CTF-CUT_Horus

Third-party mod
This article is about an officially-released third-party mod. Only mods that have been part of official Unreal releases are allowed on this wiki. Third-party mods are not considered canon to the Unreal Universe unless an Epic Games or Digital Extremes employee (past or present) stated otherwise. Further reading: On third-party mods and proxy works.

Overview

Gallery

The Temple of Horus
A Capture the Flag map for Unreal Tournament
Author	Arjan 'Evil Atje' Vroegop
Music	"Underworld 2" by Alexander Brandon
Comes with	Chaos UT CUT GOTY Mappack
Platform	PC
Arena info
Player count	12-16
Arena type	Semi-closed
Symmetry	Symmetrical

CTF-CUT_Horus is a Capture the Flag map for the Unreal Tournament mod Chaos: UT. It's part of the GOTY Mappack.

Map description

In the vein of the egyptian-based levels of Unreal Championship, Unreal Tournament 2003 and Unreal Tournament 2004, this map is what would happen if DOM-Sesmar was extended and set in the middle of a desert (much like DOM-Deserted, for example). Each base contains the flag in a pedestal, with a back exit via a staircase leading into two other staircases straight to the exterior. The middle area is a wooden bridge on top of some shallow water, while four Sniper Towers overlook the area.

The map contains the following named areas:

• Blue/Red Flagroom: Each flagroom has two entrances from the back and the front, with the flag sitting at a pedestal marked with a team ankh. There's also a third, secret underwater passage ("Blue/Red Water Passage") below the ramps directly connected to the Outside Center area.
• Outside: The entirety of the outdoors area itself. For description purposes, we'll split this area into five sub-areas, the splitting point being the entrance to each base, and the walls that start and end with two pyramids:
  • Red Back Entrance: The back entrance to the Red Flag Room.
  • Red Courtyard: The red side. At floor level, it has two two-way teleporters, one west and another east, leading to the west/east ledges respectively. These ledges, at the same time, have two other two-way teleporters straight into the Red Teleportation Room (east ledge) and Red Sniper Room (west ledge) respectively.
  • Outside Center: The midfield.
  • Blue Courtyard: The blue side. At floor level, it has two two-way teleporters, one west and another east, leading to the west/east ledges respectively. These ledges, at the same time, have two other two-way teleporters straight into the Blue Teleportation Room (west ledge) and Red Sniper Room (east ledge) respectively.
  • Blue Back Entrance: The back entrance to the Blue Flag Room.
• Hallways (Blue/Red Temple): The right entrance to each base (east for Red, west for Blue). Comprises the entirety of the corridor up to the entrance to the Flag room itself. For simplicity's sake, we're naming the area Blue/Red Hallways.
• Hall of Pillars (Blue/Red Temple): The left entrance to each base (west for Red, east for Blue). Connects the Outside Center area with the Stairs area of each team's base. For simplicity's sake, we're naming the area Blue/Red Pillars.
• Stairs (Blue/Red Temple): Connects each Hall of Pillars with the Hallways to the flag room and the entrance from each team's Pylon area. For simplicity's sake, we're naming the area Blue/Red Stairs.
• Blue/Red Pylon: An extensive area featuring in one side the entrance to the Stairs area and in the other a teleporter to the Teleportation and Sniper Towers. Connects the Stairs area with the Outdoors for each base and the Center. At the right tower (east for Red, west for Blue), it has a two-way teleporter to the Blue/Red Teleportation Room.
• Blue/Red Chamber of Sacrifice: A small room connecting the Hall of Pillars with the Hallways. The Shield Belt in the altar also serves as an overlook into the Water Passage.
• Sneaky Passage (Blue/Red Side): A small outdoors passage, at the right of each base entrance (west for Blue, east for Red) from Outside Center to the entrance of each team's temple. For simplicity's sake, we're naming the area Blue/Red Sneaky Passage.
• Blue/Red Sniper Room: A tower (east for the Blue team, west for the Red team) containing the Sniper Rifle and several shells nearby.
• Blue/Red Room of Teleportation: A tower (west for the Blue team, east for the Red team) containing teleporters to several areas.

Weapons and pickups

Weapons

Weapon	Count	Location
Bio Rifle	W: 4 A: 16	Weapon: 1x Red Hallways, in front of the entrance to the Red Chamber of Sacrifice. 1x Blue Hallways, in front of the entrance to the Blue Chamber of Sacrifice. 1x Chamber between Red Back Entrance and Red Courtyard. 1x Chamber between Blue Back Entrance and Blue Courtyard. Ammo: 2x Near the Red Hallways weapon. 2x Near the Blue Hallways weapon. 2x Near the Red Outdoors Chamber weapon. 2x Near the Blue Outdoors Chamber weapon. 2x Red Chamber of Sacrifice, in front of the entrance from Red Hallways. 2x Blue Chamber of Sacrifice, in front of the entrance from Blue Hallways. 2x Red Pylon, west tower. 2x Blue Pylon, east tower.
Shock Rifle	W: 4 A: 16	Weapon: 1x Red Hallways, in front of the entrance to the Red Flag Room. 1x Blue Hallways, in front of the entrance to the Blue Flag Room. 1x Red Courtyard, floor level, near west ledge. 1x Blue Courtyard, floor level, near east ledge. Ammo: 2x Near the Red Hallways weapon. 2x Near the Blue Hallways weapon. 2x Near the Blue Courtyard weapon. 2x Near the Red Courtyard weapon. 2x Red Pylon, east tower. 2x Blue Pylon, west tower. 2x Red Courtyard, below east ledge. 2x Blue Courtyard, below west ledge.
Pulse Gun	W: 4 A: 12	Weapon: 1x Red Hall of Pillars, behind some pillars. 1x Blue Hall of Pillars, behind some pillars. 1x Red Pylon, east tower. 1x Blue Pylon, west tower. Ammo: 2x Near the Red Hall of Pillars weapon. 2x Near the Blue Hall of Pillars weapon. 2x Near the Red Pylon weapon. 2x Near the Blue Pylon weapon. 2x Red Courtyard, below east ledge. 2x Blue Courtyard, below west ledge.
Ripper	W: 4 A: 12	Weapon: 1x Red Pylon, near entrance to Red Stairs. 1x Blue Pylon, near entrance to Blue Stairs. 1x Red Courtyard, near a pillar. 1x Blue Courtyard, near a pillar. Ammo: 2x Near the Red Pylon weapon. 2x Near the Blue Pylon weapon. 2x Red Chamber of Sacrifice, in front of the entrance from Red Hallways. 2x Blue Chamber of Sacrifice, in front of the entrance from Blue Hallways. 2x Red Courtyard, below west ledge. 2x Blue Courtyard, below east ledge.
Minigun	W: 4 A: 12	Weapon: 1x Red Hallways, near entrance to Red Chamber of Sacrifice. 1x Blue Hallways, near entrance to Blue Chamber of Sacrifice. 1x Red Courtyard, middle level, west ledge. 1x Blue Courtyard, middle level, east ledge. Ammo: 2x Near the Red Hallways Minigun. 2x Near the Blue Hallways Minigun. 2x Near the Red Courtyard Minigun. 2x Near the Blue Courtyard Minigun. 2x Red Stairs. 2x Blue Stairs.
Flak Cannon	W: 4 A: 14	Weapon: 1x Red Hall of Pillars, at the deadend. 1x Blue Hall of Pillars, at the deadend. 1x Red Back Entrance, in front of the entrance to Red Flag Room. 1x Blue Back Entrance, in front of the entrance to Blue Flag Room. Ammo: 2x Near the Red Hall of Pillars weapon. 2x Near the Blue Hall of Pillars weapon. 2x Near the Red Back Entrance weapon. 2x Near the Blue Back Entrance weapon. 1x Red Stairs. 1x Blue Stairs. 2x Red Courtyard, below west ledge. 2x Blue Courtyard, below east ledge.
Rocket Launcher	W: 4 A: 16	Weapon: 1x Red Chamber of Sacrifice, near entrance from Red Hallways. 1x Blue Chamber of Sacrifice, near entrance from Blue Hallways. 1x Red Courtyard, middle level, east ledge. 1x Blue Courtyard, middle level, west ledge. Ammo: 2x Near the Red Chamber of Sacrifices weapon. 2x Near the Blue Chamber of Sacrifices weapon. 2x Near the Red Courtyard weapon. 2x Near the Blue Courtyard weapon. 2x Red Stairs. 2x Blue Stairs. 2x Red Pylon, west tower. 2x Blue Pylon, east tower.
Sniper Rifle	W: 2 A: 24(*)	Weapon: 1x Red Sniper Room. 1x Blue Sniper Room. Ammo: 12x Near the Red Sniper Room weapon. 12x Near the Blue Sniper Room weapon.
Redeemer	W: 1 A: 2	Weapon: Outside Center, behind east pyramid. Ammo: 1x Red Courtyard, below west ledge. 1x Blue Courtyard, below east ledge.

(*) All of them single shells.

Pickups

Pickup	Count	Location
Health
Health Vial	106	8x Red Flag Room. 8x Blue Flag Room. 5x Red Hallways, near entrance to Red Chamber of Sacrifice. 5x Blue Hallways, near entrance to Blue Chamber of Sacrifice. 4x Red Chamber of Sacrifice. 4x Blue Chamber of Sacrifice. 6x Red Stairs. 6x Blue Stairs. 8x Red Pylon, west tower. 8x Blue Pylon, east tower. 7x Red Pylon, east tower. 7x Blue Pylon, west tower. 7x Red Sneaky Passage. 7x Blue Sneaky Passage. 4x Red Courtyard, middle level, west ledge, near the teleporters. 4x Red Courtyard, middle level, east ledge, near the teleporters. 4x Blue Courtyard, middle level, west ledge, near both teleporters. 4x Blue Courtyard, middle level, east ledge, near both teleporters.
Health Pack	16	2x Red Chamber of Sacrifice, in front of the entrance from Red Hallways. 2x Blue Chamber of Sacrifice, in front of the entrance from Blue Hallways. 2x Chamber between Red Back Entrance and Red Courtyard. 2x Chamber between Blue Back Entrance and Blue Courtyard. 2x Red Courtyard, floor level, near east ledge. 2x Blue Courtyard, floor level, near west ledge. 2x Red Courtyard, near a pillar. 2x Blue Courtyard, near a pillar.
Big Keg O' Health	1	Outside Center, at the wooden bridge in the upper level.
Armor
Thigh Pads	4	1x Red Pylon, east tower. 1x Blue Pylon, west tower. 1x Chamber between Red Back Entrance and Red Courtyard. 1x Chamber between Blue Back Entrance and Blue Courtyard.
Body Armor	2	1x Red Flag Room, near the flag pedestal. 1x Blue Flag Room, near the flag pedestal.
Shield Belt	2	1x Red Chamber of Sacrifice, at the altar. 1x Blue Chamber of Sacrifice, at the altar.
Powerups
Damage Amplifier	2	1x Wall between Red Courtyard and Red Back Entrance, on top of the ceiling. 1x Wall between Blue Courtyard and Blue Back Entrance, on top of the ceiling.

Tips and tricks

• There's enough weapons and ammo in the level, as well as protective/healing items, that make it unnecessary not to be armed and fully healed/armored.
• Do NOT go into the Water Passage unless your health and armor levels are full.
• When returning with the flag, pay attention to where each health/armor item is located.
• Use the Translocator or the Utility Gun in Air Mode to reach the Damage Amplifier.

Trivia

Location bugs

• The map has a misnamed area: the Blue Sniper Room is named "Red Sniper Room". Also, both underwater areas share the "Underwater" name. Fixing this is simple: create a file named "CTF-CUT_Horus.int" in the System folder of the game and add the following text:

[ZoneInfo15]
ZoneName="Blue Sniperroom"

[WaterZone1]
ZoneName="Blue Water Passage"

[WaterZone1]
ZoneName="Red Water Passage"

Accolades

• The original CTF-Horus got several accolades:
  • It was deemed an Ownage map by Cliff Bleszinski.

"Name: CTF-Horus
Author: Arjan 'Evil Atje' Vroegop
Game: Capture The Flag

Arjan Vroegop has put together a truly fantastic capture the flag arena.

This map literally feels like an ancient Egyptian city; you're constantly traveling inside and outside on your way to the flag base. Arjan's lighting has really come into its own, the walls soak up the colored lighting and you can almost feel the hot sun bearing down on your neck. There are several ways in and out of each flagbase, either the higher route where you're in danger of snipers or the lower watery route where the Almighty Flak will 0wn j00.

Couple of weird points...I seem to get "snagged" at many spots in this map, which can get very frustrating when I'm trying to open the big ol' can of whup ass on the opposing team. A note to all aspiring mappers out there: run along all your walls in your maps and try to avoid areas where you can get stuck!"

– CliffyB

• Sean "C.H.U.D." Swanson of Mapped gave it a score of 9.5/10.

"One of the very best CTF maps I have ever played.

Floor plan: The design of this map is what makes it so good, it just flows. Arjan has taken the 2forts style map and given it a whole new life. Each team gets a huge egyptian type of fortress, with multiple routes to each base, plus even more paths once inside. There is a lot going on in this map, and it's difficult to describe it all. Simply put, the bases are divided by a water pool, and a couple of pyramids. There is a bridge going over the pool to a large door in the front of the base, plus a small entrance on the side. In the water pool, there are also entrances, with 2 more bridges creating paths. There are also great positions for defense, with great sniping spots on the top front of the base, plus other ledges inside, and there is a small post for defending the water routes as well. Inside the base, there are a lot of hallways, stairs and teleports taking you to different areas, so it can get confusing at first. The great thing about the map, with all these different paths, you rarely meet dead ends, which allows you to jump and run from different spots, and end up where you want to anyway. Great connectivity. Weapon and health placement are great, and every weapon is available (although I couldn't find the Redeemer, Arjan says every weapon is in the map). With the great connectivity, it's a rush when you're running with the flag, and having multiple escape routes, to evade enemies chasing you down. With all the great design, and large size of the bases, the map runs nicely, and I rarely noticed any slowdown, which is a big plus.

Textures and lighting: Along with the great design of the map, it also looks amazing. There is some really nice details inside of the bases, and water is used very effectively in certain spots. I did notice a few minor bsp glitches when running through the map, nothing that takes away from the level. The lighting is also really nice, with great ambient lighting and sound inside parts of the bases, and good use of matching light and light sources.

Bot play: Another great aspect of this map is the superior bots. They make full use of all the different paths (although rarely using the side entrance), they'll make flag runs in packs, and defend very well. They also snipe from the roof and defend using the water post. I noticed the odd defending bot camping between pillars, but it would usually move when the enemy team attacks. I also noticed a sniping bot run out of ammo, and take his sweet time before realizing his impact hammer won't work for sniping. I played with 15 adept bots, and it was a tough, action packed game.

Pros: Incredible layout and map design, with a beautiful polished look to boot. Fantasic bot play. Good framerate for a large level.

Cons: Moderate learning curve. A couple minor bot bugs. Dull skybox.

Overall: I can't say enough about this great map, download it now! If you aren't impressed by it, check your pulse."

– Sean Swanson

• THE ]V[ATTerminator of NaliCity gave it a score of 9.5/10.

"First there was Sesmar, then Anubis, and now Horus!

So far this map has had more publicity than a lot of maps, and that's before it's been reviewed! If you haven't already seen, it's on CliffyB's "This map owns" page, and has had a very good write up.

Ok, I'll start with the layout. The map consists of two "cities" and a central section. The flags are situated in underground areas at each end of the map. There are numerous routes between bases. There's the scenic route that takes you through both citys to get to the opposing base. There's an underground route which takes you through underground corridors, and finally past an extremely well-made central pool (Left screenshot). And lastly, there's the underwater route that once again takes you through the central pool area.

Texturing is sublime, down to the very last detail, and adds to the overall realism of the level. The lighting is great, from the sunlight beating down outside to the darker corridors underground. There aren't any distinctly noticeable ambient sounds, but in my opinion, the quietness adds to the atmosphere. Items are placed sensibly, but sometimes it's hard to find a good weapon after respawning. It's even harder if you're playing with the suggested amount of players (14).

The bots play as well as any human, and demonstrate excellent knowledge of the level layout as they utilise all three routes. The only problem with the AI is that the bots don't snipe. During the time I was playtesting this level, not once was I sniped to the ground. The only bad point on this level, besides the AI, is the speed of the game. Because so much care and attention was put into the Egyption architecture, it slows the game down considerably. Especially if you're sniping from one of the high platforms, overlooking the central section.

Overall, this is a level EVERYBODY should own. Try 14 players for a good game, which means good teamwork is mandatory. This level isn't intended for small LAN games, so if you're getting this level for multiplayer games, make sure you've got enough players to populate the level. If you only download one Capture the Flag map in your whole life, do yourself a favour and make sure it's this one. I looked at Evil Atje's webpage, and saw the photo he made the map from. What a great job he's done. "

– THE ]V[ATTerminator

• SerraYX of Frag Factory gave it a score of five stars in gameplay and four stars in eyecandy.

"Three points for the map:
Beautiful, stunning
Excellent, but not perfect bot support
Comprehensive base and terrain design
Three points against the map:
Way too little ammo for the intended number of players, and can get boring if that number isn't reached
Bases are kind of dark for the size, and Sky appears very pixelated and blocky
You can go to the outside of the map

Wow, what can I say, besides this map is simply AMAZING! When you first load up this map, stay in ghost mode for a minute and hover around the top areas. You will share my amazement, I guarantee it. This is a map that every CTF server should have on rotation, and every client should have for botplay. Both are enjoyable, and are coupled with the abundance of eyecandy.

As you can tell from the screenshots, the Egyptian theme is used heavily and is pretty consistent inside and outside. From the pyramids and palm trees, to the torches and hieroglyphics. Evil Atje has made one of the few themed maps that actually look like their theme. The pylons and temples were very well constructed as well, with fairly comprehensive design that isn't very hard to get used to. A fairly major mistake was made with the map borders, dealing with the translocator. It seems you can go to the outside of the map easily using the translocator or with low gravity in some places. Most maps that could have this problem contain invisible walls that block you, or invisible ones that kill you instantly. This is a major hit to the map, but abuse would probably only come from llamas.

The basic layout of the map is very well done. There is a main crossway and bridge (which houses the health keg) between each base. Also, there are two separate buildings which are homes to sniper decks aplenty, which are reached by the teleporters on either side. Each side is populated by pyramids and trees as well as home to ammo and health stocks. The four structures are not connected, so they are most useful as sniping spots or flag carrier hiding places. Both middle buildings have an underground path that goes underneath the main bridge as well as an alternate, darker route into each base. At the far ends of the map there is a ramp which leads down right to the flag, a very defendable spot but still able to be sieged for the flag.

Texturing, like the rest of the aesthetics, is very well done. Most of the walls are done in rock textures, with some Egyptian art and writing thrown in. Lighting is superb, with the outdoors adequately lit for sniping and roaming. The lower and temple areas are very fitting, with only torch light that contrasts the outdoor brightness. In some spots, like the flag room, the lighting is just a tad too dark which could lead to some ugly camping. My only complaint about the looks was the sky used in the map, which was very pixelated for some reason. This little is the only thing that stops it from becoming a 5-star-looking map.

As for gameplay, CTF-Horus has plenty of replay value, since there are plenty of ways into each base. The middle structures are wonderful for sniping, since they give you a virtual bird's-eye view of most of the map. The lower passages are just as valuable for carrying the flag, if not more. With 12 people, the map shines with constant action, with lots of passages and little hiding spots. This map is probably suited to clan matches, because coordainated [sic] attacks will bring rewards. Organize teamplay is needed (unlike maps like CTF-HallOfGiants) because the flag rooms are easily defended. Mutators like Low Gravity enhance this map greatly, because they allow access to many more defendable areas, such as the trees and rooftops.

One of the drawbacks to having the recommended amount of players is the lack of supplies to support this many people. While there are *plenty* of health vials, ammo and weapons are scarce, leaving you to scramble for anything left (with weaponstay off you'll be using the enforcer). Botplay is great overall, with good flag capturing techniques and defensive strategies. I didn't notice any instances of bot bugs such as no movement or looping movement. But the bots are extremely weak when it comes to the middle buildings, which are seldomly used. This means you won't be getting sniped at very often, or attacked while sniping enough. But if you play with a combination of bots and players, usually the bots will defend well enough to let the humans take care of sniping and flag capturing.

My recommendation: download now! It's a wonderful look combined with excellent gameplay, which really shines while playing with friends. Though botplay is good, it could have been further tweaked, but still provides a challenge. Enjoy!"

– SerraYX

Author's Notes

"This is a large Egyptian Capture the Flag map. I tried to make a map that looks like something that you could find in Egypt, and I must say that I succeeded in that. But we don't have to talk about this map anymore. Download it, play it, and I'm sure you'll love it!"

– Arjan 'Evil_Atje' Vroegop