editor Dave's little AMC review

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editor Dave
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editor Dave's little AMC review

Post by editor Dave »

Sorry, I’m a little late to the party, but I needed some time to prepare this essay! :D

It’s that time of the year again when mappers from all over the world came together in a loosely competitive manner to create and publish new works for the community to enjoy. This time, there was no real theme, though the maps had to be „awesome“ in a way.
Definition of awesome according to merriam-webster.com
https://www.merriam-webster.com/diction ... raordinary
Definition of awesome
1a: inspiring awe
an awesome task/responsibility
a place of awesome beauty

b informal : TERRIFIC, EXTRAORDINARY
=>
Definition of extraordinary
1a: going beyond what is usual, regular, or customary
extraordinary powers
b: exceptional to a very marked extent
extraordinary beauty
So, we are looking at maps which are supposed to be at the edge of the norm or which are just really, really good. Going by this definition, I want to look for two awesome aspects in every map and I will interpret the word in both meanings.

All my opinions are based on Adept bot matches with the highest advisable player count (with the regular maximum of 17). I’ve borrowed the format from Revelation’s grand UTR review, the thematic focus on the maps may be different, however. Keep in mind, I’m a casual UT player who is generally more interested (also as a mapper) in the SP facets of the original Unreal, like world building in terms of looks as well as coherency and story, atmosphere, and who favors originality, but who also likes to theorize, and to judge from different points of view.

I try to point out the positives and the negatives about a map, but you will notice that sometimes I pay attention to small, meaningless details, and other times I seem to oversee them in other maps. That’s because those other maps might have way more important issues to talk about, while the maps with the minor issues are already great as they are. I hope you will have a valuable read, anyway!

Deathmatch

DM-AMC-2040 „Metropia 2040“ by Porch Viking

What’s awesome about this entry?
- The size alone with lots of corners to explore, offering almost endless possibilities to approach your enemies
- The general scenery of a big city is impressive, along with its varied themes
Full review
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I’ve rarely seen DM maps of this size that generally work well, let alone urban themed ones. It has a a variety of set pieces: There’s an office, a warehouse, a huge tower, flats, some kind of security building and even a temple! At my first play-through, I was a little put off by the many texture choices, and I was in particular not feeling that eol.utx fit the theme, but examining the map on a grander scale (in the editor), I came to the conclusion that it does work in a way, suggesting that the environment has a rich history where the older buildings were taken care of or even be classified as historical monuments. Still, the setting could’ve been made more convincing from the get-go if different architectural styles would’ve been used: For example, the buildings reminding of the 1970’s or so remain blocky, the more futuristic ones have more curved and adventurous designs and the ancient one is either really primitive or more elaborated through pointed arches or round pillars. While I can see that you tried to go into that direction (or I just interpret it that way?), I can’t fail to see that you used almost the same shape for the windows of the temple as well as the transporter with the redeemer, for instance. Maybe the disconnection results also from the ground being the same everywhere. In the real world, when an older church is located in a modern city, you often still have cobble stones around it, for example. Or it might’ve helped to concentrate on two themes and thus having two separate, individual districts: one for the old town, one for the new town (then again, that would sound more like an asymmetrical CTF).

Now I have written so much about the theme that I’ve almost forgotten the gameplay, which is working well enough! Though, I would advise to play the map against more than 16 players. In this map, I had problems becoming the winner since the bots killed each other faster than I had time to gather powerful weapons and find prey on my own. It definitely proved a challenge. There were certain points of higher activity where I would always head to if I didn’t find an enemy immediately. Luckily, pick ups are always easy to get near SpawnPoints. The flying cars, which make crossing the bridge very dangerous, are a wonderful idea. In the outer areas, Z axis fights are more common than in the interiors – maybe the latter could’ve profited from more floors with balconies or larger stairs. I was a little disappointed that the tower only plays a minor role in gameplay. Since it was featured in the preview pics quite prominently, I hoped there would be more action in it. It was certainly designed that way, but the rewards (Rocket Launcher and Invisibility) for going to the top are probably too little for the bots or myself to care, as the weapon is not even the only one placed in the map and in the Invisibility is almost worthless (imo). Perhaps this could’ve been a better place for the Redeemer?

Normally, don’t pay too much attention to environmental sounds (unless I’m about to review something :tongue: ), but here I seriously missed some ear-disturbing noise of a crowded city. Apart from the flying 3D cars that emit their own sound, the area is mostly devoid of urban sounds. Even the car lines in the background should emit a quite noticeable noise throughout the map.
DM-AMC-Ars_Indus „Ars Industrialis“ by Swanky

What’s awesome about this entry?
- The attention to detail: The playable area is only about 1/6 of the actual map!
- Overall high-polished outcome in all regards
full review
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What we have here is a contemporary looking facility with pipelines, fans, panels, and above all, lots of corridors with open space, guaranteeing fights from various angles over various floors most of the time. Even though there is a large outdoor area, I only rarely went there, since most of the action remains indoors. This is on the one hand a shame, as there lies so much potential in the designs and the possibility to equally move around in different, yet convincing light themes (sunlight vs electricity). On the other hand, it shows Swanky’s efforts to deliver a tight map focused on well-balanced gameplay rather than pure visual proficiency – which is, with all its trims and details, compulsory for Swanky, of course. The lighting with its stark shadows and bright illumination circles around the source, is superb. The color scheme itself isn’t that exciting, I would’ve appreciated even more if you had left the pink lights (well, I’m biased, look at Unforchers). Besides that, props for using custom colored pickups!

I easily fell into the flow of the action, as due to the layout, it was easy to spot your next enemy as well as to get weapons. The Sniper seems a bit unnecessary for this kind of tight map. Though, I think the placement fits thematically well. If the outdoor area was larger, I think the Sniper would’ve been a better addition. Another minor tidbit: The AMC badge on the back of the open crate felt really out of place – the comic styled texture is lit so brightly that it stands out even more than it should. I think, it would’ve worked better if it were placed inside the crate. With the shadow from the sunlight it wouldn’t be too conspicuous, but still visible and tied to your original idea – as if it were delivered by the box.

The sounds in this map are well-spread out, there is almost no corner where you can’t hear different sounds together. It makes me wonder, though: Why is the factory running (with flowing water and beeping machines) when there’s a bloody Deathmatch, risking, for example, the destruction of the pipes, therefore risking the security of its service and simultaneously the success of the tournament itself? :tongue:
AMC Map Pack by ExpEM

What’s awesome about this entry?
- First of all, the quantity: Three maps at once!
- The variety of visual themes with similar, yet differently successful gameplay ideas
full review
DM-AMC-CalderaCrust
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Let’s begin with the worst map of the three. This map is set in an arena-like mountain area, with three weapons to choose from. The terrain is stale, but well-built: lots of uneven surfaces, nicely aligned, and the skybox minimalistic, but effective. However, it doesn’t convey a real sense of place as the map is just a pit with no exit. How did you get there? By plane? Then it could’ve been interesting to see if you could implement a plane mover that gets triggered every time someone spawns in midair. Of course, you’d have to make the players invincible while flying to the ground, so they are not easy targets for the other players on the ground. Or you could’ve added two closed gates on opposing sides, so it just looks as if you gathered there by foot.

Gameplay is, unfortunately, on the weak side. This should be more considered like a 1v1 matchup. Because of the rather cramped and open area, you are constantly in danger of getting shot while spawning. It’s a nice touch that the only two health packs are in the middle of the lowest part, so you end up risking your life while attempting to heal it – it adds a nice dynamic to the match. However, I couldn’t help but feel bored very quickly because you have an overview of the map immediately and there’s not much variation in the gameplay. Together with a complete lack of sounds, it rather feels like an unfinished test map than a real one.

DM-AMC-Diminutive
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Luckily, the pack gets better with each map! This one is overall a nice 1v1 map. It has also that cramped feeling, but it is better evened out with various entwined corridors. The lack of z axis isn’t too problematic as it fits the theme of feeling “diminutive” and always finding yourself in claustrophobic situations. This map is the best one in the pack visually: It has a lot of little details of an aging mine: broken wooden pillars, friable walls, plants. The lighting is varied: there are blue fireflies, green slime zones complementing the yellowish-white lamps. There are also multiple sounds: This map demonstrates so much better what ExpEM is capable of technically. If you are looking for a really condensed 1v1 duel, this is your map!

Btw: I’m not a fan of doing Impact Hammer jumps, mainly because I’ve not been patient enough to have mastered them by now (and this also affects the armor in CalderaCrust). Because of this, I missed two important power ups and the only option for an ambush from above. The bot didn’t seem to care either, so I would suggest a different solution to reach the upper shaft.
Despite the praise, the maps leaves me a little empty, longing for more, for a bigger map, for a map with more possibilities, for a map with a more original theme.

DM-AMC-EdificeDrift
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This map has most of the ingredients of the previous two and combines them to a nice cocktail: This kind of satellite has a very easily memorable layout, a low poly, yet effective design, and dangerous gameplay. Judging by the pics, I didn’t expect too much from it, but I had the most fun with it from all three. Due to the three floors (or six, depending on your point of view) always being accessible from everywhere, you can try several ambush tactics from different sides. I found myself needing to be always on the move, otherwise I would’ve been shot by a surprise attack. You may guess where enemies arrive, but it is never clear, if they jump from below at you, appear through a portal or fall from upwards. At first, I missed the low gravity setting which is common for a set piece like this, but I think it would’ve killed the intended gameplay style and invalidated the need to rely on different mechanics to go upward (portals, jump boots, jump fields) or downward. Here, sound wouldn’t have mattered since we are space, but hell, the weapons are noisy, too, so we get a nice, steady droning sound.
DM-AMC-Gluon by Revelation

What’s awesome about this entry?
- It has the most realistic looking water I’ve ever encountered in UE 1.
- The most brutal DM of all the entries - and the most polished.
full review
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It’s a DM map by Revelation – do I need to write more? :mrgreen: It’s got everything you expect from that: A highly detailed scene (a stylized oil station?) with interesting shapes, trims everywhere, flawless alignment and lighting. And on top of that, probably the most brutal map gameplay-wise of all the entries. Whereas in EdificeDrift it was more I who was in charge of the situation, in Gluon, I felt the bots instead were determining where I had to move. There is no place to hide and the enemy may spot you more often that you would hope for at first, the two bots felt like five. This is mostly the result of the long pipeline that spans the whole map. This is a very clever layout. Again, you need the Impact Hammer to reach the power ups. This is most unfortunate here, because they are so visible, yet barely reachable for noobs like me, like a carrot holding in front of a rabbit.

I find the overall style in Gluon aesthetically more pleasing to the eye than in Revelation’s last map, CTF-Entropy; they share the same textures. I can’t tell exactly why, but I think it looks more realistic here. Having said that, it’s a little disappointing that the set is being used again here. This normally would be no problem, but the arch textures pre-determine some of the shapes and they are so vital to the whole structure, that I felt it’s more of a prolongation of his previous effort. However, I have to admit Revelation did try his best to differentiate it from Entropy by using a different color scheme in lighting and in the textures themselves as well as the pickups (and the gamemode, admittedly). I already mentioned the water in the beginning, but I wanted to stress it here again: The skybox as whole is absolutely stunning, considering the engine.
DM-AMC-Modular by Krull0r

What’s awesome about this entry?
- The style and the creative use of Warp Zones, resulting in the effect of an immense depth.
- A map for pros: A hard map to master with potential for neat tricks
full review
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Now this map is truly original and has an interesting concept: A cell-shaded, minimalistic setting with two portals mirroring the whole map with all its players and items – thus the latter appearing upside down, walking on the ceiling. The look absolutely works from an aesthetic perspective, I didn’t feel the need for more pixels on the textures. The custom items were also a nice inclusion which complements the whole theme of being in a virtual training space or the like. I wished the map could be played in a manner as awesome as the style idea suggests. The lack of different textures and set pieces makes it really hard to navigate through the map. This can be both positive or negative, depending on what you prefer from a DM map: Even though I personally like more intuitive layouts, I see potential in this map regarding re-playability. The map certainly won’t become stale too fast gameplay-wise.

The other negative point has already been written quite often: The limitation that only non-hit scan weapons work through the portals makes the special feature seem not much more than plain eye candy, which is such a shame. I wonder if it helps to replace the Sniper and the Minigun (and maybe the ShockRifle) with more RazorJacks and maybe BioRifles or PulseGuns, so you don’t feel that restricted (and lose time choosing the optimal weapon) if you consider shooting “upwards”. Here I see yet another potential in a way that more experienced players can make better use of the upside-down world. With the right skill and some time getting used to the thematic, I envision some spectacular moves being possible. For more average players like me, it is still something to be amazed by visually!
DM-AMC-MorpheusUnbounded by KingJosh

What’s awesome about this entry?
- Visually striking rooftops on a grand scale
- A remake defined as re-inspiration
full review
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Skyscrapers, so high they reach into space. Below you, Earth, above you, the stars. There are billboards, there are storage vessels, there are landing places. And you jump your way from platform to platform, from one height to another. Sounds familiar? Like DM-Morpheus? Because it is, but still way different. That’s what I like about this attempt at a remake: Basically, only the skybox remained the same, but everything else got re-brushed. The essence of Morpheus, as described above, is still there, though it looks – and plays – radically different. It was no lazy effort to copy the original and add some more details or another tower, but, inspired by the setting, a new take on it. And it looks beautiful, mainly because the new textures are super detailed, and the bright green and blue lights convey a sense of surrealism. Now there are towers around you, a funny spectator area, The Matrix references and lots of signs of an Asian language reminiscent of a certain set piece in Ghost In The Shell.

But here are the differences: The map is huge! The advised maximum of 8 players is really not enough for an action-packed DM. Instead, I chose 12 players and it flowed better. There are only two playable towers instead of three, but those are surrounded by scaffolds. The map’s name is right: The layout is so unbounded, that you can get anywhere and see anything from everywhere – theoretically. In practice, you can barely see the weapons, as they lie on the ground statically. Also, the map uses weapons from Counter Strike, so they all look alike on the ground and – all of them being grey-black – they don’t stand out from their environment. This can work in certain cases (as secrets or in SP), but if you are used to the regular UT style, this is a huge accommodation effort for something that one might not even prefer in an Arena shooter. In addition to that, all the weapons are hitscan weapons with headshot possibility, so any match against bots becomes a test of luck rather than of skill (the A.I. is set to certain chances to hit you for each difficulty, whether you move around or not).

What I think why Morpheus works well, is because 1) every tower has a slightly different height, so whenever you don’t shoot people in the buildings (which is rare), you are shooting at many different vertical angles and 2) it all happens in quite a short space, so hitting players is possible from almost everywhere. In MorpheusUnbounded, there are only two real floors, so the number of vertical angles is reduced considerably. The size of the whole map/the height of the upper platform reduces even that factor, as it becomes hard (even with the zoom options) to hit people on the lower area if you aim from above. It is possible that fights occur on the different height levels of the ramps, but it only rarely happened in my matches. It just feels too spaced out to really enjoy it to its fullest.

Then there are the framerate drops which I believe can’t even be fixed with the highest-end PC nowadays since the engine has its limitations. Sometimes, the poly count goes beyond 3000 (often when turning around) and this always reduces the speed a little bit and eventually kills the flow of the hunt. I wouldn’t raise this point if the polygons were necessary to the look of the map, but they are not. You could easily delete all the 6000+ (!) tiles on the floors and ceilings of the two main towers – it wouldn’t change the look of the map from afar – and fix both the problem of the framerate drops and the Node limit KingJosh has lamented on. This would enable you to add some more of the planned decorations (or even some more platforms?), thus enhancing the look (and gameplay?) with minimal sacrifice.

I do think this map has way more potential than it currently has. Maybe I’m alone with my rather negative opinion, but I’d really like to see if some of my points help to consider creating a second edition of MorpheusUnbounded. ;-)
Capture The Flag

CTF-AMC-FloatingDoom by Gustavo6046

What’s awesome about this entry?

- The visuals will bend your imagination
- A somehow satisfying “mini game”
full review
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The visuals of this map are out of this world: There are three platforms floating by use of some colored energy wave, two of them holding the flags, connected with a long fencing to climb up. And in the middle, there’s this huge cube that you will get to hate after a while. This is all set in a hellish environment. Of course, this is a beginner’s work, but it shows how Gustavo has improved. This map has no BSP errors (unlike some previous efforts), the light sources are accompanied by several light actors to emit a more realistic lighting, and you can glimpse at signs of sophistication, like the differently textured borders around the upper platforms.

The gameplay was surprisingly fun for a short period of time. It’s simple: Use the jump pad to get to the other side while avoiding being crushed by the big cube in middle, grab the flag and return by avoiding the cube another time. Or you could jump down, get some more pickups and climb (or rather swim) up again. The alternative is a little boring, so I mostly used the jumping method. Like I said, for a short amount of time, it was kind of fun. But once you get the hang of it, it becomes super easy, and there’s not much room for experimentation, so I would dub it rather a funny mini game for in between times.
CTF-AMC-BigAndUgly by FraGnBraG

What’s awesome about this entry?

- There are so many ways to reach the flag in this giant map
- The UTR speed pickup adds a new spin to the old formula of regular CTF
full review
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Yes, it is big. No, it’s not ugly! The lighting and the detailed textures and their clever use are just too good for that title. I know, it’s just a tag, but if you consider a map as a complete package with everything, the name is rather inappropriate. As a working title, you can name it whatever you like, but I wished for the official release there would be some lore tied to the name. Even the abbreviation “BAU” could work, as it opens up interpretation (in the same way GES for the BioRifle or BFG do) and it serves as an acronym for the German word for “build”, “building” or “building site”. But back to the more important stuff: Especially the flag bases with the windowed sight to the open space (cool skybox!) are a pleasure, the rotating machinery livens up the setting and the polygons are spread out perfectly in order to guarantee fluent gameplay.

Due to its size, it took a little while for me to really appreciate the map, but once I got constantly powered up with Double Speed and I generally knew where I could go, it slowly grew on me. And the range of options to run through the map are really impressive: You can use the jump pads or movers or just run on even ground from below to the base or you just take the train! You can combine any method with another one. Once you see enemies, an alternative route isn’t far away – just pray you won’t get ambushed there as well! There are some unfortunate dead ends, however, once I got to know them, I just avoided them.

Also, props for using XPickups; as a member of the UTR package (even though I wasn’t really evolved in the making of the XPickups system itself), I’m glad it is being considered, especially the Speed pickup, which is unique to the file! And it really helps the map to offer a unique experience, too. I probably wouldn’t enjoy the normal edition at all, it already felt like a drag when I haven’t been on Speed in the UTR version. :D
CTF-[R3P]-W007-ii-[AMC] by R3plicant

What’s awesome about this map?
- A great sight to behold
- Easy layout with arcade character
full review
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R3plicant made the original CTF-W00T look gorgeous. The skybox alone with the high-resolution Earth image left my mouth open for a few seconds. The two opposing “spaceships” have a slick design, leaving the original look so pale in comparison. This is, however, the second remake made by R3p, and the major difference is the addition of a teleport room – which also looks incredibly chic with its over-the-top, yet authentic design; it reminds me a little of Hourences’ DOM-Horean. Nice use of sounds.

Now to the gameplay: It certainly is W00t to its core: You know your goal from the beginning and jumpers will get you there. It is definitely fun. I came to appreciate the outer platforms, they made the progression easier – because the bots (as already pointed out by others) seem to have problems. As a matter of fact, as I feared it to be too easy, I tried to play the map in Godlike (which is normally way too hardcore for me) and I could finish it with solo flag runs without breaking out in a sweat. That hinders the overall enjoyment a little, since I still want a challenge. If this doesn’t get fixed, I hope online the challenge will exist.

Now, considering the new addition of the extra room, I think choosing the destination for your spawn point is an awesome idea and it would add new tactical possibilities, however, I didn’t really feel that my choice mattered, as every teleporter points to somewhere around the middle of the main platform. Generally, the idea has huge potential, but the layout doesn’t seem to support it too much.
CTF-AMC-FW3 “The Fast and the W00tabulous - Phase 3” by KillRoy1972

What’s awesome about this entry?
- The feel of a somewhat haunted cathedral is nicely established (also one of the only two non-modern themed maps)
- Tight-paced flagging action
full review
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What I find especially interesting is retracing the evolution of the map. This is Phase 3, so there have already been two versions published. The most striking difference of Phase 3 is probably the change of the texture set: Crypt2.utx has been replaced by ShaneChurch textures – they have been put to good use, the latest remake was definitely worth it visually. The architecture itself consists of many basic brushes, but they are used very convincingly and with the right amount, so the building feels realistic. The lighting is standard for CTF. Unfortunately, not every lamp has its own light source, plus those which do have one lack the impact of it. A higher brightness value (and a smaller radius) would help the lights to be more effective.

While FW 1 seemed like a cryptic version of the original W00t map (with the flags directly being opposed to each other), the second version already added a more sophisticated layout and this third version improves upon it considerably. The map is still pretty small, and I found the way to the flag a bit too short, resulting in very short matches, too. However, this also enables a nicely tight gameplay experience.
CTF-AMC-UnderPressure by PrinceOfFunky

What’s awesome about this entry?
- A unique concept to the CTF theme: Find ways to survive
- Straightforward design
full review
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The title says it all, you will very often literally die under pressure. The visuals are kept to a bare minimum, so the focus lies only on the concept. It is interesting and explained shortly: The map mostly consists of one large room with a giant press which will unremittingly go up and down in quite a short time. The problem: The flags are under the press as well! So, you try your best to somehow survive long enough in order to grab the enemy flag and survive even longer to take it nearer to your own base.

There seem to be two possibilities: Either you look out for notches in the press and make your way from notch to notch back and forth. Or you take the route above the press, surprise the enemy from behind, carry the flag as furthest as possible so the enemies cannot reach it fast enough after a respawn, and you get to the dropped flag earlier after the inevitable death. You could then also search for the notches, but with all that pressure from players behind you and the press above you, it is difficult to keep calm and find the perfect spot. Generally, the map does have potential, but against bots I found it to be tedious and annoying. Every 16 seconds you hear lots of humans dying and limbs splattering, while you try to outsmart the A.I. on your own. The bots won’t go to the second floor to counter a surprise attack from behind, they will just run into the direction of the flag, shoot around a little bit, until they all die at once and the cycle repeats itself.

This will probably work better online or in LAN games with more clever players, as I can definitely imagine adrenaline kicks in trying to carry the flag just a little further, before you become the “kill-on-sight” target, or in separating in groups, so fights are spread out on both floors. Still, I think the idea deserves a more thought-out, more complex execution. Maybe it works better in a bigger, more twisting map when there are several smaller presses in your way?
Munterhunt

MH-AMC-Mesospheric by Terraniux

What’s awesome about this entry?
- A beautiful setting: Isles with ancient structures under a sky with Northern Lights.
- It’s the only MH map of the bunch
full review
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Idyllic Islands, still water, a fence of colored lights in the sky serve as a ground for classicistic temples and other buildings. The atmosphere of the scenery from the outside is breath-taking. But the interiors lack any decoration whatsover. This is a shame and it is probably a sign of the unfinished state the map is claimed to be. You fight against the standard fare of Unreal pawns: Mantas, Titans, Queens, Skaarj, etc. and eventually you slowly slash your way through the masses and collect crystals to continue. Your destination is a mysterious portal into another world. The idea of a story isn’t too fleshed-out, but it’s a sign of great care that your aim (the portal) is visible from most angles of the map without the map seeming too linear.

Unfortunately, the map crashed several times, so I couldn’t finish the journey. The problem seems to be fixed now, but I base my review on the files delivered before the deadline. What I could play, however, was kind of fun, but that’s because slaying Unreal enemies is fun by definition. :lol2: What would make it more fun, in my opinion, is if I knew the reason behind the operation and the reason for all the enemies appearing. Of course, I can assume it has to do with the portals, but I didn’t see that in action. I also am not a fan of having the whole spectrum of Unreal enemies appearing at once in front of me. It kills all the sense of progression if later on you kill the same pawns as in the beginning. Sure, a Queen and a WarLord appear a little later, but there is no suspension in them. It’d be more interesting if you started slowly, with just a few enemies of the same type approaching you, and after a while you notice that was just the tip of the iceberg, when more and more enemies of new types spawn, each one being deadlier than the ones before. They don’t necessarily have to attack you right away, just the feeling, that the place seems peaceful at first, will get crushed the longer you play, would make it have a bigger gameplay impact than what it is right now.

Apart from that, I didn’t really enjoy all the “meta” content of the map. The starting area did have a purpose – explaining the mission – but the place with all the random effects wasn’t really working in a thematic sense. This wouldn’t have bothered me too much if the meta content would’ve remained only at the very beginning. However, on the starting island you can also choose the music – while a really cool idea – and you see a floating board with yet another mission explanation – later you will encounter a “suprise =)” surface... All these things don’t belong to the world and thus destroy the immersion considerably. I also wasn’t fond of the constant indoctrination that you will “die =)”, by the readme, by the explanation board, by the traps. This all made the map appear gimmickier than it should be. There is so much potential in the setting, in the idea behind a possible lore, in MH gameplay in general, but it was either left unused or bloated with distracting extras.
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10-Year Anniversary on Jun 08, 2019.
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editor Dave
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Re: editor Dave's little AMC review

Post by editor Dave »

Now I'm finally finished with my review. :lol:

I hope you enjoy reading it. If you want to discuss some of the points I raised, please don't be shy and voice your concern!

I refrained from giving scores to the individual maps, as the numbers would be just made up somehow and they are not really telling much. However, if some of you wish to read a percentage value for each of the maps, I will deliver them later.

Thanks for all the entries, you keep the discussion going!
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10-Year Anniversary on Jun 08, 2019.
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R3plicant
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Re: editor Dave's little AMC review

Post by R3plicant »

editor Dave wrote:Now I'm finally finished with my review. :lol:

I hope you enjoy reading it. If you want to discuss some of the points I raised, please don't be shy and voice your concern!

I refrained from giving scores to the individual maps, as the numbers would be just made up somehow and they are not really telling much. However, if some of you wish to read a percentage value for each of the maps, I will deliver them later.

Thanks for all the entries, you keep the discussion going!
I liked your honesty about the maps; you've done a nice job with the short and succinct reviews and I wholeheartedly applaud your decision to review all of the entries. :thuup: I'll also confess that your mention of a map by Hourences that came to mind after seeing my spawn halls, is actually a huge thing for me. I'll never be a millionth of what Hourences is, but to at least know you thought of a map by him when seeing my work, is nice to know. Thank you.

I'd like to finish this comment by saying that all the mappers in this challenge did well, some better than others, (though the idea of what's awesome is subjective from one person to the next) but everyone who entered did it imaginatively, creatively and with a passion that deserves a solid round of applause. :gj:

Who knows what 2019 will bring?! *Rhetorical question.
Last edited by R3plicant on Fri Dec 21, 2018 8:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: editor Dave's little AMC review

Post by FraGnBraG »

Well said R3plicant :tu: Thank you editor Dave for the thoughtful and complete reviews :gj: :rock:
-=FraGnBraG Level Design=- ***UPDATED! even works on your phone!***
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Re: editor Dave's little AMC review

Post by Krull0r »

Really good reviews editor Dave!

I truly enjoyed reading all short reviews you have written here :)

Thank you very much :)


@R3plicant

Truly well said!!
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Re: editor Dave's little AMC review

Post by Revelation »

Thanks for the review Dave, much appreciated! :tu:

Concerning Gluon, I'm both pleased and a little suprised to see that people like the water so much. In fact, it's done with a technique very similar to the one I used for the skybox in DM-Valkyrie nine years ago, and literally noone even mentioned it back then. :D
The reused texture theme... Yeah, I guess you can call this lazy. However, I just wanted to finally use the Cyan/Yellow version, which I had lying around on my hard drive for years. To be precise, this color palette was actually the first one I did, and only later I converted it to the red/blue version for CTF-Entropy.
Oh and by the way, you don't really need impact jumps to reach both armor and UDamage. You can reach the armor with a dodge-jump from the pipes, and the UDamage with a trick-jump from the jumppad right below it. The latter one is a little tricky, but with some practice it can be done rather consistently. ;)
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Re: editor Dave's little AMC review

Post by Swanky »

Overall good reviews.
Regarding Ars Industrialis, yeah a bit of nitpicking. The colorscheme was way too colorful with the pinkish hue. Would have liked to use it otherwise but it didn't really work well enough. The outside is the only place where the sniper makes sense, yes. It's rather cramped so it's not totally overpowered. On the other hand, the only other weapon available would have been the ripper. Not sure I would have liked that option better. It's the only weapon missing in the map, but weapons are perfectly spread out as is, so... Oh and when did Liandri ever stop to care about machinery or working safety? I liked the idea of a factory still running in the background, and it does add a good bit of atmosphere. And I do somewhat agree with you on the badge placement. Other people have had similar complaints, so I've moved it for the final release.
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Re: editor Dave's little AMC review

Post by editor Dave »

I'm glad you liked reading my thoughts! I will also write something about the bonus content, but this time probably in the respective threads.

@R3plicant: Don't sell yourself so short. Your maps have style, and when I thought of including a CTF map into my final vote, yours and KillRoy's were actually very close contenders!
And I can only wholeheartedly agree with this:
R3plicant wrote: I'd like to finish this comment by saying that all the mappers in this challenge did well, some better than others, (though the idea of what's awesome is subjective from one person to the next) but everyone who entered did it imaginatively, creatively and with a passion that deserves a solid round of applause. :gj:
@Revelation: Well, in Valkyrie, it wasn't water, however. :tongue: It probably works better in Gluon, because of the surroundings. In Valkyrie, the mountain range still looks flat, while the horizon of endless water just looks more authentic.
Good call, now I managed to get both special items with a little bit of training without the Impact Hammer - not consistently yet, but not always goodies will be handed to you on a silver platter, right?

@Swanky: To be fair, I used to be known for making my maps too colorful, like "Disneyland on dope", as Revelation once described, so blame it all on my sense of weird aesthetics.* :mrgreen:
I wonder if it would've helped if you had placed the same weapon several times in a map. This might be more of a personal opinion, but I like it more when maps feel distinct that way: Instead of giving every weapon a chance, having three or four of them shine specifically in a map, could help doing so. Anyways, you already released the 1.2 and it's great how it is (and I wished I could've voted for your map as well, but it lacked something extra and I wanted to give ExpEM credit)!
Regarding the sounds: Yeah, I realized how narrow-minded this aspect was, and as you might have noticed, I mostly dropped asking for realism in the other reviews. It wasn't to be taken too seriously to begin with (hence the smiley).

*BTW: I've improved so much in terms of aesthetics. Being cursed as a SP mapper with a huge project in the making, I haven't released anything important since '09 (and I was very lazy and distracted for a long time), but at least here you can see signs of maturity: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=12211 Also seeing you guys from the "harsh" German school of unrealed-mapping (you reminisced about it elsewhere), fires my motivation to speed up the progress... hopefully. :lol:
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10-Year Anniversary on Jun 08, 2019.
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Re: editor Dave's little AMC review

Post by Swanky »

In bigger maps having more than one of each weapon certainly helps. With this map however, I feel that the spread of the weapons is just right. Well spread, not too dense. With Rev's Gluon it works since the map has a stricter layout and player count. Not sure I could have done the spread different with the balance intact.
Unfortunately I don't have any SP mod installed right now and I am not planning on doing so, what I am seeing doesn't look bad though.
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