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Bugs, Testing, and Help (Oh My!)

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Kil
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Re: Bugs, Testing, and Help (Oh My!)

Post by Kil »

I played it and spin jumping was disabled.

Also so far none of the global and local scripts would do anything weird if they overlapped. They just set direct values so they'd just set the values twice. Now if you had global wind (great idea) and local wind at the same time, you would be pushed twice as fast.
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Doctor Shemp
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Re: Bugs, Testing, and Help (Oh My!)

Post by Doctor Shemp »

I remembered that Lost Levels introduced jumping paratroopas, so with their addition 9-4 is now substantially harder. Also the upside-down piranha plants have been fixed. I have no idea what could be causing the Lakitu spawning issue. I know that sometimes he refuses to spawn if he starts on the same screen as the player but he doesn't in this case.
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swirlybomb
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Re: Bugs, Testing, and Help (Oh My!)

Post by swirlybomb »

Aw man, I thought the first version of 9-4 was just right. Guess I'll have to try the new version soon...


LEVEL REVIEWS AND JUNK, sorry I've been taking so long - I tried to cut things down to the key elements... kind of:

both waters: Wow, you actually took the time to change all the water!! It looks very nice.

Water 1:
The grass/snow alternation in the first screen seems a bit awkward (if this is 7-2, then maybe make it all snow without ice physics?). Forgot No Turn Back in the flagpole area.
Some of the whirlpool zones seem off? There's a whirlpool zone under the first pipe, but no pit below it, and there are bits and pieces of the biggest pit with pipes above it (where the entrance to the bonus room is) that don't have whirlpool zones. This might be due to reconstructing the level or something.
Water 2:
Forgot No Turn Back on the flagpole area here too :P
--Flagpole doesn't stop the music

It's hard to say which should be 2-2 and which should be 7-2. Water 1 is very open, but has more pits and bloopers and only one powerup, while Water 2 is a bit more 'claustrophobic' and feels like it has more fish density (though they're probably about the same)...

3-1:
Overall looking quite nice. Still bushes behind all the bricks near the end. Top of vine in cloud heaven will still need its top piece; and don't forget to put warps in the other spots the player could fall down. A personal idea would be to make one of the bricks in the bonus room be a multi-coin block, but it's just a suggestion. I wonder if the latter two powerups are too close together (that is, there are very few obstacles between those two than there are between the first two)?
--Visible solid blocks in the air behind the flagpole, but it works otherwise

4-1:
It's pretty great.
5-2:
It's pretty great.

For the underwater bonus area: I'm guessing all the grass tiles will be invisible in the end? By the way, the water itself can be done much easier if you just turn 'Underwater' on in the Level Settings :v You can let those multi-coin blocks be less than 10 if you so desire.
--No flagpole

5-3:
Level is a quarter-block too tall. The level itself is pretty nice; possibly worth noting that it's very easy to jump on the tallest platform above the screen near the end, but since that just skips one Hammer Bro it doesn't really make a difference.

That underground section though... I don't think all those one-tile jumps are allowed (since they're not supposed to appear until 8-1), and the Paragoopas getting caught between the blocks looks really glitchy and unprofessional in this context. That whole portion offers very little leeway, but it could be considered okay because it's world 5; I don't know. The springs don't have the "grabside=0" npc-26.txt file.

The Bonus graphic moves, hurts the player by touching it, and can be stomped on. Set it to Don't Move and Friendly (I'm not sure how this could've gotten past your initial testing??). One of the powerup blocks is a mushroom instead of a fire flower (also, two powerups in a bonus room is almost certainly too much, one is plenty).
--No Player 2 start position; Flagpole events should have 'No Smoke' checked.

5-4:
Very easy to get boxed in by the Goopas near the cannon, but it may be fine for difficulty, I don't know. Mostly just aesthetic things: Furbas should probably be changed to the dark Furbas (since this is a castle); the ceilings that are a long string of one-block stone bricks may look tidier if they were made of the two-block ones (though this may be a deliberate choice; using both one-block and two-block ones may also look nice); in the very top row of the ceiling above Bowser, there's one brick that's made of two right-side blocks instead of one left and one right. Wrong effect-105 replacement (should be from effect-32).

I kinda thought the uneven bridge would be fine before, but now I'm thinking that it just kinda looks really awkward. Someone else may want to be the judge of whether it should stay or not.
--No Player 2 start position; the Bowser Clear event should hide Spawned NPCs

8-1:
Bonus room has no music (should be SM64- Desert). If the red Goopa shell on the fifth pipe is sent to the right, it very quickly destroys the bricks the player needs to make the jump. Almost all of the jumps feel very strict because it's hard to predict if a Piranha Plant will be up or down when you're going to reach the pipe. The jump onto the red Goopa standing on the blocks enclosing the two Furbas and Buzzy Beetle seems quite strict as well, since a running jump will BARELY make it high enough. Other people might say that it's all appropriate for world 8, but I found it frustrating with no powerups.
--Not likely to be possible to complete with two players, due to the Red Goopa bounce near the end

8-2:
15 deaths later and I still can't get past the Hammer Bro duo near the middle. The two Spinies dropping down from above in addition to Lakitu throwing more makes it so that you're really not safe anywhere and are almost guaranteed to take a hit (and the only powerup available before that point is very difficult to get). If the red Paragoopa you jump on to reach the high platform is killed by an errant fireball, the jump is then impossible. I also got killed by a Spiny that was thrown after I touched the Flagpole, so hiding Spawned NPCs may not work perfectly somehow...? I found this level frustrating as well. I find it kind of amusing how you repeated the same bonus room from 4-1 but made the platforms smaller, though.
--No castle at the start

8-3:
As much as I like the big castle with trees growing on top of it (near the middle/end), it's probably better to just use the castle walls background, because I thought all the castles everywhere seemed a bit confusing...? That could be just me. Also, all the small castles are semi-translucent somehow...? The level itself is pretty good, but seems like a lot of setpieces were taken directly from the original 8-3, so... I dunno.
--No Player 2 start position; vines at Flagpole are visible

9-3:
Wow. Twelve dozen pixel-perfect jumps. My favorite level design element. This feels hilariously unfair all around. I'm pretty sure it's impossible to get past the early section with Hammer Bros above and Blooper-Munchers covering the platforms below without getting hit. I'm fairly sure the bullet-hop under the Blooper-Munchers isn't possible either. If the red Goopa shell near the end is sent to the right, it kills the Bloopers on the platform below, and then if the player jumps onto that platform thinking it's safe, they're stuck because they can't jump up to the next Paragoopa without taking a hit.

It also raises a consistency issue; if there's another level/other levels using Bloopers outside of water (since Kil came up with a LunaDLL code that makes it work easy), then it would seem weird that these ones don't move and can't be jumped on (assuming that other flying Bloopers can be made to be jumped on, that is, since they could be in Lost Levels?).
--No correct level end/Flagpole; Not likely to be possible to complete with two players, due to the Red Paragoopa bouncing near the end

The original version of 9-4:
Seems pretty good. It's... definitely quite hard, but I personally think it's at the right level for World 9. Forgot No Turn Back in the underground section though.
--No castle at the start

9-5:
No music at all. The gimmick isn't bad, but maybe it'd be best to change the coral graphics to something more obviously-dangerous, since coral in the rest of the game is safe to touch (and using a sign to explicitly explain it is inferior to making it obvious just by looking at it). For that matter, there probably shouldn't be any signs since there aren't meant to be any in this game (as far as I'm aware), even if they are kind of amusing (there's also been fire underwater in the past; both in the original SMB and in this game, so the sign 'explaining' it seems redundant). In the three-path portion, the bottom path seems to be the easiest of the three to get through without getting hurt, yet that's the path that gets you the free life.

The level seems really long to me, but the Demo-made-out-of-tiles and big SDS are nice to see; perhaps cut out that last "floating hazards with fish" screen right before the pipe (since there've been two of those already) and have it lead directly into the final portion? I'm not sure... the 'Welcome To Hell' section is really short as a whole, so it almost feels unnecessary...? However, it's possible that the length is fine for World 9, I don't know.

I'm not 100% sure, but I don't think it's possible to get through this part without getting hit if you're big:
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As a whole I like the level though. Also, same note about the snowy beginning as Water 1.
I haven't written up a review for 8-4 yet because there's a LOT going on that needs to be analyzed, but the short version is that I still think it's WAY too long and difficult.

I'm also learning that it would seem that I have very different views of what the appropriate difficulty level should be for world 8/9 than others do...!

Also, I notice there haven't been any World 1 levels done yet!!
anonymousbl00dlust wrote:All the obstacles in my level can be beaten on the players first attempt without any 'future predicting'.
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Mabel
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Re: Bugs, Testing, and Help (Oh My!)

Post by Mabel »

swirlybomb wrote: I haven't written up a review for 8-4 yet because there's a LOT going on that needs to be analyzed, but the short version is that I still think it's WAY too long and difficult.
before you do that, have another draft.

8-4
http://puu.sh/7c9q5.rar

-changed the direction of the first firebar
-section 8 'deleted', its just not gonna work and ended up being hella messy and unfair
-replaced the section 8 pipe with section 4's
-section 5 deleted
-section 5 is now bananasnake artillery
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KingTwelveSixteen
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Re: Bugs, Testing, and Help (Oh My!)

Post by KingTwelveSixteen »

swirlybomb wrote: 9-3:
Wow. Twelve dozen pixel-perfect jumps. My favorite level design element. This feels hilariously unfair all around. I'm pretty sure it's impossible to get past the early section with Hammer Bros above and Blooper-Munchers covering the platforms below without getting hit. I'm fairly sure the bullet-hop under the Blooper-Munchers isn't possible either. If the red Goopa shell near the end is sent to the right, it kills the Bloopers on the platform below, and then if the player jumps onto that platform thinking it's safe, they're stuck because they can't jump up to the next Paragoopa without taking a hit.

It also raises a consistency issue; if there's another level/other levels using Bloopers outside of water (since Kil came up with a LunaDLL code that makes it work easy), then it would seem weird that these ones don't move and can't be jumped on (assuming that other flying Bloopers can be made to be jumped on, that is, since they could be in Lost Levels?).
--No correct level end/Flagpole; Not likely to be possible to complete with two players, due to the Red Paragoopa bouncing near the end
Uh, none of the jumps in my level are pixel perfect. The hardest one gives you at least 5 pixels to do the jump in and is entirely optional because of how hard it is to do that.

Both sections you thought were impossible are entirely possible to get through without injury, though they are both really hard. Probably should make those two a bit easier.

And knocking the shell to the right doesn't kill you, the Goopas are placed such that you can just jump on the next one if you do that. I went out of my way to make sure of it when I noticed you could do that.

It is possible to get across the Goopa hopping segment hitting only half the Goopas. The other player can hit the other half.
It totally works. In theory; I don't have anyone to play 2-player with, but both routes of 2 Goopas worked when I tried them individually in 1-player.
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Re: Bugs, Testing, and Help (Oh My!)

Post by Zygl »

swirlybomb wrote:8-1:
Bonus room has no music (should be SM64- Desert).
-Whoops, forgot about that. Fixed it.
If the red Goopa shell on the fifth pipe is sent to the right, it very quickly destroys the bricks the player needs to make the jump.
-Not sure how I didn't realize that'd happen with the shell-carrying fix, but that's been adressed.
Almost all of the jumps feel very strict because it's hard to predict if a Piranha Plant will be up or down when you're going to reach the pipe.
-How does it fit in the difficulty curve, though? (I only ask because you'd have a better idea than I would and I'd rather leave it as is if it's not too serious an issue, half those jumps feel rather trivial without the Piranhas there.)
The jump onto the red Goopa standing on the blocks enclosing the two Furbas and Buzzy Beetle seems quite strict as well, since a running jump will BARELY make it high enough.
-Got rid of one of the blocks there, feels really easy now but it's probably better than it was.
Other people might say that it's all appropriate for world 8, but I found it frustrating with no powerups.
-Added a powerup. (I originally wanted to carry over the original 8-1's lack of a powerup, but those shell shenanigans on the fifth pipe gave me a delightfully stupid idea that may or may not be appropriate for the main-game.)
--Not likely to be possible to complete with two players, due to the Red Goopa bounce near the end
-Added a Paratroopa to that jump, I can't exactly test how helpful that is in 2-player mode but it's doable with either one of them single-player so it's an improvement?
Responses bolded.
Also since I apparently have a lot of time on my hands here's the new version.
9-2 to come in the next couple days. For real this time, now that I've figured out why the right-walking wasn't stopping I can actually get something done with it.
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cheez8
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Re: Bugs, Testing, and Help (Oh My!)

Post by cheez8 »

I guess I'll bold my responses too!
swirlybomb wrote: 8-3:
As much as I like the big castle with trees growing on top of it (near the middle/end), it's probably better to just use the castle walls background, because I thought all the castles everywhere seemed a bit confusing...? Aww, man. I don't really understand what's confusing about them (could you fill me in?), but I guess I could use the walls background if people agree it's better. Fair warning, though- I'll probably be extremely hesitant about this so there's no telling how long that change will take! That could be just me. Also, all the small castles are semi-translucent somehow...? wait what? That's really weird, I didn't even touch the castle graphics. I don't know if there's anything I can do to fix that. The level itself is pretty good, but seems like a lot of setpieces were taken directly from the original 8-3, so... I dunno. That's... halfway intended, I guess. I wanted it to harken back to the original 8-3 but I was trying to keep it different enough that it wouldn't feel too similar. That said, in such a simple format the line between a reference to and a reproduction of an obstacle is probably all too easy to cross. I... don't know whether it's something I want to change just yet.
--No Player 2 start position; vines at Flagpole are visible
I am a scatterbrain and a fool
Thanks for the review! Even if I'm too stubborn to agree with some things right off the bat, reviews are always great to hear.

Also it seems like other people made their World 8 levels a lot harder than I made mine. I... I'm pretty sure I don't want to make 8-3 even harder though. Or need to.
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Diggertron
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Re: Bugs, Testing, and Help (Oh My!)

Post by Diggertron »

swirlybomb wrote:
5-3:
Level is a quarter-block too tall. The level itself is pretty nice; possibly worth noting that it's very easy to jump on the tallest platform above the screen near the end, but since that just skips one Hammer Bro it doesn't really make a difference.

That underground section though... I don't think all those one-tile jumps are allowed (since they're not supposed to appear until 8-1), and the Paragoopas getting caught between the blocks looks really glitchy and unprofessional in this context. That whole portion offers very little leeway, but it could be considered okay because it's world 5; I don't know. The springs don't have the "grabside=0" npc-26.txt file.

The Bonus graphic moves, hurts the player by touching it, and can be stomped on. Set it to Don't Move and Friendly (I'm not sure how this could've gotten past your initial testing??). One of the powerup blocks is a mushroom instead of a fire flower (also, two powerups in a bonus room is almost certainly too much, one is plenty).
--No Player 2 start position; Flagpole events should have 'No Smoke' checked.
Basically the gist of this: Diggertron's a ninny who needs to remember how to set up a level properly.
Fair enough, I'll replace the one tile jumps with a floor or something instead. Genuinely thought that the bonus graphic wasn't hurting me, I'll sort that out too
That makes raocow a victim of proprietary software.
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WestonSmith
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Re: Bugs, Testing, and Help (Oh My!)

Post by WestonSmith »

Updated 5-1 and First Draft of 9-1

I've been stumped on what to do with 9-1. Originally I was going to make a hard but fairly standard level, but that seemed boring after what others have been doing. Then I thought of some super gimmicky levels, but they just screamed "romhack." So I finally settled on an idea, but I'm... uncertain about its quality. Its all about vertical movement in a game with no vertical scroll. Its short, but seems fairly difficult (and hopefully in a good way, not a frustrating way). I might go back to the drawing board on this one.

4-4 will be coming sometime this weekend.
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QuantumPhysicsMan
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Re: Bugs, Testing, and Help (Oh My!)

Post by QuantumPhysicsMan »

So, long story short, I kind of forgot about this, and threw a level together in the last couple of days. It's not very good, but here's what I ended up with.

World 3-4
http://www.mediafire.com/download/s9cjw ... 5w/3-4.zip
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Doctor Shemp
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Re: Bugs, Testing, and Help (Oh My!)

Post by Doctor Shemp »

Fixed version of 8-2 to make it easier.
It also has a rather uglily implemented invisible "Spiny Shield" over the exit and adds a background castle to the start.

I've also graphically fixed 9-4 but will refrain from uploading it until the most recent gameplay change is reviewed, since there's not much point updating now if I have to do a larger update right after.
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Clamestarebla
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Re: Bugs, Testing, and Help (Oh My!)

Post by Clamestarebla »

swirlybomb wrote:There's a whirlpool zone under the first pipe, but no pit below it, and there are bits and pieces of the biggest pit with pipes above it (where the entrance to the bonus room is) that don't have whirlpool zones. This might be due to reconstructing the level or something.
That's because if there is a whirlpool where the warp is, crazy shenanigans happen. That's why there isn't a whirlpool in the 2x2 square below the warp pipe
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Clamestarebla
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Re: Bugs, Testing, and Help (Oh My!)

Post by Clamestarebla »

Fixed some things Swirly told me to fix. How about now bomb boy?
https://www.mediafire.com/?7uev9a9kwlda9n8
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Kil
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Re: Bugs, Testing, and Help (Oh My!)

Post by Kil »

so when's a beta

I'll review all the levels too if they are compiled into one thingy

Also in 9-5 (or maybe anytime you get hit while above a whirlpool) there's a thing where you get dragged down through solid objects. Changing the #1000+ events to this seems to work

Code: Select all

#1000
OnPlayerMem,0x122,1,2,1001,1,w

#1001
PlayerMemSet,0,+0xC8,1,1,1,df
TriggerRandom,1002,9999,9999,9999,1,0

#1002
PlayerMemSet,0,+0xC8,1,1,1,df
Basically it checks if demo is in a normal state before calling the down push event which is now 1001, or else it doesn't push you.
DON'T PM me. Ask your question in the help thread so everyone can be answered.
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WestonSmith
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Re: Bugs, Testing, and Help (Oh My!)

Post by WestonSmith »

Once I have all levels submitted to me, I'll be doing a once through and compiling them into something playable. Depending on free time, that could be anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks. My hope is to have a fully playable game (minus hard mode) done no later than March 23rd, but that will mostly be dependant on folks finishing their levels by March 9th (which I'm not convinced will be everyone, since some folks haven't bothered contacting me or posted anything in this thread yet).

So in short, mid-to-late March will be a beta. A final product will hopefully come in early April.
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Re: Bugs, Testing, and Help (Oh My!)

Post by Compound Fraxure »

Well, it may be a day later than the original deadline, but here is 4-2. I'm pretty sure I used some elements that I wasn't supposed to, but I don't care.

https://www.mediafire.com/?ogjmbwqcdsocv7x

NOTE: There is a glitch relating to the 7th warp zone that I do not know how to fix. You will know it when you see it. If it is unfixable, I can move the warp zone somewhere else.
Last edited by Compound Fraxure 10 years ago, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Bugs, Testing, and Help (Oh My!)

Post by Diggertron »

That makes raocow a victim of proprietary software.
Skynet.
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swirlybomb
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Re: Bugs, Testing, and Help (Oh My!)

Post by swirlybomb »

Clemasterable wrote:
swirlybomb wrote:There's a whirlpool zone under the first pipe, but no pit below it, and there are bits and pieces of the biggest pit with pipes above it (where the entrance to the bonus room is) that don't have whirlpool zones. This might be due to reconstructing the level or something.
That's because if there is a whirlpool where the warp is, crazy shenanigans happen. That's why there isn't a whirlpool in the 2x2 square below the warp pipe
I was referring to that whole big pit in general being inconsistent, not just the spot under the pipe (which is totally understandable, of course). Though it's not really that noticeable.
Clemasterable wrote:Fixed some things Swirly told me to fix. How about now bomb boy?
didnt i say never to call me that in public



GOSH DANG I really need someone to take over for me; I still haven't been able to start on 9-7 yet because of all the reviewing to be done mixed with RL stuff gaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh

UPDATE: apparently small castles are semi-translucent throughout the game, not just in 8-3. What be the deal, yo...?

I WANT TO MENTION that all of my reviews are totally based on my own ideas of what level design and difficulty for this game should be like, and they don't have to be necessarily taken as gospel. Please use your own judgement as well. And stuff.


2-2:
It's pretty great.
3-1:
Pretty solid overall.

If I'm correct, the coin messages all read "JUST GO FOR IT!!" "ENJOY SDS" "HS" and "SEEYA!" ? The first and last would be easier to read if there was some space between the letters. The messages in coin heaven are great (the "Seeya!" is the most adorable thing and I love it), just wonder if the "Just go for it!!" at the start fits or not, but there's nothing inherently wrong with it of course.

Minor fixes: Coin heaven ought to have a background (most likely SMB1 Night); I was going to say that the top of the vine ought to have the normal vine top, but I think having it end at a cloud works just fine too; and there are still some bushes behind this block formation:
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Besides that, I'd say you're good to go!
3-4:
Very solid as a whole. The three firebars in a triangle shape is easily the trickiest part of the level; if you want, I think the first one couuld be moved one block left to allow the player a 'safe spot' on the ground in the middle, but it's just a thought.

The purple Goopa should be replaced with an SMB1 red one; Furbas should probably be replaced with dark Furbas (I'm assuming this is a universal castle aesthetic thing at least); the Bowser Clear event should be set to hide Spawned NPCs; the green fireballs don't make sound (make a new event that plays the Big Fireball sound and set them to Activate the event).
4-2:
Compound Fraxure wrote:I'm pretty sure I used some elements that I wasn't supposed to, but I don't care.
Aw bro, that's not a very good attitude :(

Very solid level overall! However, I think that slopes got veto'd out, so... yeah, you'll have to change the parts that use slopes. I think it's worth noting that the down-moving platforms just after the up-moving ones don't appear; if you move the spawn point down by half a block though, they will. Some background objects in the above-ground portions would be nice.

I believe you're the first person to actually go and create warp zones so far, and it's great that you made separate paths leading to each one! I think the world 6 path is the hardest to find of the bunch, though; the ones for 5 and 7 are rather obvious (go above the ceiling and walk through the wall, respectively), but the 6 one doesn't have any clues that it's there, so you may want to add a 'hint coin' or something. It shouldn't be YO OBVIOUS, but there should probably be something.

Though, currently there's no way to access the path towards the world 8 one; and although I think the deviousness of it 'works' (that is, you have to find a secret within a secret within a secret; and considering it lets you skip the entire second half of the game), it's not possible to get through it as Big Demo because of the pit that's underneath the blocks you need to slide under. I wonder if moving the vine block so it's against the wall would make it a little less obtuse? But your call on that one.

I think the issue with the pipe leading to the world 7 warp area is that No Turn Back causes the flagpole axes to 'die' once you enter the next section? I tried putting in an event on the pipe that would just hide those layers instead, but it looks like that still counts as 'death'... Perhaps someone else a bit more knowledgeable than me could solve it, but I think it might not be possible, unfortunately.
5-1:
Hmm, it's been quite a while and I'm not sure what was changed off-hand >.> I think the coin arrow near the end is new, though? I think it could be improved by making the arc of the arrow more-closely follow the arc of Demo's jump (which pretty much reaches the top of the screen). Powerups are somewhat difficult to get, but the level is rather short and easy otherwise, so that's probably alright honestly. I'm surprised there's no secrets anywhere, though! Feels like there should really be something in or above the three brick blocks (at least, that's where I'd put something if it were me designing it).

Also, aterraformer provided some snowy castle graphics in his level 5-2 that I think we should use! (Although there actually isn't a 'snowy big castle' graphic in there so we would have to include that as well)
--No Player 2 start position

5-3:
Er... you should've pulled the top of the screen down rather than pulling the bottom of the screen up >_> Minor fix though.

Underground section is definitely improved (though you COULD have some more open pit if you so desired). Still forgot No Turn Back though :v I neglected to bring it up before, but I believe slopes have been veto'd, so... I guess you'll have to change the slope into something else. Worth noting that the lower firebar can still hurt you when standing on the cannon, if that's considered an issue. Just for the sake of cleaning up the presentation, I'd recommend adding a solid wall on the right side, so that it makes sense why the camera would stop scrolling at that point.

Second powerup in the bonus room may be too generous, but it is hidden/invisible, so... eh.

I neglected to mention the end-of-level staircase as well; following the idea that one-tile jumps aren't supposed to appear until world 8, perhaps arrange the staircase so that it's in 2-2-2 pieces (instead of 1-1-1-2)?
7-2:
Ah... looks like you didn't upload an updated version! It's the same as before, and the date on it is Feb 21.

8-1:
You added a powerup... that's virtually impossible to get unless you jump down to it pre-emptively :V I mean, it is still possible to get after the first time though, so... I dunno, maybe it's fine? The added bricks work well for ensuring passage, though.

I know you didn't change much, but for some reason the level feels a lot easier than before; maybe it's just because I've already played it a few times and gotten familiar with it, or maybe it's because I came into it more 'fresh' and after not having played much prior to 'wear me out' a bit? Whatever it is, I hope I didn't make you gut the difficulty too much, I was just intending to remove the 'frustrating' parts (based on my own opinions, that is...). I think it's probably roughly at the right difficulty level (again, based on my own opinions).

Also, it may very well be possible to pass the end part that I mentioned might not be possible with 2 players (since I found the jump from the single block IS possible to make without a Goopa bounce) even without the added Paragoopa, but I can't exactly test it myself, so... yeah. It also depends on whether or not it's important for the game to be completed in 2-player mode anyway.
8-2:
Seems pretty good.
8-4:
I think we're generally heading in the right direction! Sections 2 (firebar hallway), 4 (fire circle jumps), and 5 (Hammersnake obstacle course) are pretty great; section 3 (rising/falling platforms) doesn't have much to it, but I think it still works. Section 6 (Lakitu on the roof)... Lakitu throwing Hammersnakes? Seems like a bit much (and doesn't really line up with all other Lakitus throwing Spinies). It's kinda a lot of just the same thing (jumping Paragoopas), so perhaps shortening it or adding a different enemy type would improve it.

Section 7 (walls of bullets) is my least favorite by far; it's much more difficult than the rest and not in a way that feels 'fair', more like just being overwhelmed by bullets/enemy spam and not having convenient safe spots. The way the floating cannons gradually drift downward kind of imposes a 'time limit' for the safe spots as well. I'm not sure if I'm explaining any of this right, but I'm just not a fan (personal preference would be replacing it with either a different section with fewer bullets, or an underwater section- section 8 could still be used if you wanted to clean it up).

In the interest of removing the midpoint/reducing the length so that the level doesn't need a midpoint, I'd like to suggest splitting the level into two sets of three pipes (instead of three sets of two), followed by the 3 Hammersnakes, and a shortened version of the final portion (say about half its length even). Based on general difficulty, I'd say sections 2 and 3 could go in the first split and sections 5 and 6 could go in the second; where section 4 would go would depend on what the sixth path is. If you want to really go the extra mile, I want to suggest making little miniature 'samples' of where each pipe leads to give the player an idea of what they're getting into before they make their choice. I made this little mock-up as a sample of what it could look like:

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(pipes leading to sections 2, 4, and 3)

...I really apologize if I'm kinda 'building your level for you' with all the suggestions and stuff... just tossing out my ideas. Also, warp #3 leads to the player coming out of the side of the pipe rather than the center.

By the way: this is more of a 'behind the scenes' change, but you can really improve on block efficiency by using the SMB1 64x64 Castle Bricks / block-93 available in the resource kit (this is more my OCD talking, I don't think it would really affect how the game runs all that much :v ).
9-1:
35-ish deaths later and I still can't figure out how to get through anything reliably... A great deal of deaths were caused by the second rising platform generator; unless you start your jump when Demo's halfway/mostly off the bottom of the screen, it simply won't spawn in time for you to land on it. I still don't know how to get through the Piranha/Hammersnake/rising platform part without taking a hit, and I have yet to get past the green Paragoopas immediately after. It's also possible to kick a red shell from the red Paragoopas through the Piranha Plant and up the platform (earning a free life if you hit both of the other Paragoopas and then the Hammersnake, hooray), but then you can't get past the runaway shell without taking a hit. Using Godmode, I went through to the end and can at least say that hitting the red Goopas from below almost always glitches them into being stuck in the blocks above them.

So uh... basically it seems pretty much unfair all around...
9-4:
I really don't think the addition of jumping Paragoopas to the first part adds any difficulty really (also... weren't jumping Parakoopas introduced early on in Mario 1, not Lost Levels?). The underground portion feels rather 'enemy spam'-y though; try cutting each pair down to just one, perhaps? Probably worth noting that the low initial altitude of the Lakitu can lead to him blindsiding the player if they attempt to jump over the blocks/Hammersnake (as I did).

Don't forget No Turn Back!
9-5:
Not much change, but I mean the level as a whole was pretty decent anyway, so there doesn't need to be much change really... I can see that there is a distinction between the safe coral and the harmful coral, but the latter doesn't jump out at me as "do not touch" at first glance; something more spiky-looking would do the trick though. There's also still a sign at the end.

revisiting 8-3:
I actually feel like the castles are fine, though I'd probably still suggest using the 'castle walls' background anyway (it won't get used otherwise...!?). Really my only criticism would be "make it seem like less of a clone of the original level".
revisiting 9-3:
You are correct about the Paragoopa-hopping parts.

I think you took my 'pixel-perfect' comment too literally; I'm referring to all the jumps where a Blooper is sitting in the middle of a two-tile platform and you have half a tile on either side to land on. Would it be better if I referred to them as "jumps in which the player has to land on a platform that's half the size of the player character"? Either way, the jumps (which is, most of them) are extremely strict and the level doesn't feel very fair; I've racked up over 30 deaths and still can't do most of it reliably (I have been able to do 'those two parts' without getting hit, but it felt a little more like luck than skill). The one 'optional/hardest' jump you're referring to is the final Blooper sitting on the end-of-level staircase, right? It should be noted that there's no benefit to hitting the top of the flagpole so there's no reason to try and do the jump besides personal satisfaction.

Also, I feel like... since we have aerial Bloopers available already, it'd be 'more creative' to design a level around those instead of using them as unmoving hazards. That's merely a suggestion, though. You may also want to use the 'waterfalls' background available in the resource kit for the sake of variance between levels.
I feel like I should inquire about what the intention for World 9 is. I was imagining 'a step up from world 8 but still generally fair and probably doing more creative stuff', but so far it seems split between that theme (9-4 and 9-5) and 'very difficult to the point of kinda unfair' (9-1 and 9-3).


I... I really can't keep this up! I need time to work on my own level...!
anonymousbl00dlust wrote:All the obstacles in my level can be beaten on the players first attempt without any 'future predicting'.
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Zygl
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Re: Bugs, Testing, and Help (Oh My!)

Post by Zygl »

swirlybomb wrote:
You added a powerup... that's virtually impossible to get unless you jump down to it pre-emptively :V I mean, it is still possible to get after the first time though, so... I dunno, maybe it's fine? The added bricks work well for ensuring passage, though.
-I figured since the original 8-1 didn't have a powerup in the first place I could get away with doing something silly for the powerup here.

I know you didn't change much, but for some reason the level feels a lot easier than before; maybe it's just because I've already played it a few times and gotten familiar with it, or maybe it's because I came into it more 'fresh' and after not having played much prior to 'wear me out' a bit? Whatever it is, I hope I didn't make you gut the difficulty too much, I was just intending to remove the 'frustrating' parts (based on my own opinions, that is...). I think it's probably roughly at the right difficulty level (again, based on my own opinions).
-You didn't make me gut it, really, I just brought it down a bit from "I'm pretty sure you can't jump any farther than this" because realistically that's more like world 9 dificulty if that sort of precision belongs anywhere.

Also, it may very well be possible to pass the end part that I mentioned might not be possible with 2 players (since I found the jump from the single block IS possible to make without a Goopa bounce) even without the added Paragoopa, but I can't exactly test it myself, so... yeah. It also depends on whether or not it's important for the game to be completed in 2-player mode anyway.
-Eh, the Paratroopa serves as an additional obstacle anyway.
Speaking of world 9 difficulty, I'm pretty sure I SEVERELY overshot it for 9-2.
I'm not 100% done testing it yet, but it's definitely beatable with Demo or Iris. Unless, of course, I uploaded the version that got corrupted when my computer BSoDed randomly or I forgot to make one of the small tweaks I made between conveniently copying my level file and the BSoD. I don't think I did, but I'm way too tired/burnt out to check at the moment, so I'm just going to hope I didn't.
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WestonSmith
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Re: Bugs, Testing, and Help (Oh My!)

Post by WestonSmith »

I'm already in the process of toning 9-1 down. The generators are being sped up and I'm trying to find a way to keep the shell from stating on the elevator.

For me, the intent of World 9 is not to be impossible, just greatly stepped up in difficulty.
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Clamestarebla
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Re: Bugs, Testing, and Help (Oh My!)

Post by Clamestarebla »

Is this coral threatening enough?
block-109.gif
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swirlybomb
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Re: Bugs, Testing, and Help (Oh My!)

Post by swirlybomb »

Kinda, it's hard to say. On one hand it looks kinda 'fluffy'(?) to me like it's just background detail, but on the other it does definitely stand out from the normal coral... and I'm sure you put a lot of work into it so I don't want to say 'no' outright >_> It's entirely possible it looks fine within the context of the level, but I guess I don't know that myself.

If you want to get really obvious with zero ambiguity, here's a potential shape to use:
coralspike.png
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Now tell me you'd want to touch that :v

But if you think it looks good and clear, then use it.
anonymousbl00dlust wrote:All the obstacles in my level can be beaten on the players first attempt without any 'future predicting'.
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Kil
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Re: Bugs, Testing, and Help (Oh My!)

Post by Kil »

Here's a thing. http://www.gamearchaeology.com/9-6.zip Maybe it's too easy. If your lunadll isn't working the level won't make any sense.
DON'T PM me. Ask your question in the help thread so everyone can be answered.
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Clamestarebla
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Re: Bugs, Testing, and Help (Oh My!)

Post by Clamestarebla »

Tried the shape you suggested how does this look?
coral.png
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