Files for Chris Johnson

Escher's Shell Game

Chris Johnson — Feb 09, 1999

This is one of the most convoluted (and unpredictable) 5D spaces I've ever seen. A large open area with three pillars... but there are actually 3 open areas, and in each one, two of the pillars are connect points, while the third is not. (Obviously, it's not the same pillar in each arena.) Two-thirds of the time, you can avoid enemy fire by ducking around a pillar... but that last third will kill you... literally. The one saving grace is probably unanticipated by the level creator.. but also by your playmates, most likely: you can actually kill people through 5D space. That is, if you're in one arena, and they're in another, but your motion detector says they're right in front of you, try spraying with bullets or the Tozter. (You won't be successful with grenades or spnkrs.) It truly sucks to be in a room by yourself, hear (but not see) a napalm unit, and find yourself tozted! This one's really, really nasty... play it only with good friends.

Escher's Fire Walk With Bob

Chris Johnson — Feb 09, 1999

A small arena with a pillar in the center and a river of lava down the middle, leading into a lake. Sounds simple... except if you drop around the pillar, you'll lose your buddies. They won't turn up the next time you go around, either... or the next time. In fact, the room wraps around the pillar four times before reconnecting with itself. Wow-that must be some sort of a record. General mapmaking is quite good (except for an untextured wall in each of the 4 lava lakes-but you shouldn't be too distracted by the smearing, since you won't stay alive too long out there...).

Skeet

Chris Johnson — Feb 09, 1999

A practice level, more than anything... jugs and drones, modified to die via a single magnum bullet, pop up periodically. Good thing they've been modified, because the only weapons available are, you guessed it, magnums. Treat it like a skeet shoot... where the pigeons shoot back.

This is Not Your War

Chris Johnson — Feb 09, 1999

A huge, two-bunker map. Each side has a team of locals. (Bobs, hunters, a jug.) PIck a side, go kill the other side. (With help, of course.) You'll get killed eventually, but it's pretty fun until you do. Can also be played net, but it gets a bit trickier to avoid getting killed by the locals...

Somewhere West of Aldebaran

Chris Johnson — Feb 09, 1999

3 ships, all with strengths and weaknesses, all centered around a nasty (regenerating) jug. Pick your location, attack the jug (or your friends). Don't like the ship you're in? Teleport to one of the other two! Mapmaking is quite nice, gameplay is a bit frenetic.

Dirt Mines of Aldebaran

Chris Johnson — Feb 09, 1999

I'm not sure this one's playable. It's really, really, really big... and sort of boring. You'd have trouble finding people to kill with 20... good luck with 8 or less. Interesting experiment in mapmaking, though...

The Well

Chris Johnson — Feb 09, 1999

An interesting spiral-staircase-centered level. Some funky 5D going on, and watch the dark pit at the bottom... And beware. We had two separate crashes as people exited the bottom area for the stairs-looks like it might be a too-many-transparent-edges problem. (Doesn't come up every time... just sometimes when you turn right too quickly.)

Hill From Hell

Chris Johnson — Feb 09, 1999

Sort of a solo net map. Hmm... that's not right. You've got two kinds of bobs, and you can team up with either one. One defends the hill (the map is a fine KOTH map for large groups all by itself), the other the outer passageways. Nice construction, decent lighting, good flow (once you've figured things out)... This one works well as either a net or solo level.

Escher's Vertigo

Chris Johnson — Feb 09, 1999

Um... it's a star... no, it's a bunch of triangles that meet in... no, it's, um, it's...Dang. Download it, play it, get totally lost. It's really small inside... but the walls just come and go! There's a tiny bit of smearing, due to a hacked pillar, but you have to work pretty hard to see it... and if your friends are any good at all, you won't get the chance.

SPNKman

Chris Johnson — Feb 09, 1999

A pac-man like maze, filled with pfhor and... spnkrs? Geez. This one will seriously fine-tune your spanking. After 10 minutes, you should be able to kill pfhor (and your friends) that are in your face by dropping a missile on the ground behind them. (Hint... shoot left.)

Searchlight

Chris Johnson — Feb 09, 1999

A clover-shaped space station. Nice lighting effects, and the windows make finding people pretty simple... although you can't actually shoot them through the windows. (It is a space station, after all...) Large groups would feel cramped.

Escher's Bowtie

Chris Johnson — Feb 09, 1999

Amazingly simple, but pretty convoluted... two completely overlapping rooms, with a shared pair of pillars. There's a moving platform between the pillars (you can use it as cover, or as a travel aid), and each time you circle a pillar, you end up in the other room. One room has drones, the other has a single cyborg-leave aliens on during net play, and you can use the wreckage to orient yourself. Beautifully done.

Forge and Anvil Tips v1

Chris Johnson — Jan 04, 1999

Just another mapmakers insight on the ins and outs of using Forge, etc....This was taken off of the alt.games.marathon news group. There were a couple of items that was news to me so I thought it might help other mapmakers out there...

Hotfoot

Chris Johnson — Feb 17, 1997

A large net level that has a "warehouse" type feel to it. Very tall ceilings lend themselves to what I thought would be some slow arena play, but the basic design is what keeps it fast. The illusion that this is bigger than it is, is quite good. This map, again, from the author that brought us Mirage, has some pretty cool novelty tricks built in. If you like spankrs' than this one is for you.

Focal Point

Chris Johnson — Feb 13, 1997

A small arena type map with steps that go down to the hill. A high carnage type map that would be absolutely great for KOTH. Textures are well selected, lights are placed well and the flow is very fast due to the size of the arena. In low res, this one still looked great and in high res, the colors with the choice of textures was absolutely great. Author says the map will support eight...It really doesn't matter how many though, this one will be fast and if you choose the cyborgs, well, give it a try and find out...

Mirage

Chris Johnson — Feb 11, 1997

The screen shot doesn't do it justice.....The author has now broken the boundaries of what is possible with Anvil. When looked at from a view of original ideas, Chris, in the last 2 days, has come up with some great ones. In the map you are fighting against "ghosts" that are of course the Pfhor, etc.... It is a large net map with tons of ammo and some incredible ideas. (Have I mentioned the great ideas this author has come up with) Download this map to see what the next generation of Marathon engine possibilites are going to be....Made with the least number of polys possible, this one is fast!!!!!! This might just be the beginning of things to come.

Crossroads

Chris Johnson — Feb 09, 1997

You are on a exposed station in space. Your goal is to avoid the missiles that are shot at you in slow motion. (And some strange missiles they are!) Some of the baddies are invisible and if you add that in to all of the mines flying through the air you get a whole new way of playing Marathon. The free floating mines, so to speak, will take some rather nifty manuvering or you will find yourself blown up in the air....This is if you choose to play it solo. A letter X design for a net game and could probably be pretty fast...there is a built in physics model and you could use the X for KOTH. Some good ideas here with what is possible with Anvil...

Big Friends

Chris Johnson — Feb 09, 1997

A large net level that has the illusion that you are on a open air station. Bob Hell is what the author calls it and he, if anything, is understating it! The bobs are all nuts in this one and they shoot and explode and etc, etc........Designed best for KOTH. The illusion of open areas to the landscape texture almost worked here. Will support a few net modes and big enough to give you places to hide and at the same time room to maneuver...You can also play this one solo but it's pretty bizarre. Some great tricks with this one.

Assorted Walls

Chris Johnson — Nov 27, 1996

What it sounds like. Comes with replacement textures for three texturesets. (Some textures are used in more than one set.) Generally an interesting collection... well done, and useful. The sky texture has some problems in 256 colors (but blues are really hard in M1), and the alien set will do terrible things to your blood pressure, but overall quality is high.

The Infernal Machine

Chris Johnson — Nov 23, 1996

A couple of large rooms on one side with a jug in 'em, some really stupid bobs that insist on freeing that jug, and a nasty crusher. There are very good reasons for braving the crusher... like the jug.

The Green Hills of Death

Chris Johnson — Nov 23, 1996

Very, very green, and very, very dark, with a very, very large number of fighters.

Seashell

Chris Johnson — Nov 23, 1996

A huge spiral staircase, with the top ending just above the bottom. Some of every monster... and every weapon. (No explodabobs.) All in a nice space setting...

Calling Mr. Otis

Chris Johnson — Nov 23, 1996

You're in platform hell, and you don't get to leave until you kill everything. Or die.

Spacesick

Chris Johnson — Nov 23, 1996

A whole bunch of platforms that are invisible, except from above... set in space. Really tough to figure out where your enemies are... especially if you play with the motion sensor off. There's a catwalk around the outside for those of you who get queasy.