I've uploaded most of these UT Classic maps to the server.

https://forums.epicgames.com/threads/989943

Since this map pack is in beta, if you notice any problems with these maps, please tell me so I can relay it back to the author of these ports. There's something like 70 total for invasion, so vote them in when you play. and leave feedback here. We plan to thin them down to just the ones that play well - we already have a quite a few UT remakes on the server already, so we'll weed out most of the duplicates along with slow/boring maps and keep just the best ones. If there's any of these new maps that you really like or dislike let me know!

Also I've added a new gametype, Classic Domination (cDOM) to the map vote list. These maps are all available for invasion too.

With a huge map pack like this, evaluating each one is a time-consuming process, and with 60+ maps, it's easy to forget which one is which. That's why I'm going to do some mini reviews as we play through them to help figure which ones we should keep. Feel free to chime in or argue for or against, some of these we looked at very briefly.

NOTE: Several UT maps had Devil/Angel stained glass textures; in fact these are still a part of UT2004's texture set, although not used very often and I don't think we have any maps with them currently. I don't think they go against our policies, and I'd prefer not to edit them out without good reason. Demonslayer, you might want to make the final call on this. Here's a screenshot:

(NSFW, obviously) http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=468039914


Reviews, in no particular order:

DM-UTClassic-Agony - This map uses the Curse theme and is pretty spacious. Hollon liked it, so did I. Keep. (Screenshot above.)

DM-UTClassic-Bishop - This one uses the same theme as Gothic and seems to play pretty well. Keep.

DM-UTClassic-SpaceNoxx - We have a version of this already. It's already a controversial map, and this one is even smaller, and doesn't have the hidden rooms. Remove.

cDOM-UTClassic-Olden - A Nali Temple divided in 2 sides with suspended walkways. Has a decent area for an engineer base and a little underwater tunnel between two pools where monsters sometimes get stuck. Other than that minor issue, pretty good. Keep.

DM-UTClassic-Zeto - A ship with a frozen wasteland skybox. It's a confusing maze, all the corridors look pretty much the same, and it's pretty cramped. Remove.

DM-UTClassic-Deck16][. It's Deck. Everyone knows Deck, and we have at least 5 Deck maps on the server, and I think all of them are a bit nicer. I'm leaning toward remove, but some might like this version for nostalgia's sake. Deck was one of the most-played maps in Unreal 1 and UT 99, after all.

CTF-UTClassic-Tutorial. This is the same layout as CTF-FP-TutorialClassic, but with different weapons, and a lot more cramped, especially the normal inv base areas. Hollon liked it, I like how it looks, but it's a lot smaller, and we already have a good version of it. I don't see a reason to keep it. Leaning toward remove.

DM-UTClassic-Cybrosis][. This one has a ton of instagib death traps, many are user activated, which is cool. Otherwise it seems to be an ok map, but it's way too easy to kill yourself. Remove.

CTF-UTClassic-Cybrosis][. Same as above, except doubled to make a CTF map. Remove.

CTF-UTClassic-Dreary. Muir kind of liked this one, so did I. Has two large areas between the bases with catwalks above and corridors below that can make cramped engi bases. Lots of tight corridors near the flag bases. Not terrible, not great, and definitely on the slow side. Leaning toward remove.

CTF-UTClassic-Ratchet. This map is huge and sprawling, with tons of routes, many are quite cramped. All of the things that make CTF maps play horribly for invasion. (This is why we don't have a lot of CTF maps.) Remove.

CTF-UTClassic-Darji16. I looked at this one briefly, but apparently it was played last night. The upper areas would be fine for invasion, nice and spacious, but sprawling underground areas below slow down the map and monsters pile up at lifts. Remove.

CTF-UTClassic-Noxion16. Two decent sized bases separated by a deep pit, sort of like CTF-BridgeofFate. Looked at this one briefly, seems ok. Neutral for now.

CTF-UTClassic-Kosov is an asymmetrical CTF map with different blue base and red base layouts. I like some things about this map, like the exterior section, but in the end its another sprawling UT CTF maze with narrow corridors, and I kept snagging on the triangular stalagmites and stalactites in the caves. Also there's a bit of a maze of BSP on top of the map that really should have been blocked off. Kind of want to keep because it is a cool looking map, but going to remove.

CTF-UTClassic-Nucleus. Has a nuclear powerplant theme, and is multilayered with see-thru floors. It looks cool and aesthetically, almost feels like a 2k4 map. Leaning toward remove, will wait till I play it to decide.

CTF-UTClassic-Coret. We used to have Coret Classic on here. This is the same layout, but more cramped. Remove.

CTF-UTClassic-Niven. Another power generator thingamob. Oh wait Experimental Lab, according to the title. Has underwater sections and curvy corridors, and a simple flag base layout. Don't like it. Remove.

CTF-UTClassic-Orbital. Notice how I've been complaining about serpentine CTF mazes and cramped corridors? Well, this one doesn't have those problems. The layout viewed from above looks vaguely similar to that of CTF-Orbital2, but the map definitely feels different and seems a bit more straightforward than its newer sibling. The lighting and texturing is a bit on the ugly side, but at least it's not claustrophobic. I don't particularly like or dislike it, but I haven't actually played invasion on it yet.

DM-UTClassic-Peak. Peak, on the other hand, still looks pretty good. But it's more cramped than the version on the server. Remove.

DM-UTClassic-Phobos. This one looks a bit bland compared to its 2k counterpart. Even so, I thought it played pretty well. Keep (for now.)

CTF-UTClassic-Orbital--played last nite--good monster movement and placements.

DM-UTClassic-StalwartXL. Like a lot of these "UT Classics" feel a lot more cramped compared to their 2k4 remakes. Remove.

CTF-UTClassic-EpicBoy. Same. Remove.

DM-UTClassic-Grinder. Hollon said: "map seems average, on the meh side." Too many low ceilings to be fun. Muir found a hall of mirrors. Remove.

DM-UTClassic-Face][. Played it last night. Fun. Keep.

CTF-UTClassic-LavaGiant. I love playing CTF on this map in the original UT. Horrible for invasion though. Remove.

DM-UTClassic-Mojo][ - Has a good base spot or two, but kinda meh overall. (Keep for now)

cDOM-UTClassic-Lament - this map is great. It's just the right size; not too small, and spacious enough to dodge and multi jump around. It doesn't offer every weapon, but offers the good ones like the Flak and Rocket. Good size for Warriors, and is also very Engineer friendly. Would also be a very easy map for newbs to camp in the lower level domination point. I recommend keeping.

I forgot to mention I also added the maps from the cDOM mod - I think all of those are remakes of UT99 dom maps, but larger and done in the 2k4 style. So we need to evaluate those in relation to the the classics. The 2k4 versions should generally play better because they are scaled larger. For the most part I'd like to keep just 1 version of each map unless they are drastically different.

Scale is the main issue with UTClassic pack as a whole. The guy who ported these maps chose a very conservative scale factor (I belive it was 1.25 times larger than the UT originals.) Scale has always been an issue for ports from UT and other games. That's because the player scale in UT2004 is weird. Characters were made smaller after UT2003, but also given greater movement ability. This makes ports from most other games feel way too small even if the characters appear to be scaled to the right size. Any sort of map with realistic proportions feels way too small because of this.

Anyway, something I've done in the past is rescale maps to better fit 2k4 (and invasion) gameplay. This involves several steps including scaling the geometry, changing lights, movers, terrain, etc. and then hunting down any bugs and geometry errors that crop and remaking actors that don't scale, like antiportals. At the same time I'll usually try to fix anything that looked weird to me artistically or mechanically. It's not that difficult, but it's not super trivial either. What I'd like to do is come up with 2-3 candidates that seem nice but would benefit greatly from a scale change or other modifications, and don't already have good 2k4 versions.