Official Level Design Contest: May/June Voting

MAP01 - Super Mario Battle Zone - SRB2-Playah - N/A
This map is unplayably glitchy. I cannot give it a score because of that, and I won't even try to hazard a guess.

MAP02 - Floating Rock Zone - Lance88 - 1/10
I really can't come up with a positive trait to this map, to be blunt. There is no room to move at all, and the pits take away the points of anyone who tries to move fast at all. The insane amount of 25 ring boxes mean that one player has 234 rings while everyone else has 2. There just aren't any qualities of this map that I consider positive, really. Try looking at the successful stages for the basics.

MAP03 - April Showers - Bigboi - 6/10
I really like the basic layout, but the single Explosion ring is kinda inbalanced. I do really like the map for the Rail, though, and I've had great fun on it. Rather lacking in detail, however. Not really much to say. It's solid, but not exceptional.

MAP04 - May Flowers - Bigboi - 4/10
I'm not a fan of this map. The way the rings are thrown throughout the course means it's almost impossible to get more than 10, and with only one way up to the treetops, one person will always have all of the rings and the automatic. Horrid, horrid balancing. The way it's hard to see into the little pit that takes the player to the treetops does create some cool scenarios with a lot of people in there, but it doesn't save the map as a whole.

MAP05 - Piano Room - Bigboi - 5/10
Again, this is a cool concept with a flawed balancing. All of the rings are at the top of the stage, making whoever controls the top of the stage control the map. The idea of having the explosion at the top and the random monitors at the bottom is cool, as is the water which contains the random monitors, but the unbalanced gameplay takes its toll severely on the score.

MAP06 - Arabian Nights - Bigboi - 5/10
This map has one fatal flaw that keeps is from being amazing: It's very, very hard to get to the top of the pyramid as Sonic. Hence, it's like playing 2 seperate maps with different groups of people since no one will take the teleport to the other side. The stage is very pretty, but looks don't stop it from being a battle between 2-3 people on each side of the stage. If it was possible to walk into the pyramid from the side (not possible in the way it was built), the stage would probably play a lot better.

MAP07 - Emerald Garden Zone - Tets - 7/10
This map is big. Real big. If you have a lot of people, like most of the games I played on it, that's not a problem. However, I can see how a 2-4 person game here would be rather dull. If you have the people in-game, however, this stage is rather well designed. A few too many random monitors, though, and I'd like to see more than 2 rail rings, perhaps distributed throughout the map, because the rail battles here are phenominal.

MAP08 - Floret Lake Zone - Digiku - 7/10
This is almost the exact opposite of the previous map. This map is insanely close-quarters, despite the size. The open nature of it creates some great Rail shots, and the large amount of rings don't keep people from using normal shots as well. The only reason I'm not scoring this higher is because I've played this map already. It's called Meadow Match Zone, and while it isn't as pretty as this, it pretty much plays the same way. The stage just felt like the same thing I've been playing since Rail was created and added into Meadow Match in the first place.

MAP09 - Chemical Basin Zone - Digiku - 6/10
Everyone is singing praises for this map, and while I have to agree on the layout, which is incredible, the weapon rings are placed in such a way that makes it incredibly easy for someone to get the Rail-Explosion and dominate the game, especially since rings are sparse and whoever has the weapons can easily slaughter the people with 5 rings. This map needs more weapon rings, and bad. The layout does rock, though.

MAP10 - Grassy Ellipse Zone - Digiku - 3/10
Rail + Automatic + completely open map = unbalanced and dull. I really didn't enjoy playing this map at all. There wasn't any way to get up the stairs quickly, and whoever got to the Rail first won the game. Not really any positive qualities here.

MAP11 - Nocturnal Sahara Zone - Digiku - 9/10
I love it. Now that that's out of the way, lemme say why: the level flow is just brilliant, and the layout throws players into every area of the stage quickly and effectively. The only things I can say bad about it is that having the Infinity and random monitor in the same place is kinda powerful, and that the stairs can be kinda annoying to climb. Overall a great map.

MAP12 - Dead Simple Zone - Shadow Hog - 3/10
This map is a great example of how Doom differs from SRB2. This map really doesn't play very well in SRB2, in no small part due to the Armageddon Shield in the corner and bad item placement, but it mainly is because the stage is just confined and rather dull. That would normally be a 4 or 5, but I knocked it down a few more notches because it just plain isn't original. This is a level design contest, not a porting contest, and ports just aren't interesting unless serious work is done to change the gameplay to accomidate the new game, which this obviously wasn't.

'bout time I was ready to vote :D.

I've played all of the Match stages as well as the Single Player stages three times each. The games were almost always played in Software mode. I've considered scores on each playthrough, being sure not to pull any punches, and this is what I've concluded:

___________________________
MATCH CONTEST MAPS


MAP01 - Super Mario Battle Zone - SRB2-Playah
SCORE: 5/10
Pity. Had this been the final version you were intending to send, this map would've at least netted a 6. Nice, open spaces, but a bit too large. I'd imagine it'd be a bit hard to find even one player in a game of four. Nice try, though; better luck next time!

MAP02 - Floating Rock Zone - Lance88
SCORE: 3/10
Way too cramped, bad "ring placement". The 25-ring box bit gets real old and basically reeks "I DON'T KNOW HOW TO PLACE SINGLE RINGS!"
That's not the real problem though. The real problem is that it's too small. In this map, you're basically forced to resort to your killer instinct; there's little to no tactical planning involved. It's an all-for-one map here; half of the time, you fall in the pit! Yeah. That's not too fair; maps with open spaces and depth allow for a little intelligent power involved and not just an all-out brute battle.

MAP03 - April Showers - Bigboi
SCORE: 6/10
Not a bad map. It falls a little into the basic side as well as architecture goes, but the layout allows for open running and surprises. It's way too dark in there, though, making it real hard to see. That takes off of maneuverability.

MAP04 - May Flowers - Bigboi
SCORE: 4/10
The darkness hurts this map more than it did the last map. It's really hard to navigate about this map; the hole practically comes out of nowhere! You're bombarded with surprise attacks at every turn, which really takes away from the tactical side of things. It's also hard to stay atop the trees, especially when it's pretty hard to see the treetops in the first place.

MAP05 - Piano Room - Bigboi
SCORE: 5/10
Nice replication of a piano :D. You forgot the pedals, though! *shot*
*ahem* In all seriousness, this is better than May Flowers, if not a bit basic in the gameplay. You don't get a lot of room to move with three levels of floor, but no backside to the room (a behind to the piano). The rings are too concentrated to each other; most of the rings are at the top, a few in the middle, but virtually none in the bottom. This is too unbalanced to give everyone in each level a fair chance.

MAP06 - Arabian Nights - Bigboi
SCORE: 7/10
Clearly your best map in the contest! The two parts of the pyramid mixed things up quite a bit. There were enough rings in the level to eliminate the fear of having too little rings to survive. I can't help but think there's a flaw in the ring placement, though. It's something I can't put my finger on.
The inside of the pyramid, however, falls victim to the "DAMN IT, IT'S TOO DARK IN HERE" syndrome that hindered two of your maps. In fact, it was so dark that you can't see where you're going; you're basically forced to run in random directions. Fortunately, the space isn't vast, so you can aim at players thanks to rings and thoks giving off light.
Oh, and thanks for overusing the VFZ music. I really appreciate that :P.

MAP07 - Emerald Garden Zone - Tets
SCORE: 7/10
Now this map had me stumped. I was going to give you a 7.5, but since I can't give halves as scores, I was forced to give you this. It wasn't eye-gawking enough to deserve an 8.
This map gives a very genuine SRB2 Match feeling, and it promotes travel with its long paths. It's also pretty balanced, but EGZ had blaring problems that without them would've otherwise netted this map a higher score.
For one, it's too big. Even in a five-player netgame, it was still pretty hard to find someone to shoot at. I realize this is the nature of the map, but it's still damn inconvenient for a netgame at this size. Secondly, other than the rings, I thought the thing placement left a lot to be desired. The weapon rings were left in pretty subtle places. There were also too many monitors around; it gave too much of that powerhouse feeling. The Eggman monitors really hurt the map, as it upsets the balance of things; everyone in the right mind would avoid those, making them practically not part of the monitor count in the bottom. There's a third flaw, but I believe that's something exclusive to myself; it does little to affect the gameplay of the map.

MAP08 - Floret Lake Zone - Digiku
SCORE: N/A
Woo! This map was in the bin for eight months before I rediscovered it in my folder upon my return XD. I have no idea what I was thinking when I made this myself, and I do agree with a lot of the points made.

MAP09 - Chemical Basin Zone - Digiku
SCORE: NA/10
One of the two better maps I entered in this contest. This one's actually one of my favorites that I made. I find this map really fast-paced; the scores you'd get out of a small map is absurd. I find it funny that the center room is, above all, ignored XD.
Little history lesson: I worked on the sector architecture before I left, and then completed the rest of the map; sector data, thing placement, etc., upon my return. Not that it matters ;P.

MAP10 - Grassy Ellipse Zone - Digiku
SCORE: NORTH AMERICA/10
The first map I attempted from scratch when I returned. I was pretty stumped here, so I came up with something a bit basic. Better than Floret Lake, but eh, I'm not too satisfied with this map.

MAP11 - Nocturnal Sahara Zone - Digiku
SCORE: STOP ASKING ME
Oh yeah, Bigboi, I almost forgot to thank you for using a similar desert theme for one of your maps :P. The thing is, though, his revolves around a pyramid and mine is a desert wasteland, so it doesn't really matter on my part.
But wow, people are really divided by this map; I think this is one of my best yet. I felt I put a nice amount of depth in this map and the layout was something I really tried on in comparison to the other maps I entered. Not much to say about this map; I'm pretty satisfied with it.

MAP12 - Dead Simple Zone - Shadow Hog
SCORE: 7/10
A nice finish for the Match contest maps. The action was pretty fun, but I can't help but think it's a bit basic. There were a few problems I had; for one, it's too cramped; not way WAY cramped, but enough to have it crawling in your mind. The sector layout also had something to be desired; a good example is the center area. It was too slow-paced there. You had to get the automatic rings by jumping on the surrounding sectors. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, but this required often that you had to change direction a lot, which gets annoying. I did like how you used the newer brick textures, though :P.

And those are the Match maps. Good job, guys!

__________________________
SINGLE PLAYER CONTEST MAPS

Cold Metal Caves Zone - SRB2-Playah
SCORE: 7/10
Not bad, man, not bad. This level played most genuinely like an SRB2 stage, what with multiple linedefs for walls, open areas, acceptable difficulty, and multiple (?) routes. Although I think it's also this way with the official stages, this stage falls a bit short of the non-linearity and feels linear. Also, I found the turret room really annoying. Other than that, not bad.

Jungle Island Zone - RoboAshura
SCORE: 2/10
For Race, it just barely worked, but that was only because there was nothing from distracting the speed of the race. The level itself contributed nothing.
The level is pretty abysmal. It was too cramped with the camera getting stuck, as well as too bland. The colors mixed alright, though.

Egg Palace Zone - Some guy
SCORE: 7/10
I really admire the amount of effort you put into this map. However, I had to use every trick in my book in order to complete this stage: play in OpenGL, use Tails, STARTLIVES, STARTRINGS, that sort of thing. No single player map should have me go that far. This map pissed me off because it was so hard as Sonic (I've still yet to beat the level as him!).
With the severe negative stuff out of the way, this map was really fun to explore in. I enjoyed the amount of detail put in this map and I was never bored, despite the length. I thought, though, that this map was inconsistentally constructed; you see pits in the beginning and end, but for the middle (specifically the outdoors part), there were no dangers. I felt the ending of the stage was a bit weak, there being little detail, which really contributed to the gameplay and my enjoyment. Still, this is an amazing feat.

Castle Wolfenstein Zone - Shadow Hog
SCORE: 5/10
I haven't actually played Castle Wolfenstein before, but damn, after playing through it in the first run, I now know what it feels like to be Sonic in a Sonic X-esque environment; the humans are just so powerless against you!
Unfortunately, it got pretty old after that. What I have to say is basically what everyone else already said; it's not 1993, the "terrain" is too flat, yadda yadda yadda.

Gloom Metropolis Zone Act 2 - FuriousFox
SCORE: 6/10
I'll admit I haven't actually seen the first act, but even then, I thought this level was too linear and boring. Yeah, I want to give this a higher score, but there was nothing special here I could've paid my attention to.

__________________

Overall, I can say this contest's entries were pretty alright. Good show!

The Wolfenstein map needs to have horizontal sliding doors.

Yes, you can do them... I think... The linedef execs in 1.08 might not give you all the tools you need.

Di... Wha... He...
Did he just mention a sector... MOVING HORIZONTALLY!?
Jeez, SSNTails! I thought 1.09 was gonna be a minor bug fix thing!
Now it should be like, 1.099, or something! Or at least 1.095.

Okay, here are my ratings for this contest.

Single player Maps:

Castle Wolfenstein by Shadow Hog 7/10

This level is just a wolfenstein level remade but it's still fun destroying eggman soldiers. Since it's a wolfenstein level, the layout is extremely simplistic and boring, but there are tons of enemies to kill in this level.

Cold Metal Caves by SRB2-Playah 9/10

This level is my favorite single player level here. It's challenging, yet fun. I love th efact that the level goes to a ice cavern to compleletly covered in metal and back to a ice cavern. The only flaw in this level is lack of diverse enemies. The only monsters here are red crawla(about 30) and turrets(..2)

Egg Palace by Some Guy 8/10

The level is just...amazing. Some Guy must of put alot of effort into this level. Things I liked in this level was the pit traps where water covered it up until you got right next to it. Reasons why this map got a 9 was the checkpoint that doesn't work, the huge length of the level, and the fact that the checkpoint were too rare.

Gloom Metropolis2 by Furious Fox 7/10

I liked act 1 of this level but act 2 is slightly worse than it. There are too many enemies place in many areas of this level and this level feels
very linear.

Jungle Island by Roboashura 1/10

I know this is suppose to be a racing level but this is extremely bland level, it's just a bland 1 track linea level qith turns abit too tight for having fun. Next time try making it have more pathways, enemies, traps, those things would of saved this level from total boredom.

Multiplayer Maps

MAP01; Super Mario Battle Zone by SRB2-Playah 2/10

This level is way too laggy to play.

MAP02; Floating Rock Zone by Lance88 1/10

The problem with this map is it's way too cramped and if you hit a spring too fast, it may mean death for you.

MAP03; April Showers by Bigboi 5/10

This level's main problem is the darkness. It makes seeing other people and the rings too hard to really enjoy this level.

MAP04; May Flowers by Bigboi 3/10

Once again, the problems with this map is the darkness and the small size of it. The trees are a nice touch, but they are way too hard to get up to.

MAP05; Piano Room by Bigboi 6/10

Much better than the shower and flower maps but just slightly. The ring placement is horrible, most of the rings are on top of the piano and there are barely any on the bottom of the map.

MAP06; Arabian Nights by Bigboi 7/10

This maps problems are inside the pyramid, there are too many rings at the in it. The things I liked about this was the teleporting to inside(or out) of the pyramid, the oasis with rings in it, and the bridging that has the special rings.

MAP07; Emerald Garden Zone by Tets 8/10

This level is probably one of the largest maps in this contest. It's main flaw is it's hard to find people with all the tunnels and stuff in it.

MAP08; Floret Lake Zone by Digiku 7/10

This level is fairly small and has that meadow match feeling. This level has alot of decoration with all those flowers but the small size kills it.

MAP09; Chemical Basin Zone by Digiku 8/10

This level is pretty fun. The level rings are well placed and the special rings combo is not abusable.

MAP10; Grassy Ellipse Zone by Digiku 5/10

This level is too small and has the combination of rail + infinity.

MAP11; Nocturnal Sahara Zone by Digiku 9/10

This is my favorite match level in this contest. The flow of the level is perfect, and it's fairly spaced out.

MAP12; Dead Simple Zone by Shadow Hog 3/10

This map is too small and simple for my liking. There are too many shields in the level for the small size it is.

Thank you, Mystic, you've unintentionally given me some incentive to get voting already.

Alright, from what I recall...

EPZ - 6/10
Not that bad. However, the feeling was very, very unlike a normal Sonic stage... the sort of paranoia that you'd get when you KNOW there are excessive amounts of traps lying everywhere and cheap deaths (LOTS of cheap deaths) to be had ad nauseam. Also, I'm quite interested in seeing this stage as it was BEFORE being shrunk, in that there are several Eggman-face plaques everywhere that don't show the entire face like they should. Other than that, it's pretty decent, and I look forward to whatever you're bringing out next.

CMCZ - 8/10
I like this one. It's a bit on the linear side of things but has enough style to work. And, I mean, how many Xmas-themed stages do you see out there without tossing -xmas in? Honestly? My only gripe is that the water segment's a bit long, and there was apparently supposed to be a boss battle or something at the end?

GMZ2 - 7/10
I thought it was pretty good, having not experienced the first act before. I think it's a quite good indication of what Dark City Zone will be like... still, it felt a little bland. I might have to replay it to be sure, but I do know that this blandness didn't bother me all that much.

JIZ - 10/10!... nah, just kidding, 0/10
Sorry man, but this has no redeeming qualities. I understand it's supposed to be a Race level and not a normal one, but it's way too linear for a race level even still, and the level design is awful - you should always try to avoid teeny-tiny gaps as much as possible, particularly for corners, unless you're supposed to Spin Dash under. The texture use was also pretty bad - it gets confusing, VERY quickly.

CWZ - Yeah, like I'd vote on my own stage
I put an awful lot of work into this to make this an example of just how far SRB2 editing can go, really. Apparently, I could've chosen a better stage to port, but hey, I think it's pretty dang fun running around it even despite its blatant outdated-ness, and the Nazi robots were pretty fun to make. Speaking of those Nazi robots, try loading up other stages with the WAD loaded and playing through the levels with them shooting at you. Instant replayability! Cheap replayability, maybe, but still. CEZ1 is a pain in the rear when you have to spring up onto a platform with SS ready to gun you down the instant you pop up over the edge.

I like that "make a new stage with those custom enemies that ISN'T flat and square-ish" idea. I might do something with that... whether it's the next contest or not, though, I dunno. And horizontal doors? You crazy or somethin'? How on Earth would I make horizontal doors? Is this a feature we added to 1.09?

Anyway, MP stages WOULD come up (I'm more irritated at DSZ's 3 than CWZ's), but I really can't get into a multiplayer game. Like, ever. The only one that did move on to it wound me up leaving for some reason to do something else (dinner, I think), and upon coming back the server had already finished. And I can't host one, either, since I'm not on the computer that's hooked right up to the Internet, and I'm not sure if port-forwarding my router (my firewalls already have the ports open to no avail) will open vulnerabilities for ALL our computers or just mine (if it's the latter, okay, else, forget it).

I didn't think Eggman Palace was that hard. :|
I never died. I just got lost.

Well, that makes our experiences polar opposites, then. I never really got lost, I only died. A lot.

Yep, won't be voting MP. I want to, but can't, so, eh, thems the brakes.

After screwing up my voting summary TWICE, I've decided to just blow through this without any detail.

Super Mario Battle Zone - 6/10
Decent. Bet it lags like crazy on lesser machines, though.

Floating Rock Zone - 3/10
*Snrrk*... Well, it's a bit fun in large match games, so it earns a few points. Still, I feel the need to give this map the first ever "Cursed Tiki" award.


April Showers Zone - 5/10
Decent layout, but it's too dark in Software.

May Flowers Zone - 7/10
I would have thought that a map with "flowers" in it's title would have involved some sunshine, though that's not the case. This time around however, the darkness adds to the gameplay. The object placement is a bit lazy, though. Overall, not a bad map.

Piano Room Zone - 6/10
I'll be blunt, it looks like ass. And the pools of water are a bit awkward. While this map isn't very easy on the eyes, it's pretty fun..

Arabian Nights Zone - 5/10
Unique concept, music doesn't fit, climbing the stairs is suicide.

Emerald Garden Zone - 9/10
Oooooh. It's a bit large and complex, but since the map is centered around vertical ascension, it isn't much of an issue. Wouldn't expect any less from you, Tets. Oh, and what's up with your THZ texture fetish? Try something new for a change. :7

Because this is the first time I've made it to FLZ without screwing up somewhere, I have no problem giving more detailed reviews.

Floret Lake Zone - 7/10
Ooh, pretty. It seems flat at first glance, but it actually flows together quite well. It IS a Meadow Match redux, though.

Chemical Basin Zone - 6/10
A nice, fast-paced map, but it's a bit too bland-looking for my tastes. And yes, it is somewhat unbalanced, as the rail and bomb are quite close to each other. Meh, good map regardless.

Grassy Ellipse Zone - 8/10
Pretty sector layout. Also, as unbalanced as it is, I simply LOVE auto + rail, so meh.

Nocturnal Sahara Zone - 10/10
Excellent layout and object placement. The map does indeed flow quite well, and making the infinity ring easily accessible didn't seem to make the map too unbalanced, which is rare, especially when the auto rings are so close by. The only reason this map didn't get a 10 is because I'm quite shy when it comes to handing out tens. Oh hell, why not? *Changes*

Dead Simple Zone - 8/10
Yes, it's quite simple, but that's what makes the map so charming. Good layout and object placement (Sans the armaggedon shield).

And now for the scr maps.

Cold Metal Caves Zone - 5/10
As the others have already stated, the map is far too linear, but the little quirks like the geyser platforms and the turret room mashers kept things interesting. Not bad, not bad.

Jungle Island Zone - 0/10
Eww.

Egg Palace Zone - 8/10
Now THIS is just... Impressive. However, this is the only map I've ever seen that manages to be linear and completely non-linear simultaneously. There are thousands of alternate paths (Too many, in fact), and each route on these paths are usually just long stretches of painful objects and death pits with hardly any deviation from the norm. But even still... DAMN, that's impressive.

Castle Wolfen-whatever Zone - 4/10
Yeah, yeah, we've all seen it before. Sure, the enemies are neat, but that's it.

Gloom Metropolis Zone 2 - 6/10
I had high expectations for this map, but as the others have already stated, it's just too linear. The original is far superior, IMO. Still, it's a decent map, though it would have been a bit better if it were of a different theme.

EDIT: Forgot GEZ the first time around. Add'd

Voting

Super Mario Battle Zone: 3/10
It looks nice, but slowdown makes things tricky. Coupling this with the bugs, I have to score this one humbly. In SRB2-Playah's defence (or perhaps not...), I didn't notice the bug in the subterranean bit until I played in it OpenGL and saw what it was meant to look like. :-)

Floating Rock Zone: 2/10
I have to agree with the previous voters: the size, the abundance of 25-ring boxes and the death pits make it difficult to have an enjoyable game. It might just be possible to have a two-player match, though.

April Showers: 7/10
A nice size and a clever layout lends a lot of fun to this map. I say 'clever' as this is the first map I've seen to make functional use of lighting: the fact that no-one can see anyone else means that a simple, symmetrical layout affords more opportunities for sneakiness than it would otherwise. I do think it's a little too dark, however; furthermore, I think the shadow weakens the Rail a little too much. Also, I'm of the opinion that the water would benefit from a colourmap, but Bigboi disagrees with me on this one.

May Flowers: 5/10
Aesthetically pleasing (my above comments about the lighting notwithstanding), but I'm not so sure about the object layout. A little small, too. However, it can still host an enjoyable match.

[A mitigating observation: The two levels immediately above are lit much more adequately in OpenGL, it seems. No extra marks, though. :P Am I the only person still using the software renderer?]

EDIT:

I said:

Am I the only person still using the software renderer?

Click to expand...

Apparently not, now that I've read the more recent reviews.

Piano Room: 4/10
I feel a little nasty for grading this one below the half-way point, but Bigboi's other maps in this pack are unquestionably superior. Thematically novel, it's unfortunate that the unbalanced object density leads to equally unbalanced gameplay.

Arabian Nights: 8/10
Great fun! This is definitely the best of Bigboi's efforts in the grouping. The lighting is spot-on, this time, and the layout is perfect for using the Rail: that is, the item is in a prominent but exposed position. I'm not so enamoured with the interior of the pyramid, though, which is why he loses two marks, rather than just one.

Emerald Garden Zone: 9/10
I'm a sucker for this type of level. Despite their ubiquity, I like the grassy textures. Add this to an inspired layout, with lots of vertical movement at various levels, and amply-dimensioned platforms, and I shall most likely be falling over myself to award marks. Which I am. Its one blemish is its size: had it been three-quarters of its current area, I would certainly have given it a ten.

Oh, and tunnels, too! Everyone loves tunnels.

Floret Lake Zone: 6/10
Again, bonus points for the textures. However, it's not terribly original, as previous reviewers have pointed out. Not unentertaining, though.

Chemical Basin Zone: 8/10
Cunning use of fake walls is demonstrated here, a fact that I appreciated more keenly once I discovered why the Rail was where it was. Lots of fun. Maybe it could have been improved by replacing the larger slime-pool with an area more hospitable to the characters? This doesn't detract much from the gameplay, though.

Grassy Ellipse Zone: 6/10
Auto-Rail! Yay! Very nearly a seven, but not quite; I'd give it a six-and-a-half if I could. A little variation in the layout would have earned it the extra mark.

Nocturnal Sahara Zone: 10/10
All of my observations on Emerald Garden apply equally to this map, with the exception of the size: this one gets it exactly right. The item placement is impeccable, too. My one slight compaint would be that the sand looks as if it should move the player with it, which it doesn't; I'm not going to mark it down for this, however.

Dead Simple Zone: 4/10
A little cramped, but not to the point of the ridiculous. Also, the secret is too easy to access, and is too powerful: I found myself with Auto-Infinity-Armageddon, which can't be good for balance. In its favour, the close quarters of the map do mean that there is always someone nearby to aim at.

Voting has completed, and gone on a few hours longer than it should have. Anyhow, the results:

MAP01 - Super Mario Battle Zone - SRB2-Playah: 668865263 = 5.56
MAP02 - Floating Rock Zone - Lance88: 3532313132 = 2.6
MAP03 - April Showers - Bigboi: 87X966557 = 7.25 (5 dropped)
MAP04 - May Flowers - Bigboi: 557744375 = 5.5 (3 dropped)
MAP05 - Piano Room - Bigboi: 657755664 = 5.88 (4 dropped)
MAP06 - Arabian Nights - Bigboi: 889X57758 = 7.75 (5 dropped)
MAP07 - Emerald Garden Zone - Tets: 59X777899 = 7.89
MAP08 - Floret Lake Zone - Digiku: 66757776 = 6.57 (5 dropped)
MAP09 - Chemical Basin Zone - Digiku: 76876868 = 7.14 (6 dropped)
MAP10 - Grassy Ellipse Zone - Digiku: 47683586 = 6.29 (3 dropped)
MAP11 - Nocturnal Sahara Zone - Digiku: X5X699XX = 9.14 (5 dropped)
MAP12 - Dead Simple Zone - Shadow Hog: 766737384 = 5.67

Cold Metal Caves Zone - SRB2-Playah: 657898X7985 = 7.45
Jungle Island Zone - RoboAshura: 11453412100 = 2
Egg Palace Zone - Some guy: X972X977868 = 7.54
Castle Wolfenstein Zone - Shadow Hog: 3597768574 = 6.1
Gloom Metropolis Zone Act 2 - FuriousFox: 55775656776 = 6

Nocturnal Sahara Zone by Digiku wins the match contest by a landslide, and Egg Palace Zone by some guy wins the single player contest by less than a tenth of a point.

The winning maps will be added to the level of the month. Note that only the level of the month for match will be uploaded seperately unless you specifically request it.

Also, please provide descriptions for your maps, or you'll get that dull "I don't have a description" message ^_~

We just E-mail TXT's to you, I suppose?

Woo, I ended up dropping a hugeass train in the end! :D

I'd like to congradulate myself, Tets, and Bigboi for placing the top three maps in the Match contest, as well as some guy for placing first in the SP contest. Congrats!

For the rest of you guys, better luck next time. Keep trying!

SRB2-Playah said:

We just E-mail TXT's to you, I suppose?

Click to expand...

E-mail, IRC, AIM, Private message...doesn't really matter much.

Just because I'm inexplicibly compelled to, here's the results ordered by score.

1-P
1. Egg Palace Zone- Some Guy: 7.54
2. Cold Metal Caves- SRB2-Playah: 7.45 (Whee! Second!)
3. Castle Wolfenstein Zone- Shadow Hog: 6.1
4. Gloom Metropolis Zone act 2- Furious Fox: 6
5. Jungle Island Zone- Roboashura: 2

Match
1. Nocturnal Sahara Zone- Digiku: 9.14 ~MAP11~
2. Emerald Garden Zone- Tets: 7.89 ~MAP07~
3. Arabian Nights- Bigboi: 7.75 ~MAP06~ (I don't think Arabia has pyramids... Does it? >_>)
4. April Showers- Bigboi: 7.25 ~MAP03~
5. Chemical Basin Zone- Digiku: 7.14 ~MAP09~
6. Floret Lale Zone- Digiku: 6.57 ~MAP08~
7. Grassy Ellipse Zone- Digiku: 6.29 ~MAP10~
8. Piano Room- Bigboi: 5.88 ~MAP05~
9. Dead Simple Zone- Shadow Hog: 5.67 ~MAP12~
10. Super Mario Battle Zone- SRB2-Playah: 5.56 ~MAP01~ (Would've done better if I had not sent in the old one accidentally. >_>)
11. May Flowers- Bigboi: 5.5 ~MAP04~
12. Floating Rock Zone- Lance88: 2.6 ~MAP02~

And, just because I'm also innexplicably thourough...

Overall
1. Nocturnal Sahara Zone- Digiku: 9.14 ~Match~
2. Emerald Garden Zone- Tets: 7.89 ~Match~
3. Arabian Nights- Bigboi: 7.75 ~Match~
4. Egg Palace Zone- Some guy: 7.54 ~1-P~
5. Cold Metal Caves- SRB2-Playah: 7.45 ~1-P~ (5th! Yay!)
6. April Showers- Bigboi: 7.25 ~Match~
7. Chemical Basin Zone- Digiku: 7.14 ~Match~
8. Floret Lale Zone- Digiku: 6.57 ~Match~
9. Grassy Ellipse Zone- Digiku: 6.29 ~Match~
10. Castle Wolfenstein Zone- Shadow Hog: 6.1 ~1-P~
11. Gloom Metropolis Zone act 2- Furious Fox: 6 ~1-P~
12. Piano Room- Bigboi: 5.88 ~Match~
13. Dead Simple Zone- Shadow Hog: 5.67 ~Match~
14. Super Mario Battle Zone- SRB2-Playah: 5.56 ~Match~ (Insert comment here to make you notice it's my map)
15. May Flowers- Bigboi: 5.5 ~Match~
16. Floating Rock Zone- Lance88: 2.6 ~Match~
17. Jungle Island Zone- Roboashura: 2 ~1-P~

And now, because I'm also feeling innexplicibly mathematical...

Pi equals 3.- *shot*

[EDIT:] Nothing to see here...

its actually relitivly around
Mystic Edit: It's actually NOT stretching the tables now.

but hey, whos counting? :P

Mystic said:

Voting has completed, and gone on a few hours longer than it should have.

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Sorry. Again. That's what I get for thinking, "Hey, I'm five hours east of New York, which means I can vote 'til five o'clock in the morning!" despite having the phrase "seven o'clock" from the rules knocking about my head.

[Bows humbly.]

Digiku said:

Woo, I ended up dropping a hugeass train in the end! :D

I'd like to congradulate myself, Tets, and Bigboi for placing the top three maps in the Match contest, as well as some guy for placing first in the SP contest. Congrats!

For the rest of you guys, better luck next time. Keep trying!

Click to expand...

Well, **** you too. ;)

Hey, I was being nice. Seriously :P.