SBWT Mapping Competition: Spring Man

[Ivory]

Alright, how this works is that you may vote in the poll here / discuss the entries IN THIS CATEGORY ONLY
I cannot stress this enough, don't mix anything up. The polls will be open for 7 days max, or until opinions and such dry up.

Your options will be for each entry (sans funbox maps), or to keep the original version of the map. However this option can only be posted in the thread because I want to hear a good reason to why. Failure to do so will result in your vote being discounted.

Sound fair enough? Keep in mind should this explode, judging will fall purely to Mike and myself.


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Entry 1 - Kapus
What a treat! This map is an improvement over your previous Spring X, and even if this map doesn't get accepted, I hope to see this one get used in place of the old map. The layout is a nice size and bouncing off the walls is fun (but will apply to Shade and Mess as well).

I really don't have much to say, the level flows nicely, but there is one complaint I have. The area behind ballade cracker feels like it's just there. This isn't much to do in that super bouncy room other than get Ballade Cracker and a large weapon energy.

I also like the clever use of springs with the Etank

Entry 2 - Linnie
Ah Linnie, this may be a little longer than the others, but don't feel bad about it. You're new to mapping so I have more to point out.

First off, this map is amazing. I am completely amazed to know that this is your first map. It's a very solid map for a first product and I'm simply impressed. I'm even more impressed that you used one of the ideas that Sick Sad World and I have discussed about future Spring Man maps. Having pits with springs in them to replace the standard deathpit.

So let's begin, shall we? The layout it self holds a lot of potential, a bit on the small size, but it could be something interesting. I'd also like to see that 3D Floor bass buster location worked upon. As it stands now, it's just sorta there to hide in.  It's also confusing that the springs in that area are only in the left hand corner, but you bounce up in the sector regardless of where you are.

Speaking of bouncing, the springs bounce you way too high in this stage. All the elevations are fairly low, so you tend to be more of a sitting duck for a good second.

You should also keep your eye on weapon placement. For example you have one Napalm Bomb which involves using sprites to get to, but another one is just in a corner on ground elevation. If you have multiple instances of the same weapon, the instances should be treated the same as far reaching the weapon goes.

Another thing to note is you should strive to keep detail the same. As seen here:

(click to show/hide)

It would of looked nicer if you either used a different texture in the middle, or continued the pattern the whole way across. Same can be said in every other area of the map where you use those  patters as the step without using the floor texture above it.

I think that covers up the main points, if you want more feedback, just poke me on skype.

Entry 3 - Shade Guy
Of course, Shade. What to expect other than a great map? This map has a better use of springs in my opinion, there are more areas you can reach by bouncing around and nothing in this map feels like it's just there for the sake of being there. It's really easy to get around too. The flow is very nice and fun. Which to be expected, this is Spring Man's stage, he should have a fun stage.

Nonetheless, it still would of been nice to have the punching glove shoot out every once in a while to create a sense of having to time your jumps to grave a tank.

Entry 4 - Mess
Ah Mess, this map. The layout is a neat idea, multi-floored spring designs, but some of the 3D Floors felt needless to me. In that large room with freeze cracker for instance, the sides are 3D Floors which allow you to go under them, but there isn't anything of interest there, just blank walls and a few health/energy. Another area of weakness is the gravity hold area. The area itself just kinda sits there, out of the way, and getting G-Hold itself is annoying and often deathprone. I can see it being worse when server lag is accounted for. I'm also confused to why you need Wire to get Hyper Bombs when Hyper Bombs aren't that useful on such a large level featuring lots of bouncing.

Otherwise, it's a fairly good map. good job.

Entry 5 - Korby
...Do I have to review this? ; - ;

[Ceridran]

Gotta pick Linnie here. The map felt good.

And I would've expected a better map from Korby.

[CutmanMike]

Kapus - The map flows well the springs are mostly there as alternative ways to get around which is nice. The wall bouncing mechanic is a little tricky at first but after a minute or so it wasn't a problem. Another great Kapus map for the books.

Linnie - The general layout of this map is pretty good, but some of the details kind of break the flow. The springs are tucked away which makes it harder to utilize them sometimes. There's some texturing issues here and there too which I'm not too bothered about, except in this case it made it difficult to see when certain walls began and ended.

Shade Guy - Overall a really decent map. I can't really fault anything here, again the springs are just there as alternative ways to get around. Good job duder!

Messatsu - A very interesting layour with some really artsy 3d floor stuff going on here (the thin floors remind me of goldeneye for some reason... anyone else? no?). My only nag is that a lot of the areas look similar, and the fault of that is spring man himself. If only spring man had more colours to use...

Korby - Erm... Feels like a void map like air man or something, but for spring man?

[LlamaHombre]

I feel Linnie's map holds the most promise. I think it could use a little more to it, like more items and cover, but out of the overall layouts, Linnie's just felt the best to me.

[Blaze Yeager]

I'm going with Shade's map. It's what I expected him to have done, and it works well with the map flow. (I'm still mad the spring boxes don't punch you ;_;)

Honorable mention goes definitely to Linnie's map. I loved the layout for it, though it needs some tweaks to the layout in a few instances, but either way, all in all, it's a pretty nice map to have played on. Good Job!

[Caprice]

Kapus' map is probably one of the best maps I have ever played! The abundant amount of springs were exceptionally fun to navigate with, and pretty much mess around. I really like gimmicks that allow me to move around in unusual ways, so this map will always be one of my favorites! Most of the other maps were pretty good too, except for the ungodly obsession with GRAVITY HOLD ARGH ALL MY RAGE but Kapus' map really stands out to me.

[ZeStopper]

I didn't really like Korby's map because of the spring's positions, making it rather easy for one to kill themselves by mistake.

[Kapus]

And I would've expected a better map from Korby.

...Really?

Anyways, I'm gonna run through these maps again offline before deciding. Probably gonna end up voting for Shade, though. I like it more than Linnie's and Mess' and I can't vote for my own map.

[SmashTheEchidna]

Same here, for the most part. Though my vote in this category is definitely yours, Kap.

[Ceridran]

can't vote for my own map.

.. Shouldn't we just make mapmakers unable to participate in the voting in general?

[Beed28]

Isn't Korby's entry a joke map like the map with just the Top Spin and really cramped map with Burst's textures?

[Ivory]

can't vote for my own map.

.. Shouldn't we just make mapmakers unable to participate in the voting in general?

Doesn't matter, these polls don't dictate which map gets voted in, only community preference. Maps are voted in by the dev team based on what the community voted for.

Isn't Korby's entry a joke map like the map with just the Top Spin and really cramped map with Burst's textures?

No, The spring map was a serious attempt that Korby ran out of ideas for half way through. So I'm counting it as an attempt.

[Tfp BreakDown]

My vote is definitely going to either kapus or linnie.

[Myroc]

Kapus

Honestly, I'm not too fond of the map. The layout is decent, so is the weapon and item placement, but it generally relies far, far too much on springs, making it a very great example of gimmick overuse (and that's even if you blatantly ignore the corridor that has every surface covered in springs). Coupled with the fact that any sort of below-average ping makes side-springs unbearable, the overabundance of springs feels annoying and disorienting rather than a fun addition to the map.

+ Good layout
+ Good weapon/item placement
--- The map depends on way too many fucking springs

Linnie

Definitely one of my favorites, although the map is itself far from perfect. I like the layout a lot, and, while there is a sliiiiight overpopulation of springs, it is definitely the least offending one of the bunch. The weapon placement is also good. My only real gripe about the map is that it looks very bland in places, and looks very empty, the map could probably use a few more energy capsules of either kind.

+ Great layout
- Slightly Bland
- Feels empty

(As an aside, I would like to say that I am astonished to find out that this is Linnie's first map, and far, far above the quality I expect from a first-time mapper. That, however, is merely an aside opinion, and doesn't really make the map stand out any further. I was originally planning on voting for this one, but I was eventually stolen over by...)

Shade Guy

After careful consideration, I will declare this as my favorite Spring Man map. Like the rest of the spring maps, it overuses springs a tad too much, although it uses them to great effect, and the layout, which is very much on the same levels as the other maps in this category, benefits a lot from this design decision. The excellent aesthetics in this map eventually seals the deal.

+ Layout incorporates springs in a very efficient manner
+ Great aesthetics
- Relies slightly too much on springs
- Misleading boxes

Messatsu

This map is a very average one, and I find it hard to find anything that can make it stand out from the rest. It is the second-most aesthetically pleasing map of the bunch with its open sky, but, again, it has too many springs in it, and I generally dislike the Gravity Hold area as well.

+ Looks decent, I guess?
- Too many springs
- Gravity Hold Area

Korby

DAMNIT KORBY MAKE MORE THAN HALF A MAP

[fortegigasgospel]

Shade wins for me. Generally a good layout with not too much reliance on the springs though it is still there.
Linnie gets second for me, for a new mapper he did a really good job. Some minor issues here and there such as random ledges, springs having preset thrust.