Dorf places you inside a medium sized town that has a river running though it, splitting it in almost two sections. You will see right from the start that this map lacks one thing...dead areas. Unlike most maps you wont find only one or two routes to move around in this map. From the look of the layout this map should produce great gameplay for any weapon you choose for battle.
Presentation / Technical
The first thing that came to mind when this map loaded was the detail and time that was spend which made it feel real. The texturing was very nicely applied with only two areas of mistakes. One ledge has a texture applied incorrectly and the hanging lamps casting a spotlight effect in the warehouse were missing a custom texture with the yellow and white grid texture that mohaa places in place of missing textures. With all the other great texture work though those errors were minor since the majority of the brushwork was complex for most mappers and required special texture application. This map is an example of varied textures, which can be accomplished without hurting the theme.
The lighting was applied with thought to the light models and seemed to represent accurate lighting. I did see some of the walls being lit at different light levels but we have come to know this is a error in the vis compile program and not the mappers fault. Again there was the error in the warehouse but that was minor compared to the rest of the map.
The detail in the brushwork was again complex for most mappers and very nice to see. This proves that a mapper can work off the grid and yet not have "box" buildings all over the place. I was impressed with the amount of detail and different styles of architecture used, and like texturing, it still all seemed to fit the common theme. I could not find any errors which is probably a result of the time spend in this map by all of the other areas we have already discussed.
Creativity was hard for me to give anything but a average score since this style of map is very common but I don’t think in anyway does it take away from the map.
Like we have been discussing the theme seemed to fit from top to bottom even with all the varied architecture and texturing.
Playability / Game Flaws
Why can’t I find a server playing this map in its rotation? I’m sure I’m just not looking at the right times which is a shame since I would love to play this map! So, for these next areas you will have to read this and keep in mind that they may/may not be accurate since I haven’t played this map yet. I have ran around in the map for several, several laps, trying different paths and planning ways to attack and the conclusion that I have came to is that the possibilities are so many that this map should keep the action fast and furious. Performance seemed great as you can see by my first two screenshots which shows most of the map rendered yet still maintaining mid 60's. Only area that I think needs to be addressed are some of the dark areas that seem to be sniper positions. Leaving that room dark is fine, in order to keep cover, but since the stairs are not lit, by at least the littlest amount, you will find yourself shooting simply to produce some light. I hope to get to play this map and see if it shapes up to how it appears to play.
Conclusion
I think that this map should be in every server’s rotation that’s looking for a map that can produce great fun for different styles of players and different amounts of players. I can see this map supporting low and high numbers of clients, easy. This map is also a very good example of what mapping is all about. With that said click on the links below and check it out for yourself.
