Official Level Design Contest Voting: March/April 2008

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SRB2WikiSonicMaster said:
A creation isn't automatically dumb if it didn't have any original inspiration behind it.
So, you're trying to create a waterfall? How about a cliff-side beach? You're not telling me anything specific, so shooting for "bset lvl evr" still sounds like a horrible idea.

SRB2WikiSonicMaster said:
A great deal of Mystic's levels in Mystic Realm are wonderful.
lol
 
BlueZero4 said:
SRB2WikiSonicMaster said:
A great deal of Mystic's levels in Mystic Realm are wonderful.
lol

Seconded. They aren't abysmal (besides Silver Cavern Zone), but many are way too mazelike that you'll lose your direction if you're not paying attention on your first try.
 
See? I told you I was going to do the multiplayer maps sometime!

Starting with...

Match:
Carnage Palace by Zanyhead: 6/10
Not bad for a first level. I can see where you were going with this. My problem is that you chose homing bombs as your combination of weapons. It's the worst combination out of all of them (though I did get a couple of people with it when I played the level once), so keep that in mind when making future match levels. Other than that, it was pretty decent.

Metal Spire by SonicMaster: 6/10
I liked the fact that you could shoot through the ceiling of the floor. ^_^ It makes for interesting gameplay. The teleporters were kinda funny. You never know who will appear... OH NOES! SB! I also liked bomb infinity. It's modest enough for good gameplay.

Voiced Concern by Glaber: 4/10
I kept hearing, "OMG! EMERALDS! AND WORLD OF PAIN!" I couldn't find the world of pain anywhere, maybe you got to it and changed to auto bomb... There were still emeralds, though. I can appreciate you making this your way of complaining about 1.1. Just do it when 1.1 actually comes out.

Capture the Flag:
OH NOOOOOOOOOOOEZ! NO CTF MAPS! ;_;

Circuit:
Frantic Factory by Roy: 5/10
After playing it a few times, it was okay. I just think there should have been less laser beams. It just focused too much on preventing a thokfest that it actually broke the flow of the race.

Barren Ambition by Glaber: 4/10
Okay, so you learned form your mistakes in Endless Mine. However, there were two major glitches that kept you from an 8. One happens as you cross the finish line to start another lap and you end up stuck. The other happens on the bumpers... it actually paraloops you and throws you off the track. I ended up going backwards to reach the first checkpoint there and continued. Not fun.

Mine Maze by Blade T. Hedgehog: 6/10
This was okay... it didn't need the alternate path after the first checkpoint; it's cheap because it looks like a shortcut, but it skips a checkpoint... yeah. My main gripe is the fact that you can get stuck on the boards at the wall, which is what can really break the flow of the level. I know you were making it realistic, but it is cheap. I liked it otherwise, it's pretty interesting. It's a good thing the Mine doesn't have cave-ins. =P

Multiplayer Average: 5.167
This stuff was okay. Nothing really extraordinary, but at least there was no reason to give any zeroes here. Hopefully there will be some really good stuff next contest.

BTW, in reply to Ash's comment, I noticed that Dark Warrior gave PPZ an 8, also. I am just agreeing with DW on this one.
 
Yay, voting?

Single Player:
Poison Prison Zone by SonicMaster 5/10

Solid. My main complaint would have to be with the relative flatness of much of the level. The branching paths were a nice touch, but it seemed to me that the majority of the level thokking across a flat area to run into an *insert crusher, zoom tube or platform hop area here.* Visually, the parts of the levels where you included the slime falls and transparent piping were pretty cool. You could spice up some of the more flat passageways by adding such details to them too. Flashing alarm lights could have been useful for the narrow zoom tube areas. I also really like your "fake polyobject." Fake never looked so awesome.

Triopolis Tower by Brandon Dyer 0/10

Levels need to consist of more than running across a giant empty expanse to reach the end. I can see that you obviously put a great deal of effort into the scenery. You need to make the scenery have an impact gameplay wise on the level itself, rather than have the player just run by while looking at it.

Metal Mechanism Zone, Act 1 by Hyperknux 5/10

I see you have improved quite a bit since the last contest map of yours that I rated. Visually, your map is interesting and you have a lot of challenging hazards. I also like your use of rising platforms. It seems that a lot of mappers never think to use them. My first problem with the map is a medium case of laser turret abuse. In one of your areas, you have to rise upward via fan while dodging the laser. It would have been more fair to have a platform hop where the player at least has more control over whether they dodge the turret or not. The second problem was with the relative crampedness of some of your paths. One of the paths to the next area was so small, I almost completely missed it. Other than a few annoyances, I'm liking your work.


Flooded Mine Zone by Boinciel 5/10

Average. I can see that custom graphical aspects served this level well. Unfortunately that is one of only two things in this level that really caught my eye. The other part was the water flow chambers which made for a pretty interesting gimmick. Unfortunately, other than that, the rest of the level was not bad, don't get me wrong, I just couldn't find it interesting.

Green Hill Game Gear, Act 2 by Glaber 2/10

Confusing, short and bland. Managed to run myself around in circles two or three times while following the arrows you had put in the map. Arrows should have pointed to those red springs that I found on the third go-round.

Undersea Palace Zone, Act 1 by GCFreak 5/10

The realm of unfulfilled potential. Unfortunately for similar reasons as Boinciel your map falls from potentially great into lackluster. I spent the majority of the time thokking underwater through vast spaces bopping crawlas. The potential was in one of your gimmicks that had the ability to completely transform the level, had you elaborated it.

The first section where you introduced water current, I was excited for a second. I jumped the three rows of spikes, the room opened up and I thought I was about to get hit by a breath of fresh air. Unfortunately, I realized that the open area was just another flat, open area with waterfalls. Not bad, but not interesting either. The second time was merely a way to get up to a set of platforms used to get across. Once again, not bad, but not interesting either. I would have almost liked to see some kind of an attempt at 1.1eque waterslides, dodging hazards at high speed, maybe some branching intertwining paths, dodge some falling rocks...

Overall, I had a hard time rating four of the six singleplayer maps a 5/10. None of your levels were bad. But minor problems and lack of truly interesting gameplay made them all fall average.

Multiplayer votes in the near future.
 
Single Player
Undersea Palace Zone
I do not know what the good majority of the voters in this contest see in this level. I hated it. It had aggravating jumps, very limited rings/air bubbles, not to mention the very annoying colormap. Frankly, I give it a 3/10. Namely for use of interesting gimmicks.

Poison Prison Zone
I liked the multiple pathways, but the area was mainly too flat and it easily became a thokfest, and in some parts, you could've stuck regular slime where there was 1-Hit Kill green slime. All in all, I give it a 6/10.

Triopolis Tower
Withholding vote until this is a confirmed illegal zone or not. NA/10.

Flooded Mine Zone
The level crashed about halfway into it, so some points will be docked for that. Otherwise, this was a very interesting level.The custom enemy was pretty well done, and I liked the water current switch that was in there somewhere. All in all, it gets a 4/10

Metal Mechanism Act 1
Very decorative, I'll give you that. But it also was somewhat aggravating. There seems to be very many turrets placed around. Also, there are more enemies then there needs to be on easy. I switched from normal for the sake of completing the map, but I still found myself getting hurt and dieing multiple times. Which brings me to me next point, there is a lack of star posts around the level, which makes recovery hard. All in all, it also gets a 6/10.

Green Hill GG
It's... pretty. But if you cannot see the springs on the upper platform, you can find yourself going in circles for a good several minutes. It played alright, but I found it somewhat cramped with the death pits placed somewhat cheaply. But, I'll give it a 5/10.
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Match
Carnage Palace Zone
There was no carnage, and it sure didn't look like a palace. But, you seem to know the mechanics of wad making. Your weapong choices work well together, your rings are deafed, thok barrier; but it's very cramped and bland. I see potential, but for now, this map gets a 3/10.

Metal Spire Zone
I see what your gimmick was, however, it wasn't very good. players shouldn't have to go around various elevation levels to find opponents. It's interesting the first time around, but after that, it just gets boring. All in all, I give it a 4/10.

Voiced Concern Zone
I understand what the point of the level is, but I'm almost positive that the emerald play in 1.1 will be much better than this. Now, about the level itself; it reminds me somewhat of my own levels, but that's not the point. The levels a good play, but pretty much only if you are playing with a small group/alone because of the emeralds which, in my point of view, make the level very cheap in itself. Overall, though, I give it a 6/10.
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Capture the Flag
None.
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Circuit
Frantic Factory Zone
Waaaay too many lasers for my taste. I know it might be to stop Sonic players from simply thokking through the entire thing, but many of them can still be dodged with a well time roll. Also, the constant belts and crushers made everything annoying, as you jump through a crusher, roll to go under an incoming laser, just to go backwards and be crushed. I give it a 4/10.

Barren Ambition Zone
It had plenty of scenery, but there were virtually no obstacles, which made almost the entire level one giant drill fest. Also, the lap time clocks in way too long. My first time through, it took me about a minute and fifteen seconds since I stopped to collect items. I give this level a 5/10.

Mini Maze Zone
I don't have much to complain about in this level, other than the flow breaking steps and the lack of direction at times. But, it is pretty interesting, and the loop was pretty well done, although the rings inside of it were unnecessary. I give it a 7/10.
 
Well, I hate typing for long periods of time but here goes...

Posion Prison Zone 4/10

I don't understand why Sonic Master constantly boasted about this, I felt that this needed way more detail. It was quite flat, and I was bored through most of the level. It didn't seem like a prison to me. More like a strange shaped factory. The acid seemed out of place and a bit unfair at times, such as when it started to rise and you would die if you didn't move to the top.

Tropolis Tower NA/10

It was disqualified so I don't need to say anything about it.

Flooded Mine

I can't give a full reveiw on this one, I keeps crashing on me.

Undersea Palace 6/10

While I enjoyed this to an extent, I noticed quite a few things that I didn't like. There were not enough bubble patches in the water, which caused me to drown a few times. You make Sonic use his thok to make it to platforms, every jump should be made without using a specail ability in my opinoin. Tails and Knuckles could finish the level in about 2 minutes because of the layout. The waterslides moved too fast and I couldn't grab the rings, which annoyed me. Falling in some areas was a pain because I either couldn't find my way back up, or I had to start way back from where I fell because of the layout.

Green Hill GG 2/10

Well, it looks like the green hill from the game gear, but I hated the level in GG and Srb2, it was confusing after that first patch of tunnels and I ran around in circles for 3 mins before seeing those springs. I really think that a lot of ports will not work in Srb2 without adding a bit of your own style to it.

Well, I'll post some more when I feel like typing again.
 
Poison Prison Zone by SonicMaster - 5/10
This stage was merely average. Not much stood out here. I don't understand the 5000 point bonus (talk about useless) and the multiple exits, but I did like the scenery with the slime falling down pipes and such.

Triopolis Tower by Brandon Dyer - 3/10
Okay, first off. Fix your framerate. Your framerate is absolutely essential to having fun, even more so than looking cool. The major problem with this map is that it seemed designed for exploration, but when you actually explore the stage there is absolutely nothing hidden anywhere. You have all this neat scenery with stuff allowing you to climb up there, but nothing placed up there when you reach the top. That's just incredibly lame.

Metal Mechanism Zone, Act 1 by Hyperknux - 5/10
This was actually quite enjoyable, with multiple paths and many shortcuts to skip sections, but you REALLY have a major problem with cheap deaths. I died multiple times to things like slime pits I couldn't see, turretfire when I was in midair, etc. These issues really need to be fixed in order for the stage to really shine.

Flooded Mine Zone by Boinciel - 7/10
Quite well done. I liked the usage of the enemies, despite that they weren't ever particularly threatening. The elevators were quite cool, although it was a pain waiting for them if you missed it by just a bit. Overall I really liked how it felt like a cohesive theme I haven't seen before. However, your water seems like more of an afterthought to hide a 1-up and act as a pit, and was a lot brighter underwater than above the water for some reason. I'd quite like to see more "flooded" in "Flooded Mine", myself.

Green Hill Game Gear, Act 2 by Glaber - 2/10
Ick. Clever concept, but again, implemented quite badly. Constant stopping dead, bottomless pits that look like shallow water. Generally just a lame level. Stop trying to be clever and start making good levels. So many of your levels let the gimmick get in the way of the fun, and that's just not the way it's supposed to be done.

Undersea Palace Zone, Act 1 by GCFreak - 7/10
I really liked this, especially because of the fact that it plays nothing like what it's clearly trying to reproduce. The waterslides play very differently than DSZ, and are used in a very different manner, and there were quite a few secrets I found when I went digging around. However, there are a few major problems. Springs were frequently hard to find, especially if you miss the spot where the water launches you into the air. Those red springs are basically impossible to see. Also, certain sections underwater have bottomless pits in the floor you can barely see coming because of how dark it is. I don't mind darkness, but don't prey on the player by sticking things he can't see coming. I also really liked the way you ended the stage, despite the fact that it doesn't always work right.
 
Hats off to everyone in the Single Player category, you've showed that there's still a lot that can be done if you get creative.
 
I'm now giving scores to to multiplayer levels.

Carnage Palace Zone: 4/10

Nice idea, but it was just too small for me. I think the music doesn't really fit within the zone, and the GFZGRASS texture doesn't really suit as a wall. Try and use GFZROCK (in my opinion, it would look better) also try and make it bigger next time. Also add more rings.

Metal Spire Zone: 4/10

To be very honest. It was ok, but like the zone above, each section was a bit small to have a proper battle in. It's east to reach the infinate ring. Not good. Make it bigger next time especially the outside bits.

Voiced Concern act 1: 4/10

It was ok, not the best. The different areas are nice. The emerald system was ok. But some parts of the zone were a bit cramped in, and different sections were too small. Also you have quite a lot of powerup monitors. Try and reduce some of them. Also your emeralds arn't deafed. Reduce the monitors, make the level bigger, and make better hiding places for your emeralds, and it'd be better.
 
I'm not really sure if I want to vote this time. I'm still a bit annoyed that I missed my chance to enter one of my levels in the OLDC. I was sure it could have been good, like most of the SinglePlayer ones I've played.

*sigh*

Oh well... I'll see if I could finish Mech Mountain Act 2 for next time... I bet it would surprise some of you if you didn't take notice of the screens I gave in the other topic about this dual-month OLDC.

But enough about my level. All I can say is 'Well done' to the makers of those awesome SinglePlayer levels for this contest.
 
Poison Prison Zone by SonicMaster - 3/10
Having a NSZ1 level of detail doesn't automatically make your map "good" or "a classic". The level came off too blandly without some visual hints that needed to be there. For instance, one pipe design was just flat into the ground. To make it a believable pipe, you actually have to be able to SEE it above ground.

Also, difficulty is very rarely something that makes your map fun. The rising/falling acid stunt really was too frustrating to be a gimmick that actually ADDED to the map.

Triopolis Tower by Brandon Dyer - 2/10
While I do realize that there was some amount of work put into making the map explorable, there wasn't anything that made me WANT to come back there more. And, additionally, I would've liked some degree of skill to be required so that it wasn't entirely a thok-fest. Too bad.

Metal Mechanism Zone 1 by Hyperknux - 5/10
I really liked the level of detail here. Some texture choices you made were really odd, and sometimes the textures just weren't aligned properly. And while no, I don't normally complain about texture alignment, these were textures that mattered. For instance, the THZ boxes and the pipes.
Fences should keep you from walking off the edge. If anything, they actually encouraged me to walk off the edge because I thought I had something to rely on to keep me safe from harm.
I thought the button should've killed the THZ turret as well as opened up the door.
You know, you don't have to make the pits so deep if you use springs that are less powerful. I mean, come on. You shouldn't make your pits so frustrating I want to turn on god mode. :(

Flooded Mine Zone by Boinciel - 6/10
Eh, the best part is the flow aspect. It's entirely possible to go through the level at full speed, even though it still requies some skill to make some jumps and stuff. Aside from that, it's not too special. It's not ugly, but it feels really bland. You've put too much effort into a few small things, rather putting an average amount of effort into the entire map. There also weren't too many enemies, so playing on the map made it feel really lonely.

Green Hill Game Gear Act 2 by Glaber - 2/10
I liked how the level is set up almost exactly like the gamegear version. However, keep in mind SRB2 runs with a different gameplay than Sonic 1, so you really should've made some changes to make it play better for SRB2's gameplay. Also, you really should've considered 2D mode.

Undersea Palace Zone Act 1 by GCFreak 4/10
GCFreak, the biggest problem I see here is your motivation to make your level. Staying up late to finish your level for the contest wasn't a good idea. To reach THIS goal, you filled up your level with a bunch of bland and flat passageways. And, obviously, that's what killed your level. Set a better goal next time.
 
Well, I see what the problem was with my level. Too flat. Well, OK. I was at a loss in what detail I should put in the level. Couldn't think of much... The stage's score is about 5.4 (one of the 3's was dropped) as of now... Well, I must say that the votes on my zone seem to have a rather large standard deviation.

@Chrome: The reason I was so proud of myself is because I tried to put a lot of time and effort into making the stage. I see that flatness is the biggest flaw of the map now... OK, I guess it is average. Heh, at least I tried! Thank goodness it's not something idiotic like Nightside Rouge Zone.

Load PPZ in Easy mode and you'll see that the acid moves significantly slower.

BlueZero4 said:
So, you're trying to create a waterfall? How about a cliff-side beach? You're not telling me anything specific, so shooting for "bset lvl evr" still sounds like a horrible idea.
Actually, I forgot. PPZ did have an original gimmick behind it (SA mode). Only thing is, it managed only to work to the detriment of the level; so SA mode was removed, leaving the stage with gimmicks, but no main gimmick. Well, no main gimmicks is bad I see now...

My vote on Undersea Palace has changed...
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Well, since Chaos has been permbanned, he can't vote on more levels than Undersea Palace. Should his vote be discounted like Aegix's was on Temple Tryst Zone (yes, I like looking through OLDC archives)?
 
Maby. But we need FF back here to take care of Triopolis Tower/Triopolis Town, the rule braking zone, first.
 
Hold on... Poison Prison Zone's rising acid bit wasn't as hard as everyone says it is to me. I'm sure I managed to get through it the first time, lucky me. And it doesn't even move that fast as everyone else seems to say it is.
 
Monster Iestyn said:
Hold on... Poison Prison Zone's rising acid bit wasn't as hard as everyone says it is to me. I'm sure I managed to get through it the first time, lucky me. And it doesn't even move that fast as everyone else seems to say it is.

If you want it to go faster, then load it in Hard mode. Unfortunately, loading PPZ in Hard mode without knowing about the gimmick results in a cheap first death. But since you already know about it...well...that shouldn't be a problem. At least I can get through it. Has no-one found the secret route? Yes, the gameplay on that secret route is too stale. Just some generic PAZ-style platforming. But that is where the secret room is...unfortunately, I don't think many people will like the secret anyway. Oh, well. Then again, other levels have used "Yar, teh Wadwhore was here!", and that's not really a great secret. Of course, I don't know much about Kroze anyway (reason for knowing it's about him is that those were the patch names).

You know, it looks like my level would actually be quite good had it not been so flat. Yeah, linearity makes it hard to explore...

I've lowered my vote on Flooded Mine. A 7/10 normally, minus the 4 point docking for crash, is now a 3/10.


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CURRENT 1P RESULTS (lowest vote dropped for those who rated all other 1P maps). Triopolis Town hasn't even been counted; I know it will be disqualified.

Poison Prison Zone - 5.42
Flooded Mine Zone - 5.85
Undersea Palace Zone - 5.58
Green Hill Zone Act 2 (GG) - 3.18
Metal Mechanism Zone Act 1 - 5.27

I've never seen the scores so close to each other like that.
 
I'm surprised. Even with all the docked points for crashes, my level is STILL coming out on top? (Nev3r, I still blame you.)
 
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