€ For those who do not have all those maps but want to take a look, you can use this link to moddb here. Alternatively, carbon has put together a mappack which I updated on 06/03/2020 here.Thank you very much!
Capture the Flag
CTF-Ajanta (2004)
Not a lot of memories of that one, I do remember the lower base entrances could become campy as hell when carrying the flag, though.
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This one had been done at a time I was generally uncomfortable with doing terrain. Most people at the time were safe for those who could already do modelling. With UT2k4, more and more people could and S'Calain created the terrain for me. Still not using any kind of program to create my own models, such a shame really.
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One of two maps contributed to the first FoT mappack, Flags of Time. With time passing I came to think that this map was too roomey for its own good. Not really liking the layout anymore, either. However, the FoT series proved successful with both players and mappers and the series continued for many mappacks. The very first FoT was a great experience and I am still putting what I learned back then to good use today, especially organizational and problem solving skills.
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2008 was a good year with the release of two extraordinary maps, one being Maris and the other one being Selket, both being distinctive high points in my catalogue. Some people have been complaining on my habit of making maps relatively dark ever since, too.
Unfortunatly, a lot of other maps had been pulled from FoT5 because of varying reasons, but it all came down to UT's active mapping community slowly eroding. However, if FoT5 was ever any funeral, it was the best way of parting ways (and I really didn't).
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Tarjas City had originally been released prior to the release of FoT 1, I had it reworked around 12 times before making a final submit. Learned to do some real beta-testing afterwards. But then again, rendertimes were upwards of 30 minutes per full render, sooo... Still love the vertical base layout.
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The first of two Volcanomaps this one is the more cramped one favoring the Flak and RocketLauncher. Also one of the few maps I could ever use the BioRifle to some effect.
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Welp, at least I think I had it released in 2005. At the time you needed to run a rig sponsored by NASA according to the nalicity review. Yeah, polycounts were an issue back in the day.
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My last map safe for the 2015-Narean, I thought to have reached my personal UT limits especially when working in a given timeframe. I really like this map for various reasons such as the different approaches you can take to steal the flag and the variations of the layout with its serious Z-Axis possiblities. This is also a map that I am really content with how the architecture flows.
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Deathmatch
DM-1on1-Nano (2004 - must've been a busy year if all those timestamps are correct)
This map came in two flavours - red and blue. The style seemed to inspire a few other mappers to use those textures later on. Other than that, the layout was - again - tiny.
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One of the few egypt maps I did. The layout is supersmall and focuses more on evading with the Shock Rifle being the only hitscan weapon included. A few years later, I think it must've been around 2006 or so I ran across an edited version of that map where an author had replaced the egyptian deco textures with nude pictures for his server.
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Now I'm pretty sure this one was made back in 2003 when trying to get into the illustrous circle of some of the better (best?) UT mappers at the time. I didn't make the cut but learned a lot of things about mapping, and I would do my own mappack a few years later. Could be considered my first post-rookie map. Still think the music is catchy as hell.
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The earliest mention of this map is around 2016 (2nd page this thread), but its layout is actually far older I believe. First entries in my mapping folder show as early as 2010, though I believe i actually finished the layout sometime around 2013. Not completely sure. This map was made for the Awesome Mapping Contest 2018. It is not part of the complete collection (yet), for the moment the map can be gotten here.
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I've always wanted to do a proper industrial map, and CrescentSun is it. Don't remember a lot about the other than the things said about the name. People seem to like the precision gameplay, though.
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A gael clone. I wasn't totally convinced I should have released the map but Homeslice convinced me otherwise and finished the map for the third CTC mappack.
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Interestingly, the atmosphere of the map is somehow still holding up. Polycounts were an issue, and the map is probably the first to include what would later become my inofficial trademark of heavy Z-Axis fighting.
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Styx is a big map by deathmatch standards, something that is awfully amiss in UT really. I don't think the lighting is holding up as good as it was back then, nor can it compare as well to maps like FnB's Simplex or the slick presentation of Atlantis and Erebus. The map itself was part of the second FoT mappack, Frags of Time (can there be a better fitting mappack name?), a pack so big it had to be released in two volumes.
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Pretty small map for 3 players tops. Botplay felt really strange every time I played the map, but could never put my finger on it why this was the case exactly. At least I recently fixed its most glaring issues.
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Aside from totally 90's logic - equalling no logic at all - when it comes to deco and architecture placement, this may be my hardest map to play against bots.
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An enhanced version of DM-Magma by Helen, I only scaled back the greening on their lighting and fixed some pathnodes. When the mail came, I was amazed - the map was already 12 years old. To know it's still played is a great feeling, one that I am very grateful for.
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Maris is probably my most famous map to date, and for good reason. Took a lot of time to create the map, though, and was nearly thrown away had it not been for Creavion who gave me a good hint on how to finalize the layout. The bad thing about it is that every time I am trying to come up with something similarly flowing I usually end up with something too similar and less standing on its own.
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A totally amateurish map, and the oldest one I am still in possession of (unless some of those old unrealed.info guys still have a copy of a mapfile named DOM-Factory courtesy of Braindead aka my pre-Swanky nick - yupp in the thick of the MBot days when we still used modems to dial into the internet). Still makes up for it with its colorful palette and extremely simple minded gameplay.
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The basic layout of DM-TmC-Narean sat on my harddrive for about 8 or 9 years containing only the lowest two levels of the terrain. I later redid the layout for an attempt of the failed resurrection of FoT (6) back in 2012 or 2013 I think and again nearly got thrown away after even Revelation told me the layout was impossible to realize without Bsp-errors. The layout also proved too difficult for various UT99.org members when I uploaded the layout for open use. It wasn't until FnB had painstackingly aligned all those rockwalls that I took hold of the layout again for the TmC contest, probably creating the most unique outdoor map for UT. And what a crazy ride that was.
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With the release of DM-Vrais I was finally becoming a "pro", if you want to use that term. In any event the map was a stepping stone into a bigger focus by winning Nalicity's Map of the Month (my only motm, by the time Maris came out NC was pretty dead already).
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Vsys is more of an experimental map with lots of little details going on like the statue that changes to whomever is leading the match. Interestingly, it is also one of the maps people did not complain on the reddish taint.
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Domination
DOM-FoT-Alderon (2006)
There was quite the argument over the map's lighting. A lot of people were upset over my choice of including pure white light. I never saw the point. Still love the layout because it's less straight forward. Was also my standalone map for the third installment of the FoT mappack, the only mappack not having a direct reference to the game's gametypes.
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A second map for FoT3, this was a joint venture project between Derdak2Rot and me. While he did all the interiors, I did the terrain parts. While the map is small, it feels very vivid catching the feeling of being on the moon and reminds a bit of the Mass Effect series which I absolutely loved but only learned of shortly before the 2nd game was released.
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JB-Baras (2004 according to the readme)
Baras started out more as a study of Hourences' mapping habits more than anything else. Because the map is so small it makes for furious matches but isn't anything special otherwise. I felt kinda lucky they included it.
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Timewarp Crew
This is the assorted link to all Timewarp Crew mappacks that I've been part of (except FoT 4, which was led by Fragnbrag) and that ran from 2005 to 2008. With this, this is a definitive list of all my creations and projects for UT.
Don't remember much aside from being pretty exhausted by the end of FoT 5, mainly due to talking to people to get them to finish their maps. Still, fun time overall, glad so many people stuck around and trusted me with the vision I had for each mappack after Flags of Time v1 which was almost a complete disaster and in no small part to me. Still, learned a lot by doing these, and I have mostly fond memories of them.
Link to my moddb profile which lists all packs: Click
Included are the following mappacks:
- Flags of Time
- Frags of Time Pt.1 & 2
- Fusion of Time
- Forts of Time Pt.1 & 2
- FoT 5
The end?
I don't think so. I still have a few unfinished layouts sitting on my harddrive, and every now and then I got an itch to fire up the editor again (and hating that itch, I think we all know that feeling all too well
).In any event, I also have all files still sitting on my harddrive, just no place to really upload it to. Might check my moddb profile again, but if anyone is willing to share, let me know.
Speaking of sharing, what's your UT story? Anything you'd like to remember?
€ 03/2023 - updated the image mirrors again... moddb this time.
