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14/04/2014 - "Demon City" by Alex "DarkWaver" Hoffmann

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User avatar Delacroix
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Subject: 14/04/2014 - "Demon City" by Alex "DarkWaver" Hoffmann

Post Posted: 14 Apr 2014, 23:40

Map Title: Demon City
Author: Alex "DarkWaver" Hoffmann
From: Nali Chronicles
Filename: NCLevel015.unr
Music Files:: Course.umx, Mech8.umx




Video Playthrough:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvX03fex_o8

Synopsis: You have entered the Sky Demons' territory. Proceed with caution.

Discuss!
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User avatar Semfry
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Subject: Re: 14/04/2014 - "Demon City" by Alex "DarkWaver" Hoffmann

Post Posted: 15 Apr 2014, 12:03

This one wasn't very long ago so here's my previous comments:

Mman wrote:I couldn't finish the level properly in the video playthrough because you can't summon the communication spell for some reason.

Like I said in my review this is one of my favourite maps in Nali Chronicles. It comes at the tipping point where you finally have all the hilariously broken stuff (you get Shadow Armour on the previous level) and can go all out with them, although there are less mana spots here than I remembered there being. This is also the main introduction to the sniper weapon, although it's too bad the hit detection on heads is a bit weird. It also has a couple of nice environmental puzzles. The theme is also cool and a really fresh take on the Skaarj theme with some quite original architecture.
Formerly Mman

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Subject: Re: 14/04/2014 - "Demon City" by Alex "DarkWaver" Hoffmann

Post Posted: 15 Apr 2014, 13:21

The autozoom sniper railgun was actually surprisingly fun on this level considering how non-versatile it is as a weapon. Definitely wouldn't work well in MP.
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Subject: Re: 14/04/2014 - "Demon City" by Alex "DarkWaver" Hoffmann

Post Posted: 15 Apr 2014, 15:11

When I first played this map, I found it pretty close to impossible, the Skaarj Troopers having their infamous insta-kill Sniper Rifles and all.
That was before I discovered the Shadow Armour.
Then it became easy (though that part where you come up the lift onto the walkways is still pretty hard if you run out of Mana) and this map became actually one of my favourites.
Of course, you can still run into the issue of, if you lost your rabbit somewhere, not knowing what to do next; It took me a long time to work out that I was supposed to call down the Elder at the top of the tower before I could finish the level, for example.

TOP TIP: You can prevent Rabbit Loss by:
a) when you find him, don't go down to his master, or he will never talk to you again (just get the stuff before you find him).
b) when he is talking, don't move away from the trigger location, especially don't finish a level before he's stopped talking.

Nali Chronicles is still one of my most favourite map packs, and always will be.

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Subject: Re: 14/04/2014 - "Demon City" by Alex "DarkWaver" Hoffmann

Post Posted: 19 Apr 2014, 23:52

I haven't come back here to discuss a map since I missed the chance to comment on Liberation of Na Pali :shake: but I figured that now is a good time to return to Map Of The Week :P

Demon City is one of the best maps from Nali Chronicles IMHO and overall it leaves a lasting impression. Of course the fresh take on the Skaarj theme helps a lot, I remember looking around quite a bit just to enjoy the setting (and it really feels like a gigantic complex) - but giving your surroundings a good hard look is also part of the gameplay of this map, as there are plenty of ennemies here (as one would expect) and in particular the Skaarj Troopers equipped with Sniper Rifles are really dangerous.
I also recall getting a few frights and some ennemies are really mobile - at one point I got ambushed inside a building which I had already cleared, and I'm pretty sure that wasn't scripted (more like really good pathing). Quite a hard level, and that's how I felt it was even with the Shadow Armour - the relatively high difficulty of this map actually allows it to really serve as a testing ground for that new spell (of which you already get a foretaste in the previous map).
Nali Chronicles is amazing, RPG mechanics in a custom UT mod was definitely not something I expected to see and what's more, the main story is really compelling. The talking Nali Rabbit is indispensable in this regard, I have never suffered any bugs with it save for the one time where I finished a level and felt something was missing at the start of the next level: I went back to my last save and this time made sure to bring the Nali Rabbit's conversation to its conclusion before moving on to the next map; sure enough, that ensured that a conversation would begin upon starting that following map.
Did "DarkWaver" make any other SP maps apart from those in this mappack?
Nali: Magic or Telekinesis
Waffnuffly wrote:It's tarydium-doped smoothies. Drunk by the player, I mean. The player is tripping balls. The whole game actually takes place in a large city and the player thinks he's on an alien world.

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Subject: Re: 14/04/2014 - "Demon City" by Alex "DarkWaver" Hoffmann

Post Posted: 20 Apr 2014, 16:34

Well, you can try looking around Darkwaver and Mclane's old Website:
http://web.archive.org/web/200112052146 ... ndex.shtml

I think he only really made DM maps though...

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Subject: Re: 14/04/2014 - "Demon City" by Alex "DarkWaver" Hoffmann

Post Posted: 20 Apr 2014, 18:04

Thanks for the link, SteadZ! but yeah, looks like he only made MP stuff apart from his contributions to NC... funny though, I didn't know that Darkwaver and Mclane were associates, the latter also participated in a joint effort that led to one of my favourite maps from Operation Na Pali!
Nali: Magic or Telekinesis
Waffnuffly wrote:It's tarydium-doped smoothies. Drunk by the player, I mean. The player is tripping balls. The whole game actually takes place in a large city and the player thinks he's on an alien world.


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