This is the second
of the SiN demo DM levels, and one of the most controversial
maps in the game. Controversial because people tend to either love it or
hate it ... I have managed to remain neutral. I think that the level has
a lot going for it as a demonstration on how to make a deathmatch map,
and its muted simplicity of design belies what is actually a pretty sophisticated
game level.
One of the
things that I really like about this level is the night time environment
that was created to give the impression of breaking into an abandoned construction
zone at night, a commonplace experience with miscreant urban teens from
all over the world. Not only can you run around in the empty, half-finished
rooms but there are very dangerous weapons lying around that you can blow
each other's heads off with. If the map has a shortcoming it is, like with
SinCity, a decided lack of the common accouterments of a construction yard
one would expect to see, like the cranes and bulldozers used to great effect
in the single player game. Here all of the crap has been hauled away except
for a few forlorn girders and forgotten crates, and this might indeed be
one of the reasons why so many players I have polled dislike the map, a
significant number even claiming it as the one they dislike most intensely.
A bit more adornment would have created a more memorable location, rather
than the generic room after room with the occasional stairway or ladder
leading up [or down] to the next layer of rooms and hallways. It IS a bit
plain, but I think it nicely sums up some of the droll, urban settings
that makes SiN such a unique game in a field dominated by plodding sci
fi mech warrior menaces, ruthless interstellar space zombies and ridiculous
Japanese dancing games. Sindm6/Deconstruction Zone is remarkable in its
seeming unremarkableness.
And right
there is the main reason why it was such an excellent choice for inclusion
in the demo. Sindm6 [along with SinCity] really set the stage for what
players would encounter upon investing in the full retail version, and
because this map was one of my first introductions to SiN’s world of cement
textures, buzzing electrical shorts and pump shotgun blasts I will always
feel a little partial towards it. The weapon and item placement in the
map is actually impeccable, and a great lesson to young designers of not
only how to balance out the placement of the heavy artillery, but even
just how the weapons and items are placed in the context of the game's
architecture. Armor and health jars sit on crates, two of the "hi-tech"
powerups are placed on a little catwalk rimming the building, and someone
even thought enough to set up a shotgun in one of the corners leaning against
the wall. This is probably the map from the demo that first drew my attention
to the sophisticated way that SiN's designers incorporated item placement
into the environment of the game in a way that is totally unobtrusive.
No Quake weapons spinning in place in some odd corner of a purple lit room
-- the weapons and items are placed deliberately in space in such a way
that every game I have seen before seems almost, well, thoughtless. And
you know, I like the weapon balance better in the demo version of SiNdm6,
where the Plasma Rifle and Ion Cannon are missing. They just don't seem
to belong in a down-to-Earth level like this one, and I'd love to figure
out the dmflags setting to eliminate them from full version games
just to be a pest.
I tried to
envision a "priority route" suggestion like I came up with for SinCity,
but since Sindm6 is much larger and involves actual rooms and hallways
that one needs to navigate, the best route -- if there is such a thing
-- is really determined by where you spawn. That may sound obvious and
stupid, but with this map it is true. Each room in the building has its
own specific weapon or powerup feature, so the best suggestion is to look
at the map as much as you can on your own and get a feel for which landmark
hints at which item might be located relative to where you are at any given
moment. Interestingly, the powerup items are all located outside and more
or less at the compass points on the map; to the left of the front door
there is an Adrenaline tube, and in the exact relative spot at the back
of the map the U4 canister has been provided. And if you can get halfway
up the ladder or hop out of one of the windows on the upper floor at the
right spot, the Photonic Shield and Invisibility charge are also at opposite
sides of the building. Timing these powerups and successfully navigating
the weapons selection is the key to being pummeled like an oxen or possibly
owning the map.
My priority
SiN weapon is always the shotgun; I tend to shoot on the run without aiming
with the mouse, so a wider spread of shot and a close-up impact of the
buckshot is ideal for me. The main shotgun is placed in a room with a convincing
"shorted out" light that illuminates its room unevenly and sporadically
at that, and makes an ideal place to get one's head together for a second
in the darkness. Remember to run around behind the pile of crates and grab
the 100 point helmet armor, and then scoot out the window and onto the
ledge and just wait for some poor sucker to come for the shotgun. But if
you go out into the hallway, to the left is a rectangular room that has
two 20 point health vials, and full version players will also find the
Ion Cannon (my least favorite of SiN's weapons). If you hop out of those
windows and do a 180 you will land facing the 'front door' of this Deconstructed
building; the Adrenaline charge is to your left behind a pillar, and 100
bullets wait on the opposite side.
As you enter
the building there are rooms on your left and right where full version
players will be rewarded by the Pulse Rifle (to the left) and the Chaingun
(to the right), as well as two 5 point health vials in each room and either
20 shotgun shells or two racks of plasma energy depending upon which way
you go. Or, the adjoining hallways (equipped with two racks of plasma ammo
or 20 rockets, respectively) both lead to stairwells leading down to the
lowest level, which is where the fun really begins. Believe it or not,
the basement and roof areas tend to be the "hot spots" in this map ...
the reason why the basement is so popular is that the only rocket launcher
included in the map sits on a pile of disused sheet metal, as well as a
50 point adrenaline tube and 100 point chest armor waiting on the crates
in the middle of the room. There is even a great little seldom used camping
spot on top of the crates in one of the corners, where shadows and a lone
crate standing high provide ample cover for at least a few sucker frags
per match.
Now if you
instead choose to grab the rocket launcher and clamber up the ladder leading
up to the “back lot” (or hop up the pile of crates -- what's in those,
anyway?) you will find the oh-so important canister of U4 sitting kind
of stupidly on the ground ... I would have thought they could have found
a better place to put it, but whatever. Grab it, and with a good running
leap you can easily send yourself flying in through one of the upper windows
and shred some terrified, unsuspecting player scrounging for health vials
or, if you do it right, propel yourself right up onto the roof and put
and end to anyone trying to snipe from the upper walls. And speaking of
sniping, the mapmaker has constructed a very convincing little scaffolding
that is adjacent to the U4 canister; you can either climb up the tall ladder
to the roof (where a 100 point leg armor item lies out in the open) or,
climb up the other ladder to the middle platform where SiN's incredible
sniper rifle has been placed. Extra ammo is provided on the top platform,
so hop back down and shimmy up the longer ladder (I like how you have to
jump out and run around to the other side, making one tres vulnerable while
they deploy the sniper rifle) and you'll be supplied with adequate fodder
for some serious head popping.
As I said
before, the roof is the second big hot spot after the basement ... not
that there is anything too remarkable up there other than the leg armor
and 20 rockets. I think that players just have an affinity for climbing
"up"” and getting to the top of whatever there is to climb. But the roof
is certainly open and flat and wide and long; time to brush up on your
strafing skills as you go mano a mano, skipping across the surface
and tossing rockets at each other ... remember to aim for the ground and
let splash damage do the work that accuracy might not be able for you.
The one other area to keep in mind is the section with the room that has
the unfinished roof -- there is a 50 point adrenaline vial smack dab in
the middle as well as 100 bullets and the under appreciated Machine Gun.
Grab it and jump through the open wall and onto the stairs to get to the
lower room with the pulse rifle or the upper hallway, where the second
shotgun is perched so marvelously up in the corner. But if you are really
clever you'll hop through the window and onto the little catwalk rimming
the building and go get yourself the invisibility charge. Then its off
to find a nice dark corner with the shotgun and teach your opponents the
meaning of the word pain.
As far as
specific tactics for this map, my personal favorite is to stock up on the
rockets and grab the Adrenaline Charge and use either the Rocket Launcher
[in demo games] or the Grenade Thrower [in full version games] and hop
around the map like a flying squirrel and toss explosive charges in through
the windows at anyone stupid or unfortunate enough to be in the relevant
room when I happen to be kangaroo hopping on by. Again I stress the idea
of doing things that are unexpected -- nobody ever expects a sniper attack
in this map, for instance, because there really aren't any traditionally
ideal sniping points provided. But conversely, exploit people's tendencies
to be predictable. Nothing gives me greater glee than baiting someone into
giving chase and pursuing me down the corridors and up the stairs and into
a room and they round the corner to get me and POW! a blast of buckshot
and they are wet messy toast. This is a great map to suckerpunch players
like that because the armor placement is so sparse and deliberate: only
one item of each armor variety is provided and they are several rooms and
floors apart. Exploit the probability that players are engaging you without
first seeking out full protection. This really is a map that makes one
travel the real estate and may be a contributing factor as to why some
players loose their patience with it. I personally think that it is a fine
effort and a great introduction to the world of SiN.
SQ 032501
email: squonkamatic@excite.com
Related Links
- GameRanger
- Download SiN Demo
- Ritual Entertainment
- Contraband Entertainment
- Offical Mac SiN Website
- Macplay
You can find Squonkamatic's Mac SiN website with custom level packs and other goodies at http://www.squonkamatic.net/sin/
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