March/April 2010 Contest Voting
- Thread starter FuriousFox
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- oldc srb2 v2.0.x
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Eh, the only real reason I said that was because everyone else seems to have so much trouble with it.
Actually, in most cases if there's a fan blowing towards you, it's to keep out Tails. I can't recall any fans (besides one that just blows to the side) that are designed for any other reason, in fact.
Match:
MAPM1 - Emerald Hill Zone by Warp - 3/10
Eh, this level was very painful to my eyes, plus thanks to the textures I could hardly see orange players. Anyways, besides the eye kill textures there are MORE things wrong with this. Such as a nuke monitor placed in the level, more then one spawn points of weapon rings (IIRC), no color map in the water, and also, to many shields monitors are put in.
MAPM2 - Sloped Domain Zone by ComRante - 7/10
This level was okay, one of the main flaws was that you used "?" boxes for your random monitors, and you put more then one spawn point for some of the weapon rings. Also, there are a few places where I can go out of the level, and there are a to many jumps at some places. But other then that, good job.
MAPM3 - Aquatic Relic Zone by Spherallic - 5/10
Well, this level is okay, but you could have done better, namely with the detail. The level is very dull and boring looking, Also, I had a hard time finding the weapon rings and the random monitors. Besides that, this level is very average.
MAPM4 - Bone Cave by Brawl - 0/10
You know a level ain't good when the main goal of the match is to find gold rings instead of weapon rings.
MAPM5 - Labyrinth Cavern Zone by darkbob1713 -7/10
This level was okay, but the death pit got a bit annoying. Also, Scatter and bomb are to close together IMO.
MAPM6 - Complete Chaos Zone by Blade - 8/10
Best level of them all, besides the fact that it was a rush job and the fact that you forgot the weapon rings. I like how you used SP stage damage for the red stuff, but it would have been better if it was only red stuff instead a mix of water and the red stuff. Also, I don't like how the moving platforms can crush you, it seems cheap, though that might just be me.
CTF:
MAPF1 - Storm Temple Zone by Scizor300 - 2/10
Er, "?" boxes are not good in any gametype save race, that and the layout was odd. And not to mention there was to many weapon rings every where.
MAPF2 - Concrete Conflict Zone by ComRante 6/10
Nice level, it would be better if it was a bit bigger, and less symetrical, and if the only normal rings was one the top sections.
MAPF3 - Clockwork Towers Zone by KO.T.E/Spherallic Thanks/sphere!
This level at first was gonna be a match level, at least when I was making it by my self, but later on me and Sphere teamed up and made this. I quite like it, but I do think it should have added more blue/red flags in to show what base you are at. I also wished that FF had got my update, it had a few more places that used the steam jet gimmick. Also, this level may not be that good because we NEVER go to play test it as far as I know.
MAPF4 - Desert Dash Zone by darkbob1713 - 5/10
This level was okay, but the quick sand was a real pain, not to mention you have red boxes at the red base. If it wasn't for those two thin I would have given this map a 7 or 6.
MAPF5 - Vivacious Valley Zone by RedEchidna - 5/10
Eh, this level looked pretty ugly, to the point I called it "Jade Flower Zone CTF". But with that aside I'll move on to the bigger isuses, For the first part, the tunnels and the higher path is to cramped, widen the out a bit. Also, The top path is to empty, all it is is just a bridge with rail on it, maybe add in some detail? Anyways, be sides that this level is average.
Circuit:
MAPR1 - Wacky Tesseract Zone by Fawfulfan - 7/10
MAPR2 - Green Hill Zone by WEREHOG - 2/10
MAPR3 - Jungle Ruins Zone by darkbob1713 - 8/10
MAPR4 - Egg Hall Zone by Blade - 10/10
MAPR5 - Arctic Caves Zone by Simsmagic -4/10
MAPR6 - City Jump by Brawl - 0/10
This is just horrid, all you do is hop, and that's it. oh, and fall into death pits. I think you need to look at some official maps before you try again.
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SP votes may come later.
MAPM1 - Emerald Hill Zone by Warp - 3/10
Eh, this level was very painful to my eyes, plus thanks to the textures I could hardly see orange players. Anyways, besides the eye kill textures there are MORE things wrong with this. Such as a nuke monitor placed in the level, more then one spawn points of weapon rings (IIRC), no color map in the water, and also, to many shields monitors are put in.
MAPM2 - Sloped Domain Zone by ComRante - 7/10
This level was okay, one of the main flaws was that you used "?" boxes for your random monitors, and you put more then one spawn point for some of the weapon rings. Also, there are a few places where I can go out of the level, and there are a to many jumps at some places. But other then that, good job.
MAPM3 - Aquatic Relic Zone by Spherallic - 5/10
Well, this level is okay, but you could have done better, namely with the detail. The level is very dull and boring looking, Also, I had a hard time finding the weapon rings and the random monitors. Besides that, this level is very average.
MAPM4 - Bone Cave by Brawl - 0/10
You know a level ain't good when the main goal of the match is to find gold rings instead of weapon rings.
MAPM5 - Labyrinth Cavern Zone by darkbob1713 -7/10
This level was okay, but the death pit got a bit annoying. Also, Scatter and bomb are to close together IMO.
MAPM6 - Complete Chaos Zone by Blade - 8/10
Best level of them all, besides the fact that it was a rush job and the fact that you forgot the weapon rings. I like how you used SP stage damage for the red stuff, but it would have been better if it was only red stuff instead a mix of water and the red stuff. Also, I don't like how the moving platforms can crush you, it seems cheap, though that might just be me.
CTF:
MAPF1 - Storm Temple Zone by Scizor300 - 2/10
Er, "?" boxes are not good in any gametype save race, that and the layout was odd. And not to mention there was to many weapon rings every where.
MAPF2 - Concrete Conflict Zone by ComRante 6/10
Nice level, it would be better if it was a bit bigger, and less symetrical, and if the only normal rings was one the top sections.
MAPF3 - Clockwork Towers Zone by KO.T.E/Spherallic Thanks/sphere!
This level at first was gonna be a match level, at least when I was making it by my self, but later on me and Sphere teamed up and made this. I quite like it, but I do think it should have added more blue/red flags in to show what base you are at. I also wished that FF had got my update, it had a few more places that used the steam jet gimmick. Also, this level may not be that good because we NEVER go to play test it as far as I know.
MAPF4 - Desert Dash Zone by darkbob1713 - 5/10
This level was okay, but the quick sand was a real pain, not to mention you have red boxes at the red base. If it wasn't for those two thin I would have given this map a 7 or 6.
MAPF5 - Vivacious Valley Zone by RedEchidna - 5/10
Eh, this level looked pretty ugly, to the point I called it "Jade Flower Zone CTF". But with that aside I'll move on to the bigger isuses, For the first part, the tunnels and the higher path is to cramped, widen the out a bit. Also, The top path is to empty, all it is is just a bridge with rail on it, maybe add in some detail? Anyways, be sides that this level is average.
Circuit:
MAPR1 - Wacky Tesseract Zone by Fawfulfan - 7/10
MAPR2 - Green Hill Zone by WEREHOG - 2/10
MAPR3 - Jungle Ruins Zone by darkbob1713 - 8/10
MAPR4 - Egg Hall Zone by Blade - 10/10
MAPR5 - Arctic Caves Zone by Simsmagic -4/10
MAPR6 - City Jump by Brawl - 0/10
This is just horrid, all you do is hop, and that's it. oh, and fall into death pits. I think you need to look at some official maps before you try again.
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SP votes may come later.
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Daywalker
The Daily Browser
Emerald Hill Zone by Warp 3/10
-Very flat and bland.
-The row of flowers near the deep body of water is not the best of ideas, a fence could be in place of them.
-The water in the main area is annoying, it just seems like its duty is just to mess someone up when they are chasing someone or trying to get away. Making the water take up less area would be helpful.
-Lag this time around is pretty bad sometimes, other times it is not a problem. Might want to get rid of some of the decorations or what is causing the lag.
Consider improving the design, this level is in need of some variation of some sort instead of being flat.
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The rest should be coming eventually
-Very flat and bland.
-The row of flowers near the deep body of water is not the best of ideas, a fence could be in place of them.
-The water in the main area is annoying, it just seems like its duty is just to mess someone up when they are chasing someone or trying to get away. Making the water take up less area would be helpful.
-Lag this time around is pretty bad sometimes, other times it is not a problem. Might want to get rid of some of the decorations or what is causing the lag.
Consider improving the design, this level is in need of some variation of some sort instead of being flat.
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The rest should be coming eventually
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Ok, so I'm done doing Single Plater Division, here we go....I guess.
Bolt Gardens: 1/10
God this level was awful. First, the sector layout looked messy and so was some areas of texture variation. Second, it is very bland and the paths are confusing as hell and I don't even know where the hell I'm going half the time. Third is the areas which the spring is supposedly to send you; you can't even get up there and where's the exit? and last, this level i impossible to complete as Sonic. Sort this out.
Castle Goth: 1/10
Very cramped, bland, pointless & cheap reverse gravity gimmicks, the insta collapsing floor ends up as instadeath as you can't recover most of the time as Sonic & Knuckles mainly, and it sigsevs on the left path every time I go down there.
River Dash: 3/10
This pretty much sums up a beginner's map. Although it was better than the first 2 maps, it was very flat & bland in most areas and it lacked in texture variation and any real challenge at all. Also what's with the music?
Molten Cavern: 5/10
Average, but it just felt too easy as Knuckles, medium as Tails and quite hard as Sonic. It needs to be balanced for all 3 characters. Texture variation was ok, but it felt quite bland in term of scenery. Though the custom enemy was cool.
Detonation Drift: 6/10
Finally, a decent SP map, whilst it had very nice visuals, the gameplay, the replay ability, & the gimmicks were nice as well, though my only concerns were it was a bit cramped, some of the power ups such as the invincible and the green shield were too easy to get hold of, taking away some of the challenge in the level. It was still good though.
Sparkling Hill: 3/10
The main problem? the difficulty, it was waaaay to easy and it lacked any challenge at all. Second is the overuse of green hurt my eyes, get some texture variation in. I wasn't surprised someone would use the Sonic 4 soundtrack at some point, though I thought it fit with the theme. The only decent gimmick was the side spring.
Icelandic Tempest: 5/10
Lol Sonic 2 Cameo
It was ok, but there were some things which bothered me about it. First, the level's too easy and kind of felt short. Second is that it completely lacked in scenery & also lacked in texture variation, the old MM8 texture doesn't really look cool anymore (Yes I used to use it I know, but I don't now) try using the new textures to see what results you get from it, and also in some parts of the level, it felt cramped or too open with nothing in it.
Overall SP Division: Disappointing, the odd maps were good, but most of it was terrible and I expect to see a better division next time.
Bolt Gardens: 1/10
God this level was awful. First, the sector layout looked messy and so was some areas of texture variation. Second, it is very bland and the paths are confusing as hell and I don't even know where the hell I'm going half the time. Third is the areas which the spring is supposedly to send you; you can't even get up there and where's the exit? and last, this level i impossible to complete as Sonic. Sort this out.
Castle Goth: 1/10
Very cramped, bland, pointless & cheap reverse gravity gimmicks, the insta collapsing floor ends up as instadeath as you can't recover most of the time as Sonic & Knuckles mainly, and it sigsevs on the left path every time I go down there.
River Dash: 3/10
This pretty much sums up a beginner's map. Although it was better than the first 2 maps, it was very flat & bland in most areas and it lacked in texture variation and any real challenge at all. Also what's with the music?
Molten Cavern: 5/10
Average, but it just felt too easy as Knuckles, medium as Tails and quite hard as Sonic. It needs to be balanced for all 3 characters. Texture variation was ok, but it felt quite bland in term of scenery. Though the custom enemy was cool.
Detonation Drift: 6/10
Finally, a decent SP map, whilst it had very nice visuals, the gameplay, the replay ability, & the gimmicks were nice as well, though my only concerns were it was a bit cramped, some of the power ups such as the invincible and the green shield were too easy to get hold of, taking away some of the challenge in the level. It was still good though.
Sparkling Hill: 3/10
The main problem? the difficulty, it was waaaay to easy and it lacked any challenge at all. Second is the overuse of green hurt my eyes, get some texture variation in. I wasn't surprised someone would use the Sonic 4 soundtrack at some point, though I thought it fit with the theme. The only decent gimmick was the side spring.
Icelandic Tempest: 5/10
Lol Sonic 2 Cameo
It was ok, but there were some things which bothered me about it. First, the level's too easy and kind of felt short. Second is that it completely lacked in scenery & also lacked in texture variation, the old MM8 texture doesn't really look cool anymore (Yes I used to use it I know, but I don't now) try using the new textures to see what results you get from it, and also in some parts of the level, it felt cramped or too open with nothing in it.
Overall SP Division: Disappointing, the odd maps were good, but most of it was terrible and I expect to see a better division next time.
Wow, this contest's Match and CTF division sure had a lot of beginners mistakes regarding item placement. Only one Match map did no Level Design 101 mistakes, and CTF was only a bit better. I really feel to address a few points:
- Use WRMs and SRMs instead of Random Monitors
- Place 3-4 WRMs and 1-2 SRMs
- Place every weapon panel once and only once (probably twice in the case of CTF)
- Put enough ammo for everything, but balance it so that the stronger weapons get less
- Put more than 30 emerald spawns, but probably even 50+. 150, like CTZ, is not too much at all, but 7 means there is no randomization.
Rileyss
Member
@Werehog
http://img441.imageshack.us/i/srb20031.png/ <---- Fixed.
But also, if you go at this bumper, you will end up just below the platform.
I don't know if that is to tease you, but you really get the feeling that this map isn't tested.
http://img441.imageshack.us/i/srb20031.png/ <---- Fixed.
But also, if you go at this bumper, you will end up just below the platform.
I don't know if that is to tease you, but you really get the feeling that this map isn't tested.
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lolborkedlink
Anyway, now for the Circuit votes.
CIRCUIT
Wacky Tesseract Zone by fawfulfan - 7/10
This stage is quite nice, it looks okay and the gameplay isn't half bad. The obstacles are quite clever (especially the waving floor), but I didn't understand the point of the horizontally moving blue blocks. Also, the 2d section looks the worst, ironically. That section is also the most bland, please remove it. Otherwise, a fairly good map.
Green Hill Zone by WEREHOG - 2/10
It doesn't look very good, the map itself has a huge shortcut which is game-breaking, there are spikeballs for no reason, and the theme is horribly overused. Nothing else to say.
Jungle Ruins Zone by darkbob1713 - 5/10
Wow, you made this stage look exactly the same as a map idea I had 2 months ago. It was quite detailed in my mind, and it looks good on this stage. The actual map is quite decent, albeit a bit short and with a large amount of rings.
Egg Hall Zone by Blade - 5/10
And another average stage. This stage looks decent, but it plays a bit bland, and it only has a few gimmicks in it. The cannonballs never were a threat for me, and the maces were easy to avoid too (except for the one before the finish line). The water path is slightly annoying, but the overall stage had a good length.
Arctic Caves Zone by Simsmagic - 2/10
running + boring graphics + running + damaging water + running + few jumping + eggman + more running = this stage.
City Jump by Brawl - 0/10
This has got to be a joke. Ridiculously ugly graphics (lolonetextureandoneflat), no starposts, rings clustered together, and worst of all: extremely basic jumping over a death pit.
Anyway, now for the Circuit votes.
CIRCUIT
Wacky Tesseract Zone by fawfulfan - 7/10
This stage is quite nice, it looks okay and the gameplay isn't half bad. The obstacles are quite clever (especially the waving floor), but I didn't understand the point of the horizontally moving blue blocks. Also, the 2d section looks the worst, ironically. That section is also the most bland, please remove it. Otherwise, a fairly good map.
Green Hill Zone by WEREHOG - 2/10
It doesn't look very good, the map itself has a huge shortcut which is game-breaking, there are spikeballs for no reason, and the theme is horribly overused. Nothing else to say.
Jungle Ruins Zone by darkbob1713 - 5/10
Wow, you made this stage look exactly the same as a map idea I had 2 months ago. It was quite detailed in my mind, and it looks good on this stage. The actual map is quite decent, albeit a bit short and with a large amount of rings.
Egg Hall Zone by Blade - 5/10
And another average stage. This stage looks decent, but it plays a bit bland, and it only has a few gimmicks in it. The cannonballs never were a threat for me, and the maces were easy to avoid too (except for the one before the finish line). The water path is slightly annoying, but the overall stage had a good length.
Arctic Caves Zone by Simsmagic - 2/10
running + boring graphics + running + damaging water + running + few jumping + eggman + more running = this stage.
City Jump by Brawl - 0/10
This has got to be a joke. Ridiculously ugly graphics (lolonetextureandoneflat), no starposts, rings clustered together, and worst of all: extremely basic jumping over a death pit.
MellowJacket
The unreliable judge
Giant post incoming. 6 pages of a word document yay.
Multiplayer Level Reviews
Match
Emerald Hill Zone – 2
Oh my, there are far too many monitors lying around. That creates quite the problem, as the power ups are trivial to earn. That aside, the obvious copy & paste job done with the trees is very dull in both gameplay and visual terms, a large clump of identical platforms that make up the majority of the stage does not a fun match map make.
On the matter of the maps textures, the same texture, made up 3 out of 4 walls, aaaaaaa. While the trees and waterfall partially succeed at drawing the eye away from this, it is still ugly as anything.
With that aside though, the lower section of the level was more playable, with plenty of cover for the player to use with the trees and the water, although the waterfall area gives the player to much reward for to little effort, 4 ring monitors all lined up in a row.
Sloped Domain Zone – 4
First of all, random monitors? Do not want. You need to use SRM’s and WRM’s, not traditional random monitors.
I rather liked the purple, green and blue colour scheme at use here and the stage had decent flow to it was easy for the player to access any point at any given time. However, because of the open nature, Sonic felt a tad underpowered as he had to jump up the winding staircase to get out of the room with the large structure, leaving him open to attacks from Tails and Knuckles players. Furthermore, the random monitor at the top of the structure was to difficult for a Sonic player to reach, being unable to jump up there without the assistance of a spring some distance away.
But, random monitors and character imbalance aside, it was good fun to play and I had a great time.
Aquatic Relic Zone - 7
I had trouble navigating the place, to say the least, although when looking at the map in Doom Builder, I really can’t tell why as the map is well connected and each room has a recognizable layout and landmarks within, the vertical distance in several of the rooms kept things varied as well without spreading the map to thin.
That aside, I enjoyed the visual aspect of this level. The use of moss textures mixed with normal DSZ stone was nice, as was the geographical details (such as the collapsed ceiling in one room)
The item layout was fitting, with the weapon rings spread out enough to force the player to do some legwork if they want to amass a group of weapon rings and emerald hunt, without making them to distant and plenty enough rings to feed the players.
Oh, and the waterfalls were obviously copy pasted, it’s so obvious it hurts. D:
Bone Cave – 2
An ugly mess, to put it simply. This is such a small map, there isn’t much to talk about, but the texturing is painful on the eyes and unfitting (Black and gold chequered floors in a cave?) and the lava is unintuitive, lava normally just damages the player, when it suddenly insta-kills the player… Well, it’s an unexpected death for a first time player. Also, the level layout is unbalanced character wise with Tails and Knuckles able to access the centre cage at will, while Sonic has to take a run around several bone pillars and cross by the insta-death level to do so. However, item placement was alright, no glaring flaws visible there, but the rest of the map let it down.
Labyrinth Cavern Zone - 5
The music for this stage, while fitting for the theme, is incredible annoying. It’s a short loop that doesn’t sound all that great to begin with and by the end of a 5/10 minute match, it is very grating. The texturing here is very, very dull as well. So much blue, the green and black/brown cave walls offset this slightly, but it is very annoying regardless.
On the topic of visuals, the blackness that extends out far into the distance, just… Why? If you were attempting to give the stage the appearance of an underground cavern, the DSZ sky would have done the job just fine without looking so poor.
The death pits provided a nice risk/reward system, with groups of items or weapon rings only available by making the jumps. While this screwed me over several times, the deaths because of the pits were either my fault, or caused by another player shooting me off of a platform, nothing cheap about them so all is good there.
Complete Chaos Zone - 3
For a 60 minute rush job, this is surprisingly playable. However, the layout is not exactly ideal, with the blue spring section being simply annoying and the top left rooftop being irritating to reach, slow elevators is not fun for Sonic players.
Now, just to state the obvious. So very very blocky, many squares, MANY squares. Many squares, no weapon rings, make Whackjood go crazy. The fact that only the Bounce ring was present and the lack of other Weapon Panels was unforgivable and made the match, well, a red ring spam fest. Even though you submitted a version of the map with fixed weapon panels, rushing a map that close to the deadline is just begging for problems like that to occur :P
Oh, and special stage damage. While interesting, makes it easy for players to camp. Get a lead on the other players and gain invincibility from giving the other players points! Just pay 10 rings every few seconds while standing in the red water.
CTF
Storm Temple Zone – 3
Oh my, weapon rings and panels sitting on death pits? What happened there? Furthermore, using random monitors is a no go as well, make sure you use WRM’s and SRM’s.
The stage layout was questionable as well, the middle lower path was the direct route to and from the bases, and the red springs that takes the player to the upper path were not visible unless you take an unintuitive sharp turn as soon as you leave the base. As a result, most games on this map resulted in players using the middle path exclusively.
If anything, I liked the thunderclouds that served as the source for the stages water, a nice touch.
Concrete Conflict Zone - 4
This stage is so small, so tiny and as a result hectic, it became fun. Yeah, this map was a fast paced blast with small groups of players (Although, a bit much to handle with larger groups.)
With the item placement, I have to ask. Why oh why would you put 2 rail panels in each base? Using another panel in place of one of the rail panels would have been welcome.
Regarding the stage design, the middle ground for this stage is so small that it creates problems. By not giving the player any room to breath when playing (They are either in the other teams base, or their team is under attack and their flag stolen) it can get rather tiring for the player, as a point of comparison, Icicle Falls Zone is equally as hectic, but uses far more middle ground to keep the player from being on edge to much. While I’m on the topic of the stage design, I feel that the lifts in each base are flow breaking and makes escaping with the flag feel luck based as the flag carrier needs to leap onto the elevator as it is rising, or get pummelled with rings by the defending players and that player is out of luck if he or she can’t instantly jump on the lift.
Clockwork Towers Zone - 8
Crazy original theme get! That aside, this stage is fairly dull on the eyes with a lot of browns, greys and blacks but it never got to the point of being off-putting, most likely due to the interesting graphical detail. Such as the towers, windows and cogs.
The layout for this stage was initially confusing, giving the stage a sharp difficulty curve, due to the size of the bases. This issue is made more severe by the fact that there aren’t enough team banners in each base complicating the issue if a player is lost. However, the design is lovely to play with once the player knows the layout, with intertwining paths, passageways and alternate paths galore and some extra routes for players willing to take the risk, such as leaping from the bridge in the middle area through the window below.
While the cogs looked lovely, the spinning cogs on the other hand were ugly and buggy and to be honest, I feel the stage would have been better off if the cogs on the floor didn’t move, the spinning cogs on the ceiling were fine though as the insta-death pinch never got in the players way there.
But, that aside, there was a great risk reward system in place and thing placement worked fine so the stage was overall, great fun.
Desert Dash Zone – 3
Red team monitors at the blue base? Really? I think you messed up there, to say the least by creating quite the team imbalance.
That aside, the timed quicksand gimmick was awkward to play with and made capturing the flag feel luck based, either the sand is raised so you will get stuck, unable to escape with thok/fly/glide, or the sand is down and you can use the red springs to make a speedy escape to your base and some of weapon panels were places in areas that made them to risky or time consuming to worth getting, such as the grenade and scatter panels that can only be accessed when the quicksand is down.
The base design wasn’t fantastic either, by giving the flag runner a place to escape from firing sight as soon as he picks up the flag, the base was to difficult to defend.
Vivacious Valley Zone – 5
This stage was perfectly functional as a CTF stage, with alternate paths and a layout that was only mirrored on one axis to keep things varied, but the colour scheme was painful on the eyes while outside due to the bright yellow walls and the inside of the bases were rather bland. While I’m discussing the bases, giving the flag runner a grenade panel while he uses the alternate exit is awkward and makes it far to easy to escape with the flag.
Moving on, the level design outside of the bases was fine, if a little small. But that aside, there were no obvious glaring flaws in the outside area of the level, so all is good there.
Circuit
Wacky Tesseract Zone – 7
This was really good fun, and original in theme as well. Aside from the NiGHTs stage in the official circuit rotation, I can’t think of any other special stage themed race maps.
Visually this stage had some lovely geographical detail, with the scenary pillars and pyramids near the start, or the floating platforms that were enlarging and shrinking. Texturally, it was good for the most part. But a few rooms were bland to look at, such as the waving platform and the 2D area.
Gameplay wise, this map was constantly throwing new things at the player that kept it from being a thokfest and interesting at the same time… Almost constantly, the 2D section did very little for the gameplay and was uninteresting, serving only to make the laps longer to be honest. It needs to go.
Green Hill Zone – 2
This map is in dire need of additional starposts, it is possible to take the shortcut, touch the second starpost and run back to the start line to cheat the level by skipping the water section, with a faster time no less.
That aside, the map small checker texture is a pain visually and the floating spike balls do not fit the theme, normal spikes would have worked far better. The level layout wasn’t excellent either, during the water section, forcing the player to backtrack and take a far longer path if they fall into the water was not a good idea, the punishment for failure needs to be there, but far less of it.
Jungle Ruins Zone - 6
Yes, this stage looked lovely, it was interesting to see a good jungle themed level as well. The theme was interesting and the geographical detail was a pleasure to look at as well, such as the temple at the start, the collapsing floor that leaves brick shaped indents as well, the tube with water dripping out was interesting on top of these things.
In terms of the functionality as a race stage, this was a little short, but it worked fine regardless. However, with the branching paths at one point. I found this a little questionable as when the faster path is discovered the other path will never be used, although, in this case, the difference between the paths was too slight to be very noticeable. Although I noticed players constantly ran for the spiral instead of the staircase to collapsing walkway.
However, regarding gameplay glitches. If the player triggers the starpost in the quicksand then dies, the player will die upon respawning and in one netgame, a player got stuck in one of the cracks in the ground. To be honest, I’m not really sure how that happened, but it did regardless.
Egg Hall Zone - 8
I loved the detail used for the inaccessible areas of the stage, with sharps and facestabbers used as effective decoration, the areas within the boundaries of the playing area was nicely done as well.
Functionality wise, this stage worked for the most part, although the use of cannonballs is questionable as they aim for the players in the lead with no chance of hitting them, but with a slight chance to hit the players in the back, widening the gap between the players. On a hazard related note, the players who keep getting hit by the maces just need to be more careful.
Oh, and you included Tails/Knux paths that actually give them a slight fighting chance. <3 <3 <3
Arctic Caves Zone - 4
To be honest, this stage was bland and uninteresting to play because, well, aside from a few harmful water pits, there was little in play to provide a hazard for the player, also there were few landmarks in the stage as the two tunnels look almost identical which led to confusion in one race game as, after a teleporter monitor went off, players ran off in both directions in order to try and figure out which way to go.
That aside, the stage worked visually, the blue colour scheme was easy on the eyes but nothing really stood out about it either, but Eggman trapped in the ice was win enough to be worth it.
City Jump -1
Oh what, just, what? This only gets a point because it is playable. I think I’ll just run through what is wrong with this level, it comes with no redeeming qualities.
It’s a bunch of platforms one after another, just, that, a square of square platforms to jump on with a grand total of three textures used for the entire level giving the player nothing interesting to work with, furthermore, the player can just backtrack upon touching the first starpost for an unfair shortcut.
Oh, and it’s crazy short. I’ve ran out of things to say.
Multiplayer Level Reviews
Match
Emerald Hill Zone – 2
Oh my, there are far too many monitors lying around. That creates quite the problem, as the power ups are trivial to earn. That aside, the obvious copy & paste job done with the trees is very dull in both gameplay and visual terms, a large clump of identical platforms that make up the majority of the stage does not a fun match map make.
On the matter of the maps textures, the same texture, made up 3 out of 4 walls, aaaaaaa. While the trees and waterfall partially succeed at drawing the eye away from this, it is still ugly as anything.
With that aside though, the lower section of the level was more playable, with plenty of cover for the player to use with the trees and the water, although the waterfall area gives the player to much reward for to little effort, 4 ring monitors all lined up in a row.
Sloped Domain Zone – 4
First of all, random monitors? Do not want. You need to use SRM’s and WRM’s, not traditional random monitors.
I rather liked the purple, green and blue colour scheme at use here and the stage had decent flow to it was easy for the player to access any point at any given time. However, because of the open nature, Sonic felt a tad underpowered as he had to jump up the winding staircase to get out of the room with the large structure, leaving him open to attacks from Tails and Knuckles players. Furthermore, the random monitor at the top of the structure was to difficult for a Sonic player to reach, being unable to jump up there without the assistance of a spring some distance away.
But, random monitors and character imbalance aside, it was good fun to play and I had a great time.
Aquatic Relic Zone - 7
I had trouble navigating the place, to say the least, although when looking at the map in Doom Builder, I really can’t tell why as the map is well connected and each room has a recognizable layout and landmarks within, the vertical distance in several of the rooms kept things varied as well without spreading the map to thin.
That aside, I enjoyed the visual aspect of this level. The use of moss textures mixed with normal DSZ stone was nice, as was the geographical details (such as the collapsed ceiling in one room)
The item layout was fitting, with the weapon rings spread out enough to force the player to do some legwork if they want to amass a group of weapon rings and emerald hunt, without making them to distant and plenty enough rings to feed the players.
Oh, and the waterfalls were obviously copy pasted, it’s so obvious it hurts. D:
Bone Cave – 2
An ugly mess, to put it simply. This is such a small map, there isn’t much to talk about, but the texturing is painful on the eyes and unfitting (Black and gold chequered floors in a cave?) and the lava is unintuitive, lava normally just damages the player, when it suddenly insta-kills the player… Well, it’s an unexpected death for a first time player. Also, the level layout is unbalanced character wise with Tails and Knuckles able to access the centre cage at will, while Sonic has to take a run around several bone pillars and cross by the insta-death level to do so. However, item placement was alright, no glaring flaws visible there, but the rest of the map let it down.
Labyrinth Cavern Zone - 5
The music for this stage, while fitting for the theme, is incredible annoying. It’s a short loop that doesn’t sound all that great to begin with and by the end of a 5/10 minute match, it is very grating. The texturing here is very, very dull as well. So much blue, the green and black/brown cave walls offset this slightly, but it is very annoying regardless.
On the topic of visuals, the blackness that extends out far into the distance, just… Why? If you were attempting to give the stage the appearance of an underground cavern, the DSZ sky would have done the job just fine without looking so poor.
The death pits provided a nice risk/reward system, with groups of items or weapon rings only available by making the jumps. While this screwed me over several times, the deaths because of the pits were either my fault, or caused by another player shooting me off of a platform, nothing cheap about them so all is good there.
Complete Chaos Zone - 3
For a 60 minute rush job, this is surprisingly playable. However, the layout is not exactly ideal, with the blue spring section being simply annoying and the top left rooftop being irritating to reach, slow elevators is not fun for Sonic players.
Now, just to state the obvious. So very very blocky, many squares, MANY squares. Many squares, no weapon rings, make Whackjood go crazy. The fact that only the Bounce ring was present and the lack of other Weapon Panels was unforgivable and made the match, well, a red ring spam fest. Even though you submitted a version of the map with fixed weapon panels, rushing a map that close to the deadline is just begging for problems like that to occur :P
Oh, and special stage damage. While interesting, makes it easy for players to camp. Get a lead on the other players and gain invincibility from giving the other players points! Just pay 10 rings every few seconds while standing in the red water.
CTF
Storm Temple Zone – 3
Oh my, weapon rings and panels sitting on death pits? What happened there? Furthermore, using random monitors is a no go as well, make sure you use WRM’s and SRM’s.
The stage layout was questionable as well, the middle lower path was the direct route to and from the bases, and the red springs that takes the player to the upper path were not visible unless you take an unintuitive sharp turn as soon as you leave the base. As a result, most games on this map resulted in players using the middle path exclusively.
If anything, I liked the thunderclouds that served as the source for the stages water, a nice touch.
Concrete Conflict Zone - 4
This stage is so small, so tiny and as a result hectic, it became fun. Yeah, this map was a fast paced blast with small groups of players (Although, a bit much to handle with larger groups.)
With the item placement, I have to ask. Why oh why would you put 2 rail panels in each base? Using another panel in place of one of the rail panels would have been welcome.
Regarding the stage design, the middle ground for this stage is so small that it creates problems. By not giving the player any room to breath when playing (They are either in the other teams base, or their team is under attack and their flag stolen) it can get rather tiring for the player, as a point of comparison, Icicle Falls Zone is equally as hectic, but uses far more middle ground to keep the player from being on edge to much. While I’m on the topic of the stage design, I feel that the lifts in each base are flow breaking and makes escaping with the flag feel luck based as the flag carrier needs to leap onto the elevator as it is rising, or get pummelled with rings by the defending players and that player is out of luck if he or she can’t instantly jump on the lift.
Clockwork Towers Zone - 8
Crazy original theme get! That aside, this stage is fairly dull on the eyes with a lot of browns, greys and blacks but it never got to the point of being off-putting, most likely due to the interesting graphical detail. Such as the towers, windows and cogs.
The layout for this stage was initially confusing, giving the stage a sharp difficulty curve, due to the size of the bases. This issue is made more severe by the fact that there aren’t enough team banners in each base complicating the issue if a player is lost. However, the design is lovely to play with once the player knows the layout, with intertwining paths, passageways and alternate paths galore and some extra routes for players willing to take the risk, such as leaping from the bridge in the middle area through the window below.
While the cogs looked lovely, the spinning cogs on the other hand were ugly and buggy and to be honest, I feel the stage would have been better off if the cogs on the floor didn’t move, the spinning cogs on the ceiling were fine though as the insta-death pinch never got in the players way there.
But, that aside, there was a great risk reward system in place and thing placement worked fine so the stage was overall, great fun.
Desert Dash Zone – 3
Red team monitors at the blue base? Really? I think you messed up there, to say the least by creating quite the team imbalance.
That aside, the timed quicksand gimmick was awkward to play with and made capturing the flag feel luck based, either the sand is raised so you will get stuck, unable to escape with thok/fly/glide, or the sand is down and you can use the red springs to make a speedy escape to your base and some of weapon panels were places in areas that made them to risky or time consuming to worth getting, such as the grenade and scatter panels that can only be accessed when the quicksand is down.
The base design wasn’t fantastic either, by giving the flag runner a place to escape from firing sight as soon as he picks up the flag, the base was to difficult to defend.
Vivacious Valley Zone – 5
This stage was perfectly functional as a CTF stage, with alternate paths and a layout that was only mirrored on one axis to keep things varied, but the colour scheme was painful on the eyes while outside due to the bright yellow walls and the inside of the bases were rather bland. While I’m discussing the bases, giving the flag runner a grenade panel while he uses the alternate exit is awkward and makes it far to easy to escape with the flag.
Moving on, the level design outside of the bases was fine, if a little small. But that aside, there were no obvious glaring flaws in the outside area of the level, so all is good there.
Circuit
Wacky Tesseract Zone – 7
This was really good fun, and original in theme as well. Aside from the NiGHTs stage in the official circuit rotation, I can’t think of any other special stage themed race maps.
Visually this stage had some lovely geographical detail, with the scenary pillars and pyramids near the start, or the floating platforms that were enlarging and shrinking. Texturally, it was good for the most part. But a few rooms were bland to look at, such as the waving platform and the 2D area.
Gameplay wise, this map was constantly throwing new things at the player that kept it from being a thokfest and interesting at the same time… Almost constantly, the 2D section did very little for the gameplay and was uninteresting, serving only to make the laps longer to be honest. It needs to go.
Green Hill Zone – 2
This map is in dire need of additional starposts, it is possible to take the shortcut, touch the second starpost and run back to the start line to cheat the level by skipping the water section, with a faster time no less.
That aside, the map small checker texture is a pain visually and the floating spike balls do not fit the theme, normal spikes would have worked far better. The level layout wasn’t excellent either, during the water section, forcing the player to backtrack and take a far longer path if they fall into the water was not a good idea, the punishment for failure needs to be there, but far less of it.
Jungle Ruins Zone - 6
Yes, this stage looked lovely, it was interesting to see a good jungle themed level as well. The theme was interesting and the geographical detail was a pleasure to look at as well, such as the temple at the start, the collapsing floor that leaves brick shaped indents as well, the tube with water dripping out was interesting on top of these things.
In terms of the functionality as a race stage, this was a little short, but it worked fine regardless. However, with the branching paths at one point. I found this a little questionable as when the faster path is discovered the other path will never be used, although, in this case, the difference between the paths was too slight to be very noticeable. Although I noticed players constantly ran for the spiral instead of the staircase to collapsing walkway.
However, regarding gameplay glitches. If the player triggers the starpost in the quicksand then dies, the player will die upon respawning and in one netgame, a player got stuck in one of the cracks in the ground. To be honest, I’m not really sure how that happened, but it did regardless.
Egg Hall Zone - 8
I loved the detail used for the inaccessible areas of the stage, with sharps and facestabbers used as effective decoration, the areas within the boundaries of the playing area was nicely done as well.
Functionality wise, this stage worked for the most part, although the use of cannonballs is questionable as they aim for the players in the lead with no chance of hitting them, but with a slight chance to hit the players in the back, widening the gap between the players. On a hazard related note, the players who keep getting hit by the maces just need to be more careful.
Oh, and you included Tails/Knux paths that actually give them a slight fighting chance. <3 <3 <3
Arctic Caves Zone - 4
To be honest, this stage was bland and uninteresting to play because, well, aside from a few harmful water pits, there was little in play to provide a hazard for the player, also there were few landmarks in the stage as the two tunnels look almost identical which led to confusion in one race game as, after a teleporter monitor went off, players ran off in both directions in order to try and figure out which way to go.
That aside, the stage worked visually, the blue colour scheme was easy on the eyes but nothing really stood out about it either, but Eggman trapped in the ice was win enough to be worth it.
City Jump -1
Oh what, just, what? This only gets a point because it is playable. I think I’ll just run through what is wrong with this level, it comes with no redeeming qualities.
It’s a bunch of platforms one after another, just, that, a square of square platforms to jump on with a grand total of three textures used for the entire level giving the player nothing interesting to work with, furthermore, the player can just backtrack upon touching the first starpost for an unfair shortcut.
Oh, and it’s crazy short. I’ve ran out of things to say.
Whaut? It wasn't short at all, unless you took the path that made you run into the Genesis cartridge. Yes, there are two exits to this level.
Also, I have actually finished voting now, so if you wish to see what you have received from me, go to the first response to this topic.
Your opinions are entitled to yourself, my opinions are entitled to mine and yes I played through most of the entire stage and the feedback that I given back was my opinion of the level.
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I actually agree with Blahblahbal...Icelandic Tempest isn't really that short. It has some flaws, but length is not one of them.
I'm not too late for this, right? Right, I guess so.
As usual, I expect to only be voting on the SP division. All maps were played primarily by Sonic, although most maps were also given second playthroughs with either Tails or Knuckles, to extend research of the level.
Single Player Division
River Dash Zone by Whackjood - 3/10
The unimpressive and sometimes clashing artistic design of the level makes this look like a beginner's level, and while there is some interesting use of the game's objects to provide hazards to the level, the overall length and linearity, lack of challenge, and unpolished architecture of the level leaves much to be desired. Add in the completely unintuitive boss at the end, and you've got yourself a pretty unengaging map. Although the two tracks of music you added are from game soundtracks I like, I can't give you credit for adding in non-looppointed 10-bit music that I think clashes with what I think a higher-quality custom ogg would suit better.
Castle Goth Zone, Act 1 by Spongecar - 2/10
What tries to be creative ends up coming off as an awkward, gimmicky mess. Gravity flips serving no real purpose, buggy instant deaths resulting from one of those aforementioned flips, and a lack of aesthetics add to the shortcomings of an already short map.
I'm pretty sure we already had a gothic castle not two contests ago. If I remember correctly, it was just as bad as this one.
Bolt Gardens Zone, Act 1 by WEREHOG - 1/10
First off, please make it clearer where the map is located. I immediately assumed it was MAP01, then checked MAP02, then decided to figure it out with a WAD editor since there was no other obvious solution (you didn't seem to actually add coop or race support in the header, so I skipped through it in the multiplayer select without knowing it).
The actual level itself is a boring leap from platform to platform in an environment filled with unappealing/clashing textures and generic brick platforms. From what I've deduced, you neglected a vital stepping stone needed for Sonic to actually complete the level. Progressing with Tails or Knuckles reveals more points of uninterest. This level is playable, but only in the barest and most loosely defined state possible.
Molten Cavern Zone, Act 1 by Chrome - 7/10
There are some pretty good lava gimmicks to be found here, and the cave formations really make the atmosphere in this level. As usual, there's a new enemy to be found, and even though it doesn't heavily impact the gameplay of the level, it makes the experience seem a little more fresh. Great aesthetics, the level design itself is enjoyable and not without its secrets to be found, and the level ends with an interesting cliffhanger, to which we'll see the outcome of in Act 2. Overall, the only real flaw in this level is its lack of any true innovation; it does what's proven to work, but hardly dares to go beyond the common mechanics usually seen in levels. As a result, there's nothing completely new or interesting to experience here, but it's still an enjoyable platforming experience worth the playthrough.
Two particular bugs I found are near the end of the level: the sector containing the whirlwind shield has a visual glitch appearing at the linedef on the side of the thok barrier, whilst the sector with a lone 1-up is a death pit sector with a missing linedef texture.
Detonation Drift Zone by RedEchidna - 7/10
What separates this level from the pack is the sheer multilinearity caused by the splitting and conjoining of different paths taking place around halfway into the level, thanks to some clever restrictions denying some characters from taking specific passages. At one point or another, it's easy to get mislead backtracking into another path because of this, but otherwise it only serves to benefit the level with choices between a variety of different interesting challenges, the power room in particular being probably the neatest and most interesting one available (although if the author could choose a less ear-piercing sound to use, that would be appreciated). The sector architecture is a bit plain at times, but otherwise the level and its visuals are pretty well-built.
If there's one complaint I have with the level, it's that I feel like some of the challenges placed are too easy due to the generous quantity of rings given to the player in all-too-convenient places (the main offender here is the hopping fireball path, where a ring is placed between each fireball), whereas some other sections not too far into the level seem too harsh, instantly killing the player. As the level goes on, though, the difficulty becomes more uniformed and challenging at a steadily increasing rate. The elemental shield really breaks some of the challenges in the level, but for those having hardships in certain sections, this might perhaps be a blessing in disguise (whatever disguise that may be).
The length of the whole level is a bit enduring, but given you choose a background tune to listen to other than shoddy SRB1 midis, the creative replayability offered by both the collectibles and the character-specific paths to choose from makes this worth more than one playthrough.
Icelandic Tempest Zone by Akirahedgehog - 5/10
A lot of areas here have sufficient decoration and structures, resulting in a pretty nice atmosphere, but the ones that don't will really show up as the generic thokfest hallways (although thankfully it's a bit of a rarity in this map). There are enough points of interests to keep me looking around for a little while, but nothing really jumps out or is all that particularly exciting. The jump from ice to lava seems a bit too sudden of a theme transition, but overall nothing in here is too offensive. The music (which I KNOW is from Touhou even though I've never played any of the games) is a bit noisy, but otherwise fits the level quite nicely.
Incredibly unmemorable and unnoteworthy to me, but all in all, it's an okay level.
Sparkling Hill Zone by Brawl - 4/10
Ah, one of the BETTER tunes from Sonic 4! This one I can stomach. A looppoint would help, though.
Both in graphics and level design, I kinda like this, even as blocky as it is. Both in graphics and level design, however, this feels incomplete. Parts of the level seem like they need more background, and other parts feel very empty without buzzbombers floating around (and I say buzzbombers specifically, because jettysyns would be stupid for 2D levels like this), and the green snappers feel kind of cheap when I'm rolling in a spindash at a high speed. It's also hard to tell that the water is a death pit; if the pit was deeper, there'd probably be more incentive not to fall into it, but even then, I think the level could do with some aqua terrain. The tiny enemy looks like scenery, and so the first thing I did when I entered this level was run into it with 0 rings... might be worth making its sprite a bit more obvious.
I want to say this is decent, but I can't help but feel that it needs a more lively and complex layout. If recreating the style of Sonic 2 level layouts is what you're trying to do, this would help accomplish it.
I hope my sentiments were enjoyable and informative to both the level authors and the readers.
As usual, I expect to only be voting on the SP division. All maps were played primarily by Sonic, although most maps were also given second playthroughs with either Tails or Knuckles, to extend research of the level.
Single Player Division
River Dash Zone by Whackjood - 3/10
The unimpressive and sometimes clashing artistic design of the level makes this look like a beginner's level, and while there is some interesting use of the game's objects to provide hazards to the level, the overall length and linearity, lack of challenge, and unpolished architecture of the level leaves much to be desired. Add in the completely unintuitive boss at the end, and you've got yourself a pretty unengaging map. Although the two tracks of music you added are from game soundtracks I like, I can't give you credit for adding in non-looppointed 10-bit music that I think clashes with what I think a higher-quality custom ogg would suit better.
Castle Goth Zone, Act 1 by Spongecar - 2/10
What tries to be creative ends up coming off as an awkward, gimmicky mess. Gravity flips serving no real purpose, buggy instant deaths resulting from one of those aforementioned flips, and a lack of aesthetics add to the shortcomings of an already short map.
I'm pretty sure we already had a gothic castle not two contests ago. If I remember correctly, it was just as bad as this one.
Bolt Gardens Zone, Act 1 by WEREHOG - 1/10
First off, please make it clearer where the map is located. I immediately assumed it was MAP01, then checked MAP02, then decided to figure it out with a WAD editor since there was no other obvious solution (you didn't seem to actually add coop or race support in the header, so I skipped through it in the multiplayer select without knowing it).
The actual level itself is a boring leap from platform to platform in an environment filled with unappealing/clashing textures and generic brick platforms. From what I've deduced, you neglected a vital stepping stone needed for Sonic to actually complete the level. Progressing with Tails or Knuckles reveals more points of uninterest. This level is playable, but only in the barest and most loosely defined state possible.
Molten Cavern Zone, Act 1 by Chrome - 7/10
There are some pretty good lava gimmicks to be found here, and the cave formations really make the atmosphere in this level. As usual, there's a new enemy to be found, and even though it doesn't heavily impact the gameplay of the level, it makes the experience seem a little more fresh. Great aesthetics, the level design itself is enjoyable and not without its secrets to be found, and the level ends with an interesting cliffhanger, to which we'll see the outcome of in Act 2. Overall, the only real flaw in this level is its lack of any true innovation; it does what's proven to work, but hardly dares to go beyond the common mechanics usually seen in levels. As a result, there's nothing completely new or interesting to experience here, but it's still an enjoyable platforming experience worth the playthrough.
Two particular bugs I found are near the end of the level: the sector containing the whirlwind shield has a visual glitch appearing at the linedef on the side of the thok barrier, whilst the sector with a lone 1-up is a death pit sector with a missing linedef texture.
Detonation Drift Zone by RedEchidna - 7/10
What separates this level from the pack is the sheer multilinearity caused by the splitting and conjoining of different paths taking place around halfway into the level, thanks to some clever restrictions denying some characters from taking specific passages. At one point or another, it's easy to get mislead backtracking into another path because of this, but otherwise it only serves to benefit the level with choices between a variety of different interesting challenges, the power room in particular being probably the neatest and most interesting one available (although if the author could choose a less ear-piercing sound to use, that would be appreciated). The sector architecture is a bit plain at times, but otherwise the level and its visuals are pretty well-built.
If there's one complaint I have with the level, it's that I feel like some of the challenges placed are too easy due to the generous quantity of rings given to the player in all-too-convenient places (the main offender here is the hopping fireball path, where a ring is placed between each fireball), whereas some other sections not too far into the level seem too harsh, instantly killing the player. As the level goes on, though, the difficulty becomes more uniformed and challenging at a steadily increasing rate. The elemental shield really breaks some of the challenges in the level, but for those having hardships in certain sections, this might perhaps be a blessing in disguise (whatever disguise that may be).
The length of the whole level is a bit enduring, but given you choose a background tune to listen to other than shoddy SRB1 midis, the creative replayability offered by both the collectibles and the character-specific paths to choose from makes this worth more than one playthrough.
Icelandic Tempest Zone by Akirahedgehog - 5/10
A lot of areas here have sufficient decoration and structures, resulting in a pretty nice atmosphere, but the ones that don't will really show up as the generic thokfest hallways (although thankfully it's a bit of a rarity in this map). There are enough points of interests to keep me looking around for a little while, but nothing really jumps out or is all that particularly exciting. The jump from ice to lava seems a bit too sudden of a theme transition, but overall nothing in here is too offensive. The music (which I KNOW is from Touhou even though I've never played any of the games) is a bit noisy, but otherwise fits the level quite nicely.
Incredibly unmemorable and unnoteworthy to me, but all in all, it's an okay level.
Sparkling Hill Zone by Brawl - 4/10
Ah, one of the BETTER tunes from Sonic 4! This one I can stomach. A looppoint would help, though.
Both in graphics and level design, I kinda like this, even as blocky as it is. Both in graphics and level design, however, this feels incomplete. Parts of the level seem like they need more background, and other parts feel very empty without buzzbombers floating around (and I say buzzbombers specifically, because jettysyns would be stupid for 2D levels like this), and the green snappers feel kind of cheap when I'm rolling in a spindash at a high speed. It's also hard to tell that the water is a death pit; if the pit was deeper, there'd probably be more incentive not to fall into it, but even then, I think the level could do with some aqua terrain. The tiny enemy looks like scenery, and so the first thing I did when I entered this level was run into it with 0 rings... might be worth making its sprite a bit more obvious.
I want to say this is decent, but I can't help but feel that it needs a more lively and complex layout. If recreating the style of Sonic 2 level layouts is what you're trying to do, this would help accomplish it.
I hope my sentiments were enjoyable and informative to both the level authors and the readers.
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Wow, this contest sure feels empty... Anyone gonna vote, guys? Also, I edited my voting post for the 25th time, and I think I finally have said everything now...
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Wombatwarlord777
"...What?"
River Dash Zone - 5/10
Originally, I was going to rate this a 7/10. My rationale was that this was designed to be an easy zone, a la Greenflower, which excused its short length. But your gimmicks kind of cast doubt on that original assumption. The waterslide is broken... Once I reach the rocks containing the Robotnik Monitors, I can simply strife to the opening and jump through. A better idea is to use spiked ball objects. The cave with springs and a spiked ceiling isn't terribly novel, and you don't really do much with it. I actually liked the boss, and thought the arena made him a bit more intimidating. Aesthetically, I can't complain.
Goth Castle Zone, Act 1 - 1/10
I'm not going to be trite about this: This level is ugly, buggy, and very poorly planned. Having to roll under cracks is not a fun way to start out any level or to utilize gravity. We're given no warning that the raising lift will carry us to our door should he fail to get off in time, and the space containing said lift is so tiny that nine times out of ten, the camera can't help us to see where the exit is or when we're approaching it. The gimmick immediately after that is unfair in that the opening leading to it suggests the beginning of the upside-down path should be wider than it is. Aesthetics weren't memorable.
Bolt Gardens, Act 1 - 1/10
I happen to think this zone is very pretty (with the exception of those gaudy large-flower textures) and you have a few appealing set pieces. The gameplay is crap - levels should never have thin crevices which you're supposed to slowly navigate (unless you do it right, see next contestant). Everything else is a bore. Regardless, since the aesthetics and length are there, I was prepared to give you a consolatory 2/10 rating, but I refuse to rate levels that I can't complete. And guess what happened? I also refuse to complete Tails or Knuckles's games from the start just so I can review your level.
You know what? I lied. I was able to play as Tails shortly after writing the first paragraph of your review. I'm still not happy.
The characteristics that define your level are thin ledges and bottomless pits you can't readily see. I think these were designed in mind with increasing difficulty, right? Well, it comes across as insulting to me, because this isn't challenging at all, really, just frustrating and unfair. I knocked a point off because your springs near the end couldn't sent me the right way if they tried and you have incredibly embarrassing visual glitches.
Come on, man, you had to expend some effort to make this level. So why not expend a little more and actually make your level enjoyable? It doesn't have to be long. The highest-rated levels tend to be long, sure, but that's an overrated quality. Just make what you have good. If you have to delay until the next contest, well, that's the choice you have to make as a designer. The complete version of SRB2 has been missing the monthly contest for years now. :)
Molten Cavern Zone, Act 1 - 8/10
You know, I just really can't complain about this level much. It's challenging, yet there are areas to run about and just be speedy. Knuckles gets a nice shortcut and some goodies to boot if he feels daring. You've even got a great new badnik in there (hi Gola!). The multiple paths just beg for exploration. I remember playing through this as Sonic, and I fell off the upper path somehow. Instead of just saying "screw it!" as usual and carrying on through a lower path, I deliberately worked my way back up because I was so curious as to what was up there. You've piqued my curiosity, sir.
The thing that prevents this from getting a 9/10 or even a 10/10 is that everything feels as if it's been done before. At the risk of aping Blue Warrior, it seems as if the gimmicks and scenarios in Molten Cavern haven't already been done by Red Volcano, albiet on a much smaller scale. It's not boring, oh no, but it doesn't really grapple your undivided attention, either. It's been done before. Sure, it's dangerous, but we can manage it. Also, after the ledge-walking segment (which, to your credit, was new and fairly exciting), it's hard to see the path in the bottom corners of the screen.
Your visuals weren't that captivating or detailed, but then again it was the sheer size of your areas that really captured my attention, not their intricacy.
Demolition Drift Zone - 7/10
I absolutely love the spindash-generators in the central parts of the level, although it might be easier on the player if a button was used for the same effect. The 2D areas are perhaps the best I've seen yet. The visuals here aren't that great, but I do think the transition from volcano to base and back was well done.
The two gimmicks I didn't like in this zone were lava plumes (where, if I'm correct, the player must jump into them, get hurt, and use temporary invincibility to gain rings inside the lava and gain the height needed to clear the room) and the columns of opaque gas that cause the player to rise and suffocate. It's tremendously hard to navigate with your visibility reduced to near zero while inside them, made more infuriating by the bottomless pit below.
I liked the character-specific paths, but they're labeled in a non-intuitive manner. Label the characters which can make it through a certain path, not which ones can't.
Icelandic Temple Zone - 4/10
Uh... This is pretty? I don't really what else to say. From a gameplay perspective, there's nothing that exciting going on. As others have pointed out, you do have quite a few totally flat expanses. On the plus side, there are quite a few multiple paths, and while they do reconnect very quickly, they do lead to interesting visual secrets (hello, Sonic 2! Hello, Tyrannosaur skull!) This stage is an artistic gem that gets stale fairly quick without anything else to do. The transitions from snow to lava to grassy knoll are pretty abrupt.
Sparkling Hill Zone - 3/10
This zone is also pleasant and pretty and falls short of delivering a satisfying gameplay experience. Just really basic, really flat platforming, with the occasional enemy to try and hinder you. Whenever the paths split, the upper portions are a tad more interesting, while the lower parts become flatter than ever. A stage like this is liable to lull the player to a pleasant sleep, and I am grateful for that.
Official 3D Sonic games are notorious for having Sonic and co. immediately die whenever they get waist-deep in water. Why do you have to follow such a poor example? Make some underwater sections for your stage! It's sure to be more exciting than the abrupt death pits you've got now.
One of the breakable walls (or is it the breakable wall?) has a Green Snapper inside which caught me unawares. Your Motobugs need a helluva lot more detail. The rest of your aesthetics were acceptable, if not a tad boring.
Overall, I'm pleased with this single-player round of the OLDC. Molten Cavern Zone and Demolition Drift Zone were both really enjoyable. Cheers!
Originally, I was going to rate this a 7/10. My rationale was that this was designed to be an easy zone, a la Greenflower, which excused its short length. But your gimmicks kind of cast doubt on that original assumption. The waterslide is broken... Once I reach the rocks containing the Robotnik Monitors, I can simply strife to the opening and jump through. A better idea is to use spiked ball objects. The cave with springs and a spiked ceiling isn't terribly novel, and you don't really do much with it. I actually liked the boss, and thought the arena made him a bit more intimidating. Aesthetically, I can't complain.
Goth Castle Zone, Act 1 - 1/10
I'm not going to be trite about this: This level is ugly, buggy, and very poorly planned. Having to roll under cracks is not a fun way to start out any level or to utilize gravity. We're given no warning that the raising lift will carry us to our door should he fail to get off in time, and the space containing said lift is so tiny that nine times out of ten, the camera can't help us to see where the exit is or when we're approaching it. The gimmick immediately after that is unfair in that the opening leading to it suggests the beginning of the upside-down path should be wider than it is. Aesthetics weren't memorable.
Bolt Gardens, Act 1 - 1/10
I happen to think this zone is very pretty (with the exception of those gaudy large-flower textures) and you have a few appealing set pieces. The gameplay is crap - levels should never have thin crevices which you're supposed to slowly navigate (unless you do it right, see next contestant). Everything else is a bore. Regardless, since the aesthetics and length are there, I was prepared to give you a consolatory 2/10 rating, but I refuse to rate levels that I can't complete. And guess what happened? I also refuse to complete Tails or Knuckles's games from the start just so I can review your level.
You know what? I lied. I was able to play as Tails shortly after writing the first paragraph of your review. I'm still not happy.
The characteristics that define your level are thin ledges and bottomless pits you can't readily see. I think these were designed in mind with increasing difficulty, right? Well, it comes across as insulting to me, because this isn't challenging at all, really, just frustrating and unfair. I knocked a point off because your springs near the end couldn't sent me the right way if they tried and you have incredibly embarrassing visual glitches.
Come on, man, you had to expend some effort to make this level. So why not expend a little more and actually make your level enjoyable? It doesn't have to be long. The highest-rated levels tend to be long, sure, but that's an overrated quality. Just make what you have good. If you have to delay until the next contest, well, that's the choice you have to make as a designer. The complete version of SRB2 has been missing the monthly contest for years now. :)
Molten Cavern Zone, Act 1 - 8/10
You know, I just really can't complain about this level much. It's challenging, yet there are areas to run about and just be speedy. Knuckles gets a nice shortcut and some goodies to boot if he feels daring. You've even got a great new badnik in there (hi Gola!). The multiple paths just beg for exploration. I remember playing through this as Sonic, and I fell off the upper path somehow. Instead of just saying "screw it!" as usual and carrying on through a lower path, I deliberately worked my way back up because I was so curious as to what was up there. You've piqued my curiosity, sir.
The thing that prevents this from getting a 9/10 or even a 10/10 is that everything feels as if it's been done before. At the risk of aping Blue Warrior, it seems as if the gimmicks and scenarios in Molten Cavern haven't already been done by Red Volcano, albiet on a much smaller scale. It's not boring, oh no, but it doesn't really grapple your undivided attention, either. It's been done before. Sure, it's dangerous, but we can manage it. Also, after the ledge-walking segment (which, to your credit, was new and fairly exciting), it's hard to see the path in the bottom corners of the screen.
Your visuals weren't that captivating or detailed, but then again it was the sheer size of your areas that really captured my attention, not their intricacy.
Demolition Drift Zone - 7/10
I absolutely love the spindash-generators in the central parts of the level, although it might be easier on the player if a button was used for the same effect. The 2D areas are perhaps the best I've seen yet. The visuals here aren't that great, but I do think the transition from volcano to base and back was well done.
The two gimmicks I didn't like in this zone were lava plumes (where, if I'm correct, the player must jump into them, get hurt, and use temporary invincibility to gain rings inside the lava and gain the height needed to clear the room) and the columns of opaque gas that cause the player to rise and suffocate. It's tremendously hard to navigate with your visibility reduced to near zero while inside them, made more infuriating by the bottomless pit below.
I liked the character-specific paths, but they're labeled in a non-intuitive manner. Label the characters which can make it through a certain path, not which ones can't.
Icelandic Temple Zone - 4/10
Uh... This is pretty? I don't really what else to say. From a gameplay perspective, there's nothing that exciting going on. As others have pointed out, you do have quite a few totally flat expanses. On the plus side, there are quite a few multiple paths, and while they do reconnect very quickly, they do lead to interesting visual secrets (hello, Sonic 2! Hello, Tyrannosaur skull!) This stage is an artistic gem that gets stale fairly quick without anything else to do. The transitions from snow to lava to grassy knoll are pretty abrupt.
Sparkling Hill Zone - 3/10
This zone is also pleasant and pretty and falls short of delivering a satisfying gameplay experience. Just really basic, really flat platforming, with the occasional enemy to try and hinder you. Whenever the paths split, the upper portions are a tad more interesting, while the lower parts become flatter than ever. A stage like this is liable to lull the player to a pleasant sleep, and I am grateful for that.
Official 3D Sonic games are notorious for having Sonic and co. immediately die whenever they get waist-deep in water. Why do you have to follow such a poor example? Make some underwater sections for your stage! It's sure to be more exciting than the abrupt death pits you've got now.
One of the breakable walls (or is it the breakable wall?) has a Green Snapper inside which caught me unawares. Your Motobugs need a helluva lot more detail. The rest of your aesthetics were acceptable, if not a tad boring.
Overall, I'm pleased with this single-player round of the OLDC. Molten Cavern Zone and Demolition Drift Zone were both really enjoyable. Cheers!
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These are Single Player division votes, as usual. Why would they be anything else?
River Dash by Whackjood - 6/10
Yeah, you're new. But that means your score of six from me is actually a compliment.
I see you have heart. I see that you enjoyed this level as you made it. You spent all of your time enjoying the gameplay gimmicks you were making and not worrying about more trivial things. I like that.
As you become more and more skilled at mapping, you'll be better with the mapping interface and you'll be able to put more effort more easily into the other areas of your map. Like aesthetic visuals, theming, and texture work. After you start bringing these other aspects into the mix, and if you still enjoy your work, you'll soon see your maps scoring 8 or 9. Just don't fall into the trap of apathy.
Castle Goth by Spongecar - 2/10
Or maybe Whackjood just got the benefit of being the first map I played; I don’t know.
Bottom line: You need to seriously work on your mapping skills before I’ll be able to make any actual suggestions of how to get better. For the most part I just want to regurgitate all of the usual suggestions: Go play other people’s maps with the eyes of a learner instead of a mere passerby.
Bolt Gardens by WEREHOG - 3/10
I liked your theming in some spots, but the gameplay was universally horrible. You’ve really got to work on that.
Molten Cavern by Chrome - 6/10
Six. You get a six.
Maybe I just can’t appreciate good maps anymore! Maybe I clam up when I see the first sign of quality and start thinking pessimistically. If you compare my reaction to Whackjood’s map to this one, that’s my first guess. I really don’t think that’s it, though. When I was almost done with the map I realized exactly what was wrong:
If I was still mapping, my maps would look like this. All the tells of an experienced mapper but with all the tells of a bored mapper. Running through the motions which imply quality but only for the goal of level length. You’re not enjoying yourself and I can tell. Relax a bit. Play some other videogames. Hang out with friends. Hell, go ask out a girl you like. Anything. Just stop doing this for the next few months and come back with a fresh set of inspiration.
Maybe I just demand too much out of mappers and expect them to have the same goals that I do. But look where that got me!
Detonation Drift by RedEchidna - 9/10
This level was EXACTLY what I wanted. You would have gotten a ten from me except I got a bit lost in a few places. Retreading old content to find the new stuff was also a bit of a bore, but other than that this was great. Not too much detail, not too little, and just the right amount of gameplay. Nicely done.
Icelandic Tempest by Akirahedgehog - 7/10
Because the top half of the Sonic 2 texture was chopped off, from a distance it looked like it was hidden in a cave. So I ran-ran-ran right up to it and then, to my surprise, discovered there wasn’t any cave. Sadface.
While I didn’t get any “This mapper is BORED” vibes from the level, it wasn’t memorable. So that means you get a seven.
Sparkling Hill by Brawl - 4/10
You chose the terrible, terrible 2D mode which means you get a terrible, terrible score.
River Dash by Whackjood - 6/10
Yeah, you're new. But that means your score of six from me is actually a compliment.
I see you have heart. I see that you enjoyed this level as you made it. You spent all of your time enjoying the gameplay gimmicks you were making and not worrying about more trivial things. I like that.
As you become more and more skilled at mapping, you'll be better with the mapping interface and you'll be able to put more effort more easily into the other areas of your map. Like aesthetic visuals, theming, and texture work. After you start bringing these other aspects into the mix, and if you still enjoy your work, you'll soon see your maps scoring 8 or 9. Just don't fall into the trap of apathy.
Castle Goth by Spongecar - 2/10
Or maybe Whackjood just got the benefit of being the first map I played; I don’t know.
Bottom line: You need to seriously work on your mapping skills before I’ll be able to make any actual suggestions of how to get better. For the most part I just want to regurgitate all of the usual suggestions: Go play other people’s maps with the eyes of a learner instead of a mere passerby.
Bolt Gardens by WEREHOG - 3/10
I liked your theming in some spots, but the gameplay was universally horrible. You’ve really got to work on that.
Molten Cavern by Chrome - 6/10
Six. You get a six.
Maybe I just can’t appreciate good maps anymore! Maybe I clam up when I see the first sign of quality and start thinking pessimistically. If you compare my reaction to Whackjood’s map to this one, that’s my first guess. I really don’t think that’s it, though. When I was almost done with the map I realized exactly what was wrong:
If I was still mapping, my maps would look like this. All the tells of an experienced mapper but with all the tells of a bored mapper. Running through the motions which imply quality but only for the goal of level length. You’re not enjoying yourself and I can tell. Relax a bit. Play some other videogames. Hang out with friends. Hell, go ask out a girl you like. Anything. Just stop doing this for the next few months and come back with a fresh set of inspiration.
Maybe I just demand too much out of mappers and expect them to have the same goals that I do. But look where that got me!
Detonation Drift by RedEchidna - 9/10
This level was EXACTLY what I wanted. You would have gotten a ten from me except I got a bit lost in a few places. Retreading old content to find the new stuff was also a bit of a bore, but other than that this was great. Not too much detail, not too little, and just the right amount of gameplay. Nicely done.
Icelandic Tempest by Akirahedgehog - 7/10
Because the top half of the Sonic 2 texture was chopped off, from a distance it looked like it was hidden in a cave. So I ran-ran-ran right up to it and then, to my surprise, discovered there wasn’t any cave. Sadface.
While I didn’t get any “This mapper is BORED” vibes from the level, it wasn’t memorable. So that means you get a seven.
Sparkling Hill by Brawl - 4/10
You chose the terrible, terrible 2D mode which means you get a terrible, terrible score.
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