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020: Sunset Split - Feenicks

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Owner: Feenicks

World: 5
Exits: 2
Theme: Desert Ruins
Music Options: 1, 2, 3 or compose your own.
Additional ExGFX Recommendation(s): ExGFX 10B/10C (Ruins set) [BG2]/[FG3]

Briefing: This level will take place in desert ruins. You may make it underground or above ground.
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harpy

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Haven't decided what to call this level yet, as I need to see what NameUser is doing with his level before doing much with this.
In any case, what's above is the graphics I have so far, pretty much. I might add in those near-black outlines to the solid stone, but what other decorations should I add?
harpy

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Originally posted by Pheonix
...but what other decorations should I add?


Sarcofagi? Or however you spell that....

Sarcophagi.
You're doing ruins, so I'd suggest some FG rocks here and there, and perhaps a couple of smaller pillars. Diagonal walls might be a plus as well (similar to how YI did their's).

You could try experimenting with a couple of other colors too so it's not entirely brown. Something grey, or even red may work in capturing the mood WITH the brown.

e: where did that B even come from sdkfnsdlgkpd
Originally posted by S.N.N.
FGBrocks

well now I'm picture Brock and rock pokemon everywhere.

SNN mentioned the diagonal walls from YI which made me think of the wall ledges YI had. Those might be a good inclusion and inspire multiple pathing. i also agree with experimenting with more color variety. Analogous color schemes are nice sometimes, but if the whole level is varying shades of the same color, it will look boring fast.
I've started on adding a few of the decorations and have messed around with the palettes a bit, but as I don't exactly have anything concrete to show right now...
The level is going to be comprised of above and belowground portions, possibly on the same sublevel. Parts of the level are going to be split between these two portions, but the level itself is mostly going to switch between the two mostly at will. The upper portion is going to have more typical desert-themed enemies and obstacles (quicksand perhaps, dropping one into the less desirable lower portion or perhaps a SMWC coin), while the lower area, reflecting the level's proximity to the ocean, will have water and a smattering of aquatic enemies. I may need something else to make this level interesting, but I'll see what I can do with what I've described above.
I'm thinking of adding a fairly significant split partway through the level, with the secret exit at the end of a bit of aboveground platforming (which will just drop the player into the underground segment if they fall off).
(I'm also planning on adding a snazzy Layer 3 9 ocean background, but seeing as that's more a decorative thing...)
harpy

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You know, Layer 3 blowing sand would be perfect for this level, especially the above-ground section. My suggestion would be to use Ladida's Falling Leaves patch and draw some blowing sand graphics, then combine it with imamelia's wind patch. I believe a level in Mario Gives Up did just this, and it really added a nice desert flavour.

Hiding a SMWC coin in a pit of quicksand sounds like a nice idea. A neat way to indicate which quicksand pits have secrets in them is to ExAnimate them slightly differently (eg. 'killing' pits have sand moving right, whereas 'bonus' pits have sand moving left). Little subtleties like that would help to make the quicksand gimmick more fair.
From what I see, you are planning to do some sort of buried temple aren't you? Maybe you could name the level "Teacherous Tomb"

About the design, I like how you are splitting the level into two parts, but I think there should some kind of cooneccion between the two, maybe you could use desert and cave ennemies for the underground part along with the water ennemies, that could give you some more variety.

@Kadya: wouldn't that make the secret too ovious?
Originally posted by aj6666
From what I see, you are planning to do some sort of buried temple aren't you? Maybe you could name the level "Teachearus Tomb"

About the design, I like how you are splitting the level into two parts, but I think there should some kind of cooneccion between the two, maybe you could use desert and cave ennemies for the underground part along with the water ennemies, that could give you some more variety.

@Kadya: wouldn't that make the secret too ovious?

Don't you mean Treacherous Tomb?
@aj6666: not if the difference in ExAnimation is subtle and requires the player to pay attention. If every quicksand pit looks the same, it might be a little unfair for the player to have to use suicidal trial and error to find the secrets.

Treacherous Tomb is a cool name. You could also use Parched Palace.
Depending on how I eventually do the quicksand, that could work somewhat well.
Also I guess I should make it clear that the two parts of the level are actually going to be right on top of each other on the same sublevel, if that makes sense. This also kinda clears up that other point about the connection between the two.
(I'd provide a sketch to illustrate my point but given that I'm typing this on my phone that could be somewhat difficult,)
Also, I feel like the name should reflect this level design and not just be a somewhat generic temple name. Dual ____? Stacked ___? I don't know.
harpy

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The only name I can think of with stacked would be "Stacked Sands".
Dual Desert Doom?
Sun-baked Split?
Bipartite Bonanza?
Eh, I'll go with Sunset Split.

Also, sorry for the complete lack of progress on this; I've had stuff (APs and whatnot) to attend to, plus a rather large case of procrastination. Now that I've all-but-finished my A2MT level, though, I'll be able to work on this a bit more.
[Also, could someone please code the Ratarang Bro? I really want to use it in this level, and I even tried spriting it a while back.]
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osh actual progress



You can't really see it in these due to the lack of animation, but there's quicksand in both these pictures. I still need to make the bottom for the pass-through quicksand, though [and make a background, but honestly that can wait a bit].

Now comes the more difficult part of actually making a level difficult and interesting enough for its [technically] bonus stage positioning.
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Looks pretty nice so far, I like the FG's palette and graphics (although, I'd perhaps make the outlines a bit stronger. It's not a big deal, though). Good luck on designing the level.
The level so far. Kinda annoyed that the majority of the level's difficulty is coming from factors unrelated to the level's primary obstacles, but at least I think that I'm using the themes fairly creatively.

[The X's are Venus Fire Traps; still need to find the right graphics set for their heads.]
harpy

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I'm thinking the venus head should fit in one of the global graphic files (GFX00 and GFX01). I'll have to check.

Aside from that, it's looking interesting so far. I like your usage of the quicksand. I'll need to try it to judge the difficulty, so whenever you have an IPS ready, that would be swell.
This is part speculation until I try it, but here are some thought I have.

One thing I'm noticing is that a lot of your sprites are fairly isolated; by attacking Mario one at a time they don't pose a huge threat. On other hand, if you, for instance, put a boomerang bro and a venus trap together, that would already be fairly difficult. Obviously you don't want to start doing that in the beginning of the stage, though, unless you give players plenty of space or leeway to compensate. Rather, in the beginning you should try to find ways to make setups slightly harder without overdoing it. Something as simple as giving a venus trap the high ground over a steep slope can help you there. I also wonder whether having quicksand slope tiles would help you be more dynamic about where it becomes difficult to jump. You could try putting a fire/boomerang bro behind a series of quicksand pits and throw some easier enemies in there, like flying/bouncing koopas. Try to experiment with all of these and see which ones end up harder than others so you can order them correctly.

You could also manipulate the architecture to make things more cramped, but it seems like you're going for more of an open-space feel, so I'd focus on things like steep slopes, giving sprites high ground, putting them behind series of quicksand pits, using sprites closer together and/or in combination, stuff like that.

I think I'm most concerned about the water parts- they seem easier than every other path players could take. Perhaps you could add more rip van fish, or think of other enemies that would work well underwater, be they regular or custom?

Also, remember that parallel paths essentially halve your sprite space for each path, so you have to be especially crafty in using enemies to thwart players; make every sprite count.

Oh, and your architecture has quite a few gentle slopes and unbroken horizontal ground; making the terrain more uneven in spots would also help add difficulty even to isolated sprites, I think.

If you enable screen viewing before posting the picture, I can be more specific...or an IPS would be fine.
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