Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Happy New Year!!
Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Eleven Ten
That was super interesting to read about, ECS! I learned some new things, especially about the key vending machine.
I also loved the levels today. I personally got somewhat frustrated by the second half of super maks' level (maybe it could use a 1-up checkpoint).
I think pyro's level has super high replayability value. It's a great Gamer Challenge to get all 5 dragon coins.
I also loved the levels today. I personally got somewhat frustrated by the second half of super maks' level (maybe it could use a 1-up checkpoint).
I think pyro's level has super high replayability value. It's a great Gamer Challenge to get all 5 dragon coins.
Mosts Awards:
Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Eleven Ten
Oh, thank you! :DPiesonscreations wrote:Welcome to the talkhaus!
Also, we should have rankings for the best jokes on the intro screens.
Also, i agree with that! We need a TSDC (Title Screen Design Contest)
Militarized Iceberg one really made me laugh lol
Technical Loopholes was really cool! It's so great how fresh it felt for me when i played it, even though we literally used the same gimmick! I actually learned some cool things with it about the Respawn Loop i wasn't even aware of.FPzero wrote:As mentioned earlier, Technical Loopholes was my judge favorite level. I just loved how it used the sprite respawning thing, and I especially loved how it would throw enemies of all types at you at different angles to keep you on your toes. The slow platform gliding over 1F0 tiles was weirdly satisfying to see. It was just a super cool, thorough exploration of how to use this mechanic.
Unfortunately, our contests are rarely free of drama and other issues [...]
[...] I still feel really bad about the situation
Also, yea i remember that thing with the scores, it really sucks when something like that happens, but well, we're humans, and as such we make mistakes. I also had my share of drama on VLDC11, by acting stupidly on a Fan-Judge thread, and i still feel bad about that... (You might remember it).
Thanks ft! I'm glad to hear you liked my explanation post! Also, as i said in the post itself, congratulations on reading everything! xDft029 wrote: That was super interesting to read about, ECS! I learned some new things, especially about the key vending machine.
I also loved the levels today. I personally got somewhat frustrated by the second half of super maks' level (maybe it could use a 1-up checkpoint).
I think pyro's level has super high replayability value. It's a great Gamer Challenge to get all 5 dragon coins.
Indeed both levels today were really cool!
Well, Technical Loopholes is kind of a brother level to Vanish Castle (or, as a comment in the video stated, they're lovers who didn't get to be together lol), so i guess it's pretty natural that i'd love it!
I really like how, even though we used the same gimmick, Maks still managed to use it in a way that felt fresh to me! And i really love how much the level abused some sprites' behaviors for very interesting setups, like Chucks jumping from midair or line guided platforms / grinders used in some clever setups!
I do agree with ft that the second half can be a bit frustrating, mainly because it's pretty long (and i feel like the survival sections drag on for a bit longer than they should), but i still think it's a super cool level!
Militarized iceberg is also really cool! Ice sliding is a mechanic that's usually seen as annoying, as it's normally used to get in the way of the platforming, but i always knew it could also be used for clever sliding setups, which is exactly what this level accomplished!
I love the way it introduced the ice sliding and then kept adding new twists to it to keep the gimmick fresh! Layer 2, growing pipes, wall running and moving platforms were used really well to complement the gimmick!
It's a bit weird that the whole gimmick is optional though, since we can play the level as Small Mario and literally skip the whole sliding. I'm not sure if i'd consider that the best decision, but i guess having the Yoshi Coins require Big Mario is a good way to encourage the player to play the way the level was meant to be played. When you engage the challenge of keeping the Mushrooms is when the level truly shines!
If i'm being honest, i feel like the last section hurts the level a bit due to the fast Layer 2, since it's rather punishing, but the level is still really cool!
Also, there's a really fun coincidence i noticed in this video!
Basically, as we all know, Technical Loopholes uses the same gimmick as Vanish Castle, the Sprite Respawn Loop. But one thing most people don't know is, shortly after VLDC11 ended, i made my second level, a level for a brazillian collab hack, and that level, named "Frozen Palace" ("Palacio Congelado" in portuguese), used the same gimmick as Militarized Iceberg, using ice to slide into 1-tile gaps as Big Mario! It's even funnier because, back then, i hadn't played, watched, or even known anything about Militarized Iceberg at all, so using the same gimmick as it was a pure coincidence!
So basically, the theme of this video is:
The first level in the video uses the same gimmick as my first level.
And the second level in the video uses the same gimmick as my second level.
Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Seven Six
7th, Bouncy Ruins, by Dan Drigues
86.50/100.00 points
Scores:
6th, Roaming Fiber, by Christian07
87.00/100.00 points
Scores:
So, Bouncy Ruins is Dan Drigues's first level, or at least one of their first, as far as I'm aware. They registered on SMWC just in time for VLDC11, and their first post was their level thread. They claim to be very new to SMW hacking as well. And, man, if someone that new can place this high that's incredible. I sincerely hope to see more levels from him in the future because Bouncy Ruins is so cool!
86.50/100.00 points
Scores:
87.00/100.00 points
Scores:
Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Seven Six
It's pretty cool that this is Dan Drigues' first level, and it's also cool how much setups with grinders he managed to create. I always thought grinders were the most versatile sprite in SMW, and that level is proof of that.
Anyway, everyone likes dev commentaries, right? I'm christian07 (that's my old username), so I'll copypaste mine off youtube now:
Also, because the reviews are above this post... Can someone finally tell me what is morsel talking about when he mentions Super Castlevania IV? (I've never played it)
Anyway, everyone likes dev commentaries, right? I'm christian07 (that's my old username), so I'll copypaste mine off youtube now:
Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Seven Six
In the first level of Super Castlevania IV, you can walk behind the iron bar fences and avoid enemies and obstacles much like Mario can when he's behind a fence. I assume that's what he's referring to.
Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Seven Six
Dan Drigues' level is the type of platforming I'd like to see more often. Going through the level is very satisfying-- the sproings were used masterfully.
I replayed Christian07's level since he mentioned some bonus rooms, and I went into an endless bonus game after completing the sinking net room (which, on the first playthrough, I did not expect to keep sinking). This can be easily solved by having an entrance to 108 on screen 07. (Or maybe, me opening the game in lunar magic caused an issue with entrances? who knows...)
I also flew left, but I found that more funny than an issue.
The actual bonus room that Christian07 mentioned-- it's quite cool. It reminds me of the shenanigans in ravegg's shattered dreams room in JUMP.
I replayed Christian07's level since he mentioned some bonus rooms, and I went into an endless bonus game after completing the sinking net room (which, on the first playthrough, I did not expect to keep sinking). This can be easily solved by having an entrance to 108 on screen 07. (Or maybe, me opening the game in lunar magic caused an issue with entrances? who knows...)
I also flew left, but I found that more funny than an issue.
The actual bonus room that Christian07 mentioned-- it's quite cool. It reminds me of the shenanigans in ravegg's shattered dreams room in JUMP.
Mosts Awards:
Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Five
5th, TRAUMEREI, by Tob & Darkdlp02
88.50/100.00 points
Scores:
I've noticed that I gave out a small handful of scores higher than 90/100 for this contest. I'm not sure if that's just reflective of me becoming more picky or what, because this contest was overall fantastic. I noticed it in the recent Halloween Level Design Contest as well, where I don't think I gave any level above a mid-80s/100.
Maybe it just means I don't hand out points as easily any longer, and that I've learned how to judge pretty well these days. Shrug.
88.50/100.00 points
Scores:
Maybe it just means I don't hand out points as easily any longer, and that I've learned how to judge pretty well these days. Shrug.
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Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Five
i would absolutely love a full-on platformer with this level's aesthetics
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Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Four
the factory level isn't exactly one that jumps out at you aesthetically, but if you stop to look at it it actually looks really good and clean
i love the subtle shadow effect going on with the floor
i love the subtle shadow effect going on with the floor
Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Four
4th, Brown Block Factory, by Sixcorby
89.50/100.00 points
Scores:
When I said levels were usually dense enough to be their own videos, this also assumed you might die while playing them!
And tomorrow is FrozenQuill's favorite level.
89.50/100.00 points
Scores:
And tomorrow is FrozenQuill's favorite level.
Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Four
I never noticed the shadow effect in the walls. That's neat. I really liked how the crazy eater blocks were used (in my vldc9 entry, it was downright unfair, but here, everything was introduced smoothly and in a way the player could react to.)
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Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Four
Brown Blocks in Mario.
Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Four Brown Bricks
It is the most fun you could possibly have
ワンワン
Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Four
Sixcorby's level is really great. I'd love to see the "OFF" gimmick explored more in a future hack/contest entry, as there seems to be some serious untapped potential there.
3rd place is one of my personal favorites from the contest, despite being a tad on the short side. It's utterly fascinating on a technical level, and it's a blast to play. Looking forward to seeing the video of it.
3rd place is one of my personal favorites from the contest, despite being a tad on the short side. It's utterly fascinating on a technical level, and it's a blast to play. Looking forward to seeing the video of it.
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Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Four
3rd, PURPLE WAVES, by ft029
90.25/100.00 points (FrozenQuills's favorite)
Scores:
I'm the one that gave it a 78/100 while everyone else gave it a 90+, so I guess I should explain a little. I felt like the gimmick was cool, but executed questionably. I usually take some points of Creativity when I run into cool ideas I felt were flawed, and here was no exception. I found myself dying to this level a lot in the first half, even though I knew what I was supposed to do. There were a few times where the waves would just kill me through the platform even though I was doing what was expected. Now, it must be that I was still doing something wrong even though I was doing what the level had planned, because it's clear that I shouldn't have had issues with it. But I still felt that the level was just too janky for my tastes. And this isn't even a knock against ft's design capabilities or anything, because I loved his VLDC9 level (Not that I knew who the level was made by when I judged, of course). The other major thing was that I felt the second half was too short and didn't reach its full potential of ways to bring the water down. The "express elevator" as I called it in my comments with the falling two platforms made up a big chunk of the second half and wasn't very difficult to navigate.
It's a good level, but it definitely wasn't one of my favorites. But I have no problems with the other judges thinking highly enough of it to score 3rd place. That's how opinions work!
90.25/100.00 points (FrozenQuills's favorite)
Scores:
It's a good level, but it definitely wasn't one of my favorites. But I have no problems with the other judges thinking highly enough of it to score 3rd place. That's how opinions work!
Last edited by FPzero 4 years ago, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Four
I'm quite astonished at my placement. I made the level fairly quickly-- I definitely made use of the 1 day deadline extension. I'm really happy with the idea of the level; I had some sadistic ideas for setups that might be too mean (like an overly long midway that players rush toward, but ends up being impossible to get due to the water level).
There's always more to wring out of a gimmick, and certainly there are many missed opportunities in my level. But, I'm proud of the setups I did come up with. I take the comparison to SUPER as a compliment :)
Also: The stuff about "sea bass on purple waves" is a reference to Mr. Hoo's restaurant in the book The Westing Game.
There's always more to wring out of a gimmick, and certainly there are many missed opportunities in my level. But, I'm proud of the setups I did come up with. I take the comparison to SUPER as a compliment :)
Also: The stuff about "sea bass on purple waves" is a reference to Mr. Hoo's restaurant in the book The Westing Game.
Last edited by ft029 4 years ago, edited 2 times in total.
Mosts Awards:
Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Four
I'm with FPzero in this. Purple Waves was a really neat level with a super cool technical gimmick, and i enjoyed it a lot (i actually enjoy it way more now than when i first played it!), but i just feel like it was a little bit flawed in exectution (or, better yet, as FP said "questionable execution"), in the end becoming quite janky. The main problem i see in it is the fact it uses Springboards to rise in the first half, because Springboards have that little animation where Mario sinks into them for like half a block before blasting off, and that little sinking is usually just enough for Mario to touch the water and die, even when the water doesn't actually reach up to the platform we're in. That made the first half really unforgiving.
There is also that problem in the 4:00 mark in the video, where if we jump as soon as Mario lands on a platform, sometimes the camera keeps following him, and in this case this leads to certain death. Maybe it's because i have a pretty active playstyle, but i run into this quite a lot!
Also, i found the second half to be waaay better than the first, due to the fact we had to find different ways to lower the water to keep progressing, instead of "trying to not rise the water 1 pixel too high and die to it" like in the first half. It was cool to see the different ways the level allowed us to lower the water, but, as FP said, i felt it was too short compared to the first.
I'll say again that it was a really cool level, i know my comment came off as a bit negative, but i still loved it, it's just that the execution was less than ideal at times...
There is also that problem in the 4:00 mark in the video, where if we jump as soon as Mario lands on a platform, sometimes the camera keeps following him, and in this case this leads to certain death. Maybe it's because i have a pretty active playstyle, but i run into this quite a lot!
Also, i found the second half to be waaay better than the first, due to the fact we had to find different ways to lower the water to keep progressing, instead of "trying to not rise the water 1 pixel too high and die to it" like in the first half. It was cool to see the different ways the level allowed us to lower the water, but, as FP said, i felt it was too short compared to the first.
I'll say again that it was a really cool level, i know my comment came off as a bit negative, but i still loved it, it's just that the execution was less than ideal at times...
Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Four
Welp, here we are.
I don’t have much in the way of dev commentary, other than that I was eager to use Yoshi a bit more after making a level around killing him in my VLDC9 entry. While I was working on it, I realized fireballs slid along 1F0, so I bent the second half of the level into that gimmick, bringing back Yoshi at the end to tie the two together. It was a lot of fun to design, but much like many of the other top ten entries, the time limit was a crux - if I could do it again, I’d probably cut out a puzzle or two.
The song isn’t a remix, but rather, it’s something I composed specifically for this level. The HQ version of the track is here, and I released the track on SMWC for usage in other levels.
Thanks for playing it, and I’m glad you enjoyed it. Look forward to the first place entry - it’s really great.
I don’t have much in the way of dev commentary, other than that I was eager to use Yoshi a bit more after making a level around killing him in my VLDC9 entry. While I was working on it, I realized fireballs slid along 1F0, so I bent the second half of the level into that gimmick, bringing back Yoshi at the end to tie the two together. It was a lot of fun to design, but much like many of the other top ten entries, the time limit was a crux - if I could do it again, I’d probably cut out a puzzle or two.
The song isn’t a remix, but rather, it’s something I composed specifically for this level. The HQ version of the track is here, and I released the track on SMWC for usage in other levels.
Thanks for playing it, and I’m glad you enjoyed it. Look forward to the first place entry - it’s really great.
Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Four
2nd, Crystarp Hollow, by S.N.N.
93.25/100.00 points (Ryaa's Favorite)
Scores:
With SNN's VLDC9 level still fresh in my memory, I kind of figured it was his level even when judging. I don't know why it couldn't have been someone else's in my head, but I just somehow knew. I blame all the years working alongside him as staff on SMWC.
93.25/100.00 points (Ryaa's Favorite)
Scores:
Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Four
snn also made half a yoshi level for a team hack made by the vldc9 ow crew that never got finished so he really is a one trick pony huh
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Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Four
I really liked the song in the level! And the bouncing fireballs thing was neat.
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Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Four
Funfact: the 1st place doesn't have any wacky/glitchy mechanics in it.
I see what you did there...
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Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest 11 -- Four
witchcraft