This mod popped up on Slipgate Sightseer with a barebones description, promising '42 large complicated maps, custom sounds, textures, atmosphere' from its sole author, and I instantly knew I was in for an experience.
Mods like this always have such a specific vibe to them. The story is a fanfic about ranger's cool punk daughter, living in a future dystopia. Everything is kitbashed together with assets from half a dozen games and another dozen mod packs (you can almost make a game out of seeing how many Half-Life/UT99 textures you recognise). The environments are breathtakingly huge and laced with bespoke work. This is a labour of love, through and through.
And to be clear, it's not 'good' in the traditional sense. The vast levels are largely dead air—a problem exasperated by the obtuse critical path and lack of signposting—with enemies scattered loosely throughout them like so many crumbs upon an expansive, lavish carpet. One of the first things I was asked to do was throw myself onto the roof of a moving car on the highway below, and while I'd consider my air control in Quake-style engines to be relatively good, I definitely needed to quickload that one a few times. Even now, having only made it mid-way into the second level, I have serious concerns that I may have softlocked myself somehow. Maybe I'll just noclip through the gate that's blocking me and damn the consequences.
But I desperately want to press on, because I keep seeing glimpses of what they were going for, and I love it. You can feel the parts of the layouts that were almost certainly sketched out on some spare notebook paper. You can see what the set-pieces were meant to be, even if they are rather too ambitious for the primitive nature of the engine. Someone desperately wanted this mod to exist, and they weren't going to let anything stand in their way. Even if I'm not having fun, that kind of energy is intoxicating.
As soon as I saw those screenshots, I knew the author of this mod was asking an important question: "What's something that I want to see in a map that other maps aren't doing?"
Sure enough, a comment by the author in the release thread confirms this:
Each map in Peril was experimental, attempting to do something a bit different. But the main theme is openworld for most maps.
The problem is that Quake wasn't developed for an openworld scenario, and it has been difficult to pull off.
After years of playing fps titles and maps that are mostly linear or on rails, I wanted to have a go at offering freedom and space within excessively large maps.
The reason I point this out is because it's all too easy to fall into the ol' "what am I not doing that others are?" trap when working on something, which can lead into a negativity spiral as you chase trends rather than be honest with yourself and your intentions. It's a trap I've fallen into numerous times on creative projects, particularly maps and mods, and is the biggest reason why I haven't released anything in a long time.
Massive props to Balgorg for spending 3 years on answering a need they wanted to see fulfilled.