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Spooky Forest

Archive: 17 posts

Finally, "Spooky Forest" is published.

I've created that level together with my girlfriend in a few weeks.
We hope, you'll enjoy plain' it.


PSN-ID: Siro_one
Level-Name: Spooky Forest

Sacky walking happily through a forest, enjoying the bright light glittering in the treetops. While moving on, he noticed, that the spirits of the forest became more and more moody when he reached an old castle. Sacky got closer and at the same time, he realised, that it got darker and eerily silent... (for the Moment...).


Unfortunately, we had to take out a lot of things (deco, enemies (even a bossfight in the castle), mechanics - and many more) because of the level-size limit :-/

We had created such more stuff - it hurts to pull all that away :-(
I hope, that the light-control feature (contained in the next content-patch) comes out soon, so i can rework the level with the new feature.



Thanks to everyone playing "Spooky Forest". Hope you enjoy the level.
And don't forget, to give me feedback

http://www.angelsofdestiny.de/download/LBP/LBP_SF_01.jpg http://www.angelsofdestiny.de/download/LBP/LBP_SF_02.jpg
http://www.angelsofdestiny.de/download/LBP/LBP_SF_03.jpg http://www.angelsofdestiny.de/download/LBP/LBP_SF_04.jpg
http://www.angelsofdestiny.de/download/LBP/LBP_SF_05.jpg http://www.angelsofdestiny.de/download/LBP/LBP_SF_06.jpg
http://www.angelsofdestiny.de/download/LBP/LBP_SF_07.jpg http://www.angelsofdestiny.de/download/LBP/LBP_SF_08.jpg
http://www.angelsofdestiny.de/download/LBP/LBP_SF_09.jpg

(no screenshots of the spooky-part of the level - find it out for yourself) ;-)		2009-03-26 19:37:00

Author:
Siro
Posts: 11

I actually didn't mean to click on this thread, but the level looked too good too miss, so I had to give it a go
It is a very good level overall, but I had a few very minor complaints.

Pros:
+Lighting - it is just amazing.
+Lightening - first time I've seen lightening in a level, and I think it worked very well
+The gameplay/platforming - Very good stuff, fun to play aswell (except from some parts, but that is just preference)

Cons:
-Occasionally there was nothing to do in an area, and I was just running
-The spiders in the cave - just set the winch to directional IMO, because it is annoying having to wait for them to come down

Still, rated 4 stars easily 		2009-03-26 19:56:00

Author:
Coxy224
Posts: 2645

Hi Coxy, thanks for the fast review :-)

yep - you're right. But as I wrote above - unfortunately I had to take out a lot of things in the level - partially re-create whole areas and make it a bit more sterile.
It hurt - but the level-size limit forced me to do this

Spiders:
patience and virtue? (kiddin&apos
the time you'll have to wait for the spiders is'n tooo long (1-2 sek?)
it just simulates the crawling of the beasts :-)
But i think about that - thanks a lot!		2009-03-26 20:07:00

Author:
Siro
Posts: 11

pictures look cool - I will play tonight and post comments for you.

I haven't forgotten about you - just haven't had a chance to play. I'm getting there. 		2009-03-26 20:09:00

Author:
Morgana25
Posts: 5983

Played your level. It was okay, kinda cute, but for me it was really way too easy.. I did not die once, or felt any kind of challenge at any time.

I agree with the previous poster, that sometimes you just run forward. You would cut some of these sections out, and make a shorter more concentrated experience, with a few more surprises.

The lightning looked fine

Please, check out my level "Save Die Reload!", user: "CarlsenJeppe". Thread:
https://lbpcentral.lbp-hub.com/index.php?t=t=9714		2009-03-26 22:02:00

Author:
CarlsenJeppe
Posts: 67

Hi Carlsen,
thanks for playin' and giving me feedback.

It's kinda hard, to find the right balance. I made the level more and more easier - and as you can see - some1 had still tagged the level with "tricky".
My girlfriend made "Underwater World" - and it was kinda tough - but she got too much tags, that it is too difficult. So she made it a lot easier... (too easy in our opinion).

A few of the sections you just run forward contained enemies, but i had to take them out due to the thermo :-/

I'll check this sections, and think about cutting them out.
Thanks for your post.

PS: I will play your level today		2009-03-27 07:50:00

Author:
Siro
Posts: 11

It sounds like you beat me to the lightning punch... I have been working on a level now for a month that has lightning in it....

I am about to publish it today or tomorrow.

I can't wait to play your level and see how you did...

Mine is a spooky level too

I so want to play your level when I can get at my ps3!!!		2009-03-27 17:42:00

Author:
dobi6
Posts: 359

You might want to add your PSN into the post Siro, make your level easier to find, although when I searched for "spooky forest" it did come straight to your level.

I just the played the level, heres what I thought.

+ Lighting looks good and you've used nice materials that fit well with the level.
+ Sticker switches for extra points are always good!
+ Prize bubbles out of the players path, good choice.
+ Nice enemies and characters
+ Good change when you move over to the spooky forest, again good materials and lighting
+ Lightning strikes look very good.
+ Like how you give the player a couple of choices on certain platforming sections.

- You could use some better camera angles in places, it would give it a more cinematic feel and make it easier for the player to see what was going on.
- I thought you had an odd of materials in the house, the rest of the level was spot on, but I thought it looked a little odd, having the rock as the floor.
- It got a little less detailed after the house, in the tunnel section, it looked a little bland
- The whole tunnel section after the house was pretty pointless and boring, nothing much happened.

I enjoyed playing through the level, it was well constructed and for the most part looked OK, I agree with the above posters when they said some bits could be cut out, the tunnels after the house in particular. I loved your custom content though, good job.

I gave the level four stars, it needs a little work in places, but its got great promise. Let me know if you decide to make some changes and I'll gladly have a replay. I know your thermos tight, we all have the same problem unfortunatly.

I have been trying to find a different material I like for a rock texture, I noticed you used wood, looked like the red wood if I'm not mistaken, is it stickered? It looks fairly cool, I've been trying to work out how MM did the rocks in the canyon levels to not much success and your's looks pretty close.		2009-03-28 00:14:00

Author:
GruntosUK
Posts: 1754

I just couldn't resist having a a go at this level. Very good job!

Pros:
+ Great atmosphere, this will benefit greatly from the global settings tool.
+ Great use of custom objects, and some MM objects, too.
+ Multiple paths, with many point and prize bubbles.

Cons:
- The stairs just don't look quite right. They don't seem to fit in with the theme of this level.

5 stars 		2009-03-28 01:05:00

Author:
Entity
Posts: 274

This was a cute level. You're off to a good start, and certainly better than I was when I started.

+ Lighting was very cool. Artificial light at the beginning to darkness at the end.
+ Lightning effect
+ Critters
+ Multiple paths

- Paths that didn't seem to go anywhere...like the grabable windmill thing
- Hardish paths that went to nothing useful...long spikey path for a mushroom object
- Suggest swapping those MM trees out for the better looking and less thermo sucking MM tree
- Elevator was a bit bland
- Nothing going on in the race section

I recommend liberal use of the grid and limiting the number of materials to keep the thermo down. I can't see anything going on in this one that should be pushing it that hard, so it has to be unnecessarily complex shapes.

Overall, good work.		2009-03-28 05:19:00

Author:
frizby
Posts: 89

Ok - checked it out tonight. I thought it was a fun level. Overall the mood was sufficiently dark and spooky and I liked your lighting and lightning. The drawbridge was a nice touch too. There is a lot of flat running space but having suffered through thermo woes I understand why sometimes these happen. Frizby has a few good suggestions listed above to help save some thermo so you could make those areas a little more perilous or interesting. I also found a few spots where the direction to go was a dead end. In a labyrinth level they make sense but in the castle it was a little confusing.

Overall I really liked playing the level, It has some great points and some that need a little work to bring it up to the next level of design. I gave it 4 stars and hearted it. Nice work and thanks for sharing it.		2009-03-28 09:04:00

Author:
Morgana25
Posts: 5983

The pictures of this level looked cool so I played your level. I think it's really cool, fun and cute (but a cute level doesn't mean it's bad!) It's a great first level, much better then my first level.

Pros:
- Great atmosphere, made it look like a spooky forest
- Great lightning effect, one of the best I've seen!
- Having secret areas and sticker switches for points and prizes is a good idea
- Simple yet fun platforming elements

Cons:
- I found it a bit too dark in spots, If I were you I'd make it just a bit brighter using the global settings in the tools bag
- Some areas in the castle were confusing, didn't know where to go at spots

Overall I'd give your level 4 stars, I'm looking forward to play more of your creations.		2009-03-28 22:40:00

Author:
lk9988
Posts: 1077

Hi,
wow - thanks for your great feedback!

@GruntosUK
oops - I haven't posted my PSN-ID in the first topic? **** (I've changed that right now)

you're right - the tunnel (racing) is a boring part of the level.
I think about to remove that - or rebuild it with a more complex aspect.
Perhaps I can save more thermo-space when I cut off some boring part's of the level.

for the materials in the hous - can you recommend me anything special to use? You're right... the "rock"-material do not fit perfectly ;-)

Yes, I used the red wood for the rocks - it's not stickered - but I worked with lighting.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

@Entity
thanks for playin' and giving me feedback.
which stairs do you mean? the stairs at the "fire-room"?

------------------------------------------------------------------------

@frizby

thanks a lot

- hmm... basically, there's only one path with no sense (there was a boss-fight that I had to take out - now there's a wall with a pricebubble ) - the windmill path is an alternative path for the Spider-Cave.

I have to try that out, if taking out the MM Spooky-Tree saves more Thermo-Space - so I have to put in some created stuff

------------------------------------------------------------------------

@morgana

thanks for playing and testing.
for the dead-end - see a few lines above.
I've played your levels too - nice job - GREAT art and really creative!
(I can 100% recommend, playin' all of your levels)

------------------------------------------------------------------------

@lk
thank you very much.

- I'm looking forward for the new feature, comming with the next patch - so I can rework the light-control system more accurate

- well, the castle basically have only one way to go - right and then downwards - the path on top is just a path to more points (the cut off bossfight were there - and now there's only a pricebubble left) :-/

------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm looking forward to read more of your feedback.
tryin' to rework my levels with your help - the given feedback is awesome and really helpful!		2009-03-29 13:06:00

Author:
Siro
Posts: 11

Hi there,

i've changed a few things in the level.
Replaced the tunnel-part (racing) with a new one - and reworked a few other things.

Would be fine, if you can replay the level and give me feedback again. Perhaps I can change a few things else.

greets :-)		2009-04-20 12:05:00

Author:
Siro
Posts: 11

Ok, I finally got around to playing this... Sorry for being lame and not getting to it before now.

I liked the level - it got my heart.

A few things... I thought the actual lightning bolts were awesome... I so wish I thought of that.

In the race section where you have to use the jetpacks and bombs to get through the section- you probably don't realize it, but you can keep the jetpack on the entire race.. Thus skipping all the platforming.

Other than that, I just wish the lighting were lower, make it more spooky.		2009-04-23 01:41:00

Author:
dobi6
Posts: 359

Hi dobi,
thanks for your feedback.

I have realized it, that you can keep the jetpack on the entire race. But I do not know, how I should "disable" it in a good way. Let sacky die? now... perhaps that's frustrating for other players... - Make a "door" and sacky have to aktivate a switch to open it? hmm... perhaps... ?!? I you have any ideas, please let me know and I can check it out!

I'll check the new lighting-feature (creators pack1) next week (when I'm back home) - so perhaps I can modify/improve the lighting in Spooky Forest.

thanks a lot.		2009-04-24 18:59:00

Author:
Siro
Posts: 11

shorter chain for the jetpack... or have them fly through a small opening with a canceller (available with the creator pack as for yesterday)...2009-04-24 19:44:00

Author:
dobi6
Posts: 359


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