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8th VLDC: RIP Ningamer

this is the place where lps are being talked about. it's important to talk about games being played on the internet.
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Re: 8th VLDC ~ Ë16Hī

Post by DrTapeworm »

Those fishsaws are just grade-A animal abuse. For shame, level designer!
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Re: 8th VLDC ~ Ë16Hī

Post by Oh Man »

Man, Zone 434 sure was an empty level that went all over the place for no reason. And why were there spin blocks in the key exit room?
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Re: 8th VLDC ~ Ë16Hī

Post by yoshicookiezeus »

I'm still not quite sure what the intended way of reaching the midpoint in Zone 434 is. I wonder if there is a hidden springboard or cape or something in one of the blocked pipes?

Master Lakitu - Zone 434
S.N.N.
CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 14/25
APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 12/25
OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 10/25
AESTHETICS: 10/25

OVERALL: 46/100

COMMENTS: This level felt like a mish-mash of a bunch of mediocre rooms. There wasn't much that stood out, and you could actually bypass the entire thing by simply using the P-Switch to hit the vine block in the first screen. I would recommend picking a theme and sticking with it, and then building your level around that - as it stands, you tried to do too much and it hindered the gameplay.

Eternity
CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 10/25
APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 16/25
OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 14/25
AESTHETICS: 13/25

OVERALL: 53/100

COMMENTS: Just a few average sections thrown together without any real connection, which usually doesn't work well. While it would be decent if you went with any of them and expanded more on it, it feels a bit awkward to play through as it is now. Plus you can skip half of the level by simply doing a running jump from the top of one of the pipes.

MrDeePay
Creativity: 0/25
Curves: 10/25
Level: 5/25
Aesthetics: 10/25

Overall: 25/100

Comments: This one is something that was obviously slapped together at the last minute exemplified by the clear lack of playtesting. The Vine block can be activated with a single P-Switch collected in the first room, you can reach the platforms up top with a good running jump, every single room has things just placed in a semi-random order, leading to JOE being the dominant strategy, the main room is mostly empty, wasted space, and the time limit is way too short for what the "full" level is supposed to be.
SilverSwallow - Waterflow Temple
S.N.N.
CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 22/25
APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 21/25
OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 23/25
AESTHETICS: 24/25

OVERALL: 90/100

COMMENTS: This level reminded me of the Water Temple from Ocarina of Time. I really liked some of the sprite set-ups you had - most notably, the underwater chainsaw/Fuzzy sections. One thing that irked me is that I found it difficult to tell when certain objects were solid or not (e.g. the grey blocks in the first area).

Eternity
CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 23/25
APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 20/25
OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 20/25
AESTHETICS: 25/25

OVERALL: 88/100

COMMENTS: This reminds me of Ocarina's Water Temple, which is surprising considering it's a vanilla level. Aestheticalluy it's very well made, and I really like some of the sprite graphics here. The overall spriteset is also very creative, and changing the water levels in the main room is interesting, even if the player has pretty much no control over it.

MrDeePay
Creativity: 25/25
Curves: 21/25
Level: 19/25
Aesthetics: 25/25

Overall: 90/100

Comments: This is a pretty expansive level you have here (like the Water Temple), it's pretty straightfoward in its approach and execution is pretty good, though the first "half" is clearly much longer, slower, and easier than the second "half". Despite this, the level still holds out very well on its own and it's nice to see a homage to an "infamous" level/stage/whatever done to a respectable degree.
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Re: 8th VLDC ~ Ë16Hī

Post by Mata Hari »

The fishsaws and linear plants are kind of funny but the moonwalking Spinies and sliding Bullet Bills make no sense!
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Re: 8th VLDC ~ Ë16Hī

Post by Sturg »

oh man that Hydrothermal Hollow music in the second level <3
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Re: 8th VLDC ~ Ë16Hī

Post by Willhart »

Both of the levels today had a nice theme. Making underwater levels interesting is always a challenge.
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Re: 8th VLDC ~ Ë16Hī

Post by Zygl »

Several of these levels lately have been uhh, kinda long. Or at least they've felt like it. I dunno it may just be me.

e: Like both of today's levels felt kinda like double-length levels or something. Especially the second one. Actually the problem could also just be that they're water levels idk.
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Re: 8th VLDC ~ Ë16Hī

Post by lolyoshi »

Cave world is the least exciting.
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Re: 8th VLDC ~ Moar Waterz

Post by yoshicookiezeus »

Carld923 - Seaside Tropical Ruins
S.N.N.
CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 23/25
APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 22/25
OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 21/25
AESTHETICS: 24/25

OVERALL: 90/100

COMMENTS: I loved how each section of the level felt distinct, yet still fitting with the overall theme. The Magikoopa + water section was an interesting twist, and the overall aesthetic of each area felt pleasant. Very nice work overall.

Eternity
CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 18/25
APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 17/25
OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 16/25
AESTHETICS: 18/25

OVERALL: 69/100

COMMENTS: The first half of the level is really nice, but the other sections have some... unusual sprite choices and is less interesting, which brings it down a lot. The Magikoopa felt particularly out of place in the water section, and I'm not really a fan of the autoscroll + bullet generators.

MrDeePay
Creativity: 15/25
Curves: 25/25
Level: 21/25
Aesthetics: 25/25

Overall: 86/100

Comments: The Bullet Bill generator really wasn't necessary here as the second half was already challenging enough for what it was, especially when it's an autoscroll level. Other than that, this is a very solid job with the level. The setting is great and the core aspects of the level (ie: design) were really well done and enjoyable.
Ivan Sword54 - Ship Ruins
S.N.N.
CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 21/25
APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 22/25
OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 22/25
AESTHETICS: 23/25

OVERALL: 88/100

COMMENTS: This is a very nice cave/water level. I liked your use of torpedoes and Diggin' Chucks, and the general aesthetic and palette of the level was extremely pleasant. I think a few parts in the first half felt a little cramped and claustrophobic, but on the whole, this was a great level.

Eternity
CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 20/25
APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 16/25
OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 14/25
AESTHETICS: 22/25

OVERALL: 72/100

COMMENTS: Interesting level. It has some good design, nice sprite placements and good aesthetics. A few sections might be a bit too cramped, and I'm not a fan of how you marked those Torpedo Ted launchers (seemed like just decoration at first, and it's just not what I was expecting) but otherwise it's fine.

MrDeePay
Creativity: 15/25
Curves: 25/25
Level: 18/25
Aesthetics: 20/25

Overall: 78/100

Comments: Nothing overly special, but a nice solid level nonetheless. The palette and simplish use of the wooden beams really help out the setting here of a flooded cavern/ruins.
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Re: 8th VLDC ~ raocow does a lp of a hacked version of a 1991 game from a company in japan because he can

Post by Kerkec »

It wasn't just you, raocow, Archaic Art Archive really is crammed with stuff. I don't know if there's really that many enemies spammed, but the visuals make it feel that way. There's so much going on, and a good chunk of it isn't very clear on what's solid and what's not at first. The whole time I played through the level myself, I was wondering if it was just me or if you'd say the same, and I guess now I know. Had the same problem with that boo block jump, too. It's only really possible if you don't turn your back on it for even a second once it spawns, which is difficult to do with one-tile jumps.

The whole thing was a neat idea overall, though, and there was definitely some care put into it

...I'm bad at commenting in these threads
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Re: 8th VLDC ~ raocow does a lp of a hacked version of a 1991 game from a company in japan because he can

Post by Ivy »

It looks like a lot of effort was put into that level, which makes me sad to see it 63rd place.
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Re: 8th VLDC ~ raocow does a lp of a hacked version of a 1991 game from a company in japan because he can

Post by Grounder »

you know what this level needs?

more saws
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Re: 8th VLDC ~ raocow does a lp of a hacked version of a 1991 game from a company in japan because he can

Post by FrozenQuills »

Wow there are a lot of great water levels in this contest...
That archaic archive level was sort of tragic though considering the amount of effort that went into the graphics.
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Re: 8th VLDC ~ raocow does a lp of a hacked version of a 1991 game from a company in japan because he can

Post by zmonbobbo »

Quick question that might've already been addressed. Are the remixes in this game uniform across all levels with the same track, individually composed by the level designers, or pulled from a pre-existing compilation folder somewhere?
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Re: 8th VLDC ~ raocow does a lp of a hacked version of a 1991 game from a company in japan because he can

Post by S.N.N. »

The VLDC 7 remixes (stuff that would have been heard in the last contest) were pulled from a compilation folder. The new ones this year (water, ghost house, factory, etc) were slotted into any levels that stuck with the vanilla music, and/or any case where the level designer requested them.
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Re: 8th VLDC ~ raocow does a lp of a hacked version of a 1991 game from a company in japan because he can

Post by Gregor »

Maybe a bit late but the cave sublevel in my level wasn't actually supposed to be in, I accidentally used an exit-enabled pipe there. If I knew I would have at least given it an original palette but oh well.

Also man Archaic Art Archive gets all of my hate. It's sad because it's obvious that there was effort put into it and it had a nice and original idea but the level design is just so ughggggggghghfsdfsdfsddhaveanonsenseword. The design is so unclear and all over the place, rather frustrating.
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Re: 8th VLDC ~ raocow does a lp of a hacked version of a 1991 game from a company in japan because he can

Post by yoshicookiezeus »

Yeah, it's kind of a pity about Archaic Art Archive. The concept is really neat and the level looks great, but then the design is just kind of a mess. So much wasted potential. (although hopefully this means that the author can improve and put together something really good next year?)

Anyway, judge comments.

RedChomp - Dangerous and Wet
S.N.N.
CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 22/25
APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 16/25
OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 16/25
AESTHETICS: 21/25

OVERALL: 75/100

COMMENTS: Things started getting a bit ridiculous near the end difficulty-wise (a lot of sprites haphazardly placed + darkness = painful). While I liked the general idea of the level and thought it was creative, the darkness mixed with the fact that the lava and water looked far too similar made it slightly unpleasant to play at times.

Eternity
CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 18/25
APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 15/25
OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 15/25
AESTHETICS: 16/25

OVERALL: 64/100

COMMENTS: This has some really solid design, but most areas that involve swimming seem a bit lacking, and some of the lava/water setups are a bit weird to go through (such as climbing a vine with lava to the sides, doesn't have a lot of action to it) and weirdness with the lava tiles is specially noticeable in some areas of this level but it's not really an issue.

MrDeePay
Creativity: 15/25
Curves: 8/25
Level: 5/25
Aesthetics: 8/25

Overall: 36/100

Comments: Dark and cramped is a more fitting name. For the entire level, you're making nothing but almost blind jumps because of dark palettes (and the spotlight being in effect) and moving around in very tight confined spaces. Both of these are a recipe for disaster. A lot of the platforming elements is saved by (albeit barely) visible enemies on itsby bitsy tiny platforms, but that's pretty much the only positive thing I can say about this level.
GalacticaKnight - Archaic Art Archive
S.N.N.
CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 22/25
APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 13/25
OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 15/25
AESTHETICS: 21/25

OVERALL: 71/100

COMMENTS: I really respect the idea behind this level, but I feel like the execution leaves a lot to be desired. The biggest issue (for me at least) is the wildly sporadic difficulty curve. Some parts are really easy, whereas other parts are oversaturated with sprites. I also found it quite difficult to tell what certain tiles acted as (solid, climbable, etc).

Eternity
CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 20/25
APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 10/25
OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 15/25
AESTHETICS: 20/25

OVERALL: 65/100

COMMENTS: Interesting concept, but it doesn't work very well because the level's sort of a mess. The difficulty curve is all over the place, and it suffers from too much variety and not enough focus. There are way too many completely different obstacles and themes meshed together and it doesn't work very well.

MrDeePay
Creativity: 7/25
Curves: 5/25
Level: 5/25
Aesthetics: 16/25

Overall: 33/100

Comments: This level is one that sacrifices substance in favor of style, and even then it falls short. The design feels busy for the wrong reasons- cramped corridors, low ceilings, BMD (Big Mario Discrimination) and sprites everywhere. Midpoint is hilariously broken beyond belief- the reset point is nowhere even close to where the midpoint is located.
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Re: 8th VLDC ~ raocow does a lp of a hacked version of a 1991 game from a company in japan because he can

Post by Willhart »

I think the dark blue hue on the first level was to make the walls fully invisible in the darkness. It was a little hard on the eyes though, but still made for some interesting gameplay.

The second level would probably have been different with some more outside level testing. I don't know how common it is to do that in contests. It did look like an art gallery with those white walls and paintings.
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Re: 8th VLDC ~ raocow does a lp of a hacked version of a 1991 game from a company in japan because he can

Post by Sebby19 »

I think there was a door above the last pipe in Dangerous and Wet. Any videos showing what's in there?
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Re: 8th VLDC ~ raocow does a lp of a hacked version of a 1991 game from a company in japan because he can

Post by 10204307 »

Cave World is probably my least favorite of what I've played so far, but the last level in the world does redeem it a bit.
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Re: 8th VLDC ~ raocow does a lp of a hacked version of a 1991 game from a company in japan because he can

Post by Willhart »

Sweet danmaku today. That was some really good playing beating that level without any Switch Palaces.
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Re: 8th VLDC ~ raocow does a lp of a hacked version of a 1991 game from a company in japan because he can

Post by Grounder »


Why don't you eat me?

I am perfectly tasty...

AND I'LL STEAL YOUR SOUL! :twisted:

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Re: 8th VLDC ~ raocow does a lp of a hacked version of a 1991 game from a company in japan because he can

Post by S.N.N. »

Yeah, cave world is one of the worst. There are a couple of great levels at the end of it, but I can't say I'm a fan of many of the early/middle ones.

Thankfully, you've gotten one of four levels of this difficulty over with.
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Re: 8th VLDC ~ raocow does a lp of a hacked version of a 1991 game from a company in japan because he can

Post by Kerkec »

I did intentionally make the level difficult, though the length of it was slightly less intentional and more of an oversight because I just didn't want to stop making level, I guess

the football bouncing up at 13:05 is something I never experienced in any of the dozens of times I tested everything, so hooray for footballs, I guess?! I don't even know why I went with them other than that I liked the ball replacement

also of note, raocow finally pronounced my name correctly!! history has been made here today
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Re: 8th VLDC ~ raocow does a lp of a hacked version of a 1991 game from a company in japan because he can

Post by FrozenQuills »

Another awesome looking level that's really stressful. What is this, MaGLX2?
Also I absolutely hate the footballs; way too unpredictable as enemies...

EDIT: Just realized Kerkec (who just posted here) made this, but yeah your aesthetics are really fantastic. Too bad that the level's major flaws are in its difficulty and length especially with the footballs.
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