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 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 (dsquid@liii.com) Mike Gholson (mtg@csos.orst.edu) -- Cut Here --- WAD-TEAM -- REVIEW TEMPLATE -- UPLOAD THIS TO INFANT2.SPHS.INDIANA.EDU IN DIRECTORY = /pub/doom/incoming ======================================================================== Review : Reviewed By : Date of Review : ##/##/## ======================================================================== 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. =========================================================================