747 - Dunkelschwamm

  

    747 is a Counter-Strike 1.6 map converted to Sven Co-op. The level design is untouched and is optimized for objective based team play with some HEV and weapons scattered around.

SCMapDB page

Original map authors: Leon Nieuwoudt and Stephen Superville

Conversion author: Jmal

Date of original map release: 1999

Date of final Sven Map release: 2020

Maps in package: 1

Map review of 747

(originally posted on SCMapDB) 

by dunkelschwamm | December 11, 2021 | 2333 characters

    747 was originally a Counter-Strike map. I imagine, as a Counter-Strike map, this would be an incredibly tense experience. As a Sven Co-op deathmatch map it's got some pretty stilted gameplay. Let me explain.

    The map is laid out as follows: the plane is the central area of gameplay, split between three floors. There's a cargo bay, a passenger floor, and a first class and cockpit floor. The passenger areas are separated, much like within a real airplane, with curtains which make it hard to see into the next room. There is also an outside area and a jet bridge, as well as an additional area, none of which are terribly eventful during gameplay.

    The 747 plane itself is where most of the action takes place, owing in large part to being where the majority of the weapons and armor pickups are. However, many of the weapons available are the strongest in the game. The result in PVP is players rushing at one another using displacement guns, spore launchers, SAWs, and Gluon guns at point blank range to avoid the confusion of the cross-cabin curtains. The overall flow of the level is screwy and unsurprisingly does little to account for the weapons of Sven.

    The biggest upside, I would say, is that the map's brushwork really is impressive. The plane's interior is particularly convincing and is scaled very well. Small details, such as crashed service carts between cabins, attempt to break up the level flow but ultimately do little to save a layout which has traded playability for being a real-world location.

    As a final note, 747 had a really bad broken textures problem. I suppose it is a poor ripping job.

    Overall, if you have a PVP server, I think 747 is a worthwhile addition to the rotation. You can certainly do worse.

Pros:

• Well-made 747 airplane with interior
• Quite an expansive map in general
• Great attention to detail and style

Cons:

• Fighting in the cabins, the main place full of pickups, is a pain in the ass
• Map isn't entirely properly ported by the looks of it, missing textures
• Map is not designed around these crazy weapons, so high-level PVP play seems difficult

Score: 5.5 / 10