Unregistered user “JMP” posted:
I actually agree with Repus here, for the reason Skacky articulates: this is so different from the typical Quake map that it strips away many of the things I like about Quake. It’s a technical marvel, and I can appreciate the skill and ambition that went into creating it, but it’s just not a map I can get into–purely for subjective reasons.
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I love this map, but I definitely think that’s a valid perspective. I see this as a map for mapcrawlers. There are so many side areas and alternate routes that add to the mapcrawling dimension, but which could be confusing if you want to blast through a ‘normal’ Quake map.
This is one of those maps that are just a little bit too detailed and/or interconnected for their own good, which detracts from exploration as well. There’s just too much shit around, and it’s hard to focus.
However, hours spent on secret-hunting and admiring the scenery were well worth an occasional moment of confusion. I wish there were more maps like this.
This map was so boring and confusing to me that since trying to find the gameplay in it, I did not touch any new Quake releases I think, because it took the “new style” of maps to the extreme and left me longing for stock id1.
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I really like both Giftmacher’s and Sock’s work in general – granted, Giftmacher hasn’t released that many Q1SP maps yet, but “The Brimstone Mine” from func_mapjam 9 is my favourite map from 2017, and one of my all-time top maps (at the moment, at least). And there are several Sock releases I love, including Backsteingotik and The Ivory Tower.
That being said, I’m not a big fan of The Forgotten Sepulcher either, for similar reasons to what some of the more critical comments above mention. I really admire it and have great respect for the amount of work that went into it.
However, visually, I find it far too busy, and it comes across as overworked. As dwere points out, this impedes navigation, but aesthetically as well, I much prefer maps that are more restrained. Both Giftmacher and Sock have released much better looking maps, in my opinion.
I’m not a big fan of the gameplay either, although – in partial response to Skacky’s and JMP’s comments above – I wouldn’t say it’s due to the deviation from the standard Quake formula. Nor is it because of the focus on exploration and quests. I enjoy exploration-heavy and quest-based gameplay in general, and I love In the Shadows, for instance, which deviates much further from standard Quake. This, however, I found simply too big and unfocussed, and, much like ad_swampy, I found it confusing, exhausting and a bit of a chore to complete.
There were parts of it I enjoyed. The new monsters were fun, and some of the side quests and secret hunts were engaging. But although it is indisputably a very high quality release, groundbreaking in many ways and – to quote JMP – “a technical marvel” , it is (just like any other map) not beyond criticism.
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Well shit.
Loved the map, everyone said everything that I would have said. So this time I came here with a question.
How do you get the red armor just underneath the gold key door? I think no one will read this, but I have been searching for ages. Even nocliped to see if it was a grenade secret. No.
Found a different texture brick and even one buttonless hole, but with the same size, near a breakable window. Frustrated.
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As far as I remember, it’s just a hidden shootable button somewhere nearby. Despite this, it took me forever to find it.
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Unregistered user “Fei” posted:
Look under the vines. It’s a red backpack not a red armour as far as I remember.
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11/10 still wouldn’t be enough for this map lol