Marathon: Ex Pluribus

[PerseusSpartacus]

Hello, everybody.

I have already announced this on the Marathon Story Forum, but I'm not sure it received much attention. Therefore, I shall announce it again.


MARATHON: EX PLURIBUS

Marathon: Ex Pluribus will be a sequel to Marathon Infinity. However, it will reveal that our trek through the timelines was not over when we activated the Jjaro station. The W'rkncacnter got away once more. Eventually you winded up in a timeline just like M2, but where Tycho was not destroyed and the trih xeem was deactivated successfully.

In Ex Pluribus you will face many of our old foes and some new ones. You will attack a Pfhor ship, defend a Human base on Lh'owon, seek out a S'pht temple, and find yourself aboard the infamous Manus Celer Dei. Your weapons will be familiar, yet more powerful than ever. You will slay enemies to the tunes which plagued the U.E.S.C. Marathon. And you will learn the fate of Leela.

Now, as for my progress on the game, I've so far been working on the maps and storyline, and I'll get to the physics, shapes and sounds later in the year. Also, the game will come with the TTEP for Marathon Infinity, so it'll look really cool. I'm using Weland for the maps right now, combined with Visual Mode.lua, so the maps may lack some small features, but the texturing should be really good.

EDIT: Much of the information in this first post has been revised. View later posts for the latest scoop on what will and will not appear in the game.

Cheers,
Perseus

[Horkeldorf]

You will slay enemies to the tunes which plagued the U.E.S.C. Marathon.

Plagued? Didn't like the Marathon soundtrack eh?

[philtron]

The W'rkncacnter got away once more.

Is the W'rkncacnter like the Riddler or something? We keep trying to lock him up, but he keeps getting out to make his mischief?

[listener]

Sure... Tell them outright.

trih xeem?

[Crater Creator]

Sounds interesting. I hope you'll share screenshots and other content regularly, which will help keep the community's interest. Good luck!

[PerseusSpartacus]

Plagued? Didn't like the Marathon soundtrack eh?

Actually, I loved it. It's sort of like a nice plague.

[PerseusSpartacus]

Don't worry, I will. At some point, I'll give you guys a beta. However, work on Ex Pluribus may have to be pushed back so I can work on M:PiD. Sorry.

[VikingBoyBilly]

Sounds kind of like... another Marathon Infinity, where you only timetravel once.
Tycho was destroyed? Where in Canon? Maybe in one of the failed timelines, but when all was said and done both the AIs were alive and kickin, I think (Infinity was too confusing to make definite sense out of what was going on). Tycho is alive in Rubicon, and that's supposed to be the direct sequel to Infinity.

We know what happened to Leela. It's in the M2 ending text. The Pfhor pirated her off a second invasion of the Marathon (aren't they stinkers) and sold her to some other aliens.

[PerseusSpartacus]

Sounds kind of like... another Marathon Infinity, where you only timetravel once.
Tycho was destroyed? Where in Canon? Maybe in one of the failed timelines, but when all was said and done both the AIs were alive and kickin, I think (Infinity was too confusing to make definite sense out of what was going on). Tycho is alive in Rubicon, and that's supposed to be the direct sequel to Infinity.

First, this is NOT another Marathon Infinity. Instead, it's more like a sequel to M2. Although it's an M2 with slightly different happenings. For instance, in M2, Tycho crashed into the unnamed inner moon of Lh'owon (remember Fatum Iustum Stultorum?), and the trih xeem was activated. In this scenario, Tycho got away and the trih xeem was stopped entirely. As in, shut off at the last minute.

We know what happened to Leela. It's in the M2 ending text. The Pfhor pirated her off a second invasion of the Marathon (aren't they stinkers) and sold her to some other aliens.

And then she goes rampant. My scenario will explore what happens to her after she becomes rampant. I'm envisioning her getting off the Vylae homeworld. Plus, this will explain how Durandal gets ahold of the Manus Celer Dei.

Cheers,
PerseusSpartacus

[philtron]

Tycho was destroyed? Where in Canon? Maybe in one of the failed timelines, but when all was said and done both the AIs were alive and kickin, I think

In Marathon 2 Tycho is destroyed by Durandal, but Infinity implies that M2 is a failed timeline.

Assuming that Infinity's final "victory" timeline represents the canon state of the Marathon universe, then Tycho is alive, but imprisoned by Tfear. So, alive but not kickin'.

This probably is more suited for the Marathon Discussion section, but whatever, here's the breakdown:
In By Comittee Tycho helps you out of prison and is planning to escape with you because the Pfhor have realized he's been double crossing them. He mentions that "Tfear had a special unit of compilers running containment simulations for the last nine years, expecting that someday I would betray him." That's at the beginning of the level. At the end of the level Tycho is missing and we're getting our orders from Tfear himself. So, what happened?

There are two possibilities. Either 1) we have changed timelines in the middle of a single level, or 2) Tfear's special S'pht compilers managed to capture Tycho while you were rampaging through the dungeons.

We don't hear from Tycho again until Bagged Again and he seems a little crazier than usual. The key part of his message is that he is sending you to the next level where "Some of Tfear's personal guards are going to be there." So, why is Tycho sending you into a Pfhor arena to be killed by Tfear's personal guards? Probably because Tfear now has control of Tycho and told Tycho to do it. So, as far as we know Tycho is alive, but imprisoned and controlled by Tfear and his S'pht compilers.

[listener]

Wait, where does infinity imply that M2 was a failed timeline?

[interion]

Wait, where does infinity imply that M2 was a failed timeline?

In the first map of Infinity after W'rkncacnter is released and the Universe begins to collapse.

Yeah, you know the bit where Master Chief jump starts the second big bang with jump leads from Boomer?

[listener]

Bloops. I think by that level i don't care about the cruddy storyline in MInf

[patrick]

the cruddy storyline in MInf

{for this i became a physics teacher}

[PerseusSpartacus]

In Marathon 2 Tycho is destroyed by Durandal, but Infinity implies that M2 is a failed timeline.

Assuming that Infinity's final "victory" timeline represents the canon state of the Marathon universe, then Tycho is alive, but imprisoned by Tfear. So, alive but not kickin'.

This probably is more suited for the Marathon Discussion section, but whatever, here's the breakdown:
In By Comittee Tycho helps you out of prison and is planning to escape with you because the Pfhor have realized he's been double crossing them. He mentions that "Tfear had a special unit of compilers running containment simulations for the last nine years, expecting that someday I would betray him." That's at the beginning of the level. At the end of the level Tycho is missing and we're getting our orders from Tfear himself. So, what happened?

There are two possibilities. Either 1) we have changed timelines in the middle of a single level, or 2) Tfear's special S'pht compilers managed to capture Tycho while you were rampaging through the dungeons.

We don't hear from Tycho again until Bagged Again and he seems a little crazier than usual. The key part of his message is that he is sending you to the next level where "Some of Tfear's personal guards are going to be there." So, why is Tycho sending you into a Pfhor arena to be killed by Tfear's personal guards? Probably because Tfear now has control of Tycho and told Tycho to do it. So, as far as we know Tycho is alive, but imprisoned and controlled by Tfear and his S'pht compilers.

This is something I think people aren't getting. Ex Pluribus starts from a timeline JUST LIKE M2, but where Tycho gets away and you manage to stop/destroy the trih xeem before the Pfhor can activate it.

In other words, Infinity canon doesn't count. M2 canon is mainly what matters. That's why I have Durandal rather than the Durandal-Thoth Hybrid.

Sorry to sound so confrontational or irritated, but I really want to drill the point home before people get confused.

Cheers,
PerseusSpartacus

[VikingBoyBilly]

If this Scenario is starting out where M2 started in the timeline, none of it happened anyway.

[treellama]

If this Scenario is starting out where M2 started in the timeline, none of it happened anyway.

If this Scenario is starting out where 90% of scenarios started in the Pfhorums, nothing will happen anyway.

[Wrkncacnter]

If this Scenario is starting out where 90% of scenarios started in the Pfhorums, nothing will happen anyway.

On the other hand, he's starting with maps rather than 500 textures.

[listener]

Guys!!!! Be positive!

[PerseusSpartacus]

Update.

I've received permission from Craig Hardgrove to use his Marathon Music Remakes within Ex Pluribus. His music should certainly add a great deal of flavor to the levels. The best part is that my trick with the ambient sound slots in the Sounds file is working; thus, music should definitely change as you move through a level. However, I'm having trouble replacing the 'Music' file in the folder. I'll have to figure that out.

I've also received permission from Chris Lund (the guy who made the textures, sprites, etc. for Rubicon) to use some abandoned textures that were originally designed for, but never made it into, Rubicon. These, when combined with the old textures from Infinity, will really help give Ex Pluribus a nice feel, with lots of variety in the textures, particularly the Jjaro and Pfhor sets. Plus, it will ensure you get the feeling of being inside of a Human facility, or inside of the Rozinante.

Speaking of the Rozinante, I'm changing the plot quite a bit. In fact, I plan to make it a direct sequel to M2, rather than the odd semi-sequel I originally planned. The problem was my plot was a bit too... linear. Playing Rubicon showed me the value of having multiple paths instead of just one. I won't spoil too much yet, but I can say that a couple paths are pretty hard to find.

Regarding the new textures, here's a teaser pic for all of you Marathon fans:
[attachment=5684:Screen_s...21.05_AM.png]
More pics coming soon!

Cheers,
Perseus

[Destiny]

Why does this look familiar...?

Hmm... so somebody is working on a nonlinear scenario? It's about time. Speaking of scenarios, I should get to work on mapping.

[BeingShotAt]

I hope this goes well for you, but maybe you could try reworking the storyline to be more...interesting? As it is now the premise of the story didn't make me feel anything other then indifference, but who knows maybe it will surprise me when it comes out

[PerseusSpartacus]

I hope this goes well for you, but maybe you could try reworking the storyline to be more...interesting? As it is now the premise of the story didn't make me feel anything other then indifference, but who knows maybe it will surprise me when it comes out

Currently, the basic premise is similar to the original storyline I had mapped out, but currently, I am reworking the details of the plot. Personally, I don't think it's anything spectacular, more on a level with M2's storyline (i.e. "there's a base here of certain significance; I want you to blow it up", that sort of thing). However, if you dig deep enough, the roots will leave with a warm fuzzy feeling... for a few minutes; then that fuzzy feeling will turn to annoyance at the fact that I couldn't make the entire plot as interesting. Bummer.

It'll really be the gameplay and the non-linearity of the story that will be the upside of the game. Intense battles, nice puzzles, challenging enemies, etc. Me personally, I have fairly low expectations for Ex Pluribus. At best, it will probably have a few days of intense downloading, then people will say it's not that great, and then it will be lost to history forever. On the other hand, I'm working on a practice project in the meantime to get me really familiar with map-making and such. It's called Marathon: Grendel. The plot I'm working out for it will definitely be more intriguing and fun than Ex Pluribus's plot. Unfortunate, maybe, but true.

In the meantime feast on these facts: I have obtained access to some discarded Rubicon textures and all of the textures in Dugit's project Marathon: Aeon, alongside textures from M1, M2, and Infinity. Furthermore, Craig Hardgrove has given me permission to use his remakes of the Marathon soundtrack for the game. It's nice to revel in the tones of Splash, Fat Man, Aliens Again, and other tracks whilst slaughtering the Pfhor and their minions en masse. Sweet bliss.

Cheers,
Perseus

[BeingShotAt]

Well I'm not meaning any offense, so I hope no one takes anything I say that way...

Anyways, I think having low expectations is a good thing for this...god that sounded so rude, I'm 200% positive there was a better way to phrase that, but I'm not sure what it is, so...

What I'm trying to say is, instead of going into this when it gets done(I'm not going to do the 'if it gets done' stuff on you) with the expectations of "Oh boy! Here comes another super scenario like Rubicon/Red/Eternal blah blah blah", I'll go into it with the expectation of "This guy's made his(first?) scenario...let's check it out, could be pretty damn good."

...

Wow this whole thing was a mess, I hope I got across at least the gist of what I was trying to say, it felt largely incoherent and rather rude to me, so...sorry

[PerseusSpartacus]

Well I'm not meaning any offense, so I hope no one takes anything I say that way...

Anyways, I think having low expectations is a good thing for this...god that sounded so rude, I'm 200% positive there was a better way to phrase that, but I'm not sure what it is, so...

What I'm trying to say is, instead of going into this when it gets done(I'm not going to do the 'if it gets done' stuff on you) with the expectations of "Oh boy! Here comes another super scenario like Rubicon/Red/Eternal blah blah blah", I'll go into it with the expectation of "This guy's made his(first?) scenario...let's check it out, could be pretty damn good."

...

Wow this whole thing was a mess, I hope I got across at least the gist of what I was trying to say, it felt largely incoherent and rather rude to me, so...sorry

Don't worry, I get what you mean, and it didn't feel rude at all. I also think it's good to have low expectations when you're new to something. Granted, I have that feeling of "I can make this work" but not that feeling of "I'm going to make the best ____ ever!" Now, unfortunately, I must bring you some bad news. I'm going to be postponing work on Ex Pluribus for quite some time so that I can work on Marathon: Grendel. I just feel like Grendel is a more interesting project, and I want to make it the best I can make it. How good 'the best I can make it' is, I'm not sure. Anyways, I hope you'll forgive me for temporarily ditching one project and going for another.

Cheers,
Perseus