[Open Assets] Match/Tag - Marine Court Zone

It has been a while since I have posted on here...

This is an older level of mine that I had recently stumbled upon again. I always meant to release it, but for some reason which I can not remember at the moment, I did not (maybe I thought it was terrible, though I would actually say it is just average). Marine Court Zone was basically an experiment map for me, as I used it to learn how to implement custom textures into SRB2. The plan was to use what I had learned for a single player map with the same theme as this one, but nothing really came out of that due to that horrific combination of the forces known as laziness and frustration.

So anyways, enough with the history, here is the map. It is small, given no playtesting, and contains some rather bland textures now that I look back in hindsight (I was using MSPaint at the time). I do like the general style I was going for though; definitely unique for SRB2.

Enjoy!

Woah,cool level!I like it.

I can't believe this has been ignored for so long!

I noticed this level a while ago, and it caught my eye, but I never bothered playing it. Until now. KO.T.E, Whackjood and I hosted a match in it, and it had to be one of the funnest matches I've played in a while. It's exactly the right size that it should be for a typical SRB2 game, and everything is proportioned just right. I didn't get any claustrophobia at all.

You say the textures were a bit bland? I disagree. I would call them spartan. They're clean, good on the eyes, they do the job, and they don't look over the top. In fact, they fit really well in SRB2. In fact, it was one of the nicest texturing jobs I've seen in a while. Gyms aren't supposed to be gaudy, so you did the job right.

One of the things I loved most about this map is something that's hard to explain. It's the way you've managed to make little nooks and crannies all over the map. Not only do they often provide different paths around the map, they make good hiding places. Places I can duck into to avoid hot pursuit. That little spot on the ceiling, with the ringbox, was one of my favorites.

If there was one thing that I was a tad disappointed about, it was the lack of very much water. That's a very small disappointment though, as it was completely justified. A gym only needs one pool. :p

I'm curious as to how the quantity of rings would play out in a larger net game. There was a proper amount for our game of 3, but in a larger game it could possibly get scarce. I don't really know.

All together, wonderful job here! To anyone reading this: If you haven't played this map before, do so. It's worth it, and there's a lot to be learned from it.

If this map was in the OLDC, I would have rated it an 8 or a 9.

...Wow, how come a level this good is being ignored? I just got done playing this in a netgame, and we had a blast. The textures was great, layout was solid, although a bit cramped in some areas, but all in all it was a great level. But now, I am going to take a look at the facts in 3 categories, Layout, Item Placement, and Gameplay.

Layout:
When the map loaded up I was greeted with a level made of blocks, lots and lots of blocks. Normally a blocky level isn't the best type of level, but thanks to the theme you picked, it fit well and it also added to it. On to the main layout though, we have about 3 areas I can add names to, and here they are:

1. The Courtyard:
   This area, for the most part was on of the main places I found a brawl taking place. And rightly so, it was a fair bit more open than the rest of the level, letting the players more around more when fighting. It also had a nice little area with a 10 ring monitor, although I would recommend it be changed to a weak random monitor for the sake of taking the pressure off the one Strong random monitor.
2. The Upper-deck:
   Hitting the springs from The Courtyard we are found in a higher part of the level, where we have access to The Building and The Courtyard. This part is more narrow than The Courtyard, but it also has a fair about of things to hind behind to allow you to escape from the shots that are being fired at you. This was the second most used part in the map, mostly because it is between The Courtyard and The Building's Strong Random Monitor.
3. The Building:After escaping from the shots in The Upper-deck we head into The Building, where we see water and the Strong Random Monitor. I didn't spend much time here because it seemed like a dead end at first, but after playing for awhile I noticed a hidden passage way to the right of the room that lead to where the bounce ring panel. After heading into the last section of the building I jumped out the window and found myself in The Courtyard once again.

Item Placement:
The item placement here was solid as a rock, I can't really complain much about it, save for the fact there was only one place to get a shield.

Gameplay:
Gameplay here was top notch, I had fun fighting in the wide open courtyard to brawling it out for the shield in The Building. I had many fun encounters with players when they popped up from around a bend, and then started to shoot the life out of me while I did the same to them. This level is a true gem in the releases and should be given a shot if you are looking from something fresh, or you are just wanting to add in a new level to play around in.