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Title                   : Space Mine Station
Version                 : build number two hundred forty something
Release Date            : September 8th, 2000
Filename                : DM-SpaceMine.unr
Author(s)               : Leon "Naeblis" Dexter
Email Address           : leondexter@lvcm.com
Web Page                : www.geocities.com/leondexter
Description             : Custom-built Deathmatch arena set in a minefield in space
Other levels by author  : CTF-HeartOfStone, DM-LongYard and others (see website)
Additional Credits to   : Bruce Field (playtesting and critiquing), Epic of course
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--- Play Information ---
Game                    : Unreal Tournament
Level Name              : Space Mine Station
Single Player           : Botmatch
Cooperative             : Yes
Deathmatch              : Yes
Dark Match              : What's that?
Difficulty Settings     : Ingame
New Sounds              : No
New Graphics            : Some altered or custom textures.
NewUnrealScript         : No
External DLLs           : N/A
Known bugs              : bots and humans are kicked to different heights by the kickers;
			  bots will take slight damage when kicked to upper platform by the
			  uppermost x-axis kicker.  Movement of the mines is not 				  simultaneous on all machines over netplay.  Non-hosting players 			  may see stationary "ghost" mines sitting by their collision 				  points before or after the explosions.

--- Construction ---
Editor(s) used          : Unrealed
Base                    : new level
Construction Time       : a few weekends and some other spare time
================================================================

Story
-----
  Elliot Mason was a physically frail man, plagued by various health problems throughout his life.  He was, however, an intelligent and driven man, and made his fortune at a young age.
  Elliot was wealthy, middle-aged, and bored when Liandri introduced the Professional League , and it immediately caught his interest.  He began betting on Deathmatches, and the amounts he wagered grew steadily.  As his health continued to decline, he started plans to attain one last thing before his apparently imminent death; a standing of his own in the Tournament.  
  Although there were rumours of wealthy contestants (Xan), Elliot took another approach.  Believing himself to be too weak, even for any kind of battle suit, he instead designed and built a custom Deathmatch Arena in space.  The construction of this lethal Arena stretched his funds to the limit, and his ongoing gambling habit nearly broke him.  But Elliot finished his project, and sold it to Liandri not for money, but in exchange for the frags his treacherous Space Mine Station generated.  Every contestant who was killed or fell when a mine collided with the Arena, every contestant crushed by the elevator, or telefragged by a transporter, added one Honorary Frag for Elliot.  He at last had a ranking of his own.
  During the months between his Arena's completion and his death, Elliot spent the last bit of his once-vast fortune to repair and re-mine his Arena between matches.  In that short time, while his Arena was in constant usage, his honorary standing in the Tournament was very respectable.  Upon his death, he willed the Honorary Frags for each future Deathmatch to anyone willing to re-stock his Arena for play.  The occasional rich patron still collects on that promise, and Elliot's Arena sees combat again.
  Elliot's tombstone reads: "Yeah, bitch."
And he assumes that fellow Tournament fans will understand.

Notes
-----

DM-SpaceMine is a small level, but since nearly the entire level is viewable from several places in it, the polygon count is very high.  The relative node count, however, is very low.  I have also removed Detail textures from all large surfaces, and kept dynamic lights to a minimum.  All this helps to keep framerates up, and the level is very playable on my P-III 733 w/ a Voodoo 3, and not too bad on my P-II 450 either.  To anyone with a less powerful machine than that, I don't recommend this level.  At least, not without an upgrade. 