DM-AFAR
Map Info
	File Name dm-afar.zip Author Myth_man Gametype UT2k4 Deathmatch Date Added 01-31-2005 File Version 1.00 File Size 10 mb Player Count 8 - 16 Map Description This is my first map for NC, and my first real go at creating an half decent terrain map.It is an island based map that is based sometime in the passed. Review Rating 6 User Rating 7 Overall Rating 7.0
Review
Reviewer ArcadiaVincennes Awe Score:  2.0/3 Date 02-25-2005 Build Score:  2.0/3 Review Schema Cast Score:  2.0/3 User Point:  +1 Overall Score:  7.0/10 DM-Afar (UT2004) “I’ve never been to the tropical Island, but everybody says they saw me there…â€� Deathmatch in paradise is the theme and one of the few things missing is the bar. A solid enough construction for a first release, it does have it’s flaws. AWE: 2.0 The theme is pulled off pretty well here. A tropical island at sunset with a rather small volcano and hints that civilization has visited. The texturing pretty much only applies to the terrain layers considering there’s no real BSP to address. The layering is simplistic but works overall. I think a little more variation would have suited the map nicely, especially at the border between land and water. The rock texturing looks really nice and the author switched up the layer xyz axes to suit the terrain shapes. Only one place really struck me as mis-matched in terms of texture orientation for the rocks. The author used a cubemap for the water and it does look nice unless you place your player immediately above the water’s surface. But in the course of play that’s unlikely. The lighting is satisfactory but lacks depth and drama. Considering the position of the sun indicates a dawn/dusk settings, the shadows don’t seem to be nearly as deep or present as they probably should. It’s not quite to the level of ‘ambient’ lighting, but somewhere inbetween. There was a nice sunray through an arch effect put in and it does look quite good, except that it doesn’t line up with the sun’s position and looking through the arch, one cannot see the sun. As for architecture – well there isn’t any. So we’ll address the terrain shaping instead. The usual problem with a lot of the terrain in Deathmatch maps that rely on it for gameplay value is that they’re just rolling hills of various sizes. Here, the author did this as well but he shaped them so that there are discreet paths up and down them and he broke them up with rocks and plants. So instead of just playing off various sized hills with similar slopes, we have some steep, some gradual, various shapes and sizes, and combined with the rocks and other decorations, we have a terrain that is, in essence, a replacement for geometry that promotes gameplay. It’s not a perfect example of how to use terrain in this manner, but it goes a lot farther than other maps do. One odd point was that on this deserted island with giant plants and bones, someone came by and built some simple wooden fences. I understand that the author didn’t want the players flying off into the water whenever a dodge-jump went awry, but the fencing doesn’t really fit the theme without some sort of other ‘civilisation’ support. Overall the texturing is limited but put to good use and the lighting is a little under-done. The terrain for a Deathmatch map is above average and it’s a pretty map to boot. If only there had been some lovely island music to go with it. As it was, I didn’t hear any. BUILD: 2.0 The map is constructed fairly well in general. Some of the mesh collision could have been tweaked a bit better. The flow of simply running around was hampered from time to time by, for example, a pyre. Other mesh collisions were considered and dealt with but it should have been a bit more wide-spread. The soundscape was present with lovely wave sounds around the shore and some bird noises for the interior. However that’s all you get. More variation and more specific locational sounds (besides the redeemer trigger) would have greatly enhanced the aural map. The map is optimized a little bit with the use of antiportals but they’re small enough that I can’t really see them making much of a difference. In general the map’s build is lacking in sound variation and specificity and collision simplification. However the meshes are integrated into the terrain well and nothing’s really ‘broken’. More optimization could have been done. CAST: 2.0 The gameplay isn’t spectacular but it is satisfying. There’s a moderate amount of z-axis but nothing really spectacular. The bot/player count is perhaps 1 or 2 on the high side but it doesn’t really ruin anything. The bot pathing, however, needs a little work. The author needs to learn about jumpspots because their use would have solved the problem of the bots not grabbing the Damage Amp. The amp is unreachable for the bots going from the lower area up the rocks to it. However, they are pathed to reach from the higher area off to the side. Yet they still need to jump up on some rocks in order to jump down to reach the Damage Amp and I never saw them do this. Using jumpspots instead of some of those pathnodes would have guaranteed the bots reach the Damage Amp from the higher area, and would have made it possible that they reach it from the bottom area like I was able to do. The weapon placement and flow is fairly good in general. I’m not so sure about the rocket launcher placement – it’s in quite the dominating position and you have to take a few seconds of your time to reach it. Otherwise nothing struck me as out of place. I found that I traveled the length of the isle fairly equally but the bots tended to congregate around certain weapons. This I attribute to a higher-than-should-be player count rather than bad flow. As for the FPS it’s above retail pretty much everywhere you look even with the limited optimization so no worries there. In sum, the gameplay is satisfying. You’ll be bouncing off rocks, bones, and terrain happily fraggin’ away but it’s about average. The FPS won’t hold you back and you can perhaps try playing king of the hill with the rocket launcher. DM-Afar is a pretty little DM with decent gameplay. A pretty solid theme and some nice terrain work recommends the map to download to spend some hours in the tropics for those who are snowbound this winter. For those that already live in a tropical paradise, you might want to go outside for a walk instead. A recommended download for a first time map release, it’s not what you’re looking for if you’re a hard-core Deathmatch player.
Map Comments
JuggaloKyle 02-01-2005 10:39 AM MST   looks interesting, ill download it and give it a go. ill edit with some feedback. edit: ok i got this error. UT2004 Build UT2004_Build_[2004-11-11_10.48] OS: Windows XP 5.1 (Build: 2600) CPU: GenuineIntel Unknown processor @ 2004 MHz with 511MB RAM Video: NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700LE (6693) Failed to enter C:UT2004MapsDM-AFAR.ut2: Can't find file for package 'CBP2-Tropica-Tex' History: UGameEngine::Init SoH_Ghost3021 02-03-2005 01:19 PM MST Rating: 9   ummm...you could have mentioned that the CBP2 bonus pack was NESSESSARY :). edit: ok, done. i already had it though...good map! very fun and good lookin ;). n00bkillin 02-01-2005 03:14 PM MST   You need CBP2, not ECE. Tropica is a CBP2 map. Kantham 02-01-2005 03:56 PM MST   that is leading us nowhere souldividersjosz 02-01-2005 05:18 PM MST   Let it be a lesson rather than a hose down... If you use custom content from bonuspacks, get permission for them, and include them in the archive please! Sicko Teddy 02-01-2005 06:46 PM MST   ... well, at least INCLUDE THEM.. that's OK to get a flames from author of those packs :)))))) Myth_man 02-02-2005 09:34 AM MST   I really did'nt know I had any of the CBP2 work in my map, i'm sorry for the mess. Edit: Right I have looked at my map and I could,nt find the CBP2-Tropica textures anywhere in the map. If you find you have a problem starting this level, follow this. 1 open the map in the editor. 2 Resave the map.. 3 And play... sandorski 02-03-2005 10:04 PM MST Rating: 7.5   Very nice. Looks great and has an original Theme to it. The only thing I didn't like was running into things that affect movement(Whale bones and Trees), not a major issue with this Map, but I had to find something. :-) worthy of a download cUnNiNg_StUnTs 02-05-2005 10:49 AM MST Rating: 6.5   Fun to play and very interesting theme, one of the player starts faces you in a bad way, so if your the type that anticipates respawning you may run off the cliff. Other than that very fun map. MR-Jinxs 02-15-2005 12:45 PM MST Rating: 8   This map is good and is fun to play... Monday 03-09-2005 05:47 AM MST Rating: 2   Reminded me of an old Jailbreak map but was colourful enough to run around RichyB 11-15-2005 12:37 PM MST Rating: 9   Coollllllllllllll Wesley "Boreas" van Dijk 11-15-2005 04:24 PM MST   @Mythman: Haven't seen the map, but you probably used the CBP2-tropica static meshes (palm trees)