: 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.
I'm definatly reading this!
: 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).
That's smart. Dammit.
: 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.
Was it just me or were these AR guys on Honk... as well? oh yeah, I'm playing on normal.
::shuts up::
: 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.
I let the admiral die a couple of times first. Hey I'm only one man, gimme a break!
: 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:
Yes, I agree with you. I think Durandal had another motive for stealing dear little haller's chip. This parallels two other Salinger AIs later in the game (or maybe it doesn't, I can't remember; anyway).
: 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:
:
: Most people end up there by default the first time anyway (unless they’re
: very good)
Woohoo! Go me! Salinger plank first go!
: I’d much rather end up on a pleasant note by finishing the Salinger Plank
: last
: In an informal poll, I received unanimous support for doing the Pfhor Plank
: first.
Yeah from 2 whole people :)
: 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.
Maybe Durandal had something else on/in his mind. Haller anyone?
