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ASMBXT Level Review Thread

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Willhart
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Re: ASMBXT Level Review Thread

Post by Willhart »

Claymore Speedrun by Holy
There was enough time to get all the switches. Moving around was sometimes hard. I assumed that the crossed out letter would be the last one, so I got the rules after hitting other switches. Actually, it gave me more time to explore the level.

I liked the mood on this level and I have never seen a timer like that before. It was fun to play.
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Re: ASMBXT Level Review Thread

Post by Quman »

derjet wrote:Review of Beach Episode by Holy
I can attest to the fact that the jumps aren't impossible, but they can be really annoying, especially when playing as Demo rather than Iris. That said, I've got plenty of suggestions to make. First off, the coin trails are really annoying. In one place there's a low coin trail where a high jump is obviously necessary.

Image

This is right after another coin trail led directly into a pit rather than directing the player to curve around the momentum-killing ledge. Another problem is that the level often requires the player to know in advance what is coming up ahead. In the above image Demo is stuck because she doesn't have the momentum needed to make it onto the next platform. Luigi can make the jump easily enough, but as Demo the player needs to avoid the overhead ledge and jump onto the next platform while maintaining the momentum from the previous jump. Removing the overhead ledge would go a long way in making this jump less annoying.

Image

Here's another section where the player needs to know what's coming in advance. The player is told they will need lots of speed to clear the previous gap, so naturally the player will use the previous ramp to slide over the gap and careen right into the pit on the other side. Once the player has figured out that they need to stop, the following jump is made annoying by the fact that the ground cuts out immediately after leaving the screen. Solid walls were placed above the screen to keep the player from going where they shouldn't, but another segment of ramp wasn't placed below the screen to make this jump less annoying.

Image

Oh, and the solution for the place where derjet got stuck is also kind of stupid, and requires foreknowledge on the player's part, since those goombas don't respawn after walking into the abyss below. For the record, the player is expected to grab a goomba, set it down on the raised platform, wait for it to pop up, and jump on it to reach the higher platform, from which they can float into the tunnel to the right. If the player is expected to use goombas this way, there should be a generator to make sure the player's only means of advancing doesn't walk into the abyss and leave the player stranded before the player has time to figure out the solution.

On a side note, I don't think the two different types of terrain really look good together. It might be worth looking for something from SMB3 to replace the sizable SMW platforms. If nothing else, the floating bridge in the miscellaneous section might work.

EDIT: I looked over a few options to see if I could make a better suggestion. I think Road Runner's SMB3 Orange Grass looks pretty decent in the level, as far as natural-esque sizable platforms go.

Image

Not great, but I think it's better than the SMW platforms.
Last edited by Quman 11 years ago, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: ASMBXT Level Review Thread

Post by Frozelar »

Claymoore Speedrun by Holy
I thought your level was pretty good and interesting. There wasn't anything wrong with it that I could tell. A suggestion for improvement, though, could be to maybe, instead of having lava just come rushing up at you, have something a bit more... fitting with the environment come rushing at you? On my first try I was half expecting a screamo to occur when the timer ran out. I'm not saying anything like that should be involved, I'm just saying maybe something different than a big wall of lava. I dunno, it's a very specific thing and honestly is probably fine as it is too.
A Terrible Level by 8flight
I'll start off by saying some of the signs made me laugh! There was nothing wrong with the level, nothing broken or anything, as far as I could tell. Although the level design was boring. The people who make "good terrible levels" are the people that are able to do what you did while still making it fun rather than a bunch of blocks and vines randomly placed in space for Mario to traverse. I dunno, that's just how I feel.

Another silly thing you could do to add to the feel is have really awful weird music or something.

Other than that it was good!
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Re: ASMBXT Level Review Thread

Post by docopoper »

Ok, in response to feedback, and general developments. I have updated my level - Life Lift. I think it's pretty much ready for submission. I have increased the difficulty a bit and added a password. So if somebody could give me some feedback on those aspects, I would be grateful.
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Re: ASMBXT Level Review Thread

Post by Dangtater »

derjet wrote:Since I have some time, I'm going to review some levels:

Lava Clouds - Dangtater
I really... don't get this level.

After playing with God Mode on and looking in the editor, I think I got what I was supposed to do here.

But yeah, there are some kaizo-ish traps in this level (but they aren't that Kaizo, maybe What The Hell?)

Also there's a section where you need to use Bowser's Clown Car, which insta-kills you whenever you touch lava.
I don't think that's a good idea in a level where you need to... well, this:

Image
Was it just that spot that was too hard, or were there more? I copied the help-koopa to the opening of that tunnel and made his message box a little more clear. I also put blue coins in most (if not all) of the traps. In the spot where you have to jump out of the bubble, I loosened up the timing a fair amount too, since that was the part I had the most trouble with.

Basically, at the lava tube leading to the midpoint, I made it so you can just line up the car and hold right. If you get the timing off, you might take a hit from one of the podoboos. If you know that Mario/Demo's head isn't part of the hitbox (as the help-koopa, which is now at the entrance to both tubes, will tell you), it's actually got a lot of wiggle-room.

The secret exit lava tube is kind of a different thing. You still have to line up the shot(s), but you can't rush the blargs, since they aren't killed by the clown car.
I'll go post the revised version now.

EDIT: I noticed this level is listed on the wiki as being "broken in general." Since I already know all the quirks an timing of it, I'm actually able to play through it pretty readily. If someone can give me a list of which parts are broken, that would really help.

ANOTHER EDIT (in response to 8flight's review): That's a good point about the multiplayer mode and custom characters. It will be trivial to just add a room that only allows Mario/Demo through.
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Re: ASMBXT Level Review Thread

Post by Holy »

Quman wrote:
derjet wrote:Review of Beach Episode by Holy
I can attest to the fact that the jumps aren't impossible, but they can be really annoying, especially when playing as Demo rather than Iris. That said, I've got plenty of suggestions to make. First off, the coin trails are really annoying. In one place there's a low coin trail where a high jump is obviously necessary.

Image

This is right after another coin trail led directly into a pit rather than directing the player to curve around the momentum-killing ledge. Another problem is that the level often requires the player to know in advance what is coming up ahead. In the above image Demo is stuck because she doesn't have the momentum needed to make it onto the next platform. Luigi can make the jump easily enough, but as Demo the player needs to avoid the overhead ledge and jump onto the next platform while maintaining the momentum from the previous jump. Removing the overhead ledge would go a long way in making this jump less annoying.

Image

Here's another section where the player needs to know what's coming in advance. The player is told they will need lots of speed to clear the previous gap, so naturally the player will use the previous ramp to slide over the gap and careen right into the pit on the other side. Once the player has figured out that they need to stop, the following jump is made annoying by the fact that the ground cuts out immediately after leaving the screen. Solid walls were placed above the screen to keep the player from going where they shouldn't, but another segment of ramp wasn't placed below the screen to make this jump less annoying.

Image

Oh, and the solution for the place where derjet got stuck is also kind of stupid, and requires foreknowledge on the player's part, since those goombas don't respawn after walking into the abyss below. For the record, the player is expected to grab a goomba, set it down on the raised platform, wait for it to pop up, and jump on it to reach the higher platform, from which they can float into the tunnel to the right. If the player is expected to use goombas this way, there should be a generator to make sure the player's only means of advancing doesn't walk into the abyss and leave the player stranded before the player has time to figure out the solution.

On a side note, I don't think the two different types of terrain really look good together. It might be worth looking for something from SMB3 to replace the sizable SMW platforms. If nothing else, the floating bridge in the miscellaneous section might work.

EDIT: I looked over a few options to see if I could make a better suggestion. I think Road Runner's SMB3 Orange Grass looks pretty decent in the level, as far as natural-esque sizable platforms go.

Image

Not great, but I think it's better than the SMW platforms.
Thanks to both of you for the review!
-The jump that derjet got stuck at is actually fairly simple, all that's required is to use the waterfall and glide to the highest platform
-The jump from quman's first image is doable, but you need all the momentum you can get from the platform
-I completely agree about the coin trails, and although adding a ramp block below the floor does detract from the difficulty of that jump, it does make sense so I'll put it in.
-This probably says a lot about my taste, but the contrast between the SMW platforms and the sand was what inspired me to make the level! I do like the look of the orange grass though, so I dunno.
Willhart wrote:Claymore Speedrun by Holy
There was enough time to get all the switches. Moving around was sometimes hard. I assumed that the crossed out letter would be the last one, so I got the rules after hitting other switches. Actually, it gave me more time to explore the level.

I liked the mood on this level and I have never seen a timer like that before. It was fun to play.
Frozelar wrote:Claymoore Speedrun by Holy
I thought your level was pretty good and interesting. There wasn't anything wrong with it that I could tell. A suggestion for improvement, though, could be to maybe, instead of having lava just come rushing up at you, have something a bit more... fitting with the environment come rushing at you? On my first try I was half expecting a screamo to occur when the timer ran out. I'm not saying anything like that should be involved, I'm just saying maybe something different than a big wall of lava. I dunno, it's a very specific thing and honestly is probably fine as it is too.
Thanks to both of you as well!
-Now that I think about it, that * does look like a crossed out I, which is the next letter. I should probably alter that
-Hmm, maybe I'll make a wall of eyes or something. One annoying thing is that I couldn't find a way to disable the timer after you've succeeded, which makes it so I can't add any sound effects, just room-specific kill walls
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Re: ASMBXT Level Review Thread

Post by Dangtater »

Claymore Speedrun by Holy
I really enjoyed that level. It's got an awesome flavor to it. I got through it alright, but this thing kept messing me up. Once I figured out that it works a lot better if you just run off the ledge, rather than jumping, it was okay. However, it looks like something I should be jumping off of. So towards the end of the run, I would often jump there and be done-in. I don't know if the point of that was to make the player make sure to remember it, but it was a little annoying.

I really love the level, though. It might be cool if there were more things like those eyeballs scattered around.
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Re: ASMBXT Level Review Thread

Post by derjet »

Dangtater wrote:I'll go post the revised version now.

EDIT: I noticed this level is listed on the wiki as being "broken in general." Since I already know all the quirks an timing of it, I'm actually able to play through it pretty readily. If someone can give me a list of which parts are broken, that would really help.
As I don't know if anyone else has played the level, I'll post some things that I think are a bit. disorienting or unfair. Not going to use screens or anything as you know the level well.
- Why is the first area slippery? To me, that's just artificial difficulty
- The jump to the lower section of the first part: the player has no way to tell if he has to use the springboard or bullet jump (don't know if both are possible, but I think the spring is there to reach the upper area (maybe put it more to the left?). Also when bullet jumping, it's possible to hit the invisible blocks, and that is too Kaizo
- I take the lower part, and then I have to get a switch to then get the key. For the first switch, I have to jump from a single block. The problem is that single block is too hard to reach without touching the lava. The last jump prior to the kar section is also hard to do without touching the lava.
- Won't comment the upper route as it's more fair in general.
- Now the second section (with the kar): there's no indication to the upper section. I think it's supposed to be for the secret exit, but I think the coin block isn't enough.
- Also, the warps are broken. They don't work. And since we aren't using an OW the key/lock isn't a valid method for a secret exit (you should use another radish if I'm not wrong). Also, for the radish to count, it should be in another section.
- I still think the kar shouldn't be used in a lava level, but it's not for a long section so it's not that bad.
After the mid-point:
- I see the shell above Birdo as a dickish move. After playing this a few times, you know you should aboid it, but if it's your first time, it's a sudden hit that just comes randomly. Same thing with the Zelda II enemy.
- Just after that, I see a Yoshi coin. But getting it means insta-death (well not really insta, but that lower section is with a bullet coming suddently and a disco shell to the other side isn't very fair. The fact that it's easy to fall in a bottomless pit, and not that easy to get back up is not really worth the Yoshi Coin (and coins are also generally used as a hint to safety).
That's all I think, feel free to skip things you've already fixed.

And on Holy's level: yeah, I didn't really put as much time as it needed. But I still think some of the later jumps have too little room for error (precise jumping and gliding), and get frustrating after a while.
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Re: ASMBXT Level Review Thread

Post by Willhart »

an uninspired ghost house by pholtos
The level was easy enough for first world and nicely uninspired to live up for it's name. Only problem is that you get around 50 lives when you complete it.
the land of the pacifists by holy
An amazing secret exit, and it was well hidden for once. I liked it a lot.
Edit: Goombas are invisible when walking to the right for some reason. It makes killing them all somewhat harder.
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Re: ASMBXT Level Review Thread

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Willhart wrote:an uninspired ghost house by pholtos
The level was easy enough for first world and nicely uninspired to live up for it's name. Only problem is that you get around 50 lives when you complete it.
Right. Got it. I need to remove some ghosts from the end.
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Re: ASMBXT Level Review Thread

Post by Sturg »

"Treasure Island" by Willhart
This is a real neat-o level. The graphics are real splendid (especially the trees) and the level's timbre is nice. I wouldn't put the credits for the level in the level, maybe put them in a txt file or something. Also the coins are tiny, and for some reason I think that's great really. I was kinda confused at what to do with the treasure chests until I hit one of them from the bottom and realized it was just a regular old "?" mark block with a twist, love the gimmick. While the level was a bit maze-like it was still fairly short and wouldn't take long to finish for someone who knew where they were going. I'd probably make a Luigi filter at the end so that the player is Demo again, but I'm not sure what others think about it. But yeah, real nice level you got there!
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Re: ASMBXT Level Review Thread

Post by Willhart »

Version 2 of an Uninspired Ghost House by pholtos
There is still a chance that player guides all the enemies up and gets 17 lives.
You could keep the row of ghosts if you placed the ending into a different section.
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Re: ASMBXT Level Review Thread

Post by Holy »

Demoware:
EAT
-I entered the exit without eating by accident, not sure if that's intentional or a shortcut.

JUMP
-I love this one for some reason

USE YOUR HEAD
-Thought I'd gotten stuck for a bit there, the generation time on that plant is a tad too long.
-Trying to hit the ? block while big glitched me through the floor
-That eye thing the third ceiling up falls right through the ? block, which is hard to dodge.
-The birdmask man dude guy'll turn the princess into a radish upon touching her, which while hilarious may not be intentional
-Can you--can you reach the door here? The floor turns to coins, unless you want the player to drop down and quickly enter? I feel like there's something I'm missing.

MAKE SOME NOISE
I couldn't make heads or tails of this one. It sure is...hectic. I got up to hitting the tnt plunger, and I see a hammer suit in a thing in the editor, but I can't make it appear or kill wart, as the events suggest I should.

Also what the heck is that song, I love it
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Re: ASMBXT Level Review Thread

Post by Sturg »

"Gotta Go Quick" by MrWeirdGuy
Love the Megaman gimmick you were able to bring, though I thought it was decent intro level for Sheath/Link, even though it was a bit challenging at parts. The scenery and music are great, I thought it brought a really nice atmosphere to the level. The entirety of the level was pretty hard but it didn't take very many attempts to figure out what you're doing. The only part I see you should fix is in the first half of the level, when you're running down a narrow hallway with three red koopas you need to kill before the laser kills you. This part is pretty much impossible since the laser spawns way too soon and you have no time at all to kill all three guys and get past the next two lasers. You can either move the rupees that activate the lasers a bit further in the hallway, or just get rid of the koopas to make it possible. But yeah, other than that really fun level here.
"Mild Interruptions" by 8flight
This gimmick is pretty humorous and the level is pretty fun too. I'm not sure, but is the level an exact replica of one of the original SMB levels? It's not a bad thing I was just wondering about that. The platforming combined with the music makes the level again, very SMB-like. There were two slight issues I found with this level. First, lengthen the time between interruptions, maybe like 1.5 seconds or so? I just found the signs popping up too quick and it slightly interfered with the game play. And second, is there a way to end the signs popping up once you get the star? I felt that it was kinda weird how you had to keep pressing 'a' at the end to end the level. But other than that, this level's about done!
"Pit of Obscurity" by Octagon
Pretty lengthy level when you try and get all the stars, I don't know why but I had a hard time with this level, even though the power-ups were plentiful/over-generous. I really like the platforming in the outdoor part of the level, I thought the cave areas were just a tad cramped up (especially at the part with the munchers and Hammer Bro). The reset room was pretty hilarious, though I'm not sure if it works or not since I barely used it, but still awesome nonetheless. The first star was probably the hardest to get, since you do some partially blind jumps to the right and the invisible propeller block that you have to find. You can keep it like this, since it was a neat little puzzle you had to solve. The other two stars are fairly easy to get, and they're all in different sections so no issues with stars. I think you can be less generous on power-ups, since the level wasn't that hard with npcs and but more difficult with platforming and such. The caves had some strange bits such as the tiny little pathway in the narrow hallway with the lone coin in it, I didn't really find a purpose for it. Also the place with the munchers and Hammer bro is pretty strange as well. Other than that the level is great and pretty fun. Oh yeah and the 1st cave music is pretty awesome and I would just keep that the entire cave section so you can be under the 8mb size limit.
"Cave of Lost Everyone" by XutaWoo
I thought this level had an amazing atmosphere in the caves with the mixture of colors and whatnot. The npcs also make this level great, with 'killing Frank' and 'adding food coloring to the water' make it pretty sweet. I also loved the thwomp sprite in the level. The puzzle was pretty extensive and even if there wasn't a midpoint in it the level still fair, fun and challenging. One thing I liked were the red dirt pipe pictures shown to display a pipe entrance, I discovered it by accident and thought it was pretty great. Another thing I found prominent about this level was that there are a few ways to get a P-Switch and reach the end. I ended up finding two keys which I didn't use either of them, which was strange since I didn't find a secret exit anywhere. There is also a Hammer suit in the level apparently for which I couldn't find. One thing I should mention is that the custom music that is supposed to go with the level file isn't there, at least I couldn't find it so I just played the level in silence. Overall though this was a great level.
Edit: Oh what the heck Holy you beat me to raocow's level, well whatever I'll just leave it up.

"demoware/20 orders" by raocow
I really like the little "complete the task/puzzle to reach the next room concept," it introduced a new concept/thing so that the level wasn't boring. I also really liked so far how each room has a different theme/set of scenery, I don't know I just think that's pretty cool. One thing thing I found partially annoying were the message for each room. The problem was that sometimes they would appear almost immediately and I wouldn't have time to react and not press any buttons and miss the goal of the room. This is probably my fault as I was slightly rushing through the level, but it took me awhile to find out that the last mini game message had read "make some noise." The mini games, like I have already said, are great and bring something new to the player every room. The only mini game I had an issue with was the "use your head" room. It was just that the mushroom blocks are like my true enemy in this room, as they'll sometimes glitch through the wall sometimes if you don't place them right so you're stuck there, or you can somehow be stupid as I was and block yourself with the blocks. I'll show a picture later with what I'm talking about, but so far great concept you got going there! Also the music is pretty freakin' awesome.
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Re: ASMBXT Level Review Thread

Post by raocow »

sturgyman wrote:
Edit: Oh what the heck Holy you beat me to raocow's level, well whatever I'll just leave it up.
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Re: ASMBXT Level Review Thread

Post by docopoper »

raocow - 20 orders:
EAT: Yeah - this was a good and simple puzzle. I liked it.

TOUCH THE EDGE:
Yet another good puzzle. I like the way these puzzles are really quick to get through when you know the solution.

DESTROY THE WORLD:
Pretty easy too, but I failed to find the secret at the top. (I did think the piranha plant's part of the pipe had a warp - but it didn't)

JUMP!!:
:D

USE YOUR HEAD!!:
Hmm, this puzzle confused me when I saw the door appear when the P-switch was activated. The intuitive thing to think would be that the door would disappear after the P-switch's timer runs out. Also - this puzzle has a glitch that I found out about a while ago. You can enter the door even if it's hidden, I don't think you can hide warps. I kind of liked that though, it let me beat the puzzle quickly after knowing the solution, I don't know if you need to fix that or not.

MAKE SOME NOISE:
Ok, this was the only one I didn't like. The continuous POWs added artificial difficulty since they made me do small jumps all the time. The Bobomb that gets fired at the Thwomp near Birdo also seemed a little unfair. And what has killing Wart got to do with making noise?

Overall:
Wow, you have to keep that music - it's great. I found this level really fun, I'm not sure where in the game I would put it. The first puzzles were really easy and fun, if it was just them - I would say world 1 or early 2. After those though - you have a bit of a difficulty spike, so I think you have hit around mid-game difficulty. The part about the level I liked the most was the sort of Karoshi feel the first four had, the last two seemed to turn away from that a bit and not make the player rely on the clue as much. Maybe try to incorporate the hints a little more in the later ones.
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Re: ASMBXT Level Review Thread

Post by MrWeirdGuy »

sturgyman wrote:"Gotta Go Quick" by MrWeirdGuy
The only part I see you should fix is in the first half of the level, when you're running down a narrow hallway with three red koopas you need to kill before the laser kills you. This part is pretty much impossible since the laser spawns way too soon and you have no time at all to kill all three guys and get past the next two lasers. You can either move the rupees that activate the lasers a bit further in the hallway, or just get rid of the koopas to make it possible. But yeah, other than that really fun level here.
That part is actually intentional, completely possible, and will not be changed. You just gotta change your approach to the problem. (wait for them to pass, then drop down)
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Re: ASMBXT Level Review Thread

Post by XutaWoo »

sturgyman wrote:stuff
Strange. Do some computers have problems with the music being in the folder? That's where I put it in all of my levels and it seems to work fine.

The P blocked by the grey blocks should be able to be gotten with the Yoshi; I didn't test the interaction with his tongue and them, though, so I just guessed it was like in SMW given that's how it seems to be in the videos. The usage of the grey blocks themselves was just in case you came in the level with a Hammer suit and discovered that area. Chances are slim, yes, but hey that's just another way to get the P.

The keys are used at the right of the entrance pipe to the cave, to open the locked door; in hindsight, I probably should've done more with that direction, but eh I didn't want to end up making the level massive when it was supposed to get its length from the exploration.

Thanks for the comments, though! It didn't meet my full expectations due to running out of completed ideas (the aforementioned lack of use for the lower right side, the thwomps I didn't feel were really used to their camouflage to its fullest) but I ended up pretty satisfied with the result over all. It's creepy and mysterious, and that's exactly what I intended for it.
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Re: ASMBXT Level Review Thread

Post by Sturg »

MrWeirdGuy wrote:
That part is actually intentional, completely possible, and will not be changed. You just gotta change your approach to the problem. (wait for them to pass, then drop down)
Oh yeah, that makes sense if you consider where the activating rupees are. But I was assuming by the level name "Gotta be Quick" that we had to hurry through the level.

I just think it kinda ruined the flow of the level, I mean you're hurrying and rushing past everything in order to get past the lasers, but then suddenly you're vaguely prompted to stop and wait for some koopas to pass and then continue rushing. I just thought that was weird, but whatever, makes sense guess.
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Kashkabald
Posts: 1
Joined: 13 years ago

Re: ASMBXT Level Review Thread

Post by Kashkabald »

derjet wrote: Lusco Fusco - Kashkabald
- The message with the bubbles is hard to get, maybe you should explain what the P does with some NPC? (The lakitus can burst the bubbles)
- Was the giant wall of blocks necessary?
- Other than that, I think this level is good to go.
- The only problem I think this level has is that the level just has one Dragon Coin, I think it should have 0 or 5, nothing in between
Wow for some reason I only saw this now after I vanity searched my name
First of all, thanks for the review!

Yeah, I probably should change the bubbles.

The wall of blocks is really just to force you to go through the "tunnel".

The lone Dragon Coin was just to decorate the 'tree'. If there's any more complaints about it I guess I could change it, but otherwise it's staying.
kil3
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Re: ASMBXT Level Review Thread

Post by kil3 »

- One of the messages says Didst, it should be Doesn't
- When you hop on a bullet, they show the normal bullet GFX
- Maybe it should be... a little less hard?
Thanks. i actually didn't want too many people to play this level because there are massive spoilers in the editor.

About the bullet thing, I have no idea how to fix that through gfx replacement, but I agree. If someone else knows how to fix that, please do so.

About the difficulty... well, with the non-euclidean midpoints, I thought I should make it quite hard since you really have like 6 midpoints in the level.

About the archaic English... well, that is a word, but whether or not it's being used properly I couldn't tell you. If anyone asks, my excuse is "They use bad grammar to spite the gods" 8-)
derjet
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Joined: 11 years ago

Re: ASMBXT Level Review Thread

Post by derjet »

@Kashkabald:
Those are just some minor things, so.. yeah. I don't think the Dragon Coin is a big problem, and I just asked about the big wall because it's like, VERY high.
@kil:
Sorry about the didst thing, english isn't my first language and that was the first time I saw that word :oops:
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Cadwyn
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Re: ASMBXT Level Review Thread

Post by Cadwyn »

Swampy Sky Shrine
Really enjoyed this one; enemy placement made for a good challenge without being unfair, though the first Dragon Coin requires a bit of luck to get without tanking a hit, as it's semi-random when the hammer bros throws, and there's no way to get to it other than a running leap from the left as far as I can tell.

I'd place it at World 3, if only for the secret exit requiring the Dragon Coins which are placed in far more difficult paths than the main course.

Though I question what the point of the rafting section was; there's nothing that can only be reached from the raft, and the enemies don't provide much of a threat if you stay off. I'd either make something reachable only from the raft here, or maybe make it auto-scroll.

Other than that, the enemies were all quite manageable with the powerups given; leaf for the spear-carrying shy guys, fireball for the throwing guys.he enemies were all quite manageable with the powerups given; leaf for the spear-carrying shy guys, fireball for the throwing guys.
Frozen Phony Key Factory
WARNING: Massive text inside!
Jesus Christ, where do I begin with this level... I'll just go through one section at a time.

Nothing wrong with the first one, it's just flavor. Next one is reasonable, introduces the concept in a cute way.

Third section... I have NO idea how you're supposed to get that star, which I only ever noticed by viewing the editor. There's no indication you can get up there, or even if you'd want to. I'd either have a warp lead to that star, or remove it. The ice block puzzles are decent, though I'd point out they can be cheesed by just holding an object next to them and breaking them in seconds.

Forth section, it rewards taking your time carefully working through it, knocking the thwomps out with shells and keys until you get to the second block puzzle. The ice block puzzle is unnecessarily tedious here as you've gotta run back and forth under and over spikes and pits to toss 2 to 3 keys at the blocks and break them... and again if you know the holding glitch it's trivialized then. From here on out the difficulty spikes unexpectedly with the falling platform jumps. And still no mid-point in sight...

Fifth section, I flat out skipped this one as the whirlibird lagged my computer such that it was unplayable. Granted my XP netbook with a gig of RAM and 1.60GHz processor isn't a great machine, but let it be known; this section is unplayable on a machine with those stats. Though looking at how crowded the enemies are I can't say it looks any better without the lag.

Sixth section, finally a mid-point! By this point I'm already up to 2 personal checkpoints though, so it might as well have been a non-midpoint level and be over by now, but the worst is yet to come.
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Oh, and I'm not sure if this is a placeholder or a joke. In any case that cactus shooter is way too slow, if you need to stock up (and you will for the next section) it's just slowing you down further, in a level that revels in killing you and making you repeat 10 minutes of gameplay. Generators for powerups should just give the powerups, no waiting game is necessary.
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Also, what's up with the invisible conveyor belt? Not that it makes much of a difference as it's at this point the game is flatly unplayable without giving a checkpoint every two screens or so. In particular:
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There is zero indication you can stand here, but NOT under the thwomp which kills you from falling off the bottom. And the hammer bros is horribly placed and it's basically a gamble whether you'll get past him; the jump is plenty hard without him.
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Here's a great example of how the enemy NPCs are so haphazardly placed and crowded they literally fall over each other. Both sawblades wind up on the same track, which depending on your timing can make this an almost impossible jump. They also kill the thwomp, which doesn't seem intended.

After blatantly skipping the rest we're on to the seventh section. A tease of the star just cements in the player that this level has worn out its welcome and consider skipping the level altogether.
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Nitpick off the bat on the eighth section, those window background sprites just sorta float in the air and look odd, not a gameplay issue just wanted to point that out. As for this section... I haven't tested to see if you can somehow break the big ice block, hit the red switch and just skip the rest of the section and the second whirliwind segment (which surprise surprise, still lags), but if not the Rinkas plus crowded jumps will ensure that anyone who managed to make it this far will be sick of the level, which just refuses to give you a break even at this point.

Personally I feel the level should have been at least two, maybe three separate levels. The frozen factory motif is nice, and the ice block puzzles using fake keys was neat. The level could be over by the fifth section and it'd fit nicely as a mid-game to early late game level. Sixth section onward is just a gauntlet of improbably tight jumps and enemy crowds that don't particularly reward any style of play, be it rushing or taking it slow. You could easily get a post-game level out of just the last half; as it is this stage is firmly in the post-game, and is out of my skill range to finish.

Even if you're satisfied with the difficulty, the lagging issues plus enemies crowding each other out are a problem no matter what, and should be addressed in the next update IMO. I'm sorry if this seemed harsh, but I wanted to be as thorough as possible since "it's too hard!" doesn't really help anyone.
GlitchedGhost
Posts: 292
Joined: 11 years ago

Re: ASMBXT Level Review Thread

Post by GlitchedGhost »

Swampy Shy Shrine by Totrim:
Oh man, it has those Shy Guys from Yoshi's Island! I love those guys!
I have a question: it took me a moment or two to realize that the light green stuff is slippery, but out of curiosity, what is it? Swamp slime?
I love the Spear Guy Hammer Bros. They are hilarious with their masks!

There's only really one thing I suggest, and at the end with the text of 'Get all important coins' you may want to change it to something like Yoshi coins instead. I wasn't completely certain what you meant at first, and afterwards I realized what you were getting at!

Level design-wise, it's a nice little romp through the swamp. All the graphics are really nice. Honestly, besides the one thing I mentioned up there, I think it's good to go!
Edit: Damn I was beaten to the punch! Oh well I'll post it anyways.
He captured!
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raocow wrote:last night I had a dream where I finally understood what a 'birb' is, and turns out it's a collyflower
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kil3
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Re: ASMBXT Level Review Thread

Post by kil3 »

derjet wrote:english isn't my first language and that was the first time I saw that word :oops:
Then, you did a good job reading all that nonsense in my level. 8-)
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