If you ask me, the Labyrinth of Irritation is a misnomer. As far as maps go, this one had less in it that irritated me than most of the maps I have played. The map has aspects of parkour and adventure, but its essence is that of a puzzle map. It is a series of loosely collected rooms and challenges that the player needs to weave their way through to eventually craft a diamond pickaxe and break through the obsidian wall in the grand lobby. It is played on peaceful difficulty with no mods.
- Function:
Pretty much everything in this map works flawlessly. It took a little over an hour for me to finish, and in that time I found only 2 bugs. Beyond that, all the content was well designed. The player needs to unlock areas as they go, but the methods to keep you out are mostly unique from each other and are paced extremely well. The pathways knot together nicely so that you are constantly close to the entrance without being able to easily keep track of where you are. The map rarely (only at the very end) punishes you drastically for failure, and the puzzles are just cryptic enough to make you think about what you're doing the entire time. And the mapmaker didn't miss an oppurtunity to incorporate more content; even finding the crafting table once you have your diamonds is its own little challenge.
9/10
- Form:
The visuals are ecclectic to say the least. A room 2 blocks away could have an entirely different decoration theme for no particular reason. Even then, the bulk of the map seems directed towards working nicely than looking pretty, so there are some ugly parts. BUT, I cannot recall a single instance where I stopped and noticed the seam between one theme and the next. It all transitioned smoothly enough to not be distracting from the gameplay. And there are some very nice rooms, like the main lobby, and some very entertaining rooms, like the room end of the map.
7/10
- Flavor:
The map is essentially a puzzle map, so it doesn't do much as far as plot. The goal of the map is stated at the beginning (collect the diamonds to craft a pickaxe and break through the obsidian door), and it carries that through until you get your diamond pickaxe. You understand your goal and the steps towards finishing are paced well enough that you keep that goal in mind the whole time. There are signs from the mapmaker sporadically, but they don't really add or take away from the consistent feel of the map, and that's a good thing. My big issue with the map is that once you have gotten through the door, the map continues without any real purpose. Up to that point it was "get the sticks and diamonds and break through the door." After that, the only answer to why I was still playing was "to get to the other side" and that makes me feel like either a chicken or the butt of a bad joke. The content after that was still good, but it felt purposeless. Even a sign saying "There are great treasures beyond here" could have helped that, if only a little.
7/10
- Uniqueness:
The map doesn't do a whole lot new. It is very much in the style of many classic custom maps. It does, however, have a very individual method of advancement and it keeps you involved in the map without any of the suspense brought on by difficulties above peaceful. And for what it is worth, has the best usage of armor enchantments that I've seen so far. For these, I give it
Overall Score: 23/30 and
Would I recommend it?
- To someone looking for a good puzzle map to play, absolutely.
If you ask me, the Labyrinth of Irritation is a misnomer. As far as maps go, this one had less in it that irritated me than most of the maps I have played. The map has aspects of parkour and adventure, but its essence is that of a puzzle map. It is a series of loosely collected rooms and challenges that the player needs to weave their way through to eventually craft a diamond pickaxe and break through the obsidian wall in the grand lobby. It is played on peaceful difficulty with no mods.
- Function:
Pretty much everything in this map works flawlessly. It took a little over an hour for me to finish, and in that time I found only 2 bugs. Beyond that, all the content was well designed. The player needs to unlock areas as they go, but the methods to keep you out are mostly unique from each other and are paced extremely well. The pathways knot together nicely so that you are constantly close to the entrance without being able to easily keep track of where you are. The map rarely (only at the very end) punishes you drastically for failure, and the puzzles are just cryptic enough to make you think about what you're doing the entire time. And the mapmaker didn't miss an oppurtunity to incorporate more content; even finding the crafting table once you have your diamonds is its own little challenge.
9/10
- Form:
The visuals are ecclectic to say the least. A room 2 blocks away could have an entirely different decoration theme for no particular reason. Even then, the bulk of the map seems directed towards working nicely than looking pretty, so there are some ugly parts. BUT, I cannot recall a single instance where a stopped and noticed the seam between one theme and the next. It all transitioned smoothly enough to not be distracting from the gameplay. And there are some very nice rooms, like the main lobby, and some very entertaining rooms, like the room end of the map.
7/10
- Flavor:
The map is essentially a puzzle map, so it doesn't do much as far as plot. The goal of the map is stated at the beginning (collect the diamonds to craft a pickaxe and break through the obsidian door), and it carries that through until you get your diamond pickaxe. You understand your goal and the steps towards finishing are paced well enough that you keep that goal in mind the whole time. There are signs from the mapmaker sporadically, but they don't really add or take away from the consistent feel of the map, and that's a good thing. My big issue with the map is that once you have gotten through the door, the map continues without any real purpose. Up to that point it was "get the sticks and diamonds and break through the door." After that, the only answer to why I was still playing was "to get to the other side" and that makes me feel like either a chicken or the butt of a bad joke. The content after that was still good, but it felt purposeless. Even a sign saying "There are great treasures beyond here" could have helped that, if only a little.
7/10
- Uniqueness:
The map doesn't do a whole lot new. It is very much in the style of many classic custom maps. It does, however, have a very individual method of advancement and it keeps you involved in the map without any of the suspense brought on by difficulties above peaceful. And for what it is worth, has the best usage of armor enchantments that I've seen so far. For these, I give it
Overall Score: 23/30 and
Would I recommend it?
- To someone looking for a good puzzle map to play, absolutely.
The quiz has 2 questions phrased "can you" and the third question is "can I." Since you've already established that I am "you" it would seem the "I" means you, the mapmaker. Choose one and be consistent.
-The first area is just silly, it's guess and check with a few hundred options.
-The second area tells you that you can break anything but stone brick which promptly lets you escape to both the surface and a natural cave system.
-The lava parkour is practically impossible.
-If you die, you respawn outside the map.
-AND all your downward staircases make you hit your head every block you want.
The mob combat was balanced ok, though.
I wouldn't recommend continuing this map, but rather start fresh and avoid these mistakes.
And take the [ADV] out of your title because it isn't accurate. Adventure maps have stories and exploration. Puzzle map is the accurate description of your map.
Having thrown myself quite forcefully into the mapmaking process, I have found myself more and more often providing constructive criticism for others. Having seen threads like these get quite a volume of submissions, it seems clear that many people actively want that feedback. So rather than impose on whichever random thread catches my eye (which as it turns out can be quite the unreliable choosing process), I am posting this to allow people to come to me. I have no references or any credentials to make you think my opinion is valid, but I assure you that I've spent quite a bit of time playing and building adventure maps.
What I would need from you:
Simply, Title: (your map title)
Genre: (your map genre)
Creator(s): (who you would like to be credited as)
Thread: (the forum thread for your map)
And if you happen to break that formula, it's no big deal, so long as I can figure out all that information. I will accept any map type, but I reserve the right to play as stupidly as comes naturally, and I reserve the right to turn down maps that require mods if they give me trouble installing them. Most importantly, if your map thread itself has huge problems with it (like an improperly labelled title, a lack of screenshots, or a broken download link) expect me to comment about it in the thread and not rate your map until the problem is fixed.
What you can expect from me:
1) A quantitative rating out of 30 based on 0-10 points for these 3 categories:
- Function: Does the map do what it was intended to do? Does the map have gaping flaws? Do the puzzles, challenges, etc. work properly.
- Form: Is the map attractive? Do the aesthetics contribute to an enjoyable experience? Does the map look like it could have been made in survival mode unmodded? (Unless it actually was, and then bonus points for you.)
- Flavor: Does the map have a clear theme? Is the theme consistent through the map? Does the internal goal of the map drive the player?
For some reference as to what is good and bad:
0-10: Scrap it, start over, it's wasting the players' time.
10-20: This is an acceptable map with definite problems; I would not dissuade people from trying the map. These errors should be learned from for future endeavors, though.
20-30: This map is something I would encourage people to try out.
(Admittedly, this system is designed for adventure maps, but the first two qualities apply to everything. The third category, flavor, doesn't translate as well to a survival or parkour map, but Donkey Kong was nothing but jumping and that had clear and consistent theme and goal.)
2) A seperate look at the ingenuity and uniqueness of the map.
-Some of the most important characteristics of a map revolve around how much it stands out and breaks new ground. Since the constant waves of new maps consistently copy and obsolete the characteristics of their predecessors, I have decided to seperate these factors into their own scale so as not to compare apples and oranges. I will give a rating out of 5 diamonds ( ) to represent how new and creative the map is. (Alternatively, I will give a to any map that seems to just copy straight from something well known. I hope never to use this option )
3) Detailed explanations for the ratings above.
I will post the review in both this thread and the thread for the map being reviewed.
Full Disclosure: I am a member of Definite and Substantial Buttocks. I intend no bias, but if you want to know what sort of map I work on, go play Deja Vu: The Reincarnation of Steve
This is not only my first post on the forums, but my first map download and I must say that this map is brilliant. I was getting so bored of solo playing Minecraft and this map revived my love for the game. Bravo.
In a way, that feels like a shame. It's a wide world of adventure maps, and as far as content goes, this is wildly atypical. There are wonderful maps that are a lot more Minecrafty, and I feel like those are the ones that inspire people to make their own; when you play a map and go "I understand how this works" you start thinking of what you would do with it. When you see a map that's pulling magic tricks
like teleporting a spawn or having a controlled fire in a house with wooden floors
it seems more impressive than inspiring.
Basically, what I'm saying is that I hope this doesn't give the impression that adventure maps are magic tricks, because the beauty is that adventure maps are an oppurtunity for anyone to make their own game, not just those of us who know how to exploit Minecraft.
To be honest, when we finished the map and posted it up, my general sentiment was "thank god we're done, now I don't have to work on it anymore." Since all the good feedback has come, I just keep thinking "we could build something so much better.
Thank you. You have restored my enthusiasm for the game and then some.
0
by Shredster7
Thread- http://www.minecraftforum.net/topic/1018953-
If you ask me, the Labyrinth of Irritation is a misnomer. As far as maps go, this one had less in it that irritated me than most of the maps I have played. The map has aspects of parkour and adventure, but its essence is that of a puzzle map. It is a series of loosely collected rooms and challenges that the player needs to weave their way through to eventually craft a diamond pickaxe and break through the obsidian wall in the grand lobby. It is played on peaceful difficulty with no mods.
- Function:
Pretty much everything in this map works flawlessly. It took a little over an hour for me to finish, and in that time I found only 2 bugs. Beyond that, all the content was well designed. The player needs to unlock areas as they go, but the methods to keep you out are mostly unique from each other and are paced extremely well. The pathways knot together nicely so that you are constantly close to the entrance without being able to easily keep track of where you are. The map rarely (only at the very end) punishes you drastically for failure, and the puzzles are just cryptic enough to make you think about what you're doing the entire time. And the mapmaker didn't miss an oppurtunity to incorporate more content; even finding the crafting table once you have your diamonds is its own little challenge.
9/10
- Form:
The visuals are ecclectic to say the least. A room 2 blocks away could have an entirely different decoration theme for no particular reason. Even then, the bulk of the map seems directed towards working nicely than looking pretty, so there are some ugly parts. BUT, I cannot recall a single instance where I stopped and noticed the seam between one theme and the next. It all transitioned smoothly enough to not be distracting from the gameplay. And there are some very nice rooms, like the main lobby, and some very entertaining rooms, like the room end of the map.
7/10
- Flavor:
The map is essentially a puzzle map, so it doesn't do much as far as plot. The goal of the map is stated at the beginning (collect the diamonds to craft a pickaxe and break through the obsidian door), and it carries that through until you get your diamond pickaxe. You understand your goal and the steps towards finishing are paced well enough that you keep that goal in mind the whole time. There are signs from the mapmaker sporadically, but they don't really add or take away from the consistent feel of the map, and that's a good thing. My big issue with the map is that once you have gotten through the door, the map continues without any real purpose. Up to that point it was "get the sticks and diamonds and break through the door." After that, the only answer to why I was still playing was "to get to the other side" and that makes me feel like either a chicken or the butt of a bad joke. The content after that was still good, but it felt purposeless. Even a sign saying "There are great treasures beyond here" could have helped that, if only a little.
7/10
- Uniqueness:
The map doesn't do a whole lot new. It is very much in the style of many classic custom maps. It does, however, have a very individual method of advancement and it keeps you involved in the map without any of the suspense brought on by difficulties above peaceful. And for what it is worth, has the best usage of armor enchantments that I've seen so far. For these, I give it
Overall Score: 23/30 and
Would I recommend it?
- To someone looking for a good puzzle map to play, absolutely.
5
by Shredster7
Thread- http://www.minecraftforum.net/topic/1018953-
If you ask me, the Labyrinth of Irritation is a misnomer. As far as maps go, this one had less in it that irritated me than most of the maps I have played. The map has aspects of parkour and adventure, but its essence is that of a puzzle map. It is a series of loosely collected rooms and challenges that the player needs to weave their way through to eventually craft a diamond pickaxe and break through the obsidian wall in the grand lobby. It is played on peaceful difficulty with no mods.
- Function:
Pretty much everything in this map works flawlessly. It took a little over an hour for me to finish, and in that time I found only 2 bugs. Beyond that, all the content was well designed. The player needs to unlock areas as they go, but the methods to keep you out are mostly unique from each other and are paced extremely well. The pathways knot together nicely so that you are constantly close to the entrance without being able to easily keep track of where you are. The map rarely (only at the very end) punishes you drastically for failure, and the puzzles are just cryptic enough to make you think about what you're doing the entire time. And the mapmaker didn't miss an oppurtunity to incorporate more content; even finding the crafting table once you have your diamonds is its own little challenge.
9/10
- Form:
The visuals are ecclectic to say the least. A room 2 blocks away could have an entirely different decoration theme for no particular reason. Even then, the bulk of the map seems directed towards working nicely than looking pretty, so there are some ugly parts. BUT, I cannot recall a single instance where a stopped and noticed the seam between one theme and the next. It all transitioned smoothly enough to not be distracting from the gameplay. And there are some very nice rooms, like the main lobby, and some very entertaining rooms, like the room end of the map.
7/10
- Flavor:
The map is essentially a puzzle map, so it doesn't do much as far as plot. The goal of the map is stated at the beginning (collect the diamonds to craft a pickaxe and break through the obsidian door), and it carries that through until you get your diamond pickaxe. You understand your goal and the steps towards finishing are paced well enough that you keep that goal in mind the whole time. There are signs from the mapmaker sporadically, but they don't really add or take away from the consistent feel of the map, and that's a good thing. My big issue with the map is that once you have gotten through the door, the map continues without any real purpose. Up to that point it was "get the sticks and diamonds and break through the door." After that, the only answer to why I was still playing was "to get to the other side" and that makes me feel like either a chicken or the butt of a bad joke. The content after that was still good, but it felt purposeless. Even a sign saying "There are great treasures beyond here" could have helped that, if only a little.
7/10
- Uniqueness:
The map doesn't do a whole lot new. It is very much in the style of many classic custom maps. It does, however, have a very individual method of advancement and it keeps you involved in the map without any of the suspense brought on by difficulties above peaceful. And for what it is worth, has the best usage of armor enchantments that I've seen so far. For these, I give it
Overall Score: 23/30 and
Would I recommend it?
- To someone looking for a good puzzle map to play, absolutely.
0
But I paused for a moment to let you know that the feather boot section has the last checkpoint flipped already.
Edit: I finished the map now, I really quite enjoyed it. I should also mention that its possible to climb the vines right out of the map at spawn...
At any rate, I'm starting up a map rating thread. Would you mind if I wrote you in as the first one?
0
Give us a hook, lead us into the story. Pretend you are writing the description on the back of a book that's tryign to make people buy it.
0
The quiz has 2 questions phrased "can you" and the third question is "can I." Since you've already established that I am "you" it would seem the "I" means you, the mapmaker. Choose one and be consistent.
0
-The second area tells you that you can break anything but stone brick which promptly lets you escape to both the surface and a natural cave system.
-The lava parkour is practically impossible.
-If you die, you respawn outside the map.
-AND all your downward staircases make you hit your head every block you want.
The mob combat was balanced ok, though.
I wouldn't recommend continuing this map, but rather start fresh and avoid these mistakes.
And take the [ADV] out of your title because it isn't accurate. Adventure maps have stories and exploration. Puzzle map is the accurate description of your map.
1
Why I have made this thread:
What I would need from you:
Simply,
Title: (your map title)
Genre: (your map genre)
Creator(s): (who you would like to be credited as)
Thread: (the forum thread for your map)
And if you happen to break that formula, it's no big deal, so long as I can figure out all that information. I will accept any map type, but I reserve the right to play as stupidly as comes naturally, and I reserve the right to turn down maps that require mods if they give me trouble installing them. Most importantly, if your map thread itself has huge problems with it (like an improperly labelled title, a lack of screenshots, or a broken download link) expect me to comment about it in the thread and not rate your map until the problem is fixed.
What you can expect from me:
- Function: Does the map do what it was intended to do? Does the map have gaping flaws? Do the puzzles, challenges, etc. work properly.
- Form: Is the map attractive? Do the aesthetics contribute to an enjoyable experience? Does the map look like it could have been made in survival mode unmodded? (Unless it actually was, and then bonus points for you.)
- Flavor: Does the map have a clear theme? Is the theme consistent through the map? Does the internal goal of the map drive the player?
For some reference as to what is good and bad:
10-20: This is an acceptable map with definite problems; I would not dissuade people from trying the map. These errors should be learned from for future endeavors, though.
20-30: This map is something I would encourage people to try out.
2) A seperate look at the ingenuity and uniqueness of the map.
-Some of the most important characteristics of a map revolve around how much it stands out and breaks new ground. Since the constant waves of new maps consistently copy and obsolete the characteristics of their predecessors, I have decided to seperate these factors into their own scale so as not to compare apples and oranges. I will give a rating out of 5 diamonds (
3) Detailed explanations for the ratings above.
I will post the review in both this thread and the thread for the map being reviewed.
Complete Map Reviews:
CUBEception - by Gustavo Team 27/30 and
Levels - by Kinglau3 20/30 and
The Beginning of the End - by Romin865 15/30 and
Fall of Kingdoms - by rrgg 24/30 and
[CONVENIENCE]Lord of Bloodycross - by daDonn (aka Aramanon) 27/30 and
Woolington! - by TheMapReview 17/30 and
The King Of Hrothgaria - by Haevo 20/30 and
Levi's Nightmare - by Kmilley 26/30 and
Parkour Thief - by Cheesefrycook 21/30 and
Green Hill - by Kerblahh 18/30 and
Quest For Vendria - by TJ the DJ Drummer, Tech Ninjaa, Sammo75, Robo_Chiz 7/30 and [WIP]
Punishment:Parkour - by Dochavoc2 15/30 and
Strange Island Survival - by Zephyron0210 5/30 and
Hold the House - Warhawk193 17/30 and
The Forest of Silence - Fangride 15/30 and
Gloria - ColdFusionGaming Doesn't have a review but you should play it anyway.
Current Queue:
Abstergo- The Last Subject - by BickerCraft
The Syndicate - by Skully068
SlySlasher's Parkour Facility - by SlySlasher
Assassin's Craft: The Secret of Altair's Library - by barteke22
Project Johto - by SPG Doddseyftw jds74 and about 3-4 others (will likely have more specific crediting upon completion)
Sprint-Form - by theZetoranian
Sky Conquerer - by ocomobock
Temple of Ankh - by Sniglett
THANK YOU FOR VISITING!
Full Disclosure: I am a member of Definite and Substantial Buttocks. I intend no bias, but if you want to know what sort of map I work on, go play Deja Vu: The Reincarnation of Steve
0
Come on, minecraftforums, the world is catching onto this without you.
0
Happy Groundhog's Day Everybody!
0
In a way, that feels like a shame. It's a wide world of adventure maps, and as far as content goes, this is wildly atypical. There are wonderful maps that are a lot more Minecrafty, and I feel like those are the ones that inspire people to make their own; when you play a map and go "I understand how this works" you start thinking of what you would do with it. When you see a map that's pulling magic tricks
Basically, what I'm saying is that I hope this doesn't give the impression that adventure maps are magic tricks, because the beauty is that adventure maps are an oppurtunity for anyone to make their own game, not just those of us who know how to exploit Minecraft.
0
To be honest, when we finished the map and posted it up, my general sentiment was "thank god we're done, now I don't have to work on it anymore." Since all the good feedback has come, I just keep thinking "we could build something so much better.
Thank you. You have restored my enthusiasm for the game and then some.
0
Your sound and video are a bit off sync. You can hear what happens a second before you see it.
0
I worried our response to you got squished into another response and you missed it...
so, did we meet the hype?
0
God help you, sir!
Everyone loves a repeat customer!
0
"Deja Vu: The Most Elaborate Minecraft Office Floor Ever"
Yeah, thats a much better name.