Before the review *clap clap*, I would like to re-emphasise that regardless of the mode sequence, gameplay features, or the deco style, Nine Circles levels are really, REALLY old and outdated. Looking at your level, you are really capable of doing other styles in Geometry Dash. (of course you can make core but please don’t) Therefore, research on what you want to make, and use the vast resources available in the 2.1 level editor.
With that out of the way, splitting into gameplay and decoration…
GameplayGameplay is generally nice with a few hiccups, like an occasional off-sync or sometimes poor readability. Some staples of Nine Circles are seen in the level, albeit executed rather poorly. Here are some specific tips.
> 2%: Corners are whole blocks despite the shape suggesting otherwise. Players may jump early and crash because of this. Beware.
> 8%: Second blue orb can be skipped by jumping over the cog. Make sure no shortcuts like this is possible. Try giving the level to your friend to playtest.
> 10% to 21%: The ship part seems… too claustrophobic to me. Not visually, but the slopes are too close to each other. Looking at other Nine Circles levels, like the original NC and Sonic Wave, all levels give you decent space for control after the liftoff from a slope, unlike how the layout looks like at your level. Slopes are rather hard to deal with in Geometry Dash, making your layout there hard to read and execute. Keep in mind that slopes must be used with caution, even if it is a staple in NC levels.
> 10% to 21%: Ah, yes. Also note that ceiling stopping the ship’s vertical momentum can be lethal, because the ship immediately moves in the opposite direction due to weird gravity in GD. This can catch people offguard, and makes the level feels less fluid even if the people manage to clear the part.
> 22% to 31%: Fun and challenging ball section, and the cube section leading to the drop are both well-designed. Keep that up!
> 33% to 86%: Obstacle perfectly visible with the background. I’m sorry, but this section is executed incorrectly. The reason why the wave part of NC levels is hard is that you can’t really see the layout until the flash is at the right place, because almost the whole screen is pitch black, hiding the edges. However, because of your choice of the background, the objects are really easy to see. This is more of a decoration mistake, but it really means much to gameplay. Remember, wrong deco can ruin the player’s experience, and it’s not just on the visual aspect. One thing to note though: this part syncs quite well, so keep that up. (but this is wave, the easiest mode to sync smh)
> 38%: Placing other portals for transition seems to break the original idea of Nine Circles. Not a bad thing: in fact I think it is good to have something like this to emphasize the beat of song, but if you want to make a good Nine Circles experience, consider staying with pure wave.
> 39%: You can actually skip the triple speed portal by holding when in ball. Another reason for not using ball
> 44%: Ditto to 38%.
> 55%: Never add horizontal platforms when the whole wave part consists of slopes. For this type of wave gameplay, platforms like these can really destroy the consistency of the gap and disrupts the gameplay. Although in this part, spamming will do, platforms generally do not look nice in wave layout like this.
> 56%: The first of the little squares turns blue after the player passes it. Although this time the player can actually see the squares, the player receives no information about the upcoming obstacle if the deco was designed otherwise. The lack of information is a taboo in gameplay, because it means the players needs to guess where the obstacle is or brute-force the part. Especially when NC levels obsecure information at times, the hint before-hand is really important.
> 59%: The wave can actually skip the dual portal, and it’s quite easy to pull off. (I did that like a couple times already)
> 60%: The space for the alignment of the dual wave is a bit short in my opinion. Actually I tried moving the dual portal 1 block to the left and it works quite well. Also solves the problem in 59%.
> 62%: Mini wave can crash on the slope. Yeah, the combination of D blocks and slopes is weird like that.
> 87%: Sudden appearance of the quadruple spikes gives insufficient reaction time for players. Trial and error is not the correct solution for a layout, giving time for the spikes to appear and for the player to read is.
> 88%: Blue orb out of camera. Time between the recognition of the blue orb and the input is really small because of this, causing the players more likely to crash. Avoid orbs when the players if falling for a long distance.
> 92% to 97%: Fun cube part that syncs well and looks cool and awesome. Nice work!
> 97%: Consider a triple in normal speed. Official method for how to Michigun somebody in the end of the level.
DecorationDecoration is quite nice! There is a background, nice air deco, and the block decoration resembles a 1.9 style. Then the epilepsy wave part, with the gameplay issue aside, is designed quite well and has a little tech tint in it. Here are tips that are more specific.
> 0% to 8%: Fake outlines do not have glow, so if you enabled it in the actually outlines you will get different width of lines, which is ugly. In the original Nine Circles, these fake outlines are aided with 3D objects and probably has glow turned off in other objects, which really helps make the deco clean. Glow is often turned off in levels, especially in modern style, so you may want to consider that too.
> 0% to 10%: Plus the corner is actually better to be put next to a fake 3D outline rather than the line found in the same tab. I don’t know why, but a thing is a thing. Here is a side-by-side comparison.
> 14%: That hole of deco is a bit large. Maybe add a few cogs? Cogs can go through the ceiling or ground without being weird, so there is actually more space to place cogs than you expect.
> 22% to 27%: The bright custom background is bright so the BG channel should be keep black, or at least a darker colour, to let those lines stand out. The pulsing background don’t really fit. Generally, the part feels really bland compared to the others, and it feels off from the 1.9 style this level makes.
> 33% to 86%: Do not use pulsing objects as the background, and don’t tessellate these things. The size will change really rapidly depending on your song and can shrink when the song is suddenly silent. You can see the collapsed triangle at 46%. The pulsing of the block is well-designed, but sometimes it feels off-synced.
> 1.9 levels are full of 3D objects but your level has none. They look really good when paired with 1.9 style decorations, and still sees usage in 2.1. Use them because they give the perception of depth.
With your capability to make something like this while using a selected amount of blocks, it is perfectly possible to create some epic-worthy using the current toolset. Try using them and pour as much effort in creating decoration. Tech deco nowadays are roughly the same thing as 1.9 deco except that there are more blocks and triggers at your disposal.
VerdictHigh Decent. I can really see that you got dedication in this, but unfortunately people have moved on from Nine Circles and 1.9 deco already. Try discovering something new and unique, and incorporate it in your new level. You are a talented creator, and I look forward to seeing you make something epic!
PS Regarding on the stealing stuff thingy: don't take anything from any level and put it in your own level. There are a few consideration for not doing that.
1) Especially in 2.1, decoration often incorporates triggers, sometimes triggers so complicated and unorganised it can mess up when you copy. When copying goes wrong, the decoration can be totally ruined depending on how the deco is built.
2) You lose originality in your level EVEN IF YOU CREDIT THE ORIGINAL CREATOR. Originality is really important to make your level stand out, so if people recognise or you reveal that a part is from another level, people are going to be disappointed.
3) Drama, as all things should be. On the off-chance that your level (either this one or your future works) is rated, featured or rated epic, people are going to expose that something is not original. People are going to make comments on that and that can go wrong if players are not considerate. If everything is your own work, nothing will happen. You should have experienced right now, after the mess in this thread, that copying can really put a level from heaven to hell.
Note that all of the above arguments are to a large extent valid even when you are only inspired by the level instead of directly copying the level. The recreation process can go wrong, the originality is lost, and people are still going to link levels together and gossip around the discovery. So, if you found something cool in the level, cool. Just move on.
>>> Moving to Decent.