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Beat Factory

Archive: 25 posts

My first level in LBP2! Beat factory is a platformer that uses only 1 layer and altered jump physics, which gives it an old school feel. It also uses a custom music track I made, and everything in the level is in sync with the music. For some reason, the sync would mess up if the thermo got too high, so it's fairly short, but it should still provide a sufficient challenge. I'm happy to do F4F so feel free to post your levels!

Here are some pictures:
http://i775.photobucket.com/albums/yy39/camden11/Beat%20Factory/APhoto_3.jpg

http://i775.photobucket.com/albums/yy39/camden11/Beat%20Factory/APhoto_2.jpg

http://i775.photobucket.com/albums/yy39/camden11/Beat%20Factory/APhoto_1.jpg

http://lbp.me/v/w6htn7		2011-01-29 23:52:00

Author:
Camden1
Posts: 83

I go to test it ! 2011-01-29 23:54:00

Author:
Dragongaze13
Posts: 7

Added to the queue. Can't wait to play it. 2011-01-30 00:00:00

Author:
ShamgarBlade
Posts: 1010

A little bit hard for me, sorry.
I like the graphismes but we cannot se well the electricity.. :/
And the respawn is boring.. :/		2011-01-30 00:05:00

Author:
Dragongaze13
Posts: 7

Thanks for the feedback! Sorry you didn't like it, I guess it's not really for everyone because of the difficulty. Would you (or anyone else who plays) recommend making the respawn automatic?2011-01-30 00:31:00

Author:
Camden1
Posts: 83

Well, this looks six shades of amazing. Queueing it up for great justice I'll leave feedback when I'm done.2011-01-30 00:45:00

Author:
XFennoX
Posts: 82

Would you (or anyone else who plays) recommend making the respawn automatic?

YES.

Gameplay: 4/5
- Very nice, but EXTREMELY DIFFICULT. I found it pretty fun though. I will warn you though, when you make extremely hard levels, you risk the chance of receiving many bad ratings. (People are just losers like that.) One thing that I didn't like too much is that the electric platforms blend in too well with the regular ones. For a second there, I didn't know why I was dying over and over. Turned out I was standing on a platform that would change to electricity ever so often.

Scenery: 4/5
- Most times, people use the "outline" feature as a quick way to get out of doing anything cool with scenery. I thought that you used it well though.

Sounds: 4.5/5
-I think you did a great job with sound effects, and I love the custom music.

Overall, very cool, but VERY hard. from me. If you could, check out the level in my sig, thanks.		2011-01-30 01:06:00

Author:
ShamgarBlade
Posts: 1010

Thanks for the feedback! I'm going to change the respawn right away. Do you have any ideas for how I could make the electricity more visible while staying with the outline visual style? I did see this as a problem when I was testing but I couldn't think of any good solutions. I've got your level queued (wow that's a weird looking word ) and I'll play it next time I'm on LBP.2011-01-30 02:08:00

Author:
Camden1
Posts: 83

Added to queue; looks fun 2011-01-30 02:31:00

Author:
Couchmuffin
Posts: 53

I shall play it later! Try the level in my sig?2011-01-30 02:39:00

Author:
LukeCF
Posts: 790

Thanks for the feedback! I'm going to change the respawn right away. Do you have any ideas for how I could make the electricity more visible while staying with the outline visual style? I did see this as a problem when I was testing but I couldn't think of any good solutions. I've got your level queued (wow that's a weird looking word ) and I'll play it next time I'm on LBP.

I'm playing it again, I think plasma would look better here and I think it is easier to see as well.

Edit: Hey hey! I beat it this time. 		2011-01-30 03:12:00

Author:
ShamgarBlade
Posts: 1010

OK, just updated the level:
-Respawn is automatic now
-Electricity has been changed to plasma in a few places so it's easier to see
-Fixed a variety of other things.

ShamgarBlade, I just played your level and I'll have feedback on your thread for it. LukeCF, I have yours queued up.		2011-01-30 04:01:00

Author:
Camden1
Posts: 83

Ah, I forgot: if you could check out some levels in my sig, that'd be awesome. Thank you!2011-01-30 04:20:00

Author:
XFennoX
Posts: 82

Played it, did not finish. Accidently fell through a hole in your level and instead accidently returned to pod instead of in pausing the game.

I was at the point where the ceiling is falling o ntop of you crushing you too death. After you get past the first two section and you get up to the platforms that bring you to the top. You can slip through under one of the platforms apparently and fall through the ole they're spawning from. It's probably a rare, hard to do glitch. But just thought I'd let you know.

Anyways queued it again and plan to play it again later. The music wasn't that bad, though it wasn't unforgettable either. I didn't really use the dash button all that much, but I guess it's cool that it's there.
The visuals were great
Gonna play it again LATER and see if I can beat it.		2011-01-30 05:18:00

Author:
LukeCF
Posts: 790

:: EDIT:: Played!! Review as follows-

I really liked the vibe of the level throughout. The outline effect was used cleverly in your level. I found the music to be top notch as well, very catchy. As others have stated, extremely difficult and challenging. I did not fully 'beat' the level. I couldn't get past the part with the plasma balls emitting from the ceiling while jumping over the cogs. I found that this portion of the game moved too quickly and I couldn't locate where I had to jump to next before being vaporized.

Lighting is a little difficult at times. Your character blends in almost too well when there's a high concentration of blue light in the background, leaving the player wondering where exactly they 'stand'.

I like the implementation of the music and the movement of the level very much. I found that they mesh very well together. The only part that "threw me off" with the music is when the track itself restarts. If you are timing jumps according to the beat and the track restarts during this sequence, it throws you completely off resulting in what likely is death.

All in all, I think it's great for your first LBP2 level! Very challenging and at times frustrating, but a very unique experience. I'll have to go back and play it over again till I fully finish it. Cheers!

Shifty


Ignore please-- Queued up for future play ASAP! Had to stop midway before.		2011-01-30 05:25:00

Author:
The inFamous Sack
Posts: 54

Thanks for the feedback, LukeCF! I'll go fix that right away. XFennoX, I have your Mechman Saga level queued and will play it soon.2011-01-30 14:50:00

Author:
Camden1
Posts: 83

Well, I'm going to be 100% honest here, because I like to say everything that's on my mind.

Pros:
- Awesome music
- Cool Art Scheme

Cons:
- Music gets hard to hear during parts of the song where not all the instruments are playing
- Sackboy is very hard to see throughout the level
- Jumping physics are very wonky
- Frustratingly difficult due to the above reasons

The level looks really awesome, but the first time I died I was like, huh? I couldn't even see the electricity during the first part, I thought I had to land on the moving panels. Also, on the topic of moving panels, they were not moving in accordance with any beat.

The next part with the cogs was pretty good, wonky jump controls though made it harder than it actually was, and yes, I realize if you toned down the height of the jump, you'd have to re-space the whole level, but throughout this review, I'm going to be referring to those wonky jumps, lol.

The part with the pistons was near impossible until I figured out a bug (and possibly the only saving grace to completing that part given how fast they would come down). If you jump before they squatch you, you don't get squatched. Sackboy's head sticks out, but you are safe. I doubt this is supposed to happen, but I don't honestly think this part is beatable without it.

The part with the electric panels was where the music quieted down and the sound of electricity made it hard to hear the beat, which was essential for said part. Many of my deaths in this part took my score to 0 and I was frustrated, not relieved, to have completed it, again, because of wonky jumps having a lot of hang time and ruining my rhythm.

I had to give up at the part with the lowered ceiling and the electric floor. Either that ceiling shrinks, or the level will turn off people at that very point. I don't know if you had to have hangtime on the ceiling to survive or what have you, but that part was just plain hard, if not, impossible.

Not to mention, the entire experience, I was squinted and straining to know where Sackboy was at all times. The level looked really awesome, but something has to make your character stand out, not blend in.

There's my hunk of a review. Please don't take it as I hated the level, because I didn't. I too create levels, and I know how much work and effort goes into making them, and I commend you for making something this awesome. But the above problems made the game frustrating instead of fun for me. I did heart the game, as I really would play it again, if only to conquer the difficulty at some point.		2011-01-30 18:25:00

Author:
Lostwind
Posts: 29

Thanks for the feedback, Lostwind! As a lot of people have said, the biggest problem here seems to be visibility. The problem with that is that everyone has different TVs, and what I can seem on my TV some people might not be able to see on theirs, which makes it kind of hard to know when you have fixed a visibility problem. I am going to change all of the electricity in the level to plasma though because it's a lot easier to see. Do you have any suggestions for how to make sackboy more visible without getting rid of the outline material? I know it's a problem, but I can't really think of any solutions :/. Also, when you got stuck at the pistons and low ceiling parts, were you using the dash button? (A lot of my friends who tested the level forgot about it and got stuck) As long as I dash at those parts they're pretty easy for me, but if you were using it and still got stuck, I'll definitely fix them. I really appreciate you giving me such a long and detailed review even though you got frustrated. Thanks! 2011-01-30 20:38:00

Author:
Camden1
Posts: 83

Very good concept, and original plat former. Few concerns however.
I did not know how to start off the beginning, and what was lethal and what wasn't. Maybe some instructions would have helped
Although the outline and lighting add to the game, It can be difficult at times to determine what's going on around you.
And I did find a bug where about 2-3 mins after I started, I fell to the floor with no way to get back up.

I think addressing the little things like this would add to making this level really come alive.		2011-01-30 20:41:00

Author:
Unknown User

OK, I've updated the level again. Now everything that can kill you (that doesn't obviously kill you) is plasma so there should be no more problems with visibility. I've also played everyone's levels and I'll have feedback for them up soon.2011-01-31 03:08:00

Author:
Camden1
Posts: 83

Will definitely be playing this again to see the improvements.2011-01-31 04:31:00

Author:
Unknown User

At the part where the two ceiling parts stomp repeatedly on either side of a lethal floor, I was unable to see where to go next. I ran past the second one and fell I to a death pit. Where next?2011-01-31 04:31:00

Author:
Loius
Posts: 342

There were a few occasions in this level where I felt like giving it a dirty frown. one star and a good deathstare for an hour: but that was because I'm quite nooby at the whole platforming to a beat thing and consequently kept DYING. This level, as I said earlier, looks amazing, love the song that you created, very nice the platforming, while brutally difficult for a noob such as I, was well thought and well executed. Unfortunately I didn't finish, as I couldn't really see the next path to go, I think the above post mentioned it. But, overall, I liked it hope to see more levels outta you in the future!2011-01-31 08:32:00

Author:
XFennoX
Posts: 82

Right, im not going to bang on about difficulty much because i know it has been mentioned a lot already. However, i do think that its different to most extremely hard levels. The difficulty here is not that its challenging (which of course it is), but that as well as being challenging, if you are a better platform player than most, it wont necessarily help you out on this level. I say this because i found the difficulty came from the way the obstacles are constructed, it was almost as though despite knowing what to do and understanding how to overcome things, i still had moments where i was caught out by the obstacles themselves, and not my own skill level (if any of that makes sense!)

Yet i still think this was an awesome platformer, and if it was a bit slower maybe, could be very good as a tricky but not overly frustrating challenge.

The visuals were awesome in my mind, i know that the outline is only a material now, unlike LBP 1, but i think you managed to suit your layout and design to that of the material, in a way that almost enhances the game play because it is so straightforward, yet eye pleasing at the same time. Maybe you could put in some neon signs however, just to make things clearer in some instances.

I liked the music, it had a nice ring to it and also went well with the them of your level. Another 'but' here though; i think it would be better (especially considering it is a level focused on sync between the music and visuals) if there was some sort of signifier for each obstacle to have to navigate. What i mean by this is say for instance a certain tone, cut to fit the speed or movement of the obstacle, which kinda signifies when the obstacle is about to change, move or speed up. This would help the difficulty of the level by giving you a hint as to when you need to make a move, rewarding the skill level required more than just timing.

I will definitely check out any other levels you make, as i like a good challenge to obsess over, but you need to think more about how the level benefits dedication and/or skill in more rewarding ways.

If you have the time, please check out my mini-game, link in my sig.		2011-01-31 19:23:00

Author:
Steve
Posts: 134

Thanks for the feedback everyone! Louis, if you're at the part where I think you are, there should be a bunch of platforms moving upwards so you can get on top of the crusher thing. Give the level another shot and you should be good . Steve, I've got your level queued.2011-01-31 22:59:00

Author:
Camden1
Posts: 83


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