Official Level Design Contest Voting: September-October 2007

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Simsmagic here to rate some SP levels for ya. No Dimensional Zone Act 2 or the other wad I'm making yet, still not quite done with them yet. Heh, oh well... Let's begin shall we?

Arid Ruins Act 2 - 8/10 Very Good

Very nice, I liked it. It's pretty long, multiple paths, good flow, interesting gimmicks, but 1-ups and Invincibility moniters were often and easily found.

Sandtrap Dunes Zone - 6/10 Above Average

A bit confusing, and needs a bit work with flow, but it was finishable, and kid've fun, I guess.

Meadow Falls Zone - 4/10 Below Average

It was short, and the texture is kind've hard on the eyes, as well as very easy, but multiple pathways and the such kept it sort've interesting.

Tainted Way - 1/10 Abmysal

Oi, this wasn't very good... it's cramped, dropping things that hurt you, a bit hard to manuever, and I'm not sure what to say about the boss... But, I have played worse.
 
Long vote incoming... -_-

Match:
MAPA1 - Scattered Skies Zone, 5/10 Bland and off-balance, but not bad..

This level first caught me by surprise with the music, which seemed unfitting for an air-themed level just a tad, however that really didn't affect the score. The main problem was that the play areas were so split up, that only the three main platforms were ever used. The clouds were annoying and useless and the others were just too out of the way. Another problem was that everything was so spread apart that I could never tell whether I could jump or not until I missed it, and then waited a few seconds to fall under the play area. I had to memorize what jumps could and could not be made. I didn't altogether enjoy the sparsely placed wind gimmick, mainly because it was too out of the way to be useful, and too in the way to be any good. (had to use it in order to reach the random monitor) Lastly, nobody bothered to get many of the bomb rings unless they happened to be nearby, and the infinity ring was unused.

Gameplay: 5/10 Not bad...

Visuals: 4/10 Some decorative stuff but really quite bland

Creativity: 2/10 Overused theme, gimmicks just didn't offset it enough

Weapon Balance: 3/10 Some were unused, others were overused, infinity was ignored, rings were too few and far between.

Overall: 5/10 Bland and off-balance, but not bad. (not an average)


MAPA2 - Venomous Dusk Zone, N/A my level...

It seems that the acid wasn't too popular, however it never really was in the way except where it had to be. The homing ring was a painful decision, when nobody bothered to get the infinity ring. In my personal albeit slightly biased opinion, it really only suffers from size, and sometimes lag. Next time I'll go lighter on the detail (urm, slightly lighter) and try to make it smaller.

MAPA3 - Arial Ruins Zone, 2/10 VERY tiny, like a centerpiece without a level.

My first impression was good, it looked like a real good level, up until I found out that was it... The theme is currently sickening, but I'm not taking points off for that. In a full game, I spent the entire match scavenging rings, and losing them. The auto ring was almost useless (dunno how one of the players kept their rings with it). The layout was also cramped in the sides, and the fact that it was only really possible to fight in the middle. I'd say make this a centerpiece... because for the entire level, it just isn't really any good.

Gameplay: 1/10 Lots of deaths due to ring shortage and narrow rim...

Visuals: 2/10 There really wasn't room for visuals, but the ones that were there weren't all that great either.

Creativity: 0/10 Sorry, none here, but this isn't going to affect your score.

Weapon Balance: 2/10 It was way too much scavenging, the auto became a hazard rather than an asset...

Overall: 2/10 VERY tiny, like a centerpiece without a level. (not an average)

MAPA4 - Courtyard Clash Zone, 6/10 Quite good, but relative direction was really hard to attain.

I kinda expected this to be a good level, and I wasn't disappointed, just lost. In a game I spent way too long trying to find everybody, and I still can't tell where one area is in relation to the other. Rings were not a problem but the weapons were. The Fire Shield was a killer in the passageways and there were too many random monitors. The moving platforms were really annoying, and just not worth using. I more than once got stuck underneath, and a couple times with another player who had a bomb ring. Lastly the textures were an eyesore, the castle seemed to blend in the distance in OpenGL at least. I'd actually rather see the ugly CEZ textures.

Gameplay: 6/10 Not bad, but I just kinda wanted a "You are here" sign in every other area.

Visuals: 5/10 That one room was REALLY decorative. However some of the others were really bland. The center was pretty good, and I can't stand those bricks...

Creativity: 6/10 Despite their speed, the platforms were pretty cool, and the idea of a courtyard with a cobblestone walkway was neat.

Weapon Balance: 4/10 I really couldn't tell, the fire shields were not good though, and I didn't like having to get stuck under a moving platform to get the weapon rings.

Overall: 6/10 Quite good, but relative direction was really hard to attain. (not an average)

MAPA5 - Rusty Bucket Bay, 1/10 Interesting, but really is cramped.

Well, the sector layout was nice, but the textures were an eyesore. As for the actual gameplay, the rings seemed to be placed way to sparsely, not that there was even room for them. It seemed pretty cramped and most of the level was spent shooting homing rings and running from others. That doesn't include trying to get out of the toxic water. The fof's for the boat also seemed somewhat unnecessary.

Gameplay: 1/10 Really was no room to run, and the homing rings just made it worse.

Visuals: 4/10 Good sector decorations, but bad textures...

Creativity: 5/10 I'm gonna ignore the fact it was a Banjo-Kazooie port and say it was pretty interesting.

Weapon Balance: 1/10 The homing rings killed what level there was around the toxic water. There were just too many of them and too little rings.

Overall: 1/10 Interesting, but really is cramped. (not an average)

Capture the Flag:
MAPA6 - Miles' Beach Zone, 0/10 Is that a map?

There is nothing in this level. Players could hardly even see one another coming back and forth.

Gameplay: 0/10 There really wasn't any gameplay.

Visuals: 0/10 What was there didn't really look that good.

Creativity: 0/10 There wasn't anything there...

Weapon Balance: 0/10 I couldn't find the rings, and when I did, I couldn't use them.

Overall: 0/10 Is that a map? (not an average)

MAPA7 - OMIGODZCTF, 1/10 Rushed meets cramped.

The map was really small, and I spent more time running into walls than anything else. The secret was interesting, but really was either a cheap hiding place, or a trap.

Gameplay: 1/10 Very two-dimensional

Visuals: 2/10 Looked alright for what was there.

Creativity: 2/10 The secret showed some creativity right there...

Weapon Balance: 3/10 I didn't really see many rings, but there was always enough to shoot considering every shot couldn't help but meet its mark.

Overall: 1/10 Rushed meets cramped. (not an average)


Circuit:
MAPA8 - Dark Skies, 4/10 Pretty solid race... minus the lag.

Well I actually thought the visuals were kinda interesting, because I just didn't stop to figure it out. On my own, it really was a great race, with enough gimmicks and an apparent shortcut for Tails and Knuckles. However the lag just killed it, and I couldn't get past the first area.

Gameplay: 2/10 Lag killed it all... all of it.

Visuals: 7/10 Interesting... just, interesting...

Creativity: 5/10 Very creative with the visuals, still was pretty plain on the gimmicks.

Overall: 4/10 Pretty solid race... minus the lag. (not an average)

MAPA9 - Waterfall Heights Zone, 6/10 Really short...

This was a pretty good map even with the lag. The fork was really just a hazard and the springs just took too long to run into.

Gameplay: 5/10 Good match map, can't see anyone being any character other than Sonic though.

Visuals: 4/10 Pretty good for a race.

Creativity: 1/10 There really wasn't any creativity here, but that wasn't a bad thing.

Overall: 6/10 Really short... (not an average)

MAPAA - Castletania, 6/10 Random and long, but not bad.

I wish you had kept the Mystic Mansion theme... it really would have been interesting running through hallways and the like. However it just became really random. With the big shortcut I could never tell if it was worth it or not. It did have some interesting parts though and was pretty fun. The woods and the steps were cramped though.

Gameplay: 6/10 Not bad, just random and long.

Visuals: 6/10 This map really didn't stint on the visuals, but they changed too ofteh

Creativity: 6/10 Shows a lot of creativity in several places, but it again was random.

Overall: 6/10 Random and long, but not bad. (not an average)

MAPAB - Sky Cannon, 7/10 Bland but enjoyable.

I liked this map quite a bit, however it was quite plain in many places. Some of the jumps were also too spaced out particularly in the one side.

Gameplay: 7/10 Wasn't much to it, but it was fun.

Visuals: 4/10 Some pretty good stuff in the last area, but otherwise very bland.

Creativity: 3/10 There really wasn't anything new here. But the premise was cool.

Overall: 7/10 Bland but enjoyable. (not an average)
 
Scores posted originally, reasoning edited in.

Single-Player:
Arid Ruins Zone, Act 2 by Tets - 8
This was pretty amazing. It did get a bit hard to discern what to do at points, but it wasn't a big issue, and I found the right way forward pretty quickly. Plenty of secrets to find if you look hard enough. Solid map all around.

Meadow Falls Zone by Chaos Zero 64 - 7
That texture should've been larger. In OpenGL it blurs together to one giant gray blob, which probably wasn't the intent. Also, the music REALLY should have looped... Otherwise the level was pretty good. I noticed a split in paths, but I never did bother checking out the other path.

Sandtrap Dunes Zone by Kuja - 6
I didn't like this one as much, but the level design and layout was, for the most part, pretty good. But it had one major flaw: a lack of checkpoints as far as I could tell. It's REALLY annoying to have grabbed everything in the level, then die unexpectedly, and wind up back at the very beginning of the level. Inexcusable. There should have been more checkpoints, in places where they clearly stand out. Plus, MAPA6? And shouldn't you follow the naming conventions?

Tainted Way by Draykon - 2
You hate on yourself too much, man. Seriously, calm down. That being said, yes, the level isn't very good, BUT! The idea of the contest is to find out what you're doing wrong and attempt to fix it the next time you try. So don't give up, take the criticism and use it to make a better level.

For starters, if you come up with a concept like "Tainted Light", you should probably explain what it is in the actual level. The boss was a nice touch, but it wasn't clear at all what it was doing - I just seemed to randomly get shot at, and randomly was able to actually attack it. Some kind of setup as to what HE was too would've helped... Hexen sprites, BTW?

Match:
MAPA1 - Scattered Skies Zone by Warpshade - 6
I barely got any time in on this one. I somewhat liked what I saw, but it was pretty average, IMO... plus, I swear I've seen clouds like that in another stage, and that stage wasn't very good... A bit flat, and the jumps between stages seemed too big to me.

MAPA2 - Venomous Dusk Zone by JEV3 -7
You went for detail. I like that. However the outer area WAS pretty random, and meant people rarely (if ever) left the main factory. Well, either way, it was pretty nice. Good luck with your next stage!

MAPA3 - Arial Ruins Zone by Blade T. Hedgehog - 5
This stage would've been awesome if it was better-designed for large matches. Too few rings, too small... but it would be great for one-on-one. Either way, it was pretty average.

MAPA4 - Courtyard Clash Zone by Shadow Hog - N/A
I don't know what the hell the problems are. Seriously, you guys are all over the place. "TOO WIDE!" "TOO CRAMPED!" "TOO CLOSED!" "TOO OPEN!" Any consistency would help me make the stage better in later revisions...! Still, it's clear it wasn't as good as I thought it was. Oh well?

MAPA5 - Rusty Bucket Bay by Glaber - 4
Ugly as sin, and the stage was as cramped as, too. That pit of sludge was too deep in my opinion, as well.

Capture the Flag:
MAPA6 - Miles' Beach Zone by Miles(supersonic45) - 0
You didn't even TRY.

MAPA7 - OMIGODZCTF by Kaysakado - 3
Too cramped, too similar to an existing SRB2 map, and just not very good in general, honestly. Keep at it, though, you'll get better at it.

Circuit:
MAPA8 - Dark Skies by on_Edge - 4
Very random. Rain in space! Lava that doesn't hurt you! Also it was too trap-oriented in my opinion, and Game Overs happened swiftly to practically all who participated except, like, Logan. Very meh.

MAPA9 - Waterfall Heights Zone by Boinciel - 7
I liked it. It was a bit plain and extremely short, but it was a good workout (and the first thing I actually placed in a decent position in). There should have been more springs at the end, though; focusing everyone into three positions kind of breaks flow.

MAPAA - Castletania by Glaber - 5
Very average. Too long, and too many inescapable instant death traps. Plus, a secret path off to the side that, if you explore it enough, actually has Crawla Commanders in it. How many times do we have to tell you not to have enemies in Race stages? You're not getting marked down for THAT since it IS strictly out-of-the-way, but c'mon, man. Apply the criticism for God's sake or else you'll NEVER get any better...

MAPAB - Sky Cannon by FuriousFox - 7
I liked it. I liked it a lot. But I thought the death pit was a bit much... Trying to make those jumps at a quick pace kind of meant a lot of death, which, since Race has a set limit on lives, made things rather annoying. Ignoring that, though, it was really well done. Good job.
 
I got the chance to play through the CTF and Circuit stages, so here are their ratings. They're rated in (pretty much) the same scale as the Match stages.

Capture the Flag Levels

MAPA6 - Miles' Beach Zone by Miles(supersonic45) - 2/10
What keeps this from a 1 is that you seemed to grasp the basics. Rings, springs, and a random monitor. Anything helps from making it a 100% bore, but other than that, it's... well, boring. A real layout really goes a long way, other than a flat ground and two platforms.

But keep trying!

MAPA7 - OMIGODZCTF by Kaysakado - 4/10
Actually, this level isn't too terribly bad. The movement works good and the layout works well. It's just that it's too small, thus crippling the potential of this map.

The layout is simple yet it allows for activity, which I think is good. It's only hard to move, since there's not a lot of space to move. The ring layout in the center, although creative, isn't functional, in the sense that they're all over the air, almost like a cloud. It's really pretty, but "functionality over appearance," as in it's way easier to grab rings that are on the ground, so do it that way. The real problem is that it's too small. Bigger levels demand more details and platforms, but it's a tradeoff that's more than possible for lots of people.

Circuit Levels

MAPA8 - Dark Skies by on_Edge - 4/10
Love the effort, first off. The visuals are probably the most thought-through that I've seen in the contest.

Unfortunately, the course layout just fell through. The extravagant use of 3D floors lags the level in netgames, and the jumps are too precise movement-wise. The moving floors in the beginning threw me off the most, but otherwise the level was okay. Just a little confusing, though. Again, I love the visuals.

MAPA9 - Waterfall Heights Zone by Boinciel - 7/10
Solid course. Other than a few gameplay-related details, it leads itself to look professional! Visuals are good and there's plenty of room to move. Both are good things in Circuit.

The main problem is that there are some things that break the flow too much. The sharp turn before the springs at the very end, especially. I don't really know what else to say, though. For typical Circuit levels, this comes up pretty high. It's only the Circuit levels that try out really atypical stuff that'd get any higher than a 7 from me. The level itself is not far from rock-solid, though.

MAPAA - Castletania by Glaber - 6/10
I'm in love with this level, actually; it's just that some gameplay-related details hamper it. But I love it, mainly because it actually tests the player's endurance, rather than succumbing to a typical thok-fest (which btw is my main beef with Circuit.) Way to actually cripple Sonic players in a real way! Whether you actually intended it or not, I found myself barely keeping up as Sonic at the third lap.

The gameplay-related details I talk about is that there are a few surprises that just come without warning. The slime pool in the very beginning, for instance, was kinda' unneeded. Also, the invisible barriers in the two staircases, while a good way to constrain gameplay, could've used a more visual warning. Heck, an enclosed cave would've worked. The turn at the fireball pit also came too soon. I really must note, though, that the variety in the scenery saved this long course from being boring for me. It's good to see some lively decoration to keep the player going in long levels. So other than the ill gameplay-related details, it's good.

MAPAB - Sky Cannon by FuriousFox - 7/10
Like Waterfall Heights Zone and Courtyard Clash Zone, it's pretty solid. The visuals were pretty good, as is the course itself. I liked the part after the huge jump; the obstacle where you had to spin was interesting.

The main problem, so I found, was that the course requires too precisely timed jumps, especially the huge jump over the pit. Timing is good in Circuit, but precise timing throws me off in the heat of the moment. Especially when the rest of the level leads itself to a typical thok-fest, there's a break in flow, so it's not all that good over there. Other than that, it's pretty swell for a Circuit level. :)
 
First off, voting ended 55 minutes before you posted that, second, I made the rings so that if you're a decent speed as Sonic, and you time your jump right, you perfectly get all the rings.
 
Kaysakado said:
First off, voting ended 55 minutes before you posted that, second, I made the rings so that if you're a decent speed as Sonic, and you time your jump right, you perfectly get all the rings.
Fix your clock. Daylight saving time has ended. He voted 5 minutes before the deadline.
 
...fine, I'll average them myself:

Single Player
Arid Ruins: 8777778888=7.5
Meadow Falls: 274647545347=4.8333…
Sandtrap Dunes: 6466665766=5.8
Tainted Way: 3225213212=2.3

Capture the Flag
Miles’ Beach: 002000000102=.41666…
OMIGODZCTF: 43431212134=2.545454…

Circuit
Dark Skies: 85654354444=4.727272…
Waterfall Heights: 766776669677=6.666…
Castletania: 58876945656=6.272727…
Sky Cannon: 79677676765777=6.714285714285714285…

Match
Meh, I’m too sleepy right now…



Congratulations to the winners and whatnot.
 
Shadow Hog said:
MAPA2 - Venomous Dusk Zone by JEV3 -7
You went for detail. I like that. However the outer area WAS pretty random, and meant people rarely (if ever) left the main factory. Well, either way, it was pretty nice. Good luck with your next stage!

...

MAPA4 - Courtyard Clash Zone by Shadow Hog - N/A
I don't know what the hell the problems are. Seriously, you guys are all over the place. "TOO WIDE!" "TOO CRAMPED!" "TOO CLOSED!" "TOO OPEN!" Any consistency would help me make the stage better in later revisions...! Still, it's clear it wasn't as good as I thought it was. Oh well?

I think I can safely say that this was the most helpful comment I've received on my map. I can see where you are coming from. I could definitely improve on that with a little work.

As for your map, my main gripe was that I couldn't tell one area in relation with the others. The rest was mostly weapon balance and technical. I actually did open it in Doombuilder and I almost laughed at where everything was; I kept thinking there were two of a certain area and certain ones were on opposite sides when they were almost adjacent.

I hope that helped, I was also having trouble finding any productive criticism for my map. However your comment cleared it up for me, now to actually make a uniform function for the outer area... <_<

At any rate, I'm dying to see how some of those maps scored myself.
 
Mystic said:
Fix your clock. Daylight saving time has ended. He voted 5 minutes before the deadline.
I sure did. :)

Anyways,

Kaysakado said:
I made the rings so that if you're a decent speed as Sonic, and you time your jump right, you perfectly get all the rings.
And it's tempting to design like so, isn't it? I used to do it a lot myself. :) But in real practice, I found that logical constraints like that almost *never* work. The action is so fast-paced that the player doesn't have time to jump to get the rings perfectly. I found it's usually better to cave in a little and give the player an easier time with the rings. Just a little.

Shadow Hog said:
MAPA2 - Venomous Dusk Zone by JEV3 -7
You went for detail. I like that. However the outer area WAS pretty random, and meant people rarely (if ever) left the main factory. Well, either way, it was pretty nice. Good luck with your next stage!
Ditto'd. The "random" feeling was really the one problem with the map, but other than that, it was pretty damn swell. Whoops, did I say otherwise? Oh geez. o_O

Shadow Hog said:
MAPA4 - Courtyard Clash Zone by Shadow Hog - N/A
I don't know what the hell the problems are. Seriously, you guys are all over the place. "TOO WIDE!" "TOO CRAMPED!" "TOO CLOSED!" "TOO OPEN!" Any consistency would help me make the stage better in later revisions...! Still, it's clear it wasn't as good as I thought it was. Oh well?
Oh geez. XD Actually, on a second play, "cramped" didn't seem too much of a problem. It's hard to tell. What I'm sticking with, though, is the fire shield use. Something that has to do with the level makes it easy for the fire shield to be really overpowered; I know that. Layout's still awesome, though, but, if you asked me, I guess that's because I'm a Sonic player. Maybe that's why everyone said it was too big...

And this goes for everyone: Good luck with your future maps! I mean, seriously? I graduated from crud. :)
 
Ya know, I never did vote for the Single Player maps... oh well. Anyways, my map, Arial Ruins was made for 2-4 player matches... thus I made it rather small and did not add quite as many rings. And yes, the thing in the middle IS a mystic temple; I was going for a AGZ feel, but people didn't seem to like that...
 
Umm, you guys do realize that even though I was too sleepy to do the Match scores earlier, I'm still not doing them now.
 
MAPA1 - Scattered Skies Zone by Warpshade:
6,6,6,5,6,4,6,4,5,8,5,6 = 5.5833333333333333333333333333333

MAPA2 - Venomous Dusk Zone by JEV3:
4D,7,8,7,6,5,5,5,4,8,7,N,7 = 6.2727272727272727272727272727273

MAPA3 - Arial Ruins Zone by Blade T. Hedgehog:
1D,9,5,N,1,3,4,1,2,5,2,5 = 3.7

MAPA4 - Courtyard Clash Zone by Shadow Hog:
7,6D,9,7,8,8,8,7,7,7,10,6,N = 7.6363636363636363636363636363636

MAPA5 - Rusty Bucket Bay by Glaber:
3,5,4,4,4,2,4,1,1,1,1,4 = 2.8333333333333333333333333333333

I calculated them three times apiece, only dropped one of each lowest score when someone voted. N means the player's vote (not given or counted) and D means dropped with the score dropped before it.
 
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