|
|
27/07/99: Shambler is fed up with bad levels.
I'm fucking fed up. Really fucking fed up. I love good custom levels, and I'm just fed up of all the bad levels I've had to play, which some utter incompetent with no sense
of style or taste has insisted on making and inflicting on the gaming public without any concern for map quality or providing an enjoyable experience. Bad levels have always been there, I've
always encountered them, always had them barging in and spoiling my enjoyment of custom levels. But recently, it's got worse, because I now review all standards of Unreal maps
at Nali City - and I can't avoid the bad ones. For Quake1, I played plenty of bad maps ages ago,
hundreds even, but now at TEAMShambler Quake Level Reviews I only accept good maps, the few bad
ones get dumped without completion. For Quake2, again, I've played some bad maps, but now I'm careful to check many review sites before downloading, and as with
Quake 1, most recent mappers are sensible enough to realise that low quality is not acceptable. For Half-Life, few SP maps have been made, and I just played the good
ones.
But for Unreal, it's different. I offered to do the SP reviewing at Nali City, I got
accepted, I work for them and the job involves reviewing ALL SP levels, good and bad. And unfortunately for me and indeed everyone, there is a lot of bad....far, far too much. I've reviewed
50 levels to date, about 10 have been worth playing, 15 have been okay but flawed, about 25 have been choss that never should have been released. And I've given all of these levels
the reviews they deserve - ranging from glorious praise for the top few, to total disgust for the dregs - this has got me a couple of complaints from mappers, but plenty of respect from good
mappers and other reviewers. So I can take revenge on the worst mappers: they degrade Unreal, they humilate the game, they insult me, they force me to experience something
truly unpleasant, they waste my time, my disk space, my downloading, they waste everything. So the least I can do is give their levels the negative reviews they deserve, as punishment for
releasing a low quality map, and as an example to others - and of course because the negative review is entirely accurate to the level.
But my experiences still remain, the bad maps still remain, AND THEY KEEP GETTING MADE. Don't these idiots fucking learn?? Don't they realise?? Don't they see,
with me reviewing, they won't get away with it?? And it's not just the very worst, the shitest of the shite, it's all substandard maps - I see far, far too many that have potential but are obviously
flawed: Great ideas, bad architecture. Cool structures, terrible textures. Interesting mission, frustrating gameplay. Etc, etc. All substandard, all aspects of low quality - I don't (and hopefully
no-one does) to play or even see "mediocre", "okay" or "not bad" maps - I want "good", "great", "totally unbelievably fucking excellent" maps - after all, what is the point in anything less??
All maps have flaws, even the very best, but I just get sick of seeing so many maps crippled by obvious flaws, and I just cannot begin to understand why the mapper didn't see it, why he
has released a substandard map when it could obviously be so much better.
And with this ceaseless torment of substandard maps I'm reviewing, the self doubt, the worries start to creep in: Am I out of touch?? Am I being too hard?? Are these
levels actually good?? Am I using an "unreal" template of a good level in my mind?? I started thinking that recently...after all, there have been quite a few bad new levels, surely they
can't be all bad, surely people are learning, surely I'm just jaded?? No. No, that's complete crap, I've been reassured recently. Because, I reinstalled Unreal, and was able to play
some of the top rated older maps that don't work with version 2.24. And some of were damn cool -
LiberationEp1 in particular, despite it's flaws, really reassured me -
reassured me that great levels were possible, that ideas, architecture and gameplay can all be done well. Further, it reassured me that I AM correct, there were loads of bad levels, there
still are loads of bad levels, and they ARE bad, they ARE so much worse than good levels.
What makes this all the worse for me, is that Unreal is such a beautiful and map focused game. There are 3 things that really stand out in Unreal: the
lovely special effects, the shockingly detailed textures, and the awe-inspiring maps. The diverse, massive, exploratory, imposing, involving, and often stunning maps. This is not like
Quake1 or QuakeII, where hardcore combat often takes priority, nor like Half-Life, where cunning scripting and combat set-ups can be more important. No,
Unreal is a highly visual game, and impressive, high quality, attractive, well made maps are crucial to the visual effect. Which makes these bad maps all the more bemusing, and all
the more disappointing. How mappers can play through the spectacle of Harobed Village, the hi-tech complexity of Terranuix, the magic of Na Pali Haven or the
sheer wonder of Bluff Eversmoking and then churn out some unthemed, poorly made, pile of turd (are there well made piles of turd??)....it just defies belief and comprehension. Out
of the games I've played Unreal has really inspired the most to produce some amazing and visually stunning maps....but why do so many mappers not get, or not act upon similar
inspirations??
Why mappers release bad maps is something I have never, ever understood. Why they think they can get away with it is equally incomprehensible. Why they keep doing
it - why new mappers don't learn from other's mappers, why established mappers don't learn from their own mistakes. Why some mappers seem genuinely unaware of major flaws, or even
worse, are aware, but don't fix them. I just don't know, I really don't. After all, the whole mapping scene is supposed to be for GOOD - good maps, good satisfaction for the mapper, good
experiences for the players, good feedback from reviewers. This is why I care so much, this is why I do what I do - review, promote, rant and rave - because I fucking love good custom
maps. This is why I'm so fed up, because I want everyone who can to work towards that good - and the essential aspect is the mappers and the maps they make. All custom map scenes
need good maps - all mappers should produce good maps, so all people who play custom maps have good experiences. This means now, and in the future - all the mappers out there should
be focused on good maps. I know this won't happen, I know the bad maps will continue, I know some mappers just don't have that ESSENTIAL dedication to quality (huge respect to those
who do), but it doesn't make it acceptable, it doesn't stop me being fucking fed up with it.
Top
|
