NerfPlayeR135
Just call me Nerf.
Here is my ranking for the Single Player division for this OLDC:
- Spyro Ripto Blast 2 - Snowflake Ridge by TrickyTex and Tatsuru
- Wild West Zone, Act 2 by Dead
- Oasis Palace Zone by So2ro
- Toffee Tor Zone, Act 1 by RoyKirbs
- Shadow of Atlantis Zone by akirahedgehog
- Aqua Paradise Zone by Twins'R'Awesome
- Concordian Coast Zone by Ktoby & Pronicthewedgehog
- Metallic Madness Good Future by Kwiin & Kanna
- Rustic Templar Zone by MK.exe
- Myriad Memories Zone by ManimiFire
- Heroes Hall by Zaxel
- Valley Falls Zone by Hamsandwich
- Hectic Harbor Zone by ACStriker
- Overgrown Heights Zone by InferNOr
- Cluttered Cave Zone, Act 2 by Riolucariolu
- Anteggtica Zone by Radicalicious
- Crystal Cave Zone by CST1229
- Wasteland Wilds Zone by SunCyclone
- Magma Falls Zone by RadicalChaos_6922
- Cyan Heights Zone by PencilVoid
- Hypertower Zone by WasifBoomz
NerfPlayeR135's Feedback for OLDC 2020
{Preliminary Notes}
-I always use OpenGL for gameplay; if I saw something that could be a rendering error I momentarily switched to Software to confirm it
-I only tested each level with Tails (because I kinda suck at this game)
-I always play in first-person unless something requires me to switch to third-person (for example, some of the pulleys in Arid Canyon block the player's view in first-person)
-I tend to nitpick more than I praise
-I did not attempt to collect all emblems or perform any Record Attack runs
(01)[Snowflake Ridge]
-This level is absolutely epic. I've never played a Spyro game before, but this makes me want to pick up a copy of the Reignited Trilogy ASAP.
-Visuals are astounding
-Gems aren't taken away upon death, which is a nice quality-of-life feature I didn't expect
-Despite being sieged with enemies at all times, the collect-a-thon gameplay and generous damage system made the added challenge fun instead of frustrating
-Signposts still reset the timer to when they were activated upon death, leading to abnormally low in-game times (and thus, undeserved high time bonuses)
-If an entire Spyro Ripto Blast mod is being worked on, I'll definitely want to see the finished product
(02)[Wild West]
-This level cleverly combines assets from vanilla SRB2 to create its own identity
-Presentation is amazing
-Minecarts are utilized well and create natural-feeling path splits
-Level flow and design are superb
(03)[Oasis Palace]
-Visuals are amazing
-Level flows very well
-Texture clipping is present in a few places
-There might be too many BASHes
(04)[Toffee Tor 1]
-Visuals are very well done
-Great reinterpretation of an existing gimmick
-The level seems to suffer from a case of "more enemies = more difficulty" syndrome, despite there being a variety of badniks
-The level flows very well
(05)[Shadow of Atlantis]
-No custom music (although I did not find whatever easter egg the people on Discord were talking about)
-The statue at the start looks amazing
-The custom texture work in the dry areas is impressive, but the usage of vanilla textures in the underwater areas isn't done all that well
-The level layout is rather confusing, at least for a high-mobility character
-I did not see the ending coming at all; well done on that
(06)[Aqua Paradise]
-The level seems to have rather troubling framerate issues, with lag spikes occurring alarmingly frequently in OpenGL; some of these lag spikes can last for five seconds or more. Software mode also experiences lag spikes, although the frequency and intensity are toned down. Fortunately, these framerate issues are easily fixed, as I learned on Discord, and the creator is happy to do so.
-The appearance is well done
-The level has good flow and is well designed
(07)[Concordian Coast]
-Exclusive usage of MIDI music creates a small lag spike at the end of powerup music, 1-up jingles, etc. if OGG and MIDI music are both enabled due to how the sound engine handles switching music file types
-The visuals are beautiful; the lake full of fish is a clever idea, and the fake godrays covering the signpost are rather unique
-Warning signs placed before potentially dangerous areas are a nice touch
-The level seems to suffer from a minor case of "more enemies = more difficulty" syndrome, despite there being a variety of badniks
(08)[Metallic Madness 1]
-Textures are all unscaled (some textures are clearly larger or smaller than others), leading to odd and conflicting visuals; this mostly just makes the whole level appear blocky due to the sheer size of most of the textures
-The large windows make no sound upon being destroyed
-Incorrectly renders in OpenGL (large outdoor areas do not all render at once due to culling)
-Framerate issues in Software mode (the same areas experience massive drops in framerate due to their sheer size)
-The level flows very well and is well designed
(09)[Rustic Templar]
-Some springs don't appear to be able to propel the player to their intended destinations
-Presentation is well done
-Level flows decently, but has some questionable design decisions
(10)[Myriad Memories]
-The concept is interesting
-The level in general may be a bit too dark
-Level design is decent
(11)[Heroes Hall]
-Flower enemies provide no audio feedback upon defeat, plus they self-resurrect a short time after defeat without warning, and they fire projectiles at you if you're too close. They're basically invincible turrets, and they're everywhere. Not fun. At least make it possible to destroy them for good.
-One-eyed bat enemies also have no audio feedback upon being hit, and take a rather excessive three hits to destroy; the Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past death sound is a nice touch though
-Incorrectly renders in OpenGL (certain floor textures such as the grass used in outdoor areas are pitch-black); in Software the presentation is well done, though
-The class trials are a clever idea, although sadly I'm not familiar with the source material at all
-The level has a good flow to it
(12)[Valley Falls]
-Non-transparent deep water in at least one place
-Exclusive usage of MIDI music creates a small lag spike at the end of powerup music, 1-up jingles, etc. if OGG and MIDI music are both enabled due to how the sound engine handles switching music file types
-Level flows rather well, although the geometry is a bit basic
-Some of the rings in the 2D section cannot be collected because they are outside the playable area
(13)[Hectic Harbor]
-One spring in a room with three red Crawlas and a Deton is not powerful enough to propel the player to its intended destination
-The choice of music seems rather questionable for a game that is normally family-friendly
-Textures are missing in some places
-Enemies seem to be placed randomly in some areas, not taking into account their strength, weaknesses, or ideal locations; Detons especially seem to be in areas without enough cover or warning to avoid them
-The "Exit" texture is of rather low quality; the variety of textures used for the containers keeps the place from being bland, though
-The presence of Emerald Tokens in a level where all the Chaos Emeralds can be collected is an odd choice; perhaps replace them with 1-ups or other powerups?
(14)[Overgrown Heights]
-Appearance is absolutely superb
-One set of springs that must be used to escape a pit of water if you fall in is placed directly under a bridge, requiring midair movement to return to dry land
-One set of speed boosters is set up to send you straight into a nearby wall, making them pointless
-Has a few instances of broken geometry, creating visible holes in the level (Example: the start of the downstream river section has some alcoves off to the sides that likely weren't meant to be accessible, but many characters can access them anyway and discover geometry that broke due to issues with the logs on the floor)
-There are some serious difficulty issues, the most obvious being the absolutely humongous amount of rings the player is given - I ended the level with nearly 1200 of the things! The first half of the level simply feeds you rings while offering very little resistance. The second half does the same in regards to the rings, but the difficulty increases massively, with large groups of high-tier enemies such as Dragonbombers and Spincushions fighting you every step of the way, and the platforming challenges becoming more complex and deadly (i.e. the water gets replaced with pits) as well.
(15)[Cluttered Cavern 2]
-Texture variety could use some work
-Level layout is a little confusing
-Overall rather mediocre
(16)[Anteggtica 1]
-I'm not completely sure what this level is going for; the way it's set up confuses me. It appears to be a boss level at first from the way it prepares you, with a couple 1-ups, a couple shields, and four ring boxes scattered about as you go through some easy, non-lethal platforming challenges without any enemies to speak of. Then you reach a long, curving, upwards path that leads to an encounter with five BASHes... that you can skip entirely by just touching the signpost in the cave nearby. It's anticlimactic, to say the least, and it left me feeling rather disappointed. At least the appearance of the level was well done - I especially liked the golf-style stripes on the curved path.
(17)[Crystal Cave]
-The texture used for a teleport spotlight is completely solid, making it look like a wall
-Lack of texture variety; seeing the same yellow and blue crystal block wall for pretty much the whole level hurts the eyes
-Upon using the first teleporter or respawning at the starpost next to it, you are immediately faced with a group of Buzzes with little time to prepare
-The level is a bit short
-The level flows well
(18)[Wasteland Wilds]
-The level's appearance could use a major overhaul; the same texture is used for pretty much every wall and floor, although at least there are different textures used for indoor and outdoor areas
-The "paths" provided for Fang and Amy are shortcuts rather than areas where their particular skills come in handy; there's little incentive to take them if given a choice
-One Dragonbomber (the flying wyrm enemy that drops bombs) is placed too far up for spin jump characters to reach and defeat
-The level flows decently
(19)[Magma Falls]
-No custom music
-Many textures, especially those on fans, are misaligned
-Rollout Rocks seem to be implemented rather badly. Lava is considered a liquid by Rollout Rocks, which will slowly rise to the surface of a body of lava if they enter one horizontally. Because of this, the humps of lava present throughout the level have to be navigated at a very low speed while riding Rollout Rocks because otherwise, the Rocks will move straight through them and get the player damaged by lava. There also seem to be a few puzzles involving Rollout Rocks that expect the rocks to move up walls that are too high for them to climb, although I might not be seeing the proper solutions.
-No checkpoints - I died at the very end of the level when I tried to navigate a lava hump with too much speed and got sent right back to the start
-Level design can be questionable at times, especially where Rollout Rocks are concerned
-Appearance is decent
(20)[Cyan Heights]
-Incorrectly renders in OpenGL (the skybox walls in the outdoor sections do not prevent other parts of the level from loading in and becoming visible)
-There are some places where a character without enough upwards mobility can be unable to return to the level proper and must jump into a pit or select Retry in the menu to start over. A good example would be the platform with three rings and a red Crawla that hovers just above a pit in the main outdoor area.
-The design of the level in general seems rather haphazard and unintuitive - it feels like obstacles may have been placed randomly, and the level in general is very short. A good example would be the final room with the signpost: you have the option of simply jumping down and ending the level right away instead of using the hang glider, which is an interesting gimmick that has a lot more potential than shown here.
-The level's appearance is unique, harkening back to the 8-bit Sonic titles
(21)[Hypertower]
-The music sounds like it was put together randomly, with no flow or cohesion, and grates the ears as a result
-Bland visuals, with very little variety in textures
-The zoom tube doesn't seem to be configured properly, sending the player to seemingly random points on the map before arriving at the destination
-Large, empty outdoor space with only four ring boxes and a 1-up to incentivize exploration; very little decorations whatsoever
-The end of the 2D section has a spring intended to send you forward, but it triggers too early and sends you into the nearby corner instead
-Annoying enemy placement
-A very blatant, very badly done warp
-Final teleporter looks like a bright white button
-Horrible level design, with far too many breakaway floors
{Preliminary Notes}
-I always use OpenGL for gameplay; if I saw something that could be a rendering error I momentarily switched to Software to confirm it
-I only tested each level with Tails (because I kinda suck at this game)
-I always play in first-person unless something requires me to switch to third-person (for example, some of the pulleys in Arid Canyon block the player's view in first-person)
-I tend to nitpick more than I praise
-I did not attempt to collect all emblems or perform any Record Attack runs
(01)[Snowflake Ridge]
-This level is absolutely epic. I've never played a Spyro game before, but this makes me want to pick up a copy of the Reignited Trilogy ASAP.
-Visuals are astounding
-Gems aren't taken away upon death, which is a nice quality-of-life feature I didn't expect
-Despite being sieged with enemies at all times, the collect-a-thon gameplay and generous damage system made the added challenge fun instead of frustrating
-Signposts still reset the timer to when they were activated upon death, leading to abnormally low in-game times (and thus, undeserved high time bonuses)
-If an entire Spyro Ripto Blast mod is being worked on, I'll definitely want to see the finished product
(02)[Wild West]
-This level cleverly combines assets from vanilla SRB2 to create its own identity
-Presentation is amazing
-Minecarts are utilized well and create natural-feeling path splits
-Level flow and design are superb
(03)[Oasis Palace]
-Visuals are amazing
-Level flows very well
-Texture clipping is present in a few places
-There might be too many BASHes
(04)[Toffee Tor 1]
-Visuals are very well done
-Great reinterpretation of an existing gimmick
-The level seems to suffer from a case of "more enemies = more difficulty" syndrome, despite there being a variety of badniks
-The level flows very well
(05)[Shadow of Atlantis]
-No custom music (although I did not find whatever easter egg the people on Discord were talking about)
-The statue at the start looks amazing
-The custom texture work in the dry areas is impressive, but the usage of vanilla textures in the underwater areas isn't done all that well
-The level layout is rather confusing, at least for a high-mobility character
-I did not see the ending coming at all; well done on that
(06)[Aqua Paradise]
-The level seems to have rather troubling framerate issues, with lag spikes occurring alarmingly frequently in OpenGL; some of these lag spikes can last for five seconds or more. Software mode also experiences lag spikes, although the frequency and intensity are toned down. Fortunately, these framerate issues are easily fixed, as I learned on Discord, and the creator is happy to do so.
-The appearance is well done
-The level has good flow and is well designed
(07)[Concordian Coast]
-Exclusive usage of MIDI music creates a small lag spike at the end of powerup music, 1-up jingles, etc. if OGG and MIDI music are both enabled due to how the sound engine handles switching music file types
-The visuals are beautiful; the lake full of fish is a clever idea, and the fake godrays covering the signpost are rather unique
-Warning signs placed before potentially dangerous areas are a nice touch
-The level seems to suffer from a minor case of "more enemies = more difficulty" syndrome, despite there being a variety of badniks
(08)[Metallic Madness 1]
-Textures are all unscaled (some textures are clearly larger or smaller than others), leading to odd and conflicting visuals; this mostly just makes the whole level appear blocky due to the sheer size of most of the textures
-The large windows make no sound upon being destroyed
-Incorrectly renders in OpenGL (large outdoor areas do not all render at once due to culling)
-Framerate issues in Software mode (the same areas experience massive drops in framerate due to their sheer size)
-The level flows very well and is well designed
(09)[Rustic Templar]
-Some springs don't appear to be able to propel the player to their intended destinations
-Presentation is well done
-Level flows decently, but has some questionable design decisions
(10)[Myriad Memories]
-The concept is interesting
-The level in general may be a bit too dark
-Level design is decent
(11)[Heroes Hall]
-Flower enemies provide no audio feedback upon defeat, plus they self-resurrect a short time after defeat without warning, and they fire projectiles at you if you're too close. They're basically invincible turrets, and they're everywhere. Not fun. At least make it possible to destroy them for good.
-One-eyed bat enemies also have no audio feedback upon being hit, and take a rather excessive three hits to destroy; the Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past death sound is a nice touch though
-Incorrectly renders in OpenGL (certain floor textures such as the grass used in outdoor areas are pitch-black); in Software the presentation is well done, though
-The class trials are a clever idea, although sadly I'm not familiar with the source material at all
-The level has a good flow to it
(12)[Valley Falls]
-Non-transparent deep water in at least one place
-Exclusive usage of MIDI music creates a small lag spike at the end of powerup music, 1-up jingles, etc. if OGG and MIDI music are both enabled due to how the sound engine handles switching music file types
-Level flows rather well, although the geometry is a bit basic
-Some of the rings in the 2D section cannot be collected because they are outside the playable area
(13)[Hectic Harbor]
-One spring in a room with three red Crawlas and a Deton is not powerful enough to propel the player to its intended destination
-The choice of music seems rather questionable for a game that is normally family-friendly
-Textures are missing in some places
-Enemies seem to be placed randomly in some areas, not taking into account their strength, weaknesses, or ideal locations; Detons especially seem to be in areas without enough cover or warning to avoid them
-The "Exit" texture is of rather low quality; the variety of textures used for the containers keeps the place from being bland, though
-The presence of Emerald Tokens in a level where all the Chaos Emeralds can be collected is an odd choice; perhaps replace them with 1-ups or other powerups?
(14)[Overgrown Heights]
-Appearance is absolutely superb
-One set of springs that must be used to escape a pit of water if you fall in is placed directly under a bridge, requiring midair movement to return to dry land
-One set of speed boosters is set up to send you straight into a nearby wall, making them pointless
-Has a few instances of broken geometry, creating visible holes in the level (Example: the start of the downstream river section has some alcoves off to the sides that likely weren't meant to be accessible, but many characters can access them anyway and discover geometry that broke due to issues with the logs on the floor)
-There are some serious difficulty issues, the most obvious being the absolutely humongous amount of rings the player is given - I ended the level with nearly 1200 of the things! The first half of the level simply feeds you rings while offering very little resistance. The second half does the same in regards to the rings, but the difficulty increases massively, with large groups of high-tier enemies such as Dragonbombers and Spincushions fighting you every step of the way, and the platforming challenges becoming more complex and deadly (i.e. the water gets replaced with pits) as well.
(15)[Cluttered Cavern 2]
-Texture variety could use some work
-Level layout is a little confusing
-Overall rather mediocre
(16)[Anteggtica 1]
-I'm not completely sure what this level is going for; the way it's set up confuses me. It appears to be a boss level at first from the way it prepares you, with a couple 1-ups, a couple shields, and four ring boxes scattered about as you go through some easy, non-lethal platforming challenges without any enemies to speak of. Then you reach a long, curving, upwards path that leads to an encounter with five BASHes... that you can skip entirely by just touching the signpost in the cave nearby. It's anticlimactic, to say the least, and it left me feeling rather disappointed. At least the appearance of the level was well done - I especially liked the golf-style stripes on the curved path.
(17)[Crystal Cave]
-The texture used for a teleport spotlight is completely solid, making it look like a wall
-Lack of texture variety; seeing the same yellow and blue crystal block wall for pretty much the whole level hurts the eyes
-Upon using the first teleporter or respawning at the starpost next to it, you are immediately faced with a group of Buzzes with little time to prepare
-The level is a bit short
-The level flows well
(18)[Wasteland Wilds]
-The level's appearance could use a major overhaul; the same texture is used for pretty much every wall and floor, although at least there are different textures used for indoor and outdoor areas
-The "paths" provided for Fang and Amy are shortcuts rather than areas where their particular skills come in handy; there's little incentive to take them if given a choice
-One Dragonbomber (the flying wyrm enemy that drops bombs) is placed too far up for spin jump characters to reach and defeat
-The level flows decently
(19)[Magma Falls]
-No custom music
-Many textures, especially those on fans, are misaligned
-Rollout Rocks seem to be implemented rather badly. Lava is considered a liquid by Rollout Rocks, which will slowly rise to the surface of a body of lava if they enter one horizontally. Because of this, the humps of lava present throughout the level have to be navigated at a very low speed while riding Rollout Rocks because otherwise, the Rocks will move straight through them and get the player damaged by lava. There also seem to be a few puzzles involving Rollout Rocks that expect the rocks to move up walls that are too high for them to climb, although I might not be seeing the proper solutions.
-No checkpoints - I died at the very end of the level when I tried to navigate a lava hump with too much speed and got sent right back to the start
-Level design can be questionable at times, especially where Rollout Rocks are concerned
-Appearance is decent
(20)[Cyan Heights]
-Incorrectly renders in OpenGL (the skybox walls in the outdoor sections do not prevent other parts of the level from loading in and becoming visible)
-There are some places where a character without enough upwards mobility can be unable to return to the level proper and must jump into a pit or select Retry in the menu to start over. A good example would be the platform with three rings and a red Crawla that hovers just above a pit in the main outdoor area.
-The design of the level in general seems rather haphazard and unintuitive - it feels like obstacles may have been placed randomly, and the level in general is very short. A good example would be the final room with the signpost: you have the option of simply jumping down and ending the level right away instead of using the hang glider, which is an interesting gimmick that has a lot more potential than shown here.
-The level's appearance is unique, harkening back to the 8-bit Sonic titles
(21)[Hypertower]
-The music sounds like it was put together randomly, with no flow or cohesion, and grates the ears as a result
-Bland visuals, with very little variety in textures
-The zoom tube doesn't seem to be configured properly, sending the player to seemingly random points on the map before arriving at the destination
-Large, empty outdoor space with only four ring boxes and a 1-up to incentivize exploration; very little decorations whatsoever
-The end of the 2D section has a spring intended to send you forward, but it triggers too early and sends you into the nearby corner instead
-Annoying enemy placement
-A very blatant, very badly done warp
-Final teleporter looks like a bright white button
-Horrible level design, with far too many breakaway floors
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