Commented 16 years ago2007-11-01 15:34:51 UTC
in vault item: fy_tstComment #15895
wad include would be the prefered method yes, I tried to do a nowadtextures, which only binds the textures I used to the map, from all the wads I had used... no idea why it didnt work here.
Overall, it's a nice looking map with great architecture, texturing and design, but some elements may ruin the potentially awesome gameplay. Well worth playing.
Utopium is indeed an intriguing place, with a well crafted theme and good atention to detail.The first thing you noticed in this surreal place is use of important landmarks, such as the main tower, which establish an easy way or orientating players across an otherwise open and uniform area. What I mean by uniform is that the theme is carried through the map without significant changes, which is both good and bad. While it shows the author really accomplished the task of creating this world with a set of texturing and lighting rules, the fact that it always looks the same (good) way and that we have a symmetrical layout would eventually become a problem.In terms of architecture, everything is nicely crafted, curved where it has to, and beautifully textured (Once again, the only problem with the textures would be that there aren't more of them to distinguish more areas).Some people might think the theme of ruins, stone and bricks are a strange combination to be found floating in space with curved shapes. To those of us who have played UnrealTournament maps, we know exactly that the map wants to create that type of contrast.Things like the lamps and volumetric light effects in the middle of the map are certainly worth mentioning. The type of sky and lighting really bring the rest of the map together in that sense. Together with the sounds, those elements constitute the biggest chunk of the ambience. The only problem with ambience (just as it the problem was with textures) is that the single-room type of gameplay makes us be stuck with the exact same sounds most of the time.Part of the gameplay idea of this map is creating a single arena area in which the fragging would take place. There are different height levels players can move around in, but the whole layout really lacks some cover in places. It wouldn't be fair to associate this map with a killbox, but unfortunately it slightly shares that negative point. The symmetrical nature of the map we mentioned before also takes a bit away from the layout, and means that most of the spatial situations in the map are mirrored.
Bottom Line
Dm_utopium is a perfect example of how to combine a beautiful and well crafted theme with a fun layout for a fragfest. The biggest problem is that even if it works on the big scale (theme) and the small scale (fine detail), it lacks some attributes in layout and variation to ensure lengthy gameplay sessions before players start feeling "déjà vu". In other words: All the elements are there, but they could be arranged in different ways to really get the best of it.
Utopia + Elysium = Utopium. Sounds perfect, doesn't it? Well, not entirely. Personally, I'm a big fan of surreal maps/mods. They fully reflect the author's imagination, letting him go loose and create the kind of stuff he wouldn't put in a normal map. The author's made some surreal levels before, though none of them could be compared with Utopium. The map is basically a big arena with a large tower in the middle. It looks like a killbox and, actually, in most aspects, it is. Of course, it's not your average hollow cube with piles of weapons in every corner and that's, what makes it stand out. Weapons are placed very well in most areas, with heavier weapons and stronger powerups made hard-to-reach, ammo, healthkits and batteries placed where you need them without any piling. I also like how the unusual architecture is utilized in weapon placement, where most harder-to-reach edges or areas had items on them, forcing the players to make riskier moves for the valuable stuff. Plus - it makes most of the weapons look like they belong there, which isn't something you see often in a non-Half-Life themed map. Another interesting (and very nice-looking) idea was including lifting chambers. With the glows and very fitting sounds - they give you the coolest, although very slow lift to the upper level. It'd have been pretty interesting, if those lifts would heal the player as he emerges, enhancing the effect. Sadly, apart from the good stuff, Utopium also has some obvious King of the Hill on baby mode gameplay elements, which are quite a stab in the guts for the normal player. Almost every map I've played had the simplest gameplay rule, which goes something like: Do something stupid = Be punished or simply die; it's plain logic. Still - this map seems to be denying that, so doing something you'd normally consider suicide results in the opposite. Yes, a leap into the void, instead of killing you in some violent way, stripping you of your weapons and dropping you off in the middle of the map for other players to hunt down, chooses a baffling alternative and teleports you right on top of the huge tower, where there's also an RPG ready for you to pick up. Just go on and kill tons of unsuspecting players from a huge, safe distance. And to top that off - there's only one teleport destination, so if two players jump into the void anywhere at the same time - they'll always get stuck. That really messes things up.In contrast to flaws in gameplay - the visuals are all-round well made. Architecture fits the theme pretty well, with its indefinable style and borderless environment. The only thing I find less fitting is the symmetry in most paths and tower architecture, although keeping in mind, that "surreal" has no strict definition and everyone sees it their way, you can't consider it as a real flaw.Texturing was very clean and interesting throughout. A combination between concrete and organic material worked very well, creating nice contrast. Some small things, like no blue trim texture on the round windows in the tower, or blurry looking hi-res textures on edges of the paths could've been corrected/adjusted, though those are just minorities.Lighting has a huge influence on the whole calm and cool feel Utopium has, with light blue as a main color, broken up with the occasional yellow emitted by the orange plant lights. Those are a very nice addition both for lighting and detail, plus they have a neat glow effect that makes them look perfectly round at a distance. Though, even with the plants, some more contrast, like some yellow in the healing pool, would be a great addition. Ambience is also very well done in this map. Even with mostly default sounds from Half-Life and only a few additions from Counter-Strike - it creates a truly awesome and surreal atmosphere. In my opinion, it only lacks some randomly triggered sounds; they'd work quite well with the theme.
Bottom Line
WorldCrafter, being known for creating lots of high quality Counter-Strike maps, models and other custom content, wasn't the one you'd expect a bigger HLDM project from. However, Utopium is just that. With a surreal theme, differing from the author's usually preferred urban/city setting, and some interesting gameplay choices - it's not a perfect, yet a very interesting and, in most cases, original map, which, even with some flaws, is fully worth your time.
Commented 16 years ago2007-10-29 13:01:38 UTC
in vault item: pl_snpComment #15883
I liked the gameplay! It didn't feel like portal, which was good in a way even tho I really like the typical portal style.
The stacking puzzle was a nice difference for example.
However, it was a bit too easy, and is it just me, or was that energy ball moving very slowly? I've not yet mapped for portal, but judging by the speed I believe you can edit how fast you want it to move? I would speed it up a bit, becuase it was VERY slow.
As I said, the gameplay was good, but I didn't like the way the map looked. It looked very rushed. The textures was not algined and it was very square.
All in all, I'd say 2.5 which is rounded up to 3
Good job, but can be improved a lot.
This comment was made on an article that has been deleted.
If the view was slightly zoomed out more (or shifted upwards), you could see what blocks are coming down in advance. Putting that aside, I love the stupidity of this map, it's as hard as it is insanely awesome.
Commented 16 years ago2007-10-26 22:13:40 UTC
in vault item: Life's EndComment #15872
This mod, was definatley the best mod i have ever played. It puts valve's "half-life" to shame.
The gameplay was purely amazing! The keycards were a little repitive, but they made sense. The battereis though, they were too duracell-like
I really "knew" the character. The part where you get fired! awesome! The hallucinations, awesome! It kept me playing until the end (skipped dinner that day) and when it ended, i was thinking "no!!! i want more!!"
The detail, and the realism was unbelievable, even if there were a few incorrect rendered vents/grates
Words cannot describe how awesome this mod is, or how much work it must have taken. I worship you as a mapping god.
10000000 stars........oh wait, you can only go to 5? oh well
Commented 16 years ago2007-10-26 22:04:09 UTC
in vault item: Timefall (SP Mod)Comment #15871
eh, i played this mod 4 times, and, to be honest, i did not like it very well. From the start, i did not understand the story, and i never got any hint of the story in the rest of the game. If i may compare this mod to "lifes end" on this site, i would point out how you really knew your character in "lifes end", from getting fired by the boss, to your character thinking out loud, it really gave you a sense of who you were playing as, and giving you a reason to progress, and protect your character. I did not get the same feeling in timefall, i literally forgot the characters name by the end.
The combat was not all that good, the fights with the aliens were the same thing every time, and the army fights were not implemented in a strategic combat way.
The sniper rifle, while a good idea, was poorly implemented. I noticed that, upon firing the rifle, it took a 2 second delay to hit medium to far away targets, and i realized that this, was because it was just a remodel of the crossbow! - 1 star for that, that really dissapointed me.
The architecture, was repetitive, and boring, and some things just didnt make sense. The texturing was dull, but that wasnt very bad.
The puzzles, gah, the puzzles really annoyed me. They were the same thing over and over, look around for a paper thin ledge, and follow it, open a door, backtrack, activate something, progress. :/
And really, i expected this NOT to be in a mod as highly reviewed as this, the barney said "open fire gordon", now i may have forgotten the characters name, but i know for a fact that it was not gordon. :/ -1 star
This also disapointed me, getting the crowbar, and the shotgun, BEFORE the HEV. Yet you could see the HEV sleeves on your player, thats just not right. - 1/2 star
The only things i really liked, was the time travel sequence, and the clever parts where you saw gordon.
This mod was much less than i expected it to be, i was really disapointed. 2.5 stars, rounds to 3.
Commented 16 years ago2007-10-25 13:32:33 UTC
in vault item: Threating skies: tsao1Comment #15867
First, was this a HL or HL2 map? (I ran it successfully with HL.)
+Awesome detail with the power station outside. This is the main reason I thought it was a HL2 map, because it was extremely detailed. +I like the places the train goes through, because the large spaces make it less linear than the original HL1 intro. -The train needs to go faster. -I want to be able to see out the front of the train.
Commented 16 years ago2007-10-25 13:27:07 UTC
in vault item: DM_Stranded V2Comment #15866
Amazing. Textures were perfect for the setting. How did you use custom textures without sending a WAD file along with the map? The layout was wonderful. The use of force field floors, computers, and the hangar showed quite clearly that this was a gigantic spaceship, not just a series of hallways. The map is as original as some of the Unreal Tournament maps, and as futuristic and detailed as some of the Halo maps. Usable objects (buttons, chargers) were well placed. I'm glad you used custom textures for these because the usual HL chargers would have looked completely out of place in the environment you created. The unusual elements, like the force fields and hazardous materials tanks, were extremely well executed. I would have liked to see a little more of the outside of the ship. For example, a window that looks out on part of the hull. There weren't enough windows on all sides, so I couldn't tell if the ship was actually floating in space. Game play should be awesome. I haven't yet had the chance to do anything except explore, but I can't wait to put this on at a LAN party.
This comment was made on an article that has been deleted.
Commented 16 years ago2007-10-22 00:05:23 UTC
in vault item: pl_snpComment #15843
Thanks, yeah this map was more for me learning all the stuff, as you could see it progressed from the easy stuff to the more advanced, Ill see if I can get another one thought up for ya
Commented 16 years ago2007-10-22 00:04:22 UTC
in vault item: Ren_Test1Comment #15842
Here we go again.
Ok so good news! I actually beat this one! We'll start with the pluses this time. Mix it up a little.
+ Unique chamber. Reminds me of the last chamber with the scaffolding. The lights are really cool. + Challenging. It took me 10 minutes to complete this chamber the first time around. Considering it was one room, it felt about right.
- No sound. Unlike ren_test2, there was no relevant AI chiming in to push me along. There were some other little things that you fixed in ren_test2, so I won't bother trying to remember what those are, since you clearly resolved those issues which I would have told you to resolve if I had bothered to remember they needed resolving. - Challenging. Again this is a negative as well. This chamber was about as challenging as my last point was confusing. Although I beat it in ten minutes, I think I ninja'd my way through. In other words, I think the solution I found was not the one you intended, and was much easier. Send me a pm if you want more info on that.
So, this was what I want in a Portal map. Fun and challenging. Again, this map might be too challenging for new players, but I won't deduct points for that, since no0bS could always just, you know, get better. It's not the maps fault they suck. This was not up to par with your second map though, it wasn't as creative or polished. I give it a 4.
Commented 16 years ago2007-10-21 23:38:17 UTC
in vault item: pl_snpComment #15841
Ok I lied, I couldn't wait. Needed the fix.
- Short. I beat it in two minutes. - Easy. Way too easy. People need a challenge. It had some elements like the double-fling and the orbs, but you could've combined them to make a puzzle that was more interesting and challenging. We all went through those things by themselves in the first few training puzzles.
+ First room was cool. Interesting to give the player a puzzle to get the device, and it was short enough to not distract from the Portal experience. People play Portal to use the Portal device, after all. +WCC!
Well, it was pretty much what you promised. Easy, not special, and there was a neat thing. Now that we know you can make these, lets see something a bit more challenging. So 3'd for not being special, but not sucking either.
Commented 16 years ago2007-10-21 15:02:34 UTC
in vault item: Ren_Test2Comment #15839
As much as i enjoy a challenge, that was a pain in the ass. I got lucky with the energy ball. It somehow warped inside of the chamber ??
And there's a bug with your rotating platform. You can exit a portal from it, but you can't enter a portal that's crated on it. And that would have shaved 10 minutes off my time.
VERY creative no doubt, and the turrets weren't too bad.. but 4 stars only because it was a pain in the ass.
Commented 16 years ago2007-10-21 05:18:11 UTC
in vault item: Ren_Test2Comment #15837
fun map, I liked it. Difficulty is no issue (finished it in 15 minutes). Only difficulty is the creation of portals while falling at light speed through two portals : this needs some luck to fire it right, just like in the advanced maps. Thanks for creating it.
Commented 16 years ago2007-10-21 04:23:27 UTC
in vault item: Ren_Test2Comment #15836
This puzzle is too hard. No matter how innovative the ideas in it are, it isn't fun if you have to try 150,000 times to complete it. The mapping is creative, and the use of sounds is good. But it isn't fun.
Commented 16 years ago2007-10-20 23:29:21 UTC
in vault item: Ren_Test2Comment #15835
Alright, this has 814 views at the time of this comment, but only 357 downloads. That means there are 457 idiots who DIDN'T download this map.
Let's begin with the complaints, since there will be very few.
- The spheres reflect a sky. I'm pretty sure you could have fixed this with a cubemap. - Some problems rendering portal effects on surfaces that are not able to have portals, but I bet this is due to the next point.
+ The rotating room. Brilliant. I don't know why valve chose not to include this element into the game, because in my opinion it works very well. + Use of sounds. Hearing the AI chime in with completely relevant comments while I was playing made me feel like I was back in an Aperature test chamber I had missed while playing through Portal. + The sphere. Again, another new element that feels very much like a part of the Portal universe. The mild bounce and roll its shape presents to the puzzle makes it very unique from the cube I expected to pop out of the delivery tube as far as how the player can use it in the puzzle. + Difficult. I admit it, I can't get the energy ball done. I know how to, I think, so if I gave it a few more tries I bet I could do it. Yeah, yeah I know, reviewing the map before actually beating it but I've done everything else and couldn't wait.
- Difficult. This is a negative as well, just because some less experienced players may find it frustrating. It is very complex, specifically the aforementioned energy ball part. Damn that energy ball. However, even though I failed repeatedly at racing to get the ball where it needed to go, I still want to go back and try again. If the map weren't so damn fun, I wouldn't want to bother.
Summery: If you love playing Portal for the sake of solving new and challenging puzzles, you'll love this chamber. Very well done, but then again I expected so from a professional designer as yourself. If I were vALVE I would be giving your ass a job offer to make bonus map packs instead of writing this.
I had to play this twice, just to comprehend the awesome magnitude of its awesomeness!!!
But really, this mod is tied with "life's end" as my favorite mod. The architexture was great, i had to reload because i missed what the scientist said, because i was marveling at the architexture
Gameplay was awesome, amazing use of scripted sequences.
The part where you could see the garg through the hole in the wall, made me shiver. Pure awesomeness, as was the garg fight scene.
The parts where the cieling supports broke, or something fell, were amazing, i cant imagine how much time it took to do that
Commented 16 years ago2007-10-19 02:56:15 UTC
in vault item: dm_ribComment #15825
Thanx for good words!
i hate the dusts
Eah! DaveJ not so cool as he wish to seem. Take it for more emotions: http://scrama.3dn.ru/load/0-0-0-2-20 1.4 Mb I haven't enough time to translate sound and info to english from russian, but it is not a strong problem.
Commented 16 years ago2007-10-18 16:08:36 UTC
in vault item: dm_ribComment #15824
Oh man.......my eyes fell of on the ground.......I wish I would be as good as you......well....I wish....
the detail.....arhitecture.......nothing is boring.... you even add some rain and ambient_generics.......the walls are beautiful. The metal pieces on the ground reminds me of halflife2 . How many moths(years?!) have you worked on it?
Oh my god, it's to good.......Now I realize I'm way to far to be a excelent mapper.(I'll have time for that , I'm only 14)
I hope this map will be as good as de_dust.And de_dust hasn't got that detail!!!(i hate the dusts )
Texturing — 9
Ambience — 9
Lighting — 9
Gameplay — 7
Video Review
Bottom Line
Overall, it's a nice looking map with great architecture, texturing and design, but some elements may ruin the potentially awesome gameplay. Well worth playing.Texturing — 9
Ambience — 8
Lighting — 9
Gameplay — 8
Review
Utopium is indeed an intriguing place, with a well crafted theme and good atention to detail.The first thing you noticed in this surreal place is use of important landmarks, such as the main tower, which establish an easy way or orientating players across an otherwise open and uniform area. What I mean by uniform is that the theme is carried through the map without significant changes, which is both good and bad. While it shows the author really accomplished the task of creating this world with a set of texturing and lighting rules, the fact that it always looks the same (good) way and that we have a symmetrical layout would eventually become a problem.In terms of architecture, everything is nicely crafted, curved where it has to, and beautifully textured (Once again, the only problem with the textures would be that there aren't more of them to distinguish more areas).Some people might think the theme of ruins, stone and bricks are a strange combination to be found floating in space with curved shapes. To those of us who have played UnrealTournament maps, we know exactly that the map wants to create that type of contrast.Things like the lamps and volumetric light effects in the middle of the map are certainly worth mentioning. The type of sky and lighting really bring the rest of the map together in that sense. Together with the sounds, those elements constitute the biggest chunk of the ambience. The only problem with ambience (just as it the problem was with textures) is that the single-room type of gameplay makes us be stuck with the exact same sounds most of the time.Part of the gameplay idea of this map is creating a single arena area in which the fragging would take place. There are different height levels players can move around in, but the whole layout really lacks some cover in places. It wouldn't be fair to associate this map with a killbox, but unfortunately it slightly shares that negative point. The symmetrical nature of the map we mentioned before also takes a bit away from the layout, and means that most of the spatial situations in the map are mirrored.Bottom Line
Dm_utopium is a perfect example of how to combine a beautiful and well crafted theme with a fun layout for a fragfest. The biggest problem is that even if it works on the big scale (theme) and the small scale (fine detail), it lacks some attributes in layout and variation to ensure lengthy gameplay sessions before players start feeling "déjà vu". In other words: All the elements are there, but they could be arranged in different ways to really get the best of it.Texturing — 8
Ambience — 9
Lighting — 9
Gameplay — 6
Review
Utopia + Elysium = Utopium. Sounds perfect, doesn't it? Well, not entirely. Personally, I'm a big fan of surreal maps/mods. They fully reflect the author's imagination, letting him go loose and create the kind of stuff he wouldn't put in a normal map. The author's made some surreal levels before, though none of them could be compared with Utopium. The map is basically a big arena with a large tower in the middle. It looks like a killbox and, actually, in most aspects, it is. Of course, it's not your average hollow cube with piles of weapons in every corner and that's, what makes it stand out. Weapons are placed very well in most areas, with heavier weapons and stronger powerups made hard-to-reach, ammo, healthkits and batteries placed where you need them without any piling. I also like how the unusual architecture is utilized in weapon placement, where most harder-to-reach edges or areas had items on them, forcing the players to make riskier moves for the valuable stuff. Plus - it makes most of the weapons look like they belong there, which isn't something you see often in a non-Half-Life themed map. Another interesting (and very nice-looking) idea was including lifting chambers. With the glows and very fitting sounds - they give you the coolest, although very slow lift to the upper level. It'd have been pretty interesting, if those lifts would heal the player as he emerges, enhancing the effect. Sadly, apart from the good stuff, Utopium also has some obvious King of the Hill on baby mode gameplay elements, which are quite a stab in the guts for the normal player. Almost every map I've played had the simplest gameplay rule, which goes something like: Do something stupid = Be punished or simply die; it's plain logic. Still - this map seems to be denying that, so doing something you'd normally consider suicide results in the opposite. Yes, a leap into the void, instead of killing you in some violent way, stripping you of your weapons and dropping you off in the middle of the map for other players to hunt down, chooses a baffling alternative and teleports you right on top of the huge tower, where there's also an RPG ready for you to pick up. Just go on and kill tons of unsuspecting players from a huge, safe distance. And to top that off - there's only one teleport destination, so if two players jump into the void anywhere at the same time - they'll always get stuck. That really messes things up.In contrast to flaws in gameplay - the visuals are all-round well made. Architecture fits the theme pretty well, with its indefinable style and borderless environment. The only thing I find less fitting is the symmetry in most paths and tower architecture, although keeping in mind, that "surreal" has no strict definition and everyone sees it their way, you can't consider it as a real flaw.Texturing was very clean and interesting throughout. A combination between concrete and organic material worked very well, creating nice contrast. Some small things, like no blue trim texture on the round windows in the tower, or blurry looking hi-res textures on edges of the paths could've been corrected/adjusted, though those are just minorities.Lighting has a huge influence on the whole calm and cool feel Utopium has, with light blue as a main color, broken up with the occasional yellow emitted by the orange plant lights. Those are a very nice addition both for lighting and detail, plus they have a neat glow effect that makes them look perfectly round at a distance. Though, even with the plants, some more contrast, like some yellow in the healing pool, would be a great addition.Ambience is also very well done in this map. Even with mostly default sounds from Half-Life and only a few additions from Counter-Strike - it creates a truly awesome and surreal atmosphere. In my opinion, it only lacks some randomly triggered sounds; they'd work quite well with the theme.
Bottom Line
WorldCrafter, being known for creating lots of high quality Counter-Strike maps, models and other custom content, wasn't the one you'd expect a bigger HLDM project from. However, Utopium is just that. With a surreal theme, differing from the author's usually preferred urban/city setting, and some interesting gameplay choices - it's not a perfect, yet a very interesting and, in most cases, original map, which, even with some flaws, is fully worth your time.It didn't feel like portal, which was good in a way even tho I really like the typical portal style.
The stacking puzzle was a nice difference for example.
However, it was a bit too easy, and is it just me, or was that energy ball moving very slowly?
I've not yet mapped for portal, but judging by the speed I believe you can edit how fast you want it to move?
I would speed it up a bit, becuase it was VERY slow.
As I said, the gameplay was good, but I didn't like the way the map looked.
It looked very rushed.
The textures was not algined and it was very square.
All in all, I'd say 2.5 which is rounded up to 3
Good job, but can be improved a lot.
edit: lol, that was hard. nice glows on the blocks
The gameplay was purely amazing! The keycards were a little repitive, but they made sense. The battereis though, they were too duracell-like
I really "knew" the character. The part where you get fired! awesome! The hallucinations, awesome! It kept me playing until the end (skipped dinner that day) and when it ended, i was thinking "no!!! i want more!!"
The detail, and the realism was unbelievable, even if there were a few incorrect rendered vents/grates
Words cannot describe how awesome this mod is, or how much work it must have taken. I worship you as a mapping god.
10000000 stars........oh wait, you can only go to 5? oh well
The combat was not all that good, the fights with the aliens were the same thing every time, and the army fights were not implemented in a strategic combat way.
The sniper rifle, while a good idea, was poorly implemented. I noticed that, upon firing the rifle, it took a 2 second delay to hit medium to far away targets, and i realized that this, was because it was just a remodel of the crossbow! - 1 star for that, that really dissapointed me.
The architecture, was repetitive, and boring, and some things just didnt make sense. The texturing was dull, but that wasnt very bad.
The puzzles, gah, the puzzles really annoyed me. They were the same thing over and over, look around for a paper thin ledge, and follow it, open a door, backtrack, activate something, progress. :/
And really, i expected this NOT to be in a mod as highly reviewed as this, the barney said "open fire gordon", now i may have forgotten the characters name, but i know for a fact that it was not gordon. :/ -1 star
This also disapointed me, getting the crowbar, and the shotgun, BEFORE the HEV. Yet you could see the HEV sleeves on your player, thats just not right. - 1/2 star
The only things i really liked, was the time travel sequence, and the clever parts where you saw gordon.
This mod was much less than i expected it to be, i was really disapointed. 2.5 stars, rounds to 3.
thanks
V3 is on the chalkboard
+Awesome detail with the power station outside. This is the main reason I thought it was a HL2 map, because it was extremely detailed.
+I like the places the train goes through, because the large spaces make it less linear than the original HL1 intro.
-The train needs to go faster.
-I want to be able to see out the front of the train.
The layout was wonderful. The use of force field floors, computers, and the hangar showed quite clearly that this was a gigantic spaceship, not just a series of hallways. The map is as original as some of the Unreal Tournament maps, and as futuristic and detailed as some of the Halo maps.
Usable objects (buttons, chargers) were well placed. I'm glad you used custom textures for these because the usual HL chargers would have looked completely out of place in the environment you created. The unusual elements, like the force fields and hazardous materials tanks, were extremely well executed.
I would have liked to see a little more of the outside of the ship. For example, a window that looks out on part of the hull. There weren't enough windows on all sides, so I couldn't tell if the ship was actually floating in space.
Game play should be awesome. I haven't yet had the chance to do anything except explore, but I can't wait to put this on at a LAN party.
Most of the entities probably has some easy-to-use tools to place in the map with the new version of Hammer for Portal.
Ok so good news! I actually beat this one! We'll start with the pluses this time. Mix it up a little.
+ Unique chamber. Reminds me of the last chamber with the scaffolding. The lights are really cool.
+ Challenging. It took me 10 minutes to complete this chamber the first time around. Considering it was one room, it felt about right.
- No sound. Unlike ren_test2, there was no relevant AI chiming in to push me along. There were some other little things that you fixed in ren_test2, so I won't bother trying to remember what those are, since you clearly resolved those issues which I would have told you to resolve if I had bothered to remember they needed resolving.
- Challenging. Again this is a negative as well. This chamber was about as challenging as my last point was confusing. Although I beat it in ten minutes, I think I ninja'd my way through. In other words, I think the solution I found was not the one you intended, and was much easier. Send me a pm if you want more info on that.
So, this was what I want in a Portal map. Fun and challenging. Again, this map might be too challenging for new players, but I won't deduct points for that, since no0bS could always just, you know, get better. It's not the maps fault they suck. This was not up to par with your second map though, it wasn't as creative or polished. I give it a 4.
- Short. I beat it in two minutes.
- Easy. Way too easy. People need a challenge. It had some elements like the double-fling and the orbs, but you could've combined them to make a puzzle that was more interesting and challenging. We all went through those things by themselves in the first few training puzzles.
+ First room was cool. Interesting to give the player a puzzle to get the device, and it was short enough to not distract from the Portal experience. People play Portal to use the Portal device, after all.
+WCC!
Well, it was pretty much what you promised. Easy, not special, and there was a neat thing. Now that we know you can make these, lets see something a bit more challenging. So 3'd for not being special, but not sucking either.
Come on guys, keep supplying. I need this man.
I got lucky with the energy ball. It somehow warped inside of the chamber ??
And there's a bug with your rotating platform. You can exit a portal from it, but you can't enter a portal that's crated on it. And that would have shaved 10 minutes off my time.
VERY creative no doubt, and the turrets weren't too bad.. but
4 stars only because it was a pain in the ass.
Only difficulty is the creation of portals while falling at light speed through two portals : this needs some luck to fire it right, just like in the advanced maps.
Thanks for creating it.
Let's begin with the complaints, since there will be very few.
- The spheres reflect a sky. I'm pretty sure you could have fixed this with a cubemap.
- Some problems rendering portal effects on surfaces that are not able to have portals, but I bet this is due to the next point.
+ The rotating room. Brilliant. I don't know why valve chose not to include this element into the game, because in my opinion it works very well.
+ Use of sounds. Hearing the AI chime in with completely relevant comments while I was playing made me feel like I was back in an Aperature test chamber I had missed while playing through Portal.
+ The sphere. Again, another new element that feels very much like a part of the Portal universe. The mild bounce and roll its shape presents to the puzzle makes it very unique from the cube I expected to pop out of the delivery tube as far as how the player can use it in the puzzle.
+ Difficult. I admit it, I can't get the energy ball done. I know how to, I think, so if I gave it a few more tries I bet I could do it. Yeah, yeah I know, reviewing the map before actually beating it but I've done everything else and couldn't wait.
- Difficult. This is a negative as well, just because some less experienced players may find it frustrating. It is very complex, specifically the aforementioned energy ball part. Damn that energy ball. However, even though I failed repeatedly at racing to get the ball where it needed to go, I still want to go back and try again. If the map weren't so damn fun, I wouldn't want to bother.
Summery: If you love playing Portal for the sake of solving new and challenging puzzles, you'll love this chamber. Very well done, but then again I expected so from a professional designer as yourself. If I were vALVE I would be giving your ass a job offer to make bonus map packs instead of writing this.
What else is there to say, but 5'd.
But really, this mod is tied with "life's end" as my favorite mod. The architexture was great, i had to reload because i missed what the scientist said, because i was marveling at the architexture
Gameplay was awesome, amazing use of scripted sequences.
The part where you could see the garg through the hole in the wall, made me shiver. Pure awesomeness, as was the garg fight scene.
The parts where the cieling supports broke, or something fell, were amazing, i cant imagine how much time it took to do that
Muzzleflash FTW
***** five stars
Take it for more emotions: http://scrama.3dn.ru/load/0-0-0-2-20 1.4 Mb
I haven't enough time to translate sound and info to english from russian, but it is not a strong problem.
the detail.....arhitecture.......nothing is boring.... you even add some rain and ambient_generics.......the walls are beautiful. The metal pieces on the ground reminds me of halflife2 . How many moths(years?!) have you worked on it?
Oh my god, it's to good.......Now I realize I'm way to far to be a excelent mapper.(I'll have time for that , I'm only 14)
I hope this map will be as good as de_dust.And de_dust hasn't got that detail!!!(i hate the dusts