I really enjoyed The Dismal Omelette (ctsj_juz) as another small, self-contained map where every area counts and each offers its own distinctive combat. Its not a long map, but if feels like there is plenty of progression. And lots of scope of combat tactics.
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I was hugely enjoying the broken-down aesthetics and very open exploratory gameplay of Primordial (ctsj_jcr), and about to describe it as my favourite map in the jam so far, when unfortunately I ran into two bad bugs right at the end: first, in the area where you quad all the shamblers in the lava, it was for some reason impossible to climb out of the lava before the pentagram expired. It got out of that using the console fly command, only to find that then when I pressed the switch immediately afterwards, the whole game crashed. (I tried this several times: it was reliable). So I was left to noclip my way through the gate that the switch was meant to open, and also through the main gate that follows, and then … that was the end.
Such a shame. This was nearly outstanding.
Just love The Great Sea Wept (ctsj_ionous) — the progression, the climbing, the sense of how far we have come from the underwater start, and a series of combats that, while hard, never feel unfair. Part of this is the generosity of ammo provision: I rarely felt stretched in that respect, and while this could be construed as a criticism of the balance I found it just made things fun. Lovely Koohoo-like atmosphere, too. If I were being picky, I think perhaps it could have used one or two claustrophobic underground sections to break things up. But I quibble.
The Veiled Basin (ctsj_h4724) is a nice example of how a small-contrained map with rather arbitrary button-based progression can still be a blast to play if the combats are set up well. Lots of fun.
Either Sunscorched (ctsj_grome_) is phenomenally well balanced or I just happened to be lucky in my playthrough, but on three separate occasions I was reduced to single-digit health on the way to victory. I can’t say that the sunlight-hurts-you mechanic added a lot, but this was a very satisfying process, with several set-pieces that were tricky to work out tactically. For the first time I can remember, I found myself longing for the regular nail gun (since the nerfed SNG is no good as a long-range weapon in Copper).
Blue Brawls (ctsj_greenwood) was going well right up until the big room the ogres on platforms at either side and all the enforcers down at ground level. I killed them all, and the vored that spawn: then … nothing. No doors opened, and I was just stuck there.
Am I missing something, or is this a bug?
I enjoyed The Pumps of Dagon (ctsj_doom_pope) despite its artificial progression, because each stage was individually fun. Not a classic, but a very enjoyable ten minutes. Some nice secrets, too.
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Beneath An Ivory Facade, It Watches You Writhe (ctsj_artistical) brings the jam to an idiosyncratic close. At first, I was turned off by its vast, barren cubescapes. But as I played my way thorugh, I came to appreciate the way this kind of architecture facilitates a specific kind of combat. In the end, I found the whole thing deeply satisfying, even if I didn’t quite understand what I had done in some parts of the map.
All in all, this is clearly a five-star package, with the highlights for me being Dies Irae, Grim Gallows, Primordial, and The Great Sea Wept.
Thank you, mapping community! Keep up the great work!
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Copying some of my own comments from func:
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Quick comments on Grome’s map. Super good little jam-style map for a couple of specific reasons:
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Not overly detailed, but a good color palette and interestingly-shaped spaces to explore and fight in. That’s a time-efficient way to get a good look 'n feel.
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The “burny sunlight” is a neat gimmick that immediately stamps some memorable character on the map. And it’s not overused, in fact I think it could have been used a bit more. I loved that it also affected the monsters!
Also thumbs up for not over-relying on the thing where a bunch of monsters spawn in around the player when they touch something or reach a certain spot. When that’s overused it can give the combat gameplay in a map a really annoying rhythm.
The map did use some spawn-in surprises in a couple of spots, particularly in the last big fight, but I think they were handled well in that they appeared in certain interesting spots around the arena a good distance from the player.
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h4724’s map is a cool close-quarters puzzle box thing. I really like this particular style (especially in this texture theme) and it feels quite old-school in a good way,
The final fight was fun – figuring out how to tackle that, working around in the spaces I’d already been over and through a few times. And never quite safe from pressure. It seemed quite well-tuned on skill 2. The mid-fight “gift” was pretty neat too; obviously I’d been wondering what was going to happen with that thing. 
FYI I did get the end gate open at 44/45 kills, and as I was about to leave I heard the shambler lightning sound. Dunno if one of the shams fell out of the map somewhere, or if there was one in a secret that I didn’t find.
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I just now was watching JCR’s playthrough of his own (awesome) map, and he showed off a secret that – let’s say – gives you a different view and ambience. I missed that on my play. Love it! It is a very cool break and also helps re-sell the mood of the main map when you go back in.
Interesting point about Copper allowing you to change the fog color to set different moods in different areas. More maps should experiment with brief “breakouts”, and maybe not so well-hidden.
Unregistered user “Greenwood” posted:
Odd. I watched quite a few playthroughs of my map and nobody seemed to have an issue. Did you somehow telefrag a vore and accidentally screw up a sequence at the end?
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entertaining map set.
having a variety of style to mess with can be enjoyable once in a while.
warning tip for Primordial, if you grab multiple keys of the same color they will count as one once you use them to unlock a door. therefore the player must grab each key individually and use it before proceeding to the next one of the same color. if you grab two or more gold keys before going back to the gold door you’ve screwed your way out of the map.
Sounds like you aren’t running this using Copper. What you described shouldn’t happen if you are.
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Overall, another set of fantastic maps! You guys are just great for keeping Quake alive. I really enjoyed playing this set. Thank you all!
Unregistered user “I Like Quake” posted:
I was blown away by how good this was. WHO are you guys?, making such treasures. This is art!
A warm hug and a big “thank you”.