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[1338] VESTIGIA CAECA [video and submission in 1st post]

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1st Thing (Music):
I guess my level is almost done, but i still have no idea what music should play. So if you have any suggestions, you´re welcome to share your thoughts.

2nd Thing (Level):

As mentioned the level is more or less done, so i present you some new screenshots of the 2nd main-room:




Also thank you Erik for explaining how to make a good gif. Since i have none of the mentioned programs i´m going to research to what extend i´m able to follow your steps








I think this would be fitting cave music.
Video (Room 1 and 2)


I´d be very thankful for feedback, especially of the following points:

1. Is this level too repetitive? I tried coming up with various uses of MegaMoles, but could it become a bit too repetitive if i add a third (and maybe a fourth) room as i am planning at the moment? Or do you think this level can continue to be interesting as long as the following rooms have a reasonable lenght?

2. How´s the atmosphere? Are palettes and music fitting and plesant and create this mystic ruin atmosphere i was aiming for?

3. Any other things to criticize? Are there obstacles which may be unfair or frustrating? Do you think passages should be deleted or extended? Feel free to share yout honest thoughts.


Also, thank you Quantix for the music suggestion. Browsing throug SMWCs music section i think i found Hydrothermal Hollow as a fitting track.








Since nobody responded to my previous post i guess everything´s fine.

So these are screenshots from room 3. Next post is going to be the entire level as BPS and/or video.



Originally posted by Vitor Vilela
A different route for getting the moon and another for beating the level might be dangerous. I mean, in game it may end up something obvious for the player and he might not play half of your level due of it.

Sorry, Vitor but there´s going to be a "Bonus Moon Minigame Room". But it just let you skip about 2 screens of the normal level. This should be okay.








Nice, I'm looking forward to this level. I see nothing wrong with a secret area letting you skip a section. So many designers are afraid to do that, since they want the player to see everything they've made, but Nintendo did it a lot actually (see vanilla dome 3).
BPS download

I´m open for any feedback!!

Originally posted by GbreezeSunset
Nice, I'm looking forward to this level. I see nothing wrong with a secret area letting you skip a section. [...] but Nintendo did it a lot actually (see vanilla dome 3).
This was pretty much what i thought. So every Bonus room (there are 3) let you skip a section of the level (mostly about 2 screens).


Also there´s the BPS now. I hope you enjoy playing it. Feedback is appreciated.








This level is amazing! I'll edit this post later with actual feedback and some advice and stuff, but this is such a fun level. Definitely one of my favorites!
Originally posted by GbreezeSunset
This level is amazing! I'll edit this post later with actual feedback and some advice and stuff, but this is such a fun level. Definitely one of my favorites!

I´m happy that you liked my level. I tried to make it an enjoyable exploration while still being challenging.
Also i´m curious what you have to say/criticize. I´m looking forward to it to improve my level to its best possible maximum.








I don't really have any problems with the level, to be honest. Maybe some slight nitpicks, but not really any problems at all. Mostly, I think the level could be improved aesthetically, although it already looks nice. The level design and creativity is really impressive though.

I don't know how I feel about the boo blocks being in the dirt, it looks a little off. Instead of feeling like actual blocks in the dirt, it feels like they're tacked on, so it doesn't really add to the ruins atmosphere the aesthetic is trying to convey, which I think the mole statues and stones do a really good job with.



I really love this secret shortcut for some reason :D



This area may be a tad bit cramped. I would try making the ceiling maybe 1 tile higher? I never actually fell off the mole, but I was worried I might.



This puzzle for the dragon coin is super creative, but it isn't obvious what to do here. I might consider putting a reset pipe here, which, I know it seems weird to put a reset pipe for a dragon coin, but it's not very obvious that the platform will fall and slide and you're supposed to ride it. Every other dragon coin section is easy to understand the first time, which is also something I really like about the level.



As far as aesthetics go, idk really, I really like how it is already. Yet, I feel like the aesthetics could be slightly improved, to make the level even better than it already is and match the super impressive design.

To start, there isn't much contrast in colors in the foreground for the regular cave tileset. I like the golden brown shade, and it goes really well with the darker brown background, plus it differentiates itself well from Gamma V's entry last year aesthetically. Yet, I think the palettes for the cave tiles could be improved. There's not much disparity in colors. The cave ground is only made up of 3 palette square thingies in the palette editor, and don't be afraid to make that 3rd one a more lighter shade. Personally, I think that a gradient between a chocolate-like brown and a golden brown produces a really nice looking gradient for the cave tileset.

Also, the top part of the torches, made of the spike tile, I would make more of a darker brown to match the rest of the torch stand. It still looks nice the way it is though!

I would definitely remove the boo block tiles from the dirt.

I also think the palette of the green in the grass could be adjusted a small amount. You could also give the green pipes a custom palette. I usually try to use a gradient between a lightish blue green, and then a light, pastely yellow-green.

The blue petrified springboards that are used as tile 1f0 look nice, and I think they should be kept as very blue and "popping", so the player can see them easily. However, I think they could be desaturated a bit.
Err... It may be a bit of a late respond, but thank you Gbreeze and S.N.N. for your feedback. I really appreciate it.

So here i show you what i´ve changed. It would be nice, if you or someone else could respond if i changed the mentioned issues in a positive way.:

- changed the color of the top part of the torches.
- desatured the blue petrified springboard platforms a little bit
- changed the ground´s color a bit (since a friend of mine said i´m horrible at palettes (and i agree with this) i´d rather use "these save palettes" than experimenting with risky things as greeze said(maybe i use that kind of coloring in my next KLDC-Level))



- The pipe where you exit the moon secret is now a reset pipe for the yoshicoin. I also added this row of 1F0 tiles on the Number-Platform´s X-Axis so it´s movement may indicate that i can flow on these tiles even after it reached 0.
- Also i changed the green of the pipes. Not the way you mentioned, but i´d say the color is still pleasant and fits the ruin-like atmosphere



- As you said i deleted some parts of the ceiling to make that part a bit less claustrophobic



Other changes:

- deleted the boo-blocks in the ground.
- Gras palette a bit adjusted
- I´m still working on a new extended 4th room as a compensation for a shortened 3rd room.








From the version i played:
- if you start the level running, you jump directly into the monty mole and die. I'd move him to the right two tiles
- maybe make that first brown brick wall 2 tiles high, right now it looks kind of awkward and i think just making it a 2 tile wall to block in the mole would be better.
- in the bonus room with the yoshi coin, you can just running jump up to the coin. if you can move it up 1 tile I would. also this room has the wrong vertical camera entrance which makes it jump like that. If it's possible I'd move mario to keep it from doing that.
-using the green dots as a spring board as well as a 1f0 is a little confusing. I thought those green dots were solid to mario but not sprites, which threw me off. (not a big deal though, you learn pretty quickly!)
- i wish that first yoshi coin room didnt skip so many mega mole sections. I went through them backwards and they looked like a lot of fun i missed out on!
- I'd move that mini mole at the second yoshi coin over, or give the player a power-up immediately before getting to it. Right now you have a 1 tile gap to avoid getting hit, while you're already on a timed lift. Super easy to die here.
- i'm not a fan of the mega mole over the midway point/mushroom/pipe to next section. I think that area should be left safe.
- for a 1-up bonus, this is pretty freakin hard! Maybe add a second mega mole to the walking to give you more room to stand on?
- the bonus room also skips a lot of content I want to see!
- the sparsely used koopas are a strange addition. I was under the impression this was a MOLES ONLY kind of thing, so once koopas started showing up sparsely i got all confused. Maybe put some more in the beginning/throughout to establish they'll be a common enemy?
- when jumping for that mushroom after the p-switch "run", i keep falling into the mega mole and dying. idk what can be done to make that easier. maybe give the mega mole more space on the right to walk?
- that 4 second timed lift/mega mole thing with the chuck is ridiculous! I dont understand how I'm even supposed to make this jump on my first few go throughs. I'd definitely only use the timed lift to make it easier to clear that gap (maybe put a mini mole on the munchers you can bounce on)
- i misunderstood your moon puzzle. I thought you had to damage boost through the chuck and then bounce on him to kill him to let the mole through. i had no idea what the yoshi or shell were even for (until after) lol
- the moon being gone from that sign post after you grab it is a nice touch
- i thought i had to ride that timed lift after the 1-up checkpoint, so i jumped up before i had a chance to see it fall to the blue tiles below. Maybe replace the ledges with a way to go back down after you see the timed lift fall

Overall, WOW that was an incredibly solid level. I love it! As a whole, the difficulty curve was great (though there are some moments where the difficulty can spike unexpectedly, but it's never unmanageable). It's a very long level, but I think it justifies its length with the amount of content. Maybe somebody else will have a better idea of what can be cut, because I'm drawing a blank!
Awesome level, probably the most fun I've had in a level yet! :)
ask me if i give a f*ck...
Yeah the palettes look super nice!! Much better. Agreeing with hobz as well with a few things, especially the monty mole in the very beginning. I don't really see length as an issue, as it's not very hard and some parts can be skipped as well.
Originally posted by Hobz
[really much content here]
Overall, WOW that was an incredibly solid level. I love it! As a whole, the difficulty curve was great (though there are some moments where the difficulty can spike unexpectedly, but it's never unmanageable). It's a very long level, but I think it justifies its length with the amount of content. Maybe somebody else will have a better idea of what can be cut, because I'm drawing a blank!
Awesome level, probably the most fun I've had in a level yet! :)


Thank you Hobz for all the things you mentioned. There are definitely some little details i weren´t aware of, that they could be a bit annoying. I´m definitely going to fix many of them.
Also I´m very glad you liked my level that much. I really appreciate your fast feedback. #tb{:]}
I´ll do my best at fixing all the thing you mentioned to give the player the best experience he can get #tb{;)}

Originally posted by GbreezeSunset
Yeah the palettes look super nice!! Much better.

Wow, i didn´t expect that such little changes could change your thoughts "that much". I´m glad i did good with the palettes because i usually suck at custom-coloring my levels #tb{XD}

edit:
things i fixed:

- if you start the level running, you jump directly into the monty mole and die. I'd move him to the right two tiles
> Mole is now a green Koopa that starts about 5 tiles more to the right

- maybe make that first brown brick wall 2 tiles high, right now it looks kind of awkward and i think just making it a 2 tile wall to block in the mole would be better.
> don´t understand it, but i guess it´s just a minor aesthetical thing so fixing won´t be absolutely necessary?

- in the bonus room with the yoshi coin, you can just running jump up to the coin. if you can move it up 1 tile I would. also this room has the wrong vertical camera entrance which makes it jump like that. If it's possible I'd move mario to keep it from doing that.
> Putting the platform 1 tile higher makes it even hard to reach it with the green springboard (just works in 50% of all tries)
> I hate vertical levels for their strange camera issues >.<

-using the green dots as a spring board as well as a 1f0 is a little confusing. I thought those green dots were solid to mario but not sprites, which threw me off. (not a big deal though, you learn pretty quickly!)
> When you enter the 1st bonus it should be quite clear that they are srpingboards and not platforms

- i wish that first yoshi coin room didnt skip so many mega mole sections. I went through them backwards and they looked like a lot of fun i missed out on!
> Pipe is now 1 obstacle more to the left

- I'd move that mini mole at the second yoshi coin over, or give the player a power-up immediately before getting to it. Right now you have a 1 tile gap to avoid getting hit, while you're already on a timed lift. Super easy to die here.
> You get a powerup right after the yoshiCoin. I don´t want to have a WiiU-like Level (=powerup-spam)

- i'm not a fan of the mega mole over the midway point/mushroom/pipe to next section. I think that area should be left safe.
> Is removed

- for a 1-up bonus, this is pretty freakin hard! Maybe add a second mega mole to the walking to give you more room to stand on?
> But this would make it harder to calculate how they move and jumping from Mola A to Mole B would be even harder than riding this one Mole

- the bonus room also skips a lot of content I want to see!
> There´s nothing i can do much about this without changing the entire section, i guess. Since i´m very slow at level-building i cannot do this in time.

- the sparsely used koopas are a strange addition. I was under the impression this was a MOLES ONLY kind of thing, so once koopas started showing up sparsely i got all confused. Maybe put some more in the beginning/throughout to establish they'll be a common enemy?
> Added 2-4 Koopas more in the entire level. It should be clear that this isn´t a mole-only level (it even starts with a koopa now)

- when jumping for that mushroom after the p-switch "run", i keep falling into the mega mole and dying. idk what can be done to make that easier. maybe give the mega mole more space on the right to walk?
> The MegaMole has now 1 tile more to move. I hope it´s easier now.

- that 4 second timed lift/mega mole thing with the chuck is ridiculous! I dont understand how I'm even supposed to make this jump on my first few go throughs. I'd definitely only use the timed lift to make it easier to clear that gap (maybe put a mini mole on the munchers you can bounce on)
> Added yellow blocks above the muncher to make this jump easier for switch-users. I know it may be the hardest jump in the entire level. But you cannot deny it´s creative, isn´t it?

- i misunderstood your moon puzzle. I thought you had to damage boost through the chuck and then bounce on him to kill him to let the mole through. i had no idea what the yoshi or shell were even for (until after) lol
> Well, Puzzles aren´t always instantly clear, i guess? #tb{^V^}

- the moon being gone from that sign post after you grab it is a nice touch
> Thank you #tb{:]}

- i thought i had to ride that timed lift after the 1-up checkpoint, so i jumped up before i had a chance to see it fall to the blue tiles below. Maybe replace the ledges with a way to go back down after you see the timed lift fall
> You now can go back








I think this is going to be the final version, since everything improvable should just be a minor issue or is there anything extraordinary bad left?

VESTIAGIA CAECA [submission]

VESTIAGIA CAECA [video]

Thank you to everyone who gave me tips and advices how to improve the level and/or inspired me, namely:

- Chosentw0
- Caiman388
- Conankun88
- Frozenquills
- Gamma V
- GbreezeSunset
- Hobz
- Isocitration
- NGB
- S.N.N.
- someguy712x
- Vitor Vilela
- W4MP3
- worldpeace

(i hope i mentioned everyone, if not, i´ll edit this again and add you)








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