[RELEASED] Chapel of the Elders - Released

[Jet v4.3.5]

So I begin playing, and really, really neat neat stuff is everywhere.

[spoiler]I liked it all the way up to the point where the skaarj ambushes you, since I was getting the stinger and the stone crushed me. That alone is the only bad thing I've encountered so far. Even if the design of this map isn't as flamboyant as more modern packs, it's got a pretty much perfect classic Unreal vibe to it. I'll have to restart and get back to the skaarj ambush again, though, but that's my only complaint this first time playing the map.[/spoiler]

[Darkon]

haven't played it, but.. nice job for finishing it on time!

[Legendslayer222]

I've played some of this, but I'm stuck now, [spoiler]just after getting the eightball. I can't find how to open the door with the face.

The rest is really good, apart from the Skaarj rock killing me (repeatedly ) before I knew what was happening. Such a good Unreal temple feel .[/spoiler]

[AlCapowned]

[spoiler]There's a button on one of the huge torches that you have to press.[/spoiler]

The map definitely has an Unreal vibe to it. I liked how you didn't start with the dispersion pistol; it made the map somewhat challenging in places where it normally wouldn't be.

[spoiler]The Skaarj ambush with the rock didn't kill me, but I died a few times from those pupae that fell out of the temple ceiling. [/spoiler]

[Legendslayer222]

Finished. A very nice experience.
[spoiler]Argh, I suspected I was missing a small disguised stone button on the wall like in all the Unreal temple maps! I didn't really mind being stuck though (stupid as this will sound) because it reminded me of when I first played Unreal and got stuck all the time. fond, frustrating memories.

I also really enjoyed the challenge no DPistol presented, I cursed my sloppy firing wasting ammunition more than once.

Best Gasbags ever in this map? [/spoiler]

[editor Dave]

I had the same problem finding the button as LegenSlayer222. Apart from that, the map really evoked the typical Unreal atmosphere. Being the most polished and the longest map, you could deserve to be the winner

[Master_Unreal]

All I can say is wow, this was a lot of fun

[spoiler]The outdoor area seemed somewhat empty, but thats not really a problem, just a small thing I noticed. The skaarj ambush was pretty hard (Unreal difficulty ftw ) But I eventually passed it, however it is possible to dodge past the gate before it closes, not having to fight the skaarj at all. The gasbag fight was a lot of fun, overall just a great map [/spoiler]

And yes, finding the button after the eightball was a bit hard but other than that, good map

[Teridax]

however it is possible to dodge past the gate before it closes

Oh crap! I didn't know that was possible.

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. I added a hint for the eightball area, added some more creatures to some of the emptier areas, and now the Skaarj ambush shouldn't crush people as often. I also added some sounds for the more lifeless spots in the map, and I put a few more creatures in there, along with a little bit of extra ammo. I have yet to test a lot of my changes, though.

Edit: I also put some more birds in. I just realized how they were only at the start.

Hopefully with my changes it won't be too easy.

Edit: V2 is up. http://www.gamefront.com/files/20454680/ChapelOfTheEldersV2.zip

[AlCapowned]

I played the new version, and I didn't do as well. I think the extra creatures and ammo balance out pretty well. Nice job.

[TheIronKnuckle]

awesome level for the amount of time you had to make it. i kept on thinking "surely it's going to end soon" althroughout but you kept on surprising me.

[spoiler]I played on unreal and despite my best attempts, ran out of ammo multiple times. BUT this was awesome, because it required different tactics. like the room with the krall playing dice i snuck past them, grabbed the key, and then ran back with the razor jack skaarj in pursuit. i stood behind the krall and let them get into a fight with the skaarj. they killed the skaarj, i grabbed his gun, and then wasted the krall. good game all around.[/spoiler]

[Sinistral]

Great job, a fantastic map that has a very old school Unreal feeling. I was amazed by the size of the map, greatly appreciated the scale the map had to offer. A job well done!

[AlCapowned]

I was never very fond of the ancient temple theme until I played this map; I think that says a lot.

[Teridax]

Thanks for the comments, guys.

[Semfry]

Spoilered just in case

[spoiler]I mostly really liked the visuals of this level. The canyons have a cool Chicoverde feeling to them in their height, and the Temples are quite varied with a very Unreal-esque atmosphere and interesting and grand structures. There's some cubic areas, and the lighting was a bit drab at times (especially in some of the canyon areas), along with some surface lighting issues, but the good-and sometimes great-looking areas outweigh them. I also think the Stinger shards on the wall could do with some fog or other illumination so they fit into the environment more until you take them and it goes away (I think Tower of Shrakith'a has something like that in it's first level if you need a set-up).

The layout had a nice sense of exploration in it, with stuff like the cave area at the start (too bad about the unfinished tunnel) and there are cool discovery moments like finding a small temple area hidden behind a rock. Unfortunately the actual gameplay has some major issues (V2). At least on Unreal difficulty ammo is ridiculously thin; I had to reload multiple times to use as little ammo per fight as possible, skipped several enemies, and was still extremely starved for most of it. This goes with the complete lack of a Dispersion Pistol, as going heavy on ammo is even more essential when there are no options if you run out. Its exclusion seems pretty pointless and doesn't add anything at all. Health was pretty low too, but that's not as bad as the ammo issues. The first Stinger ambush also had an extremely low framerate while looking over the area it was in, which made it much harder than it was presumably intended to be (although I'm not sure how that could be fixed beyond changing the water somehow).

It's a pretty substantial entry, and does a great job capturing the Unreal atmosphere. Hopefully we get a complete and balanced version at some point.

Edit: One other thing is that some items seemed to be slightly embedded in the ground, although it at least didn't prevent me from picking them up.[/spoiler]

[Doublez-Down]

Completely agree with about everything Mman said. Love the atmosphere and Unreal vibe though, my kind of map. Great scale as well. Reminded me of a mix of Chicoverde and Sinistral type maps...which is a good thing. I haven't finished it yet but plan to tomorrow. Great stuff so far, except for the things Mman pointed out.

Oh and yeah, not real fond of the first Skaarj ambush for reasons already stated. Wasn't sure why I was dying at first.