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Custom Map Reviews |
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USP-02, "E'Nara Town" by Sarevok and HellscragStoryThe player passes through the unlocked gates into a narrow winding canyon, to emerge onto the leading promenade into E’Nara Town. Patrolling Krall are encountered as one progresses to a central square. Several buildings have accessible interiors, yielding various items, surprises and messages from the Nali bemoaning the defilement of E’Nara by the Skaarj. After a combination of combat and exploration the player finds the means to progress by activating a switch in an elaborate Nali church.
Creatures and ItemsWeapons aquired: Automag, Stinger, ASMD. ArchitectureEmerging from the canyon one can’t help but being pleased with the scenery. This is impressive and solid stuff. Cliffs, archways, promenades, nice prefabs, an ornate fountain.
pretty nice work. Overscaling is an issue to some eyes, though not substantially lowering the overall impact. One is frustrated however by buildings in the initial open area which are obviously two stories yet only reveal a single ground level room upon entry. Additional exploration has opened up in the form of a nicely laid out garden area extending past the “ambush” building. Upon reaching the Nali church, the player can now enter and explore the ground level. The interior is impressive in scale and design…nothing over the top, but good absorbing and well thought out design with nice use of the 2D editor.
TexturingWell chosen texture sets including GenIn, NaliCast, SkyCity and Ancient predominate here. Without nitpicking, one noticeable misalignment was noted at the church entry door area, though that particular door texture can sometimes be difficult to align exactly. Of more serious note the base of the well at the far end of the first open area is “black” and needs some help in the form of checking one or more fields in the texture properties box. LightingThis category is quite noticeable in the contrasts it presents….ornate hanging lanterns with caronas in the promenades accompanied by stylishly grated torch alcoves. Freestanding torch holders with purple flame, candles, and lamps. In all buildings lighting is satisfying and well sourced, and especially so the large Nali church. Nothing overly masterful, just simply well done.
SoundTop rate use of sounds predominates here. Ambient sound and Dynamic Ambient sound actors are used as well as one could expect for the setting. Simply expressed, aurally the world is alive. The music track Hub2 integrates well with the players movement through E’Nara. Upon entering the church we encounter new zone with music event and Dynamic Ambient actors providing various chant excerpts appropriate to the setting. Technical ExecutionResonably handled. We have a major ambush with exploding doors upon picking up the ASMD (now how many of you didn’t expect that!) and a few other smaller ones as you progress to the levels end. Again, spawnpoints, patrolpoints, pathnodes, creature factories and music events are all here and used adequately. A problem was noted with the left mover at the rear door of the “ambush” building (as seen from the inside) which is keyed incorrectly so as not to open completely as the right mover does. Also, the framerates still suffer in this map, and while some improvement can be noted the very nature of the level will cause performance degradation for those with lower end systems. GameplayA fairly easygoing map, which follows well from the packs first. Possesses a feel of exploration, which combined with the combat results in an enjoyable experience. Overall EffectAs stated, flows well from the packs start. One can begin to feel the tension starting to build oh so slightly as you progress through E’Nara on the way to the third level.
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