May/June 2010 Contest Voting

Dangerous Volcano Zone - 3/10

Its nice to see some of the music from Sonic Spinball to get some attention, but the level consisted of searching for the button that would make it possible to platform onward, and usually also cause lava to rise a little bit too fast. Worse yet, the lava followed the pre-2.0 conventions which resulted in several cheap deaths.

The scripted part at the beginning along with the lava slide felt like the level was just padding itself. I particularly did not like how one section of the lava slide prompted you to jump, but jumping during other sections makes you more likely to die.
Additionally, the 2d mode at the end made it quite clear just how broken the inertia in 2d mode is. The best way around that is to focus on precise platforming OR running forward and avoiding obstacles (former seen in SRB1, latter in ERZ2) but not both. It did not help that there were large pillars constantly blocking your view.

----------


Buzzards Bay Zone, Act 1 - 4/10

There really wasn't much to see or to say here. The tall grass doesn't work for platforms that small, and the whole thing was too cramped to really get the open feel of a first level.

----------


Canyon Operation Zone - 5/10

I really liked this level, the theme reminding me of Half-Life. The outdoors parts felt a little uninspired after a while, and it was difficult to see where the paths branch out. The long-distance platforming got old really fast, where I had to look for the next highest ledge and then thok to the next area. The factory parts were a bit cramped, but I felt that the areas which had a little bit of both were the best part.
It sigsev'd in one area, and I'm not altogether sure what the cause might be. The music was well-chosen, but it looped a few too many times for a level this size.
I really wanted the doors with the gearshaped designs on the tiles to be breakable by Knuckles, because I was looking forward to seeing some alternate knuckles paths. Overall, this level was the only one that felt average.

---------


Starlit City - 2/10

Most of the level being situated above a death pit made some of it rather frustrating, particularly in the first grass area where I had no reason to believe that it was surrounded by pits. Additionally, it was hard to tell what would crumble and what wouldn't.

----------


Metropolis Sprint Zone 4/10

The music was appropriate and oddly familiar, but the gameplay didn't really stand out at all. The scaffolds were annoying and the factory/boss felt completely out of place. Furthermore the path through the level felt a little unnatural.

----------


Cyber Gauntlet - 2/10

This level really bugged me. For one thing it was a long string of challenges that reminded me of .hack/Pyro's levels, except for the fact that these seemed to be put in place for the express purpose of being difficult. I appreciated the teleporting pits although it made it a little harder to cheat...
The problem with most of the areas is that they didn't seem to work the way they were intended. The physics surrounding the hanging bars was too difficult to count on plus the fact the only way to get any forward momentum after hanging was to thok. I just spindashed over it to the last bar. Most ended up taking shortcuts through most areas until the waterslides where I gameovered four times before finally using noclip to walk around.

----------

EDIT: Strange, my ratings seemed perfectly fine to me until I looked at some of the other posts in this topic. Anyway, added a point to a few maps... hopefully that'll be more fair.

Alright, here I go...

Single Player:

Metropolis Sprint Zone: 4/10
Um, yeah...I kinda stopped playing it after the THZ turret. I think you need to make where the player needs to go more apparent. I ran into detons because I was confused on where to go -- bad idea. The custom enemy looked okay and the idea of it was interesting, though a little overused in my opinion. Maybe I just didn't like the level for its difficulty, or the fact that I hate jetty-syns (annoying little buggers). I liked the visuals though.

Dangerous Volcano Zone: 5/10
Okay, first: WTF with the beginning. It's like you deliberately make the player wait for too long to do something. Second: the "rising lava" thing makes the stage a pain in multiplayer since it never goes back. Third: at least make the rising platforms closer to the buttons. Fourth: overall, a pain in the a** with Sonic. Not a great stage from what I played (not much). Try doing something a little easier to accomplish instead of the rising lava.

Cyber Gauntlet Zone:

BlazingPhoenix said:

Cyber Gauntlet by verifiaman - 0/10 Unplayable due to it being a spring bounce fest and nothing more.

Click to expand...

F***ing agreed, not to mention it's in a freaking SPECIAL STAGE slot!! Seriously. Epic fail. My official rating: ONE HALF/10 because at least it looked nice.

Buzzards Bay Zone: 6.5/10
My first thoughts were: "D*** this level kicks a**!" Then I was almost to the end, and I fell in the water.
The water which has a death pit under it.
Then I thought, "Well, that's not the best decision ever."
Then I was sent back to the beginning.
Then I did another run through it. Pretty easy (which isn't all that bad). It's a little short though, the grass is too high, and it needs a starpost or two instead of none. Overall, though, a pretty nice -- and nice-looking -- level.

Canyon Operation Zone: 6/10
This stage was really trying to be a mix of everything -- it felt like an ACZ/THZ/ERZ hybrid. Wasn't sure where to go. Did not finish.

Starlit City Zone: 1/10
Too easy to fall into the death pits. Did not finish due to lack of respect of levels with too many death pits. Fail.

Multiplayer:

Unreveiwable due to nobody ever joins my netgames for some reason.

AndyMan123, there are two things wrong with your reviews:
-There is no custom enemy in Metropolis Sprint.
-You can't give half points, or decimals for that matter.

Otherwise, I love how the majority thinks Cyber Gauntlet is a horrible map, just because they didn't pass the spring bounce parts (which aren't too bad, really). There are some really clever gimmicks later in the stage, and why does it get lower scores, just for being in a special stage format? If anything, it makes the stage better: he could also have made everything just a death pit instead of being generous and giving you infinite tries!
Really, I don't get why it is so hated.

AndyMan123 said:

The custom enemy looked okay and the idea of it was interesting, though a little overused in my opinion.

Click to expand...

There was no custom enemy, what are you talking about?

AndyMan123 said:

F***ing agreed, not to mention it's in a freaking SPECIAL STAGE slot!! Seriously. Epic fail. My official rating: ONE HALF/10 because at least it looked nice.

Click to expand...

1. It was more than a spring bounce fest, you just obviously didn't finish the second room.
2. You don't need to censor profanities here, it is perfectly okay to say "fuck", provided you don't overdo it.
3. The special stage slot was intentionally chosen, so I don't see what's an "epic fail" about it.
4. One half out of ten is not a valid rating, you must apply solid numbers.

EDIT: Damnit, Spherallic >_> At least there were some things you didn't say.

Spherallic said:

Otherwise, I love how the majority thinks Cyber Gauntlet is a horrible map, just because they didn't pass the spring bounce parts (which aren't too bad, really).

Click to expand...

I made it almost all the way through the map, and I used noclip to make sure that the waterslide was the last gimmick. Generally speaking, its a bad idea to make a map that is just a long string of gimmicks.
These gimmicks weren't really that clever either. There was a waterslide with luck based timing, pulleys that didn't really attract much attention, and hanging bars that required you to thok at the next despite dodgy physics.

CTF:

MAPF1 - Freezing Flame Zone by RedEchidna - 6/10

I was about to give this map a 4, due to my lack of "yellow spring locating" skills, but RE told me where they were so it definitely deserves better. Anyway, the map comes off as very simple. It's not a bad thing, but it doesn't stand out like the other maps. The layout does work though.

MAPF2 - Wellspring Keep Zone by SpiritCrusher/Cinefast - 9/10

I love this map; when I first went outside I was amazed by the breathtaking view. And things only got better since it played as well as it looks. There's a nice flow to and from the flags, and the outside serves as a nice battle area. I would have given this map an easy 10 if the standards in the outside area were used in the entire map.

MAPF3 - Radiant Cavern by Spherallic/KO.T.E - 10/10

Some people have been saying that this map is overrated but I'm giving it the rating I sincerely believe it deserves. The map looks stunning; everywhere. And as for the layout it just feels right. No matter where I go I never get lost or confused, it leads to the flags. As for the color complaint, there's red players and "not red" players so I don't have an issue with it.

MAPF4 - Climate Chaos Zone by Scizor300 - 6/10

I'm not gonna beat around the bush, failing to make the map symmetrical has cost the map some points. One base is clearly easier to enter than the other. Other than that I do like how the map plays once I get used to it. Too bad it doesn't play the same on both sides.

Circuit:

MAPR1 - Grassy Cliffs Zone by AndyMan123 - 4/10

I liked how the map started out, but then I didn't like the direction it took. The invisible barriers compromised gameplay, and while it seemed like there were many routes it was easy to accidentally fall into a death pit.

EDIT: You know, the map may feel sloppy with certain parts but it was kinda fun.

MAPR2 - Tidal Cave by RedEchidna/darkbob1713 - 4/10

I have mixed feelings about this map. I like the theme, atmosphere, usage of textures; but certain parts of gameplay became frustrating. Sometimes I would find myself running full speed ahead, take a spring, and then crash into a wall and be forced to stop and turn. It also felt like the gimmicks were overused at times.

EDIT: I went ahead and revisited the map since I felt I should have spent more time on it, unfortunately it reinforced the negative aspects that I felt.

MAPR3 - Iron Aquarium Zone by Zap610 - Jane/Stop this crazy thing!

This was actually my first SRB2 map and I'm pleased with the results; except the part where I rushed to get the map done. Anyway it took about 2 weeks to make and I never had this much fun mapping. The truth is it did start out as a SP map, but I later changed it to race so I could finish it on time. Maybe I'll turn this into a SP Zone when I have time, I danno ¯\(°_o)/¯. All of the honest feedback has been extremely helpful and I will do my best not to make the same mistakes on any future maps I make.

KO.T.E said:

Anyways, for those of you who cry about the darkness, learn to use the crystal's light it will show where your enemies are.

Click to expand...

the darkness is only half the problem. The lighting is the other. You can't tell one player from another. They might be on your team, and they might not. The opponent might be using a whirlwind shield, or it is actually an armageddon shield. The darkness makes it hard to see and the lighting makes it impossible to tell players apart, meaning I have to sometimes waste a bunch of ammo firing at my teammate.

...I fail to see how you can't tell red from blue. :(

When you're that close, yes you can tell, but try being a bit farther from the person and not have both of you right next to a light.

Single player division

Dangerous Volcano-The beginning could be shorter and the second part of rising lava could be a little slower please work on that. (Would make a great Red Volcano Act 2.)-8/10

Starlit City-Decent gameplay but bad enemy placement.-3/10

Cyber Guantlet-This is the worst level for a special stage made...the only way to get through is by springs...really??-1/10

Canyon Operation-TOTALLY AWSOME!!! Terrific gameplay, good enemy placement, and I like the music! (SHOULD be Arid Canyon's second act.)-10/10

Buzzards Bay Act 1-Needs a little editing...the beginning yellow spring is aiming toward the invisible wall, and the level is a little bit too short.-4/10

Metropolis Sprint-Hmmm...it could be the first srb2 act/boss stage. I LIKE IT! BUT, it shouldn't have rain. Rain is not part of a metropolis, just saying.-7/10

__________________________________

Hes everywhere... http://tinyurl.com/ylz28pj

I'm judging the single player levels first, starting with Dangerous Volcano and going through them all.

Dangerous Volcano Zone: 2/10
Sometimes the levels provide a challenge suited to the player. This course provides too much of a challenge, actually forcing me to place an elemental sheild near the beginning to actually survive the first part. Though it does have a good point, the 2D section at the end, which is why I gave it the extra point.

Starlit City Zone: 5/10
Good level. Scenery is nice. Good challenge for the players who can only get to DSZ. Enemy placement, ehh, not so much. And the Jetty-sins shouldn't even be in there. Oh well, still good in my opinion.

Buzzard's Bay Zone 1: 9/10
Oh, this is good! Excellent scenery, fine enemy placement, and a good challenge. Especially liked that one part with springs that bounce you up into those spikes. However, I wished it could have been a little bit longer.

Canyon Operation Zone: 7/10
Nice level overall. Good scenery, two themes coming together like bread and butter when it's supposed to be near sugar-spice relationship. Not much of a challenge, but still good, and it's easy to get lost (more than 5 minutes without reaching the first checkpoint).

Metropolis Sprint Zone: 7/10
Good level, straightforward, surprises that keep you on your toes, although not the best in the scenery department. And the surprises; liked the turret area and the boss, disliked the Jetty-sins over at the building hop area and the Deton attack.

Cyber Gauntlet Zone: 1/10
Yeah, it IS a springfest! Lame. Difficult. Had to rely on Knux for two parts. No other comments. Besides this one.

Can't do multiplayer reviews right now, mainly because I don't have access to the MS. I'll do it in a later post.

Remember when I said...

AndyMan123 said:

Multiplayer:

Unreveiwable due to nobody ever joins my netgames for some reason.

Click to expand...

Well, I figured I might as well review the Circuit maps.

Grassy Cliffs Zone: OMGWTFBBQ/10
Well, from the reviews, obviously not the best map I've ever made. Next time I won't use any invisible walls and it'll definitely be bigger.

Tidal Cave Zone: 8/10
A very good Circuit map. Very creative. The things I didn't like was that it was somehow a little too blue, and the underwater route made you slow down. But otherwise, I thought it rocked.

Iron Aquarium Zone: 8/10
My complaints are that the rings aren't deafed and that the grass was a little too tall for my tastes. Great map, though.

CTF

The only one I can review that I've actually played with people is:

Freezing Flame Zone: 8/10
Nice. Nice concept, nice execution. I liked this one. ...Even though you kept playing it over and over on the server. ;)

And those are my Circuit/CTF opinions.

---------- Post added at 09:00 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:51 AM ----------

Also...I know it's probably way too early to ask about this, but what if I made a level using a real song? Like, for example, "White Wedding" by Billy Idol? That's been stuck in my head for a couple days.

AndyMan123 said:

Also...I know it's probably way too early to ask about this, but what if I made a level using a real song? Like, for example, "White Wedding" by Billy Idol? That's been stuck in my head for a couple days.

Click to expand...

It would be a copyright infringement for said song.

IDK, WMG might get on your ass. XD
I'm actually curious as to how it would turn out.

AndyMan123 said:

and the underwater route made you slow down.

Click to expand...

But that's the intent! It's supposed to be punishment for falling off the bridge.

CTF
Wellspring Keeps: 9/10
only problems are the blue team spawn that's outside of the map and the buttons

Radiant Caverns 3/10
I honestly don't know how to tell a team mate from an enemy, it's just too dark here.

Freezing Flame Zone 4/10

RedEchidna said:

But that's the intent! It's supposed to be punishment for falling off the bridge.

Click to expand...

Does the player really need punishment for taking a misstep?

---------- Post added at 11:39 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:37 AM ----------

SpiritCrusher said:

It would be a copyright infringement for said song.

Click to expand...

Shit. Well, there goes that idea.

KO.T.E said:

[pic]
...I fail to see how you can't tell red from blue. :(

Click to expand...

It literally took me a minute to even find the enemy in that screenshot, and the player's color is actually very similar the wall behind it. That is not a clear red. The more painful problem was if you had a shield. A red player with an Elemental Shield, for example, looks blue in both bases. I might elaborate on this point more later on.

EDIT: Some testing showed that all player colors paled to indistinguishable when you were in the opposite base, and that very few shields could be told apart from each other. That is enough to warrant a 0/10 for being unplayable, but it's not quite as bad as that.

Everything you just said: ditto.

AndyMan123 said:

Does the player really need punishment for taking a misstep?

Click to expand...

If it didn't happen, there'd be no incentive to stay on the upper path. The idea is that the better players get the faster paths.

Edit: Also, for anyone who doesn't comb through the topic like I do, my voting post is almost complete, lacking only the Match division. (And I stand by my vote on Starlit City.)