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DM-CTC-MapPack-Vol3 (UT)
Map Author: The CTC Team
Download Here! (84.15 MB)
Date Reviewed: 10 April 2006
Reviewer: cooloola
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The third installment in the CTC mappack series and also described by many as the best in the series. The pack contains 12 maps 2 DOMs, 4 CTFs, and 6 DMs. Today I'll only be covering the DMs, and maybe someday I or another reviewer will cover the rest of the pack. Anyway, the maps I'll be looking at are Croon][ and Swoon by Lucas "L.J. Paranoid" Hassen, DevilVolcano][ and Eldora by Cedric "Derdak2Rot" Pierron, Iraar which is a collaborative work between our own Roberto "Homeslice" Tobar and Christian "Sawnky" Ahlborn, and finally Ravencross by HortonsWho. That's quite a task, so let us begin. Oh, and a final note maps will be reviewed in alphabetical order so you can navigate easily, that is, assuming you all know your alphabet by now.
DM-CTC-Croon][ [screenshot] [screenshot]
By L.J. Paranoid
The sequel to DM-CTC-Croon the map inherits the qualities that made the first stand out and the flaws that hindered it too. The visuals are even grander than the first; this map as well seems to be a castle offering similar architecture to the first; the same curves and spiky things in the roof, of course the castle is old and broken you have fallen spiky things. The lighting fixtures look pretty weird but they look fine. The lighting is awesome with the blue moon light painting shadows on the white stones and the light fixtures casting a soft orange light. There are also fallen lanterns on the floors to light up certain dark corners. There are also little spots of fog in the roof openings and fireflies that contribute to the map's beauty. The sounds you hear are mostly insects and the music contribute to the map's atmosphere.
The layout is better that the first's layout offering a lot of connectivity and just enough Z-axis. Unfortunately flow suffers enormously; first you have the unreasonably high polycounts that average at 700 and then you have the architecture that'll snag you at every turn so when moving backwards you'll end up a victim of your opponent's flak. You can also reach the maps top area that shouldn't be accessible and it seems the author wants to lure you there with the shield belt. Item placement is fine all weapons seem to be place where they belong and you shouldn't be getting any ammo or health shortages quickly. Bots do well they take all pick-ups except for the shield belt that's just too hard for them too access.
Score: 7.5
Bottom Line: Beautiful map with great layout that suffers from terrible flow.
DM-CTC-DevilVolcano][ [screenshot] [screenshot]
By Derdak2Rot
This map is hot, in the literal sense at least. The map is series of platforms attached to a big central tower and eight other smaller towers which's tops spit fire and all this is bathed in big pool of volcano that flows out of the nearby volcano. Anyway moving on the architecture in this map is no short of impressive the terrain work is great except for a couple of spiky things sticking out of the lava (that I assume the author placed intentionally to provide cover) and the towers are beautifully decorated from the inside out. Texture choice boosts the hellish feel even more with the dark stones and grey metal and at to that a weird metallic claw\torch mesh and the quake like masked decos. The lighting is as you could have guessed red but sadly that's all you just red, maybe the addition of a cold light would have broken the monotony. The sounds are what you'd expect that means lava and the flickering torches and the music pretty hardcore with loud guitars and stuff.
You'd expect the layout to be dull and bleh since it's a four way symmetry map but it remains fun thanks to the abundance of Z-axis. One nitpick though is that at the exit of elevator in the central you can get attacked from all the directions which pretty annoying. Flow is fine nothing usually gets in your way and there are no dead ends and the Z-axis action is something you just must witness (stupid choice of words, I know). Item placement is good although ammo and health tend to be a bit scarce. Bots will own repeatedly.
Score: 7.5
Bottom Line: Good looking map with sort of hardcore gameplay and really, really sweet Z-axis
DM-CTC-Eldora [screenshot] [screenshot]
Another one by Derdak2Rot
This map was disappointing to me you ask why? Because at first it seems like an excellent map but the author made a couple of mistakes that killed the map for me.
First the architecture is with a good mix of terrain (since this is supposed to be a mining station), pillars, ramps and arches. Textures used are from the HourIndusX package and they are used pretty well and along with the lighting provided a good mix of color. There were no misalignments and everything was trimmed except for a few spots. Shadows are about the only thing missing to top off this visual feast. Sounds are what you would here in a mining station and they are everywhere and he added a music track form the unreal98 beta which fits the map correctly. Theme is greatly implemented with the addition of moving machinery and the beautiful scenery outside and the mine carts (that were taken from the Xidia mod)
Now for the gameplay; layout is good and complex so I suggest you try to learn your way in the map before you jump in so you can fully enjoy this map. Z-axis is pretty good given that the map has three floors, give or take. The flow sadly suffered greatly from all the architecture; every three steps I got stuck on something whether it was a pillar or under a ramp I always managed to get stuck on something also the elevator in the pulse room stayed up too long and the water ponds dip too low at some point. Item placement is the lowest point in the map there's a cluster of power ups; that means that the Damp, the shield belt, the armor and the big keg'o'health are all located in three consequential rooms concentrating the action in those rooms and making it easy for shock whores or sniper campers to spam. And also weapons, ammo and health are located away from the fighting area and spawn points are placed near the fighting area making it even easier for spammers to spam. Bots run around every area of the map and their movement is flawless except for the fact that they get stuck under the pulse room elevator.
On a final note I'd like to stress that this review is contradictory to other reviews of this same map simply because a review simply reflects the reviewer's opinion.
Score: 6.5
Bottom Line: A map with great visual appeal and layout but sadly that's about all it has to offer...
DM-CTC-Iraar [screenshot] [screenshot]
By Homeslice and Swanky
The map's full name is The Sunken Temple of Iraar, well it doesn't look too sunken to me but it does look like an Egyptian temple especially with all the architectural elements like the pillars and wall decos. There's also a little outdoor part with fallen pillars and where you can admire the face of this beautiful temple. The texturing is good here everything is trimmed and there are no misalignments except for the two arches outside that have horrid misalignments. Lighting is good; inside the temple you'll find green light emitted by weird crystals and the orange light of the torches. The outdoor area is well lit by the sunlight which creates a few good shadows. The inside of the temple tends to be a bit dark and there are two blue torches that look ugly because they aren't transparent. Sounds are plentiful you can hear waves crashing, some insects, and of course the crackling torches. Oh and the music chosen is a track called Gala that fits the atmosphere.
If I haven't mentioned this yet the map is very small the inside of the temple is just a rectangle with two floors and two elevators at each end and the outdoor area has just two huge pillars that hold a platform which holds the Redeemer and there's also a jumppad that kicks you to the second floor of the temple. Flow is fine and doesn't suffer in any particular area Z-axis is a bit on the light side but it's still there. Item placement is good and ammo and health are abundant. Maybe the addition of the Redeemer is useless since the bots don't go for it and it feels like cheating when you take it. Bots do what they can but they don't make use of the jumppad so they can't access the Redeemer.
Score: 6.0
Bottom Line: Not too good but not bad either.
DM-CTC-Ravencross [screenshot] [screenshot]
By HortonsWho
What we've got is 1on1 map that's actually a train station complete with its own trains and stuff. The architecture tries to be realistic so you won't be seeing any extravagant pillars and stuff just simple curves and wooden pillars. There are of course pipes and grids. The care that went into making this map feel realistic is amazing; the other buildings you see look very real there are also electricity wires, vents, pipes, etc... Sadly all that detail will cause some lag on older machines. Textures used are custom textures which's origins I'm not really sure about. Anyway all looks well although some spots lack trim. Lighting is the best aspect of the map; the lights are mainly white other than the orange sun rise light. But where the author excels is in the shadowing, every surface is decorated by a shadow effect. It's something you must see by yourself.
Layout is very, very good with a multitude of floors and crisscrossing paths and hallways. The map's layout feels very professional and it was a bit reminiscent of DavidM maps. I'd like to add that I think the map is a bit too big for duels (or at least the ones that last under half an hour) but ti plays fine with three players. Flow is great with very high connectivity though a few hallways were a bit too cramped and the outdoor staircase is too small. There's also a dead end where the sniper rifle lies but that isn't too bad. Z-axis is just awesome since there are three floors. Item placement is very good except for the addition of the shield belt which seems a bit much especially since it's supposed to be a duel map. Bots do well but sadly they don't take the shield belt since is located on boxes so it makes it a bit too hard for them to reach giving too much leeway to the human opponents.
Score: 8.0
Bottom Line: A great little map with above average visuals, great gameplay and just a simple item placement flaw.
DM-CTC-Swoon [screenshot] [screenshot]
By L.J.Paranoid
This is L.J.'s second (and IMO lesser) submission to the pack. The map is sort of a village map which's visual style is clearly influenced by the ancient ORM maps (which L.J. publicly admires). The archi is great mainly consisting of buildings and stuff like that. The map looks great and the amount of attention clearly shows in the unreasonably high polys just like in most of all L.J.'s map (maybe he wants it to be sort of a trademark or signature). Lighting is very good offering a mix of the blue moon, the orange light from the windows and torches and finally the weird green light coming from the weird glowing plants. There are shadows but they aren't as good as the ones you see in Croon][ (and\or Ravencross). You may have guessed this but I'll spell it out for you; the map uses the DespSnowC texture pack included in the ORM pack (and the one used in DM-ORM-Nirvana). Every thing is trimmed up and aligned well so kudos to the author. One thing I'd like to pint out is that you can fall in through the broken board and you have to kill yourself to get out (something I hate doing, in games that is. I still haven't had the experience in real life. Not that I'd like to... let's just move on since this is going no where). The sounds boost the environment with sounds ranging form the crickets buzzing (or whatever they do), and bells tolling (or whatever they do). The music track, Seti.umx, has sort of an eerie feel that complements the atmosphere.
The layout is much simpler than in Croon][; it's basicly a square route with different levels. The layout while simple is effective though too open at times. Flow is fine except for the issue with the broken floor planks and a few of the torches snag you and of course the low performance also some of the wooden planks are twisted and slanted making it hard for you to walk on. Z-axis is sweet but not as sweet as it could be. Item placement is fine nothing really special so let's just move along. Bot play is fine except that they don't go for the Damp.
Score: 7.0
Bottom Line: Awesome visuals with above average gameplay.
Bottom Line: Truly the best of the CTCs and every map is worthy of it's place in the pack.
Score: 7.0
Average User Score: 8.5 (1 scores)
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Ironblayde
Lots of good stuff here. Cheers to cooloola for taking the time to review the pack. Just reviewing a single map takes long enough! :)
2006-04-14 01:24:06
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Manticore
Score: 8.5
A great collection. Download it.....
2006-04-13 21:56:23
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hortonswho
Hey!
thanks for the thoughtful review!
2006-04-11 11:50:56
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Derdak2rot
fair review cooloola , thanks :)
i agree on eldora gameplay , back in the days , i started this map to experiment the Hourences texpacks , but didnt know i will expend it and finish it one day . so i assume i put all my effort on the visual side and not enough in the gameplay department . sorry for that
and yes , every reviewer can have a different opinion about a map , thats sure helps more the mapper for future works ;)
thanks again !
2006-04-11 11:25:07
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cooloola
I'm sure you can make kick ass maps just stick to it. Remember that the review scheme here and NC are different so scores might vary.
2006-04-11 11:06:23
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Swanky
Homeslice, are you still making yourself feel lesser than you are? O.o
As for the reviews, nice one, man. You got the essence of every map and got it right. Damn I need to check this thing finally out.
Oh as for reviewing... Once I got my final exams written I might start off with some UT reviews, maybe not here but on NC or the Playground.
2006-04-11 11:03:38
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Homeslice
Thanks for the review....
I guess Iraar didn't go as well as I'd hoped (knowing that I was trying to just polish off a great-looking map by the super-talented Swanky - credits to him as it was his map to begin with), but I guess all I can say is I tried. 6 might not have been that high but I almost feel like it's higher than I thought especially after it got a 5 at Nali City. But again, thanks, and as for my mapping future....we'll see. I may stick to reviews only, at least for now.
2006-04-11 08:22:01
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