Excited to see this pack released. I won't make this a review yet because for one this is very new, and also because I haven't got to try it on full lobbies yet.
I've just tried the maps out with 3 other people and here's my feedback so far.
First of all, the maps have an amazing presentation. The maps are beautiful to look at, and the warp effects are special and interesting. My only concern would be if everyone can tolerate those effects. I am personally someone that can even handle void v1.0, but I know there are people out there that is more sensitive to it. For me though, it is very nice.
Teiai Towers (MAPA2)
This map is quite interesting and made me go "wut" when it started since I had no idea what was coming to me. This is one I can't have a full opinion on due to it being very based on if it plays well in a full lobby or not. My concern when playing with just 3 is that some paths are very "haha me bonk you off the map" kind of situation which can get quite frustrating.
Playing it alone though it was quite nice. The only annoyance I had is the humans (?) you touch which then explode right in front of me, usually making you take a hit. This is similar to the exploding toads, but a way more common occurrence because the toads fly off way further.
3/5
Liminal Landscape (MAPA3)
This is the map I had the most fun driving through. However, there's a major problem: It has no cuts as far as I can tell. There's a second problem too: It has a lot of sneakerpads. These two combinations create a very frontrun-heavy course, one where it's very hard to impossible to catch up on. The reason it becomes quite hard to impossible to catch up on is that sneakerpads make sure 1st keeps their speed boosts, even when they are first, which makes sneakers for the people behind useless. I think with no cuts on top of it you see where this is going.
If the course receives tweaks for people to catch up on, I think it's a quite solid and fun course.
3/5 (4.5/5 once tweaked)
Digital Dimension
This map has some problems and a soft lock
At the first area, before the door opens, it's possible to softlock yourself
Demonstration
Watch "2022-11-03 21-30-24" on Streamable.
streamable.com
In the second part there's this ramp that is quite hard to see ahead of time. If you take it wrong by example going right you can get severely punished.
Demonstration:
Watch "2022-11-03 21-32-18" on Streamable.
streamable.com
There's also the cut that you can take to get to the upper area of part two, and from the limited attempts I had, it was quite awkward to make the turn right after due to the killed speed of the paraglider. Maybe a speed zip that faces you the correct way in the corner of that turn helps resolve that
The place I talk about:
Overall it's pretty good. 3/5 again
Misty Mountainpass (MAPAX)
Unfortunately, this is the weaker map of the set. The problem I face with this map is all the minor complaints I have of the other maps are combined in this map: Softlocks, speedpad spam, and no cuts. However, the positives of this map also shines: its presentation (I love that ramp at end!)
The amount of speed pads in this map is a lot, and as mentioned earlier without cuts (to my knowledge) the map becomes very front-run heavy, and impossible to catch up on.
Now for the bugs/problems
Here's an area where you can softlock yourself:
Watch "2022-11-03 21-42-40" on Streamable.
streamable.com
The final ramp while beautiful can be extremely punishing if it somehow goes wrong. Here's an example of such:
Demonstration (sorry, on youtube because of the size limit)
Direct link here
2.5/5
Overall this pack has a lot of promise. I look forward to possible updates!
