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Kingdom Hearts: Hollow Bastion

Archive: 25 posts

Level Name: Kingdom Hearts: Hollow Bastion
PSN: Burnvictim42
Level Location: middle of Africa

Based on the world Hollow Bastion from Kingdom Hearts 1. Take control of the keyblades and fight back the darkness that is overwhelming Hollow Bastion! Unfortunately for you... there are some who don't want you to succeed....

Some Level features:
-8 wieldable keyblades
-3 boss fights (if you've played the game, you might know who *hint hint*)
-several puzzles and heartless enemies

Special thanks to Gevurah22 and X-nobody-X for some prizes from their levels. (you'll probably recognise what prizes if you've ever played The Azure Palace or Kingdom Hearts Prologue: Destiny Islands- Nobody's lv10)

Picture time!

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff297/Burnvictim42/LBP/APhoto1.jpg classic KH characters
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff297/Burnvictim42/LBP/APhoto2.jpg ooh i love puzzles!
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff297/Burnvictim42/LBP/APhoto3.jpg I mean i REALLY love puzzles!
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff297/Burnvictim42/LBP/APhoto_1.jpg (outdated since update- keys are there still though)

one of the bosses is in the spoiler... don't click if you dont want to see
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff297/Burnvictim42/LBP/APhoto4.jpg		2009-04-24 01:25:00

Author:
Burnvictim42
Posts: 3322

AWESOME, I'll definitely have to try it out!

I'm a big fan of Kingdom Hearts!		2009-04-24 03:04:00

Author:
ARog34
Posts: 5

AWESOME, I'll definitely have to try it out!

I'm a big fan of Kingdom Hearts!

lol i just hope fanboys/girls dont rip me apart for messing with their homage 		2009-04-24 05:24:00

Author:
Burnvictim42
Posts: 3322

I'll definitely check this out. Looove Kingdom Hearts2009-04-24 15:15:00

Author:
ApellesJr
Posts: 282

I played kingdom hearts a long long time ago, so I recognized some of the scenes. I turned on the music initially but by the time I was halfway through the heart puzzle I went back just to turn it off. It's really annoying. :/ It took me a long time to figure out how the pieces were supposed to go together and when I finally did, I got in the platform to take me across, and I missed what the magic mouth said so I went back to the left edge to read what it said... and then the floor dissolved and I fell to my death with no way of crossing that gap again. I would have played it more... had I had the capability, without completely restarting. I experimented with ways to grab the ceiling of the ex-platform to try and get into the sensor switch's radius so it would take me across, but it didn't work.2009-04-30 09:10:00

Author:
phort
Posts: 74

gotit. I'll move the magic mouth and extend the area on the right so you can't fall.

As to the puzzle, is there any way you could think of that would make it easier? I've had a comment like that before, and frankly i never thought it was that hard (seeing as theres a picture of the puzzle in the background). But obviously thats the creator not realizing difficulty >.>

I might think about removing the music later, i'm not entirely sure how people are taking it. Thats why i added the on/off switch in the first place. It doesn't bug me that much, personally, and i kinda like how the theme of the place is playing... but thats just me.

Thanks for the feedback!		2009-04-30 19:21:00

Author:
Burnvictim42
Posts: 3322

For the music, if the repetitiveness didn't bug me (which it does), the worst thing would be that the LBP music also plays at the same time, and that doesn't really work. You might set up some AND switches so the LBP music only plays if yours isn't playing.

On the puzzle, I couldn't figure out that the pieces had holes in them to "impale" upon the glass parts. The bottom piece was really hard to get onto there, too. (it was the hardest to position.)

Maybe if you changed that puzzle so that there was a heart-shaped sort of hole to arrange the pieces into since it's not very obvious that they can be "impaled" on those glass parts.		2009-05-01 03:00:00

Author:
phort
Posts: 74

hmmm.... i'll look into changing the puzzle. I kinda like the way it is now, but thats not a bad suggestion.

good point on the music too, i'll set that up to switch between the tunes.		2009-05-01 03:14:00

Author:
Burnvictim42
Posts: 3322

Wow. Very in depth. I love the health meter setup you have going for the 1st and 3rd bosses. ^_^2009-05-01 04:00:00

Author:
DJLols
Posts: 217

thanks is there anything you think could use tweaking? Based on my other published levels feedback, i'm SURE theres something that i need to work on lol.

And is there a particular level you'd like F4F'd?		2009-05-01 04:11:00

Author:
Burnvictim42
Posts: 3322

Riku's health meter is a bit excessive in my opinion, I couldn't finish it.

If you'd like to check out something of mine, you could look at my Fatal Frame levels, or my Hover-Throne survival challenge. Either or. ^^ I'm just tryin to get them up there so I can get more author hearts.		2009-05-01 04:21:00

Author:
DJLols
Posts: 217

Okay, I just played this one and here are my thoughts:

Pros:

+ Very clever gameplay elements. Personally, I liked the puzzles. Took a bit of thought, but I figured them all out fairly quickly.

+ Enjoyed the entire story

+ Thought the character models were done well

+ Nice platforming elements

+ GREAT fighting areas

CONS:

- The music.... hate to say it, but the music is REALLY annoying when you turn it on. And I think explaining that they can turn it on/off takes away from the immersion at the beginning of the level.

- During the battles (which are the highlight of the level) I felt claustrophobic. I think the battles need a camera angle to zoom out so you can see whats going on. It would make them much more enjoyable. Also, it's kind of important to see the affect the sword key is having on the the enemies. When a new player is battling, without seeing the meters as they are using the sword key it becomes fairly confusing. It took me a good 10 minutes before I really understood what was going on.

- 3rd floor - I flew into the room on a jetpack and got to see the first speech bubble, but because I was flying by at the time all the rest disappeared, so I had no idea what I was doing until I restarted.

- 3rd floor battle - the 3rd meter bar from the left - It took me a long time before I figured out exactly where to put the key so the meter went down. I would suggest making the magnetic key radios a bit bigger for this one meter.

- 3rd floor battle - maybe make the rod that is making the enemy go up and down invisible.

- Water fall in the first room - the strings connected between the separate sections looked odd. I would set them to invisible.

- Under water section - maybe use the global lighting tool to change lighting to darker and foggier to better seem like underwater, plus could use some fish in the background or something to make it a bit more believable.

- Certain areas you could fly up with the jetpack and see big chunks of dark matter. Takes away from the immersion.

All in all I was very impressed. I gave it 4 stars and a heart.		2009-05-07 04:05:00

Author:
CCubbage
Posts: 4430

well thank you very much lol. Both for the review, and the bump ;p

I'll definitely fix those strings... lol, didnt even think about that after CY... the one on the boss is slightly more difficult, i'll see what i can do to get down far enough where i can edit it without triggering the boss.

The music... i know what you mean about the immersion. Originally, i just had the music playing, until people complained. I had to have something explain what was going on with that switch, unfortunately. I think i'll just take it out in the next edit, enough people have complained in my mind to justify that. (plus it frees up a BUNCH of thermo lol)

good call on the global lighting and camera zones, i'll 'speriment.

I'll see what i can do about the speech... the problem is because the magic mouths are so far apart, they dissapear. maybe i'll just seperate the talking sections more.

Is there anywhere in particular you can remember seeing DM? I thought i'd hidden it all... apparently not

Were there any other problems with the third boss' health other than that one bar? or was that just the fluke? I've had to adjust the trigger radii several times already, and i wasn't sure if the rest were good.

I'll fix it all tonight, and update.

Again, thanks for the feedback, anything in particular you'd like me to F4F?


EDIT:
- Fixed visible strings and rods, and some DM. I cant get rid of all of it- for some reason my enemies are wierd about that.
- added camera zones to first and 3rd bosses... 2nd moves too much and is too big to get a decent camera angle =/
-added global lighting for underwater section
-removed music (still has MM tunes though)
-fixed magic mouths
-fixed boss health (hopefully >.>)		2009-05-07 04:51:00

Author:
Burnvictim42
Posts: 3322

I tried playing it the other night and while I thought the key and some of the areas were really cool - I totally couldn't find the fourth part of the heart to get to the "darkness" area.

I still rated it 4 because what I saw was pretty cool - but I'm hoping I can find that fourth part of the heart so I can finish it. 		2009-05-07 07:17:00

Author:
Morgana25
Posts: 5983

lol, i hope so too I keep having to have debates with myself as to how much hand holding is required for some of the puzzles lol.2009-05-07 08:35:00

Author:
Burnvictim42
Posts: 3322

Couple thoughts:

The "4 pieces of the heart" puzzle - you COULD do a cool sound that triggers when they get close to each one (for instance, when they get near the chandelier). That way the player can concentrate on the area instead of wandering around. I honestly had no issue at all finding them myself, but I could see someone missing one or two (grabbing the chandelier or lifting a pillow are certainly not things they are used to doing in LPB).

In LBP people seem to have much less patience than other games (for instance, this is no harder than a puzzle I would have found in Resident Evil, for instance).

As for a camera zone on the 2nd boss - I had no problem with the dragon since you could see an immediate effect when you hit the area with the sword key, so the visual clue really helped. It was mainly the 1st and 3rd that were a problem because you couldn't see the cause-and-effect of touching the sword in the right area.

One thing occurred to me this morning that could make the boss battles MUCH better - an agony sound every time the sword hits the proper area would REALLY crank it up (and even, maybe, a bit of emitted stuff to give the feedback that you "hit" something). That, along with seeing the meter go down, would give the player much more satisfaction - which is the key to having the player exit the level with a great feeling.

If you wanted to check out any of my levels, "Splat Invaders Saga" and "Splat Invaders II" are my best ones, and "Tiger Woods Mini Golf" is a fun quick level.		2009-05-07 13:14:00

Author:
CCubbage
Posts: 4430

I don't necessarily need it simplified. I just couldn't find it. lol I think it's the chandelier one CCubbage mentioned. I had been looking at it but couldn't see how it could "hide" a piece. I'll try again and report back 2009-05-07 17:04:00

Author:
Morgana25
Posts: 5983

I played this level this morning and I could not get past the heart puzzle. I found the pieces easily and I know I had to put them together to form a heart but I could not do it. I've since read a previous post about the pieces having holes in, so I can put the glass through so I'll give it another try later but I found it very frustrating. Also on the bridge near the start I fell through the gap in the boards witch was annoying as I could not get back out and had to restart. I did like the overall theme though as I found it very reminiscent of the KH games.2009-05-09 15:52:00

Author:
Sweetums66
Posts: 10

Yeah, i saw your comment on the level. I fixed the bridge issue... somehow the dark matter there got deleted or something. I'm still not entirely sure how i want to go about fixing the "you have to impale the pieces on each other" issue in a way that makes it more obvious. I don't really want to change the puzzle (as i spent WAY too much time making it lol) but i would like it if people could figure out how to put it together =/ Maybe i'll make a picture diagram in teh background too...2009-05-09 20:21:00

Author:
Burnvictim42
Posts: 3322

+Interesting puzzles.
+Interesting bosses.
+Dragon.
+Those keys look fantastic, and they're fun to swing around too.

-Could use more decorations; much of the level is large chunks of solid material. Break it up; add some supports, some stickers, some decor

-The second boss really should have a zoomed-out camera. It's good-looking; it would be nice to see it while I fight it

-It was way hard to hit the third boss's foot. Also his electric wall attack out of nowhere was annoyyying. Maybe add a warning sound effect to it?		2009-05-20 02:09:00

Author:
Loius
Posts: 342

Thanks for your comments. While i can take credit for the keys, i really can't take credit for the dragon. Gevurah22 is the original creator of it, in his famous level "The Azure Palace". All i did was break it up, and change a few pieces in the construction- the original design is his.

I understand the plea for decor... its not always my strong suit, i'm afraid. In the next update, i'll be sure to do a little more sprucing up.

The dragon is actually too big for a camera zone lol. If i was to use one, the views would end up very awkward and cramped (surprisingly), i did experiment at Ccubage's suggestion, and found that they didn't work well.

As to the boss... warning sound effects are actually a very nice idea. I actually used this concept recently in my Boss Rush 3 entry, so i know how to get em to work right. It'll be a right pain in the butt.... but i could certainly do that, and that will make it a little less unreasonable I'll adjust the trigger radii on that foot. (danged feet >.>)		2009-05-20 04:29:00

Author:
Burnvictim42
Posts: 3322

Told you I'd be playing your levels!

This one was really well crafted in terms of the story. It really seemed to move along well. I also think the enemy creatures were spot on. It's been forever since I played Kingdom Hearts, but it all came back to me when I saw that those guys jumping up and down on that first bridge. Also I really liked the puzzle focus of the game. Constantly challenging until I got stuck.

My problem was the four piece puzzle. I found all the pieces (the one in the sofa was pure genius even though it took me forever to find.) However, I miss-set the base piece on the little post, and couldn't get it back off. I'm not sure if that's why, but then one of the side pieces wouldn't work (light up).

I had to get some family stuff done, so couldn't give it another try at the time, but you can be sure I will. I hate not finishing levels!		2009-06-02 16:37:00

Author:
AAAlone
Posts: 71

Thanks, i was wondering which piece you had a problem with lol. I'll definitely look into that, maybe somethings broked...2009-06-02 23:22:00

Author:
Burnvictim42
Posts: 3322

First thing, it looked quite a bit like the real Hollow Bastion, and the Heartless were almost dead-on. The keyblade looked great and so did the characters. Unfortunately, some parts were simply frustrating, such as having to put the heartless icon together and there were some bugs that really irritated me. The boss battle was quite enjoyable though, and I thought the fact that Riku actually had some HP was really cool. Although, I don't like that you "copied" gevurah22. He is simply untouchable. But then again, it was a solid level overall, good job!

F4F: The Cave Ruins

Please post your comments in its official thread: https://lbpcentral.lbp-hub.com/index.php?t=t=11762&page=2		2009-06-04 04:55:00

Author:
galacemiguel
Posts: 179

yea, i don't really like how i did that either =/ I did credit him in the level, but frankly i just got to that point and i just ran out of thermo space. I've freed up about a bar now, so i think i could go back in and put in something of my own, just need to design a good dragon.2009-06-04 22:44:00

Author:
Burnvictim42
Posts: 3322


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