Gatekeeper of Makai - by Badz AJS's Supercool Judging System! * My focus is on fun factor, fairness, and challenge of the danmaku. Aesthetics will be a MINOR component to reward going the extra mile or punish bad design choices. * I will score your entry based on the difficulty that is most "playable" for me (typically somewhere around Normal/Hard) while still being fun and fair ** I will not factor in how well your difficulty settings are balanced, however. That'd just kinda complicate things. ** It would still be to your benefit to make balanced difficulties though--or at least more than one--so I can find a difficulty most suited to me for scoring My scoring system will be as such: >0 -- Unplayable (i.e. broken, extremely buggy, etc.) >1 -- Terrible/No effort >2 -- Bad >3 -- Needs work >4 -- Has potential >5 -- Average >6 -- Okay >7 -- Decent >8 -- Good >9 -- VERY good >10 -- One of the best things I've seen -Stage portion (if you have one): X/10 -Each nonspell (midboss included): X/10 -Each spell card (midboss included): X/10 *All scores will then be averaged, then multiplied by 2 to give a final score of XX.XX/20.00 *Aesthetic bonus (May be applied to individual pattern scores for making especially pretty/eye-sore attacks, or to overall score for general script aesthetics): *You will receive neither a penalty nor bonus for making a decent to look at script that doesn't stand out. I don't want to tip things in the favor of advanced scripters too much. -Score bonus for going above and beyond to make something beautiful: +4% if applied to individual attack score; +2% if applied to overall script score -Score penalty for making poor aesthetic choices that make certain things hard to see or look at: -4% if applied to individual attack score; -2% if applied to overall script score I will also do my best to provide commentary on every aspect of your script throughout my judging, pointing out things you did right and things you could improve on. I wouldn't call myself an expert, but these comments will just be my honest opinions and advice on what you could do for future scripts, or if you wanted to improve your contest entry script after the contest. ***DISCLAIMER: Please don't get hurt if I give your script bad/mediocre scores. I try to be as strict and objective as possible when scoring, so even scripts that I personally liked or thought were pretty decent may still get "meh" scores from me. I try not to sugarcoat things in the hopes that you can improve, and so long as you're willing to listen to advice, I have nothing but respect for you. Also, I'm just really really picky... So please bear with me ^^; ** ================================================================================================================================================================= ================================================================================================================================================================= ================================================================================================================================================================= Difficulty judged: Hard mode Luise (or was it Luize?) Nonspell: 7/10 *A short but simple nonspell. Fairly fun to dodge, especially on higher difficulties. Doesn't overstay its welcome *Leaves a bit more to be desired, however. Luise/Luize Spell (Uncertainty "Shifting Path"): 5/10 *An interesting pattern to dodge, but it's nearly the same every time. *I would recommend introducing a small amount of randomness to make the pattern different to dodge each time, or change the direction of the spin Sara Nonspell 1: 5/10 *Pretty standard opener. Moderately threatening, but not too difficult Sara Spell 1 (Magic Sign "Magic Blast"): 3/10 *Not a bad pattern design, but extremely easy and non-threatening Sara Nonspell 2: 3/10 *You've got the right idea, but I'd suggest bumping up the density or intensity a bit. I felt like I could sit still or just micrododge and avoid most of the danger here. Sara Spell 2 (Strategy "Pillars of Pandemonium"): 8/10 *A simple pattern, but I like ow the slight randomness in each wave of reflecting bullets forces you to dodge each wave differently while avoiding the ever- present and threatening red bullets. *The lasers make a corridor not so small that it feels claustrophobic, but enough to put pressure on the player. *Good job! Sara Nonspell 3: 5/10 *Feeling a lot like Mamizou with micrododging these fast spiral waves *I'd recommend throwing in a bit more variety though--for instance, at least have the spiral alternate directions between waves Sara Spell 3 (Wind Sign "Tornado Spin"): 6/10 *A threatening and interesting pattern. But a bit too chaotic when the bullets start speeding up, even for Hard mode *Again, I'd recommend having the pattern alternate directions each wave. It may start to get stale fast if it's always going the same direction Sara Nonspell 4: 5/10 *Threatening and interesting to dodge, but gets stale rather quickly Sara Spell 4 (Formation "Magic Square"): 7/10 *A fast-paced and fun to dodge misdirection spell that's unpredictable enough to keep you on your toes *The unpredictability can work a bit against it though, as it can sometimes be very difficult to work yourself a path to dodge through *Nonetheless, if I were a better player, I imagine this'd be even more fun than it already was *Getting a shot off on Sara during this is tricky though. Perhaps you could make the square a big hitbox for her? Sara Spell 5 ("Thorny Road in the Demon World"): 6/10 *While it's a very simple pattern, the length of the lasers forces the player to make quick movements to avoid getting cornered *Has potential to be even more fun if the variety of shots coming at the player was spruced up, but pretty fun anyway Sara Spell 6 ("Windy Gates Guarding Makai"): 8/10 *A really fun concept, and pretty fun to dodge as well *The first phase was the hardest, and the subsequent phases felt easier somehow though...? Average Score: 68/120 = 56.67% FINAL SCORE: 11.33/20 Final Comments: -From what I understand, this is your first script, right? This was actually quite good for a first script! (don't be discouraged by my score >w>;) -Despite being a beginner, your patterns were fairly well balanced and never felt too cheap. I applaud you for that -I think your greatest weakness was pattern variety. Many nonspells and spells simply featured firing the same pattern over and over. -There were several attacks (Tornado Spin in particular comes to mind) that could have benefitted from adding an extra wave where you had the pattern go in the opposite direction, just to keep the player on their toes -Keep on scripting and welcome to the community! I look forward to seeing more from you!