Mountain Hideaway

Posted: 2002-08-13 9:44 p.m.   Report Abuse Not bad, not bad at all.

Makes for some real interesting gameplay, and it sure is a concfest. It was fun to have a person in each base and fire concs at each other.

I will definatly keep it for a quick fun fight. It is very LEC-ish.

I give it a 7.

Posted: 2002-08-14 9:31 a.m.   Report Abuse (No rating added.)

I like some of what I see, and I don't like some of what I see. I mean, I guess this is more aimed at gameplay than realism (I mean, it's JK)...but the cliffs might want some surface cleaving at the top, or something, to make them look...better?

Good work though David. I'll add my rating/review soon enough.

Posted: 2002-08-14 10:15 a.m.   Report Abuse Rating: 7.75, rounded to 8.

David Sevy, author of former Massassi JK Multiplayer Level fad Disland, has put out another level. He appears to keep his same taste for large arenas, although this time it seems that his creation is more tolerable for DM fighting.

AESTHETICS
Architecture:
For all intensive purposes, the map was made to be flat and smooth...what some may call "advanced boxiness." It reflects that David knew what he was doing when he created many flat surfaces and flat walls — it was in the interest of gameplay, which we will come to later. How can it be known that this "advanced boxiness" wasn't just a mistake? If players look to the horizon, they will see that there are these little rolling hill things, which were very clever. Had he wanted to, David could have made the whole level to look rugged and real. He could have made lots of extra cleaves, and jacked the level up so high that no one's video card could handle it. Thus, the architecture remains somewhat bland, but not badly disappointing.

Texturing:
Jedi Knight's built-in textures appeared to be the ones primarily (if not entirely) used in construction. With the exception of the waterfall, which seemed like a poor texture choice in consideration of its massive size, everything held together. Jedi Knight's original textures are like generic aspirin — they still work just the same, just without as much commercial hype. He chose textures with good judgment.

Lighting:
Again, considering gameplay, lighting was not as extreme as a mountain would suggest it to be. Players can see all areas of the arena, which is sure to silence the "ack, it's too dark i rate it 2" people. Sufficient lighting.

Dynamics:
There's a scrolling waterfall, and a scrolling river. Should players land in any of the water areas, let it be known that those sectors are all included in cogs which kill the player...strangely enough, players die if they enter the waterfall. But of course, players have no real reasons to enter the waterfall. That's just silly.

GAMEPLAY
Item Placement:
Two guns, some ammo, a few shields, and some goggles. That's what you'll find in this arena. It's a limited array of combat gear which carries the grim message: "You will die here, but you can at least take a few people with you." The stuff is all located in competitive areas, and with forethought.

Flow:
Many people are bound to hide in the sniper caves, and find little nooks where concussion fire cannot reach them. In LEC's Canyon Oasis, there really are no places to hide, since the level was constructed in a circular fashion. In this level, players can hide in many places, and it could get very annoying. Just the same, though, heavy weapons can chase the little jackrabbits out of their holes in a flash. Where there are long falls, people will take advantage of the opportunity to fall to their deaths. The rope bridge is sometimes difficult to cross, because the character model can pass right between the rungs. Gameplay holds together, for the most part though.

Playability:
On my ancient machine, framerate suffered tremendously. The many trees at the bottom of the mountain stifled smooth transitions. The waterfall hurt me too. Players with decent video cards and decent stores of RAM will easily negotiate these obstacles though.

OTHER
N/a.

Final comments:
It's a very vertical arena, but wide enough so that no one will feel cramped. It's very deserving of praise, in terms of gameplay. In terms of realism, there is still more to be desired. Heavy, fast-paced gameplay is what you'll find. Players with slower computers will suffer great framerate decline because of all the intricate 3dos, huge scrolling surfaces, and possibly because of those nifty rolling hills in the horizon.

In conclusion, it's perty derned good. It earned a rating of 8 in my book to reflect it's "goodness."

Thank you David Sevy. Your work yet again confirms that the JK editing community is not lost. Thank you.