Scrag's travelogue

[Hellscrag]

Next two maps don't have much to do with the crystal. They're about the abyss and the captured human.

So the dead guy in the first map isn't the guy you set out to find? If not, I stand corrected...

[Hellscrag]

2. The Great Abyss by Edward "EddX" McRobbie

Having left the mysterious Sky Shard behind him, Chris Daniels follows the trail of the Skaarj into an area known to the Nali only as the Great Abyss. He emerges on a raised stone walkway shrouded in a deep, all-enveloping darkness. Only a few Nali lanterns glimmer in the gloom.



A light catches the eye, and the player looks down to see a Skaarj complex of catwalks of unknown function down in the depths of the abyss, out of reach. All seems quiet... for the moment...



The decaying stone walkway has become unstable through lack of maintenance and use, and parts of it collapse underfoot as the player makes his way down the edge of the abyss. At length, he reaches a waterfall, and the way down to the bottom of the abyss becomes clear: he must make a series of death-defying leaps down to a series of elevated water pools bordering the waterfall.



At the bottom of the abyss, the darkness is stifling, and Skaarj lurk in the shadows. Only the player's Searchlight allows him to find his way between the rocks, crates and the struts of the Skaarj complex. But now it is the reaches above that draw the eye: up above the catwalks, an alien ship hovers, its lights illuminating the rock walls of the abyss in blue and red. But the lifts to the catwalks are inactive, the ship inaccessible.



In a nearby cave, a group of Nali are being held prisoner. The Nali are angry at the rape of their world, which they believe the Skaarj are here to strip of everything they perceive to be of value. However, they are powerless to put a stop to it.



The Nali are not the only native race who are angry at what they perceive to be the occupation of their world, but to the Slith it is the Nali who are the interlopers. Nearby lies the hidden entrance to the ancient Slith city of Sha'Morath, which claims to have stood long before the Nali first evolved to dwell on land.



Whether you be Nali or Slith, there can be no denying the disrespect that the Skaarj are showing to this world. Nearby, industrial mining machinery burrows deep into the planet's crust in search of Tarydium. It is here that the player finally finds the keycard that will activate the lifts.



Atop the Skaarj catwalks, a hover platform guides the player past the waterfall and the last of Skaarj sentries that guard the ship.



At last the Skaarj ship awaits, and the player boards the access lift in search of answers and freedom.




Despite a very crude build, this is actually a very interesting map. Its scale could rival Skaarj Tower, if you could only see it, but it's so dark that it's hard to read. The whole thing is begging for a skybox, music and more dynamic use of sound - not to mention more exciting combat, better exploiting the relationship between light and dark - but there is, none the less, a really nice sense of world building here, even if the main story of the pack isn't really followed up. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any other map that actually attempts to ascribe some personality to the Slith and suggest that there may be a civilisation that has spawned their scaly hides.

[Hellscrag]

3. The Skaarj Ship by Edward "EddX" McRobbie

Chris Daniels has arrived in the lower decks of the Skaarj ship, in the midst of a grid of corridors stretching off into the distance.



The main elevator is security protected, so the player has to find another way around. Fortunately, in a cavernous hold that is being used to store refined tarydium crystals, a cargo hoist provides a means for the player to get to the upper decks, via darkened air ducts populated by Pupae.



The player emerges in a small armoury, where he is able to grab some further supplies within which to take on the heart of the Skaarj operation. Soon the player learns that his ship has been captured, along with the last of his crewmates. It seems unlikely that they will have got out alive.



The upper decks are home to the research section. In a gloomy chamber full of sinister-looking machinery, he is able to find a key card that will grant him access to the main research laboratory.



The main research laboratory is a cavernous space. Here, the player discovers that the Skaarj have been analysing the communications equipment carried by his friends, and are on the verge of sending a information back to their homeworld that will pave the way for an invasion of Earth.



It seems almost certain that the player's friends can't be far away, and, sure enough, it isn't long before the player finds their bodies in the darkened corners of the research lab. Kane's last message to his friend Chris Daniels is a plea to destroy the Skaarj ship - the Skaarj can't be allowed to send the transmission that will give them such deadly implications for the human race.



Ascending to the flight deck, the player finds a key card that will grant him access to the main generator.



The main generator itself occupies a cavernous chamber that could rival the Temple of Na-Kasher for size. Firmly protected by a containment field and a coolant system, however, it will take more than just guns to destroy it.



Soon, the player finds the control circuit for the coolant system. Sensing that this is probably his only opportunity to destroy the generator, he takes aim. A single rocket does the trick.



Explosions rock the ship and plunge the generator room into semi-darkness. Making for the escape pods, the player beats a hasty retreat. However, first he must defeat the generator's final guardian in one last fight to the death.



With the Skaarj commander defeated, the player flees the ship as it starts to explode.




4. Time and the Sky Shard by Edward "EddX" McRobbie

The escape pod touches down in a small glade, where Chris Daniels is greeted by a Nali. The Nali have taken control of the Sky Shard, it says, and they believe they can send the player home.



A mysterious force gathers the player and sends him flying down a tunnel to a new entrance to the Temple of Na-Kasher.



Swept along without any control, the player soon finds himself back in the chamber of the Sky Shard.



The shard flares, and soon the player is warping through space. Earth awaits, and home.




For a pack with such a primitive standard of design, it's nice that this one keeps sight of its story and even manages to deliver a scripted ending sequence. There's an element of tragic inevitability about the capture and death of the player's friends that reflects the original Unreal story quite nicely. What I think The Sky Shard really needed is more work on its combat. Between the three main maps there's an awful lot of real-estate but not all that much for the player to do... something that I seem to recall EddX fixed when he created Zero Black... Not a bad pack by any means, though, and it's always good to see a mapper tackle an ambitious concept, even if their skills can't really do it justice.

Over to you! Have you played this pack, and, if not, have I tempted you to give it a go? What did you think? What did it to best?

Next time: It'll be with a sense of déjà vu (not the map pack!) that I tackle Thrall Village.

[Legendslayer222]

'The Great Abyss' and parts of 'The Skaarj Ship' look familiar to me, but I'm not sure if I played this ages ago or just saw a video of it or something.
Your travelogue is certainly making me more interested in some packs than their reviews did. There are a couple more things on my list for when I next decide to play some Unreal.

Also, I'm looking forwards to see what you say about Thrall Village, because I enjoyed that pack despite the many things I can see are wrong with it.

[Hellscrag]

'The Great Abyss' and parts of 'The Skaarj Ship' look familiar to me, but I'm not sure if I played this ages ago or just saw a video of it or something.
Your travelogue is certainly making me more interested in some packs than their reviews did. There are a couple more things on my list for when I next decide to play some Unreal.

Also, I'm looking forwards to see what you say about Thrall Village, because I enjoyed that pack despite the many things I can see are wrong with it.

Thanks for the comment, LS222. Of course, the illustrated version of my travelogue is so spoilerific that, arguably, you don't even need to play the maps once you've seen it! But perhaps after a long enough break...

I seem to have played Thrall Village far more times than it really deserves, partly through having played it twice, which is why it gives me a sense of déjà vu to play it again (that plus the fact that the vast majority of its geometry is lifted from other maps).

Still, it'll be good to get into the 40s in terms of site scores. The 50s, now, that score "decade" goes on absolutely forever!

[Hellscrag]

The Thrall Village
Site score: 40%

1. The Farms by Daniel Norton

In The Thrall Village the player, a nameless protagonist, has been attacked in his space ship and crash lands on the planet Beta24. Awaking injured in a strange bed, tended to by a Nali, he must liberate the village of its Krall occupiers in order to find a way off the planet. Yeah, you've heard this before...

Rahe, the player's rescuer, runs a small farm on the outskirts of the occupied village. His main crop appears to be the rare Inverted White Cone Tree, but he also keeps a few cows.



Venturing forth unarmed from Rahe's hut in search of healing, the player finds himself in Rahe's cow barn, where the Nali claims to have stashed a weapon, but he's not alone. The place is overrun by tiny Pupae, which maul the unfortunate cow to death as the player climbs into the rafters to grab the Dispersion Pistol.



The environment outside the hut is also hazardous. Mantas prowl the area and Tentacles hang from the trees, while further miniature Pupae lurk in the darkened corners. Treading carefully, the player gradually finds further weapons and other supplies.



All seems quiet as the player approaches the village gates...



But it's an ambush! The Krall have protected the entrance with a pair of Brute sentries.



Defeating the LesserBrutes, the player steps through the giant lychgate that marks the entrance to the village.


2. The Townsquare by Daniel Norton

Brought down by the firefight, the lychgate collapses, blocking the player's way back to the farms.



Two Krall guard the entrance to the village square. They seem strangely docile, but it doesn't last for long...



The traders in the deserted village market are oppressed and frightened. None the less, one still tries to sell the player some pottery, talking about the mysterious Kaputta, the God to whom the player must pay tribute to avoid judgement and destruction.



The barkeeper at the inn is more helpful. To escape, he tells the player, he must pass through the Krall barracks, which can be opened using a lever behind the bar.



The Krall barracks appear to be the former town library. Here, scripts make further reference to the Kaputta, God of Life and Death. Armed with knowledge of the Kaputta, the player is allowed to proceed.




3. The Holy Grounds by Daniel Norton

Beyond the bounds of the village square, the player finds a sealed gate. Nobody may leave the village unless they possess the Crystal Shard.



There's a church nearby, but its gate is also sealed. The player must look elsewhere for answers.



In the village windmill, some other poor unfortunate has met a grisly end.



After tooling up in the windmill, the player is set upon by all manner of nasties, including the SkaarjBerserker that presumably killed the man in the windmill. It seems that the Skaarj are part of the Krall's occupation of Beta24, too... just who is in charge here?



Killing the beasts that infest the holy grounds has opened the gate to the church. Inside, the belfry rewards the player with his objective - the crystal shard!



However, taking the shard has brought down the wrath of a Warlord... so perhaps the Skaarj were behind the occupation after all...



With the shard in his possession and the Warlord defeated, the player is able to open the gate and flee the depressed town.


4.Beyond the Great Canyon by Daniel Norton

Beyond the gates, a great valley stretches away from the village, but it is guarded by Titans.



Fortunately, the Titans in this part of the world aren't as tough as they commonly are, and before long the player reaches the freedom of a broad sandy bay.



Here, the player finally finds his downed ship. Although the damage could be worse, it is inoperative.



Beside the ship, the player finds his distress beacon. Activating it, he finds that it still works, and soon help is on the way - his mothership descends into the bay, activating its transporter over the sea.



Swimming out to the transporter beam, the player is airlifted to safety, leaving the battered village and its surviving Nali behind him.




Unlike many of the maps I've played recently on this Travelogue, this pack I've played a couple of times before... but I think this will probably be the last time I play Thrall Village. The pack is innofensive, but so utterly and unashamedly derivative in concept, design and even brushwork (the vast majority of the architecture is lifted from stock Unreal maps) that very little remains that can actually be ascribed to the mapper. Even the attempt at world-building with references to the mysterious Kaputta ultimately goes nowhere. On the positive side, the use of lighting and sound is better that some of the maps I have played recently on this travelogue, and the combat is marginally more involved and challenging, but that's about all I can say to recommend it. Despite being ostensibly more primitive in build, The Sky Shard was a much richer, longer, more rewarding and more original effort all together.

Next time: Back to the vintage efforts with The Calling.

[StalwartUK]

How did you make that ship appear? I've tried everything on that map before and I could never trigger it.

[Hellscrag]

This is the first time I got it to work, too. The key is in the Flares... you have to expend your supply of Flares before you collect the beacon, otherwise the scripted sequence never gets triggered.

So glad I finally figured it out!

[TheIronKnuckle]

The calling! That's one of my favourites. So simple but so good. MMans review is also perfectly accurate imo

[Hellscrag]

The Calling by M|KeT
Site score: 40%

In The Calling, you play an unnamed character who, working late in his office, dozes off. Some time later, he wakes up to find a strange, ghostly four-armed figure calling for his help...



Stepping out into the hallway, the player finds himself hurtling forwards into a technicolour dreamscape, before warping through a series of nebulas to arrive... somewhere...



The player finds himself on the outskirts of a Nali village, faced by three Nali. Their leader has been captured, they say, and without him they are helpless against the occupying force of alien creatures.



It's not long before the player comes face-to-face with one of these creatures. As he enters the village hall to tool up with some gear that the Nali have set aside for him, he is attacked from behind by two Krall.



The Nali tell the player that their leader is being held by the Skaarj just over a nearby bridge. Having dispatched the Krall, the player sets off in search of the crossing, passing a waterfall and a stand of trees.

Entering a clearing, the player picks up a weapon, but it's a trap... a strange cage of rock rises out of the ground, and the player is confronted by two more Krall.



Nearby, a boarded-up property gives every appearance of a haunted house.



The house is gloomy and foggy, but in the shadows something unspeakable lurks...



After a game of cat-and-mouse with the lurking Skaarj, the player enters the loft to find his prize... a third weapon.



The bridge crossing is just a short distance away, a rickety construction of rope and planks, guarded by a single Skaarj... I hope it will hold my weight...



It is in the next clearing that the player finds the Skaarj base, a routing station defended by a powerful force field.



The main door is locked, denying the player entry, but the diary of the single Skaarj guard hints at an alternative way to get inside...



Having entered the facility, the player is confronted by the staunchest opposition he has encountered yet, in the form of two Skaarj Troopers.



With the Troopers defeated, all that remains is for the player to find his way to the top of the facility to free the priest. Using a cargo elevator, he makes his way to the top, where at last he finds his objective, guarded by just two more Krall. Freedom awaits...




Short but sweet, this map takes a basic story premise and carries it off well. The build reflects the story quite happily, and there is a suitable progression of opposition. The build is simple but the texturing and lighting are effective. Unfortunately there's a shortage of sound, but it doesn't harm things too much.

One of the most charming aspects of this map is the framing device, in which the office worker dozes off at his desk. It suggests that the whole thing could just be a dream, a feeling enhanced by such clichéd movie tropes as the haunted house, the swaying rope bridge and the rib cage of stone. Here's a thought - perhaps our office worker is part of the Unreal development team, dozing off at his desk with a stomach full of extra-cheesy pizza and dreaming about his creation? Anything is possible...


Next time: I have a Hollow feeling about this one...

[TheIronKnuckle]

I'm suprised you didn't mention the skaarj ambush that occurs when you collect the 8 ball. iirc it can bug up sometimes and not happen.

[Hellscrag]

I referred to a game of cat-and-mouse with the Skaarj... I may have got things in the wrong order.

[Darkon]

Now it's weird to see the screenshots of this beach area on your pc... the skybox looks really strange. Like there's a curtain halfway, or like something went wrong there. When I played this pack (stretched out map over 4 files), I see a nice skybox going towards the horizon, not a boxed area. (if I make sense). How did you play this?

[Hellscrag]

Unreal 227g in OpenGL mode. I didn't really notice a problem, I thought the beach looked OK really. Would be interested to see a screeny of how it looks to you...

[Hellscrag]

Hollow
Site score: 41%

1. The Hidden by Paul C. Roberts

In Hollow you are a nameless protagonist on an unknown mission. There is, in fact, no story at all beside anything that can be divined from the build.

The player arrives at the entrance to an old underground fortress or citadel armed only with a Dispersion Pistol. The entrance is guarded by a Krall - evidently this place is far from abandoned...



Soon the player has reached a dungeon area. The door ahead is locked and the only alternative seems to be to jump down a pit.



However, one of the dungeon cells contains an excavated area, in the flooded depths of which the player is able to find a key.



Passing through the door, the player arrives at the top level of the fortress' central concourse. Deep below a suspended crucifix lies a lava pit.



All of the doors are locked. The player's only choice is to trust his weight to a fallen beam that bridges the lava pit.



The fallen beam brings the player to the lower level of the dungeon area, where he finds a lever that will open the first of the doors that blocks his way. He also finds a diary containing a single enigmatic message - at the proper moment, to find the way to proceed, he will have to "show wrath to the Lord".

The lever opens a door leading to a darkened barracks area. Krall, Skaarj and savage wildlife lurk in its shadowy depths, and the sound of chanting fills the air.



In the lower level of the barracks, the player finds another key and a Nali Priest meditating upon one of the wooden beds. The Priest has a gift for the player: a powerful Rifle.



The key unlocks the two remaining doors in the main concourse. Here, the player finds a grand stairwell, but it only leads to a lower level - where, at least, the player is able to score some more powerful weapons.



Beyond the other door, a lift leads to a lower level of the lava pit. To bridge the gap seems impossible, but then the player remembers the diary message he read earlier...



Across the pit lies a final, deserted barracks area. Deep within the barracks, a darkened stairway leads the player on to the next stage of his unknown journey...




Impressed so far? Well, if I remember correctly, this is by far the most complex and distinguished map of Hollow, and it's only downhill from here. I also really wish I knew who I was meant to be playing, and where I was meant to be going... sadly the pack doesn't offer any of the answers...