Marathon Aeon

by Dugit

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Uploaded Dec 24th, 2011 for Marathon Infinity

Description

This is the public beta of an ongoing solo scenario project. So far, seventeen levels have been made, containing twelve full solo levels and a net map. Enjoy.

Contained are all the scenario files, along with music. Included is the Total Weapon Enhancement Pack as standard, with altered alien weapon DDSs. Latest Aleph One is required. Operates stand-alone.

Please can you review it? This is a beta after all, and it'll be greatly appreciated for future reference. ß)

Version 1.10

I was going to save up all the new additions for the 2.0 release. But hey. It's Christmas. ;)

1.10 - XBLA HUD added - Goran's Hi-Res Landscape Plugin added (modified) - Terminal glitch on Words Which I Command and Jjaro Jjaro Evolution fixed - Textural oversights on Lapsus Linguae, Vae Victis and Command fixed

1.9 - Two new full solo levels - Gameplay enhancement on all main solo levels (generally more difficult rather than easier) - 3x Canister DDS made blue rather than purple (oops) - Expanded texture files - Music files heartily expanded - Loads of smaller fixes - All teleportation errors fixed

15 Reviews

  • Currently 4/5 Stars.

Significant bug -

Mazaro on Jan 15th, 2015, Version 1.10

the "Asphodel Meadows" level crashes the game on load for me, giving the following error -

/Users/ghs/aleph/trunk/PBProjects/../Source_Files/GameWorld/map_constructors.cpp:1132: Assertion failed: MapIndexList.size() <UINT16_MAX

I really like this game, and this level being missing disrupts the continuing. Hopefully someone can help!

I'm running on Mac OSX.

  • Currently 5/5 Stars.

Absolutely fantastic!

Jello on May 21st, 2014, Version 1.10

I wasn't expecting this to be at all great, but I was blown away since it was just a Beta and solo-created. I love the dream levels and the way the plot twists and turns. I few levels were confusing, but I was really impressed. Great job!

  • Currently 2/5 Stars.

IT'S BECAUSE THE COMMUNITY IS DEVOID OF CRITICAL FACULTIES MOPPY

patrick on Dec 3rd, 2013, Version 1.10

THEY JUST KNOW THEY LIKE MARARTHON SO WHEN THE NEW MARARTHON MAPS ARE MADE AVAILABLE THEY PRAISE THEM TO THE HEAVENS

THIS IS WHY WE NEED YOU TO COME BACK

WE'RE STARVED FOR ACTUAL OPINIONS AND PERSONALITY

YOU HAD BETTER NOT HAVE LOST YOUR PASSWORD AND OR EMAIL ADDRESS

PS

NO OFFENCE DUGIT YOU KNOW I LOVE YOU AND YOU NEED TO COME BACK TOO

  • Currently 3/5 Stars.

Monster placement is horrid.

MoppyPuppy on Nov 24th, 2013, Version 1.10

Why is this getting so many 5 star ratings when there is something clearly wrong with the monster placement?

In a lot of places there seems to be no rhyme or reason to where monsters spawn.

As though you just took the monster placement clicker and had a seizure while placing the monsters.

There seems to be no FUN way to engage the enemy.

  • Currently 4/5 Stars.

Great chaotic style

GeorgeJohn on Feb 1st, 2013, Version 1.10

I am a huge fan of the chaotic nature of the battles and architecture of the first part of the game. It seems unscripted, and I like the cramped style of combat. It prevents the ridiculous "Run in circles around the enemies and let them kill each other" technique, which is common in large battles.

I ended up taking the timeline where you get infected, and I was having a good time with those levels, though they are somewhat less fun than the ones where you cooperate with humans. I got stuck on the lava level Jjaro Jjaro Revolution. I ran through it about 30 times, getting farther each time, but I lost hope after a while. It's just way to hard, and minutes of focused killing can be obliterated because you just got knocked off into the lava. I'm okay with long stretches without a save terminal, but that was too long.

So to summarize, the first few levels were amazingly refreshing, and reminded me how I used to feel playing the original games oh so many years ago. It loses that charm towards the middle of the game, though continues to be very good.

  • Currently 5/5 Stars.

I love the dream parts

ihatelivinginthisplace on Dec 22nd, 2012, Version 1.10

My favorite levels, honestly were Vae Victis and Words Which I Command. Because the thing about the guy dreaming, it's excellency. Epic scenario.

  • Currently 4/5 Stars.

Short, Sweet, Elegant...

PerseusSpartacus on Sep 11th, 2012, Version 1.10

...and hard. The white-bloods are pretty tough to fight, even on Kindergarten. Still, that difficulty makes some of the levels really good. 'The Rise and Fall of Dugit' is awesome, as is 'The Asphodel Meadows'. However, I would note that Aeon has some major and some minor flaws. For instance, the first Green Trooper on Lapsis Linguae is insanely aggressive, to the point where I was listening to bullets clinging around my head while saying to myself 'What is going on here?' Still, at least he isn't too hard to kill. You just need to get your grenade to land at his feet. Furthermore, vacuum levels (aka 'Words Which I Command' are never fun. G4 Sunbathing was the rare exception, and Acme Station was just plain rough. In sum, don't do vacuum levels unless you know how to really make them fun. To top things off, you really need a pattern buffer at the start of 'Blaze'. Even so, Aeon is very fun to play. This scenario should easily get 5 stars once some of the issues are tweaked.

  • Currently 4/5 Stars.

Fun, but not the best

Overlord on Feb 20th, 2012, Version 1.10

When you first play Aeon you'll experience a new kind of world where things are tight and crazy. I do enjoy Aeon but the first level is cramped and compact, also quite unorganized. I do have to say, it ain't broke. It just isn't the best either.

  • Currently 5/5 Stars.

Great

The Cool Guy on Dec 21st, 2011, Version 1.9a

Overall great map, but just pointing out that in case you didn't know, on the level "Vae Victis" one of the computer terminals does not seem to work correctly

  • Currently 5/5 Stars.

I finally get to playing this...

Destiny on Dec 19th, 2011, Version 1.9a

I've been a little late about getting a review for this and playing the lattest beta version. Taking time off of replaying Rubicon X, I downloaded the most recent version to Aeon to see if this was any good.

First of all, I would like to thank Dugit for putting music to his scenario. I've played way to many maps that did not have any music. I perfer music over background sound. The music selection was interesting. I's a nice change from the original and remixes of the Marathon soundtrack.

Next thing to cover is the difficulty. Before I got my chance to play the beta, I thought to myself that this was going to be an easy one. Boy, was I wrong about that. Theres enough old and new difficult enemies to pack a starship! It explains why theres so much ammo everywhere. I'd hate to be the one that trys playing this on Total Carnage. The enforcers, upgraded cyborgs, better aiming troopers, and S'pht are already a pain in the neck on normal (not that I can't handle'em). They may be as colorful as a clown, but they're as nasty as barney on steroids!

The mapping and texturing in the beta was amazing! I saw so many curves that I wished I knew how to do that. Spaceships were cool, the planet areas incredibley spacious, the shading very realistic, and so many other surprises. I'm kinda surprised that this is only a beta.

The alien weapon was pretty cool as blue. I not sure which one is better: the original purple, or the new Aeon blue.

The whole story, I didn't really pay attention to. It may have helped to read the terminals, because when I got to the latter section of the beta, I got really confused. At first, Bob is your friend and the Pfhor, of course, is your enemy. It's what everyone expects. Then, this Jjaro symbol dude beams me off a level and I lose all my weapons. After running through a map without anyone around, I get to the next level, only to find out that BoB is not a friend, and there are some grayish versions of Pfhor and BoB that are apparently my friends (ugh...). Jumping through the levels with the level start cheat (kept dying from BoB and the S'pht Kr on the first level when they aren't friendly), I now get BoB back as an ally, and now both the Pfhor and gray copies are enemies. But thats not all! Now theres Durandal on the side!

Over all (I'm going to HAVE to replay this and read the computers next time) this is a great scenario. It's very unique from other ones. Everybody that hasn't checked this beta out, should. It's a good one.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I gotta get back to my starship. I still have several scenarios to play (some to replay), A1 tools that one day will be downloaded and there manuals read, and I think I see Irons over there. I don't think that rocket launcher he has is a gift. I may have a SBR-23, but Irons can probley plant those rockets on the ground quicker than I can get his head in my sights.

Five stars.

  • Currently 5/5 Stars.

Pure Awesome

Pfhriggin' on Sep 25th, 2011, Version pß 1.8

Having rattled through Rubicon, Eternal and Phoenix a number of times over- having done the same with the Aeon public beta 1.0 a few months a go- I decided to have a go at it again. Frankly, I'm astounded as to how far the learning curve on this scenario has progressed.

Earlier levels from Our Lives a Mimicry to Rise and Fall of Dugit (bar Eternal Lucid Dream) have amazing attention to detail, but the texturing is still a little sloppy. It's good to see that for Asphodel and onwards, this has been rectified.

I'm not a particular fan of being given everything at the offset, but it's good to see that we're given a choice between pure carnage and more structured fights in the divergent chapters. My favorite, personally so far, is Venom.

By levels, however, I need to be a little more consice. Levels like Vae Victis/Command, Frameshift, and Lapsus are some of the best levels I've seen in a long time.

Keep up the good work. I'm still waiting on 1.9 :)

  • Currently 4/5 Stars.

This is more like it!

byrd62au on Sep 25th, 2011, Version pß 1.8

As someone who cut their marathon teeth on 3rd party scenarios like Siege of Nor Korph, Evil, Tempus Irae, Rubicon etc I'm very intolerant of maps where not enough thought and effort is put into lighting and making maps "feel" right. This is a scenario where the attention to detail really shows through. I took my time wandering around just enjoying the views (once I'd survived the great battles!). There are really only 2 things I'd suggest that stop me rating this scenario a 5 to of 5 (and perhaps these things will be rectified by the time the finished version is released). 1. Don't give the player so many weapons so early in the game. One of the things that made a scenario like "Evil" truly great was the weapons and ammo were handed out very sparingly and you often had to back up and play through sections again making more effort to conserve it as you would run out. Having to make do with a magnum for a while makes you REALLY appreciate it when you finally get a a shotgun or something. I would say there needs to be less health packs also and make some longer sections without save terms. Makes it harder but so much more rewarding. 2. (and this is critical to make this a truly 5 star scenario) It needs an art director. The menu, chapter screens and terminal art just aren't up to the quality of the maps. Great scenarios always have a great mapmaker and a great art director, not usually the same person! Other than these issues this is first class stuff and I haven't enjoyed playing a scenario this much since Rubicon (which this reminds me a little of). Great work!

  • Currently 4/5 Stars.

Impressive

K'taur on Aug 22nd, 2011, Version pß 1.7

Very nicely done. Gameplay is excellent. Though this was said before, i really enjoy the chaotic crossfire between allies and enemies, and being ambushed in tight spaces. Ammo is plentiful, but not too plentiful.

Architecturally, also very well done. The wide vistas, in particular, are a nice touch. A lot of mappers aren't very good about giving the player a good sense of the immensity of a particular space station or facility. Eternal Lucid Dream, with the lookout stations jutting out from the cliff face, did this particularly well. The stone areas, and the water pools/streams especially, look awesome. You've done some great things insofar as taking advantage of Aleph One's lack of geometry and viewing distance limitations.

Two minor things annoyed me a bit:

(1) Too many inoperable doors. Several times i found myself wandering around maps in circles long after i had already killed everything, searching for which door a particular switch opened, and being frustrated by the number of doors that were permanently inoperable.

(2) Too many texture sets. i believe this was mentioned earlier, in an earlier release, but while i see what you're trying to do with the variation in stone textures, at times it looks gaudy, particularly where you've added textures from the Pfhor set to the mix. It's difficult to appropriate this set in other environments, and i've very rarely seen it done successfully.

  • Currently 5/5 Stars.

Very nice

infwaffle on Aug 13th, 2011, Version pß 1.62

This almost seems like a complete senario. The level design is nice and makes it worth while to look around and not move on for a bit. I though they were very creative and non-straight forward, i like that. One thing though is that the alien weapon in hand is not blue. Overall this is very good and i would recomend it. I think the full version will turn out great.

  • Currently 5/5 Stars.

Thrilling

ODST 276 on Dec 23rd, 2010, Version pß 1.21c

I personally, think it is pretty amazing. The ammo and health packs were abundant, but the way the gameplay was, you needed most of it. I did find one HOM on "The Asphodel Meadows (III)" where one part of the water was not textured, but it is a Beta and there will be mistakes, glitches, etc. Overall, It is definitely something all Marathoners should play. The abundance in enemies and allies made it feel like a realistic, albeit chaotic battlefield. This scenario is something I am looking forward to.

15 Screenshots

The Rise and Fall of Dugit

Screenshot titled "The Rise and Fall of Dugit"

The Rise and Fall of Dugit (II)

Screenshot titled "The Rise and Fall of Dugit (II)"

The Asphodel Meadows (II)

Screenshot titled "The Asphodel Meadows (II)"

The Asphodel Meadows

Screenshot titled "The Asphodel Meadows"

In Our Dreams Awake

Screenshot titled "In Our Dreams Awake"

Blaze

Screenshot titled "Blaze"

Lapsus Linguae (I)

Screenshot titled "Lapsus Linguae (I)"

Lapsus Linguae (II)

Screenshot titled "Lapsus Linguae (II)"

Frameshift Mutation

Screenshot titled "Frameshift Mutation"

Vae Victis / Words Which I Command

Screenshot titled "Vae Victis / Words Which I Command"

Jjaro Jjaro Evolution

Screenshot titled "Jjaro Jjaro Evolution"

Jjaro Jjaro Evolution (II)

Screenshot titled "Jjaro Jjaro Evolution (II)"

Asking a Shadow to Dance

Screenshot titled "Asking a Shadow to Dance"

Asking a Shadow to Dance (II)

Screenshot titled "Asking a Shadow to Dance (II)"

Illumination

Screenshot titled "Illumination"