Official Level Design Collab 2022: Round 2

Official Level Design Collab 2022: Round 2 1.1

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Here's my feedback for the stages

This one is my level. Ever since I played White Acropolis from the Sonic 06 pack where they had the snowboard section control better than the one in the OG, I've wanted to make a level just expanding on the snowboard thing. I also wanted to try out a sand level as well as use more vocal tracks, so it's really three birds with one stone. I mainly just wanted to get the idea out there hence why it may not be my most "flashy" level.

I was expecting a Studiopolis remake from the screenshots I saw, but this works too. The concept works just as well too. Especially with the chairs and the game show. Enemies can be a little annoying, but otherwise, a fun level.

I'm honestly surprised and impressed that this is your first level. I mean, I know you've been working on this level for a long time since I'd always see your progress in the zone-building channel, but I thought you would've already had experience by now. Here you are making a superb recreation of Speed Highway while I'm still scared to touch sloped FOFs. Kudos to you, good sir! I'm excited to see what you make next! Lag and big spaces may be this level's worst enemy, but the lag seems to be not as bad in OpenGL.

A crossover level like this is something I never would've expected. I've only ever played Dreamland 3, so I don't undstand why the enemies are so ruthless as well as the miniboss dude being hard to catch. Otherwise, it's a charming level for what it is!

This level was fine at first, but then I got to the later half of it with the randomly rising water and the waterslide. The waterslide I especially hate since not only can you not control yourself mid-jump, but also that all it takes is one mistake for the player to essentially be forced to restart. I also don't know how to feel about the troll exit since at least it doesn't softlock you; but at same time, why would you do it again after how much shit you got for it last time? At least you made it easy to farm for Emeralds via the retry trick, but otherwise, not a big fan of this one.

If this is your first level as well, then I'm also impressed. While navigation is not a particular strong suit (as in it's easy to get lost), the aesthetics and music makes up for it.

This level looked cool at first, but not really a big fan it. It's between the guillotines that move too fast, the Buzz spam in some places, the water section with those weird moving blocks, and the sorta "drab emptyness" that drags it down. There are other stuff that factors into that, but they are on different paths in which this level has many of them.

Not as much substance as your other levels tend to have. Half of the level is uneventful platforming while the other half is an open hallway-sort of area filled with those hopping monster things that take two hits to kill for some reason, with the level ending shortly after.

I put these two together since I have the same problems with them. Not really much to talk about aside from their short and cramped nature. You're lucky that voting was done away with since these levels would've been torn to shreds if it wasn't. Take it from the same person who made Drenched Dam from 2021's Round 1. Though tbh, I feel like even these levels puts that one to shame.
 
It appears that the emblems in speed highway... don't exist
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C.D. Dinosaur said:
It appears that the emblems in speed highway... don't exist
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LucasL here! I'm sorry, on the last few hours i've sent an older build of the stage that ended up being on the release version of the OLDC, although we've updated and re-add said 6 emblems that were planned to come in! Expect changes for other levels and performance improvements for the next update, hope you'll enjoy finding those emblems once they're re-added on a future update :wonderful:
 
LucasLixoso said:
LucasL here! I'm sorry, on the last few hours i've sent an older build of the stage that ended up being on the release version of the OLDC, although we've updated and re-add said 6 emblems that were planned to come in! Expect changes for other levels and performance improvements for the next update, hope you'll enjoy finding those emblems once they're re-added on a future update :wonderful:
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Nice to know the emblems actually just don't exist. I spent way too long looking for them
 
I was gonna put my votes here, but then I realised those aren't necessary anymore. So uh, just have my feedback then.

My videos on the stages can be viewed here, as usual.

Speed Highway by @LucasLixoso

I mean this was always gonna be the eye-catcher of this OLDC, so you've probably already heard a lot of feedback on it, but just to reiterate: this is an awesome level that has been absolutely worth every second you've spent on it. Running down the highway and jumping from the rooftops is a great experience, the visuals are great and it really feels like a faithful recreation of the Sonic Adventure level.

Crash Coarse Zone, act 1 by @Voidy2246

At first I was annoyed by the spelling, until I realised it was probably a pun because this is a sand level. Anyway, the level itself is pretty good to play, going through the rings on the board is fun and the multiple paths are pretty cool. There's an annoying visual glitch near the end of the stage in software mode, but it can be helped by playing in OpenGL.

Creepy Crypt by @Vixuzen

Hey look, Vixuzen is here to provide us with more Rayman 2. I feel this level looks pretty nice as do all of your levels, but it's pretty short so there isn't much to say about it, though I do like what's there. Perhaps Cave of Bad Dreams is next on the menu?

Greens Hill Zone by @RoyKirbs

The level is pretty and the gameplay is solid. The mini-boss is also pretty nice, though hitting him as he comes down is a little hard because his hitbox isn't that large.

Auburn Heights Zone, act 1 by @Cool Cat

This level is great. It looks fantastic with the autumn theme and the multiple paths are great for replay value. I look forward to act 2.

Egg TV Network by @Rogerregorroger

Like all your levels, I like how it looks like one of your animations because you always draw your own assets. It's also very funny barging through the TV station with the chairs. The gameplay is very satisfying as well.

Poison Temple Z Zone by @Zaxel Katsugyo

I found this level to be more enjoyable than your previous outings. The difficulty and length are just right, though the crabs can be very annoying to deal with on a small platform, and getting hit in the water current means you're already dead.

Lost Fortress Zone, act 1 by @EAJS

Well, this is a pretty nice level let down by some design flaws. The collapsible platforms at the start are all the same sector, so stepping on one makes all of them fall instead of just the one you stood on. The starpost in the water area after the mace area with the high grass softlocks you by killing you on respawn. All that aside this level has a good sense of scale and the hazards are well placed.

Seaside Coast Zone and Shiverside Chasm Zone, act 1 by @M/C Industries

I'm lumping them together because they're both by you and they're short. Seaside Coast is interesting visually with how you use the thok barrier to give the illusion of being near the sea. The character specific path splits are also a cute idea. As for Shiverside, there really isn't much to talk about considering the level is only 10 seconds long, but the space countdown water looks interesting at least.
 
Cheers to this OLDC finally releasing! I wanna give some individual feedback for each of the levels (my own included). It's pretty late as I'm typing this up so apologies if anything I wrote sounds harsh, it's all in good faith! Here they are in the order that they're listed:

This was my first level, so there was definitely a learning process when I put this together. It's funny how you can kinda track my process in learning Zone Builder as the level progresses. The aesthetics are definitely the strong suit here. I put a lot of effort into making all the setpieces special, and I think it paid off with the overall look of the level. However, it seems like navigating the level can be tough. I've gotten some feedback that people got lost and went backwards by accident, so I ought to improve my signposting for future levels. Some of the secrets are also little too cryptic. There are a couple emblems hidden behind random walls without clear indication that, in retrospect, I don't know how anyone could find them naturally.

This level has some potential, but it's honestly way too cramped. There aren't a lot of opportunities for speed and all the invisible walls obscure almost everything. I'd advise giving the player some more room to breathe, and if your level disappears behind a wall, the wall should have a texture to look more natural. Also the emerald on top of the statue is too easy to get. You can basically retry the level over and over, and get the emerald 7 times to collect all of them.

I was following this level's progress on Discord, so I was excited to play this! The scale of level is impressive by itself. I don't know how many hours you put into designing each area, but you can really tell how much effort went into it. The exploration is a lot of fun since there's so many secret areas and items to find. The main thing holding the level back is that it's maybe too big. I saw you did a lot of testing with SA1 and Modern Sonic, and unfortunately playing as the vanilla characters makes the level feel a lot slower. I definitely got the most from the level playing as SA1 Sonic but I would do more testing as vanilla characters to make sure it still feels right. Also, compared to the rest of the level, At Dawn feels pretty barren - it could have used some enemies and more variety in the platforming.

I really liked the theming of this level, and there was a lot to explore in it. It was a lot of fun finding new paths through the level that each had their own theme, so kudos to you for making that interesting. However, this level is FULL of beginner traps that got really annoying really quick. The standout example is the fire jet, guillotine, crushing ceiling, and rotating spikes right after each other - there's no way to know what's ahead so it was really easy to die unfairly. Also, the Buzz spam was a lot to deal with and seemed unnecessary for the level. I found myself stopping for just a few seconds and suddenly being swarmed with Buzzes.

This one was another really enjoyable one. All the custom assets here are really impressive, but the sense of humor really ties it together. I loved all the film sets (especially the moon landing - nice one) and the chair mechanic is a lot of fun. The level design itself is solid - fun, but nothing groundbreaking. The custom art, voice acting, and humor are what make this level really special.

Props to you Zaxel - this level is a MAJOR improvement from your past work. The flow and sense of speed are better across the board, and it's really fun to blast through and bounce on enemies. The poison water mechanic is neat, although it might have been better as a ring drainer rather than damage, since the knockback and losing your rings makes escaping annoying. All that being said, there's still a lot of issues holding it back. The overuse of Eggman monitors got annoying quickly, especially when you're blasting through and think you're about to get a powerup. The enemy spam is pretty rough too - while the platforming is fun, all the Crushtaceans, Uniduses, Green Snappers, and turrets in close proximity to each other makes a lot of sections awkward to navigate. Also, the waterslide is hot garbage. The concept is good but in practice it's really frustrating since you essentially die after one hit.

I'm a little biased towards this level, since I'm a sucker for Kirby. I was immediately charmed by this one, the custom enemies and graphics are a lot of fun. Introducing the combine ring is a great idea that I'd like to see more levels use. There are also some neat design ideas, like having the fish jump up underneath an intangible FOF, and lining up enemies in a way that a well-timed thok can clear a big gap. But the major issue with this level is the navigation. It was really easy for me to get turned and go backwards, and having to take a hard 180 at the end to reach the signpost was... odd. Overall the signposting could be improved to give a better sense of direction. And while I enjoyed the Poppy Bros Sr fight, he probably could've been placed later in the level since his placement at the beginning felt awkward to me.

I'll admit, I'm not too familiar with Rayman so I might be missing something here. Overall the level is fine. It has a really cool atmosphere, but from a gameplay perspective it doesn't really go anywhere. It's a really short level that struggles to find its focus. The bouncing platform at the beginning could have been an interesting thruline for the level, but it switches gears too quickly to develop its ideas further.

Conceptually this one is pretty unique. I was interested to play a snowboard-focused level, only to find out it's more fun to skip the board and play the level normally. The diverting paths with emblems are a lot of fun to explore both with and without the board. Using the nights rings as a way to guide the player is also a cool idea, but this level desperately needed some regular rings. Having to restart the entire level after one mistake makes for a frustrating experience. Also, I would advise doing more software mode testing since there were a lot of visual bugs in this mode.

This is the level of all time. No notes.

My critiques are a mix of small nitpicks and glaring issues, but overall I enjoyed all the levels on offer. I'm glad I could be a part of this new direction for OLDC, and I hope to see all of you in the next one!
 
Speed Highway has definitely set a new standard for scale as far as SRB2 levels go. It really gives an example of just how far the game has come (for a FOSS title) in just the last couple of years. There are others though that were also pretty good such as Greens Hill, Egg TV, Auburn Heights, and Poison Temple Z. I am also liking how custom content in terms of both textures and objects are becoming more common in these contests, a good case for demonstrating how far SRB2 has come in all areas of modding in general.

The only critique I have is that, if possible, Speed Highway's 'downward run' section could use additional lua to force the running to stay within certain angles, as you can turn around and run back up if you want.
 
I should get around to making my OLDC video. Although voting is gone, I'll still be ordering the levels in the order of how I would have voted.
 
Alright, here's my last OLDC video until needed again.

and now my thoughts:
Egg TV Network by @Rogerregorroger: Once again you've made a level that feels like one of your cartoons complete with the humor that comes with it. I had a lot of fun playing this one not just in Vanilla SRB2 but also in the Preserves (momentum) build found on the git hub.

Speed Highway Zone by @LucasLixoso This stage would have tied with the Egg TV Network if it wasn't for a fer minor issues. The custom enemies, namly the "police cruisers" have some wonky hit detection as sometimes you try to attack and you get hit instead of them. The Spinners move for some reason, but I'm not knocking you for that. Moving spinners just confuse me. Also there's one line of rings that too high for players to grab as you run right under it.

When I played this stage with my personal edit of Sonic to have a higher jump, the stage felt perfect to play in. I just wonder one thing though, how did you do the auto run section?

Auburn Heights Zone, Act 1 by @Cool Cat : Nice, cluttered, and fun to play. I did find a button in one room but was confused as to what it did (see video). I also feel that the slope work really benefits from the changes in the preserves build too. The way the stage ends also feels like it should got to one of the darker stages in the pack as well. Not intentional, but nice touch.

Greens Hill Zone by @RoyKirbs : PUYO! Knowing you, I had to play this stage as who else but Kirby. Dissapointly, the kirby enemies don't provide any copy abilities while only the SRB2 ones do. Poppy Bro's SR was a little tricky to hit at first, even more so with Kirby but that's on me for playing with him, but after figuring out how to hit him it just became a waiting game. It looked like you also referenced Sapphire Falls and Mystic Ruins.

Poison Temple Z Zone by @Zaxel Katsugyo : You certainty give Mystic a run for his money with your large levels. This stage however felt a little worse than your previous levels. Not that much of a bad thing considering the quality of the past levels you've put out. There are some things I would consider questionable such as the use of the canaryvores upside down. I would have recommended using the Toximiser from Badnik Pack DX instead as it does the same thing and looks right when flipped.

The water slide section was just bad. as soon as you take a hit there's no making it through. and while it does allow for emerald farming, I should not be able to just harvest them like that because I died trying to get through that section.

While I don't like the troll exits you do, I'm thankful you didn't make it an infinite loop this time.

Lost Fortress Zone, Act 1 by @EAJS: did you and Vixuzen swap level names? Your stage feels more like a crypt than a forest. It does show plenty of promise, but it has some amateur mistakes in it. such as the continual falling guillotines being as fast as a launch base lazer and a set of speed boosters being placed directly on slopes causing you to get stuck. There are also areas that are infested with buzzes too.

Creepy Crypt by @Vixuzen : This stage somehow feels like a downgrade from your previous ones in the series. It's really short and all the enemies are at the end. It is solidly built, but that's all there is to it.

Seaside Coast Zone by @M/C Industries : It's a level and it has a beginning and end, but it's narrow and small. I would reccomend maybe scaling this up by 2X for a start, then work on improving the now enlarged rooms. You have shown that you at least grasp zonebuilder at least and even have your own custom sky/skybox too.

Crash Coarse Zone, Act 1 by @Voidy2246: this one I had to rank down here due to a visual bug and the main gimmick, the whole point of the level, being able to be flat out ignored.

Shiverside Chasm by @M/C Industries : This level was hidden away on the hub and while I now know it was intended for a collab that never happened, the ammount of level here is still way too little to criticize fairly. It's nothing more than a stub for something that just didn't launch.
 
glaber said:
Speed Highway Zone I just wonder one thing though, how did you do the auto run section?
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Simple trick really, it's just the Mach speed LUA from the reusable Sonic 06 level pack.
The rest is just visual trickery, have one of the walls on the Skybox resemble the ground and voila.
Only problem is that you can kinda break the section by just turning around and running "upwards" the building again if you so incline.
Oh well,

I helped Lucas with the setup, hence I'm answering it.

Thanks for the compliments.

Heh, did you make a special Banjo Kazooie level just for the voting? That's cool.
 
Spiral Mountain wasn't made for the voting, but repurposed for it. The map was originally released as a match mode map, and was my first ever map.
 
Stig said:
So excited to do this pack :wow: It looks rad as hell!! I wanted to do it with friends and so far we've only done 5, we'll get to the rest of them on monday. I made a spreadsheet to record our thoughts if anyone's interested, we're not exactly pros but some of us have gamedev experience (in art though) we're mostly just 3D platformer enjoyers.
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Its been weeks and till this day i'm waiting :dramahog:

Edit : LITERALLY at the moment i've typed this you just updated it, i'm so sorry for bothering :sadthumbsup:
 
LucasLixoso said:
Its been weeks and till this day i'm waiting :dramahog:

Edit : LITERALLY at the moment i've typed this you just updated it, i'm so sorry for bothering :sadthumbsup:
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no worries at all lol!! Kept pushing it back due to schedules not lining up but yeah finally got to it today :D had so much fun. Your level is magnificent.
 
Thank you so much! It is my first level that i've ever done, you'll probally see rookie mistakes and flaws here and there. I wish to continue going further with new skills as time passes on
Stig said:
no worries at all lol!! Kept pushing it back due to schedules not lining up but yeah finally got to it today :D had so much fun. Your level is magnificent
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The OLDC Devs Literally Used The Wrong Seaside Coast File. I Sent Them A Specially Made File For The OLDC To Them, But They Just Didnt Add It And Instead Just Imported The 1.1 Community Demo From The Carbon Isles PK3 Thread Into The OLDC.

bruh.
 
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