January/February 2012 Voting

Status
Not open for further replies.
I'm not entirely sure I see the distinction. Given the vast differences in gameplay between Doom and SRB2, the layout's about the only thing that'd remain intact from a port.

There's also the fact that Aries himself admitted that it was nothing but a filler map. If he's going to submit what's more or less a direct rip from another game just for the sake of submitting, it should be DQ'd.

Of course, this is merely my opinion.
 
I'd just like to point out that for match votes to count, you need to, well, play them in a MP mode. With other human beings. You may want to gloss over the MS, find a netgame, and re-evaluate your critiques. That way, your points will be averaged in at the end of this week, alongside the others. Just some friendly advice!

As a matter of fact, I actually visualize players moving around in the game when I'm alone in a match or CTF map. I also do that with levels I'm making

But nonetheless, I actually played with others this OLDC. It was a so-so multiplayer OLDC, so I kinda retired to playing Singleplayer maps and asploded my brain in awe as a result, pretty much.
 
So, perhaps I'll put in my own OLDC votes here this time round, having not done so for, what, several years now?

Single Player

Sapphire Coast Zone, Act 2 by Blade - 9/10
When I was first playing this, I was hoping to find some awesome easter egg hidden here like with SCZ1, only to find none at all. :( However, having replayed it again (not searching for the easter egg this time, for obvious reasons), I find the level itself is actually really great regardless - some of those 1-ups were placed in so perfect places, the gameplay makes the level actually enjoyable to play, and of course the visuals are fantastic as usual with Blade's entries. =D

That tower thing mid-way looks a bit out-of-place though - perhaps it's the texturing? I was also hoping to find something of note there, like some hidden 1-up, but alas there was none.

As for the enemies though, those weren't really new to me, having seen them back in SCZ1 - they're still great though! The only thing that really bugs me with them is that the buzzes often crash into walls and such, which looks a bit off to me.

Otherwise, the level itself is pretty well-built, and the multiple routes serve well to add replayability to it.

Eggmansion Zone, Act 2 by KO.T.E - 7/10
Now I've got to be honest - I was hoping to see a completely awesome level here, only to be met with a bit of disappointment instead. As much as some like to think this level is perfect, I certainly don't think so.

While the visuals in general are amazing, the gameplay itself does not live up to this. Furthermore, you shoved in a certain MLP character way too often, and mostly in places not very hard to find at all - the version of her which attacks you after a few seconds is so cheap, also. The secret boss accessed via the end was a bit stupid too - the use of Bounce Rings especially puts me off, not to mention that it took 12 hits to defeat, which is overdoing it a bit.

The (Sandopolis?) ghost enemies were a neat idea, although in some areas, they are really annoying - the room with the CEZ swinging chain comes to mind, for instance. The fake button I think was a stupid idea, and same with the room with the wall pictures - the former is pointless and purely serves as a subtle level transition, while the latter is totally obvious to figure out once you realise what you're supposed to do there, or has you face a really cheap hazard instead if you fail. The gargoyle puzzle was just another boring DSZ ripoff as usual (why not cannonball puzzles instead? They'd totally be more awesome =< ).

The spiked crushers are a bit bugged because of the usage of object spikes, BTW - some of the spikes get stuck in the ceiling, or move a bit when a player is harmed by them. The SDURFs in the black-and-white Sunset Pass (or whatever you call it now) also appear to jump up way too high for some reason.

Honestly, this level doesn't deserve all those 10/10s I've seen here so far - I get the feeling this level just convinced those who gave it that purely because of the fantastic visuals. That's not to say no one should give it a very high score if they think it deserves it, but still. =V
 
Last edited:
That tower thing mid-way looks a bit out-of-place though - perhaps it's the texturing? I was also hoping to find something of note there, like some hidden 1-up, but alas there was none.
Just a quick bit of insider information on this one. Yes, it's the texturing. Blade originally wanted to make custom textures for the tower but there wasn't enough time. He also wanted to hide a power-up in the lighthouse, but again, I guess time got in the way. Hopefully he'll be able to add those things for a future Lost Worlds release.
 
About Pinkamina in the mansion, this isn't your regular party pony. no. This version is based of of the Gore fic "Cupcakes". this is the Pinkie you Don't want to meat, less you witness how she makes her cupcakes,
from the table.

I never could finish that fic.

Still gives me horrific images in my head, yet gory M rated games don't.
 
Last edited:
About Pinkamina in the mansion, this isn't your regular party pony. no. This version is based of of the Gore fic "Cupcakes".

Yes, that. Her appearance wasn't entirely uncalled for, as that is a well known story among the pony fanbase. Not that I in any way approve of gorefics, Cupcakes in particular. I personally think the world would be a better place if it was never written, but KOTE in his morbid sense of humor seems to think otherwise. :p
 
I could be studying for History of Architecture, but voting closes before spring break, and this shouldn't take more than three hours to vote.

I'm really not sure how to grade out of ten any more, so these are guesses. My standards for good design has changed a lot, but

Sapphire Coast 2 - 7/10 by Blade
First, a word on the gameplay. It's been, oh, seven years since I found SRB2? I've been thokking through every level since then. I'm pretty immune to standard-grade platforming and jumping by now. It's like your level has no gameplay.

You have two gimmicks. The spring enemy is nice, but only in a "I can't kill him by jumping on him" sort of way. You're just using him as a spring-substitute to let some ledges be inaccessible otherwise. It's like my studio locker. I have to do the combo lock every time, but after a point it's so repetitive that it might as well not be there. This enemy works for one purpose, and one purpose alone: To keep people out who A) dunno that they're suppose to use the enemy and B) to keep people out who don't want to take the time to line up the jump. I am in group B. I mean, I don't want other people in my studio locker either, but that's different.

The second gimmick is the blue mushroom, but instead of having to line up the shot, I have to wait to bounce to the requisite height. It is, again, a spring substitute. I would've really liked to see this used like an actual gimmick. What if I could bounce through the entire level without touching the ground? What if there were mushrooms on the walls? On the ceiling? What's different about traversing a room with a mushroom, rather than just jumping normally? The mushrooms could've made your level play uniquely.

As for the visual design, I would like to say that you have some very nicely proportioned rooms. This outdoor room <link> and this indoor room <link> both breathe nicely. I'm afraid that our computer screens that we're all playing these on keep us from floating away up into the space above us. If you could really be inside your own level, you'd feel something, being inside the space. Turning up the field-of-view on OGL is the closest thing you can get to seeing it with your own eyes.

But! Your textures are ruining it. You're trying to make your main wall texture read well far away, right? That's why the bigger diamonds are there, to A) break up the monotony of how quickly it tiles at a distance and B) have a bigger visual element that isn't so obscure at a distance. I get that. Those are good aims.

The problem is that it's irregular. The bigger square doesn't match the smaller ones. (I can't really explain why at this point in my journey towards architecture, but it's not.) My attention keeps jerking over to the textures on the walls because it's not right and I have to fix it, says my brain. It takes some conscious effort to look past those and see the shapes you're making with your level geometry.

How do you fix it? I have one idea. It's basically the same thing that GHZROCKC is trying to do, but not quite as badly. Lay your higher-order shape on top of your lower-order shape, but make sure the higher-order shape tessellates too. GHZROCKC tries to pull this off using ovals, and it really really doesn't work. It might've worked if the circles tiled like hexagons <link>, but noooo. Just crack open Sapphire Falls and gape in horror.

The other issue is your colors. That's an awfully strong orange you got there. If we weren't working inside a palette, I'd say you need some more blue in there. But we are, so, hmm... Try out the gold (112 to 119) and the red-brown (152 to 159) <link>. Or you could try bumping up the orange a few knotches to desaturate it. You could also try darkening it too, just to get away from the main orange that's so darn bright. If you're not happy with any of those, try grabbing from a few different color ranges for your shades. Those are all off the top of my head, by the way, so don't take those suggestions too seriously. After you get a handle on the orange, change the grass to match.

Eggmansion 2 - 6/10 by KOTE
I'm still trying to figure out if it's a wood building given a masonry surface treatment or a masonry building given a wood surface treatment. Also, which masonry is the building REALLY made out of? The big, rough bricks help the austere feeling of the building, but the smaller CEZ bricks feel too orderly and meticulous for the feel I think you're going for. You need a different material to contrast against the heavier set of bricks. (And get rid of the DSZ tiles. Really now? Really?)

Also, NOBODY gives their doors an ornate detail if the rest of the building isn't getting the same treatment too.

Sonic is about five feet tall, I think. At least high enough to see over the top of my kitchen sink.

I would've liked to see the gameplay held together better than it currently is. Pick a gimmick and explore it, man. (Well, you should be doing that with your visual design too, but eh.) I would've liked you to explore the mirror gimmick completely through the entire level. No stupid platforming on the furniture, please. A good, well-thought gimmick would've made the memorable visual design truly useful. Remember, difficulty isn't about killing the player. It's about making him think in order to solve the puzzle created by the obstacles.

Comparison
I wish I could have heard the conversations in that your house while these two levels were being made. Do you two still live together? I'm in my first year at college, and I don't see my own brother at all any more.

Both of you are very well developed mappers now. I once raised the question to Knockout whether he was in Blade's shadow or not. I feel badly now for asking that because I know now that he's not. Knockout's pacing and gameplay design might be similar to Blade's, but his visual design is completely different. Knockout is fascinated with heavier forms. Even when he's making organic levels, his designs are solid and structural. Eggmansion 2 is a heavy, solid building.

Blade's more light and airy. He favors a larger scale of design, and his architectural experience is all about being able to breathe inside his spaces. He makes indoor caves frequently, but I can't remember if he's ever crafted a building in SRB2 in his life. His caves are actually more spacious than his outside areas, because the ceiling makes the point that you should be looking upward. I'm not sure if Blade has progressed any in the last however long, though.

I think my own sense of proportion is actually a little lighter than Blade's, but I prefer rectilinear elements like Knockout.

As a parting note, I'd like to say: Just because you prefer one style over the other doesn't mean the other one is "wrong." I have a habit of getting suckered into designs with square elements, so I'm guilty of this too. I'm pretty sure it's enough to sway my vote one point higher. Though for you designers out there, consider: If you try building in a style that's outside your comfort zone, you might learn something new. I certainly could, though I really don't bother very often
 
Hello everyone. I'll only be reviewing Single Player.

Sapphire Coast: Act 2
Blade. Your map, was a beautiful product. Nice arrangements on the scenery. It complements the theme very well. As for the Badniks, they were great as well and make a great contribution to the level. Don't have very much to say though. I'm still trying to study this map, but as far as I know, it's pretty cool. Enjoy your 9/10.

Egg mansion: Act 2
K.O.TE. As far as I hate giving lower rates for so much creative effort and yet it's just not enough to get a high score in quantity maps. Such as your map. I'm afraid this would have to get an 8/10. I honestly adore this map. But something's just not right here. I think it has something to do with direction of path, and clearness of where to go. (How hypocritical for me to say.) I mean, I knew exactly where to go, but I think there's too many distractions that strayed me away from the main path. I think it has something to do with your textures, and how things are setup. I don't know. Something's nagging at the back of my mind about this. But other than that, everything's just fine and dandy.

I miss this. ;_;
 
Sapphire Coast Zone, Act 2 - 10/10
Eggmansion Zone, Act 2 - 7/10
 
Sapphire Coast Zone, by Blade - 7/10
At first start up, my initial thoughts were "Wow, this is really pleasing to look at.". All the colors blend in nicely. The enemies are also very well transitioned to 3D, especially that Buzz Bomber, being as annoying as it was back in 2D, but with better aim. The level design, however, wasn't very memorable. Everything pretty much looked the same, and there was nothing to really remember the level by other than its visual appeal. The music choice was fitting, but a bit bland. Nothing that sticks in your head and you can hum to.
Over all, I find it an average level in terms of play-ability, but very beautiful in terms of architecture and design.

Eggmansion Zone, by KO.T.E. - 10/10
I absolutely adore everything in this. The atmosphere, the design, the music, the gimmicks, and the Pinkie Pie. At first glance, I started examining everything I can. The attention to detail is astounding. The blood on the graves was a very nice touch. I just wish it wasn't all identical.
I've only gone down the lower route so I'll comment on that. The upside-down spike crushers were different. I like different, which is the main reason I'm scoring this so high. The gargoyle puzzle was unnecessary, but it added to the "I'm warning you, don't keep going" type of mood, so I can forgive that. The ghost enemies were complete pests, and is it just me or do they re-spawn quicker on co-op mode? The initial Pinkie Pie appearance confused me. I heard a noise, but I wasn't sure where it was coming from. It took me a second play to figure out it was coming from that dark corner. Then I had to figure out just what the noise was. Then came the weird white room, which apparently is a mirrored version of your grass level from whatever your level pack in progress is called. I never understood why the lighting slowly decreased, or why you gave us a random invincibility monitor right off the bat. This place is fun though. Nice easy platforming with an eerie mood. Then we move on to the second part of the mansion. This is my most hated room by far. The ghost here is just annoying. But thankfully I'm good with swinging chains so I never had any real trouble except on co-op(and MY GOD that Robotnik painting scared me shitless.). Figuring out where to go afterwards was fairly simple. Another "what is up with this mansion?" thing. Moving on, everything else seems nice and easy. Then we get to the branching paths. Let's start with the left.
The left path I honestly loved to death. The hidden bookcase was so obvious but very difficult to find the first time. Some think it's tedious, I just like playing HIDE AND SEEK. Then we move into the dungeon, which is strangely littered with blood, not a single piece of the floor dry. And we get to see Pinkamena for the first time. ...And then she bites you. Honestly, that really scared me. She never said she was going to attack so I never expected it. Very nice scare factor. Then some simple platforming with BLOOD. EVERYWHERE. Honestly, it might have been creepier if you just scattered the blood around a bit, stains on the floor here and there. Y'know, not making total waterfalls of the stuff.
The right path was very, VERY interesting. Having to think and figure out what to do in order to proceed. The mirror gimmick is by far your best executed gimmick here. And, that piano. I kept thinking if I stood on it, it would play. Then it didn't. So I kept wandering around the room to see if something would trigger it. Nothing ever did, and that made me sad. The end room was a bit comical. Random starposts on the towers, and Pinkamena's final appearance on the roof that Sonic can't access, which is a shame.
The boss was very well done, if you ask me. It was too easy though. Run around in circles, then wait for him to stop. Hit him. Repeat. It also lasted longer than it should've. Was it socced well? Yes. Was it fun? Not really. But it's just an extra so I can forgive that. This is my favorite level ever entered in an OLDC. Keep up the amazing work, KO.T.E.
 
As I've made clear in previous reviews, I don't at all care for square structure when we're dealing with grass and rocks, and in my own personal level design I can drag things around to randomize the angles in a couple minutes, so it should have been possible to fix that even in a rush job.
Randomize the angles? Now maybe that's just an odd way of saying "giving the terrain slight curving", but if you're talking about actually random sector layout, that would be very detrimental to the map. Not only does it look ugly as sin because nature isn't abstract like that, it would also hinder navigation because it's distracting. By far the most important thing about sector layout in Match map is that it guides you where you're supposed to be going. That is best achieved with smooth, unobtrusive shapes. It's not supposed to catch your eye and make you stop to take a closer look, like random shapes would lead to the opposite effect because they look so odd that would be confused, or in the worst case, actually stop and look around to make sense of it.
 
Single player votes

Sapphire Coast Zone, Act 2 – 8

In many ways, you could just look at my old review of Sapphire Coast Zone 1 to know what I think about this map. But it’s worth retreading those points while discussing a few new issues that came up in this level.

Overall, this map is gorgeous and a pleasure to look at. The oranges and blues in the palette compensate each other very well, which is also helped by the nice custom texture used for most of the walls that is visually pleasing near and far thanks to the pattern design. I especially liked how the vines were used in the jungle towards the end, it’s a small visual touch but it went a long way and made me grin like an idiot. However, the lighthouse desperately needs new textures, which I understand you are working on anyway. Also, I really really dislike the opaque water, I understand your reasoning for using it, but I find it very ugly to look at and it also impacts gameplay negatively by hiding the penalty for failing a platform section, mind you, the opaque water is negligible in that regard because it is only an issue in easy platform sections with no penalty for failure other than a hurt ego. But as a visual element, I find opaque water so jarring when the transparent water is visually more appealing and tropical.

While unchanged from SCZ, the badniks are still interesting while also being used in clever and fun ways (for example, bouncing on a spring turtle then a mushroom to quickly move upwards). However, the buzz bombers raise a problem about the difficulty of Sapphire Coast Zone as a whole. You have shown a willingness to use buzz bombers with ranged attacks in zone 1, with this in mind, why are you so hesitant to give the player even a small slap on the wrist penalty for making a mistake under every other circumstance? Remember, everybody who plays Lost Worlds will have already played SRB2 at least once and you can assume they know how the basic functions of the game works, you don’t need to hold the players hand so much it feels like Greenflower Zone where the objective is to teach the player basic game mechanics. Low difficulty is fine, being an absolute cakewalk is unnecessary.

Overall though, this is a very well put together level and one I had a lot of fun playing and exploring with all the characters, from finding obscure secrets as Knuckles to figuring out how to reach the higher platforms as Sonic. Keep up the good work Blade, eagerly looking forward to your next map! (And the release of Lost Worlds, scheduled for NEVER)

Eggmansion Zone, Act 2 – 7

Well, this is certainly an odd map to review after testing it and providing feedback over the course of the past two months. In retrospect I should have been a harsher when testing to help you achieve the best result possible.

This map is so damn nice to look at, seriously. There’s so much love and attention put into the appearance of this map I can’t help but smile, however a few rooms suffer from overuse of the CEZ brick textures. The unique touches such as the paintings or hand shaped torches more than make up for this however.

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h454/Whackjood/srb20058.png I squee like the Codename: Kids Next Door fanboy I am every time I see this painting. Hell yeah.

The Sandopolis ghosts were a welcome addition to the map. They added in some variety that the default enemies couldn’t provide by respawning, forcing the player to keep moving onward while also making secret hunting more rewarding with the increased risk. As well as introducing a clever dynamic where the player couldn’t just solve all of the maps puzzles in peace.

Moving onto Pinkie Pie. Oh Pinkie Pie, whatever am I supposed to say about you? I constantly complained about Pinkie’s presence in the map while testing, and honestly, I still don’t like it that much. Pony cameos are fine, but as soon as players are asked to understand the intricate workings of the pony fanbase to understand that Pinkamena is a threatening game mechanic you have a serious problem. That is going too far for objective game mechanic reasons, I thoroughly dislike the use of Pinkamena in this map, bleh.

Most of the puzzles in this map are good and worked fine as a series of gimmicks in my opinion, fun to solve on your first play through and still involved enough to not be a problem on subsequent play throughs. The only major offender was the gargoyle puzzle, and even that isn’t too offensive to be a serious problem.

A few of the gimmicks in this map could have been expanded upon. Especially the mirror room, for example, mirrors on the side in a future room or just used with more dangerous platforming to take the concept you taught the player with one room and expand upon it further.

That boss however, argh, I’m not going to comment on why this boss is so bad because it shouldn’t even be there. It saddens me to know that the boss is the only in its current unplayable state because the more enjoyable and complete of the boss consistently caused game breaking crashes, but there was nothing else you could do other than use an older version or remove the extra bonus already. I find this inoffensive and unobtrusive on the basis of it being an optional secret that most players won’t even bother with or find in its current state.

Match votes

Pacman – 4

Oh god what, I had much more fun with this map than I can justify.

Regardless, there are quite a few problems with the concept and execution that need to be addressed. The maze is symmetrical, which leads to a lot of problems when trying to navigate. Furthermore, every corridor looks the same, forcing the players to wander the maze aimlessly until they find somebody else. However, when an enemy is found, I found that the fights became an interesting game of cat and mouse where the large supplies of rings allowed players to lure their enemies around corners and into traps before firing away with reckless abandon. In the larger areas of the map, spamming was the tactic of choice for me, but it really was more fun than I expected with this in mind.

Although the centre room of the maze was particularly weak, a wide empty space containing nothing but 4 random monitors. The map wasn’t visually appealing in any way, but that room took the cake while also taking dull to a whole new level.

Also, you’re using random monitors. Please use SRM or WRM monitors instead for the sake of everybody playing the game.

Oiler Outpost Zone – 1

You must understand the single player levels in SRB2 how certain gimmicks work have already taught the player. For example, while playing this map online, almost (if not all) every player was surprised when the deep pits of oil functioned as a death pit instead of working similarly to quicksand.

This, combined with a cramped level layout and corners that inexplicably lead the player straight into death pits lead for an extremely unenjoyable and unplayable map I’m afraid.

Generic Field Zone – 0

Flat plains do not a fun level make.

This map is so dry and boring, to the point of there being very little for me to comment on.

Seriously, I have nothing to say other than you need to put more than 30 minutes into making a good match map and placing two or more of the same type of weapon panel into a map is a bad idea.

It’s just that boring.

Techno Rush Zone – 4

A pity that one of the few maps I had fun that one of the two match maps I had fun with in this contest was a 2 hour rush job. I would have liked to see what would have happened if you spent a little more time working on this.

I liked how the vertical variation in the map played out and this created an interesting dynamic between the characters as Tails players could fly where they pleased while Knuckles and Sonic players were forced to take different paths around and become unusually vulnerable for it. The map was decently spaced out as well, the square layout helped the map too. Although I would have liked to have seen the factory elements of the theme used more, only so much could be done in two hours I suppose.

Capture the Flag votes

Jungle Ruins – 2

Please, please, make sure to avoid using a strong and prevalent colourmap in future maps. The visuals hurt my eyes and by the time I was finished I had to take a break because my vision felt strained. On the topic of visuals however, this map was a victim of having too much detail packed into a small space. With small crevices and brick structures littered around, seemingly at random, impeding player movement and generally being a mess of visual ideas thrown together as far as I can tell.

I think this map might also have benefited from having a larger middle ground, the tiny middle ground between the bases (which is basically a corner, making conflict within the middle ground quite rare) made the map feel even smaller than it already was by always placing players in either friendly territory or the enemies base. Remember that the middle ground can be present even in a small map like Icicle Falls by keeping the bases minimal and small.

Rush Flower CTF – 7

I must say, I’m impressed that you were able to make the Green Flower texture set fun again. Excellent job there!

For the most part, I had a lot of fun when playing this level. However, I often found myself without a sense of direction and unable to tell whose side of the map I was on. (In fact, in one particularly bizarre example, I attempt to capture the red flag and accidentally wandered into the red base twice while trying to return to the blue base) When I eventually figured out where I was going though, I had a blast. There was also a problem as the most direct route, the one that travelled over the bridge, was both very simple, quick and travelled through the path of the SRM while the alternate paths were confusing and filled with small platforming sections that would slow you down and make you easy targets for players trying to get their flag back, making one path the most useful route to take in the map by far.

Whoops, red team monitors in the blue base. That’s also something you might want to fix.
Note to self, don't write OLDC reviews at 2am in future
 
Last edited:
Sapphire Coast Zone, Act 2 by Blade - 8/10
I love the production values here, but those flying enemies are rather annoying in any area that isn't relatively flat, and some of the paths are really hard or unintuitive to reach as Sonic. You should make the path splits more obvious and/or invite players to go into the alcoves that will lead to the other routes through the stage, especially the route through the tree to the lighthouse. Overall this is a solid stage that will work well in a mod but isn't particularly exciting as a standalone stage.

Eggmansion Zone, Act 2 by KO.T.E - 7/10
I want to love this. I really do. There are just so many technical issues bogging it down. You're onto some cool ideas here, especially with fake floors and walls, but they're implemented badly. The fake button that actually triggers what you need anyways is the perfect example. The mirror gimmick is another cool idea that's wasted because of bad setup. The first time through I didn't even figure out how the mirror worked. I just used my intuition and figured out where what I assumed were more invisible walls and platforms were. I was right. You should introduce a mechanic like this in a manner that the player is going to notice it. Enemy placement is another issue, with way too many enemies everywhere and those extremely annoying ghosts, which are a billion cheap shots and not much fun, even if they're clever. There's also an immense cheap shot with the pit at the very beginning of the stage, which caused me to die with 2 seconds on the clock because I didn't even realize it was there. Finally, though, your visual design across the stage is extremely subpar. Textures are used in a complete mishmash, with no rhyme or reason, and they clash like night and day in tons of your rooms. You NEED to choose a visual style and stick with it, but the realistic textures being used right next to default SRB2 textures just looks awful, and shouldn't be done.
 
Only voting SP this time, MP was silly, and I couldn't find a nice netgame for it.

I'm not going to give out long reviews, since almost all of the flaws and or upsides were mentioned.

Sapphire Coast Zone 2 by Blade : 8/10

Beautiful visuals, decent gimmicks, nice enemies, you know the drill. Though it felt painstakingly short. If you're going to give us something really nice, why take it away in ~1 minute? Even after exploring, it just doesn't feel too long.

Eggmansion Zone 2 by KO.T.E : 7/10

You know what's going on here too, but I'm going to stand on a different point. The last path split just seemed....unfair. One path was difficult and bland, the other was easy and fun. (The mirrorroom/bloodbath split) Even worse case than the THZ2 deton/crusher split.
 
== MATCH ==

Pacman Zone Zone Department of Redundancy Department by EternallyAries Red X - 5/10
- This shouldn't be as good as it is, but it is, because it is good old fashioned stupid spamming fun. Almost all the failures of good map making common sense in this map work in its' favor instead due to the sheer entertainment that results (bounce is op, though). Pile 7 or 8 players into this map and run around wreaking havoc. Guilty pleasure.
- This being said, the map misses part of the point of Pacman - that is, being able to see around the rest of the maze at all times; almost every corner in here is blind. I wonder if the map would break down or not if the interior walls (not the outer wall) were partially transparent.

Oiler Outpost Zone by Katmint - 1/10
- Ye gods. Is there supposed to be a map here, persay...?

Generic Field Zone by csmgiw - 3/10
- Well, it does have one thing going for it, in that it has something of a King of the Hill-feel, where you're usually fighting to stay on the upper areas where most of the fun is. The bottom of the map is utterly barren, featureless, and less pleasant. Beyond that, it's aptly named.
- And for love of all that is good and holy, do not space out every ring like that, ever

Techno Rush Zone by KO.T.E - 7/10
- Fun, but I think Rush Flower played better - less cramped.
- Late Addendum: oh hell, what's the difference. tiny, but good stuff as long as you don't have too many people.

== CTF ==

Jungle Ruins Zone by Kuba11 - 8/10
- This is pretty good work with only one significant issue: too pretty. It's not necessarily the colormap, it's the visual overload from so much detail causing disorientation. But the layout is rock solid
- I don't know what all the screaming about lag is about, in 3 plays of this map I encountered none worth mention. Not having rain would probably help, however
- Maybe clean a little clutter out of the bases, they're rather easy to hide out in. Those dips in the ground where you hide the Auto panels also must go as they are annoying

Rush Flower CTF Zone by Spherallic/KO.T.E - 8/10
- An absolutely gorgeous map, and feels like it's a fit for the vanilla rotation, except that it is a pain in the ass to find your way around. I don't know if it's the layout or the visuals or what, but I found myself going in circles for quite some time before I got a grasp of where I was supposed to go. Something has got to be done about the sense of direction in this place, because if not for that it would be fantastic.
- Late Addendum: on further review, I think it's the visuals. hanging more flags on the cielings might help.
- Falling in the water below the center bridge seems like a significant setback if you've got the flag since there are only two ways to climb back out. Also:

srb20492.png


I only just now realized this, but Knux is able to climb these ledges with the flag in hand. The problem is that it sure doesn't look like he can get up ledges this tall; it takes the full height of his jump to make it. Before I figured it out I was awkwardly trying to toss the flag up and then climb. Perhaps this ought to be addressed.
 
Last edited:
As a reminder to those of you outside the US, Daylight Savings Time is currently in effect, so the voting period will end in a little over 6 hours. If you're planning on voting last minute, do it sooner rather than later so your votes are counted in the tally. Votes cast at 7:01 PM EDT do not count.
 
Sapphire Coast Zone Act 2 by Blade
10/10

I'm on two strict deadlines here, so I'll rate this a ten and give explanation later.

Eggmansion Zone Act 2 by CoatRack
6/10

As much as I love this level, I can in good conscience give it no more than a six, and I feel partly responsible for that. But again, I will give my reasoning later.
 
Well, the deadline has passed.

I didn't vote on SP after all, half because I just could not decide on a score to give EMZ2 and half because I've been too busy to write decent reviews for either level.
 
X = 10
C = creator vote
( ) = nullified vote

Code:
Single Player: 25 votes w/ nullfy  27 w/o
[B]Sapphire Coast Zone, Act 2 by Blade -- 8.24[/B]
[B]8(7)8 8 9 9 8 8 - 9 8 9 7 7 8 8 9 - C 7 9 7 9 X 7 8 8 8 - X[/B]
 
Eggmansion Zone, Act 2 by KO.T.E -- 8.16
9 8 8 9 7 X X 9 - X X X C 9 8 9 6 - 7(4)7 6 8 7 X 7 7 7 - 6
 
Match: 9 votes w/ nullify  11 w/o
Pacman by EternallyAries Red X -- 3.64
- - - 3 - 5 - - 1 1 - 5 5 8 - 1 - 2 - - - - - - - 4 - - 5 -
 
Oiler Outpost Zone by Katmint -- 2.22
- - -(1)- 2 - - C 3 - 2 1 6 - 3 - 1 - - - - - - - 1 - - 1 -
 
Generic Field Zone by csmgiw -- 2.91
- - - 2 - 3 - - 2 5 - 3 3 5 - 4 - 2 - - - - - - - 0 - - 3 -
 
[B]Techno Rush Zone by KO.T.E -- 5.89[/B]
[B]- - - 5 - 8 - - 5 6 - 6 C 6 - 6 -(3)- - - - - - - 4 - - 7 -[/B]
 
Capture the Flag: 7 votes w/ nullify  9 w/o
Jungle Ruins by Kuba11 -- 4.78
- 5 - - - 5 - - 2 7 - 6 6 - - - - 2 - - - - - - - 2 - - 8 -
 
[B]Rush Flower CTF by Spherallic & KO.T.E -- 6.86[/B]
[B]- 7 - - - 7 - - 4 7 - 8 C - - - -(3)- - - - - - - 7 - - 8 -[/B]

Contest Average: 5.34

A shame about Jungle Ruins, I liked that map. Blade and Coat pretty much fought to the death in SP.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Status
Not open for further replies.

Who is viewing this thread (Total: 1, Members: 0, Guests: 1)

Back
Top