Archive: 7 posts

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PSN: Grethiwha Level: The Chronicles of the Legend of Ice Mountain Location: North America-ish.... Alright, I just finished and published my Ice Mountain level. I started it a long time ago, like, December, but at the time, I was no longer in the zone when it came to making levels, and my mountain didn't turn out well and I never published it. Recently I've started the mountain from scratch, and completed the level. It's a traditional level, the idea is that you have to make your way to the top of the mountain from the inside, and at the top a boss awaits. There's some paintinator shooting, some platforming, etc, and it's maybe a bit longer than my other levels. The boss battle is probably my most... ambitious boss fight, there's a bit more to it than my other bosses. Also there are cool lightning effects and stuff during the battle that I think turned out pretty well. I should also say that this is probably the hardest level I've made. I'm hoping that the glass platforms and stuff aren't too hard for people (I always used double-life checkpoints), and that LBP veterans enjoy the challenge. Because I really want people to see and give feedback on my boss. Pics!: http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/7825/icemountain.jpg

2009-05-24 22:09:00 Author: Grethiwha Posts: 61

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Ok, I just attempted this one. I gotta say up front, I haven't finished it. I was really enjoying it, loved the beginning, loved the sled... then I got to the part where you jump on blocks of ice... Maybe it's because I'm tired, but I kept dying over and over again until I stopped. Normally I'm a really decent gamer, and I'm definately not suggesting you change it.... but MAN did this part seem difficult. Edit: Ok, I made it past that part this morning... but then I got to the part where you have to jump on the little glass platforms while timing jumps with those bats flying back and forth.... subjective opinion (take it for what you will)... I hate trying to platform on small glass platforms and having to stay still for timed purposes. It actually gives me a big knot in my stomach. I tried getting up those platforms for about 5 minutes and couldn't take any more. Up to those points I was really enjoying this level... great character models, nicely done graphics... I think this level has a lot going for it, but the small-glass-timed-jumping-platforming did me in.

2009-05-25 03:35:00 Author: CCubbage Posts: 4430

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Just finished this one. Let me tell ya. I'm pretty hardcore, and I love hard level, but other people might not enjoy this so much. The first glass section was pretty tough, but the second one was a lot harder, due to the fact that you have to wait for that gas thing. It's hard to stop when your on glass, so this section was pretty tough. Next part when you have to make a jog around the (water fall?) you can fall back down, because there's a little hole there that you cannot see. Now to the boss. It was pretty good, but some people will never figure out how to get on top of it. The way you have to do it doesn't seem possible when your sitting there thinking How in the *%&#@% do I get up there. When you do beat it you give no indication what to do next. I was standing there thinking ok, what now? The lightening effect is done really well. It looks as though it's coming from the background. Although it could go off more randomly. Would look more authentic if it was more sporatic. One thing you could do is to give people a choice between double life, or infinite checkpoints. I hope you don't think I'm being to harsh. I really did like the level. I just think it needs a little work. Just my opinion though.

2009-05-25 13:10:00 Author: smasher Posts: 641

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Ok, I just attempted this one. I gotta say up front, I haven't finished it. I was really enjoying it, loved the beginning, loved the sled... then I got to the part where you jump on blocks of ice... Maybe it's because I'm tired, but I kept dying over and over again until I stopped. Normally I'm a really decent gamer, and I'm definately not suggesting you change it.... but MAN did this part seem difficult. So don't change that part then? subjective opinion (take it for what you will)... I hate trying to platform on small glass platforms and having to stay still for timed purposes. It actually gives me a big knot in my stomach. I tried getting up those platforms for about 5 minutes and couldn't take any more. I find this comment hilarious because I know exactly what you mean. I kind of hated myself for doing it because I've had unpleasant experiences with glass platforming in the past (though I guess I've gotten better), but I wanted to make the level challenging and it is after all Ice Mountain. Next part when you have to make a jog around the (water fall?) you can fall back down, because there's a little hole there that you cannot see. Ah yes, that hole, that's before the bats. I'm aware of it and should probably fix it. As for being a waterfall, to be perfectly honest, I intended to do the mountain in two planes so that when you finish you fall through a secret hole in the 3rd plane. I accidentally started the mountain in 3 planes so to counter it I made a not so secret tunnel. Maybe it would look better if it was stone like the rest of the mountain? Now to the boss. It was pretty good, but some people will never figure out how to get on top of it. The way you have to do it doesn't seem possible when your sitting there thinking How in the *%&#@% do I get up there. Really? I kinda like my method of getting up, it's part of the puzzle. When you do beat it you give no indication what to do next. I was standing there thinking ok, what now? Hmm, did you figure it out? That's my secret tunnel I mentioned. Perhaps a mouth/cutscene thing would be the way to go for making it more obvious. The lightening effect is done really well. It looks as though it's coming from the background. Although it could go off more randomly. Would look more authentic if it was more sporatic. Why, it is coming from the background because of the global...whateveryoucallit-tool. And yeah, I tried to make it random, the switch for it is kinda ridiculous, it's key switch key bouncing around a hollowed out circle with the key switch at the top... It starts to fall into some patterns, but I don't want to touch it because I've managed to break it before without touching it. One thing you could do is to give people a choice between double life, or infinite checkpoints. I hope you don't think I'm being to harsh. I really did like the level. I just think it needs a little work. Just my opinion though. I don't think you're being too harsh, and I thank you for your useful feedback, both of you. So what should I do about the glass platforms? I could just make them more sporadic; replace a bunch with stone. Or I could do infinite lives. Or I could do an easy/hard version of the level. I don't know about just doing doublelife/infinite versions, I'm thinking replacing a bunch of glass with stone would make a better easier version, and combined with infinite lives, there should be no excuse.

2009-05-25 21:37:00 Author: Grethiwha Posts: 61

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My feeling is this.... a level can be challenging, but you don't want it to be frustrating. There's a fine line, and the only way you can tell is when players start experiencing it (as creators we play it too much to be objective). My feeling on the glass platforms is either: a) Make the glass wider so the challenge is just right - the player has to deal with timing their slide to make the jump, but doesn't have to worry about falling off the edges at the same time b) or have the "timed jump" be the challenge and put thin invisible rubber on top of the glass so the player doesn't have to deal with sliding on a tiny platform AND timing a jump. I am certainly capable of the current challenge, but the question is not whether it's too hard, but whether players will hate you by the time they exit the level.

2009-05-25 21:58:00 Author: CCubbage Posts: 4430

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The first enemy was pretty brutal. it was very hit and miss to get him down. Dodging the electric icicles to shoot his back relied more on luck than timing I felt... I suggest redesigning the thing. The ice slick Platforming was also a bit of a pain. Find a better balance between challenging and frustrating. I'd recommend putting a few non ice platforms in there. Another thing to note is the scenery, which mostly consists of large featureless blocks of those blue bricks. It was rather bland and could use some more life... I KO'd at the platforming part where i was forced to jump from ice to Solid ground with those Knife-things darting back and forth and I promptly gave up there.

2009-05-25 22:18:00 Author: Morrinn3 Posts: 493

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CCubbage: Yeah, exactly, that's why I'm not so fond of merely switching to infinite lives checkpoints and doing nothing else. What I had in mind was just changing the glass to stone, which is effectively the same thing as adding the rubber. But then I was gonna try keeping the middle of the three jumps still glass, so there's still some annoying glass timing but it's not as bad because it's only one jump. I just figure it would be too easy with all stone platforms, though I guess if I increased the bat speed that wouldn't be the case. I'll experiment with it. I just need to kick my brother off the tv... bahh new reply: Um, yeah, I'm definitely gonna, um, de-frustratify the level sometime today edit: kk, I republished it with infinite lives checkpoints, glass platforms turned to stone, and a few other minor changes I said I'd make.

2009-05-25 22:23:00 Author: Grethiwha Posts: 61

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