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113: Balloon Bonanza - NoelYoshi

Complete

Level design looks fairly good, and I like the idea of it as well. We'll just have to wait until we see more.
The level testing IPS is out, so I thought I might as well put it here too.

http://bin.smwcentral.net/u/4065/Balloon%2BBonanza%2BTesting%2BEdition.ips

I look forward to your responses.

A preview:













I had troubles and had to abandon a lot of ideas. For example, I had a huge vertical part planned, but the balloon sprite I am using just wouldn't cooperate. I even had Sonikku try many times to help.

...But I still had a ton of fun doing it. This might have got me out of my slump, and was a nice try at doing some "chocolate"-styled levels as opposed to the "vanilla"-styled levels I am used to.




Pretty good level overall, though I have some complaints.


Please don't put grass at the bottom of the level like you did here and in a couple of other spots. It's very misleading.


-Rex head for a switch tile.
-Palette ugliness on the message box (same with earlier in the level too, for that matter.


This is a very difficult jump.

-No screenshot, but at the very end of the corridor in the above screenshot is an SMWC coin .. but I don't know where to go after that. I thought a goal roulette might be there, but one didn't pop up. Am I missing something?

-No screenshot, but I agree with Bloop. If you could speed up the spawn rate of those balloons, that would be grand.

It should probably be noted that I don't really agree with your extreme usage of munchers either, especially in the second half. In fact, I feel that some parts of the second half are a little weak compared to the rest of the level. I'd kind of like to see more usage out of those balloons, and less random muncher jumps.

Other than that, good stuff. Try to fix up everything I listed above and you should be good to go.
http://bin.smwcentral.net/u/4065/Balloon%2BBonanza%2BTesting%2B2%2B2.ips

Should be fixed:
"Please don't put grass at the bottom of the level like you did here and in a couple of other spots. It's very misleading."

"Palette ugliness on the message box."

Sprites not appearing should also be fixed.

The second area is completely redone to avoid overly difficult jumps, to put more emphasis on the balloon sprite, and to get rid of muncher overuse.




The second half is better. I found some more bugs on this playthrough though.


-Fireball palette is messed up.
-Those ON/OFF blocks still have a Rex head (I'm honestly just tempted to remap that stupid square sprite to SP1 or 2, since it has to be the biggest pain for most designers to deal with).


You can easily jump over this part, thus bypassing the point of the balloon.


So you essentially have to die to read this message box? Doesn't seem fair. To be honest, I don't even think it's necessary to use this message box at all, since players would know what the P-Blocks do by this point.

-No screenshot, but right before the key/keyhole, there is a cutoff tile in front of the wooden stake.

-No screenshot, but there is no threat in having the balloons pop since another one spawns right away. Is it possible that we could work with the sprite and have it spawn maybe a second or two after the pop rather than immediately?

Fix these up and I'll test out the new version for you.
At this point, I tottaly support remapping the ON/OFF sprite effect. Some levels would need to completely rework sprites and insert remapped versions just to make them work in a non-glitchy fashion (rtyuio's level comes to mind, with a Pokey head popping up, in a level where he uses a bunch of Pokeys and some ON/OFF switches).
You two are moving too fast for me...

...but in any case, I really don't like the style of design here. It alternates between being easier than 2dareduck's stage, and overusing things like munchers and quick p-quarter runs. It also feels really short...I don't know why you waited this long to post something, but, uhh...I think this needs plenty of work. For one thing, you don't seem to use many sprites at all, especially in the second section. If the balloons are taking up that much sprite space, should they be used? Waiting that long for them to respawn is extremely boring.

113
1: Why are these used blocks here?

5: Big Mario Discrimination.

E7
1: Big Mario Discrimination.

E8
1: Seems arbitrary.

1/2: Very difficult, and it's quite possible players will rush onto the balloon without realizing their doom.

4-6: Why are you forcing players to wait out the p-timer on top of waiting for the balloons? You should make them of the appropriate length so you don't have to resort to that...

5: The fact that you can't stand still on the balloon doesn't help matters here *shrug*

6/7: Already? Taken together, these two sections add up to less than the first level of the game, and it's not like the level is jam-packed with content. It feels unfinished, to be blunt.
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Originally posted by AxemJinx
If the balloons are taking up that much sprite space, should they be used?


Probably not, but I requested someone help make me a new one numerous times, and no one ever took me up on it. Just have to go on what you get. The sprites I've been using are not the greatest, but I've searched for something more fitting and couldn't find anything. Maybe I didn't look hard enough.

Originally posted by AxemJinx
Waiting that long for them to respawn is extremely boring.


This I've been working on, and as soon as I fix everything, I will update the ASM file so that the balloons don't take forever and a half to respawn themselves.

Originally posted by AxemJinx
I don't know why you waited this long to post something, but, uhh...I think this needs plenty of work.


I don't really have an excuse, it was just me being irresponsible. I really regret it too. It's definitly a mistake I can say I've learned from.

And, you know, it does help to actually hear what you really think. It does, really, need quite a bit of work on it.

Originally posted by AxemJinx
Big Mario Discrimination.

Noticed and changed to have less of this. Actually, I never really noticed myself that it was more difficult being big, but now that I really put my head to it, you're correct.

In short, I shouldn't have went the way I did in designing this level, and I will accept all blame.




Originally posted by LunarYoshi
Originally posted by AxemJinx
If the balloons are taking up that much sprite space, should they be used?


Probably not, but I requested someone help make me a new one numerous times, and no one ever took me up on it. Just have to go on what you get. The sprites I've been using are not the greatest, but I've searched for something more fitting and couldn't find anything. Maybe I didn't look hard enough.

You can always remap the tiles if need be if that's what's preventing you from using other sprites. The only other person using this sprite was...well, me, and actually, I didn't even use the same sprite since I had to remap the tiles - plus I changed up quite a bit of code in both the sprite and shooter.

Now then,
Level 113:
05: The jump with the bounce blocks is pretty nasty, especially with big Mario.

05: I personally don't like the idea of hiding stuff off camera. Could just be me, but I've always thought that to be rather cheap.

Level E8:
04/05: Why people continually insist on creating block/coin barriers for P-Switch runs, I will never know. If there's one thing that will instantly kill the pacing and, really, interest in a level, it's this. I think there are rare instances (where it's strictly for puzzle purposes) where it may serve its purpose, but in a straight run, all it does is frustrate the player.

Overall, it's not by any means a bad level. It is short and does seem to rely a bit too heavily on munchers. Outside of big Mario discrimination, the level is way too easy, at least for W5. Additionally, there's far too much waiting going on, be it for the balloons or the block/coin barriers. I know you already said you're looking into the balloons, so hopefully that won't be the case for long.

Also, since the balloons are meant to be the focus, I can't help but think a few more interesting setups can be devised. For the moment it's either quickly hop across this balloon and watch out for the muncher ceiling or use that balloon to reach a p-block. As of now, the balloons just sort of take a backseat to what is essentially a normal platforming level. At least add some sprites into the mix so that all of the balloon hopping isn't so straightforward. Heck, there's only one sprite in all of E8 (not including the balloons of course).
Props for the looks of this level; it looks amazing. Love the coloration you have going on here, and despite the long waits for spawns I really like the timed-balloon theme. It even scared me when it first popped :D

Also, I really like how you hid the SMWC coins, even in such a small level.

However, I do feel there are some issues with this level.

- It's really, really short;

- The jump on 113-5 with the note blocks is downright annoying. I don't consider this to be fun difficulty;

- In the second section, I feel that both the P-blocks and the ON/OFF blocks have been thrown in there randomly, as both don't actually seem to do much. The difference between the ON/OFF settings is minimal.

- Finally, the secret exit is too easy to find and reach. It leads to a switch palace, and that pipe in the sky was extremely predictable, at least to me. It just screams "The secret exit is here! Yoohoo!"
Going to post here since the level testing thread got pretty congested.

This incarnation of the level is much better than any of your previous versions. The focus is solely on the balloons now, and you've utilized them in some pretty clever ways (especially with the second half). I do have some suggestions to polish up this level though.


If you have the sprite set with the baseballs (or if you can add them in), I'd recommend a Pitchin' Chuck here (and in other parts of the level where you use balloon descents too).


This area just looks kind of messy, especially with the random cement blocks. I'd remake it a little and make it look more natural.


Again, rather than a cement block ledge, why don't you have some regular dirt tiles sticking out like:

|
|___

with the wall being on the right side?



Nitpicky, but it happens frequently enough in your level for one to take notice. If you have an object two tiles away from a bullet shooter, the bullet goes behind the foreground. Try a setup like:

[ ][O][B][O][ ]

where B = the shooter and O = any object (ground, coins, whatever).


Your overuse of those brown square blocks is kind of annoying, especially when they span the roof. You really gotta work with those grass tiles so more and make the level look more natural rather than blocky.


This screen is a bit dull. You only used the carnival tent once in the level, so why don't you place one on this ledge rather than the two sets of brown blocks and throw a Chuck or two into play?


I would have made this three balloons long rather than two, especially since it's so close to the end.


Minor: cutoff between the mushroom and ground.


Now this is the relatively major error you were pointing out, and seeing it in play confirms that. I'm going to try doing away with the JSR SUB_SMOKE routine for now and see if that corrects anything, but otherwise, you're going to need to find a work-around for this.


Kind of a lame final area before the key/keyhole. I mean, the balloons are fine, but this particular screen is just four munchers + a wooden spike. Why don't you stick another carnival tent here or something?

Overall, the level is almost there, but you need to fix up these remaining bugs.

Its been about 2 weeks dude, and your suppose to be giving weekly updates. Got anything for us?
Layout by LDA during C3.
He dropped me a PM a few days ago saying that he's fixing stuff up and that he'll post something new soon.

"soon" has been long gone, now where's this update?
Layout by LDA during C3.
He .. actually already sent in the files to me. I just have a few issues to fix up on my end.

This can technically be marked as "complete", but left open for now.
Originally posted by "Giant Shy Guy"

Hold the p-switch. Balloons instantaneously pops.


Let go of item. Balloon.


Hold balloon again, pops.

Originally posted by "Magiluigi"


So, when Mario stands on this tile while holding the springboard on his hands, he looks so menacing that all the balloons that were supposed to be floating up get so scared that they pop before even appearing on-screen (in other words, if I hold the springboard while standing on that tile, the balloons pop for no reason).

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As I mentioned in the bugs thread, this bug with the balloon sprite is actually something of a level-breaking bug, as it renders both one of the SMWC coins and the secret exit of the level impossible to get. I wonder if it might not be useful to open a thread specifically for the purpose of necessary modifications to sprites, so that our coders might have a well-organized space to see what needs to be taken care of...

Originally posted by ShadowAlexandre


So, when Mario stands on this tile while holding the springboard on his hands, he looks so menacing that all the balloons that were supposed to be floating up get so scared that they pop before even appearing on-screen (in other words, if I hold the springboard while standing on that tile, the balloons pop for no reason).


This is still happening.
Layout by LDA during C3.
AND THIS TILESET NEEDS A BLACK/DARK OUTLINE!
Originally posted by Punk Sarcophagus
AND THIS TILESET NEEDS A BLACK/DARK OUTLINE!

sure sounds like a palette job
aran - Graces of Heaven

Complete