Game                      : Unreal
Filename                  : DMArctic.zip
Title                     : Arctic Castle
 
Release Date              : 15th April 1999 
Author                    : Entropic_Messiah (or if you prefer Jason Todd)
Email                     : Entropic_Messiah@hotmail.com

New Sounds                : None
New Graphics              : None
New UnrealScript          : None
External DLLs             : None
   
Single Player             : None
BotMatch                  : Yes
Cooperative               : No
Deathmatch                : Yes

Map Info                  : Well where do I even start on this one. lets say it is big, well not just 
big, but REALLY BIG.  It would have been a SP test if I had a plot and few more maps to link to it and
a differnt layout. LOL. It was to be a UT CTF but as it grew larger I decided to turn in into a how
large can I go test.  This is my 3rd map now and I still consider them all tests.  I know alot of people
hate to see test maps but I feel it has enough to offer that it can give someone a few laughs for 
a few moments.  It was my first attempt at a outdoors type map and belive this is the direction I
am going to flow into.  I had to push myself over the line in map playable size, file size, Total
poly size, etc etc, to know where it was so in the future I dont paint myself into corners.  This map
on my computer 400 mzh, 128 RAM , Canopus Pure3dII 12 meg card, and a ATI Range Pro 4 meger ran a 16
player BOT match with no problems, I belive on my system without going into the more than nasty areas
(bottom of the castle in the corners of the map) a stat fps gave me a lowest of 9 FPS and about a average of
30 some odd. Sorry I didnt stat it for a full printout but it became such a cumbersome map and who
even knows who plays these damn things so I figured I would save my energy towards newer and better things.
Here I was exploring what scale actually meant in a first person shooter.  I belive most of the maps
I personally have played out there take the Z plane into small accounts, Here I took it to a large 
account without getting to obscene but to stretch out the plane to see just what is pretty to the eye
as well as playable.  I also was tryn to get a a understanding of scale in the unreal engine.  From 
the other first person shooters I have played they have a far differnt scale system than unreal, or
unreal pulls off the illusion of 3D in a way that my mind interprets better, who knows, and who cares :)
In this map I gave enough size to the playing field that I never really understood the balance and 
beauty of the unreal weaponary.  It is a entrily new ball game with a alt fire on the flak than in
a crowded room, the beauty of the smoke as that baby archs across the screen and then a nice smoke 
ground cloud with a chunk or 2 flyn really is a sight indeed.  8Balls in a wide space are more than
funny as with a machine gun you play I'll zig while u zag and by the time we are done I have a few
bumbs and bruses but you seem to be on the ground and full of holes.  Blue crystals also give a beauty
to the death dance and distance. I wont even discuss the ASMD because those who know , understand
it just plain kicks ass.  When I serverd the map online with a cable modem, I could handle about 
8-10 people fromm 266/56k-400/Cable users and not too much of a real drag.  The map will tax the 
hell out of alot of system no denial there and it isnt my style to tax so hard but I wanted to know
the line personally as to better control it in the future.  The bot match seemed to degrade after the
map hit about 12,000 total polys.  Not sure if that is a internal limit but things got a little wacky after 
12 and I couldnt find a unreal map from the team that was pushin more total polys. So I will assume that
when you can read a few articles on the web get a drink and come back and that bad boy is still
compiling then maybe it is a little on the large side, eh?  BOTS still are incredably fun, the AI is 
awesome to say the least, yes I know the bot comes at you at all times like a flaming space herrpie
but who am I to argue with ones attack sytle.  They have plenty of flaws but it is what they do rigtht
that has me so amazed.  I wont get into a pro/con list here but it brings a tear to my eye to see
my little buddy bot peekin out a window, see me runnin by try to smoke me from the window and then
releazie I aint stopin and come flyn out of it and start stalking me.  I put probably a little over
a month into this map keeping it very tight and soild in the beging only to throw it all away with
a wild rampage at the end. My long map making times are due to time on computer plus I really really
go over design.  I like to get into the map bounce a few things off soem walls look around, yadie yadie.
The feel is very important to me in the game so I spend alot of time testing and getting sucked into
justplain screwin off.  I also try to increase my knowledge of the editor with each map, pushing into
new areas figuring there are so many beautes of options in here I might as well learn them all.
Well as not to keep this running for ever better but I better thank a few people before
the flames start again about I didn't see my name anywhere in that text file, what happned? Dont you 
love you me anymore? So first I will thank Entropy now with DeCyber with whom I am sure if you took
the time to read this file you are familar with. He helped me out and pieced some beauty of mountain
work for the map. (Granted he didnt play hide the poly to well for me down in those corners) The work
is highly apprciated. And a small list of those whom will be ICQ'n me shortly if the name doesnt get in
here some where, Tinaja, DS_Willhaven, Addison-Plasma_Manifold-yadie-yadie, Skemlawn, Chaos, and the
first Estrogen unreal player I have seen to date Juju. I better cut the BS here as not to appear to
lonly and ramble over a meg into a text file, enjoy the map for whatever pleasure it can give ya
and it is truly free and yours do what ya like. 

P.S. I mentioned in my other map text file that no other engines have really impressed me lately, and
that is not totally true, all the FPS out there have brought a beauty and style of there own and I
loved playing them all in there own way, with unreal it just felt like home is all.         

Still more babbling to come, if I get enough response and it really looks like people want to see it
done, I will make all the fixes that it needes and convert it to UT CTF, and a few other modes that
looked promising. I left this one as it to move on, I would like a job in the field and granted half-ass
work isnt the greatest to show off, I am not being paid for this and figure I need to show a bit more
quantity rather than spend more and more time on this one. But if the interest is so highly here I 
will come back and make it right.   