Dec 31, 2013 (Tuesday)


Final episode in the Tour of Duty Marathon 2 series:

All Roads Lead To Sol...


More episodes in Narcogen and Blackstar's co-op tour of Marathon 2:

Requiem For A Cyborg
Beware Abandoned Rental Trucks



Dec 24, 2013 (Tuesday)   Home Pfhor the Holidays


Merry Christmas to all Story page readers... everywhere!


And to get you into that festive Marathon spirit here are some cool yule tidings from
ghosts of Christmas past:

President People's The Twelve Days of Christmas.

Ben Wigler's Jingle Bells.

poena.dare's The White Christmas Term.

And last but not least the perennial Battle Cat's Christmas Aboard the Marathon
and The Twelve Days of Marathon Christmas.

Have a good one. :)


Dec 23, 2013 (Monday)


More episodes in the Tour of Duty series:

Feel the Noise
Fatum Iustum Stultorum
Requiem For a Cyborg
Beware of Abandoned Rental Trucks


More episodes in Narcogen and Blackstar's co-op tour of Marathon 2:

Where the Twist Flops
Kill Your Television
My Own Private Thermopylae


Also on the Story forum:

Marathon's 19th Anniversary
A Marathon 2 secret revealed


Dec 15, 2013 (Saturday)


PerseusSpartacus and Martin continue their Tour of Duty through Marathon 2. Most recent
episodes are listed first:

Where the Twist Flops
Kill Your Television
My Own Private Thermopylae
God Will Sort The Dead...
This Side Toward Enemy
The Big House
Begging For Mercy Makes Me Angry!
For Carnage, Apply Within
Sorry Don't Make It So
If I Had a Rocket Launcher, I'd Make Somebody Pay


Narcogen and Blackstar also continue their co-op tour of Marathon 2. Most recent
episodes are listed first:

God Will Sort The Dead...
This Side Toward Enemy
The Big House
Begging For Mercy Makes Me Angry!
For Carnage, Apply Within
Sorry Don't Make It So
If I Had a Rocket Launcher, I'd Make Somebody Pay Six Thousand Feet Under
Bob's Big Date
The Hard Stuff Rules...
Eat It, Vid Boi!
Curiouser and Curiouser...
Nuke And Pave
Ex Cathedra
We're Everywhere
Come and Take your Medicine


Also on the Story forum:

Pathways Into Darkness - OS X update released
Did someone say bomb?
What ARE Simulacrums?
And Now For Something Completely Different
Happy Anniversary, Marathon 2


Oct 17, 2013 (Thursday)


Narcogen and Blackstar begin their co-op tour of Marathon 2. Check out their videos of:

Waterloo Waterpark
Slings and Arrows of Outrageous Fortune
Charon Doesn't Make Change
What About Bob?


Martin continues the Tour of Duty series with:

Bob's Big Date
and
Six Thousand Feet Under


Also on the Story forum:

Pathways into High Definition - a 22-video gameplay/walkthrough of Pathways Into Darkness.


Sept 19, 2013 (Thursday)    Happy Birthday Marathon's Story Page



How it all began.

Will we ever know all the answers?

Yes, but we may never know all the questions. ;-)


Sept 18, 2013 (Wednesday)


The Tour of Duty series continues with

Eat It, Vid Boi!
and
The Hard Stuff Rules...


After playing through all of Marathon 1, the Rampancy Crew post a video entitled:
Seven Things in Halo (That Are Better In Marathon).


New meaning to Frog Blast the Vent Core.


Sept 8, 2013 (Sunday)


Narcogen <narcogen@rampancy.net> stops by to let us know that they have posted
the last level of their Let's Play of Marathon 1. This one's called Ingue Ferroque .


A countdown? But to what?


Sept 5, 2013 (Thursday)


The Rampancy crew continue their co-op tour of Marathon with the following levels:

Ain't Got Time Pfhor This...
Welcome to the Revolution...
Try again


Aug 28, 2013 (Wednesday)


Narcogen and Blackstar are off to kill the cyborg controller. But wil it be easier
with two people? Find out in their co-op video - Pfhoraphobia


Aug 24, 2013 (Saturday)


Narcogen and Blackstar take on Euphoria and find out why this level is one of the
hardest to beat even for two people.


Aug 23, 2013 (Friday)


Martin posts the next instalment of the Tour of Duty - Curiouser and Curiouser....
Regarding Jason's level design, Martin writes:

It all fits together really beautifully - very little wasted space and very little overlap.


Aug 22, 2013 (Thursday)


PerseusSpartacus posts the next instalment of the Tour of Duty - Beg to Die... err... Nuke and Pave.
While the origin of this level name is not clear, it was in fact changed at the last
minute by Greg Kirkpatrick. Did Bernard Strauss beg to die?


The Rampancy boys post the next instalment of their co-op tour of Marathon - Beware of Low-Flying Defense Drones... .


A set of rare Trilogy Box Set stickers went up for sale on eBay and got snapped up quick.


Aug 21, 2013 (Wednesday)


Roland <fofxstudios@gmail.com> posts an interesting pic of the plating on his
trash compacter. You can see it here.

So this is Ramjet from the Marathon Equipment Co.

One wonders if in a few 100 years they'll be making Bussard Ramjets? ;)


Aug 20, 2013 (Tuesday)


Martin posts the next instalment of the Tour of Duty - Ex Cathedra.


Aug 19, 2013 (Monday)


PerseusSpartacus posts the next instalment of the Tour of Duty - We're Everywhere.
But what's this? He can't get to the secret area?

I'm really not that acquainted with this secret, having never done it myself - this
is all my own guesswork based on what I've read...

Read? Oh well. :(


The Rampancy boys post the next instalment of their co-op tour of Marathon - Two Times Two Equals... .


Aug 18, 2013 (Sunday)


PerseusSpartacus posts the next instalment of the Tour of Duty - Come and Take your Medicine.
A large sprawling level created by Greg Kirkpatrick and laced with mystery.
PerseusSpartacus ponders on the puzzle that is the Sixth Panel and asks questions.

Questions... questions...

A number of people have asked if the corrected version of the Marathon 2: Durandal Strategy Guide
was ever released? Was it released with the Trilogy Box Set?

Others ask about the official Marathon Infinity Strategy Guide. Specifically, where is it?
Didn't Double Aught post something on their website?

Questions... questions...


Aug 17, 2013 (Saturday)


Martin posts the next instalment of the Tour of Duty - What About Bob?.


The Rampancy boys post the next instalment of their co-op tour of Marathon - Unpfhorgiven .


Aug 16, 2013 (Friday)


Fuelled by yesterday's announcement that the Rampancy Duo (Narcogen and Blackstar)
would be using the Tour of Duty posts for their co-op escapades, the Tour of Duty
boys fire ahead with two new Marathon 2 levels:

The Slings & Arrows of Outrageous Fortune
Charon Doesn't Make Change

But how complete are these Tours? Are all secrets shown, all terminals read, all
ammo cache's found? If you think not... then let the ToD boys know.


If Marathon is characterised by having a large number of death-embracing Crushers...
then Marathon 2 is characterised by having none? Well maybe one or two.
But are there more?


Aug 15, 2013 (Thursday)


Added the Marathon 2: Durandal Strategy Guide to the Blasts from the Past Section.
This is the official strategy guide folks... penned by the mighty hands of Bungie, chock
full of secrets, helpful tips and tricks, including the level "Beg to Die".


Aug 14, 2013 (Wednesday)


In a Story forum post, treellama announces the release of beta 3 of Aleph One 1.1.
This version of Aleph One is designed to use the original Marathon assets and to
give the player the most accurate look and feel of the original game.

Major improvements in this release include:

Switches on Marathon vacuum levels are light-dependent (G4 Sunbathing no longer broken).
The ability to fly with Marathon flamethrower and alien weapon on low gravity maps.
Correct Marathon player death sounds and actions.
Allow picking up of multiple weapons on Marathon maps when difficulty is Total Carnage.

For more information about the last 'improvement' read this thread.


In a Story forum post, Narcogen of rampancy.net points out that they
didn't miss the Pfhor ship level -   Pfhor Your Eyes Only, their co-op
video just wasn't posted to the Rampancy front page. Now it is.


Aug 13, 2013 (Tuesday)


PerseusSpartacus kicks off the Marathon 2 Tour of Duty with Waterloo Waterpark.
Has he covered everything?   If not, then let him know.


If you die in Marathon does anyone hear you scream?


"In Lava, no one can hear you scream." Is this a good explanation
for why there is no death scream when you burn in lava?


The Rampancy boys appear to be missing one of their levels. But you can catch the
next one - No Artificial Colors.


Aug 12, 2013 (Monday)


Leonardo, the Mirata's Maneuvering Pod concept art from the Marathon Manual.

Just not the Marathon Manual you know best.

This rare piece of Marathon concept art (on the left) only appears in the DocMaker
version of the Marathon Manual found on the Marathon CD. It does not appear in the
earlier hard copy version of the manual or in the later PDF version of the manual.

If you want to see the DocMaker version of the Marathon Manual you either need an
old computer or you can visit the DocMaker Library.
Thanks to Hopper for this little piece of magic.


Aug 11, 2013 (Sunday)


If you want to know about Glue, SuperGlue and Glue Triggers and why they are so
important in setting up the battle sequences in Marathon then take a look at this
online version of the Pfhorte Users Guide v2.2.

Understanding these setting will give you a greater appreciation of how fight
scenes work and also how to better handle them, particularly at higher difficulty
levels.

While Marathon map making is pretty much dead, this art form should not be forgotten.
Thanks to Hopper for making this available and his DocMaker Library for bringing the
dead back to life.


And here is another Blast from the Past.
Blood Tides of Lh'owon - Sneek Peek.


Aug 10, 2013 (Saturday)


We can see your fate countless times.

Death.

Added the Marathon Infinity demo text. This is the first time this has appeared on the
Story page in complete form.

What secrets does the demo text contain? Does it provide any clues to further our
understanding of the Infinity plot?

yr17cycle1day1 5th phase

Oh and... Happy 17th Anniversary.

This day 17 years ago the Marathon Infinity demo was released. :)


Aug 9, 2013 (Friday)


This is the end.

Added The End to the Blasts from the Past Section.

The End is an invisible text file found on the Marathon Infinity CD in the Marathon
Infinity Small Install folder. It is principally written by Tuncer Deniz (Production
Manager, Bungie Software), with contributions from Randy Reddig (Double Aught Software)
and Matt Soell (Bungie Software). It outlines in a concise fashion the development of
Marathon Infinity from concept to final product. Of particular interest is the fact
that Infinity started out as a quick add-on to Marathon 2 but with time and new
textures, additional levels and a new weapon, it became something more.


Play Infinity with Marathon 2 textures... err No... err Yes... Most definitely.
Do the Marathon 2 textures help you remember that you've been here... before... before... before?


Aug 8, 2013 (Thursday)


The Rampancy Boys climb to new heights on Neither High nor Low.


On the Story forum:

Marathon Infinity a "What If" scenario?
Marathon Infinity with legacy Marathon 2 textures.
Play Infinity with Marathon 2 textures... err No.
jjaro.net still lives.
Marathon Science Theater 2794


Aug 6, 2013 (Tuesday)


Lists R US.

By request here is a list of the beta testing posts made over the last month or so.
Apparently they contain stuff that has never been mentioned before... EVER.

Mars Needs Women
Ingue Ferroque
Try again
Welcome to the Revolution
Ain't Got Time Pfhor This...
Pfhoraphobia
Eupfhoria
Beware of Low-Flying Defense Drones...
Two Times Two Equals...
Unpfhorgiven
No Artificial Colors
Pfhor Your Eyes Only...
Neither High nor Low
Habe Quiddam
Colony Ship For Sale, Cheap
Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire!
Shake Before Using...
BOB-B-Q
Blaspheme Quarantine
G4 Sunbathing
Cool Fusion
Smells Like Napalm, Tastes Like Chicken!
The Rose
Couch Fishing
Defend THIS!
Never Burn Money
Bigger Guns Nearby
Arrival


Aug 5, 2013 (Monday)


The multiple Infinity timelines are without a doubt the most controversial aspect
of Marathon and its story.

To some they are the worst forms of "irrelevant drivel", "impenetrable twaddle" and
"pseudo-intellectualism" that turns a great game into an "unplayable nightmare".

To others they are an obsession, to be mused over, sifted through, and debated in
the hope of understanding their intent.

Marathon Infinity elicits the same mixed emotions as perhaps Samuel R. Delany's 'Dhalgren'.

But I digress.

The Marathon Infinity timelines tend to get discussed in cycles, with each iteration
we seem to understand a little more, or a little less, depending on your point of view
or frame of reference.

Back in January 2011, Forrest of B.org began another cycle of discussion and
went on to produce another iteration of his Infinity timeline chart. This was a
more expansive vision of his previous charts.

Now in July 2013, the discussion has started again and Forrest has posted his
Infinity timeline chart... again.

But this time we're going to add it to the Story page... here.   In the hope that
we can break the cycle.

Humph. Hope, it is the quintessential human delusion, simultaneously the source
of your greatest strength, and your greatest weakness.


Aug 4, 2013 (Sunday)


PerseusSpartacus completes the Tour of Duty series for Marathon with Ingue Ferroque.

Here is the full list of the Tour of Duty posts in reverse chronological order.

Ingue Ferroque
Try again
Welcome to the Revolution...
Ain't Got Time Pfhor This...
Pfhoraphobia
Eupfhoria
Beware of Low-Flying Defense Drones...
Two Times Two Equals...
Unpfhorgiven
No Artificial Colors
Pfhor Your Eyes Only...
Neither High Nor Low
Habe Quiddam
Colony Ship For Sale, Cheap
Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire!
Shake Before Using...
Bob-B-Q
Blaspheme Quarantine
G4 Sunbathing
Cool Fusion
Smells Like Napalm, Tastes Like Chicken!
The Rose
Couch Fishing
Defend THIS!
Never Burn Money
Bigger Guns Nearby
Arrival


In a Story forum post, PerseusSpartacus writes:

Probably should've mentioned something.

Our first trip to the ship involves just one level:
16 - Pfhor Your Eyes Only

Our second trip involves two levels:
18 - Unpfhorgiven
19 - Two Times Two Equals...

Our third trip involves three levels:
21 - Eupfhoria
22 - Pfhoraphobia
23 - Ain't Got Time Pfhor This...

Very interesting. The number of levels in each trip is the same as the number of
trips we've done.

And of course, the fourth trip would invariably have Pfhor levels. ;)


And of course, he is right. In Marathon 2 when we go back to the Pfhor ship (Boomer)
it is indeed four consecutive levels:

14. If I Had a Rocket Launcher, I'd Make Somebody Pay
15. Sorry Don't Make It So
16. For Carnage, Apply Within
17. Begging For Mercy Makes Me Angry!!

Sometimes the tru7h is stranger than fiction.


Aug 3, 2013 (Saturday)


Happy 20th Anniversary.

This day 20 years ago Bungie released Pathways Into Darkness at Boston Macworld.
They sold 350 copies.

This day also marks the 20th anniversary of Bungie's entry into the First Person
Shooter genre. A genre that would lead them to Marathon, and eventually Halo and
world-wide fame.

Enjoy the day... and remember... from small beginnings come great things.


Martin continues the Tour of Duty series with Try again


Aug 2, 2013 (Friday)


The Rampancy Boys 'git some' on Habe Quiddam.
Warning this video contains unnecessary scenes of violence against Bobs.
Blackstar had this to say in his defence:

"Any Bob who runs, is a Simulacrum. Any Bob who stands still, is a
well-disciplined Simulacrum!"


PerseusSpartacus continues the Tour of Duty series with Welcome to the Revolution...


Also on the Story forum:

Total Carnage bug or feature?
When did Marathon Infinity start?
Digital masturbation
Antarctico takes on Try again Vidmaster style


July 30, 2013 (Tuesday)


How does the choice of difficulty level affect game play in Marathon 2 and Infinity?

Well in a Story forum post, Treellama points us to an interesting set of stats extracted
from the Marathon 2 source code. I've reprinted them here for posterity:


Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3. Antarctico explains how you can use the Transparency BCE
found on 'Try again' on "Ingue Ferroque". Here's what he had to say:

From personal experience, in Ingue Ferroque, in both the current beta and original,
playing on Total Carnage, a single invisibility power-up is sufficient to avoid
detection until you are (approximately) within 3-4X punching distance, which is
to say you can be detected, but you have to get almost right on top of the Pfhor
to trigger them. This is enough cover to skate past most of the fight in the first
ring, and then in the second ring, have just enough time on your cloak to run up
to the waiting projectile troopers, have them become just visible in the dark
from the shine of your player "glow", and grenade or rocket them while they are
napping. This works just fine in the beta, and I have done it in the original
Marathon more times than I could possibly count. :)

What happens if you pick up two Transparency BCEs on Try again? Antarctico explains:

I did a run where I picked up both invisibility power-ups, my weapons in hand got
doubly transparent, but there was no improvement in being detected or not by the
Pfhor - it worked just as well with one as with two.


Rampancy post Part 2 of their co-op tour of Colony Ship For Sale, Cheap.


Martin and PerseusSpartacus continue their Tour of Duty series with the following levels:

Beware of Low-Flying Defense Drones...
Eupfhoria
Pfhoraphobia
Ain't Got Time Pfhor This...


July 26, 2013 (Friday)


Rampancy post two further episodes in their co-op tour of Marathon:

Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire!
Colony Ship For Sale, Cheap  (Part 1)


In the on-going Tour of Duty series, PerseusSpartacus takes a break and Martin fills
his boots on Two Times Two Equals....


July 21, 2013 (Sunday)


In a Halo Waypoint interview with artist Craig Mullins, Craig had this to say about his
early work on Marathon:

In 1994, I think Marathon came out at the very end of the year. I remember playing it
over Christmas break. A few months later, I did some fan art. It circulated around
the net for a while and found its way to Bungie. They were working on Marathon 2
by then and asked me to make chapter screens for the new game. At this point, games
came on floppies, so no animations or cut scenes were possible. I think there were
ten chapters/levels in Marathon 2, so I did ten illustrations.

Ten illustrations?

How many chapter screens in Marathon 2? Well there are nine. But there is also a final
screen. Did Craig draw the Final Screen image? It's not like any of the other nine
illustrations in that it contains no characters from the game and is pretty nondescript.

Could there be a tenth (unused) chapter screen with Marathon 2 characters by Craig Mullins?


In a BBC News interview with artist Craig Mullins, Craig had this to say about his early
work on Marathon:

I had total and complete reign to do whatever I wanted. I wanted to expand the
universe of the game.


July 19, 2013 (Friday)


Narcogen and Blackstar continue their co-op journey through Marathon with Level 12 -
Shake Before Using... This video is the first to use chase cam footage.


On the Story forum:

The Suicide List
Last of the Vidmasters... or a new beginning?
Marapfhont updated


July 18, 2013 (Thursday)


PerseusSpartacus <perseusspartacus@gmail.com> continues his Tour of Duty with:

Neither High Nor Low
Pfhor Your Eyes Only...
No Artificial Colors
Unpfhorgiven


Narcogen and Blackstar take on one of the hardest levels in Marathon, namely Bob-B-Q.
Is having two fists better than one?


July 15, 2013 (Monday)


treellama reports that beta 2 of the new Aleph One has just been released. A number of
fixes have been made bringing this even closer to the original gaming experience.
But more testing is needed. Testers apply within.


A suicide trap on Bob-B-Q? Oh yes indeed. Spotted by President People in this
Story forum post. Is anymore keeping count? More than seven? More than seventeen?!!!


July 12, 2013 (Friday)


Thanks God it's... you Friday.

Narcogen and Blackstar continue their co-op journey through Marathon with Level 10 -
Blaspheme Quarantine. This one has everything - Hulk slaps, suicide traps and slomo taps
to the head. Yes folks, co-op Marathon just got a tad bit more personal.


Two suicide traps on The Rose? Yes indeed. One here and one there.


The first ever Vid film with the new Marathon beta?


July 9, 2013 (Tuesday)


PerseusSpartacus <perseusspartacus@gmail.com> continues his Tour of Duty with
Habe Quiddam. Another level by Jason Jones, complete with exploding Bobs.


Narcogen and Blackstar continue their co-op journey through Marathon with Level 9 -
G4 Sunbathing. With lines like: "Less commentary... more running for your life!"
this video is sure to entertain.


July 8, 2013 (Monday)


Beta Test THIS!

treellama <wolfy@treellama.org> is calling all you old-timers out there to get
your boots on and test the latest version of Aleph One which now supports...
wait for it... the original Marathon assets (map, shapes, sounds, physics files).

Some of the highlights of this version include:

Full support for Marathon sounds including permutations

A Marathon terminal parser, that reads the terminal from the
original engine, with layout updates including rectangles extracted
from the original engine

Numerous changes to support Marathon maps: fixes to exploration;
implementation of glue, superglue, and glue triggers; exploration
depends on the overhead map

Support for Marathon physics files, including careful analysis and
emulation of the original weapon timings and other behaviors; also,
grenade hopping/climbing

This is all designed to give you that original Marathon look and feel so sadly missed
over the last decade.

So why are beta testers needed? Well I'll let treellama explain:

We could really use the help of everyone familiar with Marathon in testing out this beta,
and finding all the things we missed. Also, everyone who isn't familiar has a new game to
play. The changes between this version and the one that came with Aleph One 1.0 are way
bigger than the changes from M1A1 to 1.0. Find yourself starting back.

"Find yourself starting back" indeed. Where's m'boots. :)

Post your observations, bugs or inconsistencies with the original Marathon on the Story
forum or at Sourceforce


July 7, 2013 (Sunday)


Happy Bungie Day!

The Seventh of the Seventh. Bungie's self proclaimed birthday.


Rampancy have put together a montage video of battle footage from Marathon set to a performance
of Carl Orff's "O Fortuna" from the opera "Carmina Burana". Who says we don't do culture? ;)


PerseusSpartacus <perseusspartacus@gmail.com> continues his Tour of Duty with
Colony Ship For Sale, Cheap. A level described by Jason Jones as a 'grevious sin'.
But is it his biggest 'sin'? Did Jason create a level that breaks Marathon convention?


July 6, 2013 (Saturday)


Narcogen and Blackstar continue their co-op journey through Marathon with Level 8 -
Cool Fusion. The video demonstrates the perils of doing co-op in a game
not designed for co-op play. Cool Concussion anyone?
And the good news is that the Rampancy Duo intend to film the complete Trilogy
in co-op style. :)


PerseusSpartacus <perseusspartacus@gmail.com> is back (after a rest) with his
Tour of Duty. This time he is taking on Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire!.
Find out why he doesn't like lava and doesn't speak C. ;)

This level contains the famous line Mjolnir Recon number 54 must stop... and
the cryptic #101111011110111100001# is is a '7'.
Want to know more? Then check out the The 10th military Mjolnir Mark IV cyborg section.

Will Perseus complete his Tour of Duty of the Trilogy?
Well he might be persuaded to do Marathon 2... but he's 'definitely not doing Infinity.' ;)


July 1, 2013 (Monday)


Narcogen and Blackstar continue their co-op journey through Marathon with Level 7 -
Smells Like Napalm, Tastes Like Chicken!. While Marathon was never designed for
co-op play this video shows you one of the advantages of playing with a partner,
namely the ease at which you can get the secret flamethrower. Oh and... the
flamethrower doesn't work against the Compilers, Blackstar. ;)

Some interesting things about this level:

Bungie colloquial referred to this level as 'Chicken'.
Want to know more about the origin of the level names? Then check the What's in a Name? section

Want to know more about the weird Chicken Term? Then check out the Chicken Term section.

This is another of those twisty maze-like levels beloved by Jason Jones.
Want to know who created what level? Then check out the Level Credits section.

Why did Leela choose to kill a large number of the Marathon's crew on this level with YOUR help?
Find out the answer... and more... on the The HoT List

And why did the Chicken cross the road?
Find out on one of Story page's seven secret pages.
And yes... they do exist. :)


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Page maintained by Hamish Sinclair Hamish.Sinclair123@gmail.com
Last updated Dec 31, 2013