Astral Witchcraft

  • Rating: 8.9

Reviews and comments

    cooba 8 Nov 2024, 01:44 (edited 8 Nov 24, 01:44)

    9Recommended:

    In what is probably the grandest scripting tour de force since BL18, minmay delivers on her own contributions to JJ2+ and allows the selected music track to wholly control every aspect of the level. The background nebulas glow dramatically, the very ground subtly shifts from grayish brown to purple and back, the candles will suddenly come alive upon hearing brass notes – all to the rhythm, ebb, and flow of A Bard's Tale, a module that would already have been a winner in a regular level. This level is an audiovisual experience like none that came before

    It is also an experience that is feels very <i>bespoke</i> – with a flashy makeover for the Blaster, two brand new weapons, a new mechanic to collect (at least one of) them, a Sugar Rush alternative that is more like an ult move, and a very precise layout built specifically to accomodate all of the above, this level feels like a brief window to a modern video game, much different than JJ2. It’s impressive on multiple levels.

    I do worry, though, that minmay went a little too far with fun over safety – all the weapons fire rapidly, are very highly kinetic, and cap off at 100 rather than the usual 50 – which was just fine with the number of people I played this in, but I imagine will quickly descend into bullet nonsense that would surpass even BlurredD’s Quick Death Valley. Which, I suppose, is the entire point of the level, but not my personal preference. And while I would be hypocritical to complain about a level that can be both CTF and Battle, the nonchalant non-symmetry of the layout suggest that the Battle version was a bit of an afterthought. It remains a spectacularly designed afterthought, however.

    Bonus points: Really appreciate the crazy amounts of SPRITE::MAPPING used here.

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    Violet CLM 28 Feb 2025, 08:30

    9.5Recommended:

    The Halloween Contest rules noted that "Scripted gameplay modifications are permitted [w]ithin reason. Please submit a Battle level, rather than an example level for your new cool gamemode mutator." I have lingering doubts about whether Astral Witchcraft really obeys this rule, but fortunately I'm not judging the Halloween Contest, I'm just reviewing a battle level. Or a CTF level. Or both.

    There's a lot of room in this world for battle levels with deeply strategic layouts, hidey little corners where you need to use the exact right weapon to hit people, powerups and other resources you need to dominate control of to win. This isn't any of those things. This gives you lots of power right from the onset, and while there are definitely extra ammo types you can find to make you stronger, you can still get by without them. You're always a killing machine. There are always likely to be enemies in front of you, no matter what the minimap says. But the weapons are cool and new, so this feels exciting. In retrospect, this is kind of what I was condemning Titan Armory for…?

    Visually I don't have much to say other than it looks incredible. There's rotating stuff! Tendrils of greenery! Colors that pulse with the music! Whatever is going on in the background! Eva out for a night on the town!

    The buttstomp blast takes a little longer to charge than I'd like, and the center area for getting the green ammo is oddly hard to reach. That's all I've really got.

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    Superjazz 8 Mar 2025, 19:09 (edited 8 Mar 25, 19:14)

    9Recommended:

    I have to admit that I didn't at first quite understand this level and was therefore more confused than impressed by it, but during the past months I have started to like it more and more. I felt that the layout is rather maze'y and perhaps too cramped in certain places, plus I wasn't so fond of the tileset and so forth. However, the fact that this level has abolished the standard set of JJ2 weapons and replaced them with completely custom scripted weapons that support the layout and gameplay overall have quite made the difference between a good and an average gameplay for me.

    And that is what this level is really about; It's about minmay's astronomical witchcraft in AngelScripting and making magic real in JJ2! The custom weapons, which I don't know how to call, have been designed cleverly to offer the players true tactical weapons to overcome their opponents in the level's creepy corridors and silent stairways. Although the weapon choices are few, they offer everything needed to make the good maneuvers in this level, much better than a classic set of e.g. Bouncers and seekers would do. There's even the really cool concept of a chargeable ultimate buttstomp strike to unleash your whole magical potential and the custom minimap of the level to ease navigating.

    There is so much to describe about the cool scripted gimmicks here, which do not limit to just the gameplay features, as they also make the visuals come to life and dance to the music track as well. Even the mezmering background is mighty impressive on its own.

    Although I haven't got to play the level for long yet, I did enjoy it for the shorts moments I got to try in the recent online events. I think I definitely prefer the CTF version here though (with the Halloween Evas), as the level kind of loses a part of its profile in a battle-based game mode, albeit that is playable too. I suppose the level wouldn't really work in duels, but I haven't tried that either yet. Maybe the only real complaints I have to the gameplay are the slightly too narrow pathways here and there, plus the minor dead ends at the center and top-right corner.

    Still, outstanding work minmay and a strong download recommendation from me!

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    FawFul 30 Mar 2025, 15:14 (edited 30 Mar 25, 15:18)

    8Recommended:

    Astral Witchcraft is an unique multiplayer map that combines visuals and audio like never before with a fresh tileset and new weapons. It's a scripting marvel showcasing the power of SPRITE::MAPPING. Every levelmaker can learn from this in the future.This level does so many new things, that it's a real risk taker. I'm very appreciative of level designers trying new things, however taking risks can go both ways. Other reviewers have covered the basis of the level already, I'll try to go into detail of each level aspect to provide some good feedback on what I liked or didn't like about it.

    To start of with what I really liked about this level:
    The jungle 2.0 leaves are a great addition to the tileset. Not just for the tiles themselfs, but also the way Minmay utilized them. The way the thin leaves curve around the bricks is really clever and I can't deny I'm a little jealous not thinking of that myself. I wonder what the inspiration for this was. Together with the writings on the walls, drifting objects, potions, particles and background it sets the tone of the level immediatly. The map has clear landmarks for an open area at top, a middle area and a basement area. It's easy to learn and to move around in. Also I can't forget to mention the background colour shifts are amazing. This level is the reason why generalized mapping functions for scripting are rising on everybodys wishlist. Overall it feels great how alive this level feels.

    Things I liked less about the level:
    While this level is a visual marvel, it also pushes the boundaries a little too far sometimes. I think a little bit 'less is more' on the visual effects could have been applied here. The flashing foreground (during the bridge part of the music) hurt my eyes. The floating tiles I was talking about earlier, are also screen filled in a 1 -to-1 tile proximity which I can only describe as spilling a bowl of rice on my monitor. A small last nitpick about the visuals is that the tree branches from Agama Swamp feel a little bit tacky due to the artstyle and vibrant colouring, but I give this a pass because it's very difficult to find and match those tiles. I couldn't think of any better replacement myself.

    The level limits itself to 3 weapons, one of which looks and plays like a blaster resprite and 2 other special weapons which can be collected at the centre of the level. They look great, they sound great, they play not-so-great. The novelty of them also quickly falls off when realising they are both incredibly powerful and easily collectible, way more powerful than any existing JJ2 weapon. This not saying the balance of jj2 weapons hold some golden standard, but the nuances of the gameplay are missing. Other reviewers have mentioned the level layout is build around the weapons, but this isn't necessarily a good thing when this allows the bullets to fly everywhere with extra area denial. The distance of the bullets is so high that it constantly hits atleast 3 screenlengths away. While playing with many players in the server it felt chaotic and like my actions were meaningless. My whole tactic in this level became camping and being afraid to ever make sudden movements. Any agressive movement is a death sentence for some of the bullets coming at you at mach 8 speed. This in addition to being limited to 3 weapons becomes stale quickly. You win by sticking to the ground as much as possible, because there is no weapon like bouncer that covers below you.

    So overall: The scripted visuals are revolutionairy for jj2 and I hope to see them more often. I liked the eyecandy implemented here for the most part. The gameplay felt refreshing, but only for a very short while.

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