Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

I played this level for myself and in R3p’s server. And I’ll post a review for this level.

Introduction : a level by LaBRaTKiD of OLC. He used his own tileset for this level. Let’s hope it will be a good level with his own tileset.

The eye candy looks good in first place. This tileset doesn’t offer too much eye candy, but LRK did a good job, especially for a level with a size like this. The background looks good, and the rain ain’t a problem. Layer 5 has enough eye candy, but the level looks terrible with low detail on. (not that someone would play with it) There are good light effects in the level. Layer 3 has enough eye candy as well. I can say I like the eye candy in this level.

The layout is quite simple. You run a straight and very long way to the base. The level has a high width, but it’s not big in height. This is expected with a level by LRK. This level’s layout is almost symmetrical. The flow is quite good. You really fly through the level while running left or right. Both sides have vines above the base. At least this is not something about springs. The destruct sceneries are original, but can be annoying when you need to get through something ;P I am glad that they work only one time, because they can be annoying if they regenerate all the time. Almost everybody has it’s own layout style, and this level proves that, because it’s a typical-LRK layout. There aren’t many platforms in the level. So the layout is very solid. The layout is quite open in some places, but is closed as well. There are 2 ways to each base, which is good. It’s not that hard to defend the bases, but it’s possible to kill a defender easily. A 3v3 would be possible easily here. The border ain’t complete, though.

The placement is a bit strange. There is alot of gun8 in some places, and there are too many crates. There is only 1 carrot in this level. There could be at least 1 +1 carrot in it. There are 3 Power-Ups. (No Seeker, yay) Toaster, Bouncer and RF. You do not use Gun9 to get the RF PU, but Bouncies. Unfortunately, there is no fast fire in this level. Some interesting and nice shapes were used. The big group of gun8 is something that lowers the rating, but it wouldn’t be needed if there was no ammo near it. I couldn’t find the Bouncy and Toast PU’s at first, but at least I found them. 1 PU in a level of this size is a bit too… few =P

This level isn’t unoriginal. This is the first level with the tileset used, and it has a good music file. I haven’t seen many levels with this size, and some good light effects were used. Some interesting shapes of ammo were original, and the level as a open and also closed layout. Good use of vines, etc.

Ratings :
Eye candy : 8.
Gameplay : 7.9
Placement : 7.7
Originality : 7.7
Final rating : 8 + 7.9 + 7.7 + 7.7 : 4 = 7.825 = 7.8.

Download : Yes.
Host : Sometimes. Not too many times, but it’s better hosting this than hosting the old levels I get sick of.

-DarkSonic[si]

nice story but i got 3 times an error that the templete is not there… Very anoying… Is this just me? it is not in the folder…
(Unsupported rating (8.7) removal. Do you mean “tileset”, by the way? In any case, the bulk of your rating still seems to come down to “nice story”, which could use some explanation, especially as you don’t seem to be rating the levels themselves. Try harder. ~Violet)

(and they told me converted midi’s weren’t allowed to be rated. :( )

Like in your Chrysillis MIDI, there’s a note-release artifact; this time with the Choir Aahs. (It’s stuck holding till the end.)
Notation is correct, but the strings could use some triad notes under it, just so it sounds accurate.
This deserves an 8.

Instrumentation seems to be correct, though I think a better one could be used than the ones currently set as BASS+LEAD. (MIDI preset 87)
There’s a releasing note-artifact with the Synth String 2’s after it played. (the note is stuck playing and won’t stop until the song stops)
Other than that, all notes are correct, though if you have the time, try tweaking it a little to make it sound a bit closer to the original’s.

For some strange reason, I can’t hear the bassline of nippius. I’m guessing you used GS, but you forgot to add the GS reset SysEx command.
I really like the gunshots you used layering above the snares in DREEMPIPES.
All instrumentation is good, and fits well with the weight of the MIDI output. All notes are in time, well done!

Danyjel: MIDI is nowhere near dead. MPEG is actually older than MIDI. (MPEG as in MPEG-1 layer 3, or better known as MP3)

mutters about something about rating converted music, and the admins removing ratings because of this

This IS better than your Chrysillis MIDI in terms of notation, but there are still a few inconsistencies with the placing of notes.
The bass and high notes going along with it are a few semitones off from the original key. This may be the fault of Modplugtracker since it takes the note placings STRAIGHT from the MOD files.
The timing of notes is definetly improved, but can you work on the percussion? They’re playing odd notes and wrong percs.

This deserves a 9 for improvement… and now I’m getting ideas of doing this song to MIDI as well.. :P

Delvour: Steinberg Cubase eh? I think you’re better off with something like WinJammer Pro to do your midi work, because that program can be a pain to use.

The Chiff Lead needs some triads added on top of the notes. (Same note, but played as a chord.) Personally I would say change the instrument to a saw lead. (MIDI preset 81)
You got the rest of the instrumentation right though, but in comparison to the original song, this sounds much more plainer.
Other than that, it’s pretty good. No notation errors whatsoever, it just needs a bit of tweaking and layering, that’s all.

Melody: 9/10
Effort: 10/10
Instrumentation: 8.5/10

MIDI conversation = conversion
Off-Tempo = Needs quantization.

It’s an OKAY attempt, except I think it was a bit of a risky idea of using a complex program such as Cubase, to work with a MIDI like this.
At least you tried, the difficulty of making something like this is practical to a lot of people…

What this MIDI needs is a little better orientation. The notes aren’t synchronized to the metronome. (Needs quantization.) Do I get the feeling you recorded each track on piano?
I reckon another revision with the notes should be in place; at least straighten out the note places. The part where the bass (you put it as toms) is supposed to play, put that down a few octaves and change it to the SYNTH BASS 2 preset.
Oh yeah, see if you can add a pitch bend on the saws, and you got a complete midi.

I can see you used the Orchestra Hits as an alternative to the low vox in the real song, but if you did up a few complex volume changes with those notes and another instrument, I think you’d get a pretty good effect.
The overall sounding of the MIDI is a bit weak, and probably needs a bit of track layering, and maybe a stronger bass. It’s understandable the guitars in MIDI drivers sound absolute (insert word here) in comparison to real ones. (Let alone VST guitars.)

But for your sake, I’ll rate this an 8 for a good try.

This is a pretty good attempt on recreating the Tubelectric track to MIDI. (This is ESPECIALLY on the plain MS GS Wavetable Synth.)
(Unsupported rating (9) removal. I honestly don’t know if you downloaded the file or not, and if that’s the case, then you have failed as a reviewer. ~Violet)

Starting Comments:

Hehe, Lark’s first level. ;D I just played through recently, and thought I’d get my evil fingers to write a little useless comment.

Played with: Jazz
On difficulty: Medium
Playing time: 5 minutes

Playability:

There was some random stuff like food, enemies and lots of springs at the end. Not really that much thought was put into event placement, but hey, that’s what everyone’s first level is like. :P
After the springs part I could not find a way to go on.

Score: N/A

Balance:

Poorly balanced, with some random enemies which mostly don’t make sense at all. :P The last part was not bad, but very Jazz/Lori biased. Mine was even worse, trust me. :P

Score: N/A

Creativity:

Like I said, it doesn’t look like much thought was put into event placement, and it is not really creative. The spring obstacle part was not bad though.

Score: N/A

Eyecandy:

Sux0rs eyecandy. ;D Not as confusing as in my first level, but still lots of tilebugs. :P

Score: N/A

Fun Factor:

I like stuff that doesn’t make sense, so yes, great fun factor! :P

Score: N/A

Overall:

This comment doesn’t make sense at all, but who cares, I have nothing else to do. ;D My first level was worse than yours, with lots of stuff that doesn’t make sense and such. I like the dullness of this level. ;)

Overall Score: N/A

Download Reccommendation: YES!!! BEST LEVEL EVER!!

speaks to himself Shut up dude!

Starting Comments:

I enjoyed the first Cartoon episode, let’s see what this beta of the sequel has to offer.

Played with: Lori
On difficulty: Medium
Playing time: 20 minutes

Playability:

The level started with a kewl intro level, telling the story (more on that later). Then it goes on with pretty normal levels with lots of demons and dragonflies, a few trigger crates and a funny “endboss” at the end. There was nothing really original, which I found pretty dissapointing. The Cartoon Episode 1 had lots of original and fun stuff, while this one was too basic for me. I played with Lori, but often had to use jjfly because I couldn’t readge ledges. Ammo placement was fine though.

Score: N/A (6.0)

Balance:

The levels were pretty easy, another downfall. Some few enemies were strategically placed, but most were easy to defeat. The crates were not all that hard to find either. Pretty dissapointing again.

Score: N/A (5.5)

Creativity:

Like I said, the levels are mostly pretty basic, there was nothing that really stood in my mind. The intro level was very cool made, like you’d watch TV. The rest sadly wasn’t that original.

Score: N/A (6.0)

Eyecandy:

The eyecandy was better than in the first episode, but not that really great. The tileset lost in quality over the years, it probably could’ve been improved. The background was fine though, and I found no tilebugs.

Score: N/A (6.7)

Story:

The story was not all that original, the demons somehow came back and you have to stop them again. At least it was there though, and like I said I liked the intro level. Some text signs had spelling mistakes.

Score: N/A (6.0)

Overall:

This was sadly not as good as The Cartoon Episode 1. It was decent, but lacked originality. Eyecandy was decent too, the story was a bit dull. Download reccommendation? Maybe

Overall Score: N/A (6.5)

Download Reccommendation: Maybe

No, I don’t like it. I think they could be better. although it’s hard to make it good. Bad instrument choice… But there is no reason to do it. MIDI is dead. Why to do MIDIs when we can do modules by infinitely better sample choice?

Turtemple (4 / 10)
Main sample is suxoring, some deformed flute, which destroys it at all. If there isn’t that main sample, it could be great, normally it could get over 9.

Nippius (5 / 10)
Snares are okay, main background sample too. But lead sample is awful. Quality of it is bad, and it dissapear to whole song. And at the end there plays some unfair sample.

Dreempipes (7 / 10)
Main background sample is good, snares, hihats, beats too, lead sample rulez. Good.

Orbitus (6 / 10)
Nice. Maybe quality of main sample could better.

Sluggion (3 / 10)
Lead sample sux, background sample and snares are good.

pants

Not exactly the prettiest tileset, but creative.

Good stuff:
- texturing on bricks is good
- good job at making the maskless castle background (the dark bricks) darker! you wouldn’t believe how in many other tilesets one cannot tell the difference between masked and unmasked layer 4 blocks just by looking at them!
- creative idea with the kings and soldiers, but they should be better drawn
-masking is generally well done

Stuff to fix:
- background is too plain and repetitive to match the rest of the tileset. if you can make good textures like that on the bricks, you ought to make good textures on the background layer(s)
- only 2 layers of background (possibly one could use the hills in a couple layers, though)
- eye candy in general is pretty lacking

Other comments:
- includes a “fair” number of event blocks: horizontal sucker, text signs, spikes, vines, hooks, v/h poles, and destruct blocks.
- this tileset may be a bit boring after using it once or twice, since it is limited in content

Really, though, it’s not bad for only being your 2nd tileset released. If I were you, I would put your talent to work on one good, long tileset that takes a while. You seem to have good ability to make tilesets, but this one seems to be rushed. Always make sure to take your time if you want to create a quality tileset. Keep up the good work! :)

maybe they already got it trough cache or something..or maybe trunks sended it by msn…etc. etc.

Starting Comments:

It’s been a while since I played this, but it seems I forgot to write a review. So I played again, and here goes:

Played with: Spaz
On difficulty: Medium
Playing time: 45 minutes

Playability:

The level is very claustrophobical, you wander around in a maze of caves with lots of evilish enemies, and some very cool puzzle elements. After getting deeper into what I think is supposed to be an abandoned mining shaft you need to find a code. There are two signs telling you what the code is, but both are hardly readable, and so you have to find both and form a proper sentence out of them. After you got it out, you need to enter it in the security area. What happens after that I don’t know, because I lost my last life while trying to find the way back, and gave up on it. Yes, this level is very difficult, and can get pretty much frustrating. More on that in the following section.

Score: 8.0

Balance:

This level is very difficult, with lots of enemies in strategic locations, and a bunch of puzzle elements. I often found myself trying to find my way through a maze of corridors. The level begins not too hard, while still not being too easy. Once you’ve found the first check point it gets really difficult. I love the difficulty of this level, very well done.

Score: 9.0

Creativity:

Very creative. I like the layout, which is different than from most levels I’ve seen. The several puzzle areas are very original too, very well done. I don’t know about the story, so no points for that.

Score: 8.5

Eyecandy:

Nice eyecandy. It looks very good, and gives a nice atmosphere. No tilebugs, and some cool effects, make me give this an 8.5 again.

Score: 8.5

Fun Factor:

Players that like difficult levels with lots of maze and puzzle elements, will love this. However, the ones which like lots of ammo and not too hard levels will probably not as much. I enjoyed playing though, and will definately try to finish it in the near future.

Score: 8.0

Overall:

Very cool level. It has great layout, cool and original puzzles, and well placed enemies. People who liked Tomb Rabbit, will love this.

Note: I probably overrated this, as Nobody gave it only a 7, but I think this deserves more than a tiny 7.0.

Overall Score: 8.7

Download Reccommendation: Yes

Wheee Review time!
The tileset’s theme is a castle. It’s got cannons, thrones, soildiers, a king, a warring faction, a throne, H and V Poles, arrows, signs, spikes, and other such required tiles. For a background, it’s got two MS painty-ish clouds, you also get two shades of blue to choose from (if you want day or night) Nothing all too fancy. The art style is all right, but for the cannons it seems as if that someone got a little to Gradient happy, which clashes with the ho-hum cluod background.
My other complaint is that the cannons are ok for sucker tubes, save for the fact that they only go horizontal. Nothing verticle for you to be shot through.
However, the castle flooring and walls look good. Along with the Purplians and Brickians. It would easy to make tileset bosses/enemies with this tileset, but would more excellent if there were animations for the soildiers attacking. Also, Brickman seems to have his tiles placed twice for little reason.
I could see someone actually make a pretty decent level with this tileset, but the eyecandy wouldn’t amaze anyone.
In fact, if theres something other than 5-9 number blocks, and verticle sucker tubes, and a good background, eyecandy tiles seem to be the only thing missing.
I’d reccomend it to someone but I wouldn’t expect them to like it.
So the overall score for this level is a 6.7,it’s good, but not extremely good.

Just a small comment….
I made a small Battle that’s supposed to be an example level of this tileset. I made it in all 3 versions. Could I use this for example level?

(I am not sure if you can officially have it be the example level, as you’d have to ask the author of the tileset, but you are perfectly free to upload the levels to some webspace and link to them, for the purpose of making reviewing easier. It’s not like there’s any rule against using other people’s tilesets. ~Violet)

First time i review music…

The song begins military and goes on in the same style. I cant here Tubelectric anywhere. This continues for (my guess) about a minute. Then, there comes another “pattern”, which is not tubelectric but sounds good. Finally, a very fast tubelectric theme appears. Overall, sounds good. But i don’t know what kind of level i would use this for.
________________________________________

It takes too long before you can hear the tubelectric part of the music. Before that, everything sounds good but is repeated too many times.
After a very long time the “beginning theme” comes again and mixes with the tubelectric music, which actually sounds very good and bring some point to the long build up time.

Starting with: 8.2
Too long time to build up: —
Good remix (when we come that far) +
Tubelectric combined with build-up part:+
Repetitive -

Final rating: 8.1, rounded up to 8.2 for no apparent reason except i liked the tubelectric part. Download recommendation.