Neptune Labs - Dunkelschwamm

  

    Neptune Labs is a map set in space orbiting Neptune, not under the ocean as the blue tint may imply. The map is unfinished and abandoned but has been updated to end properly and give the full walkthrough map experience, even if it is somewhat short.

SCMapDB page

Author: Keen

Date of final release: 2007

Maps in package: 1

Map review of Neptune Labs

(originally posted on SCMapDB)

by dunkelschwamm | April 15, 2022 | 3602 characters

    Neptune Labs is a medium-length walkthrough map by prolific mapper Keen. It showcases a lot of creativity, a decent amount of ingenuity, and an overall enjoyable experience.

    The most striking and charming aspect of the map is its art style. Details are brushed in very interesting and uncommon ways, and the textures are made with this semi-abstract cartoony style that's hard to explain but really evokes a certain atmosphere. It passively oozes personality up the wazoo, in technical terms. The brushwork for the outside of the Neptune lap is a treat to look at, and the interior pipes and prop brushwork are just phenomenal.

    There's also voice acting, which, let me just say bravo for the effort. I always love seeing Sven maps that go out of the way to put some effort to acting out new voice lines.

    Progression was a bit unclear to me, but that's not to say we didn't always find our way forward. My comrade and I ran into each hall or chamber, fought, completed each puzzle as intuitively as it came to us, and blundered our way to the next area. It was very smooth, but very rarely felt like I knew what I was doing. It's a rollercoaster.

    The combat is maybe my largest concern, though it's not much of one. Most combat is just enemies dropping in in the middle of open areas and were dispatched often within the first few seconds of their arrival. There were only two players, the minimum necessary to win.

    Despite being incredibly easy, the map also offers a somewhat wonky assortment of weapons through drip feed at first. The player starts with only a crowbar and medkit, and slowly has to work their way through satchels and tripmines to finally finding the boilerplate weapons like the MP5, Shotgun, and M16. I feel like the map tries early on to make players rely on more deliberate utility weapons, but then immediately undercuts that soon after. Eventually you end up with plenty of weapons, so it's not exactly a weapon selection issue as much as how it's doled out initially in the map's scheme of pacing. It's not a huge deal, but something that I think the map could have benefited from reworking.

    By the time the map is over, I felt like it came at the right time. The level certainly has a feeling of steady escalation over time, and by the time you get to the boss I felt ready for it. The combined weapons did feel very good in the final battles. I had only died once- by jumping down to an area before we were meant to proceed that way, and having no way back up except to die and respawn. Looking back, I immediately identified the time I had as a good time.

    If you're looking for a fairly straight-forward and thoughtless action map to play with a friend or to add to your server rotation, give Neptune Labs a try. It has a fresh aesthetic and very straight-forward gameplay.

Pros:

• The visuals are a treat
• The voice acting is very fun
• The level is constantly moving forward despite any confusion about what way to go
• The combat has some fun moments, especially with the full arsenal by the end
• The map is a very good length for what it is

Cons:

• There's lots of boringly easy combat sections
• The early accumulation of weapons felt awkward
• There's at least one place where if the player jumps down ahead of time their own way to continue contributing to progress is to either die or wait for the players to complete half the map

Score: 7.5 / 10