Download the FINAL/FINAL version of the map here
(THE FINAL/FINAL build was posted 4:30pm CST 2/03/04 (build 3.5))

By Alien and VegasHo

Map Design: Alien
Map Creation: VegasHo
Design and testing Help: maddog, sChizm, DooMer, Grim, wingrdr

Map Designed for: Ultra Freeze Tag (6-10 players), RA3, CPMA TDM/FT, OSP TDM/FT

Map Design:
Area 51 was designed with UFT game-play in mind. There are 3 areas of control and 5 areas in which a team can regroup or attack from. We have designed the map to flow from one area to another without being a simple 3 steps away from each other. The 3 main areas of control are the Quad room, RA room and Mega room. All three of these areas are supplied with armor and ammo, but teamwork will be required to share these items among all 4 teammates. It is possible for a team to control an area, power-up and attack another area of the map with plenty of ammo and armor. There are 2 levels to the map with 2 of the power-ups on the top level (RA and Quad) and Mega on the lower level. Each main area is comprised of a room with a circular center and several entries, by jump pad, stairs and hallways. When designing the map, we considered the size and the possibility of a lot of long rail shots. To counteract this, we added pillars and moved walls out to cut down on rail visibility. 

Map Speed: 
Because of the size of the map, it is very possible to strafe the entire map within 10-15 seconds. Better players will be able to do this without hitting any walls or pillars, but it will take some practice. Even with some space to move in, the map is set up not to allow simple straight lines to the 3 main areas. 

Map Size:
The map is slightly smaller in actual 'sq feet' then overkill (map11 in RA3), but there is not as much space to rail. The 3 main areas of control do offer more space, but good teamwork will allow you to lock the room down. Teams that work together on an attack should have no problem coordinating their attack from different angles. 

Map Textures:
The map name is Area-51 and the textures are meant to give the map an 'industrial or tech' look. We decided to keep it simple enough that a map of this size did not cut down on FPS. With the metal pin-striping throughout the map it is easy to tell one wall from the next or a wall from a floor. The textures were tested at picmip 1 (as seen in the screenshots) to picmip 16. At picmip 16 it is very easy to tell the differences in areas and the map is very smooth on the eyes. 

Map Items:
There are less item pickups, both ammo and armor, for an obvious reason. When designing the map with UFT in mind, we considered that you start with all weapons and the need to pick up additional weapon ammo should be a necessity, not a luxury. Although the use of rail and LG will be more extensive in some areas of the map, it will be important for players to use these weapons sparingly as not to use them up. The purpose here was also to increase the use of additional weapons. There is plenty of armor shards for a 4 v 4 team match, but not too much as to take away from teams learning to share. Because it takes only 1 rail to freeze an opponent with 100 health and no armor, we gave all sides of the map small amounts of armor shards to counteract the single rail frag. Once again though it will be very important for teams to work together to share the armor. 

Snapshots:

	RA	Quad	RA ceiling - nice SS logo  :)
	Trophy Room	Mega Stairs	RL
	Shaft	Even at r_picmip 16!
	Original Idea: (The basic flow has been maintained)

 Contact PlanetFreeze