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Post by traviss1 on Aug 6, 2017 12:41:49 GMT -5
Hey, this is an entry to the Crystal Guantlet. I wanted some advice from it and where I can improve on my creativity. Side Note: This is a 7 Star Level! However, a practice run makes you understand the level a bit more. It is an easy learn. It also takes the idea on the Crystal Guantlet and puts a design twist on it. Level ID: 36394757 Enjoy!  |
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Post by DubstepJoltik on Aug 8, 2017 16:26:59 GMT -5
Level Name: CrystalFall Creator: Traviss1 Level ID: 36394757 Requested Difficulty: Hard 5* Competitor?: Yes - Crystal Gauntlet Contest [Gauntlet Contest #1] Gameplay
General
The gameplay is pretty dang fast. I'm not saying this is a problem, but I just don't know if it's good gameplay. It's sort of in-between bad and good, I guess. There's lots of easy parts and lots of exceptionally hard parts. Also, there's plenty of skippable orbs, especially in the robot sections.Transitions
The transitions are pretty fast. They require a lot of time to react to, making it hard to do this level in a short number of attempts, especially since it has a 7-star requested difficulty.
Difficulty of Level
No. I'm sorry, but this is 8 stars for me. I did this in Practice Mode and came out 101 attempts later. The dual parts are too insanely fast for me to consider this a 7-star level. Like I said, there's easy parts, and there's exceptionally hard parts. :v
Decoration
Air Decoration
I never really liked the "black-wheel-on-top-of-jump-orbs" effect. It just looks weird and inefficient. However, I like the spinning fireballs at the dual wave part. There's some good decoration and some bad.Block Designs
I think the block designs are too simple. They're mostly made of the preset cave blocks. Try giving them some more personality to make them stand out. Also, I'd like it if there was more decoration on the blocks. Not having things like crystals on top of the platforms kinda makes this level feel empty.Art and Backgrounds
I like the crystal design, but it seems pretty simple and copy-pasted. Try giving some crystals their own dynamic individuality by changing the style a little every now and then, more than just the color of them. If there were any backgrounds, I missed them, so try making them stand out more.
Final Thoughts
Score54%/100% - It's an alright level. There's nothing that really stands out to me, though. Add some more personality, then call me back, and maybe I'll change my mind. I really think this level has potential. Just try to find it. It won't win the contest if you don't change some things.
What Can Be Improved?- Add some more decoration to the block designs and give them some individuality.
- Make some custom backgrounds, and make them eye-catching.
- Change the style of the supposedly-copy-pasted crystals every now and then.
- Nerf the level, particularly the dual parts, if you want this to qualify as seven stars.
Optional things you could do that might help:- Remove the black wheel on top of the jump orbs.
- Remove some of the triple spikes. (There's a lot)
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Post by traviss1 on Aug 9, 2017 10:34:14 GMT -5
Ok, I made some edits to the level, but because of me being on vacation I can't publish it.
Just a fair warning I am a little stubborn, but I wanted to mention some of the changes I made.
Gameplay:
So I did nerf sections as requested, such as the duals, and I removed some spikes in the level that I know annoyed the heck outta people. However, I have gotten really good gameplay comments from a lot of people when I have gone to Level Request streams. So on terms of gameplay, I might lean toward the community a bit more because I have gotten the most advice there. I do agree as of right now it is 8 stars, but once you see this update it will be 7 (hopefully). Btw, one of the people that said my gameplay is good was DiamondSplash in his level request stream not too long ago, so yeah. It is one of those things that it should kind of be more community based.
Now, I am on the same page as you, I am not too fond of my own gameplay. But if the community likes it, it is what they want, and it seems like the best route to go. I like the advice you have about it.
Transitions are a problem with me. It is something I am working on, but I have to avoid it for now. You also mention a little bit about jump rings and how you can skip them. There are times though with those skips that the player can die. I don't want to fix this because I really suck at this tbh.
Design:
So, the point of CrystalFall is to be very design themed and not art. I think it meets that within block design, background, and ground deco. You mentioned some points that are valid so I thought I'll talk about these too.
Block design isn't meant to be complex. I wanted it to be simple for the player to understand and so they can see the matching theme with crystals. I think that the block design is not a problem, but could be more complex as you staed, but I don't want to fix this as I am too far into this.
Black decoration on the orbs are removed, I am actually not sure why I started doing this because when you mentioned it, it made sense. So I completely fixed it in the first two parts and unless if I am trying to build a level with a theme like that, I will use it, but it is gone.
The background crystals now have more color in them. I decided to add a more variety of colors to the bg so it could stand out more. The hard part about the crystals in the ground is me doing that part in an unusual way (they are all on the same layer), so I can't give more of a variety for the ground. I was also wondering if you thought the crystals in the block design looked good and unique. So if you can clear that up it would be great.
Finally, you didn't mention this until the what needs to be improved part and that was a custom background. So, I know how to do this, but I don't feel like it would be a good addition to this level.
Thanks for the review!
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