Q3DM11: Deva Station is a toxic factorial themed large map designed for 6-8 players, also the fifteenth map of Quake 3 Arena single player campaign. It is mostly indoors, featuring numerous corridors and a treacherous abyssal area with jump pads. In Quake Live its name changed to Chemical Reaction with notable modifications.
The Map[]
Map is famous for its slimy environment and factorial design. It's hard to call anywhere in this map as a main area, yet map is throughly ridden with corridors with large open areas follow at the end.
A few large corridors have a slimy ambient and looks like there's an underlying toxic slime drain system beneath them. Also ventilation system is noticeble by giant fans laid out at even distance to each other throughout the map. Toxic slime looks like it surfaced to form a small pool at a yard.
Both waste corridor and hall areas look well ventilated with huge fans that hang from the ceiling and embed beneath the fenced floor. Yet large long hall looks like it made for windy environment with small alcoves at the both sides and large fans to evacuate the gas from the area. A rather big fan is placed on the ceiling of oval room that binds catwalk-ramp yard with ventilation hall.
Both corridor and hall areas also bond with a small tunnel. Starting in the middle of the ventilation hall reached by climbing a small debris, and ends at a toxic waste corridor what looks like a dead-end. A teleporter in the toxic waste corridors sends the taker back to that oval area at the start of long ventilation hall.
Between the slime pool yard and ventilation hall, there is another smaller yard. Surrounds two high platforms around a large column with symmetrical ramps. Short catwalks on top of steps reaching under the ground down the identical stairpaths leading down to the gate for dropping into the locked power-up room.
At the end of ventilation hall and the waste corridors, a ramp and a catwalk lead up to power-up rooms. Power-up rooms connect back to the ventilation hall by a bounce pad sitting in a large abyssal gap.
Weapons[]
- Rocket Launcher: At the middle of the toxic slime area, on top of a small platform.
- Lightning Gun: On top of a catwalk reached by a steps before the long hall and slime filled RL spawn area.
- Grenade Launcher: Right at the entrance of power-up rooms.
- Plasma Gun: Behind a fenced door reached by the long hall, looks to the abyss area bounce pad that elevates player to the power-up rooms.
- Shotgun: 6 different spawns in this map. 2 at the each side of stairpath leading down to the mirroring gate to power-up rooms. One at the front of teleporter in the toxic waste corridors, another at the small alcove just below stairs of slime filled area. And 2 others are at the start of long all at the circular area and at the end of the same main hall below the catwalk leading to the power-up rooms in a small alcove.
Goodies[]
- Haste: Approximately at the end of both halls on top of a large pedestal in the middle of a room, reached by walking on a high catwalk, else player have to do a jump at the bounce pad behind Plasma Gun spawn. Have 2 minutes spawn time.
- Quad Damage: Large switch above Haste spawn can be shot and that opens the door of locked room at any given time. Alternatively player can reach the Quad room by stepping in a gate, treading back on the catwalks behind the Lightning Gun spawn to follow spiraling stairways downwards. Have 2 minutes spawn time.
- Megahealth: Way above of a lowly bounce pad in the middle of deathly abyss filled with red hue myst, just across the Haste spawn room and right behind the Plasma Gun spawn. Whoever wants to grab Mega, he/she better be ready for performing a leap of faith. Have a spawn time of 35 seconds.
- Heavy Armor: On a ledge above RL spawn reached by a bounce pad. Have a spawn time of 25 seconds.
- Light Armor: Infront of small tunnel connecting wind hall with slime corridors, on top of a debris. Have a spawn time of 25 seconds.
- Personal Medkit: Ahead of the catwalks around Lightning Gun in a small alcove after climbing ramps. A small translucent window at the floor nearby can see the below mirroring gate area leading to Quad room. Have a spawn time of 1 minute.
- Armor Shards: Along the outer side of the oval room start of ventilation hall, at the other end of Lightning Gun spawn.
- 25-50 Health: Ventilation hall area have a yellow +25 at the each small alcove, most rich area about recovery. Also a few can be found at slime pool area and stairs leading there, around ramps by the end of both corridors.
Noticeable[]
- Many Shotgun spawns, it's almost impossible to not grabbing Shotgun or not running into a Shotgun bearer. It's not really a throughly effective weapon given the map layout.
- Second map to include a button trigger. Also first shootable button, placed atop of Haste spawn pedestal.
- Third map to include a mirroring gate.
- A locked room with stationary a few wallmounted Grenade Launchers infront, directed all across the room. Those activate when a player grabs the Quad Damage inside the locked room.
- Underground mirrored gate area down the narrow stairs, have a small window up top. Other gladiators can see who's down there by ramp of Personal Medkit.
- Power-up carrier can be ambushed at a few spots and shortcuts. Bearer can evade this by staying at the main areas, but that also means loss of time to pickup goodies in a crowded match and there won't be frequent targets to chase.
Strategy[]
Trying to grab Megahealth might be a risky attempt by the middle of the match, at least without holding a splash damage weapon to pepper balconies around you. If you don't have any opportunity to grab it early, try to grab the Medkit and rush Heavy Armor to stock up. Then try to secure a Megahealth by running around at the oval room by start of large ventilated hall.
When you pick fights in toxic waste corridors, hitscan weaponry will be always a favored. Due to large corridors in that area, trying to choke fire projectiles without a Grenade Launcher generally don't bode well in the combat flow. If you are carrying projectile based weaponry, try to take cover before going close enough and jump around often when you need to engage in combat. Walking around corners may also help you to hear footsteps better.
When both power-ups spawn, you can open the door via shooting the red button over the Haste to click the mechanism. Triggered wall-mounted Grenade Launchers will at least block anyone behind you after taking Quad, as you do the leap for Megahealth. Having a suppression fire weapon like Plasma, Rocket or Grenade Launcher help with pressuring the positions at balconies.
Counterintuitively wall-mounted Grenade Launchers are actually utilized for getting a chaser slowed down, rather than caging the Quad-bearer inside. Quad-bearer can't be trapped in that area without someone else dropping in and pumping more Grenades inside that room as guns are triggered.
Underground gate at the end of narrow stairways can be used to drop into Quad room as its spawn is nearing or ambush the Quad-bearer from behind, yet if taken too late this strategy won't be effective at all. If quad-carrier didn't hear your teleport from all those nades, you may as well dare and follow him to deny him out of MH. Grabbing Personal Medkit before heading for underground gate surely advised.
If Quad-bearer may be stacked, then it may be a best time to retreat near that narrow tunnel at toxic waste corridors to ambush him/her as Quad-carrier comes out from there or backtrack. If all 3 important items are taken away in a crowded match with 6+ players, Quad's effectiveness will be greatly reduced as he can only stand by the ventilation halls to recover and make a stand.
When someone grab a power-up, bearer will head for Megahealth instinctively most of the time. After that it'll be safe to time the next Megahealth if you miss the opportunity. Just, surviving a Quad carrier might be hard if you're sticking around in the ventilation hall where he can blow anyone out from the small alcoves at the both sides of the hall. Try to visit power-up room often enough to check on MH.
When you hear the power-up picked up announces and in the toxic waste corridors already, it's a good idea to time Heavy Armor again by heading back to slime pool yard and check on the Personal Medkit if possible. You can see who's heading to the Quad room gate from a translucent window at the floor infront of Medkit spawn and upon hearing the announce it's a small matter of time before you time the Heavy Armor again.
As announce is heard using the teleporter in the waste corridors, to appear at the start of ventilation hall would be a bad idea as you can throw yourself at the front of Quad-bearer. Usage of toxic waste corridor teleporter must be delayed for a respectable duration when announce is heard recently. Evacuate the ventilation hall immediately upon hearing the announce and aim for timing the Medkit and Heavy Armor.
Differentiations[]
In Quake Live this map has went through some heavy modifications. Earlier patches kept the originality of the map, and only added small changes like bounce pads here and there, removing obstacles, making narrow tunnel slightly larger. At latest patches;
- Personal Medkit is removed from map, and replaced with an extra teleporter, sending player to toxic waste corridors.
- Railgun added to the map, placed near a Shotgun spawn at the front of extra teleporter. Heavy Machine Gun replaces one of the Shotgun spawns at the front of power-up room entrance. Added a secondary Rocket Launcher spawn in the middle of ventilation hall. Plasma Gun spawn place changed to be at oval area at the start of vent hall, a Shotgun spawns at the former PG spawn.
- Quad and Haste spawns are separated with a wall and exchanged spawns yet still bond with a gate. Quad now spawns in the midst of wall-mounted Grenade Launchers, and Haste spawns at LG yard. There's no button triggered door or room separating power-ups.
- Narrow tunnel between corridors and ventilation hall is a solid looking gate complete with a ramp and a pit to fall below floor cutting the path to gate. Debris at the Light Armor room is removed and replaced with a bounce pad. Extra alleys and pits added to reach different spots or juke opponents.
Because of all the above changes, it's nearly impossible to choke fire Quad-bearer or ambush him. He can be only denied from Megahealth by standing at the ventilation hall area or Railgun fire from corridors. Any drop in attempt by teleportation from gate will be too obvious and get answered throughly. Tunnel area now large enough to juke any encounter, anyone can stand by the ledges to be safe or drop down from any point.
Trivia[]
- A small secret room with Dopefish picture across a teleporter. Player can enter that room by simply walking over to the middle wall panel.
- In Quake Live, dopefish easter egg is replaced with something else. Anyone playing Doom 3 can familiarize and identify which also appear as a small easter egg at the start of the Doom 3; a heads up to the "Super Turkey Puncher". A turkey gobble can be even heard.