I don't have the log, so I'll paraphrase:
<Spherallic> I don't like the current Bomb location
<Spherallic> Change it with Bounce or something
and then I did
:V
July/August 2010 Contest Voting
- Thread starter FuriousFox
- Start date
-
- Tags
- oldc srb2 v2.0.x
- Status
<Spherallic> I don't like the current Bomb location
<Spherallic> Change it with Bounce or something
and then I did
:V
Hmm well, the current Bounce location is actually in the middle of the path, so yeah. Maybe changing it with Scatter instead works better?
Are you saying something like put bounce where bomb is, bomb where scatter is, and scatter where bounce is? :x
Yes, it's probably harder to know what the item locations are on a map you didn't make
Let me put it this way: I figured out Spherallic's map in two or three games. I'm still not familiar with even half of yours.
Fine, you might be better at memorizing stuff like that than I am. If I get lost, isn't that still a valid complaint? Or is it suddenly invalid since some people disagree with me?
No, just putting Bomb where Scatter is, and Scatter where Bomb is.
But they're right next to each other! :S
But you can't just get from one Scatter Ring to the other with a single jump.
Yoshi
Randomly found avatar
Slime Stronghold Zone - 9/10 - really good zone with good graphics and its really well-balanced for all characters
Disrepaired Sanctuary Zone-7/10 - kinda hard zone. its imposible to dont fall on the first try. Another bad thing is that its made of 3 colors.
Spaceport Warfare Zone-10/10-The best zone without mistakes.
Flood Forest Zone-3/10-Bad boring zone with randomly placed objects
PS: I know that my english is bad.
---------- Post added at 05:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:07 PM ----------
Azure Night Zone - 0/10-It isnt working.
Super Sonic Starway Zone-1/10-This level is without rules.
Cyan Caves Zone-8/10-Great chalenging zone.
Aqua Palace Zone-7/10-Classic water race zone.
Sky Cliffs Zone-10/10-Ultimate fast really sonic-like zone.
---------- Post added at 05:23 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:15 PM ----------
Secluded Woodland Zone-9/10-It has great music and it looks like real forest.
Random Valley Zone-8/10- Its really random but its fun.
Cold Canyon Zone -5/10- Classic white average zone.
Sparkling City Zone-10/10- Excelent zone. (thats all i have to say about it)
Midnight Park Zone-3/10- Place with trees.
Rocky Mesa Zone-1/10- Rocky and messed up.
---------- Post added at 05:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:23 PM ----------
Golden Palace Zone-9/10
Emerald Lake Zone-7/10
Lava Reef Zone-4/10
Aqua Relic Zone-3/10
Sapphire Coast Zone-9/10
Disrepaired Sanctuary Zone-7/10 - kinda hard zone. its imposible to dont fall on the first try. Another bad thing is that its made of 3 colors.
Spaceport Warfare Zone-10/10-The best zone without mistakes.
Flood Forest Zone-3/10-Bad boring zone with randomly placed objects
PS: I know that my english is bad.
---------- Post added at 05:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:07 PM ----------
Azure Night Zone - 0/10-It isnt working.
Super Sonic Starway Zone-1/10-This level is without rules.
Cyan Caves Zone-8/10-Great chalenging zone.
Aqua Palace Zone-7/10-Classic water race zone.
Sky Cliffs Zone-10/10-Ultimate fast really sonic-like zone.
---------- Post added at 05:23 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:15 PM ----------
Secluded Woodland Zone-9/10-It has great music and it looks like real forest.
Random Valley Zone-8/10- Its really random but its fun.
Cold Canyon Zone -5/10- Classic white average zone.
Sparkling City Zone-10/10- Excelent zone. (thats all i have to say about it)
Midnight Park Zone-3/10- Place with trees.
Rocky Mesa Zone-1/10- Rocky and messed up.
---------- Post added at 05:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:23 PM ----------
Golden Palace Zone-9/10
Emerald Lake Zone-7/10
Lava Reef Zone-4/10
Aqua Relic Zone-3/10
Sapphire Coast Zone-9/10
Single Player:
Golden Palace Zone by Internet Explorer - 3/10
First of all, why do you think your level should replace all the basic sounds and graphics with stuff from Sonic Adventure? It's unnecessarily annoying, not to mention it contributes to the file's overly exaggerated size. Seriously, 15 MB? For one lousy act? Give me a break.
Without commenting on how the "Hit!" music becomes insanely unnerving after just a few seconds, the level itself sure displays a lot of effort, but I have to wonder where you drew your inspiration. What level in SRB2 did you play which involves redundant button puzzles and waiting about five seconds before you're allowed to move on to the next part of the stage?
The aesthetics are cringe-worthy with the most random texturing job I have ever seen apart from obvious troll maps, and the rest, when condensed into its purest form, is just boring. Not difficult, not interesting, not engaging. And it drags on and on and on. With these obviously amateur stages, I can usually rely on the fact that at least it will be short, but you managed to produce what was likely the longest level (from start to finish) in the pack.
tl;dr: Regroup, start from scratch, and figure out what makes SRB2's stages fun. Protip: it's not button+door gimmicks.
Emerald Lake Zone, Act 1 by glaber - 3/10
The only reason people have complained about the invisible walls is because you have no visual cue to identify what should be reachable and what shouldn't. A fence alone doesn't do the trick because there's no reason Sonic shouldn't be able to leap over it. You need something like a different texture set in order to explain to the player where they can or cannot land. As long as it's consistent, I trust it will work.
As for the level itself, there's not much to say. It's below average at best. It's not particularly gorgeous and there's really nothing unique about it, except for the hideous-looking water segments which everybody told you about and you didn't care. It doesn't help that a single wrong move (like trying to land on a cliff that, oops, you can't) invariably tosses you into the discolored drink. The parts that aren't annoying are just boring, and I don't feel the urge to play it again.
Lava Reef Zone by WEREHOG - 2/10
This map is almost unplayable. It consists of a confusing set of narrow branching paths over a looming pit of lava that proves to be pointlessly impossible to escape as Sonic, alternating every now and then with the most boring platforming segments ever seen in SRB2. Here's a protip for you too: lava is supposed to be incandescent (read: it produces light) so don't make everything mind-numbingly dark.
The latter parts of the level, if you manage to get that far, are actually much more interesting, such as the 2D segments, but that's not saying much. It's certainly not enough to forgive the awful start, anyway. It's at this point which I noticed you must've dozed off for a bit and forgot what level you were making, since for a while there the theme completely changes to Techno Hill! Weird.
Aqua Relic Zone by furythehog - 5/10
There was nothing really wrong with this stage, except for the abusal of decorative pillars in some of the cave segments. There isn't much going on either, though, which reflects itself in me not knowing what to say. In terms of gameplay, the level is sound, but not particularly diverse. Flesh out the level design a bit more and play a bit with the visuals and you should be able to make this map surface from the sea of mediocrity.
Sapphire Coast Zone, Act 1 by Blade - 8/10
aweomse stage 10/10
It's a good stage. The spring enemies are annoying because a) they should bounce you a teeny bit higher, and b) their springs don't really look like springs. Personally, I'd color them (the springs) a bit more vibrantly, with something like yellow or orange. Their movement seems pretty odd too, and the wheels don't look like they're actually spinning. The other enemy, the buzzbomber, is a breath of fresh air after 10 years of airborne enemies which just follow you, but its movement seems a bit odd and jerky. I don't get both how it can stay flying without flapping its wings, or how the hell it manages to back up.
The level itself has a very characteristic, and of course, beautiful appearance. The wall texture is currently competing the one in Sapphire Falls for "best repeating wall texture which doesn't seem like a repeating wall texture". It's a pretty specific category. I like the way how some palm tops are randomly scattered around the walls, but there's some with bad Z offsets at the end of the stage. One thing that irked me was the sheer amount of small decorative green plants scattered across the entire level. Not only are there way too many of them, but they also simultaneously don't stand out enough from the grass, making them look weird.
About the water... I know you were going for the whole "water blending into the sky" thing (cough, hack), but I just can't help looking at the opaque water surface without thinking "wow, that's so 2001". It doesn't help that the flat doesn't animate, though taking into consideration how ridiculously hard it is to insert an additional animated texture into SRB2, I'm not surprised. Maybe you should've just used LWATER.
You stole my idea with the mushrooms so I hate you for that (I don't hate you for that), and the lily pads are pointless but you've already explained it. Maybe a different gimmick is in order, like some water jets? It's always nice to be able to go hunting for emblems, though Tails' and Knuckles' were a bit easy (when are they not). I noticed that there's a lot of visual leakage when you can see "over" the thok barrier with those two, though, might want to fix some of that.
So when is Lost Worlds done :(
Match:
MAPM1 - Secluded Woodland Zone by Spherallic - 7/10
This stage is pretty good. Other people have already mentioned the vertical focus which works nicely and is something you don't usually see in SRB2 Match levels without terrible, horrible consequences. Stuff like people randomly igniting. The one thing that's keeping this stage from being a solid 8 is the fact that the "pale" room is useless and nobody ever goes there. Rail, Auto and Scatter are easily accessible so nobody ever really feels the need to travel so far away regardless of their final reward.
I only just ran across the SRM in the hollowed tree (is it the only one?) earlier today, so maybe it's a bit too off track. I dunno, it follows Jade Valley to a T, but then again people never go get that one either.
MAPM2 - Random Valley Zone by nightmare cenz - 4/10
Two words: too big. This level doesn't really work unless you have at least 10 players, which is a monstrosity, and even then, the weapons are so far away from eachother that no player will ever have all of them, unless you have fantastic games like I did where nobody sees anybody else for the full 5 minutes.
Ignoring the level's size, the design is too convoluted and not distinctive enough. It's hard to figure out where you can go to from the main rooms and how to get there, usually having to rely on a lone spring which is simply, well, there. Too many rooms look alike which makes it impossible for a player to know where he is, and by extension, where everything else is. A minor note, like I told you in a netgame, the water should be more translucent, because it sticks out like a sore thumb in what's otherwise a visually appealing map.
MAPM3 - Cold Canyon Zone by RedEchidna - 5/10
I'm not sure why I'm giving this a 5. Looking back, it suffers from enough problems to warrant a 4 like Random Valley and Midnight Park, but somehow it played better than the other two.
Your biggest problem right off the bat is level design. Please do not ever again do something as stupid as that fucking corkscrew. It doesn't help that it leads to a very powerful weapon, and that after grabbing that there's yet ANOTHER powerful weapon just a stone's throw away! And it's the only way for Sonic to get both, so of course there's going to be a lot of action surrounding it, which indirectly leads to the other end of the map to become almost tear-inducingly unpopulated.
Also, Grenade is too easy to get, which causes the matches in this level to eventually devolve into everybody else tripping over the better player's droppings. Other than that, while I just don't like the stage that much, I guess technically there really isn't anything else wrong with it.
MAPM4 - Sparkling City Zone by Neo Chaotikal - snip/10
This is probably the first time I've actually taken the time to decide the thing placement in a map, so I was kinda hoping for more reviews that actually took it into account. But I suppose I knew what I was getting into when I made a map with a giant Sonic display and the first room of City Escape. Yes, as usual, aesthetics were a strong driving force, but I also tried to go for functionality, I swear!
I included a lot of stuff for Tails, too, including various weapon ammo and an SRM Sonic can't reach, but I haven't seen a lot of Tails players make use of it, which makes me kinda sad. :( And yes, SRB2 desperately needs better (read: unembarrassing) city textures.
MAPM5 - Midnight Park Zone by KO.T.E - 4/10
There's really not much to say about this stage. It's mostly an open field with some side rooms which provide a bit of vertical variation, but it's really not something to be amazed at. The worst problem is that Bomb, one of the best weapons in the game, is insanely easy to access, which made every single game I played in it a bomb fest. Not much else to say, really.
MAPM6 - Rocky Mesa Zone by Brawl - 0/10
Unplayable. Please play a good few rounds of SRB2 match before attempting to create a level for the gametype.
CTF:
MAPF1 - Slime Stronghold Zone by RedEchidna - 7/10
This was fun, but I get the feeling it could be more fun with the right people. Usually I seemed to get stuck with one or two good players on the opposite team, and nobody able enough to back me up. Since the map is so defense oriented, this leads to 15-20 minutes of rage.
The slime path is dumb. It just is. Rarely do you see two people both with an elemental shield, and even when that occurs, they're usually both not in the same place, which means that it's just a free pass inside the base. However, it doesn't help a lot at all because the part you WISH you could skip is the bottleneck at the entrance to the flag room. Thus, all the slime path boils down to is an absolutely irritatingly deep slime pit right inside your base, and while it might work to occasionally get a hit on your opponents, you'll eventually get shot right into it and AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
The Grenade location is a nice secret, but becomes more of a nuisance when people learn about it. It's too hard to get into, meaning you can easily get shot, and once you're in, it's hard to get out, meaning... you can easily get shot. Overall, though, despite how infuriatingly long those matches always seemed to be, I constantly had fun playing it, so, there you go, a nice, shiny new 7. Don't spend it all in one place!
MAPF2 - Disrepaired Sanctuary Zone by Mach - 1/10
This map is almost impossible to play due to two things: 1) The whole map is just a box. 2) Said box is a death pit.
The first aspect turns the game into a near slideshow because there's no walls to hide the superfluous level geometry, it's all on-screen at all times. The second makes anyone ragequit after 2 or 3 minutes because the amount of stars and planets which have to align for you to even be able to carry the enemy flag back to your base, never mind ensuring yours stays there, is almost biblical in proportion. I've never scored more than two points before just skipping the stage, and I'm sure no other sane person has, either.
MAPF3 - Spaceport Warfare Zone by KO.T.E & Spherallic - 5/10
Egh. This one is good but it really isn't either. The elevators occasionally break, and it isn't your fault but actually it kinda is, and the whole rocketpad structure looks cool except there's really no point to it. A lot of dualities in this map! You either love it or you hate it or most likely you do a bit of both.
I don't like how there's really only one way to go from one base to the other, seeing as the paths eventually converge into an X. When you're being chased and you come to the fork, you look at the springs and just say "fuck that" because it's impossible not to get shot, so ultimately there's really no choice of paths for the flag carrier.
MAPF4 - Flood Forest Zone by glaber - 0/10
Unplayable. Do I really have to explain why?
Also, why the HELL is the flag in a different place than where you're supposed to capture it? Must you go against every single standard set by SRB2?
Circuit:
MAPR1 - Azure Night Zone by Kaysakado - 5/10
is that some GFZROCK i see
This seems like a rush job. Great to see I started a trend! This map is okay, if not incredibly short and barebones, and other than Sonic's seemingly acquired ability to uncannily run up such large steps, everything seems "okay", except for the very end, where you're basically forced to hit the icy roof, which isn't slippery, by the way.
But what on earth is causing those invisible currents!?
MAPR2 - Super Sonic Starway Zone by RedEchidna - 3/10
Great concept, terrible execution. Everyone curses this map, and to be quite frank, it's really hard to play with even the slightest bit of lag. Especially problematic parts are the room with the colored blocks (because the centerpiece has pretty faulty collision, I have to wonder why you didn't pick a more simple shape), and the self-explanatory "float/drop" room. I have never seen so much cursing in an SRB2 game.
The biggest problem with the stage is ring availability. You're bound to run out of rings eventually, so your top priority is to, well, get some. Right after that Zoom Tube is an especially inviting place with over a hundred rings, so basically the start of the race devolves into frantically trying to reach that coveted spot earlier than anyone else, and after someone does, and swipes up all the rings, everybody else is invariably fucked. The ring drain in that one room doesn't help.
It's also quite easily possible to skip some Star Posts accidentally (seems to happen randomly to every each one), and the red FOF part is just... weird. What is it? WHAT IS IT!?
MAPR3 - Cyan Caves Zone by Blade - 8/10
I swear to god, I am so tired of the ice+fire gimmick. But this is an actually fair execution of it. I like hazards that lets you get through faster and unscathed, provided you're good enough. Which is to say, I hate the continuously falling lava block.
At the very start of the stage, when you reach the first array of flame jets, the leftmost white pillar is far enough from the wall for players to get in between the two, but the game isn't so fond of letting them back out, which is very frustrating.
MAPR4 - Aqua Palace Zone by simsmagic - 5/10
This deserved a little more effort! Why don't the stairs right at the beginning have the ramp effect? People keep bumping into them. Other than that, it's already been mentioned that the question mark shaped pathway is useless, and... that's about it. Plays okay.
MAPR5 - Sky Cliffs Zone by darkbob1713 - 4/10
This had the potential to be a 6, but... man. That jump! That jump at the start! Why is it so ridiculously hard? Did you even test this map as Sonic? From the topmost grass patch, you need to jump up to the block with the blue springs, and then you can't just touch any spring, no, you have to touch specifically the ones that are slightly higher! And then, if you hug the wall, at the top of your jump, Sonic just barely climbs up! Give me a break!
The rest of the map wasn't really that bad at all, and just makes me wonder even more why the hell you would enter a map with such a glaring flaw. Was it intentional? Was it an oversight? Are you insane? What happened!?
Golden Palace Zone by Internet Explorer - 3/10
First of all, why do you think your level should replace all the basic sounds and graphics with stuff from Sonic Adventure? It's unnecessarily annoying, not to mention it contributes to the file's overly exaggerated size. Seriously, 15 MB? For one lousy act? Give me a break.
Without commenting on how the "Hit!" music becomes insanely unnerving after just a few seconds, the level itself sure displays a lot of effort, but I have to wonder where you drew your inspiration. What level in SRB2 did you play which involves redundant button puzzles and waiting about five seconds before you're allowed to move on to the next part of the stage?
The aesthetics are cringe-worthy with the most random texturing job I have ever seen apart from obvious troll maps, and the rest, when condensed into its purest form, is just boring. Not difficult, not interesting, not engaging. And it drags on and on and on. With these obviously amateur stages, I can usually rely on the fact that at least it will be short, but you managed to produce what was likely the longest level (from start to finish) in the pack.
tl;dr: Regroup, start from scratch, and figure out what makes SRB2's stages fun. Protip: it's not button+door gimmicks.
Emerald Lake Zone, Act 1 by glaber - 3/10
The only reason people have complained about the invisible walls is because you have no visual cue to identify what should be reachable and what shouldn't. A fence alone doesn't do the trick because there's no reason Sonic shouldn't be able to leap over it. You need something like a different texture set in order to explain to the player where they can or cannot land. As long as it's consistent, I trust it will work.
As for the level itself, there's not much to say. It's below average at best. It's not particularly gorgeous and there's really nothing unique about it, except for the hideous-looking water segments which everybody told you about and you didn't care. It doesn't help that a single wrong move (like trying to land on a cliff that, oops, you can't) invariably tosses you into the discolored drink. The parts that aren't annoying are just boring, and I don't feel the urge to play it again.
Lava Reef Zone by WEREHOG - 2/10
This map is almost unplayable. It consists of a confusing set of narrow branching paths over a looming pit of lava that proves to be pointlessly impossible to escape as Sonic, alternating every now and then with the most boring platforming segments ever seen in SRB2. Here's a protip for you too: lava is supposed to be incandescent (read: it produces light) so don't make everything mind-numbingly dark.
The latter parts of the level, if you manage to get that far, are actually much more interesting, such as the 2D segments, but that's not saying much. It's certainly not enough to forgive the awful start, anyway. It's at this point which I noticed you must've dozed off for a bit and forgot what level you were making, since for a while there the theme completely changes to Techno Hill! Weird.
Aqua Relic Zone by furythehog - 5/10
There was nothing really wrong with this stage, except for the abusal of decorative pillars in some of the cave segments. There isn't much going on either, though, which reflects itself in me not knowing what to say. In terms of gameplay, the level is sound, but not particularly diverse. Flesh out the level design a bit more and play a bit with the visuals and you should be able to make this map surface from the sea of mediocrity.
Sapphire Coast Zone, Act 1 by Blade - 8/10
aweomse stage 10/10
It's a good stage. The spring enemies are annoying because a) they should bounce you a teeny bit higher, and b) their springs don't really look like springs. Personally, I'd color them (the springs) a bit more vibrantly, with something like yellow or orange. Their movement seems pretty odd too, and the wheels don't look like they're actually spinning. The other enemy, the buzzbomber, is a breath of fresh air after 10 years of airborne enemies which just follow you, but its movement seems a bit odd and jerky. I don't get both how it can stay flying without flapping its wings, or how the hell it manages to back up.
The level itself has a very characteristic, and of course, beautiful appearance. The wall texture is currently competing the one in Sapphire Falls for "best repeating wall texture which doesn't seem like a repeating wall texture". It's a pretty specific category. I like the way how some palm tops are randomly scattered around the walls, but there's some with bad Z offsets at the end of the stage. One thing that irked me was the sheer amount of small decorative green plants scattered across the entire level. Not only are there way too many of them, but they also simultaneously don't stand out enough from the grass, making them look weird.
About the water... I know you were going for the whole "water blending into the sky" thing (cough, hack), but I just can't help looking at the opaque water surface without thinking "wow, that's so 2001". It doesn't help that the flat doesn't animate, though taking into consideration how ridiculously hard it is to insert an additional animated texture into SRB2, I'm not surprised. Maybe you should've just used LWATER.
You stole my idea with the mushrooms so I hate you for that (I don't hate you for that), and the lily pads are pointless but you've already explained it. Maybe a different gimmick is in order, like some water jets? It's always nice to be able to go hunting for emblems, though Tails' and Knuckles' were a bit easy (when are they not). I noticed that there's a lot of visual leakage when you can see "over" the thok barrier with those two, though, might want to fix some of that.
The secret, huh, well. It wasn't particularly fantastic, and a fair bit linear, but I'm more insterested where you got the ambience. It sounds like a piece from Tonic Trouble, so I'm assuming it also came from a Ubisoft game. Is it from Rayman like the boss tune (which still has its info tags)?
The boss itself was unfitting, to say the least. I liked the mechanics, though I think it "moves" a bit too fast and unapparently (there should be a visual cue of its movement, like Minus), but it just doesn't feel right for Sonic to be fighting a random apparently living creature which he's never met before. I wouldn't object so much if it were just a robot, but the design would still seem too much like a realistic human (like a SWAT Bot from the american cartoons) for me to be 100% cool with it. But hey, it's your map.
By the way, the flats in that first room with the crates are all misaligned, so that's something to fix.
The boss itself was unfitting, to say the least. I liked the mechanics, though I think it "moves" a bit too fast and unapparently (there should be a visual cue of its movement, like Minus), but it just doesn't feel right for Sonic to be fighting a random apparently living creature which he's never met before. I wouldn't object so much if it were just a robot, but the design would still seem too much like a realistic human (like a SWAT Bot from the american cartoons) for me to be 100% cool with it. But hey, it's your map.
By the way, the flats in that first room with the crates are all misaligned, so that's something to fix.
Match:
MAPM1 - Secluded Woodland Zone by Spherallic - 7/10
This stage is pretty good. Other people have already mentioned the vertical focus which works nicely and is something you don't usually see in SRB2 Match levels without terrible, horrible consequences. Stuff like people randomly igniting. The one thing that's keeping this stage from being a solid 8 is the fact that the "pale" room is useless and nobody ever goes there. Rail, Auto and Scatter are easily accessible so nobody ever really feels the need to travel so far away regardless of their final reward.
I only just ran across the SRM in the hollowed tree (is it the only one?) earlier today, so maybe it's a bit too off track. I dunno, it follows Jade Valley to a T, but then again people never go get that one either.
MAPM2 - Random Valley Zone by nightmare cenz - 4/10
Two words: too big. This level doesn't really work unless you have at least 10 players, which is a monstrosity, and even then, the weapons are so far away from eachother that no player will ever have all of them, unless you have fantastic games like I did where nobody sees anybody else for the full 5 minutes.
Ignoring the level's size, the design is too convoluted and not distinctive enough. It's hard to figure out where you can go to from the main rooms and how to get there, usually having to rely on a lone spring which is simply, well, there. Too many rooms look alike which makes it impossible for a player to know where he is, and by extension, where everything else is. A minor note, like I told you in a netgame, the water should be more translucent, because it sticks out like a sore thumb in what's otherwise a visually appealing map.
MAPM3 - Cold Canyon Zone by RedEchidna - 5/10
I'm not sure why I'm giving this a 5. Looking back, it suffers from enough problems to warrant a 4 like Random Valley and Midnight Park, but somehow it played better than the other two.
Your biggest problem right off the bat is level design. Please do not ever again do something as stupid as that fucking corkscrew. It doesn't help that it leads to a very powerful weapon, and that after grabbing that there's yet ANOTHER powerful weapon just a stone's throw away! And it's the only way for Sonic to get both, so of course there's going to be a lot of action surrounding it, which indirectly leads to the other end of the map to become almost tear-inducingly unpopulated.
Also, Grenade is too easy to get, which causes the matches in this level to eventually devolve into everybody else tripping over the better player's droppings. Other than that, while I just don't like the stage that much, I guess technically there really isn't anything else wrong with it.
MAPM4 - Sparkling City Zone by Neo Chaotikal - snip/10
This is probably the first time I've actually taken the time to decide the thing placement in a map, so I was kinda hoping for more reviews that actually took it into account. But I suppose I knew what I was getting into when I made a map with a giant Sonic display and the first room of City Escape. Yes, as usual, aesthetics were a strong driving force, but I also tried to go for functionality, I swear!
I included a lot of stuff for Tails, too, including various weapon ammo and an SRM Sonic can't reach, but I haven't seen a lot of Tails players make use of it, which makes me kinda sad. :( And yes, SRB2 desperately needs better (read: unembarrassing) city textures.
MAPM5 - Midnight Park Zone by KO.T.E - 4/10
There's really not much to say about this stage. It's mostly an open field with some side rooms which provide a bit of vertical variation, but it's really not something to be amazed at. The worst problem is that Bomb, one of the best weapons in the game, is insanely easy to access, which made every single game I played in it a bomb fest. Not much else to say, really.
MAPM6 - Rocky Mesa Zone by Brawl - 0/10
Unplayable. Please play a good few rounds of SRB2 match before attempting to create a level for the gametype.
CTF:
MAPF1 - Slime Stronghold Zone by RedEchidna - 7/10
This was fun, but I get the feeling it could be more fun with the right people. Usually I seemed to get stuck with one or two good players on the opposite team, and nobody able enough to back me up. Since the map is so defense oriented, this leads to 15-20 minutes of rage.
The slime path is dumb. It just is. Rarely do you see two people both with an elemental shield, and even when that occurs, they're usually both not in the same place, which means that it's just a free pass inside the base. However, it doesn't help a lot at all because the part you WISH you could skip is the bottleneck at the entrance to the flag room. Thus, all the slime path boils down to is an absolutely irritatingly deep slime pit right inside your base, and while it might work to occasionally get a hit on your opponents, you'll eventually get shot right into it and AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
The Grenade location is a nice secret, but becomes more of a nuisance when people learn about it. It's too hard to get into, meaning you can easily get shot, and once you're in, it's hard to get out, meaning... you can easily get shot. Overall, though, despite how infuriatingly long those matches always seemed to be, I constantly had fun playing it, so, there you go, a nice, shiny new 7. Don't spend it all in one place!
MAPF2 - Disrepaired Sanctuary Zone by Mach - 1/10
This map is almost impossible to play due to two things: 1) The whole map is just a box. 2) Said box is a death pit.
The first aspect turns the game into a near slideshow because there's no walls to hide the superfluous level geometry, it's all on-screen at all times. The second makes anyone ragequit after 2 or 3 minutes because the amount of stars and planets which have to align for you to even be able to carry the enemy flag back to your base, never mind ensuring yours stays there, is almost biblical in proportion. I've never scored more than two points before just skipping the stage, and I'm sure no other sane person has, either.
MAPF3 - Spaceport Warfare Zone by KO.T.E & Spherallic - 5/10
Egh. This one is good but it really isn't either. The elevators occasionally break, and it isn't your fault but actually it kinda is, and the whole rocketpad structure looks cool except there's really no point to it. A lot of dualities in this map! You either love it or you hate it or most likely you do a bit of both.
I don't like how there's really only one way to go from one base to the other, seeing as the paths eventually converge into an X. When you're being chased and you come to the fork, you look at the springs and just say "fuck that" because it's impossible not to get shot, so ultimately there's really no choice of paths for the flag carrier.
MAPF4 - Flood Forest Zone by glaber - 0/10
Unplayable. Do I really have to explain why?
Also, why the HELL is the flag in a different place than where you're supposed to capture it? Must you go against every single standard set by SRB2?
Circuit:
MAPR1 - Azure Night Zone by Kaysakado - 5/10
is that some GFZROCK i see
This seems like a rush job. Great to see I started a trend! This map is okay, if not incredibly short and barebones, and other than Sonic's seemingly acquired ability to uncannily run up such large steps, everything seems "okay", except for the very end, where you're basically forced to hit the icy roof, which isn't slippery, by the way.
But what on earth is causing those invisible currents!?
MAPR2 - Super Sonic Starway Zone by RedEchidna - 3/10
Great concept, terrible execution. Everyone curses this map, and to be quite frank, it's really hard to play with even the slightest bit of lag. Especially problematic parts are the room with the colored blocks (because the centerpiece has pretty faulty collision, I have to wonder why you didn't pick a more simple shape), and the self-explanatory "float/drop" room. I have never seen so much cursing in an SRB2 game.
The biggest problem with the stage is ring availability. You're bound to run out of rings eventually, so your top priority is to, well, get some. Right after that Zoom Tube is an especially inviting place with over a hundred rings, so basically the start of the race devolves into frantically trying to reach that coveted spot earlier than anyone else, and after someone does, and swipes up all the rings, everybody else is invariably fucked. The ring drain in that one room doesn't help.
It's also quite easily possible to skip some Star Posts accidentally (seems to happen randomly to every each one), and the red FOF part is just... weird. What is it? WHAT IS IT!?
MAPR3 - Cyan Caves Zone by Blade - 8/10
I swear to god, I am so tired of the ice+fire gimmick. But this is an actually fair execution of it. I like hazards that lets you get through faster and unscathed, provided you're good enough. Which is to say, I hate the continuously falling lava block.
At the very start of the stage, when you reach the first array of flame jets, the leftmost white pillar is far enough from the wall for players to get in between the two, but the game isn't so fond of letting them back out, which is very frustrating.
MAPR4 - Aqua Palace Zone by simsmagic - 5/10
This deserved a little more effort! Why don't the stairs right at the beginning have the ramp effect? People keep bumping into them. Other than that, it's already been mentioned that the question mark shaped pathway is useless, and... that's about it. Plays okay.
MAPR5 - Sky Cliffs Zone by darkbob1713 - 4/10
This had the potential to be a 6, but... man. That jump! That jump at the start! Why is it so ridiculously hard? Did you even test this map as Sonic? From the topmost grass patch, you need to jump up to the block with the blue springs, and then you can't just touch any spring, no, you have to touch specifically the ones that are slightly higher! And then, if you hug the wall, at the top of your jump, Sonic just barely climbs up! Give me a break!
The rest of the map wasn't really that bad at all, and just makes me wonder even more why the hell you would enter a map with such a glaring flaw. Was it intentional? Was it an oversight? Are you insane? What happened!?
Last edited:
The Spring-Shell's springs are green instead of yellow because they are weaker than them, and people didn't think I should make them yellow because of that. The Buzz Bombers were socced at the last minute, so I didn't get to fine tune them. I also ment to animate the water, but I didn't have enough time.
When it's done. :(
The ambience is from Rayman 2, as is the mini-boss. It's a robo pirate, not a human, btw. The whole area is based off a level from Rayman 2.
When it's done. :(
Soooo... try orange then? Or maybe a vibrant green. The pale green just isn't as colorful as the other springs, so it doesn't seem like a spring, you know?
EDIT: I've gone back and added some stuff I forgot to your review, so you might want to read it again.
Last edited:
Almost forgot about this!
Anyway, SP division only, Sonic, software mode, third person, some levels were played a second time through with Knuckles or Tails... the usual setup. Honestly, I'm not in a very... judgy mood, I think Neo pretty much covered everything that needed to be said, but I'll go ahead and vote/comment, since that's what I usually do.
Single Player
Golden Palace Zone by Internet Explorer - 4/10
Um, custom music and graphics overload? Holy crap, dude.
Well, I don't know what to say, honestly. It was pretty linear; you seem to like the guard robots a lot; you drowned me with custom music and graphics.... Um, that's all I got. This wad is weird.
Emerald Lake Zone, Act 1 by glaber - 4/10
The background needs less saturation. It's an eyesore otherwise. The level itself is boring and very linear. Why is the water so dark? Why do you provide me with a spring and then leave me to wonder why I can't cross a sector because of a magical foot-tall fence I can't see until I land onto the ground? Why is there a fence to restrict where I can go, anyway? This just seems like another failed experiment of an unnecessary gimmick.
Lava Reef Zone by WEREHOG - 2/10
The beginning of the map is extremely confusing, the zoom tubes are buggy, and in general, the level just looks as if not enough time was put into it.
Aqua Relic Zone by furythehog - 6/10
In a way, this kind of reminds me of BlueZero4's Forever Forrest Zone 2, since it's not much of a level for the sake of challenging the player as it is a level for the sake of immersion and exploration. I like it, but I think spending more time on the general architecture could have went a long way; as it stands, the aesthetics are nice, but they remind me of the... rectangular nature of Doom's levels.
Sapphire Coast Zone, Act 1 by Blade - 8/10
Very nice. Everything here looks gorgeous, and the spring badnik is fun to mess with again. Something about the buzz bomber feels like it needs polish, but otherwise, this is quite impressive and well put together. Looking forward to Act 2.
Anyway, SP division only, Sonic, software mode, third person, some levels were played a second time through with Knuckles or Tails... the usual setup. Honestly, I'm not in a very... judgy mood, I think Neo pretty much covered everything that needed to be said, but I'll go ahead and vote/comment, since that's what I usually do.
Single Player
Golden Palace Zone by Internet Explorer - 4/10
Um, custom music and graphics overload? Holy crap, dude.
Well, I don't know what to say, honestly. It was pretty linear; you seem to like the guard robots a lot; you drowned me with custom music and graphics.... Um, that's all I got. This wad is weird.
Emerald Lake Zone, Act 1 by glaber - 4/10
The background needs less saturation. It's an eyesore otherwise. The level itself is boring and very linear. Why is the water so dark? Why do you provide me with a spring and then leave me to wonder why I can't cross a sector because of a magical foot-tall fence I can't see until I land onto the ground? Why is there a fence to restrict where I can go, anyway? This just seems like another failed experiment of an unnecessary gimmick.
Lava Reef Zone by WEREHOG - 2/10
The beginning of the map is extremely confusing, the zoom tubes are buggy, and in general, the level just looks as if not enough time was put into it.
Aqua Relic Zone by furythehog - 6/10
In a way, this kind of reminds me of BlueZero4's Forever Forrest Zone 2, since it's not much of a level for the sake of challenging the player as it is a level for the sake of immersion and exploration. I like it, but I think spending more time on the general architecture could have went a long way; as it stands, the aesthetics are nice, but they remind me of the... rectangular nature of Doom's levels.
Sapphire Coast Zone, Act 1 by Blade - 8/10
Very nice. Everything here looks gorgeous, and the spring badnik is fun to mess with again. Something about the buzz bomber feels like it needs polish, but otherwise, this is quite impressive and well put together. Looking forward to Act 2.
Last edited:
If it's the weapon rings. Highly understandable as I have still have to adjust to the new system. (Never made a multiplayer Doom map)
The platforms, heck the main area was poorly thought out. I admit it.
The flags were don this way just to be different. I wanted you to be able to pick up the flag from a flag stand this time, unfortunately, it needed to be designated a capture zone in order to let you grab the flag. This version of Flood Forest CTF will be scrapped.
So after playing another round in Neo's server, I'll have to go back and change some reviews, as well as write the missing ones. It was kinda cool to have played everything both in a small netgame and a large one, so I hope I can give some helpful insight. If you made a Match or CTF map, you might wanna look at my review post about eight hours from now :P
Oh and Neo, the reason nobody commented on your thing placement is because it's so good. The weapons were in the right places, the amount of ammo and the distribution of it seemed appropriate, and the random monitor locations were very easy to remember. So uh, maybe I'd find some nitpicks are playing some more rounds of it, but it seems to be pretty damn close to perfect.
Oh and Neo, the reason nobody commented on your thing placement is because it's so good. The weapons were in the right places, the amount of ammo and the distribution of it seemed appropriate, and the random monitor locations were very easy to remember. So uh, maybe I'd find some nitpicks are playing some more rounds of it, but it seems to be pretty damn close to perfect.
But then Mystic would have to play a netgame :O
So that was my 2000th post? Nice to see it was something productive. And to anyone who believes I post too much: you're right. Anyway, off to reviewing the rest of the stages.
JEV3
There and back again~
Sapphire Coast - 7/10
The visuals were very well done, particularly the custom enemies. As previously stated, you might want a new mushroom texture and lilypad texture, and the leaves could use some tweaking. Additionally, I'd like to see some less conspicuous sprites placed around here. Its a pity you didn't put any custom music in here, because while the JCZ music is fitting, I'm tired of hearing it.
There were a few minor issues, most notable being that one area required the use of a spring-shell or a hidden spring to continue as Sonic. I have no issue with them unlocking an alternate route, but if the player can't use them, he should be able to continue on without turning around.
Additionally, one path allows you to backtrack while the other doesn't. This leads to some confusion if someone were to approach the exit from the left and choose to ignore the junk in the ocean because all throughout the level it was only ever powerups out there. Maybe just add a little sandbar and rows of rings to point the player in the right direction. Additionally if you do want to encourage the player to explore the ocean coast, have one of the paths actually take him out there.
The main issue with the level however, and the reason why it doesn't get a higher score is that the two paths are extremely different. One is an enjoyable JCZ-esque stretch with a few creative gimmicks while the other is a bunch of lilypads over a stretch of water. When you put the two in the same level the latter really feels uninspired.
-----------------------------
Emerald Lake - 3/10
All the drama surrounding the invisible walls seems to hide the fact that this is a spectacularly boring level. The water is difficult to navigate and its easy to fall in if you try to jump to an area that looks accessible were it not for a fence.
Even your invisible walls are inconsistent, however. As one of the dead ends led me to an area where I was actually able to walk through a fence, leading me to wonder whether or not I'd gone the right way. I never did figure out where I got turned around, but I somehow managed to get on the right track.
The visuals did not help much, and overall felt sloppy. The Techno Hill textures are a dull red that you have next to the deep blue water and the green grass. With nothing to spice up the view, the level just felt empty. It didn't help that the motobugs were still red and blue.
-----------------------------
Lava Reef - 4/10
Lava should really stand out in any level that it is in. It helps to have it be brighter than the room, otherwise it feels dull. Most of the level was just a platform-fest over lava, although there was one room which appeared to mimic RVZ1 except I'm still not sure how I was supposed to get past there.
The factory segment felt extremely out of place, particularly because you didn't put forth any effort into making the pipes look like pipes rather than chunks of block. You also included a segment where you had to drop quite a ways to descend the steps, which feels very unnatural when the problem of getting the player from a high point A to a low point B could allow for some creative gameplay design.
The 2d areas never really added to the gameplay, all being basically in a straight line. That so much of the level was devoted to it with nothing really being worth playing seemed a wasted effort. The sequence where you were forced to hop across the bridge avoiding the flames also felt repetitive and derivative.
Overall, its too easy to wrap up a level with lava in it and call it a finished project. Try challenging yourself with a more unique concept, and then put some actual effort into making it play well.
-----------------------------
Aquatic Relic - 5/10
The level was solid, but as stated before completely, forgettable. The textures didn't really do much, the DSZ tiles still look ugly across the large walls, and the exterior didn't do much to alleviate my personal dislike for MMZ rock. The main issue of the level was that it was a generic run-of-the-mill platforming experience. The only part that felt remotely interesting involved jumping across platforms between pillars, which was more fleshed out in Starlight Palace anyway.
I think that, like the lava level in this contest, its too easy to make a generic water level. Ever since DSZ was previewed, we've had a surge in popularity for DSZ-based levels and some of the cash-in levels still had far more interesting gameplay than what this level offered. Again, I might recommend trying a more unique concept just to get your creative juices flowing.
-----------------------------
Golden Palace - 4/10
Its a real pity this level didn't turn out well, as I'd actually like to see a Casinopolis level done right. The most glaring issue is the fact that the textures are so bright. The yellow crystal textures were intended to merely accent a level with cooler colors, and for that purpose they work well. Here, however they are thrust alongside a ton of yellows and reds with nothing to tone it down except for the occasional castle textures which felt out of place anyway.
There were far too many gimmicks that existed just to slow the player down. Many of the straightaways had no platforming, just a few raised bars that the player had to leap over. The code, the teleporter, and the doors all slowed the game down as well. When there was some decent platforming, either it was unintuitive (such as the city segment) or was foiled by an unexplained gimmick, notably the slippery crystals. As it is, I did like that one large room at the beginning where the platforms moved up and wish more of the level had used that kind of gameplay.
The visuals in the exterior were promising but the flashing lights made it difficult to appreciate them. Furthermore the sprites and sounds that were replaced didn't really seem to make much of a difference through the level. Overall more effort was placed on aesthetic details that did more harm than good when it needed to be focused toward making the gameplay a little bit more solid.
The visuals were very well done, particularly the custom enemies. As previously stated, you might want a new mushroom texture and lilypad texture, and the leaves could use some tweaking. Additionally, I'd like to see some less conspicuous sprites placed around here. Its a pity you didn't put any custom music in here, because while the JCZ music is fitting, I'm tired of hearing it.
There were a few minor issues, most notable being that one area required the use of a spring-shell or a hidden spring to continue as Sonic. I have no issue with them unlocking an alternate route, but if the player can't use them, he should be able to continue on without turning around.
Additionally, one path allows you to backtrack while the other doesn't. This leads to some confusion if someone were to approach the exit from the left and choose to ignore the junk in the ocean because all throughout the level it was only ever powerups out there. Maybe just add a little sandbar and rows of rings to point the player in the right direction. Additionally if you do want to encourage the player to explore the ocean coast, have one of the paths actually take him out there.
The main issue with the level however, and the reason why it doesn't get a higher score is that the two paths are extremely different. One is an enjoyable JCZ-esque stretch with a few creative gimmicks while the other is a bunch of lilypads over a stretch of water. When you put the two in the same level the latter really feels uninspired.
As for the secret area, it played rather well in comparison to the lilypad segment. However the requirement for entering seemed a bit stringent; it takes an awful long time to collect 200 rings. I'd have either made no requirement at all and just rewarded the player for entering, or made it so that he had to get there in a certain amount of time.
The boss was fun for a while, but his attacks didn't change and it felt weird that I didn't bounce away when I hit him. Either give him a broader range of attacks (use random state to choose between them or do it sequentially), find some way for him to change things up midway through the fight, or just make him go down faster.
The boss was fun for a while, but his attacks didn't change and it felt weird that I didn't bounce away when I hit him. Either give him a broader range of attacks (use random state to choose between them or do it sequentially), find some way for him to change things up midway through the fight, or just make him go down faster.
-----------------------------
Emerald Lake - 3/10
All the drama surrounding the invisible walls seems to hide the fact that this is a spectacularly boring level. The water is difficult to navigate and its easy to fall in if you try to jump to an area that looks accessible were it not for a fence.
Even your invisible walls are inconsistent, however. As one of the dead ends led me to an area where I was actually able to walk through a fence, leading me to wonder whether or not I'd gone the right way. I never did figure out where I got turned around, but I somehow managed to get on the right track.
The visuals did not help much, and overall felt sloppy. The Techno Hill textures are a dull red that you have next to the deep blue water and the green grass. With nothing to spice up the view, the level just felt empty. It didn't help that the motobugs were still red and blue.
-----------------------------
Lava Reef - 4/10
Lava should really stand out in any level that it is in. It helps to have it be brighter than the room, otherwise it feels dull. Most of the level was just a platform-fest over lava, although there was one room which appeared to mimic RVZ1 except I'm still not sure how I was supposed to get past there.
The factory segment felt extremely out of place, particularly because you didn't put forth any effort into making the pipes look like pipes rather than chunks of block. You also included a segment where you had to drop quite a ways to descend the steps, which feels very unnatural when the problem of getting the player from a high point A to a low point B could allow for some creative gameplay design.
The 2d areas never really added to the gameplay, all being basically in a straight line. That so much of the level was devoted to it with nothing really being worth playing seemed a wasted effort. The sequence where you were forced to hop across the bridge avoiding the flames also felt repetitive and derivative.
Overall, its too easy to wrap up a level with lava in it and call it a finished project. Try challenging yourself with a more unique concept, and then put some actual effort into making it play well.
-----------------------------
Aquatic Relic - 5/10
The level was solid, but as stated before completely, forgettable. The textures didn't really do much, the DSZ tiles still look ugly across the large walls, and the exterior didn't do much to alleviate my personal dislike for MMZ rock. The main issue of the level was that it was a generic run-of-the-mill platforming experience. The only part that felt remotely interesting involved jumping across platforms between pillars, which was more fleshed out in Starlight Palace anyway.
I think that, like the lava level in this contest, its too easy to make a generic water level. Ever since DSZ was previewed, we've had a surge in popularity for DSZ-based levels and some of the cash-in levels still had far more interesting gameplay than what this level offered. Again, I might recommend trying a more unique concept just to get your creative juices flowing.
-----------------------------
Golden Palace - 4/10
Its a real pity this level didn't turn out well, as I'd actually like to see a Casinopolis level done right. The most glaring issue is the fact that the textures are so bright. The yellow crystal textures were intended to merely accent a level with cooler colors, and for that purpose they work well. Here, however they are thrust alongside a ton of yellows and reds with nothing to tone it down except for the occasional castle textures which felt out of place anyway.
There were far too many gimmicks that existed just to slow the player down. Many of the straightaways had no platforming, just a few raised bars that the player had to leap over. The code, the teleporter, and the doors all slowed the game down as well. When there was some decent platforming, either it was unintuitive (such as the city segment) or was foiled by an unexplained gimmick, notably the slippery crystals. As it is, I did like that one large room at the beginning where the platforms moved up and wish more of the level had used that kind of gameplay.
The visuals in the exterior were promising but the flashing lights made it difficult to appreciate them. Furthermore the sprites and sounds that were replaced didn't really seem to make much of a difference through the level. Overall more effort was placed on aesthetic details that did more harm than good when it needed to be focused toward making the gameplay a little bit more solid.
- Status