Edison Station contains the most complex puzzle in all the levels in the beta, with a complex effect -- that of shooting out a window and having the aliens blown out into space.

The first aspect -- shooting out a window -- is very similar to the hidden switch from Arrival. The window is actually completely open. Beyond it is a wide room textured as space. In the back of the room is a narrow polygon that extends from floor to ceiling. The back wall is one big switch that triggers the decompression effect. The line between the narrow poly and the main portion of the room is textured as space (using the shift-click trick). I altered the characteristics for a pistol bullet in the physics model for this level to make it capable of triggering switches and to make it as likely as possible that the bullet will pass through transparent sides. There's no guarantee there, though, so sometimes the bullet doesn't make it through to the switch.

The decompression effect is achieved with two exploding Tiny Pfhor. They are recessed into a small alcove on either side of the door, and triggering the switch causes a platform in that alcove to squish them. They explode, sending the aliens standing in front of them flying out the window. The window then closes, after a brief delay, preventing the player from discovering that he can just walk right out into space, and also solving the question of why the O2 gauge is not going down any.

One additional detail I had to add was a VERY fast platform to cover the shootable switch after it activates the first time. This prevents multiple shots from triggering the switch twice and possibly messing up the effect. This could also have been achieved using a Wires-type switch instead, or by ensuring that the activated platforms could not be deactivated externally. I chose the method I did to prevent having an alien land partway in the hidden switch alcove. That would look weird.

This page copyright 1995-2004 by Thomas Reed.