Review of Single Player Quake Levels v1.4. OCT 27 1996

(C) 1996 Michael Wise. All Rights Reserved.
Quake is a trademark of Id Software, Inc.
Levels are usually copyrighted by their author. Respect the copyright.

Write me at: mikewise.ddd@juno.com
Int'l PC Gaming Echo (Fido) to Michael Wise
id Software/DOOM Echo (Fido) to Michael Wise.

I reviewed some Single Player levels for Quake. I created a data chart 
to show how they ranked. Rankings were based on 4 categories:


---
Overall is simply the average of the below 4 categories.

---
(1) Smooth-o-meter. This checks how smoothly the level performed on
a P83 with 12 megs of RAM. This computer has onboard graphics, which
perform close to or above VESA video cards. (Quake was played in DOS)
This is a valid premise because I have seen some REALLY poorly designed
levels, resulting in low speed.

---
(2) Fun. Was this level FUN to play? Did I fall asleep? Did I quit
because there 30 shamblers in one room? Was the level well balanced
and varied? Was there a chance to beat the level?

---
(3) Graphics. This checks to see if they chose appropiate graphics
for their level. It also checks if they made good use of Quake's
lighting and true 3D. I also check for graphics' glitches.

---
(4) Creativity. This checks to see if the level was very unique and
intriguing, or if it was a dime-a-dozen.

I DO NOT CALCULATE CHALLENGE. THIS IS FOR YOU TO DECIDE!

---
Other:

(E) Number of enemies. This isn't used in calculation.

The levels are ranked from highest to lowest, respectively,
with Overall being the determining factor in placement.

I rounded to the nearest percent when calculating the Overall score.

** = New review     
                                     The Categories

Title of Level       Overall    (1)    (2)    (3)    (4)    (E)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Fear Castle            99%      85%    100%   110%!  100%   29
(frcastle.zip)
Armageddon 2           99%      95%    100%   100%   100%   29
(arma2.zip)
Notlob's Residence     96%      95%    95%    100%   95%    40
(sgc4.zip)
Liquid Despair         96%      90%    100%   95%    100%   61
(despair.zip)
E.T.'s World           96%      90%    100%   100%   95%    32
(etworld.zip)
Bubbah's Slate         95%      80%    100%   100%   100%   26
(bub2.zip)
Slime Ground           95%      85%    100%   95%    100%   42
(tef_sg.zip)
TightRope              95%      95%    100%   90%    95%    18
(titerope.zip)
Forsaken Citadel       94%      95%    100%   90%    90%    31
(fc.zip)
** House of Traps      93%      90%    90%    100%   90%    16/34/43++
(houstrps.zip)
Cult                   93%      95%    90%    95%    90%    18
(cult.zip)
Altar of Pain          93%      80%    100%   90%    100%   60
(tef_aop.zip)
** Drakopf (1&2 comb.) 91%      85%    95%    85%    100%   46/77++
(drakopf.zip)
Potpourri              90%      80%    90%    90%    100%   33
(pop.zip)
The Climb              90%      90%    95%    90%    85%    18
(climb.zip)
EldenCross             90%      90%    85%    90%    95%    23+
(elden1.zip)
The Crucible           89%      85%    90%    85%    95%    31/43/52++
(crucible.zip)
** ET's Level of Hell  89%      80%    85%    95%    95%     6
(ethell.zip)
Bubbah's Lair          89%      85%    85%    80%    95%    21
(bubbah.zip)
House of Desolution    86%      75%    85%    95%    90%    29
(deso.zip)
Mini                   85%      85%    90%    85%    80%    11
(mini.zip)
Close Quarters         85%      95%    80%    85%    80%     8
(close.zip)
Axeme                  85%      90%    80%    95%    75%    26
(axeme7.zip)
Entryway ][ - Quaked   84%      80%    90%    85%    80%    45
(kysenty2.zip)
Palace of Shadows      84%      75%    80%    80%    100%   50
(ps.zip)
Tower of Death         83%      85%    90%    85%    70%    21
(tod.zip)
Pagan Temple           83%      70%    85%    85%    90%    27
(pagan.zip)
Basic Castle           81%      55%*   85%    90%    95%    76
(bc.zip)
CrossRoad              80%      70%    90%    80%    80%    12
(crosroad.zip)
Erkle's Domain         80%      80%    70%    75%    90%    21
(erkle.zip)
The Ledge              80%      75%    85%    80%    80%     7
(theledge.zip)
Magnet                 75%      80%    70%    50%#   100%   18
(magnet.zip)
Dave's Graves          63%      60%    70%    35%#   85%    36 
(dgrave.zip)
Black Majik*+          58%      75%    60%    50%    50%     9
(blackmaj.zip)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: 34

Notes:

* = This level is _VERY_ LARGE. Thus, slowdown is inevitable. However,
if you have a fast computer...get this level! It is COOL!
*+ = Black Majik is mainly meant for deathmatch. However, it had 
a single player mode. (which really isn't any good.)
+ = Level says there is 28 enemies, but there really is only 23.
++ = Level has three skill levels to choose from.
(filename.ext) = Name of file you will find at the download site.
# = Too many "grayouts" appeared in the level. It sometimes made
the level difficult and unfun to play. Thus, the low marks. 

Where to get the reviewed files:

FTP: ftp.cdrom.com \pub\quake\levels. Choose the appropiate sub
directory to find the level(s) you want.

History:
1.0 First Public Release. 11 OCT 1996
1.1 3 new revs. Fixed Tower of Death entry. 16 OCT 1996
1.2 2 new revs. 24 OCT 1996                            
1.3 3 new revs. 25 OCT 1996
1.4 3 new revs. Changed Fear Castle's ratings. 27 OCT 1996
