Created by BeWilderBeest
Review by Buster<KoR>

 

Overall score is 9 out of 10 stars !!

 

Dm-Eulogy appears to be either a Castle or a Temple, or a clever combination
of these two basic themes. This map uses lots of custom textures that have a
"Skarrjish" feel to them. These textures are a part of the map itself, so a
separate texture pack is not required. This makes installing D-Eulogy quite
simple, but it also prevents other mappers from using them in their own
projects. And that is a shame, because they are all keepers.

 

Dm-Eulogy can be broken down into several "open interior areas," with each
one having at least 2 or 3 access points, such as corridors and stairways.
Also, each of these areas have multiple levels using balconies and ledges.
The entire map is quite intricate and very well structured. There are lots
of small alcoves, support beams and trim that enhance the overall look of
the map, which is made even better with great lighting and subtle shadows. A
few of the larger areas are open to the sky above, and are also very well
done. The "experience" of Dm-Eulogy is further enhanced with clever usage of
various well suited and properly volumed ambient sounds. And it is lighting
and sounds that add lots of the overall tone of a map.

 

In between the "open areas" are winding stairways, crystal lit corridors,
smaller "annex" rooms and well placed doorways. There are lots of little
"decorations" in Dm-Eulogy, such as a few coins on the floor, plants in the
flooded corridor and grates over top of lava pits. These features allow for
a subtle variety of textures and lighting to be used in the map. I like the
shadows created by the areas open to the sky and the plants hiding the
Shield Belt, just to mention a few of these nice touches.

 

Dm-Eulogy also has a few things that do "quirk" me. Most of the textures
used are only shades of grey. Sure they are great looking textures, but the
overall look of the map is a bit too bland, lacking some color. Using some
fancier trim, a few flickering torches and things like that would add a bit
of color to break up all the grays. Also, two of the stairways lack some
trim on the "rise" of the steps, which makes the textures look misaligned.
Otherwise the textures in the entire map are aligned to near perfection.

 

A few of the weapons in Dm-Eulogy are also placed in locations quite
difficult to get to, while others are out in the open and easy to grab. This
tends to limit the access to some weapons, and makes others easier to
dominate. An example of this is the nasty access to the Flak Cannon in the
"lava room" and the easy access to the ASMD in the "statue room." Doing this
gives an unfair advantage to an experienced player, making Dm-Eulogy not a
map for newer or even average players.

 

Another quirk in Dm-Eulogy is the "bottlenecks" created by some of the
corridors and ledges being a bit too narrow, which prevents a player from
being able to dodge and strafe properly. Again this gives too great an
advantage to an experienced or better than average player. But it does make
for lots of frags and frantic fun.

 

The final quirk is the slight lack of ammo, and the huge lack of health in
Dm-Eulogy. A noticeable lack of ammo is a common problem is BeWilderBeest's
other maps too, including Dm-Technika and Dm-Mordred, which are two maps I
do enjoy lots. In Dm-Eulogy it is not too bad of a problem, but if there is
a full house of players the need to "count bullets" becomes a must. So those
players that do not have the best aim tend to spend more time looking for
ammo than hunting victims. As for the lack of health in Dm-Eulogy, this
problem deters a lot of newer and average players the most. It also tends to
keep an otherwise fantastic map off of the rotation list of online servers,
and keeps it from being used in Team based matches. This too is a shame, and
yet easily fixed.

 

The bot pathnodes are done OK, but that is a minor thing to most "old
school" Unreal players.

 

But with all these "quirks" considered, Dm-Eulogy is one of the best maps
that BeWilderBeest has done, and it is also one of the better maps made for
Unreal in general. So just grab yourself a copy and give it a quick spin. I
will not bother to break down the scoring of the map, but I do give
Dm-Eulogy an overall rating of 9 out of 10 stars. The loss of a star comes
mostly from the overuse of grey textures and the lack of health. Have fun.

 

Overall score is 9 out of 10 stars !!