Marathon total conversions
This is a partial list of major total conversions and "scenarios" (story-driven sequences of single-player levels) which have been created for the computer games Marathon, Marathon 2: Durandal, and Marathon Infinity, and of original games created for Aleph One (a free open-source fork of the Marathon 2 game engine).
Although the original Marathon and Marathon Infinity were Mac-only, many scenarios designed for them have since been repackaged to be playable on both Macintosh and Windows systems using Aleph One.
Creation tools
Two basic and simple programs were released by Bungie in 1996 with Marathon: Infinity. They were also released as part of the Trilogy Release and can be legally downloaded for free from http://trilogyrelease.bungie.org/. However, before 1996 there was already a thriving and prolific Marathon and Marathon 2 editing scene using fan-created editors such as Pfhorte.
Forge
Forge is used to create levels to play in Marathon. Forge was used by Bungie in the creation of Marathon, Marathon 2:Durandal, and Marathon: Infinity but was not released to the public until Marathon Infinity. Before Forge, a shareware program known as Pfhorte was used to create custom maps. Pfhorte was similar to Forge but had no visual mode and didn't require merging.
Forge is still in use today but only runs native to Mac OS 9. The source code was apparently lost by Bungie [citation needed], so there will be no port to any other operating systems. There have been some attempts at creating a replacement for Forge but Forge continues to be the best map editor available, primarily because of its visual mode. Running Forge on a modern machine often requires an emulator for Mac OS 9, such as Basilisk II or Mac OS X's Classic Mode.
As a homage to the Marathon series, Halo 3's in-game "editor" was also named Forge; however, it only allows users to edit a map's object placement.[1]
Anvil
Anvil is the sister program to Forge and is used to apply shapes (graphics), sounds, and physics. Physics can be edited directly in Anvil but shapes and sounds require additional programs. Anvil merely aligns the graphics and sounds so they perform correctly in game.
Anvil, like Forge, is a Mac OS 9 program.
Other
Other programs are available to make scenario making and total conversions easier. Such programs like Hex make editing terminals as simple as Forge. Fux! is used to change colors on overhead maps and in terminals. These programs are third party and are not affiliated with Bungie in any way.
Conversions
Devil in a Blue Dress
Devil in a Blue Dress is a scenario originally designed for Marathon and later updated to work with the Marathon 2 and Aleph One game engines. It was the first project created by the Marathon Map Makers' Guild (MMMG) and can still be downloaded and played for free. It features 21 solo levels and an entirely new storyline. Excalibur: Morgana's Revenge is the sequel to Devil in a Blue Dress.
Storyline
While the scenario uses Bungie's environment (level textures, monster and weapon
sprites, etc), the storyline is not related whatsoever to the U.E.S.C. Marathon or the fictional world in which it exists. The
player is tasked with finding a space pirate known as the Devil in a Blue Dress.
Excalibur: Morgana's Revenge
Excalibur: Morgana's Revenge is a scenario for the Marathon, Marathon Infinity game, and Aleph One engines. Originally released in March, 1997 for the Marathon 1 engine, it was then released in 2000 for the Marathon Infinity engine, and finally released in 2007 for the Aleph One engine. It is a sequel to Devil in a Blue Dress. It features 37 solo levels; new textures, sounds, physics, graphics, storyline, maps and interface; and musical scores incorporated into Infinity's ambient sound slots. The scenario is particularly notable for its extensive use of Lua scripting to achieve some of its unique customizations, as well as its foray into non-sci-fi environments.
Storyline
The EMR story begins with flashbacks to Arthurian times. The first flashback reflects a time of peace and prosperity in Arthur's kingdom, a time before Morgana took her revenge. Kirin, champion archer of the Enchanted Forest, has a nightmare of Morgana attacking Camelot. As she awakes, the nightmare becomes reality. Morgana, Mordred and Mauvair, the Treacherous Trio, launch an all-out assault on Arthur and his kingdom. The climax of the battle is the massacre which occurs at the Mannehaum stronghold near the base of the mountain upon which Camelot stands. The second flashback reflects the horrors of this massacre, where each knight, archer and sorcerer are brutally put to death.
The adventure begins as Merlin reveals his true identity. Merlin of Camelot, sorcerer and
friend to King Arthur, is one in the same with the AI Merlin that guided our
brave marine through the battles against the space pirates in Devil in a Blue Dress. Merlin tells the story of Morgana's
revenge, her rise to power, and the increasing threat she poses to mankind with her newly found, albeit slightly unstable,
ability to time travel. If she retrieves some rare
Los Disneys
While not related to the Marathon Universe, [www.losdisneys.com|Los Disneys] is a total conversion of the marathon game that takes place in Disney World, or more specifically, The Magic Kingdom. Los Disneys was originally released as a conversion for existing Marathon installations, however has been released as an individual game using the Aleph One engine.
Storyline
To help with the National Debt, The U.S. Government has sold the entire state of Florida to the Walt Disney Company. This new countries president, Disney CEO Michael Eisner has made The Magic Kingdom the capitol of Los Disneys. The game itself stats in 2015 with the player at the entrance to The Magic Kingdom. The player is assigned to infiltrate Magic Kingdoms underground tunnels and destroy the cryogenically frozen head of Walter Elias Disney. However, doing so causes an array of nuclear missiles hidden throughout Los Disneys (including one of the towers of Cinderella Castle) launching towards every major city in the world.
Marathon: EVIL
Marathon EVIL is a scenario for the Mac OS Marathon Infinity game engine, originally released in 1997. It features 17 new solo levels; 22 new network maps; and new enemies, sounds, textures and weapons. A chief difficulty is the low amounts of ammunition available, resulting in a greater reliance on melee weapons, such as fists or staff.
Storyline
Marathon Evil is a sequel to a Marathon 2 single player mission called
"Siege of Nor'khor" by the same author. In this new installment the player must trace the ship that he had disabled, but which
had mysteriously vanished before its complete destruction. After finding it crashed on a small abandoned moon, the player finds
another much older Pfhor ship hidden at the bottom of a lake, and, visiting it, inadvertantly awakens a very ancient, taboo
superior caste of the Pfhor called the Mystiques, which remained hidden for eons while watching over the lower castes of their
race, regarding them as their young and naive offspring and helping them behind the scenes on occasions. The player must then
infiltrate the Mystiques' moon and stop them from going back in time, or else they will be able to intervene and help the Pfhor
enslave both the humans and the S'pht.
Tempus Irae
Tempus Irae is a scenario for the Mac OS Marathon Infinity game engine, originally released in 1997. It features 37 new solo levels; new textures, sounds, scenery, shapes, terminal pictures and chapter screens. This level pack features traveling to the past to retrieve certain Manuscripts by Da Vinci. The goal is to return all these manuscripts to the ship where you started. You will explore many Renaissance areas in these levels.04:10, 8 September 2007 (UTC)Hostile Amish
Storyline
Trojan
Trojan is a total conversion scenario for the Mac OS Marathon 1 game engine, originally released in June 1997. It includes 27 levels, 15 new aliens, 6 new weapons, and new music and sounds.
Storyline
The story begins with a distress signal from the human-colonized planet Trojan. The player and a squad of marines are sent to
investigate. It turns out that mysterious aliens are invading the colony and the player and his squadron must drive them out of
the colony with force.
Marathon: Rubicon
Marathon Rubicon is a scenario for the Mac OS game Marathon Infinity. The project started in 1997 as Marathon Chimera. It features a nonlinear plotline that can be traversed in any number of ways, with different endings based upon a player's choices over the course of the game. It features more than 360 new textures, over a dozen new characters, new scenery, 8 new weapons, 67 solo levels.
Storyline
You awaken inside a Pfhor stasis chamber for 50 years after your last battle. It seems that a vicious war erupted between the Pfhor and the UESC right after your last adventure. Fortunately, the war is even, and no one is winning. You are sent to the planet were all the UESC soldiers are fighting, to tip the scales and win the war.
When you arrive, you land in a small canyon with slimy water at the edges. There is a downed ship (the UESC Rubicon) in the
canyons, and you must infiltrate it, and assist the other soldiers who are also fighting.
Marathon RED
Marathon RED is a single-player scenario set in a dark alternate version of the Marathon universe. It was created by Ian McConville, who also built most of the game's graphics and environments. Additional credits and acknowledgements are included in the game's main menu.
The original version of RED (requiring Mac OS and Marathon Infinity) is available from the scenario's official website. A version for Aleph One (which is free and runs on modern platforms) can be downloaded here under "Complete scenarios to download".
Storyline
You wake up in a small sleeping chamber area, only to find yourself late for a briefing. Turns out, you are assigned to investigate a "dead-in-the-air" Pfhor scout craft. Once you land, you, along with other armed marines, will search the craft.
This scout craft has been completely inhabited with deadly monsters, lava pits, and dark slimy RED walls. But, you are armed
to the teeth, and you can use those arms to fight your way through.
Eternal
Eternal is a free scenario for Aleph One, the cross-platform open-source first-person shooter engine derived from Bungie's Marathon engine. Eternal is a nearly total conversion, featuring 52 new maps, over 650 new high-resolution textures (including 12 new landscape textures), 8 new weapons (including many previously limited to the Pfhor), over a dozen tracks of original music, a completely renovated user interface, and several new creatures and characters, alongside the complete cast from the original trilogy and several familiar locations.
Eternal has been through many releases and is still a work in progress. The latest "completed" version is Eternal Mark V, released on December 21, 2004, but the current working edition, much improved since Mark V, is Eternal X Alpha 5, released July 7th, 2007. The final version of Eternal X is due Soon™.
Storyline
Eternal continues the story of the Marathon Trilogy, beginning ninety-four years
after the events in Marathon Infinity. The initial goal of the player is to change the
events of the past one hundred eleven years by traveling back in time to board the U.E.S.C. Marathon, but this task is merely the
beginning of an epic journey spanning millions of years and exploring the outermost fringes of the Marathon universe.
Marathon: The Gray Incident
Marathon: The Gray Incident takes place at some undetermined point past Marathon Infinity. It was released on March 4, 2006. It's one of the more linear (and shorter) scenarios, but one of the key features of the scenario is its straightforward difficulty. It is a prequel to the Portal of Sigma. It features 17 new single-player levels and 7 multiplayer arenas, five new weapons, and several new and improved enemies.
Storyline
Portal of Sigma
Marathon: Portal of Sigma is a scenario for the first-person shooter, Aleph One. It is a three-chapter scenario, the first chapter being released on March 4, 2006. Due to a lack of updates by its creators prior to the release of the first chapter, it was long believed to be vaporware. It features enhanced aliens sprites; eight new weapons; five large texture sets, with improved textures from Marathon 2 and Marathon Infinity as well as original textures; 16-bit sounds; eleven single-player levels and 37 multiplayer arenas.
Storyline
Dead scenarios
Only few total conversions have made it to the light of day. Many have been attempted and few have seen success. Many dead scenarios can be found at The Big House which hosts many classic total conversions and scenarios. A few dead scenarios (such as Marathon: Vietnam) have contributed to a place known as The Orphanage which hosts unused sounds, maps, shapes, ideas, and more.
References
External links
- List of scenarios at Traxus Project, a Marathon series wiki (the list is still highly incomplete as of 2007)
- The Big House, a site hosting the official websites of a number of major scenarios
- The Marathon Archives at Bungie.org, a large repository of scenarios, multiplayer levels and level packs, and other files for the Marathon games (no longer updated as of 2004)
- Scenario News, a site which as of 2007 still posts updates on total conversions in progress
- The Battle Cat's Litterbox, a repository of Marathon editing tutorials and resources
- Lh'owon Ar'kives FTP, a collection of Marathon maps and related files
- Marathon Resurrection, a recreation of Marathon in the form of a total conversion for Unreal Tournament
See also
- Marathon
- Marathon 2: Durandal
- Marathon Infinity
- Aleph One, a fan-maintained evolution of the Marathon 2 engine which is required by most modern scenarios
- Damage Incorporated, Prime Target and ZPC, three commercial games created using the Marathon 2 engine
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