Small Town

Description
(This map pack contains a 2 player version & a 4 player version; the review is based on the 4 player version, and any comments on possible flaws with the 2 player version are simply comments, and have no bearing on the score itself)

[b][u]Small Town[/u][/b] (4p)- -=Firefly=-

A map based around a small town, with a river cutting off the southern edge, and a very large hill to the north, with Allies in the town to the west, and Germans in the fields to the east.

[b]Technical[/b]

3 Victory Points
2 Low Munitions
4 Medium Munitions
2 High Munitions
2 Low Fuel
3 Medium Fuel

82 Munitions
40 Fuel

The resources are pretty much perfect here. No problems in supporting infantry or tanks occured during testing of this map.

There aren't too many problems with this map tech-wise. There is a well-done OOB, and a horizon mesh included. However, no loading or save/replay pictures were included. Also, there are WAY too many textures in several chunks, often reaching twice the normal maximum (3 textures per chunk). Finally, I noticed that there seems to be a lot of odd impassable areas around the hill to the north, where long impassable lines would appear otherwise unnoticable to the player's eye. Consider smoothing out this area a bit to get rid of these lines of impassability, or at least make them more obvious. (I can provide pictures of where they are, if you'd like)

[i]Technical[/i]- [b]6/10[/b]

[b]Balance[/b]

Well, I searched and I searched, I scowered every corner, but after taking everything into consideration, I cannot find any real major sources of imbalance. I suppose the map design could pose some problems, with the area around the Allies being more of a town area & the Axis more open fields, but it isn't to the point where it poses a possibility of lockdown of massive areas with only a few MGs.

Oh wait, it's easier for the Axis to enter the trenches to the north because they get two entrances! IMBA, IMBA! :p

Honestly, there seems to be nothing wrong with this map balance-wise.

[i]Balance[/i]- [b]10/10[/b]

[b]Design/Quality[/b]

This map is pretty nice looking. While there is an overuse of textures, there are plenty of splines and splats used here as well, and all to good effect. The author also shows a strong ability to work with varying heights, and it makes the terrain feel a bit more natural in how hilly it is. However, I don't think the CoH engine is meant to handle walls on such large slopes, as many of the walls in the town appear broken up, and the individual wall segments are clearly visible. Although this isn't the author's fault per-se, it detracts from the visual experience nonetheless. Also, grass seems to be in an extreme abundance; overabundance, I'd say. It's easy to see grass "popup" in this map, where grass seems to randomly appear as the player camera moves around.

[i]Design/Quality[/i]- [b]7/10[/b]

[b]Fun Factor[/b]

A strong point of this map. Although my experience was frustrating due to an incompetent A.I. ally, I still thoroughly enjoyed myself on this map. What I especially liked about this map was how it seems to appeal to every tactic in some form or another- The southern river area is very chokepointy, while the north favors open assaults on well-defended positions. The center of the map will make urban fighters very happy, and the fields surrounding it will appease tank users. Of course, this can cause the map to lose some of it's focus, as several mini-battles can erupt all across the map & force the players to respond to very different situations. Even so, I found the gameplay quite fun.

I must note, however, that I'm not quite sure how the map's seemingly large size would work appropriately for a 1v1. It was perfect for a 2v2, but it seems like it's a bit too large for 1v1 games. (This is just a thought- it has no bearing on the score, and if anyone would like to argue this, feel free to do so, as I have yet to play the 1v1 version)

All in all, this is a very fun map, with some cool battles just waiting to happen. Although there are a few technical quirks to it, it remains a good map to play regardless. I hope to see Firefly continue in his work!

[i]Fun Factor[/i]- [b]8/10[/b]

[b]OVERALL[/b]
6+10+7+8=31/4=

[b]7.75/10[/b]

[i]Reviewed by Finalizer0[/i]