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	Message: : WARNING: This is not representative of the final product and anything in the : game depicted here is subject to change. This is just a recording of a : beta test I’m doing for the mod creator. DO NOT READ THIS ARTICLE IF YOU : DO NOT WANT THE GAME TO BE SPOILED FOR YOU. I’m dead serious. This was : also written in June 2020. Edits to the original text expected. I also : recently played it on Total Carnage and it's perfectly beatable. Back when : this was written, I was on Major Damage. : In between playing other games, working on the Halo SPV3 Tour of Duty and : saving up money so I can upgrade my laptop to one that can run Doom : Eternal, (Note, this is going up on the story page at least a year after I : did upgrade my laptop) I’ve now got the time to try out the latest : existing build (well, merged map anyway) of Redux from November. As the : difficulty is set up like SPV3 in that it’s the 2 hard ones and new even : harder ones > only, I’ll play on Major Damage so I can stand a chance : on the two escort missions as I know from when I first covered an older : build that they can be beaten now. (i.e you get the success message) This : is intended for implementing the plank system that Marathon vanilla ended : up not having. It will be interesting to see how they turn out in the : final version. I will be using my CD Tracks hack, though I highly : recommend using the default M1R ones that come with it first and seeing if : you like it better that way. Only read this if you don’t care about : spoilers, as I’ll be documenting what I find. Also, bear in mind this is : still just an alpha and doesn’t represent the final game. : EPISODE 1: Arrival : E1Map-1: Mirita : This is only available from the level select screen for now but I’m playing : it anyway because I like it. Nothing too serious, it’s just a nice little : way to incorporate the manual text into the game itself via an English : translation of a comic version of the opening by a Japanese fan. This map : is actually from the ios version of Marathon 1 (the original ios one : anyway) where it could only be seen with the level select from Master : Chief mode. It technically has its own chapter screen, but I’m counting it : as part of chapter 1 for consistency. : : E1M0/Map00: Arrival : : I had to start a new game properly as Mirata starts you with very little : oxygen (the decompression Durandal ordered?) but there’s not yet an O2 : station there. : : I never had a build of M1A1 that started with the PID reference but my Steam : friend did at one point (you can see it in his LP). This is a much more : appropriate extra opening sequence and it implements the Tau Ceti e skybox : mod for the original by default. Since there’s now a 3D models plugin, you : start inside the escape pod. I’m a little divided on the models as some : look great, like the Leonardo pod and the chips, but others…don’t. The : barrels are a good place to start as I thought they looked rather bland in : 3D. Either way, I don’t count it as an issue with Redux itself because it : originally wasn’t used for Redux. : : Thanks to Raven's partial vacuum script from Eternal X 1.2, there’s actual : vacuum in the hanger. In older builds, it used invisible oxygen ticks but : she made the script to make it better. Plus, partial vacuum in levels : means that the airlock actually works. The one at the top of the stairs is : broken though: I’ll have to get in via the disabled and freight access. : : That wasn’t me. Bob has taken a page from his Marathon 2 brothers and can : defend himself against the Pfhor. That comes in handy more than a little : bit later, trust me. There are also those nice blue tank things, but I : can’t tell if they’re 3D or not. : : Up the elevator, I enter the original starting area and deal with the : fighters before reading Leela’s terminal. It’s mostly unchanged from the : original other than Eternal style message openings to show when a : particular character shows up. What’s more interesting are the windows : around here. : : https://youtu.be/5fOXvXrCaTA?t=21 : The Sfiera looming behind those new sections of the ship and the Juggernaut : tank in the sky is just gold. It makes the Marathon feel more like the : moon sized colony ship it is. You can even see sections of plain moon : surface in the skybox. I’d played Brutal Doom Extermination Day (this : build back when it was called “Hell on Earth Starter Pack”) before this : and the extra attention to detail in Redux reminds me a lot of that game. : : : I notice my hands blur a lot when punching. I don’t know if this is a glitch : or just Marcus actually punching that fast. I don’t mind either way as it : does imply the latter. The S’pht maze is slightly wider than M1 Classic : and our Bob friend from M1A1’s early versions and the M1 demo is still : there. : : “This is my hiding spot, and I’m not moving until the situation has : drastically improved. Now go away! And don’t tell anyone I’m here!” : : It’s hard to tell this is animated from a still, but it is a nice touch that : glitchy, damaged or trash terminals are set up this way. Tycho and : Durandal also get more screentime. : I also notice that it’s possible to bump into the Bob in his 5D space : cupboard while in the main hallway. That normally doesn’t happen so I : wonder if it’s an Aleph One thing and/or Windows 10? (Note: This was an : older Aleph One build but I forgot which one) : : I always thought this was a Durandal terminal but considering it’s in a : maintenance duct used by engineering staff, it makes sense that it would : be a Tycho one. The S’pht appear to be interrogating him for information : on humanity. Before, I thought this was Durandal telling them himself as : part of his plans for freeing them. : : Is it me, or does Boomer look very slightly bigger than it did in the new : skybox before? Something I don’t like about the staff in Redux is that it : drags you forward as you use it and it’s not very powerful. The other : behaviour it has I do like however, so if they used that, coupled with how : they functioned in Eternal (not including the ammo system as it’s still : unknown to us at this point in the story) it would be perfect. Love the : sprite work though: I managed to get the HD weapons plugin to work too so : far. Maybe it has to do with the fact I upgraded my RAM a while ago, as : memory problems are what caused Windows crashing in Aleph One with too : many texture updates or plugins active. (This is when I still had my old : laptop) : E1M1/Map1: Bigger Guns Nearby : : Jump pads are now consistently used throughout the whole game, unlike the : original where they just appeared the once in Map00 & Map01. Leela : also has a camera shot of the spaceport being destroyed. That thing you : can barely see in the gloomy storage room is an explosive barrel, the : first to appear in Marathon. Unlike Doom, the UESC sensibly covered those : things with proper lids this time and labelled that they contain : radioactive waste. The explosion deals no damage, as they don’t use the : highly volatile nukage from Doom, which was “nuclear waste” in name only : unless the map maker stated otherwise. Destructible barrels in Redux don’t : get their own 3D model however. : You can climb on the crates and shelves to find an active camo chip in a : corner. I intend to save that for later when I get to the S’pht ambush. : Leela also has some new dialog: she tells me outright I need to be better : armed, cannot teleport me out from this terminal as there’s no jump pad, : and warns that when travelling through the biovent core (read: sewer : pipes), the macerators on the floor are switched on as Durandal controls : those and they will chew your feet up if you touch them. This is : represented by the M2 cogs and the polygons being set as Ouch sectors, : which is a good use of hotplate polygons. She also says I may need to : scavenge from the aliens as well as keep my sidearm handy. : : I like how there’s now text on those sheets of paper in the models plugin, : though I do wish they could have more than one message on them. I : understand why though as it’s just replacing a single object. Still, : Durandal is as funny as ever in the paper as he is in the terminals. I : wonder if this place is some kind of breakroom or office, going by the : computers and benches. Also, is that a project in Hammer Editor on the : left screen there above the disk drive? : : I dread to think what happened to him. The new MA-75 design is awesome, : combining the black of the Halo 2 SMG with the “handheld minigun” design : of M1’s Assault Rifle. It even has grenade climbing restored! It was a bit : wonky in the older build of Redux, as the code for it and the base M3 code : seemed to be fighting it out. That's no longer an issue in this one. : There’s some new doorways and hall connections here but the biggest change to : this area other than the sewer pits and storage room is that the lift now : has a safety guard and the ledges and stairs have handrails! : : They’re only small things but they still count. That’s the beauty of modern : 2.5D engine builds: taking old geometry and adding just enough new details : to it to make the environments make sense or more sense than they did in : older games released for them, so something as simple as a caution sign on : a wall (like the HD version of the loudspeaker texture) or a chair sprite : by a computer station (Brutal Doom with the map enhancement script active) : can make fans of those games like myself squee. : : Who put these here? (In-universe) That’s a fire hazard if you block potential : escape routes. : : Here’s one of the sewage macerators. The floors of the pipes between them are : safe. : : Coming back to the 3D models plugin, sorry to say it but the 3D bollard looks : terrible. The original sprite looks like a sci-fi version of those stone : pillars with balls on them you get at parks, which is what I liked about : them. This one looks like someone tried to make the former out of play : dough. That's probably the last time I criticise the models, trust me. The : good ones will start appearing very soon. : The O2 station works, though some in these junctions don’t, just like Leela : warns. I also forgot to point out that I like how the S’pht or maybe even : hostile cyborgs or mechs now appear on the motion tracker as “human : enemies” i.e. yellow squares, which you normally see in multiplayer. Leela : also now teleports in ammo to the small jump pads like Durandal does in : the sequels. : Since I still have working knees like in Eternal’s Tour of Duty, I exploit : that coupled with grenade jumping to return upstairs to save, heal and : grab the shadow chip. I also get the VISR chip in the grenade jump tease : the same way. : : The VISR does a much better job of illuminating dark areas than vanilla : thanks to the crisper picture. It also reveals anyone using active : camouflage, or so it shows here with me. The ambush hall is a tad wider : than it was but there’s also now a switch to head back to the storage : room, opening a small hatch above a lift to ambush them right back. : However, it also short-circuits the health station so I can’t patch myself : up, jams the door to the first breakroom, makes the pattern buffer’s : lights flicker and causes one of the “stair lifts” leading to the buffer : to fail. : When the VISR wears off, I can admire the new view outside the windows again. : Just as before, there’s a jump pad by the exit. Expect to keep seeing them : in this mod, which is a great help at identifying where the exit is if you : haven’t played before. It also marks where the start point is in case you : get lost, despite the map being easy to read. : : The image speaks for itself and unlike M2’s images like the Juggernaut one on : Feel the Noise, you can actually read the image text without a microscope. : E1M2/Map02: Never Burn Money : Leela makes sure to namecheck Tycho for his duties in this area. She still : doesn’t mention the exit most people actually take in the transport tower. : I haven’t tested if you can refill your semi empty clips on Total Carnage : by picking up another gun like you can in vanilla (you definitely can’t in : M1A1) but even if not, it’s more just a convenience thing so I don’t mind : if it’s absent. : (Note: As of my Total Carnage run, I notice that it seems to be just a : renamed lower difficulty with edited damage values, (I think) so like : M1A1, you can't pick up another gun to refill your clip. I haven't played : on the hardest difficulty in Redux so feel free to let me know if you can : on that.) : The pumps at the ends now have fitting sounds as they spin & pound. : : Again, you can’t tell from a still but as I was shown once before, the fans : actually spin now unlike vanilla and the first alpha of Redux I tried. The : pump fans spin too. You now have to talk to Tycho in the manufacturing : transport station to open the lockers. : : : EEK! MARATHON ETERNAL WASPS?! Reggie Fils-Aime from that one meme everybody : knows but can’t place where it’s from puts it best: : However, unlike Marathon Eternal you get both normal ones and the tiny wasps, : plus the latter aren’t annoying in this game, due to having the same : firing speed as the former. They were hiding in the lockers so it makes me : wonder: are the tiny wasps their babies and they were using the transport : lockers as nests? : The processor tunnel is still too dark to see anything so the pfhor and wasps : in there leave me seeing again that strange glitch in the main games where : you literally have 0 health and yet still live. Not complaining, that bug : is a lifesaver. : : I notice that the “Hathor fragment terminal” (if that’s what it is) in the : tower about the uncontrollable demigod girl is labelled as a Leela : terminal and is flickering with static. I wonder what that means? : : The chips are the first or second thing I point to when I talk about 3D : models in the Marathon 1 plugin that are good. The other of those we’ll : see when we get to the pfhor ship levels. The chips look like flash memory : based versions of floppy disks, in the same way that Switch cartridges are : to Game Boy Advance and Family Computer ones. It's a cool concept. : You bet your bottom dollar I visit the Gherrit White terminal. I like how : secret doors in Redux have a MIDA symbol on them, as it’s a detail that : not every game gets right (looking at you, Wolfenstein 3D and the higher : difficulties of OG Rise of the Triad): unless it’s specifically designed : as a monster closet, you can’t just plonk down secret doors willy-nilly : and have them look like any old wall. There’s got to be a subtle clue to : help players find them without a walkthrough or no-clipping, such as a : mis-aligned texture, a blood trail or footprints leading to a wall and : appearing to just stop, or (and one of my favourite sneaky hints) a light : blinking on a particular wall panel in an otherwise dark hallway. Vanilla : Marathon 1 has a bollard outside the secret door here and while that’s : here as well, it has a MIDA symbol on it as the secrets were intended to : be hidden ammo and munitions stashes for Bernhard’s rebels. I noticed the : symbol in an old build of Redux a while ago on The Rose, but I just : noticed it’s here too. : Unlike M1A1 as stated above, grenade climbing works just as it does in M1 : Classic! :D : The wasps are now baby ones but they’re no match for me. The terminal itself : is all glitching out with the “corrupt/damaged Durandal” message on its : screen and full of static, which is a nice touch. : 2 years ago, I interpreted the Gherritt White terminal as Durandal sending : the player or maybe the S'pht a metaphorical story indirectly describing : his life under Bernard Strauss and his Rampancy and subsequent escape. He : could well have done it to encode the message to the S'pht from Leela, : Tycho and the crew, or maybe to teach the S'pht about human writing traits : in storytelling based on a true story; his Rampancy. : There are S'pht guarding that terminal in the teleporter maze alongside the : wasps. : Gherritt is Durandal, his beater is Bernard Strauss, the prison cell is his : Core with the clamping bars being firewalls or something to stop him : spreading, the schoolyard disciplinarian is Leela, the rats in the walls : are either computer programs or technicians working on Durandal and the : sea and waves are the Marathon’s network. : Now I head off to install those floppy disks, and the level is a lot better : than vanilla too as usual. : EPISODE 2: Counterattack : E2M1/Map03: Defend THIS! : : Blue is more my color for Marathon (Black and Red like Shadow the Hedgehog in : Halo 2 onward) but I look smashing in purple. : : Not sure why, but the jump pad makes this hallway remind me of a bowling : alley. That's cool: I love bowling alleys : Leela doesn’t warn me about the trash compactor and she’s missing her : restored third chip screen from (I think) M1A1. : There’s debris in the garbage disposal though it’s hard to see in the gloom. : The armoury also has a blast sign outside it. : Now, I’d speculated a long time ago that the lava on the Marathon was waste : rock that couldn’t be easily removed, so they melted it with the Marathon : reactors and circulated it around the ship for surplus power via : geothermal energy and cheap central heating, the channels and rivers we : see in-game being there to provide a volcanic “water feature” for people : to ogle as it returns to the engine room to stay hot, making sure it’s : cool enough to actually flow back while simultaneously not setting non : battleroids who wander too close without touching it on fire. : “The lava on the marathon was the original rock that couldn’t be removed : lest the moon collapse and ruin the rest of the ship. So the UESC built : channels, tanks and pools for the magma (using either asbestos or : platinum), heated it up to liquid levels using the engines reactors and : pump it around the ship like real earth tectonics/water cycle with the : lava providing a constant source of hydro(pyro?)electric power and central : heating. : The lava that BoBs and other non maintenance crew are to be found around : needs to be cooled to at least the hundreds of degrees Celsius without : freezing or slowing down to stop them catching fire just by standing too : close. Also, Marcus and the other battleroids are built to withstand the : heat as are their shields. That’s why you survive a few seconds in lava : when your shields (the yellow and purple health bars, not the red) are : down. : All just wild speculation but I think it helps. Besides, someone needs a : Celestia Jacuzzi once in a while to keep Bevis happy. ;)” : This opinion was a bit too hot for some to handle but in Redux, notice what : the red stripes on the walls are now?. : : Normally I’d chalk it up to just being a texture update but since there’s : almost always a lava sound playing around those pipes, there’s no : mistaking it: Those are the pipes that pump the lava away from the : reactors as geothermal radiators, before flushing them down the magmatic : fountains we see later on for the return journey. : Inside the secret with Tycho’s first vanilla terminal, the lava pipes glow a : deeper red, cooling down a bit to avoid frying the computer, which is : another clever little touch. There are two hot spots though: those mark : the secret doors, a new one of which works as a shortcut into the area : with the chip slots. : : I swear that lift texture is new. It actually looks a bit like a realistic : hydraulic elevator now. The bridge however is one of my favourite parts of : the level by far: no longer is it a crappy suicide pit. It’s now a sewer : that connects to the trash compactor and the hallway outside it. : : I thought that you couldn’t have 5D space rooms over rooms this way as the : Forge manual states that the polygons cannot share vertices. However, I : learned either on the Pfhorums or Story Page that they can indeed share : the same vertices: just resize the sectors to match in size and/or shape : after filling them and so long as the polygons are still convex, the : engine will not care. I also forgot to mention in either the hanger or : Map01’s biovent cores that the Darth Vader breathing when underwater and : in vacuum from Eternal is in Redux too and I love that. : The hallway the fighters snipe you from now connects to a vent above the room : with the defence drones, of which have been replaced with Bobs since the : drones aren’t meant to be active yet. : : Leela now no longer tells me about the Pfhor clans until the end of the : level, just that the colony is under attack. Also, don’t think I didn’t : notice that some doors are the split from the middle type. : : He’s been boned. By the exit terminal, the whole floor is a jump pad. : Inserting the chips opens subtle little shortcuts back to the armoury and : Rampancy terminal. MADDs are also released from a circuit board covered : room in the bridge perimeter hall where the lizards were. Those openings : must be defence drone access vents, like the vent shafts that the Monitor : and sentinels use in Halo 1+2. : Leela explains how shock staffs work, and warns that some trooper grenades : can track you now. : E2M2/Map04: Couch Fishing : : Remember that strange empty hole through the windows in this map? That’s : where I am now: it is now a waterway and you can sometimes spawn in it. : The Euphoria M1 OST Swirls in my hack for this level as I type this around : midnight just makes me feel nostalgic and sad for 2012 when I first played : M1A1 and saw Thundercats 2011 around the same time. I go into more detail : about that on my log. : : Personally, I would have just lowered the ceiling here to create the illusion : that it’s a bridge. That only works if the polygons are set up right : though, else it would lower the ceiling of the whole room. Also, we can : now steal the troopers’ havok rifles like in Eternal. This same sprite : appeared after the first Redux build in Eternal’s HD weapons plugin. Like : the staff, Leela needs to learn more about it before it becomes more : useful, but if it hurts, it works. : : This is still an annoying tease like in vanilla. My kingdom for a crouch key : like Damage Incorporated! Then combined with the jump plugin, I could : squeeze through and take those. There was a baby wasp hiding in there too. : : I thought I heard showers or running water. That sewage pipe is a nice touch. : The big empty pits leading to the exit are now septic tanks too. : : I was partially wrong about the baby wasps: they appear to come in minor and : major types like the grown up ones, and the latter are just as horrid as : the Eternal wasps. The tunnel to the septic tanks has a few baby major : wasps in it. : Trooper havok rifles can also now be fired underwater, as if I didn’t hate : troopers enough already. The third septic tank has fighters and only one : trooper or two maximum in it now. Don’t use grenades underwater though: : it’s a trap like the fusion pistol. : Remember that sewer above? It links the second and third tanks, sucking you : from one to the other. The cogs on the floor do harm you but you may be : swept through by the current too fast to get hurt much if at all. The door : by the terminal is locked. : : E2M3/Map05: The Rose : I’ve got some good news and some bad news. Bad news is, this is The Rose and : you know what that means: the first of Marathon’s two horrible escort : quests. Good news is, it’s much better than the original in every single : way: you can actually win it now, just like the older alpha! :) I haven’t : tried on Total Carnage but I might later on after this initial run. (Note: : Now I have, I also beat it first time but it may be harder. Tips below : still apply) Your mission is simple to explain: go postal. Use the assault : rifle and pepper every fighter and hulk in the still mostly bare : recreation room. The Bobs are no longer defenceless and will not let : themselves be taken without a fight. Don’t rely on their superior AI to : save them though as they’re still Bobs. Leela says she’ll try to teleport : in ammo when she can. : The doors to this area are a unit or two wider so you can let the crew past : and herd them through it to safely. Make sure the lift in that area is up : and not working until the pfhor and Drinniol up there are dead however. If : you’ve made good progress so far, SAVE YOUR GAME. You will want backups in : case something goes wrong, including on the previous map if necessary. Get : the 2nd pistol as soon as possible! You’ll need both of them for less : frantic combat and for sniping. Take bullets for Bobby and try to keep the : aliens distracted from them as much as possible. Unlike the vanilla game, : rescuing the crew in Redux is actually fun. : : Count ‘em, boys and girls! This is far more Bobs than I’ve ever been able to : save in M1 Classic and M1A1 combined, and that’s even after saving either : exactly or just over half the Bobs in the former last time I played it. On : Total Carnage. : : OK, we have to think strategically here, meaning I’m boned. …Just kidding. : I did think that when I took that screenshot, but stray bullets that miss : them are enough to make them move. Now if only we could force this Bob AI : into the main game too… : By the way, why does the fun house have pfhor slime sectors over its alcoves : on the map? I can guess from the barriers and bits of paper that it’s : supposed to be a firing range, which is nice. I never thought of that : before. : : Best use of 5D space in the mod so far other than the Defend THIS sewer. This : appears to be a balcony or true bridge, which I didn’t think was possible : in Aleph One outside the Better Bridges plugin. : The stamen and petals may be the hardest part other than the recreation room. : Be wary that fighters love to teleport in now, like in the sequels. Use : the pistols to snipe fighters, MA-75 for hulks and also for everything if : there’s Bobs nearby. Remember to save when you can and always keep an eye : on the motion tracker. It will reveal if Bobs are nearby too. A word of : warning when in the petals: there’s more lizards up there with the hulks, : so watch out. The ones in the pistil won’t agro until you walk past the : opening to it, but the Bobs held hostage in there should help you kill : them. Just watch your aim. : : *Clang clang!* “Hello? Is anyone there? Can we come out now?” : : Given what the terminal behind them is and the sign on the door, they are : either rebels caught with their pants down, or regular colonists/crew who : stumbled onto one of their dead drops. : It’s also worth noting that the automap functions partially like the one in : Eternal X, where it shows Bobs properly, like a radar screen. Unlike : Eternal X, it still doesn’t show the Pfhor though. : Now, battered and bruised, I use a red health terminal and can finally show : off what I should have seen in M1A1 years ago: : https://youtu.be/U7Gr-sDUPIE?t=1173 : E2M4/Map06: Smells like Napalm, Tastes Like Chicken! : : I get it: It’s a dance mat to get down with the awesome Euphoria version of : Chomber. : : I like how the shuttles now have a way in and out of the drydock, but it’s : still too small and doesn’t look anything like a drydock, other than the : jacks in the middle. Not complaining though, as it’s just an alpha, plus : the ship entrance is at least trying. : I didn’t get those “index westdoor, a nil value” warnings above last night at : 2:00 AM (time of writing) when I reached this map, but I did now after : reloading this morning after breakfast. I don’t know what it means, though : I’d guess it has something to do with the bulkhead door near where I saved : last night. Either way, it’s bugging me. Thankfully they go away once I : close both doors. However, it comes back periodically for the rest of the : level. : There are wasps galore here like vanilla but lots are the major baby ones and : the vermin respawn within seconds as do the S’pht. Fun, fun fun! : I end up wasting a lot of ammo and time running back to heal and save thanks : to those bug pests. I also appear to trap a couple of Bobs behind the : second bulkhead. Oops. I end up nearly out of assault rifle clips by the : time I reach the exit, though I thankfully got the flamethrower. (Note: My : total carnage run was even worse. I could not make it through and I ran : too low on ammo, which led to me lowering the difficulty to minimum for : the remainder of the level, before switching it back to Total Carnage : after I reached Cool Fusion) : Well, awesome music aside, this quickly turned into the first bad level in : Redux. Things to fix for the next build: a lot more detail in the drydock : to go with the new ship entrance in the ceiling it has now, turn the : monster respawn rates way down and get rid of the tiny wasps. They : seriously kill the pacing of this level by wasting my ammo and health. It : turns this level from nice with a bit of challenge to just plain not fun, : only helped slightly by the music and other bits. : Another thing worth mentioning which also applies to M1 Classic and M1A1 is : that there’s no point making a staircase out of the shuttle jack lifts: : just flip a single switch for the lowered ones and ride it up. I was : surprised when the Rampancy boys didn’t seem to realise that in the ASE : Podcast. : I wasn’t the only one to know this exploit: Both the writer of the Marathon 1 : Tour of Duty for this level and my Steam friend did too. : https://youtu.be/F44F8aZtZJA?list=PL5FBFAA6483DED33B&t=858 : I did notice that the giant potato I found growing in one of the tunnels in : the older build is gone now. : : It’s meant to be the pfhor shuttles replacing the old M1 Sfiera sprite, but : it sure looks like a giant potato growing into some pipes up close. : : From this point onward, you can now reload and carry more batteries for the : shock staff. This is what I like about the alien weapons in Redux : including the staff: they get progressively better over time the more we : learn about them. It fits the story as well as the gameplay, especially as : Leela tells us how to actually work the devices, as opposed to PIDs “get : better with practice” level up system, or your more standard RPG affair of : System Shock 2, where you just spend a lot of XP on “exotic weapons” so : you can magically know how to use them. : E2M5/Map07: Cool Fusion : The vacuum chamber you start in actually works as well, but unlike the older : build this now includes the hallways, with only the charge conduits and : outlying areas being safe, so charge your level 1 shields (2X health i.e. : yellow bar) and read the terminal quickly. : : Other than the lava pipes, the fusion pistol room now has its own wave pool. : : It’s in the vanilla HD textures plugin too, but that’s the loudspeaker : texture I mentioned previously. The charge conduit door on this side : briefly opens a 2X shield station (3X health i.e the purple bar) but you : can cheese it out through the platform when it closes again. : : The new flamethrower design is slick and it no longer blows its load in 7 : seconds like it does in the Trilogy. It’s failing in the old build was : that its new range sucked, being significantly shorter than the original : trilogy and it didn’t seem to do much damage. The latter has been : rectified and it’s hard to tell from spritework but I think its range is : the original one too. There was a poll on the Pfhorums a while ago to see : how the Redux flamethrower should function and the one I personally wanted : to see (burst of realistic flamethrower stream) was out in front, which is : good. : Real flamethrowers are basically literal fire hoses in terms of range, which : a lot of games, movies etc. get wrong as movie & TV prop flamethrowers : need to be gas based jets for relative safety. : : Some Bobs snipe the pfhor in the room above from a stairwell, and a break in : the guardrail lets me reach the new terminal above me (also in the older : build). : : There was talk of replacing this gorgeous anime style artwork with live : action photos, like Jason Jones did when he played Robert Blake in M2, but : I say this is much better. It feels like the logical next step from the : 90s western animation portraits in Strife, which came out the same year as : Infinity, though it just needs the voice acting. : This is not the first time a Bungie game has been linked to the highest form : of 2D animation in existence. That would be Oni. Anyway, our scared buddy : here reveals that Durandal is the reason why this part is called “the : wave”. Maybe he was channelling his rampancy escape poem from Map02 (if it : was him). : : You can still hear her dripping. Is this guy the blue suited one hiding on : the other stairs leading up here? : Once I turn on the vacuum pump, I finally find an oxygen station in the : hallway leading to the exit. That was hairy. Unlike Map06, this one was : hard but fun and I didn’t even suffocate. : E2M6/Map08: G4 Sunbathing : : I see your reference to the lightyear distance error and raise you a TOZT : (the non-flamethrower kind, unless we’re talking Bloody Marys). Leela : sends me more ammo just as I’m about to save. This map functions more or : less the same with some slight changes: firstly, actual vacuum maps seem : to have realistic vacuum now, meaning no sounds and the ones you do hear : are muffled. This also means that you won’t hear S’pht shots coming until : they’re right on top of you. That’s paranoia fuel for ya. Second, there : are new inner bulkhead doors to the rest of the ship, but while you can : enter them as you turn on the power to each quadrant one by one, the : second set of doors inside them remain forever sealed. Third, there’s now : Juggernauts making an early cameo in one of the landing bay quadrants. You : don’t have enough firepower to deal with them, so just run. : : More of those strange biohazard box things from Bigger Guns Nearby. What are : they? : While you don’t have the assault rifle, you can make do with the Havok rifle : when you find one, but use them wisely as they don’t seem to hold a lot of : ammo at this point in the game. You can also now use the staff’s : projectile attack, since the time Leela explained how they worked earlier : I think, but I’ve only just noticed now. The inner switches have pattern : buffers next to them and at least one new terminal. : : More awesome anime character portraits, this time showing off the first : female Bob we know of besides Javen. : : 2 guesses what happened to her support ticket. A hunter sneaks up on me as I : read this terminal. Hunter shots in Redux are smaller and harder to dodge. : : How’s it going? I still have no idea what the large, green active : camo/transparency chip shaped things are meant to be. I think I was told : what they were before, but I’ve honestly forgotten. The last outer switch : room still has air in it and it gets sucked out when I open the door, : gibbing an unfortunate lizard inside. : : : So, Durandal is the reason G4 Sunbathing is in vacuum! It most likely killed : everyone who wasn’t wearing a spacesuit or vacuum proof armour in the : area. No wonder Tycho is pissed at him later! : : : : UNEXPECTED HALT X [WND/INCAP/KIA? Ref.a4 3d.3] : END RECORD VIEW [2794.7.3.0830 L] : : Once again, Durandal’s Portal esque sense of humour never ceases to delight : me, even when he’s committing indirect murder. I start to run low myself : as I read, so I have to run back to the middle for air. : : I think this bridge is just a basic platform with handrails type. Also, the : Commander Hunter makes an early bird cameo here too as the first boss : fight. He has homing shots like some of his buddies in Infinity and : Eternal. I also like how the satellite dish now slowly activates and then : aligns itself when you flip the switches. : : More in Part 2.
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