Dragonmech Series
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     by Zeoc

version 2 - this is identical to the first version of this level set, except I removed some unnecessary animations from the dragonmech database.  The animations were only used by Arokh in the original level STOMP sequences, so I deleted them to reduce the file size.  This does not affect gameplay.

I have also taken the saved game for the beginning of the series out of the Dragonmech zip archive, to lower the file size, and also because it too is unnecessary.  You'll have to use developer mode to play Dragonmech.  Hold down shift while starting Drakan, and a box will appear.  Go to the developer tab and enable developer mode, and then start the game.  When you select New Game, a list of levels will appear.  To select the difficulty level, hold Ctrl when you select New Game.  Double click on Dragonmech Desert in the level list to start playing.

Unzip to Drakan\Dragonmech
Note: You must have the 445 patch installed to play Dragonmech.

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Story
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When Rynn fell through the rift, she couldn't find Arokh, or any of her gear, anywhere.  She was in the middle of a desert.  A sound came from next to where she landed, and she looked up to see the gate of an ancient building opening by some mysterious power.  Out stepped a gigantic machine, a metal dragon that looked just like Arokh.

Rynn remembered the story of a group of scientists who were working to battle the legions of Navaros in the southern continent.  They needed the power of a legendary dragon, but they could not find any remaining who had not been engineered for the Dark Union, so they decided to build one of their own.  This, their mechanical Arokh, was programmed to behave exactly like the original, even responding to the name "Arokh."  The scientists had not figured out Arokh's power of fire, so they gave the metallic dragon a supply of missiles to combat enemies.  Also, the metallic dragon had a faster ground speed, and it could only fly with the power of a flight crystal.

She also remembered Navaros's plan for the southern continent.  His minions were to build a crystal of unimaginable destruction on top of a tall mountain, and use it against his enemies.  It was known to fire powerful devastation bombs more powerful than Arokh's magma breath, creating rings of fire across the land.  This was all controlled by a mysterious creature called the Skulldragon, who lives in the base of the mountain and is protected by the power of the evil crystal.  However, fearing that the Skulldragon's authority may one day exceed his own, Navaros created a magic reflector and put it near the crystal, where his Ebon Knights could use it to reflect the crystal's power back at it and destroy it, giving access to the Skulldragon's cave.

Now Navaros was destroyed, but his evil minions were still under control of the Skulldragon.  Now, Rynn decided, it was up to her to destroy the evil crystal and slay the Skulldragon, eliminating the last element of Navaros's dark influence.  Only then would she find Arokh.

The metallic dragon sensed that Rynn was one of the bonded, like the warriors of the Battle of Tibor.  Rynn leapt onto its back and grabbed onto its neck.  "Now fly me out of this desert, and show me the way to the mountain!" she commanded.

The dragonmech flapped its wings, but it could not get off the ground.  Rynn looked closer and saw that the metallic dragon's flight crystal was gone.  "I suppose we'll have to walk out of here," she said.  They started on their journey through the desert.

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How to play Dragonmech
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These levels are not separate.  They are meant to be played in order: first the Desert, then the Forest, then the Mountain.  There is an exit on each of the levels that leads to the next.  The adventure is over when you destroy the crystal and the Skulldragon and find Arokh.  I have included a saved game, Dragonmech38fd40b6.rsg, which you can put in your Saves directory and load to start from the beginning of Dragonmech Desert.

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New Weapons and Equipment
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All of these can be obtained using the "gimme" command in developer mode:

Dragon weapons:
Missile - primary = missiles, secondary = fire breath
Light - primary = headlight, secondary = flares
Ice Missile - primary = fast ice missile, secondary = homing ice missile
Beam - primary = energy beam, secondary = pulse bomb

Rynn weapons:
Slash Axe - an armor-piercing axe
Rock Crusher - a big hammer
Gunbow - a new bow weapon in the shape of a goblin gun
Spear Darts - a new arrow that doesn't break
Sword of Thunder - a blade with 10 lightning charges
Spear - a long but weak weapon
Ice Blade - a new ice weapon with a ring of ice instead of an ice shield
Glowstaff - weak but useful for illuminating dark places
Spin Scythe - a giant axe blade
Magic Spear - a stronger spear that burns enemies and glows
Stormblade - a life-stealing sword with a powerful tornado secondary
Storm Arrows - arrows that explode into whirlwinds

Items:
Speed Potion - provides a 30-second speed boost
Gate Key - opens a gate in the Desert
Forest Key - opens the gate to the Forest
Lake Key - opens the way to the lake at the Mountain
Cliff Key - opens the gate to a cliff in the Mountain
Flight Crystal - used in a machine in a Desert cave that allows the dragonmech to fly
Magic Reflector - used to reflect the evil crystal's power and destroy it

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Dragonmech Tips and Tricks
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In the Desert, the dragonmech cannot fly.  You can still aim missiles up and down while on the ground by holding Freelook.

Once you get new dragonmech weapons, you can change them with the weapon change keys, usually [ and ].

Be sure to search everywhere and look for any strange weapons being carried by enemies.  Sometimes Rynn can pick up these weapons and use them.

It is unlikely that you will get stuck anywhere without a way back to the dragonmech.  If you fall into a river or pond, there is always a way out.

There are secret caverns all over the place in the Forest and Mountain.  Look for these and you will find treasure.

Normal missiles can be used to defeat every enemy.  Some enemies may be unaffected by other weapons.  For example, knights and ballistas are immune to fire breath.

Before you give up and decide that something is impossible, search everywhere for a solution.  There are no impossible puzzles in Dragonmech.

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Known Bugs and Issues
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I have encountered some problems with crashing in the middle of the game.  I don't know what causes it, but it doesn't happen very often.  Usually, it has something to do with the primitive giants.  I have solved most of the crash problems, but they may still occur.

Frame rates can slow down in some areas.  These areas include the middle of the Desert and the lake area and front of the huge mountain in Dragonmech Mountain.  I have never had the frame rate drop to an unreasonable level, though, except sometimes when a lot of enemies gib at once or the beam secondary explodes with a lot of objects on screen.

Drakan has a few collision detection bugs, especially with scaled objects.  If you fly through a wall that you know you shouldn't be able to, it is caused by a collision detection error.

On top of some buildings in Dragonmech Desert, you may not be able to jump.  This is normal.  It is caused by the invisible ceiling suspended over the entire level, which stops enemies and players but not projectiles.  The ceiling is what keeps the dragonmech from flying.

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Credits
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Map design, textures, and editing by Zeoc

Thanks to Sageous and PharCyde for help with the editor

Special thanks to a friend, who chooses not to be named, for the original Dragonmech texture which is now the mod Metal Arokh 2

Music by Deep Forest:
Desert = Deep Forest, track 7 - Desert Walk
Forest = Boheme, track 1 - Anasthasia
Mountain = Comparsa, track 11 - La Lune se bat avec les etoiles

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Contact
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If you have any questions or comments about Dragonmech, e-mail me at austinh@mninter.net
My home page, The Sine Wave, is at http://www.mninter.net/~cathyh/