Aerodock 1 - Dunkelschwamm

  

    Aerodock has an interesting visual aesthetic, relying heavily on Xen textures. The map is supposedly set in space, in some sort of aerodock, but the inclusion of mundane furniture and features muddies the concept. To the best of my knowledge there is no Aerodock 2.

SCMapDB page

Author: tsy_4

Date of final release: 2005

Maps in package: 1

Map review of Aerodock 1

(originally posted on SCMapDB)

by dunkelschwamm | February 19, 2022 | 3526 characters

    Aerodock-1 is a walkthrough map with plenty of backtracking, fun combat segments, and garish visuals. Set in some kind of space cargo barge, Aerodock-1 sees players battling all kinds of aliens and humans alike as they unlock parts of the ship using keycards and destructible shield generators. Players spawn with the handgun, the 357, and the MP5. Over the course of the map, their arsenal grows proportional to their progress, even including the barnacle.

    The map starts on the wrong foot out the gate, with robogrunts swarming spawn. Once players have fought those off, the map becomes a progression of battles against soldiers, xenians, and race x-ians. Lots of the battles happen in cramped hallways, occasional larger storage spaces or living areas, and in the company of lots of pushable furniture which makes for good transportable cover. The early inclusion of grenades in the player's arsenal also made invading cramped spaces full of enemies a very satisfying endeavor. Though the map threw overwhelming odds at my comrade and I, we didn't find that we died often. Rather, we died just often enough to keep things tense, I think.

    The main conceit of the level is a bit of a drag: the keycard-generator-forcefield dance. All it really contributes is backtracking, which is great if you don't have checkpoints I guess, but it felt like a bit of a runaround in how it was presented. It didn't help that enemies kind of just spawn right in front of the player during the backtracking bits.

    The brushwork and general aesthetic is also pretty inconsistent. I feel like the lighting was mostly garish and bad in a way that didn't evoke atmosphere. The textures ranged from appropriate to a bit clownish, and the same could probably be said of the brushwork. Overall, despite housing many strikingly off-kilter imagery, none of it set any kind of tone or created a memorable visuals for me to call back to. In face, there were often points where I would say I forgot what the map was supposed to be altogether- to the point where I'd even forget that the map took place in space. What the brushwork does do, though, is get things done and provide the necessary functional cover the players need to have a fair but tense battle.

    The final bit has a fun battle between a gargantua and her young vs the players. It can be cheesed easily and quickly if the player knows how to use the barnacle. The map then ends in a teleporter searching for aerodock-2. Maybe one day that map transition will connect.

    Overall, I think what Aerodock gets right is its combat. Each battle (after the initial robogrunts >:[) felt like a pretty well crafted experience, with a great number of weapons, objects for cover, and tons of squishy enemies to dominate.

    If you're playing with friends, give Aerodock a go. If you're looking for a map in a walkthrough server, Aerodock would work very well.

Pros:

• Very good combat scenarios, felt great
• Really solid length. Didn't overstay its welcome, but felt very full.
• Great gradual accumulation of arsenal for the players

Cons:

• Tedious backtracking mechanic that felt like it had too many steps.
• The level was kind of ugly and didn't have any memorable visuals.
• Level was a bit confusing to navigate at times, probably in part because of the previous con

Score: 7 / 10