Black: The Return of The Masters

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===========================================================================
Advanced engine needed  : GZDoom
Primary purpose         : Single play
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Title                   : Black: The Return of The Masters
Filename                : BROTM
Release date            : 9/15/16
Author                  : Timothy Simpson
Email Address           : [redacted]

Description             : It was around 2054 when everything ended. And
                          considering how far we had gotten, the fall was
                          especially hard. Rapid advances in nuclear fusion
                          technology allowed even the most backwater area of
                          the Amazons to recieve massive amounts of clear,
                          renewable energy. Genetic modification allowed
                          humankind to reach for and hold every area of the
                          Earth, no longer bound by biology to a few small
                          chunks of comfortably livable land. Astrophysics
                          and aerospace engineering became the new
                          superscience, and allowed us to reach for the stars
                          and beyond. And with the new advent of
                          general-purpose quantum computers, once nothing
                          more than fiction or at best highly speculative, a
                          new age, it finally seemed, had dawned on us. Even
                          the USSR, after having for so long threatened to
                          leave the Earth, had finally been talked down. A
                          few short years after, an agreement to cease
                          hostilities had finally been reached. For a brief
                          time, humanity seemed to be getting on the right
                          track. We had reached as far as Pluto and Charon.
                          Then, in early December, came the Great
                          Disappointment.
                          
                          They found It under Pluto. Excavation of the
                          miniscule dwarf planet had been ongoing for at
                          least three years, producing little more than trash
                          or anomolies of scientific curiosity. Then, they
                          unearthed It. They had no idea what It was, and
                          they still don't know what It is. Soon after, It
                          began to change them. Not all of them changed, but
                          most did. The change was not visible, for it was an
                          affliction of the mind. It drove them to perform
                          unspeakable rituals upon those of them who had not
                          changed. Throats were slit and blood was spilt.
                          Skin was peeled from screaming bodies and the flesh
                          of those who survived was roasted. The massacre
                          eventually columinated in a ghastly ceremony, where
                          at its peak, all involved, changed or not, lay
                          dead. Even before all of them had killed themselves
                          to empower It, a beam of black energy emmanated
                          from Pluto to Charon.
                          
                          The US and USSR at first tried to cover it up,
                          claiming it to be nothing more than a terrible
                          accident. Both sent a joint response team to Pluto
                          to clean up the mess. When the landed, they found
                          nothing more than It and the scene of a grisly
                          undertaking. After further study, the scientists
                          believed that It had gone dormant, and saw nothing
                          to be afraid of. Eventually, It changed some of
                          them. They snuck out of their quarters and began a
                          terrible ritual before It. Soon after, It emitted a
                          wave which ensnared all in the excavation site
                          under Its grip. They all gathered around It and
                          ended their lifes in honour of It. With each pint
                          of blood splashed over Its stony surface, Its power
                          grew greater. Just before the final slit her
                          throat, It released its control over her, having
                          regained its power to the fullest extent. It then
                          went dormant.
                          
                          She escaped and fled to Mars and was taken by a
                          research team there. They found her bruised and
                          bloody, but stil coherent. "Its power has reached
                          its zenith," she said, eagerly wetting her parched
                          throat with a swig from a canteen. "It reaches for
                          its masters, from beyond Charon. They await. Soon."
                          She then suddenly expired, as if something pressed
                          a switch and turned her off. A few days after, a
                          mining team fleeing from Neptune reported that
                          something coming from Pluto began to attack them. A
                          small team was sent to see what had happened. What
                          they saw was horrible: Charon was gone! In its
                          place as a swirling vortex, from which came
                          horrible abominations and sickening beasts. When
                          the team returned, they became ill and swiftly
                          their bodies began to reshape into horrible forms.
                          They slaughtered nearly the entire station, and
                          then retreated towards Pluto, now a festering
                          hellhole.
                          
                          Then, the horror reached Earth. It started when
                          Mars-to-Earth communications went down, and by that
                          point panic already began to spread. A bright light
                          began to emmanate from Mars, which soon over took
                          the sky. When it cleared, they arrived. We call
                          them The Masters, and their arrival ended our
                          so-called "golden age". Their corruptive powers
                          swept over the planet and possessed most of the
                          world's militaries. Those who were spared such a
                          fate soon found themselves sacrificed to fuel The
                          Masters' power. Within hours, almost every world
                          government collapsed, leading to a short-lived
                          anarchy before The Masters imposed their twisted
                          form of "order".
                          
                          Your name is Sgt. Steven Gabriel. You were leader
                          of a team ordered to help evacuate the civilians of
                          New Madrid. After The Masters' foul powers swept
                          over the country, your team found that they could
                          not contain the enthralled masses. You were forced
                          to allow them to butcher the remaining uncorrupted
                          civilians to save your teammates' lives. Forced to
                          escape the city, you and your team attempted to fly
                          to Rota and hopefully hookup with any remaining
                          soldiers. You were just outside of Seville when
                          something came from the sky and struck your
                          helicopter. When you came to, your team was dead
                          and most of your weapons were smashed. You climbed
                          out of the wreck and made your way southwest.
                          Eventually, you come to an old rundown slum area,
                          with clear signs of inhabitants. Massive fleshy
                          tendrils sprout from the ground and reach for the
                          sky around you. Gooey flaps of skin hang loosely
                          from the undersides of buildings. Surrounded by
                          unearthly howls and inhuman groans, it's clear that
                          this had become a fight for your life.

Additional Credits to   : Mappers:
                          Karl Adlersflugel
                          Barney Wilson
                          Andy Smith
                          Adam Campbell
                          Richard Dubois
                          SEE CREDITS LUMP FOR FURTHER CREDITS
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* What is included *

New levels              : Six
Sounds                  : Yes
Music                   : Yes
Graphics                : Yes
Dehacked/BEX Patch      : No
Demos                   : No
Other                   : No
Other files required    : None


* Play Information *

Game                    : Doom 2
Single Player           : Designed for
Cooperative 2-4 Player  : No
Deathmatch 2-4 Player   : No
Other game styles       : None
Difficulty Settings     : Not implemented


* Construction *

Base                    : New from scratch
Build Time              : Three-and-a-half weeks
Editor(s) used          : Slade3, Doom Builder
Known Bugs              : None currently known
May Not Run With        : unknown
Tested With             : GZDoom g2.2pre-1814-ge56196e


* Copyright / Permissions *

Authors MAY use the contents of this file as a base for modification or
reuse.  Permissions have been obtained from original authors for any of their
resources modified or included in this file.

You MAY distribute this file, provided you include this text file, with no
modifications.  You may distribute this file in any electronic format (BBS,
Diskette, CD, etc) as long as you include this file intact.  I have received
permission from the original authors of any modified or included content in
this file to allow further distribution.

* Where to get the file that this text file describes *

The Usual: ftp://archives.gamers.org/pub/idgames/ and mirrors