#3 DarkIce1
Mapper: Blackhelldragon00
(apparently named to avoid confusion with all the other blackhelldragons out there.)
Description: VCTF-Darkice1 should not be taken lightly! Only the strong survive and the weak get dragged all over the ice floor!
Just to get it out of the way at the beginning, DarkIce1 is not a particularly dark map by any sense of the word. This is the least of the maps problems, however:
In DarkIce, spawn points are conveniently placed about a mile from each other. In this photo, the Manta is located at one spawn point. The closest vehicle is located about a mile away, over by the red circle. It's much easier to commit suicide than walk FOREVER to try and get a vehicle.
DarkIce has two levels to it - the high road, and the low road. This is usually a good idea in CTF maps. Not here, not by any means. Shown here, the two levels are completely out-of-scale and joined together by this gi-normous ramp. If the enemy is taking your flag along the high path, and you're not in the one-single Raptor, you will never ever catch up with him. It's completely impossible. Give up and swear at your opponents via in-game chat to relieve your frustration.
Here's the flag room, a single enclosed cube. There's only one entrance. (two if you count falling to your death down an elevator shaft). Of course, 2 Scorpions, 2 Hellbenders, and a Goliath all spawn right next to this room, so defenders turn it into a camper's paradise. You can't even Redeemer them, since the room is big enough such that a Redeemer won't even cover it all.
The other way out of the flag room to the upper level is via one of two elevators. As previously noted, the levels are insanely far apart, so the elevator ride takes a month to get to the top. Then, even better, it pauses for another 3 years at the top before slowly descending again. So in essence, if you're chasing an opponent who runs up the elevator, you will die of old age before it returns to you.
For these sins and more, DarkIce1 is awarded the 2005 Bronze Medal of Crappiness!
