Great mapping skills, but they seem a little uniform to me, not that I would do any better.

I do enjoy the very unique design that these levels have which certainly adds to the gameplay, and, not something you see in older Marathon Maps. Maybe one issue is similarities some levels have like the corner areas (for lack of a better term)of Paradigm Shift and Oculus Ex Inferni. The Downfall Of Paradise, I think is the best one.

-Have become standards for us. Great one-on-one or more. The Downfall of Paradise incorporates a power up in a defensible and yet vulnerable spot much like the net map "Wrath no more" which add strategy to an otherwise "shoot at anything that moves" game. Great stuff.

i like these maps mch better than red spectrum. although red spectrum is very well a worthy map pack, this pack is face melting.i cant really comment too much because of my melting face.

red spectrum had some weapon placement and quantity issues, whereas this pack does not, the weapons are where they should be, and in their correct amounts.

the architecture and dynamics in these maps are far beyond red spectrum itself, and far far FAR beyond the complexity from the average map.

my favorite of your maps are, Dance of Pales, and Official tallmap, though all the rest are just as good...

Easily one of my favorite set of maps. Outstanding collection! As action-packed as the legendary Red Spectrum, but with more complicated architecture. Once again, the quality of these maps is as impressive as the quantity, and I now consider this pack essential!

Sometimes the architecture is so complicated that it almost becomes a distraction. Even still, this set of maps is incredibly close to perfection. Get it!

These maps are of very high quality, and they are very enjoyable to play online. But some of the 'buildings' could do with a little bit of work, but all in all a brilliant map pack.

When I first played Paradise Lost in 2007, there were only 3 maps, but they shared a distinctive look and feel. The pack slowly grew in size and the new maps were equally impressive. However, it feels like there was a definite style change sometime in 2009. The newer maps all feel very similar, boxy, and use the same bland grey and red texturing. There are so many maps now it's hard to even remember what they look like by name, and picking one at random is no longer sure to be a good game. It seems like ever since Power Drive you've been doing something different, and although the newer maps certainly aren't bad, I wish you had spun them off into a separate pack.

So many buildings in this world are so depressingly ugly. Pre-fab monstrosities slapped together as if by washed up ex-Soviet architects, nostalgic for the good ol' days of the Bloc.

i hope that whatever it is Ryoko does for a living excites him enough to make up for the fact he's missed his calling--as the architect that might have saved us from this mundanity.

Make no mistake--these maps are works of art. Playing these feels like lobbing grenades down the hallways of a Frank Lloyd Wright. Just when you've stopped to ponder a clever stair, or the railing along a causeway--BOOM! Pwned for admiring the scenery.

One complaint i frequently have with netmaps is the lack of attention paid to variation of floor heights. Splitting up the floor levels does wonders for gameplay, as it forces you to look around--to be a true vidmaster, instead of just taking centred-view potshots on an even playing field. Every set of stairs in these maps also flows nicely--no leaping up stairs set too high, or ceilings set too low.

i appreciate a mapper who appreciates variation in textures. Not a single wall is uninteresting--even the large, flat-textured ones toward the end seem to set off the details in other parts of the map. That, coupled with the fact that surfaces are the appropriate size for their textures gives a feeling of a 'strong', 'finished' map.

Nice work. i'm inspired.

ADDENDUM: It appears i should trust my intuition...Ryoko does in fact study architecture. Should have known...

Could not fault it.

By far, this is my favorite pack of netmaps. All the levels are skillfully laid out, with enough weapons to get the job done, but not too many as to make it look cluttered.

Fabulous job!

EDIT 1/21/10: I see that maps have been added without rockets. I would rate this a six if I could...

What are you hiding?

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This is, as Treellama has said, yet another must have netpack. All the maps are balanced, good looking (although some more so than others) and flow well.

From the first release this has been a steady 5 star pack. The complex architecture is nicely balanced with fast, balanced gameplay, and although the architecture does inevitably damage the flow slightly in some areas, it isn't intrusive enough to damage the gameplay or detract from the overall quality of the maps; the flow still rivals (and often beats) that of many of the previous "Must Have" netpacks.

I think we all owe a huge thank you to RyokoTK, our favourite community ruiner.

Yet another must have net pack!

This fine heptadecaptych is a worthy successor to Red Spectrum.

those three words are what describe this pack, Great Architecture, Astounding Juice Work, Fun To Play With 2+ people,

-NAMELESS-

This map pack is outstanding Ryoko!! The thought and work that went into this pack is amazing! I applaud you on your deserved success. This architecturally rich pack truly brought the feel of Marathon to net maps!! Nicely done and keep up the good work!!

absolutely a top 5! many maps, really good mapping, i can almost bet (5$) that no-one would say that it sucked. (haven't got that kinda money)

The last two maps added really disappointed me. The level design was good, but the overuse of the solid color textures really bothered me, especially in acid rain. I felt like I was trapped in a two year old's toybox. Paradigm wasn't so bad, but both were still very confusing to the eye, and both levels had the same predominant theme (paradigm was more open and used less solid color textures, but still...). They just felt like add ons to each other. If I could give something 3 and 1/2 stars, I would give it to this.

While I'm really an addict of the older kind of maps, namely my own and those from Ryoko's Red Spectrum, I can't help but gape at these immensely pleasing levels. They seem a little more complex than what I generally look for, and I'm not a large game nut, but damn, these are fine.

About a year ago, Ryoko and I were talking about how pleased we were with our map packs. He said something to the effect of, "These maps might look shoddy in comparison to future maps" in defense of older packs like Coriolis, whose popularity I couldn't understand. I disagreed with him at the time: Underworld and Red Spectrum were never to be eclipsed.

Looks like I was wrong.

To me, a level has to look like it would actually exist somewhere. In an intelligent alien world there would probably still exist aesthetics when designing a building, and we would notice those even if their culture and architecture was radically different from our own.

What I like about Ryoko's work is that his levels look like they could be real, and that they'd been designed by an alien architect.

That's not to say that Ryoko is alien... maybe he is... maybe not....

Anyway, that's beside the point that these are gorgeous levels, very playable, don't immediately reveal their secrets so they're fun to explore, and nicely spread the carnage all over their rooms, instead of focusing it all in one place. These are good for hunting, sniping, all weapons, and warfare styles.

They do slow down a bit on older/less powerful CPUs because they are complex, but that is the price we pay for great environments.

And by all, I mean any number of people.

I played through this entire pack with two other people, and even Downfall of Paradise, which is much bigger than the other two, was still awesomely fun. Even though I never ended up seeing the whole map, there was action every second. Excellent flow! I like the other two for different reasons, mostly because they are small but BEAUTIFUL. I especially like the detail that went into Serpant's Kiss (the jjaaro one, i think). The other map (lava one) was very beautiful too, especially in the parts where the walls are broken. I love how in all of these, there is an invisibility powerup, and while the only reason to get it at all on Downfall of Paradise is to cloak against motion sensors, the shadow plays in the lava map and especially serpant's kiss (which are easy to hide in WITHOUT invisibility) make the use of invisibility more strategic than just sneaking up behind somebody. I also like how there are health rechargers in serpant's kiss and the lava map. Health rechargers don't really belong on big maps, where unless you put it in the middle of an arena or something similar, it would be freebe health to anybody, if it's tucked into a corner (CTF maps are arguable here, though); but in small maps the recharger can be used, but only if the placement is exceptional, and it is. In serpants kiss, I only felt comfortable enough to stand there long enough to fill only half a bar, before dropping down the side to hide against anybody who might have seen me, and in the lava map, I made sure that there wasn't anybody in the middle before i started recharging. This is the way it should be; making you brave enough to reach the charger but cautious enough to not stand there for long. In short, great maps! I can not wait for more!

Yet another must have net pack!

This fine triptych is the beginning of a worthy successor to Red Spectrum.