening it and to use your flame thrower as you open the door, torching all the beetles before they can get a shot at you. Then step into the teleporter. : Step through, and you emerge onto a balcony : overlooking a dark chasm. I suspect that getting across this chasm early (can you say fusion mace or omega cannon) is John's strategy for beating the level, but I'll wait for confirmation from him on this. : Go up the stairs and turn right, : and an Omega Raptor teleports in right behind you. But wait... he's not : attacking?! Your bacon has just been saved by the Marathon engine's active : monster limit, which only allows about 30 monsters on the level to : "think" at a time. The infinitely regenerating Beetles and : clusters of monsters earlier in the level usually use up all the slots by : now, rendering the remaining monsters brain-dead. Obviously this wasn't : supposed to happen, but it really is the key to beating the level for me : :) Ah, so your strategy is to cheat - well in a manner of speaking - to take advantage of the engine's active monster limit. Can't say I blame you, but I feel oh so superior for having beaten the level without resorting to such a whimpy strategy. On the other hand, I would not want to try repeating this level again! I wonder if the AO engine has the same monster limit? : Now to take on the hardest puzzle in the game. In the next room is a pool of : blood. You have to jump into the blood, swim under the connecting wall, : turn left, hit the submerged switch, turn around, and swim onto the : platform with the giant eye. Yup, that's how I attacked this part of the level in the past, but there's an easier, secret way. Across the blood pool is a switch. I don't think it can be activated by weapons, but it's so dark in there that it's hard to know if my aim is accurate. Using the fusion mase, you can jump across the blood pool and hit the switch manually. This lowers the blood, allowing you to drop down onto dry "ground". The price paid is a turtle that teleports in after you hit the switch, but he's easy enough to take out. Exiting this area conventionally still involves swiming through the blood and finding the way out through that wall, but if you have the omega cannon, you can just shoot yourself out and you can still get the 3X armor by using the omega cannon to shoot yourself into the room where it's found, avoiding the risk of swimming in blood. : You'll be immediately attacked by 3 golden Raptors, but at least the Beetles : will leave you alone now. Well, they didn't leave me alone, but the raptors are helpful in taking them out. : Monsters will continue to harass you as you go : along the passageway, along with a large Beast ambush that usually puts : all the other monsters back into brain-dead mode. Not brain dead for me. One important point here is that attempting to simply run the gauntlet does not work. Believe me, I tried this strategy I don't know how many times before I realized that it was suicidal. It's actually fairly easy to take out the monsters if you keep them in small groups, and that involves taking them out as you activate them or activating them and retreating to more open areas where you can circle them and get them to take each other out. The fusion mace is particularly effective here. It takes surprisingly few hits with the mace to bring down a golden raptor. : In this room is a switch at the top of the rightmost pillar; I have no idea : what this switch does. Stepping on the platform causes it to slowly rise : to the ceiling; up there is a bleeding, barely operational teleporter. : Step into it, then turn around and finally save your game. I have no idea what the switch does either. Anyone else know what this is for? Boy that pattern buffer is the most beautiful site! Once you reach this point, you're home free. : Head north from the pattern buffer to reach the next obstacle. In a large : room full of Beetles, there are 3 pillars emerging from a blood-filled : trench. Edge around to behind the north pillar (the ledges there are very : small, and you don't want to fall in the blood) and shoot the switch : there, which slowly opens a teleporter in the east column and starts : filling the entire room with blood. Clarification - once you enter this area, a door closes behind you, preventing an easy escape. Also, entering the area starts the blood rising - not shooting the switch, so you need to move quickly. I find it best to ignore the beatles and complete your task before they catch up to you. If you take the time to kill them, you'll be swimming in blood. Also, these buggers regenerate! : The red and spiky design seems to resemble : Michael's work, but I'm almost positive this area was meant to have been : built by Joshua. Agreed, but it's hard to know what Ian had in mind. : And in the distance is a pulsing beacon- the symbol written on the : walls in the hallway. Jump into the void and approach it- the void behind : you closes up and you are entirely within Joshua's power. When you reach : the symbol, keep going and your new master appears out of the darkness to : claim you. Let's see what he plans to do with his pet... I guess we've fully evolved.

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Replies:

	RED Volunteers: Mmmm... Tastes like Evil	Mark Levin	4/13/04 10:08 a.m.
	Re: RED Volunteers: Mmmm... Tastes like Evil	Dr. John Sumner	4/13/04 12:25 p.m.
	Re: RED Volunteers: Mmmm... Tastes like Evil	Mark Levin	4/13/04 12:53 p.m.
	Re: RED Volunteers: Mmmm... Tastes like Evil	Steve Levinson	4/13/04 1:07 p.m.
	Re: RED Volunteers: Mmmm... Tastes like Evil	Dr. John Sumner	4/13/04 2:15 p.m.
	Re: RED Volunteers: Mmmm... Tastes like Evil	Steve Levinson	4/13/04 2:29 p.m.
	Re: RED Volunteers: Mmmm... Tastes like Evil	Dr. John Sumner	4/13/04 2:55 p.m.
	Re: RED Volunteers: Mmmm... Tastes like Evil	Steve Levinson	4/13/04 1:00 p.m.
	Re: RED Volunteers: Mmmm... Tastes like Evil	Mark Levin	4/13/04 1:18 p.m.
	Re: RED Volunteers: Mmmm... Tastes like Evil	Yossarian	4/13/04 1:39 p.m.

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