Feedback for Your 1v1 Smackdown Maps

All games (including previous) can be found on my file share. Unfortunaely they're all the same name, but you can still read the description to see what is what.

Strife

Strife had some very nice aesthetic touches and you could easily tell care was put into the map. The map did feel somewhat gray though. I noticed that you chose to keep each object's color neutral. I think you should change it to a color that will make the map pop more. I believe this could go a long way in alleviating the some of the map's grayness.

Gameplay on Strife was pretty good. One issue I encountered though was the map felt too segmented. The opponent and I would spend time trying to find each other and both of us could easily run away when we were losing a battle. I also noticed that the lift was a bit too 'floaty' and left players vulnerable when they were using it. Weapon set also seemed kind of boring, so I believe you should add in some other lesser used weapons. I also think the Grenade Launcher was somewhat underpowered due to the lack of shots it spawned with. Increase it one or two and make it spawn a little slower. Looking forward to any future changes you make, Strife was a very impressive map all in all.

Water Werks

Water Werks was truly a breath of fresh air. Sure it didn't have over-the-top aesthetics, but I'm glad you didn't follow the crowd. The gravity lift with the fusion coil was pretty unique and I enjoyed the open style of the whole map in general. The only aesthetic complaints I have are of the 'shield-door lift' and the custom powerup spawn. The lift is somewhat of an eyesore. I think you should delete that but still figure out how to let players know that there is a lift there. And the problem with the CP spawn is that it is fairly annoying to walk over, and since it is in the middle of the room, it is hard to avoid. Just move it next to a wall or just make a less obtrusive way to show case the CP.

Gameplay on Water Werks was decent. I found the concussion rifle to be a bit over the top. I just think it causes way too much mayhem, and you already have too many explosives already with the fusion coils and the grenade launcher. Another issue is with the pillars. They aren't a good idea to add to 1v1 maps because people can just run around it and hide because they constantly know where their opponent is. Fun map, hopefully you'll improve on it.

Angst

Angst had some very nice and very original aesthetics. Piece usage was very impressive and well thought. The doors were very nice and the textures throughout were put together nicely. The map did feel a little gray in some areas, so I think instead of the neutral color you chose for all of the objects, pick something that will pop out. Another thing that I wasn't a fan of was the sender node. The shield door up against a wall is way too overused in my opinion and you should replace it with something more original. It's just an eyesore to your beautiful map. Lastly the man cannon could be more obvious. It was used very little and was difficult to notice. Maybe put an additional gravity lift beneath (low enough to not affect its current state) so some of the particles shine through and make it more obvious.

It is very difficult to critique gameplay on Angst. The map flowed well, spawning was great and the size felt just right. Weapons work well to counter each other and it was interesting to have to Custom Powerup spawn later in the game. Plenty of height variation aided in some interesting battle scenarios. I honestly could not find a single problem from a gameplay stance on Angst. Of course I only played on the map once, so there could be some things that I might have missed. Great map and good luck in the contest.

Jinx

It was nice to see the improvements you made since the previous iteration. I did however notice a few things I missed last time. The small structure made of of 1x1 tall and thin blocks that snakes through a little portion of the map had one end of it sticking through the other side of a wall. If you could some how shave off that excess part of the piece I think it could go a long way. The other thing that wasn't necessarily an issue was the flooring made from building pieces. It really didn't appeal to me greatly, but I'm glad you used something less common. I just thought I'd bring this up for your benefit. Again, don't change it if you like it enough.

Gameplay was much better with the changes you made to it. The match was much more interesting and fun to play. I want to bring up again how awesome jetpack is to use on Jinx. It creates some fun battles, and since there is a roof, it is not overpowered at all. The weapons also were more fun to use. I haven't found really any gameplay problems yet, but keep testing it to perfect it.

Sapphire

To be honest, there was not much going on aesthetically for Sapphire. The rocks with the lights looked alright, but I just found the whole map in general to be lacking in aesthetics. I can tell just by looking at it that you have a ton of budget left. Utilize the money you have remaining to build in some original aesthetics and you will make this map look much better.

Gameplay wasn't very impressive on Sapphire. The map had an uninteresting layout and was just dull to play on. One problem with the map were the rocks with the lights. They can serve as a quick getaway for an injured player even if a soft kill zone is present. The absolute biggest problem though were the spawns. You had the setup to where they were static, which is not a good idea for 1v1 maps. You need to make them dynamic. In other words let each of the players spawn all over the map. I was spawn-killed numerous times and in one instance I spawn right next to my enemy. The map is also lacking in structure. This is what is causing your map to be somewhat uninteresting to play on. Just keep working at it, and you'll get it down. Good luck.

Lilla

Lilla didn't have much in the way of aesthetics. Much of the pieces felt like they were forced and unnatural. Everything just didn't mesh well together. You need the expand more on the purple theme you already have. I'm pretty sure you have plenty of budget left, just work with it so you can get your map looking much more interesting.

Gameplay on Lilla was mediocre at best. It is in dire need of structure. Adding in more structure will benefit your map greatly and cause battles to be much more interesting. Spawning wasn't too bad, only with a few hiccups, but these are only because of the map's openness. One other big problem was the lack of railing in some parts of the map. A couple of times my opponent and I fell off. This coupled with evade could lead into some big problems. The map as a whole though, felt disjointed. Just work on getting your map some structure and work from there. Looking forward to seeing the improvements you make.

 

Sorry it was a bit confusing. Delete the shield door that touches the wall, not the lift. I just think you should replace it with something else that indicates that a lift is present.

As for the pillar, maybe raise it up to where it is floating so players can go underneath it yet it still blocks los.