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Proto:Daikatana (Windows)/Milestone 2/Episode 3 Levels

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This is a sub-page of Proto:Daikatana (Windows)/Milestone 2.

Episode 3 features the only deathmatch level in the prototype included with Milestone 2.

E3M1

E3M1 takes place in a village, like the final's Plague Village (E3M1) does, but the design is completely different. The only thing that's the same between them is that there is a church the player can access. The level has a steady stream of snow falling from the sky.

The player spawns behind a building. A Plague Rat, Rotworm, Buboid, and the priest NPC can be seen roaming around and heading towards the player. There is also a health potion, a treasure chest (which cannot be used), and the cut Iceboots item. If the player roams around the building's perimeter, they will find that the front gate is barred, but to the right of the start point, there is a wagon with barrels in it next to a wall. Shooting the barrels will blow up the wagon and make a hole inside the wall near it, letting the player access the building. The building has two floors and an attic. The player can roam around the top of the building's front, find some Plague Rats, and discover a treasure chest nestled in the first floor.

Past the gate building is a set of two stables and a rock cave that leads to the next part of the level. Thee first stable has some enemies and an accessible attic in it, but the second one has been damaged by rocks falling off of a nearby cliff, allowing the player to access a cave that lets them get a good look of the stables area from above.

Beyond the stables is the well house and the church. The well house is so named because it has a well in front of it.

When the player approaches the well house, they will see that the front has been boarded up and there is a store room with barrels in it to the right of the house. To access the house, the player must shoot the barrels with a weapon. This will make the store house explode (watch out for falling chunks, as they can easily kill the player) and will blow a hole inside the house's right wall. The house itself is barebones and contains a few enemies, such as the Plague Rat.

The well in front of the well house has water and contains a secret path. Swimming through it will have the player end up in a medium-sized hidden cave. There is nothing inside it, but the end of it has a switch that reveals a door leading back to the interior of the well house when used. If this level was developed further, it is likely it would've contained several secret items.

The church is very different in design compared to it's final counterpart. It is much larger and more straightforward than in the final game, with the interior consisting only of the pews, the altar area, and a small and empty path behind the altar area. The priest can be seen roaming around the altar area, though he tends to "escape" into the pews area because of his speed. On the upper parts of the church is a second floor behind the crucifix and the barred windows. This can be accessed with noclip or by heading to the back area of the church and rocketjumping with the Sabikii's Red Dragon weapon. There is nothing inside the second floor, though. Unlike the final game, the only gameplay in the church and around it are a few Buboids, some of them stuck in the floor.

The last part of the level is the gates, which can be accessed from a cave located near the front of the gated building seen at the start of the level. The gates area consists of a small bridge over water and a medium-sized gate, complete with guard posts, past it. There is a dead-end behind the gates. Considering that the next level, E3M2, starts behind a set of gates that looks very similar to these gates, it's very likely that this was intended to be the end of the level. Something odd is that, if the player uses noclip to access the left guard post, a passage heading into the rock wall can be found. however, this package quickly leads to a dead-end. Whatever it was meant to be wasn't properly developed and there's no way to see what it was actually meant to lead to, as there are no later versions of this level available.

E3M2

This prototype's E3M2 contains several similarities with the final game's, such as the mill and lava areas. However, things play out a little bit differently and some chunks of the final game's E3M3a can be seen in this level as well.

The player starts out in an area that looks very similar to the dead end behind the gates in E3M1. However, the gates themselves are different, as they are a typical gate in E3M1, but a double door in E3M1. The bridge area before the gates area in E3M1 can be accessed with noclip.

A little bit beyond the gate is a small valley filled with enemies, including the Dragon Egg enemy previously only seen in concept art. The prototype's only Fletcher can also be found.

The end of the enemy valley leads to the mill area seen in the final game. In fact, the player even accesses it from the same point in the level in both the prototype and the final E3M2a. However, there are some differences. The entrance to the castle gates seen in the final version of the level is blocked off with a wooden wall, presumably as a placeholder. The mill itself has a slightly different interior, with a staircase connecting the first and second floors. This makes it much easier to access the second floor, as the player doesn't have to hop on the water wheel to reach it. The second floor does not contain any items like it does in the final game.

Beyond the mill is the lava caves seen in the final game. The architecture is almost identical to the one seen in the final game, but has the entrance to what would be E3M3 located at the end of the bottom floor, not the semi-hidden path on the bottom floor. Enemies are different and there are far fewer items than in the final E3M2a, though.

This version of E3M2 does not end in the lava room. An area very similar to the start of E3M3a can be explored as well, though it is shorter and has different enemies. The level ends in a dead-end in the E3M3a-like chunk.

Prototype Final
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E3M2c

E3M2c is an interesting level. It appears to have evolved into what would become the final game's Dungeon (E3M3) area. Several chunks of E3M2c were used in the final's E3M3, but arranged differently. The level's name is also odd, as it suggests that E3M3 would have a direct connection to E3M2 instead of being its own area.

The player starts in a hallway very similar to the first proper "dungeon" part of E3M3a. The player can simply jump over the gap in the hallway instead of having to use a backway from the prison cells. The cells themselves are opened by getting near a wooden structure in the center of them, but the cells either contain nothing or Buboids. The last part of E3M2 can be found in this level and explored by falling out of the starting hallway, but there is nothing inside it and the only way to get back to the level proper is with noclip.

The split path near the end of E3M3a is also present, but there is no door to open with a switch; the player can freely walk through the doorway. However, the destinations are different. The left path leads to another prison cell block instead of continuing the level, and the right path contains a section that has a doorway leading further into the level instead of being a dead-end with some optional items. the end of E3M2 can also be accessed from the right path.

Going into the doorway in the right path will put the player in a stairwell that ends in a room with a large pillar. The pillar actually has an elevator on it, but this will not be seen until near the end of the level. For now, all the player can do is head into another hallway on the opposite side of the elevator room.

This hallway leads to a L-degree shaped room with Doombats perched in a small alcove at the end of the hall. This area's architecture was reused for the final game in the form of the room in E3M3c with the roof spike traps and the hidden door leading to the small alcove.

Past this area is the spiral room. The spiral room is similar to the large spiral area seen in the final's E3M3b, but is much more simple, with the spiral connected from top to bottom, and all of the spiral outside the center pillar. The spiral room lacks the lava E3M3b's spiral room as. Going up the spiral is an easy affair, but the player will occasionally find openings in the walls that lead to explorable areas. Oddly, the walkways that connect the spiral with the floor entrances only come out when the player approaches them. The floors themselves are bare-bones and only have the most basic of architecture in them. The top of the spiral leads lets the player walk on the perimeter of the spiral room. On one end is a doorway that lets the player continue.

The doorway at the top of the spiral room has the player end up back at the elevator room visited earlier, but on a platform near the top of the room. This platform is actually an elevator, but the player cannot use it as such right now. All it does is connect to another doorway when the player first gets on it.

Beyond the doorway at the top of the elevator is a small split path that connects to a room with an elaborate door and barred windows surrounding it. Opening the door sends the player into a room with a Rotworm and the last split path in the level. Going left will send the player to a stairway that leads to a dead-end, presumably a placeholder until the area beyond the dead end was developed. The right path leads to a stairway going down that has the player end at a sudden stop that has a switch on the left side and a view of the elevator room at the end of it. Using the switch will make the platform walked over earlier move down, revealing that it is actually an elevator. This lets the player access an area that couldn't be visited before. However, the room itself is an empty rectangular area and there is nothing beyond it, marking the end of all the content in E3M2c.

Prototype Final
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Prototype Pre-release image
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E3DM1

Milestone 2 contains a level called “E3DM1”. When loaded up, it’s quickly seen that it’s a prototype version of the final game’s E3DM1.

The level itself is shockingly similar to the version seen in the final game, with the main differences being item placement, the outdoor area being widened and its architecture being simplified, and the lack of indoors area on the left side of the building. The secret room containing the Megashield in the final game does not have a hidden door hiding it and it serves as an alternate path to the outside area instead of containing an item.

In Milestone 2’s E3DM1, the tower with the fire in it can be accessed. To do so, the player has to enter a cave near the front of the building t hat is to the right of where the tower is. Inside the cave is a water-filled room that has an elevator inside it. Riding the elevator to the top will take the player inside the tower.

There are also some other minor differences. The area containing the Wyndrax Wisp in the final game has bricks surrounding the perimeter and no raised area for an item to rest on. The path to the roof contains a hidden room marked by a texture that shows various skulls and bones on it that was removed in the final game.

Oddly, there is a Skeleton enemy from Episode 2 on the roof of the building.

Prototype Final
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Prototype Pre-release image
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