![]() |
Desert Fight | 6.19 kB | 18 Jun 2010 |
![]() |
Oasis | 121.78 kB | 06 Dec 2002 |
![]() |
Camel Ride By Qum | 537.71 kB | 18 Mar 2007 |
A duel level for the duel tournament 2.0 level contest.
It’s tested, it works fine for 2vs2 too, enjoy!
Made by:
Laro24, TreyLina from CDF’s level making team. And GLaDOS for betatesting and Blade for tileset.
Special thanks to:
GLaDOS for betatesting and suggestions.
HotRod for betatesting.
King for suggestions.
Chillax for betatesting.
Updated, final version fix:
-The ‘‘boxish’‘ layout has been removed.
-The Carrot has been made visible!
-Stuck at red spring is fixed.
-Those ‘‘flying’‘ bases are fixed.
-Improved eyecandy.
-Improved start pos.
-Changed greenspring at right C into blue spring.
-Added some OneWay events.
-Changed Toaster ammo.
-Made the credits text vanish.
Nice. I would recommend it. GJ!
Nice eye candy, okay team balance (vertical/diagonal CTF levels are usually hard to balance), there’s no carrot camping, very interesting game play for both duels and 2v2s.
Download recommended.
[EDIT: Sorry for overrating…]
I like this level nice
Nice lvl :)
nice
How could I miss this, a level with several 9 or close to 9 ratings?
Desert Fight is, as far as I know, Laro’s debut in the JCS scene, and a decent one I may add. However, “decent” is about the epitome about what can be said about this level, for there are no real aspects about it that have a certain plateau of polish and charm to justify giving it such high ratings. This does not necessarily mean I consider the level bad in any shape or form; I just think it does not deserve the tremendous amount of praise it has received so far.
The name “Desert Fight”, while being decidedly generic, is descriptive enough for this level – it’s set in a desert, and you’re going to fight here. Oasis was a good choice for this level, and is used adequately to create the environment one would expect to find in a desert. However, I found the level looking rather unnatural in places:
Yes, that’s right. Straight aka “squared-off” edges are ever present in this level. I don’t generally have a problem with this if the level has a theme which justifies the use of more regular patterns, such as an indoor technology based theme. Here, seeing so many straight edges just makes this level feel “forced”. I mean, tell me how many times you have seen a cave or cliff overhang with a perfect, smooth edge like that? It’s almost as if someone carved the level out of a colossal slab of stone. Speaking of which, an overview in JCS shows that it is highly probable that Laro created a simple box first, and then built the layout inside it. Is that really a good idea though, to confine your thoughts to within a box? He seems to have thought so.
It’s not exactly an easy task to see what Laro was trying to accomplish with the visual design here. From a first glance, it seems as if he was trying to make a barren desert environment, in comparison with other levels with this set which make much more liberal use of aspects such as the buildings and the palm trees. I prefer the subtle approach he takes to the eyecandy in that regard, from what he was trying to create. However, the “artificialness” of the structural design counteracts this ideal, so it ends up being a useless move, only making the level feel somewhat bland. A real desert would look curved and jagged, so why not at least attempt to make the level like that? Fortunately, this is MP so I can somewhat overlook that while I’m playing, but I still consider the general appearance of this level somewhat lazy. Meh.
Seeing as this level was an entry for jjnet’s duel contest, the gameplay here deserves more of a sharp focus. The design is basically somewhat diagonally based, with an emphasis on uphill climbing. This is generally a very risky design choice, because at most any given time, the player with height over another player is usually at an advantageous situation. Surprisingly, the balance here is met quite well. While I think there might be a slight favour towards red due to having more immediate access to both carrots, the blue has the advantage of having a much less exposed base, and a quick escape route via the RF PU and copter. Also, the lack of a Bouncer PU eases the bias somewhat. The two PUs which do exist, RF and Toaster, compliment each other well in this level, and both come in handy in many situations, ie chasing your opponents on the long straight corridors with RF and defending the bases with a flood of fire from Toasters. The middle section of the level, aka the no-mans land, will see heavy usage, for it is the central hub connecting the rest of the level together. It is quite open; not as open as something like Distopia but still could be annoying to navigate if the server lags. Fortunately, the lack of a Seeker PU does remedy this – the number one cause of airs in a server. However, expect Toaster spam there now and again. It isn’t that much of an issue, but just be careful. At least the items are well spread out, meaning just about every area in this level will get some use.
The carrot situation is alright, but not perfect. They’re both placed fairly equidistant from eachother in comparison with the bases. As I’ve said already, the red team can reach either one of them slightly quicker than the blue team, due to having to make nothing but a simple drop, whereas blue has to make a couple of tricky jumps in order to reach them. This can prove quite an advantage for red at moments, as being able to make a fast escape from the base after being hit while you’re RTS while the enemy is being RTS. Blue team does have the copter for quick access to the left carrot; assuming it has spawned that is. Speaking of the left carrot, it suffers from the same problem as the left carrot in BBswing – you cannot check to see if it has spawned without taking the risk and looking yourself, as it is obscured by the foreground. While the hole it is in can be shot with EB to check if it is there (it will fall), I still dislike having to randomly check if it has spawned or not – I should be able to tell for sure by seeing it. In duels, carrot control will be a vital aspect in this level, as it is for the BB duo. So far many of the reviewers have stated that it is impossible to camp them successfully. This is true to an extent, although due to them being placed on almost a straight line, it is possible to run back between them with relative ease, dominating the control over the level. Shooting down the left carrot helps with this.
Would I recommend this? Yes and no. While there is nothing particularly outstanding or innovative about this level, and it does have a couple of annoying flaws, I can imagine many players these days will enjoy the gameplay it provides, which is reminiscent of many popular levels. I did find it somewhat amusing to play in after all.
If you’re into online play at the moment, try it and see what you think.
EDIT: To be fair you did improve this level a bit, so it’s only fair I increase the rating.
Thanks for the report on the stuck, and, how can this be a copy of Devres74.j2l? I titled as Oasis because of the tileset.
And you’re wrong about the red base has advantage, you just need to know the way.
Reply to Jgake:
Well I admit it, I make the eyecandy fimiliar to Devres74.j2l but still there are alot levels use the same eyecandy from the famous levels.
Please, stop saying shit like I copy from other levels, please? What’s next? Epitome?
Well, since this level has been updated since PurpleJazz reviewed it, I think I’ll give this a proper review of my own. Yeah, I do think I kind of overrated this level myself, mind you, I was half asleep when I had given it an 8.5.
Layout:
The layout is okay, however, the flow can feel a bit strange. Let’s take the bottom area for example. I just find it a bit blocky, sometimes accidently bumping into them, or maybe I just think it looks a bit ugly, wheras it could be better off as slopes, but not too steep though. As for the top area, it’s decent, I just can’t quite put my finger on how to describe it. Personally I don’t mind open maps that much myself as long as they don’t feel like some kind of big cave.
Placements:
They’re pretty decent, I don’t think I really have anything about to complain about here, except that red gets more of an advantage of being able to get the C’s more safely. There isn’t too much or too little ammo which is a pretty good thing. Though near blue base it kind of lacks a selection in ammo.
Eyecandy:
The eyecandy is pretty functional, it has foreground and background eyecandy that isn’t really distracting. However, there’s nothing really in particular which makes it stand out from other levels which uses this tileset. Also, there’s a tilebug I thought you would’ve fixed by now.
Gameplay:
I think this is one of the more balanced vertical CTF maps out there. However, aside from what I said about the C placements, red base does have a little more defence too. Generally, this level is pretty fast paced, it can get chaotic though. I personally think this level is fine for duels and 2v2s. 3v3s can be a bit too much sometimes. The right C can be annoying when shot down to the bottom right corner, I either have to buttstomp or use toaster. Still, I find this map pretty fun.
Music:
Although it’s been used before, it still fits the level well. It can get a bit boring after hearing it a lot though.
Functionality:
While Spaz seems to work best in this level with being able to get up some parts faster, but Lori and Jazz aren’t that bad either. As for sidekick (Spaz’s or Lori’s) and uppercut, it kind of depends on the situation you’re in.
Reguarding how this was judged in the duel map contest, I think Sterile CTF (another vertical CTF map which I personally find a bit overrated) was way more red biased than this, yet that was never complained about. Also, I found it odd how it was complained about possibly being “too big” for duels…yet the 1st 2 maps that won are a bit bigger than this. I somewhat understand why it didn’t win, I didn’t completely expect for this to win anyway. I think my taste in maps have kind of changed over the many months. I can understand why people can find this map a bit annoying, but you should at least still give it a try.
Overall rating: 7.7/10
Well, my first big review on a level ;P.
Let’s get started!
Eyecandy;
It looks nice, copied from a famous level, but there are more levels what have the same eyecandy like this.
14/20
Gameplay;
Well, in my opinion is the flow not good.., but if you know the level better you are getting faster and make better curves and moves. This level is better in 2v2 then in a duel.. There are many springs, but some people think that isnt annoying. Well, after a while it is.., it has an effect on your speed. The flow can better, but it’s your first CTF level. Its an easy level to learn, thats a +. This is a playable level for all jj2 characters.
16/20
Pickups;
Well placed, 2 pu’s. 2 carrots at good places.
there are some fastfires, that make it good.
20/20
Tileset use;
The tileset is good used, but I miss in the platforms in layer 4 some layer 3 tiles. (You can use that good in such tileset like this.)
5/10
Music;
Good choise!
10/10
65/80
(Btw, this is a mix of 2 levels ;P bbswing and disto)
I guess it boosts the rating when you are a clan leader,if you get what I want to say.
:D
This will be my first review, but I think it’s worth it. First things first:
Eyecandy: 8.7
Nice and simple use of the tileset, the thing doesn’t feel too full or too empty, it feels just right. Nothing special, but the point isn’t making it flashy. If it looks and it feels cool, then it’s cool.
Layout: 9.5
This is the level’s strongest element. It’s really well balanced, not too complex, not too simple. Just right. Flow is great, very easy to move around, except a few platforms here and there which you’ll need some practice to get perfect every time (which is why I don’t give it a 10 here).
Pickups: 9.5
All weapons are placed exactly where they are supposed to. It’s not too one-sided since there are only two power ups (RF and toaster). The carrots are very wisely placed, and it’s almost impossible to camp at them. Yet some weapon pickups aren’t enough to make them selves useful, like the few bouncers in the bottom center. Everything is well balanced though, which overall gives this a sweet score.
Overall: 9
Download recommendation…? Hell yeah. This is just as good as some of the most famous levels in my opinion.
Dueling here feels familiar. It has the great flow of Distopia, but without all the carrot camping. The two carrots make it feel like bbswing, too. If you like dueling in these two levels, you’ll love this one.
It’s a great level for 2v2. Tactically it’s pretty sweet, since there are many routes to get from point A to point B, some more risky but more rewarding, some less. Good flow and balance.
3v3’s… Well, I attempted it, and it feels a little small for it. If you like action though, 3v3’s are very fast-paced here, it just feels like there are too few power ups for it.
To conclude, this is an excellent level for tourneys and small events, I’d love to see it make it to the duel tournament.
Edit: Due to the recent edits, I raised my score a bit and slightly edited the review.
Eyecandy couldnt be more perfect, ammo placements are ok, there are only two pu’s, toaster and RF, other pu’s (expecialy bouncy) would probably be way too overpowered, i managed to find two RF climb spots (one at each base) which are really usefull so that u can run away right after u get the flag, its a lot faster than taking fucked up springs, gameplay is pretty good duels 2 vs 2 and 3 vs 3 are all possible, map is neither too small or too big, C placements are ok, its rly hard to make a good lvl with two c’s, few fastfires which is also nice. With a lot of things fixed, this map is actually pretty good.
I’ve decided to review every submit that is on the contest.
Eyecandy: 9
The eyecandy here goes quite well, there’s enough of it but still there’s not too much of it. The thing that made me take one point from my score is that the bases are flying in the air.
Pickups: 7
The thing that reduced most points is that one of the two full carrots is hidden behind some layer 3. This has massively deducted points.
Gameplay: 7
It is clearly easier to the red team to get to blue’s base. The level’s layout makes moving around quite hard (atleast I think so). Maybe this level works better as a 2v2, but I didn’t test that.
Summary: (9+7+7):3=7,6666666~7.7
Well, as this is slightly modified, I will remove “No download recommendation, and change the score to 7.7.
Edit: whoops, counted wrong
Edit2: Well, I quess I should now edit this.
Reply:
Well, it is titled as Oasis too, and the layers 7 and 6 are identical :P
Edit: Laro just renamed the level .
Jazz2Online © 1999-INFINITY (Site Credits). We have a Privacy Policy. Jazz Jackrabbit, Jazz Jackrabbit 2, Jazz Jackrabbit Advance and all related trademarks and media are ™ and © Epic Games. Lori Jackrabbit is © Dean Dodrill. J2O development powered by Loops of Fury and Chemical Beats.
Eat your lima beans, Johnny.
Post a review
You need to log in to post comments on this download.