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[2S4U] GHOST TOWN

EDIT2: Newest and final-ish video here

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EDIT: Better video here

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Hi all,

I'm totally new to this forum & contest and also to making SMW levels for the most part. I've been futzing around with LM before but this is the first time I'm even close to finishing a level. So without further ado, here is a very WIP version of GHOST TOWN; a spooktacularly bootiful city. I know it's looking kinda bare in parts, some of the enemy placement in particular is pretty sketchy at the moment. I don't wanna post the patch yet because I don't think it's super playable yet, but here are some pix and a video:


Pix:



Crappy video (sorry about the quality and audio desync. I don't know what I'm doing.):
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5alk9s

The video shows the secret exit but you can see the normal ghoulpoint too. I think I show all the Yoshi coins too. There is a moon too but I'm not spoiling it :) Also I know the time limit is too low. I'm going to probably up it to 500.


Anyways. I've been able to figure out most of this stuff by myself but since I'm new I will also inevitably be asking these dumb questions:

* At 0:09 in the video there is an invisible mushroom. I really just want a shroom lying around on top of the window but when I try that the sprite is invisible in-game. Can I fix this and how?

* At 1:26 you can see some cutoff on the Ghost House grass ledge edges. Any ideas for a cool 8x8 tile I can use to fix this? Maybe with recoloring?

* At 4:07 you can see my diagonal roof tiles behaving badly when approached from below. I haven't been able to figure out a good way to fix this. I hope it's possible because a lot of the level aesthetics is riding on this roof design. Help appreciated.


So anyway, post yer thoughts and thanks for lookin'. Peace.
Originally posted by palerider





I REALLY like how these 3 buildings look, they're well constructed in that sense. The fog also lends this level a nice atmosphere. However, in the above first screenshot, is the 2nd story of the building Mario is standing next to able to be walked through and the top of that section acting as cloud platforms? If so, bonking your head on the bottom of those pipe tiles is a bit odd IMO (unless those are custom pipe tiles that are able to be pass-through. If that's the case, maybe make the palette for them darker so that's more obvious).
Layout by RanAS, modified by yours truly.

Originally posted by Mogu94
I REALLY like how these 3 buildings look, they're well constructed in that sense. The fog also lends this level a nice atmosphere. However, in the above first screenshot, is the 2nd story of the building Mario is standing next to able to be walked through and the top of that section acting as cloud platforms? If so, bonking your head on the bottom of those pipe tiles is a bit odd IMO (unless those are custom pipe tiles that are able to be pass-through. If that's the case, maybe make the palette for them darker so that's more obvious).

Thanks for the feedback! Actually the whole building is solid, so in the pictures you quoted, Mario cannot walk through anything except the "roof sign" part of the "GHOST HOUSE" house, which I made a darker palette to signify precisely that.

Only the big, first building in the level can be walked in front of (the first screenshot in the OP), and Mario can also jump on its windows, which are cloud tiles.

Maybe it is kind of weird that the first building is "background" and the rest are solid "foreground"...
Your level looks really good, considering it's your first time participating in VLDC and pretty much considering you're new in SMW Hacking. It reminds of the original SMW ghost houses, with the mysterious and spooky ambience, except outside of the houses, which is something very different and unique compared to the other ghost houses. The overall ambience is pretty good, the palettes are simple but well-done.

The only thing I'd worry is some of the p-switch gimmicks are pretty tight in time, like at 4:53 in your video and at final part to get the keyhole. If the player ends up dying to these parts, he might have to do lot of your level again and that is not very good thing to do.

Also at 4:55, if you accidentally hit the question blocks used to you go to up, they will turn into coins and the player will likely get stuck in that part, so try putting something else like note blocks or some other block that may not turn into a coin when p-switch is active.

Considering you still have lot of time left to improve your entry, I bet you will make a very good entry in the end.

Good luck dude!
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Originally posted by Vitor Vilela
Your level looks really good, considering it's your first time participating in VLDC and pretty much considering you're new in SMW Hacking. It reminds of the original SMW ghost houses, with the mysterious and spooky ambience, except outside of the houses, which is something very different and unique compared to the other ghost houses. The overall ambience is pretty good, the palettes are simple but well-done.

Thanks! I appreciate it!

Originally posted by Vitor Vilela
The only thing I'd worry is some of the p-switch gimmicks are pretty tight in time, like at 4:53 in your video and at final part to get the keyhole. If the player ends up dying to these parts, he might have to do lot of your level again and that is not very good thing to do.

If you fail the last P-switch run at least you only have to start from the midpoint; the key is right below it. I think that's fair. I'm OK at SMW, not great, and I can pretty consistently do the secret exit run from the midpoint on at least 75% of the time. It's hard but I don't think it's unfair.

That being said, I made the final P-switch run slightly shorter and changed the layout around the block containing the P-switch to make it more obvious that you need to go down and run:




Originally posted by Vitor Vilela
Also at 4:55, if you accidentally hit the question blocks used to you go to up, they will turn into coins and the player will likely get stuck in that part, so try putting something else like note blocks or some other block that may not turn into a coin when p-switch is active.

Noted. I fixed this. It now looks like this:



You can still mess up your path to safety I guess but now you'd pretty much have to be actively trying to screw yourself :)


I've been doing a bunch of other random work on the level as well, changing around sprite palettes, enemy placement and decoration as well as re-designing the first house in the level and adding another one. I also fixed the roof tiles and the grass cutoff but that still looks a bit dumb maybe? Some pics:



2spooky4me
holy, the buildings looks really nice

good job #smw{:TUP:}
Layout made by MaxodeX
2021 TRENO vibe check thread
Originally posted by palerider
those floating platforms look incredible! Hell everything does. Great job on this stuff so far. Your buildings are super cool and the variety is great, and it looks like a lot of fun to navigate!

One suggestion I'd make is to change the 1-tile jumping on the p-switch run to the secret exit. Precision jumping is usually frowned upon, especially with a low ceiling. Other then that I don't see much to criticize, I love the look of everything. Great job!! #fim{>:)}
ask me if i give a f*ck...
Thanks for the feedback!

I will definitely consider replacing the precision jumping, thanks. I'll try to come up with something more fun/forgiving, but still challenging, for that area.

For now, I recorded a new video showing lots of changes including custom music and a new bonus room with a hint on what to do for the secret exit.

~ Video ~

Still experimenting a lot with the enemies. The jumping pumpkin heads (footballs) use Mario's pants palette which I realized, during recording this vid, is dumb. Never tested them with Fire Mario before. So disregard those please. I will probably be removing them altogether, they don't add much.

Also I forgot to change the item memory setting on the second sublevel so some of the coins aren't there
New vid of me playing through the level (used one savestate though whoops) and getting the secret exit while showing some changes and some hidden things.

This is meant to be a more deliberate-paced platforming level (it's not so hard if you just take your time; rush through it and you're probably going to die a fair bit). It also has some light exploration elements, especially if you're looking for the secrets.

So at this point I've used up all my map16 and I think the level is fair, looks and and plays OK so I'm probably going to submit it this weekend. Looking back at the footage, the only real issue I see is how at 4:45 in the video the flying platform collides with the P-question blocks in a pretty sketchy way.

ANYWAY feel free to take a look at this vid and post any last minute suggestions folks

Here's the video: the video <-- here it is

Also here is Level105.png (but with the top secret moon location edited out #wario{;)})
You managed to achieve a great atmosphere without taking yourself too seriously, and I love it. It reminds me a lot of Luigi's Mansion. The outside music is perfect and the aesthetics are spooky without trying too hard, and the in door sections are adorable (so are the big eyed balls that replace the giant hotheads. they're adorable).
I'd be careful with stars and p-switches, though. Both change the music and ruin the mood of that main town area. In buildings it's fine because it's already kind of a wacky place, but the outside has a more serious atmosphere that completely gets lost once the star or p-switch songs start playing. Just a suggestion.

The graphics are beautiful and interesting without feeling too flashy and the level design seems solid. I'd say to look for alternatives to boo rings because all they do is cause a lot of waiting, which isn't very fun, but overall I'd say you did a great job !! :D
ask me if i give a f*ck...
Thanks a lot for the feedback, I appreciate it and I'm glad the overall impression seems positive! #w{=3}

I have submitted the level with only minor changes since the video but I'd like to adress a couple of your points:

Originally posted by Hobz
I'd be careful with stars and p-switches, though. Both change the music and ruin the mood of that main town area. In buildings it's fine because it's already kind of a wacky place, but the outside has a more serious atmosphere that completely gets lost once the star or p-switch songs start playing. Just a suggestion.

I do think this is a very valid point; the song is cool and you want to let it play longer, but then again the level is designed around a lot of P-switch stuff so it's unavoidable without totally redesigning vast swaths of the level unfortunately. I designed the level first and chose the music later, so, well...

Originally posted by Hobz
I'd say to look for alternatives to boo rings because all they do is cause a lot of waiting, which isn't very fun

Yeah, I use a lot of boo rings and boo lasers which I know can be annoying... But I tried to use them well, incorporating some more action happening around the boo rings, like in one of the houses there are circle platforms inside which I think is pretty fun and not something I've seen before.

Around the stack-o-crates in the main level, there are now two regular boos around that you have to avoid. So while you have to wait for openings in the rings, it's not just mindless waiting because you also have to pay attention to boos from two directions (it's not as annoying as it sounds, they start far away from you so you have quite a bit of leeway.) Hopefully it all works out alright because I don't know what I would replace them with!

So the idea of the level, I guess, is that it's got some pretty slow paced and deliberate platforming action and exploration that is contrasted by a couple of P-switch runs that require speed and precision.
Your patch is still broken: #tb{:(}
Layout by Erik557
Hi.
Originally posted by Wind Fish
Your patch is still broken: #tb{:(}

I actually fixed the patch AGAIN after posting the message that is currently in the submission thread about the patch being broken. I uploaded a total of four different versions in a short period of time while troubleshooting what I was doing wrong in the IRC channel. Sorry about that mess.

So there is a chance you still have the wrong version if you downloaded it in the short window of time when the third version was up; if you use the current link and it is STILL broken then let me know. I've tested applying it to a clean SMW ROM with header and it works for me.
Originally posted by palerider
I actually fixed the patch AGAIN after posting the message that is currently in the submission thread about the patch being broken. I uploaded a total of four different versions in a short period of time while troubleshooting what I was doing wrong in the IRC channel. Sorry about that mess.

So there is a chance you still have the wrong version if you downloaded it in the short window of time when the third version was up; if you use the current link and it is STILL broken then let me know. I've tested applying it to a clean SMW ROM with header and it works for me.

Yeah it works now. Though I should mention that the BPS patch filename should be your username according to the rules:
Originally posted by Thread
Submit a zip or 7-zip file containing:
* Your hack as <username>.bps

Other than that, great job with your level!
Layout by Erik557
Hi.
One think I noticed recently and you might want to take a look is the secret exit path. First, you have to carry the key almost the entire level. That's not very good. Not sure how people react to that today, but in the past people really used to hate and named that "item babysitting" or something like. Maybe you should the key either together with the keyhole, like the original SMW levels or not too far from that. Additionally, if you end up going to the keyhole path and you're without the key, you will get stuck in that part, with the player without any other option unless suicide.
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Originally posted by Wind Fish
Though I should mention that the BPS patch filename should be your username according to the rules:

Thanks. I'll fix it when I upload a new version to fix another very minor issue I discovered (you're supposed to be able to stand on top of the door frame of the first building like on the windows, but in this version you can't)

Originally posted by Vitor Vilela
One think I noticed recently and you might want to take a look is the secret exit path. First, you have to carry the key almost the entire level. That's not very good. Not sure how people react to that today, but in the past people really used to hate and named that "item babysitting" or something like. Maybe you should the key either together with the keyhole, like the original SMW levels or not too far from that.

I appreciate the input, and it's certainly something I've considered. The idea is that traversing the level with the key feels different and presents different challenges than without it. I know some people might still not like the "item babysitting", but personally I think it's pretty fun in this case, so I'll have to go with my gut feeling. The level post midpoint is not that long so even if you hate it out of principle I feel like it shouldn't be a major point of contention.


Originally posted by Vitor Vilela
Additionally, if you end up going to the keyhole path and you're without the key, you will get stuck in that part, with the player without any other option unless suicide.

Actually this is impossible* by design, because you need to bonk the block containing the P-switch from the side. There is no cape in the level so you need to be carrying the key to hit the block with it. Without the P-switch you can't get into the lower path.



* There is a possibility that you could laboriously steal a yellow koopa shell around the midpoint and carry that with you, but at that point you'd be deliberately breaking the level for no good reason
Hey hey,

So yeah, I did submit this level but after considering some of the critique it received ITT I really have to agree that the secret exit route wasn't very fun and was too demanding.

So I made the secret exit route totally unique from the midpoint til almost the end of the level -- there is now a new sublevel above the town, that you get to via a vine that you can only grow if you have the key (hit block from side with key right after the midpoint) -- this is the block that previously contained a fairly useless starman. I redesigned the area around the midpoint in the main level a bit, too.


With this, I've solved several problems:

* The secret exit being pretty much the same as the regular path, except with item babysitting

* I felt like maybe it was a bit too harsh requiring the player to spin-jump on statue flames with a key -- as you know this is kind of a tricky thing to pull off

* At least on the secret route, the music gets to play for longer without being interrupted quite so often by P-switches and stars

* The possibility to kinda-sorta break the level with a koopa shell


Note, though, that if you WANT, you can still complete the secret route without going in the pipe. The old way, via spin-jumping on fireballs with the key, is still quite possible. I think this is in line with the level being kind of exploration-based and open ended.


Video here (only shows the secret exit route starting from the midpoint -- also never mind the malfunctioning ghost-hothead near the end of the new sublevel)

I will be resubmitting this shortly after making sure it's all bug free and polished up.


EDIT: OK, new version submitted in submission thread.
So spooky #smrpg{:P}