Give your boss a high 5 for me.

Pros:

Excellent level design
Fun
Challenging (on nightmare)
Thought has gone into the brushwork, beyond what is required for basic geometry (I know this is expected these days, but it has a level of polish over what some of the original id maps have)

Cons:

Secrets waaay too easy
Some areas have too few varieties of textures
Lack of variety of mobs in encounters
Mob placement somewhat predictable

Now having said all this, the pros waaay outweigh the cons. The length of the maps is a bit longer than the orignal id maps, but retains that id feel.

Highlights:

Killing a shambler with an axe after running out of ammo.

E5end map, last room, killing the two shamblers with 1 health and watching one earlier kamikaze off a ledge into lava. 

Very cool "modern oldschool" episode out of nowhere. Pleasantly surprise. It strikes a good balance between classic style/themes and modern touches/details. Same with gameplay. A refreshing step back from many of the recent complex, ultra-detailed releases - at least that's the initial thought that crossed my mind yesterday.

Enjoyable classic secrets. Most easy to find, but that's okay, because it adds to the vibe. Combat offers a good challenge without feeling overbearing. Usually enough supplies around. Could have been a little more varied perhaps.
The crusher tunnel in that one map is somewhat intransparent - luckily, being at the start of the level, dying there is not a big deal. Some unmarked instant death trap a bit further which sucks, though.

I missed the secret exit, and then died horribly attempting to play the secret level individually. I love the fact there's a start map, a secret level, and a deathmatch map.

czg disqualified as tester due to the existence of several obvious wizmet misdemeanors.
No tarbabies = 7/10 

Nice, this is equivalent to Doom's "No rest for the living" 

One could say that. 

I like maps with the classic Quake feel :-).

Also it sounds like Machine Games (or at least the level designers :-P) will know how to make a good Quake SP if they get to work on that :-)

(although i wonder how they'll emotionalize Quakeguy :-P)

I haven't finished it yet though, i died on the crushing ceiling. I'll try it again later. 

pure oldskool sexiness.
i liked fast and fun to play levels with relatively easy secrets.

czg's boss rocks! 

What a great surprise! This pack was excellent fun, and a worthy celebration in my opinion. I enjoyed the varying styles of maps, and almost never got lost in the levels!

This is somehow reminiscent of the terra release! Unexpected but most welcome episode in classical style.

I recorded my first playthrough on easy skill. Died a couple of times. In particular on e5m7, from traps, insta-evisceration, etc.

DirectQ, protocol 666. I have post-processed the demo to keep playing over level changes. DirectQ bugged out on e5end so I had to restart from a save game.

http://www.quaketastic.com/files/demos/mandel_dopa.zip 

Hmmm I'l have to play this. I'll need something to cheer me up a bit for a few moments after waking up friday morning to learn that my beloved country just cackled like a crazed loon, raised a gun to its head, and pulled the trigger. 

Nice one. 

DOPA = Dimension of the past. 

 

One thing I forgot to mention: some of the shootable buttons seem to have too much health. They need to be shot repeatedly before they activate. 

21 sec easy run on e5m2

http://www.quaketastic.com/files/demos/e5m2_021_mandel.zip 

Will be looking to stream at 5.30pm gmt

www.twitch.tv/fifthelephant 

. 

I'm not Daz so don't expect the same level of lucid thoughts. But the map pack was great fun!

https://www.twitch.tv/fifthelephant/v/74465620 

 

I have no idea how to 

Out of curiosity, does anyone know which editor they used to map this? I assume GtkRadiant, QERadiant, or QuArK.

Some high quality brush work here in many places. 

It was radiant. Seems to be a favourite for industry vets. 

 

Confirmed by looking at the worldspawn, it's Worldcraft 3.3+Quake Adapter package.

@negke: how did you know what editor was used? 

This is very cool! Just played 2 levels so far. 

Played 4 maps... only at the moment... basically what others said, and definitely the hardest Quake maps I ever played (there are cramped areas in which there are too many monters IMHO.. anyway, godmode helped to pass ;) )... Definitely could have been a 5th episode without any problem...

Little pleasure bonus: played the map with Mick Gordon music, that made a perfect moment :P 

Was a fun treat when I got home! Very nicely done, felt professional and had smooth gameplay throughout.

Secrets were a bit on the easy side but that's not entirely a bad thing. Good quad runs and the traps are too quick to punish.

Still, the one trap where there are zombies scattered throughout was quite a ride!