Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

A very big map, nice palettte (i think it’s a little bit to bright), good ammo placement and maybe you could change the layout a bit because the usual mirrow layout is boring.
overall it’s very nice, download recommended

The overwhelming impression I get from this level is huge. It’s rare to be in a spot where ceilings are a concern: instead, the planes of the outside areas are separated by a significant vertical space, and the inside area has a lot of tall, open halls. Even some of the horizontals feel a bit stretched out, suggesting a level that’s trying to accommodate a larger number of players without significantly modifying the layout principles of a smaller map. The outsides are especially empty in this regard: all that height, and yet only two floors, each made up of one-tile-thin wooden platforms. There’s a lot more substance in the center, though, to be fair.

What I do quite like is the commitment to being a Pit Level and not just a level that happens to have a pit somewhere. The use of orange leaves around the edges to indicate “this is where it’s unsafe to fall” is quite welcome, and also there’s a bunch of ice ammo (even a powerup!) near the bottom, to make it easier to get your opponents to fall in. I’m not sure without playtesting how likely people are to be in the bottom corners, though the presence of copters and carrots should help… on the other hand, there are other carrots elsewhere… dunno. But it’s a solid design decision.

The graphics are generally pretty solid and it’s mostly easy to tell walls from background, though the thin branches do have some trouble standing out. I’m unsure about the rampant bright orange and green, however. It’s distinctive but maybe not actually pleasant to look at?

- I think that background color is too aggressive,orange trees looks like you can stand on it and that’s kinda confusing.Map feels kinda empty, i think it needs more ammo.Iam wonder why is there spring on 95,37 I didn’t find it useful(mby it is but i just don’t see it).
+I like middle part layout and map idea (mby just change a bit palette?)

nyt on kuumaa kamaa

I decided to review this because I think it deserves a review. Since Jgke is an experienced levelmaker, I’m going more into detail.

Visuals
The visuals in this level are overall solid. When starting the level, you directly notice how Jgke has seperated the background layers by using a blue tint. Although tinting the background has been a fairly common trick by now, this is still a clever design choice. Jgke is aware that by using the tint, it creates a lot of visual depth. It not only puts the background further away, but also makes the playable area pop out to the front more. Although players are not always aware, it does a lot to feel connected towards a level. Seperating layers professionally is one of those checkboxes. Mitosis does this through colour, but there are a lot of ways to do this, for example: through scale, brightness, saturation or just overall level of detail. So for any levelmakers reading this, always ask yourself: “How does this look from a player perspective?”.

To go more into depth, this question can be expanded to “What can players see in the 800×600 canvas at any position in the map?”. This is crucial to jj2, because the maximum resolution is 800×600. Considering this, I still see a lot of room for improvement for Mitosis and i’ll try to explain what exactly. Behind the blue tint is a bunch of scenery placed into two seperate layers. Something that is noticeable right away is that the placement of this scenery looks a bit chaotic and uncohesive. As a levelmaker, I instantly notice that this takes away from the overall feel of this level for multiple reasons: 1.For some reason the bricks don’t have the usual shadows on them anymore like in the sprite layer. 2.It feels like both layers were made seperately, without actively keeping the parallax view or the viewability in the 800×600 resolution in mind. This results in background eyecandy that feels a bit off. While moving around you’ll notice that the layers fall into each other, float in the air, obscure each other, or fall off the 800×600 resolution. Since it’s also a bit oversized, it’s hard to imagine the continuation of the scenery patterns. The difference in layer speeds makes it extra confusing. Between the first and second scenery layer is no difference in scaling/colouring/brightness/saturation that I’ve talked about earlier, yet they have different speeds from the player perspective. The combination of these factors make this background not as visually convincing as it could have been. I think there are several levels with backgrounds that do this a little bit better, closest reference being the level “verdoemenis”. So on the background overall: tint is nice but I hope these tips help a bit on how to implement it even better in the future.

The visuals of the sprite layer + background walls look good enough, but it feels like there is just too much blending of tiles from the tileset in each part of the level. I feel like it could have been easier if you showed a bit more restraint in the eyecandy usage. I’m missing some visually memorable landmarks in Mitosis as a side-effect, but this is not a huge issue in a level this small. Choosing distinct visuals goes hand-in-hand with gameplay, because it’s part the same thought process. Therefore I decided to describe this further under gameplay.

Gameplay
The gameplay here is decent, it’s noticeable how Jgke put effort in optimizing the flow in this level. Eventhough this level has a lot of slopes, It’s unlikely you will ever bump unintentionally into diagonal ceilings. I couldn’t find any flow issues in events like springs/tubes, they are all adjusted nicely. The main pickups like powerups and carrots are also well visible.

However, I can’t help but feel that the gameplay in Mitosis feels uninspired. This is because the layout is very limited to a single style throughout the entire level. I’ve talked earlier that visually the parts of the level are also not distinct. As a result, it doesn’t fill different locations with their own distinct gameplay assets (and can’t due to the singular layout and visual blend). When you look through the layout in the editor, it’s very noticeable how every area kind of masks the same and every area tries to blend in a lot of tiles from the tileset at the same time. My tip is to have be more restraintful about the tileset use or make choices in it, it will make a level look more convincing and understandable. For example: A tileset like diamondus forces you to use thin masks if you want trees, tree areas and ground areas play very different in diamondus and that’s very interesting for gameplay. In a tileset like windstorm fortress it’s not so easy to see, because the tileset does not force you to use it’s tiles in a certain way or for certain masks. This is why it’s important to think about how and where you use these tiles for, both visually and layout-wise. For example, you can decide with windstorm fortress that you use the red tiles and the grey tiles in very different ways and parts in the level. Mitosis doesn’t really do this and thus it’s also less tempting to think about the step after on how to connect gameplay to masks. For example after that it’s where you can start thinking about the masks, the scale, maybe the red area having vines but other areas don’t, grey area with loads of springs.etc. There are a lot of ways to expand on the theme once it’s convincing.

Overall
Mitosis doesn’t really stand out because it seems to be missing some of it’s design processes.that seperate the good from the great. However, there is not really much to hate about Mitosis either. Everything is decent and there aren’t any bad design choices.Mitosis is a fairly standard CTF level that plays like your above average CTF level and it is certainly enjoyable enough to play in sometimes.

I really like these levels, especially the tileset. I can make a single player level and change background from normal to textured. The tileset is the fix of FooMergev2 tileset. I really like it, because there are mixed worlds for my thoughts. Impressive work. The music is so fast-paced, I can make an mp3 format using Total Audio MP3 Converter and use it for my own level in other games, because mp3 formats fit to them very well.

i made the music, specifically for the level “Pride” in dreamscape, so you’re welcome

Quite decent.

Wow. Talk about a steal.

I was stunned when I stumbled onto Jgke’s Cave of Dreams CTF level. Here, I had found a functional, good-looking upload, and absolutely NO ONE ELSE has reviewed it yet!

Oh, yeah. This level’s good. Everything is painted in dark blue tones, except for the translucent aqua fog at the bottom that’s apparently supposed to be water. The map is symmetrical, but it’s open and well-designed enough that you hardly even notice.

How often does THAT happen with a symmetrical level?

I liked how the carrots were placed in RF-climb shafts that noobs can’t get at. Furthermore, in anticipation of said noobs’ unhappy reactions, Jgke placed a Full NRG in the middle for them to fight over. Classic.

Ammo was distributed well, although I did feel like there wasn’t very much for such a wide open level.

Bases were placed well, too.

I didn’t download the music, so I won’t include it in my rating. Judging by the file name in the Level Properties window, though, I’m sure it fit the level quite well.

On the other hand, I wasn’t very impressed with the aqua agua (That’s turquoise water, to all you uninitiated folks) at the bottom. While it DID contribute positively to the level in terms of functionality, I felt that the colors clashed in a bad way with the rest of the level. It’s too bad, because the rest of the level looked so pretty.

In the end, then, I was highly pleased with Cave of Dreams. It’s a quality, satisfaction guaranteed level, and it’s unbelievable just far beneath the radar this level has flown. Download this level. It’s awesome!

I can’t believe no one has reviewed this yet. It’s a travesty, I’m telling you.

This is an awesome pack. That’s all that needs to be said.

However, since people will undoubtedly want particulars, I’ll provide some.

After Apocalypse consists of two CTF levels, “Cast to Darkness” and “Post-Apocalyptic Office”. Each level is done particularly well, but I will highlight a few strengths and weaknesses in each.

CtD:

PROS

“I loved the way Jgke used the Desolation tileset here. Eyecandy is original and visually pleasing, and it looks pretty sharp. Weapons are evenly distributed, and the gameplay is smooth. Music was appropriate, and suited the level well enough.”

CONS

“It seemed a bit skewed, in terms of size. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a hater on small levels, but it just felt claustraphobic to me. It was also pretty easy to get from base to base.”

P-AO

PROS

“The tileset is used PERFECTLY. The gameplay was terrific, bases were suitably far apart and challenging to travel between, and events weren’t too bad, either.

“The song for this level was divine. Simply divine. The ominous, pulse-pounding melody enhanced the level’s creepiness factor by tenfold. It’s one of the best level-song combinations I’ve seen in quite a spell. Well done!”

CONS

“Almost nothing. The blaster powerup seemed rather easy to procure, and the Red base was a little challenging to navigate in. Both are minimal drawbacks.”

In the end, I was wholly pleased by this pack. After Apocalypse delivers nicely on the expectation of quality levelbuilding, and I fully endorse its download.

I promised jake to review this. (even though i almost forgot exactly what I had in mind).

I wanted to clear this up first:

I’ve received some backstabbing lately because of the harsh way I gave my opinion on this. No, I am not trying to bring this level down to the ground. No, I am not trying to claim i’m a better levelmaker. No, I am not trying to act pro here. But this review will not be entirely positive. All levels have their downsides. Most of it is said in the quick reviews already. I will try to expand this review a lot more compared to the quick reviews and bring it in different ways.

Flashback: This reminds me a bit of what happened to me in the past, Planetary pack. I think talking about this might help you since it also helped me after that.

While this is a lot better than the eyecandy or layouts from my levels back than (or both in some cases). I feel it has the same gimmick problem, and this is not coming out of nowhere. The rest of the reviewers seem to share the same opinion. The idea’s are interesting but the question is, is it a good idea to mix it all together? This level is intended to be a serious duel level. But you should ask yourself if it adds anything great to the gameplay. I know some parts will sound a bit harsh but I’m only trying to be helpfull with this review.

Getting someone stuck in the pit with the crate can be fun, but remember it can be used against you aswell. And then it’s not that fun anymore. In fact, i don’t think people like to take that into account, same for the rest. It’s like you play a game with obstacles while you don’t want to focus on obstacles, I think this is what people frustrates as soon they lose their focus on gimmicks and Die or get hit because of that. This is the same for hor-springs and copters. If they accidentaly hit a hor spring you can’t stop running, It’s fun if you see someone else making a mistake like this, but the other player probably feels like this shouldn’t have happened if “that stupid thing would not be in his way”. Copters are kind of the same, you can be very depended on the copter but you can be unlucky with the spawn. If you need it fast and die while waiting the killer probably feels good because he was fast enough, and the other player feels like “why the hell couldn’t that fucking copter spawn on the right moment”. And then they will eat their clothes and shoe’s etc.. you know the drill :).

I think the advice I can give is that the player shouldn’t be too depended on the map but the map should be depended on the player. Gimmicks only lose the players focuse, if you have to jump around pits than your focus goes partly for not falling in a pit. Of course you can tell those players to concentrate better and it’s their fault for not having a good focus. But if you give players the choice of focusing on stragety and playing itself or doing this while paying attention to gimmicks like not falling in the pit or accidentaly miss the copter. Then they go for the more clean maps. I personally think the more idea’s you make in a level the more attention needs to go to these and the less focus stays on playing. That’s why I think that excessive usage of idea’s isn’t a good plan. Because the more means the less they can handle it. (keep in mind that they also need to learn it). A player also feels more bad by getting killed by the level than by the player -> he can blame the level. The player is not easy to avoid because players are the reason to stay online, but maps are easily avoidable by picking another level.

Imo since it’s duel related I won’t say anything here about the tubes with bases, since in duels that can work. But I think it’s less liked for teamgames -> because you can miss timing because of that. But since it’s duel related and that you don’t need to time RTS I think this is a good idea for a duel level. The music in this level is good and the eyecandy is pretty good aswell, Sorry i keep the good parts short but when there is nothing to blame then there is nothing to tell either :). The layout is simple but good. After all you did these parts very well.

All in all I can conclude the good parts outweight the bad parts, and it’s not a very bad level at all. But it probably starts to frustrates people after a while. Even without the gimmicks and the map being completely gimmick-empty I don’t know for sure if the layout makes the level spicy enough by itself.

The reason I compared this with planetary levels is that in the past i liked gimmicks too, and I still have a soft spot for gimmicks honestly. I think you and some other jj2 players have no problem with this either. I am not saying that excessive amoun of idea’s and gimmicks are bad out of nowhere. They are bad because they drive most people on jj2 in a negative feeling. And I think you got to understand where that negative feeling exactly comes from to understand what makes a lot of gimmicks in one level bad. I think you for example need to understand where Purplejazz and CelL are talking about, why it’s hectic and so on. That’s the whole points of this review and I hope you get it.
You show impressive skill and I look forward to see more levels of yours!

Cheers,
young boy nr.2 =d

I happened to play in ZD…

This is nice level and eyecandy are good made…

This new CTF by Jake level has a lot of interesting ideas in it – probably too much of ‘em, in all honesty, so I’m afraid it’s ended up feeling rather stuffed and overly complicated for its small size. The layout and other technical aspects are pretty solid though, so I’m tempted to say the good outweighs the bad. Give this one a try.

GG, as good eyecandy as in other jj2 lvls usually… Nice placement of bases

This is A great lvl,PU placement:good

BG:good
EYECANDY:good
OVERALL:8.0
DR:yes

Quite a simple level. Gameplay promises to be very hectic and fast paced, due to the abundance of PUs over quite a small area. The 2 +1 carrots do somewhat balance this out though. It may not appeal to those looking for more sophisticated gameplay, but this is a solid choice for those looking for a quick, violent duel.

The boss is meant to have an unfair advantage, and the minions are planned to die quick, so that they don’t need ammo.

Sorry for being late, but I was in a hurry for this, so you don’t get the full review.

I will say the eyecandy is great, but i get confused as to what the ground is.

The layout is great, small, but kinda hard to learn.

The boss has an unfair advantage with quick respawning ammo (like 2s or something) and the grunts never get access to +3 ammo. That’s not quite nice.

I don’t know much about good levels, but this isn’t one of them.

7/10

Neutral DL recommendation

I say, that this should get better rating than 5.6.
Yes, It was quite easy,(Boss killed with 2 hp)
But it was fun :), the eyecandy is not bad or good, the name is horrible… I think you could hide the space monkeys, and you could use more enemies.

Just a hoot my friend!