Star Wars: Rebel Assault II: The Hidden Empire
Star Wars: Rebel Assault II: The Hidden Empire is a 1995 video game developed by LucasArts. It is the sequel of the LucasArts action game Star Wars: Rebel Assault, set in the Star Wars expanded universe.
This part of the series contained mostly original filming with actors and stunts, while the scenery and the space scenes were 3D rendered. According to LucasArts' magazine "The Adventurer", this game was the first media to incorporate live-action actors and footage in the Star Wars universe since Return of the Jedi. The stormtrooper armor, weapons, helmets and suits seen to be worn by the actors, were not made for the game, but are the actual props seen in the original trilogy, taken from the archive storage of Lucasfilm.
The game makes use of the INSANE game engine.
Here, the player Rookie One is clearly shown and is a male character. He commands ships not appearing in the previous game, like a YT-1300 Corellian Transport, a B-wing, a Y-wing and encounters new opponents, like TIE Interceptors. The fly videos now seem to move and rotate according to how the player 'moves', so that there is an illusion of 'steering' the ship (which in reality is following a 'rail' in a pre-rendered course).
Star Wars: Rebel Assault
Star Wars: Rebel Assault is a rail shooter video game developed and published by LucasArts for DOS, Apple Macintosh, Sega CD and 3DO Interactive Multiplayer systems, set in the Star Wars universe. Released in 1993, it is the first CD-ROM-only game to be published by LucasArts. The game's story focuses on a young pilot called Rookie One as he is trained by, and subsequently fights for, the Rebel Alliance in the Galactic Civil War.
Summary
The game features digitized footage and music from the original movies (although most of the original footage is replaced by CGI rendered sequences), and full speech. Rebel Assault is one of the oldest titles to make use of extensive full motion video (FMV) on the PC. The video was used to display pre-rendered 3D graphics that were far ahead of what a contemporary PC could render in real-time. Developers pre-rendered various environments and battles and the player flew through these environments.
The gameplay consists of four mission types: three spaceflight types, and one on foot. The three spaceflight mission types are third person, overhead view, and first person. In all three types, the ship generally follows the same cursor which aims its gunfire. If the player moves the targeting cursor after firing, the shots that were already fired will follow the cursor. 9 of the 15 levels are first person, which has movement more restricted than in other modes. As such, enemy fire cannot be dodged in this mode; instead, the player must shoot the enemy within a set time frame in order to avoid taking damage, much like in a light gun game. Only level 9 falls into the on foot mission type. This level puts the player in a series of three stationary settings, though the player character can be maneuvered horizontally in order to avoid enemy fire. In a few stages, there are branching points, much like those in Panzer Dragoon II. Bonus points are awarded for accuracy and whether secondary objectives are accomplished.
SL2
SL2 may refer to:
SL2 (group)
SL2 are an English breakbeat hardcore group active in the early 1990s from London, England. They also recorded, remixed or produced under the names Slipmatt & Lime and T.H.C.
Background
"Starting out as a group of three, SL2 was originally a coming together of DJ's Matt "Slipmatt" Nelson, John "Lime" Fernandez and rap vocalist Jason "Jay-J" James. The SL2 name came from the founders initials - Slipmatt (S) and Lime (L), and as they were a duo - hence "SL2".
Underground
As youngsters in 80s Britain, they were very much into the hip hop scene before having their heads turned by the growing rave scene.
Their big break came in 1989 through Slipmatt's older brother, who was running the now legendary party-promoting organisation Raindance, they became the enterprise's resident DJs, playing parties all over the United Kingdom.
A year into touring with Raindance, SL2 released their debut single, "Do That Dance," through B-Ware Records which sold well to fans of the rave scene. Allegedly, the practices of the record label prevented the band from ever seeing any money. Subsequently, SL2 set up their own Awesome Records label, through which they first released another single, "DJ's Take Control". The record sold 3500 copies, attracting the attention of new dance label XL Recordings.
Silver Line (MBTA)
The Silver Line is the bus rapid transit (BRT) system of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). It currently operates four routes in two sections that were built in separate phases.
The first section has two routes from Dudley Square in Roxbury, mostly via Washington Street, to Boston's Downtown Crossing (SL5) and South Station (SL4), using articulated buses operating in reserved lanes. The second section runs from South Station Under to South Boston (SL2) and to Logan Airport in East Boston (SL1). It runs dual-mode buses, partly in a dedicated bus tunnel and partly on shared roadway, including surface streets, the Ted Williams Tunnel, and airport roads. Riders can transfer between the sections and to other lines at South Station; transfers there between SL1, SL2, and the Red Line—but not SL4—are within fare control. At South Station, however, a transfer from SL1, SL2, and the Red Line to SL4 (and vice versa) can be made by walking alongside streets.
Speed and schedule performance have disappointed some transit advocates and the Silver Line routes fall far short of the minimum BRT Standard promulgated by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP). Some sections have an exclusive right-of-way, but other sections are bogged down by street running in congested mixed traffic. As of September 2014, a contract has been awarded for the first phase of an extension to Chelsea, Massachusetts, largely in reserved right-of-way; other extensions of the Silver Line are being studied as well.
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