Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

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.

Late CTF Level Review Number 06: The Dark Dream

(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:

edits previous review

To no surprise, this level is also Spaz-biased with bad spring placement. Actually, this is much more Spaz-biased than the last levels. How could anyone play this and not notice the obvious problems with the flow? The flow is a whole lot worse than in the War Time! level, which is easy to tell. I have to say that while balance isn’t the biggest problem for once, the layout is still horrible. This level isn’t even completely symmetrical. There are still the same dead-ends and pointless areas as seen in previous levels, such as much of the bottom area of the level. I should also mention the size of the level didn’t help.

EYE CANDY:

Still bad. It’s still boring. It still completely lacks variety in tiles. The tileset is still used incorrectly. And the background tiles are messed up. Work on this, please.

CARROT AND AMMO PLACEMENT:

Carrot placement is good enough from what I can tell. Ammo placement still needs some work. There are multiple powerups of the same weapon for no good reason, so I advise not to do this. I’m probably making this review too short, but I seem to keep repeating myself with each review.

HOST THIS OFTEN?

Not a chance. 5.5, so there.

PS: Either you aren’t listening to your beta-testers, or your beta-testers are doing an awfully bad job at giving good advice. Something needs to change there. And I don’t know where exactly the assault part comes in. I should probably take off points for that, but I won’t.

Late CTF Level Review Number 05: War 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:

Simply stated: Distopia gone awry. This level is Spaz-biased with bad spring placement. When I say “Spaz-biased,” it means anyone playing as Jazz will have a much harder time getting around the level than if they were Spaz. When I say “bad spring placement,” it either means some springs should be moved, some springs should be removed, some springs should be changed (as to a different color), or some springs should be added. The level is also way too cramped in places, such as at the top right. Running around base to base through all possible routes before uploading this level might have helped to discover these problems with flow. The Blue base is crammed into some tight space while the Red base is in a much more open area—a sign of unbalance. The unevenness of open and cramped spaces here and there makes most of this level unbalanced. The same type of dead-ends as seen in the last level are present here. Also, some of the animating lights have masking problems (meaning that as it animates, the light occasionally becomes solid, which it shouldn’t). I doubt this will ever be fixed, but I said it anyway. In short, use better beta-testers, please. Thanks.

EYE CANDY:

Eye candy is basic, but it still suffers from misusage and tiling errors. There isn’t enough variety in types of tiles used. And near the bottom of the level, I could see the textured background underneath the mountain tiles in the background. That’s a bad thing, BTW.

CARROT AND AMMO PLACEMENT:

The placement of the full energy carrot is decent, but it’s completely dull and all. Ammo placement isn’t improved too much. It still isn’t distributed evenly throughout the level. Powerup placement is almost decent, if the carrot is considered as part of the balance, but I still question it.

HOST THIS OFTEN?

I don’t think so. Reviewing this level made me tired. 5.7 just because.

PS: Do me a favor and make a level without using one dead-end whatsoever. And don’t forget to add a next level setting next time. Some music would be nice as well.

Late CTF Level Review Number 04: Temple of darknes

(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:

The layout is a lot better than I thought it would be. Of course, one could imagine I had very low expectations when I saw the name “Temple of darknes.” The level is symmetrical, or at least it’s suppose to be (I found a missing spring), so I can’t complain about balance too much. The layout is bumpy here and there, and it looks Jazz unfriendly. It’s also too cramp in a lot of places, and some of the dead-ends are annoying. If the dead-ends around the bouncer powerup were shorter, I wouldn’t mind them as much. There are probably too many dead-ends (however small they may be) overall. I can see why most of the layout is the way it is, but I don’t see the point for making those areas with the horizontal springs; they just look pointless to me. From what I can tell, there are a lot of pointless events in this level like springs that could be avoided. In general, spring placement is horrendous. And for the biggest problem of all, there are some missing borders at the top areas which we all know can allow for the flag bug to appear. A two-tile (three-tile recommended) border at the edges of the level would fix this problem.

EYE CANDY:

It could be a lot better in many places. The huge areas of the same tiles look awfully bland. Another thing I dislike about the eye candy is the lighting. The lighting looks horrible outside of the temple, so some “Set Light” events would have been useful here. While I’m on the subject of “outside of the temple,” let me point out that the background is incredibly boring. The last time I checked, EvilMike did include BG tiles in his temple set, so I advise using them. The only thing that makes this eye candy any good at all is the usage of the small brick tiles. Granted it’s a little annoying in the 3rd layer (as it could be confusing), it makes a few areas in the level look a lot less dull. But I have to say, a found a few tiling areas with those bricks.

CARROT AND AMMO PLACEMENT:

I suppose for the size of the level a few extra carrots would be a good idea, but some of them are too close to one another. In regards to the carrot placed above the green-red-green spring combo and to the other carrot near the bouncer powerup, I suggest removing at least one of them (preferably the latter). The ammo could have been distributed better, such as with more ammo in the top and center areas and a little less at the bottom. I should mention that TNT can be slightly useful, such as for getting the bouncer powerup through the wall, but I feel it’s in too large of a quantity and should be closer to the bottom to where that powerup is. As for the ice, I see no use for it unless there’s some secret area somewhere (which I doubt). Also, I wouldn’t advise on multiple powerups of the same weapon.

HOST THIS OFTEN?

Nope. I’m thinking 5.7 for my rating.

PS: I don’t know why this is called “Desert Storm” on J2O while its name is “Temple of darknes” in the actually level itself. Some continuity would be nice.

Late CTF Level Review Number 03: Teh Space Station

(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:

Unresized Layer 4: MY FAVORITE. That was just lazy. Let me also mention that this level is mostly linear, so I already disliked gameplay a lot from the minute I started playing this. I don’t think I understand this level. I think the idea was to put horizontal blue springs on the left and a coin warp on the right to make this level even more unbalanced and chaotic. This level reminds me of a BBlair modification gone awry. Did I already mention balance needs work? The flow needs a lot of improvement as well. Linear layouts (which I advise to avoid at all costs) are no excuse for incredibly bad flow. And there are too many obstacles for my taste. decides he doesn’t feel like continuing

EYE CANDY:

The eye candy is probably the best part of this level. Or really, I should say the “atmosphere.” This is the kind of atmosphere I tend to use for a lot of my levels (indoors for the bases and outdoors for the section between the bases). On second thought, I don’t like the eye candy all that much. It seems to be dull in several places throughout the level, and it isn’t all too innovative. Also, the waterfall in the foreground irritated me. I would say the eye candy is average overall.

CARROT AND AMMO PLACEMENT:

The two measly +1 carrots—which are also poorly placed—will surely hinder gameplay. Like always, I suggest a full energy carrot or two. Ammo placement isn’t great. There are too many crates and it isn’t distributed well. And I don’t know what the TNT is for. As for the powerups, its placement also isn’t too great. The RF and Seeker powerups (which just happen to be two of the more powerful powerups) are placed way too close to each other. There are also the two bouncer powerups on the right side for reasons unknown. Furthermore, the blaster powerup and the two toaster powerups also help to make this level unbalanced. The blaster powerup isn’t needed at all. And is it me, or is 15 just seem a tad bit too fast? I still advise at least 20 as the respawn over 15, but I have to say this is definitely not the biggest problem in this level.

HOST THIS OFTEN?

Nah. I’ll make my rating a 5.5 for now (and probably later).

PS: Play some more good CTF levels before adventuring into making another one of your own, please. And yes, I will die for not playing this on the internet, although technically I was on the internet when I was playing the level (thanks to my cable modem), so ha. I highly doubt playing this online will persuade me to rate this much higher in any case.

Late CTF Level Review Number 02: Tree 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:

I can’t say I like the flow from the first five seconds I saw this level.

wonders how fast he can review this

I don’t like this. The flow is too rigid and Spaz-biased. It’s hard to see where I’m going (I blame Disguise for the way the tileset has to be used, but some improvisation could have been applied here). The balance could use a lot of work. The start positions were placed lazily (not even team based). And the one tile border may allow for the flag bug to pop up midgame. Unfortunately, I’m not in the mood to give a lot of advice so I’ll stop here.

But… Let me just ask this: if you know you can get stuck in certain places, why didn’t you try harder to prevent this?

EYE CANDY:

It’s confusing to say it simply. Players might get used to it, but I don’t really want to (to be honest). Actually, eye candy isn’t too bad; I just hate those tree branch thingies in the background. But in all, I have to say good job on actually being able to use this tileset at all.

CARROT AND AMMO PLACEMENT:

No carrots, uneven ammo placement, and questionable powerup usage. I don’t know what to think about the two ice powerups. No wait, I can: they are unneeded and just get in the way. Ice in this level in general is probably not needed at all. I say this from what I can tell, and what I can tell is this level needs a major overhaul.

HOST THIS OFTEN?

Don’t. 5.2 and try again. I get to be the first person to actually rate this. Joy.

PS: I am almost sure “Tree.j2l” will be overwritten one day. Anyway, message me if you actually want some real CTF advice.

Late CTF Level Review Number 01: Evil steel cage

(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 sort of confused me when I started playing. It’s pretty straight forward—which I discovered after making a few false presumptions. Albeit, after a while this level reminded me of a few of CelL’s older levels (Factorial Fiasco and The CelLlevator!). The level is symmetrical so balance is not an issue. The flow is just good enough for players to get by (not to say the flow is good). Naturally, getting around would be easier with Spaz. On another note, the size is getting to me. “Please do not lower your rating because of size.” That’s kind of hard to ask for others to do. That’s like saying, “Please don’t fire me because of my incompetence.” Size just happens to be a major part of the level. If it’s too small there may be problems, just as if the level was way too big (like something around 300×200). This is the size of a level I feel is too small for dueling or much of anything else. Lower numbers of people may allow for annoyingly long games. Higher numbers of people may create chaotic gameplay. I doubt many players can have a lot of fun in this level, to be honest. It’s too small to become an addictive level so BIGGER IS BETTER.

EYE CANDY:

The eye candy isn’t bad, but I think a lot more could have been done with it. After seeing this tileset used a few thousand times, I’ve raised my expectations for “average” and “above average.” I think the eye candy here is just about average, more or less. It’s actually a little boring in places. Feel free to disagree.

CARROT AND AMMO PLACEMENT:

For starters, there are the full energy carrots at the sides of the level right above each base. I suppose this could work for this level, if it wasn’t for the weak powerups. There are only the EB and the pepper spray powerups to wreak havoc with, which seems a tad boring. Ammo placement isn’t the greatest in this level, but it might do. Overall, I am not impressed.

HOST THIS OFTEN?

Ummm… no. There are probably some other problems or other things I should mention but whatever. 5.5 means try harder next time.

PS: I don’t read anyone else’s reviews until I’m done reviewing, just in case you were wondering.

I find it interesting how CTF levels are released in batches.

GAMEPLAY:

Balance isn’t too much of an issue since the level is more or less symmetrical (aside from a few tile misplacements). The whole area around the carrot should be moved a tile to the right to help symmetry, but it isn’t all that important. Well, unless you’re a perfectionist like me. Anyway, flow isn’t the greatest, but I can live with it. There’s the transporting thing at the bottom of the level which is rarely used in a lot of levels so that’s a good sign. I can’t find anything else horribly wrong with the gameplay. It’s average for the most part (excluding the transporter thing).

EYE CANDY:

Well, it’s decent, but more variety in tiles could have been used. I know I didn’t set up much of a standard with my level, but that’s where Stripe succeeded and I failed. I made some better levels with the set, but I’m still yet to host it. Anyway, the BG isn’t 8-bit friendly at all (unless Textured Background is turned off, but I’d rather not have to do that) and the solid blue tiles in the background (like around 100,35) look rather bland. And there’s the repetitive eye candy in places.

CARROT AND AMMO PLACEMENT:

I can’t argue with the full energy carrot in the center (almost the exact center, but that’s negligible). But I can complain about ammo and powerups respawning too quickly. Is it just me, or does everyone now want to make ammo respawn fast? 20, 25, and 30 are much nicer speeds. Also, there’s probably such thing as ammo which is too easily accessible. IMO, too much ammo is placed closely to the ground tiles. Better distribution could be a good idea. I should also mention that I wouldn’t go inside the deathtrap at 95,33 (which is naturally also on the left side as well) too often just to get some pepper spray ammo. It’s not really worth accessing all of the time, especially when there’s pepper spray in other places or when getting followed.

HOST THIS OFTEN?

Sometimes, maybe. 7.2, and not bad for a first CTF leve.

Third CTF review this week. Let’s begin, shall we?

GAMEPLAY:

I’ve seen worse. I can’t say this is much of an improvement. There are once again useless deadends, questionable spring placement, and even more deadends. One can imply that there are more deadends than before. Furthermore, there’s a slight lack of flow, a spaz bias, and a huge empty so. This level reminds me lot of Death Castle CTF which is not really a good thing. Some more variety would be nice, wouldn’t it? There’s still poor base placement (and generally in the same places as before) and it’s still unbalanced. Bases in each corner of the level are hard to balance so I advise avoiding this.

EYE CANDY:

“Explosive Garden CTF” isn’t exactly exploding with eye candy. The eye candy would have been average, but once again the tileset is misused in a lot of places. This is a bad sign. Please take my advice and try to make eye candy like that seen in good levels (not just any level). Also, try not to hide too many things with foreground eye candy. Doing that will annoy players a lot.

CARROT AND AMMO PLACEMENT:

Carrot placement is like how it was before: a full energy carrot in a warp. Not too bad, but it just makes this level more like the last CTF one. As for ammo placement, it seems to be too random. Good thing: ammo placed througout the level for easy access and strategical reasons. Bad thing: ammo placed around the level for the sake of placing ammo around the level. I might have lost a lot of people who are reading this review with those last few lines, but it is true so go ask someone who’s made a lot of CTF levels for a detailed explanation (I’m too lazy to do it now myself, although PMs can be useful). The powerup placement isn’t as bad, though. If the RF was placed a little further to the right, it would have been a little better (assuming there won’t then be an empty space where the powerup was). Of course, they are just out in the open and rather easy to access, so it’s pretty dull and all. Something like a powerup only accessible with some Electro Blasters through a wall is a nice change from the ordinary.

HOST THIS OFTEN?

That answer is still a no. This is worth about a 6.2, so next time try even harder.

is tired of reviewing the same level for such a long time once again

The name alone gave me high prospects (that was sarcasm, by the way).

GAMEPLAY:

I can’t complain too much about balance since the layout is mostly symmetrical. The flow is decent, although it could be a little better in a few places. For instance, maybe a green spring would have been better than a blue one at pos 36,46. Moreover, I’m not too crazy about the one tile wide passage ways, but I don’t hate them too much. Also, the turrets on the top aren’t as useful as the ones closer to the bottom. Come to think of it, why include turrets for such a small level? To add to the random chaos? Everything else in this level seems rather average. On a side note, the level seems too small and basic for me to get too into, but others might like it more.

EYE CANDY:

In the background, it’s a bit original, but it doesn’t look all that good. The eye candy in the other layers are too dull for my liking. In a lot of places, it looks as if it was rushed and not much time was put into it. Maybe less different could be a good idea.

CARROT AND AMMO PLACEMENT:

There are no carrots from what I can tell. I believe this qualifies as a bad idea. It’s CTF, not LRS. I’d like to live for a little bit while I have the flag. Ammo placement is decent and powerup placement is almost good. Too bad all of the powerups are on the routes from base to base. Also, players might be able to get the toaster powerup with powered up bouncers through the wall near those two powerups, although it may be hard to do. And the events seem to be respawning a little too fast. A faster speed wouldn’t be too bad. There isn’t much choice of ammo, but I can probably live with it.

HOST THIS OFTEN?

Maybe, if you run out of better levels to host. There isn’t much strategy in this level; just don’t get killed. Not bad but nothing special, so a 7.0 is what I’m giving this.

The Edit: After seeing this level again, I realized a “7.0” was an overrating. This level is worth a 6.0 at best. I don’t know what I was thinking. So there you go.[This review has been edited by BlurredD]

Let me just say that I originated with the Flying Rock (as seen in level 3 of my SP pack) as well as Instant Death (with a little help by Dizzy and EvilMike for an improved version). I don’t really expect everyone has gone out of their way to see my pack since it only has an “N/A” rating (evil Trafton and his evil rule). Anyway, Instant Death was poorly imitated in these 3 train levels as one can plainly see (it’s suppose to actually take players’ lives, not just send them back to the start). And so now you know.

BTW, the “flying blue baddy” is just some old event only for TSF which was found some long while ago.

PS: Don’t review my SP pack if you don’t enjoy a good challenge. It’s meant to be extra hard and not easily beaten in a day. (this has partially been a shameless plug)

This will be interesting. Before I start reviewing this, let me just say this reminds me a lot of Dapete’s level, only smaller.

GAMEPLAY:

tries not to be too harsh

I have to say there isn’t much gameplay in this level at all. I shall list the major problems that needs fixing:

1.). This has horrible start positions. Everyone starts at the top right. Multiplayer (MP) position (pos) events should have been used for each team. 0 is for blue team and 1 is for red team.
2.) There are no border tiles around the level to prevent the flag bug. The flag bug is when a player with the flag touches the edge of the level and every one else sees the text saying that player captured the flag over and over again.
3.) Horrible base placement. The bases are too close to each other. And because all of the the start positions are on the left side, this level has no balance at all.
4.) Hurt events. Don’t use hurt events in multiplayer levels. Hurt events are able to kill the server.
5.) Not much flow at all, or a real layout. This level needs to be a bit bigger (maybe at least 100×60) for starters.
6.) Spring placement probably could be better, although fixing that alone won’t help too much.
7.) This level doesn’t have much of anything else, which is why I have to stop at only seven.

My best adive: look at a lot of good CTF levels and see how well they play.

EYE CANDY:

Let me just say that it didn’t help that the tileset needs a lot of work and the palette is horrendously pink and awfully confusing. A better tileset choice would have helped a whole lot. The tileset might have been used well (not that I can really tell, although I’m guessing it could have been used better), but it isn’t that much of a tileset and thus the rating will suffer a bit (sorry).

CARROT AND AMMO PLACEMENT:

I don’t recall seeing any carrots or powerups. Not including those things is generally a really bad idea. Also, the ammo placement is too sparce and needs a lot of work. For more CTF advice, read my Dapete review. If you aren’t that serious about making better CTF levels, then maybe you should just work on battle levels or whatnot since they require a little less to make them good.

HOST THIS OFTEN?

If anyone does, then something is wrong with them. 2.7, but keep trying.

Although I could rate this, I think I’d rather file a complaint instead (at least just for now). I don’t think it was a good idea on your part to take away the background tiles in your final version of Wasteland. Just because some people didn’t like it that doesn’t mean nobody used it. Some people had a lot of trouble hosting one of my levels because they replaced their 50KB Wasteland tileset with the 39KB version which came with the EA pack, thus causing the level to give them Access Violations. Not only did that bug me, but you failed to mention this fact in your description nor your readme file; you only mentioned this on your site. I think you should have just kept the larger Wasteland tileset as the official tileset since it isn’t that big and it won’t cause AV problems with any levels anyone has already made.

I have no real system of reviewing tilesets so I’ll just get to the point. I was on the verge of making a level with this tileset until I realized I didn’t like the 4th layer BG tiles (or in other words, the light brown tiles) too much. It’s a shame this tileset is so small. A common flaw in several of Moonblaze’s tilesets is lack of variety in tiles. And what I mean is that most of the ground tiles are just one general color. It would be nice to see a tileset as varied as Tubelectric or something. I wonder if this review made any sense so far. Anyway, it’s a good tileset for it’s size.

8.0 because I’m nicer than Unhit and the BG pwns so much.