Archive: 35 posts

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Hey everyone, I've got another challenging level to test your LittleBigTalent! This one is a silhouette-style level based on the gameplay and art style found in the popular indie title LIMBO. Fans of that game will be right at home, but newcomers will enjoy it as well. There are quite a few puzzles and platforming elements that will challenge and hopefully impress. http://i.imgur.com/ZXPwL.png If you bring friends along, they'll have to ride shotgun, as this is a one-player-only level. It's quite long, so they may not appreciate that! I hope you have fun, and wish me luck, as this is my LBPC4 contest entry! Cheers! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPfR93BqOd8 Pictures! http://i.imgur.com/DLIeR.png http://i.imgur.com/rHLcW.png http://i.imgur.com/Bhstv.png http://i.imgur.com/V9S4a.png http://i.imgur.com/MEAUZ.png http://i.imgur.com/UTtNT.png http://i.imgur.com/dFFKK.png http://lbp.me/v/52y95r

2011-09-04 20:33:00 Author: comphermc Posts: 5338

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Looks like it'll be fun, I'll search it up when I get on tomorrow. You know, did you ever play any of Bloo_Boy's levels before he took them down? He made a load quite similar to this though his look to be a tad more complex (not that that's a good or bad thing). In any case, there are a lot of these types of levels popping up... not sure how I feel about that. Also, 1 like and 2 hearts? You're heart-ing your own levels! Cheeky

2011-09-04 21:35:00 Author: JonnysToyRobot Posts: 324

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Yeah it seems a lot of limbo inspired levels popping up these days. Watched the trailer and the pics look nice. I'm just amazed someone already has their level for this contest built, tested and published only a few days after it was announced.

2011-09-04 21:44:00 Author: shookie99 Posts: 447

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I love silhouette-style levels~ When I first played Limbo it reminded me of many LBP levels i've played before. So I don't think it's a bad thing to have a lot of LIMBO type levels in LBP, when LBP already had many of that type way before LIMBO was ever out or made~ I'll play this nice looking level sometime soon~ *mew

2011-09-04 21:47:00 Author: Lord-Dreamerz Posts: 4261

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I've been seeing a lot of silhouette levels lately, as well. That being said, I still love playing them since the atmosphere is amazing. When they make a LIMBO Shark/Bomb/Spider Survival level, THEN I'll say that I'm sick of them.* But, I digress. Knowing your levels, especially since you labeled it as "Very Hard", I'm prepared to die. A lot. And die some more. Although, that makes me wonder. What happens when a Sackthing dies while they're dead? *DISCLAIMER: I in no way approve of such a level being built. Anyone who reads this, please, do NOT take this idea literally. Just don't. For everyone's sake.

2011-09-04 22:02:00 Author: Mysteltain Posts: 59

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*DISCLAIMER: I in no way approve of such a level being built. Anyone who reads this, please, do NOT take this idea literally. Just don't. For everyone's sake. Too late. xD

2011-09-04 22:04:00 Author: JonnysToyRobot Posts: 324

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I reviewed it in-game but i reached the max number of words: Another outstanding work by compher. The sounds are excellent, the black-and-white visuals are perfect and scary. This masterpiece also features really toughtful puzzles with a lot of variety. From the dense forests, decrepit towns to abandoned factories the quiet ambient noises that slowly fade into and out of existance gave me the lonely character feeling. The obstacles are laid out in a logical manner, so you may have an idea of what to expect. Surviving one obstacle after another is what pushes you on! The death often springs from unexpected places and that's what makes it challenging. I truly love how you made a really realistic death abandoned environment. Comphermc you must be proud!

2011-09-04 22:24:00 Author: Sport_dude Posts: 622

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Also, 1 like and 2 hearts? You're heart-ing your own levels! Cheeky Nope. (http://lbp.me/u/comphermc/hearted_levels) Thanks for the assumption, though. :| I'm just amazed someone already has their level for this contest built, tested and published only a few days after it was announced. From the rules: Q: Can I enter a previously published level? A: No. Q: Can I enter a level I already have on my moon, but hasn't yet been published? A: Yes. Q: Once I've published my entry, can I republish it? A: You can republish it as many times before the deadline as you like, but not after the deadline. [...] Just really nice timing and luck is all.

2011-09-04 22:45:00 Author: comphermc Posts: 5338

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Nope. (http://lbp.me/u/comphermc/hearted_levels) Thanks for the assumption, though. :| Any time <3

2011-09-04 22:56:00 Author: JonnysToyRobot Posts: 324

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This looks interesting! ..but who is that goofy sackperson in the pics!?!?! Geeesh!

2011-09-04 23:03:00 Author: jwwphotos Posts: 11383

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Well, just finished two playthroughs of it, and wow! Yeah, I think this was the best recreation of the Limbo silhouette effect I've seen yet! I don't think I need to harp on and on about how great the level design is or anything, heck, I don't think I'll do any justice by describing how much I liked it. I guess I'll just keep it short and sweet: total, unadulterated awesomeness. Another amazing piece of work from you. Oh yeah, just how many secrets are there? I found four of them so far...

2011-09-04 23:07:00 Author: Mysteltain Posts: 59

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Oh yeah, just how many secrets are there? I found four of them so far... I decided before I published that I wouldn't say. You'll know when you've found them all, though. Good luck. You're going to need it!

2011-09-05 00:43:00 Author: comphermc Posts: 5338

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Im interested just because I beat limbo before qued

2011-09-05 02:06:00 Author: WESFUN Posts: 1336

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Looks awesome! Just wanted to check one thing before giving it a go though... It's not exactly like LIMBO is it? I mean, in terms of obstacles etc. See, I only recently got LIMBO, and am about 1/2 - 3/4 through the game, so I don't want anything spoilt for me in LBP. Otherwise, I'd love to give it a go! Cheers! =)

2011-09-05 02:11:00 Author: standby250 Posts: 1113

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Looks awesome! Just wanted to check one thing before giving it a go though... It's not exactly like LIMBO is it? I mean, in terms of obstacles etc. See, I only recently got LIMBO, and am about 1/2 - 3/4 through the game, so I don't want anything spoilt for me in LBP. Otherwise, I'd love to give it a go! No, it's not exactly like it. Some puzzles are similar, but there is quite a bit of difference.

2011-09-05 06:43:00 Author: comphermc Posts: 5338

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just was now looking at your video of the level... oh my... that was a awesome idea on how to make a sack climb a ladder... Wish MM would have gave us a tool like that to use for real... how'd you make it look so real in that spot? is it really just movers and record sackbot animations? hmm guess that's not to hard to do... but his hands lines up with the bars on the ladder really well... was that hard to do? *mew

2011-09-05 13:45:00 Author: Lord-Dreamerz Posts: 4261

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queued it up, love your work and style of levels and judging from the title of "[Very Hard]" looks like I'll have to meditate for an hour before playing this one. Nearly came to blows with my PS3 over Roller Inc. 2 [Very Hard]

2011-09-05 13:56:00 Author: biorogue Posts: 8424

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Well, played thru yesterday and you sure know how to create comph (as if there were any doubt!) Every detail, meticulous and made with a passion. From the pacing of a scene, to your respawn sequence - executed to perfection. This games engine and create mode are wonderfully powerful and the Mark of a great creator is knowing it's ins and outs so well that when you put something out there you can deliver a fun experience that delights and inspires, while maintaining complete control. Something else I'd give you praise for is the fact that levels of a certain difficulty (which your no stranger to making) generally don't do as well and yet your plays/hearts like:dislike are all soaring Also to add my to my in-game review, as space is so limited. I wanted to bring up the lighting, I'm not sure if it's just me or if it was intended to be so, but there were a couple of parts I literally was playing in the dark. I understand secrets and perhaps the odd spot without much danger and just dragging a box out from somewhere could be done in the dark, but I'll give you an example - the area where boxes are being dropped in from a machine onto a conveyor belt, pushed left and quickly hacked by the spinning blade, to get past that bit there was an obstacle that I 100% couldn't see what I was doing, only from blinding jumping to the right did I realise it was the way to go and then from some deaths figured out what the obstacle was, completely couldn't see it tho! Maybe that is the design :s My TV likes to take control of such settings when it detects consoles over HDMI and its usually no prob, but you cut this so fine that I can't actually tell if you are meant to be able to see a vague outline or if indeed what I described above is exactly as it's meant to be. *EDIT* OKAY..... So I figured I'd revisit and go ahead and fiddle with some settings... Manual settings, glare detection: off, HDMI black levels: high, black adjust: off, dynamic contrast: low And without needing to touch contrast, brightness, gamma or backlight settings I can see a lot more!!! Actually feels like cheating compared to y'day! /wantsamedalforcompletingthisincrazyblacksettings *EDIT2* Actually I want to say thank you Comph! Since turning off the automated game profile on the TV and playing around with the settings, LBP looks crazy awesome! Motion plus gives the illusion things are moving faster, it's kinda trippy almost o.O .... Wonder what racing sims will feel like now....!

2011-09-05 13:57:00 Author: Masseyf Posts: 226

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Okay, you good for some unnecessarily harsh-ish feedback? I didn't like it too much. Pros: Good character animations, some nice puzzles. Cons: Unoriginal, some points far too easy and the harder parts felt cheap (when you have to slide on a box over the electric slide the box rarely reaches the bottom when you jump up onto the ledge (did on my 7th try) or just tips up when you stay on the side). Also for a "very hard" level it should be more brutal (though not in a cheap way) - there's a lot of time spent walking around in complete and utter safety, which isn't tense at all (I assume that's one of the things you're going for looking at the Limbo comparison). i.e. where my bear traps at? But yeh... that is harsh feedback but I guessed you'd be wanting some in case you were looking for ways to improve it (:

2011-09-05 15:14:00 Author: JonnysToyRobot Posts: 324

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Once Upon A Time There was A Brilliant Creator Named comphermc...his Levels Were So Good He Made Everyone Cry When they Realised How Epic they were Oh Wait A Minute....He Still Does! As Always :star::star::star::star::star: And Obviously A <3 Sheesh, Comph Can you Stop Making Us All feel Bad And Make A Rubbish Level For Once I kid, I kid....Keep Up the Good Work

2011-09-05 15:39:00 Author: butter-kicker Posts: 1061

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Pretty cool. Made me realize that my tv is too dark, cause I had a hard time seeing, but after watching the trailer, it seems to be fine. Anyway, really impressive design. And really neat to see you step into something a bit more abstract. Great work again.

2011-09-05 16:16:00 Author: CYMBOL Posts: 1230

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[Very Hard] Pfft. It was insanely easy. Please reserve difficulty hints like "Very Hard" for the Roller Inc. series. Thanks! I guess you were right when you said Limbo would be fairly straightforward to recreate on LBP, although I wasn't actually expecting you to do it. A few comments follow:- I did notice a few puzzles which were virtually a direct rip-off from the original, but I was pleased to see a couple of more original puzzles. I was particularly impressed by the ladder-climbing mechanics, plus the way it tied into the prolog/epilog was quite neat. On the negative side, I think the keyword is "unforgiving". The key difference (IMO) between this level and Limbo was that in Limbo, once you know how to solve all the puzzles, it's actually a very simple game to play, whereas with this level I found it was still rather difficult even when the solutions are known. For example, some of the timings left very little margin for error, and given that some of the gameplay mechanics are a little unreliable (most notably the platform edge-hanging/jumping), it becomes more "frustrating" than "challenging" in places, which is a bit of a shame. Would it not have been possible/better to have the Sackbot automatically grab onto platform edges like in the original? There's a few other minor tweaks I'd like to suggest (like a couple of camzone changes), but it might be easier to show you in OC than try to describe in text. Still, overall, it was a darn good level. + <3 Not sure why you're entering this in the LBPC contest - you already have a crown, and given you're a filthy Planetarium splitter, I'm not sure you're eligible for an LBPC Contest pin. Oh, and I'm expecting a decent recreation of Braid for your next level. Good luck.

2011-09-05 21:48:00 Author: Aya042 Posts: 2870

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Hey, thanks for the feedback, everyone. I suppose I didn't realize going in that others might not be able to see as well in the dark sections. If you watch the trailer, you can see that the gray sections can be dark, but don't really blend in terribly with black (assuming your TV has sufficient gamma differentiation). I don't plan to change it, as when it gets too light, it really loses the effect I was going for. Apologies if it made it that much more difficult for you. I realize that some parts have some pretty tight platforming. Yep. I am of the belief that most levels are too easy, and I want to add something for those looking for a bit more challenge. I personally didn't find it too frustrating, but I understand that there's a learning curve. I don't feel bad for killing you with infinite respawns, for what it's worth! Aya - I originally had it grabbing automatically, but I ran into all sorts of other issues (think what happens if you try to drop off a ledge that would be able to be climbed up). As for entering - I must have all the pins!!! (this one doesn't have a crown) It was just really funny coincidence that the theme of the contest matched up so well with what I was already working on. Also, the puzzles that were "straight copies" were some of my favorites. I wanted to share those with people who never have any intention of playing LIMBO. Hopefully the original ones made up for it... hopefully.

2011-09-06 02:48:00 Author: comphermc Posts: 5338

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Looking good comph, like everthing of yours Sorry your trip got delayed to Europe, I knew you wanted to go and all...But it was nice(the level) and I hope you enjoy yourself when you do get to go to Europe!

2011-09-06 03:02:00 Author: zzmorg82 Posts: 948

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Tbh, the flag [VERY HARD] is overkill for this, in fact only roller Inc 1 deserves that level of warning But I guess no harm covering your ***, people are quick enough to hate anyway, safer to ward off those who just want to grab a rocket, get thrown thru the level and land in 10,000 score bubbles... Oh that sounds like fun to you? Hmmm, can't remember the name of the level, oh well, just have to play one of the other 4 million clones of said level

2011-09-06 03:06:00 Author: Masseyf Posts: 226

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Oh, I forgot to answer an above question: How do ladders work? Basically I am using an advanced mover to isolate movement to one direction. I just use a sequencer for the arms and upward movement - no acting involved. As for lining up the arms with the railings, that was just tweaking the speed of the advanced mover to fit the rung separation. As long as he "attaches" to the ladder in a decent place, it should roughly line up. Since I have the time, I'll probably do a tutorial on both that and ledge climbing. They are pretty straightforward, so it should be pretty easy.

2011-09-06 03:17:00 Author: comphermc Posts: 5338

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. Awesome... I always wanted ladders In LBP. but making it by hand sounded to hard in my head and i've never up until now seen anyone do it very well. so i've never took the time to try for myself~ *mew

2011-09-06 04:19:00 Author: Lord-Dreamerz Posts: 4261

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I personally didn't find it too frustrating, but I understand that there's a learning curve. Sure, but you've no doubt playtested the level many times, so it's nigh-impossible for you to envisage the level thru the eyes of someone who's playing it for the first time. Penalizing the player because of their own stupidity is fair enough, but doing it because it takes quite a long time to adapt to the nuances of the control system seems a little unfair. To be more specific:- First of all, there's something that feels a bit off about the Sackbot in general, as if it walks slower than a normal Sackperson, or possibly there's some input lag, and when falling down from a grab (e.g. in the rotating section where you have to land on the box) the left/right control feels different than a typical level, making it quite tricky to successfully land on box rather than the electrified floor. What you ultimately end up with is a variation of one of the 'challenges' from LBP1's "Fire Pits" level, i.e. "can you successfully land on a skinny platform?", combined with the challenge of adapting to the control variations enforced by the Sackbot's logic, which, to me, is not much fun. Secondly, in the section with the moving platform, towards the end where you have to hang from the platform to avoid the circular saw blade, about 75% of the time when I pressed X to remount the platform, the bot didn't quite move far enough to the right to make it back onto the platform, and fell to its death. The reason I say "frustrating" is that the last respawn point is quite a long way back, so I had to redo that section several times. Thirdly, in section with the platform which you can control its vertical position with a switch, and you have to jump as the platform is ascending in order to make it onto the (much higher) platform above, it feels like you cheated there, and rather than rely solely on LBP's built-in physics, you used some sort of timer such that the Sackbot does a sort of 'super jump' only if you jump at exactly the right time. Problem is, I didn't make it after the first few tries and the jump height was so much lower than the platform, I figured maybe it wasn't possible, and I was supposed to do something else, perhaps involving jumping an grabbing onto the chain hanging just to the right. Perhaps it's worth removing that chain so it's more obvious that timing the jump up is the way to proceed, or have a lesser 'super jump' if the timing is slightly off, so it's more apparent that the jump is actually possible. Finally, I found about 10% of the time, the Sackbot doesn't successfully grab edges of platforms and/or doesn't make the jump onto the platform as per my second point above (which is not much, but enough to be irritating), so if that's not something you can fix, then I'd suggest trying to avoid penalizing player when it does occur, in terms of not having a fatal section below, nor forcing then to replay too much of the level to get back to where they were. I originally had it grabbing automatically, but I ran into all sorts of other issues (think what happens if you try to drop off a ledge that would be able to be climbed up). Yeah. I s'pose LBP is unlike most other platformers in the sense that a Sackperson doesn't have a 'static direction', i.e. it doesn't face left or right when standing still. Would it be possible to take the left/right output from left stick of the main controlinator, feed that into a direction splitter, then feed those outputs into a two-port selector, which could then be used to infer which direction the Sackbot is 'facing', which in turn could be used to determine whether or not the Sackbot should attempt to grab the edge of a platform or not? As for entering - I must have all the pins!!! Fair enough. Good luck getting the "Employee of Media Molecule" pin. Also, the puzzles that were "straight copies" were some of my favorites. I wanted to share those with people who never have any intention of playing LIMBO. Sure. That wasn't a criticism per se, just an observation. There's definately much more in this level for people who haven't played Limbo before - even those puzzles which weren't straight copies are much easier to figure out if you've played Limbo. The biggest difference is that in Limbo, in sections where you invert the gravity for objects only, you can't grab onto a box, and use it to get you to the ceiling, so it was nice to see you exploited that mechanic in-game.

2011-09-06 18:20:00 Author: Aya042 Posts: 2870

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First of all, there's something that feels a bit off about the Sackbot in general, as if it walks slower than a normal Sackperson, [...] Yeah, he walks at about 80% speed. This was done intentionally. It was to increase the tension in the timed sections and allow players to analyze the surroundings more easily. Again, learning curve. I am okay with the fact that it doesn't feel exactly like LBP; I've gotten quite a few comments lauding the fact that it feels like another game. [...] or possibly there's some input lag, and when falling down from a grab (e.g. in the rotating section where you have to land on the box) the left/right control feels different than a typical level, making it quite tricky to successfully land on box rather than the electrified floor. That section is admittedly weird, only because the pivot point of whole room is not where you might expect. I had to do it that way so that it could rotate while still being flush with the electrified floor prior to spinning. On the floor under where you have to land on the box is where the pivot is located... Funky yes, but if you wait until the box pauses (comes to rest), you can easily swing over it, THEN drop straight down. Secondly, in the section with the moving platform, towards the end where you have to hang from the platform to avoid the circular saw blade, about 75% of the time when I pressed X to remount the platform, the bot didn't quite move far enough to the right to make it back onto the platform, and fell to its death. The reason I say "frustrating" is that the last respawn point is quite a long way back, so I had to redo that section several times. Yes, this was a concern. I'm not entirely happy with the climb mechanic. I've found that if you press the stick in the same direction as you want the bot climb, he doesn't fall. I could have disabled player controls, I s'pose. (That's exactly what I did in the tutorial on ledge-climbing that I'm uploading now.) Thirdly, in section with the platform which you can control its vertical position with a switch, and you have to jump as the platform is ascending in order to make it onto the (much higher) platform above, it feels like you cheated there, and rather than rely solely on LBP's built-in physics, you used some sort of timer such that the Sackbot does a sort of 'super jump' only if you jump at exactly the right time. Problem is, I didn't make it after the first few tries and the jump height was so much lower than the platform, I figured maybe it wasn't possible, and I was supposed to do something else, perhaps involving jumping an grabbing onto the chain hanging just to the right. Perhaps it's worth removing that chain so it's more obvious that timing the jump up is the way to proceed, or have a lesser 'super jump' if the timing is slightly off, so it's more apparent that the jump is actually possible. No tricks, just LBP2 oddness. As with all LBP obstacles of this sort, you need to jump BEFORE it reaches the top. For whatever reason, this was less forgiving than what I'm used to. Finally, I found about 10% of the time, the Sackbot doesn't successfully grab edges of platforms and/or doesn't make the jump onto the platform as per my second point above (which is not much, but enough to be irritating), so if that's not something you can fix, then I'd suggest trying to avoid penalizing player when it does occur, in terms of not having a fatal section below, nor forcing then to replay too much of the level to get back to where they were. Not sure why he's not grabbing. It's a 1 x 1 small grid block of grabby. Again, the success of climb is helped if you press the stick in the direction you want to climb. I think I came up with a better system, but that's a hell of a lot of ledges to swap out (if I even had the desire to do it now!) Yeah. I s'pose LBP is unlike most other platformers in the sense that a Sackperson doesn't have a 'static direction', i.e. it doesn't face left or right when standing still. Would it be possible to take the left/right output from left stick of the main controlinator, feed that into a direction splitter, then feed those outputs into a two-port selector, which could then be used to infer which direction the Sackbot is 'facing', which in turn could be used to determine whether or not the Sackbot should attempt to grab the edge of a platform or not? That's actually the method I used for which direction his head points (which carries through respawns even), but didn't think about doing it for grabs. Interesting. Fair enough. Good luck getting the "Employee of Media Molecule" pin. One day... (Not if my fiancee has any say!) The biggest difference is that in Limbo, in sections where you invert the gravity for objects only, you can't grab onto a box, and use it to get you to the ceiling, so it was nice to see you exploited that mechanic in-game. Yeah, there are a few earlier puzzles that can be more simply solved by this. Also, at least one secret depends on it!

2011-09-06 20:54:00 Author: comphermc Posts: 5338

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I finally bought Limbo a couple of days ago after this (how wonderful is that game!), can't give you a bigger compliment than that really. I've played another Limbo level that was great too, that one was more about ambience, this is much more about the mechanics. That corner grab is probably the only sackbot ability I've played that really feels like it should have been there in the basic move set all along, so much that I missed it when I went back into create, so great job on that.

2011-09-07 22:31:00 Author: julesyjules Posts: 1156

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Thankes, Jules. Well, if you want the ledge-grab for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqxL7YDO4R4

2011-09-07 22:38:00 Author: comphermc Posts: 5338

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Now that's what I called an epic silhouette level. VISUALS: The silhouette level design looks fantastic. Also, the slow motion cinematic at the beginning is well made. SOUND: The sound effects are well put in this level. GAMEPLAY: The controls of a sackboy are excellent thanks to the jump off the corner command and the L1 button that changes certain obstacles depending on the machine you're standing next to. The puzzles are outstanding and quite challenging. One problem I encountered is that after I turned the area upside down and I solved the magnet part, I tried to climb the ladder after it went up, but I couldn't climb it. However, when I respawned near that ladder, I'm able to climb it. Just like your insanely difficult level, Roller inc. 2, this one took me an hour to finish. OVERALL: It's an challenging level with clever puzzles and outstanding visuals. A yay, heart, and positive review.

2011-09-08 17:18:00 Author: JustinArt Posts: 1314

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Looks so awesome! I love your challenging levels.

2011-09-19 12:21:00 Author: himoks Posts: 734

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Looks freakin' sexy I'm queueing. Why? Because this looks BOSS.

2011-09-24 18:26:00 Author: 49er Nation Posts: 429

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Incredible work! Felt as though I was playing an add on for Limbo!

2011-10-04 23:30:00 Author: MrTran Posts: 216

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