A2XT: It's Over

[jayScribble]

I like to imagine that the audio problems in today's video is actually the entire group suffering from a heat stroke and needed to get out of the hot desert.

"Desert Town" is the first town that the player can actually die in: I remember my first death in that town fondly (which was me trying to see how the Leek Pillars worked). It's a bit straightforward in it's purpose, but there are some hidden things to do: there might be a bit more easter eggs in that town raocow might have missed.

"the good, the bad and the stupid" is an easy going level, with the difficult parts being both "bosses" of the level, although the level might be more difficult than how raocow made it look due to author knowledge of the level.

[Willhart]

The desert town is one of the smaller ones. The night portion was added after I saw some of the other towns. It was mostly filled with references and callbacks to my earlier levels and other games. The tileset was resized by two in order to reduce the amount of 1x1 pixels.

raocow's level is pretty cool and the cutscene was continuation for it's ending. I remember he was waiting for lullaby references on asmbxt, so I decided to add one here. It gives some more screen time for the lesser used characters like Iris and raocow. I think the joke was that he was too close to the microphone which is why no one else was heard.

I don't mind the sound that much even when it sped up the music slightly. The first impressions are always important.

[SAJewers]

If I had known you wanted to do something similar to your MAGLX level, I could've linked you to this (sure hope he doesn't mind me posting this): http://youtu.be/jWa3I7brpD0?t=18m36s

[Doctor Shemp]

So, bests and worsts again. My opinion during beta testing was that there were two worlds in strong contention for "weakest world" and one of those was World 3. I still stand by that. Anyway, moving on.

Best: the good, the bad, and the stupid
This level sets out to be an easy but thematic romp and meets that goal perfectly, which is preferable from what I expected from a raocow level, which was setting out to be extremely challenging and ending up kaizo. There are a couple of odd design choices, like burying stuff everyone and providing a cat-llama so you can't pick it up - but it doesn't stop it from being consistently fun. It could easily have been put in World 1, but then World 1 wouldn't be grasslands, and that would be illegal for a game based on Mario. raocow should definitely stick to making easy levels as this one is his best yet by a long shot.

Worst: Sloppy Sands
This is probably mostly residual anger towards this level but seriously this used to be so so shit. It was the first level in my beta testing videos to be accompanied by a vitriolic rant (the first of four or five, I think). In its current form... I'm no longer impartial enough to tell.

Really though the only memorable (for good reasons) levels in World 3 are, to me, Forgotten World That We Just Remembered, Plains of Ulysses Mad, Load Bearing Bricks and the good, the bad, and the stupid. The rest are all pretty meh. I guess having 4 good levels is pretty good for the weakest world - it's actually one more than the one I'd consider the second-weakest - but the second-weakest had some really strong levels in it. Anyway, 4 levels is good I guess.

EDIT: Actually let's not link to that.

[ztarwuff]

I wonder which world raocow will choose next or is he forced to do World 4 first?

[Doctor Shemp]

I wonder which world raocow will choose next or is he forced to do World 4 first?

Forced to do World 4. The next and final choice is between 5, 6 and 7.

[Voltgloss]

raocow: Don't forget to revisit the Castle of No Significance before moving on to the next world. (You'll have 24 leeks as soon as you return to the Hub.)

My most favorite level in World 3 is Forgotten World We Just Remembered. Similar to Canopy Journey, this level wins my World 3 award for "level I most looked forward to replaying every time I retested this World." The combination of moody atmosphere, atypical but fair gameplay challenge, tight "deserted fragile ruins" theme, and fitting music all works for me. I also think the secret exit is both cleverly hidden and adequately clued. And finally, the level feels like it's just the right length. Great all around.

My least favorite level in World 3 is Sandy Sands. (Note: I was not part of beta testing until after Sloppy Sands was retooled, and so I don't have the same experience with its original flawed version as Doctor Shemp and others have.) But Sandy Sands has some awkward design decisions (the quicksand trap, the P-switch/raocoin business) and isn't tightest on theme (the sky world section with the catllama, in particular, doesn't fit the rest of the level in my opinion). Finally, I think the monster and challenge placement - while not outright bad - is more on the average side compared to other levels in World 3.

[Sebby19]

Wow, what happened with the video? Everything was crackling, and the music was slightly sped up.

I blame you replugging your controller.

[sedron]

I'm happy that we can move on to World 4. That world has a few really neat things in it.

Let's look at the last couple of levels here.

Desert Town- I don't have any complaints for this one. It's a lot less overwhelming than the other towns we've seen thus far. There's still stuff to do and find, but it feels a lot more manageable in a shorter period of time. I like that there's a mix of small and large towns, but maybe a smaller town should have shown up earlier? In any case, this one is designed well and looks/sounds nice.

the good, the bad, the stupid- A very nonstandard raocow level, to be sure. As Shemp mentioned, having so many buried objects in a level that hands you several Catnips is an odd design choice. I'd also be wary of the buried Yoshi skull, as I believe that can actually lead to a crushing death. I can very much see this being in line with the difficulty of World 1, but it makes a lot of sense as the end of this World. Each world needs an ending and some kind of boss, and as World 2 demonstrated it doesn't really matter how hard that boss is. This level being very cinematic and clearly working a desert theme, that made it easy to build a world around. This level doesn't do much in terms of gameplay, but seeing as the focus lies in the story anyway I'll easily look past that. Having a breather level after some other levels here was a good idea, as well.

Favorites and Not Favorites!

Favorite- I'm going to go with Cinder Canyon or Load Bearing Bricks on this one. Both have some flaws, but they stick out as high-quality levels in a world with some questionable levels. Cinder Canyon is fairly tough, but I like the challenge it presents. Load Bearing Bricks presents a neat gimmick and does it just long enough for the player to want more, but not so long as to make them sick of it. Both are pretty great.

Unfavorite- Sandy Sands. I've already discussed this one a bit, but as a quick recap, it's unfocused in a lot of ways and not terribly well-crafted as a whole. I was thinking of maybe using The Triforce Trials or Sloppy Sands for this one, but they're improved over the versions that would have "won," this title.

[Bryux]

Demo has a last name suddenly?

[raocow]

technically it's the name of the vat she was spawn in originaly.

[tigermoon]

And so, World 3 came in as it arrived... an encounter with a large quacking frog.

Not shown because raocow isn't anywhere near as dumb as me: It's actually possible to get trapped in the part where you gotta get the key from the cat Mouser... Catter? Only reason I never reported it was because it was hilarious watching the endlessly-spawning bomb throwers try and free me.

Favorite W3 level: The Good, The Bad, and the Stupid. I've always been a sucker for westerns, and I loved the music for it. Also gets points for the random anecdote I mentioned that really only exists because I tend to do stupid things.
Least Favorite W3 level: Honestly, I can't really think of one. I guess Art thou frustrated? for just kinda being there?

[Validon98]

The Artist

named a vat "Roseclair?"
...Sure, why not?

Anyways, the end of World 3, brought to you by wacky audio antics and the Lullaby for some reason, maybe because the last level was made by raocow. Or something. I don't know.

Desert Town is honestly what I expect from Willhart: A nice open-ended atmospheric sort of place, even by town standards. I had no idea about the night portion of the town, but both the day and night versions I know were references back to levels from ASMBXT (I forget their names, but it was that winter/Christmas one and that one that had the same tileset as the town).

Also apparently foreshadowing is Calleoca's middle name or something.

the good, the bad, and the stupid definitely does feel like a World 1 level rather than a World 3 one, but I thought it managed to be atmospheric and kept the western joke going. All in all, not too bad. And it's another raocow level that isn't a face-wrecking monstrosity, so bonus points for that. :V

I forgot to do favorites and least favorites for Worlds 1 and 2, but I guess I'll start doing it from World 3 onwards.

Favorite: Forgotten World We Just Remembered, mainly for its combination of atmosphere and challenge based off of the bombs. It's probably not the strongest level, but I personally loved it out of everything in World 3, Plains of Ulysses Mad being a close second.

Least Favorite: This is between Sloppy Sands and Sandy Sands. Both levels kind of just happened, and I honestly didn't enjoy either of them when I played through them. Sloppy Sands is probably worse seeing how much ire others have been speaking about it from beta testing, both I didn't like either too much. Ah well.

But welp, World 3. It happened. Now time for the difficulty spike portion of the game! :D

[Unaniem]

Full map of World 3:

A2XTWorld3.png (154.16 KiB) Viewed 3600 times

I'll post my favourites and counterparts a bit later.

[Willhart]

There is more water on that map than I expected.

[Bryux]

Well it is a beach after all

[Ditocoaf]

Full map of World 3:

A2XTWorld3.png

I'll post my favourites and counterparts a bit later.

Woah, that ocean on the left is at a higher level than the ocean on the bottom. trippy!

These overworlds have all been really, really well done. I forget who did them (was it SAJewers? I feel like I might have read that it was him) but: good job.


I liked the way that "desert world" was also "beach world" with "a few other levels that could conceivably exist in a hot, not-rainy region". It allowed for things to feel thematically coherent without being monotone.

[Rixithechao]

So if Roseclair is based on the vat, what are the surnames for Iris and the other siblings?

And are the Uncles' given names their vat names or their first names?

The inquiring public wants to know...

I'm kinda conflicted about the world end cutscene; on one hand, World 3 as a whole was a nice and silly reprieve from the story-heavy first two worlds, but on the other hand two out of the three world end scenes we've seen so far haven't contributed anything to the main plot. That's a decent chunk of story real estate that could've been better utilized to help spread out the critical exposition mass dumped on the player at the beginning of the game... and I suspect that if it was utilized, folks wouldn't have as many issues with the story's pacing.

I'm not saying that there shouldn't be goofy scenes like this award ceremony in the game, but I think one-off skits like this might work better as unlockable bonus content in future episodes, especially if they're being made without taking the overall composition of the narrative into consideration.

Oh, and regarding the sound quality... raocow, do you record your mic audio separate from the game audio? I know Camtasia can do that, dunno if that's how you have it set up. If you do have a solo voice track and if it's not too much trouble, could I have a short sample of the damaged audio to fiddle with? Like, the first 15-20 seconds or so. I'm not really expecting anything to come from it, it's more out of scientific curiosity.

[Validon98]

...Speaking of, who ARE the uncles? I've heard about them but unlike the siblings, who I originally found out about from reading the story information on A2MT, I have... kinda no idea who the uncles are.

[tigermoon]

...Speaking of, who ARE the uncles? I've heard about them but unlike the siblings, who I originally found out about from reading the story information on A2MT, I have... kinda no idea who the uncles are.

viewtopic.php?f=36&t=13539&start=1025#p223230

But that's spoilers.

[Sebby19]

Wait, when was the last name revealed? I missed something.

[Joseph Staleknight]

Re: Sound Problems: The only major sound problem I noticed was that the music felt faster than normal. Otherwise, the quality's not too horrible, just not as crystal-clear as usual.

...Speaking of, who ARE the uncles? I've heard about them but unlike the siblings, who I originally found out about from reading the story information on A2MT, I have... kinda no idea who the uncles are.

They were pretty much created on a whim in the A2XT plot thread as a take on Uncle Broadsword, who was first mentioned during the STTB 2.5 LP (though he was known then as Uncle Greatsword).

And unless I'm mistaken or there was a change in plans, they're supposed to be the antagonists of Episode 2.

Also, what tigermoon linked to.

Now then, after spending the night in town, the western finally gets its bearings back and sets off to find its epic conclusion. Just in time for the awards ceremony, no less!

Desert Town (Willhart): Desert Town was a pretty neat place to stay. While there's not much to see compared to the previous two towns, it still feels relaxing and meaty. Of course, this town happens to have some belligerent individuals around, but it's not complete enemy spam out of nowhere so it passes. As an aside, I only just found Sherlock raocow on this playthrough.

Also, there were references to ASMBXT there? Okay, I think I can place the Mushroom War being in It's A Wonderful Demo, the Snow Skeletons from Winter Evening (or something like that), and the general tileset from the same source as for the level Welcome, but the rest apparently elude me. I'll have to replay ASMBXT sometime after the LP to figure it all out.

the good, the bad and the stupid (raocow): Finally, the level we've all been waiting for since the beginning of the world! It's pretty clear raocow captured the spirit and conventions of the Western, including the ride off into the distance (no sunset, though). While it does feel easy as a World 1 level, I think it still has some challenges that make it worth its place (especially the run through the outside of El Charlatorio and killing the Village Furbas while dodging Totem Mothra just after the ranch).

Of course, there is that one place just outside El Charlatorio's Saloon where you can get stuck behind the breakable blocks if you get really unlucky. I remember seeing that part in Stink Terios's LP where he also got stuck there and had to wait for the Literal Mousers to dig him out. That's pretty much the low point of the level. Otherwise, a very fitting end to both a desert-beach world and a quest to stop an infamous bandit!

End of World 3 Cutscene: The 1715th Annual Tony Awards (Willhart): Congratulations, Iris! You are now the diva of the theatre! In any case, I found it amusing how this cutscene is so random and yet so relevant to how the previous level ended. I guess that also explains the inexplicable appearances of beaches, ruins and floating landmasses; it was all just a big-budget Awesome-fueled theatrical production!

As for its narrative relevance, my opinion is that

since the plot really picks up at the end of the next world,

it's better to get all the silliness out of the way now so that it won't feel cheap later.

Well then, now that the initial worlds are done, what else could possibly await Demo and friends?

[tigermoon]

Wait, when was the last name revealed? I missed something.

The Good, The Bad, and the Stupid gives names before you reach the Super Leek.

[raocow]

Oh, and regarding the sound quality... raocow, do you record your mic audio separate from the game audio? I know Camtasia can do that, dunno if that's how you have it set up. If you do have a solo voice track and if it's not too much trouble, could I have a short sample of the damaged audio to fiddle with? Like, the first 15-20 seconds or so. I'm not really expecting anything to come from it, it's more out of scientific curiosity.

go crazy
https://www.sendspace.com/file/m2358r

[Rixithechao]

Me complaining about story stuff long after I should've stopped:

As for its narrative relevance, my opinion is that

since the plot really picks up at the end of the next world,

it's better to get all the silliness out of the way now so that it won't feel cheap later.

The problem is that the game starts off on a more serious-ish (albeit self-aware) tone with all of these plot threads established out of the blue, then doubles back into light-hearted goofiness. If the goofy stuff was more contained in the world 1 and 2 cutscenes and we started to get into the meat of the plot from world 3 onward, it'd feel more natural, but the fact is that the first world's end cutscene is the only one of the three that has anything to do with the quantum shenanigans plot.

...But I'm being too harsh, I know coordinating a project of this scope is no simple matter as a solo effort let alone a community collab. I imagine a lot of stuff had to be changed and moved around to accommodate level placement, world order, etc. And I'd rather this not devolve into another game narrative drama-fest (landlord knows I've derailed this thread enough already) so I'll leave it at that.

go crazy
https://www.sendspace.com/file/m2358r

Oh, wow, this is the whole thing? Thanks, I'll see what I can do!

EDIT:
Oh, jeez, that first comment... man, I feel like a bit of a jerk now.
Arright, so first impressions and stuff: I can minimize the pops and clicks but can't do much beyond that. I do have a few ideas on what could've caused this, though.

The beginning audio that was cut out of the video wasn't damaged. The pops and clicks don't start until a few seconds before the A2XT title music plays and the video begins, so the issue could've been caused by closing and opening SMBX. Do you play SMBX in fullscreen or does the game otherwise change your display settings during runtime, like reduce your screen resolution? It's also possible that removing the controller and plugging it back in could've started some plug & play driver stuff in the background and thrown Camtasia Bandicam out of whack.

If your schedule allows it, doing a quick 1-2 minute quality/tech test before starting a video proper will help you catch issues like these before they become a problem. Not gonna lie, though, taking those precautions every recording session is good way to eat up one's time and enthusiasm.