Today marks my official return to mapping, after nearly twelve years "out of the ring." I had released eight Q2 dm maps back in the good ol' days, but my interest in mapping took a distant back seat to my interest in college life shortly after arriving there in the fall of '99. I left on a high note, getting PlanetQuake's "Level of the Week" honor for my last map (http://planetquake.gamespy.com/View.php ... ail&id=236), but that was the last I was to be heard of.
A few months ago I stumbled across some old .map files I'd been tinkering with back in the day, and I decided to see if I could give it a whirl again. Much to my amazement, I was still able to track down a lot of the resources and freeware I'd used way back then and with a little patience, I was able to get back into the swing of things. (Now, actually PLAYING Q2 dm... that took a little longer to get used to again!) Anyway, after far too many dead-end attempts at maps I came up with the idea for this map and was able to see it through to completion (FINALLY!).
So here it is. My first map in almost twelve years.
It's smallish, I think a little bigger than Q2DM3, and more vertical, and it's done in the id's "power" map textures, the black metal with rivets, and has some grating and lava, which is both for visual effect and as a hazard to players. Growing up in the Rust Belt of America has given me some encounters with dark and grimy heavy industrial facilities, and I think that's where some of my inspiration comes from. I wanted to bring that to Q2 without having a map that would seem like it was outside the Quake 2 universe. I like the world id created and I try to stay true to it while creating new environments within it.
The visuals are OK, but I was trying to focus more making the map fun to play. id's dm maps hooked my attention from the start, in that they aren't the most awe-inspiring maps to look at, but they are INCREDIBLY fun to play. I'm not saying this map ranks with theirs, but that my focus was more on making architecture that facilitates fast-paced, yet not chaotic, gameplay while also maintaining physical scaling that players are familiar with (128-unit wide halls, 1:2 rise to run for stairs, etc). I like forcing players to take risks for the more valuable items in a map, and I tried to do that without hindering the flow of the map. So, for instance, the SSG can easily be accessed from the upper or lower ledges and the trim on both sides of the lava falls can also be used as a stepping stone to the SSG, thus allowing fairly quick and easy access to the weapon though it is surrounded by lava, and a little clumsiness will cost you, like in Q2DM6 and 7.
Anyway, I could go on, but I'm tired and I just want to get this thing released so I can be done with it. Please hit me with all your feedback: positive, negative, whatever. I really want to hear it. Be blunt. Be honest.
Also, I'd love to play this map with real people, since it's just me and the Eraser bots these days. So if anyone wants to play, just reply here or shoot me an email.
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. I will definitely give it a try later.