








================================================================
Title                   : CTF-Bastille
Version                 : 261
Release Date            : 25/7/2000
Filename                : CTF-Bastille
Author(s)               : Daikiki & Garulfo
Email Address           : twitch@dds.nl
Description             : A realistic rendition of the Bastille
                          subway station in Paris
Where to get this map   : http://www.planetunreal.com/nalicity/
                          http://www.daikiki.com/ctf-bastille.zip
Additional Credits to   : Marble_X for fence rendering
                          Appel for texture support
                          Garulfo's GF for the pics
                          Lomedae and all of the above for playtesting
                          The excellent people at Wolf's Unreal

================================================================
--- Play Information ---
Game                    : Unreal Tournament
Level Name              : CTF-Bastille
Ideal player count      : 10-16
Single Player           : No
Cooperative             : Yes
Deathmatch              : Yes
CTF                     : Yes
Dark Match              : No
Difficulty Settings     : No
New Sounds              : No
New Graphics            : hell yeah (bastille-utx)
NewUnrealScript         : No
External DLLs           : No
Known bugs              : None

--- Construction ---
Editor(s) used          : UnrealEd ver. 2
Base                    : New Level
Construction Time       : five months of spare time


Installation
------------
   Copy CTF-Bastille.unr to your maps directory and bastille.utx to
   your textures directory. That's all there is to it.

Extended description
--------------------
   Based closely on the actual geometry of the Bastille subway
   station in Paris, CTF-Bastille is highly realistic. A complete
   new texture pack was made, with only the skybox using stock
   textures. Most textures are conversions of actual photographs
   of the station and several others.
   Although I tried to stick to the original geometry wherever
   possible, there are several points where gameplay issues forced
   me to deviate. Most notable change would be the access routes to
   the red platform; in reality these two hallways merge into a
   large corridor. The sniper roost is also fictional.
   Gameplay favors defense, so expect longer games than you may be
   used to.


Strategy notes
--------------

   This is not your grandfather's UT. Bastille was designed as a very
   tactical level. Single assaults are doomed to fail. Diversions and
   coordinated rushes are essential.
   It's easy to get lost in all these meandering corridors, so keep
   an eye on the signs. They provide helpful information on the
   location of the bases. Colored lighting in the corridors indicates
   access routes two one of the bases as well.
   Both teams should focus their defense not on the platforms where
   their flags are, but on the large halls outside their flagbases.
   All assaults must pass these halls, and sticking to the platform
   limits defensive flexibility. Stock up on long range weapons and
   watch your back. There are no effective defense points that rule
   out an attacker sneaking up behind you.
   The red team has more possible access routes to the blue platform,
   but the blue hall they must pass through is more open. You can limit
   your exposure in this hall by taking the long route out from the
   central platform (the one on your far right when entering the central
   platform from red base). It emerges right next to three of the four
   entrances to the blue platform. If you're feeling brave, or the hall
   is ill-defended, try crossing over to the corridor opposite the spawn
   point. The route is longer, but it emerges on the blue platform very
   near the flag.
   The blue team only has two possible access routes to red base.
   Although the one next to sniper alley is harder to reach, it can often
   prove effective if, as is often the case, the red team is concentrating
   on sniper alley and the other access route.
   Neither team should focus its offense too much on sniper alley. Although
   it represents the shortest route between the bases, it's also very tough
   to get through alive. The central platform offers more pickups, more
   potential routes, and more freedom of movement. When returning with the
   flag sniper alley can be quite useful, especially if your teammates are
   standing by to lay down gratuitous cover fire. The key to a succesful run
   is teamwork, much more than in many other maps. Run in groups whenever
   possible. If you arrive late to the party, try to keep the enemy occupied
   in his hall, providing a diversion for your flag bearer as he returns
   through it.

Technical notes
---------------

   Although I'm by no means a texture artist, I'm quite pleased with the way
   the .utx turned out. It does look _much_ better in 32 bits though. If your
   boxen will put up with it, play in 32 bits with world texture detail set
   to medium. Notch down the resolution a bit if framerate requires it. At the
   very least have a look at it in 32 bits and say "ooh" and "aah" once or
   twice before going back to 16 for that fps fix. Even when playing in 16 
   bits, you should probably set your texture detail to medium. There's a lot 
   of texture here, and less memory-endowed vidcards will spend quite a bit of
   time swapping them at high detail levels.
   Although I spent considerable effort ensuring the map will run as smoothly as
   possible, this is a big mutha. An acceptable box would be a 400 Mhz machine,
   a TNT2 / Voodoo3 or upwards and _at least_ 64 MB. 128 is prolly more like
   it. Less than this may work well, but be prepared to bump down your res.

Author's notes
--------------
   Wow. Thought I'd never finish this. The day after I released CTF-Lostfalls
   <p1mpage>, another excellent map which received rave reviews from the press
   </p1mpage>, Garulfo and I came up with the idea to do a level based on the
   Paris subway. I've always had a thing for subways, so I set out straght away.
   It took me several weeks to conclude that there wasn't a Daikatana's chance
   in Babbage's of finding suitable textures, so Garulfo was sent off to Paris
   with a camera and some notepads. He came back with a hand drawn map of the
   whole station and several dozen photographs. Later visits by him and his GF
   yielded even more pictures, and I became very intimate with Paint shop Pro
   during the follwoing months.
   The map was built in a modular fashion. I made corridors, corners, ramps and
   platforms, and then simply stuck them together end to end. Okay, it wasn't
   all that simple, but it sure saved me a lot of time. We kept to the public
   bits of the station by design. The map is complex enough without adding
   bathrooms and ticket booths.
   I kept the lighting subdued and simple. It's darker than the real thing, but
   I didn't want the map to look fullbrite. Colored light was only used where
   it could be considered functional. You'd be surprised how little green light
   is actually used in subway stations.
   Several features didn't make it into the map. The blue base in particular is
   missing quite a bit. The platform is built on a bridge and windows offer a
   rather nice panoramic view of Paris. Unfortunately I couldn't get the
   pictures of this scene to look like anything other than some stuck on
   polaroids, so I axed the whole window thing. Maybe next time. The size of the
   .utx also forced me to axe the artwork displayed on that platform. Several of
   Garulfo's decorations were also left out to improve framerate (sorry Garulfo)
   Botpathing was relatively easy. The only problem I have with the bots is that
   they favour sniper alley above the central platform. This is due to certain
   limitations in bot's behaviour. Still, they seem to enjoy it.
   The map was extensively tested, and we've found it to be quite
   challenging. It is, however very much a "dig in and prepare to be here for a
   while" map. I suggest using a 30-45 minute time limit, since matches can go on
   for quite a long time.

Note to level designers
-----------------------

   Feel free to use the .utx, but I'd rather you didn't modify it. If you want to
   do another gametype using the same geometry, get in touch. I'm planning on
   doing a DM and a DOM myself, also maybe a smaller CTF using only part of the
   map, but if you really want to, I'm sure we can work something out.
   If you want to do something similar, I have a god box full of bits of corridor
   and platform that you can stick together. Drop me a line and I'll happily
   send them to you.

Copyright / Permissions
-----------------------
   Copyright Derrick Puckett (Daikiki) 2000

   Authors may use this level as a base to build additional levels (with
   restricitons, see above).

   Archive or its contents may not be sold for profit in any form.
   Archive may be distributed freely in its original form with this
   copyright notice intact.
