..::LvL - Q3A Custom Maps

Destroyer by ShadoW (CPM/DM/Tourney/TeamDM 2-4 player)

This is definitely a map which becomes addictive quickly! When I first loaded it up I played it over and over for quite a while. The map has a real world feel, with the architecture of the curves, angled walls, walkways, and sitting and bouncing spots through the upper parts of the map. There are plants that grow from the walls in spots, and ferns which sit in the grass amongst blocks of stepping spots which surround it and little puddles. The MH is on its own walkway surrounded by more puddles in grass with a curved bridge that goes over it. There is a broken bridge over lava, and a missed jump over the bridge ends in a flaming suicide. The bouncepads in the map have moving blocks that bounce up and down and move in a spinning sequence.

The map was designed for the promode physics which are in OSP/CPMA. The physics are needed in some of the area's to reach spots of the map quickly by double jumping up to them. You could play the map in vQ3, but it would take a lot more work to get from one place to the other along some paths.

It's a great map which uses textures from Lunaran and Oak, and the bots play fine. Download It!

Reviewed by v1|3

rushed by acid (CPM/DM/Tourney/TeamDM 2-4 player)

This medium-sized arena by acid is best suited for small TDM games or FFA. The map is very vertical with lots of possibilities to change height levels quickly, including jumppads, teleporters and many steel girders that seem to ask for rampjumps with CPMA physics. Though not explicitly stated in the readme, many aspects of the map suggest that it was designed with promode in mind, and that's what I tested it with.

The map offers some cover but does not allow you to hide from your opponents too much. Item placement is spot on and the structure of the map is very clear with few details. The map feels a bit blocky because it seems to avoid the usage of curves. Due to good texturing and lighting, the map is far from ugly though. The textures made by the map author remind me of a construction site a bit.

Bots play the map well, but even the CPMA bots seem to consider the jump to RA too tough and don't even try to grab it. I can imagine some serious games on this map and I encourage you to download it.

Reviewed by spirit.

Gajapoor by Zihaben and Yan Zaraki (DM 3-6 player)

The map Gajapoor takes you into the inner courtyard of a detailed palace complex deep inside the orient. It features lots of beautiful textures, shaders and models made by the mapper. Combined with good lighting and very suitable sounds, the atmosphere is great. I almost felt a bit ashamed to kill Quake bots in this calm place.

The layout is rather simple and symmetric with jumppads that take you over the small central building. The bots navigate the map OK but seem to avoid the underwater passage to the BFG and seem to use the jumppads rather randomly. The bots also fail to pick up the BFG. Item placement is OK, but the map seems to have very little spawn points. The level appears to have been made for the architecture and aesthetics with game play coming second. It is successful but the visuals are much stronger than the game play.

Grab this one and enjoy the great atmosphere, you won't be fragging your buddies on it all night long though.

Reviewed by spirit.

East Berlin Roofs by Zihaben and Alex Vishnevsky (DM 4-12 player)

This map is a completely original styled map, as when I booted up the map I was actually somewhat surprised that it was for Q3. The author says that the map depicts a post-WWII East Berlin. The map takes place on the roof of a skyscraper in a gigantic metropolis area. The skybox which was made by the author shows all of the other towers and buildings that surround the one that you are on, and if you look off of the edge of the building you can see the ground below which shows how very high you are up in the air. The skybox alone is amazing.

All of the textures, and models were made by the author, and it shows quite a lot of talent. The launchpads are moving conveyors belts and they look quite real. There are elevators that when you get to the top floor of them, a door opens to let you out.

The map is huge in itself and you could load in a lot of players but the map is very wide open, so you better have a good computer to run it on. There is a tall structure on the map which you have to use the launchpads to get up on, and on the top of it there is a railgun sitting there. I'm sure the railgun campers will love it a lot. Also on this structure is a LG and PG, but they are on different floors. A Flight Powerup is included on the map that is fun to use, but it kind of makes you an open target. The map comes with it's own music which was made by Alex Vishnevsky, which is a very good soundtrack.

The map is a definite keeper!

Reviewed by v1|3

What's That Smell? by Nickster (DM 3-5 player)

This is a medium sized FFA map with a sewer theme, parts of it also remind me of a dirty subway system taken out of service. Lighting is good but rather dark and brown colors dominate the map. There is a few spots where light falls through old and misty windows, and the map has a good atmosphere.

Item placement is OK but some of the corridors are a bit too tight, which makes you feel trapped inside them a bit. There is little vertical action and the connectivity could also be improved. The bots play the map pretty well and grab every item available, they sometimes fall into the ..ahem.. brown slime that sends you to hell quickly though. Bots seem to love the area below the QUAD which makes QUAD runs easy and fun.

This is an atmospheric FFA map that plays OK. Download it and give it a try.

Reviewed by spirit.