Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

Ah! Something of good quality (I haven’t seen it yet, but I’m assuming) that is actually the author’s original work. About time.

THEME: The theme is.. well, it’s a nature tileset. There are also a bunch of grey blocks for structures not supported by the ground ground, and of course a big crashed spaceship or something.
Pros: Feels like a nature tileset, though I’ll admit that’s not paticularly hard.
Cons: The spaceship just does not fit in. It is of much lower quality then the rest of the tileset as well.
Rating: 7.5

GRAPHICS: The tileset Looks great. Textures, shading, abstractness.. you get the idea.
Pros: Almost everything has great graphics.
Cons: I do not care for any of the destructable blocks, the brown tree could use a little work, and the spaceship should be thrown out entirely.
Rating: 8.7

INVENTORY: H/V poles, vines, signs, and various block types.
Pros: The more common stuff is there.
Cons: No hook, spikes (I suppose it does seem to be an exclusively multiplayer tileset, but still), sucker tubes…
Rating: 7.5

ORIGINALITY: No matter how hard they try, nature tilesets always seem to end up being not paticularly original. The ground feels like (though it isn’t) Easter Island, the layer 4 background Carrotus, a good deal of the tileset Forest, much of the foliage Oasis, etc. I suppose seeing as it makes no attempt to be original I shall make no attempt to rate this factor.

COMPETITION: Any nature tileset has tons of competition. This one looks great, but the fact is there are better ones out there, which are actually 1.23. Nature’s Ruins, for example.
(No pros given)
(No cons given)
(No rating given)

EASE OF USE: This tileset is fairly easy to use, though you may spend a few seconds now and then hunting for just the right tile. However, sometimes, the right tile will simply not be there. Several things are missing from this tileset, such as some cage-edges on slopes.
Pros: Most things are where you’d expect them.
Cons: Some tiles are hard to find or just don’t exist.
Rating: 7.2

MASKING: The masking is mostly good, sensible solid/unsolid stuff.
Pros: Mostly good.
Cons: The spaceship is masked badly, some of the vine-attached-to-wall tiles are left automasked, and the slopes are a bit too bumpy for my tastes.
Rating: 7.2

OVERALL: This is a great looking tileset which suffers from a slight lack of much to back up the graphics. There is really nothing new or exciting about this tileset, and there’s no textured background. This is most certainly a multiplayer tileset.
Pros: Looks great, decent masking, useful stuff included.
Cons: Not paticularly new, some masking problems, spaceship still looks horrible.
Rating: 8.2

Edit: Waz, ok, here is what I can tell you about the 1.23/1.24 thing.
1.24 is the TSF version of JJ2, costing money. 1.23 is the “normal” version. 1.24 can run anything 1.23 can, but not vice versa, so it’s best to make things 1.23 whenever possible (I.E. if the tileset is less then 1030 tiles, or if the level uses a 1.23 tileset). You, however, ONLY have TSF, so you can not compile your tilesets in 1.23, but it Is possible for you to send the normal file and the mask file to someone who does have 1.23 to compile it for you, which is what people would appreciate if you did.[This review has been edited by Violet CLM]

This is a nice tileset by Waz, although there are several things I don’t like about it. Well, it’s probably only one thing, and that’s just because it’s in TSF when it doesn’t have to be. I would consider using it if it was in 1.23 instead, but that’s just me. If you can’t do it yourself, I could be willing to help. In the long run, if you make tilesets in 1.23, it will get more people to use them in their levels. Just something to think about…

Anyway, my rating is a 7.7 only because it’s a good tileset (it’s better than the other ones you’ve made before), but doesn’t go too far with originality. But still, I like it so keep up the good work.[This review has been edited by BlurredD]

Well, this is another TSF-based tileset by Waz. I really wish Waz would begin making his tilesets in 1.23, as it is much more convinient and would likely fetch many more reviews than in 1.24. Still, this is a solid nature tileset and, although it has plenty of good competition, it is still worthy of making levels with. Unfortunately, the likelihood it will be used is diminished by the fact that it is TSF. Well, anyway, on to the review.

THEME: The theme is nature, although there are a few blocks that are sort of out of place. Perhaps it is some nature near Roswell, New Mexico. What I am referring to is a crashed space ship which can be used for eyecandy. This seems a bit out of place, but does not blend all that badly into the eyecandy of this level. There are some grey blocks used for supports, and of course there are the normal ground and nature tiles. It feels like a nature tileset, and is therefore well-done themewise.
Pros: It feels, tastes, and looks like a nature tileset.
Cons: The spaceship is way too cartoony.
Rating: 7.5

GRAPHICS: The graphics in this tileset really do look fantastic. The shading of everything, along with the tile quality, looks fantastic. Again, the only part in which graphics quality is compromised is definitely the space ship. It looks out of place and seems to have been put in at the last minute – it looks bad and is badly drawn. Still, this tileset features outstanding graphics quality.
Pros: Graphics are very, very well done.
Cons: The space ship not only looks out of place in the level, but it looks badly drawn. There are a few other graphics inconsistincies, but not too many.
Rating: 8.5

INVENTORY: There are a few things that are missing here. Spikes, hooks, and (eep) sucker tubes are all missing from the tileset. The rest of the stuff is here, but this area still needs work.
Pros: Most stuff is here.
Cons: A few things are missing, such as sucker tubes, hooks, spikes, and the like.
Rating: 7.2

ORIGINALITY: There is not much originality going on here. Plenty of other tilesets in this realm exist, and that is bad for the overall originality. There are some interesting parts of this tileset that do consititute some originality, but most of it is badly done. For instance, the spaceship is indeed original and not something you would often see in a nature-themed tileset. This could be attributed to one reason: it just does not fit, and besides, it looks pretty bad. Aside of a few minor blemishes, this tileset is good, but not original.

COMPETITION: There are plenty of nature tilesets out there that compete with this tileset, but there are plenty of nice things about this tileset that keep it in the running. Most of the tilesets in the nature area are probably inferior to this one, but there are still some great tilesets in this category that definitely beat this one (“Nature” by Disguise, for instance.) Still, it’s enjoyable and a good tileset.
(No pros given)
(No cons given)
(No rating given)

EASE OF USE: Tileset ease of use may look fairly easy at first, but it is not as easy as one would think from a quick glance at it. Namely, the tileset lacks some tiles that are more or less requirements in such tilesets. Still, if the tile that you need is there, this tileset is fairly easy-to-use.
Pros: The tileset layout is good, and most things are there.
Cons: A few tileset tiles that you would probably need are simply missing.
Rating: 7.2

MASKING: Yet again, the spaceship is badly masked. The vines and slopes also look a bit questionable, and the former seems to be automasked. Other than that, masking looks alright.
Pros: For the most part, masking is good.
Cons: Spaceship, vines, and slopes need some work.
Rating: 7.5

OVERALL: This is a great tileset, at least by appearance. However, once you get down into the technical parts of the tileset, there are a few problems. Graphics are great, but the other categories are mostly in the 7 range. This is by no means a bad tileset, but it just does not live up to its graphics, especially the spaceship, which should have been dropped completely. Good quality, but needs some work before it can live up to the quality of its graphics. And please, PLEASE, make 1.23 tilesets instead.
Pros: Looks fantastic.
Cons: Some of the “technical” aspects of the tileset need work. Spaceship. It’s TSF.
Rating: 7.7

EYECANDY
Eyecandy Look: A -
Usability: B+
Tiles Available: B+
Foreground: A -
Background: B+

TECHNICAL
Tiles Available: B+
Masking: B+
Tile Fitting: B+

OVERALL: B+

OVERALL RATING: 7.7

Thx for the reviews. I was hoping better ratings, though… I’ll try harder next time.

About the grey blocks and the space ship: First, I don’t understand why you say the ship is crashed. It’s not. It’s actually there for a SP story I wanted to make. It was also there in al the previous versions, I couldn’t just let it out. It wouldn’t be Hustar without the spaceship. The blocks were meant for some sort of abandond base.

Violet: this is not a multiplayer tileset. I just forgot the hurt stuff. I might edit the tileset once…

And a big question: WHEN DO WE USE 1.23 OR 1.24? Explain it! Evryone says different stuff. Who’s right?![This review has been edited by Waz]

Well, what have we here ?

Nice tileset. Natural, which isn’t always easy. But I believe Waz made it fine. Nice tieset. (very) good eyecandy.
Some tiles are missing though(hurt for example, or hooks) but all that is necessary is available. The ground has very good grfx, but the plants are +-average. But, weird as it may seem, I really(really) like this set.

Nice Job! Hope u’ll do even better nxt time…

Hm. I actually like this set more than several of the higher rated TSF sets (was bored so I was browsing through them) so I’ll review this.

First, I like how you drew the ground tiles. They look nice. The level has a nice, nature feel, though more tiles could’ve been addded in to further enhance the feel (like better and bigger trees). Poles, destruct blocks, vines and text signs are there, though arrow signs would’ve been appreciated. More leaf tiles could’ve been used here because in its current state levels would look kinda barren using this set. This set only also has 450 tiles, making there no reason for it to be TSF since it doesnt even have half the tiles the 1.23 limit has. Either more tiles should’ve been included in to take advantage of the TSF feature or this should’ve just been converted into 1.23. I don’t like the rain much here too.

Overall, I like the set, but it doesnt really feel finished and is lacking tiles. I think this could’ve turned out great if it had been expanded and the quality of the new tiles stayed relatively the same. Currently, this gets an 8.2, and a download reccomendation.