25 years later...looks really good, and many, many ideas in this map are seen in subsequent maps. Kinda awful to play though.

Looks great

Great map, I'd love to see more mappers take alternative roads.

Thanks Vexar!

Thanks everyone!

I have a new location for my map site.

www.planetquake.com/vexar

Come by and check it out!

I haven't updated in a while, got a new machine, which almost has everything I need.

Great map. Can't wait for more from this author.

--

FoolsRun

How cool is this? Very original, bizarre, with some weird sound effects thrown in. Don't let the site reviewer keep you down, Vexar.... your work is amazing.

woah what a map but why not make it as a ctf

vexar please do it!

The look of this map rocks, but unfortunatly It doesn't play well. I think Victor should remake some of the Quake 1 maps using this visual stlye. Or maybe concentrate on making mission based maps. I'd love to kill a few shamblers and scrags on this map:)

Nice going Victor.

Gosh hearing people talk about there frame rates of 40-50

I have a RagePro Which gives me wonderfull 30 fps @ 520x480,16bit,vertx lighting which drops to 4 fps when there are more than a few rockets whistleing by

Perhaps i should dend this off to one of thoes why do you deserve xxx graphics card in under 50 words

But the level - is well different to say the least it feels like a cut and paste of effects and ideas not briliant but it certanly has some of the best ideas I have seen.

Vexar, fantastic work! I really think that authors like you are the way of the future. Doom style dungeons are great fun...and there are authors like willits and ZTN who have truly mastered the crafting of such locales. But I personally think we need a jolt of creativity that people like you offer. Great work!

Vexar, there are plenty of maps with suberb gameplay out there, but too often they aren't very original. I look around for maps that offer something new. When I saw Gateway, I was drooling like Homer thinking of beer. That map looks amazing. I have a fast PC, so I don't experience much lag. Just keep making maps we haven't seen yet and I'll be more than happy. Amazing Job.

I agree, I am creating my next map by checking it with bots anytime I add anything major.

Currently on a Piii 500 with four bots, 45-60 FPS.

If you'd like to see screen shots of my upcoming level WhirlWind, then go to this site:

q3a.stomped.com/vexar

Keep it up Vexar. Though slow, the design is innovative and diffeent from the usual brown or grey castle or technical stuff we see. I'm no expert but until PC get faster I think you should have a think about every optimisation strategy you can to give your maps the speed they deserve...

OK, here's the way I see it. All levels should run well on minimum systems as that is what a lot of people have out there.

You can say that people need to upgrade until you're blue in the face, but if you haven't got the cash, then you cannot upgrade. And if people don't get good framerates on your level than they just won't play it.

Personally I thought the levels were pretty, but too slow for serious gameplay. Also, and this is just an opinion, I thought that the lighting was very unspectacular.

Millions of times better than anything I could do though - keep it up Victor, I'm going to keep an eye on your levels!

And no I didn't check for dumb typos :)

while playing this map i was amazed on how great it looked

but thats where the amazement stopped.

Its just not a great map to play on in my opinion.

Indeed... My mac G3/450 with Rage 128 handles it just fine. Being as this isn't the most impressive accelerator in the world, I don't see what people are complaining about.

Great job Vexar, Keep up the good work!

Ok...here are my opinions, note the are MY opinions... this map is nice very very nice eye candy, gameplay is yes minimal not good on the gameplay at all...flow mah' brotha follow tha flow! But the issue of hurting framerate? MY god what did your fps drop one notch and you gotta whine about it? Q3A is new news new technology, if your machine was panting over this map my suggestion to you is either A. turn the settings down. B. get more ram (IMHO 128meg should be a minimum for Q3A) C. throw away your Voodoo2 and get a real card, or D. get a whole new system.... I soon will be releasing a map (albeit my first a few mistakes here and there) but its simply a HUGE map.....8 players and it can still feel barren, that map is a bit boggy to my machine (Note: Using a Celeron 300a OC'd to 450 with 256mb pc-100 ram and a Voodoo3 3000) but gameplay is still sweet on it, my fps drag a bit in places but so what turn the freakin settings down....my point is this: this map is a beauty to behold, if your framerates were hurting because of this of all maps, get a clue, either turn your settings down or join the present with the rest of us and throw your 10 yr old machine away. Either that or those of you who play q3a obviously use q3a with the settings right out of the box, which says to me your not much of a hardcore deathmatcher to begin with, first thing I did with q3a was get the wickedgl drivers (which BOOSTED framerate BIGTIME) then sat down and tweaked the hell out of it in console IMHO if this map hurt you, get a new machine. period.

Gorgeous. Awesome.

Once this guy sets the hang of hardcore gameplay he will be one of the absolute best.

BTW, my Mac G3/400 w/ Rage 128 doesn't choke on it but some areas do drop my framerate a bit.

Thanks Sean, coming from a pro like you means everything to me! I can't wait til your level comes out, so far it looks awesome!

Victor, Great map. And let's be serious, producers can't do much more besides talk. ;) Great level. Very original. The only thing that is holding this map back is the triangle count. As far as all you people saying the map doesn't play well. Have you actually played on it with friends? This map is a blast. It's a tad unbalanced, but it's fun as hell. Great job Victor, keep it up. Just don't be quite so ambitious next time. :)

I wouldn't consider myself an artist, I work as a Producer.

The idea here is to prove that Producers can do things besides talk! :)

I can tell you're an artist (So am I :). You gravitate toward the beautiful more often than you do the functional, and it shows in your level pak!

Granted, it might not be the most "deathmatch friendly" map in the whole world, but it looks great and I'm glad you made it! If I want to play a good deathmatch, I'll fire up one of the dozens I already have (most of which came with the game when I bought it). But if I want to simply wander around someplace in awe at the sheer beauty and complexity in my surroundings, I'll fire up your level!

Keep going! You've got a shitload of potential! :)

Vexar always designs his maps carefully, and they are usually an eyeful. but playability?? waterhole was good (and is fun with 6-8 players), but this one just doesn't play well. there are too many quirks - albeit interesting ones - that sap the map's potential for balanced gameplay. i give it an "8" for design, and a "4" for playability. but vexar: please keep at it!!

Vexar always designs his maps carefully, and they are usually an eyeful. but playability?? waterhole was good (and is fun with 6-8 players), but this one just doesn't play well. there are too many quirks - albeit interesting ones - that sap the map's potential for balanced gameplay. i give it an "8" for design, and a "4" for playability. but vexar: please keep at it!!

Excellent map

Bot File:

Well before I released the map, I attempted (for about eight hours) to make bots to play on this level, nothing worked.

After talking to some other deigners, we all came to the the inheret design of this level prevents bots from working.

I really hated releasing the map without bots, I really like playing my level with bots before releasing it, so I can see game play/flow probelms.

It's one of many probelms faced when your trying to break new ground.

I've got my shovel out, and am working on my next Map Whirlwind.

It will be another break from the norm, but Bots will work on this design, I'll make sure.

-Vex

Vexar, you stand alone.

Gateway stands out more than any post q3 release map I have played. Excellent shader work, its nice to see someone put some time into going for the full effect. You hit the mood just right on this one, the custom fog added just the right feel as well as the excellent lighting. Simply awsome. Damn fine work.

Very sweet layout. Funny how people freak out when something breaks the norm though. I love the creativity and new feel. Keep up the good work. Take the time to make a bot file when you release a map though. It's easy enough to do and saves a lot of people from having to bitch about it. =)

(yet again...)

Great looking map.

However, that's the only positive comment I can actually make. :(

• Extremely poor layout (no real layout to speak of in fact)
• overuse of jump pads
• wierd sound samples (couldn't work out what they were saying either...)
• poor frame rate... well under 20 fps a lot of the time, on a celeron 400/tnt2 and that's just running around by myself, with no action.

Vexar: I'd LOVE to see you make a map that you could actually feasibly attempt to PLAY. You obviously have quite a lot of design & construction skill, let's see you put it to good use. A map which is this good looking and original AND played well would be quite impressive.

In my own opinion this map is the best map I have seen to date for Quake3. It takes alot of creativity to make a map like this, let alone execute it in Q3Radiant. The Map "Future Brownie" is so drab that it gets borring quickly just because of its basic look. I like this map because its so much different from all the other stuff out there, and the fact that someone is making levels that arent a clone of ID's stuff. GREAT WORK VEXAR! Keep it up!

vex... the map looks damn cool..
the ive seen.. anywhere as a matter of fact..
but fuck.. its such a waste of a map.. the gameplay is non exsistant.. if you had made something with ...real gameplay everyone would be cheering
...and the frames are just a joke

ill try get a map up here in the next ...week or so..

depends on how things go but yeah... good luck on your next adventure dude..
just one thing..

FOCUS ON GAMEPLAY ! ¡ ! ¡

heh heh

Later
[sno]

:]

Loved the creativity style, then it ended:(

Frame rate made it unplayable with a friend over the net even on isdn, although lan was kinda acceptable. Had no bots to test and learn on and gameplay was a bit restrictive.

Vexar, I'm not trying to just be negative, and I see youve already acknowledged the mirror effect for some of the speed drop, am trying to be objective :)

As I say loved the design and could sit and look at it all day, for that you have my envy since i cant create to save my life, but for a gameplay arena, hated it, sorry :(

Excellent map - yeah sure, it may not be a FFA level, but it ranks as the most original map for Q3 so far! I think that we badly need ppl like Vexar, to break from the usual "...works best with 2 to 4 players!" type of maps which are the norm.

Take a look at the Fileplanet Q2 Map section; it's full of these drab, boring boxy maps, that are quickly forgettable. There are exceptions (such as This Map Is Good Fun!), but most maps are forgotten very quickly, unless they do something to grab your attention - Vexar's maps do this admirably.

Keep up the good work Vexar - classic stuff.

Exellent map here!

i played this for ages with some friends and we all loved it! Keep up the good work,

zork

I think LvL's honesty and harshness on some map reviews will force map makers to really think twice before releasing something, which in turn should help lessen the crap thats sometimes released. Thanks LvL.

On to Vexar's map. I was pretty impressed by the design and layout. Yah it isn't perfect but then again nothing is. I played the hell out of it on a WAN with a few people and it was really a blast but I left wishing the map was a tad bit larger. Also I wish all map makers would include bot ready maps for times when we don't have any real people to play against.

Frag on!!

Paul

Wow this is a masterpiece of design. Many of the custom levels leave you thinking "I've seen that before" but this is wildly original!

Vexar keep up the good work.

when I said Looks very NOT Q3A I mean it just that, it is nothing like any other Q3A map I have seen, just like Future Bownie reminds me of a subway :]

Personally I don't think Vexar should change his style at all, just learn from it all, and improve on it - its a crazy style and once Vexar hits on the right combination it could be really good.

Yes I am impressed by the design, and yes I know how to use Q3Radiant (my level - lvlworld.com/comments.php ) I just also like to have a good solid game of Q3A. A DeathMatch is more about gameflow to me, however each to their own, and hence my statement A love or hate map for sure.

I think the post below tell you more than my summary review, which is the whole intention of this site. :]

The first thing that I have realized after reading all the comments, not just here, but all over is that I need more feedback, and more testing before I release my work.

I did discover why the frame rate drops around the Gateway, I added the mirrored portal to the level very, very late in development. That mirror effect is killing the frame rate behind the Gateway because it's redrawing most of the level twice, it's a stupid mistake, and I am sorry about that, I do know better.

I am still debating on if I should give LvL something that is ID like so that he'll give me some credit, but I am also starting not to care about what he or she is thinking after reading his last review of my work, just seems a little narrow minded to me?

The levels that I am putting out take a great deal of design ability to even get them work at all. I would really like to see LvL design even a simple level, if he or anyone could see how I am getting the Gateway to work, I think they would impressed.

At the end of day Frame Rate is King, so I what I am saying that my next level will work on a P2 400 with a TNT2 card.

For the level guys:

Another thing that I've relized is that when you put out a level that over taxes the majoritity of the machines in the public, it can actually make people feel bad for not having the latest equipment, like I have here.

Every Pro knows this, but for us Am's it's somthing to consider.

I need more testing all around, people who are intrested please contact me, before my next level is released I will have an Alpha, and Beta version before the Final release.

I will not want the pre-released versions distributed to anyone that I don't have direct contact with via email.

contact me at vexar@pacbell.net

if your intrested.

-Vex

Isn't it banal to comment, "looks very NOT Q3A," as if cloning id's levels were something devoutly to be wished? If it were a neutral comment, fine. But you put it next to two detracting comments (framerate killer/no bot file).

There are, after all, only brushes and shaders and entities. The way id's designers strung them together amounted to a style (actually, about three styles: gothic, futuristic, space) but so what? That says more about their tastes, talents and limitations than anything else.

In fact, thank god for Q3 and the fact that new people are entering the editing scene. We hardly need any more maps like the ones already in abundance. Bravo, Vexar!

very creative, but hardly playable in spots, even with a celery 550 and a geforce - in normal mode, no less!

a few textures look pretty quake2-ish, and there's almost zero playability, but there are some really cool ideas in there.

tone down the texture abuse (too many - looks a bit overdone, imho) and concentrate on flow and dm play.

nice to look at though. =)

I give huge points for creativity on this one here! Its really an awesome peice of work. Unfortuanately, it's not all that great for a true DM experiance, but when i'm in the mood for something creative, I'll deffinately play this one.

Nice work Victor!

Awsome looking map, sadly thats where it stops. There isnt much for gameplay or map flow, pretty much a map to look at and not play with your freinds.

The best level ever. Awsome design!!!

This map rocks big time! But please Vexar make a bot update for it.

I already liked your previous work and I still like this set even if the framerates take a dive sometimes :)

Excellant new map

Thanks for reviewing my work again. LvL :)

If your interested in this level, but want to see more screen shots first, then check out my web site at:

q3a.stomped.com/vexar

Thank you in advance for playing it.