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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 sidequel to Heretic, and the second game in the Serpent Riders series. 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 popularised 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. 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.
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. 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, 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. 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. 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 and uses no ammo. 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. Enemies 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. Major engine modifications Along with jumping and hub-style gameplay, Hexen brought two major improvements to the Doom engine. 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. 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. Prologue Hub 1: Seven Portals Hub 2: Shadow Wood Hub 3: Heresiarchs Seminary Hub 4: Castle of Grief Hub 5: Necropolis Epilogue Trivia See also | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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