September/October 2009 Voting

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Single Player:

Gothic Gardens Zone, Act 1 by VX501 - 2/10

Maybe a good starter map, but I disliked it a lot. The name's Gothic Gardens; how does acid, nitric acid and a factory fit into this?? Many areas were too cramped, and others were plain cheap. Some platforming was extremely annoying and cheap (Egg Knights ambushing you on a platform and sending you flying back? That's not exactly enjoyable).

Good for a first try, but should not have been in the OLDC.


Graceful Coast Zone by D00D64 - 6/10

Heeeyyy... You took Green Grove Act 2's music! And to think I was using Act 1's... :P Anyways, I liked this level. It was pretty and challenging. Most of the gimmicks worked out for me. But....

Why does the title say "Defeat Eggman in 6 minutes!" if there is no Eggman?

Where's the colormap in the gigantic waterfall with the red spring in it?

And how the heck was I supposed to know normal water hurt me??

That is all.


Refurbished Gadgetry Zone by SonicMaster - 5/10

Tough, but at least playable. Some of the gimmicks were annoying and overused. Some areas were just plain cheap, others far too easy.


Magma Core Zone, Act 2 by Blade - 8.5/10 9/10

Ding ding ding! This is my favorite of all of the Single Player division maps in this OLDC. I had fun going through it, found it easy to traverse at some points and tricky at others... But all in all, it was a job well done!

Certain traps and gimmicks were overused. That kinda dampened the play.

Match:

MAPM1 - Battle Forest Zone by Aaron - 1/10

The layout of this map was horrible. The weapons and ammo were clumped together, making it easy to get them all maxed out in no time flat. The level was just not enticing at all. Sorry.


MAPM2 - Misty Mesa Zone by fawfulfan - Not yet tested


MAPM3 - Acid Comet Zone by D00D64 - Tested, but I need a refresher


MAPM4 - Icicle Warehouse Zone by glaber - 3/10

I'm sorry, but lolwut? Ammo piled up in bunches, pointless platforming in many areas, cramped in many areas... No, just no.

The only thing I liked was that the level name matched the texture designs.


MAPM5 - Volcanic Desolation Zone by Scizor300 - 5/10

I see you've improved on where I asked you to. However, the platforming is far too simply and Rail is extremely abused beyond belief here. having both water and lava in a stage just doesn't mix well.


MAPM6 - Azure Lake Zone by KO.T.E - 7.5/10 8/10

I know this was my favorite of the Match division maps. The level had a beautiful layout and great platforming.

But it had the same ammo problem as many did which kinda ruined it.


MAPM7 - 30 Minute Zone by RedEchidna - 3/10

Awful platforming. Redwall sky. A nuisance to get back up. Rail users have an extreme advantage here. Extremely clumped ammo areas.

The master is not pleased.

CTF:

MAPF1 - Canyon CTF Zone by Eggmanfan - 0/10

What the heck? Some textures make no sense at all. Everywhere is so easy to traverse. Getting the flag to and fro the base is a chore, just to avoid straight-fire from your opponents.

MAPF2 - Ancient Arboretum Zone by Com Rante - 6/10

I really liked the layout of the level. It was fun to play through, and had an interesting way of getting from one base to the other 9side paths or not).

The music... Really did not fit.


MAPF3 - Red River Zone by darkbob1713 - 5/10

Not a bad drive set behind this level. But it wasn't terribly fun. That blind spot near the center between the bases had me stumped as to where I was supposed to go from there. Some textures didn't mix too well.


MAPF4 - Sunshower Canyon Zone by D00D64 - 7/10

This was a nice level. Textures mixed in interestingly. However, the bridges really ticked me off. That's an extremely easily-spotted Railspot. If you're crossing the bridge (straight as can be), you're very likely to be railed off.


MAPF5 - Techno Laser Zone by KO.T.E - 7.5/10 8/10


We have a winner! I remember testing this a while ago. It's still just as fun and as interesting to play as it was before. However, some spots just seem to have a lack of many things - Details, could-be things (rings, ammo, etc.)

Also, clumped ammo.


MAPF6 - Iron Turret Returns Zone by Neo - 7/10

I actually liked it. The layout was changed for the better, adding more area to roam and shoot at your leisure. However, retaining the original layout, still has an advantage for Rail Ring users. Also, music does NOT fit.


MAPF7 - La Villa Strangiato Zone by Penopat - 4/10

I liked the concept of the level and the music fit. However, some textures clashed in many areas, it was extremely easy to get to the bases, and it was a chore just to get the flag back to the base without being hunted down and having it taken back. Not to mention, it was annoying to get back up to the main path if you accidentally fell down with the flag. Rail, anyone?

Circuit:

MAPR1 - Frostbite Peak Zone by RedEchidna - 3/10

Annoying, really. Slip, fall. Checkpoint after five seconds, another in the same interval - Oh look, you just went in a circle and died again.

The gimmicks in this level were awful.


MAPR2 - Egg Flower Zone by Mach - 3/10

(Yes, two 3's. This OLDC's Race division sucked.)

What the heck? What gives with the translucent wall at the start, unknown checkpoint areas you can only hear to know you got them, and the texture transition being horrible? But the platforming wasn't all that bad. That's the only upside.

All-in-all, I was very disappointed with this OLDC's levels. I just hope the next one's will be better.

The Match maps are all attuned to Rail rings, it seems, seeing as that is the weapon of advantage in every one. Same goes for the CTF maps.
 
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MAPF6 - Iron Turret Returns Zone by Neo - 7/10

I actually liked it. The layout was changed for the better, adding more area to roam and shoot at your leisure. However, retaining the original layout, still has an advantage for Rail Ring users. Also, music does NOT fit.
The music was more of a joke, as it feels really supernatural, adding to the "it lives once more" nature of the beast. Did you notice the sky has Earth and the moon in the background? =P
 
The music was more of a joke, as it feels really supernatural, adding to the "it lives once more" nature of the beast. Did you notice the sky has Earth and the moon in the background? =P
I noticed that. I'm assuming that was meant to give it a spacey feel to it.

Even so, joke or not, it just didn't hit me as anything in particular. No offense.
 
After postponing (Read: Not originally going to do) reviewing Circuit due to only having two entries and hating Circuit in the first place (Hell, even Mystic hates it), I decided to do so anyway :P

MAPR1 - Frostbite Peak Zone by RedEchidna: 4/10
Sorry once again Reddy, but I ain't gonna give you freebie points. You probably arn't EXPECTING me to, but just saying I ain't gonna let bias get me. First off, the colormap is GROSS. It's hard to differentiate things, and your excuse of "Textures not fitting together" for using it is an insanely lousy one. Add to it, I got LOST. SEVERAL TIMES. And when I get on the path, I squeeeeeeeeeeeeeze myself through some passages, and out into the wide open death pit. But it could be a lot worse though. At least you took out the beta's god awful Zoom Tube...

MAPR2 - Egg Flower Zone by Mach: 1/10
...Okay, I'll be blunt: WHAT THE HELL IS THIS CRAP?!?
What were you THINKING with the visuals? It's freaking DISGUSTING! It's like you fed Doom Builder Greenflower, Egg Rock, and some stupid clashing floor textures and extracted the crap from DB's plumbing! I mean, DAMN, you have NO EYE for visuals WHATSOEVER! It's just...I can't even any more appropriate words that are safe for the forum. Oh yeah, one more: BLECK! Visuals aside, this level is just wide open stopped with a bunch of easy to clear obstacles LOOSELY based on Egg Rock. Aside from the FIRST time I went through the space timer (Which I never felt made sense, since you can hold your air longer in water, and stepping in a blue field shouldn't instantly purify you of space radiation and "reset" the space spaghettification process), everything was (super-loosely put together) cake. I mean, just what IS with this level? It's less well made than 30 Minutes Zone! Geez, even witht hat level's REDWALL sky, it looked better!
 
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MAPR2 - Egg Flower Zone by Mach: 1/10
...Okay, I'll be blunt: WHAT THE HELL IS THIS CRAP?!?
What were you THINKING with the visuals? It's freaking DISGUSTING! It's like you fed Doom Builder Greenflower, Egg Rock, and some stupid clashing floor textures and extracted the crap from DB's plumbing! I mean, DAMN, you have NO EYE for visuals WHATSOEVER! It's just...I can't even any more appropriate words that are safe for the forum. Oh yeah, one more: BLECK! Visuals aside, this level is just wide open stopped with a bunch of easy to clear obstacles LOOSELY based on Egg Rock. Aside from the FIRST time I went through the space timer (Which I never felt made sense, since you can hold your air longer in water, and stepping in a blue field shouldn't instantly purify you of space radiation and "reset" the space spaghettification process), everything was (super-loosely put together) cake.

This was way too harsh. Its called Egg Flower for a reason. At least its original and has more effort put into it than any other race level I know of, ESPICIALLY 30min Zone.

D00D64 said:
I mean, just what IS with this level? It's less well made than 30 Minutes Zone! Geez, even witht hat level's REDWALL sky, it looked better!

That's a lie.
 
This was way too harsh. Its called Egg Flower for a reason. At least its original and has more effort put into it than any other race level I know of, ESPICIALLY 30min Zone.

Original =/= Good Looking.
I mean, it's like you didn't even TRY to make sense of why Egg Rock textures are RANDOMLY injected in Green Flower Textures, and that completely random flat choice in one area.

That's a lie.

No, I'm saying TWO TEXTURES ON REDWALL are better looking than this.
 
Wow, way to not respect people's opinions, eh, Hack?

Because the OLDC is about opinions forming a general consensus about what worked and what didn't. If you disagree, fine, but he's still allowed to have his own opinions. :P

[SIZE=-10](And I guess this applies to D00D too :()[/SIZE]
 
ZX, you have to collect 6 emeralds and 50 rings to get the last one at the end of the level to make it to Eggman.


CTF reviews are going to be last.

Circuit

Frostbite Peak by RedEchidna 4/10

I am glad you eliminated a thokfest, but there is barely any room to run and it is mostly jumping and nearing that thin line between walking and running. You should make it bigger so people do not have to slow down as much. Also that is a nice shortcut you added, it halves it takes to make it to the same destination, but the monitor could be left out since it could result in a cheap death towards the player or the unfortunate victim of the possible telportation.

Egg Flower by Mach 2/10

The level design needs a lot of improvement, the level just is not that good at all.

The beginning of the level can be redone, the translucent block and the springs at the beginning look downright lazy. If you were to make the beginning differently without starting out with springs that lead to a slightly out of reach area it probably be better.

You could actually add more to the terrain so that you are not only running forward most of the time in sections, it just seem empty and flat. As for the textures you can actually fit the both themes together instead of having them seperate you just need to figure out how.

The crushers were okay but how about having a bit more crushers that act differently, that could work also. You can also try to use a gimmick that may have been in EggRock if you are still want to make it like that and add your own twist or idea to the way it is used.

The textures of both GreenFlower and EggRock could have been mixed together at some parts of this level to make it seem like the level you were aiming to make.

I would honestly would have went for a completely different level not based on two zones of the main game since that does not work all the time and is NOT very original.
 
I'm taking two points off of my score for KOTE's level, dropping it down to a 3/10.
It's a hassle to constantly have to press the jump button, the quicksand gimmick is a pain to deal with, there's far too much ammo, and it feels claustrophobic.
 
Much like Egg Rock Zone, you basically feature two distinct paths that the player can take, one longer than the other. Conversely, though, in this level the shorter path is actually the easier one, offering the player no reason to pick the longer, harder path over the other once he's familiar with both.
You do know that Egg Rock's longer paths are also the harder ones? Still, both in ERZ and in this level, the longer and harder ones are more enjoyable.
 
Here's my opinion:
Magma Core 2 - 10/10
I loved the custom enemies in this level even though they were hard, mainly because SRB2 doesn't have any real lava based enemies. Now it does!

Graceful Coast - 7/10
I liked this level to a certain point and then I didn't. It was very confusing.

Refurbished Gadgetry - Haven't played this one yet

Gothic Gardens - 4/10
Goop? Well, I have to say I didn't expect goop when I started this level. And the level's pretty cramped(but my MH levels are too, so I shouldn't be talking). I couldn't find the exit either.
 
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Race:

Frostbite Peak: This is quite good. There's a weak possibility of thoking and the graphics seem good. The problem in here is that it seems a bit cramped and a wrong step can either lead you to death, or starting over from below. Also Knuckles has a quite big advantage in this stage, going from the start to the 1/4 of it in just some seconds. 7/10.

Egg Flower: I think that Green Egg would maybe be more suitable in this stage. This also played good, but some parts were quite cheap for a race stage. While it has some challenge, unfortunately you can still spam some thoks in the crusher part. The last crusher is a bit cheap, especially for Tails' players. And that Space Countdown part should have less gravity than it has. The graphics weren't really bad. 6/10.

C.T.F.:

Canyon CTF: If there's one, single word I could say for this stage is GOSH! This stage is the worst of the OLDC, and probably the worst CTF stage we ever saw. It's cramped, the rings, and weapons (there are no ammo, too.) are undeaf'd, the "quicksand" is a current for no reason, and those rocks fall into the worst places people ever imagined. 0/10.

Ancient Arboretum: Not a pretty good stage to play CTF IMHO. It's cramped, confusing and the weapons aren't in obvious places. This, kids, is what makes the difference between Big and Open. 3/10.

Red River: Plays well, but unfortunately, there was no way to tell in which base you were going, and the weapons and ammo are too close to the bases, which also makes the other parts pretty empty. 6/10.

Sunshower Canyon: Best CTF stage in the OLDC. The music fits pretty well the stage IMO, it's Wide-Open and yet not empty (except for the bridge, who needs more rings and maybe a weapon.) and it plays pretty well, too. 8/10.

Techno Laser: Good stage, but not as good as Sunshower Canyon. This is because of a gimmick that, unfortunately, is useless. While little lets you use the teleporter, but it's more hard to jump, big lets you use an alternate path, jump better, but being a more easy target to shoot. The problem with this great gimmick is that being in Normal size lets you do ALL the good things that little and big sizes have. Music seems to fit and plays well nevertheless. 7/10.

Iron Turret (Returns): This is also good, but could be better, and could also tie up with Sunshower Canyon. The springs leading you to the towers are badly placed, and in result, makes you waste time just to get in that tower. In My Very Honest Opinion, I would stick with the stairs. And that music doesn't fit AT ALL! 7/10.

Match:

Battle Forest: It plays well but it has some flaws to it: There's too much bomb ammo in the stage, there shouldn't have that much Grenade Ammo in the stage, Bomb weapons and ammo are undeaf'd, the cave is quite empty, and the outside is a bit cramped to walk correctly. The graphics are good too. 4/10.

Misty Mesa: A VERY bad stage. It's either too wide and empty, either very cramped and full of rings. There's also too much boxes putted in one single place, and "?" Monitors can teleport you to death, A LOT. The emeralds were TOO EASY to find, and undeaf'd too, with no exploration through the stage required. There isn't enough ammo to play, and the weapons and ammo are undeaf'd. And please avoid using symmetrical stages. CTF uses symmetrical stages because it's the only possibility to play fair CTF. 1/10.

Acid Comet: Putting it simply, too, the interior is very unfair to Knuckles' players while the exterior isn't Sonic-friendly.
Some ammo is hidden behind pillars for no reason, and those blue springs are COMPLETELY flow-breaking: Just lower those places so we can JUMP. Some emeralds didn't also required enough exploration, as they were very visible by just running normally on the comets. It played quite well, though, and the textures were well-putted in the stage. 4/10.

Icicle Warehouse: A bad stage, and here's why: That bridge-like structure is very cramped, as well as the "inside", and there's FAR TOO MUCH AMMO. The music doesn't fit in this stage, too. 3/10.

Azure Lake: Not a good stage. While the up part of the stage is open, the down is very cramped. The Weapons are HIDDEN IN TREES for no REASON, too. The weapons must be the contrary of the emeralds: they must be placed in easy finding places, NOT in places where you would NEVER expect a weapon to be THERE. Also you gotta make a choice: It's a lake, or it's a quicksand-acting thing, NOT the 2 at the same time. The graphics are nice, though. 3/10.

Volcanic Desolation: "Too Big, Too Empty!" Instead of putting lots and lots of rings in a tower, put them elsewhere in the map. And put MORE LAVA is this stage! There isn't enough lava to call this stage VOLCANIC Desolation. 4/10.

30 Minute: 2 words for this stage: FLOW-BREAKING STAGE. This stage is FAR too dependant on springs, because of the big hills that doesn't let you jump over, so this isn't very Sonic-friendly. The Air Current in the bottom is also flow-breaking and you can get railed at any instant, too. The emeralds are too high and Knuckles' players must climb to something to then glide on them, and REDWALL background is FAIL. 3/10.
 
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MAPR2 - Egg Flower Zone by Mach: 1/10
...Okay, I'll be blunt: WHAT THE HELL IS THIS CRAP?!?
What were you THINKING with the visuals? It's freaking DISGUSTING! It's like you fed Doom Builder Greenflower, Egg Rock, and some stupid clashing floor textures and extracted the crap from DB's plumbing! I mean, DAMN, you have NO EYE for visuals WHATSOEVER! It's just...I can't even any more appropriate words that are safe for the forum. Oh yeah, one more: BLECK!

Please be as unbiased as possible for the author or the look of the map. It's all about how good the map plays, nothing else.
hi guys whats up
 
Come to think of it D00D64 based his review off the level according to visuals, nothing else. :\

Anyways, here are my reviews of the levels.

SinglePlayer:

Gothic Gardens Zone, Act 1: 4/10
You have the basics of level design down, but some of the stuff did not make sense. Why on earth would cannon balls be coming out of a bridge? I'll never know. And the hills don't have lower unpegged textures. It's not necessary to have lower unpegged textures but it just looks nicer. Some places were bland and boring. You should work on the overall detail of the level to try and make it sorta less bland. Widen some places up and put some more challenges in, so it isn't boring.

Graceful Coast Zone: 4/10

Boring. You have some great visuals. But visuals is probably all you care about. I don't find anything interesting about the level design. What mostly kept me playing was the nice music, and that should not be a way to keep the player going. You badly need to improve on the level design of this level, instead off concentrating so friggen much on visuals. Visuals aren't the best part of 2D you know. :P

Refurbished Gadgetry Zone: 6/10

This was a pretty fun level. But the upside down part was pretty boring. There were more challenges rightside up than there were upside down. And there should be some more pretty things to look at. I felt like I was in some deserted hospital, than whatever I was supposed to be in.

Magma Core Zone, Act 2: 9/10
Agent Hack said:
I'd have to give it to Magma Core Zone 2. By far the best Single Player level I have ever played. The custom Flying Firethrowing things (forgot the name) was pretty epic, and the overall quality of this level is amazing. I'm not so good criticizing levels much but I just wanted to participate. :P

That's all. I'll review the Multiplayer Maps later...
 
Come to think of it D00D64 based his review off the level according to visuals, nothing else. :\

...So you din't read the OTHER half of the paragraph? As in, the part where I said how bland it was and how it barely felt like part Egg Rock at all? Well, that's pretty much all I COULD state. It was a boring, forgettable level that utterly failed, just like that embarrassment Graceful Coast did. And this is coming from someone that does not think visuals should be the sole reason for gameplay. I will admit I WAS too harsh, but the 1 still stands.
 
CTF

Canyon CTF Zone by Eggmanfan - 0/10
Do I even need to explain this one?
This is unplayable, for all the reasons mentioned above.

Ancient Arboretum Zone by Com Rante -4/10
Decent-looking, but the scenery gets in the way. It's hard to navigate and there's no way to tell which base is which; you can lose a match simply because you didn't know where to go.

Red River Zone by darkbob1713 - 3/10
It's pretty wide, and really doesn't look good. It's very easy to get the flag from any angle, making it almost impossible to guard it properly. The Weapon placement is solid.

Sunshower Canyon Zone by D00D64 -4/10
This map is far too plain and open. There's no place to hide, and there's nowhere to duck for cover. There's several graphic errors here and there, and it doesn't look too nice.
I don't like how you get up to the flags with the Springs. It just breaks the flow entirely.

Techno Laser Zone by KO.T.E - 2/10
The idea of the level is neat, but the execution is terrible. It takes far too long to travel when small, but it isn't much of a problem when you're near-invincible. There's no advantage to being large (a tunnel where even normal-sized people can access isn't really an advantage, especially when there's lasers and bad flow). You're also an easy target to pick off, making the entire concept of grabbing the flag pointless.
The doors you can activate don't work too nicely because they can be just plain annoying when you try to walk to a door, and then have to stop, return to the base, become another size, and find an alternate route.
The pipes that small people pass are far too small. They're annoying to get into and they can hardly be considered shortcuts. Because small people are the only people who can fit in, it makes them even harder to hit.
I don't like the lasers guarding the base, I don't like the looks of the place, and the design isn't interesting.
Weapons are generally placed in clumps, which is a bad thing.

Iron Turret Returns Zone by Neo - 5/10
Not too bad, I guess. While the underground areas aren't very good, the outside area's been improved so the level can actually have a few moments of fun here and there. It looks very nice, but it's hard to navigate in the tunnels because of how small they are.

La Villa Strangiato Zone by Penopat - 5/10
There isn't much to say about this. The bottom area's almost exclusively for item hunting, it's possible to get lost in here, and it just doesn't look nice. The landscape feels bland and it's not fun to move around in. Nothing too bad, however.

________________________________________________

Race

Frostbite Peak Zone by RedEchidna - 4/10
This level really lacks flow. There's little friction, resulting in several cheap deaths. You sometimes have to squeeze through tight spots or you get killed by a death pit you couldn't see at first. It's also sometimes hard to tell where to go.
The scenery got in the way of the gameplay and made navigating a pain.

Egg Flower Zone by Mach - 1/10
This feels like a testing area, and nothing else.
It's very ugly, the gimmicks aren't fun at all (easily-avoidable, hardly a threat), it's far too wide, and it's too flat. The ending didn't make sense at all. There's no sign that I'd drown outside there instead of at the beginning.
The giant hill at the start causes cheap deaths because, chances are, you can't see the giant death pit in the middle of things. There's no shortcuts, and the bonuses you put in force you to turn around or take too much time out of the race to be effective.

__________________________________________

Wow, I'm extremely disappointed with the Contest this time around. It's obvious that people don't know how to map in v2.0.
 
Battle Forest Zone by Aaron - 4/10
Well, this level had some of it's weapon ammo rings undeafed, and the water wasn't colormapped, so that takes off a few points. It's also a bit small, and there's a bit too many rings.

Misty Mesa Zone by Fawfulfan - 5/10
I really don't know why, but I don't like this level.

Acid Comet Zone by D00D64 - 7/10
This is a pretty good level. The textures fit well, along with the music. The thing placement is good too.

Icicle Warehouse Zone by Glaber - 4/10
I didn't really like this. The textures were well placed, but the music didn't really fit, though. The rings were clumped up in a strange way, and the weapon ring ammo is too close together.

Volcanic Desolation Zone by Me (Scizor300) - Baka/Baka
Okay, I know I ****ed up horribly on this map.

Azure Lake Zone by KO.T.E. - 8/10
This level is beautiful, and the scenery outside the level was a nice touch, too. But it does lag quite a bit sometimes, especially around the outside.

30 Minute Zone by RedEchidna - 5/10
For 30 minutes, this was rather impressive, but that's not saying much, because the level isn't really that good.


Anyways, on with the Race reviews, then i'm done.

Egg Flower Zone by Mach - 6/10
This level was decent, and it had a good amount of difficulty. There were some cheap deaths, though.

Frostbite Peak Zone by RedEchidna - 7/10
This level had great visuals, and a mild difficulty curve. This was the best out of the Race levels.


That's all my reviews, whoo hoo.
 
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Volcanic Desolation Zone by Me (Scizor300) - 3/10
Okay, I know I ****ed up horribly on this map, which is why i'm giving it a 3.
You can't vote on your own map. I don't know why so few people read through the Contest Rules.

Also, if you ****ed up horribly, it doesn't mean 3.
 
You can't vote on your own map. I don't know why so few people read through the Contest Rules.

Also, if you ****ed up horribly, it doesn't mean 3.
Last year, I actually got away with voting on my own map. I had forgotten the rules at the time, but somehow nobody called me out on it.

I voted low on my own map, too.
 
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