(Note: This map originally reviewed on 4/10/00)
[Not sure about author!]. Texturing in this level isn't great; the rocks and sand outside haven't been scaled up so as a result then increase r_speeds and just look ugly because the textures repeat. Textures on the outside of the base haven't been fitted properly, and inside the author's used some of those horrible metal-pipish ("babtech" set) textures which aren't well used either. Also I feel that the base is too brightly lit (there are no shadows in the spawn rooms!), and outside it's pretty boring too.
The level has a very simple capture-the-flag layout- why this was converted into an op4 map, I may never know. It is basically 2 small bases in front of each other, separated by a no-mans land and a great big chunk of rock. Both bases have the same layout- there is a big door at the front that can be opened from either side, which leads into a small room with higher levels on the flanks. There is a small battlements area off to one side, but if you don't fancy standing exposed then on the opposite side of the base there are some small gaps you can look through.
Just outside each base are some kind of "no-mans" land. One has a small pool/river of water, the other some dug out entrenchments. These don't have a particularly useful purpose, as little/no cover can be found from them. They're also made from pretty basic solids and prefabs, too. There can be some fun sniping to be had on this level,
Weapon placement is taken care of by just sticking loads of weapons and ammo into what I presume would be the spawn rooms in a TFC/CTF version. There are two of these in each base, accompanied by twin sets of HEV and health chargers just outside. And nothing outside.
Game play isn't as awful as would be expected from a map of this type, although it isn't great either. As there are no weapons/ammo/items lying around outside the base, you're either going to have to stick around outside and run the risk of running out of ammo, or stay in the base and face the wrath of newly spawned players with the SAW... And sadly, the "no-mans" lands may as well just be large flat patches of sand texture, as the only cover there does nothing except lower framerates. There is a battered old building, which is just a wall with a small window in it which can be helpful if you're sniping, but nothing more. And one of those smashed up red crates, which is exactly the same.
R_speeds are fairly acceptable, although they do creep up sometimes, but only when you're too far away to be doing anything except sniping. Thankfully the big block of rock separating the two forts manages to do what it was made for (block VIS).
Overall, this map is pretty boring and badly made. The only thing that really saves it from going the way of every other TFC conversion I think is it's small size- any bigger and you'd lose interest quickly. One to check out if you're into sniping, but if not you might want to pass up on this one.
Design
This is an indoor/outdoor extremely well designed and high quality map. There are very complex areas that are difficult for most
Gameplay
The Gameplay is really well done in this map, but because of its size, you will want to have more than 5 people playing this wit
Verdict
This is one of the best OP4 maps ever made, and in my opinion close to scoring a perfect 10
Pros
Architecture & Lightning & Connectivity
Design
Not quite enough variety & a bit too big for the average OP4 player
(Note: This map originally reviewed on 4/10/00)
[Not sure about author!]. Texturing in this level isn't great; the rocks and sand outside haven't been scaled up so as a result then increase r_speeds and just look ugly because the textures repeat. Textures on the outside of the base haven't been fitted properly, and inside the author's used some of those horrible metal-pipish ("babtech" set) textures which aren't well used either. Also I feel that the base is too brightly lit (there are no shadows in the spawn rooms!), and outside it's pretty boring too.
The level has a very simple capture-the-flag layout- why this was converted into an op4 map, I may never know. It is basically 2 small bases in front of each other, separated by a no-mans land and a great big chunk of rock. Both bases have the same layout- there is a big door at the front that can be opened from either side, which leads into a small room with higher levels on the flanks. There is a small battlements area off to one side, but if you don't fancy standing exposed then on the opposite side of the base there are some small gaps you can look through.
Just outside each base are some kind of "no-mans" land. One has a small pool/river of water, the other some dug out entrenchments. These don't have a particularly useful purpose, as little/no cover can be found from them. They're also made from pretty basic solids and prefabs, too. There can be some fun sniping to be had on this level,
Weapon placement is taken care of by just sticking loads of weapons and ammo into what I presume would be the spawn rooms in a TFC/CTF version. There are two of these in each base, accompanied by twin sets of HEV and health chargers just outside. And nothing outside.
Game play isn't as awful as would be expected from a map of this type, although it isn't great either. As there are no weapons/ammo/items lying around outside the base, you're either going to have to stick around outside and run the risk of running out of ammo, or stay in the base and face the wrath of newly spawned players with the SAW... And sadly, the "no-mans" lands may as well just be large flat patches of sand texture, as the only cover there does nothing except lower framerates. There is a battered old building, which is just a wall with a small window in it which can be helpful if you're sniping, but nothing more. And one of those smashed up red crates, which is exactly the same.
R_speeds are fairly acceptable, although they do creep up sometimes, but only when you're too far away to be doing anything except sniping. Thankfully the big block of rock separating the two forts manages to do what it was made for (block VIS).
Overall, this map is pretty boring and badly made. The only thing that really saves it from going the way of every other TFC conversion I think is it's small size- any bigger and you'd lose interest quickly. One to check out if you're into sniping, but if not you might want to pass up on this one.
Verdict
This is one of the best OP4 maps ever made, and in my opinion close to scoring a perfect 10
