Avanipaala Praasaada (Palace of the Great Warrior)

Content - Quake - Quake Levels - Quake Single Player

Author: Killjoy | Rating: 7.63 | Download: kjsp1.zip

Avanipaala is a huge map using the beautiful ikblue textures, remade so that they are all white, resulting in something that looks like the Taj Mahal. White textures are very rare in quake, and it’s nice to see someone using them. But how is it overall? Read on…

Architecture is very good, occasionally excellent. Curves are very prolific, in almost every single room there is some incarnation of a curve. This creates a very convincing environment, as if you really were in the Taj Mahal. Adorning the walls are pictures that appear to be Hindu in origin, and that only reinforces the theme. There are a couple of menagerie like outdoor areas, and these look very good. There is one places where the sky touches the ground, but that would be nitpicking. Lighting is bright, but that makes sense since the level is under a blue sky and is almost completely white. There are a lot of nice details, such as fountains and ceiling windows. Many impressive structures, as evidenced by the screenshots. Although all these pretty set pieces come with a price…

This map does look great, but the inverse effect of this is very high r_speeds. In the larger areas this map runs very slowly, which is a hindrance when you’re trying to avoid spitting Scrags. Lower end machines will suffer greatly. I personally think that the great look is worth the high r_speeds, but then again I have a good computer. Progression is fairly standard, getting both keys, pressing buttons, falling through holes in the floor and such.

Game play is good, with lots of Knights and Scrags. Killjoy has a penchant for putting many, many ogres in sniping positions above you, be on the lookout. Shamblers and Fiends also make cameo appearances, to keep things interesting. Monster infighting can help you a lot in this map, since it is easy to induce and ammo is very tight. I never actually ran out, but got very close. Shells were not in as high supply as I would have liked, but there were nails available. ( I love my double barreled shotgun ) I found some strange things when playing this map, like Scrags coming through walls. During Vore and Shambler infighting, a Vore would throw a ball at the Shambler that wouldn’t explode, it would just float between the Shambler’s legs. I am not kidding, it happened twice. There was even a Shambler I accidentally telefragged. The ending is just as tough as the rest of the map, somewhat challenging, but nothing heart-stopping. Skill setting are in full effect.

I recommend you get this map. Good game play and great looks compensate for low r_speeds.

- Edgecrusher

Screenshots