Commenor Spaceport: Pursuit of Cycy Loctob

Author(s): Dave BRB Ralph

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Shortly after you retrieved the Nava Card containing smuggler routes to the Arc Hammer from Nar Shaddaa, you received notice that the information had been split onto TWO cards shortly before you arrived. The second was taken to Commenor Spaceport by Cycy Loctob. Your job is to track it down. You are also to retrieve a sample of what is believed to be a companion alloy to the Phrik Metal, known as Deusanium. Be warned: General Mohc is also believed to be in the vicinity of the Spaceport.

Major plot problems aside, I like the story the author has come up with. The addition of the new alloy into the picture, along with his detailed description of its uses, adds a little life to what would otherwise be a pretty mediocre level. It shows some creativity on the author's part. Unfortunately, that creative streak doesn't carry through to the level. The major problems stem mostly from the plot. With a plot closely resembling that of Nar Shaddaa, the author has trapped himself in an area with little room for improvement: Nar Shadda was one of the more complex, difficult, and enveloping levels of the game, and the best the author can do is copy it. There is nothing really new here, it's just a revamped Nar Shaddaa with some new puzzles and a new WAX. Where the level really fails is the authors inability to use the resources he has at hand. With dozens of new textures, waxes, etc available, he confines himself to the native Dark Forces ones. And what he does use, he uses over, and over, and over. He never breaks free of the mold and does something interesting. The architecture is basically one-level, with square corners as far as the eye can see, even though editors and the engine allow for much more interesting surroundings. Speaking of Kyle on spice... One interesting problem, for all the Dark Forces programmers out there, is the phantom commandos. Every now and then stormtroopers and commandos appear and disappear. Rooms overlap, just sitting at the edge of your vision. Corpses slide across the floor. It's quite harrowing to turn a corner and see a half-dozen troops there, spray the area with laserfire, and then watch them disappear. Talk about Kyle on spice! These phantom soldiers won't shoot at you, or even acknowledge your prescence, but they can still spook you. The author is aware of this, but doesn't know what might be causing it. I have no idea either.

Despite all the grumbling, the level really isn't that bad. My comparison to Nar Shadda was intended; it copies the atmosphere nicely, but remains a copy, and an obvious one. There are places where the author does some nice stuff, reminiscient of A New Hope, but the whole thing never gets off the ground. It's an average level for a first-timer; hopefully we'll see some more in the future.

Level(s) replaced:	Fuel Station (12)
Difficulty Settings:	No

New BMs:	No
New FMEs:	No
New WAXs:	Yes
New 3DOs:	Yes
New VOCs:	No
New GMDs:	No
New LFDs:	No

Base:	New level from scratch
Editor(s) used:	DFUSE
Known Bugs:	The phantom commandos are an interesting addition. There is also some HOMs in the longer hallways.
Download Commenor Spaceport: Pursuit of Cycy Loctob (commstat.zip, 76k)

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These pages originally created and maintained by Geoffrey Elliott, c. 1997.
Last Updated February 13, 2004