[CONTEST] Malachor Duel

Description
[b]This map was submitted for the Jan-Feb 2007 Mapping Contest. To see the winners, check our [url="/info/ContestArchives"]Contest Archives[/url].[/b]

For those of you who have played Knights of the Old Republic 2, this map should look familiar. Unless of course you never finished the game (shame on you). This map represents a small portion of the final area of the game: Malachor V (and a small portion of the Trayus Academy). Naturally this map couldn't possibly show the entire thing... but boy does it try! This map is [i]huge[/i] for a duel map! We told people that we had no problem with them making the map available for multiple game modes, but this, for all intents and purposes, is a [i]free for all[/i] map, which is one reason it was not considered for the intermediate skill level finalist group.

As for the map itself, as someone who has played KotOR2, I'll say it definitely feels like Malachor V. You start off where the Ebon Hawk crashes, and you make your way ever farther until finally you reach the Trayus Academy, which is quite a hike even for the "shortened version". And since you seem to [i]always[/i] spawn in or outside the Hawk, it's always going to be a hike.

Texturing in this map is very good. I never felt like the textures were repetitive or unnatural, which is unusual with terrain, especially. The terrain itself could be improved, as it does seem very angular and unnatural. Very Dark Forces 2 -ish. Works for DF2, doesn't so much work for the Quake 3 based games. Something to practice, perhaps.

Quite possibly the neatest part about this map is the meteors falling from the sky. A very cool addition, although it bothers me slightly that they create a red cloud upon impact despite the fact that the planet looks a bit yellower than red.

Overall a good map, however following the directions for the contest would have greatly improved the success of this particular map. The map itself is of good quality, though, and I hope this author will join us again next time we hold a mapping contest.

[b]Bot Support[/b]: Yes
[b]New Models[/b]: No
[b]New Textures[/b]: Yes
[b]New Music[/b]: Yes

~Inyri