Turbine Falls Zone

Turbine Falls Zone 1

This is a very well designed map in terms of raw gameplay. It introduces it's gimmicks (fans) in an easy environment and then ramps up the intensity as the level goes on. Overall it's pretty fun to play.

Where this level thrives is when it pressures the player; Zoom Tubes that lead into instant action (say, into a line of fans that you have to maneuver to stay on, or sending you rolling into wall spikes which you quickly have to avoid) have a very exhilarating effect. The feeling of being thrown into a situation where you have *just* enough time to react is very satisfying.

There are multiple paths which intertwine which is a very nice touch too. There's a lot of meat for this level, even given how it's fairly short.

There are a few obstacles that feel undercooked. Near the end of the level there's a hallway with two zoom tubes, where you need to choose left or right, and can see through glass which one leads you forward and which one sends you into spikes. This room is good in concept, but it only happens once, which feels out of place. This feels like something to design multiple rooms around and build upon.

I have some minor nitpick issues which a polish pass could help patch up. Almost all the crawlas are facing away from the player, so they never target the player. This can also sometimes give the false illusion that you're going backwards when you are in fact going the right way. The rings also don't have the float flag, so they touch the ground, which looks very silly. The level doesn't load on a new game- taking up map slot 85. If you haven't unlocked level select, then you have to use the console which some people may not know how to do. I would recommend putting an SPStage_Start in your MAINCFG.

This levels biggest failing comes in the visual design- The Mushroom Hill textureset is- frustratingly- very small textures that repeat in very quick succession. I would recommend editing these textures externally to be larger, and make use of the grass overhang texture as well. While the indoor sections are well decorated, making good use of Techno Hill & Egg Rock textures, the outdoors are, in comparison, very barren in decoration.

That's not to put down the very high effort put into decoration. The rocks, the trees, and especially the waterfalls show a great deal of love and care put into this- It's just that the Mushroom Hill textures don't work very well in a 3D environment when they're as tiny as they are.

Great job, I'm looking forward to what you make in the future. Welcome to Releases!
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