

   				    Rapid Waters Rush 

				        (Beta 1) 


				  A Map For Tactical Ops



		"Rapid Waters Rush" by Gregg "FBR" Giles of Fragalicious Design. 
		     Original "Rapid Waters Weir" map by Janis "Flux" Bodi.
	  Send comments and suggestions to: Gregg "FBR" Giles at gmgiles@pacbell.net




			     Download "Rapid Waters Rush" from: 
		   http://www.securityleak.net/gregg/fragalicious_design





Introduction

The original "Rapid Waters Weir" map is one of the most popular maps used for the Unreal Tournament
Tactical Ops mod. However, its also one of the most criticized and considered by many to be
"boring", mainly because players often find themselves repeating identical tactics and having the
same experience over and over again. Everyone enjoys diversity when replaying a level repeatedly,
and the original Rapid Waters map simply doesn't provide the mechanisms that allow fluid play and
variety.

After playing the original map dozens of times, I quickly realized that a handful of key
enhancements could dramatically improve the dynamics of each game and equalize the offensive and
defensive postures of both teams. The following brief analysis summarizes what I believe to be both
the strengths and weaknesses of the original map, and I also outline the enhancements that appear in
the new and improved version I've dubbed "Rapid Waters Rush".

Please note that "Rapid Waters Rush" is NOT the same as the recently unveiled "Rapid Waters ][" map
that appears on the TacOps site. From what I've seen, "Rapid Waters ][" appears to be a minor
expansion and visual enhancement of the original map, and it doesn't appear to address the core
playability issues of the original. I am very interested in hearing any comments and comparisons you
may have about any of these spinoff versions of "Rapid Waters Weir".




An Analysis Of "Rapid Waters Weir"

Because of the finite number of choke points in the original map's design, most of the time the
terrorists are forced into a defensive stance and must resort to holding tactics while the Special
Forces assault them. This gets old fast. The primary causes of this common situation are the three
choke points that all players typically pass through: the pedestrian bridge, the vehicle bridge, and
the main entrance to the terrorist area. What usually occurs is that each team vigilantly guards
these choke points, and most of the time anyone that passes through them gets shredded quickly.
Typically the Special Forces team is able to pin down the terrorists and force them to go defensive,
but on occasion, if the Special Forces rush fails, a terrorist team can break out and turn the tide.
This however, is not usually the case.

On the positive side, this is a very "fast" map - that is, games typically last only 2-3 minutes
maximum. The limited number of hiding spaces and the small geographical area of the map are the
major causes of this. Rarely will you see a game last long, and one of my challenges in designing
"Rapid Waters Rush" was to ensure that gameplay doesn't slow down due to the introduction of new
choke points and hiding places.

The terrorist team also starts off with immediately defensible positions, which is great in the
sense that they won't get overrun quickly by the Special Forces. In particular, the down-slope of
the original pedestrian bridge (on the terrorist side) provides good sniper cover, the structural
supports and stairwells provide good to great protection from projectiles and grenades, and the
cinder-block wall above the original stairwell gives full panoramic view of all entrances into the
original terrorist area. The downside is that these great defensive positions are a result of choke
points which simultanously limit the terrorist's offensive capabilities - the favor is definitely to
the Special Forces.

The river itself is also an excellent feature that benefits both teams equally. Both teams can enter
and exit it with relative ease, although they are exposed to hostile fire the entire time. A common
tactic, especially for the Special Forces, is to quickly leap into the river and rapidly swim to the
opposing side. However, aggressive terrorist teams will also jump in immediately and fight it out
with their opponents. The river is also used as a quick-getaway vehicle should a player's position
be overrun or his team decimated - it can be hidden in easily and a player can swim downstream to
exit; these valuable seconds can let the hunted turn the tables and become the hunter.

However, the river itself can only be exited from four locations: one on the terrorist side, and
three on the Special Forces side. This typically forces escaping terrorists to move to the Special
Forces side of the map, and if experience is any indicator, this often happens when the terrorist
side is losing, so the hunted terrorist could very well be forced right into the enemy's well
defended camp. Not a lot of fun.

Simply, "Rapid Waters Weir" is a decent map, but limited. It's time for it to evolve and improve,
and "Rapid Waters Rush" is my attempt at doing so.




The Improvements Of "Rapid Waters Rush"

The screenshots on the Fragalicious Design website provide visuals of all of these improvements,
along with specific details explaining each individual change and addition. As a rule, my goal was
to add to an existing level that's already good - that is, I wanted to supplement it, not redesign
it. As a result you'll see that most of the original features and layout of "Rapid Waters Weir" are
still intact. Where changes have been made, they were done in order to even the offensive and
defensive capabilities of both teams and maintain a fast-playing level.

There are now more ways to cross the river. There's a new pedestrian footbridge connecting the two
sides and a new ladder leading from the river up to a new terrorist bunker. Each team can reach
their respective end of the footbridge in nearly the same amount of time, and each has defensible
positions on their end. Additionally, the interior of the new footbridge has numerous structural
supports to hide behind and windows to fire out of.

All bridge bases are now accessible via new stairs. Stairs have been added to the base platforms of
all bridges to allow players swimming in the river to climb on to them. This way any player can get
out of the river quickly and get back into action. Previously, the only way to get on the original
bridge base was to jump off of a bridge - no access from the river was possible.

Special Forces now have more defensible positions. When an aggressive terrorist team does
successfully rush, the original map had few defensible positions on the Special Forces side. This
has been addressed through the addition of a series of improvements, including a Special Forces
sniping position near the new footbridge, a redesigned river access ramp area, set-back areas in the
new hallway leading from the SF starting position to the new footbridge, and the strategic placement
of crates and a minor wall extension. However, before you think this will let the Special Forces go
defensive, please know that each defensible position has a major weakness - if a SF player is trying
to camp and play sniper, there are routes to get around his position and take him out easily. It's
up to you to find those routes!

Terrorists have a new bunker to defend the vehicle bridge from. Most of the time the Special Forces
team rushes across the vehicle bridge with little resistance. Sure, grenades will get thrown now and
then, but typically these only slow down their imminent advance, not stop it. However, with the
addition of a new bunker, the terrorist team now has a better opportunity to pin down the rushing
Special Forces. But in all fairness, this new bunker position also has weaknesses: 1) the terrorist
team must brave a wide open area risking hostile fire to reach the bunker, 2) sniping is only
possible while standing up, thereby exposing terrorists to fire from numerous Special Forces
positions all along the river, not just from the vehicle bridge, and 3) a new ladder from the river
leads up to the bunker, allowing Special Forces to swim across the river and simultaneously storm
the bunker from two different directions.

Improved defenses in the terrorist area. A small crate has been added inside of the initial
terrorist start position - this provides cover from projectile fire to a crouching player. Typically
the terrorist team finds cover along the wall behind structural supports, in the stairwell leading
to the hostage area, or behind the cinder-block wall on the staircase. This crate adds a minor new
dynamic to this area. However, grenades will more than likely take out anyone hiding behind this
crate, so don't get too comfortable behind it! Also, a new large area connecting the original
terrorist area to the new pedestrian bridge has been added, complete with hiding areas and quick
access to other areas.




Known Problems With "Rapid Waters Rush"

Please remember that this map is still under development, and there may be playability issues or
outright bugs that need to be fixed before it can be deemed "final". The following are know problems
and will be addressed in the next version of "Rapid Waters Rush". Please send me your findings and
comments to the email address at the top of this page.

This map has not been tested for single player. Don't expect bots to work correctly. 

Path nodes have not yet been set up for the new areas. Don't expect bots to move into new areas -
this will make bots look really stupid on servers that have some bots present all the time.

There might be a clipping issue or two. There might be a weird mirror-like texture in the new
Special Forces hallway leading to the new footbridge. This will be looked into.

All lighting and graphics are mostly correct, but may be tweaked as needed. Let me know if the
corona lighting effects dramatically impact this map's playability on slower machines.




Screenshots

[Screenshots can be seen out the Fragalicious Design website - check them out!]
