Shunned by the Empire and most of the galaxy after the defeat of his brother Rom in the Dark Trooper conflict, Thon Mohc has retreated to Mytus VII, a prison planet otherwise known as Stars End. There he has enlisted the help of smugglers in preparing a new weapon: a cloaking device small enough to be worn by a single man. Your job is to penetrate the training facility, find some information on where Thon is getting his construction materials, and then blow the place to bits. |
I will warn you right away that I beta-tested this level and one or
two of my suggestions were actually deemed worthy to be used in it. So
there may be a bit of bias in my review. I'll try to stay legitimate
however.
I don't think that many will be able to argue when I say that this is one of the better levels to be built for Dark Forces. An eveloping plot pulls you in right from the start, and the level takes over from there. I can't tell too much without giving a lot away, but here are a few points you'll enjoy.
Lots of new textures, designs and ideas abound in this level, some of which are best left for you to discover. They look great and really I wish more authors would put in the time to do these kind of things. The architecture is also very nice, combining lots of new stuff with bits and pieces from the original Dark Trooper construction facility on the Arc Hammer to ensure a sense of deja vu but without making it feel too stale. Parts of the level do feel recycled though. You'll know what I mean when you get there. A few new additions make it exciting enough that you really won't mind, but I wish that there could have been more to make the place original. The climax of the level is totally original though, absolutely staggering in its effect and it really looks, sounds, feels, moves great. But I got the feeling that it was also done mostly for show. I would have preferred an option, a choose your own adventure style where the player can take either way out. I still would have chosen the dramatic one, but the option would make a lot of difference. |
Level(s) replaced: | SECBASE |
Difficulty Settings: | Yes |
New BMs: | Yes |
New FMEs: | No |
New WAXs: | Yes |
New 3DOs: | Yes |
New VOCs: | Yes |
New GMDs: | No |
New LFDs: | Yes |
New VUEs: | Yes |
Base: | New level created from scratch. |
Editor(s) used: | WDFUSE 2.00 |
Known Bugs: | Some HOMing outside the base. And the author claims that "all hell breaks loose" if you jump while crouching in the tram or escape pod. So don't. |
Download Stars End - The Cloak (starsend.zip, 954k) |