History Recap / QuakeIIGroundZeroMinesUnit

** "Thaelite Mines": At one point in the cave road to the room with the Commander's Head there will be a bunch of Thaelite crystals blocking a passage that can safely be broken.

After [[Recap/QuakeIIBossLevels the destruction of]] [[Recap/QuakeIITheReckoningMoonUnit both Makrons]] and most of the Strogg equipment (including [[Recap/QuakeIIBigGunUnit the Interplanetary Defense Systems]] and [[Recap/QuakeIITheReckoningRefineryUnit the Strogg Counterfleet]]), the TCM operations send another attack wave to Stroggos... of which, of course, there's only one survivor: a marine named Stepchild. His objective? The destruction of the Gravity Well, the Strogg's newest mechanism against their adversaries.

The levels of the unit are "Lower Mines", "Thaelite Mines", "Tectonic Stabilizer" and "Mine Engineering", and the overall objective is the destruction of the Strogg Tectonic Stabilizer in order to de-stabilize the foundations of Stroggos.

* BookEnds: The Unit starts and ends in the level "Lower Mines".

** Right after crossing the first locked door in "Lower Mines", a Gunner will begin shooting a rock above a platform on the water, the intent being letting it crash into the player.
** The entrance to the Commander's Head room in "Thaelite Mines" has two big rocks that are shot by enemies once they spot the player in an attempt to make them fall on the player.

*** The player finds a new device, the Tesla mine, before taking the first elevator. The area also contains low-level mooks that go down instantly once in the range of said mines.

** "Mine Engineering": The Chainfist is located in a small room with a Light Guard. Said room has its entrance blocked once the weapon is picked up. Afterwards only weapon guards (with the occasional Technician) will be found on your way to the exit.

** The "Tectonic Stabilizer" level can be revisited until all of its objectives are completed; afterwards, not only you're given a 30-seconds timer in order to escape the level; and after escaping, the player can't go back.

** "Lower Mines": Destroying a Steedium crystal near the starting point reveals a hidden chamber with a Double Damage. The fact that you have access to a PowerUp too early is an indication of [[HarderThanHard the overall difficulty]] of ''Ground Zero''.
** "Thaelite Mines": At one point in the cave road to the Commander's Head room there will be a bunch of Thaelite crystals blocking a passage which can safely be broken.

*** Right after entering the main building, turning to the right and taking the elevator, the player will spot two things: an ore platform in the lower level and a cracked wall in the upper level. Unlike previous examples, this wall can only be destroyed with an ore explosion.

*** The Commander's Head room has a broken gate in its top level which cannot be crossed, however, there's a crack at the left which can be shot and reveals an exit from the area.
*** The button-triggered elevator in the third room after the starting point eventually reaches a point from where two {{Monster Closet}}s reveal four Flyers. Behind one of these pairs is a broken wall that can be shoot in order to obtain a secret Megahealth.

*** After returning from "Thaelite Mines" after completing the unit's main objectives, several Berserkers, Weapon Guards and Flyers spawn all the way to the exit to the Eastern Warehouse.

* TimedMission: The "Tectonic Stabilizer", after shutting down the coolants. Keep your eyes open and you'll see an entrance to the secret level "Mine Engineering", another timer-based mission but without any timer outside of [[spoiler:the raising lava]].

*** After crossing the first locked door, the player obtains the Prox Launcher in an area swarming with air and ground enemies that can still become easy prey for the mines.

*** The ETF Rifle is located in a room with Gladiators, Gunners and Berserkers.

** "Mine Engineering": The Chainfist is located in a small room with a Light Guard. Said room has its entrance blocked once the weapon is picked up. Afterwsrds only weapon guards (with the occasional Technician) will be found on your way to the exit.

** The entrance to the SecretLevel "Mine Engineering" (where the player can first find the [[ChainsawGood Chainfist]]) is only enabled after completing all of the objectives in "Tectonic Stabilizer" and going through for a certain broken pipe; which can be easily missable. It's a "race against the rising lava" level, and players can't go back to it once they exit to the "Thaelite Mines" level.

*** Destroying a Steedium crystal near the starting point reveals a hidden chamber with a Double Damage. The fact that you have access to a PowerUp too early is an indication of [[HarderThanHard the overall difficulty]] of ''Ground Zero''.

*** At one point in the cave road to the Commander's Head room there will be a bunch of Thaelite crystals blocking a passage which can safely be broken.
* SuspiciouslyCrackedWall:
** "Lower Mines":
*** Right after entering the main building, turning to the right and taking the elevator, the player will spot two things: an ore platform in the lower level and a cracked wall in the upper level. Unlike previous examples, this wall can only be destroyed with an ore explosion.
*** Near the exit of the level there's a chamber with two rotating gears. One of the gears has a broken section hiding a secret Adrenaline.
** "Thaelite Mines":

* GuideDangIt: Two secrets in "Lower Mines" require the player to hold their fire and NOT damage a specific item: the secret IR Goggles require the player to NOT damage the ore in the moving platform, and the secret Bandolier/Health Pack in the cargo room require NOT to damage a specific black box.

** There will be ''tons'' of falling debris in "Mine Engineering".

** The player finds a new device, the Tesla mine, before taking the first elevator. The area also contains low-level mooks that go down instantly once in the range of said mines.
** After crossing the first locked door, the player obtains the Prox Launcher in an area swarming with air and ground enemies that can still become easy prey for the mines.

* DeathFromAbove: Right after crossing the first locked door in "Lower Mines", a Gunner will begin shooting a rock above a platform on the water, the intent being letting it crash into the player.

* BrokenBridge: Access to the Base Unit/Eastern Warehouse is locked by an elevator which is activated once the Tectonic Stabilizer has exploded.

** The "Tectonic Stabilizer" level can be revisited until all of its objectives are completed; afterwards, not only you're given a 30-seconds timer in order to escape the level; and after escaping [[NoFairCheating (staying and using the God cheat code is NOT an option)]] the player can't go back.

After [[Recap/QuakeIIBossLevels the destruction of]] [[Recap/QuakeIITheReckoningMoonUnit both Makrons]] and most of the Strogg equipment (including [[Recap/QuakeIIBigGun the Interplanetary Defense Systems]] and [[Recap/QuakeIITheReckoningRefineryUnit the Strogg Counterfleet]]), the TCM operations send another attack wave to Stroggos... of which, of course, there's only one survivor: a marine named Stepchild. His objective? The destruction of the Gravity Well, the Strogg's newest mechanism against their adversaries.