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(Credit for the screenshots goes out to good ol' T2A`.)
You say you want a revelation? Yes, I know that's not the line but it's called a pun. Sheesh. Anyway, Nenad "PASHKO" Pazanin is back again with a UT3 entry, which so happens to be the first one reviewed by yours truly. The map in tow is DM-Revelation, a "ruined Abbey in England", as the author puts it. Essentially, this 6-10 player map (a load that seems to work fine) sets us upon an old church in a field that has been abandoned after being ravaged by warfare. I have to say, it seems to be carried out well. Explanation begins....next paragraph.
Hello hello. First on the list is the architecture, which definitely touches on the theme. The arched windows and entryways are something you'd expect in a church (or at least, I would), looking good. But the real draw here is the many ceilings and floors that are torn apart by the ravage - the author made use of some good shapes for the purpose of making holes where the build once was, touching well on the crumbled feel of the atmosphere. The surrounding grassy terrain is not too shabby, either. If anything, the courtyard with the statue outside has a somewhat simplistic layout as it is wide open, but it still looks good when you consider the broken structures around it, not to mention the ruined floors complete with displaced tiles. All in all, architecture was a winner. In terms of lighting, it was more hit than miss. A couple of the rooms I ran through didn't seem to have any visible source and looked somewhat dull and plain. But for the most part, the lighting was well-executed by shadows cast in most other rooms and the outdoor surfaces (the skybox above is a good one to support said effects). The scattered torches didn't hurt, either. As I said, more hit....than miss. As for the items, there wasn't anything that couldn't be found, and you can always find something on a platform or hall's midsection. The inclusion of the Damage Amp sure helped because you'll need it here - the bots were competent. Speaking of which, they seemed to know the map like the back of their blood-soaked hands. They never got stuck anywhere (at least from what I saw in my few matches played here) and wielded each weapon with violent authority. They were no slouches at jumping places and using the lifts, either. Near-perfect AI overall. But if you prefer online play, disregard the last 3 sentences I said. :)
But what about the map's performance? If you're just getting used to UT3 on a machine that can just get by, the performance might not be so great. And even so, there's a lot of detail both indoors and out. Some rooms might perform well as there was little to nothing in them, but others might pinch a tad. But all in all, it's not as bad as it sounds, especially if you've got a decent-enough machine. Next on the list? Texturing. To contribute to the ruins theme, lots of grassy terrain accompanies the abundance of stone-brick and wood, much of which was of course ravaged (the theme, guys, the theme!). The fact you also had some crumbled rock lying about in different areas is also true to the theme. A nice stream of nearly-clear water is also found at the outside yard. Everything looked nicely-detailed and I never found a misalignment. And oh, did I mention the birds flying above this place? Nothing to do with texturing really, but I didn't have the right spot to put it in. I just liked how they went with the atmosphere. In terms of sounds I was able to hear a few things, like lift sounds and flowing water, as well as the occassional (as in, not very often) church bell. Music here was provided by a track called "hmater_song", which was packaged into the overall map. It seemed a decent fit, I thought. And as for the strategy - have a good weapon at hand, but perhaps more importantly, get yourself the Damage Amp (and if you can, the Armored Helmet). Or if a bot grabs it in front of you, pick him off quick! Oh, don't you enjoy the beauty of stealing items that should've been yours in the first place?
Bottom Line: Atmospherical, and it plays well too. This is one to have for your copy of this young game.
Score: 7.5
Average User Score: 7 (1 scores)
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PASHKO
I'm very thankfull for your time and patience to review my map. First map is always a learning process.Regarding pathing it's never been easier to do with this new engine. Song is called -Matter-preformed by chorus from England. I'm workin on more ruined monastery on cliff ireland island ;CTF-this time. Hope it will be better than DM version.
Thanks again Homeslice,
Pashko.
2008-08-14 07:48:31
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SkaarjMaster
Score: 7.0
Interesting outdoor castle ruins map with one long straight shot corridor that makes for interesting gameplay
2008-07-22 12:47:35
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