/-/S'pht-Translator-Active/-/


Rubicon Volunteers - Hairy Legs
Posted By: Steve LevinsonDate: 5/31/02 6:53 p.m.

Well, I have a lot of better things to do, but I just couldn't resist closing out the Chimera Plank by doing this level, which is one of my favorites. This level is innovative, unique, and a real blast. BTW, it's nice to see all the responses I've been getting. You're making some really good points. Oh, and Tru7h -shut up -- Just Kidding! Keep on posting! This will be my last posts for at least a few days. I have to get back to working on my presentation for Monday, and I won't be getting back home until late Wednesday night. But I'll have my laptop with me, so if my wife leaves me a little time to myself - who knows. Anyway, here's Hairy Legs:

What the . . . didn’t Durandal say he was going to transport us back to the Rozinante? What are we still doing on the Chimera? Looks like the situation’s gone critical, and we’re the only ones that can save the day! The coolant has become diluted and can no longer keep the reactor from reaching critical mass and blowing up half the ship. The UESC has tried to fix it, and then to shut it down, but there are just too many ignorant Pfhor swarming all over the ship, preventing anyone from getting near the shutoff valve. Looks like it’s up to us.

OK, so Durandal sets us down near the shutoff valve, but the way is blocked. The only way to get through involves taking a long, circuitous rout, transporting from one area to another, and trying to stay clear of the Pfhor who will stop at nothing to take you out. You gotta play this level on TC if you can – it rocks. This is probably my second favorite level in Rubicon, and one of my favorites in the entire Marathon universe. It’s innovative – the outcome of not only the level, but the path you will take in the rest of the game, depends on completing your mission within a 15 minute time frame. Many other scenarios talk about the need to hurry, but I am aware of none that have a specific time limit. Yes, I realize that Acme Station in Infinity and one of the levels in The Black Series take place in vacuum with a finite oxygen supply, but the only possible outcome is success – if you fail, you die. Here, the fate of the galaxy depends on your speed. By the way, secret terminals abound here, so be sure to check out my Rubicon Secrets Guide for more info.

Take Durandal at his word about not fighting the Pfhor. If you try to fight, you’ll never reach the shutoff valve in time, and you’ll fail. Take out only those Pfhor that are either blocking your way or preventing safe passage to where you need to go. Kill them quickly and get on your way, and avoid the rest. Don’t take Durandal’s word about the rout you need to take – it’s blocked (is he misleading us again?). And, damn, that SPNKR is behind a malfunctioning door! Don’t bother trying to find a way in – there isn’t one (yes, I’ve confirmed this in Forge). I’d also recommend waiting to pick up the extra ammo if you can. You can always run back to get it later, once you succeed in shutting down the reactor (if you even want to shut it down).

Oh, you’re going to meet a couple of new players here. One is the new Juggernaut, which has a much sleeker design. These dudes are rugged and nearly indestructible (though don’t be surprised if the other Pfhor manage to take one out). The other is a new kind of Bob – or is Bob even the right word, since they obviously weren’t born on board the Marathon. Whatever you call them, they’re blond-haired humans with ARs (California Bobs?) – they’re on your side for now (although one gets enough in the way that you may have to take him out), but later on they’ll be deadly.

One of the more important terminals that you may encounter if you manage to reach it before you shut down the reactor or before it goes critical reads as follows:

Admiral Carroway has gone MIA as of 5124 hours this afternoon. According to the transmission received just moments ago from one of his guards, he and the 15 men assigned to protect him were isolated and ambushed by a large group of Pfhor during the engine lockdown procedure. The location of the Admiral on board the Chimera was classified from day one, and the planned Pfhor kidnapping of him leads me to believe that we have a dire situation indeed on our hands.

I’ve included the full message, as you may have difficulty finding it in time in regular play – at least the first time around. The implications of this message are obvious in the context of the levels that will follow, and it has interesting implications. If you succeed in your mission on Hairy Legs, Durandal will take you to the Salinger Plank and Admiral Carroway will die. There is no way around this fact – you’ll be in the wrong place at the wrong time. This won’t be the worst thing that could happen and the UESC will still win the war and, for humanities sake, it is far more important that you ultimately get to the Salinger Plank, but you do have an opportunity to rescue him, and that means letting the reactor go critical so that Durandal will send you to the Pfhor Plank. This is clearly a case of winning the battle but losing the war. On the other hand, the only way to play the first two, very excellent levels in the Salinger Plank is to shut down the reactor. So the choice is yours – save the good admiral, or blast some vent cores and catch gators in New York.

Oh, there’s another message from Tycho, here, but again, you need to read it before shutting down the reactor:

Alas, poor Haller, I knew him well. You don't know why Haller's current state of affairs is so lamentable, do you? No? Oh goody. This will be fun. Durandal isn't quite the white knight in shining armor he professes to be. Who would've guessed that the wetware chip you so dutifully sent to the UESC Triumph never reached it's final destination? Maybe that's because there is no UESC Triumph. Or rather, a better name for the UESC Triumph would be "Rozinante." The same Rozinante you spent the last 49 years in. Haller has been cannibalized by the very AI that sent you to "rescue" him. Durandal was jealous of Haller wetware circuitry from the start. He couldn't bear the thought of an AI more advanced than himself. He always was a haughty fool, and in the end, he will pay dearly for it. And will you also?

Well, this is interesting, isn’t it? So who do you believe – Durandal or Tycho? What Tycho says makes a lot of sense. It would fit Durandal so well. But for the moment, there isn’t a lot we can do about it, is there? There’s one other terminal message of interest, but if it can be found through normal play, I haven’t found a way:

DTB is for pansies/ If I had a hammer, I'd smash somebody's face in, I'd smash somebody's face in, I'd smash somebody's face in. If I had a hammer, I'd smash them in the morning, I'd smash them in the evening, All over this land. Ah, but... If I had a Rocket Launcher or If I had a Trow Then we'd be in business.

It sounds like these guys really don't like people who cheat by using DTB! They seem so nice, otherwise – who would have known? Personally, I think that any Marathoner is only cheating themself if thy don’t try to find everything in normal play, using the Spoiler Guide and only the Spoiler Guide when they get stuck. Unfortunately, there’s no easy way to grab terminal text for the volunteer effort without using something like DTB, which is how I found this lovely message.

Well, in any case, we really do need to make a choice of where to go next. I have chosen to explore the Pfhor Plank next for the following reasons:

  1. Most people end up there by default the first time anyway (unless they’re very good)

  2. I’d much rather end up on a pleasant note by finishing the Salinger Plank last

  3. In an informal poll, I received unanimous support for doing the Pfhor Plank first.

To reach the Pfhor Plank, we need to let the reactor blow. Once we do, Durandal greets us with an uncharacteristic message:

Damn. The acidic rock striations under the ship must have dissolved a portion of the containment structure during the crash. At least this loss will hurt the Pfhor in equal measure . . . If Carroways' MIA status becomes common knowledge on the front, UESC morale will suffer a fatal blow . . . He must be rescued.

When have we known Durandal to use curse words? It’s just not like him. Durandal usually has to blame someone – not something – and so he should have been blaming you for letting him down. Why didn’t he? This really isn’t like the Durandal we’ve all come to love. Perhaps he knows that your next mission is too critical to take a chance on hurting your morale. Still, he’s being awfully nice to you after you just f----d up. Oh well, let’s go drink some Molten Dihydrogen Oxide.


[ | Message Index | Read Prev Msg | Read Next Msg ]
Pre-2004 Posts

Replies:

Rubicon Volunteers - Hairy LegsSteve Levinson 5/31/02 6:53 p.m.
     He's unstopable! *NM*Djof 5/31/02 7:29 p.m.
     Re: Rubicon Volunteers - Hairy LegsInverted Sock Puppet 5/31/02 8:57 p.m.
           Re: Rubicon Volunteers - Hairy LegsSteve Levinson 5/31/02 11:05 p.m.
                 Re: Rubicon Volunteers - Hairy LegsInverted Sock Puppet 6/1/02 12:33 a.m.
                       Advancing to Total CarnageSteve Levinson 6/1/02 2:15 a.m.
                             Re: Advancing to Total CarnageInverted Sock Puppet 6/1/02 6:01 p.m.
                 Re: Rubicon Volunteers - Hairy LegsAndrew Nagy 6/2/02 7:21 p.m.
                       Re: Rubicon Volunteers - Hairy LegsSteve Levinson 6/2/02 9:29 p.m.
     "The damn Pfhor won't make a mockery of me...." *NM*Andrew Nagy 6/2/02 7:17 p.m.
     Re: Rubicon Volunteers - Hairy LegsSteve Levinson 6/29/02 12:38 p.m.



Problems? Suggestions? Comments? Email maintainer@bungie.org

Marathon's Story Forum is maintained with WebBBS 5.12.