DM_Vertical aka Vertical Reality
by Squonkamatic

Bit of a quickie this week -- helping to hustle the parental units out the door on a month long westward vacation, and quite frankly I can't wait to see them pull out of the driveway.

Anyone who has read my SiN level commentaries know of my undying love and respect for that behemoth masterpiece known as the Oilrig. Oilrig is actually two maps; there is a single player version and then the DM classic called OilRigDM. It is distinguished by being the only level from the single player adventure that turns up in the deathmatch game, and the two maps are subtly different. With is spinning whirligigs, grinding rattling sounds and impressive ductwork, Oilrig stands out not only in SiN but in FPS level design history period as being perhaps the dingiest, dirtiest looking game level this side of Kingpin. It looks functional, has an extremely specific and convincing sense of place, and it's execution is nothing short of astounding.

There are no 3rd party SiN levels that I am aware of that went for the Oilrig esthetic other than Marduk's DM_Vertical. What impresses me the most about this map is that Marduk took the "conventions" of the Oilrig look and used that as the departure point for his creation, rather than the subject matter. He didn't sit down at his editor thinking "I will execute a map like the Oilrig", but apparently approach the project with an open mind and let the limitations of the tools plus his imagination determine how the map would turn out. While not as visually lush as the last previous levels in this series, the result is actually more than satisfactory, and highly Squonk-approved.

Murdak has actually managed to combine a couple of map making conventions to come up something totally original. We have the sea platform with it's bottomless ocean, but we also have what essentially a massive building open on all sides placed on top of this platform which is very reminiscent of SinCity's "unfinished building" but with about six extra floors, all connected by ramps and some sort of silo shaft . Stretched out on an appropriately girderish textured structure is this little worker's basket suspended above the depths and equipped with the tools of sniping. The end product is a map that plays like a kind of "King of the Hill" experience, with players making their bid for the sniping position and holding it until someone else takes their spot.

One of the things that I admire most about this level is Marduk's attention to the setting. Winds whistle through the ears and the water has a nice flow pattern, and attention has been given to use lighting to not only illuminate the map but provide flavoring. The colors chosen for the lamp glows add life to what is actually a rather uninspiring choice of selections. This map would look ridiculous fullbright.

In fact, this observation opens up an interesting avenue of consideration as to why I love and recommend this level -- it has sort of a junky, thrown together look to it that works with the banal setting depicted. Ever seen a structure like an Oil Rig platform or other such kind of structure being built? They look like crap. Look at even your average urban building under construction: until the pretty paneling and ceiling tiles are in place it looks, well, unfinished. Don't get me wrong, but I get the same kind of vibe from DM_Vertical. The texturing is matter of fact and straightforward, providing functional surfaces rather than being decorations. The sky doesn't even reach down to the blackness of the bottom of the map, and while it looks odd and calls attention to the "big box" nature of the map doesn't effect the gameplay one jot. It isn't an especially pretty map, but it works.

Flourishes of imagination shine in not only the sniper's basket but an ingenious and very strangely placed see-though underwater tube section housing a Rocket Launcher and a shaft with openings on each floor; drop into the duct and a push trigger spits you out of the top like a cork from a bottle. Ladders reach up from the ocean to the top floor, with various weapons and ammo items positioned on each level. Another ladder climbs up one of the supporting structures -- one enters through an opening just under the water level where a 100 Point Medikit and an Adrenaline powerup sit waiting for you. There is even a nice little "monitor screen" placed on one of the lower floors; Activate it and you are given a view of the whole structure from the point of view of the sniper's basket. Neat.

If the map has any real weakness other than its' appearance, it is the item distribution. Other than the placement of the Sniper Rifle in the crane basket the Rocket Launcher tucked in the odd little submerged tube and a Bio Shield in this red glowing nook, most of the weapons and items seem kind of randomly located. The mapper's vision was of the map's structure and the gameplay gimmick of the crane basket ... guns, ammo and health kind of sit here and there, resting in default alignment ... that Assault Rifle looks plain silly unless it's tipped over on its' side or mounted on a gun rack. I like to see mappers build their levels around the specific use of goodies in a specific way, but what the Hell.

I remember when I was starting out in art school one of my design teachers called my work "endearing", and at the time I thought that was a polite way of saying that I couldn't draw, but she liked me as a student. I remember she had a great butt (rest assured I never skipped her class), and after a couple of years I realized that what she had meant was that my work produced a reaction in her, where the other class was making student work that looked like student work. So I'm not saying that Marduk doesn't know how to make a level, but I think DM_Vertical is one of the most endearing SiN addon levels ever released. It has character, and a great butt. The map is also quite simply fun to play, and once you get down to it, that's all that matters in a mapping effort. All of the bells and whistles and pretty gobs of glowing neon purple crap will never make a crummy map "better"; What Marduk has done is engaged in a fairly straight forward job of composing a level that reminds us of others and yet still amounts to something new, and in spite of it's clumsy appearance makes a damn fine game. Try it on your Basemod server sometime; this map is a killer with those funky neon laser Spearguns.

During a quick screenshot game I was reminded of what makes it such a cunning construction; The Hunt. Some shooter players like being tossed into a box with a million Rocket Launchers and no health and splatter each other into runny gobs over and over again. Heck I've enjoyed many a game like that myself. But DM_Vertical inspired a game that is more based upon guile and tactics than your ability to hit three targets at once in midair. It's like a hunt from a James Bond movie on this teetering platform out in the middle of the ocean, where death awaits at the slightest misstep. The suspense of jumping from floor to floor in search of a weapon to deal with whomever is in control of the sniper's basket is quite a rush, and the joy of finally getting your chance to hop up there and get some sucker in your sights gives one a real feeling of job satisfaction.

Download the DM_Vertical from Ritualistic's stash of SiN files at 3ddownloads.com by clicking here.

SQ052402

email: squonkamatic@excite.com

You can access Squonk's archive of SiN: Gold Map of the Week reviews over at Macgamer.com by clicking here, and don't forget to visit his multi platform friendly SiN site for custom map and skin pack downloads and other goodies at http://www.squonkamatic.net/sin.

Related Links:
· Ritualistic's Sin Section
· Ritualistic's Sin Forums

Back to Ritualistic | More Articles >>