Notable Former Residents
Birdseye, Nirvana
| ERIS is a small level that features dogfighting and dogratting (new term) in an environment that demands patience from players. With no cutoffs to force your opponent to fight, this level can either be fast and furious or slow and tedious, depending on the tactics of the players. |
| "Birdseye wanted some exhibition, and I saw from his record that he was good...he got a damn good score on Sirian. So I knew it wouldn't be easy...I was looking forward to a challange, so I asked Birdseye which game he wanted to play. D1? Ahh, excellent choice! :) He wanted to do some levels that weren't on his IDL profile. I suggested Eris, a very nice level, imo, and he agreed. Now, poor Birdseye had it in his mind that the SPREAD was the ultimate weapon...he used it in the entire match. But I showed him that Eris is a PLASMA dominating level. I would dogfight when I could...I'd spew plasma up the ramp...I'd avoid his spreadfire, weave the balls. I whipped it out on him, I didn't go easy...but he still kept the score pretty close. His spread just couldn't fully match up to my plasma. When it was over (20-17), he told me that I had AWESOME plasma tricks in that level. After a day or so, he msged me...he told me that he had just won a match in Eris, and he told me he used my tactics with the plasma cannon...and he won. Soon after that, he made this level his home." |
-SoniC
| "Nasty, nasty, nasty game. I tried Spreadfire vs Spreadfire for most of the game and found out that it was a lost cause. I couldn't seem to get a hit with it, and I let myself get frustrated. It got to the point where the phone rang (portable) and I threw it across the room and broke a plate. THAT's how frustrated I was. At 15 to 3, I realized that things were looking bad. I switched to plasma and stuck to the main room at the top of the ramp. I forced him to fight me there again and again. I pulled a 20 to 9 loss out of it. Birdseye single-handedly caused me to dislike Eris. My only comfort came from the fact that we were going to rematch in Vamped." :) |
-ENDER
| "When Diablo suggested we play Eris, I had no idea it was his home. In the beginning he pretty much owned me. It was like 6-2 and I started thinking up comments for the "loss" box; but I adapted as best I could and came back by firing fusion. I made most of my kills in the big dogfight room with fusion... everywhere else was his domain, including the slanting hall ala NYSA. He likes the high ceilings as well. I made some stupid mistakes early on. Plasma and lev4 were useless. I used spread outside the dogfight room and fusion inside it. I was actually leading at 14-13, but he dogfighted very well with plasma and spread in the end to take away most of the kills I got. Diablo has a very large bag of tricks." :P |
-Birdseye
| "RIGHT before the game I checked out TC's profile... I gulped as I saw his home was Eris, the level we were about to play. But I surprised myself by playing very conservatively. He beat me in many dogfights, so the key was to know where he was and attempt to outsmart him. He was too aggressive for his own good. I found myself getting many kills while reversing. I was a spread whore this game. :P I didn't touch plasma or lev4 laser. TC is a very dangerous player up close. He's a great pilot. I stole a few tactics from my previous game with SoniC. I had never played the level until then and SoniC's tactics helped me win." |
-Birdseye
| "Ah, but Revenge is sweet! I have avoided Birdseye in his home since our first match in Eris. I found out that I'm not alone. Birdseye was on IRC one night complaining that no one would play him in his home anymore. I told him that I didn't blame them. :) Well, I felt sorry for the old bird and in an act of foolhardiness told him, "I tell you what. Next IDL match you and I play will be in Eris." How was I to know that he would REMEMBER??? Weeks later, he shows up on IRC looking for a game and throws my words in my face. Being the foolhardy chap that I am, I consigned myself to yet another UT defeat and trudged gloomily into the mines. About halfway through loading D1x, I slapped myself. "Dolt! You can take him in this level! He's just a birdy bird!!!" So, I went into the game determined to stubbornly refuse to fall for his tricks. I was going to play the game MY way and if that meant sitting in one room and waiting for him for 30 minutes, then that is what I was going to do.. and did. :) About 30 minutes into the match, we were at 3 to 3. I had had poor luck going spreadfire to spreadfire with him in our previous Eris matchup and was determined to remedy that. So, the gameplan was to stick to Spreadfire where possible and to boat those two homers and the smart. I set out to make him regret that homers were ever invented. :) I would get in his face with the spreadfire, try to pin him down and unload both of them at him from one shiplength away while cutting off his retreat. He realized what I was doing fairly early on and called time to set his fps to 40 (from the 80 that he defaults to). :-) It was a fairly close game until the end where I made a few in a row, killing his spanking new pyro. We even managed to get some respectable fights going in the mountain-range room on the end of the level. Most of the game was hit and run, but when it came down to the fights, we had some spectacular ones. I managed to pin him down with spreadfire for my last kill at a score of 20 to 16. The quote of the year for me was Birdseye in kchat afterwards.... "[Birdseye] I hate that level" LOL! He then proceeded to change his D1 home to Eris NH. I at last know what kind of bird he is. A HomingBird." :-) |
-ENDER
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E RIS is the only major release from Spaz since he completed The Muses. Versions for both D1 and D2 were released at the same time. This level is simple yet elegant in design: straightforward with just two rooms and four spacious hallways, plus a niche for the reactor and one secret weapon cache. The plasma tends to dominate here, particularly in the deceptively tight corridors, which appear to have plenty of dodging room in them until you get into a heavy fire fight and realize the illusion as you eat an entire volley of well-placed gunfire. |
The layout is reminiscent of Manes level 2, in that there are no quick
cutoffs at any point. There is one large circuit that includes the main
room, plus a secondary path that includes the "bumpy" room that is
reminiscent of the one in Aglaia. The reactor niche is situated in a pit
at a hallway intersection. There are three doors, and the one in the
main room plays a key strategical role in many games here. Eris can be a
lot of fun, but it can also be a nightmare level if facing a dedicated
runner. The light missile count allows one to hoard missiles to frustrate
boaters, but there is no easy way to force a pure runner to engage. Be
prepared for a long game if your opponent seeks to maintain distance.
|  |
| D1 Eris Because of the low missile count, this level is not nearly as bad as, say, Minerva or Nysa for coping with runners, at least in most cases. Plasma takes the lead in these unusual hallways, but both the spreadfire and the fusion can be devastating at times if used with care. Any weapon will work in the dogfight room. And opportunities to harass an opponent at long range with the vulcan will be plentiful. Stand offs are common, and closing in on a waiting opponent is dangerous here. High mobility will be required to gain any sort of surprise factors in the D1 version of Eris. The level's architecture, texturing and lighting are all beautiful, and so we give it an Overall Rating of 8. |
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D2 Eris Gauss and mercs make the stand off much less of a problem in D2 Eris as opposed to its D1 brother. Even though there are only a few mercs, and the gauss can run out and leave you fighting with plasma or quads, players will find an increased ability to make aggression pay off. The burner will let runners get away faster, but it also gives the aggressive player a powerful tool for forcing his opponent into a fight. Completing a cutoff is also easier with the afterburner on hand, although it can also mean giving away your position. Overall Rating: 8 |
-Ratings-
| Level Name | DF | TR | TM | TP | EB | GM | 3D | WF | CR | LV | ST | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D1 Eris | 7 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 8 |
| D2 Eris | 7 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 8 |
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