FuriousFox said:Conclusion: I noticed in the past few contests that there are many "themed" maps. What I mean by that is, the maps are designed around something else, and aren't really designed to be a fun map. While maps like this can be fun (Such as Glacier Cocktail Zone), most of them aren't. Sonic Islands is obviously supposed to be each of the 3 characters' heads, and PC Motherboard Zone was supposed to be a PC motherboard. While both of these maps suceeded in looking like what they're modeled after, they aren't particularly fun, and that is what matters. I've also noticed alot of insanely huge maps. I guess everyone has gotten it into their heads that bigger is better, which just isn't true. Try to design levels that would work well with about 6-8 players, since that is about the average size of a normal netgame. Another similarity is bad weapon choice. Obviously you shouldn't put Rail and Homing in the same map, and you should DEFINITELY not put all 5 in the same map (Luckily we didn't have any of those kinds of maps this time). It's not hard to figure out what works good in your map, just getsome people to help you test your levels in netplay. That's the whole reason we encourage testing, to help you guys figure out what's wrong with your map before you send it in to be judged. If you need someone to test with, just come by #srb2fun and ask. Some people probably won't want to test it right then, but I'm sure that at least a few people will be willing to help. Finally, listen to the criticism that you recieve with the ratings you get in these contests. We aren't trying to be mean and we aren't trying to tell you that you suck at making levels, we're just trying to tell you what you did wrong so that you won't make the same mistakes in your next map.
Now, that paragraph sums everything up about constructive critisism.
Now, to finish my voting:
Match
Carrier Crisis (JJames) - 7/10
Hey, a boat sailing on sea! Nice concept. I had fun on this map, but the fact that it's a bit cramped and the jumps were pretty hard to make, I had fun.
Twilight Tower (JJames) - 8/10
Now, this map is very nice. Nice use of the Sonic Xtreme textures, a solid amount of rings, which helps when your using the automatics.
Crater Lakes (Flame) - 1/10
Consistency failures, not much rings, and a bit dull led this map down.
Platform Chaos (Flame) - 2/10
Small platforms, not much rings. But hey, the mushrooms look cool, though.
Sonic Islands (Flame) - 0/10
Map was released before, gets an insta-0.
Meadow Garden (Mikel93) - 0/10
HOM in OpenGL, not much rings, also gets an insta-0.
Chaotic Belief (JJames) - 9/10
Ahh, this one is real fun. At last, no bad use of the Special Stage textures!
Ship Yard (Sonict) - 6/10
Nice ships, but I agree with FF about using the same texture. Use some variants.
PC Motherboard (Sonict) - 1/10
Eww, Rail-Homing.
Hill Top Battle (Flame) - 4/10
I like how underground is Underworld style, but I don't get the factory bit.
Arctic Falls (Oogaland) - 6/10
Another fun map. Why is the snow slippery?
Glacier Cocktail (Neo Chaotikal) - 8/10
Wow, nice and fun concept. The bouncing orange was pretty fun.
Feudal Age Rush (Penopat) - 0/10
Lag (Not SRB2's fault) gets an insta 0 for me. Because I use Software in netgames. Oh, and this would suit better for RPG.
Capture the Flag
Greenery Cave (JJames) - 9/10
This map is awesome for CTF. The confusion of wondering who's base you were on was pretty stink, but it was very fun.
Mountech (Blue Blur) - 4/10
No. Far too big, and it's too non-linear, making it too confusing. No.
Mountain Peaks (Espyo) - 2/10
OK, let me get this straight. This map is ermm...how should I put this? Not very good for CTF. Too high jumps, and Rail. You can get shot very painfully and fall down, to grab your flag and start jumping again, cycle repeating.
Whew, that's my voting done...