Olympians is a really, really nice map - a strict improvement over Champions, and one I always love to play. I especially enjoy how RoMeK was able to quite effectively take one of the standard RF visual themes and make it feel natural and fresh in a very new type of environment (i.e. on top of an enormous mountain). The lighting work here is also great, as is the use of ambient sound, and the fantastic utilization of rusted metal for trim in particular, accents the environment quite well and goes a long way toward helping newly spawned players quickly get a sense of where they are and get back into the action quickly.
I'm also a huge fan of the design of the middle section of this map. It's much more interesting than the middle sections of many popular CTF maps, and offers both open areas that facilitate interesting mid-range engagements, and more than enough cover and resources to ensure it's not simply a bloodbath. Jumping across the gap to get the fusion is also a really interesting approach, and I enjoy the risk/reward assessment associated with it (you have to essentially wait until your opponents are either dead or not looking across mid before taking it). The only element of the layout of which I'm not a fan is the design of the tunnel. Having a tunnel is definitely positive, but the geometry of the tunnel in this map in particular is so straight and open that it's commonly more dangerous to use as a capping route than most other routes from base to base (aside from straight through mid). This may have been an intentional design decision, and there's nothing fundamentally wrong with it, but in my view breaking up the sight lines within the tunnel (with either some cover, or making it less straight) would foster some more interesting gameplay in that area of the map. Turning to items... the item layout in Olympians could definitely use a bit of work. Many items aren't placed symmetrically between both sides, but the most extreme examples are two armour packs in the upper area of the red base that are not replicated to the blue base, and a health pack hidden inside of a ramp in both bases. The resolution to these issues is very straightforward, though, and I'm hopeful a future release of this map will see them addressed. In my view this is RoMeK's best CTF map by far, and it's always a treat to play it competitively and/or in pubs/GN. Well done! I would recommend this map to anyone, and I very much look forward to future betas and/or a final release. |
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ED BUNGHOLE · Tue 5 Sep 2023, 5:58 ·
Mikelice likes this
User Rating: 👍 Recommended!
This is one of the first maps I look forward to playing matches on when there are a minimum of 10 players in server, preferably more though! It reminds me of Warlords in some ways, while it is unique in other ways, and I can't really find anything to complain about aside from people wanting to play it with not enough players lol. IMO, it is just too slow for 4v4 with all the routes etc., but is a top choice for 6v6-8v8 CTF match or pub
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