SP2D is one of the most unique sp campaigns in UT99 history, the concept is quite simple, make Unreal 2D, however doing that won't be an easy task since UE1 was made specifically for 3D gameplay. Development took a very long time, even with a group of talented people this project became too difficult to work with, I don't know the details but I've heard that there were a lot of conflicts between the people that worked on this project, with all things considered it's a miracle that we even got a public release of this campaign.
The story is quite simple, you are Andrew Collins in a mission in Na Pali where things go wrong and the Skaarj are involved, the levels have plenty of translator messages that expand on the story and many characters you interact with (unfortunately that interactivity isn't that deep). All levels look beautiful and are very professional, which isn't that surprising considering that many of the mappers that worked on this project also worked on Project Zephon, the environments also look very similar to the ones from Zephon, you could say that both campaigns have a special connection, almost like SP2D is like a spiritual successor to Zephon. However one issue I have with the maps from this project is that the level design is very boring, most levels are "go from left to right" linear type of design which is pretty boring considering that you can make levels with more complicated level design to make things more interesting, the only levels I would say that push the level design as far as they could are level 2 and 10 (the penultimate level), those levels are my favorites from SP2D.
Gameplay is the biggest change in this campaign, this project combines the FPS shooter gameplay of Unreal and UT99 with 2D platforming from games like Super Mario and Contra, the campaign does a good job at creating a 2D platformer with the Unreal physics however it's very flawed, the jumping (which is the most important aspect of a 2D platformer) is very lackluster, the jumps are too short and the character falls to the floor too quickly, too be fair this is how Unreal and UT99 works but things should have been modified to make the jumping more fun and complex (a double jump and a wall jump would have been nice), the Unreal enemies also aren't well designed for 2D, while the project does modify them so they work in a 2D space, they aren't very entertaining to fight in that kind of environment, if you look at other 2D platformers like Contra, Metroid or Castlevania you will see good example of enemies designed with 2D in mind. However the worst enemy of the whole campaign, and unfortunately it's one that follows you from the beginning all the way to the end, is the camera, this campaign's greatest flaw in my opinion, the camera never does a good job at showing the environments in a way for you to see where you are going clearly, this is because the camera is always at your character's height, which makes it very difficult to see where you are going especially in levels where you have to do plenty of deadly jumps like level 2, another big problem is that enemies can start attacking you off-screen which is very cheap, maybe a system could have been created so enemies off-screen cannot be hurt and cannot attack you. However I will give this campaign a lot of credit for allowing you to kill enemies by stepping on them like Goombas from Super Mario Bros, also the system of how you aim your weapons is really good as well.
Escape to the Caves introduced SP2D in a very effective way, the beginning doesn't do a good job at introducing the story (the level just starts) but gameplay wise the level is great at showing you what SP2D is all about, the level is very simple and linear where the enemies are only critters like Pupae, Tentacles and DevilFishes, however the map is a little reserved at giving you health packs so you can't mess around too much, but if you make a big mistake (like me jumping doing to the water only to fall to an edge causing a lot of falling damage
) there's always enough health to continue without that much trouble. This map also introduces new gimmicks of SP2D like pressing a button to enter doors (which apparently doesn't work in 469
) and the "red arrows" that take you to different parts of the level, funny that the arrows work like teleporters because if an enemy is in the same place when you reach the destination you will telefrag them. The majority of the enemies in this level are Pupae, so that means that if you time your jumps correctly you can kill them all by stepping on them, pretty fun. This map also introduced the 2D platforming aspects of this campaign by jumping gaps (which will make you instantly hate the camera), this level has plenty of optional areas to get more pickups and messages, so keep an eye for them.
Snow 2 is where SP2D really begins, it's one of the campaign's best levels because the level design is very complex and it uses the 2D environments very well. The environments are beautiful to look at, however the FPS can decrease a lot in some areas. This level is basically a hunt for two things: a Nali that's been lost and a key, this might be the only level that has multiple objectives at the same time, a big let down that the campaign doesn't do this more often, SP2D would have benefited a lot from big complex levels with multiple objectives like Metroidvania games. Sound design is very strong, there are many Ambient Sounds (no DynamicAmbientSounds unfortunately) and there's a lot of variety of sounds all over the place (however there are some areas where the sounds can be a little annoying). Music is very strong too, SP2D uses songs from many games and this level uses songs from Unreal, UT2004 and even Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis which was a nice surprise
. This level can be quite difficult because enemies can start attacking you off-screen and there are many sections where you have to perform very difficult jump and the camera doesn't help either. Finding the objectives can also be a little cryptic especially if you aren't paying attention to the messages. Just like the previous map there are plenty of secrets that give you pickups and even a new weapon so keep your eyes pealed.
Issues I found :
Escape to the Caves :
- Every level in SP2D has a glitch at the start that prevents it from playing the level's default song, I don't know what causes this glitch.
- When you encounter a translator message you cannot read it unless you step away from it.
- Movers that are important to level progression are Return When Encroached, at least you can activate them multiple times.
- During the section where you have to fall to the water you can accidentally fall to a floor at the bottom which will force you to take a lot of falling damage.
- The trigger that kills you if you fall to the bottomless pit doesn't affect monsters.
- If you go straight to the end teleporter you won't be able to read the final line from your playable character, also that teleporter is just a gate with no effect or lighting to indicate it's a teleporter.
- The playable character doesn't play a sound when dying, it lacks some death animations (if you kill yourself with the Dispersion Pistol the death animation won't play
) and the chunks use the Unreal ones not the UT99 ones.
- If you get gibbed the camera will follow your head but the head sometimes can fall of the 2D plane and it will fall to the void.
- There are many invisible decorations and some of them are out of bounds.
Snow 2 :
- If you find the Nali corpse first, you can get the key to open the gate but it will be invisible.
- Just like the previous map many movers that are important for level progression are Return When Encroached.
- The triggers that kill you if you fall off don't affect monsters.
- There's a section where you go to an area behind an area you already were but the camera doesn't change location which makes platforming very difficult.
- There are some brushes that don't do anything that are out of bounds.
Somewhere in Nevada...
