Quake II/Inner Hangar

Level objectives
The objective for this level is to locate hangar control and close the main hangar bay door.

Strategy
Although in this level there is only a modest number of enemies to kill (44 at hard difficulty) and they are not particularly challenging (mostly Gunners, Berserkers and Icarus), you often feel that they are constantly on top of you and there's no room to maneuver or take cover. So, when moving into an unexplored area, you may want to equip a powerful, close-range weapon, such as the Chain Gun, HyperBlaster or Rail Gun. Weaker weapons can leave you exposed to enemy fire for an uncomfortably long time and weapons with splash damage may do you more harm than whoever you're fighting. As always, keep an eye out for Strogg appearing from behind and above you.

Walkthrough
Step through the door from the Outer Hangar and you will find yourself high up in a large room with a big circular structure in the middle. One step more and a Gunner will come at you from the left, so be prepared for him. A second Gunner will come up a long flight of steps around the left side of the central structure. Now you have time to take stock. Steps go down both sides of the room. At the back of the area where you're standing are a row of large machines or equipment racks of some sort (see Secrets, below) and stacks of crates with some useful items on top. Down both sets of steps, in the far corners of the room, you can see more stacks of crates, the right-hand one looking invitingly climbable.

Clearing the First Room
Go down the left-hand side of the room first, until you see a Brain and a Berserker. You can pull back and take them out from cover if you want to preserve ammunition for your more powerful weapons. Come back up and go down the right-hand side for another Brain / Berserker pair. When they go down, keep going around the central structure towards the other set of steps and look up. Two Icarus will have appeared from a hidden alcove above the crates up at the top. When they are dealt with, turn around again because another hidden alcove will have disgorged two Berserkers. At this point, you can take a breather and collect any useful items lying around.

Shutting Down the Turbine
Go to the hatchway on the bottom level between the two stacks of crates. Through it there is a passage to a second hatchway and through that you come to a room with a rotating turbine blade below the floor. Jump into the airflow from the turbine to be blown up into the room above, but be prepared for the two Icarus that are waiting for you there. Strafe to get out of the airflow and push back the keyboard of the computer console to receive the message "Turbine shut down". On one side of the room there are crates stacked at a slightly lower level. A Berserker is hiding in there, so take him out. On the other side of the room is a wide window giving you a panoramic view of ... well, whatever it is that's out there.

Go down to the place where the crates are stacked, through a passage and out of a hatchway onto a balcony. You will probably be interested in the MegaHealth that is just innocently sitting there to the right. By all means take it, but equip a weapon suitable for a Berserker who suddenly appears from behind it. Clamber down the stack of crates to get back to the lower level. Should you ever want to get back up to the balcony, now that you can't ride the turbine's airflow, you can easily climb the stacked crates. Go through the hatchways and passage again and this time drop down onto the stationary turbine.

The Strogg Laundry
Leave the turbine room through the passage at the back. This leads to a room with a floor button, two sliding panels in the floor, and a Gunner. A second Gunner will step out of an alcove after you have dispatched the first. With them both out of the way, press the button to slide back the floor panels and look down into a circular tub partly filled with water and with a four-bladed paddle slowly rotating in it. This is obviously where the Strogg do their laundry, but fortunately today doesn't seem to be laundry day. Either drop down onto one of the beams that cross the room above the tub or jump to the edge or one of the corners. Time your drop into the water so that you can get out through the exit tunnel without taking damage from the paddle.

Once in the tunnel out of the laundry tub, you'll have to start thinking about the enemies in the next room, which looks rather like a partly drained swimming pool. An Icarus will be descending from above and you can get to him from the cover of the tunnel. As soon as you advance from the tunnel, two Berserkers will drop from the ceiling. Be careful not to back up so far that you get whacked upside the head by the paddles in the tub behind you. Look out next for Gunners coming from the pool edge up to the right and through the opening up the steps ahead.

(To do : what's going on up to the right?)

Riding Sliding Blocks
Go through the opening at the top of the wide steps out of the pool (but, see Secrets, below, first). The passage beyond turns to the right and then to the left, but take care because when you reach the second turn two Berserkers will come out from a hidden alcove near the first turn. The passage comes out in a small room in which a cubical block inexplicably slides to and fro in shallow water. Deal with the Icarus there. For the moment, disregard the block except to avoid getting smushed by it. Drop into the water and wade through the opening into a larger room with two more sliding blocks and ... two more Icarus! When these are out of the way, you can think about what the blocks are for (but, see also Secrets, below).

Go back into the smaller room, being careful not to get crushed by the moving blocks, and take the steps back up to the platform from which you can jump onto the first block. Ride the block until it is next to the second block and jump over onto that. If you're not a platforming ace, you may want to do some quicksaving here. Ride the second block to the small alcove and jump off to press the button there. A ladder will rise out of the water so that if you fall off the blocks (not, of course you're not going to fall off the blocks, but just in case ...) you will be able to retry from this position. Jump back onto the second block and wait for it to get to a favorable position with respect to the third block before jumping over to that. Ride the third block to the wide alcove and press the button.

A series of platforms now comes down the right-hand wall and another lowers from the ceiling. Ride the third block again to the wall platforms or jump directly over. Wait for the ceiling platform, jump on and ride it up. Turn 90 degrees to the right, step into the tunnel that leads away and at the end drop down into a tiny room in the middle of a big machine. There is an Icarus floating about; you may be able to shoot him down without stepping outside. When you do step out, you'll find yourself on a huge rotating gear. There is a Gunner on a ledge at your level, so take him out but try not to lose your footing. Now two more Icarus will come up from below. Collect Health and ammunition at this level and carefully drop between the teeth onto the smaller gear below to collect the Power Shield. Look across at the opening out of this level and prepare to fight a Gunner lurking just inside. Go across on the gear or drop into the water and up the steps. Further inside you will meet a second Gunner and then two Berserkers. Then another Gunner. And another Berserker.

The Hornet Boss
Finally, you will arrive at a room in which there is a large opening to a very tall, dimly lit room in which you can see water at the bottom. Don't spend too much time looking down, however, because the Hornet Boss is dropping slowly down from above. Use the cover provided by the opening and a powerful weapon to deal with him.

(To do : why do I need to go to the lower area? Other than for the Armor and secret.)

Hangar Control
Cross the bridge that has extended (when and why?). On the other side, a curved passage takes you to a very tall elevator. Press the call button, wait for the platform, step on and ride it up to to Hangar Control where you will have to fight two Gunners. Ah, but look! There's a lever! Operate the lever and look up to see the main hangar bay door close. Your field computer will now show "First half of unit objective complete" and "Proceed to surface".

Getting to the Surface
There is a door out of Hangar Control, so go over and open it. Expect a Brain and a Berserker just on the other side. Go around some kind of structure in the middle of the room to face the last enemy in the level, another Gunner. There is a large opening here ringed with yellow (check color) lights. Go in and through to a large elevator (but first see Secrets, below). Press the button to begin the journey up to the surface. As you rise, ponder this question : early in the level you looked out of a wide window and appeared to be quite high above some kind of military or industrial area; then you dropped down a short way, but since then you've ridden a high elevator upwards; so how is it that you're now below ground?

Secrets
This level has five (5) secrets:
 * 1) Just to the left of the door through which you enter there are several large machines or equipment racks of some sort.  The second one along explodes when shot and you receive the message "You have found a secret".  This may happen in the fight with the first Gunner, especially if you use Grenades or Rockets.  In the space vacated by the machine you will find an Adrenaline.
 * 2) As you climb out of the rectangular pool after the laundry tub, look to your left and you will see a cylindrical canister lying on its side.  Shoot it to receive the message "You have found a secret" and reveal a Quad Damage.
 * 3) In the large room in which two cubical blocks slide to and fro in shallow water, there is a small maze of underwater passages below the wide alcove where you press the second button, the one that lowers the platform from the ceiling.  Dive down, go to the left, turn right and then left again and surface to receive the message "You have found a secret area".  There is Body Armor here.  There is other useful stuff in this underwater maze, but only the place with the Body Armor counts as a secret.  You can use a Rebreather to stay submerged longer, but you don't really need it.
 * 4) Where you fight the Hornet Boss, there is a short pier out into the water at the bottom of the room.  Get  into the water and dive to find an alcove at the very end of the pier.  When you go in, you receive the message "You have found a secret area".  There is an adrenaline in there.
 * 5) In the very last room, after Hangar Control, to the left of the opening through which you leave the level, part of the wall explodes when shot to reveal Body Armor.  You receive the message "You have found a secret".