8th VLDC: RIP Ningamer

[Nathan the Talkmaus]

I see! Cocoa Cave I knew. I just didn't know the MM one.

Other way around for me, though my mind was trying to insist that it was Stone Man's theme from the same game because mountain level even though I knew it wasn't.

[xfix]

Would put my opinion about stages, but there wasn't that much. Permafrost Cave was quite nice, but... there is not much to say about it, really.

Mineyl - Permafrost Pass

S.N.N.
CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 20/25
APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 22/25
OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 21/25
AESTHETICS: 22/25

OVERALL: 85/100

COMMENTS: I like the atmosphere this level gives off, and the sprite choice is quite fitting. It's a nice romp-styled level, and I enjoyed playing it, but at the same time I feel like the second half came off as slightly underwhelming in that it really didn't do anything fundamentally different from the first half (especially compared to your entry last year).

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

OVERALL: 93/100

COMMENTS: Very entretaining level, but it might have been a bit too long... Which is a bit weird considering it didn't deviate much from the original setups. It still manages to be pretty fun for the most part, though.

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

Overall: 93/100

Comments: Yet another pretty standard level, but it does what it does very well. Enemy placement and the layout is excellent and the atmosphere is really great. It's not often that you see an ice level executed so well.
Other Notes:

bbk61 - The Ice Fortress

S.N.N.
CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 17/25
APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 22/25
OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 22/25
AESTHETICS: 19/25

OVERALL: 80/100

COMMENTS: This is a solid level overall. There's a lot going on, and you did a good job of making it feel like something out of the original game. However, I find the first half to be rather dull - while the enemy placement is nice, there isn't much incentive for the player to "explore" or look around (not many coins, prizes, alternate paths, etc). The second half is much better.

Eternity
CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 18/25
APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 15/25
OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 20/25
AESTHETICS: 17/25

OVERALL: 70/100

COMMENTS: Not bad. A solid level, with some interesting design and nice progression. Aesthetics were average, and there's not much I can comment on because it followed the original SMW's style for the most part. The Reznor battle at the end feels a bit weird, though.

MrDeePay
Creativity: 6/25
Curves: 10/25
Level: 15/25
Aesthetics: 15/25

Overall: 46/100

Comments: Well this happened.

The sprite placement and general layout here screams out to me that the sprites were placed in the level just to populate it (stage furniture). Most of them can be jumped over/on or even slapped into oblivion (via cape) while the ice physics/setting was done just to bump up the difficulty. (It doesn't do much to help it.)
Other Notes:

[raocow]

level furniture

haha, I like that

[Mineyl]

Thank you for endorsing my lasagna, raocow. ;)

Anyway, it took long enough, but he finally got to my level! There isn't a whole lot to say about it, though; indeed, I played it EXTRA SUPER CAUTIOUS this year due to ranking 48th in the last contest, and as a result, I have a solid level with mid-game difficulty that doesn't do a whole lot to jump off the page at the player. If there are level-headed judges next year as there were this year, I'll definitely go back to my usual, riskier shenanigans.

For those curious about how to get the moon, the solution is simple yet esoteric all at once:

Skip the first power-up until you're super, then go back to grab it for a cape feather to let you fly up at the end of the level.

It's really more meant to be one of those things that makes you wonder how to get it than a substantial reward for effort or anything.

Tomorrow's video may possibly be a slight thing for our dear roacow, but here's to hoping he can rise to the challenge. Ohohoho~

[Grounder]

well, now we know what they blew the budget on

[Validon98]

I just noticed, the kanji for kanji world are for "heaven" and "ice". So it's a combination sky-ice world I guess. Okay then. \o/

[Ivy]

i'm as befuddled as raocow about that nifty parallax cloud fuckery in the overworld there. HOW?

[Telamon]

I'm assuming it's just a separate row of tiles for each "layer," each one with an animation cycle to make them move at the right speed. Not technically advanced, but really impressive design and a butt-load of work, I imagine.

Just an assumption, of course, feel free to correct.

[FusionWarrior]

i'm as befuddled as raocow about that nifty parallax cloud fuckery in the overworld there. HOW?

IDK, but my theory is a sprite swap of the starry stars and other animated doodads from SMW map?

[S.N.N.]

well, now we know what they blew the budget on

The budget was blown on the postgame world, which makes the ice/sky world look like a joke in comparison.

LOOK AT ALL THIS HYPE WHAT WHAT

[lolyoshi]

I'm assuming it's just a separate row of tiles for each "layer," each one with an animation cycle to make them move at the right speed. Not technically advanced, but really impressive design and a butt-load of work, I imagine.

Just an assumption, of course, feel free to correct.

You're close, they aren't moving by an animation cycle but with some horizontal parallax scroling. Each row at different speed.

[Taigiry]

I'm not even sorry...

Also that's a really fancy overworld there. Now I understand why everone said to save that section for last.

[raocow]

the best

[Mata Hari]

I just noticed, the kanji for kanji world are for "heaven" and "ice". So it's a combination sky-ice world I guess. Okay then. \o/

What's the point of a label most people won't understand

[Mata Hari]

Also levels that give you a P-switch without making it clear where it's supposed to be used need to be put in the BIN!!

[Ivy]

I just noticed, the kanji for kanji world are for "heaven" and "ice". So it's a combination sky-ice world I guess. Okay then. \o/

What's the point of a label most people won't understand

It fits on the really small sign.

[Koopster]

It worked as a spoiler-free sign, in any case. It also looks fancier than something ordinary like a cloud drawn in there and that wouldn't represent the ice portion of the world either (since it is actually ice/sky)

[Grounder]

Welcome to Projectile Heck. otherwise known as Peachpuff Peaks!

[Mata Hari]

SPRITE SPAM: THE LEVEL

21ST PLACE

YEAAAAAAAAAAA BOYEEEEEEEEEEEE

[S.N.N.]

Except it's actually really fun and has super clever sprite placements (Pitchin' Chucks and Pokeys on layer 2).

..the generator is pretty unnecessary though.

[Ivy]

..the generator is pretty unnecessary though.

this reminds me, I just rewatched Wholly Unnecessary because the music is too good

[Telamon]

Dude, the editing for Peachpuff Peaks was amaze-balls. I know editing is a pain, but I love the results.

Also, say what you want about it overall, but Peachpuff Peaks has my vote for best level name

[Nathan the Talkmaus]

Peachpuff Peaks also had the brilliant idea to give you capes and throw mostly cape-killable enemies at you. Being a little methodical and bloodthirsty compared to both LPers I watched play and struggle with the level should make it quite a bit easier.

[Tyty]

Haha, that bouncing platform caught me off-guard.

I checked it since that didn't happen in my testing when I was making it, but it seems to happen consistently in the vldc patched rom. I'm not sure why! It doesn't seem to happen when I test my own patch either. It's funny though.

I'm glad it ended up living up to its terrible pun name :V

[yoshicookiezeus]

Teyla - A Nice Level

S.N.N.
CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 21/25
APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 23/25
OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 21/25
AESTHETICS: 22/25

OVERALL: 87/100

COMMENTS: A solid, SMW-like level overall. Most of your sprite placement was good, but a couple of the Diggin' Chucks in the first half ended up having no real purpose (you could totally bypass them before they even got a chance to throw out their rocks).

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

OVERALL: 90/100

COMMENTS: Very cool level. Has some interesting line guide uses and is a lot of fun to just play through. I really like how the Yoshi Coins are positioned here - they're not too hard to get but aren't simply on the player's way too.

MrDeePay
Creativity: 17/25
Curves: 25/25
Level: 23/25
Aesthetics: 22/25

Overall: 87/100

Comments: This level lives up to it's name quite well. Not much to say about this one, though I did keep subconsciously thinking the non-snowy ground wasn't slippery, but that's on me. Good risk/reward on the 1up block as well.

AxemJinx - Peachpuff Peaks

S.N.N.
CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 24/25
APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 24/25
OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 24/25
AESTHETICS: 25/25

OVERALL: 97/100

COMMENTS: Wow, I loved this level. It's difficult, but it stays consistent throughout and I never really felt frustrated or overwhelmed. Your layer 2 usage is superb, and the fact that you interlaced Pokeys + Pitchin' Chucks with it was unique and made the experience tense. Great aesthetics, great gameplay - this level really stands out.

Eternity
CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 24/25
APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 22/25
OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 20/25
AESTHETICS: 21/25

OVERALL: 87/100

COMMENTS: Some really nice design here, and while it has some neat sprite placements it quite often goes overboard with it. Might have used some work on a few areas, as it might be way too hard right now. Some of the sprites, such as a Super-Koopa generator somewhere on the level, feel a bit unnecessary and don't do much other than add more difficulty to sections that would be fine without it.

MrDeePay
Creativity: 20/25
Curves: 25/25
Level: 15/25
Aesthetics: 22/25

Overall: 82/100

Comments: This feels like to completely different levels depending whether you have the Cape or not. With it it seems like an alright challenge to tackle with the Cape's spin attack bailing you out everywhere. Without it, the level can quickly become a major pain in the ass because of how much enemy spam occurs (Monty Moles, Baseballs, Lava Spores, Super Koopas, etc)

Trollope - Skybreeze Castle

S.N.N.
CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 19/25
APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 22/25
OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 21/25
AESTHETICS: 19/25

OVERALL: 81/100

COMMENTS: A rather solid entry. It didn't feel too long, and the difficulty remained consistent throughout. One thing that really bothered me was the background in the second half - it was too bright and proved to be somewhat distracting in contrast to the darker foreground.

Eternity
CREATIVE USE OF VANILLA RESOURCES: 19/25
APPROPRIATE DIFFICULTY CURVE: 18/25
OVERALL LEVEL QUALITY: 20/25
AESTHETICS: 19/25

OVERALL: 76/100

COMMENTS: Interesting entry, but the first and second halfs of the level feel like completely different levels to me. Plus, the second half's background can be a bit confusing, as it uses a palette very similar to the ground palette. It might've also been a bit too cramped, specially on the second half, but nothing big.

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

Overall: 55/100

Comments: Another textbook example of a level that plays it safe, perhaps too much. Absolutely nothing in this level feels inspired at all and it is pretty boring to play- enemy placement, layouts, setting, you name it.