Dude, I just played your latest release, and it feels as if your level pack has gotten worse. Only three of your zones are actually "complete" in any way. All the others are either unbeatable, lil' specks o' nuthin', or DSZ and CEZ. And you didn't change the textures in Twisted Paradise Zone! Now, we not only have Booger Canyon...
(Also notice the stationary Buzzes)
...But we take a stroll through Poop Canyon as well...
(Honestly... how the hell am I supposed to navigate through this mess?)
...Effectively rendering TPZ both ugly and non-functional. Also, this is one of your larger levels that lacks an exit. Looks like Sonic has died and gone to Hades.
Your other levels haven't had any noticable improvment. The complaints are largely still the same, so here are some new ones... Your walls in Jade Flower Zone are still clastrophobic, and I hate how Sonic just falls out of the sky at the beginning of JFZ2. There's an elevated platform in JFZ2 that has brick textures, making it stand out like a sore thumb. At one point in JFZ2, it looks as if Sonic can grab some rings...
...Except that he really can't, because there's an invisible wall in his way, fully visible from this angle.
Skybound Canyon Zone 1 has numerous dead ends, which just add to the frustration of slogging through an all-underwater level. The springs in that level are callibrated too high, causing the player unnecessary and annoying airtime, which further eats away at your oxygen. SCZ2 is worse in this edition, because you can't beat it and are just deposited in a massive underwater hole that feels as vast as Twilight Princess's Hyrule Field. The rest of the zones I won't comment one, as they're obviously all incomplete.
Here's some general tips I have for you...
- Remove the first Crawla from JFZ1. If I want to type additional commands into the console, I don't want to have to worry about him killing me.
- You need more than the occasional spring to make your levels interesting. SRB2 has crushers, currents, swings, conveyor belts, moving platforms, collapsing floors, fans, vaccums, inverted gravity, ect. ect. There's a ton of gimmicks you could employ.
- In every instance where you have a spring, you could have stairs / slopes / platforms / moving platforms. I'm not saying you should remove all your springs, but there are many other ways to move to higher ground.
- Do not mix SRB2 music with SRB1 midis. Pick one or the other (I'd go with the SRB2 music).
- I found a Mystic Realm-esque temple in JFZ2, so I imagine you're trying to craft your creation in the image of Mystic Realm... Don't, please don't. Mystic Realm, even though it's not up to date (yet), is an incredibly awesome level pack that your efforts will probably never compare to. Even if your level pack were decent or even good, it would still pale in comparison to its obvious inspiration, and that would make your level pack look worse than it actually is. Try an original approach.
- I've yet to attempt an SRB2 map of my own (if ever), so I haven't tried out any of my own level design. But here's a good tip I once heard:
When designing a game/level, do it from the perspective of a potential player. "What will the player enjoy?" "What will the player find interesting about this level/level pack/mod?" "What will make the player come back for more?" And think the same way about specific level elements, too ("What width will this passageway need to be to satisfy the player?"). I imagine the worst attitudes you can have when making levels is "Okay, what won't require a lot of effort on my part?" or "I'm new to constructing levels, so that justifies ineptness."
- Get your short / unbeatable levels out of your releases. It's a pain in the ass to play them. Insert them in later releases when they're functional.
- Do whatever you have to do to cut the DSZ and CEZ levels from your pack. They're not your creations, and though I imagine their inclusion is most likely an oversight on your part, it still feels like plagerism.
I honestly thought this release would have significant developments. It didn't and I feel cheated. You've earned my overall rating of
2/10 (which roughly translates to "when played this I smashed my computer against a wall and became an atheist, because there is clearly no God"). Good night, sir.
