Hexen 2

Hexen 2 should be the first computer game that bridges the gap between Quake and Quake 2. Raven Software and id Software have been working closely together to finish the sequel to Hexen, which was itself a sequel to Heretic. Hexen 2 will provide the Quake community with its first glimpse at a finished project incorporating the many developments since Quake's release. Hexen 2 is being developed by Raven, published by id, and distributed by Activision.

On August 28, 1997, Raven Software released the playable demo of Hexen 2.  This demo has two of the four character classes, tons of weapons and monsters, and support for GL and multi-player games.  The demo can be downloaded here.   ][ronman, one of the original collectors or server lists, has created a server list for Hexen 2 servers.

On September 11, 1997, the retail version of Hexen 2 hit the stores. Hexen 2 offers gamers a new hub system of levels, analogous to Hexen, new weapons, and new character classes. Hexen originally introduced three character classes for players to choose from: Fighter, Mage, and Cleric. For Hexen 2, Raven has revamped the character classes into Paladin, Assassin, Necromancer, and Crusader. Each class will have a set of unique weapons, such as a crossbow, war hammer, and a sickle. Add to this a huge host of new enemies and you have a great development of a very good game.

Here are some of the screenshots that have been made available by Raven:

Hexen 2 will also represent a further development of the Heretic story. Here is the story from the Activision site:

• The Story So Far....
  With the destruction of D'Sparil and Korax, the forces of Light believed that they would gain respite from the vicious attacks of the Serpent Riders. They were wrong. With the remains of the first two Serpent Rider's armies added to his already powerful forces, the third Serpent Rider, Eidolon, stalked forth into the realm of mankind. No mercy was shown by this ravenous onslaught, and soon, the tribes of humanity fell to the Dark Generals of the Serpent Rider. For years, you have lived in hiding, biding your time, bitterly planning the vengeance that you lust for. Death, Pestilence, War, Famine... you will face them all on your quest to destroy Eidolon and all that he covets. Fortunately, you need not face this final battle alone, you have made an uneasy truce with those that were once your enemies. The Necromancer, master of blackest magic, his reasons for destroying Eidolon are clear- he wished the power for himself. The Assassin, Taker of Lives, though she fights by your side, it is always best to watch your back. The Crusader, a man of magic and skill at arms, a healer who will protect you with his life. And finally, the Paladin, with the power of his Ancient gods, he hopes to rid the world of the evil that has befallen it. As you clinch your bootstraps and ready your weapons, you can only hope and wonder what lies in the depths of the recently besieged castle that stands before you. All of humanity rests on the edge of your blade.

We also have some technical information about Hexen 2. Thus far, we know Hexen 2 will support (list taken from Hexen2.com:

• QRAD lighting which will make for more realistic shadows.
• Dynamically changing polygons so creatures can grow and shrink on the fly.
• Transparent polygons and textures
• Breakable brushes, you will be able to destroy things in the world.
• Moveable brushes. you will be able to push and jump on things like carts, barrels and chests.
• Hardware and software port in same .exe Switch from GLHexen2 to regular Hexen2 in same session.
• They have also added translucent particles, sprites, models, and world architecture.
• Models can dynamically scale and have some lighting effects applied to them. They can also be assigned a global skin (like an ice texture).
• The scripting language has been improved, adding more features of "standard" c, more built-in functions, etc.
• Networking has been optimized for greater speed. They have also tried to make sure that most of the features they added can be expanded easily by the Internet community.
• Integrated Capture the Flag
• New Requirements:
  Pentium 75 (P120+ Recommended)
  16+ megs ram (the more the better)
  Cd rom
  Win95 or NT4 OS (unlike Quake, Hexen2 wont be for dos)
• There will also be a GL Port of Hexen2 which will require a card with OpenGL support in this, like the voodoo chip set found in Monster3d and Orchid Righteous 3d or the 3dfx chip set. Some features that will be found in this port will be mipmapped textures and higher resolution with higher fps.

Spotlight

HexenWorld is an outstanding site hosted by PlanetQuake.  HexenWorld is the home of the official Hexen 2 FAQ and is being updated daily for news and information.  The site also hosts several other istes dedicated to Hexen 2.  Part of the reason this site is so outstanding is the team that created it, a team that includes Phoebus, the webmaster for Raven Software.  This is the place to go if you are interested in Hexen 2.

Strategon is a new site, recently moved to HexenWorld, that provides a great deal of information on deathmatch techniques for Hexen 2. Great appearance and great information. Considering how good this site is at providing info for the Hexen 2 demo, there is no question that it will be outstanding in covering the full product. Site by Phayyde.

Hexen2.com is a gigantic site dedicated exclusively to Hexen 2. Not only does this site have up-to-the-second news about the game, it also has accumulated every scrap of information available about Hexen 2 and organized it into the Hexen 2 bible.  Site by Oatmeal and Zentron.

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