Quake: Episode 6 - Dimension of the Machine
The levels are quite lengthy and large, much more than Dimension of the Past. But they have a more modern design and new textures. They break away from the previous brown dungeon-like style. However, it still feels like Quake. No characters, NPCs, dialogues, or cutscenes. Just find the key and progress to the next area as always. I'd say that they compare very well to the classic Tomb Raider games with so much to discover, challenges to face, buttons to activate, etc.
The realms are not sequential. You can do them in any order, and each time you start one, you begin without the weapons from the previous one. If it resembles Bethesda's Doom, I haven't played Doom. I just know that the hub where the runes are located has a lot of candles in a style reminiscent of Doom.
The Acid Sanctuary is so well-built that it even reminds me of levels from Prince of Persia Sands of Time. There are numerous jumps and elevators. The construction is filled with debris and acid to avoid. It would have been impossible to run on hardware from 20 years ago. The exterior and lighting are almost Unreal Engine 3 level. The follow-up level, "Fading Embers" reminds me of Gears of War and it's impressive that a Quake 1 level reaches this level of quality. After getting the golden key there are explosions, tremors, and walkway collapses.
"Too deep, too greedy" is a very well-elaborated level. It starts in an excavation site with a canyon and ruins almost at the Unreal Engine 3 level. Low polygon count, of course, but still very well done. Then it moves on to a mine with even a cafeteria. Afterwards, it descends into the depths of the infernal underworld with fire and leaps over bottomless chasms. There are some very difficult traps towards the end.
The Cultists' Realm is like a monastery with tombs in the middle of a valley. It's wonderful. There are giant pipes on the outside. The next level turns the world upside down. The entire construction is inverted. The sky is upside down as well.
"Realm of the Machinists" strongly resembles Gears of War. It's very well done. There's a secret level that I couldn't find.
The final boss is the same monster in the lava from the original Quake. But there's no longer that trap that electrocutes the boss. Now you have to use the lightning gun, and there's a crushing trap with lightning ammunition there. You pick it up, it closes, and you have to wait for it to reopen. When it does, the ammunition is replenished. It's much harder than the original because there are a lot of enemies in the arena.
Want to learn level design and environment art? Quake Dimension of the Machine is a great example of what's possible with obsolete technology. I used to have a certain prejudice against old technologies. First, because I truly believed that modern technology meant better games. Everyone must have seen countless examples of games that disprove this belief. Secondly, this also applied to level design. Just because you, I, a fan, want to create levels for an old game doesn't mean the level will be limited by the technology. On the contrary, understanding the limits of the technology often leads to more creativity. Mark Rosewater repeats this argument when talking about design and Magic a hundred times.
