Alright OLDC 2021, Round 1. This review set is a combination of my experiences with both my first blind run using custom characters, and my second run with only Anglestand loaded and vanilla characters only. The original plan was to record footage of both runs and do audio commentary, but my audio sucked, so I'll spare you having to listen to it.
For those that want to know what it's like for a first timer to play these levels blind, check my blind playthrough playlist
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLS0irAZqKHwc5y4DqmyCQ2LovD8Gnx8RU
1. Lava Temple by Vixuzen
2. Ante-Station Zone by Twins'R'Okay
3. Mercury Mine Zone by Rexeljet
4. Ridge Rapids Zone by particle
5. Zaxel's Thunder Yard by Zaxel
6. Abyss Caverns Zone by yyeellooww7
7. Hollow Hill Zone by Othius, Inazuma & Spectorious
8. Koopa Kastle Zone by Glaber
9. Teal Tundra Zone by SunCyclone
10. Falcon Emissary Zone by InferNOr
11. Blizzard Bastion Zone by PhilJFou
12. Bombastic Beach Zone by Shapeshifter Boi
13. Fort Sunset Zone by DylanDude
14. Drenched Dam Zone by Voidy2246
15. Music Mash Zone by WasifBoomz
16. Emerald Glade Zone by DoodlesYT
The order down here is in the order I played them on my second playthrough, so keep that in mind.
Hollow Hill Zone, Act 1:
My first playthrough caused *something* to make the framerate go to trash with character mods loaded, but I played it again with just the Anglestand mod on.
"Hollow" is the perfect word to describe it. Whatever mechanics it had felt barely there, and the level is SO HUGE but with very little in it. It looks great, but the map lacks much going for it beyond that. The water's odd, quicksand-like effect that allows you to move at fast speeds with low friction, and isn't even considered water, that was interesting, but you climb up one waterfall (from what I played) and that's your lot. Its relegated to visual dressing after, barring perhaps some secrets. That's the only real stage gimmick I remember.
Seems like many of the set pieces can be ignored. There were a few "big launch" parts of the map that I saw someone else do, which I never encountered. The dropping elevator part where you'd have to fight or dodge the ghost-skinned snowmen was skippable by jumping off the ledge, and I can't tell if that's intentional. In fact, the segment afterwards was also easily skipped by jumping on the ledges around the pillars.
I noticed there were secret buttons to push for... something, but I didn't go back to bother checking. I didn't feel the need to investigate further. The map was huge, but it didn't engage me enough to want to really explore it.
Music Mash Zone:
Right away, the game warns you of flashing lights as a big white bobbing texture is on screen. Great sign. Another good sign is when the music on your music level is *barely audiable*. When I got to the piano, I'm like "Oh, I see, this must be the level's gimmick then. I wonder what other instruments show up!" There are hardly any more musical instruments in the level. I heard there's like, cymbals somewhere?
When I first played this map, I got hung up on this weird gravity boot path, then I witched over to another path that spit out a lua error and crashed the game. When I played it a second time, I accidentally fell down what I thought was a pit, but turned out to be another path?? And there was this puzzle about... the buttons on a trumpet? I think? The buttons didn't play any form of sound, even after finishing the puzzle?? This level was weird, and had virtually nothing to do with music.
Bombastic Beach:
A map I completely forgot about. It says OpenGL recommended, but after a playthrough on both Software and OpenGL, I cant figure out why? The bubbles underwater being air pockets was cool, but not utilized for anything. There's even this tower to climb, but the level exit is like, 1024 fracunits elsewhere on ground level. Was this unfinished?
Falcon Emissary Zone:
In OpenGL, the load times for this map are abysmal. And this ain't just a "me" thing either, others have had the same issue. the issue isn't present in software, which is fine, but its weird how this map doesn't at least recommend using software. This gets REAL annoying at this one checkpoint with Jetty-Syn Gunners right at the start, primed to kill you about a second after loading concludes. I spent a good minute of real time at this one checkpoint because of these guys. Made me really wish I knew about them and the OpenGL issue beforehand,
I tried this with a few different characters. Espio, Knuckles, Amy... I only finished it with Espio, and dint have the patience to do it to compltion with the other two. The maps size and visuals are impressive like Hollow Hill, but actually has level gimmicks involved, including a Knuckles path that makes use of his traits, but I generally didn't have much fun actually playing it. This map is probably great, but I personally didn't have fun playing it.
Zaxel's Thunder Yard:
So like, I thought when I read what that sign said in 1.2, I was taking a line out of context, but... *that aside*, it feels a lot like nearly every Zaxel level. Colossal size, multiple paths, secrets to find, mostly squarish geometry, weird monster enemies of unknown origin. The Zexel wheelhouse.
The gimmick for this one is electricity, so we got electric fence and electrified water (I think?), but also some blatant troll rooms. Like, literal trollfaces. I am surprised I didn't encounter one on my first run, and accidentally fell into the other. I didn't get caught by the "very cool" exit, but that was a real dick move putting a checkpoint in there for a soft lock. I did like the secret fairy fountain though, that was pleasant.
I found the level kinda same-y at times, especially compared to the author's previous levels also being very similar, but I still enjoyed the map, and the alt paths did do enough to not feel literally the same. I was actually dealing with some different obstacles in a few of em. I wouldn't mind another run, but I hope Zexel tries to very his style up a bit more next time. at least more than recoloring the same tiny square textures again.
Teal Tundra Zone:
I had to go back and check because I kept mixing this up with Blizzard Bastion Zone. They're both middle-of-the-road snowy levels, but middling for different reasons. In Teal Tundra's case, it was jut how forgettable it all was If you're not using a boost mode character, the straight shot-ness of it all feels kinda dull. Even after playing it twice, I am having difficulty talking about it. An underwater section happens at the end, and... that's about it. I didn't even remember to record my second playthrough footage.
Fort Sunset:
I never played Drawn to Life, so I have no nostalgic connection here. I was very disappointed that the level amounts to collecting coins without taking damage. I *swear* you could have put in as a Battle Mode entry and it would fit that mode way better. In its current state, it feels like an old special stage, which wasn't exactly the most engaging type of course design to begin with.
On my first playthrough, I ran around in circles, but as an experiment, my second playthrough, I climbed the gateway as knuckles and stood on the big coin as I as writing the script for this review. As I expected, the coin respawns right on top of me, as it doesn't even check if I'm already there. Perhaps if I had to actually DO something to get coins to respawn, this wouldn't be so bad... but the map is still a walk in a circle even if you couldn't cheese it like this.
Ridge Rapids:
I had my fun playing this with Neo Sonic's abilities, but playing this again as Amy made me notice how there's actual Amy paths and her naturally higher jump makes certain jumps possible. I noticed there was knuckles paths, but I was very disappointed in how it came at the cost of Knuckles being able to just climb the walls. It's not like these walls are shined steel or something, its just rock, so why can't I climb it?
I also encountered some visual bugs in software, even in areas where you are clearly intended to go, with the placement of secret items. Always make sure to flick on software for a playthrough, even if some PCs can't quite handle it. Software is still the default renderer!
While it's always a little disappointing to see a map not even have its own music, I still enjoyed playing the map overall. Any mistakes in my playthroughs were mostly my own klutziness. A fine showing! A pretty "vanilla" experience, but hey, vanilla's still a nice tasting flavor!
Abyss Caverns:
Another one of those maps I kinda forgot about until my replay, but I actually played it twice to see both paths. I was surprised to see the were actually of different elements, but I didn't think the water and ice side did much with their element, as a golden monitor with the elemental shield made me feel like the water was a big hallway. In fact, this whole level mostly felt like a big hallway with little of substance in it. Another one of those levels best played with a character using Boost Mode, if any to actually make use of these halls.
The most I was worried with was when the dark floor caused me to jump between gray patches a lot, just because I didn't know when a pit was going to happen. I can't tell if that was actually intentional or not. Aside from that, the level doesn't have to much to worry about, and it was over before I knew it.
Emerald Glade Zone, Act 1:
A first timer, perhaps? It's got a lot of the hallmarks; all vanilla assets, emerald hunt mode to cover for its small size, enemy spam, rings and powerups placed wherever... Emerald spawns can be right into enemy nests or seemingly in eggman monitors, making getting them awkward, and one was even placed on a ledge where, if you took out the springshell, you'd need something the whirlwind shield to get to. Is that why that's golden? I do find the Sonic head art kinda cute though.
Koopa Kaztle Zone:
This sure is a Glaber map alright. I could say what's wrong with the level, but I really don't have much to say about it, as the mostly flat, rectangular level design didnt really peak my interest. Instead, I'm going to ask, why the heck is this map using Midi music? In 2021? I didn't even have midi on when I first played it! And once again, glaber adds an old enemy. I do appreciate actual koopas being here, functioning mostly as they should. what I certainly did not appreciate was having to do the Brak Eggman fight again, with almost no change. I didn't even bother finishing the map because didn't wanna deal with this guy, and you did almost nothing to change it! If you're not gonna give m anything with your boss reuse, don't use the boss!
Drenched Dam Zone:
I was getting pumped when I heard the MadWorld soundtrack, but for a "Race Metal Sonic" map, this map has absolutely no flow to it whatsoever. a constant stopping block after stopping block, both visible and invisible. The key being to find which part of the invisible walls has a hole to a shortcut. A completely cramped and awkward level, and once you reach the end, you realise the timer was actually super lenient, if you have found even one cut, or have a character that can glide or fly.
Mercury Mine Zone:
Another map in the style of Gigapolis, I see. I don't feel the road-like nature of Gigapolis works that well for what is supposed to be a mine, but I still had a lot of fun with blasting through it! Feels like a boost character is absolutely a must though, as you'd be missing out otherwise. I can't imagine this being as much fun with Tails or Fang, as they don't really get any place to let their abilities shine. I also didn't see much in the way of gimmicks, as the mercury is basically water with ring drain, and I don't think said drain provided much pressure outside of one pool. I still enjoyed it.
Blizzard Bastion Zone:
Unlike Teal Tundra, I actually remembered this one, but not for good reason. The left starting path hints at using Amy or Fang, but when I got through it as fang, I got to some fence and couldn't figure out where to go from there. Taking the right path as Sonic, I just lost patience for contending with slippery thokking up hills, so I ended up cheesing it with Tails. The maze had some buttons to press, but I didn't actually know what they did, and on my second playthrough, I pressed one and then noticed the exit from the maze didn't need them, apparently?
The slide was kinda fun and gets pretty fast, but the part after, I got no clue how a non-spinning character gets through it. Then there's this part with pillars that rise rapidly, the rings hint you should use them, and when you do... you ceiling splat with no warning. I thought it was some elevator, but you're meant to launch off of these. I had no clue of knowing that. I didn't have much fun with this map either.
Fire Temple:
Geez, what a weird looking level! What are these assets even from?? This map certainly caught my interest! So many paths to take too! I thought this stage was linear on my first run, but then I didn't fall for the trick floor trap and wound up in an entirely different first half! And then I got past it and found out these doors oen to character specific paths for each vanilla character? And I think even a 7th for custom characters?? That's so cool!
The Rolling Rock puzzles, the intimidating dark areas, the creepy wriggling living thornbushes, challenges trailed to every character... This map was an adventure, and I should check out those other paths too! Absolutely the highlight of this competition for me!
Ante-Station Zone:
This was actually the first map I played, and it was a good note to start on. It's a 2D level, bt unlike almost every 2D SRB2 map ever made, this one is pretty good! It makes use of both Axis2D and Portals to create an odd platforming experience. It's got some smart stuff to it, like how clipping into a polyobject from the side will safely put you on top of it as opposed to it killing you or something. There are points where I failed to make the jump, but a convenient patch like a blue portal was there to save me.
It is a bit difficult to se at times though. The nature of 2D mode and the game playing mostly the same control wise means its difficult to see ahead of you for how much horizontal momentum you can quickly make. The angled part at the end looked cool, but gauging those jumps on the polyobjects was really hard without some form of leading line, it could have done with some rings for guidance. Minor sight issues aside, I think this is the best 2D map I've played in a long time!
Welp, that was my review set. I don't know how to conclude this, so uh... see you next round, I guess?
For those that want to know what it's like for a first timer to play these levels blind, check my blind playthrough playlist
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLS0irAZqKHwc5y4DqmyCQ2LovD8Gnx8RU
1. Lava Temple by Vixuzen
2. Ante-Station Zone by Twins'R'Okay
3. Mercury Mine Zone by Rexeljet
4. Ridge Rapids Zone by particle
5. Zaxel's Thunder Yard by Zaxel
6. Abyss Caverns Zone by yyeellooww7
7. Hollow Hill Zone by Othius, Inazuma & Spectorious
8. Koopa Kastle Zone by Glaber
9. Teal Tundra Zone by SunCyclone
10. Falcon Emissary Zone by InferNOr
11. Blizzard Bastion Zone by PhilJFou
12. Bombastic Beach Zone by Shapeshifter Boi
13. Fort Sunset Zone by DylanDude
14. Drenched Dam Zone by Voidy2246
15. Music Mash Zone by WasifBoomz
16. Emerald Glade Zone by DoodlesYT
The order down here is in the order I played them on my second playthrough, so keep that in mind.
Hollow Hill Zone, Act 1:
My first playthrough caused *something* to make the framerate go to trash with character mods loaded, but I played it again with just the Anglestand mod on.
"Hollow" is the perfect word to describe it. Whatever mechanics it had felt barely there, and the level is SO HUGE but with very little in it. It looks great, but the map lacks much going for it beyond that. The water's odd, quicksand-like effect that allows you to move at fast speeds with low friction, and isn't even considered water, that was interesting, but you climb up one waterfall (from what I played) and that's your lot. Its relegated to visual dressing after, barring perhaps some secrets. That's the only real stage gimmick I remember.
Seems like many of the set pieces can be ignored. There were a few "big launch" parts of the map that I saw someone else do, which I never encountered. The dropping elevator part where you'd have to fight or dodge the ghost-skinned snowmen was skippable by jumping off the ledge, and I can't tell if that's intentional. In fact, the segment afterwards was also easily skipped by jumping on the ledges around the pillars.
I noticed there were secret buttons to push for... something, but I didn't go back to bother checking. I didn't feel the need to investigate further. The map was huge, but it didn't engage me enough to want to really explore it.
Music Mash Zone:
Right away, the game warns you of flashing lights as a big white bobbing texture is on screen. Great sign. Another good sign is when the music on your music level is *barely audiable*. When I got to the piano, I'm like "Oh, I see, this must be the level's gimmick then. I wonder what other instruments show up!" There are hardly any more musical instruments in the level. I heard there's like, cymbals somewhere?
When I first played this map, I got hung up on this weird gravity boot path, then I witched over to another path that spit out a lua error and crashed the game. When I played it a second time, I accidentally fell down what I thought was a pit, but turned out to be another path?? And there was this puzzle about... the buttons on a trumpet? I think? The buttons didn't play any form of sound, even after finishing the puzzle?? This level was weird, and had virtually nothing to do with music.
Bombastic Beach:
A map I completely forgot about. It says OpenGL recommended, but after a playthrough on both Software and OpenGL, I cant figure out why? The bubbles underwater being air pockets was cool, but not utilized for anything. There's even this tower to climb, but the level exit is like, 1024 fracunits elsewhere on ground level. Was this unfinished?
Falcon Emissary Zone:
In OpenGL, the load times for this map are abysmal. And this ain't just a "me" thing either, others have had the same issue. the issue isn't present in software, which is fine, but its weird how this map doesn't at least recommend using software. This gets REAL annoying at this one checkpoint with Jetty-Syn Gunners right at the start, primed to kill you about a second after loading concludes. I spent a good minute of real time at this one checkpoint because of these guys. Made me really wish I knew about them and the OpenGL issue beforehand,
I tried this with a few different characters. Espio, Knuckles, Amy... I only finished it with Espio, and dint have the patience to do it to compltion with the other two. The maps size and visuals are impressive like Hollow Hill, but actually has level gimmicks involved, including a Knuckles path that makes use of his traits, but I generally didn't have much fun actually playing it. This map is probably great, but I personally didn't have fun playing it.
Zaxel's Thunder Yard:
So like, I thought when I read what that sign said in 1.2, I was taking a line out of context, but... *that aside*, it feels a lot like nearly every Zaxel level. Colossal size, multiple paths, secrets to find, mostly squarish geometry, weird monster enemies of unknown origin. The Zexel wheelhouse.
The gimmick for this one is electricity, so we got electric fence and electrified water (I think?), but also some blatant troll rooms. Like, literal trollfaces. I am surprised I didn't encounter one on my first run, and accidentally fell into the other. I didn't get caught by the "very cool" exit, but that was a real dick move putting a checkpoint in there for a soft lock. I did like the secret fairy fountain though, that was pleasant.
I found the level kinda same-y at times, especially compared to the author's previous levels also being very similar, but I still enjoyed the map, and the alt paths did do enough to not feel literally the same. I was actually dealing with some different obstacles in a few of em. I wouldn't mind another run, but I hope Zexel tries to very his style up a bit more next time. at least more than recoloring the same tiny square textures again.
Teal Tundra Zone:
I had to go back and check because I kept mixing this up with Blizzard Bastion Zone. They're both middle-of-the-road snowy levels, but middling for different reasons. In Teal Tundra's case, it was jut how forgettable it all was If you're not using a boost mode character, the straight shot-ness of it all feels kinda dull. Even after playing it twice, I am having difficulty talking about it. An underwater section happens at the end, and... that's about it. I didn't even remember to record my second playthrough footage.
Fort Sunset:
I never played Drawn to Life, so I have no nostalgic connection here. I was very disappointed that the level amounts to collecting coins without taking damage. I *swear* you could have put in as a Battle Mode entry and it would fit that mode way better. In its current state, it feels like an old special stage, which wasn't exactly the most engaging type of course design to begin with.
On my first playthrough, I ran around in circles, but as an experiment, my second playthrough, I climbed the gateway as knuckles and stood on the big coin as I as writing the script for this review. As I expected, the coin respawns right on top of me, as it doesn't even check if I'm already there. Perhaps if I had to actually DO something to get coins to respawn, this wouldn't be so bad... but the map is still a walk in a circle even if you couldn't cheese it like this.
Ridge Rapids:
I had my fun playing this with Neo Sonic's abilities, but playing this again as Amy made me notice how there's actual Amy paths and her naturally higher jump makes certain jumps possible. I noticed there was knuckles paths, but I was very disappointed in how it came at the cost of Knuckles being able to just climb the walls. It's not like these walls are shined steel or something, its just rock, so why can't I climb it?
I also encountered some visual bugs in software, even in areas where you are clearly intended to go, with the placement of secret items. Always make sure to flick on software for a playthrough, even if some PCs can't quite handle it. Software is still the default renderer!
While it's always a little disappointing to see a map not even have its own music, I still enjoyed playing the map overall. Any mistakes in my playthroughs were mostly my own klutziness. A fine showing! A pretty "vanilla" experience, but hey, vanilla's still a nice tasting flavor!
Abyss Caverns:
Another one of those maps I kinda forgot about until my replay, but I actually played it twice to see both paths. I was surprised to see the were actually of different elements, but I didn't think the water and ice side did much with their element, as a golden monitor with the elemental shield made me feel like the water was a big hallway. In fact, this whole level mostly felt like a big hallway with little of substance in it. Another one of those levels best played with a character using Boost Mode, if any to actually make use of these halls.
The most I was worried with was when the dark floor caused me to jump between gray patches a lot, just because I didn't know when a pit was going to happen. I can't tell if that was actually intentional or not. Aside from that, the level doesn't have to much to worry about, and it was over before I knew it.
Emerald Glade Zone, Act 1:
A first timer, perhaps? It's got a lot of the hallmarks; all vanilla assets, emerald hunt mode to cover for its small size, enemy spam, rings and powerups placed wherever... Emerald spawns can be right into enemy nests or seemingly in eggman monitors, making getting them awkward, and one was even placed on a ledge where, if you took out the springshell, you'd need something the whirlwind shield to get to. Is that why that's golden? I do find the Sonic head art kinda cute though.
Koopa Kaztle Zone:
This sure is a Glaber map alright. I could say what's wrong with the level, but I really don't have much to say about it, as the mostly flat, rectangular level design didnt really peak my interest. Instead, I'm going to ask, why the heck is this map using Midi music? In 2021? I didn't even have midi on when I first played it! And once again, glaber adds an old enemy. I do appreciate actual koopas being here, functioning mostly as they should. what I certainly did not appreciate was having to do the Brak Eggman fight again, with almost no change. I didn't even bother finishing the map because didn't wanna deal with this guy, and you did almost nothing to change it! If you're not gonna give m anything with your boss reuse, don't use the boss!
Drenched Dam Zone:
I was getting pumped when I heard the MadWorld soundtrack, but for a "Race Metal Sonic" map, this map has absolutely no flow to it whatsoever. a constant stopping block after stopping block, both visible and invisible. The key being to find which part of the invisible walls has a hole to a shortcut. A completely cramped and awkward level, and once you reach the end, you realise the timer was actually super lenient, if you have found even one cut, or have a character that can glide or fly.
Mercury Mine Zone:
Another map in the style of Gigapolis, I see. I don't feel the road-like nature of Gigapolis works that well for what is supposed to be a mine, but I still had a lot of fun with blasting through it! Feels like a boost character is absolutely a must though, as you'd be missing out otherwise. I can't imagine this being as much fun with Tails or Fang, as they don't really get any place to let their abilities shine. I also didn't see much in the way of gimmicks, as the mercury is basically water with ring drain, and I don't think said drain provided much pressure outside of one pool. I still enjoyed it.
Blizzard Bastion Zone:
Unlike Teal Tundra, I actually remembered this one, but not for good reason. The left starting path hints at using Amy or Fang, but when I got through it as fang, I got to some fence and couldn't figure out where to go from there. Taking the right path as Sonic, I just lost patience for contending with slippery thokking up hills, so I ended up cheesing it with Tails. The maze had some buttons to press, but I didn't actually know what they did, and on my second playthrough, I pressed one and then noticed the exit from the maze didn't need them, apparently?
The slide was kinda fun and gets pretty fast, but the part after, I got no clue how a non-spinning character gets through it. Then there's this part with pillars that rise rapidly, the rings hint you should use them, and when you do... you ceiling splat with no warning. I thought it was some elevator, but you're meant to launch off of these. I had no clue of knowing that. I didn't have much fun with this map either.
Fire Temple:
Geez, what a weird looking level! What are these assets even from?? This map certainly caught my interest! So many paths to take too! I thought this stage was linear on my first run, but then I didn't fall for the trick floor trap and wound up in an entirely different first half! And then I got past it and found out these doors oen to character specific paths for each vanilla character? And I think even a 7th for custom characters?? That's so cool!
The Rolling Rock puzzles, the intimidating dark areas, the creepy wriggling living thornbushes, challenges trailed to every character... This map was an adventure, and I should check out those other paths too! Absolutely the highlight of this competition for me!
Ante-Station Zone:
This was actually the first map I played, and it was a good note to start on. It's a 2D level, bt unlike almost every 2D SRB2 map ever made, this one is pretty good! It makes use of both Axis2D and Portals to create an odd platforming experience. It's got some smart stuff to it, like how clipping into a polyobject from the side will safely put you on top of it as opposed to it killing you or something. There are points where I failed to make the jump, but a convenient patch like a blue portal was there to save me.
It is a bit difficult to se at times though. The nature of 2D mode and the game playing mostly the same control wise means its difficult to see ahead of you for how much horizontal momentum you can quickly make. The angled part at the end looked cool, but gauging those jumps on the polyobjects was really hard without some form of leading line, it could have done with some rings for guidance. Minor sight issues aside, I think this is the best 2D map I've played in a long time!
Welp, that was my review set. I don't know how to conclude this, so uh... see you next round, I guess?