Holodeck - GrandmasterJ
Welcome to the Holodeck, a map where players can run around an arena while other players spawn monsters in. I'm guessing it's based off the holodeck in Star Trek but I don't remember the that show ever making the holodeck look like this.
SCMapDB page
Author: Shnuh
Date of release:2004
Maps in package:1
Map review of Holodeck
(originally posted on SCMapDB)
by GrandmasterJ | March 4, 2023 | 2802 characters
I played the beta of this map and it was not bad, it looked pretty bad and weapon selection was terrible but the arena combat was fun. Some of these problems even got fixed in this version!
The map is now lit properly and that is already a huge improvement. The arena in unchanged, a pit in the center of the map with some short towers and bridges. There is a ladder up top to an area with buttons overlooking the combat zone that can spawn monsters, weapons, explosions, water, whatever. The buttons are still fairly vague and there are new additions from the beta, like the shock troopers. The button for shock troopers is clearly labelled yet the button that raises the ground is not. Two more buttons raise and lower hologram resolution. There is a big explanation of all the buttons on the map page, but its a pain to keep alt+tabbing and keeping track of it all. There is a button that is labelled 'Destroy Everything' and I can attest that it does not destroy everything.
We spawn in with the standard crowbar and medkit but with a wrench instead of a pistol and have to press buttons to spawn in new weapons. The last map only had the mp5, uzi, and pistol but now we have all the plus the sniper rifle. The sniper rifle is of dubious use. It is powerful and can be real helpful, but also my teammate pressed the turret button and the whole arena lit up.
Another big change is that there is now only one player allowed on the upper control level. I went up the ladder and my teammate could not. I jumped down, he went up, and I was barred from the ladder. There are still shields but now beyond the shields there is a strict limit.
The combat is pretty fun, I just really wish I had a shotgun. There is plenty of health and HEV around, I just wish I could output more damage. I found myself actively wishing for grenades at several points.
The map is pretty good. It's an improvement over the beta version, Biodome, but still has some of the underlying problems. Specifically I'm talking about the lack of weapons. Good arena maps need good weapons. It is really fun to spawn in waves of friendly and hostile troops in to kill your friends. At one point I was just dumping scientists in because my teammate told me they were reviving everybody. It's a really fun wacky dynamic that this map enables.
Pros:
- good combat in a good arena design
- plentiful supplies in the arena
- well executed overall
Cons:
- lack of weapon variety
- I don't know if the forced exclusivity of the controls was necessary, there are already shields
- buttons are still somewhat vague
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