RPD Sewer Area in 1.5

[Enigmatism415]

If it's indeed true that the third manhole gets you access to the Factory, then the RPD and the Factory are close by. And from a narrative perspective, it's bad writing to have Leon and Elza getting in the Sewers, which are crawling with lethal creatures just to find an alternate route to something that's a block away. Unless, of course, there's a good explanation for that.

They may very well be close by. They also might not be, and the proximity of their Sewer access points would then be a product of bad game logic (it's Capcom after all). If the RPD is actually that close to the Factory, then I'm guessing that they'd opt to take the Sewer simply because they want to avoid the outdoors at all cost. Jill and Carlos went to great lengths to avoid the streets; they spent an entire chapter of the game collecting distant items to power the stupid trolly... If you ask me, they'd have been better off walking!

I'm not sure about "water chase" scene though, because I imagine that would block one's character progression, and I'm sure they're not happening simultaneously.

It was my understanding that Leon and Elza's scenarios represented two completely independent instances of the game (almost like alternate universes), unlike Leon and Claire's scenarios in the retail version. If this is indeed the case, however, it's interesting that Elza's bike can be seen in the Lobby in Leon's scenario. I remember reading about it in some article or interview regarding BH1.5. Can anyone confirm this?

[Kegluneq]

It was my understanding that Leon and Elza's scenarios represented two completely independent instances of the game (almost like alternate universes), unlike Leon and Claire's scenarios in the retail version. If this is indeed the case, however, it's interesting that Elza's bike can be seen in the Lobby in Leon's scenario. I remember reading about it in some article or interview regarding BH1.5. Can anyone confirm this?

How would it be possible for Marvin to come across Elza if they were alternate universes?

And, like you said, in Leon's scenario, Elza's bike is crashed in the lobby. That's how the zombies invade the RPD 1F, and why Leon and Marvin decide to find a route to escape the city.

[Enigmatism415]

Perhaps I misunderstood what the article was saying... I assumed that Marvin simply existed in both universes.

[biohazard_star]

Elza and Leon's scenarios happen at the same time. Although some things will obviously happen differently, depending on who you play as.
As for the third manhole, do you guys mean to say that climbing it will lead to the factory area? If so, that means the factory is just right beside or behind the RPD building, which doesn't really make any sense. If anything, the sewers probably has multiple levels (like in final) and that ladder just leads to a different part of it.

[doriantoki]

The ladder could possibly go up into a series of hallways we haven't yet seen. That would make more sense, anyway.

[RMandel]

Sorry guys, but that last image of Elza standing by herself near the ladder is from the same end of the corridor as the first two, where Leon is talking with Marvin and Linda/Ada. That image occurs not long after Sherry leaves her. There are two other images in the Bioflames/Alzaire collection that are part of that sequence. There are also at least two other images/scans of the other end, where the double doors are, and there's no third manhole in either one.

There are only two manhole entrances into the Sewer Arrival area, same as RE2. The first is the one from the Parking Garage, where the Sewer entry cutscenes for both games take place. The second is one you get to by dropping down from the RPD Lobby roof. This is one of the known errors of Black Crow's old Sewer 1 map, and it's also an error in DXP's draft background for Martin Biohazard's modding.

[biohazard_star]

There is a third ladder. One at both ends of the hallway, and another one at the middle. The wall beside the third ladder has a vent where water is flowing from, while the wall beside the one where Leon and co. comes down from has a big grated metal frame on it.

You can see the third ladder clearly here:

[Enigmatism415]

The ladder could possibly go up into a series of hallways we haven't yet seen. That would make more sense, anyway.

Totally. Remember that ridiculous preamble to the Vacant Factory in retail?

---

@RMandel

I think you should carefully re-examine the series of screenshots that I posted earlier. Aside from the more obvious waterfall / grating difference that biohazard_star pointed out, the double-doors are rightfully absent from the third image (showing Marvin and Linda running down the corridor). The third ladder may be a bit tough to see from a distance, but it's still adequately discernible. The access tube above it might be easier to spot though.

[doriantoki]

Totally. Remember that ridiculous preamble to the Vacant Factory in retail?

Ha ha, yeah. I imagined this area would be used for storage or ... it could be like the elevator corridor in the lab from the central area to leads to the boiler room/train platform, with access to all the electrical wires and panels. It's still totally hodgepodge though.

I don't know if this means anything, but notice in this screenshot:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]7345[/ATTACH]

The curved ceiling ends before the third ladder, where instead, it goes straight up beyond an area you can see. Could this mean there is an elevated area just above, possibly a balcony? Think the sewer entrance in retail 2 where Leon confronts Ada (Leon A) and Claire and Sherry see Mr. X walk by on her scenario. AFAIK, the rest of this area has the low curved ceiling.

[Kegluneq]

I just noticed something. Look at the following wall textures:



They seem similar, right? Now, look at the following images:



The wall textures are pretty much the same.

Which means that all of these areas seem to be located close to each other. Here's what I think: the third manhole leads to the break room in the last screenshot, and from there, you get access to the machine room where you fight the web spinners. You need to get something from there, or mess around with it to proceed. Remember how it happened in the retail product? You fought Birkin, traveled through an hallway, entered the break room, got on the elevator, found Annette (or Leon), proceeded through the sewer hallway with the dead U.S.S unit, went through another hallway with the medal puzzle and finally reached the control area. But, if you didn't have the Valve with you, you had to backtrack all the way to the break room to retrieve it before you could progress. 1.5 lacks a break room when you reach the sewers (unlike the retail product), and you could potentially have to backtrack it to beginning if you missed the third manhole before you went through the double doors.

Even if this is all incorrect (and it probably is ), I still think that the machine room and break room are located in the "first" floor of the sewers. The walls have a greyish color, dirty stains and clean textures. So it makes sense they are not too far from where Leon and Elza start. The other sections (such as the Treatment Pools and Control Passage) have a greenish tone, and they belong on a different floor.

What do you guys think?

[Enigmatism415]

^^^

Interesting thoughts. If the third ladder does lead to more areas in the Sewer, then the first Sewer level would be at-grade with RPD B2, and thus would have to work around the RPD's footprint.

[RMandel]

Or that third ladder could be at the beginning of the next section - the so-called "bridge corridor," with all the worker zombies. It also has double doors, and that would be the end of it we usually don't see in most of the videos and stills we know are from the. Who says all the manhole ladders have to be in the L-shaped Sewer Arrival Area? Or for that matter - oh, look! A bunny rabbit!

(Beats head against desk several times while laughing)

[Enigmatism415]

The ladder could possibly go up into a series of hallways we haven't yet seen. That would make more sense, anyway.

Yep, the northwest tank with baby alligators, specifically.

[Marvin]

What about build differences. I remember some topic it was said that sewers is the most changed areas in 1.5 builds, is it not?

[Enigmatism415]

What about build differences. I remember some topic it was said that sewers is the most changed areas in 1.5 builds, is it not?

Yeah, the square alcove of the "baby gator" room was repositioned after the PSM build to its more centralised location in the final build. A narrow corridor was also added.