[map] Blind Apathy

This is a a discussion topic for the map "Blind Apathy" by unknown which can be found here

Map description:

Small 2 - 4 player Deathmatch map using a mixture of standard HL and custom textures. With testing and help from a large number of big names in the community, not to mention some professionals, how could anything go wrong?

Well, I could make it. For one.

It has its faults that I can see, but it should provide some fairly decent fun for a small group of people. Oh yeah, and fly through the wall beyond the long strip of slime using 'noclip' to discover the easter egg room containing a cool glass dome roof, a custom model of my superhero alter-ego, and pictures drawn/submitted by all the testers and their nakes on gold plaques.

It's more impressive than the map itself.

Map screenshots:

Gonnas, an experienced HL map reviewer at Pixel, last year began learning to map for himself, and here I present to you the fruits of his labour. For a first release, it is extremely impressive, as unlike most first timers, Gonnas has chosen (and stuck to) a theme. More typically though, this theme is industrial. I must admit that it is a theme that HL seems to lend itself to well, but recently I have found it to be a bit of a stale genre. This is not helped in my opinion by the use of those brown industrial textures that mappers around the globe seem to have fallen madly in love with. In fact, I?ve never seen such a custom texture set being used so universally, and yet I consider them to be a bit ugly! But personal aggravations aside, what Gonnas has presented us with is an average looking level set in a generic slime storage facility, a theme we all know and love. Except when the bots you are playing against have an unhealthy tendency to practice their swimming in said green slime, that is?

Architecture is quite fitting for the textures used, and shows that the author has a good understanding of what takes a level from dull to interesting. Walls are not straight vertical faces, but instead take in some change of depth by leaning in higher up. Other parts of the map have support beams and pillars, which help push this map above most first timers in the visuals department. There are a few parts that feel over simplistic, but so early in the authors mapping life, that?s not really a big issue. Just thank the lord that Gonnas has decided texture lights beat randomly placed light entities! I would be lying if I claimed he hadn?t used any of those, but in this level they are put to good use by providing a nice ambient ?pulse? effect from the slime. It is very subtle, and it beats just having a flat green texture light. The remainder of the map is lit by small fittings dotted around the place, each of which has a glow which to me seem slightly too brightly rendered. Even still, they provide nice lighting for you to roam around in, and the brightness is near perfect for the theme.

Weapons were well placed in all cases bar one; the RPG. It was very easy to lay your hands on, and the map is quite easy to dominate with it. Fortunately, ammo for it is less easy to come by (I don?t actually remember where there is any in the map now?) so the person lucky enough to get there first won?t be on top for long. The gauss is suitably difficult to get and ammo is limited, but I found it to be of questionable use on this level anyway. If anything, I think the author could perhaps of considered placing 1 or 2 more regular weapons around the place, as it can turn into a bit of a pistol battle with 5 or more people in it. But then since he states that it is for 2-4 players ideally though, weapon placement is pretty much adequate. I was a bit concerned when I saw the placement of the items, as the 3 health kits and 2 HEV batteries in the map are all within 10 feet of each other. While this seemed a bit strange to have all the armour and health located together, it seemed to play alright. Some people may object to this and feel they should have been split across the map, but the map is really so small it wouldn?t have made that big a difference.

Getting around the map is not really all that relevant here, as it is really just an open space with some walls breaking it up. As stupid as that sounds, when you play it, it does not feel like a series of rooms. I suppose it has a definite quake 3 feel to it, especially due to the vertical connections. These holes in the ceiling/floor really did the map favours and helped spice up what would otherwise have been pretty boring gameplay. R_speeds are also not really an issue, as the size and complexity of the map are not exactly demanding on the game engine.

It is worth loading this map up in single player and using noclip, just so you can make a quick visit to the easter egg room. I won?t give it away here, but it?s a nice piece of work. You can find it by flying through an outer wall at a slime pool, and if you can?t find it then you don?t deserve to :razz:

The simplistic layout of this map can make it a bit repetitive to play in, but if you are looking for a small DM map with a high kill rate, then this should fulfil your requirements perfectly. It?s nothing flash, but it?s not half bad either, and for a first release its something quite special. If you are a new mapper then take heed from Gonnas, and only release a map when its worth others people time to download it! This author should be very pleased with this creation, as believe me it shows definite potential.

Verdict

Better than your average first release, but it won?t blow you away.

Gonnas, an experienced HL map reviewer at Pixel, last year began learning to map for himself, and here I present to you the fruits of his labour. For a first release, it is extremely impressive, as unlike most first timers, Gonnas has chosen (and stuck to) a theme. More typically though, this theme is industrial. I must admit that it is a theme that HL seems to lend itself to well, but recently I have found it to be a bit of a stale genre. This is not helped in my opinion by the use of those brown industrial textures that mappers around the globe seem to have fallen madly in love with. In fact, I?ve never seen such a custom texture set being used so universally, and yet I consider them to be a bit ugly! But personal aggravations aside, what Gonnas has presented us with is an average looking level set in a generic slime storage facility, a theme we all know and love. Except when the bots you are playing against have an unhealthy tendency to practice their swimming in said green slime, that is?

Architecture is quite fitting for the textures used, and shows that the author has a good understanding of what takes a level from dull to interesting. Walls are not straight vertical faces, but instead take in some change of depth by leaning in higher up. Other parts of the map have support beams and pillars, which help push this map above most first timers in the visuals department. There are a few parts that feel over simplistic, but so early in the authors mapping life, that?s not really a big issue. Just thank the lord that Gonnas has decided texture lights beat randomly placed light entities! I would be lying if I claimed he hadn?t used any of those, but in this level they are put to good use by providing a nice ambient ?pulse? effect from the slime. It is very subtle, and it beats just having a flat green texture light. The remainder of the map is lit by small fittings dotted around the place, each of which has a glow which to me seem slightly too brightly rendered. Even still, they provide nice lighting for you to roam around in, and the brightness is near perfect for the theme.

Weapons were well placed in all cases bar one; the RPG. It was very easy to lay your hands on, and the map is quite easy to dominate with it. Fortunately, ammo for it is less easy to come by (I don?t actually remember where there is any in the map now?) so the person lucky enough to get there first won?t be on top for long. The gauss is suitably difficult to get and ammo is limited, but I found it to be of questionable use on this level anyway. If anything, I think the author could perhaps of considered placing 1 or 2 more regular weapons around the place, as it can turn into a bit of a pistol battle with 5 or more people in it. But then since he states that it is for 2-4 players ideally though, weapon placement is pretty much adequate. I was a bit concerned when I saw the placement of the items, as the 3 health kits and 2 HEV batteries in the map are all within 10 feet of each other. While this seemed a bit strange to have all the armour and health located together, it seemed to play alright. Some people may object to this and feel they should have been split across the map, but the map is really so small it wouldn?t have made that big a difference.

Getting around the map is not really all that relevant here, as it is really just an open space with some walls breaking it up. As stupid as that sounds, when you play it, it does not feel like a series of rooms. I suppose it has a definite quake 3 feel to it, especially due to the vertical connections. These holes in the ceiling/floor really did the map favours and helped spice up what would otherwise have been pretty boring gameplay. R_speeds are also not really an issue, as the size and complexity of the map are not exactly demanding on the game engine.

It is worth loading this map up in single player and using noclip, just so you can make a quick visit to the easter egg room. I won?t give it away here, but it?s a nice piece of work. You can find it by flying through an outer wall at a slime pool, and if you can?t find it then you don?t deserve to :razz:

The simplistic layout of this map can make it a bit repetitive to play in, but if you are looking for a small DM map with a high kill rate, then this should fulfil your requirements perfectly. It?s nothing flash, but it?s not half bad either, and for a first release its something quite special. If you are a new mapper then take heed from Gonnas, and only release a map when its worth others people time to download it! This author should be very pleased with this creation, as believe me it shows definite potential.

Design
Industrial setting with all the usual slime, brown textures, etc...

Gameplay
Not exactly endlessly playable, but there are no real flaws either.

Verdict
Better than your average first release, but it won?t blow you away.

Pros
A high standard first release with everything above par for his experience.

Design
It's nothing very detailed, and gets a bit boring to be honest.