DOM-DMP-Dissipate
Map Info
	File Name dom-dmp-dissipate.zip Author souldividersjosz Gametype UT2k4 Double Domination Date Added 11-17-2004 File Version 1.00 File Size 12.65 mb Player Count 8 - 12 Map Description One of the maps in the Domination Map Pack. Techy (or tacky :P) space station imbedded in an asteroid... Review Rating 6.5 User Rating 7 Overall Rating 6.5
Review
Reviewer ArcadiaVincennes Awe Score:  2.0/3 Date 12-03-2004 Build Score:  2.5/3 Review Schema Cast Score:  2.0/3 User Point:  0 Overall Score:  6.5/10 DOM-DMP-Dissipate (UT2004) A future-industrial map for your DOM pleasure. Set in a space base embedded in an asteroid gravitationally locked to face one direction this map breathes future-industrial/space Unreal theme. A well crafted map that is just a little too flat but provides enough DOM fun to make it worth it. AWE: 2.0 On entering the map you’ll notice that everything is grey. There are custom textures in the map but they were mostly grey. Grey floors, walls, ceilings, BSP, Static Meshes, ramps, lifts, trim, the asteroid itself. Despite the quality light work which does implement nice color to offset the monotony of the build palette, you can only make grey look good in so many ways. I would have liked to have seen a little more texture variation between all the grey materials. As for the texture application, there were a few spots missing trim and also a few misaligned textures. However, the proportion to the whole of these errors is very few considering the amount of BSP work that was put into this map. There are some holes in the floor that one can walk over that seem to be lacking any kind of texture whatsoever. These holes lead from the second floor down to the first and they have no indication that they’re glass, or a forcefield, or anything similar. Why can’t I jump down them? As for the lighting it was well-implemented. There were dim areas, brighter areas, the shadow work from the starlight streaming in causing shadows to fall from the beams in the glass, red areas, blue areas – all of them were well crafted and although the red seemed like it bordered on just right and too saturated. There were a few places that felt a little ‘ambient lit’ but this was more from the ever-present grey, than the fault of the lighting. The skybox really helps the impression that the station is in an asteroid. There’s some decent terrain work coupled with static meshes outside the windows and it looks quite convincing. I think another texture layer on the terrain areas would have made it ‘pop’ a little more. The rest of the space skybox is good with planets and stars etc… but I think it really would have benefited from moving/rotating. There were a few emitters blowing steam into the air from textures that look like pipes on the walls. I believe that it would have been better to have these blowing out of static mesh pipes rather than BSP with a texture that looks like pipes. The music was stock and seemed a little out-of-place. A very high-energy pick it’s a little too active for DOM. Other than the music’s frenetic bent, it fits well enough. Overall a good looking map that suffers from its own theme. Too much grey, a few misalignments, a few missing trims and a skybox that should have been rotating. Nothing will really wow you but it’s a cut above average. Build: 2.5 Between the BSP work and the static meshes, this is a well-built map. The BSP has been cut into nicely interesting shapes and assembled well. The large and small static mesh additions are implemented well throughout the map and really add to the theme. There are over 30 zones, all needed, and they’re used well and thoroughly. I actually think the map could have benefited from a few more in a few places but overall, the zoning is very good. The lifts that move between the floors are good enough. They’re of a sufficient size, they make a decent sound, they travel a good speed, they’re good lifts. The custom sounds are implemented throughout the map well but I couldn’t hear them in-game. Maybe some tweaking of volume and radii is in order. Overall there’s nothing to really complain about here other than the non-rotating skybox and the sounds. CAST: 2.0 The gameplay has its plusses and minuses. To begin, the layout is clear and concise with symmetrical bases. There’s good z-axis in the center area and spotted throughout the rest of the level but with only two main levels, most of the fighting you’ll find is really only on two horizontal planes. There is a little bit of z-axis at the DOM points but it consists of small height differences and the defenders are reduced to fighting on almost one plane. On the other hand, there are 4 entrances to each DOM point which provides some good attack/defend variety so kudos for that. The bots function well but tend to favor two of the four DOM point entrances which means they’re a little predictable. However, throughout the rest of the map they tend to move all over the place so the pathing and assault pathing is well done. Lastly, the framerates are good throughout the place. The zoning really helps this and although the framerates are just a touch below retail in some of the larger sections, you’ll have no problem running this map if the retail maps give you no problem. Put together this is a very competently constructed map with decent gameplay. There are some flaws in the texturing and trimming and a rotating skybox would have been preferable. The preponderance of grey drags the map down visually a little but the overall theme is there. The bots will give you a challenge but if you love z-axis, this map might bore you a little. If you’re a DOM fanatic, the map is decidedly good enough to require adding it to your collection. If you’re lukewarm about DOM, then downloading this is a toss-up. It’s good enough to give it a try but if you’re not dedicated to DOM, you may find yourself deleting it to make room for another gametype you prefer.
Map Comments
souldividersjosz 12-04-2004 04:26 AM MST   Wow, detailed review, thanks ArcadiaVincennes. There AER glass textures over the holes you can't jump into, but I guess they're not really visible. As for the grey, that worked nicely with the map's theme and I chose only to use 1 layer for the terrain since adding new layers would result in REALLY ugly texturing, I've tried it. Thanks again for reviewing it. If you want to see this map with more colour I suggest you check out cDOM-DMP-Dissipate as well, which is in the cDOM pack. Draco 06-10-2005 07:36 PM MDT Rating: 7   Nice map.