What's with all this sudden GFZ hate? I mean, I thought the same a few months back, but to be honest, it's much better than it gets credit for. It's not like there aren't problems: The textures (especially that hideous grass flat) are very unappealing and there's alarmingly little detail in the design. Not that there should be much - the first zone should be pretty simplistic so it doesn't confuse new players - but currently, some parts are just empty. I know it's hard to strike a balance between simple and pleasant-looking, but currently, GFZ just doesn't look nearly inviting enough, especially not GFZ2 with its wide canyons full of nothing except GFZROCK.
But gameplay matters most and it's seriously not a problem. GFZ1 might seem ridiculously short to experienced players, but I know how long it took me to master the controls enough to even get to the end. It's only when you, um, control the controls that you can just rush through it. The first level should be any longer. And regarding gameplay, I don't see the issue either: The main path is pretty simple of course, but there are quite a few secrets sprinkled around the level. Obviously, the level won't surprise you anymore after you've played it ten times, but you shouldn't expect that. For that, you have GFZ2, which I doubt most of you have explored as thoroughly as it is indeed possible.
There are two problems that I have with GFZ1 though: That passage right after the bridge immediately stands out as dated because of how cramped it is. It was made at a time when the sense of scale in SRB2 was very different from what it is, and I think it's time to widen that section a bit. And that path split at the end is just seriously off balance: Everyone chooses right for good reasons.
Oh, and by the way, who ever said the dev team is working on GFZ (except for a few very minor things)?
