Hot Cavern.wad

Finally my first release here.

I know this isn't one of the greatest levels of all but its one that I took my time into making and I'd just like to know if I should continue modifying it still.

Some Screens to show the level it self.
Start



Two switches are needed to be pressed to unlock the doors.


Emerald Area Triggered by a switch.


==Link==

Link 1

Link 2 (SendSpace)

Please tell me any bugs, or broken sectors you find and I'll be sure to fix those up.

Criticism is needed.

Wow, that looks cool. It dosen't seem "hot" though, it seems like a volcano that cooled off and the lava hardened.

I'm gonna check this out.

*downloads*

The part in the second screenshot was VERY irritating to complete because of the constant camra change, please fix that.

I found a few things:



You missed a texture.



*gasp*

It was also quite bland, with very small passages, and in the begginning, there was a huge graphical glitch in software mode.

Could you show me what it was?

And thanks for the feedback by the way.

The part where you hit those switches in order to move into the long glass hallway. The camra changes when you hit the switch and pass the linedef, it gets annoying when you go back and the camra changes on you again.

Chrome the hedgehog said:

The part where you hit those switches in order to move into the long glass hallway. The camra changes when you hit the switch and pass the linedef, it gets annoying when you go back and the camra changes on you again.

Click to expand...

Yeah thats been some trouble for some that have tried this level before and I'm planning to take that out since it annoys me too.

Yeah um...
Some words of advice. Never test your Wads in OpenGL all the time. You should test them in Software, to see if there's errors. OpenGL sometimes hides the errors that are seen in Software.

Sondaniel22 said:

Yeah um...
Some words of advice. Never test your Wads in OpenGL all the time. You should test them in Software, to see if there's errors. OpenGL sometimes hides the errors that are seen in Software.

Click to expand...

Yep I get what you mean but, I only found 2 errors in software though.

I give you an A for level design, you might need to give me a few pointers XD.

Anyways the all around level is good except for a few too many plain flat areas and a few linedefs on the stairs around the mountains being impassable, how about you just make all the outside lindefs impassable?

Anyways the last problem is by zoom tube waypoint number 6, i believe?, there is an acid wall texture.

Aside from all these minor problems i think this level just uberly pwnz!!!

I have some problems with the level design that didn't make it too fun for me.

The first thing that annoyed me was the music choice. I don't know exactly what I didn't like about it, I just didn't want to hear it.
The second thing is the impassible walls. When I see open air, I assume that you can jump over it. If you want people to not pass a certain area, use visible walls.
The third thing is the cramped hallways. Cramped hallways as a main path always disrupts flow, and makes that part of the level unfun.
The fourth thing is the linearity of it. Having multiple paths is a good way to have people replay the level more then once.
The fifth thing, which annoyed me the most, is that the zoom tubes warped me back to the beginning. This made me quit the level. Zoom tubes can be a bit cool sometimes, but can be gimmicky, or not needed. Don't use it to annoy the player.

Sonic Destiny, you seem to be sugar-coating your post. Here are some things you should work on:

-Too many of your walls were impassible, making platforming frustrating. It's as if going through a maze, seeing an exit, but you have to go around an invisible wall. The level forces you to play a certain way; you can't do much platforming without Springs there. Make some jumps, add some visible walls.
-The lava FOFs have visible sides. Remove them, please.
-I don't like how you made this level challenging. The platforms are ENTIRELY too small, and you can easily fall off as Sonic, into an inescapable lava pit. Make the pit more shallow, not so deep, and add some Red Springs.
-You can easily get lost in this level, not knowing where to go. The invisible walls ruined the fun of this map. I kept forgetting that I needed to find a Spring, and waste a couple of minutes to go around one. Give the player a sense of direction.
-The hallways were cramped. I couldn't really move much in them. Make them wider.
- I couldn't finish this level, since I just got sent back to the beginning where a Chaos Emerald was, not knowing what to do next. I just quit after that.
-As Torgo said, this is too linear. Add secondary paths, crossings, and splittings.

Overall, I'd give this a 2.

Thanks for the info.

I'll be sure to make this right when I re-release this

Don't re-release this. Try making a new one from scratch. This is too linear to be saved.

Okay, here's my fix-it-all input:

Not good, but not terrible for a first map, either. I can tell you wanted this to be like a psuedo-sonic adventure action stage. But those types of stages almost never work out right in this game. It ends up getting very boring, very fast.

1) First thing's first. You have to remove those impassable barriers. The expansive cavern theme looks nice and all, but like Torgo said, we shouldn't have to guess whether or not we can jump off a ledge somewhere. Redesign the areas in a way that forces the player to take the route that you want them to. Put like, I don't know, a WALL there, or some kind of hazard.

1.5)Bleh. There's nothing in your level. Nearly no enemies(I managed to see 3), no scenery, nothing. Just a barren, wasteland of a map. Spruce it up a little, make it look more like a cavern and less like a rocky, glowing box with lava at the bottom.

2)You seem to like to torture me for some reason. Why did you make a zoom tube that goes nowhere but to the beginning? The concept was alright, but the execution was horrible. Make it a part of going forward through the stage, if you want to show off so badly.

3)I think you messed up your tags somewhere with the cut-away view. It cuts back to the area I was just in after opening the door. Check your sector tags. Also, give the player more of a clue of what to do in the room with the rising/falling blocks. Nothing sucks more than sitting for 10 minutes, with no idea of how to go forward. Once again, I have no idea why you chose to put that zoom tube there other than to anger me.

4)Long, small hallways with nothing in them but Sonic bumping his head against the walls is not fun. What's the deal, are you afraid of giving the player some breathing room, or something? :/

4.5)Like others have said, try to make a few alternate paths to take. Even if you can only make a 10 second detour, it would definitely make your level a lot more fun to play.

5)further down the long, narrow hallway I come to a dead end, with a small, square lava pool. I think you meant to create a block that rises out of the lava a bit to jump to, but forgot. Anyway, the spring was in there, and I had to end up wading through hot lava to find the yellow spring, forfeiting all the rings I collected. Fix that.

6)All the rest of the stuff wrong with the level is just visual, and not really a big deal. The missing textures here and there can be forgiven.

@Karuno-Don't discourage him from fixing it just because it doesn't meet professional standards. You'll rarely find someone who is able to make amazing maps these days, so you might as well help the people who are willing to learn.

Kuja, you seem to misunderstand what I mean.

Some maps, like GCFreak's, can't be merely improved to be perfect. A full-scale redoing would be necessary.

I think you misunderstood me, as well...

We aren't going for perfection here. We're going for playable. And to make this playable, and not just another crappy map that will clutter up this already dying forum division, I want him to improve it to the point where he learns something, and not just throw a bunch of problems with his map at him. I happen to care a bit more this time, because I can tell he made an honest effort on this map. I say finish this one, and learn what he did wrong, and go ahead and start working on another one.

...And have you even played most of the horrible maps in this part of the forum? I've seen MUCH worse than this. At least he has a good understanding of Doombuilder and linedef executors, which puts him above 95% of the people here in the last 3 weeks. So yes, I'm defending this map, as nobody else can seem to do better, ATM(I'm not saying that there aren't any other good levels here, I'm just making a point).

GCFreak had to start somewhere, just like anyone.

Kuja said:

Okay, here's my fix-it-all input:

Not good, but not terrible for a first map, either.

Click to expand...

......Who said it was my first?

Also at the end of your post you might have refered me as "him". I think you mean "her" =P

edit: Gonna Work on this now.

SilverESP said:

first release

Click to expand...

Misleading info much?

Anyway, good luck with that then, you girl...person...you. :P

Lawl I meant my first wad posted on this forum.

Better get working on finishing this.

I still wonder if I should leave the underground areas in.

Any suggestions?

Try adding in an entrance. For example, you can start in a grassy place, and then it slowly evolves into a fiery wasteland. Then, you fall in a hole, go into a cave, or get teleported into the level.