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| DOM-Extenza | | | Map Info |
| | | | File Name | dom-extenza.zip | | Author | Derdak2rot | | Gametype | UT Domination | | Date Added | 09-26-2004 | | File Version | 1.00 | | File Size | 4.57 mb | | Player Count | 8-16 | | Map Description | Medium sized Domination map in a antartic military base . This site was a research center on the skarrj weapons | | Review Rating | 6 | | User Rating | 8.5 | | Overall Rating | 7.0 |
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|  | | | | Review |
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DOM-Extenza (UT)
At first glance the map is somewhat reminiscent of CTF-Locustwind. a large industrial complex embedded in snowy terrain. This map does approach the same sweet spot that locustwind had but falls short in a few areas.
AWE 2.0
The lighting here is mostly ambiant throughout. It's mostly white with some colored accent lights spattered around. The outside is nive and bright, as light reflecting off snow would be, and the insides are a little dimmer. But they still carry the same general light color which lends the map a slightly washed-out look. Something odd is that some of the flares from the light fixtures inside only worked when viewed from certain angles. There wasn't much use of light and shadow so most of the map looks pretty much the same as the rest of it.
As for texturing, the map comes with some custom textures. These are implemented nicely and no misalignments were immediately noticeable. The texutres for the snowy landscape, combined with the landscape outside, combined to make very rough, polygonal snow mounds. I understand that terrain in UT is vastly different from what it is now in UT2004 but the terrain work here really could have been better, perhaps with a slightly different design in general. Also, in the outside, under the main supports for the elevated passageway, the author chose an odd texture to use to 'set off' the support base - it looks like a freeway texture - black asphalt with white seperated stripes down the middle. It doesn't really seem to fit. Most of the textures are very similar industrial grey but they are broken up here and there by computer panels and sometimes some more complicated industrial grey textures.
The architecture, as I said, is reminiscent of LocustWind with nicely curved complicated BSP work with interestnig arches. The combination of textures and architecture really serve well to enforce the idea of a facility buried in a snowy/icy landscape.
The architecture is very nice and the textures a little bland sometimes but also well done. If the lighting had been more varied and procided some better hints of chadow, the theme really would have been rounded out.
BUILD: 2.0
The BSP is well assembled and very competantly built. There were one or two spots that suddenly ended or seemed out of place with the rest of the contrcution but overall the BSP work and zoning was well done.
The lifts were nicely triggered to ascend on approach from the top and I very rarely found myself waiting for a lift to appear.
The sounds, however, were minimal and a little overpowering. The outside wind sound was fine and extended a little indoors where there was open space. The only other sound was an overpowering computer sound prevalent near the computer consoles and it really was too loud. I could tell where I was in the map indoors by listening for that sound while far away from it. Other than that there are no more sounds. A few more scattered around would really have helped the place feel more alive.
Overall the build was strong in this one. Everything was put together very nicely with the only lacking points being the lack of sound variety and intense volume, and the BSP that sometimes terminated abruptly.
CAST: 2.0
The bots function fairly well in this map. They travel throughout the place and I often encountered a small pack of them defending one of the points in the larger rooms. The three DOM points are placed somewhat equally throughout the map and are all relatively easy to get to. The middle one is in a tight narrow passageway exending between the two main buildings. One main building houses a large room with a DOM point, and the other main building houses a medium/small room with a DOM point. My first complaint is that there is a spawn point in a computer room right next to the flak cannon and a short walk away from the center DOM point. It is extremely easy to spawn, grab the flak, and check that DOM point. And if anyone's guarding it, hey - you've got a fully loaded flak cannon. Another complaint I have is that the largest DOM point area had but two entrances and was therefore extremely easy to defend. The medium sized room had the best balance overall. 4 entrances and just enough room to move about comfortably but with some nice pillars/arches to provide a little bit of cover in a firefight.
There wasn't much z-axis to play with, sadly enough, but there are some boots of jumpng near the center point where the Damage Amp hides on a beam. So it is possible to get some damage amped/jumping z-axis madness in the center area.
To put it all together, the gameplay areas are generally flat but there's enough elevators and ramps/stairs to give a little bit of an illusion that the gameplay is more multilayered. Some design deficiencies in a spawn point and larger room with 2 entrances mar the funa little bit but it still is good overall.
The map shares some of the characteristics of LocustWind but doesn't really reach its full potential. If a few layout issues were changed, more effort put into the lighting, and the outside terrain addressed, this would have been much better. As it is, this is a good map that didn't meet its full potential. It's worth a download for DOM players and for general players. It probably won't stay on your hard drive long, but for those UT DOM lovers, this is a good map to tide you over. |
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| | | | Map Comments |
| RJGexplode
09-28-2004 11:37 AM MDT | Rating: 9 | | very good map, reminded me of AS-Coldsteel,
EDIT: I download maps to play, not too look at in UED, i dont care if brushes are misaligned, as long as it looks nice in the game and is fun to play, and as someone else has given it a 9 as well, i guess i am right with my rating, and if as you say, you wouldnt actually give it a 2.5, its just to balance the rating, why give it a 2.5??? You really should change it, its unfair on the mapper, ok, you may not like how i have rated it, but thats my opinion, not yours, and why to argue with me, should you ruin the rating of a mappers map?
| EvilSwanky
12-18-2004 02:25 PM MST | Rating: 4.5 | | Good map? ARE YOU NUTS??? Rate maps seriously!
First of all, the textures are the ones from AS-Coldsteel, but they are used in a horrible way, missing alignments, mostly no trimtextures used... (at least the author mentioned that shock systems is the creator of these textures). In addition, the author used some skaarj textures which don't fit the theme at all, they got too different looks.
Architecture is below average. The author tries to create some feeling, but he failed due to the los of details. There are some curved ways, however, things are aligned terrible again - here are missing details again.
Lighting is more or less average. Everything is lit, so at least you see where foes are. Most of the time the author used few lights with a big radius - bad. In one or two spots of the map I saw some lower radiated lights, but nevertheless you don't get a feeling of the map.
Playability isn't good either. No Z-Axis, long walks here and there.
EDIT: No, the 2.5 is just for the guy above - not against you, but the rating's looking more realistic this way. With the Texture-author problem everything is fine. :)
EDIT2: I changed my mind.
| Derdak2rot
12-20-2004 01:21 AM MST | | Thanks for your comments , all !!
I agree with you for the terrain , i should take more time to build it , all in all thanks for your objective review , Arcadia !
EDIT: HUD alert !! sorry !
| Sicko Teddy
09-27-2004 11:35 PM MDT | Rating: 9 | | 2.5 is surely unfair! DO NOT BASE YOUR RATING ON OTHER'S one. He say- " LACK OF DETAILS" WELL CMON!! THIS IS NOT UT 2004 !! THIS IS our good old papa- UT!!
in fact he do have good texturing on objects, by using textures with frames and all sort of details, which are usually misused by majoruty of the mappers.
Don't listen to that guy, no wonder his name is EVIL! :))
Prety nice map.
PS- about terrain- the terrain brush always sucked in old UT. You might improve it by using.. aaah .. the low detail light (on terrain texture)so it gives off fussy shadows and do not make the edges look too uggly.
I need to look at gameplay a little longer in order to judge it.
| souldividersjosz
12-18-2004 10:15 AM MST | | Uh oh, do I sense yet another discussion characteristic to NC coming up?
| SoH_Ghost3021
12-18-2004 12:37 PM MST | Rating: 9.5 | | omg a 2.5? this map's quality is WAY better than a lousy 2.5! maybe this would be a 2.5 it ut2k4, but heck, it would be at least a 5 in that too! this map has a great build, sure, it has SOME minor issues, but thats IT! im realy starting to get sick of nali city now, with people trying to 'balance the scores', is there some taboo that a map cant have a decent score? whatever. im sticking to up from now on... >:(
| GenMoKai
12-19-2004 09:41 AM MST | Rating: 10 | | WTF i think this MUST be the BEST DOM map eva
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