File:PLAT1 (Aftershock)

Description
Another test level that has been added to Aftershock with the intent, apparently, of being considered a normal level. The Readme luckily clarifies its real intent, but this shows once more how little Aftershock cared about throwing these levels together.

Similar to other test levels, PLAT1 is designed to show off a single feature with the intent of making it easier to examine by other designers and therefore copy. The moving platform, the feature of the level, moves across a "river" of Lava, including taking a 90 degree turn in its path, before reaching the opposite side.

The banks are pretty easy to walk on, meaning it is quite pointless to stand on the Moving Platform. However, due to the intent of the level, there is little more to examine than the Moving Platform. As usual with these levels, there is no exit on the opposite side.

Playability wise, it is as boring as you can expect, though as stated by the Readme (against the carelessness of Aftershock) it was intended to be a test level and therefore is of more interest to level designers for Quake.

If you notice when the video starts, the platform is already moving away from us. While it takes a second for me to start recording, meaning that it was a bit closer on startup, the fact remains that the Moving Platform is already moving away and is therefore too much of a hassle to jump to. As the one thing in the level to examine, it seems somewhat irritating and an unnecessary time waster to wait for the platform to return.

Perhaps more interesting than the actual level itself is the fact that it was made by two people. I think this is the first collaboration between two people in a Add-on. We have seen a few examples of a level being modified by another or another taking credit for fixing up another's level, though we haven't seen a level that had both developers sharing equal credit since the days of original Quake with E3M6.

I find it oddly funny that this level, a level consisting of a Moving Platform and a pit of Lava, took the effort of two designers. I don't even know how you would split up the work for this one, it seems like something that could be made by a designer in a few minutes (as a test level should, usually they shouldn't take too long to make). Did one guy make the geometry and the other added the Moving Platform? Did one of them get assigned lighting (which, while normally important, is quite ignorable in a test level) duty? Did one guy make it, but the other guy had an internet connection when the first did not, meaning the first guy had to share credit just to get his level published? For some strange reason, I wish we had more information on this duo and how much effort each put into making this level.