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DM-1on1-ORM-Mappack (UT)
MapAuthor: ORM Crew
Date Reviewed: 21 April 2003
Reviewer: Homeslice




Atmosphere everywhere you look....

(Well, the ORM crew....what's there to say? I have no official team name for these guys.)

Well! What we've got here is a very strong pack of maps, all designed for 1-on-1 gameplay. There are 5 maps in this pack, by 4 experienced mappers (one of them made 2 maps). They all have their own nice atmosphere to them. Each map calls for a 2-player load, hence this being a 1-on-1 type of pack, but a 2-on-2 would do nicely for them as well. Here, I'll review each map individually, and then the final score for this pack will be averaged out among the 5 scores from each individual map. This file comes with many custom textures too, which is another reason for the exceptionally humongous download. But it's worth it, trust me.

DM-ORM-HighVoltage
Author: Stu_Man
Says the Stuman, this facility had become very popular for tournament battles after the brutal Mars war. This very map has that industrial, interplanetary look to it. You'll see a lot of brick and steel about in this map, plus some nice cool water on the bottom to refresh you. This map needs the SGTech1 file (from UT Bonus pack 4) to run, and it's not included in the pack. Architecture is carried out well, with plenty of ramps, arches and curves to keep you looking everywhere for your opponents. Bots did a really good job in looking for all items and looking to kick some butt. This can be good for a LAN or online match or two. Not many sounds, but you've got the lift sounds to help out with the theme. Stuman chose firebr to be the music track for this map. If you've played UT a lot, then you know this track real well; I like it for the theme. The skybox isn't the prettiest, but it's all right in terms of supporting the theme, and maybe giving it that "Mars war" look. The lighting is handled well. Flares are good sizes, and shadows are put into good use here, especially coming from the ceiling in some parts. Items are scattered nicely and not overloaded. The fences may lag on slow machines a bit, but flow is otherwise smooth. Good work. Alone, I give this map a 7.5.

DM-ORM-JadedBeauty
Author: Goldabar
The first of Goldabar's two maps, Jaded Beauty isn't too beautiful, but it'll be messed up with blood later in the fight. He says it's an "abandoned coal-mining reservoir from the future," and that it was once a "bustling place of business." The map can give you the feel of something abandoned, and the textures give you the coal-like feel to this place. The textures are mostly steel, stone and brick, which all fit this atmosphere nicely. For the abandoned look, you'll also see some moss hanging down, which is a nice touch. SGTech1, again, is needed for this to run, and this map also uses a custom texture called 'richrigsmall' (included in the zip file). The lights aren't bad, with some good flares in use, and some realistic shadow effects. Architecture, again, has some good curves and arches to it, and also some good terrain use in the lower level. That terrain also helps with the abandoned look, and you'll find some water on it as well. Bots give a good fight here, and they'll grab anything. Anything, that is, referring to the items and pick-ups. Goldabar goes easy on the weapons and health, and also scatters them nicely. You'll also hear some good lift sounds here, and the skybox is decent. The snow-capped mountains also, to me, contributed to the abandoned coal-mine look. Phantom is the track you'll hear in this map, and that is decent, but not great, enough in terms of fitting the map. The flow is good enough that slower machines will like it too. That being said, this should be a good map for online and LAN play. This map, alone, gets a score of 6.5.

DM-ORM-Jakatta
Author: Lord Heisher
Here is Lord Heisher's effort to the pack (his site is the one that includes info on this pack). Supposedly a 'Tourney Edition' type of map, what we have here is another industrial facility way out somewhere. The textures yell out 'industrial' to me, since we'll see a lot of brick, wood and stone here. (No extra textures used on this one.) Again, not too much in the way of sounds, but the lift sounds are executed nicely. The skybox here almost resembles the one in High Voltage, with reddish color for the clouds and stars everywhere else, but it's better looking. I did notice the edges of the moon, however, so that's not great. The sky, though, still adds to the theme of the "way out somewhere." Architecture is also mainly ramps and curves, with some nicely curved walls in effect, perfect for some sneak attacks. In terms of attacking, bots will carry that out no problem, and they'll grab most of the items here too. I can see this on a LAN network for some good practice matches. This map runs nicely, and slow machine owners can benefit from this one as well. Heisher puts in the Organic music piece for the map, and it's ok, although a custom one could've worked too. I liked how some of the weapons were placed on a nicely-lit part of the floor, to ensure that you'll see it, in case you don't look that hard. This map is a tad tight though, but Heisher intended for the map to be that way. Even though I don't know what Jakatta means, this map was good enough to, alone, score a 7.

DM-ORM-Nirvana
Author: Desperado #2
Ah yes....the prequel to our current favorite Nirvana][ (for UT2k3). This is the map that started the Nirvana madness, from our pal, Desperado #2. He says this is a map that you can be "cornered in." Well, if you have a lot of people or bots here, that'll happen for sure. This place takes on a very ancient, dark look. The textures, including two custom ones, are mainly composed of old stone, wood and rusty steel, plus some chains and gates around. Some torches are lit up and there's also some water on the lower level. The gates can lag on slow machines a bit, but otherwise, this map shouldn't be much trouble for that type of machine. I feel that many online servers need to use this one. Items are nicely placed, some good distances apart, in this map, but the health can get scarce at times. Bots follow the map in style, taking their weapons and also taking names, by knocking out the other competitors. Lighting is executed about as nicely as I can see it, with flares looking good, and lots of shadows in this map. The shadows can come from the sky, or from the windows, and can also be in the hallways, and they are all lurking with that ancient and dark feel to them. Architecturally, a good effort. Ramps in some spots, and arched windows or ceilings to boot. The skybox might be the best one of the pack, and from the way this dark blue, moonlit sky looks, you'll feel like it's a creepy place. Lifts are also carried out nicely, with a good shape, and perfect sounds for them. However, the bots can get stuck under a lift sometimes and cause it to keep going up and never come back - basically you must eliminate the bot to go up again. The other big minus here is that there's no music. While that can be ok for this type of atmosphere, the UT menu music will come in to play, and to me, that's very bothersome. A music track of some sort, or a blank file, should've been placed in here to help the theme out. But as it stands, this is my favorite map from the pack, and you know now where UT2003's Nirvana][ came from. Alone, I score this map a solid 8.

DM-ORM-Ragnarok
Author: Goldabar
Here's the better map of the two (not pictured) that Goldabar made for this pack. Looks like another abandoned crypt out somewhere, set in the "bosom of an alpine mountain". What you see in this map will make you feel like you're out in the middle of nowhere, that's a given. Goldabar placed in a lot of stone, some wood and some fast-flowing water, including some of it falling. This map also uses a custom texture, this one called 'DespSnowC'. The architecture is done well, with curved platforms, curved wood on the ceiling, and some good ramp and terrain use. This map shouldn't hurt slower machines really at all, as the flow was nice and smooth for this genre of map. The lighting is done well, with lots of shadow effects(you'll see them more than flares here) to reflect the outdoor areas. The skybox doesn't really support the shadows all that well, but it's a good one executed. Again, the snow-capped mountains are used to give you that cold theme that makes you ask yourself, "where am I?" Some sounds can be heard from the raging waterfalls, as well as the old lifts. Bots do a good job too, grabbing their weapons and beating on their enemies. A lot of z-axis can be noticed here too, because the bots can snipe on you from above, and snipe on you good. Goldabar uses another old UT favorite, Mech8, as the music track for the map. For this very theme, this track is a good one (to me, it usually fits the lost themes very nicely for some reason). There are enough items here for a good battle, but here, also, this map can get low on health, especially if a lot of players are in there. But otherwise, this is another map whose theme is reflected well with what you see. It's my second favorite from the pack and it gets a 7.5.

Bottom Line: To make a long story short, simply an incredible pack. Lots of atmosphere in each map, and good fights all around. You couldn't ask for more, so go get it!

Score: 7.5
Average User Score: 8.0 (10 scores)