Without further ado, the results of the JCS awards are here:
Best Battle Level of 2023
Freeport - Loon [5.75]
Bad LSD Trip - Loon [4.25]
Lake Party - Dragusela [2.75]
Runners up: Cold Beers Beach - Slaz [1.75], The Pillar - Dragusela [1.25]
Thank you for all of your votes! I certainly didn't expect to take the two top spots of the list. Freeport is heavily inspired by a cancelled game which I've played for hours, if not days. Bad LSD Trip was a bit of a funky project to combine certain tilesets. I owe credit to 'Pukahuna' for creating the background mountains. Well done to Dragusela for taking third place with Lake Party, which is created - and executed well - for the 'Secret Mimic Contest'.
Best CTF Level of 2023
Scarlet Weald - PurpleJazz [8.5]
Blast Concussion - Violet CLM [3.75]
Land of the Sn00zE - SuperJazz [1.75]
Runners up: Central Park - Loon [1], Tubolation - FawFul [1]
Scarlet Weald takes the grand prize for best CTF level, and by quite a huge margin. PurpleJazz has converted one of the many tilesets 'Szadi' has to offer and created a masterpiece. I certainly believe this would get hours of airtime during future JJ2MP matches, as it ticks off all the boxes. Well done to the the runners up! Blast Concussion sets a whole new standard for creating multiple parallax backgrounds in one level. The bombs are a nice touch to prevent you from standing still, it literally keeps you moving. Land of the Sn00zE also has stunning eyecandy and fantastic gameplay. Well done!
Best Single Player Release of 2023
Threed Realms - Violet CLM [5.75]
Jingle Jumble - Primpy [5]
Burrowsville? - Slaz [2.5]
Runner up: The Town Pack - Slaz [1.25]
Threed Realms has it all, custom enemies/bosses, an aircraft, bombs and stunning visuals. What more to say, other than it's superb! As the level was first intended for a community project that barely came of the ground I'm glad to see this got a standalone release as it would possibly overshadow the other levels. Primpy also delivered a high quality release with intriguing detail. Have you already found all the presents? Props to Slaz for delivering various single player uploads which are of a high standard aswell!
Best Eyecandy of 2023
Scarlet Weald - PurpleJazz [4.7]
Threed Realms - Violet CLM [4.3]
Blast Concussion - Violet CLM [2.3]
Runners up: Freeport - Loon [1.8], Tubolation - FawFul [1.7], Starry Night - Dragusela [1.4], Bad LSD Trip - Loon [1.3], Central Park - Loon [1.1]
This was possibly the hardest category to vote in, as all the nominated levels have their own unique eyecandy. Yet a winner has been declared! Scarlet Weald has proven to be a delight for the eyes, with nicely animated trees and distant swirling leaves. Threed Realms being a close runner up has gorgeous eyecandy aswell. Violet surely knows how to create a perfect blend between scripting and leveldesign. Blast Concussion also features some of the fine layer improvements MLLE has to offer, taking the final spot in the 'Best Eyecandy' category.
Best Mutator of 2023
Death Circle - Smoke [5.75]
Multiflag - Violet CLM [2.5]
True Fur - Violet CLM [1.75]
Condemned - Violet CLM [1.75]
Runners up: Custom HUD - Spaz Electro [1.5], Gold Rush - Violet CLM [0.75]
All of the nominees offer a different approach to gameplay. In this case Death Circle has taken the top spot as Best Mutator. Striking a perfect balance between frustration and fun, Smoke has created a mutator that is sure to be a popular choice for future events. Multiflag features a different approach to CTF, allowing more flags to be captured and to be dropped off. Communication and strategy is the key to success here. And that's not all Violet has created for us, taking a joint third place with 'True Fur' and 'Condemned'.
Best JCS'er of 2023
Loon [5.5]
Violet CLM [5]
Dragusela [4]
Runner up: Slaz [1.25]
I'm absolutely honoured to have received this many votes, and that for two years in a row. Thank you so much! Even though I believe Violet and Dragusela have created more noteworthy levels than I did, I'm glad to see them up on the podium with me. As the margins were quite small. Also a special shout out to Slaz for creating numerous of levels which earned him some praise.
I would like to thank everyone who participated in the voting and creating content for JJ2 in 2023. Let's hope for even a better year in 2024. See you all next year!