The Q1SP releases have really
dried up over the past few months, but finally
Tronyn has finished one of his current projects
and released the first Q1SP of 2002.
This is the sequel to his excellent
A Desert Dusk, a temple themed level with custom
monsters from mission pack 1. A Desert Dusk
2: Scorpion Garrison, carries on the same theme
and monster usage, and comes bundled with its
predecessor.
The textures used are standard
Quake and a few from other sources such as the
mission packs. Tronyn manages to weave the golden
bricks and trims into a very pleasing looking
desert temple. Finished off with brown metal
details such as spikes outlining the tops of
a brick tower or a heavily intricate and high
silver key door that must be seen. The style
is quite unlike any other temple themed levels,
and looks very good.
The layout, apparently based
on Phatasmal Garrison, is very interconnective,
vertical and large. You'll find yourself returning
to previous areas just like in A Desert Dusk.
Gameplay also shines brightly,
with many rocket launching Ogres, Vores and
Scorpions. Scorpions are fun, as long as you
have the right weaponry for them. But unfortunately
the start of the level winds through rocks and
cliffs which features a lot of the Scorpions.
At this point you only have the single shotgun
and a nailgun, and having to snipe these Scorpions
from a distance requires some patience. Also
there isn't much ammo early on, but as long
as you don't waste much you shouldn't run out.
Once you venture into the fortress
and get the grenade launcher, there is more
variety in gameplay and it becomes more enjoyable
with some good combat situations. Health is
adequate.
The only disappointment is
Tronyn has skipped his usual frantic end battle
and gone for something a little calmer. The
Scorpion pit with a quad was a great idea for
a fun display of madness, but no real challenge
follows. I ended the level with over 80 rockets
to spare - saving them up for the boss that
never appeared - Armagon.
Also there were a number of
errors in the console upon loading, which are
just sounds which weren't including in the pak.
This could have been fixed in seconds.
Some players have complained
of the level running very slow. Indeed there
are many areas that see through to each other,
so with a slow computer (I have no sympathy
for you!) you may find the levels slugs just
a little. But on my PIII 450 it was fine, only
the loading time took a few seconds longer than
the normal Q1SP.
Overall, a great level from
Tronyn, even better than the original A Desert
Dusk and just as good as his Rapture and OUM
levels, probably better. A large well-connected
layout, plenty of interesting designs and details,
followed with some great and fun gameplay.
