[Kona] originally
designed this level in 60 minutes for a contest
but after playing it he decided to do some more
work on it and release it ‘properly.
The map consists of two main atriums with various
rooms running in a ring around the edge of the
map. The two main atriums are separated by a
single dividing wall with a bridge running through
the wall and onto the pathways at either side
of the atriums. There is a Mega Health on top
of the bridge in the lightning gun atrium. This
coupled with the lightning gun and the central
positioning of the atrium mean that this room
sees a lot of fighting. Leading off of these
two atriums are various corridors and smaller
rooms that form a ring around the level. The
rooms are a good enough size to provide some
interesting combat opportunities but unfortunately
the same cannot be said for all of the corridors.
While some of the corridors are a nice size
others are very cramped and it is easy to get
snagged on them. This was a definite problem
as getting stuck on the architecture in the
middle of a fire fight is not a good thing.
It is even worse as it could have been fixed
so easily by widening the corridors slightly
or clipping certain areas off. I assume this
is a legacy from the original 60-minute version
of the map (which is also downloadable from
[Kona]’s site) but one that should not
have been overlooked in the process of remaking
the map.
The items are well placed, with enough goodies
in the main atrium to draw you to it without
having it so well stocked that if you spawn
in there you become unstoppable. The Mega Health
and the lightning gun provide enough attraction
on their own without other powerful items needed.
It is nice to see the red armour put near to
a medium power weapon (the super nailgun) rather
than something more powerful such as a rocket
launcher. The rocket launcher is definitely
the weapon of choice in this level due to the
fact that there are several scattered about.
When coupled with the various raised areas means
it is much easier to get a frag through splash
damage rather than using a line of sight weapon
such as the super nailgun or the lightning gun.
Health and ammo are plentiful within the level
and I didn’t have difficulty finding either
mid-game.
The level is textured
using a mixture of unreal textures and a sky
and light from Fingers ikbase texture set. The
textures are well used throughout most of the
level except for one thing, the trim. In most
places this is done well and looks like a beam
holding the level together, but in certain places
it is just on one edge of a beam making it look
fake and painted on. Also in some places it
appears in the middle of a wall which looks
even worse than the painted on effect. Apart
from that the textures work really well and
fit together nicely. I especially like the rock
fall next to one of the rocket launchers and
the yellow armour as this makes the map seem
more real, as if it really is an abandoned temple
or something similar.
The lighting in the map functional with most
of the map well lit, but with some nicely shadowed
corners to hide in while waiting to ambush your
opponent. These shadowy areas are well positioned
though so that as soon as you reveal your hiding
place you are trapped in and vulnerable to the
splash damage from a rocket. My one problem
with the lighting is that despite the light
fittings scattered around, it doesn’t
give the impression of coming from any particular
source.
The map plays well in 3-5 player FFAs as well
as the recommended 1on1 although obviously you
will need to turn on DeathMatch 3 for four or
more players. Overall a good map that plays
well but is let down by some clipping problems
and slightly dodgy texturing, but one to get
all the same.
