File:Chris' Test Map (Aftershock)

Description
A test map made by a person named Chris. I am always astounded at the number of test maps that get released to the public. I understand you are proud about learning to make a map, but shouldn't you release one when it is of a bit better quality? Almost nobody cares about your first level and it is likely not even to know who you are or if the level was the first you made. A harsh truth of life, first impressions make all the difference, so releasing a map you made while following a tutorial or immediately afterwards is probably not the best idea.

Oddly enough, this person was also inspired by Dalias like Fontaine (Fonti.MAP and House) was. It seems quite possible that Dalias (The Lava Pits and Flooded Tele-X)was one of the first popular designers for Quake who fell into relative obscurity at some point. I never heard of this author prior to this Add-on, so I can only assume he is all but forgotten by today's community.

The alternative level name is QChunks. I assume they are talking about Gibs. Well, there is a Quad Damage, which means it is quite possible that we could see Gibs in this level. We got a level name that is somewhat accurate!

This level is made of five textures. Of those five textures, only one is a normal texture, the rest being special animated textures such as the sky or a fluid. Perhaps it is the usage of fluids or a good placement of brushes, but I don't see the glaringness of the single texture like I would for Q2.

This level is a single room map, which everybody that has been following this series should be fully aware means I have no real personal preference for this level unless it is a rare exception. This level is no exception and therefore feels like a lot of the other levels we have been seeing lately.

Basically, this map has one of every weapon, including a second Double-Barrelled Shotgun. All Armor/Health is on the first floor, while the second floor has all the Ammo. The Rocket Launcher is in a pool of Water halfway between floors (not called a Water Elevator as it is not stated as such anywhere, though it functions in the same fashion). This means that a player will need to travel both floors to get all the valuable stuff.

The close proximity, square-like nature means that a Grenade Launcher might also be useful. The Double-Barrelled Shotgun is pretty pointless due to distance, but that is probably why there are two of them. The Thunderbolt is on a platform in the middle, like a reward to compete over, even though it is virtually pointless due to a lack of Cells. The Super Nailgun and Nailgun both could serve as something to pick up while running for either explosive.

Though one room, the level has low to decent connectivity at best. The second floor, of course, allows for the player to drop easily to the first floor. The first floor has two normal routes out, the Water which would be highly guarded due to the Rocket Launcher being in it, and a Teleporter that allows quick access to a floating platform to a Quad Damage. Of course, it seems the latter just drops you back to the lower floor, meaning you only have one way to reach the second floor. Combine that with the good weaponry on the higher floor and you can possibly control the map by preventing players from ascending the Water.

Overall, this level works best as a test map and could possibly be recognized as such if it wasn't for the number of terrible attempts we have seen. This map has four corners, like Dalias' work. Otherwise, there isn't much similarity between the two designers. Of course, I found Dalias' levels to be quite boring as well, so perhaps he has captured the spirit by making a similar terrible level. In any event, this level should have remained a private test on someone's computer, there is no real benefit to be gained by publishing this beyond the possibility of negative reviews eventually convincing him to not create new levels.