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(Accepted) Pointless Filler Level 2: The Pointlessing

Now with even more pointlessness!

I'm not sure I did so well on this one. I tried to make it longer so that it would fit in a main world slot (specifically, world 7), but I think I stretched myself a bit thin, and maybe overshot the difficulty again.

Download
Originally posted by Imaynotbehere4long
I tried to make it longer so that it would fit in a main world slot (specifically, world 7), but I think I stretched myself a bit thin, and maybe overshot the difficulty again.

I agree with this. The first one has a good length, while this one goes on for a bit too long. Difficulty-wise, it feels more like a postgame level than world 7 (which we could also use).

There are a few things I'd like to mention.
- A powerup would be nice. Also as big Mario, you can't go under the rocks the toads are holding (the toads holding the rocks is an awesome idea, btw).
- The grey blocks/circles that the roto disc's rotate around blend in with the grey background.
- There are invisible rows of Mario only blocks in the part with the castles. I don't see why this is necessary.
- It isn't that obvious that you have to place the final skull on the floor and ride it up. The first time I threw it, and it floated off to the right. It can also be destroyed by placing it in a wall. It might be better if the skull is on a ledge from the beginning, and the rising lava "picks it up".
- I don't know if the podoboos are necessary. The one in the middle gets annoying if it isn't destroyed by the saw, and you have to ride the final skull upwards.

I also noticed that the lava goes in front of the pipes in this level, but in Pointless filler level 1 it goes behind (part of) the pipe IIRC. It would be nice if this got fixed in the first level (unless this is some glitch in the engine).

All in all it was a difficult experience and it had some fun moments, but it was a bit too long (for my tastes).
I also feel that it takes a bit away from the uniqueness of the first level.
Originally posted by Blue Leaf
Difficulty-wise, it feels more like a postgame level than world 7 (which we could also use).

I had a feeling that this would happen, but now that I know that there's a deadline, I'm okay with it being a post-game level, too.

Originally posted by Blue Leaf
- A powerup would be nice. Also as big Mario, you can't go under the rocks the toads are holding

There should be LunaDLL code that auto-filters the player to small Mario (same with the prequel). The main reason I did this is because getting hit/a power-up throws off the timing with the lava and the music. Hopefully, that won't be enough to reject this level.


Originally posted by Blue Leaf
- The grey blocks/circles that the roto disc's rotate around blend in with the grey background.

Fixed.

Originally posted by Blue Leaf
- There are invisible rows of Mario only blocks in the part with the castles. I don't see why this is necessary.

You know the jumping Toads? If they're not set to friendly, they'll act as mushrooms, but making them friendly makes them immune to the lava, so it will just push them up and you'll see Toads jumping on lava. The Mario-only blocks prevent the lava from pushing them up.


Originally posted by Blue Leaf
- It isn't that obvious that you have to place the final skull on the floor and ride it up. The first time I threw it, and it floated off to the right. It can also be destroyed by placing it in a wall. It might be better if the skull is on a ledge from the beginning, and the rising lava "picks it up".

Okay, I changed it.


Originally posted by Blue Leaf
- I don't know if the podoboos are necessary. The one in the middle gets annoying if it isn't destroyed by the saw, and you have to ride the final skull upwards.

Whoops; the podobo wasn't supposed to be killed at all. I changed it.

Also, the podobos were mainly meant as an obstacle for when the player has to jump to the other skull raft in the first part and a warning that the lava is getting close for the second half. For the last bit, you are supposed to anticipate them and spin-jump on them when they're coming up.
I updated the download link, in case I didn't make that clear in my last post.
Sorry it took so long for me to answer, I was a bit busy this week.

Originally posted by Imaynotbehere4long
There should be LunaDLL code that auto-filters the player to small Mario (same with the prequel). The main reason I did this is because getting hit/a power-up throws off the timing with the lava and the music. Hopefully, that won't be enough to reject this level.

When I tried it with power-ups, the timing with the lava didn't get screwed up (the saws jumped really high, though). I really think the level could use some powerups, since it's fairly long. And if you add power-ups, it might be nice to play as toad, because of the health system.

Originally posted by Imaynotbehere4long
You know the jumping Toads? If they're not set to friendly, they'll act as mushrooms, but making them friendly makes them immune to the lava, so it will just push them up and you'll see Toads jumping on lava. The Mario-only blocks prevent the lava from pushing them up.

Ok, that makes sense.

Originally posted by Imaynotbehere4long
Originally posted by Blue Leaf
- It isn't that obvious that you have to place the final skull on the floor and ride it up. The first time I threw it, and it floated off to the right. It can also be destroyed by placing it in a wall. It might be better if the skull is on a ledge from the beginning, and the rising lava "picks it up".

Okay, I changed it.

A bit more room to get around the skull would be nice.

Originally posted by Imaynotbehere4long
Also, the podobos were mainly meant as an obstacle for when the player has to jump to the other skull raft in the first part and a warning that the lava is getting close for the second half. For the last bit, you are supposed to anticipate them and spin-jump on them when they're coming up.

I like the use of the podobos in the first two parts, but at the end it's a bit much (especially because it takes some time to get there).

But all in all, this would be a nice addition to the post game (some powerups would be nice, though).
Originally posted by Blue Leaf
A bit more room to get around the skull would be nice...I like the use of the podobos in the first two parts, but at the end it's a bit much (especially because it takes some time to get there).

You know what? I just decided to overhaul that part. The player can get around the skull better and the player doesn't have to constantly podoboo-jump anymore, but the podoboos are still a threat.

Originally posted by Blue Leaf
When I tried it with power-ups, the timing with the lava didn't get screwed up (the saws jumped really high, though). I really think the level could use some powerups, since it's fairly long. And if you add power-ups, it might be nice to play as toad, because of the health system...(some powerups would be nice, though).

Now that you mention it, Toad's health system would have worked quite well [EDIT: wait, Toad still shrinks when he gets hit at 2hp, so that wouldn't quite work, either], but the fact remains that I built the level around small Mario (the Toads carrying the rocks being the most blatant example). I updated the level again; hopefully, I can get it accepted without having to add a power-up, as I'd basically have to restructure the entire second part.
At this rate, the deadline will be here before I can get my level accepted! #tb{O_O}
I really think the level would benefit from a power-up. The post game is already a huge difficulty spike compared to the rest of the game. And I know that the post game is supposed to be difficult, but it should also be fun. I want to avoid that the player gets frustated. I'm not saying this is a bad level (it's actually pretty good and creative), but a power-up wouldn't hurt.

As for the level itself:
- You can have the toads who carry the rock stand on a one tile high go-through ledge so that even big Mario can walk under them, if you want to add power-ups.
- The changes to the third part are clever and I like them a lot.
- I played as toad because he doesn't have an reserve-item, but because he has 3 hearts. That way, you don't have to risk getting an extra power-up.
All right, I added a mushroom, but MAN, if you get hit, the timing of everything around you gets thrown off, not to mention the saw-blade glitch. It may be a good idea to keep a back-up of the previous version.

Edit: Oh, and you can beat the level with a mushroom now, too. Still filters to Mario, though.
Accepted

I'll accept the level for now, but we might go back to the previous version if the beta testers think that's better (someone else's opionion might be nice).
All in all it was a creative (and challenging) level. Keep up the good work.