Title:
	Transfer Station
File Name:
	transf.zip
Author:
	Roger Ritenour
e-mail:
	ritenour@rlc.net

Story:	
	While the Strogg occupied Earth, they set
	up a transfer station on a remote rocky
	island to process their "harvest" for
	shipment to Stroggos. With the Makron dead
	and the stargate closed, one would think
	the Strogg Invasion would be over. But
	they still occupy this station, which is
	a fortified affair on a rocky and
	forbidding island. Your mission is to retake
	the island and clean the Strogg out!

Description:
	Single level from scratch. Set up to
	eventually incorporate into a unit of
	several levels. (Note: you collect the 
	pyramid key but do not actually use it.)

Setup:	
	This is a custom texture Quake 2 creation,
	which means this level is a pile of files.
	The download file, transf.zip retains directory
	information to assist in placing the components
	into their correct subdirectories under baseq2.
	Your directory tree will look something like:

	QUAKE2 (quake2 executables are found here)
	  BASEQ2 (pak0.pak is found here)
	    MAPS (the .bsp file is placed here)
	    TEXTURES
	      QED (all .wal files are placed here)
	    ENV (the 6 .tga and 6 .pcx
	         files are placed here)

	If you are already running custom levels, some or 
	all of these subdirectories may already
	exist, in which case, the files for this level 
	will be loaded into their respective directories.
 
	Note: This will in no way affect the all-important
	pak0.pak file or other game essential files. By far,
	the most numerous files are the .wal files which are
	packaged into the directory, qed, which will make
	it easier to keep track which files belong to
	this level for future uninstall. The env directory
	will contain 12 files for the sky. All of them 
	begin with "fsky1_". Only one file, transf.bsp, is
	placed into the maps directory. 

Running:
	With the setup above, this level is run 
	conventionally from the map command. Ie. start
	Quake 2; set your difficulty level; pull down
	the console (by pressing the ~ key) and entering
	map transf <enter>.


Credits:
	id Software, Some of the textures are 
	borrowed from DOOM. A few of the 
	textures came with the qED editor program,
	most particularly, the excellent texture
	adopted for use on the sides of the hills.
	Rodney Korn for his patience with me while 
	I e-mailed him to death for help with 
	his qWAL tool.

Editors used:
	qED level editor
	qWAL texture tool
	QBSP3
	QVIS3
	QRAD3
	CorelDraw 6 & 8
	Corel Photopaint 6 & 8

Known bugs:
	There are a number of open areas that experience
	a reduced frame rate due to the so-called sky
	bug of Quake 2. On a 200 MHz MMX machine with 
	monster 3-D accelerator, it is just noticeable.
	Generally, the frame performance of this level
	is equivalent to id software's levels with large
	open areas. This level was tested on a 133 MHz 
	Pentium with a rage 3D accelerator where in one 
	place it became objectionable, specifically, 
	where a tunnel opens into the valley of the 
	livestock pens. If you encounter this, switch
	off your open gl graphics acceleration and use
	the "software" drivers. This achieves a 
	satisfactory frame rate, even on a 133 MHz 
	Pentium, although with considerably reduced 
	graphics quality.

Further technical note on graphics quality:
	This level provides open gl support. Most
	open gl graphics accelerators give an option 
	of restricting to 8-bit graphics. The sky texture
	is provided in both 8-bit and 24-bit color files; 
	and it will look much better with the 16- or 24-bit
	option turned on (8-bit graphics turned off). These
	settings can be controlled from the Quake 2 main
	meny under "video" 

****  Play Information ****
 
Single player: Yes
Cooperative player: No
Deathmatch: No
Difficulty settings: Yes, full range, all settings
	somewhat harder than standard Quake 2.
New Sounds: No (although existing .wav files in pak0.pak
	are extensively used to give a rich sound-filled
	environment.)
New Textures: Many surface textures, plus a new sky.
	Strong emphasis placed on the atmosphere and
	"feel" of the place. It looks fundamentally 
	different. All you DOOM aficionados will 
	recognize some of the textures.
Colored Lights: Yes. However, they are used subtly. You
	will not see a kaleidoscope of color, but
	rather subtle spectral shifts from hard
	white sunlight to "warm" white lights of 
	ordinary indoor lights and the like.
Demos Replaced: None
Compile Statistics:
	Machine: 200 MMX w/ Monster 3D 3DFX Open gl.
	Qbsp3:  36 seconds
	Qvis3, level 4: 1403 seconds.
	Qrad3, bounce 4: 9855 seconds.

**** Legal Stuff ****

* Copyright / Permissions *

Generally I have no objections if you modify or use it as a
base for building additional levels, however, the source files
are not included in the zip. The graphic files (.wal files, and 
sky) you may use, but please drop me a line and give credit as
appropriate, whether me or whom I borrowed from. I would also
be curious where you use them. You may distribute this level 
through any electronic network (internet, FIDO, local BBS etc.), 
provided you include this text file and leave the archive 
intact. You may include this file on a cdrom where the purpose
of the cdrom is a means of distributing Quake levels and the
price remains modest, with the primary purpose of the proceeds 
being for publishing the cdrom and maintaining the internet sites.
Commercial exploitation where this level may become the object
of considerable commercial gain must have my written permission.



 
