Author: Mr.Black .KoD. Release Date: 5-13-1998 Reviewed by: grimm [502] Review Date: May 15th 1998 FTP: TECHWELL.ZIP (818k) take a look at the docs TECHWELL.TXT

Architectural Originality Interior Architectural detail Proper use of textures Light & Ambience	4/5 4/5 4/5 4/5
Speed & Efficiency Documentation (.txt)	5/5 4/5
Respawn position & construction Item quantity and positions Gameflow & Class Specifics My own 2 cents	4/5 3/5 4/5 4/5

TOTAL: 40/50 Very Good.

Notes: To begin, I have to make one thing clear, in order to judge this map in a fair manner, I have to judge it by trying to avoid comparing it too much to Well6. It is a Well6 remake, but it has some very different aspects and is scaled to a much smaller level, making it more suitable for medium sized games. (10-20).

The bad news being the popular opening segment in my reviews, lets take a look at certain things. But I have to make clear that this map still scored highly, because I can't be sure what the author really wanted to accomplish with this map. One thing is certain, he wished to optimize Well6 and make it a great deal less laggy. He has accomplished this by scaling it down, making it also a great deal more playable for slower classes.

The author opted to make the gren re-supply remote, therefore making players go the extra distance to refil their grenades. This is something I first saw in BAM4, buy Midori. I think it's a good idea, but the placement of those gren resupplies, (above the ramp room) could be a little tricky, when you think of enemies camping there raining grens down at you. But then again, enemies shouldn't be able to get there, nor camp there!

My only rant would be the fact that certain areas are too damn tight. If you take a look at the second screen shot I took (below) you will notice that the catwalk leading to the flag is not only very narrow, but it has an edge. This will make pipebomb traps the ultimate defense up there. The fact that it is so much smaller (flag room) will make it a great deal harder to deal with sentries and demomen, you don't have distance as an ally anymore, making it very hard to break the defence on this sort of flag room design. This could be a major problem. But since I haven't played it yet, I would have to leave this sort of comment as speculation. But it is something map makers should think about, because at a glance it does trigger some negative reactions.

But this map has a great deal of interesting additions and changes which make it far more interesting than the original Well6. I am a fan of architectural detail. I like having places to climb or grenade jump. This map is filled with interesting places to prop sentries or surprise your enemy from. In some of the screen shots below, you will see some of these interesting spots.

Some people will definitely not like the fact that both bases do not really face each other, that they are seperated by a real barrier. But I think that is an interesting twist and will make for very interesting games. The point of a new map, is to offer players a new challenge, I think many people don't understand this, so they complain and stick to what they know. Typical followers.

This map is real eye candy, I think Mr. Black has really done an excellent job on everything architectural in this map. The textures get annoying, but then again don't they all? I used to love the BAM4 textures, but now they just seem so damn bland. I guess when you aim for a general theme, you will always sort of get tired of it. But unless I am really bored on d. staring at the textures, this is not a problem.

So what is the verdict on this map? Look at score, that should say it all. I can't wait to play this one on some servers.

-grimm [502]

Screen Shots:

Image 0: The Main Ramp Room.
Image 1: Red Base Flag Room.
Image 2: Red Base Flag Room (top).
Image 3: View of the Blue Base, from atop the middle battlement. (nice sentry point!)
Image 4: Blue Sentry above the Red Base Main Entrance.

This site and it's content is copyright F.C.O. enr. 1998.
All original art and graphics are watermarked for authentication purposes. The content submitted by contributors is copyright by the respectful owner.