Anthology
10 February 2008
By Sirius

Anthology is a large D2X-XL level designed for single-player or co-operative
play. It has a play time of around 3-4 hours, depending on difficulty level,
number of players, and familiarity with the level.

Requirements:
- D2X-XL version 1.12.17 or later (some earlier versions may load the level,
  but various features may not work). As always, the latest version available
  is recommended
- Plenty of memory (512 MB should be enough, but it might not load with less)
- Hi-res models and light caching enabled in d2x.ini
- Multiple bosses enabled
- Smoke effects recommended

Description:
Anthology is so named because it is themed as a collection of works from the
original Descent series; while it is an original level it draws inspiration
from those produced by Parallax, both in terms of themes and, occasionally,
architecture. I will leave you to work out what parts came from where; it
would make quite a list!

Of course, the main feature of the level is its size (around 5500 cubes). At
the time of release I believe it is the largest Descent level ever created, and
it will probably stay that way for some time. For this reason Anthology will
take quite a while to load; sorry, there's nothing I can do about that! Using
the -cache_lights switch should speed things up on subsequent loads though.

I have designed the level to be fairly well-balanced; there will be tough
parts, but there should be nothing absurd. If it LOOKS absurd, there's probably
an easier way through. First-time players should probably consider starting on
Hotshot at the most; I can win the level myself on Insane with a few lives
left, but I do know where every single trap is, so I have a bit of an advantage
there.

Comments are welcome; I frequent both the DescentBB (www.descentbb.net) and the
D2X-XL forum (www.descent2.de/forum); alternatively you could e-mail me at
sirius@clashofsteel.net (hopefully I will have the address for some time!).
Before anyone asks, though, at this point it is absolutely not possible to port
Anthology to any other version of Descent 2, mostly because nothing else has a
large enough cube limit.

Acknowledgements:
Thanks to all the people on the DescentBB and D2X-XL forum for showing interest
each time news came out about this level, and kept pushing along its progress.
Also thanks to MD-1224 for listening to my rambling about it for all that time
and helping to playtest it. Was a bit of a headache getting anything to work
but it was worth it.
Thanks to Darkhorse for contributing textures and assisting with playtesting.
A very special thanks to Diedel/karx11erx - not just for making the whole idea
possible with the advent of D2X-XL, but for actually actively helping to make
my various ideas work. This more often than not involved releasing new patches
just to fix issues with my level. I won't forget that. :)

Hints:
(Part 1)
The right side of this stage is very dangerous. The easiest way to approach
this area is to complete the rest of the stage up until the gold key and then
come back; the weapons are very helpful.

You may find a secret door that opens right into lava. If you do, I would
strongly advise turning back unless you're a Descent god. This door is really
meant to be used from the other side as a shortcut.

Save your homing missiles for vulcan drillers. They're much easier to kill
safely that way.

The plasma cannon near the gold key is only reachable in co-operative mode.

There are three ways in to the last room. Not only will changing directions
ensure the robots aren't looking at you, it may give you a better angle.

Don't hold off getting the hostages for too long - after you leave this part of
the level you won't be able to return. (The same applies for all hostages in
the level.)

(Part 2)
Finding an energy centre is the most important thing you have to do at first.
Make use of the cloak.

The Gauss Cannon will make things much easier once you find it (especially
against Lou Guards).

The automap may not help you much here. You might have to find another way to
remember where you've been - if I could suggest a ball of string I would...

To open the way to the red key, you'll need to disable three switches, located
at the top of each "arm".

One "arm" is reachable from ground level. You'll have to go up to find the
entrances to the other two.

There is a thief; it is released when one of the three switches is disabled.

All of the shakers are reachable in single-player; however you may need the
Phoenix Cannon to get one of them, and even then the shot is a difficult one to
make.

The invulnerability inside the red door is there for a reason.

(Part 3)
The powerups at the start must be collected immediately. Look for a switch.

Gauss is quite useful in this part of the level. Hope you kept some ammo.

There are two links, that, when destroyed, will open the way to the final area.

Yes, that blue texture does mean what you think it does. Don't be afraid to use
it if you get hit too much.

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So, give yourself plenty of time, go play, and have fun!
