Archive: 23 posts

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After several false starts I finally decided to at least get something finished. I've given up on or postponed so many levels due to finding out I should have done things totall differently, or just getting bored of building levels around the vehicles that I'd designed for them (which I find much more interesting), I eventually settled on an idea which was basically building one big 'vehicle'. It's a little derivative of Shadow of the Colossus, and actually took me much longer than I'd expected, and involved a lot more logic etc. than I'd bargained for. Anyway, the level is entitled Colossal Calamity by salieriaax. I've called it a BETA, because there are so many things I ought to have done differently, and it might be that I need to put in some tips if the solution isn't obvious enough. However, besides tweaking I'm probably more likely to take my lessons learned on to something new that change much about this one. Anyway, I'd really appreciate some critical feedback on this. The principal things I'm not really happy with are: The actual scenery is a bit repetative and boring, but then it's not the focus of the level and it had to span the whole length of the play area. Also, the way the few pillars collapse at the end is rather underwhelming - it seems you can't rely on dynamic chunks of rock falling down even if you free them from their moorings. UPDATE: Just uploaded the 'final' version of the level. I've made the following adjustments and additions: -The beast is now principally made of ungrabbable material. -The deadly breath has been removed. -A warning message will be displayed if you run too far in the wrong direction at the start (if you don't go the wrong way at the beginning, this message displayed for a -fraction of a second when you die, as it is activated using a proximity switch, but I'm not much bothered by this) -Fast transport is provided if you defeat the beast more than a given distance before the shrine. -Some extra text tips, platforms and a checkpoint have been added to the beast. -In the original version, as the beast progressed, the number of stone idols in the shrine was reduced and, along with that, the number of score bubbles awarded at the end of the level. Messages now alert the player to this happening. I haven't changed the position or size of the spines up the beast's back legs. I know it's tricky but I'm kind of happy with that bit as it is. My next level is going to be much, much easier. Amagingflyingpoo has very generously taken some screenshots of the level for me: http://i609.photobucket.com/albums/tt179/amazingflyingpoo/ColossusHead.jpg http://i609.photobucket.com/albums/tt179/amazingflyingpoo/ColossusBack.jpg http://i609.photobucket.com/albums/tt179/amazingflyingpoo/ColossusFeet.jpg

2010-01-22 10:59:00 Author: SalieriAAX Posts: 421

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Oh my god thats a hard one! I just climbed the beast died and was on the beginning again... You really need to have a checkpoint on the beast (hope its the right way i found...) I will try it again right now (cause i like the competition, others may quit right now and i havent seen much yet) The visuals and ideas are great so far. dont get me wrong Further experiences: Jumping over the spikes is really hard too (cause everything moves and that effects the quality of a jump alot). Ok i got it! Now my Review: Look: The Beast looks really great! Also the Shrine is well made and i like the new materials. Gameplay: Its too hard... I really think many players will give up and give a rating you dont deserve. Its not really obvious what to do in the beginning. Maybe add a text and explain how to stop the beast (I ran to the right at first...). Also the shrine is too far away if you beat the beast. Maybe make it move towards the player when he is done with the beast. Length: The length depends on how skilled a players is. It took me some tries but then i always got a little step further. In my opinion its to short. Maybe you could add parts of a story before you have to fight the beast and afterwards. You had a really great idea here and i think this was hard work. But sometimes you (and me too) can forget about the details that build a frame for the great idea. I gave you :star::star::star::star::star: and a heart cause i really liked the idea and the challenge. (And sry for my bad english. I hope you can understand everything i tried to say)

2010-01-22 11:22:00 Author: Arrestor Posts: 363

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Thanks for trying it out! That was one thing I've been considering, and really having other people test it is the only way I can properly tell whether one is needed or not. There's not much to the level, though, so if I remove the old-schoo' challenge of trying to do it all in one go there won't really be any challenge at all. That said I have left a space to put in a checkpoint if needs be.

2010-01-22 11:29:00 Author: SalieriAAX Posts: 421

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Maybe you are right. But i was really near quitting when i got down there again. (I editted my first post and added more feedback)

2010-01-22 11:42:00 Author: Arrestor Posts: 363

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Wow, that was really hard. But the idea is great, i also like the way the monster looks a lot. As previously said, its a bit confusing at first. The Text Message should be a bit more specific and tell you that you are supposed to climb the monster itself. I immediatly started running to the right, because thats what im used to by now ^^ The level itself may be short, but it takes a few tries to beat it, so it didnt feel that short for me. And i agree, a checkpoint on the monsters Back would it make too short. I just have the feeling, that most players wont finish it and give it a bad rating. I hope that wont happen and it gets the attention it deserves. :star::star::star::star::star: and Heart for this

2010-01-22 13:27:00 Author: Barzano Posts: 22

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I immediatly started running to the right, because thats what im used to by now ^^ So did I

2010-01-22 13:41:00 Author: Arrestor Posts: 363

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salieri, idea and level is great! Beast- it something very special! You did big job! Yes - there are some difficults to defeat beast - but I remember long battles in Shadow of the Colossus and Monster Hunter, so - it absolutely right - its not an easy task - to defeat such monster! Thank you for great realization of interesting idea and showing that in LBP on psp can be madded such big and cool creatures! 5 stars and hearted and of course - creator's heart for you! When we will see you nest levels? I can not wait!

2010-01-22 14:25:00 Author: Domik12 Posts: 838

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Alright, just finished playing it. The beast's design is absolutely fantastic. It would be cool if there was a way to add more level that leads up to the beast, although I know that would be hard with the limited space. Perhaps there could be some way to emit the scenery so it's infinite? (Have a floor and background piece with a glass bottom that's shot out from an emitter towards the beast so it steps on them, and then keep shooting out pieces so that the beast can end up walking in place with what appears to be moving scenery.) I know that would be difficult and I honestly wouldn't try it for this level, just something that you might consider if you decide to do another level with a boss like this. Anyways, some issues I had. First: The gas breath. Get rid of it completely. There's no way to predict where it's going to hit and it moves fast enough that the player has no opportunity to react, which just turns it into a cheap and unnecessary kill. I think avoiding being squished as you make your way to the back is enough challenge. Second: The platforms on the back legs. Extend them out so that the bottom is longer than the middle and the middle is longer than the top. As it is jumping from platform to platform is difficult because you have to jump out and then in again, all while the leg is moving away from you. Third: The entire beast is grabbable. This is bad. Only the platforms on the back legs, the stomach, switches, and platform hanging over the spikes should be grabbable. The reason this is an issue, especially with the legs being grabbable, is that I would make my way across the ceiling only to get to the end and find that I'd accidentally grabbed the side of the leg instead of the next part of the ceiling, meaning I had to start all over again with the platforms. This will probably cause some frustrations for people since it makes them do things that were unintended. I didn't have a problem with getting to the shrine, but then I took a while beating the beast so I was already there. Perhaps you could do something with the checkpoint hill where the player can ride on it after defeating the beast and it goes faster? (Or some other mode of transportation that appears after the beast is defeated.) Other than that, the spike part is pretty challenging and I'm honestly not sure you even need the spikes to be going up and down. Just set them in place and they should still be plenty dangerous. But yeah, it's really a fantastic creation that you've made. I gave it :star::star::star::star::star: and a heart. (And don't take my criticisms as anything but feedback, those are just things that stuck out at me as I was playing and I think you could fix them without making any major changes. Despite those issues I had the level is still really great.)

2010-01-23 06:41:00 Author: SirPaper Posts: 150

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I just played this... Holy heck I'm impressed! This is so much more than I expected it to be. Wow. There's some issues but overall this is an incredible level. First of all, your beast actually walks. That alone is astounding, so congratulations on actually making that work. The visuals are really good, and I enjoyed your extensive use of stickers. Everything has an appropriate jungley look with a touch of ancient ruins, and I like the "mythological" look of the beast. You mentioned in your original post that you thought the background was too simplistic and repetitive, but I thought it was perfect. The background is not the focus of the player's attention, so it does a great job of tying everything together visually. I immediately got a Shadow of the Colussus feel from the level, and it seems clear you've also played Monster Hunter because of the difficulty level. Continuing on with the difficulty thing, as others have already mentioned this level is freakin' HARD. Really, really hard, and it is guaranteed to annoy a large amount of people. I played the level 3 times and was never able to kill the beast before it reached town. I got to the point where I could reliably get up onto the creature's back, but I just cannot make that last jump over the spikes. Respawning alllllllllllll they way back at the original checkpoint is really heartbreaking, and it just makes you want to quit the level. So frustrating. Granted, this is exactly how Monster Hunter is - punishing and totally unforgiving. I don't think most LBP players like that type of gameplay though, and even though I like MH I was still losing patience. If you do one thing to improve the level, ADD CHECKPOINTS. Enough said. As for other improvements, I happen to think you should do away with just about all speech bubbles. Forget written instructions - just use arrow stickers. Point the player where they should go and it should be obvious what to do. SirPaper mentioned that the beast shouldn't be grabbable, but I disagree. To begin with, I doubt you have much of a choice when it comes to material because of the walking nature of the creature. If you change materials, it will change the weight balance and might break the whole thing. So, dark polystyrene is probably the best choice visually and I don't think the grabbable aspect is a bad thing. I'd agree with SirPaper that the breath beam thing can go away, although I was lucky enough to not get killed by it. It's definitely not dodgeable though, so you just have to get lucky. Another major pain point is the actual platforming inside the beast. Jumping from the ledge on the right (where you grab the switch to turn off the inner gas walls) to the "tunnel" section on the left is very awkward and hard to get right without falling all the way back down to the ground. Jumping from the left part of the tunnel up onto the beast's back is also very hard - you need to lower the ledge a tiny bit and/or add a small platform in between as a step. As I mentioned at the top, jumping over the spikes is ridiculously hard. It would be very tricky even if they didn't move, but adding motion seems a bit much especially considering that the whole thing you're walking around on is moving. In any case, I'm glad you published this as a beta... Actually, I'm just glad you published this! I really like it and can't wait to see your improvements. Despite the frustration level I simply had to give it 5 stars and a heart.

2010-01-24 18:48:00 Author: Taffey Posts: 3187

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but I just cannot make that last jump over the spikes. Did you use the platform above the back? Its thin but there is one. i think that could help with jumping the last spikes. And i didnt even notice that the breath is deadly think i had much luck everytime i ran past it...

2010-01-25 15:34:00 Author: Arrestor Posts: 363

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Did you use the platform above the back? Its thin but there is one. i think that could help with jumping the last spikes.Oh... No, I didn't see that. I might give this another try then, but I'd like it a lot better if there were a couple checkpoints on the beast.

2010-01-25 17:38:00 Author: Taffey Posts: 3187

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This is an impressive level. It's refreshing to see something like that working flawlessly in LBP PSP. It's a clear demonstration of what can you achieve with the Editor if you invest the proper time and dedication. Sometimes people think that you can only create light-hearted platforming levels, but the Editor is much more powerful than that. So congratulations (and thank you) for trying to experiment. However, it's sad that the level may get low ratings because of the high difficulty. I think that a checkpoint inside the creature, after deactivating the gases, would improve the level, make it less frustrating and get you better ratings. The level isn't about length and reaching that part is already an achievement. Also, the moving spikes in the top add too much difficulty because the creature is already moving and you can't calculate your jumps as precisely as you would need. I haven't been able to beat the level yet, but I've given it 5 stars anyway because what you did is spectacular. Oh, I forgot to mention the incredible aesthetics of the level, with a clever, detailed use of materials and stickers, creating a credible look of ancient ruins and mythology. I really loved what you did here.

2010-01-25 17:39:00 Author: Lleonard Pler Posts: 277

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Gosh, thanks for all the feedback. I'm living without regular acces to the 'net at the moment, which is why I've not added to this thread for a while. I will definitely do some work on this level now I've read the positive remarks about the design. The main thing is that I now know I don't have to make it out of polystyrene - I had assumed it wouldn't be able to support itself if it were heavier - but it can. I'll also make the checkpoint altar thing emit a little vehicle if you're still over a certain distance from the shrine when you defeat the beast, and think about softening the difficulty level a bit. I'll update when I next get online. Thanks all.

2010-01-28 14:19:00 Author: SalieriAAX Posts: 421

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I've reuploaded the level with the changes outlined in the original post. Thanks again for playing and for all the comments. It's still far from polished but there are so many wires all over the level that cause so much lag in create mode that I cannot bring myself to do any more work on it.

2010-01-29 15:40:00 Author: SalieriAAX Posts: 421

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Hi again salieri. just played through you level one more time. Did you change anything at the jump from the top of the first front leg into the beast? I had to try a few times before i got it. Didnt think it was that hard at my first try. The other changes are good and your "vehicle" is amazing!

2010-01-29 16:21:00 Author: Arrestor Posts: 363

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-A warning message will be displayed if you run too far in the wrong direction at the start (if you don't go the wrong way at the beginning, this message displayed for a -fraction of a second when you die, as it is activated using a proximity switch, but I'm not much bothered by this) I was bothered, unfortunately. It's very annoying for a curious person like myself to briefly see a message without being able to read it entirely. Other than that, very good job!

2010-01-30 21:10:00 Author: Rogar Posts: 2284

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Wow, wow, wow, wow!!!! This is incredible! I am blown away by what an incredible job you did with this level. There are so many reasons that I love this level, but this feedback is supposed to be about you, not me, so here I go... The Colossus was perfect. You did an outstanding job designing it, building it, and decorating it. The monster alone makes me think that the level deserves 5 stars, but it is also fun to climb and works almost perfectly! On top of that, the way you have the save point moving, and the time limit to beat the monster, and even the bird that flies you to the end all show that you have put a lot of thought into the little details on this level. I just can't believe how great it all is. Though I really don't have any issues with the level, I can certainly see where people will complain (or what people will rate you badly for. First of all, it's pretty hard to climb up the legs. And after you are up there, I found it pretty easy to fall off of the right leg after you monkey climb across the belly. Maybe I am just stupid, but it feels like that part it made out of ice since the leg is moving and it is soo easy to fall off. If I didn't absolutely LOVE this level, then I may have gotten irritated Except for that, the spike part was a bit hard to figure out, but I enjoyed that as well. It's amazing how short the level it, but how the challenge makes it take a while, and I enjoyed it the whole time. I know that I mentioned a few things that people might rate it worse for, but in my opinion, those things make the level GREAT. This kind of level needs to have some challenge, and I think that these parts add exactly what it needs. I still can't believe how great the level is Awesome work! You have created one of my very favorite levels for the PSP!

2010-02-01 14:20:00 Author: amazingflyingpoo Posts: 1515

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I finally got around to checking out your changes. This level plays MUCH better now and is a real blast! Love it. Excellent work on a totally unique LBP PSP experience! 5 stars, a heart, and a creator heart.

2010-02-02 05:24:00 Author: Taffey Posts: 3187

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Guys, thank you so much for your comment. It's especially encouraging to get positive feedback from people who make incredibly good levels. Rogar - I'm sorry about that. It's really a result of my abject laziness: I only noticed it when I thought I'd tested every last eventuality and I really couldn't muster the energy to think of a solution. I wish I were more of a perfectionist. I really have to thank everyone who's given me guidance on what to do after the first draft. It's quite easy to lose perspective when you've been working on something by yourself and testing it over and over, so it's really useful to get other people's opinions. I'm now quite encouraged to go on and do another level on a similar theme. I've had a couple of ideas for some giant creatures - maybe something based on the Prague Golem legend, or possibly something like Alexander from the Final Fantasy series (http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Alexander), or possibly something more organic - though that may be a little more challenging.

2010-02-02 18:34:00 Author: SalieriAAX Posts: 421

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Hey salieri, I'm sorry for the delay in my feedback, but here it is at last. To echo everyone's response, this level wowed me in monumental proportions. I played the earlier version, but never managed to finish it because I couldn't pass the thorny back of the beast. And when I replayed the level with your adjustments, I was so happy that you decided to place that additional checkpoint and the stepping stone to reach the back: it made the task that much more doable. In addition, I like the extra story elements you provided with the text. They added a sense of urgency and motivation to dismember that beast into ruins. The visual and technical design was nothing short of impressive. The movement of the beast was flawlessly fluid and frightening with every thud, and I loved the contrast between the exposed pistons with the earthy masonry of the body. The tiny bits of foliage creeping out of the crevices of the stonework was also a nice touch, and such details go a long way when it comes to authenticity. Overall, the stickerwork was so immaculately done that one isn't even aware that the visuals were composed of separate parts. They fit so well with the character of the beast in a way that the industrial look of your airship didn't... Anyways, I think the difficulty of this level is very much appropriate with the adjustments. The multiple attempts give the length to this level, and I for one am satisfied with that...it is a beast to be reckoned with after all, and defeating it definitely rewards players with an overwhelming sense of pride and accomplishment. Here's 5:star:s, level and author heart. I'm certainly looking forward to playing your next level . Growing between stones, jeffcu28

2010-02-03 02:17:00 Author: jeffcu28 Posts: 648

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I got stuck the first time I played it. But got on fine the secong time. I've never seen something so amazing made a level before! :star::star::star::star::star:

2010-02-03 21:14:00 Author: Fastbro Posts: 1277

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I just played this, it's a very epic level. The first time around I ran towards the right, thinking there would be some mechanisms I needed to activate to slow the creature down, but I was set straight by the speech bubble. At first I didn't understand how to get up the creature's legs, but I managed it after a bit of trial and error. Although it was hard, I enjoyed the challenge of stopping the creature. I'm very impressed by the creature's scale, and the fact that it can walk at all. Great job! :star::star::star::star::star: and ♥'ed.

2010-02-04 15:15:00 Author: Gilgamesh Posts: 2536

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I'm very impressed by the creature's scale, and the fact that it can walk at all.I totally agree. The fact that it works at all is incredible, and so the great visuals and challenging gameplay are nice little bonuses.

2010-02-05 17:49:00 Author: Taffey Posts: 3187

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