Ground Zero Countdown

GameSpot News has learned that Quake II Mission Pack: Ground Zero is almost ready to code release. If all goes well, you should see it in stores within the next two weeks. As the game was being readied, we talked to Jim Molinets, the head honcho at Rogue Entertainment, to see what the final version of Ground Zero will look like.

"We're gonna have 15 single-player levels and 14 multiplayer levels," said Molinets. "One of them is our version of the Edge." This multiplayer map is a modified version of Xatrix's modified Edge map. Ground Zero will also include the multiplayer game of tag, which plays like it did in Dissolution of Eternity, Rogue's Quake I pack. Basically, once a person grabs the tag token, he glows yellow and starts nabbing extra kill points for each frag he collects. Other players can try to frag him, and if successful, acquire the tag token and other goodies. Once the tagged person gets ten frags, the tag token resets to a random spot on the map.

Molinets was also able to give us the final list of weapons. There is the chainsaw (similar to Doom's chainsaw); the ETF rifle, which fires off explosive fleschettes that ignore armor; the proximity mine launcher; the plasma beam, which has infinite range and fires a steady laser beam; and the tesla mine, which when thrown down activates and shoots lightning bolts at all enemies in proximity.

Power-ups include the double-damage artifact, the IR goggles (turning all enemies, including campers, a bright red), and the three spheres. There is a vengeance sphere that fires off a rocket at an enemy when your hit points reduce to 25, a defender sphere that shoots blaster fire at nearby enemies, and a hunter sphere that fires off a homing rocket at your killer.

One of the biggest improvements for Ground Zero will be new enemies, upgraded monsters, and an improved AI.

Two improved enemies are the daedalus (an upgraded icarus) and the medic commander (an upgraded medic). The daedalus has more hit points, fires a better blaster, and has a power shield. The medic commander also has more hit points, an improved blaster, and can revive dead guys who aren't gibbed or teleport in new enemies. Depending on difficulty level, the medic commander will warp in troopers, infantry, gunners, medics, and gladiators.

As for the improved AI of the monsters, Molinets had this to say: "Gunners have been upgraded so they also have predictive firing. We also upped the range on their grenades." Other monsters also have been improved: "We added a run and shoot for the gunner and trooper. We added jumping to the infantry, gunner, and berserker. They'll jump up or down to get you."

"We've also added blind fire," said Molinets. What this means is a monster will fire at your last known spot, so if you decide to duck behind a wall and then poke your head out again, it could be taken off with a delayed blast. Of course, the higher the skill level, the better the enemies.

Also added to the monster AI is the ability to track you down throughout a level. Molinets said, "We added hint paths. If you walk into a room and wake up all the monsters, normally, the monsters would wander around until you came back. Now, they'll chase you around levels, open doors, call platforms, etc. to hunt you down. The hint paths show the monsters how to get to you."

The berserkers from Quake II were supposed to be able to do this, but now they really will be able to follow you. Better yet, the new hint paths won't be restricted to just the berserker. "It's universal. All the monsters get the hint paths," said Molinets.

The all-new monster in the game is the stalker, which is a spider-like creature that has a blaster attack and a melee attack. It can dodge your attacks and jump onto ceilings and attack from there. The two bosses of the game will be the massive carrier and the mysterious black widow.

Molinets was excited about Ground Zero, and with all the enhancements it will bring to Quake II, so are we.