Game play is spot on. Brushwork is curvy and imaginative. Map is very good looking.

Very good map with nice complex structure.

Monster placement, ammo/weapons and health are all of them quite balanced.

A map you can't miss and you will probably want to re-play.

Fantastic map!
And then there are a secret part to get to.

Very sexy!

I cannot find the secret part.. Dx

Very very good!

Totally awesome! I located the super secret too! :D Fun and very reminescent of the secret level Underearth(e2m7) 5/5

Great example of what can be accomplished with few textures on a single theme. Gameplay is good but could be better by varying the monster placement system a bit more. Length, difficulty, and ammo/armor/health are ok.

The secret part is easy to open but hard to find.

The map greatly benefits from r_wateralpha like it says on the .txt

Pretty good map. The structure is often circular or like a cylinder. My favorite part was the staircase that keeps spiraling downward to the point where you become submerged in water.

Although, after that, I ran into some kind of bug or glitch where I get stuck on the floor and I can't even jump my way out of it. What was weird was that all of the floors started doing that, even when I went back some sections of the level.

But other than that, I had a pretty good run playing this. 4/5

Excellent if frustrating at times.

Still looking for the secret area. Got as far as the observation decks, but I'm sure there's another section. Currently scouring the whole map for another hidden door....

An all-round superb map: beautiful, fantastic gameplay and a nice super secret.

Yes, a beautiful map all round. Superb work, with a real sense of atmosphere and a layout that is initially bewildering but eventually makes sense.

The super secret is hidden under water, just where you emerge on to platform to fight some ogres -- quite near the start. There's a grate below the water-line. Hit it to open in, then follow the underwater passage.

This will keep you busy for a while due to its size and layout. With its many underwater areas and winding staircases, there is a lot of exploration to do. I realized that you can unlock some secret by shooting all the yellow windows of the map, but I didn't find the doors which apparently opened after doing it. Other than that, I can only give praises about this one.

I found myself running out of ammo a few times on Hard, but overall a great job!

Absolutely superb level, right level of difficulty, great atmosphere (one particularly claustrophobic bit - with the spiral downwards staircase - nearly gave me a heart attack)

Unfortunately I had to look up what to do in the room after the gold door but that might just be my lack of Quake knowledge.

Great map!

Wow, an amazing map!

The brushwork is certainly quality and a pleasure to get lost in. Love water levels of any kind so this one fits the bill. Fun secrets, challenging gameplay on skill 2 and a great super secret after the fact!

5 stars!

Another Vondur jewel. Enough said :D

I struggled at the start of the map, the layout is quite maze-like before you get the silver key and I wasted a few minutes retracing my steps in frustration before I found where I had to go to reach the key. I also ran into ammo problems at a few points, having to run past enemies in order to have something other than an axe to hit them with.

That said, the map was great fun, with the combats providing a great variety and plenty of opportunity for excitement. That first Vore in the big staircase was a big "Oh crap!" moment for me, great stuff.

Wow! Just wow! I enjoyed this as much as Honey or Something Wicked. And the super secret is awesome, kinda like an extended version of the one in White Room. A masterpiece that every quaker should play. 'Nuff said.

Now who's the troll who just rated this gem 1?!

It was not me, however I can understand. Not everybody likes huge maps, for one I like medium/small where you can easily play in one go without saving.

Still, rating this 1 is weird.

@bfg--You can see the most recent ratings here: https://www.quaddicted.com/reviews/log.php?number=20

The guy who gave it a 1 is "parubaru."

I don't mean to put him on the spot, but I'd be curious to hear his reasons for giving it a low rating. I didn't find AC very fun to play and don't think it's as phenomenal as the average rating suggests, but the map's craftsmanship is undeniable, and I think that merits a 3 at the very least.

I didn't know you could see who rated what, thanks.

According to the editor's rating policy, even a 3 would be an under-rating since it concerns "A map without any particularly outstanding or memorable features, often fairly plain in looks and with somewhat sloppy construction. Sometimes there is an additional marker in the description that modifies the rating in a positive or negative way, like "OK" (C+) and "Barely average" (C-). Not that recommended."

This definition is far from being applicable to this map, whether one enjoys playing it or not.

"According to the editor's rating policy, even a 3 would be an under-rating"

Yeah, I'd probably give this a 4 (I'll have to play it again before rating), but people don't always follow the editorial guidelines. I've seen a few high-quality maps get hit with 3s, so I assume some people use a 3 rating to make punitive subjective judgments.

Any rating system is subjective folks, if there is voting is because there is no other way to know if is a good map or not. If it were so, level design would not be some kind of art and creation but an academic test which a right answer.

There is nothing wrong in a person getting upset with a map and giving a low score, or giving 5's to everything. Statistically the sum of all ways of subjective scores lead to the Central Limit Theorem. Dumb votes does no harm to the system and the system does not rely on the voters following any editorial guideline.

But it is wrong is to misunderstand a mean/average as a %% of achievement or to quantify how close or how far is something from being perfect.

The main purpose of this kind of systems is to highligt the good ones among all the others, and it works fine when there is a large number of people. In my case I rely as much on the averages as on the quantity and quality of the comments, so I do not cast oficial votes (I'm a guest) but I like to comment on the maps i selected to play, ignoring the others. I think it is a more personal and valuable gift to the map creator.

In this case, this map is a B. or a 4/5. Not because any editor's guideline, but because it is my way.

Solid map. Love the curved ceilings. The build seems well tailored for VIS times. L-Shaped entrances to new rooms and such.

Did get a bit lost in a couple sections but soon enough found my way. Some more arrows or perhaps monsters to help direct the player but overall, still solid. 5/5

Another favorite of mine from Vondur. This is very well executed, and it manages to balance between challange and fairness throughout.

I also really enjoy the theme of the map, and it is fun to just explore it after you've killed off some of the monsters.

Loving the textures and design!

I personally hate water levels, i. e. I don't like swimming and emerging to the surface (over and over again), but this level is a work of art.

Everything is already written above my comment - solid level with great (though somewhat maze-like) design, good enemy placement, etc. The only thing that was unbalanced for me was armour, I think there's too much yellow armour in this level, but then again, maybe I played too well (I tend to save armour and load every time I lose a lot of it).

The only thing that REALLY bothers me, is: where are the hidden DOORS (plural!) that were promised to be open after you shoot all the stained glass windows???!!! I ran across the entire level, couldn't find squad! Such things (when I cannot find a super secret, and I know it's there) get me really frustrated.

True oldschool level. Good illustration that level can be interesting without high detail, color lighting and special textures. This level gave me emotions, which I have from Quake in 1996.

PS. How open Nightmare level? Cand find button even with noclip.

First time I've rated a map before completing it. Challenging, lengthy but most importantly, beautiful and atmospheric. It's easy to get lost but it is possible to find your way with time. I love the stone/iron theme of this map. Very old school medieval, or even dark age. Fantastic piece of work.

Forgot about the super secret, this deserves another star :)

That was great fun. Got lost a few times. Some fights were hard but great fun on Skill 2. Thank you.

One of those perennial classic levels that doesn't get old. Layout and architecture are brilliant and complement the gameplay. I can see how the layout could be confusing but for those who can build a mental map of the space it's a real treat. The gameplay isn't perfect--vores are almost always placed in such a way that they place no threat--but it's really solid overall, with a few standout gauntlets. Vondur's best in that respect by some margin. And then of course there's the really cool secret area.

Easy 5/5 from me.

Not enough ammo. For example, there are no pickups available during the last fight.

The first time I played this years ago, I thought it was well-built and ambitious in scope but not especially fun: lots of tough combat, bordering on unfair, and samey textures. Replaying it now, I appreciate it much more. In layout and aesthetics, this is like a mix of e2m3 and e3m5: definitely a unique combination. 5/5, recommended.

Encounters are memorable and the layout is great! Didn't get lost and the final battle was fun!