Starting with "Double your money" there were many riddles both beautiful and -as far as I can guess- hard to design or make up. There’s still parts I did not like, but for the effort of creating some of the most original puzzles apart from the original series, I can but give you the highest rank in this category.
In some areas you overdid it a little (see the fireball trap in the first level that will kill you instantaneously if you’re not careful or other examples to be found in "comments"), although most is solvable by being careful or alert. I still claim my ideal dungeon must enable the player to theoretically survive the first time – I don’t think that "Tower of chaos" can completely fulfill that. Basically pretty linear difficulty design, although I found the starting levels too tough with reincarnated characters.
Probably the dungeon with the most original, newly crafted or uniquely varied puzzles throughout all the levels, experimenting with mechanisms and twisting them into little known forms. Excellent!
I’m not a friend of too large dungeons in general, but you not only created a dungeon using nearly every single cell but also found ways to build paths and mechanisms that make the dungeon an overall sound design. This took me at about as long as my first try of the original CSB, so compliments on keeping up suspense and atmosphere throughout this huge layout!
I had real (letal) problems with food and water as well, so as long as that is not changed I don’t think I’ll try it again soon. Generally speaking, there’s enough creativity in this dungeon for repeated tries, though. Let’s give it some time, shall we ? ;o)
I was very positively surprised at this dungeon after swallowing my initial frustration on the food and too tough creatures-sides. If you polish up the nourishment and time-to-time dungeon design a little, this will improve your otherwise outstanding and original design even more. No doubt that you know how to design a dungeon very well indeed!
Chaos again... oh, well. Excuse me, but I just finished the review to Amber’s "Imprisoned again" before so I’m afraid this is a common theme. It’s a little frustrating always having to corner the poor dark creature time and time again avoiding missiles, zytazes and demons... anyway, you made it pretty tough actually getting the Firestaff and then surviving to find Chaos and fusing him – so many things going on in this level at once... *phew* Still, especially with your ability to design I’d hope for a really new end next time...
Just a small point here: the design ruined some of the otherwise excellent atmosphere, because the path was not as clear or straight as I’d have wished for sometimes. Try and error is all well but sometimes you strained that a bit too much in my eyes. Otherwise I certainly strained something, too (that being my nerves) and had a very good time (translate: near heart attacks) in your dungeon. That’s exactly how it should be.
Close call, but deserved. Dungeons like Amber’s "Imprisoned..." and your "Tower..." are the reasons why I was rating pretty carefully with my first dungeons so as not too use up all my aces too early.
"Double your money", the numerous impossible-to-spot teleporters where even the design around the areas concerned is exactly the same most of the times, the "pit riddle" 3(29,17), dragon and black flame in the "orange tower", fighter way in level 11, Chaos/Good/Order all on your heels in level 12… only to mention some.
Big lack of food (especially in the first half of the dungeon), later on fountains were too rare. Playing legally you can hardly survive with a full party. I was missing an overall concept for the path through the dungeon, although the different towers were neat. Sometimes you’d have to go searching for an item you needed (Choker!) in a completely different part and I could not get a picture of the design since you used a lot of invisible teleporters to confuse me.
Comments: This will be a lot. Some are quirks or flaws I think I found, others merely suggestions or uncertainties on my part. Excuse my length, but the better I like a dungeon, the more details tend to interest me.
Contains spoilers
Your dungeon implementation has wonderful variations between riddles, mechanisms, monsters and searching for the way on, to improve I therefore can only suggest to simplify the dungeon design while keeping up the puzzles and tricks. You’re very good already so I’d say you can try maximizing your efficiency by creating best efforts using minimum design – and add some food, I’ll pay for it ;o) It was a real pleasure playing this dungeon – maybe it ought to have been Towers of Chaos”? Stunning effort!
Although I found the way through the dungeon too chaotic despite your claim of "pretty straight forward" in the text file, this is the only criticism I can make here. Otherwise beautifully laid out and a lot of twists and turns to follow until the end.