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F A Q

Version 2.01pT
Preliminary version

"Sit down, disconnect the phone, and send the kids to bed. You're in
for quite a ride."
-From the README.TXT in Descent II

This document is not a replacement for the README.TXT which ships with
both Descent and Descent II. Please read that first; this document is
intended as a supplement, not as a replacement.

All specific names included herein are trademarks: Descent, Interplay
Productions, Parallax Software, FlightStick, Gravis GamePad, Pentium,
Intel, Cyrix, Id Software, Doom, Quake, Apogee, Wolfenstein 3D, IBM,
OS/2, OS/2 Warp, PC Gamer, CompuServe, America Online, GEnie, Microsoft
Windows, Smartdrive, Return of the Jedi, Star Wars, Death Star, Virtual
I/O, iGlasses!, VictorMaxx, CyberMaxx, Logitech, Wingman Extreme, Windows
95, Prodigy. Any trademarks not mentioned here are hypothetically
acknowledged.

This document is copyright (C)1995-96, John D. DeCuir (decuir@ucla.edu).
All rights reserved.

Last updated 12/23/95.
-----
Editor's Note:

If you're used to the old text FAQ, and you think that this FAQ
looks a lot worse than the old one, you're right. Quite frankly,
I'm putting 95% of my effort into the World-Wide Web version
of the FAQ, which looks and operates many times better than
this text version (which is essentially a text dump of the
WWW HTML pages). The WWW version has hyperlinks, graphics,
and many other features not found in this text document.

You can access the WWW FAQ via a WWW browser to this URL:
http://www.primenet.com/~decuirjd/faq/

Thanks for your understanding.
-jdd
-----
Table of Contents


* New!
* Introduction
o What is Descent?
o Why is Descent so revolutionary?
o What does Descent II offer?
o When will Descent II, the retail version, be released?
o Will there be a rebate for Descent II for original Descent
owners?
o I have System X. Will Descent run on it?
o What are the system requirements for Descent?
o Where can I get Descent?
o How can I contact Interplay?
o Is there source code available?
o Is there a Descent newsgroup on Usenet?
o Does Descent support any VR equipment?
o What are the new weapons in Descent II?
* Strategy
o I think Descent is too easy.
o I think Descent is too hard.
o I'm lost in the maze. Any suggestions?
o I'm having trouble controlling my ship.
o How can I detect cloaked robots?
o The secret resource: lava
o How do I kill the boss robot at the end of level 7?? (Descent I)
o A walkthrough of Level 7 (Descent I)
o How do I get that Helix Cannon in level 2? (Descent II)
o How do I get the Gauss cannon? (Descent II)
o How do I get the Phoenix and/or Omega weapons in the interactive
demo? (Descent II)
o What do flash missiles do? (Descent II)
o What is the guide bot? (Descent II)
o What is the thief bot? (Descent II)
o What is the evil bot? (Descent II)
o Is there a way to get out of level 2 without getting wrecked by
the creation zone near the exit? (Descent II)
* Cheats
o What are the cheat codes for Descent I?
o What are the cheat codes for Descent II?
o Are there any secret levels in Descent II?
* Homebrew
o Will a level editor be released?
o What is DEVIL?
o Where can I find homebrew levels?
o Okay, I've gotten a new level. How do I play it?
* Multiplayer
o Can I play other humans in Descent?
o Does each computer require a distinct version of the software?
o Why do different computers play differently on a multiplayer
game?
o Can I play Descent on the Internet?
o Is there a good place to meet other players?
o A note about networking and Descent
o How can I play those neat Chaos levels by myself? (Descent I)
o What are some multiplayer tactics suggestions?
* Troubleshooting
* Other Links

NEW!

* 12/23/95: Converted to text. Added table of contents.
* 12/21/95: Added the best method for getting the Helix weapon. Added a
new cheat to Descent II. New question on rebates for original Descent
owners on Descent II.
* 12/19/95: Incorporated Jesse Kornblum's excellent Descent II
interactive demo FAQ. (Thanks to Jesse, Joe Vandeweert, Ted Yang, Ben
Damm, Aaron Teitlebaum, and Steven Cox.) New sections include what
Descent II offers, the release date of Descent II, new weapons in
Descent II, how to get the Gauss weapon, how to get other weapons in
Descent II, what the Flash Missile does, new bots (Guide bot, Thief
bot, Evil bot), how to get out of level 2 in Descent II, and secret
levels in Descent II.
* 12/18/95: Threw out old FAQ 1.x, revised entire FAQ. Result is a new
and improved FAQ version 2.0! Basically everything here is new.


INTRODUCTION
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
What is Descent?

"Descent is a heart-pounding, gun-wrenching, edge-of-your-seat experience."
-from the README.TXT file in Descent

"The sensation of speed is amazing, and the 3D, texture-mapped graphics
make this game a genuine joy to behold."
-PC Gamer

Descent is a game from Interplay and Parallax Software. It immerses you in
a full 3D environment with 6 degrees of freedom -- you truly have the
experience of weightlessness and zero gravity.

You are a pilot who must rescue hostages and blow up the reactors of
certain enemy mines. However, there are many, many robot drones out to
destroy you before you destroy them. When the reactor blows, you have less
than a minute to get out of there before you go with it!

You are given an arsenal of different weapons. Also, you have finite energy
and shield strength, both of which may be replenished in the course of the
game.

Descent boasts true heightmapping and light sourcing -- the textures and
feel of the game are absolutely real. And the light effects are terrific --
try shooting a missile down a dark corridor and watch it light the walls
along its path, or in Descent II try shooting out a couple of lights on the
ceiling and watch the room get darker.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Why is Descent so revolutionary?

Descent boasts a true 3-D environment with six degrees of freedom. This
means you have three axes of motion and three axes of rotation. In other
words, you can go in any possible direction that you want, not just walk
around the floor. Descent also has 3D texture-mapped polygon enemies, and
unrestricted level design, far surpassing the efforts of other 3D games of
its time.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
What does Descent II offer? (jk)

The new features include (but are never limited!) to: ten new weapons,
thirty new levels, thirty new robots, flowing lava and water, a CD
soundtrack featuring Ogre from Skinny Puppy, afterburners, full-map
powerup, ammo rack powerup, energy->shield tranfers, flash missles, guided
missiles, smart mines, headlight powerup. full-motion high- resolution
cinematics, new anarchy levels, SVGA support, blastable lights, and lots of
multiplayer options!

Not all of these features are found in the interactive demo.

As of this writing, Descent II exists only for the PC world. There is no
Mac version of Descent II yet.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
When will Descent II, the retail version, be released? (jk)

The official word from Interplay is "First Quarter 1996," which means
"anywhere from January to March in 1996."

According to Mike Kulas of Parallax Software on alt.games.descent, the
release date is scheduled to be March 14th. This, however, is unofficial
and still set in Jell-O.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Will there be a rebate for Descent II for original Descent owners?

Mike Kulas writes:

"Back when we were saying that, what is now Descent II was called Descent:
CD-Enhanced. There wasn't going to be a shareware, there were only going to
be about 5 to 10 levels, a few new bots and weapons and cutscenes and
digital music. It turned out to be about three to four times that large and
was worthy of being called a sequel (we think).

I'm not sure if Interplay every publicly stated that they would provide a
rebate, but that's what we were told, so we passed it on. I'm sorry to say
that we haven't heard anything about a rebate in months, so I'd have to say
such plans were scrapped because of the size of the sequel.

It might sound like a copout, but the rebate was promised for buyers of
CD-Enhanced. At that time, we didn't know that that project would be
scrapped in favor of Descent II.

If you're unhappy, and I wouldn't blame you for being unhappy if you paid
$40, please contact Interplay and let them know."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have System X. Will Descent run on it?

* MS-DOS 5.0 or greater: Yes.
* Windows 3.1: Yes, although it is not recommended. You are better off
exiting Windows and running it from DOS. If you want to run it under
3.1, here are the PIF settings:
o Optional Paramaters: -JoyPolled
o EMS Memory: KB Limit -1
o XMS Memory: KB Limit -1
o Display Usage: Full Screen
o Execution: Exclusive
* Windows 95: Yes.
* OS/2: Increase your DPMI_MEMORY_LIMIT to 8 megs or more. Descent
should run fine with full sound. If your joystick behaves strangely,
try using the "-JoyPolled" command line option.
* Linux: There are no plans for a port of Descent to Linux.
* Power Macintosh: Yes (only Descent I for now)
* Atari 2600: No. :)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
What are the system requirements for Descent?

From the README.TXT:

Requirements:

* IBM PC compatible 486-33 or faster
* 8 MB RAM
* DOS 5.0 or later