Date: 16-01-2000 Teams: 2 File: ground0.zip Players: 6-10 Game: TFC Size: Medium Briefing: TFC isn't getting any younger; and with the plethora of maps available, it's a wonderful change of pace to see an old dog do new tricks.

Ground Zero

A choke point.

The elevator shaft.

Reactor core.

Hmmmmmm.....

Author: Cycloid | Reviewer: Tolwyn

Objective:

Red Team Objectives (Assault Force):
Take the keycard from the office within the compound to the control booth in the reactor core and activate the airlock. A Demoman must then enter the reactor core room through the secondary airlock entrance and set a detpack to blow the reactor.


Blue Team Objectives (Defense Force):

Prevent the destruction of the reactor core.
Bonus of 2 team points if you kill the keycard carrier.
Keycard Returns to the office 30 seconds after it is dropped.

Scoring:

pp = Personal Points (Frags)
tp = Team Points

RED:
Take Control Room (with key) = 5 pp
Detpack The Core = 5 pp; 5 tp

BLUE:
Kill the Keycard carrier = 2 tp

Personal frags are underplayed in this map, forcing you to achieve team points by satisfying the objectives of the map.

Evaluation:

Infiltration maps are always cool in my book. This map delivers an assault/defend style fairly well. The number of vertical levels in this map (a total of 5) makes sure there are plenty of things to do for both sides to achieve a successful outcome. As with tradition, there is ample signage in the level to help direct new players where to go; although I personally recommend some single-player recon to give you the edge, if you know what I mean.

Multiple entrances into the facility ensure that the Defense will have plenty of challenges in keeping the Red Force from crashing the party. It is the job of the Red team to infiltrate the office on the top floor and grab the keycard that will allow them access to the airlocks on a level far below the surface. This won't do them any good unless they happen to bring a Demoman along for the trip. The Demoman, after being allowed into the core must then set a detpack which will blow the reactor. This scores the Red Team points and, subsequently, kills everyone on the level; essentially resetting the scenario.

Since individual scoring is deprecated in this map, it is essential to work together to be victorious when the time limit expires on the server. Not all classes can be utilized effectively here. Snipers and Scouts seem fairly useless. On a side-note, it would have been great if the defensive team had an opportunity to access the core to defuse the detpack. Although not exactly impossible, I couldn't quite get that scenario to happen. Because everyone's pretty much dead when the reactor blows, most Demoman are ill-advised to set their detpack for anything longer than 5 seconds.

I enjoyed the vertical-nature of this map quite a bit. Not to give too much away, I was enjoying the stairwells and the elevator shaft areas. I actually felt some vertigo in some places of the map. The map designer created some pretty cool graphics to set the tone and feel. Diagrams of the core and the facility are aplenty, if not somewhat haphazardly applied. One unique criticism I had is that the designer failed to put glass textures on frames that indeed were impenetrable. There are many areas where you think you should be able to go, but obviously cannot. I'm not talking about clip brushes, either. These invisible windows stop bullets dead. And, much to my chagrin, I've caught myself attempting to place a rocket through a window. Don't try that at home.

Also, there is at least one door that is featured in the game that you simply can't go through. I sometimes catch myself trying to get through it, trying to find a switch to open it, etc. Durn it! I had to go into the map in noclip mode just to satisfy my curiosity. Nothing beyond that door but the wonderful void of mapmaking. All in all, a great map with a good challenge for the Red (offensive) Team. Designed well, if not a bit sparse. The r_speeds were well within tolerable levels and the map is large enough to be comfortable yet small enough to get from one point to another in rapid fashion. The ingress point of the Red Team is fortified with auto-cannons which prevent Blue from stopping Red before they even begin. Nice thinking.

Due to limitations on Internet playability when a lot of detail is placed on design (r_speeds, etc.), the map is somewhat sparse in architecture. A lot of empty rooms and hallways, but I guess that helps with latency issues. Still, it'd always be nice to be wowed by design prowess. This map has its shining moments of "cool" factor, but not overly so. Some elements have no viable purpose (the cargo crane in the first area down under the surface), a texture or control panel that seems completely out of place, etc. Lighting is a bit dark for my taste. I mean, are the Blue Forces of Evil (Defense) that frugal? Put some more lights in there!

The teamwork aspect is fairly one-sided. Since there are no other goals for the Blue Side than "Kill the Red Guys - especially the one with the key," the teamwork score part of this review is subdued; even though I think that the Red Side teamwork requirement is excellent (read: forced). Finding unique themes in TFC isn't an easy task. Kudos to the designer for coming up with something that made me say "Unique idea."

Verdict:

Thumbs up. Sure, it could have been designed prettier with more attention to detail and immersion, but it sure is fun to play. Good signage, only efficient way to score points is through teamwork, good effort in keeping grenade spam to a minimum (you're limited to how many MIRVs you can carry), and a text file intro. You feel as though the base is truly underground, and I like the vertical design. Nice change of pace.

Delta Bravo Final Score: 
- 30/50 -