Unreal Mission Pack I: Return to Na Pali is an expansion pack for Unreal, released on May 31, 1999. The expansion pack was bundled with the full game of Unreal in a package called Unreal Gold in January 2000.
Synopsis[]
"You faced the worst of the Skaarj Empire and lived to tell about it. Your one chance now? They call it a salvage run. You call it another trip to Hell. Get ready."
Development history[]
Return to Na Pali began development sometime from mid- to late 1998 by Legend Entertainment, not as a new game, but as an expansion and homage to the original Unreal, which meant understanding what had made the original Unreal successful. According to Matthias Worch, the pack was supposed to be quickly created using many of the leftover art and assets from the development of Unreal, and nearly all of the levels that were cut from Unreal. On top of that, the development team also added a few new weapons, a few new enemies, and new levels.[1]
However, this didn't mean that things weren't cut from the game: the levels Morose, Nexus, Nexus End, FHub6, Cryox, Velora Cellars and Soledad were still left out of the final product.
Unique to the pack (and something carried over to Unreal II: The Awakening) are the intermission sections, which lead designer Mike Verdu wanted to add in order to tie the different elements of the game together. Also, some of the arenas were specifically designed to showcase the enemies' navigation and combat skills.[1]
No demo was ever released for this expansion pack.
Release dates[]
RTNP was released to stores on May 31, 1999. Eventually, it was packaged up with Unreal and released as Unreal Gold, on January 21, 2000. Unreal Gold later became part of the Totally Unreal package, as well as Unreal Anthology and the Unreal Deal Pack.
Post-release content[]
Another level in the works, DmDespair, was cut as well from the final product, however, it was later released as a separate download, earning CliffyB's Ownage award in the process.
Digital distribution[]
The pack was sold alongside Unreal as Unreal Gold on the Steam and GOG platforms. This distribution ended on December 14, 2022, after Epic Games announced the shutdown of all their online services in order to concentrate everything on Epic's own Epic Online Services, which included the online distribution of several games as well as their master servers. Users of the platforms that already had the games can still play them either offline or with local multiplayer.[2] While online Unreal Gold gaming may remain active thanks to OldUnreal's efforts and master servers, this essentially means that, outside of used copies and copies found at online auction sites, there's no legal way to acquire the games if the players don't already have them.
Game content[]
Gamemodes[]
- Main article: Unreal Mission Pack: Return to Na Pali Single player
The campaign of RTNP takes place about five years after the events in Unreal, and puts you, Prisoner 849, back on the planet Na Pali to find another crashed spacecraft. It can be played in both single-player mode and cooperative mode.
In addition to the campaign, which features both solo and coop modes, Return to Na Pali features eight multiplayer modes: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, King of the Hill, Darkmatch, Marine Match, Cloak Match, Gravity Match and Terran Weapon Match. With the exception of Darkmatch, the rest of the multiplayer gametypes use the Deathmatch maps.
| Unreal Mission Pack: Return to Na Pali Single Player maps |
|---|
| Return to Na Pali Intro • Edge of Na Pali • Neve's Crossing • The Eldora Well • Glathriel Village (Part 1) • Glathriel Village (Part 2) • Approaching UMS Prometheus • UMS Prometheus • Inside UMS Prometheus • Spire Valley • Nagomi Passage • Velora Temple • Nagomi Passage (Dawn) • Foundry Tarydium Plant • Bounds of Foundry • Watcher of the Skies • Gala's Peak • Escape from Na Pali |
| Unreal Mission Pack: Return to Na Pali Deathmatch maps |
|---|
| DmAthena • DmDaybreak • DmHazard • DmStomp • DmSunSpeak • DmTerra Semi-official maps: DmDespair |
Characters[]
| Characters from Unreal Mission Pack: Return to Na Pali |
|---|
| Prisoner 849 |
| Minor characters: W. Marshall • S. Dalton • J. Parkman • K. Divad • P. Mock • G. Dahlgren • J. Airoldi • B. Bates • R. Wisnewski • M. Fox • A. Leiby • M. Verdu • D. Beck • M. Tetreault • S. Brown • M. Poesch • R. Ovrevik • J. Montanus • Michael T. Williams • Andrew G. Jackson • Oliver F. Russell • J. Walden • J. Crable • M. Worch
|
| Friendly/Passive NPCs: |
| Enemies: Skaarj Berserker • Slith • Tentacle • Skaarj Infantry • Giant Manta • Spinner • Predator • Skaarj Pupae • Skaarj Warrior • Brute • Mercenary • Krall (enemy) • Skaarj Gunner • Ice Skaarj • Skaarj Scout • Skaarj Trooper • Krall Elite • Lesser Brute • Manta (enemy) • Devilfish • Skaarj Lord • Skaarj Assassin • Fly • Skaarj Sniper • Gasbag • Cave Manta • Skaarj Officer • Mercenary Elite
|
| Bosses: |
Weapons[]
Returning[]
New[]
Items[]
Returning[]
New[]
Monsters and creatures[]
Returning[]
New[]
Soundtrack[]
- Main article: Music#Unreal: Return to Na Pali
As with Unreal and Unreal Tournament, Alexander Brandon and Michiel van den Bos are in charge of the music, with an extra contribution from Paul "Khyron" Schultz. In addition to reusing many tracks from Unreal, RTNP added a number of tracks. The majority of these tracks had been released prior to Unreal.
Reception[]
Return to Na Pali received mixed to positive reviews, with most critics praising the gameplay and new setting, but criticizing the large amount of bugs, the broken co-op play, and bad voice acting.
Essential files[]
If you're looking for A complete list of patches for Unreal, you might want to check this page.
Windows[]
| Patches for Unreal Mission Pack: Return to Na Pali for Windows systems | |
|---|---|
| Official (Epic Games/Digital Extremes) | |
|
NOTE: You don't need any of the downloads in this section if you've installed your game from Steam or GOG.com.
| |
| Semi-official (OldUnreal) | |
|
Since OldUnreal has the blessing of Epic Games to output updates for Unreal, these patches are considered semi-official builds. | |
| Other patches | |
|
If you're looking for A complete list of patches for Unreal, you might want to check this page.
| |
Linux[]
| Patches for Unreal Mission Pack: Return to Na Pali for Linux systems | |
|---|---|
| Semi-official (OldUnreal) | |
|
Since OldUnreal has the blessing of Epic Games to output updates for Unreal, these patches are considered semi-official builds. | |
| Other patches | |
|
If you're looking for A complete list of patches for Unreal, you might want to check this page. | |
Mac[]
| Patches for Unreal Mission Pack: Return to Na Pali for Mac systems | |
|---|---|
| Official (Epic Games/Digital Extremes) | |
| |
| Semi-official (OldUnreal) | |
|
Since OldUnreal has the blessing of Epic Games to output updates for Unreal, these patches are considered semi-official builds. | |
| Other patches | |
|
If you're looking for A complete list of patches for Unreal, you might want to check this page. | |
Content Packs[]
| Content Packs for Unreal Mission Pack: Return to Na Pali | |
|---|---|
| Official (Epic Games/Digital Extremes) | |
| Semi-official | |
| |
| Unofficial but still recommendable | |
| |
| Other map/mod download sites | |
| |
Credits[]
| Credits of Unreal Mission Pack: Return to Na Pali | |
|---|---|
| Legend Entertainment | |
| Producer | Mike Verdu |
| Technical Advisor | Mark Poesch |
| Level Designers | David Kelvin, Matthias Worch |
| Additionl Level Design | Mick Beard, Warren Marshall |
| Programmers | Duane Beck, Jess Crable |
| Art | Joel Walden |
| Music | Alexander Brandon |
| Sound Effects | Alexander Brandon, Eric Heberling, Tommy Tallarico Studios |
| Sound Engineers | Andy Frasier, David Kelvin |
| Tester and Associate Producer | Craig Lafferty |
| Candy and Paychecks | Rosie Freeman |
| Heuristic Park Graphic Production Studios | |
| Models and animation | Chris Appel, Paul Neuhaus, Blanca Anson, Suzanne Snelling, Joon Choi, Nathan Cheever, Chris 'Xyle' Roberts, Robert Wisnewski |
| GT Interactive | |
| Producers | Jason Schreiber, Cormac Russell |
| Director of Sales and Marketing | Tony Kee |
| Product Manager | Barbara Gleeson |
| Director of Product Development Services | Mary Steer |
| QA Manager | Steve Knopf |
| Lead Tester | Tim Hess |
| Testers | Joe Orr, AJ Pardilla, Chris Dunn, Aaron Harris, Tomasi Akimeta Jr., Keith Moran, Doug Price |
| Director of Creative Services | Leslie Mills |
| Creative Director | Vic Merritt |
| Production Coordinator | Liz Fierro |
| Graphic Designer | Michael Marrs |
| Localization Manager North America | Mark Cárter |
| Manual Writer/Editor | Pete Witcher |
| GT Interactive Europe | |
| Localization Manager Europe | Neil McKenna |
| QA Manager | Graham Axford |
| QA Supervisor | Tim Wileman |
| Code Supervisor | Kolin Tregaskes |
| Lead Tester | Navino Evans |
| Testers | Germaine Mendes, Alexander Stoikou, Alfred Bailey, Paul McGinniss, Wayne Gatley |
Trivia[]
- The original release of RTNP required the full version of Unreal or Unreal Tournament to install and play.
- The song "Opal" was included with Unreal, but was unused.
- In the original release, the title (pictured below) had a unique font, but in Unreal Gold, it was changed to the "loading" font.
Gallery[]
External links[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Worch, Matthias. "Return To NaPali". You Got Red On You. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
- ↑ "Epic is turning off online services and servers for some older games". Epic Games (December 14, 2022). Retrieved December 25, 2022.
- Unreal @ Wikipedia
- Unreal (video game) @ TVTropes
See also[]