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VLDC9 - vanilla level design contest 9

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Re: VLDC9 - volcanic lifts depreciating clouts 9

Post by Nimono »

since you asked, raocow:

The reason I gave OOPS! a perfect score is because I assumed incorrectly that the penalty would be so large that any score I gave would be instantly counteracted to a flat 0 overall, so I thought "man, i really enjoyed every other part of the level, lol why not give it a perfect in aesthetics, too, it's not like it'll matter in the end~"

In hindsight, terrible, terrible logic. But oh well, what's done is done. Also, I stand by my creativity and design scores for that level- I genuinely thought it was creative and well-designed. Just not a very good level aesthetically. It didn't deserve any higher than 2, to be honest. Still really fun to play. The gimmick's amazing!

actually on second thought i don't stand by my design score so much. BY THE WAY FUN FACT: The entire gimmick of the level is that above the screen is a digging charlie. Yeah. One singular enemy causes all that trouble. Also fun fact: You can kill it at the beginning of the level if you're fast enough with that third ? Block. Makes the whole level BOOOOOOOORIIIIIIIIIIIIIING.

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Re: VLDC9 - volcanic lifts depreciating clouts 9

Post by 10204307 »

I can only assume that, aside from Eternity, the judges are all wizards who managed to avoid dying at all on this level, because even dying once on OOPS! completely tanked my opinion of the level. I hate autoscroll in general, but slow, vertical autoscroll with impossible-to-predict enemies is even worse. And the gameplay is so monotonous - there isn't any variation in the setups you encounter in the level, it's just rocks and rocks and rocks and more rocks. Awful.
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Re: VLDC9 - volcanic lifts depreciating clouts 9

Post by Koopster »

I actually died a bunch too... to summarize I'm not sure what I was thinking when I scored it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I just didn't feel as worn out as you'd expect, idk
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Re: VLDC9 - volcanic lifts depreciating clouts 9

Post by Nimono »

10204307 wrote:I can only assume that, aside from Eternity, the judges are all wizards who managed to avoid dying at all on this level, because even dying once on OOPS! completely tanked my opinion of the level. I hate autoscroll in general, but slow, vertical autoscroll with impossible-to-predict enemies is even worse. And the gameplay is so monotonous - there isn't any variation in the setups you encounter in the level, it's just rocks and rocks and rocks and more rocks. Awful.
Nope, I died to it a lot! I just really loved the level after I learned that the entire gimmick was produced by a single sprite, the diggin' charlie
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Re: VLDC9 - volcanic lifts depreciating clouts 9

Post by Zephyr_DragonLord »

Nimono wrote:
actually on second thought i don't stand by my design score so much. BY THE WAY FUN FACT: The entire gimmick of the level is that above the screen is a digging charlie. Yeah. One singular enemy causes all that trouble. Also fun fact: You can kill it at the beginning of the level if you're fast enough with that third ? Block. Makes the whole level BOOOOOOOORIIIIIIIIIIIIIING.
Hahahaha... that's awesome. I love when the whole design of a level can just be broken that easily.
But yeah, I figured that's why you gave the level such a score. It ended up not mattering much at all. Also, sorry again for the gender confusion. I'm surprised that it doesn't happen more with me...
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Re: VLDC9 - volcanic lifts depreciating clouts 9

Post by Stink Terios »

I gave up on OOPS and just used savestates. If you are being unfair, long AND boring at the same time, then you don't deserve my attention.
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Re: VLDC9 - volcanic lifts depreciating clouts 9

Post by Reb »

Everyone keeps saying OOPS! was incredibly unfair, but like... it seemed like at least decently fair if you just stay near the lava, which is a nifty design idea imo.
I don't know, maybe I'm wrong.

I totally totally agree on the whole "slow" issue though. That's a right hassle.
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Re: VLDC9 - volcanic lifts depreciating clouts 9

Post by ft029 »

play the level yourself, Reb. raocow got insanely lucky.

My level is probably tomorrow, and I will say right now that it is also unfair. Cave town is a thing.
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Re: VLDC9 - volcanic lifts depreciating clouts 9

Post by Ryrir »

Reaction based levels can be a blast to play, but only if you have all the information you need to parse an obstacle. In ft's level there are quite a few situations where you didn't know what's going on until it's too late, which leads to a lot of learning by dying.

I still think it's a cool level though, the ideas behind the obstacles are creative and fun, and with a bit of reworking it easily could have been one of the top levels in the contest for me

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it lacks clarity

(I'll also defend the podobo jump - When they're patched like that it's pretty much the exact same thing as a bullet jump, plus it's literally right after the midpoint)

(Also, DAE Undertale??)
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Re: VLDC9 - volcanic lifts depreciating clouts 9

Post by Leet »

it's not undertale music it's Halloween Hack music that migrated to Homestuck and then Undertale

probably if Toby Fox uses it again it'll get mistaken as being from that new thing too
Well it is a decent hack but sometime its just too repetitif there no level that actually pop in your face and your like oh yeah that level they all ressemble themselves and just monster along the way.
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Re: VLDC9 - volcanic lifts depreciating clouts 9

Post by Koopster »

15th: PLEASEHOLD THE LINE by Luks
Nimono
DESIGN: 29/30
CREATIVITY: 17/20
AESTHETICS: 10/10
TOTAL: 56/60
Wow! You really handled the mechanics of these lines quite well! Great job!

ninja boy
DESIGN: 16/30
CREATIVITY: 20/20
AESTHETICS: 7/10
TOTAL: 43/60
Right before I played this I had just beaten Sans for the first time, it was very coincidental timing… Though the level is really fun to play with a nice challenge and a unique charm.

Eternity
DESIGN: 22/30
CREATIVITY: 16/20
AESTHETICS: 7/10
TOTAL: 45/60
A really fun line guide level overall. The orange lines are definitely a nice gimmick and help differentiate it from most athletic levels, and the level had some interesting setups as well. The few sections where you have to get off the platform or jump on a different one were also pretty neat, and they added a lot to the level overall.

Koopster
DESIGN: 27/30
CREATIVITY: 17/20
AESTHETICS: 8/10
TOTAL: 52/60
Super great usage of the glitchy tile! The level in structure is pretty simple mostly, but it has some clever setups at times. What I liked the most about it is how the enemies are cleverly placed in a way they're not stressful to dodge.

42nd: UNDERGROUND THEATRE by ft029
Nimono
DESIGN: 10/30
CREATIVITY: 10/20
AESTHETICS: 4/10
TOTAL: 24/60
This level is just way too difficult. It's enjoyable at some parts, but there's so little margin for error at others that it overall loses its enjoyability...

ninja boy
DESIGN: 26/30
CREATIVITY: 18/20
AESTHETICS: 5/10
TOTAL: 49/60
Nothing special to look at but a really fun level which reminds me of eating snake ruins from VLDC8

Eternity
DESIGN: 24/30
CREATIVITY: 16/20
AESTHETICS: 8/10
TOTAL: 48/60
With some more polish, this would be a fantastic level. The setups with the eating blocks are really creative and the level as a whole is super interesting, but some of them just don't feel right to go through, and others don't have much indication of what you're supposed to do at first. The green coins are a nice way of solving this, and I actually would have liked to see them used more here.

Koopster
DESIGN: 14/30
CREATIVITY: 15/20
AESTHETICS: 8/10
TOTAL: 37/60
Now this was a little bit hard to judge. This level is really clever in many aspects, it has a lot of very interesting challenges and all. But its unpredictable nature is really bothersome, especially the "green coins" concept which is pretty flawed. You just tell me I have to "jump" or "throw a block", but how can I be able to tell what direction to jump or where to throw, if I can't even see where I'm going beforehand? The door right before the midpoint is the meanest part of your level. The rocket block in the third dragon coin puzzle is also really finicky. The real problem here is that the punishment for failure is death most of the time. I'm usually not a defender of reset doors, but in situations like this, they would've been rather crucial. I don't know though... even though I had to replay this level a million times (that life farm in your base ROM wasn't for nothing, was it?), I still had fun. I'm pretty sure the rather short length helps. Also, kinda silly to find but nice secret exit hiding spot.


I guess my comment for both levels says everything I would have to say.
The level that should've won imo (and incidentally my highest score) is defs tomorrow so hype! Look forward to ninja boy's commentary for it :V
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Re: VLDC9 - volcanic lifts depreciating clouts 9

Post by Lazy_ »

As far as levels that you have to slowly chip away at go, I liked Underground Theatre. It feels really nice to play once you nail the movements. But yeah, that's still a very niche thing to like and I don't blame anyone for hating it. Same goes for __________
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Re: VLDC9 - viral lines deep conglomerations 9

Post by AUS »

UNDERGROUND THEATRE honestly feels like it was designed to be played with rewinds.
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Re: VLDC9 - volcanic lifts depreciating clouts 9

Post by Mochtroidprime »

Leet wrote:it's not undertale music it's Halloween Hack music that migrated to Homestuck and then Undertale

probably if Toby Fox uses it again it'll get mistaken as being from that new thing too
Considering the level is outright referencing Undertale (blue stop signs) I think it's a fair mistake.

As for that second level, was that made by the same person who made the "lol sorry no reset doors because reasons" level that raocow played during MAGL3 (I think it was that)? Or did there seriously just so happen to be two people who decided that a single joke about not putting in reset doors/pipes was more worthwhile than a decent gameplay experience?
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Re: VLDC9 - viral lines deep conglomerations 9

Post by Zephyr_DragonLord »

Pleasehold the line is a really nice level... this is a good reaction level, and there's a good variety of setups here, too. Undertale is nice when it's fitting. It fits here, obviously. Nice work.

Underground Theatre is also cool, but is less solid design philosophy wise... I don't think I would have enjoyed myself either. Some of the block eating setups are really cool, but they are also incredibly precise to the point where some of them become trial and error. With a bit of polish and fixing, this level can become amazing. But for now, we are staring at a flawed version. Not to say that I wouldn't play it willingly... because I would. That first Dragon Coin is incredibly dumb, though.
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Re: VLDC9 - volcanic lifts depreciating clouts 9

Post by Kowkarot »

Lazy_ wrote:As far as levels that you have to slowly chip away at go, I liked Underground Theatre. It feels really nice to play once you nail the movements. But yeah, that's still a very niche thing to like and I don't blame anyone for hating it. Same goes for __________

Matterhorn

was great imo, and so was Underground Theatre. But that's just because I'm also ok with slowly learning a level, as long as the difficulty is consistent and fair. But if it is something like a lakitu that's so high up I can't possibly predict where the spinies will fall, then I'm out. (*cough*

Sky at The Weird

*cough*)
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Re: VLDC9 - volcanic lifts depreciating clouts 9

Post by FrozenQuills »

Mochtroidprime wrote: As for that second level, was that made by the same person who made the "lol sorry no reset doors because reasons" level that raocow played during MAGL3 (I think it was that)? Or did there seriously just so happen to be two people who decided that a single joke about not putting in reset doors/pipes was more worthwhile than a decent gameplay experience?
Underground Theatre was made by the 3rd place winner of MaGL3. His VLDC9 entry is really trial and errory, but ft has improved a lot since then lol (and I think all of these levels are around a year old now).

Pleasehold the line is a really neat level btw.
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Re: VLDC9 - viral lines deep conglomerations 9

Post by QubicTom »

ft029, that level was wonderful! It looks like one of those levels that are really satisfying to beat. It was a lot of fun to watch being played, too, more so than many of the other levels in this contest thus far. Resets would have been nice, but it wasn't that long. Good job!
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Re: VLDC9 - viral lines deep conglomerations 9

Post by warpio »

I like how that rail platforming level is trying to replicate the platforming section of Undertale's final boss battle. It's a pretty clever adaptation.
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Re: VLDC9 - viral lines deep conglomerations 9

Post by ft029 »

PleaseHold the Line is janky, fun, and interesting.

Some fun facts about my level:
1. The first dragon coin is possible to get if you are fast and get on the angel block from the right side. Then, you can get back on the eater chain and jump to safety. raocow isn't alone in misunderstanding this obstacle.
2. No one knew that dragon coins would be saved on midpoint or exit. I used the 1-up checkpoints right next to the dragon coins, so if you got the dragon coins in the first half, they would show up if you die in the midpoint room. However, they were removed because of the midpoint save patch thing.
3. I only seriously hacked kaizo before, and that was my first normal level in ages. "normal". ""normal"".
4. Koopster's score on the text has my level at a 37, but it's a 40 now. The level was possibly more fun on the second time around.
5. This was one of the last levels judged, hence the high score from ninja *rewinds after a stiff breeze* boy.

Overall, it's a poorly designed level that expects the player to be a psychic. Replaying it is satisfying, though--it's kind of a self-indulgent level as raocow would say. I made the level for myself.
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Re: VLDC9 - volcanic lifts depreciating clouts 9

Post by Leet »

Mochtroidprime wrote:
Leet wrote:it's not undertale music it's Halloween Hack music that migrated to Homestuck and then Undertale

probably if Toby Fox uses it again it'll get mistaken as being from that new thing too
Considering the level is outright referencing Undertale (blue stop signs) I think it's a fair mistake.

As for that second level, was that made by the same person who made the "lol sorry no reset doors because reasons" level that raocow played during MAGL3 (I think it was that)? Or did there seriously just so happen to be two people who decided that a single joke about not putting in reset doors/pipes was more worthwhile than a decent gameplay experience?
no fucker that was me :/

and i was actually waiting to see if people on here seriously were going to think that this level, too, put the joke in OVER the option of adding resets, and yes, here we are. yall, the joke was obviously added in response to there not going to be any resets, to lampshade it. the alternative to the joke wouldn't be resets, it would be no joke, and that's true in both this level and mine... this isn't that hard to understand

so, this is another example where if the joke just wasn't there, nobody would give a heck... even though the gameplay problem is the same!! hate the gameplay, not the joke...
Well it is a decent hack but sometime its just too repetitif there no level that actually pop in your face and your like oh yeah that level they all ressemble themselves and just monster along the way.
Blood Ghoul wrote:Sometimes it seems my blood spurts out in gobs, as if it were a fountain's pulsing sobs. I clearly hear it mutter as it goes yet cannot find the wound from which it flows. Before I met you, baby, I didn't know what I was missing.
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Re: VLDC9 - volcanic lifts depreciating clouts 9

Post by Grounder »

Leet wrote:so, this is another example where if the joke just wasn't there, nobody would give a heck... even though the gameplay problem is the same!! hate the gameplay, not the joke...
One; yes they totally would, are you crazy?

Two; "HAHA I COULD HAVE PUT SOMETHING USEFUL TO YOUR GAME EXPERIENCE HERE BUT I DIDN'T" is a shitty joke.
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AND I'LL STEAL YOUR SOUL! :twisted:

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Re: VLDC9 - volcanic lifts depreciating clouts 9

Post by Leet »

Grounder wrote:
Leet wrote:so, this is another example where if the joke just wasn't there, nobody would give a heck... even though the gameplay problem is the same!! hate the gameplay, not the joke...
One; yes they totally would, are you crazy?

Two; "HAHA I COULD HAVE PUT SOMETHING USEFUL TO YOUR GAME EXPERIENCE HERE BUT I DIDN'T" is a shitty joke.
yes im a crazy stupid idiot retard

what i mean is, obviously, nobody would think that the joke supersedes the gameplay... because there wouldn't be a joke to point at as a "cause", it would just be assumed to be an oversight

you could say that if the designer REALIZES the oversight they should just fix it, which is probably true, but if it's not going to be fixed at all i don't mind a dumb joke instead. i found raocow's bafflement at there being an explanation at all to be pretty funny in this level haha

main point is: don't blame joke for oversight, because process of development obviously doesn't go in that order
Well it is a decent hack but sometime its just too repetitif there no level that actually pop in your face and your like oh yeah that level they all ressemble themselves and just monster along the way.
Blood Ghoul wrote:Sometimes it seems my blood spurts out in gobs, as if it were a fountain's pulsing sobs. I clearly hear it mutter as it goes yet cannot find the wound from which it flows. Before I met you, baby, I didn't know what I was missing.
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Re: VLDC9 - viral lines deep conglomerations 9

Post by Sebby19 »

There was one moment of genius near the beginning when the same angel block was used twice in different ways.

That was it.
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Re: VLDC9 - viral lines deep conglomerations 9

Post by Leet »

as for what i think i think the level is really cool and really respect its 'self-indulgent' nature in ft's words, since i'm a big supporter of the right to make that kind of level. would i enjoy playing it? probably not, but that's why i didn't play vldc9. some things just aren't for me but they're still rad for who they're for, whoever that may be.
Well it is a decent hack but sometime its just too repetitif there no level that actually pop in your face and your like oh yeah that level they all ressemble themselves and just monster along the way.
Blood Ghoul wrote:Sometimes it seems my blood spurts out in gobs, as if it were a fountain's pulsing sobs. I clearly hear it mutter as it goes yet cannot find the wound from which it flows. Before I met you, baby, I didn't know what I was missing.
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