Marathon's legacy for sale, cheap

[june gloom]

On 5/28/2023 at 9:16 PM, Rudolph said:

I understood that reference.

 

Even though I do not actually remember the level itself... :S

 

It's the one with the stairs.

[Rudolph]

4 hours ago, june gloom said:

It's the one with the stairs.

Yeah, I looked it up, but I still have no recollection of the level myself. I guess it must not have been as bad as some people are making it to be.

[june gloom]

Nah, it is that bad, but after you've done it a couple times it just becomes a minor annoyance.

 

The level has a cool aesthetic in some parts, at least.

Edited May 30, 2023 by june gloom

[june gloom]

Actually, this does raise the question -- what games like Marathon are out there? I know Supplice is a big recent example, plus the old Barista mod for ZDoom. But I wonder what else...?

[Rudolph]

34 minutes ago, june gloom said:

Actually, this does raise the question -- what games like Marathon are out there?

Do custom mapsets for Marathon count?

 

Because if so, I strongly recommend Marathon Eternal X.

[Devalaous]

I only ever got to play Marathon 2 on the X360, kind of odd they only ported the middle game and not the whole trilogy. Was a very weird and quirky game with some very bizarre humour.

[Rudolph]

2 hours ago, Devalaous said:

I only ever got to play Marathon 2 on the X360, kind of odd they only ported the middle game and not the whole trilogy.

That is probably because it is the most beloved and accessible entry in the series.

 

Marathon 1 has aged the worst and Marathon 3: Infinity is deliberately cryptic in addition to being Thy Flesh Consumed-hard.

Edited May 31, 2023 by Rudolph

[june gloom]

2 was also the only one that got a PC port at the time.

Edited June 1, 2023 by june gloom

[MS-06FZ Zaku II Kai]

On 5/30/2023 at 7:12 PM, june gloom said:

Nah, it is that bad, but after you've done it a couple times it just becomes a minor annoyance.

 

The level has a cool aesthetic in some parts, at least.

I didn´t find that level "that" awful when I played Marathon for the first time. Actualy I found most of the levels allright.

Edited June 1, 2023 by MS-06FZ Zaku II Kai

[mrthejoshmon]

On 5/30/2023 at 7:06 PM, june gloom said:

Actually, this does raise the question -- what games like Marathon are out there? I know Supplice is a big recent example, plus the old Barista mod for ZDoom. But I wonder what else...?

I've seen "The Citadel" referenced as a close match, it boldly claims as such on the store page.

The barrier to entry however is an odd combination of its heavy anime artstyle and, for some reason, really extreme gore (no, really, shit is guro tier).

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1378290/The_Citadel/

 

Personally didn't mind the art style but the gore put me off, if you are unfazed by these then it may be worth a shot.

 

There was also Damage Incorporated which literally is built off of Marathon 2, not sure on how to get it running nowadays.

Those are alike in gameplay, in terms of story you might be out of luck.

EDIT: Apparently there was another Marathon engine game known as ZPC, I know very little as I just found out myself.

Edited June 1, 2023 by mrthejoshmon

[Nevander]

On 5/28/2023 at 8:37 AM, Rudolph said:

Indie games beg to differ.

That's true. My comment was directed at AAA studios.

[Obsidian Plague]

12 hours ago, mrthejoshmon said:

There was also Damage Incorporated which literally is built off of Marathon 2, not sure on how to get it running nowadays.

Those are alike in gameplay, in terms of story you might be out of luck.

EDIT: Apparently there was another Marathon engine game known as ZPC, I know very little as I just found out myself.

Real chads play Wheels!.

 

[Azuris]

On 5/24/2023 at 11:46 PM, june gloom said:

ugh. Turns out it's an extraction shooter. Hype canceled. I'm going to bed.

 

Hm can someone kindly explain to me what an extraction shooter is?

Searched and found a list of games, but i haven't played even one of them, so my imagination stops there :>

[Dynamo]

https://alephone.lhowon.org/scenarios.html#more This is an excellent place to get some of the most popular Marathon mods to satisfy that itch, if you're not aware of it.

 

Edited June 2, 2023 by Dynamo

[Rudolph]

8 hours ago, Nevander said:

That's true. My comment was directed at AAA studios.

To be fair, this video from Tim Cain reinforces my belief that the AAA game industry has always been a minefield:

 

 

1 hour ago, Azuris said:

Hm can someone kindly explain to me what an extraction shooter is?

Searched and found a list of games, but i haven't played even one of them, so my imagination stops there :>

From what I understand, you are dropped on a map where you race against other players to "extract" some items.

 

Kind of a treasure hunt, but with guns.

Edited June 2, 2023 by Rudolph

[BGreener]

15 hours ago, mrthejoshmon said:

I've seen "The Citadel" referenced as a close match, it boldly claims as such on the store page.

The barrier to entry however is an odd combination of its heavy anime artstyle and, for some reason, really extreme gore (no, really, shit is guro tier).

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1378290/The_Citadel/

 

Personally didn't mind the art style but the gore put me off, if you are unfazed by these then it may be worth a shot.

 

I’m also giving this a wary recommendation. I can find some charm in the textures it continuously uses, it has decent level variety considering the textures, and it has some fun shooting and combat.

 

The violence does seem weird. There’s tons of guts and gore gushing from the enemies in the newer Dooms, but most are far from being ‘people’ and when they are it’s being too-far-gone zombies. I get that all the enemies in Citadel are all “insane”, but still.

 

There is now a reduced violence option that helps a whole lot.

 

@Rudolph You can find more scumminess before that with games like Ultima 7 and how many times it references “Electronic Arts” as evil. Here’s a decent article to skim through.

Edited June 2, 2023 by BGreener

[Reisal]

Friend learned about it, lost interest right away as he is a big Marathon fan. Extraction shooters are garbage to begin with, not everyone wants their first experience of a series that is supposed to be both single and multiplayer.

[Rudolph]

Hopefully, the silver lining will be that it gets people to talk about the Marathon franchise again.

[LadyMistDragon]

hmm....that's wishful thinking. It's not to the same level of blatant exploitiveness as Metal Gear and Castlevania pachinko machines, but the basic idea of 'easy money' in both is similar.

[june gloom]

Didn't want to start a whole new thread for this, but apparently the boys over in the Marathon fandom have gotten the blessing from Bungie to put Aleph One with the first game (and later M2/Infinity) on Steam.

 

I've been singing the praises of this series for years but you know how it is, some people won't touch anything, even a free game, unless it's on Steam, so this is good news. It's also arguably a big step forward for Aleph One.