DM-Depth
Map Info
	File Name dm-depth.zip Author Xiphon Gametype UT2k4 Deathmatch Date Added 01-07-2005 File Version 1.00 File Size 3.42 mb Player Count 4-8 Map Description This base, located halfway down a deep sea trench, was auctioned to the tournaments. Due to the extreme pressure squeezing in on the station, swimming out to far from the base is not advised... Review Rating 5.5 User Rating 7 Overall Rating 6.5
Review
Reviewer ArcadiaVincennes Awe Score:  2.0/3 Date 01-14-2005 Build Score:  2.0/3 Review Schema Cast Score:  1.5/3 User Point:  +1 Overall Score:  6.5/10 DM-Depth (UT2004) An underwater deathmatch that almost gets it right. The setting is unmistakablly marine but doesn't receive as much support as it could have. It's a fun little map for awhile but the map as a while isn't all that memorable. AWE: 2.0 The lighting leaves a bit to be desired. The facility lights are seemingly all white and green and therefore the author leaves most of the coloring to the textures mixed with green. In terms of the setting, this isn't sufficient. Granted there's almost no light at the depth the map is set in, there should be more of a variation between green, blue, and white. - especially with so many glass ceilings. Otherwise, the lighting brightness and radii are good leaving no place too dark, nor too bright. The shadow work would have been nicer had the map not been a little on the 'ambient lit' side. The texturing, on the other hand, really needs some work. The floors are shiny which doesn't really work so well. The non-glass ceiling texture looks like the side of a metallic crate and where it's cut by the BSP architecture, there's no trim and sometimes the cuts occur 2/3 through the texture. The glass ceiling texture is fine, but the simplistic geometry leaves very obvious 'creases' in the texture. Otherwise the wall textures are sufficient although sometimes two different ones meet with no transition. Also, there are some large round 'pads', or something, on the floor in some areas. They are surrounded by the same ring that is used around the tubes, but the problem is that the texture used for the center area of the ring is almost black. I wasn't sure if I was walking on something, or even if there was any lighting on it. Just a bad choice. Finally, the terrain outside was given a few texture layers, but it's generic and uninspired. There isn't much texturing to be done in such a settng underwater, but I will say that rolling hills don't belong half-way down a mid-ocean trench. Rockiness is much more called for interspersed with smooth sediment layers. The architecture, considering it's for UT2004, is simplistic enough that it could belong in UT99. Looking at the base sections from the tubes, their blockiness is quite apparent. And the few static meshes used to dress them up are not used for trim but rather for lights. On the inside, the architecture remains simplistic but functional. Granted, this is an underwater base - not a cathedral - but some more effort could have been put into more creative BSP work and static mesh placement. And I'm not sure the ship that was used really belongs in an underwater sea base. Overall, the lighting is a little lacking, the texturing much more so, and the architecture too simplistic. I must mention that the glass tubes connecting the bases do look lovely and really add to the feel of the map and counter-balances a little of the other detriments. BUILD: 2.0 The build is fairly good overall but a bit odd. Each of the base areas is zoned, although one of them seems to have a zone leak. But this is curious, each of the bases that has a glass ceiling, there is a zone between the ceiling level and the glass. I can't really tell if this helps performance, but I don't believe it hinders it either so no harm done. The static meshes and BSP are all assembled well and seem to fit together very nicely. The fluidsurfaces are subtle yet present and match the colors outside in the water. The SOUND is unfortunately quite repetitive with the same scuba/bubbles sound repeated endlessly through the map. Adding in some machinery creaking, or hissing would have fleshed out the map much more. The jumppads work well although it's a little odd to have them in just one area of the map. The terrain could have been sized up and therefore the polys increased in size so that, in combination with the visibility tool, a bunch of the terrain could have been optimized better. Overall the map is well-contructed with a few oddities. Better sound and optimization techniques would really have helped out here. CAST: 1.5 The gameplay is, despite the dramatic setting, a bit bland. It’s primary downfall is its room-corridor-room setup. However, the theme of the map somewhat demands this if one insists on using the glass tube connections. As it is, I quite like the glass tubes although I think this preference will vary greatly player to player. It was pretty cool seeing your flak bounce around a clear tube. At any rate, the way to balance a forced room-corridor-room setup is to make the rooms really worth traveling to. Unfortunately, the author did not accomplish this. There are only two rooms with z-axis, the others are flat. The flak area is nice and tight, but too tight. It seemed like a good size for UT99 but for UT2004 a little more lateral space would have been better. The room with the minigun is flat and completely uninteresting – I found myself pretty much ignoring it unless I was out of ammo for all the other weapons. The rocket launcher area is, at least, a little interesting but the gameplay is so flat in it that I didn’t really want to stick around too long. The link gun room finally gives us a bit of z-axis but the room has nothing to offer other than the link gun. As a result, if there was no bot, I’d grab the link gun and continue on my way. Finally, the large room with the jumpads and boat gives us an inkling of the potential for the map. There’s a nice amount of z-axis play between the ramps and the jumppads and the Damage Amp is nicely situated. The keg, however should not be in the same room as the Damage Amp and should not be so easy to access. The overall flow of the map is such that you’ll probably find yourself traveling either to the RL room, or the boat room if you want to see some action as this is where the bots congregate and where most of the action will take place. Traveling to and from the various portions of the base is quite dangerous due to the constraints of the tubes - you cannot dodge rockets, and the flak is deadly. I actually found the tubes quite fun but because of their limitations, some players may end up not liking them so much. The bots do a pretty good job of getting around the map and of picking up all there is to pick up. As I already mentioned, their only downfall is their tendency to congregate in two areas. The FPS however is another issue. A decent portion of the map runs fine. But there are some significant points, most noticeably the long, lower, tube connection, where the FPS drops way down past acceptable levels. This could have been avoided with better terrain optimization and more air-tight zones. Perhaps the author should research bForcedZoneVisibility in the display settings for meshes. Overall the gameplay is lackluster. A dearth of good z-axis, predictable bot locations, and super pickups that are too cloase to each other bring down the gameplay considerably. Depth is a map that didn’t reach the full depth of its potential. Its simplistic architecture, monotonous lighting scheme, dubious texturing, and predictable gameplay leave me wanting more. If the author had plumbed the profundity of his creativity a little more, this would have been a contender. As it is, it’s not a bad map, but it’s not great either. Download it for the flak tubes and inspiration but not for its depth.
Map Comments
Kantham 01-15-2005 12:31 AM MST   you where not working on a ONS map lattely? xiphon , time to lern maya .....! ArcadiaVincennes you finally do your JPG at good compretion! DarKGamer 01-07-2005 11:13 PM MST Rating: 8   I believe he is, but he put that project on hold right now. Wait till you see his next map, it's coming out pretty well. Now for my comment: I really like this map, it's got good flow for the gameplay, but a downside is that it's a Flakcannon Playground. The 2 rooms near the flakcannon(one with two health an one that you can respawn in) are gaping holes of death. Someone see's you go in, you be dead. I got bad FPS once in a glass tube, but that's all. The glass tubes are also pretty deadly, but they add to the fun of the map. I also like your weapon placement, put the RL in an open room, but make it dangerous to get to, same with the Flakk. I'm glad you don't have a superweapon in it, that would be massive spamming. I only noticed one major graphic glitch, but that deals with the editor and water volumes/fluid surfaces. Anyway, nice map, love the ambient sounds, textures are great, and the glass tubes are friggin great! Can't wait for your next one! Score breakdown: Layout: 2/2 Sounds: 2/2 Gameplay: 1.5/2 Awe: 1.5/2 Impact: 1/2 Fun Factor: 2/2 Glitches(Graphic, gameplay, ect;): -1 Unfitting Music: -1 Jackle 01-08-2005 01:53 AM MST Rating: 6   Another prime example of Excellent idea, awful excicution IMO. There are some really bad texture transitions, like the cieling in some places is just BAD... The tubes are somewhat frustrating to nagivate as if you barely bump the side it causes your screen to jump uncontrolably. The water looks nice in the dock area, but when you get in it, it's horrible... The shiny floor does not fit the map, and as stated before, the music does not fit well either. GREAT idea, looks decent, orginal idea, gameplay is average... Xiphon 01-14-2005 11:12 PM MST   Thank you for the review, I already have the inspiration I need for DepthX and with the points givin, I think I should be able to pull it off quite nicely. On this map, however, I think it plunged to the depth of it's possible potential, but forgot to come back up for air. ... pardon the pun... Deathbliss 01-12-2005 04:17 AM MST   Hey man - I've just started becoming a fan of yours and figured I should share my feelings on the map. Most of what one of the guys said here before I agree with. The ceiling doesn't work very well. The water isn't quite right when you get in it (you can change the fog color and other stuff). I'd add that while I liked the lighting it's a bit dark, and it's far too easy to fall into the water as you're walkin' along as a result of this and not having some sort of way to tell the player, "Hey, there's water in that thar hole!" I absolutely LOVE the feel and atmosphere of the place, as well as the ambient sounds and meshes you've used. As I explored I SWEAR I got that same feeling in my head I've recievd in the past when I dove really deep! But the music doesn't fit - in fact I'd go so far as to say no music is needed here. Oh and you need some plant and animal life outside in the water - the place is far too stagnant and dead. the ocean is TEEMING with life, and nature has a way of trying to absorb man's work, so you can imagine that in a level like this you'll need rust, water drips, whatever fungi live down there, kelp, fishes, etc. Oh and I'd try to wow more on the archi. My assignment to you is to study CTF-Aquamarina by Chicoverde (Unreal Tournament). That should help point you in the right direction. I'll give a score and test the bots later. - Deathbliss T0mbr41d3r 02-02-2005 11:14 AM MST Rating: 7   Teehee, it was great fun, looks pretty aswell. Draco 02-05-2005 02:59 PM MST Rating: 7   Nice map ... Manticore 02-20-2005 12:08 AM MST Rating: 6   I agree with Jackle....... nice try; needs work. Visually bland. Fuzzy Logic 02-20-2005 07:35 AM MST Rating: 7   I liked the lighting on this one - entirely consistent with being underwater. The tubes look good and so does the general theme, but some parts look to have lost the plot a bit.