[D2 Singleplayer / Co-op] Ulterior Ultima Thule

[Parabolicus]

This is a new 23+3 level set for Descent 2 (Vertigo) half a year in the making. The level design is all by yours truly, and included is a fully custom soundtrack with 18+1 tracks by 4 different artists (Vertigo Fox, who goes by Alter-Fox on these forums and was also the soundtrack coordinator; Sdogga Man, REDWITCH and Phozon), as well as a weapon mod that makes Spread, Fusion and Omega more effective than in D2 (the first two not as much as they are in D1, though).

For technical reasons, the level set comes in three different versions. Make sure to read the README carefully in order to pick the correct version, or just go with the D2X version. The REBIRTH version in particular will cause crashes if you don't use a new enough version of Rebirth to play it (see below).

Current version: v1.0.6b (2020-10-25)

The mission download is here (.7z files can be opened with 7-Zip, p7zip and perhaps some other tools):
MEGA (.7z): https://mega.nz/file/gE90UIwC#LxZbmXyoW ... jYXx8_8az4

DMDB does not allow .7z files, and .zip files are just too large to fit (DMDB file size limit is 70 MB), so I had to instead put the .7z inside a .zip. This makes the DMDB download fairly unwieldy, but here it is anyway:

DMDB (.7z inside .zip): https://www.enspiar.com/dmdb/viewMission.php?id=1765

EDIT: Weekly builds of DXX-Rebirth now include the necessary patch to play the REBIRTH version; make sure to get the newest version at https://www.dxx-rebirth.com/download-dxx-rebirth/.

Note that the REBIRTH version is really the definitive version of this level set - it comes with custom sound effects (more specifically just a copy of UUD2SP version 1.4 by Xfing that restores some of the correct D1 sounds for a better experience) and D1-like exit sequences.

I will attach some screenshots below.

[vision]

Nice! I look forward to playing it. Can you bump this thread when the patched version of Rebirth for Linux is released?

[Parabolicus]

Nice! I look forward to playing it. Can you bump this thread when the patched version of Rebirth for Linux is released?

(EDIT2: Rebirth's official weekly builds now have the patch - you can build from Rebirth's official source to get a correct version.)
In terms of binaries, it might take a while (and depends on the distribution). If you can build the game yourself, the source code is available at https://github.com/ziplantil/dxx-rebirt ... o-exit-fix (note the branch). The build instructions should be the same as for the normal version of Rebirth.

EDIT: I'll also take this time to announce I'll be uploading v1.0.1 soon; it comes with minor fixes. (EDIT#2: uploaded now)

[vision]

Thanks for the link! I'll try and build it myself sometime after the holidays.

[LightWolf]

I'm getting a generic "unable to start correctly" error out of the Rebirth build you posted.

[Parabolicus]

I'm getting a generic "unable to start correctly" error out of the Rebirth build you posted.

If the error code is 0xc000007b, that means you have the 32-bit DLLs and thus you'll need a 32-bit build (or 64-bit DLLs, if you have a 64-bit environment). However, the patch was just recently merged into master, so there should be official weekly builds available soon-ish.

[Alter-Fox]

Happened to me too Lightwolf, I just went to the Rebirth website, downloaded the package, re-copied in Parabol's exe and then all was fine. As long as you've actually got a x64 system that should work.

Gotta say, at the end of level 2 when I entered the tunnel I was somehow still expecting the D1 endlevel music. Even though I made the new one... Which made me realize I don't think anyone's done a custom exit sequence track for these games before. Good times!
Also I think I misunderstood the story somewhat when Parabola told me about it before...

[Xfing]

Beat the first two levels so far. I'm really liking this for a lot od reasons. Level 1 was a bit backtracky, but 2 didn't have this problem. The return of the exit sequence is nothing short of glorious - especially since if I'm not wrong, the functionality has been usable since forever.

[kakhome1]

Whose currently decently far into this one (8+ levels)?

[TRUEpiiiicness]

Whose currently decently far into this one (8+ levels)?

I've finished it on hotshot difficulty. It's a fantastic mission set. Level 17 and 20 are my favourite levels by far.

[kakhome1]

Whose currently decently far into this one (8+ levels)?

I've finished it on hotshot difficulty. It's a fantastic mission set. Level 17 and 20 are my favourite levels by far.

Is it on par with some of the other D2 greats, at least Vertigo/Lost Levels/Cererian Expedition (author's previous work) quality? Also not sure if you mean Levels 17/20 exclusively make it fantastic or if all are at least very good just those are best.

[Alter-Fox]

...heh, I see you haven't changed a bit. XD
All the levels were fantastic. If I had any favourites from the beta test they might be 19 and 21 but I haven't got that far in the final version.
And no I will not tell you why. You'll just have to take that small risk and experience it yourself. All I'll do is just ask you to trust me in the next line where I tell you it'll be worth it.

It'll be worth it.

[TRUEpiiiicness]

Whose currently decently far into this one (8+ levels)?

I've finished it on hotshot difficulty. It's a fantastic mission set. Level 17 and 20 are my favourite levels by far.

Is it on par with some of the other D2 greats, at least Vertigo/Lost Levels/Cererian Expedition (author's previous work) quality? Also not sure if you mean Levels 17/20 exclusively make it fantastic or if all are at least very good just those are best.

I would put it in with the other great sets as well.

For the other point, definitely the latter, its just something about those two levels, they have a similar effect as level 27 in plutonian shores. All levels are very good though. I would say the least interesting is level 1, but that fine because it's the first level which meant to be easy and an introduction.

[Sirius]

Booked this for the Rangers co-op game this weekend. Been a while since we've had something new to play - thanks!

[Parabolicus]

The official soundtrack of Ulterior Ultima Thule (as featured in-game while playing the level set) has now been released. Featuring tracks from four artists (Vertigo Fox, Sdogga Man, REDWITCH and Phozon), the soundtrack encompasses a variety of genres.

It will be available on most music streaming platforms soon. You can also use this link if you have Spotify: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/uutmu ... undtrack-3

Alternatively, you can download it here (FLAC + MP3@320kbps available): https://mega.nz/#F!9Y0j2IzC!bnGgXXjkWx7n9IktaOqh8w

The track list:

1. Sdogga Man - Don't Be Cheeky
2. Vertigo Fox - FlashFloods
3. Vertigo Fox - Burned Away
4. REDWITCH - Prism
5. Sdogga Man - Ununity
6. Vertigo Fox - Wyys'l-Drag!n
7. Vertigo Fox - Strange Flow
8. REDWITCH - Stigma
9. Phozon - Submetallic Lustre
10. Vertigo Fox - Moon Clock
11. Vertigo Fox - Feral Sides
12. Sdogga Man - Adventure
13. Vertigo Fox - Shrouded Things
14. Vertigo Fox - Cast Into the Sun
15. Sdogga Man - In Orbit
16. Vertigo Fox - Instinctual
17. Vertigo Fox - Gettin' Out
18. Vertigo Fox - Chasing Glimmers

[Alter-Fox]

The mission soundtrack is on youtube as well now:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=O ... yAE5uPVVds

It doesn't say who wrote which track, so unless you finish the mission you might have to guess

[Parabolicus]

The mission soundtrack is on youtube as well now:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=O ... yAE5uPVVds

It doesn't say who wrote which track, so unless you finish the mission you might have to guess

Unfortunate timing - I added a track list just as this was posted...

[vision]

Phozon - Submetallic Lustre

This track is a jam.