Battle on Theed (FFA)

Description
Ooohhhhhmmmmmmmmm.....

You know, I think a lot of us were really skittish when it came to reviewing this map. In my enlightened trance-like state, I see now the map's essence, the one element that instilled fear into us all...

...This map is [b]HUGE![/b] O_o;

Seriously, getting lost almost seemed like a mandatory part of playing this map. There's so much to drink in. When you think you're done seeing the whole map, you see yet another thing you missed! However, there was virtually NOTHING I found that I wasn't impressed by.

So, Theed. The city that lasted a single Episode, and yet, it's remarkable beauty impacted us for years on end. It's a shame it played little to no part in the rest of the prequels.

So, what...is...in...the...map?

Quite a lot of exterior, really. There's not much interior to be found, but there is enough. This map was designed with upcoming siege objectives in mind(Yes, that includes MB2,) though it is also to be featured in the JKA Siege Mappack as well when it graces our altars. There are 3 major exterior regions, each one crowned with teal marble domes and fuchsia marble roofs on the majority of the buildings. The streets are paved with bricks and almost everywhere you turn, there's a stairway leading somewhere deeper into the map. The streets are adorned with neatly trimmed bushes,[b]*snicker[/b] strategically planted trees, and traces of ivy cling to the various structures in the area. Yep, the author painted one hell of a picture.

Better yet, there's barely anything wrong with this map. The texture choices were nothing short of exquisite, and the custom skybox fit so well I actually thought there was more to the map than met the eye. Architecturally speaking, this is probably one of the most complex maps I've seen in a while. It felt like there was over 100 ways to reach another part of the map, and this maps predominant use of arches looks like it took quite some time to get all just right. The lighting seemed near-perfect. There was one area I noticed seemed a bit unsourced in natural lighting, but other than that there was hardly a place that seemed out of place in that department.

Now, I did say there's BARELY anything wrong, so let's see what plagues it:

[b]1.)Doors:[/b] Alright, so I must admit it's very difficult to put in sci-fi doors into an environment that has a late renaissance feel to it. However, while most of the smaller doors fit in perfectly, some of the larger doors appeared to clash with their environments. Basically picturing a large black industrial-looking door in the midst of all the grace, it just dudn't fit.

[b]2.)Ambient Atmosphere:[/b] This was probably the most disappointing department to me, as there was hardly ANY ambient background in this map at all, and I honestly think it really could have benefited from some. Once the music is turned off in your game, all you hear is almost dead silence. The only ambient noise comes from the various fountains sprinkled about the map, and you have to get pretty close to them to hear anything.

The exteriors really could have used maybe some birds singing in the background, maybe a few church bells tolling every so often. The stream direly needed some noise, as it appeared it was flowing too quickly to be that quiet.

The interiors could have used some noise emitting from some of the computer consoles, and that large column that looked like a reactor wouldn't have hurt to have had some humming coming from it.

As this currently stands, this is quite a product here. I would definitely suggest the masses ingest this file, even if just to take a quick look at it. One can only wonder what malevolence is being adding to it, to make this map a true force among forces. I shall remain on the lookout for future versions of this map =_= as I am most curious as to what you've in store for us, Lord J3rk.


New Textures: Aye
New Music: Aye
Secrets to plunder: Nay
Bot Support: Aye


- Averus Retruthan