Ilum CTF

Description
Righto, here we have a rather interesting map. Interesting because its sort of new and old at the same time… “How can this be?!” I hear you say. :P

Well this is a map that was actually released almost two years ago, but LivingDeadJedi never submitted it here. So in that sense, it’s an ‘old’ map, but it’s new to JK3Files!

So what’s this map like? Well, considering it’s almost two years old, it’s absolutely incredible. I remember what I was like two years ago…and well, lets not go there. ;) I doubt there are many mappers out there who were just as good two years ago as they are now, but LDJ is one.

This map really is massive, there are two large bases, one for the red team and one for the blue (this is a CTF afterall). At the center of each base is the flag base, and nearby, a cool red or blue coloured crystal hanging over a pit which has lava at the bottom! I found the idea of having lava on a snow planet (which Ilum is) a bit strange, but then again, there are volcano’s in Antarctica, so I suppose it’s perfectly possible! However…if you jump down the pits, and onto a ledge that’s only on one side, you will find yourself near a door. And behind that door is a tram! Hop on the tram and it will take you to a bridge near the bottom of the crevasse that separates the flag bases. Then you can take the very cool looking elevator up to the upper platforms. I especially like the use of the girder type texture here, it fits in very well with the architecture. If you’re trying to make a quick getaway with the flag, this is a cool way to escape (or hot considering the lava…). Just make sure you don’t miss the ledge on the way down! Otherwise you really will find yourself in hot water…erm lava.

Its kinda a shame though that you cant cross the bridge and hop onto the tram at the other side, then you could go back to your own base (or your enemies). Then you could step out onto another ledge that would shoot you up through the hole and into yours or your enemies flag base. That would make for some interesting gameplay. :P

Of course if you want to go the simple (but longer I think) way, you could just run out of the doors in the flag base. Then go through a very nicely made corridor (the architecture and texturing in this particular corridor look superb) and out onto the bridges and platforms that span the top of the crevasse. Then into the other base!

However, you might find yourself falling pray to snipers…as the roofs of the bases are accessible via a very unusual but cool looking elevator system! It’s just a shame you cant smash the skylight and rappel down into the flag base. :(

All in all a very nice map here…HA! You thought I had finished didn’t you! :P There’s more…also included in the .pk3 is a second map. Its exactly the same to this, only, its snowing. And there’s also a nice pale blue fog, which adds a nice feeling to the map. The FPS in this map is also a bit better I think.

That brings me onto my next point; bugs. Overall the map is superb in build quality, architecture and texturing. The main gripe I had with this map was that the FPS in some areas is very low. Now this map is a CTF and so would have lots of players on it in a proper match and this would decrease the FPS even further. However though, the FPS in many areas was decent enough for good gameplay. Probably the worst area for FPS is when you look out from one base, right to the other base on the other side of the crevasse. The only other thing is that on the Snowing version, some parts of the terrain have bluish triangles all over them. I’m presuming that’s something to do with the fog and the terrain shader reacting strangely, but I’m not sure.

Apart from that though, this map is excellent. :) I still can’t believe that its almost two years old!

Bot Support: No
New Textures: Yes
New Sounds: No
New Music: No
Game Types: CTF

~Nozyspy~