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11E: Gliding Garrison - SyStemkraSh

Complete

DAY 38
---------

SMWC Coins: 3 of 3 - COMPLETE
Sublevels complete: 3 (4 if decor isn't counted) of 4
Midpoint: 1 of 1
Goal Point: 0 of 1
Days Left: 12 (AUG 6) of 50 (SEP 24)

The level may be too hard in some places, because the paths to get to each SMWC coin is supposed to be more difficult than the rest of the level. I'll post an IPS soon; the skeleton of the level is completed, but I still need to decorate the last room. After I do that, then I'll post the IPS. Oh, another thing: I still need a name for this level. Does anyone have suggestions?

Lastly, Update video 4. I know I'm close to finishing and I have 12 days left, but I'm still very busy with school, so I'm slightly worried that I won't finish in time.
Honestly, I don't think you have to worry about the deadline that much. You've been communicating and showing progress often, and I think you'll keep your level even beyond the deadline as long as you keep it up. Of course, I could be totally wrong! But Teyla went beyond the previous deadline with an only mostly complete level, because of good progress and teamwork. I very much doubt S.N.N. will take a completely strict robotic approach to prying level ownership from everyone's fingers, considering the number of levels that, by the due date, will probably be "almost there," especially ones that have been solidly worked on for the past month such as this. I wouldn't sweat it too much until you get some notification!

Enough of the reassurance speech though!

The sprite setups look incredibly clever, which is really nice. The multiple pendulums are particularly cool! The only thing that still bothers me a little is that one Thwomp descent. The spikes are off-screen until it's finally time to make the jump, and I am personally used to Thwomps falling down on safe ground. You could argue that the spike floor is visible from the left area, but that's only if you use the R button to get a better look (which most people don't use frequently enough to think to do that).

Other than that one thing, it seems totally awesome!
DAY 42/50
---------

SMWC Coins: 3 of 3 - COMPLETE
Sublevels complete: 3 (4 if decor isn't counted) of 4
Midpoint: 1 of 1
Goal Point: 1 of 1
Days Left: 8 (AUG 6) of 50 (SEP 24)
Tick, tock, tick, tock...


I should be able to finish up the decorations in the last part of the level in the next 2-3 days. In the meantime, I'm going to release the beta level to everyone so I can spend the last five days fixing any mistakes.

Beta Download

EDIT: I still need ideas for a name. Can anyone think of any?
Some name ideas, since you asked.

"Helium Hold"
"Zaftig Zeppelin" (Apparently zaftig means having a full figure. It's only really used for describing people, but, not many words start with Z)
"Automated Aircraft"
"Dirigible Deck"
"Bulwark Blimp"

Tried to use any words that would include blimp/(or a synonym of it) in the title.
Just back here to browse a bit.
I looked through all of the names. I liked "Automated Aircraft", but I don't think it describes the level very well. I think "Aircraft Assault" works though, so I guess that's what I'll call the level. Thanks for giving me ideas.

EDIT: Never mind, post below explains that the level name sounds too close to another. Back to the name hunt.
There's another level in this world named "Aerostatic Assault".
Your layout has been removed.

Extras



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

Advertising Space


No. No. No.
- Why do you have leetspeek in your message box?
- Why are you utilizing blatant item filtering in this level? If you do not think that you can make a decent World 6 level without making Mario a two-hit wonder, then you probably should reevaluate something.


That Thwomp is almost completely obscured and can lead to it being in the ambush category.


Annoying timing sequence that almost promotes tanking through.


Blind drop that leads into a pit of spikes thanks to those coins.


Personal: Triangle Block resting on a spike doesn't look quite right.


Annoying timing sequence made worse by the player not knowing what's immediately following (that Thwomp and the jump to the Pea Bouncer), leading to some unfair hits.


- Miscolored midpoint.
- In fact, there's a miscolored piece of land throughout the entire FG Note the grey strip on all of the blue ground.


Nothing Major: The bottom half of ground-guided Grinders does not harm Mario, allowing for an awkward moment like so. Consider working around that.


General: Remove all pits of lava in this level.
- Your level is set in a blimp that's flying in the sky.
- There are no Podoboos in this level or any segments that require the use of platforms dipping in/across the lava.
- It just plain looks out of place.


Is it even possible to get the SMWCoin at the end without getting hit by any of the Thwomps?


Segments like these are borderline big Mario discrimination.



- Positioning with this and the same setup with the Net Koopa are a bitch to get past, especially as Big Mario.
- General: You spam Spikes like crazy especially in this level, which makes the room look very crowded and somewhat not nice to look at. As this is supposed to be a level in the sky, I would just remove the spikes and just replace it with a massive pit.

Well, I guess I can try some other names.

"Flying Fortress"
"Zephyr Zeppelin"
"Bastion Blimp"
"Soaring Stronghold"
"Skyward Strike"
Just back here to browse a bit.
Originally posted by MrDeePay

No. No. No.
- Why do you have leetspeek in your message box?
- Why are you utilizing blatant item filtering in this level? If you do not think that you can make a decent World 6 level without making Mario a two-hit wonder, then you probably should reevaluate something.
I thought it'd be more funny instead of having plain "MARIO" on it. I limited the power-ups to Mushroom for some reasons, mainly to prevent the player from spamming fireballs. There are two sections where if you accidentally fry an enemy, then you'll be stuck.

That Thwomp is almost completely obscured and can lead to it being in the ambush category.
Fixed; the pipe in front of it has been redirected toward the crack in the platforms above.

Annoying timing sequence that almost promotes tanking through.
Going to say this is based on someone's playstyle. They can wait a few seconds, or rush and possibly get hit.

Blind drop that leads into a pit of spikes thanks to those coins.
Fixed; the coins have been pointed downwards toward the chain. BTW, the coins were like that originally because some odd glitch caused them not to spawn in the formation they were in before.

Personal: Triangle Block resting on a spike doesn't look quite right.
Fixed; it's now laying on a cement block.

Annoying timing sequence made worse by the player not knowing what's immediately following (that Thwomp and the jump to the Pea Bouncer), leading to some unfair hits.
Going to have to say that's also based on how you play the game. You can either choose to be patient and crouch under the spikes, or you can tank it and possibly get hit.

- Miscolored midpoint.
- In fact, there's a miscolored piece of land throughout the entire FG Note the grey strip on all of the blue ground.
The midpoint has been fixed. As for the ground, it's actually not miscolored; it's designed to be that way, as seen in Atma's "Rise to the Skies".

Nothing Major: The bottom half of ground-guided Grinders does not harm Mario, allowing for an awkward moment like so. Consider working around that.
Fixed; Mario will pretty much have to jump intentionally right under it to see it.

General: Remove all pits of lava in this level.
- Your level is set in a blimp that's flying in the sky.
- There are no Podoboos in this level or any segments that require the use of platforms dipping in/across the lava.
- It just plain looks out of place.
Gotcha; all lava has been removed.

Is it even possible to get the SMWCoin at the end without getting hit by any of the Thwomps?
Yes it is, and as Big Mario as well. You have to trigger both Thwomps quickly and slide under them, or you'll get hit.

Segments like these are borderline big Mario discrimination.
Fixed slightly; the roof was raised by one tile. Big Mario should have an easier time getting through.


- Positioning with this and the same setup with the Net Koopa are a bitch to get past, especially as Big Mario.
- General: You spam Spikes like crazy especially in this level, which makes the room look very crowded and somewhat not nice to look at. As this is supposed to be a level in the sky, I would just remove the spikes and just replace it with a massive pit.
I always preferred enemies that do their job correctly. Also, I removed some spike lands, but kept some in. A huge pit of nothingness is too bare.


Thank you for your contributions and feedback.

Also, asked some people to beta-test on IRC, and they did it gladly (I hope).

Can I ask anyone else to test and provide feedback, please?

...Oh crap I almost forgot. The level is still being decorated; I fixed all or most of the problems mentioned.
DAY 48/51 - 50 Hours Remain
---------

SMWC Coins: 3 of 3 - COMPLETE
Sublevels complete: 4 of 4 - COMPLETE
Midpoint: 1 of 1 - COMPLETE
Goal Point: 1 of 1 - COMPLETE
Days Left: 3 (AUG 6) of 51 (SEP 24) - ON TIME
Tick, tock, tick, tock...

The last room has been fully decorated. The name will be "Flying Fortress" as Chanagaburu suggested, unless a better name can be created. With these last two things completed, the whole level itself is now complete. Try it out here:
Link
Alternatively, you can also go over to the "Level Testing" thread for the same thing.
Ok, I gave this one a try. First off, I'm not sure a couple of koopa jumps justify taking away the entire second tier of powerups. Are those koopa jumps necessary? Couldn't you replace them with line-guided grinders or a different kind of setup altogether? While I suppose it makes sense for there to be a security lockdown, if this level is going to remove powerups, then every level in World 8 will have to do the same for consistency- I mean, if a regular blimp level takes away fire flowers, then Norveg's high-security fortress would have to go a step higher by not even having mushrooms. Personally, I find your justification tenuous at best. Remember, this level's part of a larger picture.

Also, though you were generous with mushrooms, I find myself making use of most of them. Does that mean you included the right number of powerups, or does it mean some of your obstacles go a bit far? I'll ultimately leave that for you to decide, but I wouldn't treat the issue lightly, as a few particular setups that I'll mention here I found to be a bit much.

Another thing: I don't mind repositioning myself on a chain/net here or there, but when I spend most of the level doing that- especially as Big Mario- it grates on my nerves a little. You could stand to lower some spike pits so that they're not directly underneath the chains, for example. Then players don't have to worry about grabbing the chains too low, which means the low ceilings won't force them to reposition themselves on the chains before the next jump.

Now, about the side room in BA. There's nothing hard about creating a wall of grinders, but making something reasonable to pass without taking damage is quite a different matter. Do you really think people are going to wait and figure this out, let alone make it through successfully? That many grinders is just too much to keep track of, I feel. It doesn't help that you line the floor and ceiling with spikes! Isn't that extra layer of security unnecessary? Don't the grinders provide challenge enough? I suppose you could keep the starting spikes on the floor if you want to force players to jump into the formation, but if it were me, I would remove either all of the spikes or a combination of spikes and grinders. Alternately, you could make it so getting hit just resets the room, but I have a feeling that would be too nonsequitirish. Bottom line: I think people are going to see this and just tank through it or die trying, and I don't think smwcoin challenges should go that far.


B9
1: The cement blocks right next to the thwomp and the downward-pointing coins do NOT imply (to me) that I have to spinbounce on the thwomp to proceed. Also, do you have to block players' progress if they're quick with the p-quarter? I understand the coins would turn into turn block platforms; so what? It doesn't change what players fundamentally have to do to cross that gap, right? Anyway, perhaps you should lower the first set of floor apikes a bit and orient the coins in an upward direction so it's more clear what's necessary. You can extend the cement block down a bit to compensate, but if it were me, those p-question blocks wouldn't be there.

2: The first time I got here, I didn't know what to do for a second. Then I noticed the turn block bridge, jumped on, and had to wait because of the spike ceiling. On the next screen, I had to wait for the other bridge to go through a full cycle before continuing. Isn't that a bit too much waiting for just two screens? I would at least change the first bridge so that it's either horizontal-only (preferred) or not obfuscated.

5-9, top: For me, this p-quarter run was horrendous, and made even worse as Big Mario by the constant chain repositioning I had to do in order to avoid hitting the low ceilings too early (and thus fall onto the spikes). Perhaps if the p-quarters gave you a bit more time it wouldn't be such a problem, but I doubt many players will clear this the first time around unless they tank through. Honestly, is this branch even necessary? I thought the lower path was much more interesting *shrug*

A-B, bottom: While I discovered how to make it through unscathed after a few tries (mind you, a few tries = replaying other sections of the level over and over again as well), the horizontal thwomp doesn't give players much time to analyze the situation, and the vertical thwomps demand a lot of precision. Remember what I said about having a lot of mushrooms but using most of them? You're kind of setting players up (read: encouraging them) to repeatedly tank through your obstacles out of aggravation. What would I do here? Why not give players a ditch or two to avoid the horizontal thwomp, and raise the first vertical thwomp a tile?


B8
5: Do you think you could shift the gap in the ceiling here a tile to the left, or raise the right ceiling a tile, or something equivalent? I'm always afraid I'll accidentally jump into it en route to the next net, and personally I don't think I should have to deal with that after successfully clearing the grinders (which is what the gap is for).
Youtube (Main) | Youtube (Alt) | Bandcamp | DeviantART
AxemJinx is back on, AND he's critiquing my level? :D:D:D
Originally posted by AxemJinx
Ok, I gave this one a try. First off, I'm not sure a couple of koopa jumps justify taking away the entire second tier of powerups. Are those koopa jumps necessary? Couldn't you replace them with line-guided grinders or a different kind of setup altogether? While I suppose it makes sense for there to be a security lockdown, if this level is going to remove powerups, then every level in World 8 will have to do the same for consistency- I mean, if a regular blimp level takes away fire flowers, then Norveg's high-security fortress would have to go a step higher by not even having mushrooms. Personally, I find your justification tenuous at best. Remember, this level's part of a larger picture.

Also, though you were generous with mushrooms, I find myself making use of most of them. Does that mean you included the right number of powerups, or does it mean some of your obstacles go a bit far? I'll ultimately leave that for you to decide, but I wouldn't treat the issue lightly, as a few particular setups that I'll mention here I found to be a bit much.
I understand your point about the Mushrooms, but if I were to allow Fire Flowers, then I'm afraid that that would make the level too easy for world 6. I'm already slightly worried that the difficulty isn't meeting the standards for world 6.

Another thing: I don't mind repositioning myself on a chain/net here or there, but when I spend most of the level doing that- especially as Big Mario- it grates on my nerves a little. You could stand to lower some spike pits so that they're not directly underneath the chains, for example. Then players don't have to worry about grabbing the chains too low, which means the low ceilings won't force them to reposition themselves on the chains before the next jump.
I've tried to fix all of the chains throughout the level. Some may be untouched, because it may make the level worse instead of better.

Now, about the side room in BA. There's nothing hard about creating a wall of grinders, but making something reasonable to pass without taking damage is quite a different matter. Do you really think people are going to wait and figure this out, let alone make it through successfully? That many grinders is just too much to keep track of, I feel. It doesn't help that you line the floor and ceiling with spikes! Isn't that extra layer of security unnecessary? Don't the grinders provide challenge enough? I suppose you could keep the starting spikes on the floor if you want to force players to jump into the formation, but if it were me, I would remove either all of the spikes or a combination of spikes and grinders. Alternately, you could make it so getting hit just resets the room, but I have a feeling that would be too nonsequitirish. Bottom line: I think people are going to see this and just tank through it or die trying, and I don't think smwcoin challenges should go that far.Very well, the spikes around the room have been removed. The pattern of the 8 grinders have changed, though.


B9
1: The cement blocks right next to the thwomp and the downward-pointing coins do NOT imply (to me) that I have to spinbounce on the thwomp to proceed. Also, do you have to block players' progress if they're quick with the p-quarter? I understand the coins would turn into turn block platforms; so what? It doesn't change what players fundamentally have to do to cross that gap, right? Anyway, perhaps you should lower the first set of floor apikes a bit and orient the coins in an upward direction so it's more clear what's necessary. You can extend the cement block down a bit to compensate, but if it were me, those p-question blocks wouldn't be there.
The reason behind me blocking off the Thwomp was indeed the coins, but I didn't want the player to think that the only way through was the coin line turning into brown blocks. As for lowering the spikes, I was told by other testers that they couldn't see the spikes on the floor, which didn't give them the idea that you had to spin-jump onto the Thwomp to continue, so I made the ground rise. As for the coins, they seem to glitch out when I put them in an upward direction, and I don't know why. I did work around the pipework though and I got the coins to make a formation that should make sense.

2: The first time I got here, I didn't know what to do for a second. Then I noticed the turn block bridge, jumped on, and had to wait because of the spike ceiling. On the next screen, I had to wait for the other bridge to go through a full cycle before continuing. Isn't that a bit too much waiting for just two screens? I would at least change the first bridge so that it's either horizontal-only (preferred) or not obfuscated.
What I ended up doing to change this was that I removed the second block bridge and replaced it with a portable springboard, then have it lead to a platform in the air. That should fix the problem.

5-9, top: For me, this p-quarter run was horrendous, and made even worse as Big Mario by the constant chain repositioning I had to do in order to avoid hitting the low ceilings too early (and thus fall onto the spikes). Perhaps if the p-quarters gave you a bit more time it wouldn't be such a problem, but I doubt many players will clear this the first time around unless they tank through. Honestly, is this branch even necessary? I thought the lower path was much more interesting *shrug*
I've fixed the area to be more forgiving. The chains have been made longer, and the coin floors have been replaced by brown block barriers that are closer, giving more time.

A-B, bottom: While I discovered how to make it through unscathed after a few tries (mind you, a few tries = replaying other sections of the level over and over again as well), the horizontal thwomp doesn't give players much time to analyze the situation, and the vertical thwomps demand a lot of precision. Remember what I said about having a lot of mushrooms but using most of them? You're kind of setting players up (read: encouraging them) to repeatedly tank through your obstacles out of aggravation. What would I do here? Why not give players a ditch or two to avoid the horizontal thwomp, and raise the first vertical thwomp a tile?
I don't really see any problem with the Horizontal Thwomp; sure, the player may need more time to find the way through, but there are no time-based threats that are stopping him from doing so. As for the vertical thwomp, the platform he lands on below has been lowered by a tile.

B8
5: Do you think you could shift the gap in the ceiling here a tile to the left, or raise the right ceiling a tile, or something equivalent? I'm always afraid I'll accidentally jump into it en route to the next net, and personally I don't think I should have to deal with that after successfully clearing the grinders (which is what the gap is for).
Fixed; the net has been lowered and moved slightly closer.

Before I end this post, I would like to say something again:
"I'm already slightly worried that the difficulty isn't meeting the standards for world 6."
I've tried out other levels from world 6 and I've also tried out levels from completely different worlds, and I think that my level is starting to slide towards the easy side in comparison to those levels. Personally, this is just me, but I would like to hear everyone's opinion on this first.
I think 2dareduck's level, Carnival Caper, is much easier than yours, and it's only one world before yours; I don't mind if there's some variation in difficulty for each world, personally. And difficulty aside, I thought your level was rather fun to play through, with clever spritework and a variety of elements/themes, so even if the difficulty isn't exactly on par with the rest, the stage still stands well on its own, I think.

But yeah, let's see what others think. If you were already worried about it becoming too easy, then I don't want to push it over the brink.
Youtube (Main) | Youtube (Alt) | Bandcamp | DeviantART
Personally I felt the challenge was ample enough for world 6. Even having seen the videos beforehand I still got whupped! I don't really have any additional complaints to list, though I will say that there are a couple of strangely solid duct blocks in the last room (they have a gray background on them so you'll be able to spot them) that I don't think were intentional, so give that a look.

I'll second that, the difficultly seems just fine imo. As long as you fix all the pointed out issues, I think your good to go.
Layout by LDA during C3.
DAY 51/51: -1:38 hours remain
Alright, this should be it for my level. I'm sending the fixed level IPS to FirePhoenix for clearing. In the meantime, I gotta help ShodanWii with his level :P

Lastly, thanks to everyone who provided feedback and tested; this level wouldn't have been created the way it was without all of you.
Don't send completed levels to FirePhoenix. Send everything to me.

By the way, did you come up with a level name for this? I didn't see it.
This level got many changes, but mostly on level design department. The Net Koopa section was removed because it felt filler and made the stage unnecessarily long while not being interesting at all. Other tweaks to make stuff less unforgiving were done, too. Moreover, Hindenbird is no longer here. The boss is going to be moved to Stormy Stronghold.

Other substantial and important change to mention is the drastic reduction of priority enabled FG objects which made the level feel too claustrophobic.

Lastly, this. To add movement to the blimp.


MK2TDS

Complete