Episode 2 Level Review and Testing Discussion

[Darkonius64]

Erm... I don't wanna be annoyng but i just wanted to ask if my level (Frightening factory) needs to be re-reviewed, since SaJewers told me to move my level to another wiki list.
Sorry in advance if i'm bothering you guys...

[SAJewers]

decided to stream some level reviews for a bit: http://twitch.tv/sajewers

done: www.twitch.tv/sajewers/v/18344597

[ztarwuff]

Ectoplasmania by Holy.

This level isn't fun playing as anyone other than raocow. I understand that you want the 'drying' period to be 5 seconds. I really do, because there's one section in the level where what you've currently got is too long. However, the jumps you're asking me to do are extremely cramped. No matter which character I was playing as (this level is impossible with Sheath, by the way) I kept smashing into a block.

However, in the bit after the cloud section, it meant I kept jumping back into the ectoplasm to try again. And if I go far enough right, I end up with that ghost from the third ectoplasm pit following me everywhere and blocking my movements. And every character except raocow has an extremely slow turning speed that means I often don't have enough time.

In the second section, the first platform has a ceiling above it which I keep bumping into as Iris. From what I can see it's just there for aesthetic purposes. Could you remove a few blocks, please? Also the second ectoplasm pool in the second section has platforms that are arranged in such an infuriating way. I could not complete as Big Iris in that section because I kept banging my head against the platforms. It took me fifteen tries with Demo alone and that was because of her slow (relative to raocow) acceleration/turning speed.

The next ectoplasmic pool is the one where the 5 seconds is too much. I'm counting manually, but because I was so stresssed out from the previous pool, my counting is in complete disarray. Not to mention that with Kood, the sparkling animation doesn't stick so it's easy to think that the gimmick hasn't activated. Perhaps if there was some sound to suggest the gimmick was about to wear off?

The ParaFurba jumping also didn't work quite as well as it should have with Demo. With raocow and Kood, I had no problems, but with Demo, those things took their damned sweet time to respawn to the point where I either had to pull away at the last moment to avoid getting hit or got hit and died.

The joke was clever, but by the time I got to it, I just wasn't in the mood for laughing.

Summary: Rearrange blocks so players aren't constantly banging their heads against ceilings. The sparkles don't appear on Kood. Perhaps change the gimmick such that there's a noise that indicates the effect is about to run out? Filter out Sheath. Consider filtering out Iris.

Verdict: Reject.

[Holy]

Ectoplasmania by Holy.

This level isn't fun playing as anyone other than raocow. I understand that you want the 'drying' period to be 5 seconds. I really do, because there's one section in the level where what you've currently got is too long. However, the jumps you're asking me to do are extremely cramped. No matter which character I was playing as (this level is impossible with Sheath, by the way) I kept smashing into a block.

However, in the bit after the cloud section, it meant I kept jumping back into the ectoplasm to try again. And if I go far enough right, I end up with that ghost from the third ectoplasm pit following me everywhere and blocking my movements. And every character except raocow has an extremely slow turning speed that means I often don't have enough time.

In the second section, the first platform has a ceiling above it which I keep bumping into as Iris. From what I can see it's just there for aesthetic purposes. Could you remove a few blocks, please? Also the second ectoplasm pool in the second section has platforms that are arranged in such an infuriating way. I could not complete as Big Iris in that section because I kept banging my head against the platforms. It took me fifteen tries with Demo alone and that was because of her slow (relative to raocow) acceleration/turning speed.

The next ectoplasmic pool is the one where the 5 seconds is too much. I'm counting manually, but because I was so stresssed out from the previous pool, my counting is in complete disarray. Not to mention that with Kood, the sparkling animation doesn't stick so it's easy to think that the gimmick hasn't activated. Perhaps if there was some sound to suggest the gimmick was about to wear off?

The ParaFurba jumping also didn't work quite as well as it should have with Demo. With raocow and Kood, I had no problems, but with Demo, those things took their damned sweet time to respawn to the point where I either had to pull away at the last moment to avoid getting hit or got hit and died.

The joke was clever, but by the time I got to it, I just wasn't in the mood for laughing.

Summary: Rearrange blocks so players aren't constantly banging their heads against ceilings. The sparkles don't appear on Kood. Perhaps change the gimmick such that there's a noise that indicates the effect is about to run out? Filter out Sheath. Consider filtering out Iris.

Verdict: Reject.

Aight I'm gonna go back and look at this.
time passes

Okay I think I'm gonna filter it to just demo because that's who I made the level as. And I'll
-move the ghost back that was giving you trouble
-shorten that platform
-decrease spawn time on the furbas

but there IS a sound effect that lets you know you're about to dry off! Its a prshf noise before the fsshhh. It's working on my end, maybe it isn't on yours? And aside from that, I think the jumps are fine. They're supposed to be a little frustrating and nerve-wracking to go with the timing gimmick.

Also, not sure if you intended this, but in the last water section (with the furbas) in section 2, you can jump over the wall. Otherwise,a fine level.

I'll fix this too

[ztarwuff]

Aight I'm gonna go back and look at this.
time passes

Okay I think I'm gonna filter it to just demo because that's who I made the level as. And I'll
-move the ghost back that was giving you trouble
-shorten that platform
-decrease spawn time on the furbas

but there IS a sound effect that lets you know you're about to dry off! Its a prshf noise before the fsshhh. It's working on my end, maybe it isn't on yours? And aside from that, I think the jumps are fine. They're supposed to be a little frustrating and nerve-wracking to go with the timing gimmick.

Also, not sure if you intended this, but in the last water section (with the furbas) in section 2, you can jump over the wall. Otherwise,a fine level.

I'll fix this too

Really? You're going to filter out the one character I could actually complete the level with easily? Personally, I think you should filter out Iris and Sheath only.

No, I didn't hear that one. I only heard the one noise and thought it was the drying off one.

[Holy]

Yeah, I dunno, I don't want the level to be too easy. I want the obstacles to take at least some practice to get down which is why there's no easy way to die save on the last two.

Can anyone else see if that "warning noise" before the sparkles dry off is working or not? I think I got all my lunars and dee-el-els updated.

[snoruntpyro]

War Machine by Dangtater. I am rejecting that one as well.

[Wohlstand]

Friendly Dictator - SKULLDUGGERY

Nice level, but I found a small mistake:
npc-209m.gif and effect-112m.gif are wrong: masks should be black&white or gray-scaled if you wanna have semi-trapsparency.
That laziliy-made masks are too bad thing when you use the alpha-blending render algorithm (which works faster and gives you able to have semi-transparency):

Note: you can freely use *.PNG sprites instead of masked GIFs, because latest LunaLUA has built-in support of that
P.S.: http://engine.wohlnet.ru/docs/_files_fo ... images.zip - fixed images

[Friendly Dictator]

ok, i updated the level to use your fixed images

[snoruntpyro]

ping

ping

Bubble Trouble by roundthewheel [Rejected]
Shoe Zone 3 by castlepokemetroid [Accepted]

Sorry about the audio screwups in Bubble Trouble. If you need clarification for what I said, just ask.

[SAJewers]

Can't edit the wiki thanks to wikia maintenance, so

A Field of Goopas

I liked the execution of the level, to a point, but I feel as if the concept might be a bit stale. Like, AUS's Winter City level in Episode 1, and "A Terrible Level" from ASMBXT were funny as one-offs, but to do the joke a yet again, I'm not sure. Maybe, instead of making the entire level be the joke (like the previous 2), contain the joke to a punchline at the end, and make the rest of the level be some sort of setup to that punchline.

Don't get me wrong, the level's execution was good, it's just that the concept, as it is, is starting to feel a tad stale to me. That said:

• Blocks need to go 3 tiles offscreen. Maybe this is intentional, but having that diagonal piece of land necessitates the blocks extending offscreen
• I hate those "Find the P-Switch Door" puzzles, especially ones with no indicator.
• Move the Green P-Switch back a bit, otherwise, it's possible to accidentally scroll the red goopas onto the screen, where they fall to their death and don't respawn, making that area impossible to do.

Otherwise, reserving Judgement for now.

Retarded Volcano

Rejected. This level is simply way too short, and you never even give any powerups at all. Seriously, someone can probably finish this in 15 seconds.

[snoruntpyro]

field of goopers 1 review

Alright, I've just outright removed the secret exit - it was a dumb choice anyways. I shifted over the time switch as you suggested and fixed all the block holes.

I'm really not sure what to do about the "this joke has been done before" thing, though. I was dead set on making a Chaos Complexx reference with this level, and I've never even played ASMBXT so I don't know what "A Terrible Level" is. I'm honestly not sure what to do...I'll update the level tomorrow and wait for more reviews.

[SAJewers]

Here's A Terrible Level: https://youtu.be/dTB2TSk-opg?t=2m40s

[Jappio]

Can I get a review on these 2 levels:

Jappio - A Lock's Fate (There appears to be a blue sack. Is that collectable? Is there a filter? If not, reject it)

OK, just tested this myself.

You can get the Blue Sack, but you can't seem to get it out of the level since you need to get out of it to use the key on the door.

However, I'm still gonna reject it simple because it's way too easy to loose your only key by accidentally throwing it into lava. Also, I found section 5 really dumb, since all but one of your options trap your, and force you to die and restart the level from the beginning. Also, the music seems to constantly change for no real reason.

Thanks for the review SAJewers. Sorry for the things that didn't really work out. I updated the level to address most of those issues:

Jappio - A Lock's Fate
https://www.mediafire.com/?excz6mca3l4xt12

I didn't fix the music though, as the music choices are meant to match the moods of the different stages of grief. It's part of the theme-ing. However, if that reasoning isn't good enough, I'd be happy to change it.

-----------------------

Oh, and completely side point, I updated my level that had previously been "Pierce the Heavens". There was a level in the previous episode or something if I recall with the same name. So here is the new one:

Jappio - The Lights in the Sky
https://www.mediafire.com/?excz6mca3l4xt12

This one has been tested by others so far, but extra reviews are of course welcomed if someone really wanted to.

[Hoeloe]

Jappio - The Lights in the Sky

Just going to say, I appreciate how you kept the reference in a much less obvious way.

[ztarwuff]

Muwha by Franky:
Reject.

No character filter present. Level is uncompletable as raocow, Kood and Sheath. Big Mario Discrimination near start of level. Difficulty far too high with no room for any error whatsoever. Custom music uncredited.

Also, can anybody figure out why the wikia page isn't linking to the page I created for Franky's level? The link keeps saying the page doesn't exist.

[snoruntpyro]

The Duckpocalypse by Skulldug13 [Rejected]

[SAJewers]

The Duckpocalypse by Skulldug13 [Rejected]

...Isn't that song copyrighted?

EDIT: looking at the wiki page for it, I'm questioning the useability of some of the songs used.

Also, you don't have to just test as Demo. Feel free to use anther character, or start off with another powerup/mount

[snoruntpyro]

The Duckpocalypse by Skulldug13 [Rejected]

...Isn't that song copyrighted?

I didn't recognize it, but if it is, that's one more strike against the level...

[SAJewers]

Well, if "Epic Sax Guy" isn't, "X Files Theme" surely must be.

I guess I could help.

I don't have video capability at the moment but I'm happy and interested to prepare written/screenshot reviews. SAJewers, if there are particular ones you'd like me to tackle, please let me know; otherwise I'll pull a few randomly chosen ones (not the same ones you asked Pholtos to review) and identify them here in advance so people know which ones I'm starting on.

A more expanded list for you guys (Pyro feel free to use this list too):

Dangtater - War Machine
Franky - Muwha
InvisibleSandwhich - Goo's Gym
Mari0s0 - Layer Shenanigans
KarateKid5 - Starlight Resort Grand Reopening
LV27MarkerMMan - Odd Boss Rush
yesimbill - Blocky Interlude
Holy - Ectoplasmania
PikkaRose - Sky Fleet
Alpherio - Arctic Fissure
duvi0 - Iceberg Backyard
Cadwyn/SAJewers - Hope Rides Alone
StraightFlame - Retarded Volcano
SAJewers - LP Production Factory

[snoruntpyro]

stuff

I'm not getting any content ID matches on the video, just to let you know.

Also, Steve and George Go On Parade already got rejected by 3 people I think. It's in the rejected list, at least.

[SAJewers]

Fixed that, thanks.

[Willhart]

Irradiated Ice

was the starting point at the wrong place? It seemed to start in a middle of the section 2. The music is nice, but I hope it is not too recent and does not cause any copyright claims. There have not been any of those as far as I know though for that game.

THe gameplay feels okay so far for a thing before the midpoint. It could even be a little longer in my opinion. I really like the use of stationary enemies, and the way some of them are placed so that you can kill them effectively with the meat plants.

Sea Side Slumber

This level was really nice and pretty, and also maybe a little mean. I think it pretty much good to go. Approved by me.

[SAJewers]

Irradiated Ice

was the starting point at the wrong place? It seemed to start in a middle of the section 2. The music is nice, but I hope it is not too recent and does not cause any copyright claims. There have not been any of those as far as I know though for that game.

THe gameplay feels okay so far for a thing before the midpoint. It could even be a little longer in my opinion. I really like the use of stationary enemies, and the way some of them are placed so that you can kill them effectively with the meat plants.

For the Undertale song: Being an indie game, I doubt it would get flagged, but confirmation would be nice.

For the Ristar song: dude, use the vgm, don't use an ogg, you're just inflating the filesize for no reason.

[7NameSam]

For the Undertale song: Being an indie game, I doubt it would get flagged, but confirmation would be nice.

For the Ristar song: dude, use the vgm, don't use an ogg, you're just inflating the filesize for no reason.

For the undertale song, I checked on the bandcamp page, and it said "All rights reserved" at the bottom, and I figured I would be better safe than sorry.
for the ristar song, I didn't even know what a vgm was before you said I should of used one?
where or how do you get a .vgm file?