Hint: You MAY want to print this first. :-)
Letter to all Doom WAD reviewers,
1) Play each level completely through *at least* twice with no
cheating!! Give each author the courtesy of a thorough review.
A lot of work and time goes into each level.
After you are done, use Deu or another level editor to
locate every secret that you may not have found earlier.
Make note of the fact if you had to resort to such measures to
solve the level ;)
2) Remember:
Play the level through without the use of cheats (for
determining Play Information accuracy.) If you can't get
through on Ultra-Violent, swallow your ego (gg) and play
It on 'HMP' (be sure to give points for difficulty...)
3) Give perfect 10's GRUDGINGLY. Give'm a 9.8 if you think they
really deserve it, but remember - 10 is PERFECTION. Be sure
you back up your scoring with comments and examples.
4) Use the following sheet as a template for your review. You may
wish to do your review on paper first, but, it is always better
to place them in your computer to share with others. We are
trying to set a standard here, so, let's get at it.
5) Remember the REVIEW NUMBER and give each one a score. There
is a place at the end of this review for an overall text
summary.
6) Our STANDARD scoring will include the 0 - 100 number and the
one liner word for each review. This is how we want your
overall review to look:
NEMO.WAD - 94.3 - KEEPER
<Long Review File Here>
7) Upload all your reviews to infant2.sphs.indiana.edu
in the /pub/doom/incoming directory.
Make sure all your reviews are named like the following:
NEMO.TEA (Review files should always have
the TEA extension)
What does the TEA stand for? TEAm -- like wad-TEAm
If you want an example... go to infant2 and check the
/pub/doom/wads/reviews/wad-team directory. This is where
all of our reviews will be held.
8) Have fun. Be safe. Use protection (yes, a shotgun will do).
Sincerely,
Your wad-team review leaders,
Bill Bessette (
[email protected])
Mike Gholson (
[email protected])
-- Cut Here ---
WAD-TEAM -- REVIEW TEMPLATE -- UPLOAD THIS TO INFANT2.SPHS.INDIANA.EDU
IN DIRECTORY = /pub/doom/incoming
========================================================================
Review : <WADNAME.WAD>
Reviewed By : <Reviewer name & Email address>
Date of Review : ##/##/##
========================================================================
Title : <Title of wad - Filename & long title>
Author : <Author's name if provided>
Email Address : <Author's address if provided>
========================================================================
**Play Information**
Episode and Level # : <E2M5>
Single Player : <Yes/No>
Cooperative 2-4 Player : <Yes/No>
Deathmatch 2-4 Player : <Yes/No>
Difficulty Settings : <Yes/No>
New Sounds : <Yes/No> <TYPE -- Music, Sound Effects>
New Graphics : <Yes/No> <TYPE>
=========================================================================
=========================================================================
=== Scoring ===
===============
Scale each from 0.0 to 10.0... (Obviously, 0 is BAD -- 10 is EXCELLENT)
Aspect Grade Reviewer's Comments
=========================================================================
1) Theme: 10.0 Designer's success at establishing a
consistant theme. Does this level even
have a theme? What was your opinion of
the theme expressed? Themeless
"Hack-n-Slash" levels are okay, but,
they should be consistant.
2) Mood: 5.2 How well does the author establish and
maintain the mood through the use of
lighting, textures, and possibly music
and/or sound? Were there points at
which you could just not turn the
corner without being spooked? Were you
hesitant to walk into a room because of
the atmosphere? We are looking for the
overall "mood" of things here. A bad
example would be a level with no mood
and a very bland atmosphere to the level.
3) Architecture: 7.5 Level complexity. Levels with
simplistic, squarish rooms and halls
should be marked lower than designs
which encorporate complex archways,
sweeping stairs, and fantastic use of
raising/lowering floors. Technical
construction mistakes should be graded
in the next category.
4) Technical: 10.0 Mismatched textures, HOM effects, Moire,
Tutti-Frutti *all* should diminish the
technical excellence score. If you
deduct points here, be specific and
point out the problem spots to the
author. Also keep in mind that this is
the area that you might want to mention
things like "game play slows down when I
run through door 3, the walls in the
room are missing textures, etc etc."
5) Overall
Difficulty: 8.3 Reletive difficulty to complete the
level. Including enemies and puzzles.
Is it impossible? Is it just too hard?
Or is it just too easy? Let everyone,
here, know what this level's difficulty
rating is.
6) Non-enemy
Difficulty: 4.1 If there was NO enemies, how difficult
would it be to pass this level? This
has to do with mazes, switches, keys,
and the difficulty in passing the level.
7) Creativity
& Inovation: 7.4 Does the level attempt ground breaking
effects? Is there anything new and
exciting? or is it just more of the
same old "hack and crack?"
8) Level Logic: 8.5 Does the level seem to be a 'pure flight
of fancy?' 1000 imps packed in a 5 x 5
closet with no doors seems a bit
illogical. Were there any parts of this
level seeming to have no logic? How
well does the level promote suspension
of disbelief?
9) RE-playability: 4.3 Would you play the wad a second time?
A third time? Is this something that
you will NEVER delete from your H/D?
Overall -- is this a "keeper?" Take
care when reviewing Deathmatch wads
not to slant them too heavily in this
category, because, they're made to be
played over and over).
10) Enjoyability: 7.6 How much did you enjoy this level?
Explain why?
=========================================================================
Sub-Total 72.9
Bonus: (0.0 - 5.0) 1.0 You may add a bonus if you feel
extras such as music, sound and
patched graphics added to the
experience in a positive way.
Be sure to detail why you are
awarding the points.
-------------------------------------------
Total: 73.9 << Wad-team review score >>
=========================================================================
=== REVIEW SUMMARY===
=====================
<The meat of the review. Feel free to get creative, but also be sure
to actually RTW! (Review the Wad!) Try to be truly objective and be
sure to mention both the good and the bad. Points that all reviews
should cover at a minimum are: General theme (if any), Obvious bugs,
inconsistencies between the Play information and what is actually
*in* the wad, and the number of times you played it. You may want
to throw this all into a summary at the bottom after your 'creative
bits'. Its all up to you...>
------
Summary Rating:
This WAD is the following:
KEEPER I would keep this wad on my hard drive as
long as I can. I will play this wad over
and over. This wad is VERY EXCELLENT and
I will do everything in my power to keep
it around.
TWO TIMER I played this wad a couple times (maybe more)
and I think it's a pretty good wad. It's
good enough to keep around, but, if I need
the hard drive space.. I will delete it.
It's good to play a few times.
SOUL SUCKER I played this wad and conclude that it is
something for a new player. It's not that
challenging, but, it's something suitable
for a new player - NOT an advanced player.
I finished it too fast and wasn't really
that impressed. It has a way of sucking the
soul out of a non-believer (it's a good first
game to get them "hooked!")
LOST SOUL This level is just plain and boring. Even
though I understand that the author spent some
time on this wad, it's not really something
I'd suggest to many other people.
=========================================================================
