DM-Chamvolence
Map Info
	File Name dm-chamvolence.zip Author dsmchameleon Gametype UT Deathmatch Date Added 03-13-2003 File Version 1.00 File Size 580 kb Player Count 2-6 Map Description None Review Rating 5.5 User Rating 6 Overall Rating 5.5
Review
Reviewer Mister_Prophet Awe Score:  1.5/3 Date 04-20-2004 Build Score:  1.5/3 Review Schema Cast Score:  2.5/3 User Point:  0 Overall Score:  5.5/10 Lately there has been a revival in the map remix department. Some come along and rewrite history, like DM-Deck40. Others reek more than a Rhinoceros’s anus, like ONS-Torlan_PhoenixOrWhateverTheHellItIs. Then a few come along that fit somewhere in between. DM-Chamvolence is a map made from scratch (though some spots mirror the original’s architecture pretty well that you might have to double check) that acts like DM-Malevolence in a new set of clothes. Disco clothes. This place looks like a bad LSD trip into the colored sprinkle bowl. The types of lights range between several colors, all of them hard. This horse of a different color is painted in Orange, Green, Blue, Gay Blue, and Yellow. The lighting isn’t strong enough to give you brain cancer, but you might develop some lumps later down the road. The map looks pretty cheesy, despite all the curved architecture. The lighting and texture choice just ruin any notion of theme and I noticed a devastating array of textures from Utech2 that I could count on one hand. This is a disaster for the theme, which makes the original DM-Malevolence look like DM-Victoria. I was under the impression that the point of a remake was to better the original in some way, but this map falls short of Malevolence in this regard. The curved architecture I mention before did help to give the place some backbone, but the mapper forgot to merge the polys on his 2D-shaped brushes, making the discoloration of the sides pretty visible. This sucks because it just looks sloppy and it could have been avoided by a point click tab and rebuild. Fortunately, the radius of the light actors is well done so the poor color choices don’t melt your eyeballs and they would have been fine with tuned spectrums. Visuals aside, the gameplay is pretty solid. Most of the time it feels like Malevolence but a few new things are thrown in to inject some fresh mojo in this assembly of disco-lit rooms. Item choices are mirrored from the original and bots seem to play the map well. They go for the Damage amp and everything is pathed alright. I played 7 games and didn’t miss a beat, the game flowed like sperm through a birth canal. Good thing too because the gameplay saved this map from making me puke. Few things I didn’t like, the water flooded hallway has been replaced by a water flooded hallway…only with tiles over the fluid to make the player avoid stepping in and making a splash. This does wonders for the crappy Liandri issue combat boots the old UT1 players are forced to wear, but it eliminates a token gameplay feature of the original. You could always hear the player running around down there and it added some audio interaction to the level, something that has been accepted as commonplace nowadays. The map loses something with the replaced floor of this room, and it is pretty significant. One more thing is that the ceilings to the upper levels are too close. If I jump boot up there I hit my head often, which sucks because my player model doesn’t wear a helmet. Not everyone can suffer concussion after concussion like Super Mario you know. Otherwise I liked how this one moved. This will be great on framerates, like the original, and it flows just as good. The Prophet’s Verdict: Plays as good as the original Malevolence, with some changes for both better and worse in some areas. Perfect for speedy online matches. The visuals are quite ghey and are way out of date, but at least you’ll have a good time.
Map Comments
Homeslice 03-19-2003 05:26 PM MST Rating: 7   I thought this was a nice conversion of the old Malevolence. This is what a conversion is all about. You can read my review of this map at the PlanetUnreal site, Insite. ....what d'y'all think? Optimal134 03-20-2003 01:29 PM MST Rating: 10   Absolutely Chameleon is the best mapper out there.His attention to detail and layout is awsome Shadowlurker 04-21-2004 05:27 AM MDT Rating: 4   Are you serious? The map is bland and lacking detail, and the gameplay is taken directly from the original but, IMO, made worse by certain changes. Ironblayde 04-21-2004 11:41 PM MDT Rating: 3   A quote from Prophet's review says, "I was under the impression that the point of a remake was to better the original in some way, but this map falls short of Malevolence in this regard." That's true, but it's incomplete. I would have changed "this regard" to "every regard." EDIT: Oh, I know it could have been worse. DM-MorbiasFun is the horrifying proof of that. I still don't like it though. Mister_Prophet 04-21-2004 03:40 PM MDT   It could have been a worse remake guys. Alot worse. Manticore 04-21-2004 06:31 PM MDT Rating: 7   Interesting visuals.... Average gameplay....