Episode 1 Level Review Thread

[Axon]

Difficulty Switches (v 0.8) :

- The player spawning point seems to be incorrect
- In the blue room before the midpoint, you can fall through the floor right to the warp 8 pipe (you used a background element when you should have used blocks).
- Some cutoff. For example:

- The last puzzle of the red-blue section seems to be easier if you're small.
- For some reason, it looks like throwing this POW block on top of that vegetable crashed my game:

- Some of the kill rooms in the red-green-blue section don't end when they should.
- Overall, a really enjoyable fast-paced level with some good level design. I also like the multiple paths approach. I approve.

BFF's :

- The right level boundary in section 2 needs to be pushed right a little, or else you can't proceed.
- Can't really test this since I'm only one person and this seems to require 2 players. Player 2 can't enter the first door anyway.

Sky Fleet :

(the names of the .lvl file and the folder don't have the right format)
- The first section's level design is slightly nonsensical and the second section is not very interesting
- This isn't terrible, but it's a bit under the standards that we have for this game.

All-Star Palace :

- The first invisible block in the large room ceases to exist once you hit one of the switch blocks. This makes the rest of the room completely inaccessible for Demo and raocow.
- This level could really, REALLY benefit from Lunadll.
- Due to a lack of enemies and NPCs, the large room feels really barren.
- I didn't get past the large room. At some point, I felt like I was wasting my time.

Sweet Desert :

- The player starts in a very pointless section where you're on a slow moving platform.
- The fake hammer powerup trap is just kinda dumb. It would be more interesting if the player had a chance of avoiding it the first time he activates it.
- For the flower trap: please note that the POW block doesn't kill skeletons if they're collapsed. This means that you can be in an unwinnable situation where there's only a skeleton left and no way to defeat it.
- The music in section 1 wasn't set to "custom". If this is intentional, then the current music choice is not super appropriate.
- The cannon graphics in the part after the midpoint are broken.
- The level design in the first part (before the midpoint) often feels like it relies too much on enemy spam of one type of enemy at a time.

The life of a Demo :

- The invisible room has some visible slopes with cutoff.
- In the bullet spam room: Getting inside the second bullet line without getting hurt is a bit difficult.
- The room with the boxes is way too nonsensical.
- The horizontally-moving room can easily glitch-kill you. Also, the warp out of the room doesn't move with the moving layer.
- I think this level definitely has some potential (if those problems are fixed).

Welcoming Season :
File download doesn't work?

Accident :

- Oh man, Commander Keen!
- An amusing little maze-like level with a surreal feel to it. It's pretty great. I'm not sure what more I can add.

(as an aside, I made (but didn't release) a re-creation of the first level of the first Commander Keen a while ago. Maybe we could use it as the mandatory world 1 nostalgia area in episode 2)

DAMNage and Damnation :

- Some parts feel somewhat empty and would greatly benefit from having more enemies (for example).
- I'm not sure how I feel about the long jump from the first red shell shooter. It's kind of an awkward semi-blind jump.
- Otherwise, I think it's okay.

[Willhart]

I fixed the welcoming season link.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bxij3Y ... sp=sharing
Edit: thanks.

[Voltgloss]

Review of 89. Axon - Industrial Pandemonium.

Demos to complete: 20 (12 for normal exit, plus 8 more for secret exit)
Theme: Industrial/Factory

Highlights:

The level description on the wiki says it "includes a few alternate paths." This is an understatement: at any given point in the level the player has a choice of at least two, and sometimes three, alternate paths for progressing (top, bottom, and sometimes middle). I think this is the level's greatest strength: those alternate paths are - with I think one exception (see below) - of comparable difficulty while presenting different styles of challenge, so a player can try multiple different routes for progressing through the level until they land on the route they find most comfortable.

I also think the lunaDLL pulley platforms are a clever idea that fit the level's aesthetic and theme, seem to work as intended, and are well-placed and well-used to good effect. They should be bug-tested more rigorously to confirm there are no issues, but in my 20 tries through the level they never gave me any problems.

The path to the secret exit is well-hidden but also sufficiently clued - good job. The autoscroll section is not overly long and I was glad to see it continue the level's theme of "multiple paths." I also think it was smart to include a Luna Shortcut to the boss after the autoscroll (which is, again, well-hidden so the player won't stumble on it, and also properly clued).

Finally, two minor notes: (1) thank you for showing early on that the glowing sawblades are an insta-kill (via the spawning caterpillars); and (2) while the Catnip is extremely awkward to get, I think that's fair given how useful of a powerup it is. (It made me think carefully about whether it was worth the risk; sometimes I went for it, sometimes not. That's the mark of a good risk-reward balance.)

Main Recommendations:

My major suggestions for improving the level center on three issues: (1) one trap in particular that feels unfair compared to the rest of the level; (2) the cheese-spitting Bananasnakes (Cheesesnakes?); and (3) the boss fight.

1. There is one challenge that I think should be toned down in difficulty: the smashing-together-floor-and-ceiling trap on the "bottom" path right before the midpoint. The timing on this trap is deceptive and unforgiving; you have to take a running leap well before the floor has even appeared, and you have much less let then other traps elsewhere in the level. Plus, the trap's placement right before the midpoint makes it feel less like "here's one option you could take to proceed" and more like "here's your punishment for taking the bottom path." Out of everything else in the level, I think this trap could stand being eased up (slightly reducing the speed with which the floor and ceiling slam together should do it).

2. While the Cheesesnakes are a neat idea, I don't think the level uses them as effectively as it could. The only time the use of cheese instead of bananas mattered was the very first time I faced the enemy, and that was just because I was a dumb and reflexively tried eating a cheese while riding Catnip (spoiler: he hates it). But after that, I never faced a Cheesesnake under circumstances where it mattered significantly that they were spitting slides-along-the-ground cheese rather than standard banana-hammers. I feel like they could be more interestingly placed on a level ABOVE the player - i.e., in a position where the player can't immediately rush them to take them out - so that the player has to deal more diretly with the ground-hugging cheese while also navigating a path to, or past, the Cheesesnake that's firing cheese.

I also don't think the Cheesesnakes neatly fit the level's aesthetic, although that's probably just a matter of tweaking their graphics so they look more "toxic" or "polluted" than a regular Bananasnake. This would also immediately tip off the player that they're different from regular Bananasnakes and should be treated with caution.

3. If there's one thing in the level that I think can and should be made MORE challenging, it's the boss. I like the idea (which I won't spoil here), but the execution is kinda basic: it's basically a slightly-faster Larry Koopa followed by a slightly-faster Ludwig. As a result, I felt like I'd just played through a World 6 or 7 level only to fight a World 1 or 2 boss at the end (which I beat on my first try). I think more can and should be done here, especially with a Luna shortcut leading right to the boss. Perhaps - after the player defeats "Larry" and "Ludwig" appears - the boss fight should keep spawning additional "Larrys" until the player defeats "Ludwig?" After all, the whole point of the level is mass production of "Larrys"; let the player fight against that mass production as the end challenge.

Minor Recommendations:

- In the Octobro's opening textbox, "Misc" and "Inc" should have periods after them (they're abbreviations).

- The SMB2-style "beet on a plate" powerup is used frequently. But keep in mind that, if a player gets that powerup while already having a higher-tier powerup, the higher-tier powerup gets duplicated in the player's item reserve. This is especially noticeable at the midpoint: a player on the top path probably just got the Onion powerup, and upon getting the beet at the midpoint now suddenly will have two Onions. I think that's a bit overpowered and would suggest downgrading the beet-on-a-plate - at least the one at the midpoint - to a standard beet.

- I was disappointed with the reward (a 1up) accessed by riding toast across the sky after the midpoint. That's a very tricky optional challenge (mainly because you can't see Demo when you're jumping to avoid the sky urchins) and for it to just give a 1up is kind of a letdown, especially with significantly easier 1ups earlier in the level. I suggest either a 3up radish or a green sack instead.

- The lone Lakitu-moth feels very out of place. It's also functionally a non-issue - it only spawns if you're very high up in the "top" path, at a place where you can quite easily defeat it with a thrown walking-bomb or a simple jump. I suggest taking it out and perhaps replacing it with a more strategically placed Cheesesnake.

- In the autoscroll section: the stone "heads" you can pick up are rather weird in that you can't run into an enemy while holding them - unlike a regular shell or most other pick-up-and-carry weapons. The first time I reached that section, I tried to use one to protect myself in the line of conveyor-belt-jellyfish shortly thereafter - but died when I ran into a jellyfish with the stone head in front of me. Not sure what if anything can be done to make it clearer to the player that their normal expectation doesn't apply; I mention this because it was the only element of the autoscroll section where I felt that I died unfairly.

- The boss fight has a semi-kaizo element - you can defeat the boss with your last bounce and inadvertently fall in a side pit just as the leek appears. Simple to fix by filling the pits once the boss is defeated.

[Axon]

I fixed the welcoming season link.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bxij3Y ... sp=sharing

Welcoming Season :

- Nice graphics and music that create a good atmosphere.
- I don't always like these sorts of easter egg hunts, but in this case the level seems to be structured well enough to make it enjoyable.

EDIT:

Review of 89. Axon - Industrial Pandemonium.

Demos to complete: 20 (12 for normal exit, plus 8 more for secret exit)
Theme: Industrial/Factory

Highlights:

The level description on the wiki says it "includes a few alternate paths." This is an understatement: at any given point in the level the player has a choice of at least two, and sometimes three, alternate paths for progressing (top, bottom, and sometimes middle). I think this is the level's greatest strength: those alternate paths are - with I think one exception (see below) - of comparable difficulty while presenting different styles of challenge, so a player can try multiple different routes for progressing through the level until they land on the route they find most comfortable.

I also think the lunaDLL pulley platforms are a clever idea that fit the level's aesthetic and theme, seem to work as intended, and are well-placed and well-used to good effect. They should be bug-tested more rigorously to confirm there are no issues, but in my 20 tries through the level they never gave me any problems.

The path to the secret exit is well-hidden but also sufficiently clued - good job. The autoscroll section is not overly long and I was glad to see it continue the level's theme of "multiple paths." I also think it was smart to include a Luna Shortcut to the boss after the autoscroll (which is, again, well-hidden so the player won't stumble on it, and also properly clued).

Finally, two minor notes: (1) thank you for showing early on that the glowing sawblades are an insta-kill (via the spawning caterpillars); and (2) while the Catnip is extremely awkward to get, I think that's fair given how useful of a powerup it is. (It made me think carefully about whether it was worth the risk; sometimes I went for it, sometimes not. That's the mark of a good risk-reward balance.)

Main Recommendations:

My major suggestions for improving the level center on three issues: (1) one trap in particular that feels unfair compared to the rest of the level; (2) the cheese-spitting Bananasnakes (Cheesesnakes?); and (3) the boss fight.

1. There is one challenge that I think should be toned down in difficulty: the smashing-together-floor-and-ceiling trap on the "bottom" path right before the midpoint. The timing on this trap is deceptive and unforgiving; you have to take a running leap well before the floor has even appeared, and you have much less let then other traps elsewhere in the level. Plus, the trap's placement right before the midpoint makes it feel less like "here's one option you could take to proceed" and more like "here's your punishment for taking the bottom path." Out of everything else in the level, I think this trap could stand being eased up (slightly reducing the speed with which the floor and ceiling slam together should do it).

2. While the Cheesesnakes are a neat idea, I don't think the level uses them as effectively as it could. The only time the use of cheese instead of bananas mattered was the very first time I faced the enemy, and that was just because I was a dumb and reflexively tried eating a cheese while riding Catnip (spoiler: he hates it). But after that, I never faced a Cheesesnake under circumstances where it mattered significantly that they were spitting slides-along-the-ground cheese rather than standard banana-hammers. I feel like they could be more interestingly placed on a level ABOVE the player - i.e., in a position where the player can't immediately rush them to take them out - so that the player has to deal more diretly with the ground-hugging cheese while also navigating a path to, or past, the Cheesesnake that's firing cheese.

I also don't think the Cheesesnakes neatly fit the level's aesthetic, although that's probably just a matter of tweaking their graphics so they look more "toxic" or "polluted" than a regular Bananasnake. This would also immediately tip off the player that they're different from regular Bananasnakes and should be treated with caution.

3. If there's one thing in the level that I think can and should be made MORE challenging, it's the boss. I like the idea (which I won't spoil here), but the execution is kinda basic: it's basically a slightly-faster Larry Koopa followed by a slightly-faster Ludwig. As a result, I felt like I'd just played through a World 6 or 7 level only to fight a World 1 or 2 boss at the end (which I beat on my first try). I think more can and should be done here, especially with a Luna shortcut leading right to the boss. Perhaps - after the player defeats "Larry" and "Ludwig" appears - the boss fight should keep spawning additional "Larrys" until the player defeats "Ludwig?" After all, the whole point of the level is mass production of "Larrys"; let the player fight against that mass production as the end challenge.

Minor Recommendations:

- In the Octobro's opening textbox, "Misc" and "Inc" should have periods after them (they're abbreviations).

- The SMB2-style "beet on a plate" powerup is used frequently. But keep in mind that, if a player gets that powerup while already having a higher-tier powerup, the higher-tier powerup gets duplicated in the player's item reserve. This is especially noticeable at the midpoint: a player on the top path probably just got the Onion powerup, and upon getting the beet at the midpoint now suddenly will have two Onions. I think that's a bit overpowered and would suggest downgrading the beet-on-a-plate - at least the one at the midpoint - to a standard beet.

- I was disappointed with the reward (a 1up) accessed by riding toast across the sky after the midpoint. That's a very tricky optional challenge (mainly because you can't see Demo when you're jumping to avoid the sky urchins) and for it to just give a 1up is kind of a letdown, especially with significantly easier 1ups earlier in the level. I suggest either a 3up radish or a green sack instead.

- The lone Lakitu-moth feels very out of place. It's also functionally a non-issue - it only spawns if you're very high up in the "top" path, at a place where you can quite easily defeat it with a thrown walking-bomb or a simple jump. I suggest taking it out and perhaps replacing it with a more strategically placed Cheesesnake.

- In the autoscroll section: the stone "heads" you can pick up are rather weird in that you can't run into an enemy while holding them - unlike a regular shell or most other pick-up-and-carry weapons. The first time I reached that section, I tried to use one to protect myself in the line of conveyor-belt-jellyfish shortly thereafter - but died when I ran into a jellyfish with the stone head in front of me. Not sure what if anything can be done to make it clearer to the player that their normal expectation doesn't apply; I mention this because it was the only element of the autoscroll section where I felt that I died unfairly.

- The boss fight has a semi-kaizo element - you can defeat the boss with your last bounce and inadvertently fall in a side pit just as the leek appears. Simple to fix by filling the pits once the boss is defeated.

Thank you very much for the feedback. I think I agree with pretty much all that you said and I'm going to take it into account for the level's next update.

[Axon]

Panic Attack in High Altitude :
Worst level in the history of forever!! Surely, this "Axon" guy must be a miscreant and a philistine.

A Castle Level :

- Some beets can fall in lava.
- Is it even possible to run under the thwomps while big? Not a big problem, considering that the midpoint is right after that part.
- Are the glitched hammer graphics intentional?
- The slime boss feels like a (stressful) chore and I really don't feel like beating it. At the very least, you could reduce mother brain slime's HP to something like 5. A single donut shooter would also probably be enough when you take into account the difficulty created by all the furbas that inevitably tend to accumulate at the bottom of the room.
- An amusing level, some okay platforming and obstacles. The slime boss really needs to be either greatly improved or scrapped.

Rainbow Raft Ride :

(the music file should be inside the level folder)
- SMBX's weird momentum physics combined with the shell's jerky movement sometimes makes it a little complicated to dodge lovefrogs projectiles and whatnot.
- Overall though, I think this is a good postgame-type level.

Shroom Caves :

- Player 1's starting position seems to be wrong.
- I don't think the plants not coming out of pipes and camouflaged by grass are a good idea. I recall that an episode 1 level (Plant Zone) had to be modified so all the plants would come out of pipes.
- In the village, the bridge and the orange block above the entry pipe seem to be misaligned.
- Right now, warp 7 leads kills the player. You can fix this by moving the warp exit 1 block down.
- Not sure how I feel about a gimmick that removes control from the player, but at the same time I like the risk/reward aspect of choosing to eat a flashing toad or not.
- Overall, I think it's an okay level.

[Mikkofier]

A Castle Level :

- Some beets can fall in lava.
- Is it even possible to run under the thwomps while big? Not a big problem, considering that the midpoint is right after that part.
- Are the glitched hammer graphics intentional?
- The slime boss feels like a (stressful) chore and I really don't feel like beating it. At the very least, you could reduce mother brain slime's HP to something like 5. A single donut shooter would also probably be enough when you take into account the difficulty created by all the furbas that inevitably tend to accumulate at the bottom of the room.
- An amusing level, some okay platforming and obstacles. The slime boss really needs to be either greatly improved or scrapped.

- Will move beets. Damn glitches...
-I'll try rising the thwomps.
-They were like that in the graphics pack. Left in and hoped no one would notice. Now I have to fix them...
- I had my doubts about the slime boss. I'll try something.

Thanks for the feedback!

e: Done

[ztarwuff]

Shroom Caves :

- Player 1's starting position seems to be wrong.
- I don't think the plants not coming out of pipes and camouflaged by grass are a good idea. I recall that an episode 1 level (Plant Zone) had to be modified so all the plants would come out of pipes.

When raocow played MAKL Vanilla (where I did something similar), he seemed to notice it pretty early on and that's all that's needed. Get the player to notice it and make the mental association. Seeing as the grass is the only green thing in an otherwise grey cave, I think it'll stand out better than it ever did in both MAKL VAnilla and Plant Zone, both of which were green levels where the grass could have easily blended in.

- In the village, the bridge and the orange block above the entry pipe seem to be misaligned.

Hm, that might be a result of the gimmick. For some bizarre reason, despite the fact that I put every effort into making sure everything returns to its original position, it never does. The blocks are always out by a pixel or so, and it builds up every time you activate the gimmick.

I must have accidentally left those on the wrong layer because the gimmick shouldn't affect anything in that area.

- Right now, warp 7 leads kills the player. You can fix this by moving the warp exit 1 block down.

Oh that's definitely a result of the gimmick. I've been waiting for more people to play this level to see how badly someone can break it.

- Not sure how I feel about a gimmick that removes control from the player, but at the same time I like the risk/reward aspect of choosing to eat a flashing toad or not.
- Overall, I think it's an okay level.

Thank you for your honest review. I greatly appreciate it. This is exactly what I've been waiting for. Hopefully, I can get a few changes in before voltgloss does his review of it.

P.S. I'm thinking of changing the name of the level to Shroom Samba Spelunking. A bit too much?

[Voltgloss]

ztarwuff, I won't be hitting Shroom Caves for a while, so take your time revising based on Axon's feedback.

I have played through the next level on my list, 27. Joseph Staleknight - Melancholy Desert, using Demo only. I need to make a few runs using the other characters to see if they change the level meaningfully (and to see if the Sheath filter at the midpoint can be broken - I suspect it can be). I'm hoping to complete that and have my feedback posted tonight.

[Axon]

When raocow played MAKL Vanilla (where I did something similar), he seemed to notice it pretty early on and that's all that's needed. Get the player to notice it and make the mental association. Seeing as the grass is the only green thing in an otherwise grey cave, I think it'll stand out better than it ever did in both MAKL VAnilla and Plant Zone, both of which were green levels where the grass could have easily blended in.

I don't know, for a while my mind kept making the grass=harmless background element association by reflex(though that might be in part because it was late when I played the level). Perhaps making all the plants red instead of green would help the player make the correct association.

[Voltgloss]

I think raocow's experience playing Plant Zone and that one World 3 level with a similar gimmick (Floating Falls, I think it was?) - along with spectator reactions - will give us all valuable feedback on how to handle the plants-not-in-obvious-pipes issue.

[SAJewers]

I think raocow's experience playing Plant Zone and that one World 3 level with a similar gimmick (Floating Falls, I think it was?) - along with spectator reactions - will give us all valuable feedback on how to handle the plants-not-in-obvious-pipes issue.

ASMBXT had a level that did that. Honestly, I'm not a fan of it.

[Axon]

Hakugyokurou :

- I haven't played Touhou games, but from what I remember looking at them, their controls are much more precise and responsive than SMBX's and the character has a very small hitbox. Also, correct me if I'm wrong, Touhou games allow you to restart where you die.
- Considering this, this level throws too many projectile at your face too quickly and trying to dodge them is rather difficult, unless you know exactly what's going to happen and whatnot. The fact that it is so unforgiving doesn't help.
- To be fair, this is mostly true for the first and second phases. For some reason, I had fewer problems with the next parts when I finally reached them.
- I can see that effort went into making this, but perhaps there is room for improvement. Maybe you could use lunadll to fix some of those issues (player hitbox, controls and death)? I'm not sure.
- In the last part of the fight, there's a visible axe.

Chromaquiz :

- The first two rooms are about finding the right split-second interval when to press a switch and then trying over and over again until you get it right. Bleh.
- That's just rude:

- The third room is okay, I suppose, but perhaps it would be nice to tell in advance what the skull blocks do.
- I'm guessing the "find the right path" message is a hint that you should take the path to the right in the first part of that puzzle? But then, how am I supposed to find the correct path for the next parts of the puzzle? I don't get it.
- Is the Christmas song really the most appropriate music for this level?
- The part of the level after the midpoint is challenging and relatively long, but is more fun than the first part. My only big objection is in this part:

You can unfairly die near the end of the bridge if you're approaching slowly and don't know in advance that there's another shell-shooter.

Melancholy Desert :

- This level (or at least the first section) might benefit from having a few more enemies in some places, just to make things more interesting.
- The ride on the green platform is just kinda pointlessly long with nothing happening.
- In the part immediately after the midpoint, I have absolutely no idea how to get the key. So actually you're supposed to find the key, and then find the temple? But if you die and restart at the midpoint, does that mean you have to climb up sand and go on the uneventful platform ride all over again? At the very least, I would recommend placing the locked door before the midpoint.
- The temple involves a lot of waiting, but isn't too bad.
- If you reach the top of the temple without a key, the level just kills you? Man, you must really hate the player.
- Anyway, this level is tiring me, so I'll stop there.

The Lone Tower of the East :

- What a neat level!
- The secret luna midpoints are a great idea. However, once one is made aware of their existence, it's not hard to just skip parts of the level without having cleared them once (although I don't see why anyone would do that since the level is enjoyable).
- I don't know what more I could add. Great job!

LP Production Factory :

- The level starts you on a black screen and then you fall to your death. That's because warp 5 is a pipe warp instead of an instant warp.
- Isn't the A2MT joke out of date? Still amusing nonetheless.
- I really like the light gimmick thing! It adds to the atmosphere.
- If you fall down the second hole after the beginning, you're stuck unless you have a way to fly out.
- The wiki page says that the level has 2 exits, while the debugger insists it has only one.
- If you jump and crouch repeatedly into this wall while the conveyor belt is going left, you can glitch through the wall:

- Overall, pretty good level!

Grassy Paint :

- Typo: "It's save here" -> "It's safe here"
- Interesting atmosphere, but I'm not sure how I'm supposed to reach the leek or those cat planet cats.

Casually Underwater :

- Plants are coming directly from the ground instead of pipes (personally I didn't have a problem with them in this level, but some people might ask you to put them in pipes).
- Other than that I haven't had any problem.
- An easy, short and simple level. Would probably be in world 1.

Gravity Falls :

- The inside music and boss music might a bit too loud.
- Neat and creative way to use water and sand!
- Maybe the secret exit is too hard to find? I'm not really sure, maybe other people think otherwise.
- This beam is missing some parts:

- Pretty good level, in my opinion.

Cream Soda Floats :

- Was the intent of the long row of invisible blocks to trap the player underwater? If that's the case, it was a little pointless for me, since I never went deep underwater (understandable, since I'm trying to avoid the fishes). I would recommend using a different obstacle.
- If you're big, you can glitch through small openings like this:

- In the underwater section, you can go over the ceiling from the leftmost side of the section
- Here, a wall rudely appeared in my face and pushed me back, so now I can't access what's on the other side:

Unless I'm missing something, this makes the section unbeatable. If you want to fix this, put all the trap triggers (invisible axes?) more to the right
- The red coin hunt isn't super interesting (slow with a lot of backtracking), but the main path of the level is nice, with some good use of the ice power.

[Willhart]

Grassy Paint :

- Typo: "It's save here" -> "It's safe here"
- Interesting atmosphere, but I'm not sure how I'm supposed to reach the leek or those cat planet cats.

That level might not be used anywhere. It is too difficult to figure out and did not really go anywhere. It's also really outdated in terms of graphics and design. Solution to get to the other ledge is to jump as far left as you can from the top of the mountain.

[Axon]

Solution to get to the other ledge is to jump as far left as you can from the top of the mountain.

I couldn't reach the top of the mountain because there was an overhang in the way. I tried flying onto it, but it just seemed like I didn't have enough flight time. Maybe I'm just not good enough with Sheath's flying ability.

[Willhart]

Solution to get to the other ledge is to jump as far left as you can from the top of the mountain.

I couldn't reach the top of the mountain because there was an overhang in the way. I tried flying onto it, but it just seemed like I didn't have enough flight time. Maybe I'm just not good enough with Sheath's flying ability.

That one is pretty perfect jump too from second highest step before the ledge, if I remember right. I though players could figure it out since there is not much else going on.

I should probably remove this level from the level list at some point. Most of the time was spent learning how to make the graphics for it. I've also been thinking of making something similar in the future. Accident did that graphics gimmick way better anyway.

[kitikami]

Hakugyokurou :

- I haven't played Touhou games, but from what I remember looking at them, their controls are much more precise and responsive than SMBX's and the character has a very small hitbox. Also, correct me if I'm wrong, Touhou games allow you to restart where you die.
- Considering this, this level throws too many projectile at your face too quickly and trying to dodge them is rather difficult, unless you know exactly what's going to happen and whatnot. The fact that it is so unforgiving doesn't help.
- To be fair, this is mostly true for the first and second phases. For some reason, I had fewer problems with the next parts when I finally reached them.
- I can see that effort went into making this, but perhaps there is room for improvement. Maybe you could use lunadll to fix some of those issues (player hitbox, controls and death)? I'm not sure.
- In the last part of the fight, there's a visible axe.

Thanks for the feedback. I've been working on adjusting the movement controls with LunaDLL the past day or so, so that shouldn't be a problem. I tried adjusting the player hitbox, but I can't seem to get it to work right, but improved controls should help a lot. I don't think extra health/lives should be necessary for the length since you can already use the bombs to keep from getting hit by parts that give you trouble, but I'll look into it if the consensus is that the level needs it.

I had a couple axes in the opening room that I replaced with LunaDLL functionality when I switched the character filter, so I deleted their invisible graphic replacements to find them and then forgot there were other axes elsewhere in the level. Thanks for catching that.

[Kil]

Did you read the help thread? We went through how to change hitboxes a few pages ago.

[Joseph Staleknight]

Chromaquiz :

- The first two rooms are about finding the right split-second interval when to press a switch and then trying over and over again until you get it right. Bleh.
- That's just rude:

- The third room is okay, I suppose, but perhaps it would be nice to tell in advance what the skull blocks do.
- I'm guessing the "find the right path" message is a hint that you should take the path to the right in the first part of that puzzle? But then, how am I supposed to find the correct path for the next parts of the puzzle? I don't get it.
- Is the Christmas song really the most appropriate music for this level?
- The part of the level after the midpoint is challenging and relatively long, but is more fun than the first part. My only big objection is in this part:

You can unfairly die near the end of the bridge if you're approaching slowly and don't know in advance that there's another shell-shooter.

-Now that I think about it, I can see some problems with those rooms. I've tried making them less tedious by cutting out some unnecessary material and widening the targets.
-Oh wow, did not see that right-hand one coming. I fixed both of those spots.
-Done.
-Yeah, that wording wasn't very clear. I've clarified it so that it refers to all four parts.
-I've been really meaning to fix that problem since the music changed, though real life kept getting in the way.
-I went ahead and made that part (and the one after) a bit more lenient and added some extra shells as a sort of warning.

Here's the update (which I'll also post on the level submission thread). Make of it what you will.

Melancholy Desert :

- This level (or at least the first section) might benefit from having a few more enemies in some places, just to make things more interesting.
- The ride on the green platform is just kinda pointlessly long with nothing happening.
- In the part immediately after the midpoint, I have absolutely no idea how to get the key. So actually you're supposed to find the key, and then find the temple? But if you die and restart at the midpoint, does that mean you have to climb up sand and go on the uneventful platform ride all over again? At the very least, I would recommend placing the locked door before the midpoint.
- The temple involves a lot of waiting, but isn't too bad.
- If you reach the top of the temple without a key, the level just kills you? Man, you must really hate the player.
- Anyway, this level is tiring me, so I'll stop there.

-I always though it was more about the platforms than the enemies, but I put a few down in the early parts just to spice things up.
-Yeah, I agree. Now it's entirely optional and only leads to some extra lives.
-Once again I now realize just how badly designed that part was, so I completely overhauled it. Now, if you are back at the midpoint, you only need to talk to Granny Frags to get the key. Also, I got rid of the locked door since it wasn't actually necessary.
-Yeah, I think that was the best part of the level there, so I didn't need to alter too much.
-It was that or have him get stuck in the corridor forever. I may tweak that in a further update, however.
-Sorry to hear that. There's so much in there that I thought was a good idea at the time, but now I see where I screwed up.

Here's the update with all my fixes. Let's hope this version is much better.

Cream Soda Floats :

- Was the intent of the long row of invisible blocks to trap the player underwater? If that's the case, it was a little pointless for me, since I never went deep underwater (understandable, since I'm trying to avoid the fishes). I would recommend using a different obstacle.
- If you're big, you can glitch through small openings like this:

- In the underwater section, you can go over the ceiling from the leftmost side of the section
- Here, a wall rudely appeared in my face and pushed me back, so now I can't access what's on the other side:

Unless I'm missing something, this makes the section unbeatable. If you want to fix this, put all the trap triggers (invisible axes?) more to the right
- The red coin hunt isn't super interesting (slow with a lot of backtracking), but the main path of the level is nice, with some good use of the ice power.

-Actually, now that I think about it, I really don't know why I put those there. I've removed most of them from the level (with a few remaining as an actual bonus).
-Huh, forgot about that. I'll go fix any more of those glitch spots I find.
-Oh wow, how did I not see that coming? In any case, I went and fixed that.
-Yeah, that was a rather bad design decision on my end. I'll go fix that.
-That's pretty much what I expected the secret exit's reception to be. I'm still trying to facilitate the red coin spree as I'm typing this, so there won't be an update for the level until I sort that part out (or unless I decide to just axe it altogether). Still, it's a pleasure to know you liked the main path and its gimmick.

Thanks for the feedback, as always!

[kitikami]

I did read the help thread, but the only thing I could find on changing hitboxes said something about it not being very useful because it either left it the same or made the player hitbox huge, which was the same thing that was happening when I tried changing it.

[Kil]

That's what happens if you try and change the player's height/width variables directly yes, but another way that actually works was found, which is by changing the global constant of the player's hitbox

viewtopic.php?f=36&t=11646&start=650#p236698
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=11646&start=650#p236769

[kitikami]

Ah, sorry, I had been looking in just the LunaDLL help thread and not the SMBX help thread. Thanks.

[Voltgloss]

Many of my concerns about Melancholy Desert are similar to Axon's, so I'll play the updated version before commenting further.

[Axon]

Magma Musical :

(the music file should be inside the level folder)
- Some of the jumps (in particular, the first jump and the podoboo jump) could be slightly more lenient.
- It would be nice to have a trail of coins before the podoboo jump. Otherwise, maybe the podoboo could be moved a little to the left.
- Maybe add a 1-up at the start, since the player is expected to die several time while learning the layout.
- Otherwise, I think it's pretty neat!

ANMT :

- Oh no, Demo's on drugs again!
- Didn't find any problem.
- Straightforward, moderately challenging platforming. I like it!

Sine :

- Beets can fall in lava.
- The size of the lava's hitbox can be a bit deceptive (sometimes you feel you're safe, but you're really not because the lava's hitbox is just tall enough to get you).
- Maybe you could give a powerup right after the midpoint.
- It's not intuitive what the best moment is for starting to ride the sandwich platform. Also, that part is made much easier with a cape, but you shouldn't necessarily expect the player to still have a cape.
- A challenging and stressful level. It's okay, I guess.

Dwaalspoor :

- The invisible box in the top right corner of section 2 is necessary to reach the top, but can be permanently removed if you use a P-switch and take the coin (intentional?).
- Finding these 2 invisible blocks might be a little too cryptic (I only found them by randomly jumping around):

- At one point, I just kinda gave up and looked in the editor. I found these:

Finding these might also be a little too cryptic. I would recommend finding a way to make the player know that this type of wooden blocks can possibly be invisible (otherwise, they just don't seem like the kind of blocks that would be hidden).
- In the room with the key generator, it's weird that you can bring the key in the higher pipe but not the lower pipe. I also noticed that some doors allow you to bring the key, while others don't.
- Anyways, this is taking way too long, so I'll stop. A lot of semi-aimless running around. I don't remember the SMW ghost houses taking that long.

Super Flatagon :
Can't download the file (I get an "error 400" page when I open the link).

Journey to Coin Heaven :

- There's some cutoff in the floor of the room accessed through the orange pipe near the beginning.
- The second room is difficult. Maybe too much? Ultimately, that would depend on where it's placed in the game. If you want to reduce difficulty to something more reasonable, you could for example remove the lakitu.
- Overall, I think it's okay.

My Heartburn's For You :

- Why do people insist on using homing enemy generators? The homing AI is annoying enough; you really don't need to generate a million enemies that have it. The generator just before the exit pipe of the first section is particularly insulting.
- This really needs to have more powerups (especially in the first section).
- In the first section, the part with the lovefrog and the 2 small firebars has too much stuff going on at the same time that can hurt you, and no safe spot.
- I'm not too sure about the door maze. The player might find getting killed by by the lovefrog unfair when he doesn't know in advance which door leads where.
- Looks like some big character discrimination:

- Other than those 2 issues, I find that the second section feels much more reasonable than the first section.

Desert Dash: Goopa Brigade! :

- You should use lunadll to filter out non-Demo characters.
- This might be a bit long for the type of challenge the level is giving. Suggestion: you could cut the level in 2 sections, put a midpoint room, and then use lunadll to start an autoscroll in the second section (my level Industrial Pandemonium has an example of an autoscroll triggered by lunadll).
- Other than for that issue, I think the level is fun.

Oh Phanto, Please Serenade Me :

- Again, with the annoying homing enemy generators...
- Note that Kil somehow managed to make a proper Phanto sprite with lunadll.
- A powerup should be given directly at the start.
- I haven't even beaten the first part and I can see that this is harder than any postgame level in Episode 1. Please tone down the difficulty (removing the homing furba generators is a good start).

Arctic Fissure :

- The snowballs keep being shot even if you kill the first enemy.
- I think having a lunadll timer for the time limit would be a good idea. Or at least, you could have a sound play when the time limit is reached.
- This is a level about precise jumps on slippery one-block-wide tiles (that kill you if you spin jump on them) and slow bridge-building with projectiles that are annoying to aim. Not exactly my idea of fun.
- I don't get why only raocow is allowed, especially when his controls are already somewhat slippery.

IT'S GOT A MIND OF ITS OWN!!! :

- An amusing little automatic level. Graphically nonsensical.
- I didn't come across any particular glitch or anomaly. Not much else to say.

War Machine :

- Aesthetically, this is kind of a mess. The layout might be a little visually confusing in parts.
- Why are there orange and purple switch blocks blocking my way just before midpoint? You should make sure that the player has already pressed those switches before reaching that point in order to limit backtracking. (if you don't know, it's easy to glitch through the mess of purple and ice blocks before the door to the midpoint room).
- You should put a wall right to the midpoint so the player doesn't think there's anything to the right.
- You should make all the axes invisible.
- The fanfare after the boss comes too early and the flying goopa is still alive for a while. After that, there's yet another fanfare that cacophonously plays in parallel with music.
- This whole level is probably too messy and amateurish.

Steve and George Go On Parade :

- Also aesthetically messy.
- The bullets in the ghost-and-net part are not moving
- Controlling a platform with the homing enemy AI is a terrible idea. Seriously, don't do it.
- In that part, it's not even clear where you need to go; the arrow says up but the midpoint is to the left.
- You should probably scrap this level.

Adventure's End :

- There are blocks and backgrounds that aren't blurry, but probably should be.
- I can respect trying to do something original, but the part after the midpoint isn't particularly fun. You're pretty much required to take your time and observe carefully; but at the same time there are ghosts sometimes approaching from both sides, therefore breaking your concentration. Maybe this would be better without the ghosts? Or maybe you could give Demo fire or ice powerups to help check ahead for blocks.

Casual Progression :

- You should probably give more beets in the later phases.
- Right now, this is probably a little too hard (especially at the end, with the donut shooter).

[ztarwuff]

Magma Musical :

(the music file should be inside the level folder)
- Some of the jumps (in particular, the first jump and the podoboo jump) could be slightly more lenient.
- It would be nice to have a trail of coins before the podoboo jump. Otherwise, maybe the podoboo could be moved a little to the left.
- Maybe add a 1-up at the start, since the player is expected to die several time while learning the layout.
- Otherwise, I think it's pretty neat!

I kind of feel sorry for the level's author. If Youtube's Content ID flags the music, the level's as good as dead... and as raocow proved with "A World One Level", any attempt at pausing the game will desynchronise the music with the events.

[Axon]

Hidden Switch Palace :

- I'm not sure the music choice is the best. This music definitely fits better within its original "mysterious crystal palace" context.
- The text of the first message box is weird and nonsensically structured (intentional?).
- What's the use of the first orange blocks wall anyway?
- In general, you should avoid making situations like "Oops, looks like you forgot to re-press the switch you just pressed! Haha, now you have to waste your time going back to press it!". That's just annoying.
- Wavedashing? This isn't Super Smash Bros. Melee... Glitching through walls doesn't have much to do with wavedashing anyway.
- Right now, in some places, it looks like you can get stuck permanently (and forced to kill yourself):

Please, make the switches re-hittable and make the shell (or other enemies that may be necessary to get through other parts) respawn with a generator.
- I don't get the part with the A2MBXT letters; you have to become Demo to get past the "A", but then you can't get past the X? Okay, now I get it, you have to abuse the wall glitch. Meh.
- Anyway, why do people even make puzzle levels for a platforming game?

Breaking The Law :

- There's a beet that can fall in lava.
- Thematically speaking, the level feels like it's a bit all over the place.
- The default music that plays during the Ridley fight probably isn't the most appropriate.
- I would recommend reducing the time delay on the 2 vegetable generators
- Other than that, the level is okay, I guess?

Typical Sky Level :
The download link doesn't work.

Layer Shenanigans :

- Beets can fall in lava.
- The invisible block with a leaf at the beginning could accidentally cause the player to fall in the lava.
- The first saw is in a bad position; the player is likely to not see it coming and be unable to avoid it (depending on his relative position), especially if it's the very first time he plays the level.
- In the first part, you should make sure the lava is always lower than the adjacent ground, or else the player will sometimes die by proximity with the lava even though he really did land on the ground.
- In the lava section, I suddenly glitched forward, sending me to my death.
- This level probably goes on for too long for what it is. Seeing as the judges also had troubles with the lava section, you could remove it to bring the level to a more reasonable length.

Alternative Rematch :

- Suggestion 1: you could add a few more enemies in the first section so it feels more alive.
- Suggestion 2: you could add a beet next to the midpoint.
- It's a bit unfortunate that the bosses don't have anything special to them beyond a graphics change, but overall I think that this is an adequately good level.

Adventure's End (version 2?) :

(this level should only appear once in the level list)
- I would recommend at least making the exit to the first dark room visible.
- The platforming in the first dark room might be a little too precise.
- Having a fire cactus certainly makes things better, but there are still too many ghosts in the second dark room.
- I'm starting to doubt whether this gimmick can really be used to make a fun level.

Way Too Highrise :

- The music is probably slightly too loud.
- I feel that making the coins red and having some barrels fall on coins at the very beginning of the stage would help drive home the point that coins=danger.
- This is a pretty good level!

HISSATSU! :

- I would highly recommend placing the powerups (fire cacti) outside of boxes. Otherwise, retrieving powerups slows the action (and you get beets, which aren't nearly as useful).
- A fire cactus should be given right next to the midpoint.
- I can easily make the bomb-spawning sand castle despawn.
- The flying bloopers between the platforms with springs in the last section are a bit unintuitive to avoid (considering how much you're rushing forward)
- Don't forget to tell the player to type "redigitiscool" after he's done.
- A really fun level!

Demo's Fluffy Dream :

- Pressing right to duck can be slightly unintuitive (at first).
- Interesting idea! Despite the simplicity of the gameplay, I feel that this definitely has a place in A2XT.

Episode 3 Final Boss: Candidate 1 :

- There should be a midpoint between the 2 phases.
- I feel that the first phase could be a little more than just Ludwig with spawning furbas.
- Sometimes, the beet coming from the side collides with a bomb guy and just gets away before you have time to even try to get it. I would recommend making the beet fall from the sky in the middle of the room (or something like that).
- It's unintuitive how the big bullets can still hurt you even if you duck on the ground.
- The fact that the cat planet pillars are graphically behind the castle is weird (and distracting).
- Maybe the saws appear a little too frequently.
- The donut-shooting pillar is disproportionately more dangerous than the others. I think it would be dangerous enough if the donuts were normal-sized.
- PPR is kind of a sitting duck when the pillars are gone.
- Suggestion: the solid blocks on the side of the room could be made non-solid (like a cloud platform). I think this would give more freedom of movement.
- There are some adjustments to be made, but this boss certainly has some potential.

Mephisto's Cafe :

- The music might be a little too loud.
- The knife-holding hammer bros. guys are always facing right.
- I'm not sure what this level is about or if it references something, but I think it's pretty okay and I didn't find any other problem.

Submerged Spaceway :

- One of the backgrounds in the folder (background2-37) is not used.
- The beginning feels a bit like enemy spam, with all the fishes and whatnot.
- Is the level really filled with water, or is it because of low gravity that you can swim? If you want to create an impression of swimming in low-gravity without water, you could make the bubbles invisible.
- The access to the secret path is too hard to find. Why a door? The exit of the secret path should also be made obvious.
- These blocks actually have some cutoff:

- In general, you should probably put more thought into the aesthetics of your level.
- You can skip parts of the level by swimming below the screen:

- I think the level is okay (if those issues get fixed).