SunCyclone
Berufsschauspieler
Single Player Division:
1: Teal Tundra Zone (SunCyclone) - Own entry, so automatically ranked 1st as per contest rules
2: Abyss Caverns Zone (yyeellooww7)
3: Mercury Mine Zone (Rexeljet)
4: Falcon Emissary Zone (InferNOr)
5: Koopa Kastle Zone (Glaber)
6: Blizzard Bastion Zone (PhilJFou)
7: Hollow Hill Zone: Act 1 (Othius, Inazuma & Spectorious)
8: Zaxel’s Thunder Yard (Zaxel)
9: Ridge Rapids Zone (particle)
10: Fort Sunset Zone (DylanDude)
11: Bombastic Beach Zone (Shapeshifter Boi)
12: Drenched Dam Zone (Voidy2246)
13: Music Mash Zone (WasifBoomz)
14: Emerald Glade Zone: Act 1 (DoodlesYT)
15: Lava Temple (Vixuzen)
16: Ante-Station Zone (Twins'R'Okay)
Single Player Reviews:
1: Teal Tundra Zone (SunCyclone) - Own entry, so automatically ranked 1st as per contest rules
2: Abyss Caverns Zone (yyeellooww7)
3: Mercury Mine Zone (Rexeljet)
4: Falcon Emissary Zone (InferNOr)
5: Koopa Kastle Zone (Glaber)
6: Blizzard Bastion Zone (PhilJFou)
7: Hollow Hill Zone: Act 1 (Othius, Inazuma & Spectorious)
8: Zaxel’s Thunder Yard (Zaxel)
9: Ridge Rapids Zone (particle)
10: Fort Sunset Zone (DylanDude)
11: Bombastic Beach Zone (Shapeshifter Boi)
12: Drenched Dam Zone (Voidy2246)
13: Music Mash Zone (WasifBoomz)
14: Emerald Glade Zone: Act 1 (DoodlesYT)
15: Lava Temple (Vixuzen)
16: Ante-Station Zone (Twins'R'Okay)
Single Player Reviews:
All stages were played as Sonic, aside from the Super Mario Maker 2 version of Koopa Kastle, for obvious reasons.
Note that these reviews can get rather critical, as I tend to look at the negative side of things in general.
Teal Tundra Zone (SunCyclone) (OWN ENTRY)
Since this is my own stage, no point in reviewing it. So, I might as well give a developer commentary instead.
It hurts to see Teal Tundra Zone be received as well as it has. The stage has been in troubled development ever since my last OLDC appearance in Summer 2020. The biggest cause was a bout of depression not long after that contest (Unrelated, by the way), that I never recovered from, but I also stagnated for months trying to come up with ANYTHING to add t the stage. The plan was for the stage to have around 3 minutes of length. The fact its Record Attack time target is only half of that pretty much sums things up.
So yeah, this stage wasn’t a labour of love like Wasteland Wilds Zone was. It’s a labour of pain. I was hoping it would be received badly so I never have to worry about it ever again.
Abyss Caverns Zone (yyeellooww7)
To me, this is the highlight of the contest! No trying to appeal to the masses, just a fun standard course to (robo) blast through! My favourite stages are the simple ones that go back to basics. And while this isn’t a long stage, that just means I can run it again, and again and again! Though, this stage just falls short of top marks because of the fire and ice sections you included, which are a jarring contrast that spoils the experience, not to mention you committed the “inconsistent water behaviour” cardinal sin of SRB2 mapping with the damaging water in the ice section. But aside from those, this stage is an absolute treat, and I see this stage as the best one in the contest! I’m expecting even better from you next time around! The only reason this isn’t in the top spot on my vote is because I’m forced to put Teal Tundra Zone there, due to the rules on own entries.
By the way, you know how there was that thing about the GFZ sky being briefly visible at the start of the stage? Well, here’s a little tip I thought of: That solid black flat that’s usually used to mark death pits can be used for more than just death pits…
Mercury Mine Zone (Rexeljet)
A fun romp with plenty of paths and a neat gimmick, though that ring drain sound is really grating on my ears. But that’s a SRB2 problem, not a problem with this stage! One criticism I have with it however is the speed and rate of the mercury falls. I can’t see any way to get through without Sonic’s Spindash-Thok combo. Definitely one of my highlights this time around! Keep up the good work!
Falcon Emissary Zone (InferNOr)
I always wondered how a “Flying Eggman Fortress” stage would translate into Srb2 ever since my own failed attempt back in my early mapping days, and you’ve shown with aplomb that it can work really well! Really gives you the feeling that you’re storming one of Robotnik’s last lines of defense. Though, one thing that works against this stage is the scale. It’s way too big, and I think your nodebuilder agrees with me! Similar to Zaxel’s Thunder Yard, I get bored around the point the weather changes. The early stage could also do with better Star Post placement, it’s not fun to die at 1:30 and go all the way back to 0:00. And a couple parts of the stage lack direction, I’ve spent a couple of minutes just trying to find the way forward at each one.
Koopa Kastle Zone (Glaber)
Remember how Pipe Towers Zone was basically an upgrade compared to Mario Koopa Blast Zone Act 1? Well, I see this as the same thing for Act 3. You took New Super Mario Bros. U (Or New Soup, as I like to call it, thanks to MegaGWolf)-style castle levels and translated them into SRB2 beautifully. It was a clever choice bringing back the old Spincushions (Sharps) to act as Spinies. The way you set some of the stage outside also brings to mind Super Mario 3D Land and 3D World, though, there are still some nitpicks.
I understood why you chose instakill lava from the get-go, since it worked like that in Super Mario games that used the 2D format (Covering all 2D games as well as the aforementioned 3D Land and 3D World), but at the Brak Eggman fight, you have lava falls that simply do damage (Much like the 3D collectathon format Mario games), which means you committed a cardinal sin of SRB2 mapping: inconsistent water behaviour. Speaking of the Brak Eggman fight, that felt pointless and tacked on, and an annoying cheap shot since without an outer wall, Brak can just instakill you without warning on the early hits with his rocket attack. Obviously, the times he uses it when getting hit are fine, I’m talking about the times he spontaneously uses it on the early hits. Something else that is pretty annoying is the final pipe (the one beside the SMM2 Course ID). You’re expecting people to precisely land on a small platform before a swarm of Sharps activate. I have never managed to stick that landing, so every single time I’ve taken a hit and lost all my coins. Finally, the Donut Blocks. Pretty well implemented, but there isn’t much visual cue for the unfamiliar as to how they work, thanks to SRB2’s camera angles. A bit more clarity would be nice.
But yeah. Nice stage for the most part, but Brak has to go.
By the way, I should note that all my runs of the stage have been done with NO FIREBALLS, as I am NOT setting up a fire key for my control setup just to throw fireballs.
BONUS REVIEW: Koopa Kastle: Super Mario Maker 2 version
Note: Since this isn’t SRB2, this does not affect my Koopa Kastle vote, and the stage was played as Luigi.
Playing this stage alongside the OLDC version really shows how well the stage was translated between 2D Mario and 3D Sonic. Almost everything found in the OLDC version is present and accounted for here as well, and plays just as well despite the gameplay differences. Though, being SMM2, it does suffer based on the limitations of that game. I must say, I’m not sure that mentioning SRB2 and the OLDC in an official Nintendo game is a good idea…
So yeah, pretty fun stage. But would I consider adding this to my Coursebot? Nah, this isn’t what I’m looking for in a SMM2 stage.
By the way Nintendo, the original New Super Mario Bros. (New Soup) had a much better castle music track. You guys were idiots for replacing it with this one for the subsequent games!
Blizzard Bastion Zone (PhilJFou)
Sonic 3D: Flickies Island (MegaDrive) for the music? Beautiful choice, you have excellent taste! This is a pretty nICE stage, decently sized, with for the most part suitable difficulty, though the radial mace platforms early on are way too hard for such an early point in the stage. Also, narrow ice beams over death pits with singular springs at the end are an easy way to invoke cheap deaths. Not a fan of that. The stage is also encompassed by a colourmap that makes the stage very difficult to see in, which hampers my enjoyment.
Hollow Hill Zone: Act 1 (Othius, Inazuma & Spectorious)
Sorry to disappoint you guys, but I don’t think this stage is as good as others are making it out to be. Two things really drag this down for me: 1) Quicksand water with ice physics? No thanks! That’s so unintuitive, I don’t like it one bit. There’s one point in the stage where I constantly went the wrong way because I had no idea you were supposed to jump up a waterfall. 2) Two points where you hit a button and have to wait about 10 seconds for a floor to drop to move on. I don’t care about visuals or spectacle, forcing the player to stop and wait like that is an instant turn-off for me. Don't let my vote and what I've said get you down, however. This is still a fun stage, really well made, and clearly something that all three of you should be really proud of. It's just there are other stages in this contest that better suit what I look for in a SRB2 stage. Great job, keep it up!
Zaxel’s Thunder Yard (Zaxel)
Three words: far too long. I get bored around the three and a half minute mark. And I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve lost my rings to your spider enemies, since they’re so small, and blend into the grass. Though, at least for the most part, the stage layout is at least decent. This is a major improvement over the last stage I saw from you (Heroes Hall), so well done for that! That troll exit at the end of the stage (That I didn’t fall for, I only know of it from others getting mad at it!) is totally unforgivable, though.
Ridge Rapids Zone (particle)
Not much to say on this one, just a typical grassland stage. Though it’s definitely cramped, and it’s never clear which way you’re supposed to go. Doing the final part over a death pit also doesn’t sit well with me.
Fort Sunset Zone (DylanDude)
A classic-style Special Stage. That in itself is not good, since they were never that fun to begin with, and limit level design potential greatly. You’re also asking for a large amount of coins (500) to clear the stage, which means constantly running laps around the same basic arena for several minutes, especially since taking a single hit means losing the lot and starting over from square one. Pretty boring.
Bombastic Beach Zone (Shapeshifter Boi)
Umm…where’s the stage? All I see is a goalpost. And yes, that is the second time I’ve used that joke. You can’t seriously expect a stage to be good when it’s shorter than Greenflower Zone Act 1. The bumpers and fireballs also feel pretty out of place. There’s also that bubble at the start that implies a level gimmick that doesn’t even get a chance to get off the ground. This feels like an early-mapping test map: No focus, and ends way too early.
Drenched Dam Zone (Voidy2246)
Oh good lord, this is not fun. Invisible walls EVERYWHERE, making this seemingly open stage very cramped and hard to navigate. And I’m surprised you didn’t notice, since you had to record a Metal Sonic run to race against. Fans over a death pit is also a pretty bad design choice for a race. And the music is just annoying.
Music Mash Zone (WasifBoomz)
No…still no. This is an improvement from the last stage I saw from you (Hypertower Zone), but not by much. This is still a very not fun stage to play. You’ve got a very unituitive starting section with very awkwardly set up goop. The polyobjects are too erratic in their movement, for example, I can only clear the cymbal section by cheesing it using a Gravity Boots powerup earlier in the stage. Sonic: You Can Do Anything is a very awkward song choice for a stage with this theme, doesn’t really fit at all.
Worst of all, the stage is an absolute eyesore. Usually, I don’t care about a stage’s visuals AT ALL. But I have to draw the line at visuals that can actually hurt the players’ eyes, or worse, cause epileptic seizures. The fact you had to include an epilepsy warning in the title card is a big red flag for me. This is only made worse by the garish colour schemes throughout. Seriously, it reminds me of those really bad recolour OCs you see floating around places like DeviantArt.
You’ve got a long way to go still, but if you keep improving, you’ll get to the point where your new stages will be decent, maybe even great. Keep at it, and you’ll get there eventually.
Emerald Glade Zone: Act 1 (DoodlesYT)
Act 1? Really? I’d advise against making a second act of this. This is just a very basic emerald hunt stage with nothing to write home about. Very few Rings, annoying enemy placement, and most of the stage is just flat ground. Is this your first map? Because it certainly feels like it. That said, I think I do see potential in you as a mapper. I’ll need to see more work from you to know for sure, though.
Lava Temple (Vixuzen)
Ugh. This one is dreadful. You’re given the choice of either the most frustrating platforming I’ve ever seen in a non-Aerial Garden/Prismatic Angel Act 1/Azure Temple stage, or endless Rollout Rock puzzles. And I should point out I HATE the Rollout Rocks, even in Red Volcano Zone Act 1. While separate paths for each character towards the end is a neat idea, Sonic’s is so hard that I’d have Game Over’ed about 20 times if the contest pack didn’t include infinite lives. And this is all punctuated by the ugliest enemies I’ve ever seen in SRB2. Sorry, but this stage is a huge “No” from me. After clearing this, it’s a miracle I even still have a working keyboard to play the remaining stages with, I got THAT frustrated.
Ante Station Zone (Twins'R'Okay)
This stage is clearly intended to just be eye-candy. Not a fan of that, I only care about how the stage PLAYS, and this one plays horribly. Uninspired 2D platforming throughout, with polyobjects where it's next to impossible to gauge the timing on due to depth perception issues and 2D camera position. I hate to say it, but this is the low point of the contest to me. Considering the last stage I saw from you was the initially-awkward, but awesome Aqua Paradise Zone, this is a major disappointment.
Note that these reviews can get rather critical, as I tend to look at the negative side of things in general.
Teal Tundra Zone (SunCyclone) (OWN ENTRY)
Since this is my own stage, no point in reviewing it. So, I might as well give a developer commentary instead.
It hurts to see Teal Tundra Zone be received as well as it has. The stage has been in troubled development ever since my last OLDC appearance in Summer 2020. The biggest cause was a bout of depression not long after that contest (Unrelated, by the way), that I never recovered from, but I also stagnated for months trying to come up with ANYTHING to add t the stage. The plan was for the stage to have around 3 minutes of length. The fact its Record Attack time target is only half of that pretty much sums things up.
So yeah, this stage wasn’t a labour of love like Wasteland Wilds Zone was. It’s a labour of pain. I was hoping it would be received badly so I never have to worry about it ever again.
Abyss Caverns Zone (yyeellooww7)
To me, this is the highlight of the contest! No trying to appeal to the masses, just a fun standard course to (robo) blast through! My favourite stages are the simple ones that go back to basics. And while this isn’t a long stage, that just means I can run it again, and again and again! Though, this stage just falls short of top marks because of the fire and ice sections you included, which are a jarring contrast that spoils the experience, not to mention you committed the “inconsistent water behaviour” cardinal sin of SRB2 mapping with the damaging water in the ice section. But aside from those, this stage is an absolute treat, and I see this stage as the best one in the contest! I’m expecting even better from you next time around! The only reason this isn’t in the top spot on my vote is because I’m forced to put Teal Tundra Zone there, due to the rules on own entries.
By the way, you know how there was that thing about the GFZ sky being briefly visible at the start of the stage? Well, here’s a little tip I thought of: That solid black flat that’s usually used to mark death pits can be used for more than just death pits…
Mercury Mine Zone (Rexeljet)
A fun romp with plenty of paths and a neat gimmick, though that ring drain sound is really grating on my ears. But that’s a SRB2 problem, not a problem with this stage! One criticism I have with it however is the speed and rate of the mercury falls. I can’t see any way to get through without Sonic’s Spindash-Thok combo. Definitely one of my highlights this time around! Keep up the good work!
Falcon Emissary Zone (InferNOr)
I always wondered how a “Flying Eggman Fortress” stage would translate into Srb2 ever since my own failed attempt back in my early mapping days, and you’ve shown with aplomb that it can work really well! Really gives you the feeling that you’re storming one of Robotnik’s last lines of defense. Though, one thing that works against this stage is the scale. It’s way too big, and I think your nodebuilder agrees with me! Similar to Zaxel’s Thunder Yard, I get bored around the point the weather changes. The early stage could also do with better Star Post placement, it’s not fun to die at 1:30 and go all the way back to 0:00. And a couple parts of the stage lack direction, I’ve spent a couple of minutes just trying to find the way forward at each one.
Koopa Kastle Zone (Glaber)
Remember how Pipe Towers Zone was basically an upgrade compared to Mario Koopa Blast Zone Act 1? Well, I see this as the same thing for Act 3. You took New Super Mario Bros. U (Or New Soup, as I like to call it, thanks to MegaGWolf)-style castle levels and translated them into SRB2 beautifully. It was a clever choice bringing back the old Spincushions (Sharps) to act as Spinies. The way you set some of the stage outside also brings to mind Super Mario 3D Land and 3D World, though, there are still some nitpicks.
I understood why you chose instakill lava from the get-go, since it worked like that in Super Mario games that used the 2D format (Covering all 2D games as well as the aforementioned 3D Land and 3D World), but at the Brak Eggman fight, you have lava falls that simply do damage (Much like the 3D collectathon format Mario games), which means you committed a cardinal sin of SRB2 mapping: inconsistent water behaviour. Speaking of the Brak Eggman fight, that felt pointless and tacked on, and an annoying cheap shot since without an outer wall, Brak can just instakill you without warning on the early hits with his rocket attack. Obviously, the times he uses it when getting hit are fine, I’m talking about the times he spontaneously uses it on the early hits. Something else that is pretty annoying is the final pipe (the one beside the SMM2 Course ID). You’re expecting people to precisely land on a small platform before a swarm of Sharps activate. I have never managed to stick that landing, so every single time I’ve taken a hit and lost all my coins. Finally, the Donut Blocks. Pretty well implemented, but there isn’t much visual cue for the unfamiliar as to how they work, thanks to SRB2’s camera angles. A bit more clarity would be nice.
But yeah. Nice stage for the most part, but Brak has to go.
By the way, I should note that all my runs of the stage have been done with NO FIREBALLS, as I am NOT setting up a fire key for my control setup just to throw fireballs.
BONUS REVIEW: Koopa Kastle: Super Mario Maker 2 version
Note: Since this isn’t SRB2, this does not affect my Koopa Kastle vote, and the stage was played as Luigi.
Playing this stage alongside the OLDC version really shows how well the stage was translated between 2D Mario and 3D Sonic. Almost everything found in the OLDC version is present and accounted for here as well, and plays just as well despite the gameplay differences. Though, being SMM2, it does suffer based on the limitations of that game. I must say, I’m not sure that mentioning SRB2 and the OLDC in an official Nintendo game is a good idea…
So yeah, pretty fun stage. But would I consider adding this to my Coursebot? Nah, this isn’t what I’m looking for in a SMM2 stage.
By the way Nintendo, the original New Super Mario Bros. (New Soup) had a much better castle music track. You guys were idiots for replacing it with this one for the subsequent games!
Blizzard Bastion Zone (PhilJFou)
Sonic 3D: Flickies Island (MegaDrive) for the music? Beautiful choice, you have excellent taste! This is a pretty nICE stage, decently sized, with for the most part suitable difficulty, though the radial mace platforms early on are way too hard for such an early point in the stage. Also, narrow ice beams over death pits with singular springs at the end are an easy way to invoke cheap deaths. Not a fan of that. The stage is also encompassed by a colourmap that makes the stage very difficult to see in, which hampers my enjoyment.
Hollow Hill Zone: Act 1 (Othius, Inazuma & Spectorious)
Sorry to disappoint you guys, but I don’t think this stage is as good as others are making it out to be. Two things really drag this down for me: 1) Quicksand water with ice physics? No thanks! That’s so unintuitive, I don’t like it one bit. There’s one point in the stage where I constantly went the wrong way because I had no idea you were supposed to jump up a waterfall. 2) Two points where you hit a button and have to wait about 10 seconds for a floor to drop to move on. I don’t care about visuals or spectacle, forcing the player to stop and wait like that is an instant turn-off for me. Don't let my vote and what I've said get you down, however. This is still a fun stage, really well made, and clearly something that all three of you should be really proud of. It's just there are other stages in this contest that better suit what I look for in a SRB2 stage. Great job, keep it up!
Zaxel’s Thunder Yard (Zaxel)
Three words: far too long. I get bored around the three and a half minute mark. And I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve lost my rings to your spider enemies, since they’re so small, and blend into the grass. Though, at least for the most part, the stage layout is at least decent. This is a major improvement over the last stage I saw from you (Heroes Hall), so well done for that! That troll exit at the end of the stage (That I didn’t fall for, I only know of it from others getting mad at it!) is totally unforgivable, though.
Ridge Rapids Zone (particle)
Not much to say on this one, just a typical grassland stage. Though it’s definitely cramped, and it’s never clear which way you’re supposed to go. Doing the final part over a death pit also doesn’t sit well with me.
Fort Sunset Zone (DylanDude)
A classic-style Special Stage. That in itself is not good, since they were never that fun to begin with, and limit level design potential greatly. You’re also asking for a large amount of coins (500) to clear the stage, which means constantly running laps around the same basic arena for several minutes, especially since taking a single hit means losing the lot and starting over from square one. Pretty boring.
Bombastic Beach Zone (Shapeshifter Boi)
Umm…where’s the stage? All I see is a goalpost. And yes, that is the second time I’ve used that joke. You can’t seriously expect a stage to be good when it’s shorter than Greenflower Zone Act 1. The bumpers and fireballs also feel pretty out of place. There’s also that bubble at the start that implies a level gimmick that doesn’t even get a chance to get off the ground. This feels like an early-mapping test map: No focus, and ends way too early.
Drenched Dam Zone (Voidy2246)
Oh good lord, this is not fun. Invisible walls EVERYWHERE, making this seemingly open stage very cramped and hard to navigate. And I’m surprised you didn’t notice, since you had to record a Metal Sonic run to race against. Fans over a death pit is also a pretty bad design choice for a race. And the music is just annoying.
Music Mash Zone (WasifBoomz)
No…still no. This is an improvement from the last stage I saw from you (Hypertower Zone), but not by much. This is still a very not fun stage to play. You’ve got a very unituitive starting section with very awkwardly set up goop. The polyobjects are too erratic in their movement, for example, I can only clear the cymbal section by cheesing it using a Gravity Boots powerup earlier in the stage. Sonic: You Can Do Anything is a very awkward song choice for a stage with this theme, doesn’t really fit at all.
Worst of all, the stage is an absolute eyesore. Usually, I don’t care about a stage’s visuals AT ALL. But I have to draw the line at visuals that can actually hurt the players’ eyes, or worse, cause epileptic seizures. The fact you had to include an epilepsy warning in the title card is a big red flag for me. This is only made worse by the garish colour schemes throughout. Seriously, it reminds me of those really bad recolour OCs you see floating around places like DeviantArt.
You’ve got a long way to go still, but if you keep improving, you’ll get to the point where your new stages will be decent, maybe even great. Keep at it, and you’ll get there eventually.
Emerald Glade Zone: Act 1 (DoodlesYT)
Act 1? Really? I’d advise against making a second act of this. This is just a very basic emerald hunt stage with nothing to write home about. Very few Rings, annoying enemy placement, and most of the stage is just flat ground. Is this your first map? Because it certainly feels like it. That said, I think I do see potential in you as a mapper. I’ll need to see more work from you to know for sure, though.
Lava Temple (Vixuzen)
Ugh. This one is dreadful. You’re given the choice of either the most frustrating platforming I’ve ever seen in a non-Aerial Garden/Prismatic Angel Act 1/Azure Temple stage, or endless Rollout Rock puzzles. And I should point out I HATE the Rollout Rocks, even in Red Volcano Zone Act 1. While separate paths for each character towards the end is a neat idea, Sonic’s is so hard that I’d have Game Over’ed about 20 times if the contest pack didn’t include infinite lives. And this is all punctuated by the ugliest enemies I’ve ever seen in SRB2. Sorry, but this stage is a huge “No” from me. After clearing this, it’s a miracle I even still have a working keyboard to play the remaining stages with, I got THAT frustrated.
Ante Station Zone (Twins'R'Okay)
This stage is clearly intended to just be eye-candy. Not a fan of that, I only care about how the stage PLAYS, and this one plays horribly. Uninspired 2D platforming throughout, with polyobjects where it's next to impossible to gauge the timing on due to depth perception issues and 2D camera position. I hate to say it, but this is the low point of the contest to me. Considering the last stage I saw from you was the initially-awkward, but awesome Aqua Paradise Zone, this is a major disappointment.
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