Just thought I'd share my personal opinion on the map. Firstly, to be totally honest I came into this already being a bit pessimistic. Red and blue is not a unique theme, we've got some old rb classics that exist, i felt it would be tough competition. Having taken a few laps, had a good run of it, im a bit 50/50.
In terms of theme and aesthetic, I stand by rb not being unique, but whilst im not sure if this was intentional, the rb theme combined with the layout as a whole gave me a more nostalgic theme for the old parkour maps, and I liked it. I don't like that I liked it, im normally an advocate for unique theming and innovative gameplay, but either ive gotten tired or old cause this time round I enjoyed it.
In terms of gameplay, firstly I liked the flow of the map. Sections mostly connected well, the only exception being the wall at 33,63,9. It exists in some old maps, but it janky, I don't care for it, it slows the map down and whilst I understand having it to make the section separations unique, i think it's more annoying than anything else. Generally, I also think the red sections are better formatted and more interesting than the blue ones. The red ones generally have either wider or multiple paths than the blue sections. The first floor for me felt fun.
My issue really arises from the section best described as the end section? from the top of the staircase with the two ducks forward becomes a long, tedious slog of a map. Again, it reminds me of the endings of many old parkour maps, and again, its part of the old map vibe that i think should remain old. but you go through the long bedrock corridor, up to the parkour round the top that is basic, non-unique and boring, round the edge of the top to the actual end.
Now onto timing, you've put 7 minutes. With a few fuckups from my stale parkouring skills, it took me 2mins to do the interesting section of parkour up until the bedrock corridor. It took about 1min 30 to do the rest of it until the end. That's 3m30s to do the entire map, with some mistakes. Even accounting for the potential for a lot more mistakes, the end section is very small so there is not really any room for playing in.
To summarise, tldr, whatever we want to call it: The theme is not unique, but is played into well and pulls on nostalgia, to the point that I liked it. The parkour itself generally starts of well, but the end really lets it down by being boring and stale, I think the map would have benefitted from either having further sections, or continuing up a level with parkour at the same standard as the ground floor. I'm struggling to really say I'd support this map because i think it fails on the potential the start provides, but for all intents and purposes it was fun so i'm also not against the map. However if added, I would suggest a reconsideration of the time limit in that case, as 7 mins feels a bit too long in my opinion.
Post by Subelectronite on Feb 25, 2024 4:28:29 GMT
Hi Strayings, thanks for your map submission. I'm excited to check out course maps as they aren't as regularly submitted nowadays. There are many great aspects of your map, but I'll decline this submission for reasons I expand on below.
I like that you've gone for a classic theme, and I'm sure a lot of old school players would feel the same. I do feel that there are more creative options than just red, blue & bedrock, however. Even old courses incorporate some sort of theme (see for instance food_course, holiday_course, grape_run). There are also great examples of maps that use a classic block palette creatively, giving a sort of classic-lite vibe, my favourite example being roadrunner. Nevertheless, I think the interweaving of red and blue wool into the bedrock is well done, so you've done a great job there. An possible idea is to make the map escape-themed, and the exit is the exposed natural region in the middle.
You've included a broad range of types of jumps, so that's a big positive. I don't see any problem with any particular parts besides that step that slow you down, as mentioned already. It means that you have to be several blocks ahead of a zombie otherwise you can't leave that section because of when players bunch together after entering liquids.
The end does seem a little tight, in the sense that if you're a human waiting at the end and a zombie comes, there's only one place you can jump down, and even that way out won't be viable if a second zombie is waiting below. I would personally cut the end section that loops the start of the course at a higher level and instead end it at the middle section. As for the ending, you could introduce a number of viable exit points that take you to various points along the map, which can be done if you end the course in the middle section. The long tunnel also seems like it's just there to kill time. Take some liberty with the layout, I think players will more enjoy courses that aren't linear.
In summary, three main things from me - aesthetic/theme, the slowing parts, and the ending. I hope this was helpful and I look forward to a resubmission!