(shouting)

Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Happy New Year!!

this is the place where lps are being talked about. it's important to talk about games being played on the internet.
User avatar
ft029
m/m wannabe
Posts: 537
Joined: 7 years ago
Location: U.S.

Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- tim horton's betrayal

Post by ft029 »

I was very impressed with the autoscroll room of Have Sweet Dreams. I thought the beginning was quite slow though, and had some blind drops.
Mosts Awards:
Image
Image
User avatar
FPzero
Resident SMW Central Admin
Posts: 635
Joined: 15 years ago

Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- tim horton's betrayal

Post by FPzero »

21st, The Frozen Way, by slakkmichael
76.25/100.00 points
Scores:
FPzero:
Design: 53/60
Creativity: 26/30
Aesthetics: 8/10

Total: 87/100

Comments:
The gimmick here is entirely visual and I actually liked it a fair bit. What was neat about all the frozen enemies and elements was that it felt like this castle had a bunch of different places that would normally inaccessible, but thanks to the frozen stuff Mario is able to find alternate paths through. The only enemy I didn't like seeing frozen was the bullet bills embedded in walls because I didn't actually trust that they would be solid, which ran counter to the message box you left. And later I saw that they weren't solid when a koopa fell through one. While they were a nice visual touch, they would've been better left behind just because they're the only thing that doesn't match your message.

The level's design itself was pretty nice, with lots of up and down to go along with the frozen enemies and climbing up walls. The Yoshi Coins and feathers were rewards for exploration and taking the harder path, which made them worth going for. The Big Boo fight at the end wasn't much special, but it was nice that it kept its frozen theme going with some frozen enemies and elements visible throughout. Maybe it would've been nice to have some of the throw blocks be frozen too, just so it wasn't so easy to run up there and grab any block that was lying about. One nitpick: the skintone palette on the red koopas makes them look a little sickly for some reason. Not sure why you didn't just keep the same skintones across all four koopa palettes. Overall though, really nicely done level!
Ryaa:
Design: 49/60
Creativity: 27/30
Aesthetics: 10/10

Total: 86/100

Review: I really like the concept of this level. It flows nicely, the color choices are good, and the music adds an insane amount of depth and atmosphere to the overall plot of the level. I think the platforming is very reasonable and allows you to actually analyze your surrounds before throwing unexpected things at you which is a really good touch. On to the things I'm not too okay with. Starting off, I'm not too fond of the P-Switch wall before you get into the actual castle part. It seems like a pointless addition since it doesn't add anything to the level overall and seems a bit randomly placed. The thing I don't really like, however, is the large amount of powerups you get before the boss fight. Since it's just a Big Boo, I don't think anyone would need Fire Flowers when there are no enemies that you can actually hit with fireballs. So mushrooms probably would have been the better bet which also goes along with my next point. I'm also not a big fan of the placements of the two fire flower powerup blocks under that pipe mainly because if you grab the cape and then hit the two blocks out of curiosity, then that entire alternate route would have been pointless. Personally it would have made more sense to move those blocks over and put coin blocks under the pipe instead to avoid this.

Despite the things I didn't like, I do believe that this is a really great level.
FrozenQuills:
-------------------
DESIGN | 45/60
CREATIVITY| 19/30
AESTHETICS| 8/10
TOTAL | 72/100
-------------------

COMMENTS:
why can't i defrost things?? D:

I like how the aesthetic plays into the level design, even if it's very minor. The
main gimmick encourages the player to pay close attention to what's frozen and what
isn't frozen, and while you can get tricked, it's mostly not lethal and mildly
amusing. I enjoyed how playing well lends to good rewards e.g. the moon and the
hidden capes.

While this level isn't particularly amazing, it pulls off an aesthetic-design
element combo pretty well.
morsel:
43
10
7
60/100
Mostly an environmental use of this gimmick. Rather than having one-tile block jumps with ice, it has one-tile frozen enemy jumps with ice. I would be curious to play the melted version of the level at some parts (e.g. the platform ride); perhaps the level is referencing something I am unfamiliar with.
20th, Have Sweet Dreams, by EternityLarva
76.50/100.00 points
Scores:
FPzero:
Design: 49/60
Creativity: 23/30
Aesthetics: 7/10

Total: 79/100

Comments:
This level is pretty, but I noticed a lack in consistency on what platforms were solid and which were passthrough. Weirdly, the foreground elements with darker outlines were not solid and the ones with pastel outlines were, running counter to almost everything you'd expect out of a platform game. This decision messed with me a few times, resulting in unnecessary damage. I also wish you'd made line guide visible, since that really helps when judging guided sprite movement.

Aside from the visual complaints though, I think the level was fairly solid. The most unique segment was the final one with the autoscroller. I didn't expect line guided stuff to show up because I couldn't see the guides, so it was interesting to have to dodge all sorts of enemies and ghosts while climbing those three levels of vine. I was actually surprised that I was enjoying the vine climbing as much as I did, because usually it's pretty slow and uneventful, and doesn't make for very interesting gameplay. But I was proven wrong for the most part and this level was a nice time. Good job.
Ryaa:
Design: 33/60
Creativity: 18/30
Aesthetics: 6/10

Total: 57/100

Review:

These aesthetics are not fooling me. I do not like a majority of this level design at all. It's diverse in different ways but these ways aren't always good. I'm not a fan at all of how the cave tiles look like foreground tiles due to the palette. The aesthetics on their own are beautiful, but since they are used in such a heavy abundance, it tends to get very distracted after the first few screens.

When I made it to the portion with the P-Balloon, I got completely thrown off by it and thought that I was given a P-Balloon specifically because I couldn't climb the vines, so later in that section when the powerup timer ran out, I immediately fell into the pit of spikes that a small trail of coins led to. I think that the vines on their own could have been given a bit more to make it clear that you could climb them instead of introducing them immediately after giving a powerup that would technically make the vines useless for a large majority of that area.

At the end of this section I noticed that a hidden cape was made completely obvious by the unnecessarily placed coins that were by it. I feel like the red Koopa could have been enough of a hint since it can walk through that wall. This could have easily made the player think like "Wait why can it walk through" without the coins blatantly giving it away.

The rest of the level was the part that was much more enjoyable in terms of level design specifically. Though the ideas were still very messy and there were a ton of different enemies being seen all over the place which wasn't too nice to see. The autoscroll portion was pretty good. I think that the beginning part was a tad bit slot before the actual enemies started spawning but overall the section itself was interesting and kept me on my feet. I was very confused on why the blue switch blocks led to a star that didn't really benefit the player that much in terms of challenge. The part that you could get by with the star was not hard at all and only lasted a couple screens which made the star pretty much useless unless you wanted an extra 3 lives with little to no effort.

Keeping on the topic with things that confused me, I couldn't really figure out if there was meant to be a set way to get that 1-UP at the very beginning other than the hidden cape at the very end of the section. There are coins under the ceiling which gives me the hint that the player is meant to fly upwards but it's a bit unreasonable considering a single 1-UP is not worth backtracking all that way. I ended up just shell jumping to see what the coins were leading to and was a bit disappointed after getting a good feel of what was happening.

Generally levels like this tread through very risky territory due to the aesthetics being a crucial factor in how the rest of the level is handled. The overlapping layers is a cool feature but because it's used so much, it feels messily put together. I feel that the level could have went without the nonp-solid cave tiles as well. I really did like the music and colors though which added a lot of actual atmosphere in the level despite the large amount of clutter.
FrozenQuills:
-------------------
DESIGN | 50/60
CREATIVITY| 21/30
AESTHETICS| 9/10
TOTAL | 80/100
-------------------

COMMENTS:
well this level title is familiar, now im actually having the sweet dreams

A lovely level. I really enjoyed how the level structure meanders around vines. The
enemies are well placed and the first half is pretty good, even if it's a bit rompy
and typical.

The second half is where the level shined though. The autoscroll with the three
vines is very well done and uses a large variety of obstacles. Everything felt fair
and every enemy had meaning. It's also just a bit harder than the first half,
lending to a good sense of progression.

There are a few things that I didn't like, such as the first dragon coin with the
p-balloon and baseball chucks. Those enemies are so hard to use correctly. I also
didn't like how the darker rocks are background, but some of the lighter dirt is
foreground. I keep thinking the darker rocks are things you can stand on.

All in all, this is a good level. It could have been a bit more creative and
engaging especially in the first half, but everything is well crafted.
morsel:
55
25
10
90/100
The level takes some screens to get going. The way the vines became the theme of the level was unexpected and rather delightful. The autoscrolling part was tremendously well done. This level had proper half blocks that you could hit. I think a simpler foreground might have been better: the cave and the forest seemed similarly coloured to me and were hard to tell apart at times. There was one part where you have to drop blindly and quickly grab a vine, and I was carrying a shell there and died. I was disappointed I was not allowed to enter the door with yoshi.
Seeing it again, I'm struck by how cool the autoscroller is in Have Sweet Dreams. The enemies are placed there so well.
Last edited by FPzero 4 years ago, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
raocow
the death of the incredible huge
Posts: 4078
Joined: 15 years ago
Location: maybe the Wizards are the most complex, and the sales guys are up their daily
https://raocow.talkhaus.com/

Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- tim horton's betrayal

Post by raocow »

ah. due to technical issues expect some legacycow audio quality tomorrow :oops:
the chillaxest of dragonsImage
Image
Image
User avatar
FrozenQuills
hehe haha 2024
Posts: 843
Joined: 9 years ago
Location: my skull

Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- tim horton's betrayal

Post by FrozenQuills »

FPzero wrote: 4 years ago (reviews)
You mixed up my review of SWEET DREAMS with Have Sweet Dreams lol
Have Sweet Dreams

-------------------
DESIGN | 50/60
CREATIVITY| 21/30
AESTHETICS| 9/10
TOTAL | 80/100
-------------------

COMMENTS:
well this level title is familiar, now im actually having the sweet dreams

A lovely level. I really enjoyed how the level structure meanders around vines. The
enemies are well placed and the first half is pretty good, even if it's a bit rompy
and typical.

The second half is where the level shined though. The autoscroll with the three
vines is very well done and uses a large variety of obstacles. Everything felt fair
and every enemy had meaning. It's also just a bit harder than the first half,
lending to a good sense of progression.

There are a few things that I didn't like, such as the first dragon coin with the
p-balloon and baseball chucks. Those enemies are so hard to use correctly. I also
didn't like how the darker rocks are background, but some of the lighter dirt is
foreground. I keep thinking the darker rocks are things you can stand on.

All in all, this is a good level. It could have been a bit more creative and
engaging especially in the first half, but everything is well crafted.
Image
Image
avatar by crayonchewer!
Image
Image
Image
SMBX Tileset Compiler and Separator
The boss entry that made me eat a shoe.

5th place counter: 5
(SMBX Forums CC11, SMBX Forums CC12, Endgame Madness Contest, SMWC Kaizo Contest 2016, SMWC 24hr Contest 2018)
User avatar
FPzero
Resident SMW Central Admin
Posts: 635
Joined: 15 years ago

Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- tim horton's betrayal

Post by FPzero »

they're like, LITERALLY right next to each other on everyone else's scores because they were back-to-back entries in our randomized list, and i didn't mess it up for everyone else, so of course i had to mess it up for yours hahaha.

Fixed it now.
User avatar
Piesonscreations
Posts: 893
Joined: 9 years ago
First name: Gon
Pronouns: he/him/his

Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Final Hour

Post by Piesonscreations »

I watched the video in 360p to have that real classicow experience
ImageImage
User avatar
FPzero
Resident SMW Central Admin
Posts: 635
Joined: 15 years ago

Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Final Hour

Post by FPzero »

19th, go directly to jail, by Dr. Tapeworm
76.75/100.00 points
Scores:
FPzero:
Design: 44/60
Creativity: 21/30
Aesthetics: 6/10

Total: 71/100

Comments:
im in jail now

It's really interesting that you got the Layer 3 cage working, or at least a recreation of it. I think the first half especially could've used with a little bit more leeway to clear jumps and avoid spikes since some of those jumps were really tight. Mixing it with the special scroller was a pretty good idea, and those moving holes were clever and challenging. One thing I didn't like was the no-Mario pass-through blocks that held a couple thwomps in them, since they look solid but simply aren't. The vertical swimming section was also pretty challenging, though it's unfortunate that you had to rely on a random Eerie generator for additional challenge instead of fixed enemy placement, since generators are always unreliable. I also don't think it was a good idea to obscure the mushroom at the midpoint, since I only saw it after looking at the level in LM. Then again, it was easier to dodge the eeries while small so...

Interesting level, shorter than I thought it'd be but that's not a complaint. I think the level set out to play with a concept, did it, and then ended before the level got too long. Good work.
Ryaa:
Design: 47/60
Creativity: 23/30
Aesthetics: 8/10

Total: 88/100

Review: This level intrigues me so much. It's such a simple concept and is executed pretty well. I like the aesthetics and colors and whatnot. Though the spikes are something I'm not too fond of. Not because of their placement for the most part but because of their design. To be completely honest, they kind of look like GBA DOnkey Kong graphics in a way. But overall, the level isn't too long, it isn't too difficult, and it basically achieves what it was going for. Though I think that the plot is a little ignored as you progress since you just kind of leave with nothing stopping you in-between to actually make it feel like a "prison" break. Despite all of that, I really like this level and I think that it's a good step in the right direction.
FrozenQuills:
-------------------
DESIGN | 45/60
CREATIVITY| 24/30
AESTHETICS| 9/10
TOTAL | 78/100
-------------------

COMMENTS:
oh no, vaporwave jail

A bizarre autoscroller level with a great first half and a pretty good second half.
The cage constrains movement, but not enough to feel like you couldn't do anything
to avoid the thwomps and holes. Speaking of which, those holes were used amazingly
and were never an issue despite how janky they can be.

The second half is not as great as the first, though. It's another cage
autoscroller but you're only dodging eeries underwater. I think it's designed to be
played as small mario, so this half doesn't give you a mushroom. This makes any
sort of mistake result in a death, and with the autoscroll as slow as it is,
catching up to where you were is a bit of a slog.

Anyway, both halves are pretty creative and fun, even if I was let down a bit in
the second half.
morsel:
48
23
9
80/100
Excellent level which stuck to its theme. It had a nice sense of challenge. Some things were introduced inelegantly (the blocks the thwomp ignores). The second half is less interesting as it relies on the generator, though it was a good thought to use water to keep you active. Some of the generator eerie spawns can be tricky to deal with. Some things were too tight and felt out of place (spikes one tile above ground). There was a stray eerie at the beginning; perhaps he is there to foreshadow the existence of other eeries. There is sprite power-up for technical reasons, probably (flowers stay still)--a curious thing is that fireballs sometimes pass through the cage).
18th, VANILLA EMULATION, by Samuel Zuccati
77.75/100.00 points
Scores:
FPzero:
Design: 52/60
Creativity: 24/30
Aesthetics: 4/10

Total: 80/100

Comments:
Maybe I'm just getting better at SMW hacks but I didn't end up needing savestates at all which is great because I was worried for the level's score with a warning like that. As it turns out, this level is a pretty good challenge level, fast-paced and interesting while being relatively fair with its challenges and simply requiring almost pure player skill to successfully navigate. Lots of interesting setups with the throw blocks and spinies, and knowing when to hold them and when to throw them was key to many puzzles. The use of the skull raft in Parts 2 and 3 to make sure the player kept going forward and didn't have time to hesitate actually allowed for a sort of "flow" to emerge as I played, and I found myself just very focused and calm as I died to munchers and lava a good few times.

The worst part of the level was the extended "Spin Low" spiny hop at the start of Part 3's raft ride, because I had a lot of trouble figuring out a setup that worked consistently compared to many other parts of the level. Otherwise I found many of the challenged asked of the player to be pretty fun and manageable. The raft rides were definitely the strongest segments. If I have one big nitpick it's that visually the level isn't great to see. Something about the neon just didn't jive with me. I will admit though, that the lack of proper colors and unnecessary details did mean that I was pretty much entirely focused on the level and what I was doing instead of gazing at pretty graphics. So if your intention was to create a visual style where the player is just going to be totally focused on playing the level, that was some subtly good design.
Ryaa:
Design: 54/60
Creativity: 28/30
Aesthetics: 8/10

Total: 90/100

Review: This level does a lot of things that I actually like. The platforming methods are nice and challenging but aren't the type of difficulty where you'd want to quit before beating it. The colors are nice and the usage of enemy placement is very on point. The only thing I can say about this level that makes me ask a couple questions is why the creator chose to use Funky Forest as the level music. It feels unfitting in this sort of cave setting.
FrozenQuills:
-------------------
DESIGN | 40/60
CREATIVITY| 24/30
AESTHETICS| 8/10
TOTAL | 72/100
-------------------

COMMENTS:
that readme.txt had me worried

I have mixed feelings about this level. First off, I really like how it uses throw
blocks in a creative and engaging manner. It makes for a fun action-puzzle
platformer, especially the skull raft parts. The other rooms were very well
designed in theory, especially the ones where the player loops around.

Where it falls is in engine limitations and a few poor choices:
- I don't know why, but grabbing the throw blocks quickly can be finicky,
especially during the falling platform maneuvers.
- Occasionally, the throw blocks don't hit the turn blocks if you're too close.
- It's possible to despawn the skull raft by going too fast, despite the level
encouraging you to go fast.
- I kept dying at the second low spinjump section because of how the spinies are
arranged.
- Finally, there's no solid wall at the end before the last door, despite looking
like there is one. I managed to die at the end because of that lol

Anyway, this is a creative throw-block focused level, and while some of it is cool
and fun, I had some uncomfortable moments.
morsel:
38
23
8
69/100
Another kaizo style level, less generic than the other ones but a bit harder and more clumsily put together. Some of the block grabs are a bit awkward. At the part where you HURRY you can hurry too much (more than once). The SPIN LOW at the step of spinies is also awkward (it is easier to ignore the lower one).
I'm sorry for not giving a One More Level warning for VANILLA EMULATION, but I didn't remember it anywhere near as clearly as previous levels I've given the warning for. You probably wouldn't have wanted to put out a one level video anyway.
User avatar
Mandew
d'yo
Posts: 529
Joined: 14 years ago
First name: Marc
Pronouns: a person
Location: canada
https://fishingseasontraversal.talkhaus.com/

Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Final Hour

Post by Mandew »

Oh man, the level of daring and cleverness is getting exquisite. We're not even at the Top 10%, either! This is really amazing!
Image
video games
User avatar
freshtalk
Posts: 225
Joined: 5 years ago

Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Final Hour

Post by freshtalk »

I would like to vote Plains Water as having the best level name.
User avatar
Nimono
Posts: 745
Joined: 11 years ago

Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Final Hour

Post by Nimono »

You mean PLAINS WATER. :P

I liked both levels here today! YESCROLL has a funny name, but a REALLY cool gimmick abusing how autoscrolls work, especially how they don't override each other, while PLAINS WATER quickly sets you up with "Anything blue is safe water", and then you quickly find that yes, this includes things that normally hurt you, and it builds on that.

And then the boss fight.
User avatar
KobaBeach
screw it lion time. we are so f***ing back
Posts: 6929
Joined: 11 years ago
First name: David (evil)
Pronouns: he/they
Location: Portugal
https://koba.talkhaus.com/

Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Final Hour

Post by KobaBeach »

eternitylarva is japanese so have sweet dreams counts as playing a japanese hack

checkmate smwcers
Image #1 mega cd enjoyer AND "making fun of"-er Image
MaGL Patch Collection / vg backlog spreadsheet / animu list / mcmangos / steam
Image
Image
Image
Image Image
oogggghhhh games aren't art Fuck You Roger Ebert *kills him with a hamemr*
User avatar
FPzero
Resident SMW Central Admin
Posts: 635
Joined: 15 years ago

Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Final Hour

Post by FPzero »

17th, YESCROLL, by yogui
78.75/100.00 points
Scores:
FPzero:
Design: 47/60
Creativity: 22/30
Aesthetics: 6/10

Total: 75/100

Comments:
I was worried when you said it was an autoscroller but I think you did some really neat things with them and big levels. I was pretty impressed! Wrapping around the cave a couple times at different heights with the autoscroller was a nice idea, and "breaking" the autoscroller with a pipe transition allowing you to explore the place without being on rails was a good way to transition to the second half. I'm not really sure how you managed to make the autoscroller work like you did for the second half but I thought it was really neat to have this lengthy scroller that went left, up, right and oscillated a little bit too. Kept me on my toes, wondering what would happen next. I do recognize that had I died more maybe I wouldn't be feeling as good as I am about it, since autoscrollers do mean you're having to wait a fixed amount of time each life, but you kept the player relatively active with enemies and obstacles, so it never felt like I was waiting too long to continue. Nice job.
Ryaa:
Design: 49/60
Creativity: 24/30
Aesthetics: 6/10

Total: 79/100

Review: I'm really loving this level. For the most part outside of the beginning section, I like how the autoscrolls aren't too long primarily. The one thing I love is when a level has a mechanic and then there's a twist that makes it super interesting. The second run through the first part after the cave section is what really caught my eye. It was a surprise because while playing it the first time, I didn't expect the level to suddenly start moving upward which was a very unique touch. Personally the one thing I didn't like too much was the fact that it was a tad bit confusing that you were meant to go down at first when the cave autoscrolling stopped. Though this isn't too much of an issue since the autoscroll in that section isn't too long. But it can get really tedious if you have no idea where to go as there is no indication for any path. Overall this is a pretty cool level and I feel really good after playing it.
FrozenQuills:
-------------------
DESIGN | 53/60
CREATIVITY| 21/30
AESTHETICS| 7/10
TOTAL | 81/100
-------------------

COMMENTS:
autoscrolls are really just rail shooter mario levels

Really neat autoscroll focused level. It started off pretty slow, but I really like
how the cave is designed. It's made so you can traverse multiple paths with
autoscroll, but rewards you with full exploration once you find the right path. The
dragon coins make for really nice side content in this area.

The second half is less about exploring and more about action segments based around
autoscroll. Even if the screen scrolls pretty slowly, it's quite fun and provides
many increasingly difficult obstacles. It complements the first half nicely.

So yeah, this level is a great sampling of autoscroll gimmicks. My only complaints
are that the beginning is probably too slow of an introduction, and that it's easy
to miss the fact that you can explore the cave without being restrained to the
sides of the screens once you found the correct path.
morsel:
48
25
7
80/100
This level started off by looking rubbish but it is ended up being pretty good. The first area is very slow and the sprites seem suboptimally placed; it is only when you are coming back that they start to make sense. In the cave, at first it seemed as though I had to beat the autoscroller at the line of coins (and I died attempting this); going up through the turn blocks at the start was another death. Once the level took shape and started to make sense it became very enjoyable. The cave might have been more carefully made (depending on how the camera has moved, the bats may be hard to see at the top of the screen; there is a blind fall at one point, with a stray muncher down there). Afte the midpoint the level was brilliant with sprites being dangerously placed and used very cleverly. Perhaps the set-up where you jump under the thwimp to the para-koopas was too tight.
16th, PLAINS WATER, by Mr. Pixelator
79.25/100.00 points
Scores:
FPzero:
Design: 48/60
Creativity: 20/30
Aesthetics: 8/10

Total: 76/100

Comments:
This was a really simple gimmick that I thought I was going to dislike at first from a clarity perspective but you made it very easy to tell what was and wasn't "water" by making sure everything in the level had consistent palettes. It was fun to see all these objects that should be solid just be water because those were the rules the level presented. The level would feel a lot different if it wasn't for the visual gimmick.

The level isn't even that complicated overall, but there was fun to be had in seeing what the next blue object would be to swim through and the level didn't disappoint. I had an honest laugh when I hit the Big Boo fight only to realize it's not a fight at all and I just needed to swim through the arena boundaries to the goal. Adding the scrolling layer 2 section was a good way to mix things up in the second half too. Basically, I didn't really have any problems with this level and enjoyed it quite a bit.
Ryaa:
Design: 50/60
Creativity: 27/30
Aesthetics: 10/10

Total: 87/100

Review: To start this off, I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this level. However, after playing it a couple times, I realize that I love this level. It's such a simple idea yet the usage of the aesthetics takes it to an entirely new level. The moving water mechanic in general was executed really well though there were some slight slipups. Specifically, the parts where you have to swim in tighter spaces are not my favorite. The part before the midpoint was the sole place where I died the most due to how tight these spaces are paired with the weirdness of SMW's swimming physics. Despite this, you can easily decipher what tiles are solid and what isn't solid which is very good. The twist in the castle portion where you're tasked with moving through lava and water is what really caught my eye too. It just feels really well thought out. I'm also in love with the hearts that the Rip Van Fish have instead of the normal Z animation.

This level overall made me feel really good inside even after replaying it. I laughed when coming across the boss because I didn't expect the exit to be right next to it. Really great work on this.
FrozenQuills:
-------------------
DESIGN | 49/60
CREATIVITY| 21/30
AESTHETICS| 9/10
TOTAL | 79/100
-------------------

COMMENTS:
i actually dig the wild aesthetic

What a weird, great level. The gimmick is that literally anything that's blue is
swimmable, and it's utilized well and hilariously. I especially enjoyed the second
half where the layer 2 was introduced, as well as the jape ending. You also made
footballs tolerable which is in itself a feat.

I have to admit that I wanted more though. I think the first half could have had
less precision swimming, and that the level could have expanded on the layer 2
section more instead.

Nonetheless, you made (mostly) water levels fun again, nice job!
morsel:
40
25
10
75/100
The first screen and I already hate this. Everything vaguely of this shade of blue is water. I understand What but not Why. Inconsistency: I found a blue arrow sign that was not water. The midway tape as well--so much missed potential. I liked it when the moon was not a moon; a good tip would be to make it a muncher (I found the real moon--level redeemed). There are two types of outlined blocks; some are invisible noteblocks; some are outlined blocks. Entering and exiting water from the sides is a bit ropey in general; it is not too bad here except when it is. The moving layer concept in the second half gave the level an effective twist, even if the lava is wonky (given that you can swim in parts of it); in another twist, many podoboos appeared without warning (yes, I died here). The boss fight was worthy of a guffaw. Although, reading this over, I sound rather snarky, I thought it was reasonable effort, both in concept and execution. Perhaps it suffers from being not introduced all that well (e.g. the mishmash of blue vanilla objects and retextured sprites as objects) and a general lack of polish (e.g. there should perhaps be more space to swim at the parts where munchers are on water pipes).
yogui gave an explanation for how the autoscroller effects were achieved over on SMWC after I posted my own playthrough of the level:
yogui wrote:
Super Maks 64 wrote:I think all special autoscrolls move back to screen 00 when they're activated at a later screen (which can be seen in morsel's VLDC8 level Municipal Swimming) and I suppose that the level used the Yoshi wing level autoscroll that goes all the way to the top of the level first before acting like usual.
Very late reply, but Yes.
In SMW, special autoscroll start on screen 0 and do their predetermined path.
If you start the autoscroll later in the level, it will scroll slowly to screen 0 backward. Prior to lunar magic version 3 that means scrolling to the left. But now with extended level size, it will scroll left, and after that will scroll up until it reach its starting position on screen 0 at the top left of the level.
Also it doesn't scroll straight up, it very slightly scroll right too when going up.

And to answer what you said in the video: no, autoscroll cannot override or stack with another autoscroll (in vanilla, some custom autoscroll sprite can get overridden). There is an autoscroll going right at the entrance of the level, and the special autoscroll at the midpoint entrance, and they don't get overridden by each other and they don't stack.
Irrc if you put two autoscrolls on the same screen, only one will activate.

Also, in the underground part, there is a weird autoscroll command placed at the bottom left that makes the game locked vertically to the left of the level. That's why when you go up to the entrance, you cannot go right and do the level wihout autoscroll, and why the autoscroll that goes right at the start doesn't get triggered since there's already an autoscroll active.
So basically, new tall horizontal levels and weird special autoscroller activation sprite placement. Cool stuff.
User avatar
Piesonscreations
Posts: 893
Joined: 9 years ago
First name: Gon
Pronouns: he/him/his

Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Final Hour

Post by Piesonscreations »

what a thrill...
I really liked Plains Water.
ImageImage
User avatar
Grounder
Posts: 5768
Joined: 10 years ago

Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Final Hour

Post by Grounder »

into the blue again

after the money's gone

good levels today, having two jokey presentations right next to each other sure is a bit weird though
Why don't you eat me?

I am perfectly tasty...

AND I'LL STEAL YOUR SOUL! :twisted:

ImageImageImage
User avatar
Arctangent
squawky
Posts: 699
Joined: 9 years ago
Pronouns: she/her

Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Final Hour

Post by Arctangent »

FPzero wrote: 4 years ago yogui gave an explanation for how the autoscroller effects were achieved over on SMWC after I posted my own playthrough of the level:
did he ever get to explain why there's an autism joke as one of the first things the player sees or is smwc also filled with people who insist that slurs are fake, actually
User avatar
FPzero
Resident SMW Central Admin
Posts: 635
Joined: 15 years ago

Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Final Hour

Post by FPzero »

Arctangent wrote: 4 years ago
FPzero wrote: 4 years ago yogui gave an explanation for how the autoscroller effects were achieved over on SMWC after I posted my own playthrough of the level:
did he ever get to explain why there's an autism joke as one of the first things the player sees or is smwc also filled with people who insist that slurs are fake, actually
He did not, SMWC is not, and we don't score anything outside the level itself, so while I'll also wince at the "joke" on a personal level I had no recourse here.
User avatar
idol
its only scary if its wet
Posts: 298
Joined: 7 years ago
First name: idol
Pronouns: she/her

Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Final Hour

Post by idol »

im not too sure what youd get out of accusing an entire site of siding with oppressive terminology for not editing someones contest submission to remove usage of "reeeee", but a bit of research could help you sound less ignorant in the future
User avatar
Arctangent
squawky
Posts: 699
Joined: 9 years ago
Pronouns: she/her

Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Final Hour

Post by Arctangent »

idol wrote: 4 years ago im not too sure what youd get out of accusing an entire site of siding with oppressive terminology for not editing someones contest submission to remove usage of "reeeee", but a bit of research could help you sound less ignorant in the future
hi i am atan and not the demonic overlord that lives in your head, thank
StrikeForcer
Posts: 12
Joined: 8 years ago
Pronouns: he/him/his
Location: USA

Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Final Hour

Post by StrikeForcer »

I hate to play the identity card but as a person on the spectrum myself, context matters. Yes, people using "reeeee" against autistic folk as much as people use the r word against mentally-disabled people is wrong, but at the same time I have seen that word be used to go beyond that to apply to not only uncivilized behavior but bad opinions on a piece of subject matter.

Additionally Hanlon's Razor is in order - Don't attribute malice to what can be more adequately explained by ignorance and stupidity.
User avatar
Arctangent
squawky
Posts: 699
Joined: 9 years ago
Pronouns: she/her

Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Final Hour

Post by Arctangent »

StrikeForcer wrote: 4 years ago Additionally Hanlon's Razor is in order - Don't attribute malice to what can be more adequately explained by ignorance and stupidity.
is there much of a reason to use a razor when the leg is already clean shaven, though
User avatar
Nimono
Posts: 745
Joined: 11 years ago

Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Final Hour

Post by Nimono »

I always took "reeee" to be generic screaming, since that's the context I first heard it in, and the only one I've heard it in at that... This is the first I've heard of it being used as a slur toward anyone...


ANYWAY. I'm looking forward to seeing where people take autoscrolls next! One of the most hated things in all of SMW (the other being underwater levels), and look at what a neat thing has been made here! All it takes is an idea, a certain combination, and suddenly it's kinda exciting!
User avatar
Mandew
d'yo
Posts: 529
Joined: 14 years ago
First name: Marc
Pronouns: a person
Location: canada
https://fishingseasontraversal.talkhaus.com/

Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Final Hour

Post by Mandew »

I thought "REEEEEEEEEEEEEE" was a reference to DIO's screams in Jojo Part 3

I have literally *never* seen it associated with anything related to the Autism Spectrum
Image
video games
User avatar
Arctangent
squawky
Posts: 699
Joined: 9 years ago
Pronouns: she/her

Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Final Hour

Post by Arctangent »

Mandew wrote: 4 years ago I thought "REEEEEEEEEEEEEE" was a reference to DIO's screams in Jojo Part 3
that would be "WRYYYYYYYY," which ... actually sounds more like "worryyyyyyyyyyyyyyy" than anything

keep in mind that it's a japanese onomatopoeia, and japanese doesn't ( unless i'm misremembering ) have that "assisting" r, at least not one that "assists" with consonants. so, both the w and the r are vocalized separately
Mandew wrote: 4 years ago I have literally *never* seen it associated with anything related to the Autism Spectrum
Nimono wrote: 4 years ago I always took "reeee" to be generic screaming, since that's the context I first heard it in, and the only one I've heard it in at that...
it's literally the sound associated with "autistic screeching." like, it might have its origins in frog screams or whatever, but it's still become the way to actually write that sound out

plus, consider exactly what context it's used as "generic screaming." it's not in terror or anything akin to a kiai, it's in frustration or anger, and pretty much always over minor ( or "minor" ) things. that's already pretty damning given common neurotypical misconceptions of autism, but given that it's something primarily used by channers and gamerbros? people who have always and still absolutely love to use autism as an insult?

yeah, you don't exactly have to dig deep to see how easily it became a way to belittle people on the spectrum. i mean, strictly speaking, it could be argued that it's actually way to belittle neurodivergent people in general, given how much it's used in association with the "triggered" "joke" aimed at people with ptsd ... but that's not exactly better, plus i'm pretty sure the average person who uses that joke either doesn't know anything about ptsd beyond that it's a word that exists
Classtoise
Posts: 179
Joined: 14 years ago
First name: June
Pronouns: she/her/hers

Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Final Hour

Post by Classtoise »

Yeah literally "reeee" comes from the "autistic screeching" garbage channers love.

And today on "oh man let's make fun of marginalized groups", the second level starts with what appears to be an "I identify as X" transphobic joke.

Yay.
:bi_pride: :trans_pride:
User avatar
ft029
m/m wannabe
Posts: 537
Joined: 7 years ago
Location: U.S.

Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Final Hour

Post by ft029 »

The 2 levels today had some of the best aesthetics I've ever seen. I personally enjoyed the design of the first level a lot more; the second level did not feel like it was giving me a challenge. (or maybe I was too sleepy while playing it)
Mosts Awards:
Image
Image
Post Reply