Undiscovered Technology of the Pharaohs

Much to like and a couple of things I personally didn't like. On the plus side:

A nice combo of egyptian and tech.
A start map that was very fun to explore.
The main map was also very fun to explore, with loads of clever secrets.

On the minus side for me (slight spoilers, not sure if I can mark those?):

The super secret is either very annoying (if you try to make a playthrough without saves/loads) or a bit boring (if you quicksave/quickload), but it also felt off when it comes to risk vs. reward, unless I missed something. All that work to 1. Be able to RJ to a MH and 2. Double jump to a RA secret?

Didn't even finish it as the boss fight just isn't for me. More frustrating than fun.

So all in all, a very well executed map pack that just isn't for me, as I'll never finish it.

This is great, I was enjoying the challenge until I got the gold keycard and then...what? I can't find any way to use the card or continue!
I've obviously missed something but I've played through from the beginning again with the same result.
Can anyone help?
(Not sure if this is the right place to ask for help but I couldn't see any other way)

Great adventure. Loved the secret hunt! 20/23 (including the daggers secret).

This is very well designed, highly original and with a lot of small details it took time to explore.

Most of all I liked the combination of ancient architecture and high-tech furnishings.

I found daggers 9/10 and think the 10th must be hidden behind the door opened by one secret I couldn't solve.

Thank you so much, zigi!

Very well done! Wasnt able to find all the daggers unfortunately - got 19/23 secrets and 312/313 kills.
No complaints about main map, but some feedback for the start one.

From the skill select room the sound of laser turning off is barely audible (and near "normal" button - not audible at all). Since the damaging lasers where everywhere I just assumed they act as unpassable walls and avoided them, so I didnt bump into the message near the elevator and it took me some time to leave that room and bump into a newly formed gap.

Master piece

Evokes a very classic adventure game-y sense of exploration, both required for regular progression and optional secrets that is both tricky but also not impossible. The start map oozes with atmosphere and it felt like I got transported to Office Complex in HL1 or The Cistern in TR1. Map 1 builds up on the flow of the start map with what I'm simply going to call "zigi style traps" which are both intense and playful. There are a lot of areas that are hinted at or teased and when you eventually do reach them, it's a massive eureka moment everytime. Sadly only found 9 serpents, the map piques your curiosity and invites you to look at every corner, but "the 10th" is honestly really well placed. Thankfully hunting is also facilitated with shortcuts. As mentioned by others the showdown in map 2 is also done well, with cover to be utilised properly, movement to be perfected and monster priority to be expected out of the player. Need more maps/packs like this one, the art/brushwork direction and gameplay complimented each other.

How am I supposed to rate the map if I spend all my time in the intricately designed start map with a fun nightmare secret?

Good show. I loved the subtle texture work for some secrets. It's easy to mess that up (ex Leptis Magna from AD I love but I did not like the texture gimmick for the book secrets). That didn't happen here.

Secret hunting in this map will be very fun, has some Blake Stone elements which is fun.

My only criticism is the daggers. Not the mechanic, but with them being brushwork it's easy to get halfway through the map before realizing they're destructible (Blade of Grendel from AD had a similar thing with the runes, though there the runes are super lit up and typically have ammo in front of them).

A popup for the first one or adding a full bright element or something like that might help. It's not a big deal though and I probably would have saved them for run 2 anyway.

Everything on offer here is of the absolute highest quality: brushwork, level design, combat setups, exploration/secret hunting; it's about as close to flawless as it can possibly get. The mixed base/egypt setting is incredibly well realized and feels like a natural evolution of zigi's tendency to put small secret base segments into maps with an otherwise very different texture set, as previously seen in A Verdant Dawn and Liquid Lobotomy.

Alkaline's expanded monster roster is used to great effect in a series of escalating encounters, especially the newest addition: the equal parts hilarious and terrifying grunts charging at the player while carrying explosive boxes. To cap everything off, zigi gives us a high-adrenaline arena boss fight with a little twist to limit the player's ability of just circlestrafing along the outer edge unhindered, forcing either some tricky movement or regular detours towards the center of the space.

A must-play mapset and a shining example of what the modern Quake mapping scene is capable of at its very best.

Great mappack. Many monsters, yet it's pretty fast. Skill 2 is a good choice here.

Zigi is one of the best modern mappers, and this map is his best so far. What are you reading? Go fuckin' play it already!