Urban Terror Review: Village by Tub

UT-Village by Tristian “Tub” Barrett
| ut-village.zip | 3.85MB | Tristian Barrett | Score: 4.8 | By Oswald |

The claim to fame of UT-Village by Tristian “Tubby” Barrett, it was the first third party map created for Urban Terror. The map is set in a European village, complete with castle walls, arches and cobblestone roads. The map is quite stunning, visually, from the burning torches to the flags waving in the cool mountain breeze. See what else it holds.

Texturing [6.5]
Going outside the lines of what Silicon Ice Development is just what Tristian did in terms of texturing his village map. He took advantage of an assortment of texturing in order to recreate this European setting. He mentioned it himself sometime back, but it was lacking some real European signage, but that fact is minimal, as the game play is rather quite good and you don’t notice much of the detail which was included in UT-Village. Cobblestones cover the village streets which wind throughout the layout. Many of the structures are textured in a half-timber, while other have been modelled with a two tone rock and brick motif which help to create a European feeling. Rising castle walls, finished in a reddish-brown stone surround the map.

Ambience: [3.4]
Very difficult to create any sort of ambiance during a daytime setting. While rays of light cascade downward from the street lamps, the desired results are more for effect than ambiance. Caged torches overhang the streets from the buildings, but again, the effect is all but lost by the brightness of the map. The glow of yellow lights and caged flames provide a bit of lighting, in the darker corners of the map. Sounds attempts to carry the ambiance, but even the continual chirping of the birds and the small stream is unable to turn to tide and create ambiance. But all is not lost, as the map is still something special.

Creative Spark: [4.8]
While one of the Silicon Ice Development level designers incorporated curves into their maps, Tristian was able to catch the eyes of many gamers with his arched tunnel, covered by a cobblestone street. While simple in design, it stands out as a unique feature which the maps seems to revolve around. Including the dominating castle walls reminds one of some of the European villages which rest at the foot of an elegant castle in the hillsides. Tristian is able to create a map which flows well, where the action is fast paced.

Construction: [4.2]
Tristian has a constructed a very solid map on the basis of the layout. There is nothing which stands out in the development of the level, but all the individual pieces together make a great playing map. The map is technically sound, with good r_speeds and no clipping. Some of the doorways seems a bit thick and out of proportion, but with only a single building having interior access this is something which can be overlooked. Creating a map which has good scale can often be difficult, but UT-Village can hold its own.

Playability: [5.8]
Thanks in large part to the layout, UT-Village is a big success in terms of playability. While there is a bit lost in the fact many of the buildings are not accessible, Tristian keeps the layout simple and the game play furious. Twists and turns through this European city and the change in elevation provides many promising lines of fire. One areas which comes as a bit of a flaw is the ability to climb onto the rooftops. This area is accessible by only one route, which turns the best player into a “camping bastard” and ruins the flow of the game. If this is to remain a part of UT-Village, there should be multiple routes onto the rooftops, or it should be corrected to keep the playing field level.

6th Sense: [4.0]
Unlike many of the Silicon Ice Development created maps, Tristian creates a map on a horizontal plane, rather than building skyward. This is something many mappers are attempting to create, but none of which have achieved much success. Maps of this sort focus on the layout, which must carry the game play and do not promote camping. You will encounter a few areas which are dead ends and will cause problems if confronted by the enemy. Sack up and prepare for battle. One of the best looking and playing maps for Urban Terror to date.

Final Score: [4.8]
[Oswald] These are the types of levels I like to see. Along the lines of a rival mod, UT-Village flows with a horizontal movement, rather than the vertical design which helps to improve game play and flow. Two areas which are a must to enhance game play. This map plays as well as it looks. My only complaint, I wish the layout were larger or the interior of a few buildings more accessible. With this in mind, I highly recommend you download and play Village. Nice job, Tub!