File:Quake102..... -Dave (Aftershock)

Description
If you all remember the Aftershock version of Crypt 'o' Death or Fun Fragging, you might remember that I played the level in Single Player (and wrote the walkthrough in such a format) even though the level appears to be a Multiplayer level. The case is much the same with this level.

The reasoning behind this was the intent, the Readme had stated that the level had Single Player support. A lot of levels, no matter if Multiplayer, tend to say things like "Sure" or "Fine" when Single Player is mentioned, due to a Single Player test point existing. It is quite possible "Yes, no monsters though" basically means the same thing as "Sure" or even the ambiguous "Yeah, if you wanna check it out.". While the other wordings imply that a mode exists, but it isn't the real intent of the level, this type of wording is somewhat different. The other modes basically are saying to me that is is existent if you are that persistent about it, but it isn't really what the level was designed for. "Yes, no monsters though" is basically saying it does exist, it just doesn't have any monsters.

I wish I could easily judge differently, it is hard sometimes when I am basically passing judgement on a level and its intent. I have easy rules when no Readme exists, but the proof of more evidence means I have to weigh in the words stated pretty heavily. "If you want to" or "Sure" catches my attention as being an optional feature that isn't the main focus. "Yes" catches my attention as being a main attraction. This means, regardless of how I would normally judge a level (these "No monsters though" appear to be Deathmatch levels) I feel it is necessary to state it is a supported (all 3 game modes) level. Interpretations can be hard.

As for the level itself, it is extremely simplistic. The level basically is corridor based, two going straight down and three going across. We also have a linear section stemming off one of the sides, apparently the end of which was an addition to this version (this is an updated version of an older level we haven't seen, though the update sounds like it just added the area after the Grenade Launcher).

Ignoring the highly linear section for a second, you would think the level would have good connectivity. Of course, as I show you in the video, the Rocket Launcher section is a one-way corridor, meaning it can be linear as well. Thinking about the remaining connections, that means there really is only one deviant path that prevents this level from being a linear corridor run.

A near-linear level is of course not that great of a Deathmatch level, as you have seen by numerous of my rants before (doesn't it feel like we are seeing cases of the same things over and over?). Note also that there are no Powerups, not even a 25 health, in this level. The only thing besides Weapons is Ammo, which is oddly enough thrown about in a single room.

This level, according to the Readme at least, can support 16 players. I find that to be extremely hard to believe, especially due to the linearity of the level and the single instanced case of everything. Even if everything was better balanced, there is only four spawn points, a far cry from the 16 advertised.

This level feels like another test map someone created just to say "Hey, I did a Quake level too" which of course is pointless when the large number of Quake levels means yours will fall into obscurity if it lacks any quality or things of interest. This level doesn't even have an interesting name, it is simply Quake with a version number of the level and the author's name.

Overall, I find myself being unable to say anything good about the level besides some things that should be expected. The brush work, though nothing spectacular, is at least more than a single texture and makes some effort to have different sizes. There are actually textures in the level. There are Weapons in the level. There is a name. Beyond the barest of essentials, this level is lacking. The jump to get the Grenade Launcher and the Water for the Thunderbolt are nice additions, but the massive amount of linearity diminishes the value of these few gimmicks. Still, for fans of EdTest1, this could be an amazing level.