November/December 2009 Voting

Status
Not open for further replies.
Sort by date Sort by reaction score
FuriousFox

FuriousFox

AKA FuriousFox
Retired Staff
Welcome to the November/December 2009 contest voting. We have 27 Multiplayer maps and 7 Single Player maps this time.

The voting works as follows: Play a few games of the stage in question, in the intended gametype for judging, and give the map a vote from 0 to 10, no decimals. You can not vote on your own map. Votes where the voter obviously did not play the level in its intended gametype, or where the voter did not play the multiplayer maps with other real players will be discarded. To encourage voting, if you are an author and you judge all of the competitor's maps, the lowest score on your map will be dropped. Please be as unbiased as possible for the author or the look of the map. It's all about how good the map plays, nothing else.

Although it's not necessary, it's very helpful to make comments about what you liked and didn't like about the map, so the author can improve his skill for future attempts.

Judging will end January 8th at midnight GMT (January 7th, 7:00 PM EST). The scores will be then averaged, and the person with the highest score is the winner.

Winners will have their usertitle changed to "Contest Winner", and will be given a golden username. This will last up and until the next contest winners are decided.

The maps follow:

Single Player Level Pack

Singleplayer:
Fire Flight Zone by fawfulfan - 6.38
Dark Forest Zone by Videogame9 - 1.50
Jadeflower Zone, Act 1 by blahblahbal - 2.41
Cloud Cradle by D00D64 - 4.56
Water Works Zone by Kyasarin - 7.67
Moonlit Mountain Zone, Act 1 by Darkbob1713 - 7.79
Lava Rock Zone by Eggmanfan - 0.74

Multiplayer Level Pack

Match:
MAPM1 - Abandoned Shrine Zone by Ash - 5.00
MAPM2 - Two House Forest Zone by Kratzean - 2.44
MAPM3 - Frost Columns Zone by Mystic - 7.86
MAPM4 - Plasma Plant Zone by Darkbob1713 - 5.89
MAPM5 - Waterfall Hill Zone by MajinD - 3.88
MAPM6 - Crystalline Caves Zone by Spherallic - 7.22
MAPM7 - Oil Operation Zone by RedEchidna - 6.57
MAPM8 - Lush Forest Zone by Blade - 7.14
MAPM9 - VG Disco by Brawl - 3.44
MAPMA - Disorient Battle Zone by JJames - 5.43
MAPMB - Strawberry Shortcake by Errol - 4.78
MAPMC - Silver Canyon Zone by KO.T.E - 7.14

CTF:
MAPF1 - Twilight Groove Zone by Scizor300 - 4.00
MAPF2 - Lava Fort Zone by Kratzean - 3.38
MAPF3 - Magma Valley Zone by Darkbob1713 - 4.57
MAPF4 - Abandoned Disco Zone by Spherallic - 6.00
MAPF5 - Thunder Coil Zone by ZarroTsu & Mach - 6.00
MAPF6 - Crosswalk by ShadowHog - 6.00
MAPF7 - Metropolis Madness Zone by RedEchidna - 7.60
MAPF8 - Midnight Ice by Ash - 2.50

Circuit:
MAPR1 - Freaky Factory Zone by RedEchidna - 5.50
MAPR2 - Bleeding Green by D00D64 - 4.33
MAPR3 - Quicksand Night Zone by Darkbob1713 - 6.09
MAPR4 - Not A Thokfest Zone by Mystic - 6.38
MAPR5 - Digital Dimension Zone by SonicMaster - 6.38
MAPR6 - Sky Castle Zone by Mach - 3.67
MAPR7 - Crimson Caves Zone by Blade - 7.22

Voting Results: http://www.srb2.org/contest/contest.xls

Please make sure to play the levels in the intended gametype, and above all, have fun judging!
 
Last edited:
Wow, this has to be one of the biggest contest yet. good luck to everyone!
 
Actually, this is the biggest contest ever. It has 2 more entries than the previous record.

I won't be able to rate the levels now, but good luck to all entrants (except me, my maps suck).
 
It'll be hell to go through all these maps. But, let's hope these make decisions hard. Close calls, etc.
 
Alias maps "a1;a2;a3;a4;a5;a6;a7";alias a1 "echo DFZ.wad";alias a2 "echo s_cloudcradle.wad";alias a3 "echo s_fireflight.wad";alias a4 "echo sc_JFZ1.wad";alias a5 "echo scr_MoonlitMountain1_Mapd7.wad";alias a6 "echo src_Lava_Rock.wad";alias a7 "echo ww.wad";bind \ "maps"
 
Code: 
<Mach> So... Who here is currently frantically trying to put something together?
<JEV3|Wadding> me
<RedEchidna> I'm helping Blade squash a last-minute bug real quick
<JEV3|Wadding> there's no way I'll finish in time though, I haven't even started the item placement
<Mach> Yeah, you're screwed
<Blade-SpeedMapping> JEV3, i'm making a rush-job race map
<Blade-SpeedMapping> Started three hours ago
<JEV3|Wadding>  started 90 minutes ago-ish
<RedEchidna> I'm helping him with a bug! :D
<RedEchidna> OMQ
<RedEchidna> RUSH THE PLACEMENT
<RedEchidna> do whatever it takes to finish on time!
<Mach> 90 Minute circuit zone
<Mach> 2/10
<RedEchidna> I'd suggest copy-pasting five-ring forms to place the rings
<JEV3|Wadding> but I still gotta do my linedef executor
<JEV3|Wadding> which is gonna need a gargoyle box
<JEV3|Wadding> its not gonna make it ;)
<RedEchidna> onoes
<RedEchidna> what linedef exec?
<Mach> JEV3 is working for March's contest
<JEV3|Wadding> not gonna make it
<JEV3|Wadding> my baby brother says my dad wants me
<RedEchidna> nooooooooooooooooo
* JEV3|Wadding is now known as JEV3|Away
<RedEchidna> CURSE THE TRAPPINGS OF REAL LIIIIFE
:(

anyway, I'm still playing, but I'll get my comments in soon!
 
[00:30:41] Cue: Three of the three I have playe dso far
[00:30:44] Cue: Absolute ********
[00:30:58] Cue: JFZ1, plain as hell, long hallway syndrome, HOM
[00:31:04] Cue: I don't look forward to Act 2
[00:31:21] Cue: DFZ, short, jumping, tails does it in less than 10 seconds
[00:31:25] Cue: Lava Rock Zone...
[00:31:31] Cue: Please tell me this one is a troll.
[00:31:36] @Inuyasha: Cue
[00:31:40] @Inuyasha: Sonic does DFZ in less then 7
[00:32:10] Cue: Well, Jesus Christ.
Click to expand...

We are not amused by this poor outcome so far, I hope the others can make up for it, when I get the chance to play them.

Actual voting pending.
 
holycarp.png

Anyways, good luck to every one who has entered and Happy New Year!
 
Single Player

Fire Flight by fawfulfan - 6/10.
Isn't this a circuit level? And I couldn't find the way around, either. Though I liked the lava theme in general. Never would have thought of that for a NiGHTS level.
Dark Forest by Videogame9 - 0/10.
Couldn't figure out how to get out of the first area.
Jadeflower 1 by blahblahbal - Mine/10.
Ok, I admit that this is pretty epicly horrible, but yeah, whatever. I'm working on it.
Cloud Cradle by D00D64 - 6/10.
Good work, D00D. A lot better than GCZ last contest. Really liked the custom music and the way you put "clouds" at the bottom of the level. Though the Jetty-syn hopping section could definitely stand to be removed/replaced with something else.
Water Works by Kyasarin - 10/10.
WOW. Great work, Kyasarin. Amazing level. Can't wait to see Act 2.
Moonlit Mountain by Darkbob1713 - 7/10.
Interesting. That's pretty much it. Interesting. Though I liked it, too. Especially the custom music.
Lava Rock by Eggmanfan - 1/10.
Oh my, very short level. Pretty easy one, too. Though it was an open design. No thok barrier, though.

Hey wait a minute! There's an interesting pattern in the level names this contest: CCZ, MMZ, FFZ, WWZ. Weird.

Multiplayer


Match

Frost Columns - 10/10.
This, to me, is unfair. A developer making a level for the OLDC? Hmm. But oh well. Top of the line, Mystic.
Waterfall Hill - 9/10.
Wide, free arena for the match gametype is good. Though the name's about as generic as generic could get. I'm a real stickler for good names.
Plasma Plant - 7/10.
The plasma could've used a colormap, but oh well.
Strawberry Shortcake - 7/10.
Uhm, weird name. But pretty interesting. I kept falling off the edge, though.
Disorient Battle - 4/10.
I don't like gravity changer levels, that's why I marked it low. But still nice, especially the spring part.
Oil Operation - 6/10.
Uhm, liked the old name better. Still, it was pretty well designed. Liked how you hid some powerups in the oil/tar.
Crystalline Caves - 10/10.
Similar to Mystic's, this was just as good as his.
Silver Canyon - 8/10.
Good work, KO.T.E. Wasn't expecting water in a silver canyon, though.
Lush Forest - 6/10.
Good. Though the music choice could have been better.
Abandoned Shrine - 9/10.
Pretty good level here. Nimbus Ruins goes Cloud Palace combined with Jade Valley.
Two House Forest - 6/10.
Amazing detail here. Though not much gameplay.
VG Disco - 6/10.
Hmm, not many rings here. And I didn't find any powerups, either.

CTF


Midnight Ice - 9/10.
Cool(no pun intended). Not much ice, though.
Thunder Coil - 9/10.
Veeery big arena. Liked the central yellow oscillator thingy a lot.
Magma Valley - 7/10.
It's a bit big for my liking, but still pretty good. And I kept dying. Less magma would be good.
Lava Fort - 6/10.
Kinda confusing, but it had just the right amount of lava in it.
Abandoned Disco - 7/10.
Similar to Twilight Groove, it was a little more what I expected.
Twilight Groove - 8/10.
This was less what I expected, it surprised me, especially the goop.
Crosswalk - 9/10.
Like the name. Very fitting.
Metropolis Madness - 8/10.
Liked the thing where you fall out of that certain area.



Race

Digital Dimension - 10/10.
Oh, my awesome. Just plain awesomeness. Loved the way the teleporters were used.
Not a Thokfest - HAHA/10.
Ouch, this is hard to finish.
Bleeding Green - 7/10.
Good, but weird goop texture made it look, well, weird.
Quicksand Night - 7/10.
Quicksand-y and very cool looking. Visually pleasing and good placement of the quicksand areas.
Freaky Factory - 4/10.
Rated it down because, as I mentioned before, I don't like gravity changer levels.
Crimson Caves - 8/10.
Geez, Blade. Were you trying to give someone a seizure? That flashing light gimmick was kinda nice, though, especially for a lava theme.
Sky Castle - 6/10.
Uhm, weird. Very wide race map.
 
Last edited:
Water Works Zone, by Kyasarin
Rating: 7/10
Explanation: A solid level. Kind of a confusing mixture of themes in places, but I generally like how it was done.

Fire Flight Zone, by ME!
Rating: Not gonna rate it, of course!
Explanation: My second attempt at a NiGHTS course. I put a lot more effort into this one.

Dark Forest Zone, by Videogame9
Rating: 2/10
Explanation: This level was just bad. First of all, the scenery didn't look realistic or pretty...just a series of squares. And, if you're using a jungle sky texture, it's a terrible idea to use a sky-colored death pit. Also, it was full of cheap gimmicks and pointless jumping--the first time I entered the level, I got killed instantly by the bullets. The whole level is just jumping across a maze of crumbling square platforms...not much point, not much fun. Also, what the heck was with all the Special Stage Tokens in random places?

Cloud Cradle, by D00D64
Rating: 2/10
Explanation: Very similar problems as DFZ. Uninteresting and bland, although at least this level had some elevation. However, the jumps were hard to make, the use of enemies was very poorly done, and the use of the THZ turret was just horrible, cheap, and frustrating. It was hard enough with Knux...getting through as Sonic is nearly impossible.

Jadeflower Zone Act 1, by Blahblahbal
Rating: 4/10
Explanation: I see this level has improved from its beta stages, but it still isn't that great. It's pretty flat, the scenery is awfully bland, and there are a few areas with frustratingly narrow and twisty bridges. Also, that texture set has been done to death. It's far from the worst level I've seen in this contest, but that says more about the other entries than about this one.

Moonlit Mountain Zone Act 1, by Darkbob1713
Rating: 5/10
Explanation: I like the custom scenery, the layout at the beginning, and the rushing rivers. Beyond that, there's not much good about the level, though. In particular, I hate the repeated tough jumps all over the level, and the placement of the spiked turtle robots on precarious edges. All in all, I don't love it, but neither do I hate it.

Lava Rock Zone, by Eggmanfan
Rating: 1/10
Explanation: Geez, where to begin? I'll start with the most obvious problem: TERRIBLE TEXTURING. Uniform lava texturing is just horrendous, and besides that, you didn't even use the 2.0 lava texture, which is so much better looking. Plus, why have rings if the only obstacles in the game are instantly fatal? It looks to me as though you made this level for the sole purpose of demonstrating that you know how to make falling lava blocks, and even those were done badly (it looks ugly to have holes in the lava falls, although those are probably the only thing that keeps the level from being impossible). Plus, it is inescapably linear, and just requires jumping on platform after identical platform. I wish with all my heart that I could round off this scathing review with something good about this level, but, sadly, there is no such redeeming quality.
 
Single-Player:
Fire Flight Zone by fawfulfan - 9/10 (Played as Sonic)
This is quite possibly the best NiGHTS level I've ever seen, aside from Botanic Serenity. The textures, while largely the same, weren't too bland, and hatching the capsule thing wasn't impossible this time around.

Dark Forest Zone by Videogame9 - 5/10 (Played as Sonic)
It's not that I didn't like the level, just that it felt like about a third of a level. The concept was good, but it felt unfinished, like it was supposed to open into something else. I came into this level loving it and expected a teleport or something at the end.

Jadeflower Zone, Act 1 by blahblahbal - 8/10 (Played as Sonic)
This level was really good. The music was bouncy and light, and the overused texture set fit in really nicely with the general theme here (unsurprising, considering the level name is similar to our favorite first level!). One thing I noticed were the grass edges that are supposed to be applied to the sides of ledges were all on the level ceiling, so work on that if you decide to make a grassy level again.

Cloud Cradle by D00D64 - 8/10 (Played as Knuckles)
This level, as well, was good. The colormap and general theme didn't really fit the name, but that's no drawback. I tried going through this one with Sonic, and the jettysyn bouncing thing got me. Over and over. It's not that it's a bad gimmick, but it should be applied to alternate, easier paths that you can get to by bouncing off of things, not required to finish the level. Otherwise, it was great.

Water Works Zone by Kyasarin - 10/10 (Played as Sonic)
I...really don't know what to say. This level was amazing. The music was great, and the level just...flowed, I don't really know how to describe it...let's say I had fun running through it. I don't have any suggestions for improvement here; this is probably what I would think of as a perfect level, something worthy of being in the SRB2 singleplayer campaign, along with...

Moonlit Mountain Zone, Act 1 by Darkbob1713 - 9/10 (Played as Sonic)
This one. I loved this map. The name fit, the music was great, the textures were great...it looked like, well, a moonlit mountain. If you're including moonlight into this little vision of perfection, you've got it right here. The fountain gimmick was really cool, and the part where you jumped across ice blocks was also fun. I enjoyed it.

Lava Rock Zone by Eggmanfan - 2/10 (Played as Sonic)
I had fun jumping across those blocks there for about ten seconds. Then I hit the lava. Other than not making the lava instant-kill, I'd suggest:

  • Making the falling lava translucent
  • Making the falling lava...fall faster
  • Making the ERZ platforms come down on you instead of the one you're standing on going up
  • Adding more detail to the end section
  • Fixing this:
srb20169.png


Match:
MAPM1 - Abandoned Shrine Zone by Ash - 8/10
I had to say, I liked this map. The open, multiple-floor concept was cool, and the polyobject fans added a bit to the flow of the game.

CTF:
MAPF1 - Twilight Groove Zone by Scizor300 - 5/10
Really? This is CTF? This felt like it should've been a Match map to me. In any case, it was cramped and hurt my eyes. X_X The one good thing about it was that Explosion was rather fun to use here.

MAPF2 - Lava Fort Zone by Kratzean - 1/10
Okay. This map was ridiculously cramped and way too full of hazards here. My ears were constantly ringing with the sounds of people getting hit by the flamethrowers/pumas/whatever other fire **** there was all over the place. I saw no fort, by the way.

MAPF3 - Magma Valley Zone by Darkbob1713 - 4/10
Contrary to the previous lava-themed map, this map was really open, and the Emeralds weren't hilariously easy to get like on every other Match map. On the downside, though, the textures didn't really match, the bases were really hard to get to, and the map was nigh impossible to play in as Sonic.

MAPF4 - Abandoned Disco Zone by Spherallic - 5/10
MAPF5 - Thunder Coil Zone by ZarroTsu & Mach - 4/10
Reviews coming soon for the above two and the rest of the Match and Circuit divisions.
 
Last edited:
Water Works Zone NYR/10
Next time, make sure the save file Level select can find the map.
 
Last edited:
Just look in the command prompt. It says what map number or numbers are added in with any newly inserted WAD.
 
Water Works Zone - 7/10

Dark Forest Zone - 1/10
-Um wow.

Cloud Cradle - 3/10
-Knuckles completely own this level (not in a good way). More walls need no climb.
-The turret on the conveyor belt sequence is pointless and needs to be removed.
-Actually, that entire sequence with the lasers should be removed. It's needlessly aggravating.
-Eggman damages himself with bomb ring, and becomes incredibly difficult in his panic phase due to the auto ring.

Fire Flight Zone - 5/10
-Looked like you got a little carried away with the flamethrowers in some parts.
-Too many periods of flight where there's nothing to collect...
-...and too many periods where items seemed scrunched in one area and not spread out at all.
-Too long for my tastes.

Jadeflower Zone - 1/10
-Long, flat, boring, wide hallways.
-Inescapable pools of death (no pits, no springs.)
-Some pools lack colormaps.

Moonlit Mountain Zone - 8/10

Lava Rock Zone - 1/10
-Um what
 
Last edited:
My turn.

Single Player

Fire Flight Zone - fawfulfan - 5/10
Well its a NiGHTS level, I'm not too much of a fan of these but it played rather well. However, it was too simple and did not provide much of a challenge.

Dark Forest Zone - Videogame9 - 1/10
Erm.. this level is waaaay to short. And all you have to do is hop.

Jadeflower Zone, Act 1 - blahblahbal - 1/10
HOM, Bland, and wide. Emphasis on wide. :P I also noticed something called sc_jfz1.dat in my SRB2 folder after I played this. Something your wad is not supposed to do if its just a single level. You also need to work on making the level a bit more challenging, yes I know its the first level and all but seriously, All you really need to do to beat this level is run.

Cloud Cradle Zone - D00D64 - 6/10
This level was really fun and the music really fits this level. But the very first part of the level has small platforms which give you little room to move around, and that friggen turret at the beginning of the level is so DAMN annoying. Replace that with a pop turret pl0x. And the Jetty-Syns that shoot bomb rings aren't needed. They are just typical Jetty-Syn gunners but instead of a single bullet they shoot bomb rings. Not very interesting, however, The boss shooting such rings was a pretty neat idea.

Water Works Zone - Kyasarin - 7/10
Overall this level was fun and the song fits. Some areas were ugly, however and did not look interesting, Mostly the area with the big tubes with water falling inside of them. Part of that area was bland and need some more detail. I also did not like the fact that the level went from nice and colorful to dull and white towards the end of the level. Also, use a better challenge than just mines on that waterslide. Such challenges are overused.

Moonlit Mountain Zone, Act 1 - Darkbob1713 - 9/10
Pretty awesome level. Probably the best one out of the other maps. And I'm not just saying that 'cause I'm your friend or anything. :P But only a few things bothered me. The ice parts in the level does not fit with the theme of the level, I mean c'mon. Your running around in a mountain and suddenly you're on ICE? wtf? Where did the ice come from? AAAAA!? Other than that there were only a few areas that looked dull. But I won't go into detail about that.

Lava Rock Zone - Eggmanfan - 0/10
HOP MAH BOI

- - - -

That is all. I'm not rating the multiplayer maps since there WAAAY to many of them. :P
 
Dark Forest Zone. 1/10
Like everyone else said. What?

Cloud Cradle 6/10
Pretty at leaste. My biggest complaint is on the pulley whatever things, at lwaste on my comp, you can't see what's in front of you so you crash. 8P Rest of it was beautiful though.

FiRE FLiGHT 3/10
... I'm so happy to see a NiGHTS level in this. I love them. HOWEVER. Everyone says this is nice and whatnot. Anyone played the original NiGHTS? NiGHTS uses speed and links for a good game. Of course.. I'm probably one of the few playing with a PS2 controller for paraloops. K. You go slow. In NiGHTS you gain speed and the rest of the level passes by. I have to wait for fire and crushers. I couldn't gain a link past 10 without crashing into fire. I dunno... being a NiGHTS person I just didn't find this level fun. In NiGHTS, levels are wide, open and only a few obstacles exist. I think the best thing to say is that it was too crowded. XP I give it points for looking pretty and music.

Jade Flower Zone.
Get back to you when it doesn't crash when I play.

Moonlit mountain 8/10
Beautiful~ The level played out smooth. It was fun~ The level was pretty and very ambient. It gave a cool, dream like feeling.

Lava Rock
I need to get back to this too... After I got to the eggrock part, I went backwards half the time and got sick of the lack of checkpoints that far.

Water Works 8/10
Again, Beautiful~ Of course I'm a sucker for SMB music, but the level played beautifully and looked good~
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Who is viewing this thread (Total: 1, Members: 0, Guests: 1)

Back
Top