Jazz2Online news for August 2007
Up to the date this time - August 5th 2007
What are you exactly doing in the Jazz community?
I play and support the game actively! – 30 Votes (31%)
_I’m more into level design and interesting gameplay theories_ – 32 Votes (33%)
I’m not really actively involved in the game (anymore), I hang around at the misc forums and #jj2 and stuff – 23 Votes (24%)
I’ve never been into JJ2, but I hang around because the community is enjoyable – 3 Votes (3%)
imma lurker :——) – 9 Votes (9%)
Total votes: 97
Well, this leaves us with about 70 people who still enjoy the game :| I was expecting a better turn out; but hey, at least no one can call us a “fifty people big community” anymore, especially with more or less 20-30 people who still hang around ;)
22:15:52 | (cooba) how is this: “What would you do if JJ2 became open source?”
22:17:00 | /notice #jj2 pokes
22:17:06 | (nakke) AUGH
22:17:14 | (Mamaluigi) I got poked?
22:17:15 | (iCeD) wwhat the
22:17:19 | (Torkell) seems good
Featured Download - August 1st 2007
One Up by BlurredD
The Featured Download is (surprise, surprise) BlurredD’s CTF pack.
The pack has 8 CTF levels. I have seen some of those levels some time ago, but there are also levels that are ‘new’ for me. I’ll tell some stuff about the levels, starting with Action Basement.
Action Basement is a level with a pretty simple layout, but the base placement is interesting. You have to fall to get the flag and it’s impossible to camp at the bases. With Jazz you can use copter ears to fall slowly. The ammo placement is very good, the eye candy is pretty good too. The level has 2 Full NRG’s and 3 Power-Ups, so there will definitely be a lot of action in the level.
Pathetically Easy CTF is another level with a very simple layout but great gameplay. It’s small, so it only needs one Power-Up and one Full NRG carrot in the middle. The bases are at the top and are close to each other but you reach them by using a spring and then go to the left/right or by using the warps at the left/right sides. There is enough ammo in the level, and the eye candy is pretty decent.
n00bed! CtF v2 is one of my personal favourites. It has insane gameplay with 3 Power-Ups which is crazy in a level with this size. Because of that, it’s almost impossible to stay alive for some time. The 3 Power-Ups are also very good ones. The Full NRG carrot in the middle is great but don’t expect everything from it. Other than that, the layout is very simple and the eye candy is pretty normal. But it’s the gameplay that makes this level good and it becomes even more fun with many people.
Air Base VII is a symmetrical level that has interesting Power-Up placement. The RF Power-Up can easily be gotten with Gun9, but the other Power-Ups are a bit harder to get. You need to use a spring and then use Gun9. With Spaz you can double jump to get those Power-Ups. The level has 3 +1 carrots. 2 are in a warp and the other one can be gotten by double jumping with Spaz, or by taking the spring that is at the bottom middle of the level. Other than that, this level is more platformy and has ‘normal’ eye candy. The ammo placement is pretty nice.
The Genesis Reactor Core is a level with unique base placement, and an original concept(freeze springs to make the way to the base shorter) You need to take a spring to get the flag. There are 4 Power-Ups here, 1 Full NRG and 1 +1 carrot. The Full NRG is in the middle. It’s in a wall, but you can get it. The +1 carrot is more at the right. The level has an original background, but the other eye candy is not very special. Great ammo placement again though, there are some nice shapes of ammo here.
Chemical Lake is a level formerly known as Backwash. This level has the longest tube I’ve seen. The level has 2 Power-Ups, both Power-Ups are great in the level. It’s open, so the Bouncer Power-Up is very handy. But the RF Power-Up is also great to use as it’s fast and there is enough space. There is a Full NRG carrot in a box, you will go there if you take the very long tube. It’s possible to miss the carrot when you take the tube though. The other carrot is a +1 carrot and it’s at the left side of the level. The level has an original background and original tileset use, as many levels with this tileset have those diamond-like tiles.
Turbo-Shock Star Cruiser CTF is an unsymmetrical level with some tubes and 2 Power-Ups. One is in a warp. The Full NRG is closer to the red base, and the +1 carrot is closer to the blue base, but there is a small difference. The bottom of the level has more ammo than the top. This is the biggest level of the pack. The level also has better eye candy than some of the other levels.
Server Sometimes Wins is a level similar to the bonus level included, called ‘Server ALWAYS Wins’ but in this level the server doesn’t get more than the other players. Everyone gets Power-Ups, shortcuts, and an extra +1 carrot. In Server ALWAYS Wins the server plays against everyone and the server gets everything.
This was a great pack, but the other downloads I mentioned are also great. Anyway, download this pack now!
This month’s runners up:
Runners up for this month were the last two levels from the Impressive Creations leveldesign group: Sacrush’s Worthwhile Grove (Race) and cooba’s The Warden Woods, which earned the second place in the recently held battle level contest.
There’s also JJ2 add-on for mIRC v4 by Cataphract, which is a very useful thing to have if you’re an avid IRCer and JJ2 player at once ;)