Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

Wonderful! I’ve just used the converter to convert one of my uploaded tilesets into 1.23! Thumbs up! Got a little confused in the beginning though. Didn’t know how to do it at first. It turned out to be very easy! Thumbs up again! If one program could convert both levels and tilesets it would be a 10!

The eyecandy is good but the levels are boring … i mean its a litlle boring to just shoot … it could use some puzzles …
Rating : 9

A Halloween themed level?? A little unseasonal don’t you think. However, that’s not really important, what is important is the review, so here goes:

EYECANDY:

You can’t really say that the eyecandy in this level ain’t interesting. The feel of the level is almost perfect for a halloween level. It was dark, the place is filled with haunted gravestones and evil-looking pumpkins. There is the odd light here and there to further set the tone.

There are a couple of problems, however. Although the level is dark, it is a little too dark to see anything else. Ok, perhaps the darkness makes it a bit more of a challenge but here, it is too dark to really see anything. My prediction is that you won’t be able to see the level at all on a bright day where the sun is shining onto the computer/mac/whatever screen. Also, you could have used more layers and there are some odd tile bugs around the level.

GAMEPLAY;

Here is where its starts to go completely wrong. Firstly, there are no challenges whatsoever in the level. No trigger crates or zones. There are no secrets whatsoever. The only thing remotely challenging in this level (apart from the dark) is perhaps the odd gate which you have to shoot, a couple of graves that you fall into and a few enemies. The level doesn’t only lack challenges, but it lacks items. Whilst scanning through this level through the JCS, I could only find 3 items, and all of them were carrots.

The cause of these problems is probably due to the level being too short. It isn’t lengthy enough to be considered a JJ2 Episode, and when you complete the level, I got the sense that it was incomplete.

FINAL RATING: 3.5
DOWNLOAD?: I’m afraid not, and mainly because of the appauling gameplay of the level. Try making the levels longer and more challenging so that they are more fun.

you should make some extended version off this program. that actually opens and be able to select a couple of levels at once. the copy /paste takes a bit long and i can hardly open my jj2 folder with all those files in it.. could be good to have a program doing on the deskopt.

An interesting little single player level.

Gameplay: 3/10
This level has a few enemies, but few enough that the level could be won mainly just by running and shooting. The only interesting point was that the lighting was set at a constant, dark, twighlight level. This made it quite challenging to see some of the enemies, but they were generally placed in obvious places. The only other complaint I have about gameplay, is some of the tiles were used inconsistently. You could walk through some little hills, but not all of them. This can be confusing, and should be avoided if possible.

Eye Candy: 6/10
This level had a great feel to it. The dark atmosphere with glowing pumkins was quite convincing. And when you stand in front of some tombstones, the ground drops out from under you, so you fall into a grave. This was a brilliant touch. However, the eyecandy also has some fairly significant flaws. The tileset itself is a bit simplistic. There are a few places where tombstones are used in layer 3, and when you walk behind them, your feet show through under them. Also, the messages on the “Text” squares are too high to easily read. I didn’t even notice the first message for a while. Try adding the @ symbol in the text string before the message a few times while editing the level.

Bonuses:
It has an episode file: +.5
Lazarus didn’t mention “This is my first upload,” and wanted people to appreciate it for quality, not circumstance. +.5

Deductions:
Much too short: -2
(Make the level longer, or create a whole pack, and it will be much more enjoyable to play. As it is, it almost took longer extracting the files from the downloaded zip, making it feel like downloading wasn’t entirely worth it.)

Total: 8/20=40%=4/10

this is seriously overrated.. it’s a minor edit with just those tree’s .. there isn’t anything else like a new tileset arrangement or useful tiles out of other sets or maybe it’s own.. just needs a lot more options in layerwork. i don’t mean you have to try. since jungle 2.0 has all these features. sorry.

[Rating (6.7) clearance. – cooba]

Well, I had an imaginary/fictional volcano in my mind while doing this, so that doesn’t really matter.

A lot of the tiles clash in style, with some parts looking amazing and some being very MSPainty. I understand the difficulty of getting palette events to work, but a background broken in 8bit is inacceptable. This set needs to break free from its influences, and get a consistent style. And the tech bg tiles are too light in contrast to the ground.

Note that the famous volcano is actually “Mount St. Helens”, not “Mount Helens”.

Great tileset all around. Great theme, good amount of tiles, good colouring, looks smooth, is versatile…
Need I say more… Make more tilesets!

(Don’t stick with crysilis till judgment day, ffs!) Let’s go with the good ol’ pros and cons.

+ Nice, complete usage of Crysilis
+ Eyecandy is good, yet isn’t confusing
+ Level features a healthy mix of different gameplay elements

- Eyecandy is a bit plain in places

— Extensive usage of float-ups for the “betterment” of flow

well done ;D

[Review changed to quick review. – cooba]

Ah, this was to be expected. A DOM level made into a CTF level. Also using Damn+, with again a creative theme (not praising Lost Onyx or something nudge nudge) Let’s “find it out”!

For the sake of it, I will review both levels (mostly in terms of gameplay, of course, since the eyecandy and lay out is the same on both(I think))

Gameplay:
DOM: Great
CTF: Superb
In terms of gameplay, CTF out-rules the DOM version. Ironically, since the level was meant as a DOM in the first place.

The level plays very horizontal, though there is a big height difference between the three ‘floors’. This is because of the easy manoeuvring from left to right and back, and because it’s easy to get down (with the risk of getting roasted in a volcano), it’s just as easy to go back up as well, due to well-placed springs and sucker tubes.

As I said, the level is divided in floors. There is the bottom floor, which is dangerously close to the lava, there are a few middle router and there’s the ceiling. Each of these floors has useful items so there’s plenty of reason to traverse every floor.

In CTF, the bases are located at the middle right and the top left of the level. In my opinion, this works really well. The level is non-symmetrical, meaning both sides and bases look very different. Blue will have the advantage of a quick drop to the lower levels and quick access to the RF PU, while Red has quick access to the top and the Bouncer PU. Both sides have their advantages, but they are not the same. The RF will work much better in the lower level (where Blue often will be heading) because it is very open, and near pits. Red will have access to Bouncers, with which he can shoot to Blue enemies, located on the (DUN DUN DUUUUN) lower levels. Great development of strategic level building here. Blue will, however, have a quick access to a (hidden) Toaster PU, opposed to Red, who needs more time to get there.

The Seeker PU is a whole different story. It’s located right above Blue Base, but it has to be grabbed with Gun9 (or a really REALLY well times Bouncer). This brings in the bias in character. Jazz has a sublime advantage in getting the Seeker PU, and in the level in general.

Because of a feature in JJ2 we call ‘copter ears’, Jazz can hover, effectively lowering gravity’s effect on him. There are also copters, which (fortunately) help non-flying characters like Spaz get up as well. However, because of how gravity is calculated in JJ2, Jazz could grab the copter with an uppercut from the base area. This will lower gravity’s effect on him and could even make him fly. However, if you grab a copter WHILE USING COPTER EARS, the effects will stack, making Jazz hover in place, mid-air (going up slowly, even). This is a huge advantage for two things. One is being able to get to the Seeker faster than Spaz (going up = negative gravity = still stacks with copter ear speed) and being able to form effective barricades by spamming Bouncers or RF’s from midair.

Of course, this is all based on a copter flight of maybe 5 seconds, tops, but still, to me it felt like something I could tell about. It’s a good strategy, that’s for sure. So come on, Jazz players, use that copter.

Oh yeah, Jazz in general. The level is really open and there is plenty of room for flight. Especially in the lower area, where a Jazz with Bouncers can be a deadly pit-trapping-machine.

Regarding the DOM level:
The DOM points are located in the same way as the CTF bases, plus two more. The locations aren’t bad, it’s just that the steam events can be annoying to some extent… It may be just me, but I’d rather play this as a CTF. Still, same things apply for the DOM level as well, all that is said above, there is a wide variety of strategy that can be used in this level.

Atmosphere: Basic
Yes, I found it basic. And it is, really. Of course the old Dam Nation set didn’t have much to offer, but PJ’s palettes and extra tiles helped a lot. The addition of caves is good and helps to recognise some areas, even. The theme is well executed, mostly because of the ‘heat’ rising up in the back. It really adds flavour.

There is not much to say about the eyecandy… lots of rocky outcrops, stalagmites and tites, it’s all there. Done before, of course, since this set doesn’t have much to offer. Nothing new, but does the trick.

Overall: Good
Both the CTF and the DOM version are great, and should definitely be played in huge party-sized servers.

Download Recommendation: Yes
‘nuff said, read the review.

Score: 8.5
A good level in terms of gameplay, which is the heaviest factor in my scoring. The eyecandy apartment could use a lick of paint, but the lack of set tiles that fit with the theme didn’t give you much of a choice. Still, a score to be proud of. Chapeau.

It’s a no-brainer that this level is right up there alongside Atom Heart and EARTH.
Everything about this level is good. The layout isn’t too complicated (like in most ‘modern’ levels), placement is balanced all over the level, the eye-candy is great and the theme of the level is well sustained and supported.
Definitely one of SJ’s best.

Good level. I liked it.

The eyecandy was OK. There is much eyecandy which is good but in some
parts of the level it is a bit stiff and ugly, for example the RF room at the very top of the level.
Here and there I saw some eyecandy bugs. Look at 38,27 and 45,21 in JCS and you’ll see what I mean.

The ammo placement wasn’t too good. In my opininon there wasn’t enough ammo and to hard to get. You almost want the ammo to flow in automatically.

The layout on the other was very good. The only thing I can complain about is that there are ways out of the level where you can’t run becase the level ends there. It gets kind of unlogic. But that’s a matter of personality.

The level points to the wrong music file. It points to Xmas3.s3m but the song that follows in the TSF pack is named Xmas2.s3m.
If that isn’t the song you mean you should really upload the music file YOU mean.

Overall good level. Just be a little more careful and I think really good levels might come up from you.

ps. People like screenshots. Just press the buttom “print screen” while playing, paste it in paint and save it as jpeg. Then you have a screenshot to add!

White Penguin… sound familiar… it rings a distant bell… Anyway, WP has given us a tileset. At first glance, I really like it. Let’s see how this does after some testing.

Tiles and Theme Great
The first thing any tileset maker should have is a solid theme to work with. WP has chosen for the natural, organic theme. However, included in the tileset are more tiles than just nature, more on that later.

The nature theme is certainly not unheard of. In fact, a decent amount of tilesets use this theme. However, I rarely see a nature set that presents itself as dark (or as a planet, for that matter). This tileset has a lot of good themeing tiles, ranging from plains to caves and forests to sewers.

Moving on, let’s take a look at the tiles and the masking. Starting at the top, one thing is certain: The tileset maker chose for a practical approach. On the top of the tileset are all basic tiles. Platforming, slopes, edges, corners, all that is needed to make a solid layout. Next to that are the practical event tiles; vines, hurts, hooks, poles, signs, destruction-blocks and trigger-switches. Every one of these outside tiles has their cave-counterpart, with nice edges and good tiling. The cave-tiles itself are located underneath the basic tiles, for easy access.

Scrolling down further will present the sewer/industrial tiles. They look worn down, as if the facility has been shut down for years now and the moss and vines are growing everywhere. I love it. Again, all sorts of tiles are included. Belts (from Labrat?), Matrix-esque wall tiles, pipe fences, animated hatches and even teleporter warps. Before its breakdown, this facility was quite something. :)

Then, at the bottom, are the more optional tiles. backgrounds, layer 7 and 6 mountains and different colours that can be used to redo something else, using JCS’s translucency options. A chaotic-looking texture is provided as well, if you’re not creative enough to make a cool background, since this set gives you all the tools needed.

Looking at the masking, everything looks fine except for one thing that bugs me. On the top of the tileset is a tree, on the left side. The base of this tree has the same type of masking as the hook next to it. This is probably unintended and a small fix should do the trick.

On to the next category.

Art and Atmosphere: Great
The tileset shows a real artist’s work. While the set is pretty pixel-ish, it does the trick of looking really nice, especially in JJ2’s 640×480 environment.

There is lots of eyecandy, of which most things are already named. Caves, trees, vines and decayed tiles, cool backgrounds, animated torches and even a little something peeking up from a hole.

This tileset can give any (dark) level idea you might have a spin. You can make the tiles into a sewer, filled with green sludge. You can use it to make a worn down computer lab. You can even turn it into a dark forest (with a little creativity… this tileset needs a variation on trees and shrubs, I’d say).

This is definitely well executed. Props to you.

Room for improvement: Not much
As I said, maybe a little expansion on the vegetation. Also, the maskbug I mentioned could be easily fixed. The outside signs also seem to miss an up and down arrow, maybe you can add those as well, if you decide to fix it.
Edit: Also, I would like to see this multi-palette. A dark-red or dark-yellow/orange version would make this tileset worth more, I bet.
With a tileset, it’s important to work away little flaws and re-releasing it to the public, so everyone gets the correct version. I will, of course, also edit my review then and probably even up the rating.

Overall: Very good
This tileset is awesome. Period.

Download Recommendation: Yes
Even without the slight flaws I mentioned, this tileset is pretty awesome and worth using.

Score: 8.6
This is one of the bests and easy-to-use tilesets I’ve seen in a while. Props to you, and keep building and improving.

Edit on March 24 2009:
Two of the things mentioned in ‘Room for improvement’ have been helped. The extra signs are added (vital for singleplayer) and the maskbug has been fixed. The score has been enhanced slightly to compensate. Good show.

The password “123” doesn’t work for me and the levels are hidden in the homecooked levels list so neither I can open them nor review them. Sorry but you should fix that.

I’m Calle by the way. In J2F I am under the title “Beyond”

REPLY to Evilmike’s review: Thanks a lot. It should be good now. The level should be 1.23 as well.

REPLY to CrimiClown’s review: Thank you for that awesome review! I’m on it right now.

yeah, sure is.