Timejump
Here I am, reviewing a 9 year old map of myself. It's a little nugget that was lost, but, as often with all things 'EoC', it was found again. The map was never intended as a serious project. Those days Defrag was a cool little mod that people used to do speed runs and I just made a quick map for it. The hardcore Defrag crowd probably doesn't see this map as a serious attempt at Defragging either, but it is quite different from what we're used to. Having been built in just 2 and a half days, it's no surprise that the detailing and polish remains rather subdued. And yet, this map is one that'll have you "ooh"-ing and "ahh"-ing a few times.
When you first spawn into the map, you're placed in a small gothic looking square area which reminds a bit of q3dm1. A megahealth, a red armor, a rocket launcher and some rockets quietly bob in place in this small area. In front of you, a long corridor stretches ahead with a teleporter at the end. So far it's all very reminiscent of Quake 3. The goal seems clear, now we just have to get there.
It shouldn't be a difficult task. Some clever strafe jumping and some help from the Rocket Launcher quickly sees you across the fog pit and the lava. Stepping through the teleporter though, opens up a whole new world for you. As you step into the teleporter, you woosh through space and time and hit some lightning barrier when you plunge into another era. You'll find yourself placed on the roof of a sky scraper. Scattered throughout the area are other sky scrapers. The skyscrapers have rows of windows which give the nightly scene a moody look. Down below is a thick fog which gives a sense of vertigo. Jumping from roof to roof, picking up a Haste powerup along the way will get you to some kind of anomaly in the sky. Jump through and you're teleported to the next area.
The third area has a more traditional Quake 3 look again. This time, you're in a futuristic setting. The area has a tech look a la q3tourney 4 and you'll find yourself at the inside of a huge tower. You're at the bottom and you have to get to the top. More health, armor and a Quad Damage should get you there. I'm pretty sure Rocket jumping is key here, although I'm not entirely sure how anymore. At the top of the tower, you'll find the only exit is across a bunch of floating platforms that move up and down. It's a sort of Mario style jump puzzle where you'll have to time your jumps to hop from platform to platform. Having crossed the platforms, you slide down to the bottom of another tower which has to be ascended again, this time by plasma crawling up the walls. At the top of this tower another time jump awaits you.
The fourth area pits you on top of a floating, circular platform. Over in the far distance another structure is floating in space as well. A tiny target mark is visible on the structure. Time for some railgun target practice. This area involves no jumping or running, only a steady railgun hand. Shooting the target makes another target pop up. Shooting that one pops up another. When four targets have been hit, the player is automatically teleported to yet another time.
It's not clear what time this actually is, but I assume it's something prehistoric, when dinosaurs still roamed the land. You are, in fact, inside such a huge creature. The walls looks fleshy and slimy and behind you it's mouth and teeth are visible. From the inside that is. Your first task is to hop across a few lumps in the creature's esophagus avoiding a white haze spread across the floor. I'm pretty sure this could only be accounted to the creature's bad breath. Having crossed these obstacles, you take a dive straight into the creature's stomach, which still has some bits of undigested food in it. Once you've crawled out of it's stomach, it's into it's bowels for you. Huge stamping blocks try to smash you into even smaller bits. Easier to digest gibs than whole players, see. At last, when these are cleared the final time jump is visible again and this time, it takes you back to the start, hopefully setting a new record time for yourself.
