Nature's Plot of Land

Rating
8.6
Reviews:
3
Downloads:
773
Date uploaded:
9 Jun 2007 at 20:26

Download details

Re-upload/Edit Download
Author
Ragnarok! (More uploads by Ragnarok!)
Type
Race
Credits
Uhh, thanks to the testers, I really can't think so I wont name them.
Version
1.23
Satisfaction
100%
Screenshots

No screenshots yet.

OLCNPLand.zip (217.61 kB)

File contents

OLCNPLand.j2l Nature's Plot Of Land 12.33 kB 09 Jun 2007
Mystic Isle.j2t Mystic Isle 44.40 kB 23 May 2005
3ddemo2.mod 3d-demo-ii 219.28 kB 14 Sep 2005

Description

Hi!

I’ve been away for quite a while and now I seem to be coming back. Here’s a level from a long time ago, it was supposed to be for a pack I was making with Cooba, but I kinda took too long.

I hope you enjoy playing it as much as I enjoyed making it

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Quick Reviews Average: 8

Recommendedcooba rated 8

I agree with Derby but I like this level enough to think it’s underrated!


User Reviews (Sort by Helpful Index or Date Posted) Average: 8.8

RecommendedReview by PT32

Posted:
19 Jan 2012, 23:40 (edited 11 Mar 12, 17:00)
Jazz Jackrabbit (202 Points)
Number of reviews with ratings171 Featured reviews4 Average helpfulness61%
Rating
9.9

There aren’t a lot of people who build race levels. Still less who actually care about them.

No, I’m completely serious. Next to Treasure Hunts, quite possibly the most irrelevant and unspectacular multiplayer mode of Jazz 2 in terms of quality custom-built levels is the Race category. For whatever bizarre, unappealing or totally unexplained reason, JCSers just don’t want to put in the time and effort required to create a decent course.

Because of this, J2O members generally pay little to no attention on the rare occasions when a race (or a Treasure Hunt, for that matter) is uploaded. After all, nobody ever makes worthwhile maps, so what’s the point?

As a result, the vicious cycle comes full circle, returning to the JCSers who are not properly encouraged to try and make these sparse and often unappreciated styles of multiplayer levels.

My point is compounded by the glaringly obvious fact that, despite being a Featured upload with 446 downloads, Ragnarok’s race level has but one quick review and but one full-length review.

True, that full-length review may happen to be a Featured Review, but that’s mostly because it’s the lone votable review for the level, and is thus the most likely review to be sampled on the front page of J2O, which in most cases greatly contributes to Featured Review status.

The whole thing’s a terrible shame, really, because Nature’s Plot of Land is one of the best races I’ve EVER seen. And believe you me, there’s nary a level to challenge it.

First off, the structure is fantastic. NPoL meshes perfectly with its Mystic Isle tileset, going from expansive, roomy caverns one minute to steep, foreboding cliffs the next, then magnificent waterfalls, then winding subterranean rivers…the list goes on and on and on.

Ragnarok then avoids the classic blunder, the biggest of which is getting involved in a land war in Asia, but only SLIGHTLY less significant is to never put warps where they don’t belong!

Princess Bride quotations aside, Rag chose not to take the cheap way out and use a space-age teleporter in a naturalistic, outdoorsey environment to warp the player back to the start, instead employing a really cool sucker-tube-aided passage that flings the player through still more earthy tunnels, magically depositing them back at the start.

Beat that!

NPoL uses Mystic Isle brilliantly, with just the right amount of eyecandy dotted in various places to make it seem natural. A-plus there.

Then there’s the obstacles. Oh, be still my heart! Ragnarok showed a masterful flair for levelmaking with the obstacles he placed in this race. Spring traps (Cleverly executed ones like the Blue Spring right at the beginning never grow old). TnT booby-trap crates. Freezers to immobilize fellow players, powered-up RFs to knock them backwards (plus an ingenius method for procuring them), Keep-1 springs (A lot of people miss this crucial level-building trick, which prevents springs from automatically killing a player’s left-to-right momentum) that send the racer flying off the edge of a cliff.

The TnT crates are especially devastating in the underwater segment.

I was also VERY happy to discover certain types of ammo that Ragnarok left OUT, namely the seekers and toasters. Seekers used to be my favorite weapon, but they’re so overrused now that I’m absolutely sick of ‘em. Toasters would serve little purpose on a race anyway, so it’s good that they’re not wasted here.

The weapon I was most pleased to find present was the Pepper Spray powerup. Pepper Spray is so underrated, due to its complete uselessness in singleplayer. Nevertheless, it is instrumental in multiplayer, thanks to its minuscule size and difficulty in subsequently avoiding. It works great here.

NPoL had a great song, too. Its fast pace kept me hopping through the stage (as any good race song will), yet it was organic enough to be completely appropriate for this level. Hats off to Rag for an excellent selection.

Not much needs to be said about buggage, since it’s basically nonexistent.

The absolute ONLY criticism I have is the “Bouncy Cliffs”, where one tile is slightly high enough that, without a full head of steam, it requires a few tries to successfully climb up.

Think about that for a minute. THE WORST THING I CAN FIND TO SAY ABOUT NPoL IS THAT ONE TILE IS PLACED ONE SPACE TOO HIGH.

Summary? Nature’s Plot of Land took my breath away, not because it was such a tremendously well-executed upload on all fronts (which it was), but because it went almost completely unnoticed by prospective reviewers. I probably wouldn’t have even played it at all if I hadn’t picked a random level of Ragnarok’s to evaluate, in exchange for his own review on one of mine.

And just think of what all I would’ve missed out on.

7.8?! Heck, no! This race deserves better. So much better.

It was an almost perfect upload, so I’m going to give it an almost perfect rating. Nature’s Plot of Land was a terrific level, and I think it’s just plain ridiculous that people don’t make races like this more often.

Wonderful job, Ragnarok. Wonderful, wonderful job. Two thumbs up, a standing ovation and an immediate and unconditional download recommendation go to you today.

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