Single Player
River Dash Zone - 3/10
When playing the contest version of this level, I ask myself: "Why am I even giving critique on this?" I mentioned several flaws before that you did not fix, and I've given several suggestions you simply ignored. As a result, your level is practically getting nowhere. It simply exists, but it doesn't feel like a real level at all. It's simply too flat, too basic and too short. You did have two good ideas with the spring room and the waterslide, but that doesn't redeem this level that much. You also didn't align the textures and stayed with the ugly GFZ texturing. As a result, your level looks even more boring and plain. I won't bother going more in-depth, because you know what's wrong, and I know you don't care about this level.
Castle Goth Zone, Act 1 - 1/10
You are obviously a beginner at mapping, and it shows even more than in Whackjood's level. The most important thing is that your level feels like an obstacle course for the sole reason that it is one. You completely neglected any kind of visuals and just made rooms that contain your gimmicks. As a result, most of the level is covered in the same texture, making it look very ugly. Also, there's no scenery to be found. There's also a sense of crampedness in many spots, especially after the first crusher. Your enemy placement lacks care and caution, resulting in many hits that should've been preventable. This includes the Minus after the faux-slope (it looks horrendous, don't even try to make one) which I fall on half of the time, and the Crawla Commander in the cramped dungeon entrance that I cannot see before it hits me. The Crawla armada is also unnecessary. Neither does it look good nor is it a threat. The same goes for the FaceStabber armada at the end. The crusher after the first star post kills me nearly every time because I can't see what's ahead, and the Extra Life and the token after it are very easy to get. The gravity switching feels out of place, and especially at the beginning, it doesn't do all that much. Two more things need addressing: Opaque water over death pits is bad, because it can't see it's a death pit, and the teleporters look ugly; just keep it to one color. You do have potential, seeing as you incorporated some advanced gimmicks in your map, but you really need to work on your execution.
Bolt Gardens Zone, Act 1 - 2/10
Well, you have definitely improved, and your visuals are quite competent (though some of the textures clash too much), but it's not completable as Sonic, and the layout is quite confusing at times. This would probably have gotten a 3/10, but it's unplayable for Sonic. If you do something like this, please use Forceskin.
EDIT: Playing through this again with Knuckles showed that the level just got worse as I continued, culminating in a random death pit fest with tons of unfitting textures thrown in without good measure. Please take your time when designing a level.
EDIT2: Actually, it's unfair to give you zero points just for that. There have been several levels that aren't completable as Tails or Knux, so you do get 2/10 from me.
Molten Cavern Zone, Act 1 - 7/10
Chrome returns... and he's better than ever! This map is truly unique and quite a blast to play through. The mix of DSZ ruins with RVZ volcano theme works great, mostly because of your extremely competent implementation and your admirable sense for detail. There was plenty of eye-candy, and the things that stuck to my mind the most were this broken bridge very high above the rest of the room and the nicely executed ending sequence. The custom enemy adds a nice touch, but the fireballs don't hurt you. There are plenty of well-hidden and challenging secrets, as well as a Knux-only path. This Knux-only path is somewhat boring though, since I can simply glide through it. The platforming was challenging but forgiving, with some really nice gimmicks thrown in (mostly in the left path though, which was a bit better overall). They weren't really all that spectacular or innovative, but they added an appreciated sense of challenge. I especially liked the up-and-down-moving lava blocks in the outside section and the quickly rising and falling lava that made me rush at insane speeds. There were some things that bothered me though (apart from th already mentioned ones), effectively lowering your score from 9/10 to 7/10: The beginning is quite boring, since the fans take so long, so you should probably make the starting point higher. The outside areas were a bit dull, mostly due to lacking texture variation and ruins scenery. There was also a HOM somewhere in the room before the ending. That one room with the lava pseudo-maze was quite boring, since it consisted of the same running and turning four three or four times. The flamethrowers need visual cues, because they are too unpredictable otherwise. Apart from these issues, your map is very good, and if you polish it a bit, this can really shine.
Detonation Drift Zone - 5/10
From what I've heard, this has to be hell on earth and you said yourself it's as hard as ERZ. Boy, was I let down. This is not nearly as hard as ERZ, and you should know. That's not to say it isn't full of creative ideas though. You really have some great gimmicks in here, but it's let down by ugly visuals and overall confusing layout. Since this map is so reliant on gimmicks, it's also hit or miss. For example, the Elemental Shield waterslide didn't work at all (get hit once, then use temporary invincibility to survive nonetheless) and too strong fans are simply too strong and result in button-mashing. I also found tons of cheap lava rooms that made me get hurt just to continue without being bothered, and a horribly non-working 2D section. The per-character path-split section was full of shit, and I won't bother explaining it in detail (the most unexpected things were the worst, and most of it was really unexpected). But since there were some nice or at least not bad things as well (the light gimmick was nicely executed and most things I didn't note were at least some fun), you still get a 5/10. If you cut out all the unnecessary crap and give this a visual overhaul, this might work really well. By the way, what's with 1313?
EDIT: After seeing the horridly designed Tails/Knux paths and not being able to get past the fans in the left path at the beginning with Tails, I decided to drop your score by one point. Also, there are a lot of Star Posts missing rings, resulting in several unnecessary deaths.
EDIT3 (!): Tails can pass these fans, I apologize. Score back to 5/10.
Icelandic Tempest Zone - 5/10
The exact opposite of the aforementioned map, this is overly reliant on visuals, and it's just as hit or miss. Only BlueZero4 ever got away with this, because it's really hard to pull off. Your whole lava section looks like shit (eww, MM8 rocks), and the whole short path is
too short too bland and empty. The right one is much better, but there are also plenty of bland or ugly sections. Don't get me wrong, there are many great-looking sections, but they are too few and too far in-between for me to enjoy them. Additionally, the concept sucks mainly because it exists. Mixing literature and video games is like mixing philosophy and porn, I'm sorry. The Touhou music just bloated the filesize, and you don't get points for that. Hell, I could make a list of things you don't get points for if I wanted to, including the useless Emerald hunting. The Star Trek room was also too easy to find, so what's left then?
Sparkling Hill Zone - 1/10
Thokthokthokthokthok - oh shit, an enemy, thokthokthokdone. Really, tons of custom stuff and nice visuals don't help you when the entire thing contains no gameplay at all.
Match
Emerald Hill Zone - 2/10
Wow, this one sure is flat. There is barely any content apart from some islands containing trees, and that's not what I call an interesting layout. Meadow Match is not a good zone to copy. Also, there's way too many panels for such a small level. All official maps, no matter how big they are have only one panel for each weapon, and you have two in such a small one, and even three for Grenade. Little ammo doesn't help when there are three panels, really. The waterfall underwater section was fairly overpowered because it contained many easy-to-get powerups as well as an alternate way to the tree tops, but at least it added a sense of strategy. All random monitors are WRMs, even the Armageddon Shield one. Make this one an SRM, and probably give it a weaker base item as well. There are only ten emerald spawns, even in a small map like this, there should be 30+ of them for proper randomization. In terms of visuals, this is not too bad, but the huge GHZ walls are monotonous.
Sloped Domain Zone - 5/10
The sector layout is really nice, there's no doubt about it. There's a great amount of height variation, both spring-based and platform-based. These towers also work quite well. The visuals are nice, even if there isn't that much texture variation. But there are some very glaring flaws that bring this map down real fast: There is no thok barrier, which breaks the level, especially for Knux. There are random monitors instead of WRMs and SRMs, which basically means switching around locations and weapons every minute. There are also too many weapon panels, one of each is enough. I do like that one Explosion Ring is inaccessible for Sonic, but you should really not do this with weapon panels but with monitors. Emerald spawns, as in most maps, are too few.
Aquatic Relic Zone - 6/10
[16:04] <SpiritCrusher> Please stop making rush jobs that ruin your reputation :P
[16:05] <Spherallic> :P
This is better than all the other maps because you actually know what you're doing, but it's nothing special at all. The layout is nice as is the weapon placement, but there's nothing original to it. It's also a tad large and open in some spots, but it still plays well enough, so you get a 6/10. I also had problems finding the Bomb Ring location, but that's probably not your fault, since I didn't play this in a bigger netgame. (But look at his emerald spawns, he has 105. :P)
Bone Cave - 1/10
Not only is this way too small, it's also ugly as hell, with lots of random texturing everywhere. As a result of being small, the sector layout consists of only one winding staircase and an additional platform, basically. This also means that most weapons are placed kinda randomly. The small nature of the map also leads to a lack of rings and ammo for many players. There are no WRMs or SRMs, and only seven emerald spawn, which means they always spawn at the same locations. The insta-kill lava makes no sense, and since it's tucked away in the corner, it barely serves any purpose. There are exactly 7 emerald spawns, which means they always show up in the same location. In general, this map doesn't really do all that much right, I'm sorry.
Labyrinth Cavern Zone - 4/10
Just as ARZ, this is for the most part decent, but nothing special. The layout is even less interesting and more basic here though, being very blocky and at parts large and empty. There are some things that make it worse though: It is very ugly, relying on blue, green and brown entirely, and mixing Mario and non-Mario visuals very badly. Weapons don't get used all that much, because there is a definite lack of ammo in here. The only weapon that actually does get used much is Grenade, and that means that the level plays exactly as following: Someone gets the Grenade panel, spams the springs leading to it with them until there are none left, repeat. Only Explosion provides a viable alternative. Also, no emerald spawns? What were you thinking? By the way, you should use a shield as the base item for an SRM.
Complete Chaos Zone - 2/10
Haha no. Apart from the lack of weapon rings and the obvious rushing, this isn't that bad, and it's actually quite fun. But the copypasting design, overplacement of rings, and mostly the lack of weapon rings prevent this from being any good.
CTF
Storm Temple Zone - 1/10
This map is so broken, it's hard to list all the flaws. I'll begin with the only good thing I can say about it, and that's the visuals. They are terribly unoriginal, but at least it looks good. Then we come to the sector layout, where I have to question if you playtested this. There's absolutely no reason to go to the high spots, because I can just dash through the middle and even get several monitors and weapon panels while doing so. Taking dangerous springs and getting no reward for it is so insane that nobody ever does it. The base design is awkward, because you have to experiment with the springs to even make it to the flag. There's also no real secondary path to be found. But now on to the weapon placement, and this is where you lose all remaining points. There is an insane number of 33 random monitors, which means teleports, scramblers, invincibility and even Eggman monitors are very common. Then there is the weapon placement, and this is where I question your common sense. You have 12 Bounce Panels, no Rail Ring Panel but Rail Ammo, panels in a pit (including the only Auto Panel) and so forth. Nothing is balanced, nothing has common sense, and there are frequently five or more panels in close proximity to each other. Sorry, but this is just horrible.
Concrete Conflict Zone - 4/10
Very small map, with an obligatory choke point, which isn't all that good to do. Thanks to the small nature of the map, there is very little running space, making the map quite brutal. The death pits are unnecessary and only made me move even slower than I already did, and the flag is barely defendable, since Sonic can just thok into it from above. Try to make the floor transparent at least, so you can use Explosion Rings at least. Otherwise, same issues as with almost every map: Not every panel to be found, some panels more than twice (twice is OK in CTF), no WRMs or SRMs. The layout could be interesting with more space and a secondary path though, and I must admit I had more fun in here than most other stages.
Clockwork Towers Zone - 8/10
Spherallic, you placed more emerald spawns in this contest that all the others together, probably. This is the only Match or CTF stages that shows signs of being properly developed and cared enough about. The layout is a tad confusing at first (the inside rooms should be trimmed for more outside areas, probably) and it does look like a generic FPS level, but it plays put very nicely once you've got the hang of it. I especially like the shortcut from window to window, which adds much more than I would've imagined. I also like how there is only one real way out of the buildings, but several in. But what puzzles me the most is that you two have the talent of always placing the weapon panels in the most fitting places (except Bounce, which could use a slightly more cramped room; switch with Scatter perhaps?). The bases are very well-made: most action is in there, but camping is not too easy. It is a hard challenge to attack a base to retain your own flag, but it is entirely possible.
Desert Dash Zone - 2/10
And now back to ranting... No seriously, you are the only one to neither be Spherallic or KOTE nor make any beginners mistake. In fact, the layout is quite nice, featuring effective secondary paths (I like how one path can't be used to get into the base, but out of it, making defense easier), and nice item layout around the bases. The quicksand-based centerpiece doesn't work nearly that well though, because it makes important weapon rings inaccessible half of the time. Also, it's quite hard to get from base to base when the quicksand is up, because it requires a special ability. Flag carriers need to wait or have the luck to possess a Whirlwind Shield, resulting in a frustratingly low-scoring map. Everybody switched to Tails and Knux, flag carriers frequently got stuck in the sand, and the flag was very hard to get back as well. I do have to respect your placement of Bounce and Rail at very though-out spots though. If this map had a working centerpiece (and maybe better visuals), this could've had a 6/10, but as it stands, the map is insanely hard to play.
Vivacious Valley Zone - 4/10
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA, MY EYES! Those wall textures made me scream every time I was outside. The item placement was OK, and you didn't do any beginners mistakes like 60% of the people in this contest, but everything was horribly cramped, especially the high path. Also, the main path was a straight line, making everything else redundant. The underground path was so obscure that it didn't get used at all. Also, there were regular rings in the bases, and the highest ledge was the perfect flag carrier camping spot. Open up the cramped spots a bit more, balance the paths better so that they all get used, retexture this whole thing, and this should be a good map.EDIT: Finding out that nobody else had this "unused path" problem in netgames apart from me, I'll lower your score to 4/10, I guess.
Race
Wacky Tesseract Zone - 8/10
Ouch, my eyes. The visuals are quite horrible, but I could care less, because the gameplay is top-notch. There are some nice little gimmicks that keep you on your toes without disturbing flow (which is what Race is all about), and there's an admirable sense for detail that just screams for better textures. My only gripe are these Appearing/Disappearing FOFs that kill you if you run into them at the wrong time. The rest is really varied and consistent, balancing thokking and platforming really well. Even the 2D section works well until I turn off chasecam, but it's not your fault that it screws up if I do.
EDIT:After playing this a few times more, I must say the visuals really grew on me as well. They are varied, with a nice sense of detail, the surreal scenery elements fit the theme, and it doesn't hurt my eyes anymore either. That means I only have two complaints left: The 2D section prolongs the lap without adding anything (and the chasecam, grrrr) and the App/Disapp FOFs screw with me sometimes. So, one point more for you, 8/10.
Green Hill Zone - 0/10
One Star Post. A shortcut to said Star Post. It really is unplayable when everyone knows said shortcut. But don't worry, you couldn't have gained many points anyway with horribly misplaced spikes, little to no hazards, even more shortcuts and general emptiness.
Jungle Ruins Zone - 6/10
The visuals are very nice-looking, and it also plays quite well, even though it doesn't reinvent the wheel or anything. My two main complaints are that the quicksand areas are too open, resulting in confusion when you fall into, and that the lap length is a tiny bit short.
Egg Hall Zone - 7/10
I don't get all the hate for this, it appears to work quite nicely. There are a tad too many maces though, but not enough to make it frustrating. Also, the cannonball area is a bit mean for everyone who isn't first. The visuals are competent, as we are used to when you make a map. If you had kept the amount of maces to what it was before, or put in some swinging maces instead, this could've been 8/10, probably. As it stands, fawfulfan gets the cake.
EDIT: Actually, 6/10 is a bit too harsh, this is both competent and original, even if slightly flawed.
Arctic Caves Zone - 3/10
Spherallic described it correctly. This is a thokfest where the only challenge is not falling off that bridge and memorizing where these water pools are, because you can't see them before you fall in. There is a little platforming section in the first third (which you called the most polished), but the rest is largely empty. Also, everybody stopped at the Egg Mobile just for the lulz. If I was joke reviewing, I'd give you zero points for having enemies in a Race map. Coming to think of it, I want to see a joke Race map with bosses.
City Jump - 0/10
See Green Hill Zone, only uglier and with more death pit happiness, which means unplayable in two regards.
