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Level name: Aurora Outpost
Author:     Solrazor
E-mail:     kyouryuu@myway.com
Web site:   http://www.descent-3.com/solrazor
Date:       April 22nd, 2003
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----------
BACKGROUND
----------
Alright, so it's been what?  Almost four years
since the release of Descent 3?  And yet here
I am offering this Descent 1 level.  What am I
thinking?

In all honesty, Aurora Outpost was built to do
two things.  One, it was an introduction to
Descent Mission Builder II which, before now,
I have never used for building levels.  All
of my earlier work - Project: Mandrill, Phobos
Encounter, Chasm - was generated using DEVIL.

But when Windows XP rolled around, DEVIL became
unfeasible.  So, it was off to learn DMB2.
Fortunately, Dark Wolf was there to teach me the
ropes and I quickly mastered this editor.  With
the exception of its irritating tendency to
overwrite the TXB files, DMB2 is definitely a
better, more stable editor.

However, there was one major qualm I always had
with DMB2.  The curve generator was not very
flexible.  Unless cubes were a tremendous distance
apart, smooth and graceful curves seemed impossible.

Then, I remembered a little program Bryan Aamot
and company whipped up back in the day called
Descent Block Builder.  Yes, this was the solution
I was looking for!  Now any sort of curve is possible
and I feel more empowered with Descent 1/2 level
design than ever before.

That was the first reason.

The second reason was the recent influx of levels
on PlanetDescent for the classic Descent games.
Although you have to hand it to the newcomers for
trying, the levels suffered from the typical
fallacies of first attempts.  20x20x20 cube
extravaganzas, 4-D special effects, and bizarre
overall composition.  I built Aurora Outpost with
this in mind, attempting to show the newcomers
how I feel a Descent level ought be done and
to give them something fresh and new to look at
and imitate.  We were all newbies once and we
all had those we looked up to at one point or
another.  My hope is that Aurora Outpost will
serve as inspiration for future generations of
Descent level designers.

That would be the most fulfilling work I would
have ever done for this game.

- Solrazor
- April 22nd, 2003

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FILES
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AURBRIEF.TXB     The briefing file for Aurora Outpost
AURORA.TXB       Escape sequence data
GAME01.HMP       Soundtrack file
GAME01.HMQ       Soundtrack file for FM-synth cards
MOON01.PCX       Replacement Saturn background for briefing
MOON03.BBM       Custom planet terrain texture for escape sequence*
AURORA.RDL       Core level file
AUR.TXT          This file

* = On a side note, BBMs are just graphics files that
are a variable on the Amiga Interchange Format.  This
is a format that Paint Shop Pro 7 can actually read
(I think previous versions can as well).  While PSP7
may or may not recognize the BBM as a graphics file,
it will open it if you ask it to.  You can then edit
it and save it without problems.  I discovered this
trick by accident a long time ago.

-----------------
LEVEL INFORMATION
-----------------
1792 vertices
472 cubes
4 robot makers
14 fuel centers
120 walls
136 objects
86 robots
4 hostages
8 players
34 powerups
1 reactor
3 cooperative players
49 textures

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EDITORS USED
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Descent Mission Builder II	For making the level
Yahoma				First phase HOG manager
Hoggle				Second phase HOG manager
Descent Block Builder 2.1	Curve generation utility
Paint Shop Pro 7		For BBM file creation

-----------------
SPECIAL THANKS TO
-----------------
Dark Wolf: For tips on the exit sequence and teaching me
how to use DMB2 after having used DEVIL exclusively for
so long!

Valin Halcyon: For beta testing.

Descent Network: For still maintaining a repository of
old level design tools.

The DescentBB and the PlanetDescent forums: For caring. ;)

The Newcomers: Keep on trying! :D