Home    LBP Showcase / Reviews / Recommendations    Level Showcase
#1

Space: Above and Beyond 2

Archive: 15 posts

Space: Above and Beyond 2Raptor88blue
You are a space Marine and the ship your on is under attack by an alien threat! Do you have what it takes to save the U.S.S. Saratoga?

You are aboard a space ship and must navigate the decks as you save the ship from destruction. I put a lot of work into this level, but I am not the best with visuals; however, I gave them a good try. I hope you enjoy my level. I welcome any constructive criticism.		2010-04-07 12:08:00

Author:
Unknown User

Hi! I played your level and rated it higher than its average. With that said I found it to be very uneven.


The bad-

*i'd redesign your level badge, I found it dark and I couldn't really tell what was depicted... (it just a suggestion.)
*The 'Chig' your enemy are very poorly designed. Half the time the fall on their bums shooting plasma balls into the ceiling. There are plenty of tutorial to help you with this better yet just balance them better!
*Upon destruction, some lights linger in mid air.
*Humor is very subjective...not everyone can write it well. You can't. Skip the humour. Cursing speech bubbles, callling characters, Blackman and Wang... not funny and a good way to get griefed! (Now if 'Blackman' were 'white'... that'd be funny!)
*visible magic mouth on locker that does nothing.


The Indifferent-

*Why does the ship hull layer shake horizontally? I mean I know why... but it fails to add to the realism or the difficulty of the level.
*Indifferently placed score bubbles. there are loads of score bubbles placed randomly that cant be multiplied.
*The background of hull changes? The window-like rectangles change to VR? Detail and tlc are missing.
*elevator design is cumbersome!
*Making the player backtrack to collect a reward.
*The turrent mechanics


The GOOD-

*I really enjoyed the flooded deck and the aftermath of draining it...very nice change of pace!
*Engineering was a great success! Featured a good bit of platforming, nice manipulation of the three layers, and good manageable obstacles.
*The puzzle was excellent but a bit touchy!
*Top-notch use of music. Your cues were awesome and it fit the mood of your different sections.
*Although a little silly, I really liked 'flying you 'Hammerheads'. i enjoyed the design of the ships and the flow of this part of the level.

You finished up on a high note which is always a plus! As I stated above I rated it higher than your average because I saw some nice potential in parts... what you do my observations is completely up to you.

If you get the time I would hope you try to play, "The MUPPET Level" Thanks! https://lbpcentral.lbp-hub.com/index.php?t=24744-The-MUPPET-Level		2010-04-07 19:30:00

Author:
Gravel
Posts: 1308

Ok Raptore88blue so i played your level again for the sake of a review overall i give 5 and a heart stars purely based on the game play great work on the puzzles and game play i loved it my only issue is the lack visuals other than that i had some small issues with mechanical stuff but nothing to bad i mostly forgot what i had trouble with already so clearly wasn't to bad my only suggestion is more visuals ohh ya USE the comer editor and when i say use i mean USE IT ALOT that's how i got my hellfire tomb 2 level to look pretty good when it came to visuals2010-04-07 23:14:00

Author:
RiseOvBaphomet
Posts: 35

Hey Raptor. First of all, welcome to LBPcentral. Nice to see that you're on here. I'm playing through your level again and here are my thoughts. Thanks for making another Space Above and Beyond level. Nice to see you improving. This level improves on the last by far although Space Above & Beyond 1 was a really good first level to begin with. Okay, so I'm playing through this now and here is my constructive criticism. The beginning was cool, opening up the level with a blast always opens up your eyes. Also, the music cues in at the perfect time to amp up the tension. I love how you made the beginning shake. Adds a bit of realism to the level. I also see how it's done seeing the floor is on a layer of glass and just sliding. If you were to add a thin layer in front of it, it would add a higher level of awe.

The chigs are a pain as always (I mean that in a good way), I personally don't really have a problem with the chigs as they get the job done, but I would also like an upgrade on how they look apart from the first level because they look practically the same and can be improved. There is a lot of the same type of metal through this level and it does get bland. Don't be afraid to use a variety of metals like the metal gear solid pack metals and cardboard as they would add some diversity in color & texture. I just got to the bridge and theres a lever here that opens up the door below. The thing is here is that the speech mouth says, "After you talk to the Admiral you need to get this yellow switch!!" Well, the yellow "switch" is fine and dandy, but once you pull it, nothing seems to happen in the current room you're in. One would expect the door located at the right side of the room would open once the lever is pulled but it doesn't which would create some confusion on where to go as after you pull the switch nothing provides you a clue on where to go. A simple speech mouth would solve this having the cutscene cue on the opened door below once the level has been pulled.

I like the power outage on one of the decks. It creates a sense of mystery and the music does really well to accompany that. The "turrent" part is, in my opinion, well done. I never had any problems with it. But the thing that bugs me is that "turrent" is spelled wrong. It's actually spelled turret. I don't know why it bugs me, it just does. The elevators are well done. Must've taken a lot of time to put all those elevators in along with the logic. Some of the stickers in the level feel like they should be on another level. An example would be the Killzone hellghast stickers. I know there aren't a lot of premade stickers that would fit this level, you could also make your own. It would take a lot of time, but would also be a good contribution to this level. I'm now in the medical bay and I see the speech mouth that says "The boxes appear to be leaking". That's all fine and dandy but the "leakage" which is gas hovers in the air. They're not attached to the boxes like they should be. I died numerous times because of gas I couldn't see and gas that I could barely see that is floating in mid air. Having gas on the ground is fine but the problem here is that I can't even see the gas. On a positive note, I like that you utilizes all 3 thick layers to make your level. The random VR materials don't fit the theme. I salute you for trying to change up the materials a bit but having random VR materials and random materials with fire on them are too drastic of a change and I repeat, doesn't go well with theme around it.

Okay, so I'm in the flood bay. And it seems have a mind of it's own because sometimes I play this level it's flooded and sometimes it isn't. Right now it isn't and I haven't switched the switch on the far left yet. So right now, I'm stuck. My instinct tells me to try to get to the switch and I did try but I ended up using all my checkpoint lives before I got to it. So I had to restart the level over and the flood bay still isn't flooded. I don't know what's going on with this part of the level but clearly there has to be a change in logic somewhere. I finally got to the switch on the far left, somehow, and pushed the switch block left. Now I'm assuming this opens a door somewhere so I have to backtrack.

Okay, a door did open and now I'm making my way to the engineering room. I like how you did the platforms and the obstacles in this room. A nice change of pace from all the running and gunning. The puzzle at the top is poorly done. If you pull the middle sponge down first, the big sponges on the side won't come down forcing the player to restart the level. Right now, I'm pretty frustrated from the flood bay and I don't think I'm going to restart the level. So, I'm going to give you feedback based on memory. The room after the hanger bay with all the button/switches I have a problem with. Even if I press all the buttons and switches, nothing happens. Even though it makes an "achieve" sound, no prizes or anything. The hammerhead flight was fun, although the sponges used to stop the hammerheads were out of place as they were a completely different color (blue sponge). The idea of using rubber for space was nice but there is a glare that you see that takes away from the realism and the idea that you're in space.

That's about all the problems I remember. Overall, this was a pretty solid level. No level breaking glitches or anything like that. Gameplay/puzzles is there and a lot of it. I think if you take the time to make it look nicer, then this level would get a lot more plays. You've come a long way from your first level but don't stop. Keep improving! Oh, and you don't have to F4F me cuz you played all my levels anyway so don't worry about it 		2010-04-07 23:48:00

Author:
MrTran
Posts: 216

Thank you all for your feedback! I really appreciate it. Now let me address some things. I will start with MrTran because he missed something. The puzzle on the engineering deck is supposed to be hard and you need to pull the sponges down in a certain order. A red button near the puzzle will reset the entire puzzle so you didn't have to restart the level. I believe there is a character that tells you about the red button that resets the puzzle, and if there isn't I will make one. I fixed the part in the hanger bay where nothing happens when you pull the switches. As for the flood deck, it's a WTF moment for me. Something must have glitched, so I will check that out ASAP. Thank you for your long in-depth review MrTran.

RiseOvBaphomet, I will continue to work on my visual skills, but my level is overheated so I can't do much to improve it now, but I will improve what I can. I also intend to have improved visuals for my next levels. Thank you

Gravel, you were correct about everything you wrote about my level, but I personally disagree with what you said about the humor. Many of my friends think I am funny, and Wang is actually a character in the Space A&B television series. You do have a point about Admiral blackman though. Some people may get offended by that. Thanks for your very detailed feedback.		2010-04-08 02:17:00

Author:
Unknown User

ohhhhh right i forgot about the overheating in your level then i withdraw my previous statement then
forgive me honestly i don't have no really issue with your level MrTran pretty pointed all of them out so no need for me to even repeat im always a fan of your game play i to disagree with gravel on the humor of your levels its obvious he doesn't share the same humor so really his input on that wasn't even needed ya black man could be offensive but if someone is that bothered just shows how little they are words only if you let them even i still need to learn that at times overall great level one of your best so far and your naruto one		2010-04-08 02:28:00

Author:
RiseOvBaphomet
Posts: 35

Ah, now that you mention it, I do remember a switch there to reset the sponges. I must've been so flustered that I overlooked it. The puzzle isn't all that bad then. I'll give the level another wack sometime in the future and provide more feedback as I see fit

And yeah.. the flooded bay.. lol that part is mega hard without the water. Going back is a cinch but getting to the puzzle on the left without water is... demon's souls.

As for Gravel..

Humor is very subjective...not everyone can write it well. You can't. Skip the humour. Cursing speech bubbles, callling characters, Blackman and Wang... not funny and a good way to get griefed! (Now if 'Blackman' were 'white'... that'd be funny!

I don't see how Blackman and Wang could get you griefed. They're not offensive. If it was Nman or N*****man then yes. It would be offensive. If Wang was in the shape of the male reproductive organ then yes, it'd be offensive. Besides saying that it'd be funnier if it was Whiteman instead of Blackman just make you look like a hypocrite.		2010-04-08 02:32:00

Author:
MrTran
Posts: 216

As for Gravel..


I don't see how Blackman and Wang could get you griefed. They're not offensive. If it was Nman or N*****man then yes. It would be offensive. If Wang was in the shape of the male reproductive organ then yes, it'd be offensive. Besides saying that it'd be funnier if it was Whiteman just make you look like a hypocrite.


ya i agree i wonder if gravel is black lmao prob why he got butt hurt and yet saying white man would be funny lol like you said hypocrite lol		2010-04-08 02:44:00

Author:
RiseOvBaphomet
Posts: 35

Replayed this again and I have the following to say:

- I see you made some changes to the material. Nicely done. Now it looks better IMO.
- I see you added a magic mouth cutscene where the door opens on the lower deck. Nice.. but what you put in the dialogue shows up in all asterisks. It's currently, "************************************". Might want to look into that.
- Also noticed you fixed the room after the hanger bay. Now I got those nice little score bubbles
- After the top puzzle in the engineering room, it may be hard for players to realize there's supposed to be a lift there coming down. You should put a magic mouth cutscene here. Or have an arrow redirect the player.

Gave this level a 5 star and a heart. I like the ambition and potential here. Capitalize on it with your future levels *fist pump*

Edit: Forgot to mention that you indeed fixed the flood bay. Thank goodness 		2010-04-08 07:04:00

Author:
MrTran
Posts: 216

Thanks guys! Here is what I recently changed: I changed the materials quite a bit to make things less distorted, and hopefully look better. I made a magic mouth that lets you know where to go next when your in the control room. I corrected spelling turning "turrent" to "turret" MrTran lol, I made it so it's impossible for you to not activate the water switch which is what eager MrTran was doing (he most likely lunged to the right in mid air and missed the sensor switch.....twice?????) and I put a thin layer to hide the part where you can see how I made the decks shake.

The more drastic changes I will think about making and if I do they will take time. I will keep looking for ways to make the level look better.		2010-04-08 07:10:00

Author:
Unknown User

Nice to hear those changes! I'll be playing it again in the near future.2010-04-11 00:48:00

Author:
MrTran
Posts: 216

I just played this level. I feel like it was good, it kept me entertained. I like your gameplay elements and I actually liked the visuals. I know how hard it is to do visuals so what you did must have taken a long time. I also thought the way you did the space travel was cool, it had a neat effect.

My thing is that some of the mechanics felt a bit glitchy. For instance, the aliens with hook hands would often fall over and loose their legs. Also, I got stuck on top of an elevator several times. I think the elevators move too fast in general. I also am a big fan of grabbing something once, I didn't like that you have to hold r1 for the space travel parts, I know it's a little thing but I do appreciate it when I play a level that has the grab to start a sequence and that's it.

Overall I thought it was a good level. I see that you have done a lot of changes on it and I don't want to give you a ton more but I think that it would be a great level is these little bugs were ironed out. If you get a chance, can you try my retro retribution level? (link is in my sig)		2010-04-11 09:05:00

Author:
shebhnt
Posts: 414

I played this level after I updated "Future City Los Angeles" and it has a good multi-path feeling. You need to somehow make the large boxes around the magnetic key switches puzzle a bit smaller because they couldn't fit in right and I can see some opening areas on the space scenery while riding on a space ship. Overall it's a fun level and there's some clever humor too.2010-04-12 00:37:00

Author:
JustinArt
Posts: 1314

Thanks for the feedback JustinArt and Shebhnt! You are right about the enemies. I somehow have to create chig-looking enemies that can keep their stance even when the decks are shaking. And the background of the space scenery had to be segmented because I kept getting the "this shape is too complicated, you can not add anything more to it" message. Maybe I can fix that with some gluing. Thanks again guys.2010-04-12 08:34:00

Author:
Unknown User

- Explosive opening was coolies.
- Aliens look cool, but you can easily layer switch and shoot em in the back. One fell over before I even reached him.
- Big gun was cool, but the missile took a little too long to fire between shots. I lined up the shot, fired by the time the rocket went the ship moved. But you probably wanted it to be like that. A "ready to fire" sound would be great here.
- You could simplify the instructions for it too. left+r1 = aim, right+r1=missile. I didn't know how to get out so I popped. I also couldn't re-read the second magic mouth.
- Like the previous poster, you might want to change the names of wang and blackman/face/whatever. And censor the other bad words.
- I did like the scenery. That bomb room looked awesome.
- I liked the water part because of the folded gameplay. Swim one way, platform back! Nice one.
- Space out the ore/ore holes in that room. It would be much eaiser for the player to place them. I had to reset 3 times.
- I felt like a parking attentant with those four planes haha, but I'm sure most other people will really enjoy that bit. Would look better with an invisible track.

I thought I would get hopelessly lost with all those elevators, but I took the right one every time (had to stop and think about the "take the one on my left" haha, nice bit there), you must have sequenced the locked/unlocked parts perfectly.
Some good gameplay, some good visuals, all you need to do next time is take it further with more details.

(My f4f link in sig)		2010-04-12 15:23:00

Author:
midnight_heist
Posts: 2513


LBPCentral Archive Statistics
Posts: 1077139    Threads: 69970    Members: 9661    Archive-Date: 2019-01-19

Datenschutz
Aus dem Archiv wurden alle persönlichen Daten wie Name, Anschrift, Email etc. - aber auch sämtliche Inhalte wie z.B. persönliche Nachrichten - entfernt.
Die Nutzung dieser Webseite erfolgt ohne Speicherung personenbezogener Daten. Es werden keinerlei Cookies, Logs, 3rd-Party-Plugins etc. verwendet.