you are probably correct about that
i actually dreamed up this project years ago when i first started mapping but my skills and maps were so bad i could not really do the idea justice back then. i am sure a number of people will be thinking oh man not another quake wad but it is a strange feeling. i feel like if i never finish it i will regret it some how.
does the link work or should i upload it some where else? i am slowly but surely getting plans together for map04. i am planning to have a full demo ready with the first 8 maps when ever my friend is done with the music. i do not want to rush her so who knows how many maps will be done by the time she has the tracks finished
oh here is the story for any one who might be interested. i took a little bit more time on it then i expected. i usually really do not care at all for stories involving my levels but during the mapping of castle of despair i realized a story was much more important than i thought. more of it will be revealed upon completion of each episode as always
Story:
Part i: Beginnings
For years the mega corporation Xairgate has been developing secret slipgate technology. Technology that can transport people and things to different places in a matter of seconds.
The project began it’s first stages of development in the year 2184 and was finally completed in March of 2196.
To begin, the corporation built four new facilities specifically for the slipgate project in 2186. Facility 1 would be the future slipgate testing complex where the first two prototypes of the technology would be housed and tested. Together these prototypes would share power with the storage control room, the main entrance terminals and the toxic waste chamber.
Facility 2 would house the future mainframe computers, power routing to the other three bases and a hanger for arriving and departing planes loaded with cargo, supplies and personal. This complex’s slipgates would be added later after additional testing of the technology.
The third facility would be the zone’s water control complex. In addition to sending water to the other three buildings, it would also house a garden for plantation and fresh food for the personal. It’s two slipgates would be added six hours after successful testing.
The fourth and final facility would become the central slipgate control complex. It would house cores of vital tech and the main slipgate. Upon completion the device was coined as the Mother Slipgate. The downside to such a massive complex was it’s large power draw. The large power draw meant poor lighting conditions and frequent power failures.
Part ii: The tests
In the summer of 2196, testing of the slipgates began. To start, personal placed empty shipping crates on slipgate 1 and watched it them appear on slipgate 2. Everything checked out so it was on to the next step.
The first living test subject was a toad. It landed on the pad of slipgate 2 with a thud. Once more, everything checked out and by August they were deemed safe for human use and regularly used as such with the only known side effect being a second or two of slight dizziness.
For a time the use of the slipgates were made in small leaps. Four slipgates were added at the main gate of the building’s reception centers. Each one transported to one of the four complexes and it sure made getting about much easier. This was only a fraction of the technologies’ capabilities.
Part iii: Expedition
By the time September arrived work was completed on the slipgate technologies’ main function. That function was the ability to pick up radio signals and transport things and people to that exact location. Quick travels around the globe were made throughout three weeks as a final leg in the testing process.
It wasn’t until October 1st that a strange discovery was made. Late at night a scientist received a different type of signal. It’s location was unknown and not like the rest. The others couldn’t wait to see where they might pop up but the head brass was hesitant and instead it was suggested to call a nearby marine team and have them accompany the eager researchers through the slipgate in case they landed in a hostile war zone.
Within an hour a medium sized marine team arrived and went through the dimensional gateway along with the egg heads. With a swoosh of the transporters the expedition officially began.
Part iv: The strange new world
When the adventurers came back they were overjoyed with what had been found. Within a week and two trips later they had placed four of their own slipgates in the other dimension. The first was placed at the entrance to a mysterious old castle after finding a way in. The second was placed inside a dark cave near a river where a tall stone wall stood behind it. The third was placed in what was thought to be some kind of stone hall of vaults and the last was hoisted atop a titanic tower.
With those slipgates in the exact places the radio signal dropped them, they could return to that world if said radio signal suddenly died out and within a week both scientists and marines had returned, focusing most of their attention on the castle.
It was described as a deserted medieval structure with most of it’s haunting beauty still intact. The world it resided in was hard to explain. The sky looming above was an orange tint and though it was bright, the ground had a constant dark shadow about it. The air seemed odorless and almost all of the water was filled with brown earth. There seemed to be no sign of life and if some species did live there long ago, they had long left. It was hard to pin point if the dimension was of their time as the flashlights and many radio communicators quit working upon stepping off the slipgate.
Everyone knew there was more and within days they gathered the largest team and sent them to explore the vast and unfamiliar landscapes.
Part v: The attack
The team hadn’t been heard from in days. The date was now October 31st and people began to grow worried. Another team of marines were called to the complex and their they waited. Late that very night there was a thud from deep within the slipgate testing complex. A single marine appeared from the shadows of the testing chamber corridor. He was bloodied and bashed and looked as if he had seen the devil himself.
Quickly he was rushed to emergency where he finally calmed and told a story of horror.
Three hours after they left the slipgate landing pad and ventured deep into the castle they were attacked by an unknown force. The air quickly became filled with the stench of brimstone and death. They were led away by the unseen force to what was described as a mausoleum where a voice spoke. The egg heads were slaughter and turned into giblets where they stood. The marines were given a choice. Join or await death. He refused as did many of his fellow soldiers but, the ones who didn’t were quickly turned into zombified killing machines. For days he was held deep within the castle’s torture chambers. He claimed to have escaped by way of a secret passage leading to the hallway of the castle. In the shadows he crept from the balcony of the castle’s courtyard and somehow managed to escape. His fellow men who had refused to join saw him again. Only they were twitching and bleeding to death. They had been hauled off one by one from within the torture chamber and impaled on rough wooden stakes. They were than left in the castle courtyards to die. He than informed everyone that the voice spoke to the marines, telling them that he had a message for earth. He will attack our world and rob it of life and create a living hell for all of mankind.
Another batch of marines were called to the facilities and upon further investigation, they learned that the control panels fitted to the back of the slipgates in the dimensional world had been removed. Before the slipgates could go into shutdown, the panels had to be found. A plan was arranged and when the lost slipgate panels had been located they would shoot them and cause heavy damage. An emergency exit panel would than open so the person could be transported back to the base. Than within ten seconds the slipgate would close and stop an invasion.
Just as everything had been agreed on, the enemy had already carried out their attack. Zombified former soldiers and massive demons with razor sharp teeth plowed through the complex by way of the slipgates. Within an hour, everyone was dead. The last man alive hid in a compartment in the complex and sent the entire report to marine HQ minutes before he was dragged off and slowly murdered.
part vi: The Mission
You receive the report in the control tower a mile away from the base installation. Quickly you put the pieces together in your head as you drive to the main gate. Your commanding officer has put you in charge of infiltrating the facilities in an attempt to finish what little was started of the mission. You are the best man for the job and your commander assures you backup will follow shortly.
You clinch your teeth and step onto slipgate 1 landing softly at the entrance to the Slipgate testing Complex. As you slide a clip of ammo into your pistol you can hear the deathly breathing of the zombified soldiers just around the corner leading to the main terminal room.
The fate of the world rests on your shoulders...
