Devotion CTF #1 - Forgotten CTF by Foo is a brilliant conversion of The Forgotten Place (q3dm5) to CTF, with very minor changes to the brushwork. After many a CTF game with the original founders of the Devotion Q3 mod (a port of Ratmod from OpenArena to Q3A, development has been passed onto new hands now), I can say that this is by far one of the best CTF conversions of Q3 maps I have ever seen.

The gameplay is fast, and due to its smaller size makes it suitable for 2v2 to 4v4 CTF games with some manic flag runs. You may find the long sightlines a bit off-putting at first glance, but when it comes down to the gameplay it's barely noticeable, as those routes are mostly out of the way. The items have been shimmied around to compensate for an entirely different mode, and Foo has done a great job doing so.

A haste spawns in the middle of the map, which works in tandem with the long sightlines to enable quick flag captures. A Quad would be slightly overkill, due to the low player load of the map. Two yellow armors are the only stack present, but the small size of the maps and the fast capture times warrant the lack of stack. This amplifies the stakes during a run, and encourages stealing the enemy items to bulk up for a relentless attack.

Spawnpoints are well spread, so it is unlikely that you will have to deal with the same person spawning next to you when trying to evacuate with the flag. Bots play very well, and utilise all routes and items. Watch out for those RG lovers on the thoroughfare (looking at you, Xaero!).

Defending each base is a blast, with a YA and SG nearby to keep you stocked up, while still drawing you astray to obtain the RL and RG. There are plenty of corners to hide in to catch players that are barrelling it down the long corridors, such as by the YA in the flag room, up by the LG and by the other YA. There is no one place that an individual can oversee all items and flag, so even for defending players you'll be leaving to scout your posts.

The map is mirrored along the PG wall, which creates two routes either side of the base. The fastest is the leftmost, and upon leaving middle runs in a straight line to the flag room, with the only obstacle being a jumppad next to the flag. It can be a bit risky, but thanks to the curved stairs just to the right before you enter the flag room, you can dip out of the corridor onto a YA and a few health bubbles in the base's courtyard to restock before approaching through a short corridor into the flag room. Pushing through the courtyard is risky as there is a few nooks and crannies where a sneaky defending player can catch you off guard. The upper catwalks will take you from courtyard to courtyard, immediately accessible via jumppad that was not in the original Q3A map.

The textures and brushwork have been reworked, keeping faithful to the original while also giving it a fresh coat of paint that is more up to scratch with today's arena standards. The large curved screen overlooking middle displays a sweet video put together for the main menu of the Devotion mod.

Make sure you explore the whole map, as Foo has got a sweet little secret in store for you! It certainly had me scratching my head for ages...

Great gameplay, solid rework. Good fun for those smaller CTF matches, so is a keeper on my drive!

Reviewed by Spike