Official Level Design Contest Voting: September/October

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Mystic

Mystic

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Welcome to the September/October 05 contest. Turnout in the match competition was quite good, however, there was only one single player entry. Even though it doesn't mean anything, please rate the single player map so ree-c can get some feedback.

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. You can not vote on your own map. 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 November 8th at midnight GMT (November 7th, 7:00 PM EST). The scores will be then averaged, and the person with the highest score is the winner.

The maps follow:

Single Player:
Molten Caves Zone - ree-c

Match Contest Level Pack

Match Pack contains the following maps:
MAP01 - Egyptian Mayhem Zone - Tailsonic
MAP02 - Egyptian Twilight - mikel93
MAP03 - Elemental Ruins Zone - JJames19119
MAP04 - Greenery Hills Zone 3 - JJames19119
MAP05 - Green Springs - Cyan
MAP06 - Irritating Area Zone - Trigahd
MAP07 - Pillar Panic Zone - Trigahd
MAP08 - The Maze - RoboAshura
MAP09 - The Shining River Zone - mikel93
MAP10 - Volixean Ruins 1 - shadowstar
MAP11 - VR 2 - shadowstar
MAP12 - The Awsumest Level Zone - Digiku

Please make sure to play the levels in the intended gametype, and above all, have fun judging!
 
Wait, why isn't my map in there?! I could have sworn I sent it in!
:cry: Looks like I'll just vote this event too...
 
Dude, keep on-topic.

Anyway, for Molten Caves... I've given it a single run-through, so I'll need to run through it again, but for now I'm thinking somewhere in the 4-6 range. Way too linear, way too cramped, and the actual level design leaves something to be desired (hopping on oddly placed and shaped platforms floating on a small pool of lava isn't exactly a goldmine, admittedly). I guess a 5/10 will work.
 
Okay, I played through the multiplayer maps in SP. Obviously, I cannot vote having done only that - I can, however, judge on how well the map was made:

MAP01 - Looks like it'd be decent fare in a match. Not entirely memorable, but, eh, works.

MAP02 - I didn't see a single ring here, and it also looks like it'd be awfully cramped. I'll have to load it up in splitscreen to see if it's as pointless as it looks (which is pretty pointless).

MAP03 - I remember this stage being pretty interesting, although the underwater section was pretty hard to get out of. Of course, I fell in the underwater section all of one times, so it's likely it's a lot easier to escape than I found it to be. Bubbles would help, though.

MAP04 - Probably my favorite [serious] map in the thing. Nothing astounding, but no real flaws noticeable. I'll have to see if that holds true in Match, though.

MAP05 - Don't remember. I'll have to come back to this one.

MAP06 - This level was pretty dang nice, but there were some walls missing in OpenGL. Which I use, like, exclusively. ZenNode it.

MAP07 - See MAP06.

MAP08 - I swear, I should be in a first-person perspective, with a shotgun, shooting down Imps and Pinkies, instead of a third-persaon perspective, with Sonic, trying to figure out where on Earth I am, getting VERY sparse amounts of rings and fighting Crawlas (?!?). There are VERY few redeeming qualities to this map - cramped mazes suck, more or less, and this is undoubtedly a cramped maze. The level design is nigh impossible to interpret, it's too hard to move, there are too few rings, the spikes are placed rather horridly (not much room to maneuver around them!), and Crawlas should be used in single-player. Heck, I even found a REDWALL wall in there. Terrible.

MAP09 - I didn't give this stage much of a look through, but I hated what I saw. Why? Three words: no thok barrier. Also, I have NO idea why Adventure mode is needed here, and the level was in slow motion for some reason. Be danged if I knew why that was the case, either. Also was a little cramped (seems to be a trend with the levels this competition...), though nowhere near as bad as MAP08. Regardless, it needs a LOT of work. Or at least a thok barrier.

MAP10 - so, there's a lava block in the middle of the level, but it's just water. Also, what's with the steam in the middle of said lava block? Not terrible or even that bad, but it was... weird. I'll need to see it in a Match to really give it some thought.

MAP11 - I recall quite liking this one. I think. The name was utterly bizarre, and the arena rather small, but it was still interesting design.

MAP12 - At first, I hated it, and wondered what idiot could create something this stupid. Then I came here and found out Digiku made it. Which therefore makes it awesome, because it HAS to be a joke map (considering the quality of maps that Digi has made was rather high, IIRC), and joke maps are awesome. Probably doesn't play well at all, but I don't care, because the very concept is - you guessed it - awesome. Congrats, Digiku. You have a lot of competition for awful levels this time around, though.

And those are my scathing reviews this time around. Maybe if I can get into a Match game, I can actually give scores... but for now, my criticism's what you get. Fwee.
 
This pack is just plain sad, I'm not even gonna rate this. o.o;;
Y'know, Shadow Hog, you're supposed to be as unbiased as possible when rating these maps. >_>

"MAP12 - At first, I hated it, and wondered what idiot could create something this stupid. Then I came here and found out Digiku made it. Which therefore makes it awesome.."
 
Well, yeah, if I were to actually rate MAP12, the score'd likely be low, considering the level's awful. But that was the intent, like a kind of funny joke, which is why it's so awesome.
 
Wow Mystic, you really need to pay attention. The Maze (MAP 08) is listed as a SP level yet you included it in the match wad. :P This means that Molten Caves have some competition, but hardly much.

Molten Caves Zone - ree c
Not bad, those the corridors are small, this is SRB2, not DOOM. Nice difficulty, kept me on my toes, though it was a tad bland. I like the part with the THZ Jets blasting upwards into the spiked ceiling, that's a nice touch I never though of before. Overall, it's short but sorta sweet.

6/10

The Maze - Roboashura
Ugh. No. This map was small, confusing, annoying, wasteful, stupid, screwed up and overall bad. Mazes do not work in SRB2, especially really tight mazes. It's impossible to find your way out without any sort of trial and error and you're forced to go slow the entire way. No. Bad. Do not make maps like this again. It's a big mistake. Don't do it.

1/10

----

MAP01 - Egyptian Mayhem Zone - Tailsonic
This map was good. A fair amount of rings, not a bad layout and it was nice I guess. Nice use of the gravity linedef special for the water falls. This would work well as a match map I suppose. I really don't see any flaws, though the pyramid might get a bit hard to climb up with it being a fast paced match map, you don't wanna stop moving. ;) 7/10

MAP02 - Egyptian Twilight - mikel93
Why are there no rings? Why is the quicksand on death pit? Why is this map so pointless? Since there are no rings I don't see this as a match map, therefore, it receives lowest rating possible. LET MOMMY HELP YOU NEXT TIME. D: 1/10

MAP03 - Elemental Ruins Zone - JJames19119
This actually started out as a request from a friend. She gave me the idea and I went ahead and brought it to life. And Shadow Hog, there are bubbles but it's hard to notice them as they blend in with the ground. N/A

MAP04 - Greenery Hills Zone 3 - JJames19119
My pride and joy. ^_^ I worked all the feedback and comments from GHZ2 into this beauty, something I truly worked hard for. I hope this map takes the crown just like it's predecessor did and end the Greenery Hills line with a bang. After this contest, I'll likely have a go at both the Match and Single Player contests next time. N/A

MAP05 - Green Springs - Cyan
Small, but that can be good when worked right, like this map does. Enough rings to keep things running. Though, if you're Sonic, the corners become something that you'll want to avoid, thanks to the possibility of accidentally thokking in and becoming an easy target to anyone waiting topside. I found the two infinity rings easy to get even though they're on platforms that fall into a bottomless pit; I could just thok/fly/glide into the rings and to the other side really easily. Overall, I liked it, it would do good in match, though it has a lot of consistency flaws. 6/10

MAP06 - Irritating Area Zone - Trigahd
Like the name implies, it was irritating for a moment. (Starting in the conveyer belt area helped that...) But after a while, I begun to see the map's true worth and I found it to be pretty fun. Good amount of rings, Good layout. The corners are annoying though, especially the coneyer belt part, which is just plain frustrating. The layout in the middle was interesting while the corners took on a weird Elemental Ruins style theme. This was good, though it had a few flaws. 7/10

MAP07 - Pillar Panic Zone - Trigahd
This map fails in being a good map from a designer's point of view. Why are most of the pillars missing walls? Tell me that. Well, even so, this map somewhat makes a good match I guess. A fair amount of rings and slightly bad placement of said rings, though nothing too serious. This could be a good map but meh, it's average at best. 5/10

MAP09 - The Shining River Zone - mikel93
No. No. NO. First off, why is the map in Adventure Mode? Also, why is there no thok barrier? And, why is the map in freaking SLOW MOTION?! The frame rate screw up any chance of what this map had in this contest and should be put to sleep. I also see no point in the endless stream ofspecial rings and monitors? And wasn't this map released in the editing section before hand? Guh, no, this breaks every single guideline in match map making possible, throw it away. 0/10

MAP10 - Volixean Ruins 1 - shadowstar
Nice looking map, though it's not too suitable for match. The monitors are bit much, considering there's a lot of them. And the top...what's with the fake lava blocks? They could fool people you know. Being water and all. And there are three auto rings, one in each fame lava block, making for a cheap match should anyone grab all the monitors and the auto rings. Meh. 4/10

MAP11 - VR 2 - shadowstar
Volixean Ruins 2 I assume. Not much better, it's small, a bit cramped inside and not too good design, the fact that there aren't even any DM starts in it screws a lot of things up. I don't see too much good about this map. 3/10

MAP12 - The Awsumest Level Zone - Digiku
OMFG WOW A M4P BY TEH D1G1K00 IT MUSHT B3 G00D D: Seriously though, this is....wow. My first impression was "o_o Okie, is this some sort of joke?" Then I realized, it was. Hardly suitable for match but hilarious seeing people wander into that sector which happens to be a death pit. ^_^ 2/10
 
MAP01 - Egyptian Mayhem Zone - Tailsonic
This is pretty good. Not great, but not bad either. In fact, if anything, it's just sorta bland... 6/10.

MAP02 - Egyptian Twilight - mikel93
No. No rings, no good vote. 0/10.

MAP03 - Elemental Ruins Zone - JJames19119
This was good. Although, it was sorta boring, and could of done being larger. 7/10.

MAP04 - Greenery Hills Zone 3 - JJames19119
It was meh. The water sucks, and the rest is subpar. 5/10.

MAP05 - Green Springs - Cyan
The best map ever, period. Nah, sorta bland really... No Vote for me though.

MAP06 - Irritating Area Zone - Trigahd
This was fun, apart from the conveyors. The Lava part was really good. Although, it lacked, due to the fact that it was, in fact, rather irritating. 4/10.

MAP07 - Pillar Panic Zone - Trigahd
It sucked. I'm sorry to say, this is one of the worst levels I've ever played. 2/10.

MAP08 - The Maze - RoboAshura
Is this really meant to be multiplayer? It sucks either way... SRB2 + Maze = Awful. 0/10.

MAP09 - The Shining River Zone - mikel93
Barely any rings. A lake with a ton of Special rings around it, no thok barrier... 0/10.

MAP10 - Volixean Ruins 1 - shadowstar
Boring, and sorta lazily done. It also has a lot of weird stuff in it... 3/10.

MAP11 - VR 2 - shadowstar
Better, but a bit too small to be that good. 5/10.

MAP12 - The Awsumest Level Zone - Digiku
Great! Fantastic! Best level ever! I seriously loved this one. Digiku, another masterpiece! Your best yet! 1/10!

---

Molten Caves Zone - ree-c
Sorry, but this map is... bad. Adventure mode has no business here. There's no Thok Barrier, or if there is, it doesn't work. And the level itself is too linear to be good. The Thok Barrier thing just ruins the map though. 1/10.

Don't get down, though, ree-c, if you learn how to make Thok Barriers... (make both the heights the same, etc...), and don't make it Adventure, it'd be better.
 
yeah, i know about that thok barrier, i never really knew how then, or the adventure mode, i know now though :)

i never used adventure mode
and i only wanted to have this level on the addons section
 
MAP01 - Egyptian Mayhem Zone : n/a
I can't rate my own map.

MAP02 - Egyptian Twilight : 0/10
Very nice map. I loved it. It was so cool the way...NOT
This map sucked. There weren't enough rings, The level area was too small, and the quickand didn't work properly.

MAP03 - Elemental Ruins Zone : 5/10
This map is nice. I liked the way you connected the rooms together with those passages. I can't really think of anything wrong with it. Altogether it was about average.

MAP04 - Greenery Hills Zone 3 : 4/10
Interesting map, but it may be too big. I was experiencing major lag while playing it. Of course, that may be only on my end.

MAP05 - Green Springs : 4/10
..Weird map. It seemed kind of bland. It was ok, though.

MAP06 - Irritating Area Zone : 6/10
I liked this one. The level layout was very unique.
I can't really think of anything wrong with it, other then the annoying conveyors. :P

MAP07 - Pillar Panic Zone : 5/10
....very weird map. o_o
It's kind of average, I guess.
The pillar theme was kind of interesting, but also very repititious(sp?).

MAP08 - The Maze : 0/10
..I think you sent this in to the wrong section. It should be in the single player section. If this is a match wad, it gets a 0 for small areas, very few rings, and no proper area to fight in.

MAP09 - The Shining River Zone : 0/10
...No. This is not the way you do a map. This map is very very very very overpowered, the way you made it. It's also pointless as well.

MAP10 - Volixean Ruins 1 : n/a
Another one of my maps.
Note:
Yes, I know the fire block doesn't hurt you. I did that on purpose to make it a place of ambush. If you're inside the fire, you can see out, but people outside can't see in. I know that it's sorta weird, but I made this level a long time ago, so..

MAP11 - VR2 : n/a
Yet another one of my maps.

MAP12 - The Awsumest Level Zone : 4/10
Heh, this level was actually sorta fun. It was somewhat a race to see who got the armagdon shields.
 
Molten caves was pretty lame. It was short, small, and above all, it doesn't have a working thok barrier. 2/10
 
Too bad I wasn't able to make it. Ah well, I'll just save it for the rest of the stuff I'm doing around Christmas, then. =P

Gimme a little bit and I'll try out the pack...
 
This set of maps doesn't even deserve the traditional "big bold gametype titles".

MATCH CONTEST ENTRIES:

MAP01 - Egyptian Mayhem Zone - Tailsonic
SCORE: 6/10
This one wasn't so bad. The flow was pretty nice, although the pyramid really slowed the player down. You're pretty much going to get that with a Sonic engine, though - big, short steps will slow you down. Also, I thought the layout was pretty boring, seeing as it's just one main room and a cave - I would've liked more variety. Still, though, the awesome amount of flow really made up for it.

MAP02 - Egyptian Twilight - mikel93
SCORE: 1/10
You know, maybe the "desert theme" really wasn't such a good idea. This kinda' brings Desolate Twilight and Arabian Nights to embarrassment :P.
Same point here - the pyramid architecture slows players down. However, since the entire map centers around this one, tiny pyramid, it just sucks all the more. What brings it down further is the severe lack of rings - a map with pure weapon rings, say, 13 rings total, really does suck.
Well, at least it's better than your other attempt...

MAP03 - Elemental Ruins Zone - JJames19119
SCORE: 5/10
I really think this is a pretty cool idea, but I feel it wasn't executed well. The flow was pretty good, but the shields kinda' do damage to this map (hee hee). Even if it seems that the effects of the shields can overlap each other triumphantly, it just doesn't do well for the balance. There were also areas in the architecture where it was too tight and players (especially Sonic thokkers) would find themselves in dead-ends.
By the way, this is one of those times where I really wish halves were valid. I would've given you a 5.5, but I can't. Sorry :(.

MAP04 - Greenery Hills Zone 3 - JJames19119
SCORE: 5/10
I dunno; I kinda' liked Greenery Hills 2 better..
Anyway, this suffers from a little thing I like to call "VRZ Syndrome", or "the level's way too big". I found myself exploring the room more than actually finding someone to shoot at. That's pretty much my only gripe, though keep in mind it's a big one. It's a heck of a lot to explore horizontally and vertically. Not good.

MAP05 - Green Springs - Cyan
SCORE: 5/10
The flow was really smooth here. Heck, even the transition from the ground to the underwater pit was perfectly smooth! However, there's a reason for this good flow: it's way too boring.
Most of the level was flat, and there wasn't much to explore - just an all-out brawl between players (which actually wasn't such a bad thing - my last fight here was intense :P). The gameplay wasn't varied at all and I just didn't get much out of the level. The bottomless pit trap over the infinity also wasn't such a good thing; there was no warning that there would be such a thing. It just goes off as really, really cheap.

MAP06 - Irritating Area Zone - Trigahd
SCORE: 5/10
This one was weird. It was really hard to put my finger on what was wrong with this level, but I knew it was something.
I guess it's the hallways. Although the level was scaled out well, the hallways were somewhat cramped. The player wasn't given a very good chance to dodge the other player's shots. The level was nice and big (which I think was also a problem, not sure), but it was also too cramped for its size.

MAP07 - Pillar Panic Zone - Trigahd
SCORE: 5/10
The use of Automatic + Infinity cost you an entire point.
Other than that, I kinda' liked this one. The blocks were visually weird in a good way (I think it's the new clouds), but the flow was pretty fast. I was able to get a nice, accurate sensation of speed here, if not a little boring. It's not too bad, though.

MAP08 - The Maze - RoboAshura
SCORE: -/-

MAP09 - The Shining River Zone - mikel93
SCORE: 0/10
Ugh. No.
1. It was sluggish
2. It used SA Mode pretty much for no reason.
3. All the weapon rings and rings were in ONE place
4. All weapon rings were used. Not a good combination.
5. All the rings were in ring boxes. This is a BIG no-no, and really takes away from the level.
6. Everything in the one place was too numerous. The density of all the things in that area must be something similar to Japan.
7. The hallways were way too cramped
8. The level was too dark
9. Navigation was tough
10. No thok barrier
Sorry I had to go all-out and look like a flamer to you, but I felt that was the most effective way to make you learn. Don't try something like this again.
(Well, at least you got 10 of something... >_>)

MAP10 - Volixean Ruins 1 - shadowstar
SCORE: 5/10
This one was also hard to pin down. In some areas, you had a good balance of running and obstacle-interacting going, but in others, it was just a hassle to go over obstacles. I also felt the rings weren't numerous enough - ring boxes don't do justice against an entire row of single rings.

MAP11 - VR 2 - shadowstar
SCORE: 4/10
This map was just hard to maneuver in. It was too small and too tightly packed. That's really all, yet those two points really impacted the map. The rings were oddly placed, so they weren't so easy to grab.

MAP12 - The Awsumest Level Zone - Digiku
SCORE: -/-
Thanks guys! This really is my best map ever, and I'm glad all of you agree with me :D!
Oh, this one was fun to make. It took me over a year to plan out, and in the end, it turned out really fun. I just love it. Not much to say here...

----------

SINGLE PLAYER LEVELS:

Molten Caves Zone - ree-c
SCORE: 3/10
Just like where the music came from, this level has a serious Adventure vibe to it. Although there are multiple paths, the branching off is way too obvious. The paths themselves are too linear and boring. The entire level was also way too short. I'm not as concerned about the length of the level as I am with the actual design. For one thing, try to use open paths, so your player has more choice on where he wants to jump. Cramped hallways aren't good.

The Maze - RoboAshura
SCORE: 0/10
This was a mistake. There are some things Sonic just wasn't meant for; pyramids is one, while another is cramped mazes.
What I expect out of an SRB2 stage is one that'll allow me to run freely and overcome obstacles that look menacing. Here, I was in an extremely packed space, and the entirety of the stage was boring as all hell. I didn't even make it to the end without turning DEVMODE's map on. And even then, I still didn't make it to the end, simply because the level was so damn boring.
Maybe you can make a Java applet out of this maze course. Those are always fun.
 
Digiku said:
MAP03 - Elemental Ruins Zone - JJames19119
SCORE: 5/10
I really think this is a pretty cool idea, but I feel it wasn't executed well. The flow was pretty good, but the shields kinda' do damage to this map (hee hee). Even if it seems that the effects of the shields can overlap each other triumphantly, it just doesn't do well for the balance. There were also areas in the architecture where it was too tight and players (especially Sonic thokkers) would find themselves in dead-ends.
By the way, this is one of those times where I really wish halves were valid. I would've given you a 5.5, but I can't. Sorry :(.
Click to expand...

Uhh...dead ends? Tell me where these dead ends are, the only ones I see are in the water area.

Digiku said:
MAP04 - Greenery Hills Zone 3 - JJames19119
SCORE: 5/10
I dunno; I kinda' liked Greenery Hills 2 better..
Anyway, this suffers from a little thing I like to call "VRZ Syndrome", or "the level's way too big". I found myself exploring the room more than actually finding someone to shoot at. That's pretty much my only gripe, though keep in mind it's a big one. It's a heck of a lot to explore horizontally and vertically. Not good.
Click to expand...

My quest for a better Greenery Hills Zone continues. *shot*
 
Roboashura said:
Mystic, I submitted The Maze as a SP/race level.
Click to expand...
Yeah, it was an honest mistake, since the file had no prefix and I assumed it was match after loading it up.

Not to be mean or anything, but there really isn't any remote hope of it winning, so I don't think it matters. It's unplayable in all gametypes.

Next month I'm sadly going to have to put in some kind of provision for levels that simply aren't playable, like The Maze, Egyptian Twilight, and The Shining River. I don't mind bad maps, but at a certain point it just becomes unplayable. Sadly, Digi's joke map turned out not to be the worst map in the pack.
 
Ok, time for me to vote.
This month(s) maps wernt actually that great, its a shame cause if they were, Digiku's map would of really been a hit :P

MAP01 - Egyptian Mayhem Zone - Tailsonic
I remember playing this before...it was very nice, good flow to it, you might want to work on the tunnel, as I saw some errors in there. Other than that, its pretty good. 6/10

MAP02 - Egyptian Twilight - mikel93
Nope, not never, eww, yuckola, BAD! 0/10

MAP03 - Elemental Ruins Zone - JJames19119
This map, i loved. It was very original in the sence nobodys tried something like this before, and i think it was well made. 7/10

MAP04 - Greenery Hills Zone 3 - JJames19119
Meh, it was ok. Nothing stood out as excellent, or sucky. Just on par. 5/10

MAP05 - Green Springs - Cyan
This map was...very interesting, but also very confusing. 6/10

MAP06 - Irritating Area Zone - Trigahd
Fun, irratitating, interesting, and weird in one family value package. 7/10

MAP07 - Pillar Panic Zone - Trigahd
I have to say, remove all the glitches, change some of the textures, and this map could be...well...suitable. Its quite a good idea, and it flowed nicely. 7/10

MAP09 - The Shining River Zone - mikel93
See mikel's first map. 0/10

MAP10 - Volixean Ruins 1 - shadowstar
...um....nice map (my minds gone blank) 6/10

MAP11 - VR 2 - shadowstar
It was neat, but i like the first one better. 4/10

MAP12 - The Awsumest Level Zone - Digiku
Ok, this level would SO very rocked if it wasnt released this contest. It was very fun, though ^_^. 6/10
 
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