KTIVT - Dunkelschwamm

  


    According to the map description, KTIVT stands for Krasnoyarsk Technical-College Of Information And Computer-Engineering which this map is recreating. The map description also says you are supposed to save scientists but good luck with that.

SCMapDB page

Author: RastaManGames

Date of final release: 2016

Maps in package: 1

Map review of KTIVT

(originally posted on SCMapDB)

by dunkelschwamm | May 27, 2022 | 3980 characters

    KTIVT is a charming little recreation of a real life location in Siberia, a college university I understand. Over here in the United States, such a thing would be pretty taboo, especially with recent events, but it doesn't take a deep dive into this map to know that there is no malice in its intent. I don't know RastaManGames, but I get the impression that he is pure of heart.

    The map itself, as a replica, can't really be judged by myself as I have never been to the real location. However, comparing it to universities I have visited in the US, I can see how this map would represent a similar location pretty faithfully. I got the impression very early on that this map was made with the grid setting a bit high in the map editor, as the brush props are really blocky and a bit mis-proportioned to compensate for this blockiness. The computers on the desks in particular tower over everything and feel a bit wrong, but every other prop, while simple, is evocative and effective enough.

    One detail I really appreciate about this is that every chair can be pushed, every wall decoration and book can be broken, and every computer explodes. You open doors by shooting them- for a simple and blocky map, it is jam-packed with interactivity. Every inch of this map is layered for fun and dynamic exploration and goofing-off, and I really appreciate that. To that end, there's even music playing in random locations- disembodied radial sounds that add to atmosphere, even if they don't make a whole lot of sense.

    The map is populated with both friendly and hostile NPCs, each flavored with a fun name that I assume reflects a heightened caricature of the culture and humor around the real-life location depicted. Some enemies and characters have very specific names, while others are named things like "Drunk Student" or "Terrorist" or "Laborant". Vortigaunts, HECU and blackops grunts, assassins, heavy weapons guys, alien grunts, shocktroopers, zombies, gonomes, and bullsquids populate the halls, but so do friendly scientists, Barnies, and a few Blackops soldiers. The map starts with these factions clashing right away, so if the players want to save some allies for exploring the map they need to rush to help the first fight.

    To deal with these enemies, there's also a few boilerplate weapons at spawn, and some heavier weaponry hidden within. There's also a secret which supplies armor that we didn't find until we already killed everybody. The map really doesn't flow very well for gameplay- it kinda just serves tiny, mostly easily digestible encounters behind destructible doors which become more interesting only when a stray bullet accidentally brings another encounter into the mix early. But, I think the map was fun despite this poor flow. I mean, I had a smile on my face the whole way through.

    There's no end to the map, so it's really just a goofy fun map I assume RastaManGames made for his friends, and it's charming and interactive enough that I'm glad he uploaded for us all to see. Play it with friends! I don't recommend putting it into the server rotation, as it never ends.

Pros:

  • Very, very charming
  • Lots of interactivity with almost every detail of the map
  • I can definitely imagine this being reflective of the layout of a real university
  • A pretty good balance of weaponry, even if we didn't find the good stuff till the end
  • I really really like the combination of allies and foes in this map
  • The music is a nice touch that I think adds lots of personality

Cons:

  • The brushes are blocky, basic, and kinda bad, even if I'm personally a sucker for blocky geometry
  • The map structure has no semblance of flow- it's just similar encounters over and over again
  • There's no end, which is bad for server rotations

Score: 6.4 / 10

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