+------------------------------------------------- ---- --- -- -
|                   The Poseidon Incident
|                by Michael "Karma" Heilemann
|         for the Half-Life ERC Map and a Half Contest
+------------------------------------------ ---- --- -- -

Map Title       : The Poseidon Incident
Author          : Michael "Karma" Heilemann
                  karma@get2net.dk
Description     : Singleplayer Map for Half-Life
Release Date    : 31/05-1999
Tools Used      : Worldcraft 2.1
                  Paintshop Pro 5.01
                  QBSP, QCSG, VIS, RAD
                  Compile.bat by Autolycos
                  Notepad
                  QEdit
Build Time      : Almost Daily for 1 Month
Compile Time    : XX
Credits         : Half-Life CD Track 28
Additional Help : Chris -  Ashton, Textures
                  Gage -  Scripted Sequnces Explanations
                  Rikke -  For being the perfect girlfriend
                  Sunbeam & ZeroDown -  For being you...


[..Original Idea/Concept.......................................]

 I've been the Lead Designer on a Total Convertion for Half-Life
 for some time now, and when I saw the map and a half contest
 at the Half-Life ERC, I decided to try out...

 So I based the map on the concept of one of the levels from the
 first episode in USCM: Infestation (the TC I'm working on). A
 dark and scary underwater rig.

 And before you go and do something stupid:
 
 Many (actually most) of the textures in this level are the
 creation of Chris Ashton, our brilliant graphician, they are
 the property of USCM: Infestation and can NOT be used without
 consulting either me or Chris for permission first.

 I tried to go and do something that would actually look realistic 
 and believable and not just the standard lab or military base.
 And I also wanted to include a fairly plausible plotline in it,
 if not for anything else, then to honor Valve's incredible
 plotline in Half-Life.

 Just as a quick note, I HATE single player maps where you don't
 start with the HEV suit on, it might be more unrealistic due
 to the fact that you might not be wearing a HEV suit a the time
 where the map starts, but who cares?

 So I've decided to let the player start out with the HEV suit
 on, that way he knows how much health he has, he can change
 weapons and so on...

 I've modified a couple of files though, which resulted in
 the fact that I could give the player the HEV suit without the
 regular sounds... nifty eh?

 Oh BTW, this is my first ever (EVER!) released map... actually,
 it's the first map I've ever done

 Anyways, as I sit here, few hours from sending it in to Autolycos,
 I've finally found out how much work goes into a level before 
 release, and with summer and all I must admit that I might have 
 prioritized my time wrong (or right, depends...). Which in turn 
 means that the level is only half the size I originally planned
 it to be.

 I never planned it to be a complex level though, since it's part 
 of a underwater complex about 6-8 times the size, but all that
 will have to wait... on with the story...


[..Installation................................................]

 Create a directory in x:\half-life\ called poseidon, that
 should give the following directory structure:

     x:\half-life\poseidon\

 And then unzip the poseidon.zip file into that directory,
 including the subdirectories. This will then include the
 special customized files that I have done to make certain
 things possible, such as let the player start with the HEV
 suit, but not hear the login from the suit that usual annoys
 the shit out of everyone :)

 Then you have to startup Half-Life with the following
 parameters:

    hl.exe -game poseidon +map poseidon

 If you know how to use the console, then you probably also
 know how to startup HL with it, and then you can change the
 skill level of the map by typing "skill x" where x is a number
 from 0 - 2.


[..Poseidon Profile............................................]

 Pseidon is a submerged deep sea laboratory sponsored by
 CryoTech Incorporated, a large firm dealing mainly with
 kryotechnology (would you believe that they started out by
 selling regfrigerators?).

 It's located just east of Denmark, about 110 km of the coast
 of Aalborg, a major danish city. The rig is a cooperation 
 between the danish fraction of Cryotech (Cryotech DK) and the
 HQ in the States. Most of the staff is american of origin 
 though.

 CryoTech has just recently finished work on a revolutionizing
 new technology that allows for the freezing of a humanbeing
 into suspended animation almost indefinatly.

 The new breakthrough is based on a biochip, which was recently
 received from a mysterious sponsor. All the facets of the chip 
 isn't known yet, but the scientists are working around the 
 clock hours to figure out it's mysteries.

 Unfortunatly, not all people play the game fair, so somewhere
 someone has leaked the information on the biochip to the wrong
 people. The government

[..The Story...................................................]

 "Goverment Troops have entered the base, government troops
 have.."

 BUDDA BUDDA BUDDA!!

 The inter-com, that had just torn you from your deepest sleep, 
 went dead after a burst of what had seemed like machinegun fire.

 You raise yourself up on your elbows and look around your room,
 the rest of the guys that usually sleep there weren't anywhere 
 to be seen... Government Troops, what had he meant?

 Swinging your legs over the edge of the bed you bang your head
 into the bed above you, cursing at these stupid things you quickly
 get dressed because you want to go and find out what is happening.

 You reach in under your bed for what you like to call your
 security-rod, some people just like to call it a crowbar, but
 what do they know? You can never be to certain these days...

 As you head for the door you suddenly hear someone yell "but
 what on earth might I have doe to deserve this dreadful fate?"

 His question is simply answered with a long burst of a machine
 gun and his last words dissolve in what seems like a bloodgurl.

 "2-1, you get the last room the rest follow me, 2-2, you and 3-2,
 you start rigging the cargo bay while we prepare the upper deck!"

 "Shit" you think to yourself, he's coming in here! Looks like
 those hours at the gym will be paying off anyways. You press
 yourself against the wall, tightning your grip on the only thing
 that stands in the way between you and whoever is about to open
 the door...

 The door opens and in the same second you thrust everything
 you've got into the crowbar, making a large nice circle and 
 bashing it right into the face of a gas-masked marine. With a
 nice crunchy CRACK he's thrown to the floor.

 "You can't ever be too sure!" you think to yourself as you 
 subsequently bash his skull a couple of times until it seems to
 be adequatly pulpy.

 No one seems to have heard your little rage trip, and you bend
 down to search the poor guy who didn't stand a chance against a 
 top trained scientist such as yourself...

 Now you'd better get the hell outta here and find some means of 
 getting of the rig, preferably alive! Heading towards the elevator
 will take you topside, from there you might be able to call for 
 help.


 Thanks for reading this far... :)
