Island

Island is a Booty map released in the first public release of Pirates, Vikings and Knights II, in January 2007. To the present day it's the most popular map in the mod, having servers dedicated to the map in full time. Being the only original Booty map, very few gameplay changes were made, although the map got several visual and layout improvements throughout the years. It is also one of the few maps of the original Pirates, Vikings and Knights mod to be remade in it's sequel.

Stats

• Map file: bt_island (formerly pvk_island)
• Mode: Booty
• Author: Gaz
• Release Date: Beta 1.0
• Theme: Caribbean, with partial Viking and Medieval-themed assets
• Number of Chests: 6
• Timer per Team: | Pirates 240 | Vikings 240 | Knights 450 |
• Pickups:
• Stage Hazards: death pit (secret room, only)

Overview

Island is so far the only Booty map where all chests are saved at a specific team's base at the round's start, more precisely, The Knights. Because of that the Knights get the double of the Pirates or the Vikings' timer, although it can run out fast if the Knights defend the castle with success.

Near the castle both the Pirates and the Vikings have a selection of paths that lead to the castle. Aside from the regular path with the bridge, the Pirates can also go through a cave at the back of the castle where a dungeon is located. The dungeon has a staircase which gives direct access to the chest room, and many players use the staircase to throw kegs or any of the explosive specials for a surprise attack. There's also a small corridor under the bridge which leads to the same dungeon.

The Vikings have an underwater cave near the castle's gates which leads to a staircase, similar to the Pirates, and there's also a cave which exit locates near the building that leads to the Vikings' base. Said building is also accessible and it has a couple of pickups, and it also leads to the Vikings' base. Both the Pirates and the Vikings have their paths to reach each other. The major path -from the Vikings to the Pirates' base- passes through a bridge over a stream of deep salt water, followed by the Hubb Jubb Café's esplanade and finally by a small cave. There are two alternate versions of the main path: an underground path inside the tower of the Vikings' base which leads to the esplanade, and there's the Hubb Jubb Café where players can go inside and reach it's balcony, with a view and direct access to the Pirates' base.

Throughout the map there are interactive objects scattered around, both from a gameplay point of view, like the gates and the dungeon's lever, and for entertaining purposes, like the Dj's table at the Hubb Jubb Café.

Presentation

The whole level takes place in a deserted island with a medieval castle built in the middle of the rocky cliffs and a small viking harbour. The map can be divided in three main areas, plus a bonus one.

The Knights' Castle

The castle has three floors: from the top to the bottom, the spawn rooms, the treasure room (indoors) and the terrace (outdoors) and the dungeons; all of these floors can be accessed through the staircases from both sides. The spawn room also has access to the garrisons which are helpful for classes with ranged weapons like the Archer. Outside the walls made of stone, the paths are uniquely decorated with luxuriant palm trees on the Pirates' path, and with rocks and straw dolls with targets painted on their chests on the Vikings' path.

The Pirate Bay

Despite how open it looks, the Pirates are safe on their massive pirate ship, however their small shoal is in constant peril, because it's there where the chests are collected. The crystalline water lets the players see school of fish wandering around and the rocks can serve both as cover and as sniping. In fact, a small path hidden behind the rocks on the Pirates/Knights path contains pickups to those who run out of ammo.

The Viking Town

With a more urban setting, the Vikings make use of their drakkar to save the gold while they're hidden inside a building that only they have access. The harbour tower can be a good opportunity for players with ranged weapons.

The Hubb Jubb Café

More than just a shortcut, this shack is a place where enemies can rest after long periods of looting, stabbing and obliterating. The calm ambient and the nice selection of music makes this break worth doing. Not only that, but it also has a secret place; by looking at the X somewhere in the shack and jumping to the net at the esplanade, a small room located at the World's End can be visited by anyone, but players must be aware that the trick doesn't work 100% of the time.

History

Island's Beta 2.2 Loading Screen

Island's original release was similar to the GoldSrc mod version in terms of layout, where the Pirates spawned at the shoal, the Knights at the terrace and the Vikings at the drakkar; both the shoal and the drakkar were still used as chest areas. Comparing to the PVK1 version, the map itself is much tighter to avoid pacing issues and the shortcuts were created for a less linear gameplay. The pirate ship does not exist on this version, and the Viking Town has several differences, including the ability to swim in the harbour, cannons that can be used by players, and a hut set on fire with a lower floor with no way to escape. The hut got removed in following updates because chests could easily be thrown there.

On the Beta 2.0 update many changes were made: the pirate ship was added, the Knights' spawn rooms were located in the upper floor of the castle, new geometry got placed for a more polished look and the Viking Town got major changes, including new building layout and improved balance, although he vikings respawned outdoors. Their current respawn base would become updated in Beta 2.3.

Despite the map's popularity, Island was highly criticized because of spawn camping on the Knights' side, since they weren't protected by incoming attacks from vikings or pirates that went to the upper floor to grab the health pickup, which itself was placed in front of knight players. Despite the demand, Gaz didn't have the time to fix the problem due to his hard work in Pinegrove, being only able to fix glitches like an invisible block which let pirate players reaching the Vikings' spawn room. The Knights' spawn room was updated on the Beta 3.0 update, fixing most if not all of it's issues, as well introducing a new asset: signs, taken from Pinegrove, mostly for a decorative purpose.

The Beta 3.1 version brought new updates, including a more defined path for the underwater cave at the Vikings/Knights path, bringing more advantages to the norsemen. The secret room was also updated and it no longer accepts teleporting chests.

Trivia

• Despite the pit in the secret room, it's one of the very few maps with no actual hazards in the level, with the closest possible way to die in the level is to drown in deep water, either intentionally or unintentionally;
• For some time players believed that palm trees were climbable, however the devs deconfirmed the rumour by "updating" the trees;

Gallery

The Pirates' base (Beta 1.0)

The Vikings/Knights' path (Beta 1.0)

The Vikings' Base (Beta 1.0)

The Hubb Jubb Café's balcony near the Pirates' base (Beta 2.2)

The Vikings/Knights' path (Beta 2.2)

The Vikings' Base (Beta 2.2)

The entrance to the alternate Vikings/Pirates' path inside the tower of the Vikings' Town (Beta 2.2)

The bridge and the cave's exit of the Vikings/Pirates' path (Beta 2.2). Only in later updates that the alternate path's exit would lead to the Hubb Jubb Stash.