Ahem.
As someone who enjoys Soviet architecture, you're missing the mark. Even in darkest Soviet Russia, where man knew no hope, there was enough room to swing a cat by the tail.

No, as linear as the Dawn level was, it felt more like giving Optimus Prime a colonoscopy.

: That structure where the Elite dropped the active cammo module was just an
: incoherent mess. Stand outside and look up at it. What is its shape?

It's supposed to be inspired by the exterior of the Control Room. But with all the boulders and crenellations and Tron lines, it's difficult to make out.

: The orange glare on most Forerunner structures hurt my eyes. The lines
: everywhere were a strain to look at. It was hard to make out what you were
: looking at. Everything sort of merges together - like a herd of zebra.

Or a herd of MP armor!

: What was the shape of the bad guy's spaceship?

We've settled this already. It was a Metapod.

: Liches were bland, bland, bland.

"Oh, a large Phantom that you can walk around in just like a Scarab? You designers must be so proud of yourselves."

: The Harvester was a mud box sculpture with legs too thin to support it's
: weight and would have looked very ropey walking around. The interior was
: disappointing - I had no sense that this was a workable structure.

Did you see any machinery in there at all? Anything?