"s" reviews

author: Michael Contorno. this level begins with a decent F1, but the 2nd objective section overflows the graphic, and no CD track has been selected. at the beginning, there is a case of overlapping sound files -- two or more play at once, and out of sync, and continuously; annoying at first, but i guess you get used to it. the flow is linear and the pacing is decent; monsters are grouped somewhat logically, but their relative strengths and their placement don't jibe. this level, overall, has been done fairly well, but the many technical inconsistencies -- pure-white bridges that rise in an otherwise-red lava room, the overlapping sound files, the unexplained use of teleports (some of which don't work in single-play), button brushes that have the same texture on all five visible sides, stairs that have risers so tall you have to jump up them, and brush flicker (doors) by the lava trap -- draw attention to themselves, detracting from the experience. there was some very good use of multi-level cross-traffic connectivity in this level, however, and the varying sizes of play areas indicate the author understands level design. now all that's needed is a solid theme and some attention to details...

author: Michael Contorno. this level doesn't have an introductory F1 or a CD track selection, though the F1 follows shortly thereafter. this level is similar to this author's previous work in that it's large, admirably cross-connected, uses multi-level and repeat traffic areas, and has erratic monster placement. the theme is better in this one, and the architecture and lighting supports it rather well. unfortunately, the annoying repetitive sound files are back (with a vengeance) and the level is rather bare of ornamentation. like the previous one, there is no clear origin point (where you came from before entering this level). all in all, it's a different mood and theme than the previous, but many of the niggling inconsistencies and technical flaws are the same.

author: Michael Contorno. this level begins with a terse F1, no CD track, and no origin point. the architecture throughout this level is proportional and widely varying in size and shape. structures are done well, with enough brush detail to give them life along with adequate texture detailing, though some misalignments were noted. running speeds are choppy, though, with some areas providing serious frame rate hits. one part of the map (near the blue key door) reminded me very strongly of Doom1 in both look and feel due to the layout and the trap. the flow is linear, with some backtracking necessary, and the pacing is good if a bit on the light side. three secrets in this level, of which i found two, and both that i found were clearly if subtly marked. the nitpicks in this level were too numerous and too pervasive to ignore, however: the blue key door doesn't stay open, so if you retreat, you're permanently denied access to the rest of the level; some colored light shines through the bottom of walls, clashing with the surroundings; doors that don't open don't have messages telling you why; the buttoned door by the small pit that requires a button push every time to open (doesn't stay open) was annoying; and many of the doors didn't have slots to slide into. a good, strong level, but the near-constant niggling annoyances distracted too much.

author: Michael Contorno. this level, at the outset, sports an uncertain origin point, F1 text that overlaps the graphic, and no CD track. the architecture through this level varies pretty widely in size, though most is pretty cluttered and, thus, hard to move around in at times. the detailing, however, is well done, with areas looking and feeling well-used. the flow is semi-linear, though from the ammo and weapon placement i would assume the author intended it to be a little more linear than the way i played it (i jumped through the window by the lava-tube room)... which means i ran out of ammo very quickly indeed. taking on a pair of icaruses (icarii?) with a blaster isn't a whole lot of fun, i must say. the nasty slowing in that room didn't help matters any, either. pacing is good, if a bit on the hard side, and the author has given you plenty of weaponry and ammo to help you do the job (if you play in the right order, of course). some items, such as the hyperblaster and railgun, are too powerful for this level; more grenades would have been a better choice, i think. the endgame is fun, if a bit easy due to the exposure and limited movement of the monsters at the end; lobbing grenades over the next edge and then ducking out of sight took care of both of them rather easily. nitpicks: doors don't have slots or floor guides; the gunner behind the red security lasers cooked himself rather nicely when he saw me; the lever that activates the bridge hurts the player due to its motion; and some texture misalignments were noted. a good level, but one with too many niggling problems.

author: Michael Contorno. this level begins with a godo origin and a decent F1, though the text in the F1 overlaps the graphic. the architecture in this level is decidedly blocky, with most areas sporting perpendicular angles. play areas are varied in size, from medium-sized open courtyards to numerous hallways and bridges and the like. texturing has been done well, though the textures chosen are a bit plain, yet this adds a realistic feel to the blocky structures, suggesting some kind of prison area or pre-fabricated structure. interesting. the flow is linear and the pacing is good; you'll have enough weaponry to defeat the monsters, but the ammo you're given varies. there was some slowing noted, as well as some "same animated texture on all five sides of a button" texturing. the doors also have no tracks or slots, which appears odd. nitpicks: necessary items that are sudden-death trapped isn't much fun; lasers in the grid don't touch both sides of the wall; i couldn't figure out how to turn them off once i got the commander's head; ending a bit predictable. a strong level, but one that's just... missing something. can't explain it.

author: Michael Contorno. this level begins with a good origin and a terse F1. the architecture in this level, as in most of this author's other levels, is rather plain in appearance, but texturing has been used well to simulate depth. some architectural (brush) detailing would have been nice, because this level runs very smoothly and a little "flash" would have gone a long way. the lighting is good, with visible sources for most of the indoor lighting and the outdoor lighting being applied well. the flow is linear and the pacing is excellent -- the combat situations in this level are fun and challenging without being overwhelming, and you've nearly always got enough weaponry and ammo to do the job. monsters are placed to their strengths, to a degree, and this variation in monster effectiveness will keep you busy (if you're like me, you'll breeze through an easy section and get ambushed on the next). the author has also placed monsters with an ear to their idling sounds; it's a rare spot in this level that's completely quiet. the use of specials in here was good as well, and i loved the mutator lab machinery as it went to work. totally cool. the endgame was easier than it had a right to be (the railgun and quad together is a bit much), but it was a surprise to see that particular monster in such a confined space. all in all, this is this author's best effort yet, and i'm glad i can finally give one of his levels the TLKA. i'm very much looking forward to his next work.

Author: Michael Contorno. This level begins with an adequate origin and a terse F1. The architecture throughout this level runs toward the plain end of the scale, with textures being used to add depth well. Some brush accents and detailing is present, and has been done well. The flow is linear (with an exception; see below) and the pacing is good, with weapons matching monster strengths and enough ammo and health provided to get you through the tough spots. A surprising amount of texture misalignment was noted, as was the misalignment of the lasers in the barrier with their sources. Also, some texture selections (mostly on button sides and door tops) were a bit odd, and not fitting with the rest of the scheme. Some slowing in the first area was also noted, probably due to the amount of lava. As mentioned above, the flow is linear, but I found that it's more than possible to avoid traveling through approximately half the level by getting the first armor secret and then jumping onto the angled support to climb over the top of the building. By going this route, you don't get some weapons, but you'll have the regular shotgun, regular machine gun, and the grenade launcher to brawl with, and, with clever maneuvering, these weapons are enough to complete the level. The endgame is easier than it should have been (the grenade launcher is very handy here), but the last objective and your means of exiting the level was nicely done. Nitpicks: some brushes didn't quite line up (most notably on the launch tube at the end); some HOM was noted; doors don't have slots or tracks; and numerous errors were noted both at the start and during the game. A good, solid level, with some issues that might have been taken care of before release.

Author: Jussi Tuononen. This level begins with no F1 and an adequate origin (with the darkness where you start, I suppose you could have come from anywhere). The architecture throughout this level is very blocky, with some angled sections adding a bit of relief from the unrelieved perpendicularity of most play areas. Texturing has been applied well, with some odd selections (mostly doors) being used. Lighting has been done very well to set the mood; the author has achieved a decidedly moody, gloomy look without forcing the player to stagger around in the dark, and I enjoyed the feel of this level for that reason alone. The flow is linear, with some side areas to explore, and the pacing is good, if a bit erratic. You'll receive the red armor, a machine gun, and four boxes of bullets at the start, but you'll need them... and I've a feeling you'll get tired of the machine gun after a while, because that's all you'll be using for some time. The monster placement and selection tends toward the "horde" style, with numerous weaker monsters being strategically placed to give you grief. This has been done well, for the most part, but some areas are large and have relatively weak solitary monsters to defend them. Oddly enough, the red key door requires a red key to pass through, yet there is no door there -- it is simply an empty archway, and it's possible to exit this level very quickly by exploiting this flaw. The theme, such as it is, was disjointed and incongrous; areas that adjoined one another were widely different in style with no logical explanation why this would be so, and, on the whole, the level appeared to be a variety of different-themed areas joined by doors and hallways. Nevertheless, this is a solid level with definite potential; a stronger theme, solid doors, and continuity between sections would be items to work on, along with breaking up the blocky monotony of some of the architecture. I'll be interested in seeing this author's next work.

author: Joao Paulo D. Alves. this level begins with an invalid CD track (track 1) and no F1. it basically comprises a series of huge outdoor areas with a little bit of every type of weapon and structure; it doesn't have any theme or logic that i could detect, leading me to believe that this is a test level of some kind. the author has clearly demonstrated the basics of level design... hopefully these skills will be wrapped around a plot or theme next time.

author: Fred Hite, Jr. this level begins with a good origin and F1. the architecture through the parts of the level i was able to play were interesting; some were detailed with brushes and some were not, yet they blended together extremely well, and i didn't really notice this until i started thinking about it. the flow is semi-linear and the pacing is good and hard without being overwhelming or annoying. running speeds were a bit sluggish around the blue key door, but since i never saw what was behind it, i can't say if it was justified or not. after i found and shot the secret door/panel (where the bitch was lurking) up the ladder, Quake2 crashed to the console with this:

R_BuildLightMap called for non-lit surface

author: Jon Seigel. this level is pretty much cut straight from the pages of the first base; the id influence is heavy throughout this level. it's as if the author took screenshots of q2test and made a map based on them. the introductory F1 is concise and sets the mood well. the flow to this map is semi-linear, with some side areas to explore. base damage has been done convincingly, and this level truly feels like a real place... as real, in many ways, as the original levels. the pacing has been done well, with the monster mix being challenging without being overpowering, and the weapons provided (with plenty of ammo) are more than adequate for the task at hand. i would have liked some of the areas referred to in the F1 to be a bit more distinctive, and some of the dead marines appeared to be floating in the air. also, the warehouse area had some strange monster combinations; indeed, one of the monsters placed in the warehouse could not have logically gotten into the area it was in, because the boxes in the warehouse were placed so tightly (maze-like, even) as to prevent access. in addition, the exit has the player walking out into the sky, which is a bit odd. nevertheless, the author has amply demonstrated quality level-creation skills; i'm eagerly anticipating this author's next work, and i'm hoping it has a less derivative feel to it.

author: "EraserX". this level begins with a terse F1, a good CD track, and a decent origin point. the architecture in this level is a bit on the plain side; brushes are uncomplicated, for the most part (exception: outdoor areas), and though they're textured well, they seem a bit bland. this "washed-out" look might have something to do with the lighting; it's very bright in most areas and it tends to make the textures look overexposed. colored lighting has been used, but it seems arbitrary (the green "sentry box" and the blue-lit hallway in particular), and there aren't many visible light sources. the author has used appropriate .wav clips and ambient sounds, and used them both effectively and well. the flow through this level is linear, and the pacing is erratic. some odd monster combinations were present, and the difficulty of combat situations varied widely between areas. the author has used a few specials, and for the most part they're done well. too many nitpicks, though: HOM noted in a couple of areas; texture misalignments noted; odd colored lighting; arbitrary weapon and ammo placement; can get permanently stuck in two places; no door slots or tracks; one door that just kind of floated open (no logical/mechanical means of operation); texedges present in at least one location; and a logic problem -- why does summoning the elevator with the call button shut off the alarm? a decent level, but one that needs a bit more work.

author: Brian Blair. upwards of 85% of this level was textured in a red texture with black dots, which was strange. i think this odd texturing may have been related to the slew of missing texture errors that scrolled up the console when the level loaded. the flow is linear, but there is no F1, and no CD track specified. the monster mix is odd, sparse, and easy to dispatch. there might have been a theme, but with few textures present, it was hard to tell. the same goes for colored lighting, if any -- with all the red, it was difficult to tell if any was there.

author: Rick Troppman. this level has a good, if wordy, introductory F1, and the rest of the F1s in this level do well to advance the plot. the architecture throughout this level runs toward the complex side, with lots of stuff to look at and move around, and (unfortunately) the running speeds through this level run from the merely slow to the horrendously slow. structures have been created believeably and proportionately, and the theme for each area, as well as the whole, is strong and convincing. the flow is linear and the pacing is good, with monster placement and selection being challenging but not overwhelming. the lighting is a bit on the dark side, but nowhere is it pitch black; nevertheless, playing this one during the daytime can be frustrating. nitpicks: you can get permanently stuck in this level; "prepair" and "coolent"; there is no clear origin point to explain where the player came from; and the colored light blending is a bit jarring at times. with a fast machine, this level is probably pretty enjoyable, but since i'm on a 133, i simply can't recommend it.

author: "Ledman". the first thing you'll notice about this level is that it has no F1, and the title of the level is far too long for the box. this level has some very interesting architecture -- i loved the structure of the hallways, which gave this level a very claustrophobic feel while having plenty of area to move around in. however, due to the overuse of these halls (they're everywhere) and the lack of markers (other than colored lights), it is very easy to become disoriented in this level; in fact, i spent quite a bit of time just trying to figure out where i was, much less where i had to go. flow is semi-linear, with certain unmarked buttons needing to be pushed to access further areas. nearly every monster and weapon is present in this level, and they've been placed seemingly at random. i would love to see a full, coherent level done with this style of architecture (hallways); the rooms and larger play areas would be very entertaining.

"u" reviews