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	Message: : I recently reinstalled Aleph One and it knocked loose an old memory that I : don't think I've ever talked about. : Since we're rapidly closing in on the 30th (!!) Anniversary of Marathon 2, it : feels appropriate to share this. : About 30 years ago, I emailed Bungie to ask if I could get copies of the 3D : model files they used as basis for all the weapons in Marathon 2. : I'm sure I had some plan to make my own Scenario or two (didn't we all), and : I had noticed that a lot of the sprites in the game were based on 3D : renderings. : This is particularly obvious with the fusion pistol due to the imagery used : in Terminal 2 in "Slings and Arrows". That image might in fact : be a modified screenshot (or 'shots) from the modeling software, given : some of the visible polygon wireframes (but that's a guess on my part). : To my tremendous surprise, I actually got a serious response back. : I wish, I desperately wish, I had kept at least the contents of the email - : but alas we don't always recognize what might be valuable in the future. : From what I remember, it may very well have been Matt Soell, and he informed : me that the model files were stored on "DAT tape" (Digital Audio : Transport magnetic tape, which could also be used for storing digital data : for backup purposes) and thus not close at hand. : I think he also mentioned the software they used - I want to say it was : "MacroModel" but I might be conflating that with : behind-the-scenes information of Myst, which I was also a big fan of at : the time. : Who knows, maybe the both used the same software - both games were made on : Macintosh and around the same time period. : So my question is thus: Where are those DAT tapes? : This question has bugged me, on and off, for the last few decades. : All we've ever seen on the Marathon world has been through sprites (sometimes : exactly one sprite!) that are relatively low res/low information - as they : had to be for a high speed action game on the days hardware. : But somewhere out in the world there is at least one backup tape with full : detail 3D models on it. : I'm not expecting some massive story revelation (in b4 the shotguns say : "owned by Jjarro" on the bottom) but I think it would be an nice : capstone on the whole Marathon experience to get ahold of all the old : development files. To finally get a clear look at these items. : Sadly, DAT tapes are small and easily lost, esp over the course of 30 years. : I'd bet money they're buried in some landfill near Chicago, but who knows. : Maybe this post will jog someones mind and they're remember an old box in : a storage locker somewhere. : Happy 30th, Marathon 2!
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