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[StreamofAdventure]

First review is up! Its for CUBEception! Here it is!

CUBEception by piecia997


The map took about 120 minutes for me to do, but I was pretty slow and died about 3 times per chapter (I'm not great at parkour, and that was pretty much what this map was), so it would probably take you a bit less time. It kept my interest all the way, regardless of the frequent story notes (more on that in the story section!)


The difficulty was definitely kept at constant pace - never once did it become VERY DIFFICULT and then VERY EASY. That being said, I didn't feel that it was becoming gradually more difficult as it neared the end, which is a bit of a disappointment. Also, the difficulty didn't have a whole lot of range, as there were only parkour challenges standing in the way.


The story is one of the best I've ever seen in a minecraft map - and that's saying a lot, because I've played numerous maps! Basically, the Earth has nearly been destroyed, and the catastrophic events have pushed humanity into its last resort in survival. The CUBE is now said to be the only safe place left on destroyed earth, and that is where your journey begins. How can you not enjoy that amazing intro? The story keeps up with you well throughout the entire map - all chapters. The only problem I have with the story is that the notes are so frequent that they almost become annoying after a while. I don't know if every bit of story was needed - perhaps a few bits could be taken out or shortened and added into other areas? Just a suggestion and an explanation as to why this only got pair of gold leggings.


There isn't much to say about the puzzles in this map. There were ONLY PARKOUR puzzles, though many required thinking in order to gain access to certain areas. However, for the most part, the parkour didn't seem forced and fit in well. NOTE THAT THE IRON BOOTS IN THIS ARE NOT BAD, BUT INDICATING THAT THERE WAS NOT A HUGE VARIETY.


The atmosphere was great. The destroyed CUBE is very nice and, despite the lack of difficulty, quite creepy. Some of the story notes are also scary-ish (great English, I know) and the atmosphere helps mend the times where the immersion in the game is broken (by the frequency of the story notes, to quote CalmAppleSnake). Very good job in the atmospheric aspect of the map!


Overall, the map is very enjoyable and fares well against other, more varied maps. I was a bit confused by the ending, though at the same time I can't imagine something better. So I guess that works to be fair. While the only challenges are jumping ones, they are the perfect type to suit a map of this nature. GOLD GOES TO YOU, SIR!

Overall, this is how the CUBEception's armor set works out to be!

Very nice!

[piecia997]

Thanks for review! I'm glad you liked story and atmosphere ;] Yes, I know that there's no variety in puzzles, and that's what will be changed in sequel (coming soon... I hope). Oh, and can I put your review with link to this thread in map thread?

[StreamofAdventure]

piecia997, Sure! Go ahead.

Next review - Zombie Catalysm by DucuMiner:

Zombie Catalysm by DucuMiner


The length is a bit of a disappointment. It all depends on how good you are at the difficulties. This map forces you to play on Hard, which I wasn't too thrilled about, but I'll get to that later. I, only playing minecraft for about 3 months, am pretty bad at Normal, so I was EXTRA terrible at Hard. You, a more experienced Minecraft player, will probably have a much easier time doing this than I. The map took me about twenty minutes to play before I eventually gave up. Then I went back and tried again. I died... . Anywho, it is not very long. Survival maps are normally quite long, yet this fell short (literally). Therefore it only gets an iron helmet here. Sorry!


The difficulty was a nightmare for me... yet, as I mentioned before, it might only be a little hard for you guys. As it is only played on Hard, it can get a bit annoying. Also, when you respawn, there is no break, because zombies are already swarming around you [now you have no weapon!]. When I checked on the map forums, he said he was working on a MUCH bigger map, and whether or not that means expanding this is unknown to me. Here's a tip to improve the difficulty: have the player spawn in a room, which eventually leads to the first room (where you spawned in the version I played). After getting to certain parts in a potentially bigger version of this map, you might want to add a lever someone. That lever could allow the player access to a hallway (through an iron door, piston door, or whatever) that could have access back to that place where the lever was pulled. In other words, a shortcut to where the player died. Because, as of right now, the map becomes nearly impossible to beat after dying more than 3 times.


There is absolutely NO story. Like seriously, you just wake up and then BAM (explosion sound!) you have to fight a whole mob of monsters. I think it could do with a story, because the map is too complex to be random. The only reason this is a pair of IRON leggings and not leather ones is because not all puzzle maps and survival maps do. Still, they should. This map, once made larger and into V2 (with a story), would have a lot of potential. As of now... Ehh... Um...


I can't quite say that there were puzzles here. There was only combat. This is obviously not an adventure map, so I can't be too rough in this section. I'll go ahead and give it gold, just because its actually unusual to find survival maps where there are actually puzzles.


The atmosphere was one place where this map shone. It was very spooky, and there were some really great features. Only after defeating certain monsters and getting points through the loot they left behind are you supposed to gain access to special other rooms where there are more monsters to fight. There were also weapons and armor that you could "buy" to help you in your fight. However, you often laughed at the quality of the map because of the fact that almost everthing was misspelt. That is the only reason that the atmosphere is brought down to only gold in this map.


This map is OK, when everything manages out. There is no proper ending, yet after being in a big fight you get this sense of accomplishment. You get that very same feeling when you unlock more rooms and get good items from the RANDOM BOX. It is not a bad map, yet at the same time it isn't really a good one either. What to do next? Add a story: Perhaps you have been captured by some evil mastermind (*cough* The AMAZING HEROBRINE *cough*) and he tries to put you through combat tests to see if you are worthy of something - you decide what that would be. It'd be like a survival edition of EscapeCraft! Also, and I know you are planning this, make it alot bigger. As of now, the rooms are quite small, and there is only ONE PLACE. Let the people got elsewhere.

Overall, this is what Zombie Catalysm's armor set looks like:

Not bad, but could be better.

[StreamofAdventure]

Today's last review is up! Here it is!


The Clock by Robotinator


The length is average. Takes about 25-30 minutes to complete, however there's a huge twist. You actually, literally CANNOT TAKE longer than 30 minutes, because that's when the station blows up and you follow suit. That one feature is really nifty and affects the entire map in a very positive manner. It must've taken about...

Let's do the math. Feel free to skip this part.

Each redstone repeater is activated for about 0.9 seconds before another is. I'm going to round that up to 1 second. So, sixty seconds per minute, and thirty minutes, that would be 1800 FREAKING repeaters. Of course, if you subtract one tenth of that, 0.1, then you take 18 away. That would leave you with 1782 redstone repeaters. So, after all that B.S. that you didn't have to read but read anyway, the length is upgraded with an amazing feature!


The difficulty was just right. It took me a little while to get started and find the first safety switch, and then all of a sudden I zoomed through everthing, my heart pounding as I neared 30 minutes. GEEZ, ROBOTINATOR, I WILL YOU FOR NEARLY MAKING ME PEE MY PANTS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 10 YEARS! Haha,
anyway, a really liked how I still felt scared even though the map was played on peaceful. The whole clock feature, upon which the map revolves around, is such an amazing concept. Bravo!


The story and the atmosphere assisted each other in the best manner possible. The story you start off with immediately steals your breath and keeps you hooked an eager for what will happen next. Then you get to the end and you're like, "Oh snap, I'd better get going"! The whole thing is very captivating. The story begins to fade as you begin the map, but luckily it picks up in certain parts.


This is the only part in the entire map where it lets you down. There are only a few puzzles. The majority is just racing to try and finish certain things. I'm really sorry, but this is the only section that didn't get gold or diamond. If I missed a whole section of the ship that contained a lot of puzzles, please tell me, but otherwise there were just five to get the safety switches. That was it.


The atmosphere affected the story so well, I might as well say they were intertwined. Read the story critique and you'll know why the atmosphere deserved a diamond pick.


This is truly an amazing map. Everyone, a round of applause for Robotinator. The only map I have played that I can really say topped this one is called "The Redmurk Mystery", and in my books, that is the only one that deserves a diamond axe overall. Still, UNBELIEVABLE MAP, Robotinator. Really, really good.

Overall, this is what The Clock's armor set looks like!

Quite spectacular!

[piecia997]

Really good reviews, more than just "ITS AWESOMEEE!" or "SUCKS!". Keep up the good work!

[Holy cow164]

could you give me advice on what i have so far in my map? there's not much but plot and pictures right now though.

[MECM99]

http://www.minecraft...enture-map-tex/

[StreamofAdventure]

Thanks everyone! More reviews coming tomorrow!

MECM99 & Holycow164, both maps will be added to the list!

[Robotinator]

StreamofAdventure, on 25 August 2011 - 08:23 PM, said:

Today's last review is up! Here it is!


The Clock by Robotinator


The length is average. Takes about 25-30 minutes to complete, however there's a huge twist. You actually, literally CANNOT TAKE longer than 30 minutes, because that's when the station blows up and you follow suit. That one feature is really nifty and affects the entire map in a very positive manner. It must've taken about...

Let's do the math. Feel free to skip this part.

Each redstone repeater is activated for about 0.9 seconds before another is. I'm going to round that up to 1 second. So, sixty seconds per minute, and thirty minutes, that would be 1800 FREAKING repeaters. Of course, if you subtract one tenth of that, 0.1, then you take 18 away. That would leave you with 1782 redstone repeaters. So, after all that B.S. that you didn't have to read but read anyway, the length is upgraded with an amazing feature!


The difficulty was just right. It took me a little while to get started and find the first safety switch, and then all of a sudden I zoomed through everthing, my heart pounding as I neared 30 minutes. GEEZ, ROBOTINATOR, I WILL YOU FOR NEARLY MAKING ME PEE MY PANTS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 10 YEARS! Haha,
anyway, a really liked how I still felt scared even though the map was played on peaceful. The whole clock feature, upon which the map revolves around, is such an amazing concept. Bravo!


The story and the atmosphere assisted each other in the best manner possible. The story you start off with immediately steals your breath and keeps you hooked an eager for what will happen next. Then you get to the end and you're like, "Oh snap, I'd better get going"! The whole thing is very captivating. The story begins to fade as you begin the map, but luckily it picks up in certain parts.


This is the only part in the entire map where it lets you down. There are only a few puzzles. The majority is just racing to try and finish certain things. I'm really sorry, but this is the only section that didn't get gold or diamond. If I missed a whole section of the ship that contained a lot of puzzles, please tell me, but otherwise there were just five to get the safety switches. That was it.


The atmosphere affected the story so well, I might as well say they were intertwined. Read the story critique and you'll know why the atmosphere deserved a diamond pick.


This is truly an amazing map. Everyone, a round of applause for Robotinator. The only map I have played that I can really say topped this one is called "The Redmurk Mystery", and in my books, that is the only one that deserves a diamond axe overall. Still, UNBELIEVABLE MAP, Robotinator. Really, really good.

Overall, this is what The Clock's armor set looks like!

Quite spectacular!

In response to how the timer works:


This was a very great review. Thank you for taking the time to give a detailed account of everything! I am going to refer to this on my main topic.

I agree with the assessment of the puzzles. The ones that were there were more just meant to be obstacles to eat away at your time.

[StreamofAdventure]

piecia997, thanks for the feedback! I can't wait for the feedback!

talic07, your map is nearly done! I am really liking AdventureCraft and can't wait to review your map later today / early tommorow! Sorry for the time distances but I'm in Canada and using EST, so my clocks are different than yours.

Robotinator, LOL the puzzles were actually quite clever in the sense that they really did drain your time left. The only reason I criticized them is because there were few.

Map review for The Unnamed Parkour Map by gunther34567 is coming up in a few hours!

-StreamofAdventure

[ChrisTom]

Would you mind reviewing my map "The Wastes"? It's a Post Apocalyptic Survival Map. I'd appreciate your honest feedback.


http://www.minecraft...98#entry7610498

[Fangride]

Wow, love your reviews - very detailed

Any chance you could add mine to the list? It's in my signature

[yokcos700]

Please review the Legend of Ihir for me! The link to the thread is in my sig; more info, trailers and screenshots within!

[Symphonym]

Here you go, and also, if you play the map, could you also post a review on my thread? Thanks
http://www.minecraft...98%85%E2%98%85/

[DucuMiner]

Thanks man working on Version 2 with all what you have said !

[DucuMiner]

so yeah I will make it easier and add a story" I was plannign on adding a story in version 2 but I lost hope didnt get many downlaods but you cheered me up I'll try again !" thansk man !

[talic017]

No worries, i wait.
I want to put that review in my Solid Weapon topic.

[DucuMiner]

Made a Version 2 of my map and added what you said plz review http://www.minecraft...ie-catalysm-v2/

[StreamofAdventure]

Really sorry about the delay in reviews, but I had some fun time meself and went to a huge theme park for the day! As of now...

Woah! Tons of feedback much!

ChrisTom, your map is added! Thanks!

Fangride, glad you like them! Your map looks really cool - added aswell!

yokcos700, the Legend of Ihir sounds interesting. I'll check it out and add it!

Symphonym, your map looks INSANELY HARD, so all the better! Adding.

DucuMiner, glad I could help! I'll add the review for V2 in a little while - I must still finish the other maps that people are expecting reviews for.

Here's the review for The Unnamed Parkour Map:

In my opinion, Parkour Maps are creations, so I'll review this is that manner. I personally loved this map. Everything was well thought out, it turned quite epic toward the end, and the difficulty grew with time. All six chapters were so frustrating yet fun that you kept coming back for more. Its strange that way - something that forces you to go through hell and yet you want to finish it so much that you repeatedly try again and again to complete everything. One thing, however, to lessen your frustration is a checkpoint system which allows you to get back to certain parts after reaching them in your previous attempt. The nice thing is that it doesn't give you a HUGE break, because there are still some parkour puzzles (albeit much smaller ones) in the hallways of the checkpoint areas. The terrain varied greatly in this map, although there were a few things it could've had that it didn't:
-Piston puzzles - in a future update or brand new version these would be great
-Glass-Staircases - just an idea; glass is excellent especially if you have layers and layers of the stuff for walls because it throws off the player I'm so cruel!

There wasn't really anything more. This map was really good in so many ways, and in the ways is wasn't - it was still enjoyable! The ending was a bit sudden, you finish a jump and then BAM (exploding sounds - again ) it was the end. Perhaps a different ending - maybe something more climatic, would've been better. Just sayin'.

As I can't really give this ratings like an adventure map, I'll just give you the full armor set in the manner of a creation - pretty much no backstory!


Nice!

P.S. There could still be one thing that could be added - a story! This would be just a bonus, but here's a possibility! Watch this - I'm going to try my best to make this sound so epicly dramatic and it'll still fail. While reading the following, do your best deep, dramatic voice over possible - just try it!

Map Name: "2012 - Facility Trap"

December 22 - The world is close to extinction. Your home city is burnt to the ground - only a few buildings downtown remain intact. The moon has crashed into Earth. An otherworldly element is fueling the fires, as all oxygen on Earth is gone. You and only a few others have specially placed oxygen masks protecting you from inhaling the poisonous gas. Those who don't have the masks must breathe it in, and just days after they do, they come down with a very contaigious disease. No one is safe from the deadly toxin's grasp. To shield yourself from everything, you lock yourself in a testing facility beside your destroyed home. The facility label that read "Clone Jumping Challenge" outside didn't seem apparent to you in your hurry to get inside. Now, after realizing that you are locked inside the building with no way out except the backdoor on the other side of the facility, you must complete the jumping challenges - quickly, before your oxygen runs out!

Hahahahaha what a fail idea. But feel free to use it if you'd like!

[yokcos700]

Please review the Legend of Ihir; the link to the thread is in my sig, screenshots, trailers and more info inside!