Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

Let me guess… CelL’s Zaitox Station 67 was the inspiration?

GAMEPLAY:

I don’t like the layout much at all. It’s too awkward for my tastes. This level has the bases placed close together like in Zaitox, except the two bases aren’t positioned in the center of the level. Mostly because of base placement, there isn’t much balance. A lack of balance coupled with a small level size is the formula for disaster. Moving on, flow and spring placement need work. Also, something bigger than the two-tile high passageway near the carrot would be preferred. And some more advice: check masking next time. I shouldn’t be able to climb into walls.

EYE CANDY:

It’s like Zaitox eye candy—just not nearly as good. The mud tiles weren’t really misused, aside from looking unnaturally squared-off, but many of the other tiles were.

CARROT AND AMMO PLACEMENT:

Carrot placement isn’t that bad, considering the layout flaws. I’m not too fond of the powerup placement, though. I would have switched the positions of the seeker and RF powerups, then moved the RF powerup to the far left somewhere. I’m not too fond of ammo placement, either. IMO, there’s too much ammo too close to the ground. And fewer crates would be nice.

HOST THIS OFTEN?

I wouldn’t say so. This level tries to copy too much from Zaitox—and fails miserably. Try something more original next time. 6.5 is my rating.

And now, my interpretation…

Prison Sewer CTF

GAMEPLAY: Mostly balanced but a dull layout and a bit too Spaz-biased.
EYE CANDY: Basic but a little annoying.
CARROT PLACEMENT: Full energy carrot placed well. +1 carrots are questionable.
AMMO PLACEMENT: Can work, but could be better.
HOST THIS OFTEN? Maybe once (with the music off).

Genocide City

GAMEPLAY: Same as above, except with blocks instead of hooks near the carrot. Somewhat better this way.
EYE CANDY: Better eye candy than previous, although it’s more confusing/annoying and misuses some tiles.
CARROT PLACEMENT: Same as above.
AMMO PLACEMENT: Same as above.
HOST THIS OFTEN? Maybe twice.

Overall review: These two levels aren’t bad, aside from erroneous/dull eye candy and a questionable layout. What I disliked the most was the eye candy in the foreground, which isn’t really needed and just gets in the way. I might like the carrots more if they didn’t have to be accessed through such a narrow opening, but this arrangement does have its strategic points. Similar applies to base placement; I just don’t recommend using one-tile passageways too often. There also isn’t too much to these levels. I could imagine how long they took to make. And I probably wouldn’t want to play in this level as Jazz, although I can’t really speak for players who use Jazz. Another thing: the start positions need work. Using well-placed “Multiplayer Level Start” events for each team would be a good idea. As for my rating, this is about a 7. I’m feeling nice today.

PS: Does anyone else find the Prison Sewer CTF music incredibly annoying? The music literally hurt my ears.

This should have been a quick review.

GAMEPLAY:

Well, I’m a little surprised. I can’t say much about the balance since the level is semi-symmetrical. The layout actually isn’t bad—for it’s size. This is one of those levels for 4 players or less, although I myself probably wouldn’t want to duel here. The flow isn’t completely smooth, I can get around easily enough. The biggest flaw has to be the missing borders around the level. Why add borders around the edge of the level? To prevent the flag bug where the text saying that someone captured the flag keeps repeating itself. I suggest using at least two tiles (three tiles may be a better idea, though) around the entire level to prevent this bug, even if you still aren’t sure what it is. Other than that there’s its small size, which I personally don’t like, but others might not mind.

EYE CANDY:

The eye candy here is typical for a Diamondus. It’s not over the top, but it’ll do. I feel no need to write anymore about the eye candy since nothing is wrong with it.

CARROT AND AMMO PLACEMENT:

Surprisingly, it all works for a level with this size. A full energy carrot is located in gap in the middle of the level. There’s also a blaster powerup between the two bases. It’s simple, but it works. Ammo placement works for the most part, although I would prefer fewer crates. Can’t go too wrong with symmetrical, though, and I don’t care what anyone else says.

HOST THIS OFTEN?

Probably not, but the level is good for a first multiplayer level as well as a second level. After playing this level for some while, it started to seem a little too ordinary. And small. I’ve decided to give this a 6.0 for simplicity.

PS: I wouldn’t be surprised if this level gets overwritten in the future. The filename “DiamCTF.j2l” has a good chance of being used by someone else. Try avoiding generic names like this one next time.

It feels like I reviewed this level before. Maybe that’s because this is the fifth Dx level I’m reviewing where “D” is the first letter and “(updated)” is at the end. Never mind—I’ll just download the level and give my review.

GAMEPLAY:

While the layout is better compared to the previous levels, it still looks too flat in places like at the bottom left. The spring placement is also better, the balance is okay, and spaz-bias isn’t much of an issue. However, it seems too easy to go from base to base in this level and some areas need to be more open like around 55,39 to 72,38. The coin warp also puzzles me. Why make the left warp go to the red base on the right side and the right warp go to blue base on the right? It would make more sense if the two warps were changed around for the sake of being less confusing. Moreover, I think there should be fewer coins, and they should be harder to reach. I’m not liking the coins placed so close to the carrot and the powerups. The coin warp isn’t even really needed, especially with this small layout.

EYE CANDY:

This level uses basic Diamondus eye candy. Correction: basic Diamondus eye candy with flaws. In general, the unmasked background tiles on layer 4 were misused. Also, the ground tiles look to repetitive in most places, and the foreground can get in the way. There are some additional eye candy bugs, but a good beta tester could point it out. Take out all of those flaws then this is at least average eye candy.

CARROT AND AMMO PLACEMENT:

There’s a full energy carrot hidden at the top left just in case anyone was wondering. The carrot is on the right side, but it would take a similar amount of time to get there from each base. Powerups were placed well enough: the bouncer powerup on the far left with the RF powerup on the far right. As for ammo placement, it’s decent for the most part.

HOST THIS OFTEN?

Most likely, no. Almost a 6.7, but just falls short. 6.5 is my rating.

PS: “the bonus is original its the same as in Bblair”—That’s a paradox if I’ve ever seen one.

At least one person likes my Castle 2 Eclipse tileset to use it on multiple occasions. I don’t even like that tileset enough to use it on multiple occasions.

GAMEPLAY:

The layout is a bit bumpy; getting around should be much easier. This level also seems a little too spaz-biased in places. Looks like someone needs to learn the full potential of slopes. This level looks way too squared off. Granted there are a few slopes in groups, a few more slopes throughtout the rest of the level would be a nice improvement. Better spring placement wouldn’t be too bad either. Once again, many of the springs don’t lead me to a platform—just somewhere around a platform. Once again, some springs need to be added—like a red spring near 46,47 for starters. And are these more narrow passage ways? I would like the freedom to move instead of having to go through a one-tile high passage way. With all that being said, let’s talk about the balance: once again not too bad. The blue base is at the top left with the red base at the bottom left. Calculating all of the factors (such as how easy each base is to attack and defend), the layout is once again not too unbalanced. Somehow this is true—I think I’m cracking under pressure in trying to rate all of these CTF levels fairly.

EYE CANDY:

The eye candy is just slightly better (keyword slightly) than the eye candy in the previous level. I say that mainly because the chains in the foreground look like what they actually should look like, and it doesn’t seem as bland as the last time. With all that being true, the level still uses the same exact tiles relentlessly throughout the entire level (which, by the way, is a bad thing). I also failed to mention this with the last level which is true for this level as well: the textured background in 16-bit looks bad fading to black. I also find this somewhat annoying.

CARROT AND AMMO PLACEMENT:

The full energy carrot is around the same distance to each base. The same could apply for the bouncer and seeker powerups (I feel like I’m repeating myself). As for ammo placement, it isn’t bad but could use some improving.

HOST THIS OFTEN?

Once again my answer is no, but at least there’s some progress being made. This is a 6.5 more or less.

PS: This isn’t related to my review, but I have some questions for Dx: What are you trying to get at with point 4 and 5 in your review? Are you saying it’s good that there are no coins/coin warp, or are you trying to say that’s a bad thing? Either way, I don’t see how that could be a deciding factor in a review for a CTF level or any level for that matter.

Here’s yet another level I feared was going to be released on J2O.

GAMEPLAY:

BR said it was unbalanced. I said it was unbalanced. We both said it was unbalanced, so let’s just leave it at that. Other than that, the flow isn’t bad aside from a few poorly placed springs (like near 13,38 and 58,19), but I’m not fond of the level’s small size. I remember saying this for a few levels that other people made: it’s size could be suitable for duels, but I prefer slightly larger levels so I can have a little more space to move around and strategize. I also think players can score way too quickly in this level.

EYE CANDY:

Here’s another level where the eye candy is different from most Agama Swamp levels. It’s a nice change from the ordinary, but I don’t like it all that much. The eye candy isn’t much worse than usually or anything, but the background looks far too flat for my tastes. Yes, I know it fits the theme, but it still looks a bit dull in places.

CARROT AND AMMO PLACEMENT:

The full energy carrot is closer to the blue base. The bouncer powerup is closer to red base. The toaster powerup is also closer to red base. And the pepper spray powerup is closer to red base. That’s all I have to say about that since we all already know this level isn’t balanced. At least the ammo placement is decent.

HOST THIS OFTEN?

Blame Trafton indeed. Everytime you consider hosting this, you should blame Trafton severely. 7.2 only because a 7.0 felt a little too low.

FYI, this level doesn’t loop to itself. Instead it loops to nothing. I feel like I’m the only one who notices these things.

I’m prepared to have fun with this review.

GAMEPLAY:

The layout puzzles me. Everything seems to be placed randomly and then somehow connected together. I don’t like the way the layout looks nor all of these narrow passages I keep encountering. But at least the flow is better than it was before; it still needs a little work, but it’s a start. Balance, however, is still a big issue. The red base is at the top right of the level with some options as for escape routes. In contrast, the blue base is in an enclosed area at the bottom left with one way in and one way out. It seems that the blue base would be much easier to defend than the red base. But I have to say, the layout actually isn’t overwhelmingly unbalanced for a level with bases placed diagonally, considering the routes base to base and everything. Moving on, spring placement is better than before, but could better yet. For example, around pos 94,13, one spring in the center of the platform would have been much better than those five springs. And I just don’t see the point of having more than one spring in a row in this level.

EYE CANDY:

At least the tileset was used correctly (finally), although the eye candy still isn’t that good. Well, that’s not entirely true; the chains in the foreground weren’t made well. Other than that, the eye candy is repetitive throughout the entire level. In all, the background is the only thing in this level which keeps the eye candy from being horrible, even though the BG is nothing special.

CARROT AND AMMO PLACEMENT:

I never liked trying to grab a carrot from a small hole. This level has a full energy in that scenario. Albeit, this carrot is nearly the same distance from each base. I would have to say the same applies for the bouncer and seeker powerups more or less. As for ammo placement, there’s enough ammo around the level, but it wasn’t placed strategically or anything. The ammo is just there for the sake of being there.

HOST THIS OFTEN?

Still no. Dx might finally be getting through. 6.2 is my rating. Think of it as a 6.3 rounded down.

In the time it takes me to open up and host this level, someone has already made a review. Argh. Anyway…

GAMEPLAY:

I pretty much don’t like the layout at all. A lot of the platforms in this level are basically large deformed squares which somewhat hinders gameplay and detracts a bit from the eye candy. The flow in this level isn’t the worse I’ve seen, but it could have been much better. The spring placement is not too good, especially at the bottom left. In various places, the springs don’t lead players near a platform; it leaves players several tiles above one thus slowing them down significantly. This flaw also makes the level more spaz-biased. The balance isn’t too bad as far as the layout goes, except with the route to the bottom half of the level. Players would have to go to the far left to reach the bottom area, which just happens to be where all of the goodies are located.

EYE CANDY:

As usually, the tileset was used incorrectly—big surprise. Whenever the tileset is used correctly, the eye candy is dull. Same as usual. It looks like this category will be the same for a long, long time.

CARROT AND AMMO PLACEMENT:

With the RF powerup and the full energy carrot at the bottom right and the bouncer powerup somewhere on the left side, the bottom area of the level can’t possibly be too balanced. Moving along, the seeker powerup was evilly hidden. It’s behind some 3rd layer tiles near the center of the level, and it seems the only way to get it is with a few EB’s. I don’t really know what to think about it since I knew there was that powerup somewhere in the level, but I might not have found it if I wasn’t told. I could already see people complaining about not being able to find the seeker powerup while I kill everyone with it. I would enjoy this, but I probably wouldn’t see this level again anytime soon. It could be way too much of an advantage, but there are two other powerups so I’ll just move on. Ammo placement: still not too good. There are a few too many crates and barrels. And the ammo still seems placed too sporadically.

HOST THIS OFTEN?

Don’t, or I’ll be forced to hurt you. If Dx is actually a good beta tester, LISTEN TO HIM. I’m rating this 6.2 and that’s that.

Hopefully this will be a long review.

GAMEPLAY:

This level is basically linear. There isn’t too much too this level: a base on the left, a base on the right, and a few platforms in between them. Also, the 4th layer in this level wasn’t resized. I could jump on top of the area above blue base if I wanted to, and I could fall off the level if I keep going to the right. The balance isn’t too good. For example, the red base is out in the open, while the blue base is only accessible through a narrow hole filled with springs. The flow also isn’t too good, although I could live with it. But what hurts this level the most is the bad start positions. Make sure to use team based start positions next time (that is, with the “Multiplayer Level Start” event). My last complaint has to do with the bridge. It’s absolutely unnecessary so it shouldn’t have been used. Getting rid of it might save this level from “Divide By Zero” errors.

EYE CANDY:

The eye candy in this level isn’t too bad. It’s decent—at least until I look at the giant empty space in the background. Yes, I know multiple background layers were used for the leaves. Still, it leaves the rest of the background other than the leaves look bland. Perhaps the traditional background would look best here.

CARROT AND AMMO PLACEMENT:

Looks like +1 carrots are the only carrots in the level. I advise (as usual) to use at least 1 or 2 full energy carrots placed well in the level (e.g. equal distances from each base). Ammo is just there so players can get ammo. It’s not distributed evenly or anything. And there’s TNT in this level which seems to have no purpose. Also, the powerups seem were thrown left and right. At least one of the powerups on the far left side has to go.

HOST THIS OFTEN?

Nah, but at least this is better than the last level. 5.5 is my rating.

When I saw that Magoo was hosting this, I had a bad feeling that Magoo released this—I was right. Let’s review…

GAMEPLAY:

The flow is decent, the balance is okay for the most part, but the general layout is a bit confusing. Well, the last thing I said is negligible. I can’t find anything horribly wrong with the layout, except maybe it’s easier getting around with Hardware Acceleration off than when it’s on. Lucky me has to play with it on (see Eye Candy section below). Another issue could be the bridges: they aren’t completely necessarily and they could cause some Divide By Zero errors, but the bridges aren’t totally useless and could come in handy.

EYE CANDY:

I don’t know what to think. The eye candy is still BlurredD-unfriendly (that is, it’s too laggy for me to be able to play the level as is). Being that every tile in this level, as it seems, is translucent and there’s some lighting used, this level is really really really BlurredD-unfriendly. I average about 6 fps… On 8-bit. For a second, let me just pretend I don’t get outrageously low fps. The eye candy here would probably be the best eye candy I’ve ever seen in this tileset. Or at least the most original eye candy I’ve ever seen in this tileset. Too bad it’s so incredibly laggy that I have to turn everything off just so I can play.

CARROT AND AMMO PLACEMENT:

I’m not the biggest fan of levels which only use +1 carrots, but at least there are two of them so I won’t go totally insane. I liked the version with the full energy carrot more, though. I’m too tired of reviewing at the moment to truly analyze everything else, so I’ll just say it’s good and be done with it.

HOST THIS OFTEN?

Maybe. I still don’t know what to think. The pros and cons somehow make 7.5 my rating. Feel free to argue.

The Edit: I didn’t notice it before, but the level doesn’t loops to itself. It loops to “Tinted Titanium.j2l” (instead of “mg02.j2l”) which is the older version of this level. That explains the different music and everything.[This review has been edited by BlurredD]

Suddenly I feel incredibly lazy.

GAMEPLAY:

Not bad gameplay all in all. I like the flow in most places—just not everywhere. The balance is so-so. And the blah-blah-blah is blah. I can’t think of what else to write. Not too much original stuff. This is just about a typical CTF level layout.

EYE CANDY:

After seeing this level, I did, for a brief moment, consider using the tileset used myself. What changed my mind was that this tileset doesn’t have too much to offer. But the tileset is certainly used better here than in Spazzyman’s super-cramped example level. So does that mean the eye candy is above average? Sure, I guess. But, the background still looks dull with the two layers of the same exact mountains.

CARROT AND AMMO PLACEMENT:

With a full energy carrot in the exact middle of the level, the only thing keeping carrot placement from being perfect are the routes to it. It’s easier to reach the carrot from the blue base than from the red one. Ammo placement isn’t too bad, but I don’t really like it. For example, I thought the RFs were a bit too close to the bases. Powerup placement, on the other hand, is good mostly because of its simplicity.

HOST THIS OFTEN?

I don’t know. I suppose a few players could enjoy playing in this level, but it doesn’t exactly scream “fun” to me. Hmmm… 7.2 will do.

How misleading. Not only is the level named Cracco Balloon Races 2!!!, but the type of this level is “Race”. Most test levels are categorized under “Other”, so I have to agree with everyone who rated this as a race level. Maybe there should be a new category for test levels as well.

LabratKid is cheating! Anyway…

GAMEPLAY:

Good flow, good balance, and an evil twist—the three things I like in a CTF level. The first two are self-explanatory. The third one is what makes this level stand out a tad bit. I’ll explain the twist more later on in my review.

EYE CANDY:

The eye candy is probably as good as it gets with this very limiting tileset. It does its job. The level has a nice mine feeling. The name of the level is “Moree Mines”. Need I say more?

CARROT AND AMMO PLACEMENT:

And now, the twist. Instead of the traditional full energy carrot, some substitutes were used. One of them is a shield (gasps) located at the top left of the level. Contrary to popular belief, shields can be placed in levels without completely destroying gameplay. Of course, the only way to do this is to either make the shield hard to access or make somehow make it less useful. In this case, players can only use the shield for 15 seconds. This is hardly enough time to cause a lot of chaos especially when there’s water and the shield only inflicts one heart damage. Moving on, the other subsitute is the +1 carrot somewhat near the bottom right; no one’s going to complain too much about that in any case. And thus, I present to you the twist. Enjoy. As for everything else, ammo and powerup distribution is good, and I don’t feel like explaining why I think it is; just guess why instead.

HOST THIS OFTEN?

I would say so. This is an 8.2 and anyone who disagrees can take it up with my PMs (which I rarely check anyway).

The Edit: Top left. Top right. It’s all the same when I don’t bother to do my routine proofread.

ignores any other mistake in the process

BTW, all of those [This review has been edited by labratkid] tags are driving me crazy.[This review has been edited by BlurredD]

Non-Late CTF Level Review Number 01: Another Kind Of CTF

(Don’t worry. I’m not actually going to keep this format, so quit complaining.)

GAMEPLAY:

This level pretty much has a good layout. Basically everything on the left side is the same on the right side, which means balance isn’t an issue. And there’s good flow, as usual. However, there is a twist. Like how One Silver Penny required a coin to access the carrot, this level requires two coins to access each base. This level can be extremely evil, and in a good way, if players use the right tactics. I likey. The only thing I dislike about this level is it’s small size, but it’s at least big enough for some 2on2s and whatnot.

EYE CANDY:

Think Astroid City (5th level in my SP pack) except just a little more innovative. Aside from the fact that the BG looks horrible in 8-bit and I’m forced to play without the Textured Background option (as CelL said himself I had to do), it’s pretty good eye candy. I have nothing else to mention here.

CARROT AND AMMO PLACEMENT:

In the middle there’s a full energy carrot and a +1 carrot on the bottom left and bottom right; I can’t say I dislike this. While I could complain about the two toaster powerups, it’s not really a problem here. For one thing, a little extra effort is needed to get each of them since a few EBs are needed. Also, players can only get 20 max additional ammo from each powerup. So I have to say, powerup placement is good. Ammo throughout the level is also well placed.

HOST THIS OFTEN?

Somewhat often. It’s good, but a little small. This is an 8.

PS: A few bigger levels (4on4 sized, maybe) would be nice every now and then.

Late CTF Level Review Number 12: Amstel CTF time

(Against my better judgment, I will review this level offline. I may later on adjust the rating when I finally get around to hosting this online.)

GAMEPLAY:

This level isn’t incredibly unbalanced, but it is small. It takes me only a few seconds to run base to base. This level also suffers from a few of the typical first level mistakes: bad spring placement, Spaz-bias, and borderless edges. Actually, the spring placement isn’t too bad; it just needs work in a few places. However, the layout is still much easier for Spaz to get around than for Jazz (since Spaz can double jump, of course). Also, the missing borders around the edges of the level are a big problem since this can allow for the flag bug to occur. I advise adding two tiles (three tiles recommended) to prevent this from ever happening. The only other major problems that need fixing are the few small dead-ends and pointless areas around the level.

EYE CANDY:

The eye candy in this level isn’t great. There are a few tiling errors here and there. More variety in tiles (as with the ground tiles) should have been used. And worst of all, there isn’t much of a background; there’s just a textured background to stare at while playing.

CARROT AND AMMO PLACEMENT:

There’s just a +1 carrot near the top middle (slightly closer to the red base). I suggest using one full energy carrot (or two on some occasions). And always try to make the carrot the same distance from each base. Ammo isn’t placed evenly much at all. Some places need more while others need less. Moving around some of the clumps of ammo would help. As for powerup placement, there’s just a blaster powerup which is much closer to the Red base than it is to the Blue base.

HOST THIS OFTEN?

No, but not too bad for a first level. This is a 5.7, but keep trying.

PS: To make better CTF levels, one must player many CTF levels.

Late CTF Level Review Number 11: Floating Town

(Against my better judgment, I will review this level offline. I may later on adjust the rating when I finally get around to hosting this online.)

GAMEPLAY:

This level seems to be better compared to the last time I saw it. It has a lot of platforms, especially near the top, but the flow is nice so I don’t mind. Base placement is questionable, even though I can see some effort was used to make the level more balanced. It’s still much easier to attack Red base than it is to attack Blue base since the Red base is in a much more open area. In fact, I don’t like that entire empty area right above the Red base. I also don’t see the point for that Float Up event near the bouncer powerup. That event might as well be removed.

EYE CANDY:

While the tileset used isn’t loaded with eye candy tiles, it does have a nice variety of tiles. The large solid bricks weren’t even used at all. This is the kind of tileset that requires eye candy to be one of the things added first, so I can see why eye candy was such a problem. But still, the eye candy could have been improvised. Anyway, the eye candy in this level is more or less average.

CARROT AND AMMO PLACEMENT:

The full energy carrot is placed alright, along with the three powerups. Ammo placement is decent, although it could have been distributed slightly better. For example, there seems to be too much ammo around the bouncer powerup. And maybe there should have been less pepper spray on the left side of the level. That’s all I have to say.

HOST THIS OFTEN?

Maybe on several occasions, but not too often. This level looks like it’s worth around a 7.5 or something.

PS: Towns were never meant to float. And this level loops to another level I don’t have.

Late CTF Level Review Number 10: The Junkyard

(Against my better judgment, I will review this level offline. I may later on adjust the rating when I finally get around to hosting this online.)

GAMEPLAY:

So far, this is the best level I’m reviewing in a long while. The layout is balanced for the most part, and it has decent flow. The only thing bad about it is I got stuck apparently where Labrat Kid did, but it only happened once and it seems avoidable. Extra one ways should have been added in any case.

EYE CANDY:

I suppose the eye candy is average (I never played JJ1 so I can’t tell for sure). What I can tell is that this level looks a little dull compared to the levels CelL and Violet made. But overall, it’s good eye candy.

CARROT AND AMMO PLACEMENT:

The full energy carrot and the +1 carrot are placed in the middle, so no complaints there. The ammo and the powerups are also placed well enough, so I won’t mention anything specific.

HOST THIS OFTEN?

Every now and then. This was a nice lazy review. I’ll give this a 7.7 for the time being.

PS: Some guy named “necros” made the “Grey Void” music. And no, not necros(FM). It’s all in the comments section of the mod file.

The Edit: Okay, so maybe an eight.[This review has been edited by BlurredD]

Late CTF Level Review Number 09: Carrot Chase CTF

(Against my better judgment, I will review this level offline. I may later on adjust the rating when I finally get around to hosting this online.)

GAMEPLAY:

This level has all of the things I now have come to expect: dead-ends, pointless areas, bad spring placement, lack of balance, not much flow, and annoying obstacles. Base placement could be a little better (mainly in surroundings, that is). And to my dismay, there are missing borders at the top. I don’t know why, but it’s missing.

EYE CANDY:

It’s average in some places while horrible in others. There are more tiling errors, so basically not much has changed since the last level.

CARROT AND AMMO PLACEMENT:

The full energy carrot is sort of in between the bases, so that’s almost good enough. Ammo placement is as bad as ever and powerup placement needs work as well.

HOST THIS OFTEN?

No. My rating is 5.5, so there you go.

PS: This review probably means nothing to you, but that’s OK. I like typing for fun. If you actually do care, read all of my reviews twice and see where your faults are.

Late CTF Level Review Number 08: Persian CTF OMB

(Against my better judgment, I will review this level offline. I may later on adjust the rating when I finally get around to hosting this online.)

GAMEPLAY:

I had low prospects after seeing how small this level was. Small and boring. I can’t really say too much about the balance, the flow, or the base placement, but the small size and the simple layout is enough to make this level no good. Actually, I can say a few things about the balance: the level should have been completely symmetrical. Since it’s not, it’s easier to climb up on the right side with the vines than on the left side with the palm trees. On second examination, it looks like the entire middle area of this level should be moved a few tiles to the left. I also don’t like the sudden pause in the tube. Slow tubes would have just been enough. And maybe there should be more coins required to use the coin warp. Or maybe those two coins should just be moved to opposite sides of the level or something like that. To conclude, this is basically the kind of level I could have made in less than five minutes.

EYE CANDY:

The eye candy has to be as boring as it could possibly get without actually being horrible. On second thought, the eye candy isn’t any good at all. Barely any tile variety is to be seen. The background is completely missing aside from the textured BG. This level also has its share of tiling errors. Make an attempt to add good eye candy next time.

CARROT AND AMMO PLACEMENT:

Seeing that there is a full energy carrot accessible through the warp, I’m not going to say anything bad about this. On the other hand, I will complain about the horrendous ammo and powerup placement. It’s all either near one of the bases or near the coin warp. This leaves the bottom left and right completely empty of anything whatsoever. How fun. I could also question Blaster powerup vs. Toaster powerup, but this level is bad enough so I’ll just stop here.

HOST THIS OFTEN?

I doubt anyone would anyway. 5.2 so try again.

PS: I don’t know if you’re actually trying to make good CTF levels or if you’re just trying to lower your average level rating. Use more effort in the near future. And this is TSF and it doesn’t use the Beach tileset, BTW.

Late CTF Level Review Number 07: Capture the flag

(Against my better judgment, I will review this level offline. I may later on adjust the rating when I finally get around to hosting this online.)

GAMEPLAY:

Oh look, another level where the J2O name and the actual name of the level differ. Let me start with the layout. It’s not very balanced at all with the blue base at the top left corner and the red base at the bottom left. Base placement like this requires an extra effort to keep the level balanced. While the flow isn’t as bad as it gets, it could be better in a lot of places. Better spring placement and less obstacles is a start. Relying less on platforms would be good as well. I know I don’t normally complain about this, but the top area is a little too open; I don’t enjoy blind jumps too much. And of course, there isn’t a border around the entire level. What could one expect from a first CTF level? A border along the edges of the level at least two tiles thick (three tiles recommended) would prevent the flag bug from appearing. But that’s not all. My biggest problem with this level is the shield. I’m surprised to still see someone place a shield like this in any level. Even worse, it’s right next to the carrot. That’s pure chaos. I only condone shields in a level if they aren’t too easily accessible (like if a coin warp is required or players can only get it once at the start). And an invisible pole: WHY? The last time I checked, Carrottus had pole tiles.

EYE CANDY:

Could be a lot better, but at least the tileset was used correctly for the most part. There isn’t much of a background aside from the textured background and the few tiles aligned with layer 4. The unmasked dark brown tiles (assuming everyone knows what those are) are not to be found in this level. The eye candy is close to being average except it falls short. Thus, I deem this below average.

CARROT AND AMMO PLACEMENT:

It looks like there’s just a full energy carrot near the top. If this carrot was lower or if there was another carrot, I could live with it, but that isn’t the case. I rather dislike the way the ammo is placed. It’s not distributed too evenly; its huge clumps here and small clumps there. I would say the ammo was placed for the sake of having ammo in the level. TNT and ice aren’t exactly needed in this level. And if they were, I would strongly recommend not adding much of it or in places where players will constantly get it accidentally. I’m also thinking there are way too many crates in this level. Crates tend to have lag problems connected to them, so the fewer, the better. Powerup placement also needs work. It seems as if the powerups were placed as if this was a battle level with no regards to the fact that this could make the level even more unbalanced.

HOST THIS OFTEN?

No way. I’m thinking of a number between 5 and 5.

PS: I find it odd how you beta-tested CTF levels without ever finishing one of your own. BTW, I enjoyed reading this level very much.