MAP01: Nightmare Ring Zone by Mystic
I played an early beta test of this map and hated it because it was too dark to see anything and too hard to navigate. Well, turns out it was actually just the darkness that was a problem. After the second test, which was brighter, the map started to grow on me. If there are any substantial changes in this version from the second test, I didn't notice them, but it's really a great map now that I can see what I'm doing. Unique gameplay, interesting and complex layout... the only bad thing about it, besides the name being cheesy, is how hard it can be to land on some of the upper platforms when jumps/springs go slightly too high. That and hitting the bottoms of platforms while jumping were annoying. Otherwise an excellent map. 9/10
MAP02: Food Fight Zone by Kristos
Before launching into prose form, I'll give a breakdown of my thoughts on this map:
Concept/Theme - Excellent
Graphics/Decoration - Excellent
Floor Layout - Good
Thing Layout - Poor
Unfortunately, the thing layout tends to be the most important aspect of match levels, and while I enjoy looking at this map, I can't say I enjoy actually playing it. As Digiku noted, the rings are much too scarce and the monitors all over the place do little to make up for it. Furthermore, the springs are intensely aggravating to use to get anywhere, especially the red springs behind the counter and the yellow springs in front of the stools. Improve navigation and thing layouts and this would be a lot better. 4/10
MAP04: Techno Ruins by Digiku
Techno Ruins loses a point right off the bat for making me wait to get the contest wad. No, not really. Seriously, the new textures added some great spice to the map, and the graphics and decoration were excellent, as they always are with Digi's maps. The layout, however, left much to be desired.
The basic formula (big center room, hallways around the outside) is a successful one. However, the missing bridges on two sides did the map a great disfavour by reducing the floor space and increasing players' chances of falling in the water and having to get back out, something Sonic cannot do quickly. Especially bad were the yellow springs to the hallways on each of these sides. If I hit one and let go of the controls, it doesn't send me far enough and I fall into the water. If I keep moving forward the whole time, I collide with the wall and sometimes hit the other yellow spring going back. So I have to be moving forward only for part of my bounce -- bothersome and unnatural.
I also don't like the crumbling platforms. They annoy me and add no value to the level. Additionally, some of them fall two at a time (what's with that?). As other reviewers have noted, the environmental shield in the top center served no real purpose; a useful bonus item there, like another weapon ring (infinity, maybe?) would've been nice. Overall, another map that looks far better than it plays. 6/10
MAP06: Dark Sewer Zone by NeoGenGamer/a441
Yes, I can't rate this one. I'd like to point out that despite my name appearing in the byline, I did a very small percentage of the work on this map. Basically, all I did design-wise was to add and rearrange a few things because NGG didn't have time to do it. The only change I made to the layout was to lower a platform so Sonic could reach everything. As such, I think I should have the right to say, even though it won't count towards the contest results, that this map rocks.
MAP07: Nocturnal Clash Zone by FuriousFox
When I briefly glanced at the contest maps in WadAuthor before playing them, my first thought when I saw NCZ was, "Cool, someone made a Pac-Man level!" It's out of character for me to say this, but the rings actually number a bit too many. The building tops, on the other hand, are mostly barren and could have stood to have a few more rings on them. It was Not Good to have only one way up to the building tops; additional springs around the outside would have been nice. And like everyone's been saying, the map is way too dark. I can't have fun if I can't find my way around. On the good side, the ground layout is well done, and the use of scenery is great. It's mostly because of the darkness and the near-empty rooftops that I don't give this a better score. 5/10
MAP08: Rainbow Stadium Zone by a441
No, I can't vote on this one either, so I'll provide some comments instead. Many people have said that it's hard to tell what's a floor and what's a wall, etc. They are right, and it's a consequence of using the theme I chose to use, but in my tests, I didn't think it was bad enough that gameplay would be damaged in any nonnegligible way. Parts of the map show up much better in software render mode than OpenGL (I jokingly called it my revenge on OpenGL users, since they have an advantage in almost every other map), particularly in the yellow and orange rooms. Everyone seems to like the design, from what I've heard.
MAP10: Green Hills Zone by Shadow
Shadow didn't get to finish this one because he was making it so close to the deadline and suddenly had to leave. For this reason, we're left with several unfortunate glitches and an unpolished, unfinished-looking map. The graphics are pretty ho-hum. The layout is nice when you get up into the high hills, though there ought to be more ways to get up from the bottom, especially considering how easy it can be to fall. Gameplay depends a lot on the number of players. With three players it was boring; with five it was kind of fun, despite its flaws. I hope I'll get to see a finished version of this sometime, one that isn't so rushed. 3/10
Summary of scores given in this installment:
MAP01 - Nightmare Ring Zone: 9
MAP02 - Food Fight Zone: 4
MAP04 - Techno Ruins: 6
MAP06 - Dark Sewer Zone: n/a
MAP07 - Nocturnal Clash Zone: 5
MAP08 - Rainbow Stadium Zone: n/a
MAP10 - Green Hills Zone: 3
