Now
THIS is what I call an "unusual classic-style choice"!
Hell yeah I am happy this gets some attention.
Plateau of Na'Bpah is just a great, gonzo mappack that I would recommend to anyone interested in
Unreal SP content and mapping.
Want to remember what made this engine so great for its time?
Do you want to see how clever modding can potentially expand the original single player experience, with never before seen scripts allowing you to interact with computer panels etc.?
OK so for the sake of clarity:
Plateau of Na'Bpah is really one main map (and this time's MOTW)
plus a really short
BUT really cool intro. The main map is fun and has a shiny, "magical" quality about it that I think works well and while it can be rather random, it also leads to some memorable designs and truly beautiful rooms - the only thing that I outright dislike (although it fits the "fantasy" theme in a way) is the "sun"-flare merged with a planet sprite in the sky. The level is quite hard actually - I died several times throughout - and it definitely felt long the first time round (took me over an hour to beat it). The last major fight was particularly memorable (it was good to pick off some enemies from the window because at first it seemed overwhelming from the front door), and I remember those damned Pupae giving me a couple of frights in the lower, foggy chambers.
It would have been really nice to have a continuation.
But the biggest legacy of this short mappack as far as I am concerned is the intro no doubt - it's amazing we didn't see other releases use what it showed off, but then we did get
firetrucks (
http://www.unrealsp.org/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2988) since then so I guess that's something...
The intro is pure sci-fi (contrasting with the main map), and while really short it is a remarkable demo for Kea's UsableScreen script. The story after this is an afterthought, but one could easily make more story-driven experiences with that script!
Bring on some more "obscure" SP maps from the community, please!
P.S: hope Diamond will return one day...