INTRODUCTION:

"Operation: Mutant Strike 3" Prologue/Story

**Warning! The OMS3 story is pretty long! If you choose to skip the story (not suggested), skip down to the section entitled "Mission Info". The mod makes more sense if you read the story, and have completed the previous Mutant Strike mods (helpful, but not required).**


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O.S.S. AGENT PROFILE

Name: Jill Hunter
Gender: Female
Age: 27
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 130lbs

Personal History: Born in Paris, France under her birth name, Alaina Laurent, she was orphaned at an early age when both her parents were killed in an industrial accident. Afterward, she went to live with her aunt and cousin, Aristide, a member of the French Resistence, who would teach her many of the skills she learned prior to becoming an OSS agent. By the time the Nazis invaded Paris, she was a full member of the resistence, and fought to repel the invasion. She was critically injurerd when she was shot in the chest, just above the heart, and Aristide managed to secure her transport out of Paris and to the United States, although it cost him his life. Eager to continue the war effort against the Nazis, upon recovery, Alaina accepted an invitation to join the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) as an agent, and took the name Jill Hunter. One of the youngest members of the OSS at the time, Jill showed great promise, completing a number of difficult stealth operations with minimal outside support.

Current Status: DECEASED

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...at least, that was the official story.

Jill stood in front of the mirror, naked, assessing the damage the past several years had taken on her. An "armored" stealth suit was no match for Nazi bullets or flesh ripping claws of some of the nightmares she had encountered in her last several missions. True, though, it had probably saved her from a much worse fate than temporary physical injury. Jill brought her hand up, just above her heart, and gently fingered an almost invisible circular scar. Here was the wound that had changed her life...that had caused Aristide to give his life to bring her to America, where she could have a second chance at life. Yes, the scar was almost gone, but of all the injuries she had received, this one alone she did not want to fade. As long as it remained, it served as a reminder of the man who had truly given everything for her.

Jill looked at her face in the mirror, and frowned. The last several years had not been particularly kind to her, yet kinder than she deserved, given the circumstances. Her once beautiful black hair was now an unspectacular shade of brown, the result of her attempt at changing her appearance to hide from the OSS. Her frown brought small lines to the corners of her eyes that she was certain a normal woman her age would have been able to keep at bay. But she was not normal, in most respects, she never had been.

Jill pulled some clothes from her duffle bag sitting on the bed of the room she was staying in. She'd seen enough of her past injuries for one day. Besides, the real injuries were those that could not be seen, the ones resulting from ultimate betrayal. Her own organization had tried to kill her, in a failed attempt to gain the power of biological weapons. Assistant Chief, Donald Dickerson. True, Dickerson had been acting of his own accord, but the betrayal stung, just the same. While he had respected her talents, his disdain for "immigrants" was a poorly kept secret, and the sadistic pleasure with which he had revealed his intention to have her eliminated during her last mission would continue to haunt her every bit as much as her encounter with the unnamed horror she had destroyed in order to escape that nightmare. Dickerson's death did not ease the pain of the betrayal, nor would it ever stop the nightmares.

The mission, however, had been a necessity. Regenschrim Corporation had massively increased it's development of "death mutants", and needed to be stopped. Even more importantly, the life of a fellow agent had hung in the balance, the life of the man named BJ Blazkowicz. It was he who had helped prevent the unsanctioned nuclear strike ordered by Dickerson on the Alaskan Regenschirm facility, a move that had saved both BJ and Jill's lives. She had forced herself to disappear from the site of the operation before the US government could come assess the situation, even though she was confident she would be found innocent of anything but completing her required mission. She had left BJ to handle the aftermath, and handle it he did. He had proven to be a trustyworthy ally, perhaps even a friend, in a world that, to Jill, had begun to feel anything but friendly.

It was a risk to come out of hiding in the weeks immediately following her mission to rescue BJ, even though she knew the OSS had officially declared her dead (knowing full well she was not). She had to thank him for what he had done. She secretly tracked his movements immediately after the Alaskan incident, learned of his intention to vacation in England, and snuck into his hotel room while he was away at a pub so she could meet with him without being seen. Yes, it was a risk, but some risks were worth taking.

BJ hadn't seemed surprised to see her. Happy to see she was alive and well, but not surprised. Despite the effort she had gone to to follow him and arrange the meeting, Jill had very little to say, and for the most part, her gratitude was simply expressed with a rib crushing hug and a brief peck on the lips. She left with a promise to see him once more before she went back to hiding in earnest, a promise she fully intended to make good on. She was drawn to him as the one and only person she felt she could truly trust, and beyond that, there was something even greater than that that she couldn't put her finger on. Emotional attachment was something she'd had very little stomach for since as far back as her parents' death, and emotional interpretation was not her strong suit.

Jill reached into her duffle bag and pulled out a worn piece of newsprint, the very same BJ had given her the last day she saw him before she left England. His face had been grim that day, like a man delivering a death sentence, and he'd spoken no words when he handed her the news clipping. It had been a headline in the international section of a local English paper that day, and while it no doubt sounded ridiculous to most, the words she read turned her blood to ice: "REAL FRANKENSTEIN MONSTER FOUND DEAD ON AUSTRIAN COUNTRYSIDE". It was accompanied by no photograph, but the description of the "monster" was all too familiar: pale, white skin, red eyes, green jumpsuit, and most peculiar of all (to the author of the article, at least), a hand grafted to it's chest. The details of where the creature had been found were vague but clear enough, as was what Jill needed to do next. She had left BJ's hotel room that day without another word...

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There were very few likely locations for Regenschirm to base their operations out of in the region of Austria where the creature had been found. The abandoned Castle Brunwald was the most obvious choice, and it was a simple matter for Jill to discover the tract of land upon which the castle stood had recently been purchased by a wealthy German scholar by the name of Milton Johann. The purchase had been made with cash, and all indications were that Dr. Johann wished for the purchase to remain private knowledge. The past two nights Jill had spent secretly surveying the security around castle Brunwald had further attested to Dr. Johann's desire for privacy, as the castle appeared to be securely locked, with recently added reinforced metal doors, and armed guards were present at all times. None of this deterred Jill in any way, but she had to be sure of what she was doing before she made her move.

The guard barely had time to utter a vulgar explicative in his native German tongue between the time Jill kicked his legs out from behind him and placed her hand over his mouth. In a flash, her knife was at his throat, and she spoke in a firm and deadly tone.

"Now, now, there are ladies present. Now, tell me, what's going on in there?"

The guard hesitated long enough that Jill pressed the knife more firmly to his throat.

"I...I don't know! I am only allowed inside the upper levels! We are instructed to kill all trespassers but told nothing more!" The man's eyes darted toward his rifle, lying a few feet away where he had dropped it when Jill attacked him. It may as well have been miles away.

"Is this where the monster that was discovered escaped from?" Jill's tone left no doubt that she was in no mood for nonsene.

"No...I mean, I don't know! We haven't..."

In a moment, the man was no longer in Jill's grasp, but instead, lying flat on his back, with the muzzle of Jill's rifle aimed squarely at his groin, hovering mere inches away. The change of position seemed to have a remarkable loosening effect on his tongue.

"Good god! Yes, yes! This is where the creature came from, but I know nothing else, I swear!"

Jill decided to take his word for it. In a flash, her rifle raised up, her boot connected with the man's groin, and before he finished letting out a yelp of pain, he was knocked unconscious by the butt of her rifle. He'd wake up with one hell of a headache, but it was a far better fate than what awaited the rest of the Regenschirm bastards holed up in the castle. Jill drug the man into some nearby bushes, took his ammunition, and quickly hid in the shadows as she heard another guard approach. He wasn't looking for her, though, he was headed directly for the front entrance. He unlocked the door and slipped inside, oblivious to the black clad shape that followed him in from the night before the door closed again on it's own.

And so it began once again...

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MISSION INFO:

As with the manuals for the other OMS mods, this one will be very brief.  You will have to discover pretty much everything about the game yourself, and from the moment you begin, you're on your own for ten whole levels.  At the end of certain levels, however, you will be rewarded with a bit of the story as it progresses, and, if you encountered any new enemies in the previous levels, you will receive information about these enemies as well.


CHANGES:

There are a few noticeable changes in OMS2, but for the most part, things have been kept as true to the original Wolfenstein formula as possible.  As was the goal with "Operation: Lezterschutz", and OMS1 and OMS2, OMS3 is meant to feel like a legitimate progression of the Wolfenstein story.  Here are the changes in the game:

- the rifle (pistol replacement) is almost twice as strong as the pistol is in the original Wolfenstein, making it a useful weapon for dealing with individual enemies, even when you have plenty of ammo.  This was meant to be the case in OMS1 also, but the code wasn't quite in the right place.  Consider the rifle to always be an alternative to the machine gun, especially when facing individual tougher enemies (like scientists in the beginning).

- ammo limit has been set to a max of 250 bullets instead of 99.  This is useful, since you will face a lot of tough enemies, and won't always have time to run around picking up bullets after you start fighting.  Be conservative, though...some weapons can still go through 250 rounds pretty quickly.

- some of the boss behavior etc has been changed.  The result is that there are several "mini boss" type enemies you may encounter throughout the game, who will drop various items.  The ghosts have been made stationary, and now serve another purpose in the game...

- levels are now seamless.  There are only ten of them, but you don't have to  pick which episode you want to play.  This is good, since there are no levels after the first ten...trust me.  Oh...and there is no secret level...sorry, but secrets don't make friends... :)

- shading has been added to the game to create a greater sense of atmosphere.  This was considered for the first game, but never actually implemented.  Be warned that there is a slight pause at the start of shaded levels as the shading table loads, but this is normal.  The first couple levels won't do this, because they are not shaded.

- there are some other changes, but they are classified in nature.  Sorry, but to reveal much more about them would be to spoil some surprises, and where's the fun in that?


GENERAL TIPS:

I'm not going to cover Wolfenstein basics.  If you've never played the original, you really ought to go play it first...at very least, the shareware version.  For those of you who have played the originals, though, you already know the basics, so this will just cover stuff that is a little different in OMS3.  If you've played OMS1 or OMS2 already, you can probably skip this section. Here goes...

- Keep your eyes open for enemies at all times.  You might be staring right at a potential threat and not know it.  You'll see what I mean after the first few minutes of the game (if you played the previous OMS games, you probably already know a little what I'm talking about).

- Keys are rarely found just lying around. They will almost always be in the care of an enemy you must defeat, so don't run from battles...even the tough ones...nothing would suck more than to have an enemy with a key you really need wander off where you can't find them because you ran away from a fight (certain types of enemies that drop other things will never by carrying keys).

- There are a few different kinds of harmful objects that should be obvious to you.  If you are having trouble passing them without getting hurt, try facing away from them as you pass by.  This will reduce the chance that you get injured, or at very least, reduce the damage you take.

- Expect the unexpected.  That's what this game is about...keeping things a surprise until you come across them.  You may have seen some of the enemies in other games before, but until you come across them, there's always the fear and the excitement of the unknown.  Plus, there's some stuff you've probably never had to fight before to look forward to.

- Don't forget your knife.  It's not a silenced weapon in this game, but in a pinch, it can be used to kill most of the weaker enemies fairly easily, including mutants.  Be warned, though, that this only works on the mutants that lie around until they see you.  The other kind will finish you off quickly in close quarters.

- There are a LOT of story screens appearing between levels, and while reading them will probably not make gameplay any less difficult, the story can definitely enhance the overall experience. The OMS "world" is very rich in story, and OMS3 is meant to conclude that story (if you feel slightly lost while reading the story segments of OMS3, it may help to play the previous OMS mods to get up to speed).

- Keep trying.  This mod is difficult, but by no means impossible.  There is always a way to overcome every obstacle.  If direct confrontation isn't working for you, try something else.  You can do it...it's all worth it to reach the final confrontation... :)


KREDITS:

HUGE thanks go out to everyone who helped with this project.  Even if you helped indirectly, your contributions are appreciated greatly!  Thanks to:

 - Adam Biser - for the original DOS code changes and for creating the tools used to design this mod (at least on my end), such as WDC, RecolorBMP and Spritemaker!

- Andy Nonymous - for creating the SDL EXE for the game, when I didn't even know what SDL was yet. He's also done conversions of several of my other mods to SDL, and I'd like to thank him for that as well!

- WSJ - because I borrowed the following graphics with either minor or no modifications:  rifle and rifle guard. Your sprite sets are amazing!

- My map team, Soldat 555, Dean, Thomas and Ronwolf1705 (and myself of course). Without maps, there would be no mod, thanks for all your hard work! (individual credits listed below).

- Brian Lowe - For hosting this mod on the Dome!  Your contribution to the Wolf community is invaluable!

- Majik Monkee - for the story idea, most of the graphics changes, and sound and music selection. Also for doing the title screen and the VGAGRAPH artwork.

- the original Wolfenstein crew (ID Software) for making the original Wolfenstein, releasing the source code, and for the graphics from the original game I kept and either changed very little or not at all.

- Anyone else responsible for content appearing in this mod, who may have been forgotten or overlooked. I promise it wasn't intentional!


LEVEL/DESIGNER/MUSIC
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"Castle Crasher"/ Majik Monkee/ Metal Gear (1987)
"Going Down"/ Soldat 555/ Metal Gear (1987)
"The Dead Zone"/ Soldat 555/ Ninja Gaiden (1988)
"One By One"/ Ronwolf1705/ Blaster Master (1988)
"Tunnel Vision"/ Ronwolf1705/ Adam Biser (????)
"Mutant Office"/ Ronwolf1705/ Chrono Trigger (1995)
"Join the Corpse"/ Dean/ Final Fantasy Tactics (1998)
"Getting Closer"/ Thomas/ Rygar (1987)
"Nostalgia"/ Ronwolf1705/ Rygar (1987)
"Final Countdown"/ Ronwolf1705/ Castlevania II (1988)

Title Screen/ Ninja Gaiden III (1991)


"Wow!  That's a lot of credits for a mod with only ten levels in it!"  :)


That's all, folks!  Enough reading!  Go play!  If you like this game, and want to Majik an email, the address is: matthewmdmerrill@yahoo.com.  Thanks for playing!

- Majik Monkee-