[map] Apex

This is a a discussion topic for the map "Apex" by Orpheus which can be found here

Map description:

... My 5th release..
Jeff Meyer was my mentor when I was starting out, he made quite a few excellent releases.. This particular map was one he was working on when he was forced, due to a new job, to discontinue map making.. He had sent it to me roughly a year i guess before i got up the courage to request finishing it for him. With his consent I endeavored to do so.. Personally I think its one of his very best releases, the critics disagree, prolly due to my contributions more so than his
In any case, I think its better released than consigned to the hard drive ether..

Map screenshots:

This map is well-connected and has a few fun novelties. It reminds me a lot of some of the Steve Lyne maps - right down to the unusual texturing - but it feels rather empty compared to something like Outcry. There seems to be too much space in between "landmark areas".

A good 'ol map

Quite fun with a load of bots, gets repetitive after a while though.

I noticed today that the download link was off by one digit... To bad no one notified my about it.

Anyway, you may now download the correct map.

This map comes from, oddly, two people. I've seen some maps by Orpheus- he's made op4_false_accretion for a start, which I'll review some time in the future. Teaming up seems to have a beneficial effect, as this map is much more fun to play (and looks better on the eyes) than his previous efforts. If you've ever played scary_1, this is fairly similar.

The map is one of those Quake-esque small arena/corridors affairs. There's 3 or so killing floors, each surrounded by raised walkways, with various passageways leading off to other parts of the level. I won't go into too many details of the map layout as I usually do- because I kept getting lost! It's not a particularly complex map, but there are a lot of corridors to learn here. But once you get to know the map, you'll have a massive advantage over other people new to it (try using it as a clan home map- if the enemy clan don't practice it enough, unlike you, then they won't know what hit them). The whole map is incredibly exposed- there's a few vantage points overlooking every arena, and brilliant connectivity throughout the level means corridors aren't much safer either.

There's a nice new feature included in this map (well, I haven't seen it anywhere else anyway...). As well as your bog standard platforms, ladders and air vents, the author(s) have also come up with some kind of catapult. Stand on the paddle bit, and it will flick you up a level in a jiffy. It's quick and effortless, although they do tend to take a while to reset. Which may or may not be a bad thing. And if someone would care to tell me what the water pool thing with the very nice looking lambda symbol sticking out of it is, it would be appreciated (and probably forgotten :wink:

The weapons of choice in this map seem to be the 9mmAR and the shotgun. There's plenty of ammo lying around for these, and the different zones suit the weapons well (9mmAR in the arenas, shotgun in corridors). The crossbow also makes an appearance, but it's not terribly effective, due to the exposed nature of the level. The hornet gun can be a great pain in the hands of newbies for the same reason (it's found just lying on the ground somewhere). As for the gauss and RPG, these are harder to get. A button has to be used in order to raise some "stepping stone" platforms out of a slime pit so that you can jump across them to reach the gauss, only to find that doing so also sets off a level-wide alarm. The RPG is at the bottom of a large pool of water, often you'll find yourself sitting at the bottom of a dry tank getting hand grenades chucked in. About the biggest problem with this map is the health and suit charger/item placement. There's far too many health chargers around the level, often you'll find two fairly close to each other. And I may be wrong, but it seemed to me like respawn camping was too easy on this map- all too often, people would respawn in front of me and end up being bludgeoned to death by my mighty crowbar (or vice-versa). So many more deathmatch starts are in order.

As for texturing, I personally didn't find the level particularly appealing to the eye. It might be that I'm used to seeing half these textures on the floor, or that the edges/corners to walls didn't quite "go" with the rest of it. Of course, you may find you like it- there's no texturing errors, and I think it's an entirely original scheme. I haven't seen any other maps using the same textures on walls/floors etc. so if you're bored of seeing the same lab and concrete walls, then maybe these will make a nice change. General lighting is good, with some nice applications of glow sprites, and thankfully no rough edges to any light beams (e.g. sky light passing down through roof). Oh, and there's few, if any, r_speed problems. So high frame rates throughout.

Overall, some of you may find this map to be a fairly refreshing change from all the labs and military installations that make up about 80% of maps. But if you don't like the texturing much, at least it's a very enjoyable map to play- although respawn camping seems to be a bit of a pain (or maybe that was just the play test), you won't go without any action for long, but when you do find some it'll be a fairly balanced and fun fight to the death.

Verdict

Fun little LAN map that doesn't make much sense.

This map comes from, oddly, two people. I've seen some maps by Orpheus- he's made op4_false_accretion for a start, which I'll review some time in the future. Teaming up seems to have a beneficial effect, as this map is much more fun to play (and looks better on the eyes) than his previous efforts. If you've ever played scary_1, this is fairly similar.

The map is one of those Quake-esque small arena/corridors affairs. There's 3 or so killing floors, each surrounded by raised walkways, with various passageways leading off to other parts of the level. I won't go into too many details of the map layout as I usually do- because I kept getting lost! It's not a particularly complex map, but there are a lot of corridors to learn here. But once you get to know the map, you'll have a massive advantage over other people new to it (try using it as a clan home map- if the enemy clan don't practice it enough, unlike you, then they won't know what hit them). The whole map is incredibly exposed- there's a few vantage points overlooking every arena, and brilliant connectivity throughout the level means corridors aren't much safer either.

There's a nice new feature included in this map (well, I haven't seen it anywhere else anyway...). As well as your bog standard platforms, ladders and air vents, the author(s) have also come up with some kind of catapult. Stand on the paddle bit, and it will flick you up a level in a jiffy. It's quick and effortless, although they do tend to take a while to reset. Which may or may not be a bad thing. And if someone would care to tell me what the water pool thing with the very nice looking lambda symbol sticking out of it is, it would be appreciated (and probably forgotten :wink:

The weapons of choice in this map seem to be the 9mmAR and the shotgun. There's plenty of ammo lying around for these, and the different zones suit the weapons well (9mmAR in the arenas, shotgun in corridors). The crossbow also makes an appearance, but it's not terribly effective, due to the exposed nature of the level. The hornet gun can be a great pain in the hands of newbies for the same reason (it's found just lying on the ground somewhere). As for the gauss and RPG, these are harder to get. A button has to be used in order to raise some "stepping stone" platforms out of a slime pit so that you can jump across them to reach the gauss, only to find that doing so also sets off a level-wide alarm. The RPG is at the bottom of a large pool of water, often you'll find yourself sitting at the bottom of a dry tank getting hand grenades chucked in. About the biggest problem with this map is the health and suit charger/item placement. There's far too many health chargers around the level, often you'll find two fairly close to each other. And I may be wrong, but it seemed to me like respawn camping was too easy on this map- all too often, people would respawn in front of me and end up being bludgeoned to death by my mighty crowbar (or vice-versa). So many more deathmatch starts are in order.

As for texturing, I personally didn't find the level particularly appealing to the eye. It might be that I'm used to seeing half these textures on the floor, or that the edges/corners to walls didn't quite "go" with the rest of it. Of course, you may find you like it- there's no texturing errors, and I think it's an entirely original scheme. I haven't seen any other maps using the same textures on walls/floors etc. so if you're bored of seeing the same lab and concrete walls, then maybe these will make a nice change. General lighting is good, with some nice applications of glow sprites, and thankfully no rough edges to any light beams (e.g. sky light passing down through roof). Oh, and there's few, if any, r_speed problems. So high frame rates throughout.

Overall, some of you may find this map to be a fairly refreshing change from all the labs and military installations that make up about 80% of maps. But if you don't like the texturing much, at least it's a very enjoyable map to play- although respawn camping seems to be a bit of a pain (or maybe that was just the play test), you won't go without any action for long, but when you do find some it'll be a fairly balanced and fun fight to the death.

Design
Plenty of sound effects and nice lighting, not sure about texturing though.

Gameplay
Too many health chargers, but otherwise a fun, frantic map

Verdict
Fun little LAN map that doesn't make much sense.

Pros
Good layout

Design
Texturing may be original, but it's ugly.