Inviting people to Descent 1-2+Veritgo stream

Descent mission help and more WARNING: Spoilers inside!

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Bitey
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Inviting people to Descent 1-2+Veritgo stream

Post by Bitey »

Hey this is my first post here and I've recently been running through the Descent series 1-2 + Veritgo on Ace/Insane playthroughs nearly blind since it's been so long. I've been streaming roughly every day for a few hours as I slug my way through the series. Here is one of the ideal highlights where I wasn't able to remember how Descent Level 6 red key worked with a pretty vivid reaction:

http://www.twitch.tv/bitey/c/6465784

I've also been somewhat looking for tips or other people to proceed on some Co-op missions as well as some recommended custom campaigns. Hope you guys enjoy and I look forward to playing a few MP rounds if anyone has time.
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Re: Inviting people to Descent 1-2+Veritgo stream

Post by Alter-Fox »

Awesome.
Are you an 11th Doctor fan or is the name just a coincidence?

I'll take a look at this in a little while, too hyper right now. :D
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Re: Inviting people to Descent 1-2+Veritgo stream

Post by Bitey »

Nah I've been Bitey for quite awhile, but my handle for way back when I played some multiplayer was "Blackstorm" such a childs name :P

While I have someone's attention. I've been really struggling between playing Descent 2 on Ace vs Insane, on one hand I find D2 Ace really easy compaired to my D1 Ace run. But at the same time D2's Insane is exceptionally challenging almost to the point of being too frustrating to play sometimes. I was wondering if anyone else has some tips or if others feel that way?


Also please suggest more custom campaigns :D
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Re: Inviting people to Descent 1-2+Veritgo stream

Post by Alter-Fox »

All I can say is I've had way more trouble with Descent 1 on insane than 2. I finished Descent 2 in a few weeks but on 1 I always run out of lives around map 16-19. I have no idea why people say Descent 1 is easier on insane.
I finished Descent 1 on Ace but I still had a harder time than 2.
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Re: Inviting people to Descent 1-2+Veritgo stream

Post by Lothar »

A bunch of us in the Descent:Underground chat were watching your stream the other day. I actually had 3 Descent streams, a D:U interview, and D:U chat going at once.

Pretty interesting stream.

If you're looking for a D1 campaign to try out, take a look at http://www.enspiar.com/dmdb/viewMission.php?id=988 (it's hard, but a fun/fair kind of hard.)
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Re: Inviting people to Descent 1-2+Veritgo stream

Post by Bitey »

Lothar wrote:A bunch of us in the Descent:Underground chat were watching your stream the other day. I actually had 3 Descent streams, a D:U interview, and D:U chat going at once.

Pretty interesting stream.

If you're looking for a D1 campaign to try out, take a look at http://www.enspiar.com/dmdb/viewMission.php?id=988 (it's hard, but a fun/fair kind of hard.)
I'll take a look at it, I just finished descent 2 on insane yesterday night. It took 11 hours which was not as much as I expected, but some of those deaths dying multiple times in a row is terrifying. I'm curious if anyone else thinks that the Ace/Insane difficutly swing in D2 is as extreme as I felt. To me D2 ace was easy compared to D1, does anyone know why? I feel it's because there aren't Class 1 Driller and Red hulks all over but can't quite put my finger on it.

D1 was full of fear/worry so I'm looking to play some campaigns that capture that feeling in either game.
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Re: Inviting people to Descent 1-2+Veritgo stream

Post by Sirius »

Yep. There are multiple reasons; those two robots are definitely part of it, but also the fact that you have Gauss (which prevents the target from firing) and that D2 has a lot of longer lines-of-sight than D1. It really only picks up and matches D1 in the last four levels.

But Insane? Yeah, that's always a step up. The robots move faster, shoot faster, do more damage per hit etc etc. It's a big step up in D1 as well.

Anyway, there are a couple D2 campaigns I can think of that should rival D1... or exceed it, I guess:
The Enemy Within (2012; 26 levels + 6 secret): http://enspiar.com/dmdb/viewMission.php?id=561
This one comes and goes; but if you can get through level 4 you'll be okay.
The Apocalyptic Factor (2002; 15 levels): http://enspiar.com/dmdb/viewMission.php?id=418
Probably not as brutal as TEW at its peaks, but a little more consistent in difficulty level. (Edit: you don't need to run the .exe; it's some kind of cosmetic .ham patch to tweak one of the animations)
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Re: Inviting people to Descent 1-2+Veritgo stream

Post by Xfing »

Damn, why didn't I find out about this sooner. Good stuff!

On Ace, I also used to think D1 was way harder, but right now I'm not that convinced actually. D2 has introduced prediction firing from robots, that alone necessitates that you learn to dodge basically from scratch, it's harder to master too.

The lack of Class 1 Drillers and Super Hulks is a welcome respite though.
Descent 1,5: Level layouts done: 52/54 Secret level layouts done: 1/6
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Re: Inviting people to Descent 1-2+Veritgo stream

Post by Bitey »

Xfing wrote:Damn, why didn't I find out about this sooner. Good stuff!

On Ace, I also used to think D1 was way harder, but right now I'm not that convinced actually. D2 has introduced prediction firing from robots, that alone necessitates that you learn to dodge basically from scratch, it's harder to master too.

The lack of Class 1 Drillers and Super Hulks is a welcome respite though.
Yeah I'm almost finished with the Veritgo set now, about half way through on Insane. I think the major difference is that the feeling of D1 levels is cramped, small, and anything can happen in the next part of the tunnel. Even with prediction a wide room with robots is more like trying to figure out how to fly and win combat, rather then taking a careful approach. Long LOS means lots of time to react.

I personally miss the confied feeling of the unknown in D1 while I've been playing the D2 series. But oh well :D I've been playing alot of multiplayer too, which words don't describe how much fun it is.
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Re: Inviting people to Descent 1-2+Veritgo stream

Post by Xfing »

Yeah, D1 is hard precisely because you've got a standard-cube-width tunnel and a missile platformer or three in it. The splash damage alone is gonna make you sorry. In D2 there's plenty more open spaces (even more so in Vertigo). Some robots are harder in open spaces and some are in tunnels, I think Parallax was pretty good at determining which ones are which.
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Re: Inviting people to Descent 1-2+Veritgo stream

Post by Sirius »

Vertigo did have quite a few wide open spaces, but it also brought the pain back in a lot of places that weren't open. Pilots coming straight from the Counterstrike campaign have to kind of brace themselves.
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Re: Inviting people to Descent 1-2+Veritgo stream

Post by Xfing »

Sirius wrote:Vertigo did have quite a few wide open spaces, but it also brought the pain back in a lot of places that weren't open. Pilots coming straight from the Counterstrike campaign have to kind of brace themselves.
I'm actually getting my hind section handed to me in Counterstrike level 10 on Ace, haha. Those hornets where you pick up the yellow key (or was it red?) can catch one off guard. I admit, I've been underestimating D2.

Baloris Prime's still easy tho.
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Re: Inviting people to Descent 1-2+Veritgo stream

Post by Alter-Fox »

Oh yeah Baloris Prime has no seekers and no lou guards. It has some tight corridors but not many bots that actually take advantage of them. :D
It's got the red fatty jr's but they're not so deadly. I need to finish my cold-start Ace run, I got to level 19 and then just, like, left it there. It must be because of this slow insanity. 18 is pretty hard on a cold start but that's only because you don't get any good weapons until right around the blue key, with a bunch of tough bots in your way. :P
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Re: Inviting people to Descent 1-2+Veritgo stream

Post by Bitey »

Well a small update and just a brief read over all the new posts. I think Vertigo has been the perfect combination of D1-D2 into a package that has really captured the feel in the later levels of D1's tension, 14-18 have been really stressful and full of lots of wonderful jump scare robots who come out of despicable vanishing walls to shred my ship. If you haven't managed to capture the Vertigo play through I'll start highlighting it on my channel because it's been such a rush.

@Xfing those levels 9-12 were so insanely hard due to the mercury bros wrecking my ship. I actually died/struggled more on 9-12 then I did moving through 13-20 just due to the size, difficulty and MERCURY MISSILES. Not to mention on insane, the robot makers never stop and any reactor room with a spawner is a death trap needing a complex solution to solve it.
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Re: Inviting people to Descent 1-2+Veritgo stream

Post by Sirius »

Xfing wrote:I'm actually getting my hind section handed to me in Counterstrike level 10 on Ace, haha. Those hornets where you pick up the yellow key (or was it red?) can catch one off guard. I admit, I've been underestimating D2.
Yeah, I did that level practicing speedrunning them recently. That bit will do it.
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Re: Inviting people to Descent 1-2+Veritgo stream

Post by Alter-Fox »

How do you speedrun a map where you can't tell which guppy has the yellow key?
I want to see this...
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Re: Inviting people to Descent 1-2+Veritgo stream

Post by Bitey »

Alter-Fox wrote:How do you speedrun a map where you can't tell which guppy has the yellow key?
I want to see this...

Only when they group up, the KEY to getting the key is killing the key-holding guppy before he gets to his friends. He has a starting spawn location in that section.
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Re: Inviting people to Descent 1-2+Veritgo stream

Post by DarkFlameWolf »

Shameless pimping of my levels here but here are the sets I made if interested:

Bahagad Outbreak - 10 levels, 2 secret levels, one new boss, kruel-made final boss arena, and a few new robots strewn throughout the levels. A good, small quality mission set for Descent 2, was also my first created.
Link: http://enspiar.com/dmdb/viewMission.php?id=553

The Lost Levels - 25 levels, 1 secret level accessed by any boss level, 6 brand new boss robots, Vertigo robots included without needing Vertigo mission to play, new music + Descent 1 music soundtrack. One of my largest mission sets made for Descent 2, meant to invoke the feel of the original Descent 1. The custom HAM utilizes two new pyro models, also include a slew of new weapons to use, both for you and the robots. EDIT: New Weapons are installed without need to use batch file anymore.
Link: http://enspiar.com/dmdb/viewMission.php?id=554

The Lost Levels for Descent 1 - Lost Levels remixed for the Descent 1 engine. I had to hack off the secret level and all the boss levels and the final four levels due to engine limitations for Descent 1, but beyond that, tbere are 16 solid levels to play in the set in classic Descent 1 style.
Link: http://enspiar.com/dmdb/viewMission.php?id=555

The Enemy Within - Multiple designers, 32 levels, 6 secret levels, all new robot line-up, brand new soundtrack, new player ship and HUD. What more could you ask for? Intense single player campaign for Descent 2 of high quality. Update 10/01/2010: Most robot stats have been nerfed to make the set easier on skill levels Ace and lower. Robot placement is also modified to be easier on some of the more intense levels. Various bug fixes.
Link: http://enspiar.com/dmdb/viewMission.php?id=561

Descent Vignettes (for Descent 1) - A fun 25 level + 2 secret level set that focuses mainly on strong, fast, challenging gameplay and a bunch of robots to blast! Each level centers around a central theme and doesn't deviate much from that theme. Furthermore, there is at least one room in each level where you can have a good all-out dogfight with a bunch of robots! Finally, the secret level exits are on level 11 and level 19. Leave the reactor room and search for newly opened areas once the reactor blows!
Link: http://enspiar.com/dmdb/viewMission.php?id=560

Apocalyptic Factor for Descent 1 - These levels were originally made by Darkhorse and Sirius. I have currently only converted levels 1-10 of Apocalyptic Factor to Descent 1 for co-op play. I probably will not convert and add more levels at this time. I had to alter how certain levels play to accommodate for Descent 1's limitations, but I feel co-op players will have a fun ride in this one. Remember, its out to kill ya! Enjoy the 10-level D1 conversion beta of Apocalyptic Factor!
Link: http://enspiar.com/dmdb/viewMission.php?id=573

For some of my more notable Multiplayer levels:
Azure Catacombs - http://enspiar.com/dmdb/viewMission.php?id=559
---D1 Version: http://enspiar.com/dmdb/viewMission.php?id=600
Castle de le Muerte - http://enspiar.com/dmdb/viewMission.php?id=550
---D1 Version: http://enspiar.com/dmdb/viewMission.php?id=598
Chocobo World (for Descent 3) - http://enspiar.com/dmdb/viewMission.php?id=552
Infernal Cavern - http://enspiar.com/dmdb/viewMission.php?id=548
---D1 Version: http://enspiar.com/dmdb/viewMission.php?id=546
The Purple Room - http://enspiar.com/dmdb/viewMission.php?id=639
---D1 Version: http://enspiar.com/dmdb/viewMission.php?id=638
Wolfie's Tea Room - http://enspiar.com/dmdb/viewMission.php?id=558

There are more MP levels on my profile, but those are the more noteworthy/popular ones of the group.

EDIT: I also just noticed someone went through and rated all my levels the lowest rating possible...very mature.
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Re: Inviting people to Descent 1-2+Veritgo stream

Post by Alter-Fox »

If you turned up the volume in the game and on your microphone there'd be a lot less background noise in your recordings.
BTW actually got a chance to watch some of these now... I have to say, in the psychology business we'd call shooting missiles at inoffensive walls a symptom of severe paranoid delusions. :D
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