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B L A C K S U N S E T
By Rob "Fusion" Babor
rbabor@dccnet.com
Homepage
saydm1
This level is actually from 1999. Do not let that fool
you, though. If I had discovered this level back then almost 4 years ago,
my amazement would probably not have been less than it is now. No wonder,
really, because the man behind this very well functioning and fun DM level
is none other than Rob "Fusion" Babor. A man who has made more levels than
me, and a lot of other more well known designers out there.
An initial thought would be that this is a lie. If he has made so many
levels - 50 at the time of "Black Sunset's" release in 1999 - why have we
never heard of him? Regulars of the DW forums, people going waaaaay back
in the community history and very attentive news readers might just have
heard about him. His ageing project "HellCore" probably rings a bell. My
point is that it is very unusual for such a talented, skilled and great
designer to appear so anonymous. the main reason if off course that many
of his levels have only been for internal use with his friends and for
HellCore, which is as of the time writing not released yet. Generally, his
work needs more appreciation and a bigger audience. "Black Sunset" needs
more attention, to be precise! And why exactly is that? Because it,
according to my experience, reminds me very much of a Q3A map. It has a
lot of things in common with many of the levels found in id software's
great on-line hit-game. To be more precise, the basic layout of level is a
large room with some connected hallways around it which also leads up to a
higher positioned medium sized area with a great view over some other
inaccessible buildings. Not unlike some levels from Q3A. The large room in
the centre of the level holds the Shotgun and more importantly the
SuperShotgun and Rocket Launcher. The last two are placed in small
alcoves, which must be lowered in order to get to them. This is cool
because your back is at the action and in that small second it takes for
you to get the weapons you're highly exposed to attacks. The same goes for
the BFG, which is placed, on a lift. It takes some time before it's
lowered and again you've got be sure that there aren't any other players
nearby when you try to grab it. However, there's also another SuperShotgun
placed on a high pillar in the big centre arena that requires a well
co-ordinated jump to get to. There's another Rocket Launcher placed in the
high positioned area or Command Central if you like. In here you'll also
find the Chaingun. More easily accessible these two. From this room there
is also a window leading out to the large centre arena besides the other
two ways out. In short; there's not that big of a chance getting
unwillingly caught or cornered unless you're trying to get a powerful
weapon. The gameplay is relatively fast actually, and there's a lot of
intense fighting going on. Another weapon, the Plasma Rifle, is placed in
a small nook, which are in turn accessed via a teleporter. All in all
there's plenty of weapons, perhaps too many. I'm not sure the BFG is such
a good idea, however the ammo is scarce so you won't get all that many
chances to shoot it. The best weapon is probably the Rocket Launcher,
which rules in the hallways with its splash-damage. The level could maybe
also use a little more armour. One green armour is probably a bit cheap.
Generally there's not all that much health or armour, however a soothing
amount of ammo without ever going overboard.
Another strong indicator of the Q3A inspiration is the fact a few sounds
have been borrowed from that game. Luckily for us they're pretty good and
won't interrupt anything, gameplay wise. Other new things include a couple
of new textures and flats, which anonymously and perfectly blend in with
the existing. Generally there are not a lot of negative tings to say about
the architecture they're mounted on. There's a good variation and very
dimlighted areas only slightly lighted by wall and ceiling mounted lights
set the mood. The effects are good without ever being impressive. For a
1999 level they're quite fine, and aren't all that important in a DM level
anyway.
I can heartily recommend that you try this level out the next time you and
a comrade decides to slaughter each other in a game of good ol' fashioned
Doom deathmatch!
Score:
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