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CTF-VaultCity (UT99)
Although I'm not quite sure what the map has to do with vaults, it's certainly
one of the best UT99 CTF maps I personally have played in a long time.
AWE: 2.5
The author did include some custom textures by other community authors. Worked
in together with retail textures the effect is a bit of a fresh take on a fairly
familiar theme. The industrial/warehouse theme has been brightened up by some
lighter textures that really remove the drab, monochromatic feel to a lot of
that genre map. Although most of the colors remain earth-toned, the contrasts
between lighter and darker colored textures really helps remove the feeling of
homogeneity that most industrial/warehouse UT99 maps suffer from. Most of the
textres are well-aligned with very few exceptions and these are minor. Some
corner bricks don't fit together perfectly on the horizontal plane but you'll be
hard-pressed to notice these. They're really very minor.
Lighting is very well-implemented through the map. Althought most of the
lighting is white/off-white throughout the map, it's probably the best use of
white light I've seen. More color variation would be welcome - especially to
provoke greater contrasts between the light/dark textures by subtle hue
illumination. There are some nice shadow effects and 'pools' of light spotted
around the map. Some areas do tend toward a slightly ambient-lit feel but
overall the light's used nicely.
Architecture is somewhat simplistic overall, but it's fit into the theme
extremely well. It seems polished and well thought-out and flows from room to
room with subtle yet significant changes that really help bring all the spaces
together.
The texturing is very nice with lighter industrial/warehouse textures blended
into the more standard darker ones to create a fresher look to the theme. The
lighting is very well implemented but some more color variation would have
brought off the theme better and helped define the areas better. The
architecture flows through the map bringing continuity through the map's
different areas.
BUILD: 2.5
The build is quite good. Although the arhitecture is simplistic there's some
nicely detailed BSP work and it all fits together well. Not an HOM to be seen.
The lifts work well and the bot pathing seems to be exemplary. The only build
downside IMO, is that the ambient sounds don't stand up to the quality of the
rest of the map. There are a few that are small/medium range and seem to be
mostly locational. Again, IMO, a mix of general, locational, and triggered
really help create a believable area - a map thatseems more 'alive' than others.
And with the ambient sounds present here, it just doesn't live up to that.
CAST: 3.0
I must say this is the toughest UT99 CTF map I've played with bots in a long
time. Perhaps I'm just a little rusty or maybe I just have non-1337 CTF skills
but the bots were really all over the flag carrier. They performed very well and
it was a pleasure to be this challenged again. I will say they mostly ignored
the lifts but they were used now and again. The weapon layout is good with the
usual suspects appearing in the usual places - like the flak in a semi-closed
area and the RL in a slightly larger, somewhat open area and the shock rifle
placed close to the flagroom - although not in it - which is a good thing.
There's good flow as I found myself and the bots using pretty much every area
and the pickup locations fit very nicely. I was a little suspect of the shield
belt location - right in the middle of the map on the second floor. I suppose
the risk vs. reward is that although it's very easy to pick up, it's right in
the middle of the action. In general, I don't agree with this but IMO, it's a
tactic that does work better in CTF matches than DM and it didn't really seem to
be affecting gameplay balance so I'll let the issue go. The map is symetrical
and although base-specific landmarks are therefore absent in terms of geometry
providing directional indiations, the desultory flags do their job in giving
direction just fine. Consisting of a simple two levels, there's plenty of z-axis
for all and the map flows back and forth swimmingly.
In sum, the gameplay is where it's at. Nothing new to see, it's just standard
gameplay done right and done well. I would like to have seen a little bit
more/better connection between the two floors as the lifts are small/narrow. But
I can't give this a 2.75 so I'll round up to 3.0.
VaultCity is a pretty map - not beautiful, just pretty - that plays with the
industrial/warehouse theme and gives it a fresh coat of paint. The lighting is
good, if lacking in variation, and the architecture supports the flow of the
gamplay. The gameplay is some of the best UT99 CTF gameplay I've played in a
long time and if you're a CTF fan, you'd be remiss in trying this map. Even for
those that only play it occasionally, this one is worth the download.
Bad Points:
1.Too many boxes!
Conclusion:
8/10 :)
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