(Mar-Apr 1997)

Apr 30, 1997
Steve Campbell <campbell@okla.net>, maintainer of the excellent Marathon Hyperarchive Midwest, has some exciting news on his Daily News page concerning the Marathon Trilogy Box Set. It's done and it's hot! Have you got your copy yet?

Brett Siler <brett111@halcyon.com> has agreed to become official stats keeper for the Battle of Brooklyn. Brett will be giving us an up-to-the-minute analysis on the state of play between the Brooklyn boys.

Brett writes:

I forgot to let you know about the suicide stats.

Weirdboi has 8 in 4 games; Wiggly has 8 in 4 games; Lilbuddha has 7 in 7 games; Emonkey has 5 in 4 games; and Don Juan has 4 in 5 games (the best suicide to 'games played' ratio).

There are 6 rounds left to be played, and from there, it is yet to be announced how the finals will be constructed or if there will be any at all.

Words were flying at the BoB#4 post-match press briefing. It's a "$**$ing travesty" screamed lilbuddha after watching a rerun of his match against emonkey. lilbuddha made the following official statement:

"that UN attack thing is a fluke... monkey, while his skills remain sharp... are no match for the enlightened mind of the buddha. (monkey sucks)"

Don King was unavailable for comment.

Kenneth Schalk <xorian@tiac.net> writes concerning the subliminal message on the CK on Infinity page at the Double Aught Software site. See the Story page here for details. Ken writes:

I noticed the one you put up the first time I watched CK's page. After you mentioned it, I went back and watched some more. I spotted one in the image which is at:

http://www.doubleaught.com/ckinfinity/Images/4layer.gif

Going through it frame by frame, there seem to be three blocks of text. One across the top which reads (in all caps):

The recollection was like this. Another boy had insulted him an run to his father and told him about it. His father let him talk a were not listening or he did not understand; and he took down

This definitely seems to be broken at the end of each of the three lines, but does seem to be fragments of one piece of text.

The second plock of text in in the lower left and reads (in large print):

joy!peff

The third block of text in in the lower right and reads (somewhat garbeled, and of questionable translation in a few places):

~ANOTHER~US~ONe
waTcHes WHeN FArwaits
10r0~Endit~for tImeAn
AND~GO~ENqO~don'tdieE

As the animation approaches the end of it's loop, all but the "don'tdie" fades away.

Added three more Marathon ads to the Bungie's Marathon Ads section of Facts and puzzling things about... . These were sent in by a person who wishes to remain anonymous. If you have any Marathon ads please send them into the Story page.

The Marathon's Story page is still looking for Marathon memorabilia, Bungie newsletters, Bungie MacWorld press info, Bungie ads, Bungie letters, Bungie souvenirs, Bungie staff pics, Bungie conference transcripts, you name it. All anonymous donations gratefully accepted.

Apr 29, 1997
Brett Siler <brett111@halcyon.com> writes:

I'm a baseball fan so stats come naturally. Here's what I have for 'Battle For Brooklyn'.

Although the various contenders have played varying numbers of matches (from 4 to 7), Weirdboi is clearly in the lead, with a record of 4-0 (Wins/Losses) and 77 kills, including the most kills in a game (22 against Lilbuddha in Round 3).

Interestingly, there was a tie between Wiggly and Don Juan in Round 3 and it is yet to be seen how that will be scored or whether there will be a rematch or not. Also, some matches seem to have been stopped before ten minutes elapsed. These were in Round 4, involving Emonkey against Lilbuddha and Wiggly. If this was one player forfeiting or not is unclear.

Don Juan (72 kills) is 2-2 with a tie, Emonkey (58 kills) is 2-2, Lilbuddha (94 kills) is 3-4 and Wiggly (54 kills) is 0-3 with a tie.

I believe the shortness in some films is due to a bug in the game rather than a player forfeiting... but you never know. ;-)

The scoring system has yet to be ironed out with the Brooklyn Boys, suffice to say it will be a complicated matter involving calculus and the number seven. Watch out for special spot prizes such as "The Suicide Queen Award" for the person who notches up the most suicides and the "The Sniping Bitch Award" for the person who hangs out on ledges alot. ;-)

For those of you who have enquired about the subliminal message, or should I say messages (apparently there are a few), on the CK on Infinity page at the Double Aught Software site I have taken the liberty of extracting the one I was referring to and slowing it down. You can see it here. Somewhere in the heavens...

Mattias Holm <t96holmm@ava.taby.se> writes concerning the name Mjolnir. See the The 10th military Mjolnir Mark IV cyborg section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Thanks to Chris Camacho <christo@flash.net> for sending in a large format Infinity path flowchart, in color no less. Now there are no excuses for getting lost. Though if memory serves me well I think there are a number of secret pathways still left off this chart. ;-) See the Where Am I section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Interesting to note that the most recent version of the Marathon Spoiler Guide 3.0 at http://pinky.wtower.com/spoiler/index.shtml has now dropped all reference to the switch under the lava on All Roads Lead To Sol. Strange stuff. See the The Switch on Sol section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Apr 28, 1997
Double Aught Software and Don King Promotions proudly present:

emonkey takes to the air in UN Attack and shows that Skinny Buddha Dude just who is Kingmonkey at DA. Seems the monkeyman rules the air! Riding on a wave emonkey dukes it out with wiggly on Reason. Asked whether this was a grudge match for all the dishing at the hands of the bold one, emonkey replied:

"don't mess with monkey... make him mad... he comes back stronger!"

Finally there is the 3rd and final wave clash between don juan and lilbuddha. These matches have been close but the final outcome is conclusive!

Apr 27, 1997
Many thanks to Cindy Hoffa <cynho@earthlink.net> for sending in three historically interesting AOL conference transcripts. The first is an Inside Mac Games Conference with Alexander Seropian, CEO of Bungie Software, and dates from the 17th February 1995. See the Blasts from the Past section of Facts and puzzling things about... for the full conference transcript.

Soon to come. A very early AOL conference with Bungie concerning Pathways Into Darkness dating from the 27th August 1993. And a very special treat - a conference chat with a Troubled Soul called Randolf! Lots of neat names in that one. ;-)

If you have access to any Marathon or Bungie related conference transcripts the Story page would like to get its dirty hands on these. Search those archives folks and send them in. :-)

Has any one else noticed the subliminal message on the CK on Infinity page at the Double Aught Software site? Somewhere in the heavens...

Apr 26, 1997
Ken Schalk <xorian@tiac.net> writes:

Just a Quick note about the "weirding way". In the 'Terminology of the Imperium' appendix in the back of 'Dune,' one can find this definition:

WEIRDING: idiomatic: that which partakes of the mystical or witchcraft

It is more correct to say that the Paul Muad'Dib's unique ability to fight was referred to as the "weirding way" by the Fremen rather than that he "has the power of the weirding way." The Fremen were the free tribes of Arrakis (the planet Dune) who lived in the desert. They were fierce warriors themselves, yet when Paul first came into contact with them, he managed to defend himself quite well. Very soon thereafter, he was challenged to single combat by one of the Fremen, whom he dispatched. The Fremen were impressed. They referred to his fighting as the "weirding way" because it seemed a bit beyond their understanding: impossibly good.

It's also worth noting that Paul's fighting ability was the combined result of a number of unusual influences. First, he was the heir of the ruling lord of a noble house. This meant there was a lot of support staff around to train him in many things, not the least of which were military tactics and strategy as well as single combat. Secondly, his mother (Jessica) was a member of a member of the Bene Gesserit, an ancient school of mental and physical training. Among other things, members of this almost exclusively female society were trained in extremely fine control of individual voluntary muscles, giving them exceptional control of their bodies, striking precision, balance, etc. In a rather unorthodox manner, Paul's mother taught this and many other things usually reserved for the Bene Gesserit to her son.

Jack Miller <jack@radionics.com> writes concerning the uplink chip on "Hang Brain". See The Uplink Chip on Hang Brain section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Any one notice the subliminal message on the CK on Infinity page at the Double Aught Software site? Somewhere in the heavens...

Apr 25, 1997
Rich Williams <opus@world.std.com> writes:

When I first read the first terminal on "A Converted Church in Venice, Italy" the word "Hagakure" caught my eye:

We've been cut off from the surface, and Pfhor dropships have entered the cone.  Send all fusion units to the towers to harass Pfhor units assaulting the field power generators.  Hagakure Base is overrun, and the last transmission was over twenty minutes ago.  All transporter relays have been destroyed, and the network is about to be compromised.

This only caught my eye because Kage-Maru, my favorite character of the Sega arcade fighting game series, Virtua Fighter, was born and raised in a village called Hagakure, and fought a Hagakure style of Ju-Jujitsu. These names were really fictional, and/or just honorary...the VF2 FAQ, in the Kage section, points this out:

"Be aware that Hagakure is not a village or school but a fascicle manual for samurai. The Hagakure (translated as In the Shadow of Leaves) has 1,300 short anecdotes and reflections. It is completed in 1716 and is considered as one of the classics on bushido. Its first verse is: "The way of the bushi is to die."

Chia Jin Ngee's (the writer of the VF2 faq) description of the Hagakure sums it up pretty well. It's one of the many famous philisophical texts that deal with martial arts and war, like The Art of War and the Tao of Jeet Kune Do. And I guess many of the philosophies in the Hagakure could apply to Marathon, especially in net games.

Indeed... it may equally apply to something else...

Chris Geisel <chrisg@doubleaught.com> co-author of the Marathon Infinity story makes a quick comment concern today's submission on the name Hagakure. Chris writes:

Re Hagakure. The translation of Hagakure that I've seen is somewhat different. It is 'hidden under the leaves'. Which is why I thought it was an appropriate title for the Bob's secret base of Lh'owon.

Dennis Taylor <dptaylor@post.cis.smu.edu> writes concerning the uplink chip on "Hang Brain". See The Uplink Chip on Hang Brain section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Paul Blackburn <pblackburn@alumnos.grange.cl> writes concerning the number seven. See The Number Seven section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Apr 24, 1997
Jack Miller <jack@radionics.com> writes concerning the Marathon Stickers. See the Blasts from the Past section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Tyson Green <tgreen@junction.net> writes concerning you and your destiny. See the You section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Asked to comment on the non-appearance of emonkey at Round #3 of the Battle of Brooklyn wiggly replied:

the monkey's off his game. he's been rattled by the upstart, lilbuddha

Concerning speculation that the DA Crew were moving to bigger offices to accommodate their passion for non-stop net carnage wiggly responded:

yeah, this week we're going to a site with lots of fast macs on a fast connection, then the fur's gonna fly... monkey fur, that is...

Jim Mitchell <BobJam&aol.com> writes concerning the Battle of Brooklyn and asks

What I didn't catch were the rules. How many games will be played and in what format? Will there be finals?

Rules?! The rules are simple:

Rule #1   Two men enter... one man leaves!
Rule #2   No use of cheat codes.
Rule #3   No punching below the belt.

Perrin Haley <phaley@sirius.com> writes:

...if America's Funniest Marathon Replays didn't exist before, they certainly do now. For example, I nearly fell out of my chair laughing as I saw "weird"boi whuup the ever-loving-crap out of lilbuddha in round three of The Battle of Brooklyn. Now if only he would go public with the secret of that "weirding way" thing...

Apr 23, 1997
Matt Soell <matt@bungie.com> writes concerning the fate of America's Funniest Marathon Replays

Whatever happened to America's Funniest Marathon Replays?

is simply this: We Didn't Laugh Once.

Sad but true. There's no reason to assemble a collection of "funny" replays if they don't engender some giggles.

I guess our sense of humor is a bit too sophisticated. Or is it lowbrow? I always get those confused.

Scott Jaeger <pepino@indy.net> writes concerning another connection between Pathways Into Darkness and Marathon. See the Pathways into Darkness section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Jim Mitchell <BobJam&aol.com> writes concerning another connection between Pathways Into Darkness and Marathon. See the Pathways into Darkness section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Apr 22, 1997
Miguel Chavez <JMChavez@aol.com> writes:

...it should be noted that "weirding way" comes from Dune, and that Dune has surfaced as an influence to the Marathon Mythos. For proof, you need look only as far back as the March 15, 1997 "What's New" entry here at the Marathon's Story website. I believe the novel's protagonist, Paul Muad'dib, has the power of the "weirding way".

Jim Mitchell <BobJam&aol.com> writes concerning another connection between Pathways Into Darkness and Marathon. See the new Pathways into Darkness section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Ajay Ayyagari <nirvana@halcyon.com> writes:

I know your page isn't a Myth page but it seems like the best place to send this email to. Okay, I was watching a movie last night called "The Dark Crystal" ever heard of it? It's a Jim Henson movie about how forces of light and dark have been separated for 1000 years and a prophecy must be fulfilled for those forces to become one again (in the end they evil/good guys kinda fuse together and make special beings). The prophecy is that a single hero must heal the dark crystal with a shard, blah, blah, blah the story goes on...Also in the story it says that every 1000 years a great conjunction will occurr that decides the fate of the next 1000 years...sounding familiar? *cough*...myth...*cough* What you think?

For the non-Myth followers among you the following text was taken from Bungie's Myth page:

The myth of the story centers around a deity which appears in this world in cycles of a thousand years. During one cycle the deity will appear as a Savior; in the next, as a Destroyer. At the beginning of Myth, he has returned in the guise of Destroyer, with the Fallen Lords, a group of resurrected and powerful generals. These beings and their legions of undead and spirit forces rise up to destroy the living beings of this world, while the player controls the living and tries to stop the onslaught.

Apr 21, 1997
Double Aught Software and Don King Promotions proudly present:

Saturday night's alright for fighting...

lilbuddha: toolboi... your days are over
lilbuddha: you are over the hill
weirdboi: buddha am i going to have to meet you alone in a map of your choosing and give you a whuuping
lilbuddha: how about tonight weirdboi? can you put your money where your mouth is?
weirdboi: colin i'll spot you the 200 megahertz machine
weirdboi: and i'll print something in the background of mine
weirdboi: or i can play with the wacom tablet and only 3 fingers
lilbuddha: hey weirdboi, you don't have to do me any favors
weirdboi: i won't i'll just make sure that the score makes you stop talking
weirdboi: and from now on the normally unorthodox toolboi will only be known as: weirdboi
weirdboi: i'm gonna use the weirding way on your punk a$$

Round #3 of the Battle of Brooklyn is an all Sands Serif event containing three first wave clashes between weirdboi & lilbuddha, don juan & toolboi, and wiggly & don juan.

Don King was unavailable for comment concerning toolboi's use of the so-called "weirding way". It is understood that protests have already been lodged.

Apr 20, 1997
Yeah right! Made some changes. :-)

Ryan Best <bestr@hotmail.com> points out that since we are a cyborg why is the title of the second level of Infinity called "Rise Robot Rise". After all that is us rising up on the platform... isn't it?

Jim Mitchell <James.Mitchell@valley.net> writes concerning the function of the uplink chip on "Hang Brain". See The Uplink Chip on Hang Brain section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Apr 19, 1997
Steve Wood <smwood@ccs.neu.edu> sends in another blast from the past. Read for the first time the REAL unedited Jan 1995 eWorld Conference Transcript! See the Blasts from the Past section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Jonathan Westin <westin@lerum.mail.telia.com> sends in another vidcam pic.

Apr 18, 1997
The Marathon's Story page now comes in two flavors - Feel the Noise and The Sound of Silence. While alot of people liked the Marathon background music not everyone appreciated it. Indeed one individual from a certain gaming company attempted to bribe the Story page into removing it! As a compromise you can now choose to listen to the background music or not.

Steve Wood <smwood@ccs.neu.edu> asks:

What ever happened to America's Funniest Marathon Replays?

Steve refers to the ad in the Marathon manual (page 20) in which Bungie asked people to send in their funniest replays from Marathon. Apparently Bungie were to make a collection of the replays and if yours was used you'd receive a free T-shirt!

Whatever happened to America's Funniest Marathon Replays?

Apr 17, 1997
toolboi lays it on the line:

hey hamish: i heard what those punks were saying about cheat keys.. i can say only this. if the standard movement keys are cheat keys, maybe those guys should learn some more of them like "torso twist" so that next time we play they won't think i'm cheating when i kick their asses because every death is a giant excercise in disbelief or maybe they think i'm cheating when i jump their rockets by rocketing myself over them? or maybe they think i'm cheating when i fist them to death when they have guns and i don't.

Speaking candidly toolboi admits:

actually there is a cheat code that i use all the time in netplay. it's shift-option F9. it resets the keys back to the default setting while you play. it rules. i'm not lying it's totally undocumented hardly anyone knows about it.

What use is it? toolboi explains:

it's handy if you sit down at the puter and someone was just playing who uses pussy keys like caps lock.

Don King was unavailable for comment concerning the use, by some Brooklyn fighters, of "pussy keys like caps lock".

Todd Bangerter <tabanger@husc.harvard.edu> sends in another blast from the past. A midnight walk on Lh'owon. See the Blasts from the Past section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Added the original Marathon box sticker to the Blasts from the Past section of Facts and puzzling things about.... Yes this is an original sticker! Accept no fakes or tacky reproductions.

Apr 16, 1997
Some highlights from BoB#2 post-match press briefing:

wiggly comments on his defeat at the hands of toolboi:

wiggly: that was luck!
wiggly: he designed the game--you know he's got all those cheat codes...
wiggly: it was just damn luck and cheat codes!

How did lilbuddha feel about toolboi's alleged use of cheat codes?:

lilbuddha: for real, I'm going to beat the toolator by hook or by crook.
lilbuddha: greg is good, and i mean good, but he's rusty.. fighters from his generation are all washed up...
lilbuddha: so i'm going to whip his wrinkly old man's bottom.

toolboi was unavailable for comment concerning the allegation of using cheat codes.
Don King was also unavailable for comment.

However your intrepid reporter dug deep into the Marathon X files to bring you this startling revelation. In an Inside Mac Games (IMG) interview in 1995 Jason Jones, lead programmer at Bungie Software, admitted:

Jones: There is one bug in the game which is kind of a secret Vid-Master cheat that you can even use in the game network game. It was just an oversight.
IMG: So what's the cheat?
Jones: I'm not going to tell you (laughing), because you (pointing to me) can use it in the network game.

Yes folks no secrets are safe from the Marathon's Story page!

Congratulations to Marathon Central <http://www.marathon.org> maintained by Mark McWilliams <markm@capella.grayphics.com> for being listed in MacFormat's 50 essential Mac Web pages, along with the likes of MacInTouch, Info-Mac, Macintosh Resource Page, MacWeek, MacSense, TidBITS. MacFormat, which celebrates it's 50th issue, is one of the UK's best selling Macintosh magazines (they claim the best!). What is interesting about MacFormat's top 50 essential web sites is that while nine game sites are listed (including Inside Mac Games, Mac Gamer's Ledge, Mac Game Resources, Happy Puppy's Mac Games) Marathon Central is the only site devoted to ONE game - Marathon. Yes... Marathon Rules! But you all knew that anyway. Marathon Central - the Mecca of Marathoning. Long may it last!

Chad Poland <proedge@mindspring.com> kindly sends in another Bungie magazine ad. See the Bungie's Marathon Ads section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Steve Wood <smwood@ccs.neu.edu> sends in another Blast from the Past. The mysterious Marathon 20/10 Scenario Pack. See the Blasts from the Past section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Send in your Blasts from the Past folks... the Marathon's Story page wants your Marathon memorabilia, Bungie newsletters, Bungie MacWorld press info, Bungie ads, Bungie letters, Bungie souvenirs, Bungie staff pics, Bungie underwear...

Apr 15, 1997
Double Aught Software and Don King Promotions proudly present:

Watch in stunned disbelief as lilbuddha crushes both emonkey and ydnar in a back-to-back one-on-one carnage extravaganza. Who can stop the CK juggernaut? In the third match of the 2nd round of the Battle of Brooklyn wiggly takes on the mighty toolboi. Dueling just doesn't get any hotter. Are you keeping score?

Nostalgia trip time folks. Todd Bangerter <tabanger@husc.harvard.edu> kindly sends in a snippet of Marathon history. See the new Blasts from the Past section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Another vidcam pic but with a difference. Thanks to Chris Camacho <christo@flash.net> for sending this little gem in.

Scott Jaeger <pepino@indy.net> appears to have solved the identity of the mystery man in the vidcam pics. But what's in that room?

Apr 14, 1997
For some time now Bungie have been producing high quality Marathon ads in selected magazines in the US. These ads never seem to appear on the web and if like me you don't have access to US magazines you can miss these amusing Marathon tidbits. Thanks to Chad Poland <proedge@mindspring.com> the Story page is able to show you the first of hopefully a number of Bungie's Marathon ads. See the new Bungie's Marathon Ads section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Apr 13, 1997
Over heard at the BoB#1 post-match press briefing:

lilbuddha: are you saying i'm a sniping bitch?
lilbuddha: i'm going to have to punish you for maligning me on the story page.
lilbuddha: you're dead mister, dead i'm saying
wiggly: so, you think your kung fu's pretty good, eh?
lilbuddha: i beat you.
lilbuddha: you're a dead man.
wiggly: we'll see. i've been studying your technique, and i've found a flaw.

Who will win the next wiggly vs. lilbuddha one-on-one carnage duel? Has wiggly really discovered lilbuddha's Achilles Heel? Or will lilbuddha inflict another humiliation on uncle wiggly?

Don King was unavailable for comment.

Apr 12, 1997
With the first round of The Battle of Brooklyn just over the post-mortems begin:

wiggly comments on his match against lilbuddha:

Colin got about 6-7 kills on me where he wasn't moving, just waiting for me to come up the stairs on Reason. But now I know better.

toolboi reflects on his upcoming battle with ydnar:

Randy likes to hang out on ledges and jump on your head after letting himself go blank on the motion sensor... so you can't tell where he is.

Concerning the allegations of match fixing and illegal betting toolboi had this to say:

You think I'm gonna take a dive, you're sadly mistaken.

Don King was unavailable for comment.

Dan Rudolph <rudolph.family@mcleod.net> unearths some more Marathon Mysteries. Dan writes:

Pfhorte (as far as I know) named everything correctly. Based on this, the first two unused slots in a Marathon 1 Physics Model were originally intended for major and minor hounds. 3 and 4 were armageddons. 5 through 8 were the alien people. This explains all the unused slots in the physics model.

Alien people?! Dan writes:

In Pfhorte they are as follows:

Alien Person
Alien Science Person
Alien Security Person
Alien Engineering

Dan also points out that in the data fork of Marathon the cheat codes still appear. Ah! but is this list complete? Are there more and what were they? If you know the full list of cheats codes and what they did then send them in and we'll add them here. One point though... legend has it that there were more than 2 times 7 codes!

More vidcam pics here.

Apr 11, 1997
Double Aught Software and Don King Promotions proudly present:

Who really rules on Union Street? The contenders:

Greg Kirkpatrick (aka: toolboi, toolator, carnator)
Chris Geisel (aka: wiggly, uncle wiggly)
Randy Reddig (aka: ydnar, don juan)
David Longo (aka: emonkey)
Colin Kawakami (aka: lilbuddha, ckwon, master blaster)

Is the legendary toolboi past his prime?
Is the great ydnar overrated?
Is mild meek Colin really mild meek Colin?
Is emonkey king monkey?
Is wiggly really their uncle?

As they say on Union St. - "It ain't over till the 'Lazyboy' sings!"

Eric Anderson <brittain@ellensburg.com> writes concerning the number seven. See The Number Seven section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Christopher Norehad <cnorehad@gonzaga.edu> sent in the following mail from Bungie's Webmaster concerning the prize for the vidcam competition:

Date: Thu, 10 Apr 97 11:31:34 -0500
From: Webmaster <webmaster@bungie.com>
To: cnorehad@barney.gonzaga.edu
Subject: Re: Bungie Cam Contest Prize

>What was the prize for identifying the shirt of the Bungie employee?
>A free Marathon Trilogy product?

Got it in one.



Cheers,

The Bungie Webmaster

The online zine MacCentral contains some late breaking news about a new Marathon scenario. It looks hot! Let's hope it comes out on the Marathon Trilogy CD.

More interesting information. Is your Marathon map, utility, etc on the Pfhrenzy 2 CD? If so you are eligible for a 50% discount on Bungie's Marathon Trilogy Box Set. Check the Pfhrenzy page here for details.

Apr 10, 1997
Steve Wood <smwood@ccs.neu.edu> points out that the idea of a person surviving the closure of the universe to become a God in the next one is not new. Steve specifically refers to the origin of Galactus, a Marvel Comic character, as an example.

So who was Galactus? Galactus first appeared in the Marvel Comic series The Fantastic Four (#48-50). The "Galactus trilogy" was one of the best of the Stan Lee/Jack Kirby/Joe Sinnot collaborations, which apart from Galactus also introduced the Silver Surfer.The following is taken from the book "Marvel Universe" by Peter Sanderson. Galactus was once a mortal named Galen, the last survivor of a dying universe that preceded our own. The story goes that Galen along with others of his race in an attempt to escape their collapsing universe journeyed to the very centre...

that place where time and space ended as all things returned from whence they had so long since come.

Only Galen survived and became the entity known as Galactus in the next universe created from the Big Bang. While Galactus appeared as a humanoid giant he was not humanoid but rather a force of nature, perceived by members of each sentient race in its own image.

Scott Jaeger <pepino@indy.net> writes concerning Marathon 2 sounds:

Take a look in the snd Resource of the Sounds file of the Marathon 2 Preview. It contains some nice Doug Zartman sounds not found in the release. One of the Simulacrum Bob sounds is interesting. Doug screams "I'M NOT ASSIMILATED!", so now we know that these Bobs are officially "assimilates" as well.

I used the Preview sounds file on the Pathways CD. The normal Bob sounds have an ID of 214xx, and the bank of the more interesting, removed sounds have an ID of 14xx. The "I'm not assimilated!" sound had the ID of 1494.

Ah the mystery of the missing Doug Zartman sounds has been revealed.

Many thanks to Jimmy Mitchell <jmitch@mail.erskine.edu> for sending in another Bungie vidcam pic showing more of the motely crew as they begin to assemble outside the headmaster's door. Spot your favourites here. The winning picture of the full class can be found at Bungie's page here. If you have an interesting Bungie vidcam pic send it in and we'll add it to the page.

Apr 9, 1997
Ever wonder who won the Waldo World Arena net game that automatically plays when you leave Marathon idle for awhile? Wonder no more! Here is the Postgame Carnage Report.

Apr 8, 1997
Here is a screenshot of part of the sounds file from an early Marathon beta. You'll will note that the sounds in those days were given official names. Makes for interesting viewing.

Apr 7, 1997
Ajay Ayyagari <nirvana@halcyon.com> writes:

On your webpage for April 6th you asked what happens to the player at the end of Marathon Infinity. Well, ydnar already told me, remember? You become a god.

Yes indeed! This was added to the You Section sometime ago. But...

Christopher Norehad <cnorehad@gonzaga.edu> writes:

From the end of Marathon Infinity where we are looking at the final screen. One of the lines is "Now, in the quantum moment before the closure" or something like that. Isn't this an indicator that somehow we survived till the closure of the universe?

Yes the final screen would suggest that both Durandal and the Player survive to see the very point of collapse, that one moment in time, when all become one. Escaping this point would potentially allow the survivor to become God in the next Universe created after the closure. This is what Durandal meant when he said Escape will make me God on "Colony Ship For Sale, Cheap". Yet by Durandal's calculation the closure would not occur until T-Minus 15.193792102158E+9 years or thereabouts.

So what actually happens to the player at the very end of Infinity?

Sean Savage <savagem@sparc.isl.net> writes:

Bernard Grunow was right. The Bloodhound Gang was from "3-2-1 Contact". I don't know about Steve Wood, they might have been on "Electric Company" as well, but "321C" was one of my favorite shows when I was in Kindergarten. I know this stuff.

Apr 6, 1997
Bungie announcies the winners of the Marathon Map Making Competition. You can get the details here

Ben Semmler <semmm@aol.com> writes concerning the mystery of the terminal dates and times. See the Dates section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Greg Downing <downin1@mindspring.com> asks what happened to Tycho at the end of Infinity?

We might ask the same question of the player?

The nova was successfully contained, the Pfhor were routed and fleeing the system, the S'pht were packing their bags and vacating their slowly dying system, the so-called reborn Durandal-S'pht/Jjaro entity appeared to be heading off with the S'pht to help them carve another paradise out of the void. And us?

To you, we are deeply grateful, and release what little hold we might, as Durandal, have had on your soul.

Go.

Go where? I'm standing on a Jjaro space station freezing my butt off... where am I supposed to GO?

Here is an interesting Inside Mac Games 'Gametalk' article. Is Bungie making a mistake by not continuing the Marathon series or is it time for them to move on to something else? You can read the responses here

Apr 5, 1997
Double Aught Software and Don King Promotions proudly present:

More details to follow... watch this space!

It's ALIVE! Yes it's true... Jimmy Mitchell <jmitch@mail.erskine.edu> sends in the first vidcam pic from Bungie's Hall Monitor showing LIFE! The Story page has received numerous screenshots of Hall Posers, indeed we understand that certain individuals have taken to mooning infront of the camera in the early hours. Grab that shot and you could be famous! Grab the cleaning lady and... you'll go to jail!

Forrest Cameranesi <Pfhorrest@aol.com> writes concerning the number seven. See The Number Seven section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Apr 4, 1997
Don King Promotions presents Ydnar's Revenge

Three net films of one-on-one pavement-chewing carnage. Randy Reddig (don juan) vs. Colin Kawakami (lilbuddha) - the return match. Two men enter one man leaves. You will not see films like these anywhere else on the net. You can get them here. Note you need the net map pack Coriolis Loop to see them. You can get it directly from Double Aught's site here.

Soon to be released - CK Strikes Back. Sewage wrestling like you've never seen it!

In the pipeline - Toolboi Takes a Dive!

Remember folks:"It ain't over till the 'Lazyboy' sings!"

James Head <jhead@mail.usyd.edu.au> writes concerning Tycho Brahe and the number seven. See The Number Seven section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Thanks to Chris Norehad <cnorehad@gonzaga.edu> and Miguel Chavez <JMChavez@aol.com> for both pointing out that Bungie are running a vid cam competition. Now you know the real reason why everything takes 2 weeks... there's nobody there!

Miguel Chavez <JMChavez@aol.com> also writes concerning the "Jingle Bells" track on the Marathon 2 CD. See the Marathon Music section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Apr 3, 1997
Hot news just in. Marathon Central <http://www.marathon.org> maintained by Mark McWilliams <markm@capella.grayphics.com> hits Big Time! The May issue of The Net, an Internet magazine, has a review on your favorite Marathon haunt. Marathon Central - the Mecca of Marathoning. You can read about it here. But who is Figidman? Another Marathon Mystery perhaps? ;-)

Mike Gaines <starman@cnj.digex.net> writes concerning the names of the Marathon music tracks. See the Marathon Music section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Chris Camacho <christo@flash.net> points out that in the recently published 4th book in Arthur C. Clarke's 2001 series - "3001: The Final Odyssey" - the minds of AI HAL 9000 and human Dave Bowman are downloaded to a single "peta-byte" chip. Sound familar? The result? Well we won't spoil it for you...

Concerning Clarke's 4th book a reviewer for the online zine Science Fiction Weekly wrote:

As philosophy, 3001 is intriguing, maybe even profound. As a novel, it's an anticlimactic end to a saga that began -- and probably should have ended -- with 2001.

Apr 2, 1997
Simon Brownlee <simon.brownlee@jrc.it>, the present maintainer of the Marathon HyperArchive Northwest, provides some interesting information. Apparently while searching through ancient IRC #marathon logs for Marathon tidbits he came across reference to the fact that the Marathon music tracks had all been given official names. He came across only two named tracks however:

The music used for "Arrival" (Track 07) was called "Leela" and "Bigger Guns Nearby" (Track 08) was called "Flowers In Heaven".

What further Marathon Mysteries lie in the IRC #marathon files?

Somethings refuse to die. Added additional text to the The Red Sand section of Facts and puzzling things about... .

Brandon Seifert <looney@mosquitonet.com> points out that the Bloodhound Gang got their name from the detectives on the Electric Company, not 321 Contact.

Steve Wood <smwood@ccs.neu.edu> points out that the Electric Company was a PTV series intended to help teach basic reading skills to slow readers in second, third, and fourth grade, as a derivation of Sesame Street.

Apr 1, 1997
Another Marathon mystery is solved. Randall Shaw <rms8254@imap1.asu.edu> opened his Note Pad and BOOM a

System error #25 at FFC9747A _Jackson

As every Marathon Head knows this is a line from a terminal on "Never Burn Money"

~~hen she had it just so the room flickered and tore, bending
into somewhere else: ~~~ffs`~~~~f~~~[system error #25 at
_Jackson]~~~~%*|\]~``se which she caused to be consumed by an
ashless fire.

<Never Burn Money (Terminal 4)>

Randall explains that all he did was:

connect via ot/ppp 1.1.2, open emailer, open ircle, read mail message from seig, talk in irc, open mesage from seig and then copy all the mail, then opened notepad... second goes by before i get a chance to do anything and it pops up macsbug with error

You can read the gory details in his MacsBug's log here. We think this Macintosh error is rather obscure. If you know what it means let us know.

Wow the lines are buzzing tonight. Less than 30 minutes and we have an answer to the Macintosh error - System error #25 at FFC9747A _Jackson. Chad Poland <proedge@mindspring.com> quotes from the Apple Tech Info Library:

The meaning of System Error 25 is often listed as "out of memory". It is usually an indication that the stack has temporarily overrun the heap and the computer should be restarted.

The _Jackson is an abbreviated label for _JacksonPollack. Jackson Pollack was the development name for the ColorQuickDraw project and this area of ROM contains routines of Color QuickDraw.

Full details can be found here.

Thanks to Colin Kawakami <colink@inch.com> for sending in the first of three net films in the long running series of "Ydnar's Most Embarrassing Moments". You can get them here. You need the net map pack Coriolis Loop to see these. You can get it directly from Double Aught's site here. Stay tuned for more in the series.

Mike S. points out that he saw the same Marathon screenshot at the top of the page in an early MacMall catalog (Volume 48). If you have a copy the Story page would like to get a better version than the one above.

Also if you have a copy of the screenshot that was published in MacWeek Dec 5th 1994 the Story page would like to get a copy of this as well.

Mar 31, 1997
Here is some information I wasn't aware of until yesterday. The Marathon Trilogy Box Set will contain the Pfhrenzy 2 CD compiled by Australian Nik Burns. What is Pfhrenzy 2? Well you can read about it here. So not only will Bungie's Maps CD ROM contain all the entries to the Marathon Map Making Competition but also a large number of other maps and utilities.

Todd Bangerter <tabanger@husc.harvard.edu> writes concerning the Hunter's howl:

In the M1 beta (not the one with the howling PiD monsters) that was leaked (stolen from the hotel room?) in Sept. 1994, the Hunter's howling sound was originally made by . . . the Fighters! That early beta had the Mars Needs Women level with lots of Fighters running around howling. When the release came out, I was surprised to hear that familiar howling coming from the Hunters.

So originally the Fighters made howling noises. The mystery continues...

In the official Marathon 2 specs (widely available on the net) under the damage types there is reference to _damage_hound_claws along with _damage_hulk_slap. As Hulks never appeared in Marathon 2 this reference must be a legacy from Marathon. So is _damage_hound_claws a legacy from Marathon? Note _damage_yeti_claws are referenced separately.

Waseem Malhi <smalhi@Bayou.UH.EDU> writes suggesting that the Lookers may have been called Lookers because of their large number of eyes.

Waseem also goes onto to say:

I recently downloaded the Coriolis Loop network pack from Double Aught. And there is also a mystery about the last level. The map file contains 18 levels confirmed by using Forge, but when you use the command option cheat it only lets you select levels 1-17 even though that last level is talked about in the Read Me file!

Why only 17 levels if you play solo? 17!

Here's an interesting post on alt.games.marathon from Colin Kawakami, a graphic artist who worked on Marathon Infinity. The post is in response to his "CK on Infinity" section at Double Aught's home page.

From: colink@inch.com (colink)
Newsgroups: alt.games.marathon
Subject: Re: What's www.duality.net
Date: 30 Mar 1997 21:45:30 GMT
Organization: Digital Telemedia Inc.
Lines: 41
Message-ID: <colink-3003971649440001@dyna214.dialup.dti.net>
References: <333C8EE4.30AA@flash.net> <333D45D1.165B@mcleod.net>
<Pfhusion's_not-2903972244380001@spk-76.cet.com>
NNTP-Posting-Host: dyna214.dialup.dti.net


> But what's the point of CK on infinity? It's a bunch of pfhunky writing.
> What for?
> 
> -- 

I perpetrated ck on infinity, and was responsible for alot of the alien
terminal graphics that were visited upon the player throughout the course
of the game...

As for the point, you might as well ask what the point of the whole
doubleaught site is, or the point of the whole web for that matter...

It's pretty much just a bunch of pretty pictures and text.

although I'll be the first to admit that nothing about ck on infinity is
informative, i think that it's worth a download...

As for duality... hehe. I'm not employed by doubleaught, so you can't take
my word for anything... but as a third party (ie no one is paying me) I
can say that what I've seen concerning duality so far makes my mouth water
in anticipation.

oh, and I'm making a collection of films, made in the home that ydnar of
doubleaught and i share, called "Ydnar's Most Embarrassing Moments". Randy
ranks easily in the top fifteen marathon players in the world, and
routinely kicks my bottom up and down the convex polygons of our favorite
virtual worlds, but when I manage to sneak a win in... I save it like gold
in a petty fashion.

If anyone would like to see these films of me kicking the torso-twisting
little brat's butt, then... well my email doesn't work, but I check this
newsgroup fairly frequently, so just ask.

--colin
"lilbuddha" & "ckwon"
...after death he proceeds to the next world
bearing in mind the subtle impressions of his deeds;
and after reaping the harvest of his deeds,
he returneth to this world of action. Thus he who
hath desire continueth subject to rebirth.

Mar 30, 1997
Alex Rosenberg <alexr@bungie.com> of Bungie Software writes:

Jimmy Mitchell is correct in recognizing that "The Bloodhound Gang" is the name of a band, and Bernard Grunow recognizes what was undoubtedly the inspiration for their name (given that they did a song called "K.I.D.S. Incorporated" on their first album and also have made other references to children's shows from PBS and otherwise).

One in general might simply write the reference off as part of our general fascination with all manner of visceral humor, but I did have something particular in mind.

And it's "rlwimi kicks MMX" (note the ell).

Alex goes onto to say:

"Y.A.F.N.M." was made during last year's Computer Game Developer's Conference to provide a surprise to the players competing in the tournament there. And it's original name had something to do with Tuncer's repeated requests for a name giving me a headache.

Mike S. writes:

I don't think the Hounds are the same as Lookers, since Bungie said in their letters page that the bug in the front of the manual was a hound. I checked the shapes file for Marathon, and they look much different. I guess Bungie decided to leave them out.

You should be able to pick up this tidbit in Bungie's Dead Letter Office. Maybe there are other secrets buried in there too.

Mike goes on to say:

On the screenshot of your What's New page, you can see a Hound in the high lefthand corner. Maybe that's what they used to look like and Bungie changed the graphic in the full version.

My God... where did I get that graphic?! If you know let me know.

Brendan Ebner <bebner@dns.ida.net> write:

Perhaps Bungie decided to make the activation noise of the Hunter a howl simply because it was reminiscent of another great hunter? A Wolf!

Could be! The activation sound can send shivers down your spine late at night when your shields are low. Hunters first appeared on "G4 Sunbathing" which had a perfect atmosphere (pun intended) for their errie activation sound. But maybe, just maybe, it was originally for something else...?

Mar 29, 1997
Ian McIntire <imm@cwru.edu> writes concerning a very popular Marathon mystery - the origin of Leela's name. See the Leela section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

The Marathon mysteries continue...

Josh Noel <carinoel@sm1.gte.net> writes:

"hounds are those little guys that crawl up on you then explode at your feet in marathon 1"

On the same subject Forrest Cameranesi <Pfhorrest@aol.com> writes

"...there are hounds in the game, aka Lookers (those little explosive beetle things that just run straight at you). I heard them called hounds before, but I can't remember where. also, in a really old M1 beta i have, i was attacking those little squatting walky things that look like monsters from PiD, and i heard some howling in the distance (just like the hunters). then something blew up behind me and i died. probably was a Hound/Looker. the Hunter sounds were misplaced, i bet."

Interesting. Marathon: The Official Strategy Guide by Tuncer Deniz calls the explosive bug-like creatures Lookers. Why the name Lookers? Well this may be a clue. The Strategy Guide has this to say about them:

Lookers can sometimes be difficult to kill because you have to look down to see them before you can line them up in your sights and fire. When you do see one coming at you, look down and shoot the instant he enters your line of fire.

Are Hounds and Lookers the same thing? Does the Marathon beta hold the clues? Do the original M1 specs contain the answer. Is the answer in the resouce file of Marathon?

Mar 27, 1997
Did you see the Marathon Movie?

Scott Jaeger <pepino@indy.net> thinks he did when he saw Under Siege starring Steven Seagal. And yes the similarities are there if you look closely. Scott writes:

All parts of the movie possibly relating to Marathon will be presented in Brackets []

***WARNING:CRITICAL PARTS OF THE PLOT OF THE MOVIE "UNDER SIEGE" WILL BE REVEALED. IF YOU READ THIS WITHOUT SEEING THE MOVIE FIRST, YOU MAY FIND YOUR ENJOYMENT OF THE GAME SOMEWHAT DIMINISHED. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.***

Ever see the movie Under Siege starring Steven Seagal? It is an action movie about a cook (ex-navy SEAL) [the "marine"] going up against impossible odds to take back the USS Missouri [the Marathon] from terrorists [the Pfhor] as they try to nuke Hawaii [Tau Ceti] with the Tomahawk missiles on board. As the party continues prior to the initial attack, the cross-dressing commander parades through the crowd, exclaiming "WELCOME TO THE REVOLUTION". Soon after, the attack is underway, and the commander and the head terrorists make it to the main control room. The head terrorist yells to the commander, "WELCOME TO THE REVOLUTION!" Later, the terrorist radio-phones the admiral in Washington, and talks about why he is doing this, and trying to take over the U.S. for anarchy. He goes on to say how he missed the 60's, Vietnam, and his involvement in the army, and how his is his big chance. He closes the call by saying, "You tried to kill me, you son of a bitch. Now, Welcome to the Revolution." Meanwhile, the cook has escaped and is causing horrible carnage throughout the ship. He dispatches several goons [Troopers] carrying mp-5 rifles [Stolen MA-75's] and rescues several civilians and crew [BOB's] and arms them [as Durandal does in Marathon-2] and they go out stalking the goons. They contact the admiral [as in the message from G4-Sunbathing] about the current situation, and they send a copter full of SEALs to help. However, the copter is shot down with a shoulder-mounted missile launcher [looks suspiciously like the SPNKR-X18 with a 'no-recoil' design] So, the civilians figure out how to work the main guns on the ship, and down the escaping submarine carrying the Tomahawks. But, the head terrorist, still onboard the Missouri, launches 2 tomahawks at Honolulu. They are narrowly destroyed. [May have been the original way for the colony to go on. The code for the infamous 'the colony was wiped out..' text was never removed, and by looking at the resource, we see it was an accident for the text to appear, and was never removed in testing.]

Ah yes!... the mysterious Colony Text.

Scott Jaeger <pepino@indy.net> also writes:

The Pfhor Trooper-weapons are almost certain to be mass-produced versions of the MA-75, as the two have the same sounds when firing, and the Pfhor-grenades could be mass-produced, too. The Pfhor have gotten most of their present technology from the Jjaro, like the transporters and trih xeem. The grenades look different because of the different make, but we never do see a live bullet in the game. This theory could be confirmed when we find secret MA-75 ammo on one of the Pfhor ship levels in Marathon.

SECRET!!! MA-75 ammo on one of the Pfhor ship levels in Marathon!!!

Well Leela did say:

The Trooper is armored for vacuum conditions and carries a combination explosive and impact projectile weapon which is similar to your AR-75.

So maybe they did duplicate it in their own inimitable way. Either that or they got the design from...

The Marathon Mysteries continue...

Forrest Cameranesi <Pfhorrest@aol.com> writes

i got another one, and i know you know the answer. the text inscribed on Never Burn Money "JJARRO WERE AT TAU CETI!!!" is it meant to be taken literally? were the Jjaro at Tau Ceti?

Were the Jjaro at Tau Ceti? Yes! but were they really there? Maybe if we knew who created the level "Never Burn Money" we would have the answer.

Forrest Cameranesi <Pfhorrest@aol.com> continues:

what's the story behind Wasps and Hounds? i never heard any mention of bugs, except when Durandal said "I'll be playing with the Pfhor's virtual parasites". but that's virtual, and these things were real (they're real enough for me!)

Hounds???... yes I definitely heard howling sounds in the game... but didn't they come from the Hunters? But aren't Hunters simply armored Pfhor? If so why do they howl?

Leela did say:

I have obtained more debriefing reports from the crew whom you rescued earlier.

They have reported seeing two types of Pfhor that you have not yet encountered. Evidently, these are two of the other "clans" which Durandal alluded to in earlier communications.

One is taller than the Fighters. Oddly, the report indicated that this new Pfhor fired only upon other Pfhor and never on any humans. Because of this and their general appearance, the crew who saw them referred to them as Enforcers.

The other Alien was named Hunter by the crew due to its size and appearance. It fires an energy weapon from its shoulder and is heavily armored. Unlike the Fighters, the Hunters never take prisoners.

Neither do we! But was the howling sound misplaced? Where there really Hounds in Marathon? Poor McYultry knew the answer...

The attack came so fast, first those crea ~12``30101!~2 who didn't run away, and then two huge armored creatures came after us and killed !`jkfrc@@z else but myself. I managed to jump into an air vent, and escape here, but
<Filter Error>
hear the strange worblings of their speech getting nearer, and I am unarmed. I have only a few minutes.

Bernard Grunow <bgrunow@umich.edu> writes concerning the net name "The Bloodhound Gang" used by a Bungie player in one of the Infinity net films:

"There used to be a show called "321 Contact" that aired on PBS and also CBC (I used to live in Detroit, thus Canandian TV) that was directed toward an audience two or three years passed that those who would watch "Sesame Street". As a ten minute part of that television show, there was a mystery skit called...you guessed it...The Bloodhound Gang."

Could it be true? Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction!

Mar 26, 1997
Marathon Mysteries

Yes! the race is on to find the answers to all those Marathon Mysteries before the 700 page Marathon Scrapbook reveals all. To start the ball rolling the Marathon's Story page offers you - The Switch on Sol - mystery. What does the switch under the lava on "All Roads Lead To Sol" do? Check out the The Switch on Sol section of Facts and puzzling things about... for the answer. Are you prepared for the truth?

Mar 25, 1997
Congratulations to Simon Brownlee <simon.brownlee@jrc.it> the present maintainer of the Marathon HyperArchive Northwest for correctly pointing out that the name Habe Quidam appears in the Marathon term resources for the level "Habe Quiddam".

;L140.HABEQUIDAM.ENTRY

;L149.HABEQUIDAM.EXIT

But does the name "Habe Quidam" appear somewhere else in Marathon? Indeed it does. But where? Marathon Heads need only apply.

Steve Wood <smwood@ccs.neu.edu> writes:

" The Bloodhound Gang lyric is a homage to the Pixies song "Monkey Gone to Heaven" - "If man is five, then the devil is six and God is seven, this monkey's gone to heaven"

Mar 24, 1997
It's not over yet! Santiágo Peresón <jaco@overnet.com.ar> writes concerning the number seven. See The Number Seven section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Mar 22, 1997
Jimmy Mitchell <jmitch@mail.erskine.edu>

"There's a player who uses the handle "The Bloodhound Gang" in some of the demo Infinity films. Well, "The Bloodhound Gang" is the name of a cool band... Anyway, one line in the second verse of their released single "Fire Water Burn" just caught my attention today (might not be an exact quote, but it's close):

"If man is five, the devil is six, then I guess that makes me _______"

Ok, now you guess the number that goes in the blank... :-) But hey, after all, did we really expect Bungie to have something to do with a band that doesn't have a mutual favorite number? ;-) "

Jimmy is referring to the net film of the level "Wrath No More?" which comes with Infinity. There are four players with the net names:

Two Weeks
Habe Quidam
The Bloodhound Gang
Nthforcer

Note the spelling of Habe Quidam. If you know where this spelling appears in Marathon write to me and I'll add your name here. Oh yes it has to be the exact spelling. :-)

There are another 2 net films with the following players:

Two Weeks
The Bloodhound Gang
Manus Lactatus
Nthforcer

Two Weeks
Manus Lactatus
riwimi kicks MMX
Nthforcer

Mar 21, 1997
Latest update! Bungie are advertising a Marathon Trilogy Box Set.

All three games on one CD.

A staggering 1200 maps, featuring never-released Bungie maps, the winners of the Infinity Mapmaking Contest, and a wide variety of third-party add-ons.

A Marathon Scrapbook providing a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Marathon.

And the out of print game Pathways Into Darkness.

ender <ender@city-net.com> writes:

Check out Microsoft's page at http://home.microsoft.com, look at the little logo under exploring, look familiar?

Hmmm... see the That Marathon Symbol page for details.

What does the S'pht Card Key you find on "Where Some Rarely Go" do? Nicholas Head <N.Head@unsw.edu.au> points out that if you loop back from "Electric Sheep Two" to see if the "card key" can be inserted into the slot in "Aie Mak Sicur" (i.e. where the first "chip" would be inserted in "Aye Mak Sicur") it doesn't fit (even if you bend it!). Which indicates that there are separate "card key" and "uplink chip" recepticles.

Mar 19, 1997
Think you know everything about the Infinity level "Aye Mak Sicur"?
It's a big level, but you've flipped all the switches and know what they do!
It's a big level, but you've triggered all the floor polys and know what they do!
It's a big level, but you've opened every door and found all the secrets!
It's a big level, but you've run round in circles and killed all the aliens!
Wrong... it's a big level... and there is one Juggernaut... who has your name carved on his side... and he's waiting for you... as Nicholas Head <N.Head@unsw.edu.au> found out in his film of this level. Nicholas writes:

Every time I've been through "Aye Mak Sicur" there have always been only two Juggernauts to pound to the pavement. The other two films of this level currently available at the Marathon Vidmasters' page (by Jim "Young Gun" Mitchell and Jim "Placid Pladipus" Mitchell) also show only two SPNKable Juggernauts. Sure there are a couple of others floating out in space but only two where you can get at them right? Wrong! Some how a third Juggernaut turned up to spoil my day while I was searching for stray Hunters.

You can get the film in question here or at the Marathon Vidmasters' page. If you know how the third Juggernaut gets through the force field and into the Jjaro station... let me know and I'll add it here. Remember it's a big level...

Mar 18, 1997
Here's an interesting alt.games.marathon post by Greg Kirkpatrick (Double Aught Software) concerning a trick on the level "Whatever You Please" it was in response to a post by Gary Simmons <gsimmons@earthlink.net>. Greg writes:

...Actually, the trick that I referred to allows you to use the save terminal at on the "low" path.. Basically, go through the whole thing on the low path, using that save terminal. Then when you get to the end, you can jump down to the place that you started the level on (you weren't there for very long b/c you teleported immediately).. From here you can go back and do the high path w/o having to fight all the invisible compilers, because you'll have killed them all.

Anyway, if you'd rather go to the dentist than play this kind of map then it might not be fun to go back and try it with these tricks.. Anyway, I didn't take offense to your comments, my comments were only supposed to make you realize that we knew that some people would get annoyed by certain things.

Have fun,
Greg

There is no doubt about it the 'high' path on "Whatever You Please" can be frustratingly difficult, requiring skillful co-ordination/dexterity rather than brute force. Indeed the 'high' path was allegedly toned down somewhat by it's creator Randy Reddig before public release.

If you want to see how this level is done the hard way on Total Carnage check out the films at the Marathon Vidmasters' page. You'll find them in this section.

Interesting historical fact. If you want to experience a level similar to "Whatever You Please" you should check out the map "Watch Your Step" by Andy Kaufmann and Chris Picone. This is a Marathon map dating from way back in June 1995. Yes the good olde days! Ahead of its time perhaps? You can get it from the Marathon HyperArchive NorthWest here. Remember this is an Marathon solo map, you'll need Marathon to play it. Oh yes... it's hard... watch your step... poenas dare... then again maybe you'd rather go to the dentist. ;-)

Mar 17, 1997
Happy St. Patrick's Day... have a good one...

On this festive occasion we should spare a thought for the Narish Prophecy...

Mobile Command Log Re'eer
origin: Re'eer
destin: Mobile Command Log
ref: Narsh and Pfhoric
stamp: personal

{ cmd : append }

Until now a harmless pastime, my comparative study of Narsh and Pfhoric has driven me to feign my own death to search for greater meaning in the Ranting of Robnar the Nar High Seer. I believe that Robnar was prophetic, and that he foretold of the pfhor garrisoning of Lh'owon, and its possible destruction by those who are about to come here.

The particular passage of my fascination was recorded during an Enforcer fourth class interrogation of Robnar after his capture in the battle of Bilky-fifty four. The recording translates roughly into Pfhoric as when one of the broken nest where the yellow trees sing seems like a nebulon to a drinniol, then the wrestling of six for nine things which get you stuff will be a shoot in spring, growing under the bed boards.

yellow trees sing?

The follow was downloaded from Durandal's External Redundant IRC Cache.

ydnar: hamish
ydnar: can you identify the plant in the final screen?
Godot: yeah
Godot: plant?
ydnar: yeah
Godot: canabis?
ydnar: nope.
ydnar: :)
Godot: Randy: you mean the bamboo pen?
ydnar: it's not bamboo
ydnar: that's a cross section sketch of a stem
Godot: looks like a bamboo
Godot: no mistaking it
ydnar: nope.
ydnar: want to know?
Godot: the far right one is the tip of a Japanese writing brush/pen
ydnar: <g>
ydnar: they're all sketches of one particular plant
Godot: ok what's the planet?
Godot: err.. plant
ydnar: earth
Godot: :-)
ydnar: magnolia
ydnar: :)
Godot: gimme a break
ydnar: ::raising eyebrow::
Godot: what's the third drawing?
Godot: before the arm
ydnar: hmm..
ydnar: don't have the picture up
ydnar: what's it look like
Godot: the tip of a Japanese writing brush/pen
Godot: has a bamboo like notch
Godot: the hairs are tied together in the form of a brush
Godot: that's what it looks like to me
ydnar: ah
ydnar: the base of the magnolia bud
Godot: the stem looks just like a bamboo stem IMHO
ydnar: ::nod::
ydnar: it's similar
Godot: if you slice it, it would look exactly like that
Godot: so what's the significance of the magnolia?
ydnar: birth
ydnar: what's the first picture?
Godot: looked like creation to me
Godot: magnolia = birth?
ydnar: the seed
ydnar: it progresses
ydnar: from seed to stem to flower
Godot: why does magnolia signify birth?
Godot: <-- not into flowers much
ydnar: that's all i'm going to say..
ydnar: :)
ydnar: hehe
ydnar: it's hardly a flower
ydnar: that particular one was 30 feet high

Oh yes... there was something about Alexandria (in the US)... but I can't exactly remember...

Mar 15, 1997
Cindy Hoffa <Cindy.Hoffa@wbsaunders.com> writes:

"This might be a good time to point out the similarities between the Kwisatz Haderach of Dune and the player in Marathon: both have the capability of foresight, the detection of possible timelines; both are the product of lengthy planning by mysterious societies; both may have blood ties with the heroes of ancient times; the abilities of both are "awakened"; both are fated to fulfill specific roles in the history of a race (the Fremen and the S'pht)."

"P.S. It just struck me that Greg K. might have alluded to the Dune connection in an earlier message. I checked, and he did. "Tell me about your homeworld, Usul." Can you find it? Marathon seems to succeed as an interweaving of all the cool sf themes ever written clothed in an interesting and original plot."

Can I find it? Cindy I have the largest collection of Marathon memorabilia this side of Tau Ceti. Greg K made the Dune reference in a post on alt.games.marathon back in Nov 1996. See below:

From: grendel@doubleaught.com (Grendel)
Newsgroups: alt.games.marathon
Subject: Re: Moo's Twisted Plot...
Date: 21 Nov 1996 19:41:47 GMT
Organization: Double Aught
Lines: 73
Message-ID: <grendel-2111961444510001@192.163.1.100>
References: <328526B7.437C@ix.netcom.com> <petrichE0nJBE.7vK@netcom.com> <IJBall-1211961009210001@mac_rbk_3.chem.ucla.edu> <look-1511961541400001@cyber128.cyberspc.mb.ca> <328E3244.73F4@worldnet.att.net> <look-1711962326060001@cyber138.cyberspc.mb.ca> <eberly-2011962336240001@spk-38.cet.com>
NNTP-Posting-Host: gregk.dialup.access.net

In article <eberly-2011962336240001@spk-38.cet.com>, eberly@cet.com
(General Rhad) wrote:

> In article <look-1711962326060001@cyber138.cyberspc.mb.ca>, look@it.up
> (A.S.) wrote:
> 
> > >  "thousands are sailing
> > >         the same self  the only self
> > 
> > >         self willed the peril of a thousand fates
> > 
> > >         a line of infinite ends  finite finishing
> > 
> > >         arching to the single point of
> > >         consciousness
> > 
> > >         find yourself
> > >         starting back"
> 
> I think that it can be translated into the folowing...
> 
> Lots of people
> But only one
> Doomed themselves
> Many possibilties, limited outcomes
> Coming together at one point on time
-- single point -- climax --
> Find yourself
> Doing it over
> 
> Which can be translated into
> 
> Everybody at Tau Ceti and the Marathon were toast from the start
> But somthing else could have happened
> But with one outcome
> Try another path for a change
> 
> 
> which supports my theory of M2 and M° being alternate stories.
> 
> -- 
> "Save a Soul, Slay a Vampire."
> 
> <<END.TRANSMISSION>>
> <<TRANSMISSION.ACCEPTED>>

Man this is a good thread.. Thanks for the feedback (someone's previous
post about the story being overdone.)  Actually to answer him - M° was
planned as an expansion for M2.  We basically locked down the story after
assuming that people were familiar with the previous games.

A bunch of you guys are on the right track, but I think that you're still
not seeing the big picture.  What's been going on since M1?  What do we
all dream about (non-Freudian)?  What in a general sense are all stories
about?  What is life about?  What does the Jjarro have to do with all
this?  What is the connection between dreams and reality?  What is the
connection between a story and reality?  What is the connection between
our perception and reality?

Answer these questions and you shall know the truth.

ciao
Greg k

Tell me of your homeworld, Usul


PS I cackle all the time, but this thread makes me cackle like crazy...

----------------
Head Tool
Double Aught,inc
----------------

Tell me of your homeworld, Usul. Usul, for those of you who are not aware is the secret Fremen name of Paul Muad'dib (Atreides) in the classic sf story "Dune". Usul literally means "The base of the pillar" though a better (idiomatic) translation would be "The strength of the base of the pillar." Dune, the planet Arrakis, is a desolate, dry planet with vast deserts. Hidden away within the rocks of the deserts are a people known as the Fremen who have long held a prophecy that a man would come . . . a messiah, who would lead them against their oppressors to true freedom. Sound familar?

The Kwisatz Haderach that Cindy refers to means "Shortening of the Way." This is the label applied by the Bene Gesserit to the unknown for which they sought a genetic solution: a male Bene Gesserit whose organic mental powers would bridge space and time.

And if you think I'm going to explain anymore... ;P

Cindy Hoffa <Cindy.Hoffa@wbsaunders.com> also writes concerning the function of the uplink chip we find at the end of "Hang Brain". See The Uplink Chip on Hang Brain section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Mar 14, 1997
Darren MacLennan <Hexjumper@aol.com> writes concerning the function of the uplink chip we find at the end of "Hang Brain". See The Uplink Chip on Hang Brain section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

William Vuong <vuongm@earthlink.net> writes concerning the function of the uplink chip we find at the end of "Hang Brain". See The Uplink Chip on Hang Brain section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Greg Downing <71033.1046@CompuServe.COM> writes concerning the function of the uplink chip we find at the end of "Hang Brain". See The Uplink Chip on Hang Brain section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Mar 13, 1997
Added a new section The Uplink Chip on Hang Brain to Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Charles S. writes concerning the function of the uplink chip we find at the end of "Hang Brain". See The Uplink Chip on Hang Brain section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Mark Bassett <markb@iisc.co.uk> writes concerning Durandal and his reason for calling the Pfhor to the Marathon. See the Durandal (part 2) section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Mar 12, 1997
Forrest Cameranesi <Pfhorrest@aol.com> writes concerning the unformatted terminal message on "Kill Your Television". See The Unformatted KYT Term. Message section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Greg Downing <71033.1046@CompuServe.COM> asks what the S'pht Card Key does on "Where Some Rarely Go". Any ideas? I lost mine.

Hamish Sinclair <Hamish.Sinclair@tcd.ie> writes:

"Hey turkey what happened to the level "Where Some Rarely Go" it's not listed in the contents?"

Well spotted! A case of "Where Some Rarely Go" perhaps... or does the apparent non-existence of this level have some nefarious meaning?

Mar 11, 1997
Greg Downing <71033.1046@CompuServe.COM> writes:

"In the Infinity level where Tycho makes us kill Durandal, we pick up an uplink chip. What is *this* for, esp. since we lose it later on? Maybe the chip contains 'Durandal's primordial pattern', and collecting it made the thing transfer it's contents to 'our soggy little brain'?

Interesting point. The chip's function is unclear. We retain it on "Electric Sheep Three" and "Eat the Path" but lose it on "By Committee". Even if we carry it to "You're Wormfood, Dude" or go back in time via "Electric Sheep Three" it seems to serve no purpose.

Mar 7, 1997
Samaras Alexander <asamaras@winnie.fit.edu> writes concerning the unformatted terminal message on "Kill Your Television". See The Unformatted KYT Term. Message section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Samaras Alexander <asamaras@winnie.fit.edu> also writes concerning K'lia. See the Red Sand section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Mar 6, 1997
Greg Downing <71033.1046@compuserve.com> writes:

I would like to point out that Freud once said, "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."

Marathon Magazine is back under a new editor - Nikolas Manak. Nice to see this on-line zine live again. The new issue has an interesting interview with Jason Regier (Bungie Software). Worth the 2MB download if you get the chance. You'll find it at the Marathon HyperArchive MidWest. Oh yes - anybody spot where this came from? ;-)

Mar 5, 1997
Reed Laughlin <blu9@scn.org> writes:

"If I remember correctly, Philip K. Dick wrote a book called _Martian_Time_Slip_ in which a psychotic character relives an episode *3* times... much like the "Electric Sheep" levels. PKD books often present reality as subjective and baffling... much like the world of Marathon Infinity"

Yes very. Like Infinity the structure of Philip K. Dick's novel "Martian Time-Slip" (1964) works to undermine (even deconstruct) linear time and narrative. Worth a read.

Mar 4, 1997
Matt Heerdt <milcreek@rconnect.com> writes:

On Double Aught's website, their new packet of maps for Marathon is named the Coriolis Loop. This may have been derived from the Coriolis Force, which is responsible for water draining clockwise in the upper hemisphere and counter-clockwise in the lower hemisphere. Two different hemispheres, two different directions = two different timelines, two different paths? You decide!

Nick Gaston <Ranchoth@aol.com> writes concerning the music tracks on the Marathon CD. See Marathon Music section of Facts and puzzling things about... for details.

Mar 1, 1997
Interesting to note that Bungie are looking for skilled artists/3D modelers. Also did anyone else notice that the ALT attribute within the <IMG> tag of the Forge map making competition graphic read "Get a job". Will some hot shot map-makers get a job making maps for Bungie? Map-makers?... artists/3D modelers??... need I say more???