Official Level Design Contest Voting: May/June 2009

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All levels were played in software mode as Sonic. Reviews for each map are in spoiler tags, expand them to view the comments.

Single Player

Green Canyon Zone by SonicMaster - 5/10

[spoiler:91f2ff523d]...I don't know about this level. It's sort of interesting, but at the same time, it's not.

See, there are some neat gimmicks in the level that show off some cool effects, but it seems to me like the level was made for that sole purpose. Save for some platforming, there's no challenge or anything to speak of, and the level sort of just plays itself. Not that I don't like what I see, it's just missing something.

As for nitpicks, give your waterfalls ambient sound effects; it's a small thing, but the noise can help add to the mood of the level.[/spoiler:91f2ff523d]

Aquatic Labyrinth Zone, Act 2 by Kuja - 9/10

[spoiler:91f2ff523d]Wow, I'm not sure how to describe this, since my brain is all mush from how this level kicked my ass and threw me for a loop the many times I played this. I guess to summarize, I'd go with "tense, cool, and a thrill to play". At first it was this dark, threatening, techno-water level that kept me on my toes, and finally I get to the second half, which looks to me a lot like verifiaman's chemical plant level but plays the exact opposite, and then I'm thrown around by different currents and then rushing against time before the floor beneath me collapses, and just -- okay, I'm giving this a nine.[/spoiler:91f2ff523d]

Hidden Sanctuary Zone, Act 2 by Ice - 7/10

[spoiler:91f2ff523d]Ties with Greenery Pass Zone 2 for prettiest contest map. The sector design here flows really well here, with branching paths crossing over each other, making it fun to play and especially neat to look at. Not necessarily anything I haven't seen or played before, but a good map nonetheless.

The ridiculous gargoyle contraption was the highlight of the level.[/spoiler:91f2ff523d]

Glaber Base 5 by Glaber - 7/10

[spoiler:91f2ff523d]Out of brutal honesty, I didn't have any decent expectations for this map due to glaber's track record, and initially, I didn't understand why there would be an alternate path for a character probably not many people have. After playing it with Sonic and Sally, though, I would personally conclude that this is an enjoyable level with unique level design elements and fresh custom enemies to make the gameplay fairly memorable.

So, I guess essentially you're infiltrating some a base or something, and if you play this level without Sally, you're doing basically what you usually do, bopping enemies, avoiding crushers and pits, etc. Good use of enemies, interesting gimmicks, a trek through a broken zoomtube (which I personally thought was kinda funny). If you play as Sally though, then you have the ability to hack the computers spread throughout the level and basically open up new paths. This plays a pretty large role in the level if you're Sally, and overall simply adds to the replay value of the wad.

I felt this was worth the playthrough. It seemed pretty easy to me, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. Currently, the only thing I can think of to improve the level is to destroy the evil giant flashing laser sector of doom. It hurts my eyes and reminds me of Cosmic Galaxy. Oh, speaking of which....[/spoiler:91f2ff523d]

Cosmic Galaxy by verifiaman - 2/10

[spoiler:91f2ff523d]Arggh. A potentially interesting zone that backfires because of several departments of the level design.

Cosmic Galaxy lives up to its name with a cyber-space theme and several custom textures to accompany it. However, your mind's going to be off the theme just a little ways into the level, because the flashing FOFs it uses could cause seizures to little Asian kids. And lasers are pretty common in this level, so the whole thing is just annoying as hell to look at. The music somewhat doesn't help, because it's quite a bit louder than SRB2's default music, which is a bit of a throwoff.

The challenges themselves are just ridiculous. The two main hazards in this level (besides the death pit) are some weird gate thing that's open a fifth of a second and harmful the next half a second. The only safe say to go through it is by thokking through it, and even that's risky, because the whole level takes place on top of a death pit. It's even worse in OpenGL, because then it's even harder to see whether it's safe that millisecond or not due to how it renders the FOFs. Then there's the antigravity hallways where you have to maneuver yourself around some lasers. This is probably doubly as aggravating, because the flashiness is taken to a whole new level, and if you get hit, you're stuck in midair until you reach a sector that doesn't have antigravity, if you even manage that. But I think the biggest dick move here was setting forceskin to Sonic. Because trying to skip the eyesores and still get to the goal kinda eliminates the point of the level.

And before you know it, the level is done. There's basically only three tiny parts to the level, and after you pass them, that's it, there's no more to see. Abrupt, but in the words of Falco, I guess I should be thankful.

Overall, just a really poorly thought-out obstacle course that I can't honestly say is any fun to play.[/spoiler:91f2ff523d]

Flooded Forest Zone by Cheese - 7/10

[spoiler:91f2ff523d]I honestly can't relate to what other people are saying about the cheapness of this level. Aside from the jettysyns, I thought the layout and enemy placement was well done, and I didn't have any problems completing the level. My only real complaint is that spikes appear to be used too frequently and in redundant and uninteresting fashions. While I understand it's the most frequent hazard to make up for SRB2's sad excuse for a 2D camera, try to come up with some more interesting ways to fill up some of your more redundant spike sections.

On another note, I played this in regular SRB2 and then tried it a couple more times in a custom exe that handled 2D mode more practically. Good fun.[/spoiler:91f2ff523d]

Factory Farce Zone, Act 1 by MattW_CFI - 7/10

[spoiler:91f2ff523d]I don't think I've seen this kind of zone done before. It's factory-themed, granted, but it has sort of a pixelated nature to it, and I don't think the main gimmick of this level has been used before.

Cool music, good use of gimmicks and sound effects, the level design works well. It's a bit short, though I figure that's what second acts are for. Um.... I think I had a suggestion in mind, but I forgot what it was. Sorry. Keep it up, at any rate.[/spoiler:91f2ff523d]

Mill Citadel Zone, Act 2 by Ezer'Arch - 8/10

[spoiler:91f2ff523d]Just about anything I might have said for the first one applies to this act. More creativity, more gimmicks, overall I think just about as enjoyable as act 1.

Also, rotating platforms.[/spoiler:91f2ff523d]

Greenery Pass Zone, Act 2 by Knockout The Echidna - 7/10

[spoiler:91f2ff523d]Although this is basically another Green Flower level in gameplay, it sets itself apart from other grass maps with its unique look and atmosphere illuminated from the use of custom music, textures, scenery, and a dawn/dusk colormap. It makes a good second act for a first zone, and while there is a lack of gimmicks in the level, the map is still enjoyable in its own right due to good sector layouts and aesthetics.

Couple things about the music; the volume of it is a bit low, if you tune it up just a bit, then it's on par with the rest of SRB2's soundtrack. It also needs to be looppointed, because the song's loop transition is choppy otherwise. There's also an outside part of the level that's basically scenery, but if you step down to the lower platform of that scenery area, you have no way to get back up as Sonic and are forced to fall down the pit. Granted, you probably don't expect people to go to that area, but it still kinda bites.[/spoiler:91f2ff523d]



Man, almost all the scores I gave are above average. You guys don't cease to impress me. Once again, an enjoyable single player division through and through.
 
This year has been common to good SP divisions.

Hidden Sacntuary Act 2-7/10

I love how natrual the level feels, and your always pointed in the right direction. Lots of goodies to find, and a lot to explore and see. The waterfall area with the weird water effect was cool, but it was the only gimmick. The ansthetics were great, but there really wasn't anything new to see here, it was just your classic SRB2 level. Also, if your going to make windows that you can jump out of, at least let the curious ones die instead of being trapped in space. :P

srb20028-1.png


Aquatic Labyrinth Act 2-10/10

The only thing I can say is to tone down the color of the water a bit, it made it almost impossible to see air bubbles, and in software mode, it just looked ugly. Other than that everything in this level is great.

Green Canyon-6/10

This level didn't feel like it had much effort put into it. Dispite the waterskip gimmick and zoomtube, it was pretty plain and boring.

Green Peaks Act 2-6/10

The custom textures were nice, and I really liked the theme this level uses, but pretty average.

Flooded Forest-4/10

All of the scenery in the background, and the way the level ended, helped me add a few points to this level, but we're supposed to play these levels in srb2win.exe, and we all know how much 2D mode sucks in it.

Factory Farce-8/10


Loved the Wacky Workbench gimmick, it works so much better in 3D than 2D. Although the level only had one path, I wanted to play this again to grab all the secrets that were hidden. I also liked how you didn't kill the player in the second to last room, instead, you just bounced up.

Mill Citidel-9/10

The right path was chock full of stuff that I liked. But the left path seemed too plain compared to the right, and wasn't as fun. I think your going to have to use custom music for this level, because none of the SRB2 tunes seem to fit. I'd like to see what kind of boss you could come up with for this level. :P

Cosmic Galaxy-2/10

You have good ideas, but no level to hold those ideas up. The gimmicks were cool (and frustraitingly hard) but you need a level to help support those gimmicks. Right now, it looks like the entire level was to show off those two things.

Glaber Base 5-5/10

The minuses were cool, but using those rediculously outdated sprites just didn't appeal to me. I played with Sally, it was a nice addition to the level, but it didn't affect me too much.

And for the love of god, please don't use checkered crushers again. :(
 
The waterfall area with the weird water effect was cool, but it was the only gimmick.

How about the torches that light when you're near them? I spent some time designing those.
 
:SonicMaster: said:
Mill Citadel Zone Act 2, 10/10

I feel honored.

Let me point out a thing (funny, depending on your perspective):

To get a good score, sometimes, your level should be challenging, really challenging, so challenging that your level kills the player some times. But don't kill the player so much, or he will give you a bad score.

(LOL)
 
Can't really say that those are a gimmick rather than a cool scenic(sp?) effect. When I walked by them, my response was "Heh, that's pretty cool" and I kept going. I was attracted to the waterfall gimmick, and wanted to experience it again.

I feel like I'm rambling on here. :<
 
In my epic quest to be both entertaining AND helpful, I'm going to compare each level to a song from Rock Band 2. To help orient y'all, I'll be linking out to Project Playlist in case you haven't heard the song. Also, to help out the metaphors, keep in mind I only play the lead guitar part on Expert.

Green Canyon Zone by SonicMaster - 5/10
You are "We Got the Beat."
The best quality about "We Got the Beat" is that you can enjoy the song the first time you hear it. Knowing the lyrics is nice, but unimportant. However, the catchy tune gets old quickly.

Aquatic Labyrinth Zone 2 by Kuja - 8/10
You are "Spoonman." (Click one of the 4:06 ones.)
"Spoonman" is an epically long 4 minute song. It has a very unique feel to it, and even differentiates itself from other grunge music I've heard, which is pretty much only Nirvana.

Metaphorically, this is the first time I've played your level. Equally, the first time I played Spoonman I failed because I hadn't put in the hard time practicing in the (aptly-named) Practice Mode. An easy way to fix this would be to add in star power (air bubbles) everywhere so I don't have to go out of my way looking for it, except it's only on the hammer-ons, which I seem to suck at.

Additionally, after Spoonman's insane guitar solo, there's a relaxing drum solo, after which the bass comes in. By the time I finally come back in with the guitar, I've either recovered enough to endure the rest of the song or I miss my entrance and fail the song. Sucks to be me!
Snip. - Mystic
Hidden Sanctuary Zone 2 by Ice - 9/10
You are "Conventional Lover."
"Conventional Lover" is a slightly quirky, believable song with amazing lyrics. As a plus, it ends with a guitar solo!

Glaber Base 5 by Glaber - 4/10
You are "Eye of the Tiger."
You are old fashioned, easy to play, and only My Chinese Friend Tim likes to sing the lyrics out of context.

Cosmic Galaxy by verifiaman - 3/10
You are "Tangled Up in Blue."
You certainly have something here, but it's country in there.

Flooded Forest Zone by Cheese - 7/10
(To all you 2D haters, turn on analog for Pete's sake.)

You are "New Kid in School."
The song "really ain't that bad." Just don't "get closer to me."

Factory Farce Zone 1 by MattW_CFI - 8/10
You are "Charlene."
The song is somewhat short in length, but has a kinky premise and is enjoyable.

Mill Citadel Zone 2 by Ezer'Arch - 8/10
You are "Alex Chilton."

As awesome as you are, you still lose to "Conventional Lover."

Greenery Pass Zone 2 by Knockout The Echidna - 7/10
You are "Kids in America." And you don't get a link to Project Playlist, because everyone knows exactly how you sound before they even start the song.
 
Green Canyon Zone by SonicMaster - 7/10
I haven't seen that texture in a while, but for this map it strangely fits, the rising/falling floor was a bit strange looking without the texture moving, but I figured that was intentional by design. Overall this was pretty fun, but a bit bumpy on the difficulty curve.

Aquatic Labyrinth Zone, Act 2 by Kuja - Ouch/Ouch
Will review once I can beat it. So far, WAY too dark in software mode.

Hidden Sanctuary Zone, Act 2 by Ice - 7/10
Nice texture usage, and the fountain at the end was a nice gimmick, but the level itself has too many flying enemies, I was getting chased by, like 20 at the end of the map, it had good fun however, and the fountain gets a plus.

Glaber Base 5 by Glaber - 3/10
Urrrgh... Really? Supercramped + Badly Textured + TGF SRB2 Enemies = Fail, You could at least have SOCed the Minus to work like in Arid Canyon, This was not fun, and having no rings near the boss with no way to go back didn't help, either.

Cosmic Galaxy by verifiaman - 4/10
Remove the super-shortcut at the beginning, slow down the lasers, add more nonlinearity, and then this would make an okay final non-boss level for a level pack. As a stand-alone level, this reminds me far too much of Crazy Gadget; Awesome music, mediocre design.

Flooded Forest Zone by Cheese - 6/10 I am not just criticizing 2D mode, read on!
Ewwy 2D is ewwy. 2d doesn't really work in SRB2, it is difficult to make a 2D map that is both visually appealing and fun to play. This one is perfect proof of that fact, maybe add some springs or zoom tubes to move into the background for a bit more depth. The visuals, however, were brilliant and the sector-based scenery is something to gawk at for sure.

Factory Farce Zone, Act 1 by MattW_CFI - 6/10
Almost forgot this one, I couldn't help but keep singing CRATE MAZE! Just because of the abundance of the metal crate texture. It was not at all mazelike, however, and the Wacky Workbench gimmick was an awesome idea for this map. The visual gimmicks were nice, but the map itself got a bit bland.

Mill Citadel Zone, Act 2 by Ezer'Arch - 10/10
This is the most fun I have ever had playing a Sonic level, and I think you need to make a ME version of this using polyobjects to replace the fake spinning. The flour slides were awesome, too, I especially enjoyed the lane-organized crusher one near the end so much that I found myself running across the lane dividers to do it again and again.

Greenery Pass Zone, Act 2 by Knockout The Echidna - 8/10
This would make a great first map in a map pack, the nonlinearity tied with the ease of transversal makes it great, I ran through this map as if I made it, and that's exactly how a first zone should be.

I'm so glad that the last 1.09 contest was decent, I may have not gotten back into SRB2 until ME had it not been for this contest, I still wish I could've entered though. Thanks, community! I can't wait to make maps for ME, I'm full of ideas and the limitations of 1.09.4 were all that were holding me back! Good night, all!
 
Blue Zero 4 forced me to play Hidden Sanctuary Zone, by ICE.

I loved. :D

I liked scenic, variety, good Z-axis platforming and... WTH!???



I never saw gargoyles so happy. O.O'
 
Everything sounds interesting... I'm getting ready for the lulz (and the judging), and I have just downloaded the levels, so I shall have my first look at these and judge them later.
 
I'm enjoying Factory Farse 1 by Matt.

Cybernetic atmosphere pleases me. Anti-gravity thing is instant-joy. :D

EDIT 30's later: I don't believe! I reached the end level?! No!

EDIT 2: Now, Greenery Pass 2 by KOTE.

Pretty cute, dancing flowers. :*
 
Green Canyon Zone, by SonicMaster - 7/10
It was...alright. Just your friendly, neighborhood grass level. There really isn't anything to note other than the neat way you used the speed pads, and that *secret* area that I found some time ago. It could use some expanding and perhaps a bit more wall decoration(I think I mentioned this once before), but it's an okay level nonetheless.

Hidden Sanctuary Zone, Act 2, by Ice - 10/10
Wow. This level seriously blew my mind when I played it, and I actually felt compelled to play it again and again. This is, by far, the coolest level in this contest. The visuals, while nice, take a backseat to the beautiful structure of the level. It truly felt immersive, and I was beaming the entire time as I was playing. I'm not going to subtract a point for the funky deathpit near the end of the stage, as I wouldn't even GO over there under normal circumstances. You should be proud of this one, Ice. I sure as heck am!

Also, you missed a redwall behind the waterfall. You should know what I'm referring to once you see it.

Glaber Base 5, by Glaber - 7/10
Hehe. Geez, you thought MY level was hard and unforgiving, Mr. Crushy McLowceiling? All in all, this actually was one of your better attempts at single player. Your level contained an option to choose an easier path if you didn't want to go through the crushers, which was a plus. It wasn't by any means superb, but I could definitely see the effort in some of the other paths. It was crampy as always, but thankfully it wasn't unplayably so. I actually took the time to download Dr. P's wad and play the other side of the level. It actually worked out pretty well, and I was intrigued at the way you handled some of your visuals(the windows, mostly). The whole Sally part of your level makes it unique, and it added to the replay value. You also did some really cool stuff in that path. I'll give you another point for that. :P

Cosmic Galaxy, by Verifiaman - 4/10
I commend you for your interesting texture usage. Ignoring the fact that I could spindash over to the end using Sonic, I ran through the entire level. I feel I should point out that some of the platform jumps in this level were just *barely* reachable, and that darned laser wall thing went a bit too fast to be considered fair. I would suggest spacing out the level, and having barriers separate the areas you don't want the player to go into.

Flooded Forest Zone, by Cheese - 5/10
I played this with Torgo's Improved 2D mode exe. For a 2D level, it was pretty okay. There was plenty of height differences, and nothing stuck out as awkward as far as visuals go. You relied FAR too much on the spike hazards, though. There should be no reason to put a spike trap at the end of a diagonal spring launch unless you have good reason to. From what I could see, there was even a split in the path here and there, so it wasn't all bad. Just average.

Factory Farce Zone, by MattW_CFI -8/10
THE FLOORS, MAN
Very FLOORS level. I love the attention to FLOORS you had in this level. The FLOORS were very interesting, and your overall FLOORS had a very organized look to it. I had FLOORS playing this, and I'll probably play this again sometime to see the neat FLOOR architecture. Good FLOOR on this one, MattW_CFI.
....
(floors)

Mill Citadel Zone, Act 2, by Ezer'Arch - 8/10
A lot like act 1, but with a nice twist here and there. Nothing to note, other than that monitor bounce gimmick I didn't know about until I read it here. I was fully expecting a way out once I jumped up there, but I found I couldn't even spindash out of there. So....yeah.

Greenery Pass Zone, Act 2, by Knockout The Echidna - 8/10
This was very cool. Although the level looked and played very generically, I wasn't completely disappointed due to the neat sunset color you used throughout the level, as well as the extra textures and thingitems. That was all worth another point. Nothing to note here, really.

I promise to provide detail on my votes tomorrow, when I'm not so tired.

Bluezero4:
Snip. - Mystic
 
BlueZero4, that was totally uncalled for, and Kuja, that message was retarded enough that you didn't need to dignify it with a response. I have removed both of those asides from your posts.

If it helps, I suggest you judge the contest with the following system:

Step one: Download pack and play levels
Step two: Write reviews for the levels
Step three: Actually figure out who made it.

The author of the map means NOTHING towards your rating, and lulzy internet drama is just going to lead to a ban for each of you. You have been warned.
 
One player votes:

Green Canyon By SonicMaster 8/10:
MUCH better the VVZ, had a nice gimmick and nice layout.
The only things I didn't like was the lack of enemies and the song didn't quite fit, but I won't count off for the music.

Aquatic Labyrinth Zone, Act 2 By Kuja Doing later...

Hidden Sanctuary Zone, Act 2 by Ice 8/10:
Nice level, neat gimicks, and jumping Gargoyle. :P
I couldn't find that much wrong with it.

Flooded Forest Zone by Cheese 5/10
Pure average. I can't say much more then that.

Factory Farce Zone, Act 1 by MattW_CFI 8/10:
Love the music, love the gimmicks, love the desing.
All it needs not is more paths and a bit of cramp removel.

Mill Citadel Zone, Act 2 by Ezer'Arch 9/10:
Wow, This level almost got a ten, but there was one part where I went in a circle, and the song didn't realy fit. Other then that, great job! :D

Glaber Base 5 by Glaber Doing later...

Greenery Pass Zone, Act 2, by Knockout The Echidna - LAST/OLDC
Ok, This was a "bit" rushed. I tried to make it a good level since this was the last 1.09.4 contest, but I was only able to get 1, maybe 2 peaople to test it, So I couldn't fix as many bugs as I should have.
 
So yeah, "The Brown Reviews" comes back, and it reviews the SP maps of the last OLDC of 1.09.4. Multiplayer maps will come later.

Cosmic Galaxy: 3,5/10: Really, who would have though you need a spindash to jump into the 1st platform? The level is short, and there's no fun in it. Lucky for the map, it has some gimmicks, but overall, it's disappointing.

Flooded Forest: 6,5/10: This is a nice map. Nice gimmicks and nice background makes it for it. What wasn't nice though was the boss' room: while it's cramped, it's way too easy to do hits.

Glaber Base 5: 9/10: Short review: Fun, Fun, Fun!!! Long review: This level has the most fun of all the SP maps. While bringing up old enemies (although it took one point because of how annoying some of these Minus are.), and putting a boss in the middle of the level (something no one did until today.), the gimmicks are great, especially the Sally one (and puts Sally less underpowered BTW).

Aquatic Labyrinth 2: 6/10: Granted, this level has nice gimmicks, but the difficulty is just too high. I had hard times with cheap drowns. And the level is too long (I accept long stages, but with high difficulty like that, I can't support it.).

Factory Farce 1: 7/10: This is actually fun, especially with bouncing floors, and the gimmick in here is that after the 1st room, the bouncing floors lead you to electric ceilings (which when your high and want to go to another platform, you have to master your jumps because if you fail, either you fall, either you get hurt.). Also Emerald Tokens FTW.

Greenery Peaks 2: 6/10: This note is because of the amazing graphics, but overall, it's just an easy level. And Tokens again!

Green "Mountain" (sorry, but this level shouldn't be named as a canyon, as there isn't anything related to a canyon): 7/10: Not much to say here except for the fact of the "fountain jumping" gimmick.

Hidden Sanctuary 2: 7,5/10: Nice level, as you've added a graphic gimmick, which adds a 0,5 points, and lots of trees, but most of the level is empty though. Should have added more flowers.

Mill Citadel 2: 8/10: Again, not much to say here: Nice gimmicks, gameplay, etc...
 
SP map ratings.

Keep in mind that I'm writing this as I go, for instance, I've played Cosmic Galaxy, but I have yet to play the other levels.

Cosmic Galaxy by verifiaman: 2/10

The concept was awesome, and there were some gimmicks that were interesting, but the overall execution of this level, not to mention a very low amount of rings and no enemies, was horrible. Also, this level is quite short.

Flooded Forest Zone by Cheese: 8/10

To fully enjoy this level, I had to use an exe that fixed 2D mode, in this case, SRB2CB. The aesthetics of the level are great, and it flows fantastically. There was a decent amount of platforming, and I highly enjoyed the underwater segment that I believe accounts for the "Flooded" in "Flooded Forest."

Glaber Base 5 by Glaber: 1/10

I didn't enjoy anything about this level. Difficulty is a good thing, but when difficulty gets in the way of the fluidity of a level, that's a bad thing. Another terrible thing is the lack of scenery (basically none whatsoever) and the cramped, long and bland hallways. No memories are coming out of this level.

Aquatic Labyrinth Zone, Act 2 by Kuja: 10/10

First off, the aesthetics are amazing, the colormap used in the water is so much more interesting than the generic blue color and really fits the level. But what made the level for me was the extensive amount of gimmicks that were in it. The level, in its entirety for me, was 5 minutes long. 5 minutes of gimmicks, platforming and sheer brilliance in level design? Awesome.


Factory Farce Zone, Act 1 by MattW_CFI: 8/10

Seeing as SRB2 sigsevs on Ubuntu, I have to play these contest level on my XP partition, which has no sound thanks to the manufacturer of my sound card not making a driver for XP. Where is this leading? Well, when I first hit the flashing ground that shoots you up towards the celing, I thought, "Flashing ground that sends you sky high, factory theme...is the Wacky Workbench BGM playing somewhere?"

Aside from that, I really liked this level. The desing was great, the flow was superb and the aesthetics fit that of, well, a factory. There seemed to be a lot of segments with springs, though.

Greenery Pass Zone, Act 2 by Knockout The Echidna: 8/10

The first thing I noticed upon booting this level up was the scenery. The sky texture, the custom thing scenery, everything just looked gorgeous. The level itself was good, too. The flow was very nice, I never had to stop for anything annoying. The design could've been a little better, but the final product isn't too shabby. There were some long paths with seemingly nothing in them, but they did have a lot of scenery which was nice to look at.


Green Canyon Zone by SonicMaster: 6/10

I came into this level hyped to play something worth my while, and came out somewhat disappointed. This isn't what I usually expect from SonicMaster. Most levels that I've played by him seem to put an emphasis on gameplay, flow and gimmicks rather than aesthetics. However, this level, while it shows off plenty of eye goodies, seems to be lacking in the department of gimmicks. A lot of it is basic platforming and running down paths that were surprisingly bland at times, and whenever I did get to one of the levels more interesting parts, it was controlled by a speed pad or zoomtubes. I do like the way the end sign was executed, though.

Hidden Sanctuary Zone, Act 2 by Ice: 10/10

After playing Kuja's ALZ Act 2, I thought it would be the only map in the SP pack that would deserve a perfect 10. I thought completely wrong. This is a masterpiece, it is beautiful in every meaning of the word. The aesthetics are gorgeous, the textures used, the sector and thing scenery, is a complete stroke of genius. The level design is great, too, multiple paths and the flow was very nice. This is truly the best level in the Sp pack, and I will be sorely upset if it does not win.

Mill Citadel Zone, Act 2 by Ezer'Arch: 6/10

After some of the hype I've seen around this level, this is a letdown of sorts. The visuals of the level aren't too terribly interesting when you're indoors, the open roof was nice but the rest just consisted crates, wood, and textures that represented the grain. Outdoors was a different tune, however, it made me wish you'd do a temple level of sorts. The gameplay of the level was pretty nice, though, there were some interesting tidbits of platforming and some fun "grainslides." All in all, though, I thought this level would be much more, but I guess this package is a decent one, at best.

Whew! Finally done. I have to say that this is probably one of, if not the, best OLDC SP pack I've ever played. The definite highlights were Kuja's and Ice's submissions. KOTE and Matt brewed up some nice levels, too. Flooded Forest was a decent 2D level, when you play it in an EXE with better 2D support, of course. SonicMaster and Ezer were kind of disappointing, though, seeing as much more is usually expected from them. And, of course, there were a few levels that didn't especially stand out, like glaber's and verifiaman's levels. But, overall, this was a great SP pack. A very good way to end 1.09.4's run, wouldn't you all say?
 
I did have another idea in mind, Chisuun, but I'm gonna have to wait for SRB2ME to execute it, mostly because I need the three months. It will be the Twisted Terminal gimmick executed in Single Player, along with several minor gimmicks to go along with it.
 
Multiplayer time folks! Go nuts... or not.

Match:
Diamondus Battle: 5/10: Sapphire Falls + Edit = This. Enough said.

Aerial Battle: 7/10: Not bad. There was some nice flow in it and it's quite enjoyable.

Race:
Submerged Cavern: 8,5/10: Great. Thank you for the "No Thok-Fest" and for the platforming. And what else? Gimmicks.

Star Reactor: 8/10: Pretty much like Submerged Cavern, but without gimmicks.

CTF:
Geometric Void: 9/10: Very Great. 3 multiple paths to take from your bases. Good flow, and that's all-- Oh wait, no. The bad point in here is the fact of having 2 infinite rings one after another, which makes the player kinda overpowered.

Diamondus CTF 2: 6/10: Sapphire Falls + Edit = This. However, it could get a 7 if you took out that road with the water shield: it makes the game too easy.

Illuminated City: 5/10: Small, disappointing. It's too easy to get from one base to another, and the infinite ring is too easy to get.

So that's it. Although 1.09.4 is not over, it's OLDC "officially" is. Even though I only reviewed the last 2 OLDC, I can say the Level Makers did a great job (well... most of them). See you in the 1st OLDC of SRB2ME. Until then, play nice and fair.
 
:SonicMaster: said:
I did have another idea in mind, Chisuun, but I'm gonna have to wait for SRB2ME to execute it, mostly because I need the three months. It will be the Twisted Terminal gimmick executed in Single Player, along with several minor gimmicks to go along with it.
You can do it in Single Player just fine right now, or at least fake it. It doesn't work that well in Multiplayer, though.
 
Single Player Division ratings. Might do multiplayer ones later.

Cosmic Galaxy by verifiaman: 3/10

A very good theme, awesome music. This level has a huge turn off though, that's the gravity area and the red lasers. The gravity is not what turns me off, but how close you put the lasers in that area. And, if I get hurt by the lasers there, I go into my hurt frames and never come out of it. The red lasers are also undodgable, and couldn't go on because I had no rings. I give you a 3 because of the custom textures and music.

Flooded Forest Zone by Cheese: 3/10
This level had nothing special. The trees looked nice, but they caused lag. Most of the time I just spent running forward into springs and thokking to finish, maybe jumping a few steps underwater.

Glaber Base 5 by Glaber: 2/10
I really didn't enjoy anything in this level, and the extra Sally path wasn't really all that special. Most of the areas are slightly cramped, and that's really annoying. I like what you did with the blocks, the enemies were cool too, and that's why you get a 2.

Aquatic Labyrinth Zone, Act 2 by Kuja: 10/10
I love you Kuja. Everything about this level is brilliance. Extreme difficulty, awesome gimmicks, and so much more, and you packed into a long level. This level is flawless.


Factory Farce Zone, Act 1 by MattW_CFI: 8/10

I really liked the flashing floor that bounced you. The flow was great, the music set a nice mood (When turrets fired at me, it sounded like they were firing at the beat of the song!) and it was nice and fast paced.

Greenery Pass Zone, Act 2 by Knockout The Echidna: 7/10
This level was decent. It was fun going through, but I didn't feel anything special about it. The sunset and colormap were really nice though. The custom scenery was cool too, but the I mistook the rocks for poop the first time I saw them. I was thinking it was crawla waste, haha...but good level.


Green Canyon Zone by SonicMaster: 5/10

SonicMaster, this isn't what I usually expect from you. The level was surprisingly...decent. The water skip gimmick was nice, but it was always controlled by the speed pad. Not much to say, really..

Hidden Sanctuary Zone, Act 2 by Ice: 10/10
This level was awesome. Everything flowed nicely, and there were a good amount of alternate paths, and you did some neat tricks like the gargoyles, the torches, and the fountain. The entire level I was just blazing through, and it was fun.

Mill Citadel Zone, Act 2 by Ezer'Arch: 9/10
This was definitly better then act 1. The gimmicks were a lot of fun, and I loved those spinning things. Everything flowed nice and good. The music choice does not match at all, but that doesn't matter.

Diamondus Battle by Glaber-8/10
An actually kind of great map. I dunno, it was just a lot of fun. It was too much like Sapphire Falls though.

Aerial Match Zone 2 by Cheese-7/10
A good map. I found it slightly hard to see though, and the upper areas felt to small.

Geometric Void Zone by SonicMaster- 9/10
Everything here was great! I liked the different routes, and the platforming was alright too. However slight lag could ruin everything here.

Diamondus CTF2 by Glaber- 9/10
Blargh, more sapphire fallsisnness! That didn't stop this map from being really good, though.

Illuminated City Zone by Cheese-9/10
The map was really small, but it actually worked out. Sometimes rail ring was too easy to use since some areas were flat, and the alternate paths weren't used too often either.

Submerged Cavern Zone by Cheese- 7/10
The map felt too small, but I actually had to time my thoks so it was pretty fun.

Star Reactor by Kuja- 7/10
This map was pretty fun, I liked what you did with dash panels & springs. The beginning hurt my eyes, but that didn't really matter.

This was a good SP wrap up for 1.09.4. Every level, good or bad, was really unique (except for Green Canyon. Sorry.) The multiplayer was even BETTER.
 
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