Well, I just finished playing Rubicon for the, what, 5th or 6th time through - both planks - but this time using the AO carbon game engine. I used the script that was posted in this forum not long ago and, for the most part, play was identical to the Infinity version, but with the full advantage of OpenGL graphics and preemptive multitasking that made it possible to still check mail in the background and to instantly switch out of the game whenever my wife walked in the room.
Not everything was rosy in AO carbon land, however. There were 4 levels in which AO carbon reproducibly crashed. These were Blasted Vent Cores, Gators of NY, Revenge of the Lysol Lady (return trip only) and Tar and Feather Club. These are all in the Salinger Plank and, with the exception of Lysol, all involve the Salinger texture set and large, open areas. Interestingly, Sucking/Blasting Cherries posed no difficulties at all in AO carbon. All 4 of the troubled levels ran fine in AO classic, so this is strictly a carbon version bug. Chris? Scott? Any thoughts on the cause of these crashes.
There were a couple of other interesting bugs. One was reported on extensively during the Volunteers series and confirmed by Sean. The slaves shoot at you in any AO version. Although their behavior is unchanged from the Infinity version, they clearly seem to shoot magnum ammo at you. The other, which I just noticed in playing Drinking Vitriol, involved one of the Pfhor council members shooting fighter bolts at me. It's possible that one of the fighters released with the swarms of enemies had become trapped behind the high council member, but it sure looked like the high council member (a green one, for what it's worth) was the one doing the shooting.
All-in-all, Rubicon remains my absolute favorite 3rd party mod. I've played it too many times now, however, and am finding it too easy, even on TC. Not that it isn't challenging and I still manage to die a lot, but I can play as little or as much of any level without breaking a sweat and still have a lot of ammo left over at the end of the game, particularly in the Salinger Plank. Even the vidmaster levels are straight-forward for me now. I still have a lot of fun, however, and even manage to find a new undocumented secret every time I play. Chris? Scott? Are there any more? It's definitley time for you guys to get going with Rubicon 2. In the meantime, I guess it's time for me to tackle Yota 13.
