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Battle Bugs 2: The Mutants

Archive: 29 posts

I have published a new level! I'm very happy to say that because I've had serious troubles with it and almost gave up but RickRock_777 helped me fix it. I've thanked him already but seriously, I almost threw my PS3 from the balcony so I'm very greatful.

Level: Battle Bugs 2: The Mutants (beta)
PSN: PlanktonPutte

In the Battle Bugs series the sackpeople are really small and are at war with the army ants who also have the support of all kinds of other bugs.
The first mission was about finding out why the other bugs who previously didn't involve themselves in this war suddenly was joining forces with the ants. (feel free to play that one as well but I wan't feedback on mission 2)
In this mission the sackpeople sets out to find and destory the ants mutation plant where they mutate bugs in to monstreous killing machines.
There will be plenty of stealth and action in this mission taking place among flowers and mushrooms as you try not to get killed by the ants and their evil creations. Good Luck!

FEATURES:

Sneak your way past search patrols as you look for the secret mutation plant.
http://pici.se/pictures/yVBoEzObR.jpg

You will encounter various bugs. Some are friendly, some are hostile and some are downright armed to their teeth.
http://pici.se/pictures/eexjmOgdw.jpg

Battle the ants' monsterous creations.
http://pici.se/pictures/avrOpsXdv.jpg

Make new friends and take on the army ants together.
http://pici.se/pictures/FgZibaZJN.jpg

Explore secret installations. They have come a long way since the anthills.
http://pici.se/pictures/ZjekSneta.jpg



The point of having this "beta" is so I can find out what needs to be fixed before trying to get it on cool pages so I would very much appriciate any constructive feedback and don't hold back. If it sucks, it sucks. Just be honest. It's the full level and not just a demo.		2009-06-25 21:11:00

Author:
Green
Posts: 45

Hi Green. Just wanted to let you know that I did play this level, but have not completed it yet. The pesky Praying Mantis is presently my nemesis, but I will be going back again today to retry, and defeat that "green" menace.

OK, just finshed the level in 4th place (yeah...I like scoring in the top 10 for some reason...probably the competitor in me).

What I liked (and I'll try not to give away anything critical...like how to defeat the enemies):
1. Nice level intro with the chopper and fire power going on
2. Liked the secret areas where you hid score bubbles for the explorer-minded player (like me)
3. The praying mantis, as well as all of your enemy creations, looked good.
4. Good use of varying surfaces for platforming
5. Once in the facility and venturing deeper into the mission, I enjoyed the variations and twists of the challenges you created. They provided a very good flow in increasing difficulty.
6. I encountered no issues with the mechanics of this level.
7. With all that said, I enjoyed it.

Areas you might consider improving upon (no one item is really major here, but the cumulative impact could drop the play experience a notch for those who play your level):
1. The piece of material attached to the underside of the chopper is a visual distraction, and looks out of place. Do you really need it?
2. The praying mantis may be a little tough for the casual player. Possibly changing the first checkpoint to double life might ease their frustration, and encourage them to complete the level, rather than leave and give you a poor rating.
3. Others have said this about my level "Takken", so I'll mention it for your benefit, as it does have some merit--the flow of game play was often disrupted when having to go a ways back to retrieve a paintinator.
4. The visuals (or the stage) of this level were very good in some areas, especially in the facility. But there was a lack of cohesion in the design of the outside area leading up to the facility. The materials used, and the look of the leaf and plant designs and minimal decorations, imo, played against the thoughtful detail you put into your enemies there. I believe more detailed design of the plants and landscape would more appropriately tie everything together, compliment your enemy creations, and give your level a much more polished look and feel.

So, to answer one of your earlier questions, Yes, this level was definitely worth saving. Some of the things I mentioned above could explain the 3-Star rating the level presently has. But I think implementing these minor changes could easily boost this level to a solid 4-Star. But that's my humble opinion, and you may want to hear what others have to say first, before you invest any significant time in such modifications.

Also, if you have some time to play my level Takken (Part 1)-The Beginning (Easy version, which has all of my latest tweaks implemented), I would enjoy hearing your comments on it. It's my first, and I have made numerous tweaks since creating the thread. It's always great to hear if they're working or not. There's no Boss in the level yet, but I did finally reduce the Thermo enough to start planning for a Boss that I will hopefully be able to add soon.

Rick		2009-06-26 15:13:00

Author:
RickRock_777
Posts: 1567

Cool! I'm looking forward to it. 2009-06-26 19:01:00

Author:
Green
Posts: 45

Is there no one else that wants to give my level a go? You get to battle a huge wasp with a minigun, eyebeams and a flamethrower instead of a stinger. Who wouldn't want that?

I'm working hard improving the level with the suggestions from RickRock and from otherpeople and it gets better every day. But I still want more feedback. All my levels so far have 3 stars and I would really like to make this one a 4 star level with your help.		2009-06-30 21:29:00

Author:
Green
Posts: 45

Playing the level at the moment. I love the intro, intros are always good but I feel this slightly more cinematic opening is better then the standard 'presented by...' etc. A possible combination of the two might be good but that's just an idea. When RickRoll says the material bellow is that the gray helicopter skis? I don't feel they are distracting but I will say they could look a lot better...round them off with a bit of corner editing should do the trick. If it's something else I've missed then I guess it's already sorted so no problem
I like the screen thing for the post-intro too, with the material behind it, it's almost like it's on Sacky's wrist...baring in mind Sacky has the right costume...that's what I thought any way don't know if you were going for that look...even though my Sackboy is pink...ANYWAY!
I agree the first checkpoint should be double life...apparently I suck at the whole stealth thing is this level...if it's not just me then I think you'd need to address that for a more casual gamer...but I think it's just me. I do like the attention to detail on the enemy with the '!' though. Perhaps develop that into a warning system so its more see enemy is '!', hide or be killed, wait until enemy is relaxed again.
Finally got to and past the first shooting section. Your enemy design is awesome, very imaginative, loving the flame thrower.
Guiding allies was a nice touch as well, very well done as they seemed to know when to fire pretty well.
I think the level has glitched...I'm on the section with the first flame throwing snail and the wasp which helps you...the wasp shot the brain off...and when the paint switch was fully hit the snail didn't disappear (I'm guessing because the brain was detached). I managed to run out and jump over the snail but still...a bit of a problem...
I got stuck at the door to the base behind the snail...Don't know if you have to destroy the snail to open it or if I'm missing something but it wont open. I killed myself but it seems jumping over the snail was a fluke and I can't do it again.
If you address this problem I'll run through the rest of your level (it took me 3 restarts to get past the stealth part so I don't particularly feel like doing it again unless I know it's not going to break on me).
From what I've seen I give it 3 stars but if I got to the end I probably would have given it a four...hearted too (then I can come back and play it XD)!
I do like the design of the outside area though...but it could be improved in parts.
If your up for some F4F then could ou try this level? https://lbpcentral.lbp-hub.com/index.php?t=t=13148 thanks!		2009-07-01 14:37:00

Author:
adlingtont
Posts: 321

Thanks for the feedback adlingtont!

I removed the weird platform RickRock was talking about and replaced it with what is there now. I don't know what it is called but I could try making it look a bit better.

The codec thing wasn't supposed to look like it's on sackys wrist but that sure is a cool idea!

The first checkpoint is by popular demand upgreaded to a X2 checkpoint. An alart phase instead of the ants just shooting once when they see you was planned from the begining but I'm not sure how to do it. Especially not now when the thermometer is almost completely maxed out. But I will look in to this. If I can't make it happen in this level then it could be in the next.

I looked in to the problem with the second snail and you are right. Sometimes one's friend hits the brain and removes it. This shouldn't be possible and even if it happened it should kill the creature. But it doesn't! This is a problem. I will have to relocate the brains of the snail and the turret so that he can't hit them. When the snail dies he leaves his shell behind and you can use it to access the building.

Thanks for all the compliments about enemy design. I've put alot of time in to them so it's really nice to hear that from both of you. I've gone through RickRocks suggestions and made the changes but I've yet to work on the outdoor area which booth suggest should be improved. I'm not sure how yet and I just hope the thermometer allows it. Suggestions are welcome.

I will definitely play your level soon and get back with some feedback.		2009-07-01 20:42:00

Author:
Green
Posts: 45

This is a very quick post to say that to get more plays you should take some screenshots and upload them to this thread. It's worthwhile doing it because it's a nice looking level and the enemy design will catch people's attention.

I died playing this and don't have time to run through again this evening. All I'll say for now is that there is a hell of a lot to like about this level. I've rated it 5* because what I saw of it was very good and I really enjoyed it.

I'll play through again tomo properly, make some notes as there are a few minor issues that caught my eye. I'll give you proper feedback then 		2009-07-01 23:48:00

Author:
rtm223
Posts: 6497

5 Stars? Thanks! I'm looking forward to more feedback.

I'd love to post some screens but I don't think I can. Is there anyway I can get the pictures I take in LBP to my computer so I can post them?		2009-07-02 18:57:00

Author:
Green
Posts: 45

To quickly answer your question, you can export them to the HDD from inside the game, then come out of the game, go to pictures and copy them to a usb stick (if you don't have one then seriously get one - if nothing else so you can back up your data), then use that to transfer to your computer. If you don't have a usb stick you'll have to use the PS3 browser. Also, when you do add photos, edit the thread title to say you've added them, and if the thread has dropped a few places remember you are allowed to give it a little bump

And yes, 5*. Your level isn't the prettiest I've seen (don't get wrong, it looks good, but some levels are amazing ) but you get 5* for two reasons.


Gameplay. Throughout the level gameplay is completely engaging. It constantly changes, yet never felt disjointed and never had a lack of flow. Coupled with a decent story, a good challenge, and some nice touches of humour make for a very enjoyable level.
Details. The details are fantastic, so many original little touches you've put in that are completely unnecessary, but just give the level so much added value



As others have said, the intro is nice, the little explosions are cool. Then we get the radio sequence - love the panning off screen for it. The first section might want a double life checkpoint. It's not difficult, but getting your head around the whole stealth thing can take a couple of lives before you get the idea of exactly what is expected of you.

The creature designs are good, lots of nice touches there as well. The fact that the flying bugs wobble as you hit them and so their shooting becomes more haphazard is awesome. The guns ejecting casings is wonderful and the flamethrowers just blew my mind! I've never seen that effect before and a while back I was wondering how it could be done! I kind of expected the creature brains on the backs of enemies to be unprotected - greygoose does this in his karas level and it adds to the whole "stealth" thing.

The section with three bugs and the squad is very tough. IMO the hardest part of the level, which is odd when you have two bosses and a miniboss. I like the squad aspect, but it seems odd you have to put yourself in the firing line while they attack... I'm not sure I would ever be able to do that section without losing at least one life.

That's a whole lot of rambling off the top of my head, so the following are the notes I made: Things I think could improve it:

The initial radio secion has some grammar issues

"in case you wasn't" should be "in case you weren't"
"in war" should be "at war"
"who captures bugs" should be "who capture bugs" except now I think about it I may be wrong about that one...


I'm not keen on magic mouths stopping at random points in a sentence. I prefer it if the breaks are at full stops, or at least at a comma or conjunction
I'm not keen on grabbable ground - mrsupercomputer's zephyr valley uses woods to create a very believeable grass look.
Move paintenators in front of checkpoints. Every checkpoint near an area that needs a paintenator should have one. After the boss wasp, I kept back tracking to find one because I didn't realise it was behind the rock.
On the boss wasp, you can die jumping down even though you are in the wrong plane to hit the bombs, maybe move the checkpoint where the paintenator is?
on the final boss there is no way to observe him without being in firing line. There is also no sanctuary area you can use to hide for a wreather.
Insects have 6 legs


It's by no means perfect but it is very good and the overall gameplay and the details just make it a complete winner in my book. :star::star::star::star::star: and a heart.		2009-07-02 20:03:00

Author:
rtm223
Posts: 6497

Wow! Thanks alot for all the help, feedback and compliments! Very nice!

My wife happend to have a USB stick so I've uploaded some pictures now.

"I kind of expected the creature brains on the backs of enemies to be unprotected - greygoose does this in his karas level and it adds to the whole "stealth" thing."

Good idea! It's funny how I didn't think of it before since Karas is one of my all time favourite levels in LBP and I've played it plenty.

"The section with three bugs and the squad is very tough. IMO the hardest part of the level, which is odd when you have two bosses and a miniboss. I like the squad aspect, but it seems odd you have to put yourself in the firing line while they attack... I'm not sure I would ever be able to do that section without losing at least one life."

Someone else said this as well and I'm starting to suspect I wasn't very clear in this part of the level. You are supposed to hide in the sardine can and just watch. You are not expected to be able to stay alive in the line of fire. It's supposed to look like they first attack you and when you hide it's supposed to look like they are missing the troopers shooting at them, and then loose the battle. Maybe this didn't turn out like I thought.

1. Thanks! I really apriciate it. I'm not bad at grammar but I don't pay attention to what I write so I never spot the errors.
2. This might be improved in short conversations but not the long ones. It's impossible. IMO the magic mouths are annoying and could be sooo much better.
3. Thanks for the tip. I will check it out.
4. I will make it so you see that one. But I really don't know where any paintinators are behind the checkpoint exept for att the missile mantis, where they are right next to each other. Is that the one, or am I blind? ^^
5. It might work to squeeze it in there with the paintinator. But just to be sure, the problem is when you decide to jump down even though he's using the chaingun? That is what you mean?
6. Good call! Haven't thought of it even though I told players to abserve the wasp boss. DOOH! ^^
7. So true. If the thermometer allows it, there will be more legs.		2009-07-03 19:00:00

Author:
Green
Posts: 45

Very good level! very visually appealing and nicely made. i liked the plot the most, it was very interesting and unique. unfortunately i was on the run and i didnt not get to finish the entire level. however i gave it five stars and I attempted to heart it, but it may not have worked. there were only a few minor problems i saw. the most obvious thing was the lack of check points. i dont think there were enough. usually i try to space mine after every 1-2 obstacles. also, the flies that shot the green energy balls were much more deadly, than the ants... this huge contrast was somewhat awkward. other than these two things, i didnt see any major problems. great level.

dont forget to play mine and leave feedback: https://lbpcentral.lbp-hub.com/index.php?t=t=13329		2009-07-04 04:38:00

Author:
iBeastNeebs
Posts: 12

Well I always try to leave constructive feedback, and I genuinely meant the compliments. The level is pretty unique from what I've played in LBP, and that's one thing you can't beat

About the sardine tin, nah didn't get that bit. I thought I was just the decoy or something, found myself past the sardine tin trying to dodge between the flamethrower and the plasma from above. It's VERY hard. I tihnk I died twice doing it that way which was a good effort

Yeah the mantis was one, my point is more that I think the paintenator should be directly infront of the checkpoint. Always. If you raise the checkpoint slightly then they both fit on the same layer, so the player spawns with it in hand. It just helps the impatient people. I tend to come out of checkpoints running so it's nice to have tools in hand as well.

#5 yes - i didn't get this, sackboy normally avoids planeshifting onto dangerous things so why he would planeshift onto bombs I don't know.

I haven't played part one yet but I will do at some point soon.		2009-07-04 16:24:00

Author:
rtm223
Posts: 6497

I don't like the paintinator.
That said, you might realize that I didn't like your level at all.

Well, then you'd be realizing wrongly. Even if I don't like the paintinator you, somehow, made me enjoy this level. How? Intelligent plane switching scenes, clever little puzzles, stealth, a nice story with nice touches of humour...
But very specially that you reminded everybody that sackboys are small, wich is a thing that I love to see in all levels; it's like the trademark of the story mode levels. And you managed to bring it to YOUR level.

I did love your enemies. I'm not gonna explain them one by one, but you're truly good when it comes to designing those, more in therms of functionallity tha aesthetically, but still, very good.

I guess that this is one of those levels that you love to death, without knowing why. The aesthetics looked like if they were taken care of, but they weren't as good looking as some levels I've seen. Same goes for the characters and enemies; not a great design, but beautiful in its simplicity. Sometimes, less, it's more, I guess.

This was after all -i guess- a "shoot 'em up". Not much platforming, neither loads of fancy things. Just you, the enemies, your weapon and the battlefield. And it did really work, it was challenging without being impossible. As simple as effective.

I did rate it 5 stars, even if I'm not aware that it's not a masterpiece, but I do feel that you'll produce some of those in the future. I also rate it 5 stars, instead of 4, because the tons of fun I had. This level has an objective, wich it is to amuse, and it sure accomplishes it.


As for 4F4, I'd like you to give it on my incoming level Lafarge's request when it is released. I shall PM you when the time comes. Thanks!		2009-07-05 04:32:00

Author:
Keldur
Posts: 628

Yellow explosions were really nice. You did you do them?
Wow. Flame thrower looks awesome! One of the best I have seen. You should give it out as a prize
The allied help was a neat idea. The only thing I didn't know you could help him half the time, so I was just waiting for him to do the work.

The bee was pretty hard, but I found that with a little patience and a rapid shooting did the job.

I thought it was a bit of a rip pulling the self destruct button and not seeing anything blow up.
Exit door looked cool

I also played your first one, and this is a goood improvement gameplay wise. I didn't get stuck behind the thin layers, good difficulty and checkpoint spacing. (Although I would but one before the 2nd flamethrower slug).

4/5 for me. I don't really like paintball levels, but your was nice because it had a decent story.

MY R1 FINGER IS TIRED! Need a rest now. heh.		2009-07-05 04:42:00

Author:
midnight_heist
Posts: 2513

nice intro and level design, with a pretty cool theme and story; i enjoyed a lot the stealth part at the beginning; the allied bee is a good idea, even it's a bit glitchy against the last enemy, i like it a lot anyway; the first enemy that came out from the vent made me jump, good work on that too xD; i didn't like much the final boss (ps: you can shoot at it through the gap between the 2 gas containers), i liked a lot more the second mantis (i lost all my lives there on my first run) and the giant bee (awesome idea for the flamethrower, the effect is spectacular)

About the second mantis, if you shoot it while you're on the right border of the platform, you can hit her and the explosives will miss you

You could also make a corridor before the end that collapses with explosives behind you (i was expecting that, but i was a bit disappointed when i saw that you didn't do it)

Except for the final boss, wich i'd remake completely, i reccomend this level. 5/5 and a heart

F4F: https://lbpcentral.lbp-hub.com/index.php?t=t=13392		2009-07-05 12:15:00

Author:
Shadowheaven
Posts: 378

Thank you all for the feedback everyone, I appreciate it very much. This forum rocks. I feel my level improves alot which it wouldn't if I didn't come here. Now when I thanked you all, I'm gonna comment on your feedback.

The searching ants have now got a weapon upgrade. They now shoot a small swarm of plasma balls at you, like a shotgun. This makes them seem way more dangerous. To balance it you can now kill them since the brain on their backs are now collectable so you can "stealth kill" them just like rtm223 suggested. They kill you easier but you can make sure you only have to deal with them once.

When it comes to the end and the self destruct sequence, yes it is a bit of an anticlimax. The whole last part of the level looked completely different when the level and all it's backups broke and I had to copy everything and paste it in a completely new level. This resultet in the thermometer to fill up alot more (for some reason), even when the indoor area wasn't pasted yet. I had to redo everything a lot smaller.

The good news though is that I managed to clear some (few pixels!) thermometer space so I might be able to ad something. The new problem is that all the boss mechanics and such are down there just next to the exit sign so it might be complicated. Before the level broke you went upp a few floors to the area that was going to self destruct. Doh!

I'll look into the checkpoints and see if it could be more balanced, and see if I can make the final boss more fun. I love it since you have to shoot crazy fast to block all his shots! XD And i will definitely fix so you can't cheat any bosses.		2009-07-05 15:26:00

Author:
Green
Posts: 45

Oh, btw, I completely forgot toadd that in the final boss (the huge *** ant) can be easily aced if you get like really close to it and shoot it to death; it's his blind spot or something.2009-07-05 15:41:00

Author:
Keldur
Posts: 628

I've just played the second mantis and the last boss again I'm not sure how you mean you can ace them. They both get me everytime when standing to the far right of the platform. More info on this would be nice.2009-07-05 15:58:00

Author:
Green
Posts: 45

about the mantis, my sackboy had his legs a bit spread, so i was pratically on the last millimeters of the platform (i did it twice btw); regarding the final boss, i didn't manage to use this "tactic", maybe there's a pattern in its movements that allow you to stay there, but it'll eventually hit you2009-07-05 19:26:00

Author:
Shadowheaven
Posts: 378

Ok I just played this one.

It was a cool concept and I loved a lot of the bug elements and the bee sidekick.

I was a tad disappointed that were wasn't any platforming and mostly just shooting and stealth but I think that's just because I'm more of a platforming type of person.

cons

-there were some points were I was lost and kind of in cheap positions mostly when you were in the mutation plant when the mutated monsters came at you with the gas there was a point where I was trapped because it was in front of the check point shooting gas and I had to struggle to get out. Also after you kill the bat I didn't know I could shoot at the fire until after 3 attempts of trying to hop over it.

-The boss does have a weak point where you you could stand there and fire until it dies (if you stand right at the edge just before you fall of into the gas under the ant), this could be a con (if you don't want that) but I put that in my bosses too sometimes and its up to the player to figure it out.

pros

-cool details, I really felt like I was small

-the fireflies in the beginning were a cool touch

-I like the cooperative play with characters in the game and how challenging it was

Overall I gave it :star::star::star::star::star: nice job!

also for F4F you can give my Underground series a run and see how you like it. https://lbpcentral.lbp-hub.com/index.php?t=t=10577		2009-07-06 22:16:00

Author:
m3p
Posts: 58

about the mantis, my sackboy had his legs a bit spread, so i was pratically on the last millimeters of the platform (i did it twice btw); regarding the final boss, i didn't manage to use this "tactic", maybe there's a pattern in its movements that allow you to stay there, but it'll eventually hit you

Ok! It sounds like the mantis tactic is something that is going to rarely happen if you don't know it already so I'm not going to prioritise fixing it when I got so much other stuff to do. I'm planning to make the boss more fun and a more fair challenge, I'm not sure how yet.

"-there were some points were I was lost and kind of in cheap positions mostly when you were in the mutation plant when the mutated monsters came at you with the gas there was a point where I was trapped because it was in front of the check point shooting gas and I had to struggle to get out. Also after you kill the bat I didn't know I could shoot at the fire until after 3 attempts of trying to hop over it."

Hmm maybe the first mutant and the strafing searchlight might kill you in a bit of a cheap way since you don't know they are coming.
I looked into the scenario where the monsters trap you and found a very nasty spot behind a crate where you almost got completely stuck. This have to be fixed. Otherwise I found it quite easy to dodge them and run out.
Should I maybe make the paintswitch on the fire visible? I think it looks terrible but it never was supposed to be a secret that you can shoot it. You are supposed to either kill the mutant or shoot the fire and run away from it.

"Overall I gave it ***** nice job!"

Wow! Thanks!

"also for F4F you can give my Underground series a run and see how you like it."

I will do that. Thanks for all the compliments and feedback!



I also want to say that I have started trying to make the outdoor area look better. I think I'm doing alright. I try to use more decorations and such.		2009-07-07 21:43:00

Author:
Green
Posts: 45

This level is ridiculously awesome. I haven't had this much fun in a long time... the whole thing makes me feel like a kid again. Everything is either hilarious, awesome, or fun. The story is ludicrous, and well written and almost every line is lolworthy... the enemy designs are so over the top cool and wacky, and they all work perfectly, are functional in their placement and use, and provide great challenge and gameplay. The characters are memorable... that fly was just hilarious. The NPC use was astounding - with the scripted battle by the sardine can, and the air support wasp.

The environment design is great too. The terrain is all geometrically sound, full of nice looking, hand-crafted foliage. It all feels to scale with being tiny - and there's small conceptual details like the sackboy in the codec screen being "small" too... that fits with the scale of things and is probably overlooked as an important detail to making everything in character and giving it all the proper context as an experience.

The level was LONG too... and still I wanted more. I thought there was going to be a Super Metroid-style evacuation procedure.

This is like army guys, mutants, imagination, playing in the yard with toys, drawing etc all rolled in one.

Also, your flamethrower effects are fantastic. All the weapon designs, especially the use of sounds, was spot on. The things I noticed most was the shotgun sounds from the killzone ants, and the effects on the final bosses arm cannon... just awesome.		2009-07-08 10:29:00

Author:
Unknown User

Seriously cool level you got here! Played it last night and laughed a lot making my way through. I mean - seriously - it's like A bugs life, meets MGS, meets Resident Evil. It's so crazy funny but well made all I could do was giggle as the air support wasp wasted the ants LOL. Also impressive for me was that you have 2 mini bosses before the big bad boss and the mini ones are fantastic enough to be bosses in their own right.

Great scale and material usage. Fantastic work on the bugs. Hilarious use of military details and NinjaMicWZ is right - your firefight visuals and sound effects are amazing. Even though the finale is a total letdown which it looks like your working on based on your comments above - it's probably the most fun I've had on a level in a while. Nice work. Can't wait to see the final version! I rated it 5 stars & hearted it even though it's a beta.		2009-07-08 17:08:00

Author:
Morgana25
Posts: 5983

I thought it was great fun too. Brilliant use of characters throughout the level.

My only issue I had was with the time it took to destroy some of the obstacles. Not the enemies, they`re fine. However at one point you have to shoot big blocks of fire material on the ground. Since all you`re doing is shooting at them til they disappear, you could change the paintswitch so it only takes a few shots to get rid of them. At the moment it just slows the action down while you repeatedly hit R1. Same with the door you have to shoot.

The other enemy I`d change was the snail that the friendly wasp has to shoot. Since you have to drop the paint gun to grab the fly, you just kind of stand there waiting for the wasp to kill it. Again, it slows the action right down when 1 or 2 hits would keep everything flowing nicely.

Didn`t have any problems other than that and I thought it was an excellent level. Gets 5 stars from me and will get a heart when you publish the proper version.		2009-07-08 17:19:00

Author:
Matt 82
Posts: 1096

:O !!!

Wow, thanks! This made my day for sure! I'm so happy you guys like my level. It really feels like all the hard work (even though it's just as much fun) payed off.

And thanks Morgana for putting the very first comment on my level in the game. Out of 160 plays there is only one comment that isn't H4H, which I of course ignore completely.

"My only issue I had was with the time it took to destroy some of the obstacles. Not the enemies, they`re fine. However at one point you have to shoot big blocks of fire material on the ground. Since all you`re doing is shooting at them til they disappear, you could change the paintswitch so it only takes a few shots to get rid of them. At the moment it just slows the action down while you repeatedly hit R1. Same with the door you have to shoot."

I have thought about this. The thing is that the obstacles are there to stop you from just running past the enemies. They make the player want to get rid of the mutants first so they can concentrate on the obstacle. Maybe I can make it so that when you kill the monsters, the obstacles go away aswell, even if it doesn't make much sense. Maybe if I use doors that are locked because of quarentine until the monsters are gone. Hmm....

"The other enemy I`d change was the snail that the friendly wasp has to shoot. Since you have to drop the paint gun to grab the fly, you just kind of stand there waiting for the wasp to kill it. Again, it slows the action right down when 1 or 2 hits would keep everything flowing nicely."

I agree. In the next update that snail's HP will be at least halved.

"I thought there was going to be a Super Metroid-style evacuation procedure."

And what is that like? I'm not sure how to make the ending yet so suggestions would be appriciated.

I was planning to release it as a non-beta on friday but I keep finding new stuff to tweak and improve. I had a few comments saying the outdoors looks... not as good as the indoor area. Should I keep trying to make it look better? If so, more specificly what should be improved.		2009-07-08 17:52:00

Author:
Green
Posts: 45

:O !!!



"My only issue I had was with the time it took to destroy some of the obstacles. Not the enemies, they`re fine. However at one point you have to shoot big blocks of fire material on the ground. Since all you`re doing is shooting at them til they disappear, you could change the paintswitch so it only takes a few shots to get rid of them. At the moment it just slows the action down while you repeatedly hit R1. Same with the door you have to shoot."

I have thought about this. The thing is that the obstacles are there to stop you from just running past the enemies. They make the player want to get rid of the mutants first so they can concentrate on the obstacle. Maybe I can make it so that when you kill the monsters, the obstacles go away aswell, even if it doesn't make much sense. Maybe if I use doors that are locked because of quarentine until the monsters are gone. Hmm....


The monster (it looked like a bat to me) only appeared after I`d destroyed all the blocks of fire material. Maybe I wasn`t in the right area to activate the monster?		2009-07-08 18:09:00

Author:
Matt 82
Posts: 1096

The monster (it looked like a bat to me) only appeared after I`d destroyed all the blocks of fire material. Maybe I wasn`t in the right area to activate the monster?

I see! I never thought of the possibility of players realising they are supposed to shoot the fire before walking in causing the "bat" to appear. Doh!		2009-07-08 18:33:00

Author:
Green
Posts: 45

I have updated the level now. I could only add a little more to the end so I hope it is good enough. I cannot add anything else now. If I add a corner to something the level overheats.

I would be nice if somebody would check it out, somebody who already played so I know if this is an improvement.. This is pretty much the final version if this ending is good enough.		2009-07-12 12:08:00

Author:
Green
Posts: 45

I have published the proper version now. I've seen it down on 2 stars a few times and it got a rubbish tag on it.

Hehe, I seriosly don't understand. Oh well... we'll see what happens. It was alot of fun making it anyway.		2009-07-13 13:40:00

Author:
Green
Posts: 45


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