Playtesting finished!
Well, first of all, let me say that the title screen looks good and can give the player an idea of how the hack will be. Also, the overworlds in the hack are great! Haven't found any perspective issue. Now for the worlds and levels:
World 1: Precious Plateau is a world that introduces the player to some stuff. There are some interesting levels, most of them have a traditional Mario game feeling. I found House of Hammers and Frantic Fishies to be the best levels in World 1. However, I found Fuzzy Fungi and Boom Boom's Bastion to be, maybe, quite too challenging for being World 1 levels, but that's just me. I found some small issues:
1. In Goomba Greens, this one's not really an issue, but you can lower the background on tile so the blue line at the bottom of the screen doesm't appear. Also, that piece of ground where the Dragon Coin is could be one more tile up, but that's more of a niptick:
2. Very minor cutoff in the cave section from Goomba Greens, probably unavoidable because of how the foreground was made. Not important, though:
3. There are only 4 Dragon Coins in Hilltop Heights.
4. A minor issue in Frantic Fishies. After cutting the goal tape, Layer 3 water disappears. Also, some levels have the goal post made differently from the normal ones as ypu can see in the screenshot (actually I don't see any problem there):
5. Fuzzy Fungi introduces a gimmick where Mushroom Platforms act in a certain way depending on their colour. From my point of view, I think it would be a good idea to tell the players how those platforms work. Also, while the level is decent, I think it can be, along with Boom Boom's Bastion, too challenging for being in World 1, due to some tricky jumps. At least, you
reward the player with 3 3-Up Moons
. This part of the level in the screenshot can be unfair due to the narrow space and the Fuzzies:
And now for the title screen level, The Quest to Quadra, it was a pleasant level, it keeps the Mario vibes quite well. Just a minor issue. After entering
the cave section with lots of coins after pressing the Blue P-Switch
, when coming back to the main level, getting the Coin Checkpoint can be a challenge. Maybe a block or something could help. Again, a minor niptick:
World 2: Spearmint Summit is pretty much the same as Precious Plateau, as the same type of design is used. There are some challenging levels too. It was a good world! I would say Perilous Platforms was my favourite level from this world. Now for the issues:
1. As lordkronos100 stated, there are only 4 Dragon Coins in Perilous Platforms.
2. In Conveyor Belt Craze, you can lose a life here, I think it could be because of how the conveyor works:
3. A narrow space where you have to duckjump in the same level. Minor, but a bit annoying:
4. A small grammar issue, I think it's Vicious Veg
etation (not Veg
itation).
5. Some players could mistake the decoration with working climbing vines in Temple Turmoil. Minor though:
6. At the start of Flooded Forest, a Red Koopa appears behind the tree
and it can be unexpected, maybe a bit unfair if you don't pay attention. Also, Layer 3 water disappears, but I've just read your post so I understand:
7. In the same level it's possible to farm 1-Ups with a Green Koopa Shell and you can go under the underwater section:
World 3: Molten Mines, a hot cave world, I think it's one of the best in the hack. New gimmicks are introduced
(Blazing Barrels, Ruby Ride, Gatling Gauntlet)
making the design a bit different from the previous world, yet keeping that traditional design in some levels like Fire Falls. Also, I found the optional secret level Skyhigh Sprint to be easier than the secret levels from world 1 and 2. Issues found:
1. In Searing Snakes, I think it would be a good idea to tell the player that those orange pipes hurt. Also, Layer 3 fog disappears:
2. In Red Scarlet Switch, don't release the P-Switch because it can go through the slope:
World 4: Withering Wasteland, a dark and sppoky world. The difficulty ot the hack increases from here. All the levels have that dark atmosphere, which is well made! Another thing to oint from now on is that secret levels except those from Worlds 1 and 2, are easier. Some issues found:
1. Layer 3 Fog disappears in Sneaky Spiders and Creepy Chill:
2. If you wait for the autoscrolling for a long time in Tanks of Terror and cross the goal, you can find this cutoff:
3. I think this platform behind the lava in Amethist Antics can be difficult to see. Also, it's possible to swim in the upper lava, at least in the flowing tiles:
World 5: Castle Calamity, a world with some challenging castles and dungeons! Harder than Withering Wasteland, though it still keeps the dark tone from the former. Some issues found:
1. Minor, though it wasn't easy to find those Hidden Blocks to get the Dragon Coin in Drowning Dungeon. Also, if you run and jump, Layer 3 water goes up, you may want to disable vertical scroll. Of course, it disappears when finishing the level:
2. Is it possible to lose a life in Aggresive Arsenal if you wait for the scrolling and then finish the level, maybe you could decrease the length of the area after the goal:
3. In the same level, there is a softlock. If you try to get the secret exit without pressing the Blue Switch, you must lose a life to get out. Do not enter the pipe which takes Mario to the area showed in the screenshot. You could consider making the pipe work and return to the scrolling level:
4. In Shifty Sapphire, it would be a good idea to tell players about what those grey sapphires do:
5. Watery Weapons is probably one of the most difficult and annoying levels in the hack due to the use of Torpedo Teds:
6. If you skip the level by swimming under the ground, you can find this cutoff at the end, you may want to fill that empty space with dirt tiles:
7. Both in Watery Weapons and Detonation Dread, as they finish in foggy areas, Layer 3 disappears after completing the level.
8. Cutoff after the Question Orb in Backwards Brigade:
Before entering world 6, in the level The Switch Bridge, the last area of the level consists of jumping and going up through a mountain, there are a couple of instances where you shouldn't defeat the enemies in order to advance. If you do so, you'll have to do a tricky jump after running:
World 6: Chaos Crater, the final world of the hack, being obviously the hardest in the hack, with longer levels which explains the number of seconds given in the levels. Some of the levels there remind me of levelengine's hack Bits and Pieces in terms of difficulty and challenges. Now for the issues:
1. Don't know why, maybe limitations? but the last Dragon Coin in Hectic Hallway doesn't appear:
2. It's quite tricky to get that checkpoint without taking damage from my point of view:
3. Ghoulish Galleon could be the second most annoying level due to the underwater section, while being decent, there are a couple of unfair situations related to boos:
That Big Boo and the Boos can hurt Mario in the upper part:
That group of Boos and the Bullet Bill Cannon can also damage Mario. I think there is kind of a luck factor:
4. If you bring the Blue P-Switch (I don't know if this happens with the Key) to the area where you foght against Big Boo, he won't appear. If you enter without any items, the battle goes as normally:
5. In Hungry Horrors, as a suggestion, you could use Super Mario Bros. level scrolling (not turning back), because if you return, those Eating Chomps will eat important stuff like this:
6. In Hazard Headquarters, the fact that you can't kill the Lakitu so you can get that Dragon Coin could be annoying for some players. Also, after finishing the level, another instance of cutoff:
7. In ???'s Castle
(is Kirby the final boss or just a placeholder?)
, specifically
in the section where you move the countdown platforms
, you can skip parts of the area:
Also, that jump is almost impossible to make without getting hurt by the spikes:
I've enjoyed this hack, in which most of the levels were great and challenging, though there a few instances of annoying moments (underwater areas from world 5 and 6). It combines traditional design with some new gimmicks
(fueled platforms, barrels...)
. I found 58 exits and difficulty would be very hard (similar to levelengine's Bits and Pieces!)
4,5/5 Great work!