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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
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Date: 1 Aug 1996 18:23:36 GMT
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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 <http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/>.
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
<Jack_Lin@brown.edu) discovered that if you enabled the menus in
Resedit, then played Keep Away from Rob with one of the players taking
the name Rob, that player will receive invincibility and invisibility
for the duration of the game. "Rob" is then rated on his kills per
minute.
Based on this info, it would be foolish to say indisputably that Pile
on Greg doesn't work at all. (Here's a wild guess-I've never tested it:
It's a variant of Kill the Guy with the Ball, where "Greg" can't
actually drop the skull. Who knows... enable the menu, name one of your
players Greg, and try it for yourself.)
Update: Noone else has been able to get this to work (and lots of people
have tried). Bungie has said these games don't work, so maybe it's time
to take them at their word...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* Can I play Marathon over the Internet?
You can try playing over the internet. There haven't been too many
reports of success, but all the info you need to get started can be
found at
http://www.xmission.com/~morrison/AoI/home.html
There is some hope, though... Joe Kloss (of Netlink fame) has been
hinting that he might release an internet-savvy version of Netlink...
seems the problem is latency, not bandwidth. More info as it becomes
available.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* Can I play Marathon over a modem?
For playing over a modem, Netlink is the way to go (easily 5-10 times
better frame rates than ARA). You'll find all the info you need to get
up to speed with Netlink at
http://amug.org/~marathon/netlink/
Once you're functional, you can register with the NetLink directory, to
find folks to shoot at:
http://fluffy.neb.net/Netlink/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* Is there any way to run faster than normal?
It can be shown that sidestepping while running forward is actually
considerably faster than running forward by itself. To prove it to
yourself, check out Bungie's M2 net level Everyone's Mortal But Me.
Stand at the back of one of the alcoves, and run out towards the central
pillar. You'll fall short. Now start in the same place, but turn a bit
toward one wall or the other, and hold down your sidestep and forward
keys simultaneously. You'll make it with ease...
The one caveat here is if you're already running forward, holding down
the sidestep key will slow you down drastically. Basically, you need to
start running in this configuration.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
MODIFYING MARATHON
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* What's a good ftp site for Marathon stuff?
Well, I'm biased...
The acknowledged mecca for all things Marathon is AMUG, the Arizona
Marathon Users Group. Their ftp server is usually (not always, but
usually) the first place Marathon stuff shows up on the internet.
Organized (hmph!) stuff can be found at
ftp://ftp.amug.org/pub/contrib/marathon/
and new stuff that hasn't been moved over (generally the stuff you want
RIGHT NOW) can be found at
ftp://ftp.amug.org/approved_incoming/
However, support for Marathon on AMUG has gotten quite poor in the last
six months, and finding anything specific can be a bear. (Get ready,
here's where my bias starts showing...)
Just about everything useful that has ever come out for either Marathon
1 or Marathon 2 can be found at the Marathon HyperArchive NorthWest:
http://www.ese.ogi.edu/pub/entertainment/marathon/
One notable exception is a film archive. Also, some folks have had
trouble getting large stuff with a web browser, so you can access the
same files through the ftp side of this site:
ftp://wmj.ese.ogi.edu//pub/mac/entertainment/marathon/
Lots of Marathon web pages are linked off of AMUG's Marathon Central:
http://www.amug.org/~marathon/
and several pages with a significant amount of unique file content are
not:
http://apollo.ahabs.wisc.edu/individuals/students/hahn/marathonstuff.html
Contains the home of MaraOS, a Marathon file manager, as well as some
very well-done homegrown maps and some films.
http://www.herringn.com/personal/aaron/marathon/hotlist.html
Contains lots of stuff, on a nice fast connection. A bunch of good
films can be found here.
http://www.lava.net/~kirill/marathon/index.html
A few nearly indispensable utilities for mapmakers, and some nice
maps, too.
http://members.aol.com/dakonsoft/index.html
Films, and film utilities
And finally, let's not forget Bungie's own site:
http:/www.bungie.com/ and ftp://ftp.bungie.com/
Good for the demo (M1 or M2) and some other random stuff. (And recently
updated to the point where it's actually useable, and very informative.)
All these, and many more, are listed in Appendix 1.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* What's available in terms of editors?
Depends on what kind of editing you want to do, and for which game. All
version numbers listed here are valid as of July 1, 1996. All
files are available at the HyperArchive NorthWest, and most are
available elsewhere as well.
For Marathon 1:
Editor Type Product (most recent version)
Map Editor Pfhorte (1.0d26)
Most useful interface
Mia (1.0b19)
"Cleanest" (tends to make more bug-free maps)
Marathon Map Editor (1.0d7)
Last updated over a year ago
Shape Editor Pfhred (1.3.1)
Lots of unique features, but still buggy (although much better than 1.3)
Marathon Shape Installer (2.0b1)
Less buggy than Pfhred, but not as capable
Marathon Shapes Editor 1.2b
Can make patches
Shape Shifter (0.8d68)
Allows actual graphics editing
Physics Editor Physics Model Editor 1.1
Nice, and the only one
Utilities NK Level Mover (1.0a2)
Moves map levels between maps
Object Placement Editor (1.4)
A more convenient way to add objects to maps
LiteEdit (1.0)
The easiest way to change lighting types in a map
Term Installer (2.1)
By far the best way to install resource for a new
Marathon scenario
Shape Shuttle (1.0b1)
Can make patches (but nothing else)
Marathon Sound Transporter (not numbered)
A pretty interface for sound patches
Documentation Pfhorte Handbook (1.3)
Tons of info on creating maps. Not only for Pfhorte
Pfhorte Users Guide (2.2)
Less complete than the Handbook, but still useful
Marathon Engine FAQ 0.6
Very old, but still has a bunch of good info
For Marathon 2
Editor Type Product (most recent version)
Map Editor Pfhorte (2.0a14)
The only editor currently available. Still in alpha
development (read: not feature complete and buggy) but
nevertheless quite powerful
Shape Marathon Wall Extractor (0.8b)
Extracts wall textures from M2, and puts them into a
special kind of M1 Shapes file, where they can be
edited with standard M1 Shapes Editors
M2 Shape Shuttle (1.0a3)
Like the Wall Extractor, except that it lets you
install part of a single textureset, instead of all
four full ones
Physics Alchemist (1.0b3)
By the same guy who made the M1 Physics Editor
Utilities Hex! (0.99)
Easy-to-use term editor
Durandal Object Placement Editor (1.20)
Does for M2 what OPE does for M1
M2 Sound Converter (0.5b)
Converts M2 sounds to resources, to make them easy to
edit, then back when you're through
MapInfo 1.3.1
Gives you lots of info quickly on M1 and M2 maps, and M2 films
Documentation Pfhorte 2.0a14 Guide (1.0)
A very nicely laid out guide to using Pfhorte 2.0ax
Marathon Map Making Assistant (1.0b3)
An AppleGuide document with basic info about M2
mapmaking (also works in M1, but is less relevant)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* How do I use this 3rd party Map/Physics Model/stupid thing?
Take a deep breath...
For Marathon 1, in order for Marathon to work at all, there needs to be
the following four files in the same folder (with these names):
Marathon (actually, this can be called anything)
Shapes
Sounds
Map
and if you want to use a physics model, it needs to be in that folder
as well, and called
Physics Model
(All of those names are case-insensitive: MAP works as well as Map
which works as well as mAp, but NewMap or MapNew won't work at all.)
So, in order to use a third-party item (map, phys model, whatever), you
need to move your original someplace safe (or rename it) so that it
doesn't get overwritten by the file you move in. Then, simply rename
the new file Map (or whatever), move it into your Marathon folder, and
you're off!
If you download a shapes patcher (or sound patcher), you'll need to run
it on your existing file. Be aware that many patchers are not
reversible-if you've got the disk space, you should make a copy of your
shapes file before running the patcher. (If you don't have the disk
space, make sure you've still got your original Marathon disks or CD
before patching these files...)
Music files are optional. (Marathon runs perfectly well without it.) If
you decide to use a third party one, though, again, remember to name it
Music
in order to make it work...
(See Music troubleshooting for more info about Music files.)
For Marathon 2, things are (supposed to be) much more modular. You can
place any M2 file in the M2 folder, and it will show up in the
Environment preferences dialog. (That is, at the opening screen, select
Preferences, and then select Environment from the popup menu.) The
problem is, it doesn't always work this way... sometimes Marathon gets
confused as to which map or physics or shapes file was selected. The
solution here is to move all unused files out of the Marathon folder.
You can also drag and drop any Marathon file (Map, Physics, Shapes,
saved game, whatever) onto your Marathon app, and it will be opened.
To play a film is a bit more difficult. In theory, Marathon 2 should be
able to differentiate between map files, and choose the one that
matches the film you're trying to play. In practice, it doesn't work
that way. It opens the first map, alphabetically, that it finds in the
Marathon folder. If the film you're trying to watch isn't playing with
the proper map file, try renaming the map file by putting a 0 (zero) in
front of it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* I'd really like to play maps that are designed after real places. Do
you know of any?
I made a list of these up a little while ago. If you made one, and it's
not on the list, drop me mail and I'll rectify that. All of these can
be found using the Maps Search page at the HyperArchive.
Cro-will
Kill this thing
Oh Pfhuck
Rumba Office
The Woolen Mill 1.1
Chuck's Maps
UCSC Hahn Student Center
Hutch v1.0.1
Madd Ox/Hijacker
Stardate 9508.18
Logan's Maps
Clara Dickson
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* I have a PCI mac, and every shapes patch I download crashes my
machine. How can I use these?
Okay, since there are only two M2 shapes patches right now, I'll
assume you're asking about M1. There seems to be a problem with the
shapes patchers on some PCI macs (7500s and 8500s for sure).
Workaround: Open the shapes patch with Resedit, and copy the .256
resource. Open your Shapes file (or preferably a copy of it) and paste.
(Answer YES, not UNIQUE in the resulting dialog.)
This works for MSE patches, and Shape Shuttle patches. Rescompare
patches are harder... you'll need to find a machine that doesn't crash,
install the patch there, then move the patched file back to your PCI
mac.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* I made a very simple map, but I can walk through the walls! What gives?
Your simple map contains only one polygon, right? Marathon's engine can't
deal with this, since it bases a lot of its decisions on inter-poly information
(what monsters heard you on neighboring polys, where they can go, etc.).
You need at least two polys for a map to function.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* I want to add terms to my M2 map, but Pfhorte only let's me add 1! Why?
Steve was being frugal. The same code that keeps track of lighting
types also keeps track of terms... so in order to add new term options,
you need to add new lighting types (in the Edit Lighting Types dialog).
This is a good idea anyway... maps with one lighting type are boring.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* Is there a sight patch for M2?
No. There are no shapes editors for M2. (There won't *be* any shapes
editors for M2 until Infinity comes out, it seems...)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
TROUBLESHOOTING
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* How come lots of map crash on my 68K mac? Can I stop this?
Contrary to (very) popular belief, there is *no* truth to the
rumor that any map made on a PPC mac will crash a 68K mac. If the
map crashes, there are bugs. End of story.
Type 1 errors usually mean you haven't allocated enough memory
to Marathon. Solution: allocate more (via Get Info in the finder) until
the crashing behavior goes away. (And turn off that nasty Ram Doubler!)
Type 11 errors almost always mean the map maker made a nasty mistake.
Contact him/her and yell a lot.
Type 4 errors are some of the most common. They are usually (but not
always) attributable to zero line length errors. If you're a map
enduser (not a mapmaker), the easiest solution, by far, is to grab a
copy of the very small, very handy program called Ignore Zero Divides.
(It's available at finer Marathon sites everywhere.) This will cause
your mac to ignore any divide-by-zero functions, and keep it from
crashing with a Type 4 error. (This program is unneccessary on
Powermacs, because the error checking Marathon does is a bit more
robust in this area.)
If you're a mapmaker, and want to fix the problem, you're better off
if it happens in a Marathon 1 map. That's because Pfhorte 1.0d25 can
detect these errors, and make them very obvious when you open the
offending map. (Try it-you'll see.) If you're trying to fix a Marathon
2 map, try Randy Reddig's solution:
"if you have a map with a dbz error somewhere in it, it is not
impossible to correct. open it in marathon (keep in mind that i'm
assuming you have a powermac), and walk around your map, looking
at the most zoomed in map mode every few paces. a zero length line
will usually show up as a bold green dot where there should normally
be a crossing between a couple dim green lines."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* How come my net-games keep fragmenting and is there a way to cut
down/prevent it?
Usually, it has to do with a big difference in speed among the
computers in play (a problem that is exaggerated with a slower network,
like localtalk or over NetLink Remote). Sometimes, it has to do with
one or more players starting to move before everyone has completely
joined.
Strategies for minimizing the problem:
-Stick with maps that don't have huge amounts of open space (where you
can see a lot)
-Be sure everyone waits a few seconds at the start of a game, so that
everyone has a chance to join properly
-Let the slowest machine do the gathering (This is sort of a last
resort, since it will slow down overall net play speed)
Other possible reasons for fragmentation:
Multiple versions of the game are in use (say, one player is using 1.1,
because the mouse control is better, and the rest are using 1.2).
Solution: Standardize.
Not everyone's using the same physics model. Solution: Standardize
(including on nothing).
Someone's got a modified app/shape/sound file. (This is a less common
reason, in my experience.) Solution: Standardize. (Seeing a pattern
yet?)
Network traffic (non-marathon) is heavy. Solution: Tell everyone on
your LAN to quit it, you're playing an important game.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* How come certain key combinations don't work?
Some keyboards are not capable of four keystrokes at once, which is
easy to achieve playing Marathon. And the Apple Adjustable keyboard
has irritated many Marathon players, because trying to mix keys from
the main section and the detached numeric pad is dicey at best.
Bottom line-if it bothers you enough, get a better keyboard. (Both the
AppleDesign keyboard and the Apple Extended II keyboard handle anything
you can dish out, Marathonwise.) And if that advice bothers you,
consider that an unhealthy number of people have used Marathon as a
justification for a PowerMac... what's a keyboard, in the grand scheme
of things?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* How come the manual says Marathon 2 does 16-bit sound, but that
option's always greyed out in the prefs dialog box?
Three possible reasons.
1) You haven't allocated enough memory to Marathon.
2) You tried the Sneak Preview before installing the full version. The
prefs file names for these two apps are the same, and the full
version will run fine off the sneak preview's prefs. (Did you need to
enter a serial number when you played the full version for the first
time? That should have clued you in...) The sneak preview was not
capable of 16-bit sound, so the option was permanently greyed out.
Toss your prefs, enter your full serial number, and the option should
become available again.
3) You don't have SoundManager 3.1 installed. (To recap, you need a
minimum of v3.0 for M1 to play music, and 3.1 for M2 to play 16-bit
sound.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* How come I can't make films off of saved games?
Because.
(That can be translated as "I don't really know, but my guess is, it
was too hard for Bungie to make it work.")
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
*Is there a way to make films of later levels?
Yes. Simply use the command-option trick described above, and the film
will work up to the point that you either quit or save. (If you're
playing Marathon 2, you can use Maramacros to get around the fact that
command-option starting means you're armed only with a pistol, three
rounds of ammo, and your fist. Or you can just use the Marathon Universal
Patcher... (for M1 or M2).)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* I can't get Music to work! What am I doing wrong?
Well, if you're using Marathon 2, there *is* no music. (Except for the
bit that plays during the opening credits.) You can't get it to play
because Bungie removed the option (and replaced it with ambient sounds,
which are *way* cooler).
If you're using Marathon 1, there are a few things to check:
-Do you have QuickTime v2.0 or higher and Sound Manager 3.0 or higher
installed?
-Do you have QuickTime Musical Instruments installed?
-Is the Music checkbox in the prefs dialog greyed out? (Try giving
Marathon more memory.)
-Still greyed out? Have you allocated any sound channels (same prefs
dialog)?
-Have you allocated enough memory to Marathon? (In the Finder, click on
the Marathon App (once), then select Get Info. If you set the
bottommost number to 5000K or higher, you should have enough memory
(in most situations) to play music.)
-From Matt at Bungie: RAM Doubler (aka Satan-In-A-Box(TM)) will
occasionally keep the music option dimmed even if you have all the
requisite extensions and memory. If you're using it, turn it off.
-If your karma is so bad that after all this, it's *still* not working,
then just grab a CD with appropriately dark music, toss it in your CD
player, and fire up Marathon.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* I followed the instructions in the manual, but I couldn't get the
real-time mic to work in M2? What's going on?
It's a bug. It'll get fixed, one of these days...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* Everyone else seems to be able to use the mic in M1, but I can't! Why
not?
Slower machines seem to have a problem with the mic. (We turn it off
for net games, because if someone inadvertently hits his mic key, our
Q610 freezes hard, and is out of the game.) Get a faster machine, or
live without your mic.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* How do I change views in net games/films?
This is actually a lot of questions, all rolled up into one. Starting
with M1:
You can't change views during the game, but the delete key (or
backspace, or whatever it's labeled on your keyboard-the key in the top
right corner of the main bunch of keys) will toggle through views.
(Control-H, which sends the same keystroke, will also work.)
In M2, due to a bug, you can't toggle through views during either net
games or in films, unless there are other players on your team.
(Everyone can have different colored shirts, but they all have to wear
the same pants.) Bungie is working on a fix for this right now, and
it'll show up on their web site as soon as it's done.
Assuming that there are players on your team, toggling views during
films works fine. And if you're playing a cooperative net game, the
toggling also works during net play. (Pretty helpful...)
So you've saved a ton of M2 films, but never figured out how to watch
them, and you'd hate to toss 'em? Never fear. There are two programs
that you might want to check out. The first is the Marathon Film
Patcher, and it allows you to edit saved films in order to place
everyone on the same team. A more permanent solution was created by the
same person, and it's called the Marathon FilmHandling Patcher. It
actually patches the Marathon 2 app to allow post-game carnage reports
and toggled views on *all* films. (It's not recommended to use the
patched app to play a regular net game, though, so this solution
requires you to have two versions of the marathon app lying around.)
A third option is the Batch patcher, which does what the film patcher
does, for many film files at once, but with fewer user options.
All three of these tools were created by Naoki Yokoyama, and can be found
on the Utilities page of the HyperArchive NW.
Update-there are now two new apps that help with this problem. FilmEdit 1.0
allows you to change Team color, Shirt Color, and Player Name. Pfhilm
Pfhixer 0.9b simply makes all players on the same team, and outputs
a new film with a configurable extension at the end of its name.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
APPENDIX 1: MARATHON WEB SITES
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Start with this one: it has links to almost every Marathon site around:
http://www.mit.edu:8001/people/dcoufal/mac3d.html or
http://methane.mit.edu:8001/user/coufal/mac3d.html or
http://www.amug.org/~marathon/dave/mac3d.html
----------------------
GENERAL (MULTIPURPOSE)
----------------------
http://www.ese.ogi.edu/pub/entertainment/marathon/
almost every downloadable file available for Marathon, links
http://www.herringn.com/personal/aaron/marathon/hotlist.html
lots of files, links, local maps
http://www.amug.org/~marathon/
many marathon pages
http://www.ames.net/marathon/
files, links (and lots of Netscape 2.0 stuff...)
http://imlab9.landarch.uiuc.edu/~ken/marathon/
files, links, discussion pages
http://www.amug.org/~marathon/story/
tons of info about Marathon's background
http://www.bungie.com/
Bungie's home page
http://www.amug.org/~marathon/netlink/
info on netlink
http://www.cityscape.co.uk/users/ac53/TerminalSix/Marathon.html
general info, links
http://www.amug.org/~marathon/motm/ and
http://www.amug.org/~marathon/motm/m2motm.html
Map of the Month pages
http://www.wolfenet.com/~stompbox/mara.html
files, links, local maps, Pfhor Anatomy page
http://www.amug.org/~marathon/maramag/
Marathon Magazine
http://annubis.jrc.it:5757/MapSearch.html
Search the Marathon Map Makers Guild mailing list (down often)
http://www.mediablitz.com:80/palace/
The Marathon Palace (graphical chat)
http://www.amug.org/~marathon/MMMG/
Marathon Map Makers Guild Homepage
http://enterprise.cit.cornell.edu/Pages/Marathon
Nick's Marathon Page (files, links)
---------------
MARATHON 2 ONLY
---------------
http://www.amug.org/~marathon/slurpee/marathon2/
http://www.grayphics.com/~brymen/
http://mac1.fast.net/marathonII/ (old)
http://www.amug.org/~marathon/wilhelm/Mara2.html
http://www.amug.org/~marathon/roland/
http://www.win.net/~utumno/marathon.html
http://www.tiac.net/users/epidemic/marathon.htm
---------------
MARATHON INFINITY ONLY
---------------
http://www.bungie.com/infinity.html
http://www.amug.org/~marathon/slurpee/marathon2/Files/Infinity/Infinity_Q_&_A.html
http://152.160.53.241/Infinity/
http://www.psnw.com/~sax/infinity.html
http://www.grayphics.com/~brymen/infinity.html
http://www.westernappliance.com/ccn/marathon/mi/
---------------------------------------------------
MAP PAGES (DEVOTED TO LOCAL MAPS, AND/OR UTILITIES)
---------------------------------------------------
http://www.ese.ogi.edu/testinggrounds/
A site devoted to improving mapmaking skills
http://www.odsnet.com/pfhorte/index.html
Pfhorte2 page
http://www.odsnet.com/pfhactory/index.html
ydnar's Pfhactory page
http://www.amug.org:80/~marathon/physics/index.html
MaraModelEdit's Home Page (Marathon 1 physics editor)
http://www-leland.stanford.edu/~hanson/alchemist.html
Alchemist's Home Page (Marathon 2 physics editor)
http://www.ai.mit.edu/people/jknight/M2sndconv.html
M2 Sound Converter Home Page
http://www.ru.u-tokai.ac.jp/~nao/e.index.html
Dr. nao's Marathon Utilities Workshop (lots and lots of good stuff)
http://museum.cl.msu.edu/~hndrcksn/Shape_Shifter.html
Shape Shifter Home Page (Marathon 1 shapes editor)
http://www.cjnetworks.com/~cubsfan/marathon/main.html
Marathon II Physics Archive
http://www.lava.net/~kirill/marathon/index.html
Bach's map/utilities page
http://www.grayphics.com/~frigid/fm-maps.html
FrigidMan's maps page
http://www.teleport.com/~matasar/marathon.html
Ben Matasar's maps page
http://www.unm.edu/~grok/maranet.html
Jim and David's Marathon Maps page
http://www.globaldialog.com/~tv/Maps/maps.html
Mad Hackerz maps page
http://www.rit.edu/~peg1485/OtherGraphicsPages/othergraphics10.html
Patrick Gray's Marathon page
http://apollo.ahabs.wisc.edu/individuals/students/hahn/marathonstuff.html
Harry Hahn's map/utilities page (old)
http://www-personal.engin.umich.edu/~mneylon/maramaps/
Mike Neylon's map page (old)
http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~acrosenk/gabe/filmstab.html
a_fool's film table (old)
http://members.aol.com/DMMC1/DMMC.html
Durandal Map Maker's Club page
http://rampages.onramp.net/~tkmower/Maps.html
Kelly's map page
http://www.amug.org/~marathon/coon/
Coon's map page (old)
http://www.ese.ogi.edu/pub/entertainment/marathon/map/jesa.html
Go wif Jeza page
http://www.ese.ogi.edu/pub/entertainment/marathon/combo/canyonlands/
Canyonlands page
http://www.ese.ogi.edu/pub/entertainment/marathon/combo/bobco/
Bob World HQ page
http://www.teleport.com/~matasar/devil.html or
http://www.amug.org/~marathon/matasar/
Devil in a Blue Dress page
http://www.ese.ogi.edu/pub/entertainment/marathon/combo/fusion/
Fusion works
http://www.ese.ogi.edu/pub/entertainment/marathon/combo/mwest/
Marathon West page
http://www.unm.edu/~brew/seth.html
Operation Tantalus page
http://www.ese.ogi.edu/pub/entertainment/marathon/combo/specuthon.html
Specuthon page
http://www.acm.org/~mangefeste/durandal/map.html
Tony Mangefeste's map page
http://www.mailbag.com/users/dloebl/m2maps.html
Daniel Loebl's Maps Page
http://www.afn.org/~afn02635/marathon/
Jeremy Condit's Maps Page
http://www.hypervision.be/marathon/marathon.html
Pfhornicator
http://members.aol.com/dakonsoft/index.html
DAKONSoft's Film Utilities
http://www.eskimo.com/~vampile/M2_html/
Thumper's M2 Netmap Page
http://www.ctnet.com/marathon/
The Marathon Gang's Map Page
http://www.ypn.com/games2/a660.html
Netgames2 Marathon Directory
http://www.teleport.com/~keiko/M2.html
Zapranoth's Lair (films)
http://www.usyd.edu.au/~jhead/Web_Pages/Marathon_1%262.html
James Head's Marathon Page
http://fluffy.neb.net/marathon/marathon1.html
The Animated Marathon 1 & 2 Shapes Page (Shockwave required)
http://www.magnet.com/~danr/marathon2.html
Dan's Marathon 2 Page
http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/swein/marathon.htm
Steve Weintraub's Marathon Maps
http://www.algonet.se/~spiff/maramaps.html
Spiff's Marathon Maps
http://members.aol.com/cacanul/marathon.html
Christopher Canul's Marathon Page
http://www.amug.org/~marathon/pid/ender.html
Ender's Marathon Maps
http://www.widearea.co.uk./black-pyramid/
Black Pyramid Software (some of the best solo maps around)
http://www.oberlin.edu/~mblecher/hf/hf.htm
Home Fries Software
http://www.zone.ca/~carnator/marathon/
DOH's Marathon 2 Page
http://nic.smsu.edu:8080/~pvs649s/Marathon.html
Big P's Marathon Page (maps, physics, links)
http://spidey.usc.edu/~black/M2.html
Alex Black's M2 page (physics, films)
http://www.dartmouth.edu/people/dsantoro/marathon.html
Dave Santoro's Maps Page
http://www.mother.com/~malkin/shrine/4pillars/index.html
The Four Pillars Home Page
http://www.northcoast.com/~gldleder/marath.html
Gold Leader's Marathon Page (maps)
http://www.northpark.edu/~pmarks/index_html/marathon.html
Run, boy, run... (icons, maps, links)
--------------------------
MORE RANDOM MARATHON PAGES
--------------------------
http://studwww.rug.ac.be/~tklskns/Marathon.html or
http://mindscape.cyberkafee.be/Marathon.html
Thomas Kluyskens' Marathon Page
http://www.wolfe.net/~optica/marathon.html
Marathon Junkies' HomePage
http://www.haddonfield.com/marathon/
Marathon Junkies Home Page (different, and incomplete)
http://polaris.net/~thorn7/marathon.html
Thorn's Marathon Page
http://www.lfa.lfc.edu/~bhinman/schedule.html
Marathon Schedule Board
http://www.amug.org/~marathon/icons/
Marathon's Icons (a must-read)
http://www.inxpress.net/~alikchi/lingling/lingling.html
The Unofficial Ling-Ling Home Page (Bungie's home page explained)
http://www.webmedia.com.au/pfhrenzy/
Pfhrenzy! A CD-ROM Marathon peripherals collection
http://www.scescape.com/marc/marathon/
Mark's Marathon Mayhem Manifest Page
http://www.grayphics.com/marathon/gmt/
Grayphics Marathon Tournament 96
http://pepe.online.ee/~kutt/Marathon.htm
Kutt's Marathon page (mostly links)
http://www.angelfire.com/pages0/BOB16/index.html
The Born On Board Bastard
http://altitude.firsttech.com/
Minnesota Marathon Players Group
http://www.bitstream.net/power7/
Power of 7 Home Page (Makers of M2 and M-Infinity music)
http://gecko.desires.com/2.1/Toys/M2/m2p1.html
Tech-Toys Marathon 2 Review
http://www.junction.co.uk/bits_folder/marathon.html
The Junction - Bits - Marathon
http://www.undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca/~njlomore/marathon.html
Nick's Corner: Marathon/Marathon2
Did I forget you? Mail you URLs to me! <errera@ese.ogi.edu>
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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