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Another episode in the Yota series from Goran Svensson. It's been a little while since we've heard from Goran Svensson, and no wonder; Part 16 of the Yota Saga is a six-level episode (well, 5 levels and an introduction) that's a whole lot more of the exquisite mapmaking that we've all come to expect from Mr. Svensson, and this kind of work takes time. Some of the levels are more linear than others, but there's so much puzzly eye-candy going on here that you won't notice it. You also won't notice it because you'll be busy trying not to get your ass kicked up around your shoulders - Goran says the map can be beat in Total Carnage, but this reviewer has his doubts. (Okay, maybe John Summer can...) This map is *tough*, Vid-Boi. The term plot is still soap-opera, but has improved markedly from earlier episodes, and contributes to the gameplay far better. No patches accompany this map; if you've been playing along in the series, you're already good to go. If not, you'll need the Shapes Shuttles from episodes 4, 7, 9, 11, 14, and 15, and the Sounds Shuttle from episode 4. description by Rigger (4/7/2003) (2191K) MOS Solo Goran Svensson |
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Another episode in the Yota series from Goran Svensson. Slightly more linear gameplay than earlier episodes, and the term plot still reeks of Soap Opera, but not enough to distract from what rockin'-good mapmaking the author is capable of. Earlier advice applies: Save Early & Often. The last of the six levels in this episode serves as possibly the most twisted Christmas card that you'll ever receive. The full-length .mp3 soundtrack feature returns in this episode, thankfully as a playable level soundtrack, rather than an irritatingly long cutscene that you cannot escape from, as was the case in Episode 13. description by Rigger (1/11/2003) (12820K) MOS Solo Goran Svensson |
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The next in a continuing series of Yota installments from Goran Svensson. Four levels of the sort of mapmaking and eye-candy that continues to push the boundaries of the possible. The plotline, sadly, has decended from "plot" into "soap opera" (AIs in love? C'mon, Goran...). There are far fewer suicide traps in this episode than in earlier offerings. Save early and often; you *will* be on the receiving end of a thorough ass-kicking. A separately available Landscape Patch adds an element of serious visual coolness to the opening level. description by Rigger (1/11/2003) (2835K) MOS Solo Goran Svensson |
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This file is a simple Landscapes Patcher that does on ejob: it replaces the alien moonscape in your patched Yota #14 Shapes file with a *very* cool NASA deep-space photo. (You have remembered to patch your Shapes file accordingly for all the Yota episodes, right?) Sent separate from Episode #14 because... Well... Because Goran "forgot to include it". The game runs dandy-fine without this photo, but its coolness factor should not be discounted. MacOS X users should note that this patcher, like all of Goran's Yota Shapes Shuttles, must be used from within the Classic MacOS. description by Rigger (1/11/2003) (460K) MOS Shapes Goran Svensson |
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Installment 13 of an ongoing series. 9 levels. Several of them are simply 'deathmatch' levels - kill the invisible marine with the shotgun. One is a pretty cool cutscene level, with great camera work. The author continues to push the Aleph One boundaries... but there are definite glitches. (There was no sound in the cutscene level, for example - and the following level had the controls majorly screwed up; I had to quit and restart in order to get control back fully. Similarly, there are levels where to advance, you must kill the invisimarine, who's supposed to drop a chip... but several times he didn't. I had to play these level more than once - and on the level where you must kill TWO of them, and get BOTH chips, I played through at least 8 times; not a trivial task, when killing these guys takes half an hour.) Lighting is great, the new story style... didn't work for me. It might work for you; try it. Overall, I'd say this is some of the best Marathon work being done right now (even WITH the glitches) - definitely worth playing. The massive size is due to an included mp3 - if you're not interested in the (rather heavy) music, you can grab a 2.6 mb musicless version.
(10/6/2002) (6863K) MOS Solo Goran Svensson |
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Installment 12 of an ongoing series. This may be the end of an era. (Or, it may just be bad fish.) In any case, I'm posting this chapter without a full run-through - something that hasn't happened for a long, long time. I made it about three-quarters of the way through the first level, and experienced what other Marathon players have reported, but what I've never seen personally before - a nausea that gets worse the longer you play. I don't know if that means that this level is more REAL than others, or if I've just become allergic to Marathon - but out of fairness to the author, I'm putting it out now, rather than holding onto it for a weakness of MINE. What I've seen of it is quite good; the standard Yota-style tricks (keep an eye open for hidden passageways, sometimes the switch you need is beyond them), the mapmaking continues to impress. Hopefully this is a passing phase.
(8/25/2002) (1590K) MOS Solo Goran Svensson |
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Installment 11 of an ongoing series. Three levels, a lot of gameplay. Sometimes frustrating; there are plenty of suicide traps. (Multiple saves...) Eye candy continues to improve from chapter to chapter... but this one has some problems with Pfhortran, the scripting language for Aleph One. You'll almost certainly notice some... oddities as you go, and in a couple of cases, you risk having to start over by re-entering an area you already finished. (This happened to me, far from a save... I lost about 2 hours.) There are some VERY tricky spots - watch your map at all times, and if you feel like you're stuck, run your head into a wall - literally. (Trust me - it'll help.) On balance, a very enjoyable romp... even with the caveats.
(7/30/2002) (2572K) MOS Solo Goran Svensson |
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Installment 10 of an ongoing series. Two levels this time. Emphasis is on puzzles... you need to use your map, and your head. You need to save frequently - there are LOTS of traps. (They're planned.) If you get caught, your only option is to restart from the last save - so make sure you HAVE that last save. The second level pushes Aleph One's ability to show LOTS of polygons pretty hard - there are areas that caused slowdowns on a 733 MHz G4 (how far we've come!). Some really innovative stuff here - it's a good pair of maps, even if it will have you pulling your hair out at times. :)
(5/7/2002) (2571K) MOS Solo Goran Svensson |
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The second of 20 levels, to be played in order. (The plan is a release every two weeks - he's on schedule.) Again, ammo is sparse, and again, mapmaking is quite good. Puzzles aren't too tough, though monster placement has moved strongly in the 'Rear Admiral' direction - lots of ambushes. The 'boss' battle is a rough one - though I discovered after I was done that there was an easier way. (Pays to read the readme...) All in all, a rollicking good time! Looking forward to chapter 3. This updated version fixes a small bug which keeps some people from finishing the level - a critical chip was sometimes not dropped. In this version, it's always available.
(4/21/2002) (691K) MOS Solo Goran Svensson |
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Installment 9 of an ongoing series. The maps are getting more ambitious, and the planning is getting a little dicier. Twice, I ran out of oxygen because I didn't know where I was going... and once, I used up all the ammo needed for a certain kind of baddie before I met that baddie. (If you haven't played level 8, DO IT FIRST.) I even convinced the author to remove a deliberate suicide trap - he figured if you went that way, you deserved to die. If you save lots of versions, though, and label them well, you should be okay. Again, the mapmaking has gotten rather ambitious - great lighting, nice layouts, pretty scary stuff in some places. Watch your ammo, overall.
(3/4/2002) (3113K) MOS Solo Goran Svensson |
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A Sounds patcher for the Yota Saga maps. The first three segments of this series used the Infinity Sounds file, but all subsequent installments have used a custom Sounds file. This patcher, designed to be applied to a virgin Sounds file, replaces all old versions, and provides 16-bit as well as 8-bit sounds for the series. Version 2.0 fixes a bug in the original in which a bunch of sounds that SHOULDN'T have been copied over, were.
(2/2/2002) (456K) MOS Sounds Goran Svensson |
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Installment 8 of an ongoing series. This one has some caveats. The third level has a baddie which can be taken down with one kind of ammo, and one kind only... and you have VERY FEW ROUNDS to spare. The first time through (well, okay, the first time I actually figured out what I was supposed to be doing), I ran out with one nasty to go... and that's enough; I had to start over, since my saved game was already low on ammo. (I had attempted to shoot through an opening that was blocked; the firing animation looked like breaking glass to me, so I fired again. Two wasted rounds... that's all it took.) Except for this glitch, though, that last level is hard, but a lot of fun. The first two levels are shorter, and with less fighting... but pretty nonetheless. Lots of tricks, as usual. As with all the Yota segments, the readme for this one warns that you should use 8-bt sounds... but the author has since created a 16-bit sound installer for all the Yota chapters (except the first 3, which use the standard Infinity sounds file).
(1/18/2002) (702K) MOS Solo Goran Svensson |
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Installment 7 of an ongoing series - you NEED the shapes patch fromPart 4 for this to work. Two levels, this time... but the first level is mostly story development. (Be careful about shooting on this level.) It took me a while to figure out how to get off the first level - the last terminal is NOT intuitive. (Keep tabbing - you'll find it.) Once again, filled with eye candy (lighting/shapes tricks) - the chain-operated door is pretty cool. Play it through!
(12/28/2001) (2558K) MOS Solo Goran Svensson |
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Installment 6 of a pretty good ongoing series. This one's focused on jumping. Grenade jumping, primarily... but you NEED rockets in at least 2 places. Gravity has been dropped just enough to make it all work nicely... I had a blast (literally). Special effects, as usual, are well-used - I especially liked the implementation of the Battle Cat's Split Poly technology. And there's a section, near the end of the level, that couldn't be done in Infinity - there are just too many lines in view. (Very cool floors, though.) A film is included, if you get stuck - I didn't look at it, but the readme says it shows the best way through the level. This series continues to impress!
(12/14/2001) (2598K) MOS Solo Goran Svensson |
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The fifth installment of a work in progress. This one requires the shapes and sounds released with Part 4 - grab that if you don't have it already. You're suddenly on a pirate ship... and all the baddies are pastel. (Don't think for a minute that they're wusses, though - they'll kick your butt if you let 'em.) Lots of 'find the next switch' puzzles - level construction is pretty nice (you get teased with open areas before they're actually open), but be careful - the ending's a doozy.
(11/24/2001) (455K) MOS Solo Goran Svensson |
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Installment 4 of an ongoing series. (This needs to be played in order.) This one's 3 levels... but the first one's pretty short.) Take your time with level 2... there's a LOT to discover, even though the threat factor's pretty low. (I'd say nonexistent... but kill a few bobs, and you'll be in trouble.) Level 3... well, all I can say is he did a good job. Go play. (In case it's not clear: I had a great time playing this map. I don't want to spoil any of it for you.)
(11/4/2001) (3569K) MOS Solo Goran Svensson |
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The third of 20 levels, to be played in order. The two-week schedule has been bumped up a bit - apparently the next chapter is gonna take a while. This one's quite a bit tougher, puzzle-wise, than the last two. (Baddie-wise, too.) Lots to kill, not all that much to do it with, and lots of places to fall down. Several of the critical switches are in unlikely places - if you're totally stuck, look around in map mode, and you might see likely alcoves. (The map's quite dark - at least one switch needed to be shot totally blind, at least on my computer.) This one'll take you a bit longer than the last two...
(9/28/2001) (1095K) MOS Solo Goran Svensson |
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The first of 20 levels, to be played in order. (The plan, at the moment, is to release one every two weeks.) Straightforward gameplay, new AI (could use a spellchecker), nice mapmaking. Too many baddies just standing around (though I was happy - the ammo's relatively sparse, so the fact that I could see baddies before they saw me made life a bit easier)... but a good start to a long scenario. Here's hoping that the rest of the chapters follow the plan!
(9/8/2001) (341K) MOS Solo Goran Svensson |
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