+1 on fragcast...
...even though it'll take a while before it will actually be about fragging anyone.
I see
my note from the last cast made it in. That's nice.
Can't say much as to why there aren't many air rox in UT3. Just played some campgrounds, and AFAIK, it's not much different than in previous games. But I haven't played it online much, so I can't really comment. That it's purely the level design isn't just showcased in the one shining example (Vertebrae), but also in the fact that this game was also made for consoles. I haven't played UT on the PS2 much, but one thing I immediately noticed was that the levels were redesigned to have far less vertical height differences.
From this podcast...there was talk about the stock UT3 maps not being very good. I agree to that, but at the same time wonder about something else: can't the same not be said for UT2003? I haven't played it much, but in terms of variation, pretty much everything was industrial, Egyptian or Gen Mo'kai. Like UT3, it was only with the bonus packs that more variation was added (and even more with UT2004).
Oh, and...gateway isn't really a level. It's a tech demo for the engine.