Keen's Solar System - Dunkelschwamm

 


     This map is a scrap, an experiment, a proof of concept. And boy howdy does it prove the concept, as long as that concept is 'make a model of the solar system'. Nothing much else in the map.

SCMapDB page

Authors: Keen

Date of release: 2007

Maps in package: 1

Map review of Keen's Solar System

(originally posted on SCMapDB)

by dunkelschwamm | May 3, 2026 | 2116 characters

    We start looking at the map's title over a little eye-candy rotating sprite effect. We run down a ramp toward the sprite and fall through the ground into a black void where the only things we can anchor ourselves to are the rotating planets in a massive diorama of the solar system.

    I can't overstate that this introduction gave me a rollercoasteresque sense of disorientation and excitement as I took in the next thing the map had to offer: a glut of fun information.

    The void is a big black room containing a large diorama, at the center of which is the sun (composed of a similar rotating sprite eyecandy effect as what is used in the introduction). orbiting that are planets, around which moons and other satellites orbit. There are also various asteroids and even a comet out there. Looking further, there are plenty of gag planets and references to various pop culture media like Star Trek.

    A plainly written paragraph like that doesn't really do it justice. This project is very simple but extremely effective. There isn't much of a game, but it makes for one hell of a lobby or hangout map. There's even a second room to hang out in if you jump into the sun (though that's a more boring cube room with simple textures on each side that you have to suicide to exit).

    I can't recommend this map enough. It's short, it's simple, it's sweet, and it's free so give it a play.

Pros:

  • Tons of recognizable cosmic bodies on clear display without slowing down even our shabby rescue computers
  • The way there are orbits within orbits is very satisfying to watch
  • The disorienting nature of the introduction was very effective
  • Great use of less-is-more on the special effects
  • Incredible amount of references, gags, and cool trivia within

Cons:

  • The sun room is just a big kinda ugly dead-end room
  • Can get old fast given there's no gameplay other than just looking at the planet sprites

Score: 8.9 / 10

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