8th VLDC: RIP Ningamer

[DrTapeworm]

As the worst world draws to a close, raocow falls into some time voids that take him to levels from the past and a terrible future where he failed to save the Little Planet. Who could be behind these mysterious events?

[Mata Hari]

Pfft. My bad future level was better.

...No it wasn't.

[Grounder]

Behold your future, Mr. Scrooge.

WELL THAT WAS FUN, WHO'S FOR CHINESE?!

[Koopster]

By the way my level is open for phylosophical interpretations as to why you go to the future and whatnot as I kind of rushed the idea anyway :P

Really enjoyed watching you play it through! I was fearing you'd not find the far-too-luck-based-to-find secret exit so easily but hooray!
Oh and yeah, that's exactly what the switch was for.

[xfix]

Might as well randomly do this before yoshicookiezeus for no reason.

KTBHacking - Kind Timber Biome

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

OVERALL: 64/100

COMMENTS: This level just kind of .. happened. I wouldn't say there was anything -majorly- wrong with the design, but a lot of the level felt the same (especially since the first half consisted of the same style of jumping from pipe to pipe with the same enemy set-up in each case). The second half also felt rather short.

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

OVERALL: 60/100

COMMENTS: With some more work this could've been something straight out from SMW, but it feels a bit repetitive overall - it needs some work on the obstacle variety part. It's also slightly annoying how you can swim into the big trunks and die because they're just decoration - they should act like the water tiles there.

MrDeePay
Creativity: 10/25
Curves: 10/25
Level: 5/25
Aesthetics: 15/25

Overall: 40/100

Comments: JOE (Jump Over Everything), in one of its purest forms. The level accomplishes nothing even when trying to play it safe (gameplay is very repetitive and simplistic) and judging from the music, tried a little too hard pandering towards certain Mother Canucker. Fortunately for you, music isn't judged in these contests. Unfortunately for you, pretty much EVERYTHING ELSE is!

imamelia - Ruinswamplatformist

S.N.N.
CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 23/25
APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 23/25
OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 22/25
AESTHETICS: 23/25

OVERALL: 91/100

COMMENTS: This was a really nice level! I like how you picked a theme (platforms), and stuck with it throughout the whole entry. The second half was especially creative in the sprite set-ups, and the use of Chuck's rocks as obstacles was nice. I feel like you left some parts in the first half slightly empty though.

Eternity
CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 24/25
APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 24/25
OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 22/25
AESTHETICS: 23/25

OVERALL: 93/100

COMMENTS: This level uses most (if not all) platform sprites and still manages to be fairly consistent somehow. Other than a few less interesting areas, this has tons of clever setups and is really aestehtically pleasing as well, even if it's rather simple.

MrDeePay
Creativity: 16/25
Curves: 21/25
Level: 16/25
Aesthetics: 18/25

Overall: 71/100

Comments: Well this is something that happened. There is a working foundation and the potential for to be something bigger is there, but the level is that- there. More often than not you're just running and jumping from here to there without that much else in the way. And I mean that quite literally, the enemy distribution is remarkably sparse and the level feels very empty very often as a result. Overall a underwhelming level that really could've been something much better.

Koopster - Tragic Revolution

S.N.N.
CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 21/25
APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 22/25
OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 22/25
AESTHETICS: 21/25

OVERALL: 86/100

COMMENTS: This was a neat entry. I like how you put most of the focus of the level on the Chucks and having them strategically placed to actually hinder the player. I also rather enjoyed the progression from forest -> castle, and the "time hole" gimmick. Nice work.

Eternity
CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 23/25
APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 22/25
OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 22/25
AESTHETICS: 23/25

OVERALL: 90/100

COMMENTS: I really love how this entry progresses from a simple forest level to a pretty much devastated area. It's great how the sprites used also change accordingly, from Wigglers and simple forest sprites to more Chucks and Grinders. It's a simple effect but very well done. The time void is also a nice touch, but I didn't expect the toxic water to kill the player instantly.

MrDeePay
Creativity: 20/25
Curves: 22/25
Level: 18/25
Aesthetics: 22/25

Overall: 82/100

Comments: This level does have a nice sense of progression fom a standard forest to a more "construction-esque" setting the futher you go, but from the gameplay front, it's hampered severely by artificial padding. The secret exit in this level can only be obtained by finding a switch in a hidden room (in the first half) with no "good" hints that points to its existence, then taking the path it detours to at the very end of the level. From there, you have to traverse the "bad future" room a short distance before you can claim TOTAL VICTORY. Basically this level makes the player play the whole thing (and then some) twice in order to obtain everything. And of course, all of that adds up tenfold when you fail while trying to get this exit.

The rest is pretty good however- just a couple of (really bad) errors just hold it back.

[Mata Hari]

Why does the third skull always wibble?

[raekuul]

Subpixels, probably.

[Ditocoaf]

Man, that purple level was amazing. My favorite thing in videogames is when they give a really strong sense of place, and that's tough to do in a mario level, but this one did.

[anonymousbl00dlust]

I really appreciate the way that purple pyre forces you to press the green switch palace. Now anyone who wants the extra challenge of playing without switches is forced to press it if they want to access the bonus world! Because f*ck those people right? It makes perfect sense to add a mandatory easy mode in a hack where each level considered to be so discrete that there is a powerup filter.

I especially appreciate that the vertical shaft was made long enough so that even if you collect a shell from the first area, another from the second area, jump of the flying koopa, walljump, and double shelljump, you still aren't high enough to get to the secret exit. What an excellent design decision that in no way drops the level's quality from above average to the worst in the entire hack.

[FusionWarrior]

I rarely feel this way and I even more rarely say it, but I'd love to see a TAS of Purple Pyre... I feel it'd be artistic.

[Money]

I really appreciate the way that purple pyre forces you to press the green switch palace. Now anyone who wants the extra challenge of playing without switches is forced to press it if they want to access the bonus world! Because f*ck those people right? It makes perfect sense to add a mandatory easy mode in a hack where each level considered to be so discrete that there is a powerup filter.

I especially appreciate that the vertical shaft was made long enough so that even if you collect a shell from the first area, another from the second area, jump of the flying koopa, walljump, and double shelljump, you still aren't high enough to get to the secret exit. What an excellent design decision that in no way drops the level's quality from above average to the worst in the entire hack.

Jesus, someone's disproportionately upset.

[DrTapeworm]

I really appreciate the way that purple pyre forces you to press the green switch palace. Now anyone who wants the extra challenge of playing without switches is forced to press it if they want to access the bonus world! Because f*ck those people right? It makes perfect sense to add a mandatory easy mode in a hack where each level considered to be so discrete that there is a powerup filter.

I especially appreciate that the vertical shaft was made long enough so that even if you collect a shell from the first area, another from the second area, jump of the flying koopa, walljump, and double shelljump, you still aren't high enough to get to the secret exit. What an excellent design decision that in no way drops the level's quality from above average to the worst in the entire hack.

thanks

[anonymousbl00dlust]

thanks

It would have been good had you not done that, but I stand by what I said. Mandatory switch blocks are the single worst crime a level can commit. Especially in a colab hack.

Jesus, someone's disproportionately upset.

You might say I feel shafted.

(I'll see myself out)

[DrTapeworm]

is it really worse than fez 2 though

[anonymousbl00dlust]

is it really worse than fez 2 though

Here is the difference: I did not enjoy fez 2 at all, but it doesn't affect how I will experience the other levels. But with your level, even though I liked the normal exit a lot, it effectively forces me to play all the other levels in a way I don't want to.

Now I admit that in any reasonable level, having the switch palace pressed isn't going to affect the experience. But I don't know if there is some kind of vip-2-switch-palace-castle type thing down the road whose layout gets totally changed. Obviously that wouldn't be your doing if it was the case, but it's a very real possibility. And that's way more frustrating because there's no way to just savescum and be done with it.

So yes, your level design was way better than fez 2. Sans that one really big issue, It was deserving of 10th place. With fez 2, there is no single issue that could be removed to make the level really good. But sh*t man, that was like the worst possible choice of issue.

[Ditocoaf]

Your issue is a personal one, though. A level that doesn't work with a specific player-chosen limitation, well, that's just gonna happen sometimes.

[anonymousbl00dlust]

Your issue is a personal one, though. A level that doesn't work with a specific player-chosen limitation, well, that's just gonna happen sometimes.

It won't be an issue for most people, but it's still effectively mandating how players experience other people's levels. Can you really qualify that as personal?

(This is now beside the point, but even outside of the context of a collaboration hack, I don't understand the justification for making switch palaces mandatory unless you are drastically modifying their purpose in the hack. Why would you punish players for choosing to not make the game easier?)

E: Whatever. I admit I overreacted. I'm not trying to be a dick here, but I really do think it's a bad thing. I don't want to distract from whatever praise the levels do deserve. It was my bad making a big fuss about it. </drama>

[Money]

i take it you're not a big fan of the original super mario world

[Arctangent]

Honestly, what you're saying basically equates to complaining about a secret and optional exit being secret and optional. A level shouldn't have its main exit blocked by optional content, sure, but requiring a switch for a secret exit makes sense as it can further obfuscate the secret and, if there's a hint to the exit requiring said switch, can promote further exploration later on as the player looks for the switch since, hey, there's a secret for them to find if they hit it.

Even in a hack where every level is immediately available, it gives a sense of intrigue and a reason to explore a level you've already beaten once you've accomplished something else. If it bugs you so much that you immediately have to look for the switch and press it, I'm not really sure if that's the level's fault.

[CapedLuigisYoshi]

...You could always just do the normal exit with no switches first pressed and then press the switches and come back after all the other levels are done, couldn't you?

[Ometeotl]

Guys, look at the Shovel Knight thread. He just wants people to lavish him with attention and tell him how awesome he is because he can beat games with arbitrary restrictions on himself. You're just enabling him when you argue with him.

[anonymousbl00dlust]

Guys, look at the Shovel Knight thread. He just wants people to lavish him with attention and tell him how awesome he is because he can beat games with arbitrary restrictions on himself. You're just enabling him when you argue with him.

That's why I'm so active in the forums. Its not like I came here after being frustrated with the level or anything ;)

[morsel/morceau]

I agree required switch palaces are dumb, and this level wasn't the only offender. You can get around it by zeroing all the relevant ram addresses (described here EDIT: since the hack is sa-1, the ram addresses change slightly -- $7E:1F27 becomes $40:1F27, &c.).

[Miyuron]

I just wanna say that I love any level that uses "You Can Hear the Cry of the Planet" as its background music. Additional plus points for being a really good level as well!

[S.N.N.]

Re: the switch blocks comments - to be fair,

no levels in the post-contest portion of the game utilize switch blocks.

So in theory, you could do what a previous poster said and beat all of the levels without using the palaces EXCEPT the ones with secret exits that require switch blocks, then do them at the very end.

As for my opinion on mandatory switch palaces .. I dunno, it never really bothered me, but I guess I can understand why others might not like it.