Ruins of Doom is the mission assigned to players by Trader empires, and is one of the many Maxis-made adventure missions that the player can accept during the Space Stage.
Summary[]
In the ruins of a temple deep in the jungle hides the famed Golden Llama, an artifact that no creature has yet been able to retrieve from its maze-like surroundings. The Llama is protected by stone gateways, bloodthirsty creatures, and a legendary Guardian within the ruins—all of which the player must navigate in order to find the Golden Llama and bring it to the extraction point.
The captain, beamed down alone, begins the mission atop a multi-level stone temple somewhere near the location of the Llama, in a dense jungle. At the foot of the temple is a small enclosure sealed off by a stone gateway that can only be opened by the twenty-five gems scattered around the enclosure. Tomb Spiders and Gem Collectors stand between the captain and the gems needed to advance to the next similar enclosure, and will attack the player immediately if not dealt with instantly. Once all twenty-five gems have been collected, the player must examine the stone gate and insert the gems into the slots to open the way into the next enclosure.
The next enclosure is identical to that previous, as are the objectives: Collect twenty-five gems and open the gate to get another step closer to the Golden Llama. This gate, however, bears a warning: "The Guardian Watches All", a fair sign that the objective is near.
The Captain battles with the Epic Guardian.
From this point, the player must cross a rope bridge to reach another ruin, guarded by a stone archway bearing a stone skull. Tomb Hogs and larger Tomb Spiders guard a passageway that leads to yet another area sealed off by a stone gate, also requiring twenty-five gems. Once this has been passed, the Golden Llama, seemingly unguarded, is revealed. However, when the player collects the Llama, the wall behind the Llama explodes, the Guardian is released and it chases the player all the way to the extraction point at the foot of the first temple. If the player makes it successfully past the hordes of spiders and the Epic Guardian, they are beamed back up and can return to the empire that assigned it for the reward.
Trivia[]
- The Ruins of Doom seems to be based on the opening scenes of Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, in which Indiana Jones navigates the traps of an ancient temple to reach the famed Golden Idol. Like the ruins of GA, none have returned alive from the temple; similarly, a trap is activated when the Golden Llama is collected. The title of the adventure is similar to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
- Once the captain has returned to the Trader empire to receive the reward, the representative from the species debates aloud whether the relic the player has retrieved would better fit in with a collection of golden items or with a collection of llamas—an allusion to the running Maxis joke humorously portraying llamas.
- If your captain is small enough (almost the smallest possible) they can slip through the wooden boards of the bridge. As there is a lava pool right underneath, caution is advised.
- There is a Spoffit in one of the secret chambers. Must have at least jump level three to five to access. The chambers also give 10 crystals each, totaling to twenty saved crystals.
- The ruins also seem to be based on a Mayan city, as statues of Chac Mool can be seen, as well as Mayan-like pyramids.
- The ruins are called the Z'hara Z'hara ruins.
- This mission and Concert in the Park are the only archetype adventures that are neither about making part of the galaxy slightly less harsh and unforgiving nor about preventing part of the galaxy from becoming harsher and more unforgiving.
