(This is a reworked version of the review I made on the Func_Msgboard page. I figured more people would read it here)

A very enjoyable map, not without flaws but that's the lot of most first maps I guess. I liked the thematic variations in each section paying homage to the classic id themes, but I think the story of why this mixture of styles exists in the first place is not apparent enough within the map. Some vistas I loved, like the perspective in the hallway to the gold key and the chiaroscuro cast by some bars laid over a lava pool.

The netherworld section especially stood out to me, for both good and bad reasons: its design is pretty badass, with interesting architectural bits and an overall darkness that suits it perfectly, but its decidedly more low-key lighting has the side effect of kinda clashing with the rest of the map.

There's a good sense of progression conveyed by unlocking successive doors to reach the exit instead of "go to point A, grab key B, rinse and repeat". Said progression could have used a little less linearity, though, with alternative routes and more interconnectedness.

Combat is decent, neither too easy nor too hard on skill 2, but devoid of real surprises.

All in all, Infernal Ascent is a pretty good start and I'll be looking forward to this new mapper's future releases.

Note: it works perfectly fine both in Darkplaces and QuakeSpasm, but DP users should turn the RTworld option off, otherwise they'll encounter some nasty overbright areas.

Really cool concept. The architecture and the overall layout are both great, and I enjoyed the map's old-school feel.

I particularly like the gates between different sections of the map and how they fall whenever the player completes an objective, letting him easily visit previous sections of the map.

The only reason I don't give this a 5 is the combat --I found it far too easy, and there are no surprises except for the scrag that teleports into the Netherworld section. If this had a nightmare skill setting it would probably be a 5.

Great to see new maps - 4.

First things first, is there something wrong with the archive for Quake Injector? It extracted into my quake base directory rather than id1/maps.

Anyway, I liked this map! It was fun coming back to a core area after completing sections, and the distinction between base and medieval themes was well done there.

I especially liked the section where I had to find buttons to shoot; I accidentally hit the first with a grenade, and so it took a while for me to figure out what I was actually supposed to do, but after that it was a fun little puzzle trying to spot them (I would say that had it been any longer it would have worn out its welcome, but it's fine the way it is).

I found the combat in this map to be quite decent. I played on Skill 1, and although I feel like there could have been more enemies, there was still enough to challenge me at a few points and I overall enjoyed that side of the experience.

Quite a good map, I think, and i'm excited to see more where it came from :)

This is very nice, and -- I will never get tired of saying this, though I've had plenty of opportunity to say it in the last few months -- a superb debut map. The division into three separate areas off a central hub is done nicely, and the ability to see parts of earlier areas from later ones is lovely.

Combats are fair, if perhaps rather to easy on Hard. (I waltzed through with 100% kills pretty easily, despite not finding even a single secret.)

I would criticise it only for the rather abrupt ending: it would seem reasonable to have a small horde, or at least a shambler or two, just before the exit area.

It misses out on the full five stars for me, not because of anything it does wrong, but because we now live in a world of truly epic maps that have raised the bar. But a solid four-star for a debut is very impressive.

More, please, ubiquitous!

Pritchard

It extracted into my quake base directory rather than id1/maps

Whoops, sorry! It should work correctly now. Thanks!

Really enjoyed it. Reminded me of John Romero's mapping - whereby you incrementally step through the level, solving simple puzzles where you can see the immediate effect of your button press or gunshot through a window for example. Very good.

Cool map! I played on skill 2 and am far from a Quake expert but I managed to blow through this, only dying once in battle and finding no secrets, so the difficulty may have been set a little low, but that's really my only criticism. I'm going to single out the atmosphere for special praise -- I liked the old-school lighting with the deep dark blacks and the final section (the ep. 3 part) really gave me the creeps.

More like this, thanks.

Great to see such good maps. Very logical - I loved that - and I only find 2 secrets on 5... Really enjoyed it.

Infernal Ascent on The Quake Grave

I was pretty blown away that this is ubiquitous's first map! I don't really have anything bad to say about it to be quite honest! It's a 90's feeling map with todays mapping conventions and polish. I love the transition between areas and it's really easy to know where you're going and where to hit next. It's got challenge and lots of fun little areas to explore. The only thing that some may not like about it is that it's about a 10-15 minute map, which for me personally, is perfect. Nice job, I look forward to the next map!

ArrCee, the next map was released on Func_ about a month ago but Spirit hasn't put it on Quaddicted yet. I wonder what's delaying him... It's a very nice Honey-themed map. Here's the link: http://www.celephais.net/board/view_thread.php?id=61362 Enjoy!

Thanks BFG, I'll gvie that a look here soon!

You're welcome ;)