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The Legion - Spotlighted! NOW WITH VIDEO!

Archive: 136 posts

Level Name: The Legion
Creator: OCK
Location: Scandinavia

Here it is. 60+ hours of hard work and 5 weeks later I present you with my second level. After finishing Out of Africa there were immediately three themes I wanted to work around for my next level: night, fantasy and rain. Below I have once again provided extensive notes on all aspects of my level which I hope you will take the time to read through. This level is a direct opposite to OOA in every way: day vs night, realism vs fantasy, wood vs metal/stone, horizontal vs all over the map lol. So for those who played/hearted/enjoyed OOA I sincerely hope you find this level to be just as good, if not better. Please note the level was intended for SINGLE PLAYER!!!

Pics:

To be honest the quality of these pics is so below that of the lvl itself that I did not want to put them up but I guess even these pics are better then no pics. Just please don't judge the level by these pics becasue that would be doing both me and the level a great disservice:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3055/3110796278_cd69bff273_m.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3113/3109963093_3cbd7726d0_m.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3113/3109962925_0c964d2aa9_m.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3140/3109962751_a5d8aa88ff_m.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3106/3110795414_19efbd7edf_m.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3082/3109962317_38bf7bba46_m.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3224/3109961879_38deccb484_m.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3011/3110794990_e11606a672_m.jpg

Video:

Part 1

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Part 2

j4qiK8fDDtA

Description:

The star of Elethia has been taken under siege by an evil horde known as The Legion. Help the magical Zariels destroy the Legion and free their land from its dark hand.

Story:

Little known fact: I am a writer/poet/bookworm. As such I want all of my levels to have some sort of story with high quality writing. Where as with OOA I used a lot of humor in my writing, here I decided to take a dramatic approach. I put a lot of work into the writing and wanted the player to feel like they were on an epic and noble journey that outcome of which would have major consequences. I also decided to tell some of the story through the Zariels which are majestic and magical creatures who literally take you from one portion of the level to the next. I have not seen this type of gameplay/story mechanic done before and I really hope people enjoy it. I have personally not played a level this heavy in story so let me know what you think. NOTE: I would like to give credit here to a person by the name of Maraz Matari who has a wonderful level called The Marazs Talking Tool. This tool made it possible to create a level this story rich and I encourage everyone to play his level and get this invaluabel tool.

Imbedding:

The main technique I used when creating OOA was material and texture manipulation. With this I really went to town with imbedding. From the backgrounds, enemies, bosses and terrain, imbedding is omnipresent. Some people may be thinking ?what is so special about imbedding?? And there really isn?t anything special about it but I have never used it seen to such an extent and in the ways that I use it throughout my level. I personally think some of the visuals I was able to create using this technique are simply stunning but then again I could be delusional lol.

Bosses:

There are TWO boss battles and that is all I am going to say?

Stars:

Early on I had a couple of stars as decoration. Then I added more stars. Then I added even more stars and I quickly realized that stars would become the major theme of the level and I worked all of this into the story. The part of my level I am most proud of is a section I call the ?Path of Stars?. It involves moving back and forth between background and foreground through latticed stone using stars as your guide. I have never seen this sort of thing done before and I really hope people appreciate the amount of thought that went into it. It is amazing what you can do using a single, simple shape

Rain:

The very first thing I created for this level was rain. The intention was to have it falling throughout the whole level but due to thermo limitation I realized that would be impossible. So the rain is a the very start of the level and I think it's quite impressive. Just that small section alone took up 10% of my thermo. I have about 50 emitters working overtime to create the effect. I also worked the rain into the story so there is a reason that it stops 

Music/Sfx/Cam Zones:

Once again I used all of these extensively. The music selection in particular has been considered a lot and I believe all the choices I made best reflect what is happening on screen.

Custom Content:

Once again, EVERYTHING IN MY LEVEL IS CUSTOM!!! This took a lot of time but I stick to my belief that doing this really makes a level your own and adds that personal touch.

Playtesting and Communiy Support:

The following forum members playtested my level at various points of development: Hexagohn, xbriandeadx, Voltiare, docpac and aer0blue. I particularly want to thank xbriandeadx fo his support throughout as well as an early suggestion to add more lighing (I did), Voltiare for some great feedback he gave when the level was about 75% done and especially Hexagohn who played the near final build yesterday and took the time out to PM me with a TON of feedback, all of which I took to heart. All of you guys are not only talented creators but great people and I am glad that I am part of a community that is so supportive.

So it is out of my hands now. I really hope everyone checks it out and I welcome all comments/suggestions/constructive criticism from all forum members, both old and new alike. Enjoy it and let me know what you think.

I dedicate this level to my daughter, the brightest star of all!

BassDeluxe Edit: I added your videos in, right underneath the pictures.

2008-12-16 01:03:00

Author:
OCK

Posts: 1536

DARN!
I was hoping to use that name!

Good looking level, Ill have to play it.

2008-12-16 01:11:00

Author:
DRT99

Posts: 431

Lol thanks and let me know what you think.

2008-12-16 01:49:00

Author:
OCK

Posts: 1536

looks sweet i will play it tommaro when i get home from school. and DRT99 you can still use the name lots of people have there level name the legion im sure

2008-12-16 02:04:00

Author:
Snrm

Posts: 6419

mate good looking level looks trippy unfortunately i don't own lbp as of yet so i can't play your level =( sorry man

2008-12-16 02:15:00

Author:
Thee-Flash

Posts: 3154

R-R-R-RAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGEEEEE!

I was at the last boss, right? And the white blocks kept messing me up. I got to the checkpoint after the first white block test and I couldn't pass the second test. As soon as I touched the last block it would dissappear and I would fall. I tried over and over and eventually just gave up. Is it only me who this is happening with?

2008-12-16 02:18:00

Author:
Voltiare

Posts: 646

I was at the last boss, right? And the white blocks kept messing me up. I got to the checkpoint after the first white block test and I couldn't pass the second test. As soon as I touched the last block it would dissappear and I would fall. I tried over and over and eventually just gave up. Is it only me who this is happening with?
______________

So I guess no heart then

2008-12-16 02:21:00

Author:
OCK

Posts: 1536

Pretty fun level Ock. I appreciate the time you put into the story and the objects in your levels.

Some Praise:

- The fantasy look and feel. You created a very unique world and filled it with some nice creations! I really liked the wizards at the beginning, especially how they each had a different ability!

- The Stars Know the Way! Nice idea and implementation!

Some Suggestions:

- I really could have used a checkpoint in the vapor hallway, man, that took a lot of time (and restarts!) for me to get by. But maybe I'm just impatient.

- During the second boss battle, I was able to jump onto the boss's left side without using the cube. Didn't know if you want players to do that or not.

- In the last boss battle, I had a frustrating time. First, I had no clue about the stars that shoot up to the body, so I spent forever trying to find another way up. Eventually I managed to jump to his arm and get on top. It wasn't until after I beat him that I saw the stars and received the message telling me to use them to get up to the body. The Second issue was the timed platforms. Man, those were hard to keep track of, at least for me. I'd suggest slowing them down a tad, but I like I said, I am impatient, so maybe they are just fine.

Anyway, that's all I can remember at the moment and my laptop battery is about to die, so I'll just leave it at that. Good job!

2008-12-16 02:22:00

Author:
mrsupercomputer

Posts: 1335

Wow the pics are amazing looking... can't wait to play this.

2008-12-16 02:25:00

Author:
Unknown User

So I guess no heart then

The white block righ above the checkpoint becomes permanent once it is emitted. I am sorry you found this part to be so frustrating and and had to give up, that does not make me feel all that great lol. I think I will change things and make it a lot easier, I just wanted there to be some sort of challenge. Thanks for letting me know about the problem though. I will get working on it.Psssh, it is getting a heart and I am trying again now. I thought of that right after I posted this lol. But I saw it disappear before I think so I must've not caught on.

2008-12-16 02:30:00

Author:
Voltiare

Posts: 646

- I really could have used a checkpoint in the vapor hallway, man, that took a lot of time (and restarts!) for me to get by. But maybe I'm just impatient.

Going to add that now. I like a challenge but maybe that section is too challenging lol.

- During the second boss battle, I was able to jump onto the boss's left side without using the cube. Didn't know if you want players to do that or not.

You actually have to do that nad there is a speech bubble telling you to do so. The cube is dissolved once a swith under his arm is pulled allowing access to the other side of his body.

- In the last boss battle, I had a frustrating time. First, I had no clue about the stars that shoot up to the body, so I spent forever trying to find another way up. Eventually I managed to jump to his arm and get on top. It wasn't until after I beat him that I saw the stars and received the message telling me to use them to get up to the body. The Second issue was the timed platforms. Man, those were hard to keep track of, at least for me. I'd suggest slowing them down a tad, but I like I said, I am impatient, so maybe they are just fine.

Since you are now the 2nd person to comment on having difficulty here I will definitely be changing things around a bit. I already have so many speech bubbles directing the player but I guess one more cant hurt indicating where to ascend the bosses body.

Thanks again for playing and taking the time to write all this feedback, I appreciate it.

Psssh, it is getting a heart and I am trying again now. I thought of that right after I posted this lol. But I saw it disappear before I think so I must've not caught on.
__________________

lol, thanks but only if you really think it deserves it. I hope you have better luck with it this time

2008-12-16 02:40:00

Author:
OCK

Posts: 1536

2008-12-16 03:14:00

Author:
Whalio Cappuccino

Posts: 5250

Just beat it. It was pretty awesome. I remember the second switch on the arm not having a good cutscene about where I should go next. I don't remember it zooming in on the head.

Oh yeah, and the stars that you swing on. You might wanna move them a bit closer together.

5 Star and hearted. It's a great level.

2008-12-16 03:16:00

Author:
Voltiare

Posts: 646

Hey everybody, just wanted to say I think this level is really awesome. Good job OCK on the story and look especially. 5 Stars and hearted. The Zariels look amazing, they have a cool story, and they are not useless! ( I hate it when support characters are useless for no reason.) The legion are really cool bad guys and all the customs look really good and work quite well.

My advice is take everyone's advice. I know you probably are already but it's the players creators are trying to please, the players have the power to make your level be recognized or to let it die all alone in a cold corner somewhere. So I would say fix most things they recommend. Timmy's Dream would be nowhere I think without acceptance of the feedback. Anyway don't get discouraged you have a great level here, problems are gonna come with it, but then you fix it and your level is even better! Then pretty soon your level is as close to perfect as it will be.

2008-12-16 03:20:00

Author:
Hexagohn

Posts: 335

I'll play this after I practice with my band in the garage, but one thing I could really suggest is, take those pictures and give them a new line each, because on my screen it is really irritating as I have to scroll to the right to look at the description,

I look forward to your thoughts and I fixed the pics.

Just beat it. It was pretty awesome. I remember the second switch on the arm not having a good cutscene about where I should go next. I don't remember it zooming in on the head.

Oh yeah, and the stars that you swing on. You might wanna move them a bit closer together.

5 Star and hearted. It's a great level.

Thanks a lot, I appreciate it and I will look into the things you mentioned and make those changes.

Hey everybody, just wanted to say I think this level is really awesome. Good job OCK on the story and look especially. 5 Stars and hearted. The Zariels look amazing, they have a cool story, and they are not useless! ( I hate it when support characters are useless for no reason.) The legion are really cool bad guys and all the customs look really good and work quite well.

Thanks man. Once again I appreciate the playtesting and feedback you gave me.

My advice is take everyone's advice. I know you probably are already but it's the players creators are trying to please, the players have the power to make your level be recognized or to let it die all alone in a cold corner somewhere. So I would say fix most things they recommend. Timmy's Dream would be nowhere I think without acceptance of the feedback. Anyway don't get discouraged you have a great level here, problems are gonna come with it, but then you fix it and your level is even better! Then pretty soon your level is as close to perfect as it will be.

Yeah that goes without saying. Feedback is the only way to improve a level I think if people look at my posts on other peoples threads then they will see I am firm believer in leaving extensive feedback. My only hope was that with all the rigorous playtesting I would have to make very little changes post-publishing but I am coming to the realization that no matter how many people playtest your level beforehand (and how many times a creator playtests their creation) there will ALWAYS be things that can be improved upon.

So thanks again to everyone who has played thus far and I look forward to more comments in the coming days

2008-12-16 03:38:00

Author:
OCK

Posts: 1536

How did you take such good pics?

2008-12-16 03:39:00

Author:
Thee-Flash

Posts: 3154

How did you take such good pics?

lol, are you serious? I am actually very disappointed with the pics but I am happy you think they are acceptable. I have a Nikon Coolpix S6. I set the resolution to 3 megapixels, made the room real bright and took the snaps, nothing special

2008-12-16 03:42:00

Author:
OCK

Posts: 1536

o really i thought you would of had a capture card or something

well good work

2008-12-16 03:43:00

Author:
Thee-Flash

Posts: 3154

I really liked this level! The design and structure is stunning. Probably the best lighting effects I've come across so far. The characters were all really well made, and I personally love climbing a collossal enemy to defeat them. You can really tell you worked hard on making this level awesome.

Unfortunatly, I can never seem to articulate positive comments as well as some criticisms, and while they are a lot longer, doesn't mean I'm rating this level under a four.

I ran into a glitch that needs to be fixed. Am I right to assume there is a magic key on the big star on the final Boss' head? because the first time I went through I hit all the floating platforms easily and the big layer at the bottom never showed up, and so when I killed him the star fell straight to the ground and nothing opened no matter what I tried to do.

The level seems to hold you by the hand intently, when you pull a switch a dialogue bubble pops up and it would've been just fine had it just been a sound effect, some puzzles that could've been are given away. I really enjoyed the story, it just seems like the voice of Sackboy was pushed pretty far onto the player.

The third wizard seems to be all about a lucky pass through, maybe I just couldn't find a pattern, but I ran up to the dips in the flooring hoping that I wouldn't get hit by the fire, sometimes it did sometimes it didn't, I had no real control over that.

2008-12-16 06:17:00

Author:
MrGlass

Posts: 21

Hey there OCK. I just tried your new level.

As others have said, the look you've given it is really amazing. That rain effect at the start and the support characters that move you about really stand out in my mind. I can still remember what they look like, which shows how great they look.

I have a few comments though...

At the start, it seemed the world tipped for no reason. When I cautiously walked down the game kept threatening to time me out, and just slow walking at the start would throw me into the gas below. I don't know, it took me a while to get it. Perhaps you have a camera zone there that's making it hard after the level tip, that's my guess. Perhaps if you could turn it off on the world tip effect, I'm just guessing here...

The wizards at the start were hard for me to identify as enemies. Initially I just thought I was avoiding obstacles until the 3rd or 4th time I hit an AI brain. You might want to put cutscene speech bubbles on the first few so people can see they are actually fighting monsters.

In the rotating steps section, the fly sound from the deadly gas was quite loud. Maybe it's because the music was too soft or the gas section was too big, increasing the sound effect. But the buzzing just did not work for the atmosphere.

Finally, the passage with the fog that would kill you after the first boss was very hard, and I lost all my lives there. I'm probably more cautious and less skilled a platformer than some people here, but increasing the gap time between those things being projected might make it a bit easier.

But I really loved what I saw. The first boss was very cool and the overall atmosphere was great. I'll come back and try the level again at a later time, even though I could not finish it the first try. That's a sign your on the right track, when a player wants to come back even if they lose all their lives.

2008-12-16 07:07:00

Author:
Elbee23

Posts: 1280

I just had a go on The Legion, and I must say I am really impressed OCK. This level is fantastic, the story, the characters, the theme, every single part of this level is amazing. But, with all great levels, come flaws, and I will name a few, most are minor but one is pretty major unless I did it right.

Pros:

- The theme fit perfectly with the story, the stars that were constantly your "guide." It was fantastic.

- The "Legion" was a very dark and evil bunch, which really fit in well, I liked how they were all basically wizards with different elements to each, it was really amazing.

- The music, it fit in amazingly with your level, it just felt soo I can't really explain it, but somehow felt magical, to be on a star, with the music fitting right in.

- Story, the story was great, you were constantly told what you are here for! You are here to help the Zariel, the guardians of this beatiful star you landed on, and you need to defeat the Legion before they take the magic/power from them. I especially loved how you implemented Sackboy into the story, he was constantly thinking to himself, reminding you, the player, what the Zariel had told you (tips).

Suggestions:

- Ok, I'm going to start off small and gradually move up. Well first things first, the magician that shoots, I'm guessing fireballs? Well, basically the one that shoots fireballs and you are suppose to hide in the small curve basically, I would suggest making that a bit deeper, because I was constantly still being hit by the fireball. Just a lil bit would totally change this, and you don't want the players to be frustrated ALREADY, I mean this level is so long, you want the players to see the whole thing, and if they can't even pass this spot, it's a big turn off.

- Ok, the last Zariel you ride, right after the floor dissolves under you, the first thing he says is "**********************" I'm pretty sure that's not what you wanted him to say, so look closely and find out what it is that is supposedly a "bad word"

- Last suggestion, and this might not even be a con, I'm not really sure if there was a problem but, When you are fighting the final boss, I hit both his legs, opening up the body, instead of going to the right and grabbing those stars, I grabbed his fingernails and basically LIFTED myself to the other switch which means I totally skipped the body and went straight to the head, I'm not sure this is what you wanted but if it doesn't really matter then, well yeah, doesn't really matter lol.

Final Suggestion: Maybe, at the end where the Zariel is giving you an awesome speech about how rain will now poor freely down upon the star, maybe you can have it so as soon as you finish the level and hit the scoreboard, it starts to rain. You know, just to add to the level.

Overall man, this level is probably one of the best levels I have played, and if I were to give it a rank, it would be 9.9/10. This is because I don't believe in a perfect level, you could always add to make it better, and there is always some fine tweaking involved to make a level greater than it is. I really hope this helps you, and encourages you to make more levels.

5 Stars, Hearted the level and you the amazing creator

2008-12-16 08:03:00

Author:
Whalio Cappuccino

Posts: 5250

OK there is a lot of ground to cover so let's get to it.

really liked this level! The design and structure is stunning. Probably the best lighting effects I've come across so far. The characters were all really well made, and I personally love climbing a collossal enemy to defeat them. You can really tell you worked hard on making this level awesome.

Thanks a lot man. Once again I have to give some credit to xbriandeadx who suggested very early in the lvls development to add more lighting.

I ran into a glitch that needs to be fixed. Am I right to assume there is a magic key on the big star on the final Boss' head? because the first time I went through I hit all the floating platforms easily and the big layer at the bottom never showed up, and so when I killed him the star fell straight to the ground and nothing opened no matter what I tried to do.

There is no key on the big star. When you touch his "heart" there is a proximity switch connected to a wall of disolve to the right. I also added a cut scene here to make it more obvious.

I really enjoyed the story, it just seems like the voice of Sackboy was pushed pretty far onto the player.

I understand and appreciate your point of view. It is very difficult to please everybody and when some people say add speech bubbles while others say take them out then I have to ask myself "which might cause more frustration?" and the obvious answer is that if during certain parts there were no speech bubbles then a small percentage of players might get frustrated with not knowing what to do vs if the speech bubbles are there then the player can always skip them if they do not feel like reading through/getting assistance.

As others have said, the look you've given it is really amazing. That rain effect at the start and the support characters that move you about really stand out in my mind. I can still remember what they look like, which shows how great they look.

Thanks for the kind words Elbee

At the start, it seemed the world tipped for no reason. When I cautiously walked down the game kept threatening to time me out, and just slow walking at the start would throw me into the gas below. I don't know, it took me a while to get it.

You are the first to mention this so I don't actually know what you mean. At the very start of the lvl when you reach the edge it triggers some disolve connected to rods holding up the left side of the platform so it collapses and you land on the first Zariel. The natural urge is for the player to run (I have NEVER walked in LBP except where necessary lol) so it could be that if you walked there was not enough momentum to land you on the Zariel. But again, please confirm what this is about because I am a bit confused

Overall man, this level is probably one of the best levels I have played, and if I were to give it a rank, it would be 9.9/10. This is because I don't believe in a perfect level, you could always add to make it better, and there is always some fine tweaking involved to make a level greater than it is. I really hope this helps you, and encourages you to make more levels.

These comments mean the world to me, thank you

There are so many changes I have recently made based on suggestions so instead of quoting each one I have a list of updates with the player's suggestion in brackets:

UPDATE:

- Added cutscene when you enter the wizard section (thank you Elbee, this should have been there from the start)

- I tweaked the walkway of the fire-ball wizard to make it easier to wait in the "grooves" and time your approach to defeat him (thanks to MrGlass and Whaaale for this suggestion. I guess I got so used to the pattern that it was easy for me lol)

- Drastically lowered the position of the gas in the moving stairs section (you were absolutely right about this Elbee, I hopeno one hears that evil buzzing anymore lol).

- I changes the material of the right wing to what it should be for the 3rd Zariel (it was a different material from the main body and left wing)

- Tweaked the Star Gate during the mini-boss battle (right after publishing I playtested and for the very first time I encountered a problem where the bosses left hand attack would damage the gate and make the magnetic key switch placed on it inoperable thus forcing the player to restart. I put the switch on the stone wall where it should have been in the first place).

- Added a checkpoint and tweaked some of the timing of emmitters for the deadly vapour passage (thanks to mrsupercomputer and Elbee. Once again, after all the playtesting I did on my lvl I no longer found this section to be much of a challenge lol)

- Tweaked the swinging from stars section (Thanks Voltiare, hopefully it is less tedious now)

- Rewrote the first speech bubble on the last Zariel ( Thanks for this Whaaaale. When I playtested on My Moon it was working perfectly but changed to all those stars post-publishing for some strange reason. Hopefully it is working now)

- Changed the material of the boss' hand to metal making it impossible to grab and forcing the player to fight the boss/hit the switches in the order I intended. (Thanks to basically everybody who has commented so far regarding the final boss battle. It was not easy to design the flow of that battle and I knew even with playtesting people would still encounter problems).

- Added a cutscene after killing the boss showing the way forward.

- Added rain that falls when you step on to the scorboard! (Thanks a lot Whaaale. I actually intended to do this but did not bother trying when I saw that my thermometer was 96% full. Thankfully I could fit it in!!!)

Thanks once again to all who have played/commented/hearted thus far, it makes me feel like all the hard work was worth it and look forward to more feedback in the coming days.

2008-12-16 09:11:00

Author:
OCK

Posts: 1536

You've done it again OCK, from what I can see by the looks of those snapshots. I will check it out as soon as I can and I'm looking forward doing to that!

2008-12-16 09:28:00

Author:
Laekroth

Posts: 23

I look forward to your thoughts Laekroth

I must admit I am surprised more people havn't commented on your level so I do hope they check it out.

2008-12-16 10:18:00

Author:
OCK

Posts: 1536

Your looking like you are pretty good creating there OCK,

good work xD aww i wanna check this out

2008-12-16 10:21:00

Author:
Thee-Flash

Posts: 3154

I look forward to your thoughts Laekroth

I must admit I am surprised more people havn't commented on your level so I do hope they check it out.

Cheers! Maybe nobody of this community except you likes the concept of my level

It does receive alot of good comments online, it has 5 stars and is hearted by over 40% of the people that have played it, so I wonder why as well... Anyways, I'm really happy with the feedback you gave me as it helped my level improve alot! I will be able to play LBP tomorrow, so I'll check your level then as well!

One question though... I'm curious to how you manage to keep your thermometer so low while you have so many decorations in your level? Any tips?

2008-12-16 12:03:00

Author:
Laekroth

Posts: 23

One question though... I'm curious to how you manage to keep your thermometer so low while you have so many decorations in your level? Any tips?

Lol, my thermometer is NOT low my friend. It is 96% full which leaves me just enough room to change/add things as time goes on. I am actualluy surprised I was able to fit everything I wanted into the level. The imbedding I have done takes up a lot of thermo. If I could offer one tip it would be to use a group of materials as your base "set" which would form the majority of the construction of your level. I think that using too many different materials and mixing and matching them also raises the thermo. Btw, have you had a chance to try the level yet? I would love to know what you think

2008-12-16 12:30:00

Author:
OCK

Posts: 1536

If I could offer one tip it would be to use a group of materials as your base "set" which would form the majority of the construction of your level. I think that using too many different materials and mixing and matching them also raises the thermo.

Now you say it, I noticed that as well. Good tip!

Btw, have you had a chance to try the level yet? I would love to know what you think

I'm affraid not. I only saw this thread this morning when I logged in (at work atm

)

2008-12-16 12:36:00

Author:
Laekroth

Posts: 23

Christ that looks good. Later today i'm going through all these threads to play

2008-12-16 12:43:00

Author:
BasketSnake

Posts: 2391

Hey man thanks. I hope you enjoy it and let me know what you think. You made Mice City right? I played it last night, very fun. I will try to leave feedback on your thread before bed but if not then tomorrow. I will also check out your new Rambo level.

2008-12-16 12:49:00

Author:
OCK

Posts: 1536

Those stars were AMAZING!
And thanks for the updates, they were needed badly

2008-12-16 13:32:00

Author:
oldage

Posts: 2824

I am gald you enjoyed it

2008-12-16 13:48:00

Author:
OCK

Posts: 1536

Hi OCK,

First, i would like thank you for giving us so much pleasure with your levels! Out of Africa as well as The Legion are both outstanding levels in a different way... The Way i prefer?... "The Legion" of Course!

I certainly played this level at least during 45 min this morning. Never boring.
I comment in details:

PROS:

-First of all, i really loved the way you scripted your level. The overall feeling emerging of this is that the level seem alive. Things happen on this star! We must act to help this world! Great writting job!

-You made it man! You made the RAIN that miss in LBP. Hurry, make a copyright, or you'll be rapidly stolen! Incredible. I love a lot when the game editor is not used as it is supposed to! This is your case OCK!

-Custom content: you already know. I do not repeat.

-You did the same thing than in Out of Africa with the name of the level. I loved it in the previous level, and i loved it in this one. It is really cool!
But... you add your OCK mark!!! I have had the idea some time ago and have made some custom stickers "by Takelow" but haven't used them yet. Think i will use them now

-The "star are the way" concept is probably the most original gameplay concept i played on LBP. It is really really ingenious. BRAVO!!!

- Your bosses are INCREDIBLE and BEAUTIFUL. I asked myself how many hours did take the construction of the final boss. And the last fight as long as interesting. Great mechanism, great control of the gameplay. I have a lot to learn from this point of view, and thank you for the exemple.

SUGGESTIONS:

Really minor after the updates ever done.
-There was a minor bug in the section with flatten sponges going up and down. This is the section where you must grab one to go up and grab the next. I died several time crushed between the sponge ands the wall. There is here a little space that allow that. Virtually erase this space may resolve this.

- The last fly. The first text seem moderated. Only stars. I have exactly the same problem in one of my level. What is the word now!

-The last Boss: I already mentioned that he overall fight is great.
But i think you could here add more visual elements that explain the player what to do. I elaborate. I had at a moment the feeling to not perfectly control my act (pushing interupt without knowing what for initially). There is one thing i have alway in mind when i create "puzzles": Never give the key of a problem before the player identified this problem.
I think my egyptian and Color of Sound levels are good exemples of this. You could find visual element that focus attention of the player were there is something to modulate in order to progress. Then, i think the player would find alone the correct switch. I think that with such element this scene could pass from "GREAT" to "HO MY GOOOOOD!!!!".

Oh, i forgot : 5 stars and Hearted!!!

So thank you again OCK for so much pleasure and continue to work on so fabulous levels for us!

2008-12-16 14:04:00

Author:
Takelow

Posts: 1355

I just got done playing it, and I have to say... Wow. It was fun from beginning to end, no doubt about it, but I think the things that caught my attention were the rain effects, the story-telling/dialogue and the whole look of it. Regarding gameplay, it was a little bit too easy for me, since I'm into hardcore platforming and the likes (but hey, you know that already!). And no, that's not a bad thing!

A few things I noticed, however...

The second Zariel would stop moving (a piston I imagine) if I walked over to the far left/right. I imagine this is a Sensor Switch? The solution might be to set it to a wider range.

Also, once it got to its destination, it started moving back to its original position. Is the piston set to On/Off? I think Directional might be a better choice. I was able to jump off just in time, but if it happens to people, they might get stuck waiting for the Zariel to move back, just to move all the way over again. I'm not sure if this applies to all of them, but it just happened on the second one (kind of orange-ish, I think? brown?).

On the first boss (the general?), I was able to go up without the use of the block. I just jumped and landed on the leg. Not sure if you intend to make the block optional or not, but just pointing out that it's possible to go up without it.

That's all I found. Everything else was a-okay, and I wouldn't mind seeing a sort of sequel to it, too. ;] Five stars and Hearted. Awesome work, OCK! This has motivated me to start thinking on what to work on next. Maybe my GEON story, who knows!

2008-12-16 15:49:00

Author:
aer0blue

Posts: 1603

This is my new favorite level.

I am happy you took my advice on lighting, that really gave the level a very "mystic" feel.

You have BEYOND impressed me with this level. The visuals, story, enemies, are VERY well thought out. (I love the backround, very cool designs

)

I've been looking at the comments on this thread about how difficult the level is, but I honestly think that the challenge should remain. Without a good challenge this level might be dulled down a bit. I've played through this level numerous times and I can do it easily. It's a matter of someone actually playing through and understanding how the level operates. ANY challenge takes practice. This is an intriguing factor for a lot of players so keep that in mind.

Btw, what you did with the boss is pure genius. I've never seen a boss battle executed quite like this on LBP.

I strongly encourage anyone who hasn't played this level to go check it out and take the time to play through the whole thing. This level is brilliant and is one of the few out there that is worth 5 stars and a heart.

2008-12-16 21:16:00

Author:
xbriandeadx

Posts: 134

Three things. The last boss where you jump on the spawning platforms were way too hard. At least I think so. I was playing with another dude. We just couldn't reach the friggin top. Two - the text popping up constantly during the level was annoying. Fewer bubbles and most of them kept in the beginning to would be much better. Three - the looks of it all and the presentation is top notch. Okay I can't leave this out so...four - the platforms moved by the pistons going uphill at the end annoyed the h out of me. But the artistic side of it all and most of the gameplay is solid.

2008-12-16 21:56:00

Author:
BasketSnake

Posts: 2391

Man, OCK. You really went ballistic on this one. The rain in the beginning was Godly. The dialogue was great, although one section is edited out with stars for some reason (probably word filter mistaking the interior of a certain word for another). The characters are great, the lighting and artwork are great. The sky dragons, and mysticism, the use of emitters - I loved the parts where you jump in and out of the planes and the part where you grab up through the tunnel of moving planks - very nice platforming.

I would recommend removing the purple smog from behind the spears, because you can jump onto it as an unnecessary hazard - just my opinion though.

...and the parts with the glass slides - I'd say to level off the corners that start out the slide - they catch and slow the player down when the ideal IMO would be to just land and slide.

I have no real complaints about this level and loved every minute of it. Beautiful world, and a satisfying quest.

Because of the type of creator I am, I would only recommend that the disappearing platforms at the boss, and the bosses face feature more complex shapes - if the thermometer allows it that is, and that the first boss have more moving pieces.

...but the boss is epic. Extremely epic. One of my favorites so far behind the Little Big Phantasy dragon.

ugh @ I kept disconnecting while playing, or when people joined all the dialogue bubbles would flash up again. Not your fault though.

btw - I just used the same rapid fire emission effect in my Sands of Time level to create the directional arrows you recommend. I made the changes about an hour before playing this, so please don't feel I ripped you off - but great minds think alike.

2008-12-16 22:15:00

Author:
Unknown User

Hey i defeated the second boss but had to go somewhere , but is there more after that i missed? Anyway this levels standout for me was the clever use of th star platforming, that put a smile on my face. It reallydid feel epic and polished , its good to see that youve applied more advance techniques into this one as it really shows, youve set up really high standards for your next level LOL, I think you should leave the legion alone for now, explore a different theme and make a new level, then make a return and mak a sequel lol

2008-12-16 23:12:00

Author:
Kaplan_T3

Posts: 51

Wow, I wake up and there are is a ton of great comments and feedback waiting for me! Lets's get to it:

Takelow, thank you for all of your comments but particularly this one:

-The "star are the way" concept is probably the most original gameplay concept i played on LBP. It is really really ingenious. BRAVO!!!

This is the part of the level I was most proud of so I am really happy that you were impressed. Now to your suggestions:

-There was a minor bug in the section with flatten sponges going up and down. This is the section where you must grab one to go up and grab the next. I died several time crushed between the sponge ands the wall. There is here a little space that allow that. Virtually erase this space may resolve this.

Once again, I got so used to playing my lvl that this never happened to me.Thanks a lot for this, I will make the change.

The last fly. The first text seem moderated. Only stars. I have exactly the same problem in one of my level. What is the word now!

Lol, I do not know why it keeps moderating this is the sentence: "You saved me! What just happened? How did he do that!?" no bad words right? I guess I need to change it though.

But i think you could here add more visual elements that explain the player what to do. I elaborate. I had at a moment the feeling to not perfectly control my act (pushing interupt without knowing what for initially).

I changed some of the cutscenes here to better indicate where to go next

I really want to thank you for all the feedback. For those who do not know Takelow is French and for him to take the time to write all these comments (in a language that is obviously not his own) not only on my thread but on other threads as well is really saying something.

Aer0, thank you for your kind words. You are one of the creators I admire and respect most so it means a lot.

The second Zariel would stop moving (a piston I imagine) if I walked over to the far left/right. I imagine this is a Sensor Switch? The solution might be to set it to a wider range.
Also, once it got to its destination, it started moving back to its original position. Is the piston set to On/Off? I think Directional might be a better choice. I was able to jump off just in time, but if it happens to people, they might get stuck waiting for the Zariel to move back, just to move all the way over again. I'm not sure if this applies to all of them, but it just happened on the second one (kind of orange-ish, I think? brown?).

Thank you thank you thank you. The Zariels work on prox switches and I will be changing the radius with the next update as well as set the pistons to directional. I am amazed that I did not think about this in the first place, that is why feedback is so important!

I was able to go up without the use of the block. I just jumped and landed on the leg. Not sure if you intend to make the block optional or not, but just pointing out that it's possible to go up without it.

Are you serious!? I tested that a million times and was never able to get on him without the block lol. You truly are a platforming God!!! I will make some changes today, thanks A TON for this.

Thanks again for all the comments Aer0.

xbriandeadx, you have been a supporter of this project from the start. At certain points during development I lost all motivation and it was your willingness to playtest and our great PSN conversations that gave me the push I needed. I owe you one my friend.

I am happy you took my advice on lighting, that really gave the level a very "mystic" feel.

I am happy you gave the advice in the first place. Thanks again!

I've been looking at the comments on this thread about how difficult the level is, but I honestly think that the challenge should remain. Without a good challenge this level might be dulled down a bit. I've played through this level numerous times and I can do it easily. It's a matter of someone actually playing through and understanding how the level operates. ANY challenge takes practice. This is an intriguing factor for a lot of players so keep that in mind.

Here is my dillema: what do I do when half the players are saying too difficult and the other half are saying it's easy lol. I think most people know that I love a challenge and I consdier myslef pretty hardcore in this regard. It is incredibly hard to find the right balance but I don't think I will be making the level any easier from this point on. Thanks for your thoughts on this issue.

Btw, what you did with the boss is pure genius. I've never seen a boss battle executed quite like this on LBP.

Thanks man, that boss alone was about 10 hours work lol.

Basketsnake, thanks for the comments:

Three things. The last boss where you jump on the spawning platforms were way too hard. At least I think so. I was playing with another dude. We just couldn't reach the friggin top.

There is definitely a pattern and that is why I added the speech bubble advising the player to observe. After the checkpoint on the white platfor there is a group of platforms that spawn at the same time but one of these platforms stays PERMANENT. In other words, you get to the now permanent platform, wait for the two above it to re-emit and then go on your way!

Two - the text popping up constantly during the level was annoying

I covered this issue in an earlier post. Bottom line is that if 10 ppl say they like all those text bubbles and 1 says they don't then it is obvious that I should leave them. Still, I appreciate your thoughts on the issue.

Thnaks again for the feedback, I appreciate it.

NinjaMicWZ, thanks for all the feedback:

I would recommend removing the purple smog from behind the spears, because you can jump onto it as an unnecessary hazard - just my opinion though.

This was intentional. I think that line of purple fog in the background adds a bit of visual punch

...and the parts with the glass slides - I'd say to level off the corners that start out the slide - they catch and slow the player down when the ideal IMO would be to just land and slide.

Thanks for this, I will make the change.

Because of the type of creator I am, I would only recommend that the disappearing platforms at the boss, and the bosses face feature more complex shapes - if the thermometer allows it that is, and that the first boss have more moving pieces.

One word: THERMOMETER!

Thanks again for all the feedback and I am very happy you founf the level to be so enjoyable!

Kaplan, thanks for the comments.

Hey i defeated the second boss but had to go somewhere , but is there more after that i missed?

Of course there is more you missed, the most important part, the ending! If your going to play through such a long level AND defeat the boss then please take a couple of minutes to go to the scoreboard and see the ending lol.

I think you should leave the legion alone for now, explore a different theme and make a new level, then make a return and mak a sequel lol

I am definitely leaving it alone for now. I never thought of doing a squel but the idea is intriguing, I already feel a story forming in my mind

Thanks A LOT to all of you once again for playing and taking the time to leave me feedback. I hope more people have a chance to check the level out soon and I will be updating the thread later today after I have made all the reccomended changes.

2008-12-17 00:02:00

Author:
OCK

Posts: 1536

2008-12-17 01:23:00

Author:
Trystian

Posts: 59

The name of this level reminds me of the Pub he used to drink at The Legion

2008-12-17 02:21:00

Author:
Thee-Flash

Posts: 3154

2008-12-17 02:28:00

Author:
Whalio Cappuccino

Posts: 5250

Wow. I think this was a very clever and amazingly stylish level. The way you did the lattice with star "holes" was really great. A few things I think would help improve it:
1) Time the mid-boss' hands to the fire and the magic bolt he shoots. That's a small thing, but I think it would look really excellent.
2) Some of the stairs are a bit too high to easily jump up.
3) In the area where the "stars are key", the vertical bit of black gas is really hard to see.
4) The magic stars for the end boss are hard to time. A visual cue would really help.

Oh. And the rain effect? sweet

Thanks a lot for playing and taking the time to leave comments.

1) The fire attack is already timed (you didn't notice?) the other attack is meant to be a bit more erratic simply to make it a little more of a challenge.

2) This portion of the level was made so that you HAVE TO jump at just the right moment. I added double-life checkpoins both before and mid-way through to compensate.

3) Fixed in the update.

4) I am wroking on it

Yeah, OCK. I forgot to tell you about the first boss, you can get on his legs without the box, but it's not hard at all, because you didn't make the boss all three thick platforms, so all you have to do is you to the last layer, and jump and the auto-switching layer thingy does the rest for you.

Thanks for this. I am still trying to figure out a way to handle it, to be honest my brain is fried lol. I don't want to clutter up the background by adding a block etc so I am open to all suggestions.

UPDATE:

- Changed the proximity switches on the Zariels to directional and widened the radius (thanks aer0!)

- Made the "leap of faith" speech bubble a regular one (took out cutscene)

- Closed the gaps between the moving sponge walls that lead up to the general. It should no longer be possible to get crushed by falling behind them (thanks again Takelow).

- Rounded off the glass "slides" (thanks Ninja)

- Made the first pillar of balck gas during "path of stars" sequence thicker (thanks Trystian)

- Changed the first speech bubble on last Zariel. Hopefully it is not censored now.

Thanks again for all the comments which are slowly helping me polish the level to as close to perfection as possible

2008-12-17 04:21:00

Author:
OCK

Posts: 1536

Thanks a lot for playing and taking the time to leave comments.

1) The fire attack is already timed (you didn't notice?) the other attack is meant to be a bit more erratic simply to make it a little more of a challenge.

2) This portion of the level was made so that you HAVE TO jump at just the right moment. I added double-life checkpoins both before and mid-way through to compensate.

3) Fixed in the update.

4) I am wroking on it

Thanks for this. I am still trying to figure out a way to handle it, to be honest my brain is fried lol. I don't want to clutter up the background by adding a block etc so I am open to all suggestions.

UPDATE:

- Changed the proximity switches on the Zariels to directional and widened the radius (thanks aer0!)

- Made the "leap of faith" speech bubble a regular one (took out cutscene)

- Closed the gaps between the moving sponge walls that lead up to the general. It should no longer be possible to get crushed by falling behind them (thanks again Takelow).

- Rounded off the glass "slides" (thanks Ninja)

- Made the first pillar of balck gas during "path of stars" sequence thicker (thanks Trystian)

- Changed the first speech bubble on last Zariel. Hopefully it is not censored now.

Thanks again for all the comments which are slowly helping me polish the level to as close to perfection as possible

I'm going to play it again, oh and if possible, the raining at the end, make the radius a bit bigger, because people tend to run around when they finish a level, and I tried this, and if you run off the scoreboard, the rain stops... So yeah, small fix unless your thermo is really like 99.9% full. Lol.

2008-12-17 05:45:00

Author:
Whalio Cappuccino

Posts: 5250

Well, I did give it another go. Things seemed to have improved, both in terms of little bugs and in terms of my skill level. I was able to finish the whole level. Thanks for listening to the comments and be willing to do minor tweaks.

Let me see, there were a few more little suggestions...

I did see the infamous ********* speech bubble. I suspect it's not being censored but it might be too far away when it trips. If your using the talking machine, this could be the reason why. If the speech is too far off screen, it comes up as stars.

I noticed there was a word missing in one of the speech bubbles with the second boss. I can't remember exactly which one, but it's early on in the fight.

I didn't trip the falling through just before the second boss at the right timing because I was walking again (yeah, I know, I'm always too cautious). If you increase the dissolve material size it might fix that. It's not a ground breaking thing though, I just thought I would let you know.

If you grab the flying up star at the second boss by jumping up on the little platform and then grabbing them in mid air, you can use the velocity to get past the barricade you have to clear. I didn't know what was going on at the time so I jumped down anyway, but you might want to look into that.

And let me just say it one more time, as others have, the level both in terms of layout and art style is very beautiful and evocative. The music as well works really well in matching the emotions you want to express.

Great job!

2008-12-17 12:32:00

Author:
Elbee23

Posts: 1280

Great level ock u sure do have the wrong job, whatever your doing now

you should be in game design

2008-12-17 19:46:00

Author:
UltraNative

Posts: 59

I loved this level. Extremely well designed and well presented.

The only two super-minor things I noticed that I would change (and I haven't looked through 4 pages of posts to see if they were mentioned, nor have I played today to see if they've already been changed):
One of the texts in the final boss, I believe the one that notifies you of the flying star things that are emitted - I think the sentence was missing a word... a small word that would constitute a typo and is easy to miss when skimming through text... I could be wrong about that, but I figured I'd mention it. I dunno, I should play it again to be sure.

edit: It was "There is something can use to get up", should be "Something you can use."

And when it rains at the end... when you jump up on the ledge of the scoreboard it stops raining. I figure it should keep raining...

Anywho, awesome level, one of the best.
I loved the platforming through the stars and the design of the boss.

2008-12-17 20:58:00

Author:
Grethiwha

Posts: 61

I did see the infamous ********* speech bubble. I suspect it's not being censored but it might be too far away when it trips. If your using the talking machine, this could be the reason why. If the speech is too far off screen, it comes up as stars.

Yeah, I tried fixing this with yetserdays update but it is still doing it. I will fiddle around wih it again today, thanks.

I noticed there was a word missing in one of the speech bubbles with the second boss. I can't remember exactly which one, but it's early on in the fight.

I will have a look.

I didn't trip the falling through just before the second boss at the right timing because I was walking again (yeah, I know, I'm always too cautious). If you increase the dissolve material size it might fix that. It's not a ground breaking thing though, I just thought I would let you know.

Thanks for the heads up, I will make the dissolve a bit bigger here.

If you grab the flying up star at the second boss by jumping up on the little platform and then grabbing them in mid air, you can use the velocity to get past the barricade you have to clear. I didn't know what was going on at the time so I jumped down anyway, but you might want to look into that.

Yeah I went back and kept trying to do what you did and eventually succeeded. I will try to add another barrier today.

Thanks for all your kind words and feedback Elbee, I appreciate it.

Great level ock u sure do have the wrong job, whatever your doing now

you should be in game design

Thanks a lot man. I currently work as an English teacher at a Japanese college lol. And thanks for your PSN msg too, I really appreciate it.

I loved this level. Extremely well designed and well presented.

The only two super-minor things I noticed that I would change (and I haven't looked through 4 pages of posts to see if they were mentioned, nor have I played today to see if they've already been changed):
One of the texts in the final boss, I believe the one that notifies you of the flying star things that are emitted - I think the sentence was missing a word... a small word that would constitute a typo and is easy to miss when skimming through text... I could be wrong about that, but I figured I'd mention it. I dunno, I should play it again to be sure.
edit: It was "There is something can use to get up", should be "Something you can use."
And when it rains at the end... when you jump up on the ledge of the scoreboard it stops raining. I figure it should keep raining...

Anywho, awesome level, one of the best.
I loved the platforming through the stars and the design of the boss.

Thanks a lot for playing and I am happy you enjoyed it. Even the minor things count towards the overall polish so thanks for pointing those things out to me

I will be doing an update later on today, thanks again for all the feedback so far. I actually got a couple of PSN messages yesterday, one saying it was the best user-made level and another saying it is better then anyhing MM has done

I am just happy people are enjoying it and that this community has been so supportive. Thank you everyone!!

2008-12-17 23:49:00

Author:
OCK

Posts: 1536

When I was testing my latest level online I noticed that some of the speech bubbles were coming up censored. When I broke it down, I noticed the phrase "nothing happened" appeared in both of them. I changed that phrase and the censorship stopped.

I noticed your phrase has the word "happened" in it. I have no idea why it could be the one activating a censorship block, I can see no hidden words or meanings in it.

But you might want to try and change this word and then go online and see if it will fix it.

2008-12-18 11:13:00

Author:
Elbee23

Posts: 1280

Quote:
Originally Posted by Elbee23 View Post
When I was testing my latest level online I noticed that some of the speech bubbles were coming up censored. When I broke it down, I noticed the phrase "nothing happened" appeared in both of them. I changed that phrase and the censorship stopped.

I noticed your phrase has the word "happened" in it. I have no idea why it could be the one activating a censorship block, I can see no hidden words or meanings in it.

But you might want to try and change this word and then go online and see if it will fix it.
Elbee I just wanted to let you know if this works then your a genius The sentence is "you saved me. What just happened?" So happened is in there. I will change it now and see what happens and get back to you. Thanks a million. This one sentence has become a source of great frustration lol.

*EDIT*

UPDATE:

- Tweaked the glass slides

- Increased the radius of the rain at the scoreboard (thanks again Whaaaale)

- Added another barrier during the final boss fight. Hopefully it will no longer be possible to bypass these barriers. (thanks again Elbee)

- Changed the first speech bubble on the last Zariel, hopefully working now (thanks again Elbee!)

- Took out an unnecessary camera zones

- Made the "leap of faith" back into a cutscene (I think it's better that way)

- Made some cosmetic changes (won't bore you with the details)

- Fixed some typos

Thanks again for all you have played thus far. Hopefully more people will be able to check it out with the weekend coming up

2008-12-19 00:28:00

Author:
OCK

Posts: 1536

I want a Legion mug and T-shirt.

2008-12-19 00:36:00

Author:
xbriandeadx

Posts: 134

The level is locked I can't get in.

Maybe it was an accident, I've done the same thing, or maybe I missed a post somewhere.

2008-12-19 12:01:00

Author:
Killian

Posts: 2575

OH MY GOD! It was locked!!! No wonder no plays since yesterday. Killian, I owe you. Level is now unlocked

2008-12-19 12:10:00

Author:
OCK

Posts: 1536

OH MY GOD! It was locked!!! No wonder no plays since yesterday. Killian, I owe you. Level is now unlocked

The same thing happened to me. Just a flick of the analogue changed it.

2008-12-19 12:11:00

Author:
Killian

Posts: 2575

Thanks again and I look forward to your thoughts

2008-12-19 12:32:00

Author:
OCK

Posts: 1536

Fantastic level! I love it when creators actually make an effort to capture the environment of their level and you've done a great job. The colours and detail in the level are amazing. I also noticed some nice uses of the "Cow Glitch". The gameplay of the level was also great, especially the star-wall thing and the part with the strips of cloth are moving up an down the slope.

One recommendation would be to add score bubbles that aren't on the direct course of the level to add to the replay value.

Great job. 5/5

2008-12-19 12:43:00

Author:
Killian

Posts: 2575

Thanks a lot Killian, I am actually doing some tweaking as we speak so I will definitely take your point bubble suggestion into serious consideration. I would be curious to know if your working on anyhing but I guess you will just come out with another masterpiece without any warning one of these days

2008-12-19 12:54:00

Author:
OCK

Posts: 1536

i just played it OMG it is actually insane the best online level i have played well done it shall be hearted

2008-12-19 13:01:00

Author:
Little Big Planet Legend

Posts: 79

I've just started a new level set in space.

Now the the holidays are here I won't have too much study to do.

2008-12-19 13:04:00

Author:
Killian

Posts: 2575

i just played it OMG it is actually insane the best online level i have played well done it shall be hearted

Wow man, thank you. If I may make a suggestion it would be to check out all the levels featured in our Community Spotlight. Trust me, you will not be disappointed

I've just started a new level set in space.

I am thinking of doing sci-fi for my next one as well! Oh man, I think with the holidays coming a lot of people will have more time to create and I am positive it will result in some really great levels. What a wonderful time of the year!

I will be doing an update on my levels soon. Thanks once again for all who have played thus far, I appreciate it

2008-12-19 13:09:00

Author:
OCK

Posts: 1536

Played it last night, and was epic. 5 Stars and hearted.

Just saying it was completely awesome.

2008-12-19 13:13:00

Author:
RockSauron

Posts: 10882

Looking forward to playing this. Pics look great!

2008-12-19 13:15:00

Author:
wexfordian

Posts: 1904

If you don't mind me asking, how is your thermometer level on this? Great level btw but I think you can do a lot more with the visuals to make it really epic.

2008-12-19 13:28:00

Author:
gevurah22

Posts: 1476

If you don't mind me asking, how is your thermometer level on this? Great level btw but I think you can do a lot more with the visuals to make it really epic.

Thanks for commenting my thermo is 96% full. Was that a joke about the visuals?

2008-12-19 13:33:00

Author:
OCK

Posts: 1536

Thanks for commenting my thermo is 96% full. Was that a joke about the visuals?

LOL, actually it wasn't. As epic as it is, I really do think you can add more to the visual appeal. There are some areas where it seems kinda barren, kinda like the last boss section and what not. I'm thinking you can make it more fluid versus just having flat ground or even more vibrant.

For example, if you've ever played Colors in the Dark the last section of that stage is something you could incorporate in areas of your stage where you have just flat sections. Using more light sources to add a more ominous feel to the whole legion, etc. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy the star motif and everything, but I really think you could spice it up a bit more. Even glass stars with foggy light sources as terrain pieces would work great.

But that's just my wild imagination talking, so I apologize in advance. Regardless, awesome stage.

2008-12-19 13:42:00

Author:
gevurah22

Posts: 1476

LOL, actually it wasn't. As epic as it is, I really do think you can add more to the visual appeal. There are some areas where it seems kinda barren, kinda like the last boss section and what not. I'm thinking you can make it more fluid versus just having flat ground or even more vibrant.

For example, if you've ever played Colors in the Dark the last section of that stage is something you could incorporate in areas of your stage where you have just flat sections. Using more light sources to add a more ominous feel to the whole legion, etc. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy the star motif and everything, but I really think you could spice it up a bit more. Even glass stars with foggy light sources as terrain pieces would work great.

But that's just my wild imagination talking, so I apologize in advance. Regardless, awesome stage.

Well thanks for the input. Needless to say it is not possible to satisfy everybody

I completed your Armorboy level earlier today so I will repay the courtesy you have show and leave some feedback soon.

2008-12-19 13:45:00

Author:
OCK

Posts: 1536

Well thanks for the input. Needless to say it is not possible to satisfy everybody

I completed your Armorboy level earlier today so I will repay the courtesy you have show and leave some feedback soon.

Haha, I know the feeling but I do really enjoy your stage. I will say I enjoyed the lightning that was emitted. Got me a couple of times there.

BTW, how much did the rain effect take up?

2008-12-19 13:52:00

Author:
gevurah22

Posts: 1476

Haha, I know the feeling but I do really enjoy your stage. I will say I enjoyed the lightning that was emitted. Got me a couple of times there.

BTW, how much did the rain effect take up?

Yeah the lightning wizard is a tricky guy

The rain took up about 10%. In other words, A LOT lol.

2008-12-19 14:01:00

Author:
OCK

Posts: 1536

Well, no rain or snow is going into my next level. xD

Also, I played your level again and wanted to add something else. Those disappearing platforms on the last boss really adds a huge disconnect to the whole "epicness" of it all. It's kinda like... is this really necessary? I understand you wanted to add scale to the final beast, but it really feels out of place and more suited to a Megaman level than some ominous black hole of a final battle.

2008-12-19 14:06:00

Author:
gevurah22

Posts: 1476

Very minor thing, but...
What and why?
Why are we there? and Why do we need to help the Inhabitants of the star?
It's a great level, and you got my heart, but it doesn't make sense in some parts.
And the part where you swing on the cloth stars, the stars tend to get in you'r way, and you just fall and die. That got me a couple of times.

2008-12-19 17:14:00

Author:
DRT99

Posts: 431

^True, but everything requires a suspension of disbelief... we don't really have a why and how for LBP's story levels either, save for the intro movie that describes LBP and it's realm of existance. Even then, the basic concept is "it's just the world of dreams and imagination" which is a huuuuge cop out in serious storytelling. If only we all had our own FMV intros...

I think there has yet to be a great narrative in LBP... Sackboy's Inferno, Timmy's Dream, H.A.T.E., this level etc have the narration and premise but not the motive or the backstory (such as "why" am I dreaming, or "why" did I sign up for the test?), which is something that can't really be covered in the confines of a level. One thing Sackboy's Inferno did was create a very short, but equally detailed prequel episode to parts 1 and 2, called episode zero. That is a great idea, and something I'm going to try and do myself for False Idol's 1 and 2...

2008-12-19 18:08:00

Author:
Unknown User

Hey OCK! Just played through the level. Your creatures and designs are always beautiful and creative man. It was a fun visual experience

That being said though I wasn't blown away by the level unfortunately, and I'll tell you why. Main reason: it felt drawn out. There were long segments that I think would have been more fun if shorter. Let me give an example: The creature that "saves you" once and is always there to bring you from place to place, feels like a bit of a long trip. And there are many places that feel like they take 2 times too long to get through. My second thing that got me a little off-put, was the text. I would recommend you use full phrases in a text bubble then cut to the next for the next phrase even if it means one or 2 more bubbles, as everytime you read, you find yourself stumbling through the text, which inherently means you're not properly following what's being said

And that's a shame because it's an endearing story. Last thing I found was a problem in the same sense as the text was the camera work. It's very glitchy at times, going from one view to a radically different one the next second. Like the text this acts to break up the flow of the story. One thing I particularly enjoyed though was the jumping back and forth between planes in the stars shaped holes and the final boss was fun to scale (and pretty epic)

Anyway I hope you take my critique positively, I wouldn't want to tell you I loved everything about it if it's not true. What I do always like about your levels though is the obvious effort you put in in all the creatures

2008-12-19 23:43:00

Author:
KAPBAM

Posts: 1348

Those disappearing platforms on the last boss really adds a huge disconnect to the whole "epicness" of it all. It's kinda like... is this really necessary?

I am open to suggestions lol. But thanks for this. You are not the first person to mention it so maybe I should revamp that whole section.

Very minor thing, but...
What and why?
Why are we there? and Why do we need to help the Inhabitants of the star?
It's a great level, and you got my heart, but it doesn't make sense in some parts.
And the part where you swing on the cloth stars, the stars tend to get in you'r way, and you just fall and die. That got me a couple of times.

^True, but everything requires a suspension of disbelief... we don't really have a why and how for LBP's story levels either, save for the intro movie that describes LBP and it's realm of existance. Even then, the basic concept is "it's just the world of dreams and imagination" which is a huuuuge cop out in serious storytelling. If only we all had our own FMV intros...

Thanks to DRT for playing and thanks Ninja for pointing this out. I don't think there is any level that provides you with a why lol. Does the Azure Palace give you a why (I only use this example because everyone is familar with this great piece of work)? So yeah, I don't recall playing any levels that game me a motivation. In other words, that minor criticism would apply to every level lol. Still, I appreciate the feedback and thank you for the heart.

That being said though I wasn't blown away by the level unfortunately, and I'll tell you why. Main reason: it felt drawn out. There were long segments that I think would have been more fun if shorter. Let me give an example: The creature that "saves you" once and is always there to bring you from place to place, feels like a bit of a long trip. And there are many places that feel like they take 2 times too long to get through. My second thing that got me a little off-put, was the text. I would recommend you use full phrases in a text bubble then cut to the next for the next phrase even if it means one or 2 more bubbles, as everytime you read, you find yourself stumbling through the text, which inherently means you're not properly following what's being said And that's a shame because it's an endearing story.

Well once again it is impossible to please everybody lol. Most people like the Zariels but maybe I could increase their speed so the break in the action is not that long, thanks for this. Regarding the text, I really have no choice here. I am limited to 8 speech bubbles per "scene" in order for it to function properly so there really is nothing I can do about it. I wish MM would allow infinite speech bubbles. It should be the creators choice of how much thermo they want to allocate to speech so why the limitation? So yeah, I agree but nothing I can do yet. Camera zones, I will do some tweaking today. Thanks for playing though and taking the time to leave all this feedback, I really do appreciate it.

UPDATE

- The first speech bubble on the last Zariel is working. All credit goes to Elbee who told me the offensive word was "happened". Your a genius, thank you!!

- Completely took out the barriers on the body of the final boss and added a cutscene instead. Through further testing I kept being able to bypas the barriers and thought this would be a much more logical solution. I personally thinks it works much better now.

- Made some more cosmetic changes

Tnanks again for all who have played/left feedback. I am still doing some tweaking and look forward to more comments over the weekend.

2008-12-20 00:31:00

Author:
OCK

Posts: 1536

After you reviewed my level i played yours :hero:

I realllyyyy like the overal look of the level.
I also really liked the place where you had to go through the wall with stars 'n stuff (hope you know what i mean)

Some downsides though... (really small ones ^_^)
-the falling green crosses are very unpredictable becaus they fall from really low. (somewhat irritating)
-I really don't want to be rude, but the level seemed a bit unpolished.... (really i like it though

)

2008-12-20 14:55:00

Author:
Yarbone

Posts: 3036

Unpolished??? Huggh...

If "The Legion" is unpolished, which are the polished levels?

I have to say that i REALLY desagree with you for this point!

2008-12-20 15:06:00

Author:
Takelow

Posts: 1355

sorry :blush: i just think it looks a bit unpolished at some points. I'm just trying to provide some feedback :blush:

I beg you don't be angry O_O

2008-12-20 15:24:00

Author:
Yarbone

Posts: 3036

Hey OCK, I finally got around to playing your level (you were number 1 on my priority list since you actually sent me a PSN msg

).

Gotta say it looks pretty good. The rain effect is much better than what I had imagined, kudos for that

. The visuals are also very interesting to look at, I definitely noticed that a lot of attention went into the final boss' design and into the level design in general.

This being said, I unfortunately did not manage to finish the level, even though I beat the final boss. I don't know if I did something wrong, but I was simply stuck with a wall to my left, a wall to my right, a small light and the big star from the boss' crown. The only thing I was able to do was just ride the shooting stars.

Also, I tended to ride on the heads of the Zariels, but stopped after I fell from one when it bumped into its destination. Though, I suppose this is not that major since the checkpoint is right there anyway

.

I will have to side with KAPBAM though in that the speech was cut at odd places. I know how terribly small the speech buffer is, but making shorter phrases could go a long way to making it look and read a lot better, just something to consider.

Great stuff so far, I enjoyed the level even though I did not finish it.

2008-12-20 16:17:00

Author:
Gilgamesh

Posts: 2536

sorry i just think it looks a bit unpolished at some points. I'm just trying to provide some feedback

I beg you don't be angry O_O

Don't get me wrong, your comments and feedbacks are really useful!!!
But i just disagree with you to this point.

2008-12-20 17:43:00

Author:
Takelow

Posts: 1355

OCK, that was a great, great level man. Extremely well polished and the gameplay was phenomenal. The part with the stars "guiding you" was just genious. You used the different planes so well, and I envy you for this

However, I had some problems with the text in some areas. Mainly on the last boss. I wasn't able to read a lot of the prompts because as I was flying through the air on the star, it would come up and disappear once I got out of range.

Also, the disappearing platforms, in my opinion, have to go. It's a great idea part way through a level but it has no place in a boss fight in my opinion. Donkey hit it right on the nose when he said it "took away from the epicness" of the fight. It's not that it was hard to traverse, it just seemed like a filler.

But other than that, it was an amazing level. 5 stars and hearted bud, and I agree with a poster when he said a sequel is needed. Might be difficult to dream up, but I think you really got something here. Bravo

2008-12-20 23:43:00

Author:
Neverynnal

Posts: 374

-I really don't want to be rude, but the level seemed a bit unpolished.... (really i like it though )

First I want to thank you for playing the level and it seems from your other comments that you enjoyed it. But I have to say that this is the only comment I have received that has literally shocked me. Unpolished? Really??? I would really love if you could provide me with examples because I personally feel like this is one of the most polished levels that I have played (and I am not saying that because it's my level, trust me).

Gilgamesh, thanks for playing and the compliments but of course it is the feedback on "problems" encountered that will best help me polish level so here we go:

This being said, I unfortunately did not manage to finish the level, even though I beat the final boss. I don't know if I did something wrong, but I was simply stuck with a wall to my left, a wall to my right, a small light and the big star from the boss' crown. The only thing I was able to do was just ride the shooting stars.

Well, that is strange lol. Clearly everyone else was able to finish it so I don't know why this happened. I have a prox switch placed right under his heart which is connected to a door of dissolve on the far right. When you hit his heart it automatically triggers a cutscene and dissolves the door. It could be that for one in every 50 plays it does not trigger in which case I am open to suggestions as to how to make sure it ALWAYS triggers. Thanks a lot for pointing this out, I would not want others experiencing this and therefore give the level a low rating.

I will have to side with KAPBAM though in that the speech was cut at odd places. I know how terribly small the speech buffer is, but making shorter phrases could go a long way to making it look and read a lot better, just something to consider.

Oh no, the Montrealers are out to get the Torontonian! lol. All jokes aside I agree with both of you but I think I already gave the reasoning in response to Kapbam's post. Here is hoping to bigger speech bubbles

Neverynaal, thanks for the comments and playing (and the heart!). I am glad you particularly enjoyed the "star path", it is the section of the level I am most proud of

Also, the disappearing platforms, in my opinion, have to go. It's a great idea part way through a level but it has no place in a boss fight in my opinion. Donkey hit it right on the nose when he said it "took away from the epicness" of the fight. It's not that it was hard to traverse, it just seemed like a filler.

Well as I wrote in a previous post, I am open to suggestions here. My brain is fried and I can no longer think straight lol.

I agree with a poster when he said a sequel is needed.

A sequel is inevitable but just not right now. I am excited about the MGS pack coming out and want to make full use of the Paintinator in my next level which will probably have a sci-fi theme. Having said that I already have a basis for the story of the next one. Remember that in The Legion you are not fighting the Legion on their own star...

Thanks again for all who have played and commented. There is clearly still tweaking to be done so I will update the post once changes have been made.

2008-12-21 00:40:00

Author:
OCK

Posts: 1536

I already gave you a bunch of feedback, but one thing I liked about the visual style, setting and story... was that it reminded me of games like Final Fantasy II(4) on the SNES, and Dragon Warrior - 16 and 8 bit games, more simpler times of wizards and magic, long before PS1. I kept wanting to go "FALCOOOOOOOR!" when I was riding the dragons too - they also remind me of the dragon from the original Secret of Mana, but they have the look more of a Nessie, Lochness Monster type of anatomy.

Kind of like how you would compare old Jack Kirby and Stan Lee comics to today's comics - there's just this fantastic sense of fun that long, more developed narratives don't have.

Anyway - just lavishing more thoughts.

2008-12-21 01:31:00

Author:
Unknown User

Oh no, the Montrealers are out to get the Torontonian! lol. All jokes aside I agree with both of you but I think I already gave the reasoning in response to Kapbam's post. Here is hoping to bigger speech bubbles

LOL. Go Canadians! xD

Speaking from my own experience though, i know how hard it is to cut down on text, but I really think your level would majorly profit if you did. Our levels are always judged by flow first after all, no matter the content. Often times I end up literally cutting out some text I wanted to put, just to make my sentence fit in the bubble. Sure some stuff gets left out, but that's the art of it right there: finding ways to shorten speech while maintaining quality of story! TV shows do it ALL the time right! (deleted scenes are proof of that!) I garantee you, flow beats out story in terms of how people will react to your level. Give'em a good story that doesn't hinder the flow and you've got yourself the winning recipe :hero:

Seriously man I hope I've convinced you to at least try and tweak the story (text) cause I know it'll make all the difference!

2008-12-21 03:14:00

Author:
KAPBAM

Posts: 1348

First I want to thank you for playing the level and it seems from your other comments that you enjoyed it. But I have to say that this is the only comment I have received that has literally shocked me. Unpolished? Really??? I would really love if you could provide me with examples because I personally feel like this is one of the most polished levels that I have played (and I am not saying that because it's my level, trust me).

I don't really mean unpolished but just small things that could be improved XD
Like... really minor...

2008-12-21 07:23:00

Author:
Yarbone

Posts: 3036

Remember that in The Legion you are not fighting the Legion on their own star...

Oh god, this level is going to be the epic of all epicness. It's like Halo all over again.

2008-12-21 08:33:00

Author:
Whalio Cappuccino

Posts: 5250

Speaking from my own experience though, i know how hard it is to cut down on text, but I really think your level would majorly profit if you did. Our levels are always judged by flow first after all, no matter the content. Often times I end up literally cutting out some text I wanted to put, just to make my sentence fit in the bubble. Sure some stuff gets left out, but that's the art of it right there: finding ways to shorten speech while maintaining quality of story!

Thanks for taking them time to write again regarding this issue, I appreciate it. Regarding how a level is ultimately judged I really think it comes down to the player. There may be some players who judge a level purely on design and don't care for polsih. There may be players who are blown away by a levels visuals and therefore don't really mind the overall flow. The point I am trying to make is that it is pretty much impossible to satisfy everybody and there really isn't anything we creators can do about that. If you look at previous posts, one of the things that people liked most about my level was the narrative. I really did want to create an epic story that I have personally not seen done before in LBP. Having said all that I will definitely try to tweak my speech bubbles so that they all begin and end with a sentence (won't be easy lol). Thanks again KAPBAM. I know you mean well even though as a Montrealer you are my arch rival

I don't really mean unpolished but just small things that could be improved XD
Like... really minor...

Yarbone and I played the level earlier today. When he said "really minor" he really meant it lol. I won't bore everyone with the details

Thanks again Yarbone for taking the time to point things out, I appreciate it.

Oh god, this level is going to be the epic of all epicness. It's like Halo all over again.

Let me just say this. I obviously want the whole level to be amazing but right now all I have in my head is the opening sequence. Now, if I can create the opening sequence that seems to playing in my head ever since I thought about it, it should have EVERY player who plays the level saying HOLY ****

Then again, I might not be able to bring this seqence together so let's just leave it at that for now

UPDATE:

- Increased the movement speed of the Zariels by 50%. Now the interim between playtime and admiring the beautiful creatures seems to be just right! (Thanks KAPBAM!)

- Changed the way the final door is dissolved during the boss battle. I now have a magnetic key on one of his stars that activates a magnetic switch upon defeating the boss, thus dissolving the door (star falls from the boss upon defeat triggering the switch). It is now officially IMPOSSIBLE to NOT dissolve the door and therefore finish the level (a very big thanks to Gilgamesh)

- Changed the material of the terrain in a couple of sections to add some variety. I think it looks better now

- Tweaked some cam zones

- Made some cosmetic changes

I am still thinking about how to redo the floating platforms section during the boss fight. I will also be adding more point bubbles with the next update as Killian suggested. Thanks once again to all who have played and keep the feedback coming!!!

Oh, and sorry aer0 but I got the number 1 score back

2008-12-21 10:01:00

Author:
OCK

Posts: 1536

, must have been lucky

2008-12-21 17:37:00

Author:
TheFrostE

Posts: 25

2008-12-21 20:58:00

Author:
UmJammerSully

Posts: 1097

hey man, was pretty cool, i didn't get to finish it the first time through due to the key glitch i mentioned in the mail but i did today and its cool. rain effect was awsome, im actually working on the same kind of concept, except with snow, for the level im working on now. camera angles in this level did it for me, makes it look "Big and Bold". wizard spells were cool too, i made it by the electric things in the first part my first time , must have been lucky

Thanks for playing and I am glad you enjoyed it. I fixed the key glitch, thanks for pointing it out. Regarding the snow effect on your next level, depending on the density/velocity of your snow be prepared to allocate roughly 10% of your thermo, just a friendly warning

Got round to playing it today. Rather enjoyable level. Definetly 10/10 for originality and visually it was pretty **** impressive. The rain effect is probably the most effective I've seen in the game but it 'caused a lot of lag for my compadre. Pretty imaginative and a hefty level too, which is rare.

Thanks for your kind words, I appreciate it. Regarding lag, it can happy with 2 players but not always. I originally had "intended for single player" in my level description but some guy wrote me a message saying his two kids cleared it together no problem and I should change that lol (cool dad).

My main issue with the level is the boss. It was so... Lifeless. It could have just been any old structure. Considering how epic the setting was and that the stage was set so well, I was kind of disappointed. It felt like less of a boss and more of a chore if I'm being honest. The scale of it was pretty sweet though so I'll give you credit there.

Well once again, it is impossible to satisfy everybody lol. Having said that I appreciate what you are saying. I guess the boss could have more moving elements/hazards and I am still thinking about a way to revamp the platforms section. Overall though I think it is a pretty epic battle with a strong visual punch. Keep in mind my thermo is now about 98% full and every time I "pause" and add the smallest element I get the overheat message so I really don't have too much room to change things

I think you've come far in the short gap between Out of Africa and this one. Hearted level and I'd daresay you yourself have earnt a precious heart too.

I will interpret the Out of Africa comment as: "I did not really like OOA but I think this is great" lol. But yes, I feel the same way and I think it applies to all creators. You learn so much with each level you make so each successive level should be "better" then the last. If you really did give the level a heart then I thank you kindly. I know you are tough to impress so it means a lot

I will be doing another update later today. Thanks once again for all the comments/plays/hearts

2008-12-22 08:08:00

Author:
OCK

Posts: 1536

and every time I "pause" and add the smallest element I get the overheat message so I really don't have too much room to change things

I know very well this situation. It is REALLY REALLY REALLY irritating...
It become very difficult to make changes...and take long long time...

2008-12-22 09:11:00

Author:
Takelow

Posts: 1355

I know very well this situation. It is REALLY REALLY REALLY irritating...
It become very difficult to make changes...and take long long time...

That's nothing. The PS3 freezes when I press rewind with my thermometer past 99%. :hero:

2008-12-22 13:47:00

Author:
gevurah22

Posts: 1476

I know very well this situation. It is REALLY REALLY REALLY irritating...
It become very difficult to make changes...and take long long time...

Yes very irritating lol.

That's nothing. The PS3 freezes when I press rewind with my thermometer past 99%

I am feeling a little better now

UPDATE

- I decided to go a little bit bananas today with the lighting in the level. I have added new lighting elements to virtually every single part of the level, both spotlights and LED's. Needless to say the level looked great before but now it really pops. Thanks again to xbriandeadx for suggesting more lighting from the very start of the project as well as donkeyshow who thought it could use more after playing the published version

- I fixed a glitch that made it possible to grab the key during the mid-boss fight without killing him. (thanks TheFrostE)

- Extended the length of the slide during the swinging stars segment. I personally found this section neddlessly frustrating at times and now it is much less tedious.

- Added more point bubbles (thanks Killian)

- Fixed some typos

- Did some cosmetic changes

Thanks once again for all the feedback/plays/hearts, I appreciate it

2008-12-22 13:57:00

Author:
OCK

Posts: 1536

Well OCK I finally got to play Legion last night, first by myself (didn't finish it) then 2 player with your good self and I had a blast. 5 Star, instant Heart. This really has upped the anti from OOA which was a great story, but didn't (for me) have the EPIC feel that Legion does (a number of things contribute to that, scale, variety of game play , the visuals and also the fantasy theme).

Now for some more feedback. I'm hoping to play again tonight by myself, as I think since you were helping me complete the adventure some of the finer details were lost on me.

The opening was EPIC, the rain affect was excellent and the story opening was solid. My only niggle was that the opening Zariel seemed very bland (just plan glass compared to the later ones that transport you around the level). Now this lead to me being awestuck when I first got onto a fancy one, but it then had me thinking why the first one wasn't fancy at all. But a minor nitpick. It goes without saying that is beautiful, polished and visually very appealing it really shows how much time and effort you've put in to produce a unique and wondrous environment to stage your story.

A few highlights - I loved travelling on the Zariels (I did fall off a few times with it withdrawing from the platform faster then I expected).

I really enjoyed the sponge / stairway / moving ladder to get up the crevasse it was fun.

I also loved your bad guys, they fitted well to the theme, loved their evil laugh, and enjoy beating them .

Found the evil gas tunnel frustrating as I couldn't get past it myself, there seemed like one where the timing was just very tight and it kept getting me.

The Stars guiding you, it probably the best use of the moving plans, and really well executed.

I enjoyed the boss battle, great sense of scale, I did get killed a few times trying to get inside him through the wrong route, I guess it wasn't clear to me that at first I was using the wrong entrance.

I do tend to agree with donkeyshow and others that though the disappearing platforms felt out of place and broke up the flow of the boss fight a little. And to a smaller extend the suggest that the boss could be a bit more lethal.

One of my favourite bits was the OCK carved, it looked great and was a nice touch, I'd have liked a secret bubble hidden down there, but doesn't really fit the theme / story.

Overall I really enjoyed it, and will be playing through again multiple times, and recommending it to my mates. Looking forward to your next project OCK, you never cease to bring something new and interesting to the table.

2008-12-23 00:02:00

Author:
ALpha_7

Posts: 20

It was a pleasure playing this with you yesterday and I am glad you enjoyed it. I thank you for all the compliments but I will focus on some of the things that came be improved upon.

My only niggle was that the opening Zariel seemed very bland

Do you mean the one in glass or the first flesh and blood Zariel? If the one in glass the I completely agree and have plans to redesign. If the first physical Zariel then I don't know what to say lol. I chose the snow pattern sponge and I personally like it.

A few highlights - I loved travelling on the Zariels (I did fall off a few times with it withdrawing from the platform faster then I expected).

Fixed in the update! Thanks for pointing it out

Found the evil gas tunnel frustrating as I couldn't get past it myself, there seemed like one where the timing was just very tight and it kept getting me.

I have tweaked this section twice already. The first time to make the emmitters a bit more forgiving. The second time to add a double-life checkpoint mid-way through. It can be a bit challenging but that is how I intended it to be. I personally love a great challenge and some of the more hardcore friends on these forums actually said they found the level easy (I am looking at you aer0 lol). So there needs to be a balance between accessibility and challenge. I think right now it is the perfect ballance

With a bit of practice this section is easily aced.

I enjoyed the boss battle, great sense of scale, I did get killed a few times trying to get inside him through the wrong route, I guess it wasn't clear to me that at first I was using the wrong entrance.

There is a speech bubble warning the player not to go that way. I guess with the both of us jumping around it got lost in the chaos lol.

I do tend to agree with donkeyshow and others that though the disappearing platforms felt out of place and broke up the flow of the boss fight a little. And to a smaller extend the suggest that the boss could be a bit more lethal.

I agree with everyone on this issue lol. I just havn't figured out how best to change things up, especially with the thermo at 98%.

One of my favourite bits was the OCK carved, it looked great and was a nice touch, I'd have liked a secret bubble hidden down there, but doesn't really fit the theme / story.

lol, thanks. It was a last minute thing that depended on whether my thermo would allow it (obviously it did). I also added my logo to the end of Out of Africa

Overall I really enjoyed it, and will be playing through again multiple times, and recommending it to my mates. Looking forward to your next project OCK, you never cease to bring something new and interesting to the table.

Hey man, I really appreciate this, thank you. I am glad you enjoy my creations and I can tell you that the work on my next level has already begun!

2008-12-23 14:18:00

Author:
OCK

Posts: 1536

Wondering, how did you do the lightning?

2008-12-24 20:58:00

Author:
Searif

Posts: 10

Wondering, how did you do the lightning?

It looks to be an object with one of the shinier materials with the electrocution hazard emitted with a short lifetime.

2008-12-24 21:56:00

Author:
gevurah22

Posts: 1476

Wondering, how did you do the lightning?

It looks to be an object with one of the shinier materials with the electrocution hazard emitted with a short lifetime.

First I would like to thank Searif for playing although I would have appreciated some more thoughts. Was the lightining the only thing you liked? lol (don't take me to seriously here).

Before explaining how I did the lightning I would also like to thank Donkey show for taking the time to try and provide the answer to a question that was addressed to me on my thread.....

The material is tin foil with an electrocution hazard (so far so good Donkeyshow). The next part is where my special creation tactics kick in lol. I have a tiny piece of single layer dark matter attached to the back of the lightning so it "floats" in the air. The secret is out, have fun using it with your own creations

Btw, where in Ontario are you from? I am a Torontonian myself

2008-12-25 00:24:00

Author:
OCK

Posts: 1536

I was able to play this level last night and I found it very creative. As already mentioned, the lightning was VERY nice and so was the rain effect, great skills there. Also loved the different ?lethal skills? you have to pass through.

The only gripe I had (if you can call it that) was the speed of the Zariels, after running/jumping almost non-stop, their speed could be a little faster (but that?s just me) as I sat there waiting for them to take me to the other side, I started to hum the ?final jeopardy? theme?

Anyway, nice job again, Out of Africa was cool but this takes the cake!

2008-12-30 16:50:00

Author:
Morri

Posts: 53

As everyone can see I will be taking part in the F4F system. I usually give a ton of feedback to creators so I hope this system will work as intended and create a sort of "level playing field", especially for a lot of those threads that have been ignored. As of right now I am willing to do 5 F4F's for any new feedback that is given. I will be taking the initiatize as always though and checking out a lot of the other forum levels first

2009-01-01 02:21:00

Author:
OCK

Posts: 1536

Oh man...new feedback eh hahaha

You got 7 pages of it!

The level has to be perfect by now at least

(pretty much was to begin with)

And no this doesn't count as feedback

2009-01-01 02:23:00

Author:
Neverynnal

Posts: 374

not actually a part of F4F, since I have no levels, so you could technically become an F4F abuser.
lol?
Really, really well made. BUT....
at the final boss, one of the platforms on the left(after you pull the swich) tends to squish you in mid air if you stand to the far left and jump.
(I think it's the farthest one down on the left) Nothing major, but, if youre a perfectionist like me.............

2009-01-01 03:12:00

Author:
DRT99

Posts: 431

Oh man...new feedback eh hahaha

You got 7 pages of it! The level has to be perfect by now at least (pretty much was to begin with)

And no this doesn't count as feedback

LOL. Look, a level can always be made better

But yeah, it's probably hard to get any new feedback at this point. I still appreciate if people check it out though and let me know if they liked it etc, I do the same for other creators regardless of how much feedback has been left

2009-01-01 14:06:00

Author:
OCK

Posts: 1536

2009-01-02 06:46:00

Author:
gameguy888

Posts: 159

Thanks a lot for checking out my levels Morri, I appreciate it.

No problem, if one level is good, chances are (and in this case it is), the next one will be even better!

The Zariels are meant to be a break from the action and I actually increased their speed by 50% some time ago lol. Still, thanks for the feedback, I may make them a bit faster

I see, can't argue with that, it is your creation!

2009-01-02 18:30:00

Author:
Morri

Posts: 53

The speed on the Zariel's seem fine to me... or at least on the ones with a lot of dialogue.

What a great level. An epic story from beginning to end with plenty of magical foes. I'm particularly fond of the art design OCK. I, myself, am a big fan of stars and you used them so well in this level. It was ingenious hiding the platforms the way you did so that you find yourself weaving in and out of the tapestry stars. I had difficulty with those platforms the first time I played through it though dying on the last one because I kept over jumping it or trying to jump left or right not realizing I just needed to go down. So I finally get to the boss and beat him pretty quickly, grab the key and head towards the door and the end...BUT there's no scoreboard and that wasn't the boss! This baby's still going!

I finally did manage to get to the BOSS and whoa he was big. I can only imagine how it was working on him. I loved the part about grabbing the star and flying up to his upper half. I wish somehow there could have been more of that. It was a great level with awesome art direction. The attention to detail was extraordinary and I can tell you spent TONS of time on it. My only con is that I didn't think the shiny metal platforms felt right in the boss fight. That material shines bright white in a dark environment with lights right next to it and would be perfect if your level was considerably darker but I don't think it fits right now. Loved it 5/H!

2009-01-03 07:13:00

Author:
Jaeyden

Posts: 564

Not sure how much has been mentioned yet (I've only skimmed this thread since it appears quite long :x), but here goes:

During that part near the beginning with the wizard things, I fell down from the top and had to climb back up again (not your fault, just me making a mistake >.>). Anyway, I noticed those spike things were spawning still even though the wizard that was supposedly making them was dead by this point. It's no big deal since not many people would even notice, but it seems kinda odd.

Other than that, I had no real issues with this level. I found it quite fun. The way you changed angles with the text was a nice way of keeping all of that text more interesting. The rain looks cool too. All in all, very nice job!

Thanks for playing and leaving me some thoughts on my thread, I appreciate it.

I am happy you pointed out the spikes. I had forgotten to place the prox switch on the wizard and extend the radius so that the spikes cease to fall after he is defeated. Needless to say I will be implementing the change soon, thanks for the reminder

Thanks for your kind words. I am happy the rain impressed because it takes up 10% of my thermometer lol. Because the level is so text heavy (unfortunately not everyone appreciates a great story) I think mixing up the cam angles definitely helps keep things lively.

What a great level. An epic story from beginning to end with plenty of magical foes. I'm particularly fond of the art design OCK. I, myself, am a big fan of stars and you used them so well in this level. It was ingenious hiding the platforms the way you did so that you find yourself weaving in and out of the tapestry stars.

Thanks a lot for this man, I appreciate. The whole "path of stars" is the section I am most proud of and I know how much you love stars (Everyone should check out Jaeyden's Stardust levels to see what I mean) so your comments are especially significant lol.

I finally did manage to get to the BOSS and whoa he was big. I can only imagine how it was working on him. I loved the part about grabbing the star and flying up to his upper half. I wish somehow there could have been more of that.

Wow, thanks man. The boss took 10+ hours so I am glad you enjoyed fighting him. Using the star to ascend his body was just something that spontaneously came to me while creating that whole segment. I am glad you liked it and I actually think I may be able to implement more of it

My only con is that I didn't think the shiny metal platforms felt right in the boss fight. That material shines bright white in a dark environment with lights right next to it and would be perfect if your level was considerably darker but I don't think it fits right now.

You are not the first person to mention this and you are absolutely right. I have been thinking of ways to change things up but I now think that I will create another segment where you need to grab onto stars to go higher, I think that would be a lot more fun so thanks for pointing out that you particularly liked that aspect of the battle.

Thanks a lot for the heart and all your kind words. You are an amazing creator so it really does mean a lot. After I am done with 218 I plan on going back to The Legion and Out of Africa and give them some TLC through adding things, tweaking and further polishing what is already there. Thanks again, I really do appreciate it.

2009-01-04 00:54:00

Author:
OCK

Posts: 1536

Wow sounds like you made some pretty cool changes, I can't wait to see the new lighting and everything.

2009-01-05 01:37:00

Author:
Hexagohn

Posts: 335

It was a pleasure playing this with you yesterday and I am glad you enjoyed it. I thank you for all the compliments but I will focus on some of the things that came be improved upon.

Do you mean the one in glass or the first flesh and blood Zariel? If the one in glass the I completely agree and have plans to redesign. If the first physical Zariel then I don't know what to say lol. I chose the snow pattern sponge and I personally like it.

Hey OCK, sorry been away from the forums and from LBP playing my other xmas presents, so I had missed your questions.

Edit: I also have found the gas tunnel to be easier in further play throughs

I meant the one in glass, the flesh and blood ones are awesome.

2009-01-06 22:55:00

Author:
ALpha_7

Posts: 20

Hi OCK,

WOW and ARG !!!

I will try to explain why my feelings are torn between admiration and frustration:

First, I want to tell you that I'm impressed by your narrative sense. Upon introduction, where the rain is very realistic, it's for me the first time in LBP that I feel like I'm playing Zelda ! It's a great compliment for me ! The epic and mysterious atmosphere that resides in this level is well prepared and the script is well written and extremely well illustrated. Congrats for all your custom elements !!!

Where I'm frustrated about is first the redundancy of the appearances of our flying companion. These appearances serve intelligently the story but for me, the way it make these apparitons are repetitive and linear. It misses relief. For example, why not to hang on to the legs of the bird to change and increase the epic aspect of this level?
In fact, it my major point. I find the too linear action. Maybe it is because shots are wide and because it dilutes the action ? On the other hand, I had no this feeling when I played "Out of africa". This level is for me more precarious and as a result, more epic.

Anyway, I remain impressed by this level which is really excellent!

Thank you OCK !!!

ZaNy

2009-01-07 09:06:00

Author:
ZaNy

Posts: 12

Hi OCK,

+ That raining effect is really nice!
+ Very nice visuals, from the begining to the end, everything fits together extremely well.
+ This is a beautifully written story.
+ The boss was very cool to beat.

- I agree that the part where you fly from one part to another gets a little repetitive after a while.
- Maybe it's just me, but I don't like to see things appearing from nowhere, like the spikes or the big sword. That's the only things I have to say that are not positive.

I would like that the first page of the cool levels to be filled with levels like this instead of all the crap that's been there since the beta...

+ Again : Awesome level. One of the best I played. 5 stars/hearted.

2009-01-07 15:56:00

Author:
JackBurton25

Posts: 116

Hey OCK. I played your level and this are my thoughts

+Nice rain effect
+Cool enemys
+Cool boss
+Great design

-Didn't really like the things that brought you from one place to the other (what was their name)
-Platforming at the end was annoying (that's just my opinion)

Well I liked the stage and left you a 4 star rating

2009-01-07 17:26:00

Author:
blizzard_cool

Posts: 752

Hey OCK, sorry been away from the forums and from LBP playing my other xmas presents, so I had missed your questions.

Edit: I also have found the gas tunnel to be easier in further play throughs

I meant the one in glass, the flesh and blood ones are awesome.

No problem man, thanks for clarifying and I will be changing it soon.

First, I want to tell you that I'm impressed by your narrative sense. Upon introduction, where the rain is very realistic, it's for me the first time in LBP that I feel like I'm playing Zelda ! It's a great compliment for me ! The epic and mysterious atmosphere that resides in this level is well prepared and the script is well written and extremely well illustrated. Congrats for all your custom elements !!!

Thanks for this. Although Zelda did not influence me in any way I am a Zelda fan so I take that as a compliment.

Where I'm frustrated about is first the redundancy of the appearances of our flying companion. These appearances serve intelligently the story but for me, the way it make these apparitons are repetitive and linear. It misses relief.

- I agree that the part where you fly from one part to another gets a little repetitive after a while.

-Didn't really like the things that brought you from one place to the other (what was their name)

Wow. It's like the new forum members banded together to hate on my Zarierls lol (just kidding). It seems like half the people like them, half don't. Unfortunately it is impossible to please everybody. I personally like them and they play the main role in the plot. Without them, the story would not make sense. It is also one fo the few NPC's I have seen that actually serve a function (in this case as a story-telling device AND a form of transportation). But thanks for your thoughts on this guys, it's good to have some different perspective.

+ That raining effect is really nice!
+ Very nice visuals, from the begining to the end, everything fits together extremely well.
+ This is a beautifully written story.
+ The boss was very cool to beat.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

- Maybe it's just me, but I don't like to see things appearing from nowhere, like the spikes or the big sword. That's the only things I have to say that are not positive.

LOL, you are fighting WIZARDS! Take a look a any videogame or movie. When it comes to magic spells then the caster usually conjures it out of thin air either from their staff/an incantation/hand gesture etc. In other words, it is the ONLY way that makes sense within the context of the characters/story.

I would like that the first page of the cool levels to be filled with levels like this instead of all the crap that's been there since the beta...

Tell me about it. There are so many levels that deserve to be on the front page, many from these very forums. It is a bit frustrating after putting so much work into something and not getting the exposure you believe it deserves. Still, I am greatful to all those who have played and the support I have had from these forums.

+ Again : Awesome level. One of the best I played. 5 stars/hearted.

Thanks a lot, I appreciate it

+Nice rain effect
+Cool enemys
+Cool boss
+Great design

Thanks a lot, these seem to be the things people like most.

-Platforming at the end was annoying (that's just my opinion)

I am currently changing the set-up there and will update soon.

Well I liked the stage and left you a 4 star rating

I am glad you liked it and I appreciate your honesty in mentioning that you only gave it a 4 star rating. Having said that the question begs to be asked: what constitutes a 5 star rating? There are so many levels out there that deserve 5 stars but someone comes along and gives it a 1 star rating which brings it down to 4 stars so the psychological reaction of the people playing it is to also give it 4 stars. If that is truly what you believe it deserves then I really can't argue with that. However, with so many crappy levels still getting mass exposure we should be trying our best to support those levels that are of the highest quality and move them higher up the different search "lists".

Thanks again for all who have played/commented/hearted, I really do appreciate it. I will be doing an update soon

2009-01-08 02:11:00

Author:
OCK

Posts: 1536

I am glad you liked it and I appreciate your honesty in mentioning that you only gave it a 4 star rating. Having said that the question begs to be asked: what constitutes a 5 star rating? There are so many levels out there that deserve 5 stars but someone comes along and gives it a 1 star rating which brings it down to 4 stars so the psychological reaction of the people playing it is to also give it 4 stars. If that is truly what you believe it deserves then I really can't argue with that. However, with so many crappy levels still getting mass exposure we should be trying our best to support those levels that are of the highest quality and move them higher up the different search "lists".

We should start a whole thread dedicated to this discussion OCK.

2009-01-08 03:55:00

Author:
Jaeyden

Posts: 564

We should start a whole thread dedicated to this discussion OCK.

Let's do it!

2009-01-08 12:48:00

Author:
blizzard_cool

Posts: 752

Already done

2009-01-08 12:50:00

Author:
Unknown User

Already done

where? where?

2009-01-08 12:51:00

Author:
blizzard_cool

Posts: 752

https://lbpcentral.lbp-hub.com/index.php?t=t=7236

2009-01-08 12:55:00

Author:
Unknown User

ye OCK, after some people pointed it out I came to think that you could have made the Zarierls a bit better( i dont mean looks wise). I like how youve implemented an NPC into a story by making it help you and not just stand there like a statue. But I had this little idea that would have been pretty epic. ( This is probably asking too much for ' The Legion' so maybe you could integrate it into a sequel lol). Instead of just hopping onto a Zarierls back everytime, you could mixit up so you grab his claws as well. A little scene would be like this:

Your running away from an enemy chasing you and you come to a halt on a ciffside. Then a Zarierl comes in the last minute saying 'grab onto my legs!'. You grab on dangling and below you theres an epic war going on and thats all I could think of improving the Zarierl sequences. Still top notch mate.

2009-01-09 15:55:00

Author:
Kaplan_T3

Posts: 51

Just finished playing your level The Legion. One word. Wow.

I had seen this level on the forums before, but decided not to read anything said about it, I didn't want to ruin any experience I might have by having some one elses opinion niggling away at me. I'm grateful I did because the whole experience was awsome from start to finish and I had no idea what to expect (other than colourful stars I saw in the screen shot).

I'll admit right from the start I was a little aprehensive of where this level was going, it just felt a little barren, but as I got more involved in the dialog and general atmoshpere of the place I became in the world I think you had meant people to be in. Couple that with the awsome music and I was nearly jumping out of my window trying to hang on to the closest star I could see (OK that's a lie, it's cloudy, but you get the picture).

There's only a few gripes I have with some stuff, mainly the boss'. Although there are moving parts, they still seem a little to imobile, especially the first one. I think what does it is that they stationary on the floor, maybe if they we moving (just slightly) left or right it would give a greater effect. Nothing against the actual stratedgy behind killing them it was great. I especially like the help you get, felt like some one was throwing you a life line when I see that little sponge cube with a star on it appear, and especially in the last boss, shooting up on those stars is great! That's probably my favourite bit. It all worked so perfectly.
One other thing I guess is not really an issue, probably more my stupidity is the corridors where things just appear. I didn't feel I had enough time to react to a few things, like the gas after the first boss.

Other than that a beautifully put together level, awsome dialog, good platforming and strangely I find the music to be the best thing. I love good music in games and although you didnt make it yourself it was put together perfectly.

5*

2009-01-09 19:40:00

Author:
Tomoso

Posts: 33

Thanks for all the feedback Tomoso and I am glad you enjoyed the level. I understand your thoughts regarding the bosses but at the end of the day I do have 2 full fledged boss battles that are very different from eachother so I think everybody is getting their money's worth lol. Also, my thermo is at 99% so not much I can do anymore

One other thing I guess is not really an issue, probably more my stupidity is the corridors where things just appear. I didn't feel I had enough time to react to a few things, like the gas after the first boss.

There is a speech bubble warning the player here, maybe you missed it? The gas follows a pattrn so with timed sprints and careful obeservation it's actually quite easy to pass that corridor

UPDATE

- I completely revamped the way you scale the final boss to defeat him. I got rid of all those tedious shining platforms an added more stars to grab onto that fly up toward the boss. I would again like to thank Jaeyden for pointing out that he particulalrly liked this aspect of the boss battle. After reading his comments a light bulb went off in my head and I finally had the solution on how to perfect the flow of the battle. I can honestly say the battle feels 10X better now and the pace is kept real quick with the stars so none of the "epic" feel is lost with those somewhat frustrating platforms.

Thanks again to all who have played/commented/hearted, I appreciate it

Oh and I finally ACED it so it is possible

2009-01-13 00:16:00

Author:
OCK

Posts: 1536

I just played through this again today, OCK... it's been awhile and it was nice to come back to it. It's such an escapist fantasy, that it takes away all the troubles of the day - quite an accomplishment, and I forgot how great a level this is. The scope and scale of everything is still immense, and I'd swear that it's somehow prettier than before. I'm much more fond of the boss now, and I think it's because I was playing solo, and becayse of the changes you mind. I kind of miss the reward and thrill of defeat that the disappearing platforms gave the fight, but the stars are much more fluid and tasteful - it just fits better and keeps everything moving at a swift pace now.

There is no other level like this, it's still 5 stars, if I could heart it twice, I would.

2009-01-13 02:23:00

Author:
Unknown User

I am glad you enjoyed playing it again and thank you for taking the time to go back and experience some of the changes I made. As for it looking prettier I don't think you played since I added a ton of new lighting lol. All the additions I made with the lighting really make the level pop. Thanks again and I hope more people have a chance to check this out if they haven't done so already.

2009-01-13 02:34:00

Author:
OCK

Posts: 1536

Im going to play it in a second

Btw, my first post here, so hi!

2009-01-13 17:36:00

Author:
FatalScene

Posts: 7

Hi Fatal! Welcome to the forums

2009-01-13 17:42:00

Author:
Unknown User

Also have played this ^^"

And I might say its quite a gem

LBP really needs more story levels xD

2009-01-13 17:48:00

Author:
Senrir

Posts: 126

i cant wait to play it looks awsome

2009-01-13 18:13:00

Author:
Dan_Westy

Posts: 41

I played it and it's.... amazing.
My mum was watching and even she loved it

I love how you've made it into a story/quest, the dialogue was brilliant.

2009-01-14 17:33:00

Author:
FatalScene

Posts: 7

I'm sorry this is so overdue but I got around to it eventually.

The level was simply put great. It was original, artistic, a little challenging and best of all, fun. I see a pattern appearing in your levels with the mini boss marking the half way point and a final boss at the very end of the stage to draw it to a close. Most of what I would say has already been said so if there is one thing I could suggest, it would be to use a few more effects. I know the thermometer probably came into play here and stopped you from implementing this kind of thing but there were certain parts where the lighting or other effects would make you feel "wow" then others where they seemed to be lacking or absent. But that is really the only thing I could think of so you musut be doing it right. Congratulations.

2009-01-15 06:52:00

Author:
Tomo009

Posts: 274

WOW OCK!!
Comments and suggest again and again for your level !! It is, of course, well deserves but, please, tell me how do you do???

2009-01-15 08:40:00

Author:
Takelow

Posts: 1355

Also have played this ^^"

And I might say its quite a gem

LBP really needs more story levels xD

Thank you for your kind words. I also agree that we need more story levels and I actually played and hearted both of your levels but have not had the time to comment yet. I will do so soon.

i cant wait to play it looks awsome

I hope you enjoy it

I played it and it's.... amazing.
My mum was watching and even she loved it
I love how you've made it into a story/quest, the dialogue was brilliant.

Thanks for playing and I am happy both you and your mum enjoyed it! I appreciate that you particularly liked the dialogue since I really put a lot of work into that aspect.

I'm sorry this is so overdue but I got around to it eventually.

The level was simply put great. It was original, artistic, a little challenging and best of all, fun. I see a pattern appearing in your levels with the mini boss marking the half way point and a final boss at the very end of the stage to draw it to a close. Most of what I would say has already been said so if there is one thing I could suggest, it would be to use a few more effects. I know the thermometer probably came into play here and stopped you from implementing this kind of thing but there were certain parts where the lighting or other effects would make you feel "wow" then others where they seemed to be lacking or absent. But that is really the only thing I could think of so you musut be doing it right. Congratulations.

Thanks for taking the time to comment, better late then never as they say

My thermo is at 99% but I do agree there are 1-2 areas that could use more light. If the thermo allows then I will definitely implement it. I think having at least 2 bosses will become a regular thing in my levels. Why not give the player their money's worth? lol. Thanks for checking it out!

WOW OCK!!
Comments and suggest again and again for your level !! It is, of course, well deserves but, please, tell me how do you do???

I wish I could tell you lol. I try to leave comments for as many people as possible so I guess what go's around (usually) comes around. Having said that I wish more people took the time to check out levels like yours or NinjaMicWZ's for example because they deserve a lot more attention and some more feedback from these forums. Btw, I am getting very anxious for your next project, hurry up and publish already!

2009-01-15 09:24:00

Author:
OCK

Posts: 1536

I've added your video in. This is the first level that's taken me over 10 minutes to video, meaning I had to break it up into two pieces. I very nearly had to break it up into three pieces lol.

2009-01-19 06:39:00

Author:
BassDeluxe

Posts: 984

2009-01-19 09:03:00

Author:
Teebonesy

Posts: 1937

I've added your video in. This is the first level that's taken me over 10 minutes to video, meaning I had to break it up into two pieces. I very nearly had to break it up into three pieces lol.

Thanks a lot for the vid, I appreciate it

Aaaah, I knew Ock was a familiar name. I played this the other day, I think you left a comment on The Movies or something, and I checked your work out. It was great, I love a really fantastic original level. Custom content, really unique look, epic scale. I know I got hung up on some areas, but I think I left a comment on your level in that regard. I sure hope I did at least, because I don't remember what I got stuck on! I'm sure in 5 pages of this thread, it's probably been mentioned.

That is exactly right. I left you some comments on The Movies and you repayed the courtesy by checking out my level and leaving even more comments lol (I wish every creator was a courteous as you). I will be leaving some comments on The Movies later tonight (I will be playing it again), thanks for leaving a couple of thoughts on my thread.

2009-01-19 09:08:00

Author:
OCK

Posts: 1536

Great level!

The good stuff:
- Aesthetically speaking, this level was very pretty to look at. I loved how it was ethereal, pure fantasy. From the lighting to the colors, it was a visual feast.
- The level design was very well done. Loved the uphill sloping portions where you have to face off against the various wizards. Loved the swiveling stairs. Really, the action never stops in this level. And the bosses! It was cool how the bosses were part puzzle, part platforming action, and not your typical "kill it until it explodes and it's dead" boss.
- Amazing and unique creature designs. The Zariels are as pretty as they are ethereal. And again, the bosses were exceptionally cool! That last boss has got to be the biggest creature I've seen in LBP to date!!
- The story! You really put a lot of thought into it. I enjoyed your writing, your characters, and the villains. Lately a lot of story-driven levels have been coming out. This is one of the best ones.

This is a really fun level. Definitely recommended. 5 stars and a heart.

I'll be waiting for your next project!

2009-01-27 08:03:00

Author:
mostevilmilo

Posts: 131

I'll be waiting for your next project!

Wow man, thanks for all the praise, I appreciate it. The last boss is indeed pretty big and come to think of it, it probably is the biggest boss/single object I have seen in LBP lol. Took me over 10 hours just for that guy but I think it was worth it.

As for my next project is should be ready in a couple of days. Once again I am trying to bring a lot of original ideas to the table and I am doing my best to make it bigger, bolder and better then both my previous levels

Thanks again to everyone who has played/commented/hearted, I appreciate it.

2009-01-27 08:13:00

Author:
OCK

Posts: 1536

As for my next project is should be ready in a couple of days. Once again I am trying to bring a lot of original ideas to the table and I am doing my best to make it bigger, bolder and better then both my previous levels

Awesome. I'm gonna do an overnight-Black Friday shopper style campout and be first inline lol

2009-01-27 08:18:00

Author:
Unknown User

Awesome. I'm gonna do an overnight-Black Friday shopper style campout and be first inline lol

lol, your too funny man. Truth be told you will probably be one of the first to know since I will msg you on PSN when I publish

2009-01-27 08:20:00

Author:
OCK

Posts: 1536

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