Critique my UT maps please

[JSB]

Hello everyone.
Being that it takes so long to have maps reviewed, I would like the assistance of my fellow community members.

If you could find the time, could you guys download and play my first UT maps and give me a well documented (but as brief as possible) critique?

I love creating levels but I would also like to create environments that the majority of players will enjoy, as well.

My preference is close, tight, almost non stop carnage but the consensus seems to be for more Z axis, larger areas, and more routes of escape.

I look forward to any help.
Much appreciated.
Thanks!

You can view/get the levels here:
my first UT CTF, DM, and DOM levels (http://www.planetduke.com/jsbuild/projects/ut_design/)

[NutWrench]

Downloading Dm-Fragtory . . .

[JSB]

<ahem> How's it going?
images/icons/wink.gif

[Wild Falkon]

I'll get back to you on them, but they do LOOK very nice....I'll give you that.

I'll be back in about 2 days with some criticism. images/icons/tongue.gif

[MrEricSir]

Your site uses popups, so forget it. images/icons/wink.gif

[widowmaker]

Okay here are my reivews.

Map Name: Castle Von Fistca
Type: CTF

Texture Usage: 4
Lighting: 4
Flow: 5
Layout: 4
Fun Factor: 5
Ambient Sound: 2
Music Choice: 5

Over All: 4.25

Notes/ Comments
I liked this map better than the other two put up for review. The layout and all ran nicely and provided enough variations that I was not always running into the bots in the same places. The bots made good use of just about everything except the Redeemer. I found bots trapped out on the ledge where the redeemer is time after time. The lighting although nice and bright didn’t have much variation to it. A little more contrast between the shadows and bright areas would help a little bit. This map also lacked ambient sounds. I only recall wind and the swamp noises outside by the flags.


Map Name: Fragatory
Type: DM

Texture Usage: 4
Lighting: 5
Flow: 4
Layout: 4
Fun Factor: 3
Ambient Sound: 3
Music Choice: 5

Over All: 4.0

Notes/ Comments
I don’t have much to say about this one. The map an okay and the lighting was better than Castle Von Fistch. The down side to this map is the symmetry, it just feels too symmetric. The movers were not the obligatory moving square and had more than just a straight path which added a nice difference to the map over most basic DM maps. My only other problem is that it seems very square and reminds me of most of the Quake 3 maps.


Map Name: Parachnoid
Type: DOM

Texture Usage: 4
Lighting: 3
Flow: 3
Layout: 2
Fun Factor: 1
Ambient Sound: 2
Music Choice: 4

Over All: 2.7

Notes/ Comments
Everything that was lacking in one of the previous two maps was lacking in this map. The layout seems very Doom 1 and Doom 2 in design very old school and lacking in many ways. The entire maps seems to have the same degree of light providing no contrast. Aside from a little wind sounds it seems to be missing any ambient sounds. This map seems only partially complete. A great amount of detail needs to be added as well as sounds and tweaking of the lighting.

Well that is about all for now. If you have any questions you know where to find me.

[JSB]

Thanks widowmaker for the well documented critique. I didn't expect much because after all these are my first maps. You may have guessed that the DOM map was my very first one. I created the CTF and DM maps at the same time. (btw, is that outta 5 or 10?)

My reason for the requested critiques is because I believe I'm ready to make some really good maps; I just need a little guidance, now, in creating better levels. I know how to create the environments I dream up, now to create better ones.

Thanks again. I hope others will contribute, as well.

As for you, MrEricSir, I've pasted direct links to the downloads for ya. images/icons/wink.gif
Would like to hear what you have to say about them.

DM-Fragtory (http://old.fileplanet.com/dl/dl.asp?/planetduke/jsbuild/dm-fragtory.zip)
DOM-Parachnoid (http://old.fileplanet.com/dl/dl.asp?/planetduke/jsbuild/dom-parachnoid.zip)
CTF-CastleVonFistch (http://old.fileplanet.com/dl/dl.asp?/planetduke/jsbuild/ctf-castlevonfistch.zip)

[widowmaker]

That would be out of five. I guess I didn't include any kind of scale with the reivews.

I looked at the DOM map and pretty much figured it was one of your early maps.

Not too bad for a start. Not bad at all.

[JSB]

Widowmaker.
You say in Castle Von Fistch that the bots were "trapped" on the ledge where the redeemer is. Do you mean that they camped on the grate where the redeemer is?

I play tested these maps lots before handing them over to a whole team of programmers to play test them on their network.

In the beginning I found the bots camping on the grate but I changed some things and they stopped doing that in my tests. In fact, in my final testing, the bots were using the jump spots rather well between the grate, the first level and the second level ledges of the pit. I wonder if it has something to do with the skill level. The one thing I didn't test the map on was lower than Adept as a base skill for all the bots.

I kinda wonder what kind of ambient sounds would one expect throughout the map because I thought that I had added sounds where I thought there might be sounds, ie., in the turrets, the bases (in the swamps), and echo in the "not so bottomless pits".

The one thing that I did notice about the bots and the Redeemer pit, is that occasionally they fell in but so did I fall in on occasion.

Thanks again for your input. images/icons/wink.gif

[widowmaker]

The bots would just stand out on the ledge. I came to the ledge an saw a bot standing on the ledge. It was from the oppoing team and yet did not bother to shoot at me. I started shooting it and it just stood there. This happened four or five times during that game. I was playing on Godlike. You could call it camping but the bot never shot at anyone and did not return fire when shot.

I will think about the sounds and post something about those later on.

[JSB]

Anyone else? images/icons/confused.gif