Hexen II
Encyclopedia
Hexen II is a first-person shooter
developed by Raven Software
from 1996 to 1997, published by id Software
and distributed by Activision
. It was the third game in the Hexen
/Heretic series, and the last in the Serpent Riders trilogy. It was made available on Steam on August 3, 2007. Using a modified Quake engine
, it featured single player and multiplayer game modes, as well as four character classes to choose from, each with different abilities. These included the offensive Paladin, the defensive Crusader, the spell-casting Necromancer, and the stealthy Assassin.
Improvements from Hexen and Quake included destructible environments, mounted weapons, and unique level up abilities. Like its predecessor, Hexen II also used a hub system. These hubs were a number of interconnected levels; changes made in one level had effects in another. The Tome of Power artifact made a return from Heretic.
. To confront each general, the player has to travel to four different continent
s, each possessing a distinct theme (Medieval European
for Blackmarsh, Mesoamerica
n for Mazaera, Ancient Egypt
ian for Thysis, and Greco-Roman for Septimus). Then, finally, the player returns to Blackmarsh in order to confront Eidolon himself.
of Hexen II is very similar to that of the original Hexen. Instead of three classes, Hexen II features four: Paladin, Crusader, Assassin, and Necromancer, each with their own unique weapons and play style.
Hexen II also adds certain role-playing video game
elements to the mix. Each character has a series of statistics which increase as they gain experience
. This then causes the player character to grow in power as his or her HP and Mana increases.
called Hexen II Mission Pack: Portal of Praevus was released in 1998 featuring new levels, new enemies and a new playable character class, The Demoness. It focuses on the attempted resurrection of the three Serpent Riders by the evil wizard Praevus, and takes place in a fifth continent, Tulku, featuring a Sino
-Tibet
an setting.
The expansion features new quest items, new enemies, and new weapons for the Demoness. She is the only player class to have a ranged starting weapon, whereas all other characters start with melee weapons.
It also introduced minor enhancements to the game engine, mostly related to user interface, level scripts, particle effects (rain or snow), and 3D objects.
Portal of Praevus also features a secret (easter egg) skill level, with respawning monsters. The only released patch for the expansion added respawning of certain items (such as health and ammo) in Nightmare mode, so that it would be slightly easier for playing.
architecture, aptly dubbed HexenWorld. The production concept was to eliminate a normal deathmatch environment in favor of a teamplay castle siege. The basic premise was to divide the players into two teams—attackers and defenders—with each side either assaulting or protecting the castle respectively. At the end of the time limit, whichever team controlled the crown was declared victorious.
The mod featured appropriate objects used in the single-player portion of the game, namely catapults and ballistae. The classes, however, were drastically altered with new weapons and abilities, reflecting the departure from the normal deathmatch experience presented in HexenWorld.
for 3D acceleration. However, due to the prevalence of 3dfx
hardware at the time of release, the Windows version of the game installs an OpenGL ICD (opengl32.dll) designed specifically for 3dfx's hardware. This driver acts as a wrapper
for the proprietary Glide API
, and thus is only compatible with 3dfx hardware. Custom OpenGL drivers were also released by PowerVR
and Rendition
for running Hexen II with their respective (and also now defunct) products. Removal of the ICD allows the game to use the default OpenGL system library.
Following the tradition from Hexen and Heretic, Raven released the source code
to Hexen II in 2000. This time the source was released under the GNU General Public License
, allowing source port
s to be made to different platforms like Linux
and the Dreamcast.
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...
developed by Raven Software
Raven Software
Raven Software is an American video game developer. The company was founded in 1990 by brothers Brian and Steve Raffel. In 1997, Raven made an exclusive publishing deal with Activision and was subsequently acquired by them...
from 1996 to 1997, published by id Software
Id Software
Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack...
and distributed by Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
. It was the third game in the Hexen
Hexen
Hexen is a first-person shooter video game developed by Raven Software, published by id Software, and distributed by GT Interactive beginning on September 30, 1995. It is the sequel to 1994's Heretic, and the second game in the Serpent Riders series...
/Heretic series, and the last in the Serpent Riders trilogy. It was made available on Steam on August 3, 2007. Using a modified Quake engine
Quake engine
The Quake engine is the game engine that was written to power 1996's Quake, written by id Software. It featured true 3D real-time rendering and is now licensed under the terms of the GNU General Public License ....
, it featured single player and multiplayer game modes, as well as four character classes to choose from, each with different abilities. These included the offensive Paladin, the defensive Crusader, the spell-casting Necromancer, and the stealthy Assassin.
Improvements from Hexen and Quake included destructible environments, mounted weapons, and unique level up abilities. Like its predecessor, Hexen II also used a hub system. These hubs were a number of interconnected levels; changes made in one level had effects in another. The Tome of Power artifact made a return from Heretic.
Plot
Thyrion is a world that was enslaved by the Serpent Riders. The two previous games in the series documented the liberation of two other worlds, along with the death of their Serpent Rider overlords. Now, the oldest and most powerful of the three Serpent Rider brothers, Eidolon, must be defeated to free Thyrion. Eidolon is supported by his four generals, themselves a reference to the Four Horsemen of the ApocalypseFour Horsemen of the Apocalypse
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are described in the last book of the New Testament of the Bible, called the Book of Revelation of Jesus Christ to Saint John the Evangelist at 6:1-8. The chapter tells of a "'book'/'scroll' in God's right hand that is sealed with seven seals"...
. To confront each general, the player has to travel to four different continent
Continent
A continent is one of several very large landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, with seven regions commonly regarded as continents—they are : Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.Plate tectonics is...
s, each possessing a distinct theme (Medieval European
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
for Blackmarsh, Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and...
n for Mazaera, Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
ian for Thysis, and Greco-Roman for Septimus). Then, finally, the player returns to Blackmarsh in order to confront Eidolon himself.
Gameplay
The gameplayGame mechanic
Game mechanics are constructs of rules intended to produce an enjoyable game or gameplay. All games use mechanics; however, theories and styles differ as to their ultimate importance to the game...
of Hexen II is very similar to that of the original Hexen. Instead of three classes, Hexen II features four: Paladin, Crusader, Assassin, and Necromancer, each with their own unique weapons and play style.
Hexen II also adds certain role-playing video game
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
elements to the mix. Each character has a series of statistics which increase as they gain experience
Experience point
An experience point is a unit of measurement used in many role-playing games and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's progression through the game...
. This then causes the player character to grow in power as his or her HP and Mana increases.
Mission Pack: Portal of Praevus - Expansion pack
An expansion packExpansion pack
An expansion pack, expansion set, or supplement is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game or video game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, and/or an extended storyline to a complete and already released game...
called Hexen II Mission Pack: Portal of Praevus was released in 1998 featuring new levels, new enemies and a new playable character class, The Demoness. It focuses on the attempted resurrection of the three Serpent Riders by the evil wizard Praevus, and takes place in a fifth continent, Tulku, featuring a Sino
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
-Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
an setting.
The expansion features new quest items, new enemies, and new weapons for the Demoness. She is the only player class to have a ranged starting weapon, whereas all other characters start with melee weapons.
It also introduced minor enhancements to the game engine, mostly related to user interface, level scripts, particle effects (rain or snow), and 3D objects.
Portal of Praevus also features a secret (easter egg) skill level, with respawning monsters. The only released patch for the expansion added respawning of certain items (such as health and ammo) in Nightmare mode, so that it would be slightly easier for playing.
Siege
A modification entitled Siege was created and released by Raven Software in 1998 using updated QuakeWorldQuakeWorld
QuakeWorld is an update to id Software's seminal multiplayer deathmatch game, Quake, that enhances the game's multiplayer features to allow people with dial-up modems to achieve greatly improved responsiveness when playing on Internet game servers...
architecture, aptly dubbed HexenWorld. The production concept was to eliminate a normal deathmatch environment in favor of a teamplay castle siege. The basic premise was to divide the players into two teams—attackers and defenders—with each side either assaulting or protecting the castle respectively. At the end of the time limit, whichever team controlled the crown was declared victorious.
The mod featured appropriate objects used in the single-player portion of the game, namely catapults and ballistae. The classes, however, were drastically altered with new weapons and abilities, reflecting the departure from the normal deathmatch experience presented in HexenWorld.
Glide dependence
Hexen II, by way of the Quake engine, uses OpenGLOpenGL
OpenGL is a standard specification defining a cross-language, cross-platform API for writing applications that produce 2D and 3D computer graphics. The interface consists of over 250 different function calls which can be used to draw complex three-dimensional scenes from simple primitives. OpenGL...
for 3D acceleration. However, due to the prevalence of 3dfx
3dfx
3dfx Interactive was a company that specialized in the manufacturing of 3D graphics processing units and, later, graphics cards. It was a pioneer in the field for several years in the late 1990s until 2000 when it underwent one of the most high-profile demises in the history of the PC industry...
hardware at the time of release, the Windows version of the game installs an OpenGL ICD (opengl32.dll) designed specifically for 3dfx's hardware. This driver acts as a wrapper
Adapter pattern
In computer programming, the adapter pattern is a design pattern that translates one interface for a class into a compatible interface...
for the proprietary Glide API
Glide API
Glide is a 3D graphics API developed by 3dfx Interactive for their Voodoo Graphics 3D accelerator cards. Although it originally started as a proprietary API, it was later open sourced by 3dfx. It was dedicated to gaming performance, supporting geometry and texture mapping primarily, in data...
, and thus is only compatible with 3dfx hardware. Custom OpenGL drivers were also released by PowerVR
PowerVR
PowerVR is a division of Imagination Technologies that develops hardware and software for 2D and 3D rendering, and for video encoding, decoding, associated image processing and Direct X, OpenGL ES, OpenVG, and OpenCL acceleration....
and Rendition
Rendition (company)
Rendition was a maker of 3D graphics chipsets in the mid- to late-90's. They were known for products such as the Vérité 1000 and Vérité 2x00 and for being one of the first 3D chipset makers to directly work with Quake developer John Carmack to make a hardware-accelerated version of the game ....
for running Hexen II with their respective (and also now defunct) products. Removal of the ICD allows the game to use the default OpenGL system library.
Source code release
http://www.raven-games.com/essential.phpFollowing the tradition from Hexen and Heretic, Raven released the 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 Hexen II in 2000. This time the source was released under the GNU General Public License
GNU General Public License
The GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....
, allowing source port
Source port
A source port is a software project based on the source code of a computer game's engine that allows the game to be played on operating systems or computing platforms with which the game was not originally compatible. Source ports are created by fans after the original developer hands over the...
s to be made to different platforms like Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
and the Dreamcast.