Corridor 7
Encyclopedia
Corridor 7: Alien Invasion is a first-person shooter
computer game developed and published by Capstone Software
. It was widely ignored for its outdated Wolfenstein 3D
engine, which was technologically surpassed by Doom at the time. A sequel Corridor 8: Galactic Wars was planned, but was cancelled.
As a result a dimensional gate (the Vortex) is opened in the midst of Corridor 7, allowing an army of alien invaders to reach Earth
. The aliens quickly overrun the military base and took its control killing everyone. While the creatures are busy modifying the surroundings to better suit their needs, but before they can effectively cut off Delta Base from the rest of the world, a lone Special Forces
soldier is able to penetrate their perimeter: his objective will be to stop the invasion and destroy the artifact.
. Corridor 7 is not organized in episodes. Instead, there are 30 (floppy disk version) or 40 (CD version) levels to explore plus 6 more bonus levels. The gameplay slightly differs from that of most FPS games because the player, rather than finding an exit surviving the various enemies scattered around, is tasked with the duty of killing the aliens present on the level; once this objective is achieved he will be granted access to the next floor of the base through the lift by which he came at the starting point of each level. The skill setting selected when starting the game influences the percentage of aliens that need to be eliminated:
To help hunting down the aliens the player can activate the proximity map in one corner of the screen. This function shows a small section of the current level with all active aliens as yellow blips and can be expanded by finding the floor plan. Upon collecting this object the proximity map is extended to show the whole level and the position of every alien. On the corporal difficulty the full map is shown with no need to collect the floor plan.
Corridor 7 levels can be split into different blocks depending on their setting. The first twenty levels of Delta Base comprise a mix of offices, research labs, computer rooms and storage warehouses themed with appropriate decorations and furniture. Next comes the so called alien converted floors: these 10 levels of Delta Base have been completely reorganized by the aliens who brought in their own devices and structures. The converted floors feature a darker light setting and the almost complete disappearance of human made equipment. A third section is made up by the six bonus levels accessible on specific levels throughout Delta Base using an alternate elevator. Such elevator is usually guarded by an alien boss. The total of these 36 levels makes up the original floppy disk release of the game. This version of Corridor 7 ends when the player destroys the Vortex on level 30. The CD version features 10 more levels: rather than destroying the Vortex the player walks through it to reach the aliens' homeworld. The alien levels share some similarities with the alien converted floors, but the major difference is that no kill percentage is required to move on, but an exit teleporter must be found.
There are some more differences from other Wolfenstein 3D engine based games: for instance the player is equipped with a visor capable of both infrared and night vision. Infrared is employed to detect invisible, energy draining force fields or other threats, while night vision is especially useful to better see when playing on dark levels. Ammunition and health are not scattered around the levels as objects to pick up, but rather as dispenser bays encased in the level walls. Health is also available in special rooms called "health chambers" where the player can obtain up to 100 hit points. Corridor 7 features two distinct ammo types as well: the projectiles dispensed from the bays are used to feed all human weapons while energy packs are available to power up the alien guns.
Locked areas do not require a key to be opened, but a color coded (blue or red) passcard is necessary. These cards are granted by operating special wall-sized computer terminals; since these terminals are also placed behind the color coded doors, sometimes it is possible to lure an alien into opening such doors and, after dispatching the creature, quickly move in to get the access without having to wander around in search for another terminal.
and modem
gameplay in the CD release of Corridor 7. The only multiplayer mode featured is deathmatch and there is also an extra set of 8 multiplayer maps included. Players can deathmatch impersonating either the Special Forces soldiers from the singleplayer mode or one of the aliens: interestingly enough playing as an alien results in possessing the distinctive abilities of the creature chosen (e.g. speed or endurance).
, went bankrupt
along with their parent company, IntraCorp
. The game only made it to prototype
stage. In 2005, Les Bird released the prototype and source code
to a Corridor 7 fan, who put it onto his website as a free
download.
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
computer game developed and published by Capstone Software
Capstone Software
Capstone Software was a subsidiary of IntraCorp, a Miami, Florida-based computer and video game company. Founded in 1984, Capstone created first-person games such as Corridor 7: Alien Invasion, William Shatner's TekWar and Witchaven, and is also known for releasing games based on movie/TV...
. It was widely ignored for its outdated Wolfenstein 3D
Wolfenstein 3D
Wolfenstein 3D is a video game that is generally regarded by critics and gaming journalists as having both popularized the first-person shooter genre on the PC and created the basic archetype upon which all subsequent games of the same genre would be built. It was created by id Software and...
engine, which was technologically surpassed by Doom at the time. A sequel Corridor 8: Galactic Wars was planned, but was cancelled.
Plot
Excerpt from the Corridor 7 manual:As a result a dimensional gate (the Vortex) is opened in the midst of Corridor 7, allowing an army of alien invaders to reach Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
. The aliens quickly overrun the military base and took its control killing everyone. While the creatures are busy modifying the surroundings to better suit their needs, but before they can effectively cut off Delta Base from the rest of the world, a lone Special Forces
Special forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...
soldier is able to penetrate their perimeter: his objective will be to stop the invasion and destroy the artifact.
Gameplay
The player takes control of the lone soldier who has infiltrated the alien invaded military base. Like all first-person shooters, the game is rendered from the player's perspectiveFirst person (video games)
In video games, first person refers to a graphical perspective rendered from the viewpoint of the player character. In many cases, this may be the viewpoint from the cockpit of a vehicle. Many different genres have made use of first-person perspectives, ranging from adventure games to flight...
. Corridor 7 is not organized in episodes. Instead, there are 30 (floppy disk version) or 40 (CD version) levels to explore plus 6 more bonus levels. The gameplay slightly differs from that of most FPS games because the player, rather than finding an exit surviving the various enemies scattered around, is tasked with the duty of killing the aliens present on the level; once this objective is achieved he will be granted access to the next floor of the base through the lift by which he came at the starting point of each level. The skill setting selected when starting the game influences the percentage of aliens that need to be eliminated:
- Corporal: the levels contain few aliens and only 10% kills are required to gain access of the elevator.
- Lieutenant: the aliens increase in number and 75% kills are required.
- Captain: this is the standard difficulty setting and requires that 100% of the aliens are killed.
- Major: like Captain, but with a higher number of enemies.
- President: like Major, but features a randomization factor which scatters around the level all the objects present. This setting is only available in the CD version, however through a specific dos command it can be played on the floppy version.
To help hunting down the aliens the player can activate the proximity map in one corner of the screen. This function shows a small section of the current level with all active aliens as yellow blips and can be expanded by finding the floor plan. Upon collecting this object the proximity map is extended to show the whole level and the position of every alien. On the corporal difficulty the full map is shown with no need to collect the floor plan.
There are some more differences from other Wolfenstein 3D engine based games: for instance the player is equipped with a visor capable of both infrared and night vision. Infrared is employed to detect invisible, energy draining force fields or other threats, while night vision is especially useful to better see when playing on dark levels. Ammunition and health are not scattered around the levels as objects to pick up, but rather as dispenser bays encased in the level walls. Health is also available in special rooms called "health chambers" where the player can obtain up to 100 hit points. Corridor 7 features two distinct ammo types as well: the projectiles dispensed from the bays are used to feed all human weapons while energy packs are available to power up the alien guns.
Locked areas do not require a key to be opened, but a color coded (blue or red) passcard is necessary. These cards are granted by operating special wall-sized computer terminals; since these terminals are also placed behind the color coded doors, sometimes it is possible to lure an alien into opening such doors and, after dispatching the creature, quickly move in to get the access without having to wander around in search for another terminal.
Multiplayer
The immense success of Doom multiplayer modes is probably behind the addition of LANLän
Län and lääni refer to the administrative divisions used in Sweden and previously in Finland. The provinces of Finland were abolished on January 1, 2010....
and modem
Modem
A modem is a device that modulates an analog carrier signal to encode digital information, and also demodulates such a carrier signal to decode the transmitted information. The goal is to produce a signal that can be transmitted easily and decoded to reproduce the original digital data...
gameplay in the CD release of Corridor 7. The only multiplayer mode featured is deathmatch and there is also an extra set of 8 multiplayer maps included. Players can deathmatch impersonating either the Special Forces soldiers from the singleplayer mode or one of the aliens: interestingly enough playing as an alien results in possessing the distinctive abilities of the creature chosen (e.g. speed or endurance).
Sequel
Corridor 8, or Corridor 8: Galactic Wars, was the planned sequel to Corridor 7. The game was in development but was never finished because the developer, Capstone SoftwareCapstone Software
Capstone Software was a subsidiary of IntraCorp, a Miami, Florida-based computer and video game company. Founded in 1984, Capstone created first-person games such as Corridor 7: Alien Invasion, William Shatner's TekWar and Witchaven, and is also known for releasing games based on movie/TV...
, went bankrupt
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
along with their parent company, IntraCorp
IntraCorp
IntraCorp was a Miami, Florida-based game publisher, founded in 1984. They went bankrupt in 1996 and shut down along with their main subsidiary, Capstone Software. IntraCorp developed and published games for a wide range of genres....
. The game only made it to prototype
Prototype
A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...
stage. In 2005, Les Bird released the prototype and source code
Source code
In computer science, source code is text written using the format and syntax of the programming language that it is being written in. Such a language is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source...
to a Corridor 7 fan, who put it onto his website as a free
Freeware
Freeware is computer software that is available for use at no cost or for an optional fee, but usually with one or more restricted usage rights. Freeware is in contrast to commercial software, which is typically sold for profit, but might be distributed for a business or commercial purpose in the...
download.
External links
- KBW's Corridor 7 Page Corridor 8 prototype and source codeSource codeIn computer science, source code is text written using the format and syntax of the programming language that it is being written in. Such a language is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source...
download