Due to lack of time and interest, I feel I'm not able to consistently, fairly, and honestly rate these maps, so I won't. However, I'll be happy to analyze them. I'm also happy to say this batch was more or less good!
Single Player Levels
Molten Mountain Zone - Ree-c
I can tell you
really tried on this one. A+ for effort!
I had a lot of fun running through this map - I had little gameplay-related vibes when playing it. One major problem with this map, however: the sky (ceiling) levels. This especially affects the end sign sector - they're all inconsistent, and they hurt especially when one sky is lower than the other. If I hadn't been alert, I would've lost a life at the end. More rings would've been nice. Layout is a bit on the confusing side (it loops at the beginning - I hate loops). Overall, though, most of the level was good and speedy to keep my attention. Nice work!
Grass Highway - ST218
It passes as an alright single player level, but that's all.
This stage seems really amateurish to me, I'm sorry to say. It's predictable, linear, and boring. I'll admit the Jetty-Syn wave at the beginning was slightly interesting, but it's much more aggrivating, especially in races, when one player dies and has to endure springing up with a bunch of Syns running after them. The waves, in general, were just lousy. Ring placement could've also been better. The end segment is also really similar to the last map you made (the sky metal factory, I think?), which was just... beh.
This seems a bit harsh, but it really isn't much more. Architectural detail would've made me appreciate it more ;) (though had I voted, such detail would have had little influence on my score).
Incomplete Xmas - Shadow Hog
The crumbling segment before the fake end level sign? I
loved it. Had I not been playing as Super Sonic at the time, that would've given me a fright :).
I don't have much to say here. Maybe it's a bit bare. I did feel it was pretty linear. Enemy placement could've been more challenging, though the fact that it was a bit laid back gave plenty of speed for Sonic. The level does have a cute air to it - I liked the alphabet blocks. Had this been completed, I bet I would've liked it more.
Multiplayer Levels
MAP01 - Lava Dome - Tailsonic
I think the concepts of this map were really solid on paper. As much as I like the idea, I feel the execution was off.
My main vibe with this is the bobbing platforms. Since they're all tagged together, they all act together and not separately. While I like that this can really throw people off-guard, it's more annoying than shocking. The lava pit is also a bit "anti-Sonic" - Sonic players would not be easily able to escape out without a fire shield. This map, while interesting, does have room to tighten up.
MAP02 - Tree Ring - Some guy
This map's architecture is utterly, utterly admirable. I love it.
Tree Ring also looks to be as good a Match map as it is decoratively. It seems perfectly tight in all areas and really, really solid. I feel I can't say much more until I play a round in this myself.
MAP03 - Atmospheric Temple Zone - Ree-c
This stage's layout is
really interesting - I'll give you that. It's interesting enough for me to want to play a round on it.
However, I can't help but think it's a bit on the big side (my first thought: "
Vacant Rocketship"). The ring balance is a bit thrown off too, though I'm not too sure. I can't really place my finger on this one.
MAP04 - Emerald Beach - Cyan
It seems symmetrical maps have lost their touch.
I do want to like this one, but 1: it's too cramped, and 2: it's too boring. I feel the action here would be a bit predictable. Barring ring weapons, I think the ring balance is good, though a ring box would've been nice in the lowest part, center. With the ring weapons, though, the balance is all out of place; Mystic's explanation echoes my sentiments pretty well. If anything, the level's visuals are pleasing to the eye in an interesting way :).
MAP05 - Ice Summit - Mikel
Oh boy, a Sonic Battle conversion.
The Shining River was just flat out bad. Your pyramid level, while vertically sound, is just tedious. This ice level, having plenty of horizontal aptitude, is just boring. I think I see a pattern here - if you incorporated vertical elements into this level and also made it smaller, it would've been more interesting. Tedious/Vertical (say, +1) + Boring/Horizontal (say, -1) = Challenge Balance (say, 0). It gets more in-depth than that, but that's a start.
As for the level itself, it's way too big and way too unbalanced. The rings are way too dense in small areas, not taking advantage of the size of this level. Since this level is more or less bare in most areas, it's also boring.
MAP06 - Chaotic Caves Zone - Furyhunter
Really interesting idea. I felt the incorporation of the industrial theme into a cave was pretty solid.
As this map was made for CTF, I'm not really sure what to say. In Match mode, I didn't appreciate the dead ends. It was also really cramped, not giving Sonic much room to run. I think Tails and Knuckles would be alright moving about, but Sonic players tend to go all out - hence cramped spaces are bad for Sonic players. I also didn't appreciate the maze-like layout (at least that's the way I saw it). It really hurt the flow.
MAP07 - Eggman's Lab - Mikel
Oh boy, another Sonic Battle conversion. You'd think people would've learned from
Nightside Rouge, but they didn't. Battle conversions are just bad, okay?
No sense of balance, no sense of flow. At least
Ice Summit had *some* flow, but this has none whatsoever. Springs are really slow to the action, so the sense of speed here is almost non-existent. The level layout is also a bit of a turn-off, since I can't really imagine aiming up at people on the elevated platforms, nor down below, without sharp honing skills.
I admire your willingness to try - I really do. I also hope you make a decent map some day, but this just isn't it.
MAP08 - Acid Frost Zone - FuriousFox
Again, I think symmetrical maps have lost their touch.
I felt I've played this map before. This design is pretty cliché'd - the action is predictable and boring. I think adding more vertical elements would've made it at least a bit more interesting. Spacing out the level a little more also would've helped - it's a bit difficult maneuvering as Sonic since the floors are a bit too cramped for Sonic players to run around in. The slime also breaks up the flow a bit much - I think adding a nice running segment would've been good.
I want to like this one too, but I'm sorry - it's too boring. I do love how you managed to fluidly combine THZ and snow themes. It's certainly unprecedented .
MAP09 - Four Seasons - Oogaland
I'm in love with the concept. You especially made good use of the sky change exec!
The major problem with this map, however, is that, as Mystic said, I don't feel motivated to move about the map. The four rooms each do enough to allow the player(s) to just stay in one room and still do well. There are also minor nitpicks I might have, but I can't exactly put my finger on them. I'd have to play a round on this map (and I am certainly compelled to) to find them out.
MAP10 - Saturday Evening Zone - Oogaland
This map is very, very "anti-Sonic". Not even the decorative factory helps (which I do think is a sharp touch).
It's all vertical and barely horizontal. Maybe snug for Tails and Knuckles players, but definately not for Sonic players. Sonic players need to run and be fast - without that, they're pretty much helpless. This level doesn't allow them to do both. A major, major problem.
I also feel the slime pit is a way too slow way to die. Bottomless pits, while not really fitting the theme I'll admit, are much more suitable to the gameplay mainly because they're
fast. Match games are supposed to be fast, so the slime pit can really piss off impatient players (like myself). If you allowed people to enter the factory, I think it would've added another interesting aspect to this map, and overall make it more enticing. If you ask me, though, it does pretty well as a decoration element. I really like that factory :).
MAP11 - Volcanic Highway Zone - ST218
Flat and dark - two elements I really dislike. Therefore, this map is a total turnoff for me.
There's really nothing interesting about this map. It's pure "throw rings at me while I run away!" type stuff, but Match maps usually have
something to break that up in a good way. The CEZ torches, paired with the narrowness of the bridges, disrupted the flow of the map and really slowed it down. I saw myself being cautious.
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If my comments seemed a bit harsh, I'm still delighted that this contest was much, much better than the last contest. Maybe this community's creative strides aren't starting to go downhill, as the last contest led me to believe, after all. I hope this trend continues.
