Bleached Diamondus

  • Rating: 8

Reviews and comments

    MR MAGOO Posted more than 20 years ago (edited 25 May 09, 20:02 by Stijn)

    8

    Bleached Diamondus, a rather obvious title for a level with such a tileset. Let’s start with my usual, lengthy review.

    Eyecandy: The tileset used in this level is of course, Diamondus. Yet it is overused, that is not an issue due to the quality of the level. There was a nice backround with trees, the usual. Not much to say about that. There was a good creativeness used in layer 5, or whatever layer was used for those patches of blue whatever they’re called. That made the eyecandy look rather nice. There was a good use of trees and flowers and such, not too little yet not too crowded so you can’t see what you’re doing. I didn’t notice any eyecandy mistakes, although at the time I wasn’t looking very hard at that aspect. What gave the eyecandy that extra zip of pleasure was the fact that it’s bleached. Very nice. I’m sure every layer was used in this level, or at least pretty close.

    Gameplay: The gameplay in this level was unique in certain ways, and common in others. Either way you look at it, the gameplay was pretty good, especially for a CTF level. Good use of one-way events, used where nessessary. Good use of springs, also. When you enter the blue or red base, you’ll notice you can go left or right, which go in two opposite directions. Very useful, because you don’t want your opponent camping at the spot where you’re always going to end up. There was many ups and downs, curves and sharp spots. A good variety of gameplay. When you reach the carrot warp, you fall into the carrot, then descending down to a warp. The really interesting this about this is that by the warp is water, so you can stay in that carrot room if you think your opponent is going to try to get it. An interesting camping technique used.

    Weapons\Placement: The number of weapons used in this level was perfect, since the level is a bit smaller than most CTF levels there wasn’t too much. There was a good variety of ammo, they weren’t all clustered up into a rectangle. They were spread out into many patterns which makes the level fun. There were only two powerups, which is perfect for a level that size. Good choice on powerups, too. Seekers and bouncers are used often in CTF levels. I didn’t have any problem with the use of weapons.

    Overall, Bleached Diamondus is a good CTF level, good for as little as 1vs1 duels, or as much as 3vs3. I didn’t really see any flaws in the level at all… It’s above average in my opinion, but it’s still missing something. Something to give it that extra zip of tenderness.. So overall, this level gets a 7.7. Good job, FS!

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    EvilMike Posted more than 20 years ago

    8

    Bleached Diamondus is a quite small, intense CTF level suited for 4 players at the most. It has a creative, unique layout which is semi-symmetrical, and uses my “Dreary Diamondus” pallete edit.

    When I played here, it was with about 6 people. That doesn’t seem like a lot, but the level was quite crowded with that amount, and not in a way I enjoy. Once the number lowered to about 4, things still felt a bit crowded, but in a good way. If you do not like intense gameplay, you will NOT like this level, but then, it’s a lot better than slow gameplay. FireSword did a good job with this level, and it is definately his best CTF level on j2o.

    The best part about this level is the layout. While most good CTF levels use original layouts, this one is like no other at all. Each base is located in a pit which is walled by sucker tubes that carry you out to the top. If you are shot with a seeker, you will probably be thrown out of the base. The carrot is located in a warp, where you are supposed to fall into the carrot and immediately warp out again. There are a lot of tubes in this level, making ambush a very powerful tactic. This level is definately worth downloading just to look at the design.

    The other high point of this level is the eyecandy. The level looks excellent, professional, but not too cluttered with eyecandy as to make it annoying for the player. It is only a basic diamondus-style eyecandy design: nothing totally unique but still impressive.

    Looking into other aspects, we find what brings the score down. In terms of playability (moving around, gameflow, etc), this level scores only average. Many springs do not bring you high enough, and require a double jump to reach certain platforms. Many platforms feel like they are one tile too short, and they require awkward jumps in order to reach other ones. This is extremely evident with a certain sloped “tunnel” through a wall in the middle of the level, and a spring that feels like it should bring you up to the bouncer powerup. This doesn’t mean there aren’t good points of the playability, though. Liberal use of the one way event makes it much easier to move around, and it could safely be said that without those events, the level would be much, much worse.

    Ammo in this level is easy to reach for the most part, and it is scattered around in patches that look good. None of that rectangular stuff that is in a lot of other levels. It is fairly easy to reach, but could be easier.

    As for bugs, there is only two are evident (at least that I could find). In the carrot warp, you can bounce off of the water instead of warping when you hit it (like you should). This means you can stay in the carrot room and wait for it to respawn. Also, the carrot can be shot down into some layer 3, making it totally invisible. Other than that, the level is bug-free and really feels like a lot of effort was put into testing it.

    I give this level a 7.7 because it is a good, solid level that is well designed.

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    Super Saiyan Posted more than 20 years ago

    8

    Well, its quite a small level, but I hope it can handle alot of people like you say in your description. The most thing of what I liked in this lvl was the design of it. Check yourself if you want to know what I mean, a download recommendation from me and a 8.

    This is a short review. It has less impact on the upload's score.

    Taz Posted more than 20 years ago

    8

    WOW! Nice job! For everyone that don’t like to read: Download this NOW!

    For everyone that like read: here comes the rrrreview! .
    It’s a very well designed level, with water what you can’t touch. There a lots of Sucker Tubes and holes in walls. That makes the gameplay very good. The weapon Placement is very well too. There is one Seeker PU – in this level it will make the game rule. The eyecandy is perfect. No bugs. So, overall a very very nice level by Fire Sword. DOWNLOAD THIS NOW!

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    Spotty Posted more than 20 years ago

    8

    Bleached Diamondus

    In the eyecandy department ;P, Its done well, normal eyecandy you seen in most diamondus levels with some intersiting usage of layers 5-7.
    The Gameplay is good excpet for tubes in bases.I like the carrot thing although by jumping and not going to high you can stay in it and wait for it to spawn. Also if it is show down there are two places it can be , the left
    or the right ;P.
    Its a fun lev with good weapon varietys and interesting ideas.
    I would recommend this download to all : P.

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    Blackraptor Posted more than 20 years ago

    8

    Ok, for once in my life I will give a lenghty review.

    First, this is a small CTF level using Evilmike’s dreary diamondus tileset. Eyecandy is good, gameplay is also good. The weapon placement is, what can I say, FUN! They aren’t just placed in boring squares or rectangles, but in cool patterns. The location of the bases is average. The only stuff that bugs me is that some springs dont bounce you high enough and require lots of effort into jumping. Their is water in the level, but you cant touch it(oh well) and there are lots of sucker tubes. Their is a good choice of powerups. Their is the right number of powerups(although I would of put 3). The level does look like effort was put into it. So For a small level, it sure is fun. Nice job firesword.
    My conclusion:

    This isnt any ordinary small CTF level, its a good small CTF level. For all you people who havent downloaded this yet, do so now. If you dont believe me, read everyone else’s review. Download reccomendation.[This review has been edited by Blackraptor]

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    spazz Posted more than 20 years ago

    8

    Hmmm, a nice tileset.

    Good gameplay, only a bit sort, good use of Sucker Tubes. But it doesn’t matter if it is small, as it not get’s boring. Very good eyecandy and dark paths. No realy secrets, to bad. You can get easely to the Power-ups. Put more ammo in it. Good ideas for a small level. Oh well download and see. :)

    Put with the other autors Evilmike with it, he has made the tileset![This review has been edited by spazz]

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    Lark Posted more than 20 years ago

    8

    I’ll take the honor of giving this level a Tip (8.0 or higher).
    Eyecandy is very good. There is nothing wrong there.
    Gameplay is fun, and entertaining, but when you fall downwards toward the bases, you may accidently hit a tree, causing you to go back up.
    Flow is nice; the level is easy to learn.
    Layout is also good.
    Ammo placement is okay; I’ve seen better.
    Download: Yes.
    Host this often: Occasionally, yes.[This review has been edited by labratkid]

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    DarkSonic Posted more than 20 years ago

    9

    Ok, here comes a longer review then before.
    First impressions: A nice level by FireSworD of OLC and DM.

    Gameplay: Good/Very Good. There is very nice gameplay here, there are places with unique things and nice spring placement, too. The bases are placed near the bottom-left and bottom-right. There are two ways to go there. If you choose right at the left base, you can be hit by a camper. If you go left at the left base, you will fall down and won’t be hit that easy I think. So is the other side of the level. There is a warp to the full energy which is quite hard to find if you play this level for the first time. There is also one way in some places.
    Conclusion of gameplay: Very nice, but not very good.

    Eye candy/Tileset use: Very Good. This is very nice, yes. The tileset use was excellent. There is a nice background and there is enough stuff in the sprite layer. Things like flowers, cave tiles and other things that are in the Diamondus tileset.
    Conclusion of eye candy: it r0x.

    Placement: Good/Very Good. Actually, this isn’t the best placement, but it’s also very nice. There are 2 PU, a Seeker and a Bouncy PU. There is enough ammo in the level, and the form of the groups of ammo is fun to see. There is a Full Energy in a warp, like I said, and I like the placement of it. Although, when you got the full energy you can be hit right after you got it.
    Conclusion of placement: Also nice.

    Originality: Good/Very Good. The tileset use here is very original, the music is regular diamondus, which doesnt matter because there arent many songs for this tileset. The tileset looks nice I think, and I like it.
    Conclusion originality: very original.

    Others: Host this: Yes, it’s a great level.
    Download: Of course.

    I think I underrated when I gave a 8, so here is a 8.3-8.5.

    - DarkSonic of XSD and CC - [This review has been edited by da man]

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