Hexen

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Hexen: Beyond Heretic
Developer(s) Raven Software, Beam Software Pty., Ltd.
Publisher(s) id Software, GT Interactive
Distributor(s) GT Interactive
Engine Modified Doom engine
Latest version 1.1
Release date(s) October 30, 1995, 1996, 1997
Genre(s) First-person shooter
Mode(s) Single player, Cooperative, Deathmatch
Rating(s) BBFC: 12
ESRB: M (Mature)
RSAC: V3: Blood and gore
USK: 18
Platform(s) MS-DOS, PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Apple Macintosh, RISC OS, Sega Saturn
Media 7 Floppy disks, 1 CD-ROM
Input Keyboard, Mouse, Joystick, Gamepad

Hexen: Beyond Heretic (or Hexen) is a first-person shooter computer game developed by Raven Software, published by id Software, and distributed by GT Interactive beginning on October 30, 1995. It is a sequel to Heretic, and the second game in the Serpent Riders series. Its name is German for "witches".

Hexen uses a modified version of the Doom engine, which allows jumping, network play with up to 8 players and the choice of three character classes. It also popularized the "hub system" of level progression in the genre of first-person shooter games. Unlike previous games, which had relied purely on MIDI for music, Hexen is also able to play tracks from audio CDs. The game's own CD contained soundtrack in audio format that was exactly the same as the game's MIDI soundtrack but played through high quality sound module. However, the most significant improvement was the addition of polyobjects and level scripting (see below).

The main goal of the game is the destruction of Korax, the second of a trio of demon brothers known as the Serpent Riders, who has taken over the world of Cronos. The first Serpent Rider, D'Sparil, was the final boss of Heretic and the third, Eidolon, would later appear in Hexen II.

The game got mostly very positive reviews in computer gaming magazines. The graphics were complained of being a bit crude even compared to Heretic but vast and well designed levels plus numerous enemies and weapons were seen as advantages.

The score was composed by Kevin Schilder.

Contents

[edit] Player classes

The player may be one of three classes: a fighter, a cleric, or a mage. Each character has advantages and disadvantages, for there are variations in physical ability, weapons, and the use of artifacts in the game.

[edit] Fighter

The fighter has the greatest physical advantage. While a number of his weapons - a pair of spiked gauntlets, Timon's Axe, the Hammer of Retribution, and the Quietus, a sword - can be enhanced by magic, they are powerful stand-alone. The Gauntlets and Axe are melee-only weapons; the Hammer and Quietus can use magic for firing projectiles. All are effective combined with the fighter's high strength and stamina. He moves the fastest out of the three and can wear the most armor, but since he possesses little magic, long-range combat is reserved until the Hammer of Retribution is acquired. The fighter's ultimate weapon is the Quietus, a sword that sends out a spread of magical projectiles; even so, the powerful sword inflicts the most damage when it is used at melee range.

[edit] Cleric

The cleric possesses more magic than the fighter but less than the mage. He is also weaker than the fighter, which makes his first weapon (a spiked mace) the least effective in the game. However, his second and third weapons (serpent staff and firestorm, respectively) make up for the mace's downside with their added magic functionality. The serpent staff can be used as both a ranged and melee weapon. When used in range, it shoots out two poison bubbles, draining the enemies hp. The serpent staff was the only weapon in the game that could heal the player character, it would drain life from the enemy and give it to the Cleric when used at melee range. Firestorm allows the cleric to shoot out a line of flame, sometimes engulfing the enemy in fire and disintegrating it on the final hit. The cleric's ultimate weapon is the Wraithverge, a cross-shaped staff that unleashes a horde of ghosts to seek out and destroy the enemy.

[edit] Mage

The mage is the weakest physically, but the strongest magically. He is limited in his strength and armor abilities compared to the fighter and cleric. His first weapon is the sapphire wand, which is weak but long-range, uses no ammo and also pierces through multiple enemies on a line shot. He relies strongly on magic; his second and third weapons (frost shards and arc of death, respectively) are merely spells. Frost Shards are shot out of the hands when used, and have the ability to freeze an enemy instead of just killing it. Arc of Death shoots out a pillar of electricity, which can hold the enemy in it until it is dead. The mage's ultimate weapon is the Bloodscourge, a staff that sends out three magical homing fireballs. With its long range, the high amount of damage it deals, and the homing ability, the Bloodscourge is arguably the most powerful weapon in the game.

[edit] Enemies

Main Article: List of enemies in Hexen

Hexen features a broad variety of enemies. Some are modified enemies from Heretic; however, most are new. Most enemies are mythology-derived creatures like the Ettin and the Centaur.

[edit] Major engine modifications

Along with jumping and hub-style gameplay, Hexen brought two major improvements to the Doom engine.

[edit] Polyobjects

Polyobjects are the walls which move within the game. Because the Doom engine uses the binary space partitioning system for rendering, it does not enable moving walls. Hexen's moving walls are actually one-sided lines built somewhere else on the map and rendered at the desired start spot when the level is loaded. This enables a pseudo-moving wall but does not allow moving sectors (such as seeing the tops of moving doors). This often creates problems in sectors which contain more than one node, explaining the relatively limited use of polyobjects.

[edit] ACS scripts

Whereas Doom, Doom II, and Heretic rely on lines within the maps to perform simple actions, Hexen also allows these actions to be activated via ACS (Action Code Script) scripting. These scripts use a syntactic variant of C, thus allowing special sequencing of game actions. Programming features such as randomization, variables, and intermap script activation enable smooth hub gameplay and are responsible for most of the special effects within the game: On-screen messages; random sound effect and monster spawning; sidedef texture changes; more versatile control of polyobjects; level initialization for deathmatch; and even complex environment changes such as earthquakes manipulating floor levels and textures.

[edit] Trivia

This article contains a trivia section.
Content in this section should be integrated into other appropriate areas of the article or removed, and the trivia section removed.
  • Deathkings of the Dark Citadel is the official expansion pack that was released for Hexen, featuring 3 more hubs for a total of 20 new single player levels. Unlike the expansion pack for Heretic, it had to be purchased in retail stores or by mail order. This was unusual at the time, as most non-free expansion packs also included other new or revised gameplay elements. Also, this expansion pack did not include nor enabled any music. Music could be enabled by supplying a PWAD with modified music data.
  • The source code of Hexen was released by Raven Software in 1999, which allowed the game to be ported to different platforms such as Linux.
  • Version 1.0 of Hexen contains an incomplete level called "Maze" that consists solely of moving walls with no exit. Its presence in the released game is almost certainly an oversight; the level was removed in the 1.1 update. The "Maze" level can only be accessed by using the cheat code "warp 41" in unpatched versions of the game.
  • The game was used for the finale of an official Doom championship in late 1995.
  • Hexen is compatible with many Doom source ports; Hexen's features are also compatible with Doom WADs made for source ports regardless of what game they are being played on.
  • A team of dedicated modders are currently working on reinventing the original Hexen in a new storyline in a Total Conversion for the Doom3 engine called 'Hexen:Edge of Chaos' (website: http://edgeofchaos.planetdoom.gamespy.com )

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Official websites
General resources
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