DM2

DM2 - "Claustrophobopolis"
Author:	American McGee
Gametypes:	Duel, 2on2, 4on4, FFA

Claustrophobopolis, better known as DM2, is one of the six deathmatch maps included with Quake. Originally featured in QTest, it is one of the biggest dueling maps that is still commonly played, and sees lots of play in all major gametypes. Thanks to the iconic big room, with its hanging crucified body and retractable lava floor trap, the level is probably one of the most recognizable and memorable in all of Quakeworld.

Items

One of the most immediately distinctive traits of this map when it comes to item layout is the absence of the Lightening Gun. This is probably due to the fact that the map was originally released with QTest, and the weapon was not included in that release. However, an even more curious aspect is that there are no less than two Red Armors, Mega Healths and three Yellow Armors, which brings the average durability of each player up a significant amount.

Powerups					Armor				Weapons
Quad	Ring	Pent	MH		RA	YA	GA		LG	RL	GL	SNG	NG	SSG
{{{quad}}}	{{{ring}}}	{{{pent}}}	{{{hp100}}}		{{{ra}}}	{{{ya}}}	{{{ga}}}		{{{lg}}}	{{{rl}}}	{{{gl}}}	{{{sng}}}	{{{ng}}}	{{{ssg}}}

Popularity

DM2 is considered one of the big five in duels, and one of the big three in 4on4 play. Although a staple of play in all regions, it is a prefered map in both Poland and Australia.

Appeal

One of the major reasons things that makes this map unique is the lack of Lighting Guns,, which means LG aim is less dominant, and RL-based aim and strategy is more dominant, as opposed to DM4 and Aerowalk, where Lightning Gun aim and strategy are both very important.

In spite of its size, DM2 has remained a popular choice because every frag is very important. In tournament-level DM2 duels, this map is known for having "soccer scores" where the final score are miniscule, such as "1-0", however the game itself is very intense as the players position and counter-position themselves to get the most advantage out of the fight for that one frag.

Critisism

In spite of being so popular, this map is very polarizing. The fact that this map is so prone to such low-scoring matches leads some players and spectators to beleive that this leads to a match that is boring. Some players who are dissatisfied with the slower gameplay tend to nickname this map a "Counterstrike" map.

Areas

An overhead view of DM2

The map itself can be considered one big circle, with the big room, water room and low RL room approximently equidistant from each other.

The Big Room

The iconic centerpiece of the map is a wide open arena with two niches on either side of the map where yellow armor spawns, and an upper niche area with a MH and GL. This room is the most popular fight area in duels, and there has been a lot of dodging strategy developed here, mostly based around the stairs leading up to the yellow armor niches.

Upper Big Room

The upper area is accessible through the lower teleporter area, although some intrepid players can be seen rocketjumping from the stairs on the lower big room itself. This area gives the most straightforward access to the quad area, and across a moving platform lies the first of two megas and a grenade launcher.

Quad Area

This small hallway is between the big room and the water area. It is split into two different areas, with the upper area containing a rocket launcher and the Quad, and a lower hallway which connects the big room to water area. There is also a specific place in the lower hallway where a teammate can stand and another teammate can jump on top of him to grab the Quad without taking any damage.

Water room

While the room itself is a little sparse, only containing a nailgun, it is a very important room nonetheless, as this is the area where people can go north down the stairs to the low teleport. This teleport is the only access to quad for people without RL, and in team games this is usually the first area to gain control of, in order to then get control of rl and quad. In duels, this room is very important, because it contains the biggest concentration of spawns on the map and allows for game-winning spawn-fragging. You can also go up the stairs to get to the Quad hallway or you can climb another set of stairs and go down another hallway to get to the Rocket Launcher room or RA Secret. Be sure to listen for the 'splash' of feet hitting water, for that signals that someone just made their way out of the RA Secret, however, it is also possible to jump clear across the water.

Low Teleporter

This is less of a room and more of a hallway with a pack of rockets and a switch. Simply walk down the stairs, hit the switch and double back to the now-open grate to gain access to a Yellow Armor and the top of the Big Room. In team games, this area is very important to control for the same reason as the water room. In duels, the YA spawn point behind the bars is a favorite camp area, because it has a nice back exit.

Red Armor Secret

Simply known as 'secret' this area is accessable by shooting a button that is visible traveling from the water room to the rocket launcher room. A lone Red Armor rests here, and the only way out is through another hidden wall that dumps you out over the water, although it is possible to RJ up to the secret door if you are quick enough.

Rocket Launcher Room

This room contains the second of two rocket launchers in the entire map, and also contains the passageway to both the Mega+RA powerup room and the button room overlooking the same room. In team games, it is usually the last area of control, but it is very important to sweep the RL that spawns here every 30 seconds, to deny the opposing team significant firepower.

RA+Mega Room

This area contains two powerful items right next to each other across a pit of lava that is easily jumped over. The entrance to this area is another lava pit that any player should learn to easily bunny hop over. There is a teleporter here for those who wish to make a quick exit to the Big room, and there are two exits that lead to the button room, one from the top of the stairs, and another through the use of a button-activated door across the lava pit. In duels, this is a favorite camp area, because it has multiple back exits.

Button Room

This room contains naught except for a button that extends a bridge across the lava pit in the RA+Mega room. This is one area of attack against a camper inside the RA+Mega room. To make your entry here silent, make sure you have all the nails, so as to not pick up the nail pack in this area which alerts your approach to the camper. It also contains a handy back way into the RA+Mega if you have a teammate holding open the door for you. The RA+Mega camper can also use this room to extend the bridge, and camp on top of this bridge.

How to Play

Duel

As mentioned above, DM2 favors a slow pace approach in duels, but can become quite fast paced due to Rocket Jump spots entering long corridors and lack of LG. The slow pace is facilitated by a number of camping spots that can be transitioned between to run away from a coming-back opponent. DM2 has a good tendency for lots of spawn frags due to a number of spawn points being close in the nailgun room (here are two famous examples).

DM2 has one main point of control in 1on1 play: the lower Rocket Launcher room, since control of his room also gives control of the Red Armor+Megahealth room; a powerful combination when combined with the Rocket Launcher. However, like any sort of camping strategy, it gives plenty of time for the cautious opponent to stock up on supplies elsewhere in the map. This is especially true in DM2 due to the fact that there is a second Red and a second Mega, contained in the secret room and the upper big room respectively. These powerful items effectively creates another point of control, although they are not together. Even if the camping player somehow manages to keep the other powerups out of his opponents reach, there is also the fact that there are three Yellow Armors on the map as well which gives the down player further recourse. A dueler who can sucessfuly deny his opponent the second RA and Mega in addition to keeping the lower Rocket Launcher area under control can quite safely be considered a timing and denial master, as DM2 is bar-none the hardest map to "maplock" in the standard rotation.

DM2 also has the distinction of having several very viable camping spots on the map, where one rotate between different camping spots once you have a comfortable lead. These spots are:

• Lower Teleporter area, behind the bars.
• Red/Mega room, next to the teleporter.
• The corner above the Nailgun player spawn in the Water room.
• The corner in the hallway with the lava pit connecting the big room and the lower rocket launcher room.

These four camping spots usually allow the camper enough warning to make a quick dash to someplace else safe, usually one of the other camping spots. As the camper rotates from spot to spot, his opponent will do his best to try and chase down the camper. Although this is difficult, with enough effort the opponent can manages to chip away at the campers health and maybe even score a few frags if the camper is careless.

External Links

• Download the loc files as part of the Flintheart collection.