I thought this was a great first map, way better than mine. A few suspect areas but in general there were intersting things going on here, particularly the outside area I thought. I also recall being quite amazed by the bubbles in the water tube for some reason...those were the days when something so simple could impress I say good job for a first map...you really ought to get around to doing another release though

AKA "Fishgod", this is the first map from this author. You wouldn't be able to tell that just from looking at it though, as it's far superior in design to the other first time maps I've recently reviewed. Other mappers take note- don't release your first (or second) attempt! I'm not sure exactly where the name comes from, but it might be linked to the map being set around some kind of aquarium- well, there's plenty of water anyway. Close enough.

There's a large building, with 2 floors of labs and crate rooms, plus plenty of small corridors between them. Rising up through the middle of them is a water tube, which can be accessed via a pool of water outside, where there's plenty of rocky ledges to climb up onto and an underground passageway. And that's about it; quick & simple. The labs have been jazzed up with the occasional bleeping computer and the occasional Xen containment tube. There's a fairly extensive duct system to help you get around; although too dark in some places it's damn useful for sneaking up on people. However, the crate rooms (well, the non-lab rooms anyway) don't really fit in with the theme of the map, and as they're fairly small and cramped it can be annoying to move around inside them.

Outside, there are loads of rocky outcrops and ledges to climb up on for special weaponry or items, which slow you down as you do. The author added the hornetgun which is never a Good Thing in a map like this, with a large outdoor section and small windy corridors. There's 2 large rocks which you need to clamber up on to get certain weapons or items, one of which leads down into an underground passage which shares a glass wall with the water tunnel leading to an egon. "Oooh look, a gauss... now, where's my secondary fire key?" (Rhetorical question added for pathetic humorous attempt)

The connectivity of the map made it fairly interesting to play. Every room has at least 2 ways in/out, be it via an air duct, a smashed hole in the wall or perhaps a teleporter, so it's easy to sneak up on people or lose them as you run away. The map is also quite crushed together, meaning that very little space has been wasted and the map itself is physically quite small, even though it seems large. I did feel that the weapons could have been placed better, there were a number of powerful weapons just lying around that don't hinder you whilst you try to collect them. For example, the hornet gun (which I've already talked about), the gauss and RPG are just lying around waiting for anyone who may accidentally stroll by, although to collect the egon requires you hold your breath for a while. But it's immensely funny to gauss someone through the glass as they swim by. Camping can also become problematic because of all the dark corners and ledges to hide in, especially around the gauss.

Lighting was done well- the map wasn't too dark (although there were still loads of dark places to hide in), coloured lights weren't overused and I thought the blue/white bar lights looked quite good, especially the broken one in the main entrance to the building. The entrances to the building also had some lights around the rim, making it appear like some nifty force field is in effect. And no concerns over r_speeds either, they're fine throughout.

This is certainly a very promising first attempt at mapping. There's nothing massively wrong with this map; it shows none of the regular newbie errors like unclipped skies, numerous misaligned textures, and, well, it's not crap. It certainly puts certain "experienced" mappers (who shall remain nameless) to shame. More please!

Design
Sitting between being "fine" and "too dark," plus theme isn't kept as constant as it could have been.

Gameplay
Loads of different ways to get around the level, although some weaponry scattered with little thought

Verdict
An impressive first attempt at mapping- and no unclipped skies, thank God.

Pros
Nice and moody lighting

Design
Hornetgun is very annoying

AKA "Fishgod", this is the first map from this author. You wouldn't be able to tell that just from looking at it though, as it's far superior in design to the other first time maps I've recently reviewed. Other mappers take note- don't release your first (or second) attempt! I'm not sure exactly where the name comes from, but it might be linked to the map being set around some kind of aquarium- well, there's plenty of water anyway. Close enough.

There's a large building, with 2 floors of labs and crate rooms, plus plenty of small corridors between them. Rising up through the middle of them is a water tube, which can be accessed via a pool of water outside, where there's plenty of rocky ledges to climb up onto and an underground passageway. And that's about it; quick & simple. The labs have been jazzed up with the occasional bleeping computer and the occasional Xen containment tube. There's a fairly extensive duct system to help you get around; although too dark in some places it's damn useful for sneaking up on people. However, the crate rooms (well, the non-lab rooms anyway) don't really fit in with the theme of the map, and as they're fairly small and cramped it can be annoying to move around inside them.

Outside, there are loads of rocky outcrops and ledges to climb up on for special weaponry or items, which slow you down as you do. The author added the hornetgun which is never a Good Thing in a map like this, with a large outdoor section and small windy corridors. There's 2 large rocks which you need to clamber up on to get certain weapons or items, one of which leads down into an underground passage which shares a glass wall with the water tunnel leading to an egon. "Oooh look, a gauss... now, where's my secondary fire key?" (Rhetorical question added for pathetic humorous attempt)

The connectivity of the map made it fairly interesting to play. Every room has at least 2 ways in/out, be it via an air duct, a smashed hole in the wall or perhaps a teleporter, so it's easy to sneak up on people or lose them as you run away. The map is also quite crushed together, meaning that very little space has been wasted and the map itself is physically quite small, even though it seems large. I did feel that the weapons could have been placed better, there were a number of powerful weapons just lying around that don't hinder you whilst you try to collect them. For example, the hornet gun (which I've already talked about), the gauss and RPG are just lying around waiting for anyone who may accidentally stroll by, although to collect the egon requires you hold your breath for a while. But it's immensely funny to gauss someone through the glass as they swim by. Camping can also become problematic because of all the dark corners and ledges to hide in, especially around the gauss.

Lighting was done well- the map wasn't too dark (although there were still loads of dark places to hide in), coloured lights weren't overused and I thought the blue/white bar lights looked quite good, especially the broken one in the main entrance to the building. The entrances to the building also had some lights around the rim, making it appear like some nifty force field is in effect. And no concerns over r_speeds either, they're fine throughout.

This is certainly a very promising first attempt at mapping. There's nothing massively wrong with this map; it shows none of the regular newbie errors like unclipped skies, numerous misaligned textures, and, well, it's not crap. It certainly puts certain "experienced" mappers (who shall remain nameless) to shame. More please!

Verdict

An impressive first attempt at mapping- and no unclipped skies, thank God.