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05/10/2015 - "The Tower of Shrakith'a Part 1" by Geoff Field "Mad Martigan"

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UB_
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Subject: 05/10/2015 - "The Tower of Shrakith'a Part 1" by Geoff Field "Mad Martigan"

Post Posted: 05 Oct 2015, 21:53

Map Title: The Tower of Shrakith'a Part 1
Author: Geoff Field "Mad Martigan"
From: The Tower of Shrakith'a
Filename: shrak1.unr
Music Files: Fifth.umx, Newmca7.umx




Video Playthrough:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPWWYom1yN8

Synopsis: You are teleported and trapped in an alien planet and your only hope to get out of this mess is to reach an eerie tower seen in the distance.

Discuss!

User avatar FXANBSS
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Subject: Re: 05/10/2015 - "The Tower of Shrakith'a Part 1" by Geoff Field "Mad Martigan"

Post Posted: 05 Oct 2015, 22:49

Hello, do you guys select a map randomly for MOTW?
I don't think, i haven't seen ugly cubic maps here, like my creations.
Greetings.

P.S: No video? :P
I grant you the ultimate power!

UB_
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Subject: Re: 05/10/2015 - "The Tower of Shrakith'a Part 1" by Geoff Field "Mad Martigan"

Post Posted: 05 Oct 2015, 23:12

MOTWs are selected with a randomizer yeah but from October 26th it'd be all Unreal and RTNP maps in order.

Videos come always mid-week.
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User avatar editor Dave
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Subject: Re: 05/10/2015 - "The Tower of Shrakith'a Part 1" by Geoff Field "Mad Martigan"

Post Posted: 06 Oct 2015, 10:41

Are we supposed to find the 10 differences between the screenshots three and four? :P
EDIT: It has been changed!

I got to know the pack when I first installed Oldskool because I wanted to see which maps it supported with "New Singleplayer game" initially. I hoped they were all awesome. Well, with Shrakith'a I wasn't disappointed lol

From my first playthrough I'll always remember the jumping-across-the-roofs-part because I had never played something like this before. In my later playthroughs I appreciated the clever use of textures for the pictures hanging on the walls, the RPG-like elements (like "questing" and exploring), the unique decorations and designs for each house, Translator Messages that matter and the ascending gameplay drive throughout the map. I also like the fact that you can almost go everywhere that you see or from where enemies attack you (especially thinking of the fortress at the end).
Sometimes, the architecture sometimes looks a little flawed with a few brushes which don't match so well, but considering its age and the overall design, it's something to forgive easily.
Last edited by editor Dave on 07 Oct 2015, 00:33, edited 1 time in total.
Prisons of the Unforchers Retold - more info: https://www.unrealsp.org/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=4565

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Subject: Re: 05/10/2015 - "The Tower of Shrakith'a Part 1" by Geoff Field "Mad Martigan"

Post Posted: 06 Oct 2015, 16:28

FXANBSS wrote:I don't think, i haven't seen ugly cubic maps here, like my creations.


I believe maps and map packs with low scores are not included in the rotation. Else we would have already seen something out of Shadows of Na Pali or even Final Worlds.
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User avatar YappieChappie
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Subject: Re: 05/10/2015 - "The Tower of Shrakith'a Part 1" by Geoff Field "Mad Martigan"

Post Posted: 07 Oct 2015, 18:08

UBerserker wrote:MOTWs are selected with a randomizer yeah but from October 26th it'd be all Unreal and RTNP maps in order.

Videos come always mid-week.

That would be good, I'm still not very familiar with most of these map packs yet.

User avatar Tarydax
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Subject: Re: 05/10/2015 - "The Tower of Shrakith'a Part 1" by Geoff Field "Mad Martigan"

Post Posted: 08 Oct 2015, 01:59

This is probably still my favorite Unreal map. I remember being blown away by it the first time I played it on a multiplayer server. It took about an hour for it to download, but it was worth it.
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User avatar Semfry
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Subject: Re: 05/10/2015 - "The Tower of Shrakith'a Part 1" by Geoff Field "Mad Martigan"

Post Posted: 08 Oct 2015, 15:52

I think this replay made me appreciate this map more than I already did; There are unique rewards for exploration almost everywhere, yet it's got enough breathing room to feel coherent. Every part has unique props and sequences, on a level few subsequent levels have matched (especially while preserving the same coherence of feeling like a place and not just a bunch of cool set-pieces). This level of the set manages to smoothly transition through a bunch of different themes as well. I kind of disagreed with the ten for architecture in the current Shrakith'a review when it came out, but I support it more now, because everything is so right, even if it doesn't really match the most advanced modern maps in overall detail (The terrain around the Sniper fight area is a bit rough though, with some misalignments and being able to see the world cut off).

The enemies have some memorable placements (stuff like the one hiding in the gap beside a fallen statue), on higher settings the Sniper fight at the tower entrance is kind of a bastard though, to the point it's borderline unfair; it's probably easier to just run the gauntlet and deal with the Snipers when you get up to their perch.
Formerly Mman

UB_
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Subject: Re: 05/10/2015 - "The Tower of Shrakith'a Part 1" by Geoff Field "Mad Martigan"

Post Posted: 10 Oct 2015, 13:55

This map owns.
Looking back at it after seeing countless of level design in recent modern games, Shrakith'a's mapping was truly ahead of its time. A lot of details everywhere you go, all houses have doors to other rooms you don't see but they're there because there's a realistic reason they exist.
I really liked how he used dark skyboxes to simulate the "infinite background", like you see in the Giant Manta cliff or behind that gate next to the fountain, it's really fucking cool.
The killer fog section is a historical moment in Unreal's custom mapping. I'd like to believe the fog is nothing more than a Skaarj weapon but since Shrakith'a has a lot of supernatural stuff then it's really sentient life-stealer gas.
The tower in the distance is cool, mappack does a stellar job showing your final destination. Snipers aren't cool though but at least they're used coherently - I guess the last part suffers quite a lot gameplay-wise.
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Subject: Re: 05/10/2015 - "The Tower of Shrakith'a Part 1" by Geoff Field "Mad Martigan"

Post Posted: 11 Oct 2015, 17:55

One of the coolest things about this map is the way it throws the typical Skaarj as a scifi alien race on its head, and turns them more into some kind of demonic force from an evil realm, brought by their lord and master, Shrakith'a. It somehow just works, despite having energy weapons in a medieval-themed environment.

And I know it's not until the next map, but this pack really sold me on the idea of Spire.umx being the best possible thing to have playing during a heavy rain.
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