DM-OldTower][
Map Info
	File Name dm-oldtower][.zip Author $noopy Gametype UT Deathmatch Date Added 12-29-2004 File Version 2.00 File Size 1.09 mb Player Count 4-10 Map Description My upgraded deathmatch map for Unreal Tournament. In new version: - COMPLETELY new LIGHTING. Now it's MUCH BETTER!!! - paths also completely new! Bots play good now! - Torches replaced - you won't stick on 'em now! - some geometry changed, new elements added - item placement changes - other good minor changes Review Rating 5 User Rating 6.5 Overall Rating 6.0
Review
Reviewer ArcadiaVincennes Awe Score:  1.5/3 Date 01-14-2005 Build Score:  2.0/3 Review Schema Cast Score:  1.5/3 User Point:  +1 Overall Score:  6.0/10 DM-OldTowerII (UT) A medium sized DM that’s reminiscent of Na Pali but doesn’t have much to reminisce about. Its visuals are overdone but it does have a little bit of interesting architecture. The tower stands tall but its foundation is deteriorating. AWE: 1.5 The textures are sometimes misaligned but not too often. The texture choices are good with maybe the basic stonewall texture a little overused. The lava and water look decent enough and the flame emitters are good but the colors/style look a little too unreal for the setting. Some of the textures are new and they do blend into the overall tecture palette well. The lighting is not quite as nice. The inside lighting is either too dark, too saturated – producing purple walls at times – or too bland and white. The coronas are mostly a decent size but combined with the lighting they look overbearing. The architecture ranges in quality considerably. There’s a room that’s a box and there’s the complicated tower outside and everything in between. The bridge with the section that fell out of it is fairly good, along with its torch holders. But then there’s the uninspired long hexagonal hallways. The outside is somewhat nicely done but really could have used some more sprucing up with some plants or other decos. Overall the map is a real mixed bag. The texturing ranges from bad to good, the lighting ranges from bad to adequate, and the architecture ranges from simplistic to complex. BUILD: 2.0 The map is constructed well, despite its visual shortcomings. The BSP work, as mentioned previously, varies in quality considerably but all of it is built well. If only the author has been able to make all the BSP of the same higher quality. As for sound, the landscape is fairly bare. There seem to be two main sounds: wind and water. The wind is prevalent wherever you go and the water sound is location-based. The movers function well enough . Overall there’s nothing much to complain about. If the level of quality of the BSP that the author shows himself capable of producing had been applied to the entire map, and if the sounds had been varied and woven together better, the map would have been much improved. CAST: 1.5 The gameplay here is also a mixed bag. First, the bots do travel the map but they have an annoying tendency to congregate around the Rocket Launcher. Seeing as this is the ‘central hub’ of the map, you almost always end up running through it. There’s really no other way to get to and from the other locations in the map so you’re always running into a fight. This means that if you’re low on health, and have used up all the health in the particular location you’re in, you have to either wait for a respawn or dive into the fray. This detracts from the flow. Also, there’s not a lot of z-axis to work with. Most of the fighting takes place on slightly different planes producing a rather stagnant gameplay. As for the weapons they’re placed well enough with the exception of two flak cannons – why two? And the tower. The tower houses the sniper rifle at the top of it. The first problem with the tower is that the supports it’s resting on are very close together so actually accessing the elevator in the bottom center of the tower can be a little challenging in the middle of a fight. The second problem is once you get up there and grab the sniper rifle, there really isn’t anywhere to use it. The outside area the tower is in is so small that the only real sniping you can do is at people swimming in the water – which is somewhat cruel. Shooting fish in a barrel. Finally, the lighting really hinders gameplay in the darkest areas. It’s hard to see your opponent when you can’t even see where the corridor you’re in goes. Overall the gameplay is disappointing. There are no real z-axis opportunities, the sniper rifle is overpowered and useless where its located, and the flow almost always forces you back to the Rocket Launcher and numerous bots. This old tower has seen better days and so has the map. The lighting is hard to look at after a while, the layout is suspect, and the flow is bland and too forceful. Despite some nice BSP work and some nice attempts at atmosphere, it just doesn’t make the cut. Download this one for mapping inspiration but not for the gameplay.
Map Comments
$noopy 01-01-2005 10:14 AM MST   Hello everone!!! Please download my new map and COMMENT IT !!! I wanna see what do u mean about my map. MORE COMMENTS PLEASE !!! :) And Happy New Year! Master roshi 12-28-2004 05:16 PM MST Rating: 9   I only see 2 problems. 1 There is a ramp that ends at a wall. This could affect the flow of your map. 2 The stairs with the carpet could use some more work. David Lynch 'm 12-29-2004 06:10 AM MST Rating: 7.5   Nice map, nice atmosphere a 7,5! Kantham 12-30-2004 12:33 AM MST   will try Deathbliss 01-15-2005 12:30 AM MST   I'm not going to score this map - or part 1. But I did just get through trying them on my first cull through the 7 gig nightmare that is my UT installation. This one joined the 544 meg (zipped) and counting deletable directory I'm filling up, until I remove these maps from my system. I found the architecture to just be wrong, the texturing to be way off, the lighting to be sub-par, and I didn't even test the bots. However I do see a small glimmer of potential here, and I hope this author gets UT 2004, opens up Maya or Max, and presenst us with another map. - Deathbliss IN_tr_der5 01-20-2005 11:31 AM MST Rating: 5.5   Was ok, bit missing in places but nice.. ;) SuperAlgae 02-25-2005 12:09 AM MST Rating: 6.5   Overall, I like the feel of the map. It is reminiscent of Unreal1 and even has the nali healing fruit (nice touch). Here are some points I see for improvement... - The lighting is a little oversaturated in some places and washed out in others. Be careful of areas becoming too brightly lit an loosing the color of the light as a result (i.e. the doorways at each end of the lava). - The long narrow hallway doesn't give many options for dodging. The really good deathmatch maps usually have a lot of connectivity so you don't feel trapped. - The transparency of the lava makes it look less like lava. It is generally best to have lava glowing but opaque. Here are some of the high points... - Good variety. - I like how you have bridges, etc broken. They give the map character. - I also like the many hidden or slightly out of reach items. It gives me a reason to leave the main paths and explore more of the level. Overall, it's a good map that has potential to be even better with some more refinement to the flow and lighting. I look forward to your future work. Sir Xavius 03-22-2006 05:00 PM MST Rating: 4.5   I had Old Tower for a-while in my Small and Medium Map rotations, but i eventually took it out, because it became boring, and the lack of a feasible "theme" took away any appeal for this layout. It's definitely playable, but the flow is too tunneled and linear that it simply wasn't fun. Let this be a lesson to all mappers: on paper or in your own imagination it may look interesting, but game flow is more important than innovative ideas and good looks. Soon i'll be making UT99 maps (i know, i'm way behind the curve), so it's advice i'll use for myself. redfist 03-22-2006 08:13 PM MST   Quote Sir Xavius "Let this be a lesson to all mappers: on paper or in your own imagination it may look interesting, but game flow is more important than innovative ideas and good looks." ..................................................... That is the best explaination so far, very wise, and I totaly agree.It couldn't have been said better. It should be a nalicity homepage standard saying.