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cldc 2018 - layers

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Arctangent
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Re: chocolate hack design contest - ten shots per screen

Post by Arctangent »

y'know how there were a bunch of entries that were blatantly just a part of a whole hack that was just cut out and sent in

i really, absolutely hope that this level was one of those and was just subtle about it because holy shit

if i had one complaint it'd be that the boss just looks aesthetically out of place, i'd expect something that looks more like it's from castlevania or zelda 2 in terms of shading, not the zero-shading shoujo chibi that's just kinda ... there and looks like a random sprite rip used for lack of anything better
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Re: chocolate hack design contest - ten shots per screen

Post by Alice »

That level should've been titled "layers and layers of fun" instead, lol.

Also how did they do the multiple layer 2s? There's two possibilities I can think of but I have no idea how feasible either actually are. The first is making use of the S-1 patch or something along those lines to create new layers without massive slowdown. (Though that seems like it'd be an enormous amount of work if it's possible.) The second is that it could be something to do with the fact layer 2's speed can vary even in vanilla but I don't know that the varied speeds would work the way they do in this level. I think that in vanilla SMW layer 2's speed is just based on Mario's x-position in the level so it would still have every part of layer 2 on screen moving at the same speed.
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Re: chocolate hack design contest - ten shots per screen

Post by Nao »

Alice wrote: 5 years agoAlso how did they do the multiple layer 2s? There's two possibilities I can think of but I have no idea how feasible either actually are. The first is making use of the S-1 patch or something along those lines to create new layers without massive slowdown. (Though that seems like it'd be an enormous amount of work if it's possible.) The second is that it could be something to do with the fact layer 2's speed can vary even in vanilla but I don't know that the varied speeds would work the way they do in this level. I think that in vanilla SMW layer 2's speed is just based on Mario's x-position in the level so it would still have every part of layer 2 on screen moving at the same speed.
Foreground is Layer 1, the 3 different moving Layers are Layer 2-4. Status bar is probably a sprite, but I have no idea how the background was done (that's the real mystery here).
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Re: cldc 2018 - layers

Post by idol »

lightest
Placement: 1
Codename: lightest
Author: idol & Katrina
Judge Comments:

FPzero:

Fun Factor: 29/30
Presentation: 19/20
Creativity: 10/10

Total: 58/60

Comments:
The bad first: Difficulty was kind of high and with only five lives it was very easy to game over and have to redo the level all over again. I would've liked to see a higher starting lives count, more 1ups (I know the moon was there but I didn't think I could make it) or no lives at all. But this isn't a huge negative against the level or anything.
Aside from that though, this level was incredible! I need to give you a special shoutout for having some of the best visual clarity I've seen in a level. Gray objects are solid and walkable and brown are background decoration. The smashers are all color coded as well to signal when they move. Red go first, then green, then blue, all in a rhythm that's very easy to internalize. I was almost always able to time when I should be moving and when I should be waiting thanks to your consistent visual design.
It took me a while to realize that this was also a Big Level, so it was cool to be moving up and to the right constantly without having to change sublevels.
The level design itself was really well done. You built the whole thing around the idea of the timed smashers and it just really worked out. Nearly every jump presented felt like it had been carefully tested and tweaked to be challenging but doable. Deftly weaving between spikes or hanging in the air long enough for one to move down made me feel like I'm actually good at video games haha.
The boss was mostly good, just a little tricky to time jumps onto. I know I died once because they fired magic right as I was landing on them, which was a bit annoying. But in the end they weren't too hard and I was happy it was only three hits.
All in all, this level was amazing and I'm honestly kind of stunned by the technology on display here. I turned off SNES layers one by one only to discover that this was using Mode 0, and I still have no idea how you drew the starfield when it didn't appear to be on any layer at all! The level is impresses both technically and mechanically, and its overall design is top-notch.

Noivern:

I'm not sure what exactly MSU-1 added that couldn't already be done with regular custom music, but the music was great nonetheless. The level is a fantastic showcase of both katrina's larger levels patch and also mode 0, taking full advantage of all four layers and sometimes looking like five. I was hoping to see a section at the end that utilized all three colors of smasher, but it's not a big loss. What is a big loss is the slowdown, which starts around the area where the second color smasher is introduced and is near-constant from then on. There are also a few issues with the boss, specifically the colorful lines that show up on screen briefly during level load, orange platforms appearing in the wrong location when spawned then correcting themselves a frame or so later, and the fact that you can knock the boss down above the lava but they "land" flush with the ground.

Total: 53

Blind Devil:

Fun: Tricky level while not being unfair, too long or frustrating. So, definitely an enjoyable experience! The level setups were absolutely engaging, and I liked every single part. The player has plenty of time and room to think and do every action with caution, and even though there was nothing that encourages exploration, there were some extra challenges for getting a 3up moon, for example. Design-wise, it's nothing like regular horizontal or vertical levels: it was its own thing, and that counted for an even more unique experience. Gameplay-wise, it's a more timing-oriented level, as the player need to measure when crushers will move in order to carefully progress. Lastly, there's a boss, and the stage benefitted from having two midpoints. The boss was so cute and nice to fight, too - it triggered aimed crushers, threw Magikoopa spells, moving Bowser Statues... and there was plenty of room for the player to move around. Nothing here existed to bring gameplay down, so congratulations.
Fun points: 30/30

Presentation: Before I start, I must admit I've got into a judging dilemma here because of MSU-1, and what things would change if one couldn't make it work and stuff. In the end, the feature is meant to work, and it works, so I had to get it working in order to properly judge presentation factor. So yeah, if it didn't work for me, I'd still have to consider the MSU-1 music and other features pretending as if they worked. It worked for me so okay, I can judge that lol. Alright, let's move on now. All graphics were retro-styled, 8-bit-ish. Everything. The level used Mode 0 (in other words, it allowed for four 2bpp layers and it also justifies the style choice lol). Music-wise, MSU-1 and retro-styled goodness as well. It went extremely well together with the environment. Sadly... really sadly, the sound effects were unchanged, and that broke consistency even though they didn't sound broken themselves. Too bad. There were a couple areas with minor slowdown, too, but since they didn't interfere on gameplay or were annoying in any circumstances, no points are deducted in that regards. Gimmick-wise, mindblowing usage of layer 2, layer 3 and layer 4 crushers with different timing. The introduction was pretty charming - starting with layer 2, then getting more complex with layer 3, then layer 4 - all while keeping the difficulty curve smooth. Same thing applies to the boss. All in all, outstanding presentation. Not flawless just due to a small detail, unfortunately.
Presentation points: 19/20

Creativity: Every section had its unique touch, and the usage of different crushers in varied patterns was great. And it's impressive that the mechanism was used in a design-oriented way while being explored pretty well. The overall setups might look simple, but they only look simple. It's exactly the opposite, especially the sections using multiple crushers (most notably one where the player has to wait for one to lower in order to be able to fall over note blocks safely while having to measure the movement of other crushers. Creativity really peaked in the boss battle, though: aimed crushers are used in there, and the player has to ride one of them in order to reach and stomp the boss, not to mention all other sprite and obstacle setups used in conjunction with everything.
Creativity points: 10/10
----------
Total Score: 59/60
i won cldc 2016 with a level i wasnt super proud of, so i wanted 2 outdo myself this year (there wasnt a cldc 2017). something seemingly glossed over by raocow too is the fact that this level uses the big level system developed by katrina, aka it's not stuck to being a horizontal or vertical level like regular smw is. this is the first time someone other than katrina has used her exlev big level system i think, at least i sure havent seen it used elsewhere. she was responsible for all the wild asm & the graphics for this level. the foreground is layer 1, the red layer is layer 2, the green layer is layer 3, and the blue layer is layer 4. the stars are color math / hdma stuff iirc. it's worth noting this level wasn't even made in lunar magic lol

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Re: cldc 2018 - layers

Post by Voltgloss »

I don't know who the boss was, but I can tell they are quite the wicked child.
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Re: cldc 2018 - layers

Post by FPzero »

Yeah this level just astounded me on a technical scale because I was finally getting to see the results of the Big Level editor and newer things like Mode 0 usage hitting the scene. My slow realization that this wasn't just a simple Layer 2 level after hitting the midpoint, as well as realizing that I wasn't just going to the right and a little up, but I was actually going full diagonally up like I was playing an SMBX level was just kinda mind-blowing. I've been conditioned to know what SMW's supposed to be capable of over the years and both of these things completely go against that. This level was a treat to play.
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Re: cldc 2018 - layers

Post by Alice »

FPzero wrote: 5 years agoI was actually going full diagonally up
I legitimately didn't even notice that was true but I suppose it was now that I think about it, huh? That's neat. Is there anywhere on SMWC that goes over all the tech used in this entry? Cause it's really quite interesting.
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Re: cldc 2018 - layers

Post by Tyty »

Honestly, I noticed the big level but Mode 0 was way cooler to me. So many moving parts is really cool, and Mario works really well with the 8-bit colors.

I didn't like the boss much though.
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Re: cldc 2018 - layers

Post by Kilgamayan »

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Re: cldc 2018 - layers

Post by Sebby19 »

There's a Mode 0? I thought the SNES only had Modes 1-7, with 7 being the most mentioned one.
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Re: cldc 2018 - layers

Post by Blynken »

FPzero wrote: 5 years ago Yeah this level just astounded me on a technical scale because I was finally getting to see the results of the Big Level editor and newer things like Mode 0 usage hitting the scene. My slow realization that this wasn't just a simple Layer 2 level after hitting the midpoint, as well as realizing that I wasn't just going to the right and a little up, but I was actually going full diagonally up like I was playing an SMBX level was just kinda mind-blowing. I've been conditioned to know what SMW's supposed to be capable of over the years and both of these things completely go against that. This level was a treat to play.
I loved how raocow was so distracted by this realization himself that he got crushed while babbling about the "onion curse." I guess I was too focused on the level itself when I played it to get blown away by those "technical" details. I didn't even notice the full-on diagonal-up movement until today's video.

Looking forward to a level with half a dozen layers actually called "the onion curse."
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Re: cldc 2018 - layers

Post by FPzero »

Sebby19 wrote: 5 years ago There's a Mode 0? I thought the SNES only had Modes 1-7, with 7 being the most mentioned one.
Yeah, Mode 0 supports the use of Layers 1 through 4, but only with a 2bpp graphical depth. Meaning each layer can only have 4 colors, just like old NES stuff. It's very rarely used on the SNES for that reason, since most games were showing off the expanded palette options given to them by the most standard Mode 1.

There's a really cool video on SNES Modes here. It's where I learned much of this information for myself.
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Re: cldc 2018 - layers

Post by watho »

the color pallet was so well done that it didn't even occur to me that it was necessary and not an aesthetic choice. Serious kudos all around on making an incredibly technically impressive level that used all of that tech to the fullest!
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