CTF-Facinggiants
Map Info
	File Name ctf-facinggiants.zip Author mod.Omlette.ux Gametype UT Capture the Flag Date Added 03-26-2001 File Version 1.00 File Size 4.84 mb Player Count 32-32 Map Description None Review Rating 6 User Rating 6.5 Overall Rating 6
Review
Reviewer Ice-Dancer Awe Score:  2.5/3 Date 05-27-2005 Build Score:  2.0/3 Review Schema Cast Score:  1.5/3 User Point:  0 Overall Score:  6/10 CTF-FacingGiants by mod.Omlette.ux Weighing in at an impressive 13.8 mb unzipped, this map must be one of the biggest around for UT CTF, possibly even rivalling the filesize of many UT2004 maps. And no, it’s not that big because it’s stuffed full of things in MyLevel, the only thing there is the map screenshot. Well when the author writes Giants, I’m pretty sure he must have meant to write it in capslock, because this map is a GIANT! It may have the word facing in it, but no way is it a face rip, it is face style, 2 bases floating in space, separated by a void. But this map is face for the next generation. Note – There’s a lot of map to review here, so forgive me about the rather generalisation of each specific area By the way, this map review was requested on 05-12-2005 before anyone starts at me about reviewing old maps again. AWE First impressions – “What the!? Did I load UT2004 by mistake or something? No way can it be this bigâ€� Realisation – It can be that big, and upon more exploration, it gets bigger. Now the map has a great effect, simply for being so damn big, it’s visually awesome. Texturing has been done well, nothing custom, but the map makes use of a number of different texture packs, and blends them together well. Most of the textures where aligned ok, however, I did notice some which weren’t. There was a texturing mistake on one of the teleporters in red base, part of it had a nebulae texture on it for some reason. Lighting impressed me in this one. Lighting can make or break a map, and here, it makes it. The red glow of the lava lighting the bottom of the valley area, and then mixing in with the blue hues too. Map was well lit, and not too dark. Each of the bases had its own distinctive style which I liked. Red had a pyramid type feeling and Blue was more a medieval castle. I really liked the lava fountains in the interior of red base. The interior of Blue base was more of an industrial style, and was much more boring, it also didn’t fit with the exterior of the base, whereas red’s did (mostly). The map had a nice skybox, however, the skybox made the lava in the middle of map seem like it was just floating in the middle of space, which looked awful to be truthful. I think that a more natural skybox may have been better, a more realistic version. BUILD This map was not zoned! 90% of the map is the same zone! And when the map is the size of this, that ain’t good. The map used a lot of simple brushes (heck the map used a lot brushes full stop). However, it also used some more complex ones, such as the terrain brushes that make up the valley area of the map. Brushes where aligned well. And generally apart from the constant cubish feel in many parts of the map, brushes where good. The map didn’t have many sounds, except the roaring of the lava and the occasional beep of a button or mover, the map was silent. No BSP errors or HOM effects which is quite extraordinary for a map this size, but also, great! CAST Gameplay is the downfall of every big map, and this one is no exception. With such a big map, its gonna need a lot of players to get a lot of action happening and with an at least 5 minute trek between each base, this map may become quickly boring. This map does however, become a lot of fun when you have enough players, and i reccomend you try it out! Framerates where fine for me, not as great as I can get in most maps, but playable, anyone that can run UT2004 can run this map fine as well. My main complaint is this – WHERE ARE THE FREAKING FLAGS!!! Seriously, I was wandering around blue base for a good 10 mins not finding the flag, I had to load UED to see where they where, and I really don’t agree with the positioning of them, they need to be where players can see them, not hidden away where you have to go through about 5 teleporters to get to. Pickups, while there where still a lot of them, I would have thought that for a map this size, there would have been more. AI was surprisingly good, bots would take more than just the main route, which was nice to see. The author suggested 32 players, but if you like action, I suggest adding some more. Conclusion Well if you like huge CTF maps, you should of started the download already. If you like maps with awesome visuals, then this map may interest you. If you enjoy exploring maps and seeing all parts of it, this one will be for you. However If you cry when you see a map bigger than a 1000x1000x1000 cube, then run (and keep running) If you want to win the match in 5 mins, you won’t have even found the flag in 5 mins here! If your PC is a piece of @#%$ that can hardly load Solitaire then don’t even bother downloading. Ice’s opinion – I enjoyed it, its nice to see such a big map for UT, my PC coped, and the visuals where great. Gameplay lets it down slightly though. AWE – 2.5 BUILD – 2 CAST – 1.5 6 out of 9, remember, you guys have power over the remaining point to decide on the maps rating and choose the out of 10 rating!
Map Comments
horned demon 01-02-2003 10:17 PM MST Rating: 7   man this map is HUGE, well done for the most part, however i notice when you get in betwen the two towering pyrimids that youl drop a couple of frames. over all nicely done, you might not want to play it if you have a slow PC. it will lag the hell out of it. oh and even if you can put 32 ppl on this map, youll still have a lot of elbow room =). witch may or may not be such a good thing {Linkin Park}Master 05-31-2003 09:10 PM MDT Rating: 9   Demon is right, this level is huge, I mean HUGE. The more people the more fun this level is. :) Jez 01-08-2004 07:53 PM MST Rating: 5   Man this is laggy, even on my 1.8GHz P4 with a GeForce2. I found it a bit bland for my tastes anyway. nalicitymaphunter 01-09-2004 10:53 PM MST Rating: 7   It's only laggy if your system isn't up to it! I didn't have a lag problem on my 3GHZ Pentium 4 PC with an Nvidia GeForce FX 5900 Ultra. It's such a huge map that upgrading your video card to a newer Radeon or GeForce FX one may make a difference between lag and smooth play. To be able to play a lot of newer maps, you really need a good video card. The map's architecture is pretty cool. However, it's so big that it's easy to get lost. If played in practice session mode, I would recommend setting the bot count higher than the map's default. Otherwise, each base is hard to defend. koeckchen 06-28-2005 10:01 AM MDT Rating: 1.5   This review must be a joke... I testet it for about 20 minutes and i didn't manage it to get to the enemy's flag. Confusing floorplan inside the bases could be the reason for that. No trims, dirty mapping, miserable lighting, no details only empty + clean walls, no zoning and many many more... in short: no fun! i've seen worse maps that's the only thing that made me rate it this high fluffymike 06-28-2005 10:30 AM MDT Rating: 8   Yeah this is a big ole map that you wanna use long range weapons on cos it takes an age to get to a target once you've spotted one! Calls for tactical teamwork, at least 8 a side and a cap rate of about 5 per hour ROFL Lokks real nice too