The General Map Recommendations Thread

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KeeperUTX
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The General Map Recommendations Thread

Post by KeeperUTX »

(Forgive me, oh great papercoffee, if I have once again place this thread in the wrong section. Smite my soul if I have transgressed thy rules.)

So, I've found a few maps which a pretty impressive, and I think I should recommend them to you guys. And as such I have created tGMRT - the General Map Recommendations thread. This thread is meant for reporting maps which are awesome, telling about their pros and cons, etcetera, so please do not throw it offtopic. And if it does go offtopic, then refrain from throwing the offtopic off its topic.

First map I want to recommend was originally recommended by UnrealGecko/GEx: CTF-Times (Facing Times aka the Bridge above the Stars)

Since I can't find a screenshot of it anywhere, I'll simply put it like this:
Red team's tower and bridge-half is designed to have a medieval design to it, using what appears to be a few textures from the original Unreal - namely in a few decorative areas.
Blue team's tower and bridge section appear to be a bit more generic towards our series, what with looking like a Terran outpost of some technological advance.

In other words, one side represents the distant past while the other shows either the present (UT time) or the future (real time).

Under the bridges lie another way to enter the enemy base, effectively a lowered bridge. Again the details reflect the above description. Behind the towers, both on the normal and lower bridges lie a teleporter to the enemy bridge with an Invisibility ready to go. This allows for a sneaky approach.

The towers themselves are considerably complex in their infrastructure, yet the design vaguely reflects that of its original, Facing Worlds. I have not yet entirely explored the place but its pretty massive. Multiple TPs transport you to varying areas, from the tower's basement to the sniper's ledge; both the back TP and the frontal area can be protected with sniper fire. Both towers have entrances for all four sides.

The map also includes some jump pads to help speed up your progress to the enemy base, but they are one-way only, likely to prevent an easy cap.

Pros:
-Large map, good for 12-20 or even 24 players
-Interesting design
-Multiple attack routes
-Well detailed
-Map feels like it was made for NW3, IMO.

Cons:
-The map is so large that the standard UT rifles don't even reach over the "hill". If you intend on playing without modified weaponry then you'll have to wait for the enemy team to get to the hill before you can start shooting.
-Very confusing for those who are new to the map
-May lag with NW3 on (It does on my computer)
-Watch your step on the lower bridge.

All in all, my personal opinion is 8/10. High map detail combined with NW3 kills FPS but the design of the map more than makes up for that hiccup.
Recommended alterations: Music and turn off reverb. The music is just from the normal CTF-Face so I changed it to that of Fragnbrag's UnrealGateways map. The reverb is horrible here IMO, you should shut it off in UEd. Plus IIRC it saves a lot of FPS.

No screenies. HDD died, taking my OS and everything else with it. Will be added in future.

DL: http://www.unrealplayground.com/forums/ ... ile&id=404
Note: Don't worry, the 404 at the end of the link doesn't seem to indicate the file being broken... it's just the file ID :mrgreen:
Last edited by KeeperUTX on Mon May 05, 2014 12:29 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: The General Map Recommendations Thread

Post by Hellkeeper »

I know this map. It's absolutely huge.

This is indeed CTF-Time, it was made by GUI, one of the finest mappers of the French community. You can get it from his site, and see some screenshots on his website. He went on to map for UT2004 and was incredibly talented. He's the only remaining admin of Unreal.fr and has made several maps for UT2003/4's Community Bonus Packs (Kadath, Finale), and had an "Ownage" from CliffyB for his map Hardcore, back in the days.
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Re: The General Map Recommendations Thread

Post by papercoffee »

KeeperUTX wrote:Forgive me, oh great papercoffee, if I have once again place this thread in the wrong section.
Indeed you did ...but I don't mind leaving it where it is ...Because I feel like it.

J/k ...it's generic enough to stay in this section. :wink:
But wasn't there already an idea for a Map Recommendations thread? Gex?

Edit----------------------------
Oh, and it would be cool when a recommendation would also include pictures.
If there is no screenshot available on the internet d.i.y.
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Re: The General Map Recommendations Thread

Post by UnrealGGecko »

papercoffee wrote:But wasn't there already an idea for a Map Recommendations thread? Gex?
Don't look at me, that wasn't my idea (though I did have an idea to make a Map of the Week thing, which I'm doing at Hooks site).
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Re: The General Map Recommendations Thread

Post by papercoffee »

UnrealGecko wrote:
papercoffee wrote:But wasn't there already an idea for a Map Recommendations thread? Gex?
Don't look at me, that wasn't my idea (though I did have an idea to make a Map of the Week thing, which I'm doing at Hooks site).
Ah ...now I remember, this map of the week thing.
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Re: The General Map Recommendations Thread

Post by EvilGrins »

I gave CTF-Time a quick try beore going to work today. If i'm not mistaken it's a map I played on someone's CTF server years ago, and I still get all turned around on the thing. It has great bot-pathing, good playability, for such a massive scale it has no noticeable slowdown in play due to memory issues, and the music is classic...

...and it's an ideal map to put a UTDMT on both teams. Not that I necessarily would, but it's a good size for it.
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Re: The General Map Recommendations Thread

Post by Red_Fist »

Was waiting to hear what you say about that dualdrive map.
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Re: The General Map Recommendations Thread

Post by KeeperUTX »

Red_Fist wrote:Was waiting to hear what you say about that dualdrive map.
Aha, sry, forgot.

Well, it's pretty good. Might be an old map but the design is relatively simple and faintly reminds me of DOM-Condemned. Tight DM map for intense action. Would recommend. 8/10 due to decent yet simple design and blitz-ish deathmatching with 11 bots.

Also, I have a new map to rec: Epic Town v2 (DM-XC-EpicTown-2A).

A large map by the renowned Fragnbrag, it fuses several maps from the original set: DOM-Condemned, DM-Stalwart(s), CTF-High, that sewer level for DM... you name it. Heck, the thing even has Bleszinski Boulevard! Not that awesome but it's a nice nod to ONS-Urban from 2k4 (that's the only place I know where there's a Bleszinski Blvd).

However, I would not recommend NW3 here. FPS is already kind of a struggle when it comes to EXU2:BS weaponry. Go ahead and try it, if you want to, enjoy FPS hell :satan:

Pros:
-Nice fusing of classic maps
-Good GFX
-Excellent for a large DM setup - 24 players minimal if you want havoc.

Cons:
-Very large map, which means even if you have 16 bots with you you'll still have issues with tracking them down
-Major lag with NW3, maybe even other mods which are high-up in the memory store.
-Layout may turn out to be just a bit confusing.

General rating: 7,5/10. Gameplay is a bit sparse when you TDM, but if you go LMS or DM it shouldn't be prob. Would recommend.

Scr:
Image

Image

Image
These give you a relative view of what the place looks like. It's WAY larger in-game.

DL: http://www.gamefront.com/files/files/23 ... ownV2A.zip

NOTE: funny, the first two pics are smaller than they are supposed to be..?
Last edited by KeeperUTX on Mon May 05, 2014 12:23 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: The General Map Recommendations Thread

Post by papercoffee »

Ah EpicTown from our X-mass pack ...nice!
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Re: The General Map Recommendations Thread

Post by UnrealGGecko »

Let me have a go :mrgreen:

DM-NWQuickManStage2010_fix
I'm not sure if there are any other versions, but I'm concentrating on this one.

This map is a rather small one (4-8 players I guess) and there's quite a few falling hazards, so the "Who Pushed Me?" mutator is almost a requirement here (the Bounce Mod is also recommended). At 1st glance you'll find the map a bit simple in graphics due to their being no skybox but other than that, it plays rather well.
The best part of this map is trap of sorts... Below the playing field are some dissapearing/reappearing blocks (Megaman game reference) where once you reach the end, you may not only get a shield belt, but also activate the trap (if it's available that is). I won't spoil the trap but here's a hint:
Spoiler
It's the main reason why this map has QuickManStage in it's name :P... So yeah, it ain't just for the music. Also once you activate the trap (it's quite a devestating one, almost game breaking even, but it's extremely hard to reach even with a translocator. So it's almost balanced out by the number of attempts you may need to reach it lol) you'll figure out why there are flashlights scattered around the map.
All and all, though it's ment for online play, the bots play it decently as well, making some outstading matches. Recommended!

Pros:
- Great gameplay
- Awesome trap
- The music fits perfectly!

Cons:
- A bit too simple design
- The trap sometimes doesn't wanna activate for whatever reason :?

Final rating: 8/10

Download link: http://medor.no-ip.org/index.php?dir=Ma ... 10_fix.zip
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Re: The General Map Recommendations Thread

Post by papercoffee »

papercoffee wrote: Edit----------------------------
Oh, and it would be cool when a recommendation would also include pictures.
If there is no screenshot available on the internet d.i.y.
@ KeeperUTX ...download link would also be very appreciated. :agree1:
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Re: The General Map Recommendations Thread

Post by KeeperUTX »

So... I run around checking for maps like a madman and then post links for the lazy bums...
*Taps his foot*
Ok, since you're a moderator -- I meant god, plus you added "would be appreciated", that's the way to ask, not "GIMME LINKIES PLZ".
Plus I'll rummage around for SSs. Should be a few of CTF-Times, but I'll have to get back home for that (@school right now).

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Re: The General Map Recommendations Thread

Post by papercoffee »

Oh ...I supposed you had these maps already on your computer or you had a source for it (mapraider for example).
But still, it would be nice if you had a link to your findings. ;)
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Re: The General Map Recommendations Thread

Post by Pileyrei »

PLEASE don't post info about maps if you cant give a download link :mad2:

Come one.........great map blah blah...its called CTF-Goodluckifyoucanfindit

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Re: The General Map Recommendations Thread

Post by KeeperUTX »

Gah, finally. The connection issues seem to have dissipated for the time being.

Hunh? Yo, Pileyrei, just so you know if I (or anyone else for that matter) DL a specific map, I can just hand out the filename. So what if it's two or three clicks extra, hm? Why does everybody have the lazybones disease :ironic:

Mmmh, fine, download links for you Lazehbones.

(WARNING: no offense intended, don't headshot me please)

Speaking of screenshots, I lost my UT folder, along with everything else I had on my comp, due to my harddrive dying. Don't give me that look, I freaked when I found out and I am NOT happy. Tons of screens, lots of saves for different games, yadda yadda yadda, in general stuff that I really needed but is now gone for good. Flak the virtual part of my life.

Well, I don't have much of an idea what to post, so lemme sift around the old memory box (been playing the Warcraft series, it really caught my attention, specially the story).

There's CTF-FacingDragons.

I've already recommended it @OldUnreal, but I'll showcase it a bit here.

This is, yet again, another Facing Worlds re-imagined. The heads of two dragons stare eachother down. The main bridge is formed to be bumpy, apparently allowing for one to take cover from incoming sniper fire, or even attempt a suprise attack. Two powerups (I believe they were Invisibility and the HealthKeg) are placed upon what seem to be very slim supporting... things. In any case, watch your step and your health as you attempt to obtain the powerup.

Also, the internal parts of the heads (bases) are relatively intricate for the newcomers, as usual. Not really that complicated, but IIRC I got lost the first two times.

IIRC there are side paths to follow as well, again allowing for somewhat differing attack routes.

As I last played the map months ago and my memory doesn't stretch that far (ironically it does reach up to 10 or more years ago, lol), I cannot give a proper rating for the map. Apologies.

Screenshot:

Image

And... *drumroll* DL link: http://www.gamefront.com/files/1403884/ ... ragons_zip

Note: I couldn't edit the above recommendations due to... well, you already know what's been going on for the past few weeks here. On it right now.
Image This is Eevee, a ferocious creature that never relents in tracking its meal. It will lead you to ruin, and when it does, it will finish you.
The way it bobs its head lefty-righty? It's just cracking it's neck so it can get a better grip on you with its jaws.
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