Excellent Descent successor Overload gets a level editor
Dig your own hole and jump in it
Overload is one of the best retro FPS revivals out there. Simply put, it's Descent 4 in all but name, developed by the original crew, complete with a soundtrack from the combined composers of the original three games. The only real complaint I had about it in my mini-review of it here was that it was a little on the short side, despite an excellent New Game+ mode. That became less of a problem this week, as developers Revival Productions released the level editor for it, along with a basic tutorial video within.
You can grab the level editor via this Steam forum post, although the maps should work on all versions. Sadly at the moment it's a Windows-only thing (the game supports Windows, Mac & Linux). It's a pretty heavyweight editor, too - while the game's level geometry is relatively simplistic, there's potential for making just about anything with this editor if you put in the time and effort. You can get a first peek at the editor basics in the video below, with more to be published later on Revival's YouTube channel.
I'm really excited to see what fans can produce with the editor. The campaign levels have very little fat on their bones, with many textures only used once or twice, and the entire final stretch of the game having its own unique aesthetic and set of enemies to fight. There's a lot of material here to remix and combine into fresh experiences, and as Doom has proven over the years, with a good range of guns, enemies and environment types you can remix and refine almost infinitely. My only concern now is that too few will make the effort to try and learn the ropes. Fingers crossed, eh?
Overload is available via Steam and GOG for £23.79/$30, you can download the editor here, and find a playable demo of the game here.