DescentBB

Help me try to figure out what the names of the levels mean

Level 1: Ahayweh Gate - Acronym for \"Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here\" from Dante's Divine Comedy. I read this somewhere on the internet.

Level 2: Turnabout Bore - Turnabout because it forms a figure 8, bore because that's what mines are - holes bored into the ground

Level 3: Wenl Mine - Not sure, perhaps Wenl is an acronym for something?

Level 4: Robby Station - Not sure, perhaps a reference to Robbie the Robot from Forbidden Planet and Lost in Space?

Level 5: Seaspring Gorge - just describing the landscape

Level 6: The Well - Self-explanatory

Level 7: Coralbank Quarry - Self-explanatory

Level 8: Riverbed Mine - Self-explanatory

Level 9: Firewalker Mine - because of all the lava

Level 10: Lavafalls Extraction Ctr. - Self-explanatory

Level 11: Coalbank shaft - They mine coal there? Seems strange they would need it that far in the future

Level 12: Magnacore Station - Well it's the \"core\" of the Brimspark levels, containing the boss, not sure about the \"magna\" part, it could have something to do with magnetism or be because it sounds like \"magma\" which there is a lot of in this level and Brimspark in general

Level 13: Sleetstone Tunnels - Just describing the landscape

Level 14: Arcticon Corridor - Probably referencing the Artic because of the cold theme - LimeFROST Spiral, after all

Level 15: Icehammer Caverns - Again, the ice and caverns parts are obvious but the hammer part is kind of weird - maybe a reference to Thor's hammer, after all he was a god worshipped by people who lived in the north where there was a lot of ice

Level 16: Terrafrost Catacombs - Terra = earth, yeah it's not on earth but I suppose it could also mean ground/dirt, so frost in the ground, catacombs = series of tunnels/underground chambers

Level 17: Y'tor III - Not sure, maybe just a generic \"sci-fi\" sounding name

Level 18: Drec'nilbie K'luh - Anagram of \"Incredible Hulk\", the superhero from Marvel comics

Level 19: Nep-Hilim S'crub - The Nephilim were a race of giants mentioned in the Bible, no clue about the \"S'crub\" part

Level 20: Gytowt Station - Possibly a phonetic pronunciation of \"Get Out\"

Level 21: N'neri Ring - Anagram of \"Inner\", meaning inner ring

Level 22: Kwod A'rior - Anagram of \"Roadwork\" with an extra i left over

Level 23: Iwihml: No idea, maybe an anagram of whim, but it has an extra il left over

Level 24: Tycho Brahe - 16th century astronomer

Secret Level 1: Segment City - I guess because you have to go through the level in segments

Secret Level 2: Hurdle Chase - All the enemies are mine-layers and you have to chase them around the level, avoiding the mines (hurdles) - thanks to Alter-Fox for the info

Secret Level 3: Mephisto Hardcore - Mephisto is short for Mephistopheles, the name of a demon (sometimes said to be the devil), who most notably was known from a story about a man named Faust who made a bet with him. Hardcore probably signifies that the level is very difficult

Secret Level 4: Galacia Caverns - probably meant to sound like \"glacier\"

Secret Level 5: Ascent Level 1 - Ascent could be taken as the opposite of Descent, the name of the game. I don't know if there was ever an \"Ascent level 2\" so I'm a bit confused on this one

Secret Level 6: Chain Reaction - multiple reactors that add to the countdown time every time you blow one, self - explanatory if you've played the level

As for the systems:

Zeta Aquilae - A real star discovered by astronomers

Quartzon - Probably named after the mineral quartz

Brimspark - Pun on Otto Von Bismarck

Limefrost Spiral - Reflecting the general cold/ice theme of the system, not sure about the \"spiral\" part

Baloris Prime - Pun on John Bolaris

Puuma Sphere - No idea, possibly reference the animal called a Puma

Tycho Brahe - Already explained

Hopefully you guys can help me figure this out

D1 levels are easier:

1. Lunar Outpost - Self-Explanatory
2. Lunar Scilab - Lunar Science Laboratory
3. Lunar Military Base - Self-Explanatory
4. Venus Atmospheric Lab - Self-Explanatory
5. Venus Nickel - Iron Mine - Self-Explanatory
6. Mercury Solar Lab - Laboratory on Mercury for studying the sun (since Mercury is so close to it)
7. Mercury Core - The core of the inner planet levels and mercury, where the boss is
8. Mars Processing Station - Self-Explanatory
9. Mars Military Dig - Don't know why the military would be digging for things, but it could be where they mine for materials to use for military applications
10. Mars Military Base - Self-Explanatory
11. Io Sulfur Mine - Self-Explanatory
12. Callisto Tower Colony - Because of the large tower in the middle of the level
13. Europa Mining Colony - Self-Explanatory
14. Europa Carbon Dioxide Mine - Self-Explanatory
15. Titan Mine - Self-Explanatory
16. Hyperion Methane Mine - Self-Explanatory
17. Tethys Water Mine - Self-Explanatory
18. Miranda Mine - Self-Explanatory
19. Oberon Mine - Self-Explanatory
20. Oberon Iron Mine - Self-Explanatory
21. Oberon Platinum Mine - Self-Explanatory
22. Neptune Storage Depot - Self-Explanatory
23. Triton Storage Depot - Self-Explanatory
24. Nereid Volatile Mine - Self-Explanatory
25. Pluto Outpost - Self-Explanatory
26. Pluto Military Base - Self-Explanatory
27. Charon Volatile Mine - Self-Explanatory
Secret Level 1 - Asteroid Secret Base - Self-Explanatory
Secret Level 2 - Asteroid Military Base - Self-Explanatory
Secret Level 3 - Asteroid Robot Factory - Self-Explanatory

Vertigo levels:

1. Deep Kraeg Tunnel System - No idea what Kraeg means but the rest is self - explanatory
2. Transmode Containment 2112 - Possibly a reference to Rush's 2112 album and song
3. Collision Dome Excavation - Not sure about the collision part
4. PTMC Heavy Water Abyss - Heavy Water is water with deuterium isotopes of hydrogen which has an extra neutron compared to normal hydrogen, used in nuclear reactors. Abyss probably refers to the deep caverns (I don't remember if this level has deep caverns, but it's a general thing for mines)
5. Artifact Research Facility - Researching alien artifacts?
6. Krell Shaft Factory - Reference to Forbidden Planet, the alien species that once lived there was known as the Krell
7. Kanroku Ore Mine - Kanroku was a priest who brought Chinese science to Japan in the year AD. 602 - there is also an asteroid named after him
8. Archangel Falls Mine - possibly a reference to Angel Falls, the highest waterfall on earth, located in Venezuela
9. Metacave Weapons Research - Researching weaponry for use in caves? Not sure
10. Citadel Station - A Citadel is an armed fortress that was used to protect a town
11. Urgian Kiln - A kiln is an oven used to heat things other than food (usually). Not sure about the Urgian part
12. Exodus Research Facility - Could mean the Biblical Exodus or just a mass migration from a place
13. PTMC Geothermal No. 1A574 - Geothermal energy is energy harnessed from the interior of the earth (or another planet, as the case may be). Not sure about the significance of the number/letter code, if there is one
14. Living Water Catacombs - Possible Biblical reference - Jesus was called \"The Living Water\" - Thanks to Alter-Fox for the info
15. Frisia Gas Mine - Frisia is a coastal area around the North Sea. Not sure of the relevance here.
16. Fold Zandura - An alternative rock band from California
17. Gippan Ore Refinery - Again, no idea
18. Magma Tower Complex - Self-explanatory
19. Morabi Milk Mine - No idea, very weird
20. Vertigo Research Station - Self-Explanatory
Secret Level 1 - Fort Pyr Security Training Post - Perhaps \"Pyr\" is short for \"Pyro\" as in \"Pyro-GX\"
Secret Level 2 - GOTH-9 Waste Recycling Facility - maybe just meaning the word Goth, but could be an acronym
Secret Level 3 - Brizzna Babrenna Ice Base - No idea

D3 Mercenary:

1. PTMC Mars Colony - Self-Explanatory
2. CED S.O.G. Command Centre - Don't know, never played D3 Mercenary
3. CED Tracking Station - Self-Explanatory
4. Alien Planetoid - Self-Explanatory
5. PTMC Secret Laboratory - Self-Explanatory
6. PTMC Caesium Mine - Caesium, also known as Cesium, is a chemical element
7. PTMC Headquarters Underground - Self-Explanatory

D3:

1. PTMC Data Retention Centre - Same meaning as data storage, I guess
2. Novak Corporate Prison - Novak is the name of the corporation that runs the prison, I guess. It is also the most common surname in Slavic languages
3. Piccu Station & SRAD Research - Maybe a reference to Macchu Picchu, don't know what SRAD is (it might have been explained in the game but it's been a long time since I played it)
4. PTMC Headquarters Overground - Self-Explanatory
5. Red Acropolis Research Station - Red because it's on Mars, the \"Red Planet\", and the Acropolis was applied to a hill in the ancient Greek city of Athens, an Acropolis was generally on elevated terrain, explaining the name (the station was a high tower)
6. Martian Nomad Caverns - Self-Explanatory
7. PTMC Research Bunker - Self-Explanatory
8. PTMC Dol Ammad Fuel Refinery - Dol Ammad is a heavy metal band, but they named themselves after the level, not vice-versa. I can't figure out the actual meaning, if there is one, it sounds vaguely Arabic
9. PTMC Spacecraft Factory - Self-Explanatory
10. CED Lunar Command Base - CED = Collective Earth Defense
11. PTMC Storage Facility - Self-Explanatory
12. PTMC Proving Grounds - Self-Explanatory
13. CED Expediator Dreadnought - Name of the ship you're on
14. CED Orbital Network Transmitter - Name of the station you're on, it is a communications transmission station
15. Dravis' Stronghold - Self-Explanatory
Secret Level 1 - Origin Zero - Not sure
Secret Level 2 - High Velocity Weapons Research - testing weapons at high speeds, that's what all of those magnetic tunnels are for

Hurdle Chase was the level where all the enemies were mine-layers, so you had to chase them around the level.

I think \"Living Water Catacombs\" might be a biblical reference.

Thanks, I updated my posts.

Anyone else have more info/ideas?

Transmode Containment... that means that it was meant to act as a quarantine for the \"transmode virus,\" the alien computer virus that turned all of the bots in the mine into killing machines. I'll look at the rest later. ^_~

well, maybe not a quarantine... but self-explanatory once you know that it's the virus.

Brimspark is a carryover from brimstone which is sulfur so its a sulfurous volcanic system.

Brimstone isn't sulfur in the bible

In the bible, it basically means \"hellfire\" so when it's used in the bible, it's somewhat redundant. So maybe the one in Descent is a \"Hellfire Volcanic System?\" X_x lol

Neo, I think you might be wrong on that, although it might be a contextual thing from passage to passage. When it's talked about in Genesis in reference to Sodom and Gomorrah, I think burning sulfur might be want was meant. .. like I said, I'm not a 100% on that.


ok.. that was WAY off topic... (sry)

Wikipedia says that Brimspark is a reference to \"Otto von Bismark\". But then, wikipedia has been known to be wrong sometimes...

Slightly off-topic: I was also thinking about the name of the D3 Mercenary level 3 music: \"Thirteen Omega\". It could mean \"Unlucky End\" (13 is the unlucky number, and omega is the last letter of the greek alphabet), which is sort of what happens to the CED Tracking Station at the end of the level.

Also, the operation to smuggle the black pyro into the CED Tracking Station is reffered to as \"Delivery thirteen omega.\"

SRAD = Special Research And Development.

I think S.O.G. for Merc lv 2 is a typo. It's supposed to be S.O.C, Special Opperations Command.

Oh yeah.
\"Level 12: Magnacore Station.\" Magna means great. It is a big place, with a great big rooms everywhere, so yeah.

NUMBERZero wrote:SRAD = Special Research And Development.

In Descent: Equinox I think it was actually "Special Research and Aquisitions Division." I have no idea if that was true in D3 (the game) though.

I see that you are correct. The usual is Research and Development.

I think I'll do the Descent Maximum levels now.

Level 1: Cyberdyne Operations: Probably a reference to the Cyberdyne corporation from Terminator 2.

Level 2: Freespace Operations: Probably a reference to Descent Freespace, another game series produced by Volition.

Level 3: Destination Sony: A reference to the Sony corporation (no idea why).

Level 4: Fatty's Playhouse: A reference to the fan nickname for the level 4 boss, \"Red Fatty\", and maybe a reference to the old kids show \"Pee Wee's Playhouse\" starring Pee Wee Herman

Level 5. Turnabout Well: Maybe a reference to the main D2 levels 2 and 6, Turnabout Bore and The Well.

Level 6. The Abyss: Maybe a reference to the 1989 movie, it was directed by James Cameron who also directed the Terminator movies which were referenced in level 1.

Level 7. Water World: Reference to the 1995 Kevin Costner movie?

Level 8. The Sewer: The level seems to be designed sort of like a sewer with brown wall textures and water themes.

Level 9. Red Heat: Reference to the 1988 movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger?

Level 10. Hell's Bells: Reference to the ACDC song

Level 11. The Pit: Just the shape of the level or the fact that a mine is like a pit in the ground?

Level 12. Hell's Kitchen: The neighborhood in Manhattan, at first I was thinking the TV show but it came out after Descent Maximum. Maybe also one of several movies by that name, or the band or several songs/albums. Probably the neighborhood in Manhattan.

Level 13. Deep Freeze: A common phrase having to do with freezing and ice, as befitting the theme of the level.

Level 14. Ice Creamed: Just a reference to ice cream, I guess.

Level 15. Ice Cubed: Reference to ice cubes and perhaps also cubing a number, as in multiplying it by itself twice

Level 16. Temple of Syrinx: Syrinx was a nymph from Greek mythology. She was transformed into hollow water reeds that the god Pan cut to form the first set of pan pipes, also the word syringe comes from her name, and the shape of the level is a spiral with a needle sort of like a syringe.

Level 17. Badabingbadadoom: Reference to the saying/onomatopoeia \"Bada-bing, bada-boom\" except with doom at the end instead. I think the phrase was popularized by the movie The Godfather.

Level 18. Mindbender Station: Maybe a reference to the Mindbender, the world's largest indoor roller coaster in the East Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Canada. Also maybe a reference to the G.I. Joe villain, but I'm going with the roller coaster since the level is shaped sort of like a roller coaster.

Level 19. K'laduth M'kl: No idea. Maybe an anagram but I can't find one.

Level 20. Warp95: Maybe a reference to the warp factors from Star Trek, or Windows 95, or both.

Level 21. Operation Mindcrime: A rock album released in 1988 by the band Queensrÿche.

Level 22. Alien Nation: A sci-fi franchise that began with a 1988 movie.

Level 23. Garbarnofar: No idea, sounds vaguely Norse. Maybe an anagram, or something to do with the words \"bar\", \"no\", and \"far\".

Level 24. Final Frontier: A common phrase in the Star Trek series, and also the title of the 5th Star Trek movie.

I don't know all of the secret level names, I know that some of them are just untitled, and one is called Pit Stop, which is named because it is sort of layed out like a race track and it also is a \"pit stop\" in the game for you to stock up on weapons, energy, powerups, etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gd23knksGDM

I think the original Descent: Maximum for the playstation had different level names, judging from this video of Descent Maximum on the playstation.

Level 18. Mindbender Station: Maybe a reference to the Mindbender, the world's largest indoor roller coaster in the East Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Canada.

It's actually called the West Edmonton Mall.

Get rid of the = sign, and you will be golden.

Some of those names were just too obvious, especially the first 4.

The syringe one.
The spiral sound mean the serpants that wrap around the ambulance insignia. I have no idea how to discribe it because I totally forgot what they spiraled around.

Sorry for the thread ressurection but I have a few more ideas.

Urgian Kiln/Gippan Ore Refinery: The first word of each name sounds like it's referring to a place, or maybe even the name of the planet that the level is on. I'm not sure if Vertigo was all on one planet or spread across several in the Beta Ceti star system.

Metacave Weapons Research: The level looks like it's built around a giant cave that may have been used for weapons testing. I don't know about the Meta part... maybe it's just supposed to make it sound cool.

Alternate explanation of Nep-Hilim S'crub: look in the D2 credits in the \"Arctic Bug Hunting\" section.

Destination Sony: Possibly because Descent Maximum was released only on the Sony Playstation.

Ice Cubed: Possibly another meaning too... the game Engine for Descent and D2 (and Maximum) was based on interconnected cubes.

Freespace Operations is also the text on one of the overlay textures in D2.

I'm still not sure if these were the real names of the Descent Maximum levels though. Is there anyone here who played Maximum on the playstation and could verify?

EDIT: Did you ever notice how the Limefrost Spiral and Omega Systems each had their own door texture that didn't appear anywhere else in D2 Counterstrike?
The Limefrost Spiral door had some kind of symbol on it.

You could check all of my videos that I have, but yes, those are the real names. Very basic and really unoriginal.

Level 16. Temple of Syrinx:

This is a reference to the Rush song 2112. One of the parts of the song is called 'The Temples of Syrinx.'

Uber-necro.
But I found some interesting info that isn't here, and I suspect something else -- both from looking at the credits.

Level 19 - Nep'Hilim S'crub
In the credits, under special thanks, there is this one phrase...

Jim "Nephilim" Boone
Kihan "Scrub" Pak
For Arctic bug hunting

No I don't know what that means either.
But it's pretty clear they got a level named after them.

Level 3 - Wenl Mine
Shoutout to Dan Wentz? It sounds almost like they took his name and changed it a bit. For D2 he's mostly known for the midi soundtrack and some level design, but apparently he worked on almost every visual and audio aspect of the game.
He's more well known now for the Red Faction 1 and 2 soundtracks I imagine. Also Miner Wars. Not to mention Freespace 1 and 2.

Another serious necro. I posted it in another thread, but this one is even more suitable for it so I'll repost it.

"Iwihml" is a possible acronym for "I wish I had more lights", which refers to the lack of energy centers and scarce energy powerups in level 23.

I'm thinking Brimspark is more of a reference to "fire and brimstone" than having been chosen simply because it sounds like Bismarck. The "spiral" part of Limefrost Spiral might be referencing a spiral galaxy, though that could mean the name stemmed from a lack of research...

I actually thought "Kwod A'rior" was supposed to sound vaguely like "Corridor," which at least seems to fit with the design to some extent. It's a lot boxier and more tunnel-like than much of Counterstrike.

Yeah, I loved the design of Kwod A'rior, it was vastly reminescent of many Descent 1 levels, notably Level 27 (in terms of cube geometry that is).

Xfing wrote:"Iwihml" is a possible acronym for "I wish I had more lights", which refers to the lack of energy centers and scarce energy powerups in level 23.

Fox likes.

Here's my level pack name meanings. ( That i'll make when i'm more experienced with DLE-XP )
--
1. Oto Station - Self-Explanatory
2. Oto Military Base - Self-Explanatory
3. Oto Tunnel Shaft - The Level is mainly composed of Tunnels and Half-Circles connected to Each other, and going deeper.
4. Freelex Mine - Self-Explanatory
5. Freelex Military Dig - The Military is digging for Future Operation Sites., that's all.
6. Apollo Iron Mine - Self-Explanatory
7. Apollo Mantle - Self-Explanatory
8. New Louisiana Military Base - Self-Explanatory
9. New Louisiana Uranium Mine - Self-Explanatory
10. New Louisiana Iron Mine - Self-Explanatory
11. Vulcan Mine - Self-Explanatory
12. Gaia Military Colony - Pretty much a Military Campus/Training Site. That's all,
13. Gaia Solar Research - Gaia is the 2nd planet from it's sun, and Gaia is like Earth.
14. Flores Selenium Mine - Self-Explanatory
15. Zeus Methane Mine - Self-Explanatory
16. Carswellia Tunnel Colony - The Level is mainly composed of Tunnels. Hence the name Carswellia Tunnel Colony. And Carswellia is a sightly edited version of my Last name, Carswell.
17. Desmondixx Uranium Mine - Self-Explanatory
18. New Ethopia Mining Colony - Self-Explanatory
19. New Ethopia Military Base - Self-Explanatory
20. New Ethopia Iron Mine - Self-Explanatory
21. Bangnageese Atmospheric Lab - Bangnageese is a Gas Giant in my world, so i think the PTMC is researching the Life that lives in the Warmer Cloud Bands of it's Atmosphere.
22. Jericho Volatile Mine - Self-Explanatory
23. Jericho Storage Depot - Self-Explanatory
24. Nexiusm Mine - Self-Explanatory
25. Izignairtii Storage Depot - Self-Explanatory
26. Izignairtii Volatile Mine - Self-Explanatory
27. Phekda Military Station - Self-Explanatory
--

--
Level 2: Freespace Operations: Probably a reference to Descent Freespace, another game series produced by Volition.
--
I think it can also be an In-game texture, you can find it in level 3 in Counterstrike.

Sorry for resurrecting such an old thread, but I'm playing Descent: Maximum again and noticed these level names were altered from the Playstation version of the game. I'm playing on D2X-XL V1.16 — stored for a long time on many backup external drives. I Googled the names of some of the levels I've encountered to see if this was official or not. Something tells me the they were renamed when ported over from the PSX.

Here are the Descent: Maximum PSX level names that I can remember (and the corresponding Redbook Audio tracks that accompany them in parenthesis).

Relevance to this thread, I think they may be developers' names, or maybe places? No idea.

Level 1: Petra (Glut)
Level 2: Agartha (Ratzez)
Level 3: Reuchlin (Techno Industry)
Level 4: Ako (Gunner Down)
Level 5: Lilofee (Are You Descent?)
Level 6: Lomonosowa (Haunted)
Level 7: Ausonia (The Well/Mark 2)
Level 8: Xosa XII (Cold Reality)
Level 9: Sinha (Robot Jungle)
Level 10: Orlock (Crush)
Level 11: Fuld (Rusty)
Level 12: Thraine (Pain)
Level 13: Widorn (Mark 1/Transmode Containment 2112)
Level 14: Ate CXI (Glut [music starts over here and repeats respectively, leaving 'Rusty' being your unfitting final boss fight theme in Level 24.])
Level 15: Rog
Level 16: Eilers
Level 17:
Level 18: Rosalinde
Level 19:
Level 20: Semele
Level 21:
Level 22: Nipponia
Level 23: Taranis {sp?}
Level 24: Sajaan

Secret Level 1: Siblant Station (Currently marked as 'Untitled' in the version I'm playing on PC)
Secret Level 2:
Secret Level 3: (Something with the words 'cragg' and 'quarry')
Secret Level 4:
Secret Level 5:
Secret Level 6: Epiglottis Chamber

(These are off the top of my head and am currently drawing a blank for some. It's been over 20 years, forgive me lmao)

Alieo wrote: ↑Sun Sep 13, 2020 11:52 am Sorry for resurrecting such an old thread, but I'm playing Descent: Maximum again and noticed these level names were altered from the Playstation version of the game. I'm playing on D2X-XL V1.16 — stored for a long time on many backup external drives. I Googled the names of some of the levels I've encountered to see if this was official or not. Something tells me the they were renamed when ported over from the PSX.

The PSX version has two level names - the internal names stored in the level files and the official level names. The former never show up in the game (they are in there, though; a disc image and hex editor is all you need to prove it), but they were the ones that the original Descent Maximum port to PC used. The "fixed" version of that port uses the official level names (the ones you listed) instead.

Alieo wrote: ↑Sun Sep 13, 2020 11:52 am Sorry for resurrecting such an old thread, but I'm playing Descent: Maximum again and noticed these level names were altered from the Playstation version of the game. I'm playing on D2X-XL V1.16 — stored for a long time on many backup external drives. I Googled the names of some of the levels I've encountered to see if this was official or not. Something tells me the they were renamed when ported over from the PSX.

Here are the Descent: Maximum PSX level names that I can remember (and the corresponding Redbook Audio tracks that accompany them in parenthesis).

Relevance to this thread, I think they may be developers' names, or maybe places? No idea.

Level 1: Petra (Glut)
Level 2: Agartha (Ratzez)
Level 3: Reuchlin (Techno Industry)
Level 4: Ako (Gunner Down)
Level 5: Lilofee (Are You Descent?)
Level 6: Lomonosowa (Haunted)
Level 7: Ausonia (The Well/Mark 2)
Level 8: Xosa XII (Cold Reality)
Level 9: Sinha (Robot Jungle)
Level 10: Orlock (Crush)
Level 11: Fuld (Rusty)
Level 12: Thraine (Pain)
Level 13: Widorn (Mark 1/Transmode Containment 2112)
Level 14: Ate CXI (Glut [music starts over here and repeats respectively, leaving 'Rusty' being your unfitting final boss fight theme in Level 24.])
Level 15: Rog
Level 16: Eilers
Level 17:
Level 18: Rosalinde
Level 19:
Level 20: Semele
Level 21:
Level 22: Nipponia
Level 23: Taranis {sp?}
Level 24: Sajaan

Secret Level 1: Siblant Station (Currently marked as 'Untitled' in the version I'm playing on PC)
Secret Level 2:
Secret Level 3: (Something with the words 'cragg' and 'quarry')
Secret Level 4:
Secret Level 5:
Secret Level 6: Epiglottis Chamber

(These are off the top of my head and am currently drawing a blank for some. It's been over 20 years, forgive me lmao)

You did that all from memory? Nice. The correct list of levels is available online, you did make some minor mistakes there, though it's only spelling. Like Parabolicus said, there are two sets of names for the levels, these ones that displayed on the PSX do sound more mysterious for sure. "Petra" is Latin for "rock" and "Nipponia" remains me of "Nippon", which is a word used to refer to Japan. That said, probably my favorite level name of all is secret level 6, "The Subtle Body". Epic sounding, this would be amazing for an album title or something

Xfing wrote: ↑Mon Sep 14, 2020 11:04 am

Alieo wrote: ↑Sun Sep 13, 2020 11:52 am Sorry for resurrecting such an old thread, but I'm playing Descent: Maximum again and noticed these level names were altered from the Playstation version of the game. I'm playing on D2X-XL V1.16 — stored for a long time on many backup external drives. I Googled the names of some of the levels I've encountered to see if this was official or not. Something tells me the they were renamed when ported over from the PSX.

Here are the Descent: Maximum PSX level names that I can remember (and the corresponding Redbook Audio tracks that accompany them in parenthesis).

Relevance to this thread, I think they may be developers' names, or maybe places? No idea.

Level 1: Petra (Glut)
Level 2: Agartha (Ratzez)
Level 3: Reuchlin (Techno Industry)
Level 4: Ako (Gunner Down)
Level 5: Lilofee (Are You Descent?)
Level 6: Lomonosowa (Haunted)
Level 7: Ausonia (The Well/Mark 2)
Level 8: Xosa XII (Cold Reality)
Level 9: Sinha (Robot Jungle)
Level 10: Orlock (Crush)
Level 11: Fuld (Rusty)
Level 12: Thraine (Pain)
Level 13: Widorn (Mark 1/Transmode Containment 2112)
Level 14: Ate CXI (Glut [music starts over here and repeats respectively, leaving 'Rusty' being your unfitting final boss fight theme in Level 24.])
Level 15: Rog
Level 16: Eilers
Level 17:
Level 18: Rosalinde
Level 19:
Level 20: Semele
Level 21:
Level 22: Nipponia
Level 23: Taranis {sp?}
Level 24: Sajaan

Secret Level 1: Siblant Station (Currently marked as 'Untitled' in the version I'm playing on PC)
Secret Level 2:
Secret Level 3: (Something with the words 'cragg' and 'quarry')
Secret Level 4:
Secret Level 5:
Secret Level 6: Epiglottis Chamber

(These are off the top of my head and am currently drawing a blank for some. It's been over 20 years, forgive me lmao)

You did that all from memory? Nice. The correct list of levels is available online, you did make some minor mistakes there, though it's only spelling. Like Parabolicus said, there are two sets of names for the levels, these ones that displayed on the PSX do sound more mysterious for sure. "Petra" is Latin for "rock" and "Nipponia" remains me of "Nippon", which is a word used to refer to Japan. That said, probably my favorite level name of all is secret level 6, "The Subtle Body". Epic sounding, this would be amazing for an album title or something

Glut: A legendary Norse queen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gl%C3%B6%C3%B0
Agartha: A legendary kingdom said to be located in Earth's core (makes sense for a Descent level) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agartha
Ratzez: Can't find anything other than references to the song itself
Reuchlin: Johann Reuchlin was a Catholic philosopher and linguist
Techno Industry: Referring to the music genre? Or perhaps a double meaning with the robot manufacturing in the mines
Ako: A city in Japan, and some other places too https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ako
Gunner Down: Probably just a generic cool-sounding name
Lilofee: An asteroid, named after a mermaid from German folklore (is this asteroid where the level takes place? Probably not as it's supposed to be in another star system) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1003_Lilofee
Lomonosowa: Another asteroid, named after Russian astronomer Mikhail Lomonosov https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1379_Lomonosowa
Ausonia: An ancient Greek name for lower Italy, and a few other things, including an asteroid https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ausonia
Xosa XII: Xosa is another asteroid, named after the Xhosa people from Africa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1506_Xosa
Sinha: A term in Sanskrit used as a surname meaning 'lion' or 'brave person' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinha
Orlock: Maybe named after Count Orlok, the vampire from the 1922 film Nosferatu
Fuld: A city in Germany, or a surname https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuld
Thraine: Can't find anything for the version with the e at the end, but Thrain is a Dwarven name from the Lord of the Rings universe
Widorn: An asteroid, named after Austrian astronomer Thomas Widorn
Ate CXI: CXI is 111 in Roman Numerals, not sure what the name could mean
Rog: Could mean several things https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rog_(disambiguation)
Eilers: A surname https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eilers
Rosalinde: Another asteroid, named after a character in the opera Die Fledermaus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/900_Rosalinde
Semele: A goddess from Greek mythology, also an asteroid named after her
Nipponia: It's also the name of a genus of birds containing only one species, the Japanese crested ibis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crested_ibis
Taranis: A gold from Celtic mythology, also an asteroid. Freespace fans will also recognize it as the name of a Shivan cruiser you capture early on in the first game
Sajaan: Can't find anything, but it's similar to several Hindu words
Siblant Station: Could be based on the word 'sibilant', meaning a hissing type of speech
Epiglottis chamber: A part of the throat

Yeeeeeeaaaaaaaaah I somehow kinda doubt Ogre was thinking of old norse queens when he was contracted for this game... and considering that the weird synths in that song sound kinda like stomach noises I think there's an easier explanation for that title.
Ratzez seems like if the title means anything at all, it's an onomatopoeia based on the "tapping" percussion.

The first half of Gunner Down is based on the backing track from NIN's "Big Man with a Gun", and the second half is much quieter overall, so I'd imagine it's a silly little musical story about exactly what the title says.

I understand reading extra easter eggs and references into level names, but the title of most any song tends to make more sense the less extra stuff you read into it. Because if the writer wanted an easter egg in their song, there are many far more interesting ways they could have put it in there.

I have the Descent Maximum secret level names

1. Sibilant Station - explained already
2. Echo Base - A Star Wars reference.
3. Cragg Center - As many of the other D2 Maximum levels are named after asteroids, it is probably a reference to the asteroid 5068 Cragg
4. Refractory Factory - A refractory is a material resistant to heat, pressure, and chemical attack and retains its strength and form at high temperatures
5. Epiglottis Shaft - explained already
6. The Subtle Body - There is a book with this title but it came out in 2010, way after Descent Maximum. Not sure what other meaning it could have, maybe just because it sounds cool.

Now all we need are the alternate Maximum secret level names (as each level has 2 names depending on the release).

Regarding the original D2 levels, level 23's name, IWIHML is an acronym for I Wish I Had More Lights, because in the level there are no energy centers and no energy pickups at all.