Now here's an interesting entry -- the transparent catwalks that curve around the map give this one a look and feel unlike most of the other maps I've seen lately. Very futuristic theme indeed, but one that's going to take a bit of processing power to render in real time as a result.

It's not terribly bad in the playability department -- I can still whup on Masterful bots even with the map lag, and we've all seen worse I'm sure, but some caution is advised. (The high point is shot #8, which I had to fly all over to find; It has a node count of 840 and a poly count of 386.) User discretion is advised.

Flow, on the other hand, is lovely.. the map is not symmetrical, so you can't exactly run in circles around it. There's two open hallways to either side that are good for some fast pitched open battles (but watch out for the people on the higher levels spamming you while you try and frag your opponent!) Plenty of Z-axis action here.

Weapon placement is quite good with the ammo caches somewhat but not always near the weapon.. you'll typically find one (sometimes two) right nearby, but will have to range out to get more. (this is a good thing as it discourages weapon camping) However, down in the basement, you have the shieldbelt, rockets, flak and the redeemer(which you will have to swim for however), all quite nearby along with respective ammo all in that tighter lower corridor. Play can bunch up annoyingly a bit down here if someone camps actively.

Lighting is tastefully done, believable, and emits from visible sources, lending a supreme feeling of realism to the level design and complementing the space-age architecture and texturing considerably.

Nouveaux is obviously a place designed specifically for the Tournament, and isn't a converted 'processing plant' of some sorts. I haven't spotted any alignment problems yet either, so I'm leaning on the high-side here despite the slight playability issues (which will eventually become a moot point anyway, as processors continue to spiral upwards in power.) Two thumbs up, here. :-)

Bots? Oh yeah. They know the map quite well, thank you. You'll have your work cut out for you at the higher level settings. Nice job.

Lifts had appropriate sound effects.. good choice of background music, some ambient wind whistling through the upper reaches, and a few extra touches in the basement.. not a spectacular effort at sound but in this case I think the subtlety here is more appropriate.