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Dark Side of the Kingdom ~ Team Hack | Looks like it died?!

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I've claimed Level 107, but at the moment I have no time to make it! So I declaim it, so somebody can claim it. If I have more time and it's not claimed, perhaps I'll claim it again, but we will see. ^^
AddmusicM rocks!
Levels I plan to claim in the future if all goes well:

A - World 2-1 - Regular/Grass
133 - World 7-C - Final Castle
134 - World 8-1 - Regular/Grass
come check out my stream, i play cool stuff sometimes -- twitch.tv/xcombomamba

tl;dr you're a cool person :)
No you won't claim the final castle. This level should be a community level.
Originally posted by mrdeppelman
No you won't claim the final castle. This level should be a community level.

If users can't claim it, I suggest adding a note about it instead of just leaving it as "-unclaimed-", as it looks like it can be claimed normally.
Originally posted by Purple Rex
Originally posted by mrdeppelman
No you won't claim the final castle. This level should be a community level.

If users can't claim it, I suggest adding a note about it instead of just leaving it as "-unclaimed-", as it looks like it can be claimed normally.


Have done. I've marked it as "*unavailable* instead.
(And I've also marked Mr Blue Yoshi's and Scheiber's levels as complete too)
It turns out I also needed sublevel 1FA to finish this level (a place to have the goal point without anything else possibly interfering). I hope you enjoy it, and let me know what can be fixed.

7-1: Enter the Darkness
problems
-Screen 1: The jumping green koopa seems a little useless here as it jumps right off the ledge.
-Screen 8: The flying blocks going right into the spikes feels like a bit of a cheap move to me really.
-Level 1FC, Screen 7: Just a minor nitpick, but not a huge fan of how the end pipe is placed. I feel it'd be best placed facing upwards rather than downwards.
-Level 1FB, screen 1: A bit of slowdown here.
-Level 1FB, Screen 6: The jumping koopa here is also somewhat useless. (He jumps off the screen before you have chance to reach him).
-Level 1FB, screen 7: A tiny bit of slowdown here.

Review
I liked this level. The exanimation you have used in the 2nd section really does create an eerie and dark atmosphere which I like. The sprite design in particular was quite impressive for ths most part. The sprites were used in a way that makes the level quite challenging, but still fair.
Percentage: 84%
I'm really sorry levelengine, but this really isn't going to work. While the level is great aesthetically, the gameplay turns the claustrophobia of Divine Acropolis up to 11. Pardon my French, but the level is a clusterfuck of every single ghost house gimmick with a layer 2 second half and Bullet Bills. In fact, I'm pretty sure every level of yours includes Bullet Bills so far. Why? Not to be rude, but they aren't really necessary to a level, especially not Spirit's Lair, I'm not expecting Bullet Bill shooters. Here's what you need to do.

Look through the sprites in SMW. Surely you can find something that is not either
Bullet Bills
Diggin' Chucks
or Parakoopas.
No offense, but Divine Acropolis and Lavaval Cairns were pretty similar to each other, just with different graphics. You need to stray away from your rather familiar level design philosophies. Step outside the box for a bit. Your levels mainly rely on closed in, tight spaces with sprites everywhere (most notably Bullet Bills). Sadly, I won't accept this until it has a unique identity and is fun to play without being so pixel-perfect I ragequit (something I have never, ever done).

I'll put some pictures up in the morning, I just felt like I needed to post the summary.

e: I see I differ from JDC. JDC, check out Divine Acropolis and Lavaval Cairns. They are very similar to this level. Also, a couple palette issues with the second part I noticed.
Originally posted by Egadd
I'm really sorry levelengine, but this really isn't going to work. While the level is great aesthetically, the gameplay turns the claustrophobia of Divine Acropolis up to 11. Pardon my French, but the level is a clusterfuck of every single ghost house gimmick with a layer 2 second half and Bullet Bills. In fact, I'm pretty sure every level of yours includes Bullet Bills so far. Why? Not to be rude, but they aren't really necessary to a level, especially not Spirit's Lair, I'm not expecting Bullet Bill shooters. Here's what you need to do.

Look through the sprites in SMW. Surely you can find something that is not either
Bullet Bills
Diggin' Chucks
or Parakoopas.
No offense, but Divine Acropolis and Lavaval Cairns were pretty similar to each other, just with different graphics. You need to stray away from your rather familiar level design philosophies. Step outside the box for a bit. Your levels mainly rely on closed in, tight spaces with sprites everywhere (most notably Bullet Bills). Sadly, I won't accept this until it has a unique identity and is fun to play without being so pixel-perfect I ragequit (something I have never, ever done).

I'll put some pictures up in the morning, I just felt like I needed to post the summary.

e: I see I differ from JDC. JDC, check out Divine Acropolis and Lavaval Cairns. They are very similar to this level. Also, a couple palette issues with the second part I noticed.


Ah, I see how you differ to my opinion.

Do note my opinions are based of the level itself (and what I've played of the baseROM). Yes, the level was a bit erratic and not too coherant at times, but for the most part, I feel it is fine.
..Though I guess the level would flow better if the 3rd section came before the 2nd. Just me though. As for the bullet bills, they fit fine in the level itself (though they don't work in every environment. Beach is an example), though I do understand what you mean if every level of his so far has featured them.

I'll get to playing those levels you suggested and I'll rewrite my review later on tonight if I feel they're too similar also. =)
Phew, I thought for a second you might step over all my opinions.

Yeah, I'm not really the best SMW player, that much is obvious. But I know that levelengine can do much more moderate work, Lavaval Cairns was a nice one that toned down the original (because LC was pretty much Divine Acropolis with fire and Fuzzies iirc). But frankly, I've already played through levels like this by levelengine, and frankly, I'm tired of them. I personally am not a fan of sheer claustrophobia, and several great levels in the hack don't rely on it. His level could definitely use some more consistency as well. Also, Bullet Bills.
Why would I step over your opinions? We may differ - but each to their own, I guess. =P
Well, anyways then. I've played those two levels you have requested.

As for my thoughts - I actually completely disagree. I feel this level is better in terms of level design and coherence than the other two levels in the baseROM.
For the bullet bills, I feel they are probably best leaving in the level. Understandable that they've been in every level so far, but I don't really see how that should prevent him haven't one more with them in. (As long as it isn't ridiculous).Now, the two levels themselves may have problems of their own (I don't wish to talk about them here though), I do personally think the bullet bill + level design issues don't hinder the actual level itself in this case.

Ultimately though, as you're Dsotk's main tester, the decision is in your hands. If you feel Levelengine is best redesigning the level, I am completely fine with that choice.
First, do feel free to PM me with any problems the other levels might have, I might end up fixing them myself.

I actually forgot, the Divine Acropolis in the baserom removed several parts that were integral to design (including a diagonal Bullet Bill shooter for most of the first part). I forgotten how much Lavaval Cairns has been changed, but I believe that was kept to a minimum after I complained about DA.

Ultimately, I stand by original decision, that it should be rejected. Reasons why include:
Not incredibly consistant
Similar to other work
Contrasts with level design in the rest of the hack
Hopefully this will be fine, and I can't wait to see another level from you, levelengine!
Originally posted by Egadd
I'm really sorry levelengine, but this really isn't going to work. While the level is great aesthetically, the gameplay turns the claustrophobia of Divine Acropolis up to 11. Pardon my French, but the level is a clusterfuck of every single ghost house gimmick with a layer 2 second half and Bullet Bills. In fact, I'm pretty sure every level of yours includes Bullet Bills so far. Why? Not to be rude, but they aren't really necessary to a level, especially not Spirit's Lair, I'm not expecting Bullet Bill shooters. Here's what you need to do.

Look through the sprites in SMW. Surely you can find something that is not either
Bullet Bills
Diggin' Chucks
or Parakoopas.
No offense, but Divine Acropolis and Lavaval Cairns were pretty similar to each other, just with different graphics. You need to stray away from your rather familiar level design philosophies. Step outside the box for a bit. Your levels mainly rely on closed in, tight spaces with sprites everywhere (most notably Bullet Bills). Sadly, I won't accept this until it has a unique identity and is fun to play without being so pixel-perfect I ragequit (something I have never, ever done).

I'll put some pictures up in the morning, I just felt like I needed to post the summary.

e: I see I differ from JDC. JDC, check out Divine Acropolis and Lavaval Cairns. They are very similar to this level. Also, a couple palette issues with the second part I noticed.


You've just discovered my signature staple. Holding it back is much more important for DsotK, but I'd still also like to try to fix this for my own romhack because it may be beneficial for my credibility as an SMW hacker, despite the fact that I've already taken a liking to some of the sections I've done in my own romhack (some of them are much harder than what you've just played). I sort of forgot that it was Way of the M that was supposed to be one of the most difficult hacks out there, not this one. I did go back and playtest Darkness more, and after a while, I changed up the 2nd area the most since it was the most claustrophobic of all of the parts of the level. The level originally did have many enemies coming after you at once, but I decided to reduce that amount to hopefully better benefit the project.

Enter the Darkness (Again)

Hopefully this works better.
Great, this is much, much better. Officially added. I have a few things to point out that are minor:

The midway point looks a little odd here.

Bad shooter palettes.

Koopa needs new sprite palette.

Same as the last.

But don't worry I'll be fixing these errors, because...

I am now currently working on a new baserom update, improving levels that JDC mentioned and adding a few new ones.
I love you for doing the base update <3
Thanks xD Because I'm busy with my own hack.
New base update. Sorry it's in my file bin, I need to reboot my computer, it's getting a little buggy with Java and I can't use the File Manager. If someone could reupload it, I managed to delete the original and I tried to upload the new one, but it crashed before I managed to do it. I'll deal with my bugs later.

Anyway, as of now, we have 30 exits completed. That is 1/4 of the hack! Give yourselves a pat on the back for all of your great work that you've done.
We got 1/4 done of this beast done!

Awsome work ,guys just Awsome

Here
is level 20 Pokey crossing.
You do realize that those pokey heads are suppose to be footballs, right?

Yeah, this actually was a pretty good level. It suffers from your usual stuff, schizophrenic design, reuse of sprites from your previous levels, and not enough difficulty, but those issues can be fixed in a baserom update, which I'll probably do in the next couple days along with fixing S1234's level. Here's the standout things I noticed.

Bad BG palette, and we'll need to fix the palette on the football pokeys.

Don't use the bottom row of Lunar Magic.

You had quite a few stacks of land in this level, and some cases turned out like this. Major slowdown, and I can just run down the bottom path without penalty.

But yeah, accepted. We'll just have to do a good bit of touch-ups.
U r kidding me? Volcano Lotuses again...

The level is much better than your old levels. Great to see how you get better Buried ^^
Ummm...
I don't know if you recognised it, but you can't download the Baserom anymore.
Or is it just my browser? D:
My YT channel

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