APC Rally - Dunkelschwamm

 

    The point of this map is to drive an APC through a linear map blowing up obstacles and enemies along the way. The map certainly looks rough and the vehicles in Sven are very deadly to the occupants, but the map still delivers a fun experience.

SCMapDB page

Author: JJ45

Date of final release: 2003

Maps in package: 1

Map review of APC Rally

(originally posted on SCMapDB)

by dunkelschwamm | April 24, 2022 | 4599 characters

    APC Rally is an older walkthrough action map. At a glance, the map looks pretty hastily brushed together and lit for an outdoor canyon, but the gameplay at front and center shines through.

    The conceit of APC Rally is that players maneuver a large drivable APC through obstacles, intermittently abandoning it to complete an objective which clears up a roadblock. Func_vehicles are notoriously chunky and easily kill players, but APC Rally designs around this by making the map about absurd action and weapons. While playing, my teammate said something along the lines of "this is the Sven Co-op fighting I remember" evoking the idealized memories of Sven which brought us back into the game. Properly equipped, we felt good about spending our ammo and experimenting in intense battles with lots of cover and waves of foes. Amazingly, having the SAW, a func_vehicle to plow through foes, most explosive weapons, and the boilerplate weaponry never really makes the players feel very overpowered through each fight. Things are even intelligently designed so players who wish to snipe can easily do so while being just as effective as players who are running to the forefront machineguns ablaze. These setpieces are even punctuated with these really fun tanks fights which always felt fair and fun. I'm just genuinely impressed with how much fun I found the action in this map to be despite being so simple, yet so many maps which overthink their combat scenarios are a lullaby. This map grabbed hold of the awkwardness of the func_vehicle and made an actiony map around it which takes full advantage of it.

    It's a shame that the presentation isn't all there. The APC itself is fun, and the tanks featured throughout the map are all great. The environment suffers greatly from being blocky corridors textured to be natural environments. It's a shame, because there's some bits later in the map, like a torn up cage or the turret base at the end, that I think look pretty decent. However, with the bright lighting and the super unnatural looking natural environments, it gives off a beginner vibe which is dissonant against the brilliant setpieces.

    Now, I've been fairly complimentary about the design for the most part, but the map as a whole has a couple slumps. In particular, one of the map's selling points is giving the players a bunch of friendly to aid in battle, but they're positioned early on so it'd be really hard to proceed without crushing them all with the APC. It's so specifically set up that way I couldn't tell if it was an intentional troll- if it was, it's pretty funny, but also just a disappointment that in order to play with a bunch of cool bot companions we gotta shepherd them away from the APC's path. The map also just doesn't end. Apparently there's a fix for this, but when I played with my partner the map just didn't end. It's a bit of a letdown, and the map bafflingly awards the players with a bunch of ammo that has no more utility once the enemies are dead.

    The most important aspect of the map, though, is the APC. Riding it through enemies, breaking down obstacles, accidentally gibbing ourselves on it when it makes a turn, parking it and using it as simple cover in a firefight wherever we need- the APC concept was really played to its fullest and jankiest here, and I loved every minute of it. The ability to place a portable bunker in the battlefield really changes things up, and the design of the APC is great for that. As a proof of concept, I think this APC rally map could have easily been the beginning of a series. I am so sold on the concept now.

    If you're looking for a good action map to play with friends or to add to a server, I'd recommend APC rally. Just remember that it doesn't seem to have a natural end, so if you're running a server you might want to take that into consideration.

Pros:

• Tons of weapons and enemies in fantastic Sven Co-op action
• Driving the APC is fun and helps in battle in interesting ways
• Great execution of a simple concept
• Progress is simple and easy to follow
• Checkpoint halfway through

Cons:

• Map kinda looks chunky and bad for the most part
• Gives you a bunch of teammates just to give you the choice of being annoyed by them for minutes or just running them over
• Even if the map ended where it did, the ending feels a bit half-baked and like a letdown for the rest of the map

Score: 7.5 / 10