Vexar's Level Pak 1 by Vexar (vexarpk3) | 35 comments

Added: 2 Jan 2000

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sedawkgrep

25 Jan 2026 #35

All three of these maps have that "almost but not quite" vibe; like music from an artist that has fantastic musicianship and songwriting but dumb lyrics.

PISTON
Anyhow, of the three, I think piston is easily the best, at least 1v1. It's very atmospheric and there's some very creative use of verticality which segments areas to make the map feel bigger than it actually is. The maps plays pretty well despite some very amateurish choices. The almost-hidden BFG was fun to finally find but REALLY disrupts the round (1v1). I'd have either put something else there or lowered its ammo count and removed the BFG ammo box down below. Regardless the map is still quite fun as-is.

Redemption / Waterhole
These are rather forgettable gameplay-wise, though Redemption has some very striking visuals and unusual designs, ESPECIALLY given how old it is. I said this about the other Vexar pack, that many of the things you find here show up in others' maps later on.

Piston: 4/5
Redemption/Waterhole: 2.5/5
Edited 1.02 minutes after the original posting.
Edited 1.38 minutes after the original posting.

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Tig

4 Aug 2019 #34

@HelterSkeleton : Pretty sure the initial release was 1.09 or 1.11. From memory, 1.16 or 1.17 added support for the .arena file that allowed maps to be browsed in the menu system. This custom PK3 support for the menu system was added around March, 2000. This is all from memory, versions and dates could be wrong.

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HelterSkeleton

4 Aug 2019 #33

@Tig. thanks, that's interesting to know. when was the .arena file support originally added?

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Tig

3 Aug 2019 #32

@HelterSkeleton : This level was made before .arena file support was added to the Quake 3 Engine. The level shot was always supported on the initial loading of the map - even from the console.

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HelterSkeleton

27 Jul 2019 #31

Three levels, that because of the pitfalls and complexity in architecture can be tricky to get around in. They are also extremely dark, with Waterhole being the one of the three that offers greater visibility. It is also a little like playing on the castle version of the Bouncy Map. On that note, the author's use of bounce pads is quite interesting but item placement is heavy handed. And I can't really understand the point of having level shots but no arena file. I guess if you wanted one you would have to make it yourself. They are all still well worth a look around in from the perspective of level design.

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FragTastic

7 Jan 2012 #30

Vast building is awesome.

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Vexar

9 Aug 2000 #29

The downloads are working from fileplanet, from my site.

go to:
www.planetquake.com/vexar go to the screen shot section, and every level can be downloaded with exception of WhirlWind which will be finished shortly.

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Mordi

9 Jul 2000 #28

If i could download it i would comment but i keep getting a strange error, sort it please?

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not entered

16 Jun 2000 #27

Vexar, when is 'Whirlwind' likely to be finished.

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not entered

6 May 2000 #26

Careful on the motorbike Vexar, we need level creators like you.

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Lord Slaughter

31 Mar 2000 #25

Am having problems downloading - the pk3 file is coming up with bad CRC from fileplanet and ftp.cdrom - 404 on germany - any good copies elsewhere?

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hmmz

14 Mar 2000 #24

good, very good in originality indeed.

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eViL-BiTcH

6 Mar 2000 #23

Excellent maps, scoring high for originality.

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Trunks

29 Feb 2000 #22

Thanks for the link Iceman, hopefully it will work, Vexar's other map is sweet. Keep em coming Vexar, they have some of the best small level design I have seen.

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LiquidSword

13 Feb 2000 #21

Fantastic Details and Architecture - I bet you´ll love it

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Vexar

28 Jan 2000 #20

Yeah, when we first started using the Q3 tech at EA, everything had to be a .tga, and uncompressed. I wasn't sure at the time what could be compressed, and what couldn't be compressed.

It was kinda stupid looking back on it, I should have made sure everything was compressed.

I was happy that the .pk3 worked at all, so I said to myself, ship it!

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AssBall

28 Jan 2000 #19

When I try to unzip this Winzip fucks me with some gay error, I have tried multiple downloads and can't get it to work.

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Redrum

24 Jan 2000 #18

Hehe. BTW did you know some of the release .pk3s aren't compressed? They vary in size from 21Megs to around 7....

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Vexar

23 Jan 2000 #17

Yes, I love his work!

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Redrum

19 Jan 2000 #16

Vexar, keep the innovation up. Made a comment about Vexar2 so I won't repeat myself here. Keep thinking different and try to improve the speed where possible. You a Tim Burton fan by any chance?

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Iceman

17 Jan 2000 #15

ftp1.gamespy.com/p...dm/vexarPK3.zip

This is the first vexar level and the link that i used to get the file.

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iceman

17 Jan 2000 #14

No prob Reglow

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Reglow

13 Jan 2000 #13

Hey it works :) thanks iceman

The lvls are all nice.

Well i suppose playability for me is quite good it runs as fast as it does playing ctf on q3ctf4 with bots but some places reduce frame rate to 9.

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Iceman

11 Jan 2000 #12

tested it out and it works

if you want the zip i will give you the url where i got it

all three maps load up just fine

e-mail me @ Seaton_John@hotmail.com if you want it

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Iceman

11 Jan 2000 #11

i have it downloaded correctly

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Hiro

11 Jan 2000 #10

Yeah I get corrupted download too.. Someone fix it or post a link to another location that has a good copy. =)

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Reglow

11 Jan 2000 #9

Twice I have downloaded this zipfile and twice it has come up with the same error.

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vince(666)

5 Jan 2000 #8

good texturing maps is too to dl

explose the pack for must dl

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Rocket Racer

4 Jan 2000 #7

Vexar: keep experimenting. There is no need at all for more "id like levels," id having done them quite well already. Continue to use your talent to separate yourself from the pack, and don't be in the least discouraged if someone says, "But this doesn't look like a Quake level!"

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Vexar

3 Jan 2000 #6

First thank you all for the comments on my first three levels. FYI, Piston was the first level that I ever made, Waterhole was next, then the great experiment Redemption.

I love to hear the feedback, it makes the work worth doing!

I've just posted my latest level, "Gateway" to this site it should be available soon.

Gateway continues on my effort to create something that hasn't been seen before. Read the submission.txt file for more information on the level.

I am still deciding on which way to go next, one idea was to create an ID like level, that will work with bots, and on most people systems, the other idea is begin another concept level which will be named Whirlwind. Any thoughts?

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Dr. Feelgood

3 Jan 2000 #5

Apperance: Beautiful, what else can you say.

Playability: Ugly. No better way to put it. My machine isn't great so I don't know how it would run on a 700, but for me it was just painful. Too cluttered (I know that is picky).

Bots: OK

Overall a beautiful map not worth playing. However, this mapper has serious talent.

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josh

3 Jan 2000 #4

its big, bulky and complicated looking. great maps

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Katie Holmes

3 Jan 2000 #3

After playing all three levels quite a bit I found that the only one that was fun to play time after time was Piston. Piston is a great 1 on 1 map. The other two were made before it and it shows. Keep Up the good work but try not to put so many items on the maps. People need to be able to control certain areas for the best duels. When you spawn you sould have to work a little bit to get control.

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not entered

3 Jan 2000 #2

I liked Piston quite a bit and the waterhole was fairly fun. The expiramental map was just that. All in all, I found it quite refreshing compared to the same-old-same-old and hope that Vexar produces more levels that are more polished.

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[hux]AzRaeL

3 Jan 2000 #1

Yes, they are really complex, but they are quite beautiful

to look at. It seems to me that to much work went into this pack. The level are overdesigned, with a lacking in gameflow/gameplay. There are lot original ideas there, so i´ll be looking forward to see more work from Victor.

But he should have playtested the maps before he released them.

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