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130: Perilous Paths - Slash Man

Complete

Owner: Slash Man

World: 9
Exits: 1
Theme: Factory Castle
Music Options: Factory Castle, or compose your own.

Briefing: The final stretch before Norveg's citadel. Consider this almost like a "laboratory" of sorts, as the boss of this will be the menacing scientist "Doc Croc", as depicted by Smallhacker. Hold no punches with this one - make it challenging (but not unfair), and ultimately creative and "epic".
Alright awesome! I'm glad I actually got it finally after all.

I do have some ideas lined up for it and have had them since April but I'll need p4's help with ASM so in the meantime I'll get all my ideas in order.
I think a post layout goes here somewhere...

Extras



I should have something witty to put here (even if it's just to update dated info), shouldn't I?

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Seeing what you do with this level will prove to be pretty interesting, since I don't recall ever seeing you make a level for anything. Though if you can make levels as good as you can make music, then I say to go for it!

Well I guess I should tell people my plans here. There is a castle in Yoshi's Island (I forget which), that has 4 different paths in which you need keys for the door in the center. I was aiming for something along the lines of that.

I have the first area possibly done for now. I just need run some ASM ideas by a few other users for each room. After those 4 factory rooms, the door (that's supposed to be in the center) will unlock and it'll lead to the lab areas.

I'm estimating I'll need 5 or 6 sublevels.

Edit: Anyone really familiar with DKC3 might like and/or hate this idea but hey, it's the last castle. What I had planned for it though was have it follow you like it does in DKC3 but have it shoot bullet bills at you from horizontal/vertical and alternate between that and diagonals.
I think a post layout goes here somewhere...
I very much the direction you are taking for this level.
I would also suggest to use the gimmick you have suggested. I actually really liked said stage in DKC 3. So will every side- or keyroom have its own gimmick? That would be awesome.
Graphicwise I suggest to use different tilesets already seen in world 8 like the one Scorpion has created for his elvel or the one seen in Rusted Retribution so that different factory graphics can be seen in this stage. :)
Well I'm working on not having the same graphics in every sublevel but I'm sticking to what others have used in this world thus far. Here is the level I'm going to use that crosshair in at it's current standing. I won't be releasing an IPS just yet because I want the main gimmick of said level in it first which will activate when you pass that laser on the map there.

Afterward when Sonikku finishes the sprite, I'll run through it and weed out the tight areas that might be a problem maneuvering around.
I think a post layout goes here somewhere...
So, how will this work? Will the sublevel that you have created there work with the aiming system from DKC 3 or is it another room?
As some sort of inspiration (if you haven't already decided which gimmick to use for the other three rooms let me give you some ideas: 1.) What about some sort of puzzle or switch room? The following level from DKC Returns for the Wii might be an inspiration for you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKalJx7ftVM
2.) What about using oil drums that spit out fire in certain intervals?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ttx_F2-ap8w (you might want to ask Karatekid for the sprites and the code since he has already coded them for another project. maybe he's going to give you them. :) )
3.) Another idea from DKC (yeah these games actually have the very best ideads for Factory stages) might be light that turns on and off in certain intervals:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaogCzy7wvo&feature=related
Hope this helps!
Originally posted by Slit08
3.) Another idea from DKC (yeah these games actually have the very best ideads for Factory stages) might be light that turns on and off in certain intervals:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaogCzy7wvo&feature=related
Hope this helps!


Yep, I was already planning on doing that one. =P
I think a post layout goes here somewhere...
Double post!

I'm currently working on the blackout room because Sonikku is still having technical difficulties with the crosshair sprite but I'm working on each section here and there.
I think a post layout goes here somewhere...
This one looks really awesome. :) I like both the graphics and the design. Though I would suggest to make Mario dark as well when the lights turn off.

Which gimmicks have you planned for the other two doors?
If you're looking for ideas, Slit08's mentioning of Donkey Kong Country reminded me of something could really fit your flickering light gimmick well. If you ever played Donkey Kong Country I'm sure you'll remember the level Stop & Go Station, if not basically it consisted of a level filled with enemies that were harmless when the lights were one color, but were extremely difficult when the lights were another. I was thinking you may be able to alter this slightly: possibly have enemies that are immobilized when the lights are off, yet are very difficult when the lights are on. This way you could possibly force the player into some difficult situations where he or she faces the choice of either passing through a segment in darkness, or trying to take on the enemy with the aid of light.

tatanga
I know what you mean, trust me, I've played DKC games like no other =P

The problem is that I don't want such a high demand for ASM, I don't want to make an ASMer feel obligated to help me with complex things. But I did think of that in the past.
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I'm pretty sure dimming the lights is actually one of the simplest things you can do with ASM, so there should be no trouble on that part. If you were to go through with the "lights off = simple enemies/lights on = tough enemies" idea, the toughest part would probably be coming up with an enemy that fits well enough.
A boo that's afraid of the dark, obviously!
Your layout has been removed.
Originally posted by Vic Rattlehead
I'm pretty sure dimming the lights is actually one of the simplest things you can do with ASM, so there should be no trouble on that part. If you were to go through with the "lights off = simple enemies/lights on = tough enemies" idea, the toughest part would probably be coming up with an enemy that fits well enough.


That's more like Loopy Lights from DKC1, not Stop and Go Station. That would require palette swapping from red tint to green tint, enemies freezing up becoming inactive when its on Stop and them able to hurt you on Go.
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Well I feel that I should show an ips progress patch.

LINK

A couple things though. The levels on the left side are finished basically, top left however still doesn't have the homing crosshair sprite that shoots every 10 seconds. The music is just the regular SMW castle song too, I forgot to change that when I made the ips patch but that's not really that important.

The bottom left level is the one I want tested right now though.
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I'm really liking how this level is coming along. So far, I have very little in terms of complaints, both for the design and the aesthetic appeal. The use of the different factory tilesets really works, and the graphics never clash that much. Although some people are against the multiple path gimmick, it is very well implemented here.




My biggest complaint for the bottom-left segment is that it just feels too "easy" to me. I admit that the blackout gimmick does make things more difficult, but I find that as long as you are patient and scout out the area before you go on, the level poses little challenge. A big reason for this is that you use mostly basic enemies, i.e. Koopas and Goombas, and you use them very scarcely. Koopas and Goombas can definitely pose a big challange in certain types of levels, but your's isn't one of them. I would personally suggest adding more projectile type enemies, as they seem like they would work well for this type of area. I know that with the blackout you don't want to make the level too hard, but remember that this is the penultimate castle and should be extremely difficult to get through.


The very top of the area doesn't animate. I'm not sure if this is your intention, but it seems a little bit unusual to me.


I really like how you implement the different switch blocks throughout the area. As the second-to-last area, I think that the player should be rewarded here for hitting the switches. Also, I really like this Piranha Plant jump here, it seems like it is much more of the difficulty for a W8 Castle.


The conveyor belts in the hub don't animate.


I'm assuming that the weird laser marks when the Krack-Shot (or whatever it's called) starts shooting at you. I honestly don't have any complaints about the second area, as it is now. It does also seem a tad on the easy side, but that's obviously because the Krack-Shot isn't put in yet. I also love the use of the moving Layer 2.

Anyway, so far this level looks really top notch. I can't wait to see more. =D

Extras



I should have something witty to put here (even if it's just to update dated info), shouldn't I?

Advertising Space

Originally posted by eXcavator
http://bin.smwcentral.net/u/15776/Factory%2BCastle_00004.png
The conveyor belts in the hub don't animate.


I'm pretty sure he knows. I'm using the same tileset for my second level and I can't seem to find the animation file (or how Kipernal pulled it off in his level) anywhere in the ROM. So I wouldn't be surprised if Slash felt the same and decided to get it later.



I'm gonna disagree with Excavator here. While I see what you're trying to do with the switch blocks, I don't think they should be in the Loopy Lights room. The difficulty already isn't quite there in this room for the penultimate level in the main game, but these blocks certainly aren't helping matters.


Nothing serious, but I'd look into replacing that Muncher graphic with something more fitting for the theme.


SMWCoin's too easy to get for World 8.

I know you said that the Krak-Shot Kroc room isn't done yet, but I figured I'd get this out of the way.

Spike Block shenanigans. The base ROM has some directional hurt blocks that would serve as a fitting alternative.


Not sure if this was your intention, but getting that block is still fairly easy even without the Blue Switch.


Your sublevels have screwy item memory indexes. Adjust them all to use different settings, or if you plan to have the player only visit them once per run, set the four sublevels to use 3.



He can jump through here.


Overall, you have something going for the level, but my main concern with it is how are you gonna deal with the checkpoint issue. I mean, surely you're not going to have the player go through all four rooms (which they can do in any order, much akin to Marchin Milde's Fort) before they can hit a checkpoint, right?

Hrm, alright thanks for the feedback. I'll get to fixing those problem areas. I was actually contemplating on using bullet bills for that dark area but I thought it would have been too tough.

@eXcavator: That chain was intended for the "line of darkness" but I'll see what I can do with that.
I think a post layout goes here somewhere...
Double post.

There still hasn't been much I could do with this level because I'm still waiting on ASM.

But I fixed up the levels I did finish up.

Link

Top left has the fixed hurt direction blocks and bottom left is a little tougher. AS I said before, I didn't want to make the level too hard.
I think a post layout goes here somewhere...

Complete