Hexen II
| Hexen II | |
|---|---|
 Boxart | |
| Developer(s) | Raven Software |
| Publisher(s) | id Software |
| Engine | Modified Quake engine |
| Platform(s) | Apple Macintosh, Microsoft Windows |
| Release | August 31, 1997 |
| Genre(s) | First-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
Hexen II is a first-person shooter computer game developed by Raven Software from 1996 to 1997, published by id Software and distributed by Activision. It is the third game in the Hexen/Heretic series, and the last in the Serpent Riders trilogy. Using a modified Quake engine, it features single player and multi player game modes, as well as four character classes to choose from, each with different abilities. These include the offensive Paladin, the defensive Crusader, the spellcasting Necromancer, and the stealthy Assassin.
Improvements from Hexen and Quake include destructible environments, mounted weapons, and unique level up abilities. Like its predecessor, Hexen II also uses a hub system. These hubs are a number of interconnected levels; changes made in one level may have effects in another. The Tome of Power artifact makes a return from Heretic.
The score was composed by Kevin Schilder.
Plot
Thyrion is a world that has been enslaved by the Serpent Riders. The two previous games in the series documented the liberation of two other worlds, along with the death of their Serpent Rider overlords. Now, the oldest and most powerful of the three Serpent Rider brothers, Eidolon, must be defeated to free Thyrion. Eidolon is supported by his four generals, who themselves are a reference to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. To confront each general, the player must travel to four different continents, each possessing a distinct theme (Medieval European for Blackmarsh, Mesoamerican for Mazaera, Ancient Egyptian for Thysis, and Greco-Roman for Septimus). Then, finally, the player returns to Blackmarsh in order to confront Eidolon himself.
Gameplay
The Gameplay of Hexen II is very similar to that of the original Hexen. Instead of three classes, Hexen II features four: Paladin, Crusader, Assassin, and Necromancer, each with their own unique weapons and play style.
Hexen II also adds certain RPG elements to the mix. Each character has a series of stats which affect
Portal of Praevus
An expansion pack called Hexen II: Portal of Praevus was released in 1998 featuring new levels, new enemies and a new playable character class, The Demoness. It focuses on the attempted resurrection of the three Serpent Riders by the evil wizard Praevus, and takes place in a fifth continent, Tulku, featuring a Sino-Tibetan setting.
The expansion featured new quest items, new enemies, and new weapons for the Demoness. She is the only player class to have a ranged starting weapon, whereas all other characters start with melee weapons.
It also introduced minor enhancements to the game engine, mostly related to user interface, level scripts, particle effects (rain or snow), and 3D objects.
Portal of Praevus also featured a secret (easter egg) skill level, identical to Doom's "Nightmare" difficulty (where monsters respawn). The only released patch for the expansion added respawning of certain items (such as health and ammo) in Nightmare mode, so that it would be slightly easier for playing.
Siege
A modification entitled Siege was created and released by Raven Software in 1998 using updated QuakeWorld architecture, aptly dubbed HexenWorld. The production concept was to eliminate a normal deathmatch environment in favor of a teamplay castle siege. The basic premise was to divide the players into two teams - attackers and defenders - with each side either assaulting or protecting the castle respectively. At the end of the time limit, whichever team controlled the crown was declared victorious.
The mod featured appropriate objects used in the single-player portion of the game, namely catapults and ballistae. The classes, however, were drastically altered with new weapons and abilities, reflecting the departure from the normal deathmatch experience presented in HexenWorld.[1]
Glide dependence
Hexen II, by way of the Quake engine, uses OpenGL for 3D acceleration. However, due to the prevalence of 3dfx hardware at the time of release, the game installs an OpenGL ICD designed specifically for 3dfx's hardware. This driver acts as a wrapper for the proprietary Glide API, and thus is only compatible with 3dfx hardware. Custom OpenGL drivers were also released by PowerVR and Rendition for running Hexen II with their respective (and also now defunct) products.
However, users with modern video cards can bypass the proprietary driver limitation by simply removing the "opengl32.dll" file from the Hexen II directory. This forces the game to use the OpenGL library already installed on the system.[2]
Source code release
Following the tradition from Hexen and Heretic, Raven released the source code to Hexen II in 2000. This time the source was released under the GNU General Public License, allowing source ports to be made to different platforms like Linux and the Sega Dreamcast.[3]