ISRIERI'S PROFILE

I thought that was the plan! YES, good gravy!

The developers essentially pick the world their level falls into by announcing a difficulty anyway. That's why I suggested we have the range be from 1-8 instead of the 1-5 margin the series has thus far. It's a lot clearer for both us and the devs as to what kind of difficulty each number entails, since each correlates to a known World and the kind of levels found there.

author=jackalotrun
I'm still in the oran-

PATIENCE.

author=seiromem
Can I has-

NO.


But seriously. I just got home from work and I'm looking at the revised levels now!

Well the event page will be down, yes. But it is only a page, after all. I still have to create the Game Page for Masterpiece Set, and we can all manage after-cutoff date stuff there if need be. Nevermind, Soli can do things, I forgot.

But that won't be an issue either way, since pretty much everyone's levels are now up to snuff!


@Solitayre

-Like Deckiller, I was kind of hoping you'd use this opportunity to make a tougher castle. But OH WELL.

-I really like the way the temple is shaped. All the walls are jagged.

-The section with the moving parts was the best part of the level. Not because you had moving layers, but because that spidey-thwomp was in a pleasantly tricky location!

-The only real gripe I have with this level is in Section 2: The enemies you have there are pretty ineffectual for even a level 1 castle, particularly the piranha plants. The whole section might as well not be there! I'd put some Roto-discs in place of the plants.

-I don't like how you changed birdo's egg effect. I know why you did it, but that sort of "help" irks the hell out of me.


@jackalotrun

-I think it's about done. The only gripe I have is that it's too irritating to make those jumps around the 3 platforms and buzzsaw going in-between them near the top (second buzzsaw, not the first). All you'd need to do is make each platform one block shorter than the last. Same with the final green platform, since if you get stuck in there you can glitch out and get stuck in the wall. Since it's such a small change, I can do that for you if you'd like. Otherwise I think the level's GOOD TO GO.


@apa649

-I tested your boss quite a few times looking for kinks. Couldn't really find any bugs. It works just like it's supposed to.

-I like how breaking some of the yellow blocks can slow the boss down for a while. Good idea!

-Although it's not necessary, I'd make that single brown block two tiles instead of just one. And to not have that single yellow block sticking up at the end of that line. It's not necessary because they don't affect the setup too greatly, but something in my gut tells me to do so.

-But I'm iffy with the donut blocks on the conveyer belt. The player may not jump on 'em or fail to realize their purpose. So if the boss turns around, you have to wait forever as he goes against the current of the belt. I'd just get rid of them, as I think it would be more exciting that way.

-I'm also don't know why the player has to be the one to fall down the pit to escape the boss. It adds a bit of needless walking. I would just have the boss die by falling into the pit down below. And then the player can walk right out to the exit. But since I have no clue how the boss dies when you fall into the pit, maybe it's more trouble than it's worth? I just don't like the idea of the boss dying offscreen for mysterious reasons: It takes you out of the action.

-Other than that, I declare the level READY. Probably a 3 on the scale.


@Blobofgoo
DEADLY DANGER DUNGEON

-At first I was thinking, "Where are those bridges?" but then I found them!

-The bridge section isn't too bad. I like what you did with it. I think the bombs come down a bit too quickly, but you don't have to change it. What I do think you should add are some coins in a few blocks, or even a powerup. It would neater that way.

-You can put dungeon blocks on the sides of the holes you have. So it doesn't look like the ends just got cut off.

-Still kind of long for how bland it is, but it's certainly better than it was before. I think it'll be alright to Approve as a level 1 castle.

METEOR FORT
-It's now pretty darn good! I don't have anything to add so I declare it READY AND DONE WITH. One question: Did you deliberately want the level to only have 2 powerups? If so, that's fine. But it'll bump the rating up to a 2.

Here's at least one guy who's relieved to hear that. Keeping my fingers crossed for you.

Experimentation is always a good thing. It's a game, after all. Let the players have some fun figuring things out on their own. The discovery is all part of learning and coming up with a strategy that fits your party and the encounter. Plus, its the sense of discovery that contributes most to the fun of RPGs in my opinion.

There's always other ways of teaching the player aside from taking them aside (in the overhead or in the battle screen) to coach them in the fine aspects of your carefully crafted battle system. Take a page out of Dragon Quest's book: Have actual books or scrolls or whatnot lying around that the player can look at. In chests or bookshelves, whatever. Bonus points if you make the books actually fun and interesting to read: It gives players incentive to go poking their noses around in nooks and crannies, and can provide that crucial information all the same.

Tutorial + World Building. Two birds in one stone.