                Mare Ceti v. 1.1
March 1999
Thanks for downloading "Mare Ceti v. 1.1".  It is a large solo level made just for Tempus Irae.  It is based on a level I made some time ago for M/M2/M?.  If you have played 'Up Periscope' and compare it with 'Mare Ceti', you will find about as many dissimilarities as there are similarities.  You should find that 'Mare Ceti v. 1.1' is far more interesting to look at and listen to; it is far more fun to play.  But the themes of large open spaces and contrasting cramped places, as well as some unusual puzzles, were what brought me back to the 'Up Periscope' concept.  
Some may think this is an extreme case of "linear thinking" (ie. "one track mind").  Perhaps.  The best example of such thinking is "Aye Mak Sicur" in all its incarnations (and spellings) by Ydnar; from the Marathon version found on one of his webpages to the variations found on the Infinity CD.  I like to think that he finally got it right :-) !  So it is with "Mare Ceti v. 1.1".
Last year, I simply changed textures and added to the U.P. level and sent it on to Borzz to try out.  I think it went over in an O.K. fashion; ie. "good".   He encouraged me in my efforts, but basically left it for me to complete after much time trying to make it thru the level without stumbling upon some bug that never got my attention.  So I dropped it for good . . . or so I thought.
I considered U.P. to be good (for my first large solo level).  No running around in a ratmaze doing just the predictable things.  Yet it seemed very lacking.  In 1999 I decided to make a new map for T.I.  First I had the idea of several "spacecraft" levels.  Instead, I returned to some basic ideas in the previous level and decided to use the 'water' texture set, which is good, but lacks much of what makes TI excellent in terms of texture sets.  So I made this thing from scratch using that very basic H2O set with T.I. in mind.  
"Mare Ceti v. 1.1" is even larger than the  U.P. level in terms of open spaces/ distances.  It more fully takes advantage of the Z-axis dimension (height) during game play.  It has been tested by myself and one other up to Normal difficulty.  Additionally, Borzz gave it a few tries and his helpful comments were weighed and often acted on to produce the product you now have.  I think we are both very pleased with the results.  If you beat this thing on TC, save the film and share it.  If you vid it, better yet.  And send me some of those films!  
This thing can be played solo or up to 8-player co-op (even "play ball"), but net play has yet to be tested.  The level is designed to play differently each time, to encourage you to complete the level and to challenge the veterans of this level to return to it.  Some who complete the level may find themselves returning to do the tasks in different orders and entering some areas once instead of two or more times.  There are some new tricks as well as things similar to what has been done before by others.  But everything in this level was done by trial and error (mostly error :-) and is the result of a lot of effort on my part.  I used one of my Elevation Presets Templates to build this level.  All the original 128 poly's of the Template are still there.
Some of you will note the good-natured jab at a Mara level name and some M chapter screens when you view this chapter screen.
CAUTION!  If you use a utility that gives you chips and keycards, you must set the keycards and chips to zero and pick them up during gameplay in order to successfully finish the level.  The fact is,  even though "Mare Ceti v. 1.1" is not a 'Retrieval' level, it is a repair level and chips are used to effect the repairs.  BE WARNED!  The use of a cheat utility may result in failure to complete the level. 
"Mare Ceti v. 1.1" favors those who: save as ... occasionally, read terminals (or look at the pretty pictures:-), follow suggestions, use the automap from time to time, coax critters into fighting each other, know when to use various weapons (and when not to), know how to swim, do not use cheat utilities (if you are confused here, you may learn the hard way during gameplay);  basically use all your resources.  Apple Computer says, "Think Different  ."
Changes since "Mare Ceti":
Unchecked "Retrieval" box.  Duh. Made it possible to finish level using cheat utilities (but not probable).
Put shadows on some watery areas.
Added a room to house equipment used on the watercraft.
Thanks go to:
Apple Computer for the platform the Wintel world is trying to copy and that got Bungie jumping (I couldn't resist).
Bungie Software Corp. for the Marathon saga and the tools (Forge and Anvil) to continue it in one form or another.
Doubleaught for the Infinity scenario ( and ambient critters which got loose and found their way into this level :-).
The Nardo Group for Tempus Irae, which raised the standard for the old Mara engine to be used for.
Countless individuals for their 3rd party tools.
Joe, for beta testing.
Borzz, for beta testing what I thought was the completed product (more than once)!  And be sure to check out the Forward that he wrote!
Adobe for Photoshop.
MetaCreations for Bryce 3D.
All Copyrights and Trademarks reserved by their respective holders, listed above.
Level design, terminal text and Chapter Sound Copyright 1999 by Dispatcher.
Chapter Screen and terminal graphics by Dispatcher using shapes and textures made by Bungie or Nardo as the case may be.
Bookcover term graphics by Nardo.  
Some original work in Chapter Screen Copyright 1999 by Dispatcher.
Have fun and enjoy!
Dispatcher
madmacs@mailexcite.com
