May/June 2014 Voting

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Added my Multiplayer votes but no reviews. In my opinion, I think the multiplayer maps for this contest were kinda uninteresting this time around or flat out bad. Probably because I was spoiled on what the Single Player division had to offer this time. Some of the maps were good like CoatRack's Techno Laser Act 4 or Knux576's Moonlit Precipice Zone. Others were downright horrible like Root's and CyanFox's Wtf? CTF. There should be some quality control in the next OLDC but that seems impossible because this contest is to show off your work and to get criticism, but shit like Wtf? CTF are a big waste of time.

Anyways, here's my updated post: https://mb.srb2.org/showpost.php?p=756270&postcount=16
 
SP votes buahaha; beware my weird opinions and bad attempts at critique

1. Glacier Gear
Absolute favorite map from this SP division. The level's structure and routes are set up very well, the bounce pads are used in cool ways (especially underwater), and there's a 2D section that doesn't feel completely pointless! The visuals are also well-done, and Knuckles not being able to climb on metal was a clever addition. The trap-lasers were a bit ambiguous in purpose at first, but are actually pretty interesting, and the waddaleks are also kind of annoying (okay they're really annoying) but I suppose it's good to have an enemy that isn't scenery that moves. Squaring off with that secret boss was nice, too.

2. Cock Towers
Very nice from a technical standpoint; I predict that the kirby 64-style axis2D will be a great thing for level designers; I know I'll probably use it! The egg guards were kind of obnoxious, but other than that I didn't have much trouble dealing with the enemies.

3. Seraphic Skylands
Definitely has the best visuals out of the SP division; the music, scenery and low difficulty makes it a very relaxing experience. My only complaint is that the lack of enemies and aforementioned easiness makes it feel slightly uneventful, but it's still a fun level. Needs more pain elementals though.

4. Sand Valley
I had a lot of fun playing this one. The quickquicksand didn't bother me as much as it did others, the visuals are nice (especially those wooden bar midtextures) and there's a fun Knuckles path. The deton placement is pretty gross though, and the spindash platforms aren't explained well enough for such a common level object, though they're fine once you figure out how to actually use them.

5. Floral Road
This is for a level pack, am I right? It's cute and good for what it is, I suppose; a short, simple first level type of thing. It's very average, but it's not bad at all, though I do think there should've been more stuff to do. I don't have much else to say about this map.

On a non-level design related note, I like how the red crawlas take two hits to kill in this.

6. Egg Outposts
I like the song in this level but it doesn't fit the colorful jungle environment at all. This level is kind of below average but I still enjoyed it. The layout is really strange and confusing at times, and that optional cave room with the crystals is extremely dark; the crystals should've been placed in ways that guide the player instead of being all over the place. Deton placement could also use improvement.

7. Sacred Woodland
The visuals are decent. That's the biggest praise I can give this level; it's neither great nor abysmally awful. I don't know why the teleporters are there; the transitions could've been done without them; furthermore, the teleporters aren't smooth and stop you dead in your tracks when you activate them, which kills the immersion suddenly Brak

8. Midnight Caves
This is a stage that was very plain. It makes me think of maps from the 1.09.4 days, with the crawlas and that hyper-realistic rock texture and the vast open expanses of nothing. I didn't care much for this level but it's not bad, it's just very...well, mundane. Also the spot where the emerald token is would've been a better spot for the exit signpost.

9. Emerald Lake
Like Midnight Caves, this level isn't horrible, it's just unremarkable. It is composed entirely of large, empty rooms with enemies that don't really do anything, and unlike Egg Outposts, it doesn't even seem like effort was put into it. The map gives an Elemental Shield to the player right at the start of an underwater section, completely negating the challenges associated with that kind of hazard unless the player somehow gets hurt by something. The fake slopes and insurmountable fence at the beginning don't contribute anything to the gameplay; the addition of an unfinished draft of the map as a secret seems especially pointless. The map also has a problem with crashing; I don't know if it's the map's fault or just me though.

Also the fish look like they want to drown.

I might revise these later, don't know yet
 
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Voting time, I guess.

1. Glacier Gear Zone by toaster -> 10/10. I just loved this stage. Many things were awesome (the penguin enemies, the design, the mini-boss, etc.). Liked the combination of 2D platforming, the slime and bounce pads in the same room. Just awesome.

2. Clock Tower Zone by RedEnchilada and Pac -> 9.30/10. The theme of the level fits perfectly with what kinds of things you could do with 2D Axis. It is a cool level, but the way you used those enemies makes me rage internally.

3. Seraphic Skylands Zone by Spherallic -> 9/10. This level made me replay it a few times, so I could explore it more. It has a lot of details that makes it visually awesome, and that skybox is just WOW.

4. Sand Valley Zone by Chrome -> 8/10. Firstly, I want to thank you because you put that life and armaggedon shield before that annoying room with the huge falling sand. I was really confused how to activate those platforms that move up, but I found out how to use them when I accidentally hit the spin key. It uses the quick sand gimmick very well, but is harder than I thought it will be.

5. Midnight Caves Zone by Chaobrother -> 7.50. It was a bit short, but it had many cool parts. Nothing special, but I'll encourage you to use some gimmicks next time because it looks quite simple compared to how complex the others are.

6. Egg Outposts Zone by Tyrannic-> 6.90. It is hard as hell and the part with the darkness is really confusing, but you combined lasers, jungle themed platforming and chains very well.

7. Sacred Woodland by HAPPYFOX-> 6.50. The boss at the end was unexpected. Lovely lilly pads, horrible teleporters. Pretty average map.

8. Emerald Lake Zone, Act 2 by glaber-> 6/10. It was the first map I played and really feels like the first map of this contest. I liked how the level ends right were it began.

9. Floral Road Zone, Act 1 by "Lat'"-> 5.50. Very, very simple and short. Looks very much like Emerald Lake, maybe because of the textures.

Match:

1. Climate Chaos Zone by EvilEternity3000 -> 10/10. Awesome map. Very detailed and it's very hard to get bored of it because every climate has it's gimmicks. Nice.

2. Moonlit Precipice by Knux576 -> 9/10. Reminds me of Jade Valley Zone. Again, very detailed. Great stage.

3. Crystal Coast Zone by Steel Titanium -> 5/10. WOW. This map is bland and simple in every possible way. This stage consists in a bunch of large, empty rooms thrown together and most of them have only one texture. Sorry but no.

CTF:

1. Techno Laser 4 by CoatRack -> 10/10. Definetly my favourite ctf map from this contest. A lot of good things in this level, but some spawn points are next to a death pit, So it's easy to die there.

2. Old Sport Zone Act 1922: New Money vs Old Money by Jellybones and Eblo -> 9.50/10 Nice level design, awesome skybox, bad music choice. A fun level overall.

3. Forbidden Woods Zone by the cyan -> 8/10 -> It's a good map and I don't actually find
any flaws, but still not better than the two above.

4. Quicksand Caverns Zone by RedEnchilada-> 7.50/10 -> The quick sand combined with death pits is kind of unforgiving, but it's designed very well.

5. Wtf? Ctf by Root and CyanFox -> 7/10 -> Short, colorful and random.
 
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EDIT: Yes I can actually. I've played this level several times and I've come to the conclusion that it's unplayable as Knux. The areas after the path split trap you or demand impossible jumps, and gliding/climbing is impossible due to the aforementioned glide quirk. So I still think this is one of the most innovative levels I've seen in ages, but I can't give it first place because these are serious flaws.
That's an issue with analog mode. Turn it off for Cock Towers pls
 
I did a vote thingy.

1. Seraphic Skylands Zone by Spherallic - It's pretty oh so pretty
2. Clock Tower Zone by RedEnchilada and Pac - Fun level layout and excellent use of 2DAxis
3. Glacier Gear Zone by toaster - Laser penguins suck but the rest is awesome
4. Sand Valley Zone by Chrome - Cool use of quicksand to get around
5. Egg Outposts Zone by Tyrannic - Lots of cool ideas that just need better execution to work well
6. Sacred Woodland by HAPPYFOX - Kinda pretty, but also really confusing at the start
7. Midnight Caves Zone by Chaobrother - Forgettable, but still nice to play through
8. Floral Road Zone, Act 1 by "Lat'" - I liked the vibrant colors used here, though the level design is eh
9. Emerald Lake Zone, Act 2 by glaber - R I P MOTOBUG
1. Climate Chaos Zone by EvilEternity3000 - Cool weather effects that change up how to get around
2. Moonlit Precipice Zone by Knux576 - Pretty but also pretty standard and also has flying grass edges
3. Crystal Coast Zone by Steel Titanium - where are the crystals where is the coast
1. Forbidden Woods Zone by the cyan - Awesome level layout and tons of ways to flank the opposite base
2. Techno Laser 4 by CoatRack - Hooray for shrinking in a shooter gametype
3. Quicksand Caverns Zone by RedEnchilada - Quicksand gets a little too annoying at times
4. Old Sport Zone Act 1922: New Money vs Old Money by Jellybones and Eblo - Would be cooler if players could throw hats
5. Wtf? Ctf by Root and CyanFox - no pancake 0/10
 
Just a reminder for people who haven't voted yet. The deadline is Tuesday, July 15 at 7:00 PM EST. Can't wait to see the results.
 
As yet another reminder, the deadline is in approximately 48 hours. If you want to be counted, you need to have posted your vote BEFORE the deadline. Votes that are even one second past the deadline will NOT be counted, so to assure you'll be counted, vote early and don't put it off until the last minute.
 
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I should've did this earlier but I forgot thanks to a few weather related things and steam & such getting in the way...

***Single Player***

Name: Clock Towers
Author(s): RedEnchilada and Pac
Comments: This map takes 2D Mode to a whole new level. With 2D Axis this opens up a door to making 2D Levels interesting. While the level is alright and all the Egg Guards kinda tend to be annoying but after discovering that "one" thing with them in one of the earlier test builds. Not going to drop it down. Also I never had any problems with the Robo-Hoods since generally they try to snipe you and well... it's hard to hit a moving target, no?

==========

Name: Seraphic Skylands
Author(s): Spherallic
Comments: Very good visuals and a likeable skybox which reminds me of Jumping Flash. There was a tiny framerate drop in the starting area and I think this level would have major framerate drops on older PCs. I'll have to check on that though.

==========

Name: Sand Valley
Author(s): Chrome
Comments: Your skybox has a HOM *Or rather a flashing red/black texture for those using HOMREMOVAL 2* which is noticeable. Anyway... the very quicksand gimmick wasn't that bad being that I'm good at button mashing to get out of it and with it being my first time playing through the map as Sonic... only died once. I liked the section where the path splits where you have to stay in the light quicksand and climb your way up to get through it and there's also that Knuckles pathway which was rather fun to go through.

==========

Name: Glacier Gear Zone
Author(s): toaster
Comments: Quite a stage with blue lasers that causes bad stuff to happen and bouncy platforms here and there, especially the wall jumps although one wall jump section gave me a lot of trouble at first and it's not the one in the 2D Area. There also appears to be a boss in the map due to the Boss HUD detecting it but can't seem to find it.

==========

Name: Midnight Caves Zone
Author(s): Chaobrother
Comments: A average map, nothing special though besides a 2D Area.

==========

Name: Sacred Woodland Zone
Author(s): HAPPYFOX
Comments: It appears Robo-Hoods got a upgrade to Fire Arrows instead of just plain old Arrows. By the way... does the fire from these ever disappear because at one part a fire blocked a blue spring and I was forced to take a hit just to use the spring. The section where there is a button along with trapgoyles have near-impossible to see spikeballs and that's not good when they blend in with the textures.

==========

Name: Floral Road Zone
Author(s): "Lat'"
Comments: Collect Rings to up your stats, otherwise a fairly simple map and that Bronze through Gold Ring Boxes and such.

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Name: Egg Outposts Zone
Author(s): Tyrannic
Comments: Seems rather tight in some places and for that one section where you have to climb up and swing along chains... it takes just one mistake whether it be a snipe from a turret or missing a jump to start all over again in the room. Also the checkpoint in there is badly placed since if you die/retry the level you're FORCED to backtrack as you need to press down that switch again to turn off the blue laser.

==========

Name: Emerald Lake Zone
Author(s): glaber
Comments: A rather simple map, not much to say about this.
 
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Gonna get this out of the way and update it for real later.

1.) Sand Valley Zone by Chrome
REVIEW COMING SOON
2.) Seraphic Skylands Zone by Spherallic
REVIEW COMING SOON
3.) Glacier Gear Zone by toaster
REVIEW COMING SOON
4.) Clock Tower Zone by RedEnchilada and Pac
REVIEW COMING SOON
5.) Sacred Woodland by HAPPYFOX
REVIEW COMING SOON
6.) Floral Road Zone, Act 1 by "Lat'"
REVIEW COMING SOON
7.) Egg Outposts Zone by Tyrannic
REVIEW COMING SOON
8.) Midnight Caves Zone by Chaobrother
REVIEW COMING SOON














9Emr==ald La[ke Zke, At 2 by glabs
[spoil=]ReV|3W CO23IdNG 50ON[/soiler]
tumblr_mrgj1apNNP1sok1hbo1_400.gif
 
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Single Player OLDC Votes

1. Sand Valley
2. Glacier Gear
3. Clock Towers
4. Sacred Woodlands
5. Seraphic Skylands
6. Floral Road
7. Emerald Lake
8. Egg Outposts
9. Midnight Caves


Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y74XUc5vhw


I've also done play through's / commentaries on all of the single player maps:


Clock Towers Zone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBhJeHfO_GI




Egg Outposts Zone:


Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5rY6UyiGz8


Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuQ-VTTYpCQ


Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3G0JDv3byD0



Emerald Lake Zone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hqEZmYBH5w


Floral Road Zone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tFqv0-gT38



Glacier Gear Zone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBD7SH9CsZY


Midnight Caves Zone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0JhPpx2Z_w


Sacred Woodlands Zone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePXPbbwTx9o


Sand Valley Zone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwLat3_w5YA


Seraphic Skylands Zone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=si4juvZ1-rk




Match and CTF OLDC Votes



Match


1. Moonlit Precipice Zone
2. Climate Chaos Zone
3. Crystal Coast Zone


CTF

1. Forbidden Woods Zone
2. Old Sport Zone
3. Quicksand Caverns Zone
4. Techno Laser 4
5. wtfctf....


Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tITr7zeGIR8
 
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I'm really happy to finally see gameplay footage of my own stage, (Yeah, I've never played my stage with other players) so I really have to thank you for those videos DUDE, it's just amazing.

EDIT: My map looks very ugly in OpenGL :(
 
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I'm only doing Match and CTF maps:


Match: Moonlit Precipice > Climate Chaos > Crystal Coast
CTF: Forbidden Woods > Old Sport > Techno Laser > Quicksand Caverns > Wtf? Ctf


Match:
Crystal Coast: 3/10


Okay, I'm gonna be honest here. The map while big, can be fun at the start, but overtime, it begins to get really boring. I have a list of complaints about this map. First, there's a lack of scenery. The trees in the meadow area are part of the scenery, but the lack of objects (such as Sunflowers) make it look bland. The coastal area is another prime example because all it features is a pseudo-mountainside. The factory area is just empty, and so is the Tidal Palace Zone-themed area. The second complaint I have is that there are some Ring Panels and single Weapon Rings that aren't floating. The Rail Ring inside the miniscule waterfall is an example. One more thing, why does the water in the meadow area kill you rather than having a bottom with springs in it? It should've acted like the two lakes in Meadow Match Zone, and according to some users on the MB, this level looks like a first map.


Moonlight Precipice: 9/10


This map is good. The only thing I found is that the middle textures aren't lined up with the sector height. Be sure to double check this next time.


Climate Chaos: 8/10


This map is a good example of changing weather without causing sync-fails. I don't really have anything to say about it, other than the fact it is good.


CTF:
Old Sport: 7/10

The map, while good in design, can get slightly boring. The bases where the players have to stand guard are too big, and flag capturers can get lost. The Blue and Red Team Rings are placed in the bedrooms in the opposite bases, and they do not work that way. I've also found a Gargoyle in the map that was supposed to function as the time of day and weather. It didn't function like it was supposed to, and when sunset reappears, it doesn't stop raining until it's nightfall again. The last phenomena was an earthquake. Was it intended to distract the other players or was it a visual?

Quicksand Caverns: 5/10

The map is okay in visuals and design, but the map itself is bland in terms of scenery. The caves in both team sections lack scenery. There should be scenery objects such as cactuses, like the ones in the middle and team bases, tumbleweed, and some stalactites and stalagmites. The main problem of the map is how the quicksand functions. It should act like quicksand in Burning Sands (from 2.0), and many other desert levels, because this type of quicksand asphyxiates players who stay in the quicksand too long.

Forbidden Woods: 9/10

This map is fairly impressive. I liked how the bases looked, and the connecting area between them. This map would be great for hide-and-seek.


Wtf? Ctf: 1/10

This is THE worst CTF map I've ever played. It is too simple, and the overuse of color textures can really hurt players' eyes. The map also has a lack of Rail Rings, which call for easy pickings due to how close the bases are. I already said this map is simple, but I forgot to add that it calls for a huge thokfest for Sonic players. At first, the map seems easy, but the repetition can get boring really fast. Plus, the Blue Team (Waffle) base is very broken, because players have to jump on top of the butter just to capture the flag, and the pancakes suffer the same thing the bases suffer. My other complaint is that it does not have all of the Weapon Rings. While the Infinity, Automatic, Scatter, Grenade, and Explosion Rings exist, it suffers from Bounce and Rail Ring Panels, and the Infinity Ring is only exclusive to the Blue Team. The other thing that the team bases lack is their corresponding flags so that players could tell whose base is whose. Overall, it's a pretty pathetic map that needs to be worked on.


Techno Laser Zone 4: 7/10


The level's got a fair amount of visuals. Players can easily get lost on their first time playing this level. I also like how the level can give some
players advantages where they can hide from other players, and this even protect players who have the flags on hand. This map is fun to play in once you get used to it. Keep up the good work, CoatRack!
 
I've also found a Gargoyle in the map that was supposed to function as the time of day and weather. It didn't function like it was supposed to, and when sunset reappears, it doesn't stop raining until it's nightfall again. The last phenomena was an earthquake. Was it intended to distract the other players or was it a visual?
Ah yes, I actually totally forgot about the scrapped gargoyle box. In a stroke of inspiration, I started a "proof of concept" weather changing mechanism. This happened when the map was otherwise mostly completed, so Jellybones and I decided that we should preserve the idea for another level down the line. Naturally, this would have paralleled the symbolic weather found within the novel—rain that reflects the downpour of Gatsby and Daisy's heartfelt reunion, heat waves which mimic the rising tension between the story's cheating couples, and an additional set of earthquakes which we felt created a palpable, sensory motion that allowed the player to more easily connect with the strain and stress that the dying economy of the Roaring Twenties wrought to stock sellers.

By pure coincidence, a match level ended up utilizing this exact function.
 
By pure coincidence, a match level ended up utilizing this exact function.
Yeah, I was pretty surprised when another map did it. I think it was utilized better by Evil Eternity than if we had kept it though. It was just kind of unnecessary in our map, as strong and beautiful as that symbolism is. I hope more maps make use of the ability to change mechanics and terrain at any time.

I've edited my post on the first page with my votes for both MP and SP maps. edit: and now i didn't forget midnight caves lol

EDIT: Kudos to Thatrb2 Dude. It's nice to see a video and people playing the maps. I'm surprised you didn't mention the weirder details in my map that seemed to attract attention like the team rings in the bedroom though, but I'm glad you felt it was solid. I think more people should play it as you do- 5 times or so- because of course nobody's going to find their way the first time around. I get lost very often when I first play an MP map. Going by reviews of our map I felt people only tried it once.
 
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While it does generally take a bit to get the hang of a multiplayer map as a player, the layout plays a huge role in making sure players immediately understand where they're supposed to be going. When I build multiplayer stages, I try really hard to make sure all of the rooms don't just blend together into a mess, because that can make it very hard as a player to quickly learn the layout of the stage.

As one of our best examples in the vanilla match rotation, look at Tidal Palace. Tidal Palace has a lot of reused elements and textures, but each room tries to use both texturing and architecture to make it unique enough that you'll never end up in a situation where you reenter a room you've already been to and don't recognize it as the same.

It's even more important in CTF, where there's nothing more frustrating than having the flag but not knowing how to get back to your base. Not only should your rooms look unique, at this point I think it's actively a good idea to make sure that your bases and team spawn points face each other. It also helps a lot if the player doesn't need to change direction significantly to reach the other base. There might be obstacles in the way and rooms to navigate, but knowing that you need to run directly away from the flag room to reach the other base helps a lot with intuitive understanding of the map.

Just remember that while every new map starts with the player not knowing the layout, the amount of time it takes for the player to figure out the layout IS something you want to minimize, and therefore designing the stage intuitively makes for a better level.
 
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