[We now return you to our traditional terminal system for space-saving reasons. Kudos to Mike Trinder for Cinemascope - the finest answer to a Mara-typographer's prayers out there.] Seeing as how the TL sampler is based on a deeply, deeply incomplete map, it seems only fair to provide a modicum of assistance to you, the traveller, as regard navigating through this place. The doors directly adjacent to this message terminal will lead you to the final section of this level. To open them, you will need to retrieve a red keycard from the security station. The station itself is locked; you will need the blue keycard to open it first. The location of the blue keycard is known; the Security Officer for this level was still carrying it when he went insane and hanged himself in a locker. The current whereabouts of the locker are much less clear, however, though you'll see what I mean soon enough. The far doorway leads to the control centre for the forward port docking bay. There is a terminal there that should explain what you'll find there a little further...
Welcome, visitor, to the forward port docking bay. Or what remains of it. Actually, the docking bay is perfectly OK. It's the universe that's all twisted up. Dorothy, you definitely ain't in Kansas no more. What happened... Well, you'll remember trashing yon big ugly alien ship a while back, and the damn thing went and exploded an' all. You probably thought you got away from that, escaped just in the nick of time, etc. Well you did. And you didn't. You did AND you didn't. It's a big honking paradox, don't ya know? So, whilst you are happily cruising off to destinations new, you are also stuck here, in the middle of Nothing, going Nowhere. This is not, as you might suspect, the nicest of places to be, and normally you'd be off hunting for a way to shut down this universe so that reality can go on its way as normal. Due to the TL universe being cut off somewhat prematurely, however, you will just need to imagine that beyond this level eventually lies your destination: your salvation. Actually, all this level leads to is a minor apology and explanation, but enough about that for now. Anyway, what you'll probably want to do is try and find your way through this Swiss-cheesed, Möibus-looped, 2.5- and/or 5.2-D looney-tune pizza-parlour place. You'll find it's something of a "Heinz 53-varieties" kind of environment - it really hadn't finished forming at this point and there's a lot of strange and not very functional or intuitive stuff here. So, some tips: Pay attention to the walls (and/or floors/ceiling, depending which way up the universe is at the time). You'll occasionally find that solidity is a negotiable concept, especially when you seem to be stranded in a place with no obvious exits. Low-level computer control systems [alas, our main AI systems] are quite offline and will continue to stay that way indefinitely] have thrown up a number of force-fields around the level. Some of these are for your own protection and are quite impassable; others you will find present no obstacle at all. Try to keep some note of your whereabouts. Your usual navigational tools are quite out-of-order (you should be thankful that anything still works at all), just to add to the confusion. You may happen to encounter a vertically-challenged liftshaft at some point. Don't let it get to you; there is a switched solution to that "mysterious locked door" syndrome just along from that, albeit in a tricky-to-reach place (hint: find a perch and look up). Oh yeah, and don't get me started on the water flume (I mean, what person designed that?). You'll doubtless run into that at some point... just swim to the top and jump out: there's a ledge that runs halfway around the top of the tube (and if you don't land on it first time, try jumping the other direction). That'll lead you back to more familiar surroundings. Just because the universe has twisted inside-out and vomited all over you doesn't mean you ain't still a nice guy (or gal). There are a few unfriendly parties who seem to have got scooped up for your amusement and company, however, so take care. After a few [perceptual] years spent in here, it is more than likely you'll be begging them to kill you, but do try to resist that urge if you can for there is a (slightly more preferable) way out of here... eventually.
Did I mention difficult? Well, either you found this real easy, or your one of those folks who never pays attention to terminals (in which case, don't say I didn't try to warn you). The trick to this level seems to be to keep travelling around in circles until inertia gets the better of you and you fly off towards somewhere more interesting instead. The whole point of this whacked-out world is that it isn't supposed to make logical sense, remember?
"Fine work, marine", and all that blah. Honestly, the depths which folks will scrape to try and fill terminal space. Uhhh.... Well, OK. It's straightforward from here: you've got the red security keycard now (you have, haven't you...?) so just work back towards your original starting point. This card will give you access to the Main Engineering section (or what exists of it here), and whilst that would normally lead on to a whole 'nuther load of hell, we're going to call it quits instead and let you out whilst the going's good (and just be thankful!).
You should be congratulating yourself on getting this far already. Finer men have failed to make it this far. Why, I was saying much the same thing to the Deputy Third Cook not long ago when all of a sudden the baloney sandwich he had been saving for lunch decided to be a Tyrannosaurus-Rex and took a bite out of him instead. You really should wipe your feet more often - I think you already stepped in him. Due to cuts in the final budget, you'll be pleased (probably) to know that you won't be meeting any T-Rex/baloney sandwiches today. I'm very nearly 100% certain about that.
And at last, it's the end of the road for the TL sampler. And, finally, for TL too. It was an ambitious project (not many levels, but very, very dense and complex design) that struggled to come together with Mike Trinder and I taking our best shot at it despite both having only limited time available. In the end, though, we agreed to kill it after being asked to work on a project called "Wheels!" instead. I don't regret this, incidentally, as "Wheels!" was a great project and now a most excellent game (a 1st-person 'wheelchair-training' game designed specially for disabled kids) and I'm told it has proved most popular with its target audience. I'm pleased by that. Other, better projects (for me) have come and gone since TL, with varying degrees of success (and failure). I no longer have the free time to indulge on these ventures, alas, though I still enjoy doing bits and pieces around the place. TL begins to look pretty rough nowadays, certainly when compared against more recent Marathon-based projects (both mine and others'); it betrays its pre-Fux roots somewhat (athough I did add a couple of cosmetic tweaks to make this release function a little smoother), and the quality of the artwork and mapmaking is also looking somehwat 'dated'. Ah well... it was a great learning exercise in its time (it was the experience I got from working on TL that got me started on "Wheels!"). Some mention should also go to Chris Ashton, Nicholas Graham and Tom Worth for additional contributions towards TL (though not included in this sampler release). I hope there was enough good ideas in this little package to have made it worth the download. Heh, maybe it'll even be a little inspirational for someone; who knows?:) Signing off on TL (at last; maybe now I can get some hard disk space back now:)... HAS 4/7/99 p.s. The exit to this level is via the teleporter to the right of this terminal. Last one out please turn off the lights. ;)
