November/December 2009 Voting

Status
Not open for further replies.
k, SP division stuffz

Fire Flight Zone by fawfulfan: 4/10

"IF I SEE THAT FLAME SPOUT ONE MORE TIME..."

Basically, it was just one hit after another. Every time I drill, Mr. Spout comes and greats me like a Pyro greats a Spy. Painfully. It was just fire after fire almost every moment. Mainly those vertical ones. After going from damage to damage, I ran into a bug too; the bumper can send you OFF TRACK, making the stage impossible to complete without reloading or timing out.

Dark Forest Zone by Videogame9: 2/10

"There are platforms the same height almost every step of the way! What do we do?"
"SEND ME THREE FURRIES WITH JUMPITUDE"


^ Pretty much the whole level summed up right there. Just jump jump jump yay. Nothing special at all.

Jadeflower Zone, Act 1 by blahblahbal: 1/10

Wow, it's all the easiness of GFZ, but with the length of all the GFZ acts combined, and just 10% of the level content!

It's a walk in the park. A really, really, really, REALLY boring park that streches on for a lot longer than you want. There is nothing here. Simple as that.

Cloud Cradle by D00D64: MINE GO AWAY/10

"Simple yet elegant...ish. Like ketchup!"

A simple yet tricky level. It may not have alternate paths, and it may not have fancy gimmicks, but I still liked it. Though, the Jetty Exploders were not as good as I hoped, since the splash damage from bombs affects enemies, but ah well. Also, for anyone having difficulty seeing the jettys on the rope hang, just twist left or right on the rope. or twist the camera, and let the rope do all the momentum for you as you simply push the jump button. It's that simple. I also find it odd how random the scores for this are :P. If anything, I thought this would get 7s.

Water Works Zone by Kyasarin: 10/10

"They laughed when I said good water levels were impossible. Well I'll show them. I'll show them ALL!"

I have no idea what I'm playing here. And by that, I mean... I dunno what I'm playing here. It's just... RIGHT. Everything flowed perfectly, the visual design and music were choice, and I couldn't find any real flaws, outside of not being Pandora Level Select accessible. A beautiful piece of craftsmanship. If anyone low votes this, it must be the RAEG from any crits you gave them :P

Moonlit Mountain Zone, Act 1 by Darkbob1713: 6/10

"THE BIG LIPPED ALLIGATOR MOUNTAIN" (warning: link contains cursing. Also, TVTropes.)

Geez, can this place make up it's mind? It's like a series of Big Lipped Alligator Moments, hence the quote thing. There is just no real reason for all this odd displacement of themes if it's just gonna be there for 10 seconds before moving on. I'd actually appreciate it if these themes were like this for a reason tied to the level and we had more time with the segments instead of being there and instantly being rushed to the next bit. Anyways, the mountain is an odd place: A sideways checker for a mountain texture for some reason, a factory that's just touched upon and never seen again, and ice that came out of NOWHERE, and music that fit none of them. Not only is this thing inconsistent, it's just not all that great. I blasted through and never looked back. Outside the randomness of it's "theme", I didn't recall anything stand-out or special about the level. It was just average.

Lava Rock Zone by Eggmanfan: 0/10

"Some things can't be unplayed"

...I...
...I just...
...I don't want to talk about it...
 
Last edited:
Single Player:


Fire Flight Zone by fawfulfan
7/10
I love NiGHTS levels, this one is really good too, but two problems...

1. Too many fire spitters
2. It needs to loop not just go one way. I hope you make more NiGHTS levels!


Dark Forest Zone by Videogame9

1/10

Wow, err I don't know what to say... It was LRZ all over again with plants
and every easy tokens.

Jadeflower Zone, Act 1 by blahblahbal
1/10
Yawn... very boring level nothing at all with reply value. The reason you got a one is because I could make it to the end with other players.

Cloud Cradle by D00D64
8/10
(I already told the creator about his map)
I still think spiked walls would of better than flying robots since it would force you to jump to other rails. :P
(Looks like I was not the only one who didn't turn my camera.)

Water Works Zone by Kyasarin
10 /10
First the elevator blocks others from coming in which it hated in coop.
So I would fix something like that. (Maybe a warp spot or something )

Wow... Just... wow

What else can I say?

Moonlit Mountain Zone, Act 1 by Darkbob1713
8/10
This level really flows nicely. The Crushers seemed out of place though. Falling rocks would of been better.

Put a ! sign next to any falling rocks area (And Cecho for extra style points)

Lava Rock Zone by Eggmanfan
0/10

Agent Hack said:
Lava Rock Zone - Eggmanfan - 0/10
HOP MAH BOI

This level doesnt need insta-death lava!
And why have rings if everything insta-kills?
Also no multi-paths,no enemies,and no reply value.

I don't even know where to start giving advise.


Sp Contest 6/10
Woo hoo Happy new year!!
 
Last edited:
I just have one thing to say.

Water Works Zone's music irritates me.

Why?

Because it's a bad rip (it starts mid-song, hell, mid-beat) of a song from Super Monkey Ball 2, a game that I have memorized front to back. I can't listen to that bad start without cringing.

I may actually rate stuff if I get the time.
 
Single Player Division

Fire Flight Zone by fawfulfan - 6/10


Hey, a NiGHTs level that DOESN'T completely suck. That's nice for a change.

The visuals are... actually surprisingly gorgeous for the lack of variety in the textures used; it's nothing amazing, but it's well done. The track works and flows smoothly and has all the things you'd expect from a NiGHTs track, but the experience is shortlived and unmemorable because it doesn't actually bring anything very new or interesting to the table. There ARE flame throwers that are liberally used so that the player actually has to dodge stuff, but they feel sort of cheap because don't actually have enough time to see them if I'm going fast. A cam_dist script would do those parts a lot of justice, but thankfully, it's not much of a gameplay breaker.

I'll tell you one thing, that music did not help this map. I'll listen to it in Winamp some time, sure, but it's annoying as looping SRB2 background music.



Dark Forest Zone by Videogame9 - 2/10

Um... wow. Alright, well, to be blunt, all you did was plaster a whole bunch of same-height platforms across a bottomless pit with a few snailers, rings and tokens around the area, and then call it it a day. If you stand still for a second at the beginning of the level, you die, there's a sector glitch in tree token thing, and even setting those aside, this level isn't interesting in any sense.



Jadeflower Zone, Act 1 by blahblahbal - 2/10

You seem to have a basic understand of level design so far, but the level itself is incredibly bare, unpolished, and riddled with graphical flaws. Spend more time on this and fill your level with more landscapes.

Remember: sectors and fofs can make your level look really good. Use lots and lots of them.



Cloud Cradle by D00D64 - 2/10

Sad. I'm seeing a lot of different ideas at work here, and they all miss the mark on the fun factor, mostly due to the same pair of fundamental level design flaws; death pits and checkpoints. Your platforming is in dire need of improvement; they're too thin, the jumps are forced too high, and generally when you get hit, you die, because the level is built over a pit. And when you die, you go to the last checkpoint you touched. And when there's not enough checkpoints, people have to go through the **** they already got past; in this case, the lack of quantity is inexcusable. The boss is a cheapskate for the same reason why 2.0 GFZ3 is stupid, the lazer rooms are eyesores, the rail part won't allow me to see what the hell is ahead of me, and there's a general lack of polish in the whole sector layout in general.

I mean, if you just added some checkpoints, I'd raise your score a couple points. The experience was ruined because I had to keep redoing areas I wasn't interested in anymore. Tasteful music selection, good use of colormaps, nice try, and I guess that's about it.



Water Works Zone by Kyasarin 7/10

Your execution of the theme mix is great. The level is filled with underwater and industrial imagery, and this all leaks into the gameplay and uses the mixture of theme gimmicks to its advantage. I sort of feel like some of the death pits are questionable, but I guess that's just me being picky. All in all a pretty good map.

Fix how the music starts, though. f.



Moonlit Mountain Zone, Act 1 by Darkbob1713 - 8/10

I... didn't expect this to be as good as it was. Really, this is probably the one entry in this division that I thought was really cool. From a screenshot, I didn't understand why you used blue checkered hills of all colors, but it works surprisingly well in the way you executed them. The texture selection paired with the level design is really solid, and the whole level is just really inventive with the gimmicks used and the aesthetics used.

The thing I liked most about this is that in almost all of the levels I've played in this division, the maps are basically just obstacle courses; meanwhile, this level has places, places with depth. One part looks like a mountain and the trees there don't look like the others I've seen in levels, another looks an underground cave and there's icicles and ice crystals that suggest it's partly frozen, those ice tubes and mechanical structures and crushers make this look like almost part of a facility, etc etc. There's just a ton of detail put into the level that really gives it a mood and flavor of its own. Definitely an example of the way a zone should be.



Lava Rock Zone by Eggmanfan - 2/10

This level is just funny to me. First I find some springs that are APPARENTLY in a sector filled with water (there's no visual cue that actually implies that area is in water), then somehow I get stuck in the batch of springs above it for a few seconds, and when I get out, it turns out the springs don't actually lead anywhere. So, what do I do? I go back down, to the place where the stepping stones of death were headed, and when I land, GITTARRRRR. SCENE CHANGE, COMING THROUGH. I swear, it's the most random thing you could do midlevel. Not much else in the level makes sense either. This map sucks, but of all the 2s I gave, I will credit you for giving me the biggest laugh for this division.
 
Your platforming is in dire need of improvement; they're too thin, the jumps are forced too high, and generally when you get hit, you die, because the level is built over a pit. And when you die, you go to the last checkpoint you touched. And when there's not enough checkpoints, people have to go through the **** they already got past; in this case, the lack of quantity is inexcusable.

Originally, there were more checkpoints; one past the turret, then the current first one, then one after the lazer, then the current second one before the belt, but I felt I was taking it too easy on people. Well, I know that for another time.

The boss is a cheapskate for the same reason why 2.0 GFZ3 is stupid,

The reverse skullbash thing? Well, if it stood still, wouldn't it be too easy?

the rail part won't allow me to see what the hell is ahead of me,

srb20270.png


Just let the belt do all the moving. The momentum from the belt will carry your jumps.
...And now that I see it, that teleport beam needs shortening.
 
The reverse skullbash thing? Well, if it stood still, wouldn't it be too easy?
I don't mind it moving back as much as I mind it moving upwards. If it does that, then I have to wait for it to move back down, which breaks the flow of the fight.
 
Dark Forest Zone
0/10

This is so HORRIBLE! Its not fun at all, the special stage token is so noticable, and it is so easy.

Fire flight zone
6/10

This level was cool looking, even though I do not like nights maps, but near the end It was too hard for me.

Jadeflower zone 1
1/10

The level is too big, and all you had to do is run and bounce on springs, and it was to easy. It stunked.

cloud cradle zone
9/10

this level is amazing! I love it. I gave it a 9 beacause the turrets were annoying

water works zone
10/10

This level was pretty cool, It sorta reminded me of aquatic base zone from Sonic 06, the music fits very well.

Lava Rock Zone
4/10

It was pretty bad. why do you need rings in that lava part, but the ERZ part was pretty good but it was pretty short.

Moonlit Mountain Zone
10/10

Loved the new sprites and the textures. The level had wide open space and not cramped.

either way I hope WWZ OR MMZ WIN!
 
I don't mind it moving back as much as I mind it moving upwards. If it does that, then I have to wait for it to move back down, which breaks the flow of the fight.

Ugh, I gotta agree with you there; I have NO idea how I can fix that. I think it's because it's moving in the exact opposite direction both horizontally AND vertically. Perhaps I should increase Eggman's movement speed when he's about to aim his weapon...That might make him fall faster after you attack him.
 
K. Does ANYONE TRY to link in NiGHTS besides me?
The highest I got in the unlockable Spring Valley is something over 100. I can't get over a 10 in FiRE FLiGHT.
 
Fire Flight Zone - fawfulfan - 6/10
Pretty decent NiGHTS level, however there were some parts that were annoying, such as the Flamethrowers which gave me little time to act, also there were a few of them that were ether in front or behind the player, then BAM! you hit one.
-----
Dark Forest Zone - Videogame9 - 1/10
Ok, how many Tokens are there in all? Most I saw was 4, and most were easy to get, also most of the platforms are the same HT, rarely any Rings, and also the beginning is a death trap if you wait there.
-----
Jadeflower Zone, Act 1 - blahblahbal - 2/10
Alas... Software Mode, I knew ya well, long hallways, flatness in some parts, I thinks thats all I could say really.
-----
Cloud Cradle Zone - D00D64 - 4/10
Ok, get rid of the turret at the beginning of the level, because small areas + Turrents is a bad mix, just a hit and just hope that you aren't going into the deathpit. The laser room hurts my eyes because all I could see is a dark area and flashing yellow blocks, also it kinda was hard to tell if they were apart of each other.

The rail ziplines were a nice touch, but would you please make it so you can see what's in front of you while on the Rails? I couldn't see due to the rail blocking my view, and before I could see, I hit a Jetty, and then fall to my death.

The Boss is somehwat cheap, but use some working with, and that Jetty that fires Bomb Rings.
-----
Water Works Zone - Kyasarin - 9/10
Nice and colorful at the beginning, but could of used abit more stuff in the later parts of the level.

You could of put a little more challenge with the watersides with the mines, and the lasers.

Music loop needs a fix.
-----
Moonlit Mountain Zone, Act 1 - Darkbob1713 - 8/10
Another level that takes it, the water jets took some time to try to get the right jump HT, because at first I came short and died.

The inside of the mountain has ice in it, but where did the ice come from? Meh, I shouldn't be asking about it, some area could of used more work, but I'll talk about that later.
-----
Lava Rock Zone - Eggmanfan - 0/10
Hmm, I see 3 Rings, which really had no use because the level is a complete death trap, just a simple touch on the lava and your dead, tiny platform hopping, then a odd switch from Fire to Metal like.

Oh and one more thing...
2i0ybyw.png

THIS NEEDS TO BE FIXED, and it didn't lead anywhere after I got unstuck.
----------

Done, I hope.
 
Single Player

Fire Flight Zone by fawfulfan 6/10


It was hard to start following the track. Good variety. The part with Flame Jet with AGZ texture was a tad too long. Sometimes I lost the track... well, maybe that's because I'm not used to play NiGHTs.


Dark Forest Zone by Videogame9 2/10

Dark Forest was too dark. Boring because all gimmick was just jump-jump-jump in the darkness. I found three tokens; I don't know why 3 tokens are in such small room.

Tails can make this level in 10 s. I tried it.


Jadeflower Zone, Act 1 by blahblahbal 3/10

This is not the first time I played this map. I got it from a server a while ago.

So............. long corridors and more long corridors with some "points" with a fairly "good" scenery. Seems you set the gimmicks at random, I wasn't able to figure out "what's your point with this map?" "what kind of experience are you offerring to the player?". I see you have expended a good effort making it (so I can expect some potential from you), but you have to go further than offering the player just a ride throughout a level.

HOM's!!!! Didn't you test your levels? You should. You need to respect software limitations. Last, I found tons of "textures" hanging from the ceiling. Take more care of this stuffs.


Cloud Cradle by D00D64 5/10

Receiving a player with turrets and buzzes just at the start is not that kind. See ERZ, you can stand still at the start with no fear, and the difficulty gets harder as you go on. Blind deathpits, please no. Bad enemy placement, please tone them down. When the player needs to stop, give him enough safety.

I liked the conveyor belt with laser blocks, it was a solid obstacle. I almost liked the hope hang part, jetty-syns are a tad hard to see. I have to "turn" the camera in sideway to see them. It was an interesting experience anyway

Make an effort to improve visibility of hazards, enemies, deathpits and gimmicks. I can see what's your proposal with the map, but it's not clear enough.

(if someone wonders, I could make blue spring part at the 2nd try)


Water Works Zone by Kyasarin 8/10

I liked, a lot. So I played twice.

Technically good: good variety, excellent difficulty curve, consistent scenery, well placed enemies, no problems with visibility, each room has its own identity. Sure, I could make a good trip which always made me go forth. You made a clean work and still interesting. You explored well the required kills that a player would need.

Now.... the bad:

1) I got lost once: near the sector 730.

2) The music: fairly good, but a tad repetitive and somewhat unfitting (I said "somewhat", not that doesn't fit at all).


Moonlit Mountain Zone, Act 1 by Darkbob1713 7/10

I could repeat the same review I gave to Water Works Zone. I like it, I got an interesting experience.

You should take care of some minor graphic glitches in the open-air rooms.

Sector 46: too dark, in my opinion. I was forced to use GAMMA 2.

(I think your map deserves more comments... but I need to rest now)


Lava Rock Zone by Eggmanfan 1/10

You need:

- to test your maps at least 20 times, making sure anything that a player would do in your map is safe (I went outside in the first room).

- to build a thok barrier.

- to learn how to place things. I got stuck with bad placed springs. Rings on deathpit indicate you don't know Z-offset.

- if something went wrong during the testings, please figure out why and how to fix it.

- last, players don't "FALL FOR THAT", sure. (You know what I meant ^_~)


General:

I want to play the levels more times, but I'm too tired and asleep (probably I typo'd something). Maybe I write something more later and review my reviews =P
 
Last edited:
Thunder Coil Zone -- Creator commentary.

I'd first like to point out, upon playing the match pack, that the area around the "Lightning rod" (in the middle of the map, can't miss it.) SHOULD NOT BE WORKING LIKE THAT, AS FULL SECTOR DAMAGE. Only the floor should be, and it completely baffles me as to WHY this is happening. The only explanation is the last-minute addition of the exitsector/flagreturn effect I added to the sector as to return the flag of anyone who fell down there (Since re-attaining the flag on damage-floor is nigh impossible), to which I question why the hell it applied this form of action to the sector. Seriously game. I wanted a fair means of flag return, not you TOTALLY RUINING THE MAP. It's a total punch to the gut seeing something reliably stated completely turn against you; and even more-over, I can't just say "Oh hey guys, use this version rather than the one officially included in the map pack. Sorry about that." (Okay I can, but that'd look bad.)

A too-late realization that also struck me is that I had forgotten the addition of emerald starts, as I was much more focused on level design and ring placement than I was a minor gimmick. Even so, with an aerial setting with a large bottomless pit around the majority of the level, super form comes as a massive double-edged sword. It's hard to say now, but perhaps the lack of any such gimmick is for the best, assuming people don't jump at the lack of emeralds. (at least 4 people will.)

One of the things I'd have liked was a much easier method for accessing the topmost part of the center 'building'. I tried different springs in different locations, but the yellow spring was far too low, and red springs would generally overshoot the whole thing, and make players a screaming target for others who already got up there to get rail. There are a few means for sonic to get up there, however; just use your imagination. (And game physics.)

Something to largely make note of is Mach's part in it. He essentially supplied the rough layout for what the final version is. In play-testing it, it was ironically fun despite several flaws, and so I jumped at the chance to try my hand at it, and essentially overhauled the whole thing into a much more player-friendly map with several goodies in store, without completely breaking things. The general comparison you can make is from other maps Mach entered into the contest. They aren't necessarily BAD, they just need a lot of polish, and a more open feel.

But I digress, if anyone wants the map without that last-minute sector screw-over, PM me before rating it, and I'll give you the "un-fixed" version. Otherwise, I'd appreciate the topic-wide knowledge that it isn't suppost to work like that.

(Why the hell would I deliberately want to do something so stupid and game-breaking?)
 
Last edited:
Oh my god, so many maps. Here's my prelimary thoughts on the thing. Just me testing out the match/ctf maps, without other players.

MATCH

Abandoned Shrine:

Well, yeah. This map is behind the times.
It looks like a rehash of a pre-1.09.4 match map. (It also gives me an Aerial Garden vibe due to some stuff.) The fan gimmick is not suited for match, as you have to navigate with care, lest you fall in the pit. The map is also symmetric, that's a no-no. It also is a bit generous with weapon rings iirc.
Oh, and the strong random monitor in the middle seems to be an exceedingly bad idea.

Two House Forest:

Ugh. Tumbleweeds in a GFZ setting? Horrid texturing? Acute lack of rings?

Frost Columns:

Hah, I spotted the Cirno wings.
Yeah, the map is solid - it could be sold as an official, I guess -, but ice settings aren't quite my favorite, and it feels a bit empty (granted, that might be intentional)

Plasma Plant:

That map managed to leave an excellent first impression due to the music choice (and unique theme). I think it's my favorite map from this OLDC, and the only stuff I'd have to add would be minor things: There are a bit too few rings, so you should prolly stuff a few more rings and the like in the plasma. Additionally, convert a few random monitors into ordinary super rings...
But, me like.

Waterfall Hill:

Maps like these are dime-a-dozen... high central pillar and stuff around it. Could use some variation, but it doesn't seem to be bad per se.

Crystalline Caverns:

Another ice level. Woo.
It didn't seem to be special, in my mind.

Oil Operation:

Same basic layout. Central interesting thing and stuff around it. Sticky oil gimmick. So yeah.
It is a bit bland sometimes, and it might be too large or too divided in rooms for real match action.

Lush Forest:

As un-special as its name. As I don't remember most of it.

VG Disco:

It uses the actual random monitor things, which is bad. It is too large, too. I see problems in finding the willing targets here, and the weapon rings, too.

Disorient Battle:

Reverse gravity and bridges that disappear without a cue. Whoever acquires the rail is king, as the layout is very open. Iirc it was generous with weapon rings too.

Strawberry Shortcake:

No comment. Except that you shouldn't hope for grass edges or logical thing placement.
I tried to keep it basic, so that you can find your targets well. At the same time, it is employing walls just high enough so you can't jump over to separate the zones a bit and depower Sonic.
Oh, and there is no air bubbles in the water. Mainly to have people get out of it soonish.

Silver Canyon:

There's an reasonably unique theme, and a reasonably reasonable level.

CTF

Twilight Groove:

GOD, THERE'S WEAPON RINGS EVERYWHERE. Try to be a little bit less generous. Pretty please? Also, there is an Hall of Mirrors somewhere, and a stray middle texture glued to the ceiling.

Lava Fort:

There's too many elemental shields, and the upper path holds too much bounty. 20 Rail Shots at one place? Come on!

Magma Valley:

No. Just no.

Abandoned Disco:

Well, it's okay level design. Certainly no failed map like too many others in this division.

Thunder Coil:

Yeah, the thing with the electrical stuff in the middle is a pity, but I'd personally have preferred the yellow beam to be a little slower. The map might suffer the same problems as Nimbus, and some places won't be reached during gameplay, but it's overall good.

Crosswalk:

Another map that left a good first impression. The level is cramped, tho. A small resize would help quite a bit.

Outside there's some visual uglinesses. And the bomb rings are far too close. But still not bad.

Metropolis Madness:

Cut down on the verticalness. The map is too spacy. Way too much room everywhere. Bad design.

Midnight Ice:

Bleh, Ice.
 
As a note, I thought reverse gravity would be an interesting gimmick in match due to the fact that mouse aiming isn't reversed while upside-down, meaning it wouldn't effect your actual skill with gravity boots, at least, that's what I thought.

The bridges disappear on a 10 second timer. I wish I could've given some cue to them but I had to rush it, as I was a few hours away from the deadline at the time.
 
Single Player Rating:

Dark Forest: 2/10

Too short. Way too short. Oh, and thanks for tagging every single wall with noclimb.

Cloud Cradle: 3/10

I'm sorry to break it to you, but the level's not difficult, it's cheap. You could, for example, have donned a checkpoint in front of the Eggman encounter, right?

Lava Rock: 1/10

It's still playable (barely), hence the one point.

Water Works: 7/10

It was a fun level to play through - if a bit easy - and the 'idyllic' parts in the water works were nice. Water texture looked ugly tho. Music was good too.

Fire Flight: Didn't test. Don't like Nights levels.

Jade Flower: 4/10

It was fun to blast through, but it suffered from graphical glitches and emptiness.

Moonlit Mountain: 6/10

Solid. Not more, not less.
 
SP ratings:

Jadeflower Zone act 1 - 2/10
This defititley shows improvement, but that wasn't enough. The bridge area was weird looking, and those bland hallways need stuff in it. :(

Dark Forest Zone - 1/10
Extremely short, with enough tokens to win 2 sets of emeralds. (Mabye not) A good level should have more than just pit & platforms, add more interesting gimmics and make the level not 10 seconds long.

Lava Rock Zone act 1 - 1/10
Stop copy/pasting the same sector 90 times, it doesn't play nice, nor does it look good at all. The entire level was an eyesore, the lava was instant kill, (use the fire damage sector type on the controll sector) abd the subtitle was spelt wrong.

Fire Flight Zone - 5/10
The scenery was average, and the gameplay was below average, but the level was good anyway, because of some rooms that weren't flooded with flame jets. Also lacks a bonus section. :(

Cloud Cradle Zone - 7/10
The map looks cool and the music gave a good first impression, but very early on the challenges become very annoying and tedious. I hated the jetty syn bouncing gimmick, because the first bunch of them is hard to see, so I had to skip a whole bunch. Also, the conveyor & lazer room gave me a headache and hurts my eyes. I shouldn't've been playing at 2:30 in the morning, which made that 30 times worse. :P

Water Works Zone - 8/10

I liked this alot, especially the music, but a few things bug me:
-The enemies consisted of mainly red crawlas.
-Some of the wall textures looked bad on the large walls.
-The first slide had a hard to see death pit.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
K. Does ANYONE TRY to link in NiGHTS besides me?
The highest I got in the unlockable Spring Valley is something over 100. I can't get over a 10 in FiRE FLiGHT.

Hey, dude, on that subject, you might like to know that this is my second attempt at a NiGHTS level. My first, Skyline Paradise Zone, had much, much, much longer links possible, well over 100. Here, however, I toned it down because people complained about it. Of course, there were plenty of OTHER problems with that level too.

I personally have managed well over 10 links on my level. However, I won't deny that a universal or near-universal link is impossible, given that the rings and wings are concentrated in certain areas.
 
Fire Flight Zone

Oh come on, it's not that bad. A lot of 7/10 ideas with some 6/10 execution -- and 8/10 visuals! Honestly, our RVZ special stage needs to look like your level :)

It was quite good -- I liked many of the ideas such as the circular pillar in the beginning, the track layout, going inside the volcano, the full-length level, and, yes, the flamethrower room. It's an awesome idea that I'd totally do myself because it mixes the player up ever-so-subtly -- it's just that I couldn't control in this room at all because the flamethrowers gave me no breathing space to move. Concept/design-wise, the level was perfectly fine.

I noticed two particular things:
1. There were several cramped "tunnels" that make the player bump into the ground and annoyingly slow down. Cramped spaces don't work in NiGHTS -- the player needs room to fly and move, no matter what. Particularly, the first half of the beginning pillar -- it got better once you reached the wing circles, but before that, it was too cramped for me. Sharp turns fall under this category, and there were a few. The flamethrower room falls victim to this -- if only the player had room to fly, then it would've been perfectly fine. Just make sure that the player has room to fly everywhere, and your NiGHTS levels will be super!

2. As was said, the item placement was too sparse in places to allow links. I saw your other NiGHTS level, and that had the other extreme -- too many items. I believe the goal here is to come to a happy medium -- not too many items, but just enough to enable linking through the entire level -- even if you have to place triplets of wings that "connect" major wing/ring areas.
Admittedly, I didn't design BSZ with links in mind -- but I employed just that trick to allow players to link.

Clearly, you know what makes a great NiGHTS map, and this was a great second attempt! It's just that the two design blunders I listed above are quite significant -- if you made a level where the player had more flying space and the item placement was right, then it could really be 8/10. For now, I wish I could rate 6.5. I'll give a real rating later. :)
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.

Who is viewing this thread (Total: 1, Members: 0, Guests: 1)

Back
Top