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MoonBlazE
Sep 7, 2003, 02:04 AM
This post is a rant about Jazz Jackrabbit 2 level edition gameplay.
Around the noon at this Sunday I felt bored and decided to play my old favorite game: Jazz2. I used monobot's gip script in #jj2 to find a server called "Once Upon A Midnight Dreary..". I run Jazz2 up and join it.

As soon I enter the server, I find my rabbit in a death end because of the standard spawn point. The level is using the beach tileset and looks the same all over.
A player named "LaserBoy" camps next to the SpawnPoint with a lighting shield, I manage to get away from him with one point of health left. I find a full health event in a kind of tower and start to explore the level with confusion eyecandy and not much varity. The weapon placement is poor, I don't have the music the level uses, and the powerups avible is hidden in 50 coin bonus warps. So I grab some seekers and start my coin hunt. Soon I'm running from someone who's chasing me with upgraded seekers, all he does is folow me and press space. I manage to aim a few bouncers very well and make him run. When I collected 46 coins I start moving over to the Coin Warp, where I get killed by someone camping with the Seeker Power up. Now I'm forced to restart at the same spawn point and start recollecting 50 coins to have an equal chance in fighting enemies. LaserBoy have now found a fire shield and gains more kills while being completely invicible to any damage. I decide to quit the game, because there is no overall fun in the game and I'd rather make homework than continue playing Jazz2.

What is the moral of this? Making a level needs a tweaked gameplay. Camping is generally a really sick tactic that should not even exsist (IE: Camping at spawn points, carrots, powerups..), but does because of a poor placement of importnant items. A player with a powerup will always win against a player without one. Unless one of the players is very skilled and the enemy is completely dumb. I often get bored while playing Jazz2, because there is no overall team work or strategy, rather than get a weapon and fight off. Timing is not even really requred, which easy could be done by simply make the level alike it.

-Don't put carrots, powerups, and spawn points in camp areas, such as warps, death ends, and unreachable platforms.
-Don't put Seeker Power ups in your levels, they are bugged and requre no aiming. They are extremely powerfull and move too fast to dodge under lag.
-Don't use shields unless hidden in expensive coin warps. Shields ruin the overall fun in a game and makes people camp at that place.

Folow these rules and your gameplay in your levels will be a whole lot more fun.

Trafton
Sep 7, 2003, 09:24 AM
I know the level you are talking about (by MidN), and I agree that it has some certain problems with camp-ability. The real moral of the story, though, is to have multiple start positions, not put ammo/carrots near them, and to kick people who use shields in levels without them (especially if they are named less than subtly). Also, not having the music is not really the level creator's fault. You have some very good points, though, and, yes, many otherwise decent levels are ruined by "camp-ability."

~ Traft

Strato
Sep 7, 2003, 12:06 PM
You played for real in midn's server?!?! Thats not how its done. You are supposed to enjoy the classics while running around talking to people like Spamander and Strato.

Nimrod
Sep 10, 2003, 02:27 PM
After reading what Moonblaze has said, I got to agree with him! And agree with all his points, and will make extra sure now when making battle levels :)

Thanks for the tips! :)