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Re: Tempus Irae Volunteers - This is the First Day
Posted By: Mark LevinDate: 12/21/03 7:33 a.m.

In Response To: Tempus Irae Volunteers - This is the First Day (Steve Levinson)

: This is the First Day is based on a song by NIN by the same title. I may be
: showing my age, but I don't like NIN and I really don't like this song.
: I'm not too crazy about this level, either. There are major clues in map
: mode on how to play the level if you know the song, but if you don't, it's
: still fairly straight-forward to figure out. One cool thing - there is a
: chapter screen at the beginning of the level showing the marine taking out
: a super Jugger using the rocket launcher, while the start of the song
: plays. This chapter screen is a true classic. This level has the
: distinction of being one of only three that I had not previously mastered
: on TC in the TI/TI2 saga. Thanks to this volunteers series, I've had an
: incentive to try again and have managed to master all three - we'll get to
: the third one later. It's nice to know that my skills have continued to
: improve, in spite of my "advancing age".

I don't really like the song either, but it does suit a scenario like this one (at least, the snippet in the chapter screen does).

: This is the First Day is laid out with three distinct parts.

Yes, and the mapmaking is very good all around. The idea that there is a "safe path" through the level that you must not deviate from until better prepared is very rarely used in Marathon, and makes it almost like a level in a stealth game like Deus Ex. In most levels, the dangerous areas are explicitly blocked until you are forced to discover the method of accessing it (a switch, or a single path leading into it), giving the mapmaker an opportunity to have you discover a huge pile of ammo or a health charger. Unfortunately, I don't think too many people would pick up on this design without the spoiler guide, since it's hard to tell the difference sometimes between a very, very hard area and an area that's deliberately unbeatable (and, as you saw, the black hallway *can* be defeated without sneaking off to the safe path). The only other scenario I've seen to attempt this trick is the TC19 demo (a standalone level), and I felt it was a bit frustrating there as well, since you are given a weapon at the beginning and there is exactly 1 survivable battle on the level in which you are meant to use it (without any real clues as to *where* it is). Marathon really wasn't built for stealth play.

: Once you have cleared the cavern and picked up the ammo contained therein,
: the player can then go out the back entrance to pick up the ammo stashed
: there and that 2X power-up that will be desperately needed to survive the
: next area in what is still the fist part of the level.

I used the 2X powerup to recover from snagging the KKV, which is something I'd never managed to do before. Ammo is very, very tight on this level even when playing on Normal, so every little bit helps. Then again, I didn't try to punch out any of the monsters.

: No need to
: worry about saving your game - you're not likely to die on the next level
: unless you've used up your O2.

A minor annoyance is that the last save point is so far from the real end of the level- since I'm trying to stick to the goal of playing 1 complete level per day and Silent as the Grave has no pattern buffers, I'm going to redo a large chunk of this level tomorrow for SatG. Of course, since it's a Rebellion level anyway, I could cheat ahead to it and no one would know the difference :P (actually, that's not entirely true, since if you somehow manage to enter a Rebellion level with less health than the level forces you to have, your health will not increase to the expected amount.)

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Replies:

Tempus Irae Volunteers - This is the First DaySteve Levinson 12/20/03 11:16 p.m.
     Re: Tempus Irae Volunteers - This is the First DayMark Levin 12/21/03 7:33 a.m.
     Re: Tempus Irae Volunteers - This is the First DayKeith Palmer 12/21/03 8:01 a.m.
           Re: Tempus Irae Volunteers - This is the First DaySteve Levinson 12/21/03 9:52 a.m.



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