The Main Quarry is a room in the Phazon Mines in Metroid Prime. As its name states, it is one of the main rooms in the Phazon Mines. The atmosphere seems to be largely polluted around the Mines, as seen by the hazy, pink sky and a factory pumping fumes into the air.
There is a series of walkways leading up to an area with a Crane, and controls. The crane has a Grapple Point at its end, and can serve as a method of reaching Waste Disposal once the Grapple Beam is obtained.
Samus must defeat all enemies in the Quarry, as well as activate a Power Conduit on the upper level of the compound to activate a small control room overlooking the area on the same floor. Then, she must scan a terminal to activate the Quarry's crane. The crane will then rotate, smashing into part of the Quarry wall and revealing a Missile Expansion in the small cave created by the crane. Samus can then use a Spider Ball Track running up and along the underside of the crane, then drop onto the top of the Grapple Point block hanging from the edge of the crane. Finally, Samus must use a Bomb Jump (or can use the Spring Ball in the New Play Control! or Metroid Prime Trilogy version) to enter the cave to collect her prize.
"Transfer of building materials complete. Processing of materials for Xenome Containment Units under way."
Computer screen (2)
"Report all Phazon mutations to Science Team immediately. All units with useful mutations will receive an increase in pay and rations. Elite and Trooper candidates are now being selected by Command."
"Dual-Control Force Field is online. Deactivation controls are likely nearby."
Interface Module (other side of room)
"These Crane controls are functional but require power. The power conduits to activate the Crane are most likely located near the control cabin on the other side of this room."
Crane
"Crane unit scan indicates recent use. Device is currently inactive."
Crane controls (atop structure)
"The Crane controls are functional, but require power. A Power Conduit is nearby. A blast of electrical energy will energize the Conduit and restore power to the Crane."
The Main Quarry took about three weeks to completely model and texture. All game textures for the area were hand done by Mr. Strauss in Photoshop and Painter. "There were a couple of digital photo's used to make a noise layer or for paper in Painter. All textures though were hand made with tons of layers. As far as texture count for each room I don't remember too much. It wasn't the amount of textures but rather that amount of memory we had to stay in," explained LeRoy.
For inspiration on the design of the area, LeRoy looked at a number of source materials to realistically portray the setting. "I looked at many photos of real life places like factories [and] outdoors scenes. As far as inspirations from movies and video games, I was inspired by it all," describes LeRoy. "I love video games and movies, so all that content is up there floating in my head. As to specific movie[s] or game[s], I am not sure. It's just a big jumble of Sci-Fi and fantasy!"[1]
By using a Ghetto Jump on top of the crane, it is possible to reach the door to Waste Disposal early. However, this is not possible on the PAL version of the game as the door is locked until the Grapple Beam is obtained.
By moving the crane and then moving it back to its original position, the Grapple Point suspended from the crane is able to be scanned for its research entry, even without the Grapple Beam.
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