22/09/2014 - "Outpost Pheonix" by Mr. Prophet

[Semfry]

The centrepiece map of Xidia, mainly because of it's sheer size; it's about 2-3 times longer than any other level in the Incident part of Xidia; that feels kind of odd pacing wise and like it could be divided, but it's hard to tell where it could be cut without losing the interconnected parts. While it's all a tech-base style it goes through quite a few general themes throughout but I think it works, as it gives the feeling of a base that hastily thrown together and added to as the operation expanded, which is supported/contrasted with stuff like the sleek military base in the last level. In it's final patched form I think the difficulty is mostly okay though still on the hard side, now, I think the length makes it intimidating more than anything else.

[Mister_Prophet]

In regards to the difficulty (patched Gold, unpatched Gold, original Xidia) I think it is just how the enemies are used contrasting with what Unreal fans expect from Unreal enemies, at least back then. The player doesn't travel far without contending with groups or multiple ambush scenarios, and the backtracking kinda made me have to add so many auxiliary events for return visits to previously cleared areas that, for its, size the map keeps you busy. Unreal maps were more about the majesty of the locations and the awe of being someplace alien. I couldn't compete with that so I opted for a focus on combat.