Path: news1.ucsd.edu!ihnp4.ucsd.edu!munnari.OZ.AU!news.mel.connect.com.au!news.mira.net.au!Germany.EU.net!main.Germany.EU.net!EU.net!enews.sgi.com!news.mathworks.com!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!faqserv From: errera@ese.ogi.edu (Claude Errera) Newsgroups: alt.games.marathon,comp.sys.mac.games.action,comp.sys.mac.games.announce,comp.answers,alt.answers,news.answers Subject: [alt.games.marathon] FAQ-monthly posting Supersedes: Followup-To: alt.games.marathon, comp.sys.mac.games.action Date: 1 Aug 1996 18:23:36 GMT Organization: none Lines: 1226 Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.EDU Expires: 14 Sep 1996 18:14:04 GMT Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: bloom-picayune.mit.edu Summary: This posting contains frequently asked questions for the newsgroup alt.games.marathon, including where to find more information. It should be read by anyone who wishes to post to the alt.games.marathon newsgroup, or any related mac games group. X-Last-Updated: 1996/07/31 Originator: faqserv@bloom-picayune.MIT.EDU Xref: news1.ucsd.edu alt.games.marathon:9030 comp.sys.mac.games.action:21623 comp.sys.mac.games.announce:202 comp.answers:15878 alt.answers:12844 news.answers:63425 Version: 1.6 Posting-Frequency: monthly Archive-name: games/marathon-faq Last-modified: 1996/07/31 URL: http://www.ese.ogi.edu/pub/entertainment/marathon/utilities/a.g.m.faq.html Welcome to the Alt.Games Marathon FAQ! If after reading this, you still have questions (or know of questions that belong here), feel free to send them along. (My email address is errera@ese.ogi.edu.) All links are valid as of July 31, 1996. I'll try to make sure that new ones make it in (you can help by mailing any I've missed to me), and broken/disappeared ones (like that word?) get removed. This file will *not* cover information that's already covered in a current marathon FAQ. As of today, that list includes the Marathon Spoiler Guide: http://ftp.amug.org/~marathon/spoiler/ (Recently updated) and the Grenade Jumping FAQ: http://w3.adb.gu.se/~g95outer/gj_faq.html or the low-bandwidth version: http://w3.adb.gu.se/%7Eg95outer/gj_faq_txt.html or in downloadable format at http://www.ese.ogi.edu/pub/entertainment/marathon/utilities/gren.jump.faq.11.hqx and the Devil in a Blue Dress FAQ: http://www.ese.ogi.edu/pub/entertainment/marathon/combo/devilfaq.html or in downloadable form at http://www.ese.ogi.edu//pub/entertainment/marathon/combo/devilfaq.hqx and the Net Play Tips FAQ (still in its infancy, but send questions, and he'll update it): http://www.ames.net/marathon/net/ (Did I miss any? I'm not including the Marathon FAQ 3.0 because it is no longer being maintained.) This file will be reposted monthly, unless there is demand for a more frequent posting (or all the info needs updating). It is also available in html format at http://www.ese.ogi.edu/pub/entertainment/marathon/utilities/a.g.m.faq.html or text format at ftp://wmj.ese.ogi.edu//pub/mac/entertainment/marathon/a.g.m.faq.txt Any major (or even minor) errors should be pointed out to me, so that I can fix them. Now, finally, when someone asks a FAQ on a.g.m, you can finally say, "Go read the FAQ!" Won't that feel good? Claude Errera errera@ese.ogi.edu ----------------------------------------------------------------------- CHANGES/ADDITIONS IN THIS VERSION: - Updated PC version question - Updated serial numbers question - Updated screenshots question - Lots of link additions/subtractions ----------------------------------------------------------------------- General What kind of game is Marathon? Is there a PC version? How do I get more serial #s? Could someone mail me/post the game? Is there a way to start on any level I want? Are there any secret codes for Marathon? How about cheat programs? How do you take screen shots in Marathon? How do I find out what frame rate my machine is running at? Are there any useful commands not mentioned in TFM? Does Bungie rock, or what? Gameplay How do I get past Colony Ship/G4 Sunbathing/whatever? How do I get aliens to turn on in M2 net play? What's with the two greyed-out net game options in M2? Can I play Marathon over the Internet? Can I play Marathon over a modem? Is there any way to run faster than normal? Modifying Marathon What's a good ftp site for Marathon stuff? What's available in terms of editors? How do I use this 3rd party Map/Physics Model/stupid thing? Are there any maps designed after real buildings? How can I use Shapes patches on PCI macs? I made a very simple map, but I can walk through the walls! What gives? I'd like to add terms to my M2 map, but Pfhorte only let's me add 1! Why? Is there a sight patch for M2? Troubleshooting How come lots of map crash on my 68K mac? Can I stop this? How come my net-games keep fragmenting and what can I do about it? How come certain key combinations don't work? How can I get 16-bit sound on M2? How come I can't make films off of saved games? Is there a way to make films of later levels? I can't get Music to work! What's going on? I couldn't get the real-time mic to work in M2. What's going on? Why can't I use the mic in M1? Everyone else can... How do I change views in net games/films? Appendix 1: Marathon Web Sites Credits ----------------------------------------------------------------------- GENERAL ----------------------------------------------------------------------- * What kind of game is Marathon? It's a first-person, 3D texture-mapped shoot-em-up in the same genre as Doom, among others. It's better than the rest, but it's in the same genre... (How was that for objective?) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- * Is there a PC version? On March 16, Cyberian Outpost, a mail-order software company, put up a web page stating that M2 for Windows95 was available. This touched off a firestorm of accusations and laments in the Marathon-related newsgroups. Bungie replied on Monday, saying that yes, a port was in the works, but that it wasn't to have been announced until the end of March, in order to coincide with the Computer Game Developer's Conference. CybOut simply jumped the gun. So the answer is, no there isn't a PC version-yet. CybOut is now listing mid-August on their web page, but Bungie has repeatedly said that no release date has been announced yet. However, they *have* released a demo for Window 95; you can find it at http://www.bungie.com/m295demo.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------- * How do I get more serial #s? Call Bungie at (800) 295-0600 and order them, for about $15 each. Or check out their store on the web: http://www.bungie.com/store.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------- * Could someone mail me/post the game? Get a life, okay? 1) Bungie's a great company-buy the software if you like playing the game. 2) It's illegal. 3) M1 is 12 megs total, and M2 is 52 megs. These are a bit large for posting... ----------------------------------------------------------------------- * Is there a way to start on any level I want? Just hold down the Command and Option keys as you click on Begin Game. Likewise, for Cooperative play, hold down Command and Option keys as you click on Gather Network Game. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- * Are there any secret codes for Marathon? You mean besides that command-option thing up above? Well, maybe. It's possible to empty an entire clip nearly at once by holding down the fire key and tapping next and previous weapon very quickly (emphasis on very). I'm not sure you'd call this a cheat code, but it's certainly undocumented in any Bungie literature. There were lots of cheat codes in the M1 beta (PATHWAYS, PZBXAY, TOASTER, FATMAN, PISTOL, FISHEYE, ISEEYOU, HAVESOME, OXYGEN, HEALTH, AMMO, ASLAG, and probably many more), but they were pulled out before release of the demo or the full commercial version, and they didn't seem to ever make it into M2 (although the really early stuff never got out...). ----------------------------------------------------------------------- * How about cheat programs? Sure. For adding weapons, ammo, health, powerups, oxygen, or objects (like uplink cards), the cheater to get is Eggert Thorlacius' Marathon Cheater 4.0. It currently works with Marathon, the Marathon Demo, Marathon 2, the Marathon 2 Sneak Preview, and the Marathon 2 Demo. Its only shortcoming is that it requires a saved game in order to function. (That is, you can't use it to give yourself unlimited powers at the beginning.) Also for both M1 and M2, you can use the Marathon Universal Patcher, which actually modifies the Marathon app to start your player out with greater stats. It was created by Naoki Yokoyama. For M2 only, you can grab a copy of Tim Swihart's Maramacros. These are MacsBug macros, and as such require MacsBug, available at finer Apple ftp sites everywhere. Once installed (and they come with extremely detailed installation instructions), they allow you to give yourself anything you want, without the necessity of saving first. Extremely handy... For M1, and for 68K only, there's the Plus Key Save Anywhere patch. This allows you to save anywhere using the Plus key. (Um, I guess the filename made that last sentence uneccessary...) Unfortunately, it doesn't work with PowerMacs, or with M2. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- * How do you take screen shots in Marathon? Command-shift-3 doesn't seem to work. Three ways: The free way is to hit Shift-5 *before* hitting command-shift-3. (The % sign (shift-5) gives more processing time to the OS, which allows the regular screen shot combo to work.) The fancy free way is to download PIXs, an exclusive MacUser screen-snap utility available only from ZiffNet's MacUser web site or from ZiffNet forums on online services. MacUser's Home Page: http://www.zdnet.com/macuser/ PIXs Page: http://www.hotfiles.com/swbrowse/MC10/5/5/mac-MC10556.html The not-free way (but it has other advantages) is to download Snapz, a screen-snap utility from Ambrosia Software . With any of these routes, here's a hint for getting clear shots (since screen shots are rarely instantaneous): instead of taking the shot during gameplay, replay the film and slow it down to nothing before taking the shot. (Obviously, this assumes you can get a film of the area in question. Remember Maramacros, if you're doing this in M2.) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- * I see all these posts comparing frame rates for Marathon. How do I find out what frame rate my machine is running at? Shift-/ (or ?, if that makes more sense to you). This works for both Marathon 1.2 and 2.0. It doesn't work for 1.0 or 1.1. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- * Are there any useful commands not mentioned in TFM? (like using the [] keys to speed up/slow down films, how to get frames per second, etc) Well, actually, the bracket keys thing *is* mentioned in the manual... and I don't know of any other ones. (Feel free to send 'em to me, if you do.) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- * Does Bungie rock, or what? Indubitably. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- GAMEPLAY ----------------------------------------------------------------------- * How do I get past Colony Ship/G4 Sunbathing? Read the Spoiler Guide: http://www.amug.org/~marathon/spoiler/m1/13.html and http://www.amug.org/~marathon/spoiler/m1/8.html (This is a general answer for all spoiler-type questions. Go to http://www.amug.org/~marathon/spoiler/ for other levels, of course...) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- * How do I get aliens to turn on in M2 net play? I've checked the aliens box in the Gather dialog, but they never show up! They don't show up because Bungie left them out of their net levels. (Whether this is a good or bad decision is totally a matter of personal opinion, but people seem to have almost religious convictions about it one way or the other. (Personally, I like not having them. They just got in the way of shooting my friends.) Bottom line, though.... that's the way it is, deal with it. There are at least three workarounds. 1) Add your own aliens to Bungie's net levels, using a tool like DOPE or Pfhorte. 2) Download one of the over 300 third-party M2 levels. A very large percentage contain aliens, and the same tools can be used to add them to the levels that don't have any (or don't have enough). 3) Shoot your friends more. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- * What's with the two greyed-out net game options (Keep Away from Rob and Pile on Greg) in M2? Are they just cruel jokes perpetrated on the adoring Marathon public by those meanies at Bungie? Or did they just never get around to finishing them? Here's the old answer: Well the wisdom for a long time was, they were planned but scrapped because of time considerations. However, recently Jack Lin ----------------------------------------------------------------------- CREDITS ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The following people have contributed to this document, either by submitting questions or answers. If you feel I've left you out, email me. ruin@netcom.com (Jeff R.) aaron_sommer@herringn.com (aaron sommer) corbeau@earth.execpc.com (Dennis Taylor) zed@screenhouse.com (Zed) mnbanek@rapidramp.com (Matt Banek) climax@grfn.org (Ben Chess) acrosenk@artsci.wustl.edu (gabe rosenkoetter) candys@wimsey.com (Candace Sherriff) kchang@u.washington.edu (Kay Chang) ben_wilkes@sciarc.edu gmcclell@pen.k12.va.us (george mcclelland) Jack_Lin@brown.edu (Jack T. Lin) Dan Martens (martensd@spots.ab.ca) rf reddig (ydnar@aol.com) Matt Soell (matt@bungie.com) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Last edited 31 July 1996 CAE .