Pak Attack: Maps by Ionous, Mukor, Mittens, and Trashbang (2017-2022) [BQTN 152 | PC w/ Quakespasm]

Channel:

CnEY

Subscribers:

295

Published on August 20, 2022 10:53:09 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCkQHRnTcjE

Game:

Quake (1996)

Duration: 4:22:27

18 views

1

Before I dive in to the Coppertone Summar Jams (yes, plural, as of last week), I wanted to fit in some standalone releases by a couple of mappers whose work I've already played, and a couple more whose work I will be playing in Coppertone Summer Jam 2. On a whim, I decided to play these on hard difficulty, since I usually don't take that risk, especially with jams.

00:00 - Der Wanderer über dem Säuremeer by Ionous (2017)

This definitely feels reminiscent of other Ionous maps I've played in terms of its verticality and layout, but IMO this might be the least enjoyable of his maps that I've played, largely due to the punishing platforming at some points, and the tendency to get snagged on some parts of the geometry. The air vents on intervals that push you off of platforms are a really cool idea, but are not particularly fun in such a cramped and already-punishing setting.

39:09 - Luna in Silver Shards by Ionous (2018)

This map was a breath of fresh air after how claustrophobic the previous map was, and is one of two maps I played during this stream that brought us right back to to the Koohoo theme. This map feels like somewhat of a departure from the style of layout I'm used to with Ionous, but I'd be curious to see more done with this.

58:41 - Trench Foot by Mukor (2018)

After playing a couple of Mukor's maps in Func Map Jam 9 and Retro Jam 6, I was curious to try these standalone releases - starting with another Koohoo-themed map. This uses the Koohoo texture set really well, and is the only Koohoo map other than Zigi's in Retro Jam 7 that I can recall incorporating the red shoot switch feature.

I have to conclude that the ammo distribution in this map is extremely generous, even on hard difficulty, because I somehow managed to completely neglect the nailgun yet still didn't have any problems.

1:16:19 - Diminutive Abyss by Mukor (2020)

I'm generally not much for void maps, but this one is interesting, and even manages to pack in the AD staple of a multifaceted secret despite being smaller-scale than most AD maps that do so.

1:41:23 - Duel, in Towers by Mukor (2020)

This map was originally slated to be part of a 6-textures speedmapping challenge. It ended up using a couple more than 6, but it's still downright impressive how well this plays and looks despite that imposed limitation.

2:15:33 - Perish the Thoth by Mukor & Greenwood (2021)

This Egyptian-themed map was finished up by Greenwood based on two Mukor scraps, and Greenwood is clearly up to his punny map titles again. Mukor was in chat and particularly called out the shambler around the crushers as a potential wrench in the works because he can throw them out of sync if he decides to play with them (as he did in my playthrough).

3:08:18 - The Dreamer's Demesne by Mittens for Kittens (2022)

I only even realized Mittens for Kittens has released maps when I saw the recent release of Coppertone Summer Jam 2, which brings us to the 2nd half of the stream, wherein I play releases by mappers I haven't seen yet, but who we will be seeing more of when I get to CTSJ2.

As far as I can tell this might be Mittens' first release, and it's a pretty interesting-looking and reasonably detailed release for a first, but as someone in chat pointed out, the scale seemed oddly condensed.

3:41:34 - The Stars We Lost To Grief by Trashbang (2022)

This leaves an incredibly strong first impression for a first map, and manages to be one of the most exciting / least boring metal/runic-themed maps I've played. You don't have time to be bored! It feels like this map throws a new surprise at you every few seconds. I can only imagine my decision to play on hard difficulty tonight made this even more exciting.

I'm usually not one for jump-scares and traps, but Trashbang manages to pack them so effectively into a mercifully brief overall experience that I didn't grow weary of it.

3:57:03 - Head Reattachment Trauma by Trashbang (2022)

I had been looking forward to this map since I saw screenshots of it several months before its release (I'm a sucker for Makkon textures). Ultimately, I think it didn't leave as strong of an impression on me as Trashbang's first map, but it still has some interesting combat challenges and a few surprises.

The end of the map is sort of neat but kind of overstays its welcome if you end up re-doing it since it's effectively an autoscroller, and unfortunately it seems there's no way to backtrack to hunt for secrets once you've gone up.

---

For more BQTN (Better Quake Than Never), see details and the full playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfGxDQwmTH6y1mhQzUaCZ6XxXxspG7Z19

This was originally livestreamed. Catch BQTN live on weekends at 8PM US Eastern on YouTube, Twitch, or Glimesh! You can find links to all 3 on my site at https://cney.stream/ along with a page listing everything I've played in the series.

Other Statistics