| Old News |
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09.02.2006 |
Massive number of updates ! Earthquake Software's "Total Texture Enhancement v6.0", and the separate packages for M1A1, M2, and Infinity, have been added to the Texture Sets downloads page. The separate packages are there for those with dial-up connections or who only want one. The "Landscape Enhancement" packages for M1A1, M2, and Infinity are now included with their respective Texture Enhancement packages and old links have been removed. On the Aleph One downloads page, "M2: Special Edition", "RubiconX", "TI: Special Edition" and "TrojanM2 for Aleph One" have been added. The Trojan package is the original distribution (which requires an unaltered copy of "M2.exe" from the Windows95 CD to install), but it also includes a bonus 'Map.resources' file to enable fog and music (music is a huge separate download) and a Script file to allow display of proper weapon and ammo names in the HUD. Some scenery items will display incorrectly under Aleph One and (after weeks of experimenting) I was unable to fix this. Use "TrojanM2 for Aleph One" at your own risk. I can't wait to see Randall Shaw's "Evil: Special Edition". On the Utilities downloads page, there is now an alpha version of an Aleph One Physics Model Editor for Windows by HogePiyo. The Alpha version currently only supports 1024x768 desktop screen size at the moment, but otherwise it appears to be working. Updated "The Arrival", Chapter One of the Marathon screenplay with an appropriately placed Marathon splash where the title should display. Also added a "New Pacific Flashback" screenplay scene based on a dream I woke up from the other night. Drop by Orbital Arm's Forum and tell me and Dogan what you think :-) | |
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Tophet |
Here's hoping you all have a good time with family, friends, and whoever you celebrate with. I hope you have a happy and safe Holiday season this year. All Total Texture packages have been updated to v5.2 (to add minor fixes). The Trojan MP3 Tracks have been added for your enjoyment. Landscape Enhancement Pack 1.2 is released! Based on Earthquake Software's package of the same name over at FileBall, the windows version has four bonus landscapes that replace the L'howon day and night landscapes in both M2 and Infinity (activated with an "alternate" script). It comes in hi-res and low-res versions. You will need a first-rate video card to run the 2048x1080 landscapes in 24-bit color. M1A1 Special Edition MP3 Tracks v1.5 has been updated, but the version number will not be upped to v1.6 until Craig Hardgrove's Marathon music remixes are all done (as they will replace several less quality renditions). Tobacco's eight excellent remixes remain, but they are renamed with a "2" after them, so now there are 25 MP3 tracks instead of 17 MP3 tracks. M1A1 Special Edition v1.6 is released! Changes in this version include:
M1A1 Special Edition v1.6 also uses a new music naming scheme with 25 MP3's: <level index="0"> "M1A1 Tracks/Landing2.mp3" | |
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09.23.2004 |
Earthquake Software's "Total Texture Enhancement v5.0" for M1A1, M2, and Infinity has been added to the Texture Sets downloads page. This is the ultra-res (1024x1024) "Total Texture Enhancement v5.0" spoken of a couple months back. It is now called hi-res. The old hi-res (512x512) resolution is now considered mid-res, and the old mid-res (256x256) resolution is now considered low-res. Needless to say, the processor and VRAM requirements have basically doubled for each. There are links to all three resolutions in 24-bit color at FileBall, while the three resolutions in 8-bit color are listed separately for M1A1, M2, and Infinity (so anyone who doesn't have all three scenarios can just download the texture sets they need). On the Utilities downloads page, there is now a version of the Marathon Universe Screensaver with random music playback (so you wont have to wait an hour just to hear the Trojan MIDI tracks). | |
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07.28.2004 |
Earthquake Software's "Total Texture Enhancement v4.0" for M1A1, M2, and Infinity has been added to the Texture Sets downloads page. This was late in coming because the recent FTP trouble at FileBall prevented me from downloading it until recently. I also have news that an ultra-res (1024x1024) "Total Texture Enhancement v5.0" is in the works (the current size is 512x512) and may be released by Labor Day this September. And I'm not telling what else they have planned ;-) | |
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06.20.2004 |
I have re-released "M.A.D.D.s for A1 SDL v3" and "Sigma Blue Orphanage Recycling Project" files with updated PM's. Added alternate fire modes to three weapons. S'pht projectiles for the SPNKR, napalm mines for the Flamethrower, and rapid SMG for the alien gun (same as original Marathon). I used "The Ball" from multiplayer for the napalm mines, and "The Ball" now looks like the potato-anus gasbag. As these Flamethrower mines are stationary, yet jiggly, I like to call them napalm jellies :-) I also updated "Tophet's Physics Models v3" with S'pht projectiles for the SPNKR, and rapid SMG for the alien gun (but didn't add secondary fire to the Flamethrower or tamper with "The Ball" on these). | |
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05.20.2004 |
Joshua Bell's "Marathon (on Windows) for Dummies FAQ" is now available. Besides this News page, a link to his FAQ can be found on Orbital Arm's FAQ page as well. In addition, Raul Bonilla's "M2 Shapes for Aleph One" file and Earthquake Software's "Sounds Enhancement Package" for M2/Infinity/Aleph One have been added to the M2 Demo downloads page. | |
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05.14.2004 |
Given the completion of the Total Texture Enhancement set, which now includes all the M1A1 Revival textures by Jay Faircloth, I have decided to add a new page to Orbital Arm's Downloads section called Texture Sets, for those who want to play Marathon, Marathon Special Edition, Marathon 2, or Marathon Infinity in high resolution format. It will also be the place where future texture sets for 3rd-party scenarios will go, if and when they become available. | |
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04.04.2004 |
The Marathon Universe Screensaver is now available for download, complete with the original Marathon MIDIs as backdrop music. Illustrations are from various Space Artists at Space.com, Ambrosia Software (Escape Velocity: Nova), Craig Mullins, and Jay Faircloth. Enjoy the show. | |
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03.29.2004 | Over at The
Lh'owon Ar'kives, Earthquake Software's Black
Eagle (Tim
Vogel) recently released "Total
Texture Enhancement (M2/Mi) (v3.0)"
in super-high resolution format PNGs.
Remember
the earlier texture enhancement packs at the Marathon Open Source page?
They were all fantastic high-quality textures (256x256 pixels), but many of them
were missing. Earthquake Software picked this 'project' up and made it even better. All original textures from the texture enhancement pack are here and improved. But this package offers more. They have remade all of the Marathon Infinity and Marathon 2 Durandal textures in super high-res, this means that they are all made into 512 x 512 pixels and millions of colors! Also included are the Marathon Revival and Bonus Pack textures for M1A1 in super high-res format! As this is too graphic-intensive for many Macs and most PCs, I have released nine lower-resolution versions of this package in Zip format. There are three lower-res versions for M1A1, three for Marathon 2, and three for Infinity. These versions all use 256 colors (8-bit) with optimized palettes made from Corel PhotoPaint's 16-bit (65,536 color) palette, so many textures look as if rendered in thousands of colors. Like the super-res version, the high-res versions are 512x512 pixels (72 dpi resolution), but with the lower 8-bit color depth. The medium versions are 256x256 pixels and the low-res versions are 128x128 pixels, both with 8-bit optimized palettes and a higher 96 dot per inch resolution. If you're wondering where all the old news went, I got rid of it so this page would load faster. Don't worry, you still have access to it via the "old news" link, which has now been reactivated. | |
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02.08.2004 |
There is a new game in town regarding all things audio when it comes to the Marathon universe. Music.Psyjnir.Org (MPO) was built to serve the community as a central library for all Bungie fan music, conversion and scenario music, and any other morsels of audio goodness. And after seven weeks in development, it is now ready to greet the public. In addition to digging up some of the classics, we have exclusive releases including two new pieces by SilverBrin**** and four official Red vs Blue pieces by Grasshopper. And MPO will be ever expanding, so check in every once in a while. We also highly encourage the community to come up with material we dont already have, either from their own libraries or from those creative juices you've been waiting to unleash. As for me, I'm taking a much needed vacation. WARNING: MPO is a shameless tribute (*coughripoff*) to Marathon so be prepared for bright colors. <3 Jester (Coming Soon™ ... WE REALLY MEAN IT THIS TIME) | |
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01.20.2004 | The Battle Cat's Litterbox gets a whole new Marathon tutorial section today: Obed Tips! Obed Tips features everything you wanted to know about Obed, Aleph One SDL and Marathon 2: Durandal for Windows, but were afraid to ask because the Battle Cat gets right in your face about it and he never heard of a tic tac and he just won't stop until your head implodes and your eyes squirt blood. It's too late to ditch now, cause the Battle Cat is outta the bag and leaving little footprints in the dust that's all over the car of your mind. Motor on over to the Battle Cat's Litterbox, click on the Obed Tips section in the links on the left and set it on cruise control. This is a work in progress and your input is greatly appreciated. To start things out Adam Steir has donated tutorials on starting up with Aleph One SDL with more to follow. The 10/5 Mapmakers Group has updated and re-upped their Obed FAQ page. If you know something about Marathon for Windows that you don't see there, contact the Battle Cat in his Litterbox and pull his tail. After they sew your hand back on, you can write your own tutorial. You don't need to know how to write HTML, the damn cat knows that much anyway. | |
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09.25.2003 |
"M1A1 for SDL v1.5 (Special Edition for Windows only)" has received a major update. This version works best with the Windows flavor of Aleph One SDL (was tested on a Win98 machine during development and now runs on my WinXP machine), and is no longer compatible with the official M1A1 release. Early changes in the Shapes and Physics Models helped broaden the monster variety (tiny bobs, varied bob voice pitches, major and minor hulks, major and minor M.A.D.D.s, four Pfhor Trooper colors, etc.) and make the gameplay tougher (faster projectiles, adjusted monster health and speeds, etc.). The numerous Physics and Shapes changes from the official version include:
With all these changes, M1A1 SE still plays much like the original Marathon. Remember to grab the Revival Texture Pack for M1A1 and the Revival Bonus Pack for M1A1 (the latter was created for Windows Special Edition M1A1-SDL, but may work fine with the official version). These contain Jay Faircloth's textures that were originally created for Marathon Resurrection UT. I have also fixed a problem in the "M.A.D.D.s for A1 SDL v3" Shapes file. The M1A1 Hulks didn't work, so I copied the Rubicon Hulks into the Cyborg collection and got the same result. The highlight of the Hulk's eye and parts of its blood (in death sequence) had one of the three "null" colors that Aleph One ignores (like the blue in a window bitmap). You could see right through the Hulk in these spots (with little overall impact, but annoying). I filled in each and every pixel of these colors in FuturePaint (Mac), imported the collection back into M.A.D.D. Shapes, and adjusted the color tables. While they now look great, I still think the Hulk's walking sound is the greatest. In the Physics Model, I have given the M.A.D.D.s voice (low oxygen warning) to clear players from their line of fire. Minor update to "Tophet's Physics Models v3" gives the Hunters an "activation" sound. It is "Enforcer projectile flyby" sound for "Descent 2" and "S'pht Rebellion 3" PM's for Infinity, and the "Hunter howl" sound for "Pfhor Rebellion 2" PM for Evil (which I never put in for some reason). | |
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07.07.2003 | A little problem slipped by almost a year ago when I released "M.A.D.D.s for A1 SDL v3" and later released the "Sigma Blue Orphanage Recycling Project" (an unfinished scenario based on material from the Marathon Orphanage - get details at the Recruits page), which uses the same Shapes and similar PM's. I only realized it recently when I saw orange Pfhor Troopers with gray Pfhor Fighters (both were supposed to be minor creatures and not show up together in Major Carnage with the same creature represented). It turns out the orange Pfhor Trooper had a Major setting (it was supposed to be a Minor variant of the Major deep blue Pfhor Trooper), so it was defaulting to the next Minor creature available (the Minor enforcer-class gray Pfhor Fighter, which is the minor equivalent of its Major enforcer-class light blue-gray Pfhor Trooper). I have fixed this detail in the Physics Models and re-released "M.A.D.D.s for A1 SDL v3" and the "Sigma Blue Orphanage Recycling Project" files with the corrected PM's included. I am also enjoying the new netplay capabilities of Aleph One for Windows. | |
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05.11.2003 |
Sorry about the lack of updates around here. I have taken on a new and
very challenging job and have little time for updates these days. I
hope you will bear with me while I bring you up to speed.
Raul Bonilla has released an official version of "M1A1 for SDL v.1.2" which works with all flavors of Aleph One SDL (Windows, Linux, or Mac) and is compatible with the Mac OS versions of M1A1. It is completely faithful to Bungie's original 1994 release. The Marathon music is already included, but improved quality versions can be grabbed here. It can be found at Bungie's Archives and at FileBall's Lh'owon Ar'kives. It has also been updated on Orbital Arm's Aleph One downloads page. Players with Linux and Mac Aleph One SDL builds had some difficulty with the existing version I had been developing. This version works best with the Windows flavor of Aleph One SDL (tested on a Win98 machine) and has been renamed "M1A1 for SDL v1.5 (Special Edition for Windows only)". Because of changes in the Shapes and Physics Models to broaden the monster variety (tiny bobs, varied bob voice pitches, major and minor hulks, four Pfhor Trooper colors, etc.) and make gameplay tougher (faster projectiles, adjusted monster health and speeds, etc.), this version is no longer compatible with the official M1A1 release. For those Windows Aleph One SDL players who wish to try this version, it can still be downloaded from here. There is in-game music for the Windows Special Edition of M1A1 (highly recommended for users who try it). Whichever version you choose to play, make sure you use the Revival Texture Pack for M1A1 and the Revival Bonus Pack for M1A1 (the latter was created for Windows Special Edition M1A1-SDL, but should work fine with the official version). Jay Faircloth's textures (originally created for Marathon Resurrection UT) will simply astound you. | |
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12.31.2002 | The SDL version of "M1A1"
has been
updated again. This release adds the
latest version of Aleph One SDL compiled by Michael Adams with the OpenGL
Texture pre-caching feature added by Loren Petrich. Low end systems
still pause in-game when large landscape textures first come into view.
MP3 installation instructions now point to the "M1A1 Tracks"
folder. It also removes the "berserker" flag from the green Pfhor Troopers
(because green Pfhor Fighters don't go "berserk" :-) in the map's
physics. Grab it here.
Then grab the M1A1-SDL MP3 in-game music here and get ready for kick-ass carnage.
If
you want 3rd-party custom maps, go here.
If you want a Happy New Year, don't sit and read this ;-)
Raul Bonilla has released the OpenGL Revival Texture Pack for M1A1 and it works on both Mac and SDL platforms (it comes as a Zip archive). These are largely Jay Faircloth's texture work for Marathon Resurrection UT with a few gaps filled in by Raul Bonilla himself. It comes in hi-res and low-res JPEG distributions. It also is available in hi-res and low-res PNG distributions for those who have high-end graphics cards. I have also released a Revival Bonus Pack for M1A1, containing four optional starscape landscape textures for use in-game and a moonscape landscape (not used in M1A1's map but available in the Shapes file for custom mapmakers as texture collection #29). It comes in hi-res and low-res JPEG, and hi-res and low-res PNG distributions (in Zip format, but not tested on a Mac OS machine). | |
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11.21.2002 | Films section added to Orbital Arm for those who like to show off and don't have an A1-SDL build that cuts off the last 30 seconds of gameplay like most of the early builds did. Since there is no means of automatic submission and film files are usually small, I suppose you will have to send them to me with "A1-SDL Film" or "M2-PC Film" in the Subject line for the time being (depending on which game engine you used to make the film). I only ask that you also specify which scenario or map was used (supply a link only, don't send it), attach any custom external physics model used to make the film (applies mostly to M2-PC films but valid for any unmerged map), and include a ReadMe file. |
Happy
Halloween everyone!