BR-Templus2k4
Map Info
	File Name br-templus2k4.zip Author souldividersjosz Gametype UT2k4 Bombing Run Date Added 05-20-2004 File Version 1.00 File Size 5.48 mb Player Count 4-16 Map Description None Review Rating 6.5 User Rating 7 Overall Rating 6.5
Review
Reviewer ArcadiaVincennes Awe Score:  2.5/3 Date 11-12-2004 Build Score:  2.5/3 Review Schema Cast Score:  1.5/3 User Point:  0 Overall Score:  6.5/10 BR-Templus2K4 (UT2004) Another of the dreaded Egyptian themed maps which many players may be tired of but can sometimes provide a respite from the industrial map horde. This is a Bombing Run map that is surprisingly small and very well constructed. What it lacks in gameplay, it makes up for in theme and ambiance. A charming little map that reminds me of DM-Gael. AWE: 2.5 This is one of the best executions of the Egyptian theme that I’ve come across so far. First thing to mention would be the custom music which fits perfectly. A mid-Eastern theme which doesn’t resort to a techno/industrial backbeat to get the blood flowing, it was an excellent choice to match the map. The coronas were well-placed and not overenlarged and really contributed to the lighting. The lighting was very well done with torches and sunlight balancing the shadows in the play area. Perhaps a little too balanced as there was not much shadow work. The author had many emitters set up, a bird that flies by overhead with a custom sound attached, the torch flames, and some lovely sand falling through the skylights and through the light beams. Myonly complaint about the sand is that it fell from the center of the skylights straight down. I would have expected it to fall either from around the edges, or, because of the sandstorm, to see more lateral movement as if it’s being blown in from the sandstorm. The obligatory Egyptian statues were all placed well in niches and alcoves and the textures were applied with precision and care. I only found one mismatched/mis-aligned texture up near the top of the map but I had to look for it – there was no obvious discrepancy. Finally, the only sound I heard while playing was the bird – if the volume had been turned up on the remaining sounds I think it really would have rounded out the map perfectly. Overall an excellently themed map assembled very well. The few discrepancies were largely forgivable except for the sound which really would have rounded out the theme. BUILD: 2.5 The construction of the map is excellently applied. All the brushes fit together well and when the trim is added nothing looks out-of-place. Everything is aligned well and the various blocking volumes do their job well. The bot pathing and DOM points were assembled well. One the other hand the only sound audible in-game was the bird. In the editor, if I turned my volume all the way up, I could also hear a low hum (no, not my speakers). However, there were a number of torches that had ambient sound actors but I couldn’t hear a thing. The entire map was zoned appropriately with the side rooms zoned off and the middle playground split into 3 or 4 different zones. Very well constructed it suffers only from insufficient volumes on the ambient sound actors. CAST: 1.5 Despite the quality construction and ambiance, the map’s gameplay doesn’t match the quality of the rest of the level. The first problem is that it takes place all on one plane. Somewhat understandable because of its size, it really limits the gameplay. Second, the weapon lockers in the spawn rooms contain rocket launchers and shock rifles complete with extra ammo. This turned the entire arena into a spam fest a la DM-Gael where too many people render interesting gameplay an impossibility. Defaulted to 3 v 3, there were too many bots throwing rockets around. 1 on 1 DOM would probably work very well here, and 2 v 2 might be stretching the capacity. Although the bots did play work together well. Another problem that relates to the size is that it took just a few seconds to Xloc over to the ball, pick it up, dodge to one side to clear a pillar, and shoot the ball into the goal - which is surprisingly high off the ground. In fact I think the only way to score while holding the ball is to use speed – otherwise the goal is too high off the floor and I didn’t see anything nearby to jump ff of to reach it. Ignoring the rockets and shock rifle, the other weapons, armour, and health was well-placed throughout the map. Finally, the other major problem with gameplay is that the FPS was well below retail especially considering the size of the map. A map this size on my PC would normally run at 65 FPS and up. This map dipped into the 20s at times and I spent a lot of times in the 30s and 40s. The gameplay in this map suffers from a lot of different aspects. The flat setting, the cans of rocket spam, the amount of players, the height of the goals, and finally the FPS all brought down the ability to enjoy the game. Overall a very well built map with an excellently executed theme. The addition of the custom music and the lighting/emitter/corona work really put the shine on this map - if only the ambient sounds had been audible. On the other hand, the gameplay really suffers from the lack of z-axis, DM-Gael-like weaponry, the small size of the map and the low FPS. If you’re not tired of the Egyptian theme, you like rockets, and you want to try a 1-on-1 Bombing Run, give this one a try.
Map Comments
hampel 05-21-2004 05:31 AM MDT Rating: 8   Very nice map! I like it :) DJJD 05-21-2004 06:36 PM MDT Rating: 9   Very fast-paced-lots of actions and chaos map. Small but quite detailed and though its another egyptian themed map its very wel executed. I really like the light comming through the windows and the dusty athmosphere. I highly recommend to play this map with lowgrav on, since otherwise you won't be able to score a 7-pointer because the goal hangs too high in the air. sandorski 05-21-2004 05:33 PM MDT Rating: 9   This map seems a bit too small for BR, but has excellent gameplay nonetheless. Excellent visuals and atmosphere. Must download! souldividersjosz 05-22-2004 07:58 AM MDT   the CTF version is well underway too, for those who want to know. Maybe I can release it somewhere next week... but no promises, my exams next 2 weeks have priority! Thanks for the positive comments, all of you... can't wait to have it reviewed here (yawn, that'll be next year with this queue) Manticore 05-23-2004 02:40 AM MDT Rating: 6   Good small BR arena. Bit of an Egyptian basketball stadium. The scale means that it is only suitable up to or around 4/4 or 5/5 teams. In my opinion the rocket launcher is too much. Considering the scale of the map and the type of BR experience the map is more suited to melee weapons. daspadger 07-28-2004 10:37 AM MDT Rating: 8.5   A very good map, fast and funny. I've tested it and found some stuff that should be changed: More weapons Remove RL Bots tend to flock at ball spawn, like sitting ducks. Add biorifle! it's first prioritah! However, it's a really good map, well done! Draco 10-28-2004 03:37 PM MDT Rating: 6   Nice little map. AMmayhem 11-12-2004 09:19 PM MST Rating: 4.5   Definately not the awe level of ONS-Rapa Nui. More of a cheesy spam map that has it's level of fun. But after a while it gets old. Just chuck rockets at the enemy and pot shots for the goal. nELs0n 12-06-2004 03:02 PM MST Rating: 6   from the screenshots i somehow expected a larger map cause i don't know - the egyptian theme imo cries for a large map. but that's just personal taste. apart from that, the visuals here are really nice i especially like the sunbeams. one last thing: there are some smaller static meshes in here that have collisions and you get sutck on them (skull, floor tiles) maybe you should avoid having collisions on statics so small ;) nelson sp_lit 03-02-2005 08:42 AM MST Rating: 8   There is another way to score holding the ball. It requires 2 people with impeccable (sp?)timing. One to shield gun jump and the other to pass :) A lot of fun, just play 2v2.