Wouldn't a TAS of the Spyro games have to wait, since they were analog sensitive?
There's no reason not to do a test run now. The analog control seems a bit tacked on (I just played a few more hours of YotD with analog controls and didn't work well at all). Most of your time is spent charging anyway with little to no reason to press forward anyway.
You can usually get optimal angles with the D-pad like I tried to do with my test run (I didn't do very well because I'm still getting used to this whole PCSX business D: and I just wanted to see what it was like to TAS the game, really experimental).
Also, anyone have luck on the sound issue?
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Now that Silhouette Mirage is out of the question, this excellent PS1 title has attracted my attention. Behold a very brief test run where I collect one egg in the hub world, two in Sunset Villa and then warp out. This warping business is going to be very important for route planning; since I think a 100% would be very boring to watch (not to mention long; the SDA 100p run is over FOUR HOURS), an any% will do, which also makes the routing much more interesting.
Tell me what you think!
(I haven't gotten the sound to work well on this either, but I think it's an exclusive issue. Please, anyone tell me if you can get all the sound working and PCSX, and if so, your PCSX specs).
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Hmm, this is weird. Apparently neither version of Silhouette Mirage has music when running on PCSX, but both versions run with music on PSXfin. I guess this project will have to wait until PCSX is patched to correct this issue.
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I recently discovered this fascinating beat-em-up by Treasure, which combines the polarity-switching of (the then non-existent) Ikaruga and traditional platforming/murdering. It's great fun, and I'm going to TAS it.
The (J) PlayStation version of the game has to be used because a) it looks better than (U) and b) it actually has the music, because the (U) is a direct rip which doesn't feature the excellent soundtrack.
I'm trying to find a way to manipulate Parasite Bombs for large groups of enemies on either side of you. Of course it's possible to Power Punch a stray enemy if one is on the other side. The route for this is bound to be very interesting...
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Hey Josh L.,
I'm considering picking up Shantae as my next project now that I've finished Prince of Persia. I've watched your third-labyrinth WIP and it looks excellent! I need to play through the full game myself before planning a route, but this looks like it should be fun.
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First of all, thanks to NrgSpoon for introducing me to this game. It's a platformer at heart but very deep, and will take a lot of route planning.
I did a test run of this game which completes the tutorial section (ending with the first boss fight with Risky). Due to microstorage's ongoing woes I've uploaded this link via 4shared - http://www.4shared.com/file/69197454/2485dfcc/Shantae__U__C.html
I used the ROM Shantae (U) [C][!].gbc but I'll leave it up to you to find it ;)
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Okay, I've decided to start over and make this a 100% run (all gems) since a suicidal bandicoot would just make for sadistic viewing and this will be considerably more awesome. I'll post up a WIP later.
Agreed.
Though you'll still have to kill Crash pretty often, just not every level.
Also, I found that you still get the great screen if you die before the first checkpoint, so we have to kill Crash right after he hits the first checkpoint. Route planning will have to take that into account.
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That's awesome, but it's a speedrun so we wouldn't be opening secret levels.
What? Come on, 100p plus going through the Great Hall is the best way to show off how broken this game can be.
PCSX is also crashing every time I try to play your run. Can you make an AVI or YouTube copy?
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I don't have the patience and/or dedication to do this run myself but I will gladly help out in route planning.
One thing I just thought of: since it wastes time to go through the statistics screen when you can't get a clear gem on a level yet, and the stats screen only shows up when you've cleared the level with one life, we need to kill Crash immediately after starting any level where the clear gem is not immediately attainable (i.e. almost all of Island 1 - Jungle Rollers, The Great Gate, Upstream, Rolling Stones and Native Fortress). This means that we can't pick up any Aku Akus in most places to allow Crash a quick and painless death. Heavy death abuse is a must.
Also, bonus rounds do NOT count towards the level's box total, so Tawna, Brio and Cortex tokens should be avoided.
This is my potential route for Island 1:
N. Sanity Beach
Get all boxes and avoid the Aku Akus. There's a way to hit the crate bridge so that Crash can hit each one as it spawns but I haven't been able to do it consistently.
Jungle Rollers
Death - Spin Crash into the TNT, complete as fast as possible w/o boxes.
The Great Gate
Death - It's probably faster to send Crash into the pit past the turtle (Crash has a pretty long death animation when touched by enemies). It may be slightly faster to go through the level without a death but I haven't tested that yet.
Boulders
Clear Gem.
Upstream
Death - Immediately drown Crash in the river, play as normal without going for boxes.
Papu Papu
As normal
Rolling Stones
Death - have Crash touch the man-eating plant. Play without going for boxes.
Hog Wild
Get the clear gem, no Aku Akus on this level iirc.
Native Fortress
Death by turtle. Play normally.
So - anyone else have ideas?
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So my film prof at university recently gave a lecture on the importance of subtext, so I was wondering: which Metal Gear cutscene do you think shows the worst redundancy/lack of cutscenes the series has to offer?
We all know Hideo Kojima needs an editor, but I'd love to hear your suggestions from both a gamer and film-critic perspective.
What do you think?
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PCSX crashes whenever I try to use it - running the emulator, running it from a CD, even running from a .img file. I've tried all sorts of different settings (using Daemon's mirror as a CD drive). Help would be appreciated.
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Thanks for the analysis Bezman. My levels are being designed as a change of pace for the typical 2D Mario crowd and will test timing, puzzle-solving and situational analysis. It's great to see a casual POV though.
Bezman wrote:
- I hated the jump just before the half-way point. We can't see the koopa we're meant to bounce off until we jump. Don't make 'leaps of faith' unless you have a good reason and the jump is a simple one.
Good point. I've moved the Koopa over one block to the left so that he is within the draw distance.
Bezman wrote:
- liked the hidden platforms going to the Lakitu.
The Lakitu cloud has been removed in favour of a high road, because I discovered that the whole puzzle could be skipped just by flying. There should be other ways to skip it instead.
Bezman wrote:
- the row of koopas we needed to bounce off, one by one, is rather tricky.
Play around with it. If you get Mario up to the maximum P-speed and take a full jump you need only bounce off the middle one.
Bezman wrote:
- the entire level can basically be skipped by flying through it, rendering the 'puzzle' and challenges null and void. Maybe having the dragon coins at ground level to encourage folk to go the 'hard route' or having a secret exit at ground level or sky-bound obstacles would work well. Or maybe ensure that none of your platforms are long enough to build up the speed to fly.
The get-out-of-puzzle free is for advanced players (or those who have already played through the level) as a means to an end from a speedrunning or short-for-time perspective. I never (with some exceptions) want the player to feel forced into a puzzle they can't or don't want to solve. Just because a certain path is the "proper" way doesn't mean it should be the only way.
Bezman wrote:
- the goal floating in mid-air looks weird and glitchy. I know that you're experimenting with the tools, but having the goal on a really tall platform wouldn't have changed the level itself, but would have made the positioning in keeping with SMW's internal rules. If you want to be a pro level designer, you've got to pay heed to those internal rules that every good game establishes.
I have replaced that with a pipe, followed by a short (and unexpected) run to the exit.
Bezman wrote:
- If a player reached the mid-way point then dies, they can't use the spring for the exit (without going back and doing some superhuman feats...)
Yeah, that occured to me too. The midway point's been removed
Bezman wrote:
The entire level seemed a bit patchy and bare. Two sections - the gaps with winged koopas - were tough, whilst most of it seemed like areas between them, rather than parts of a level in their own right. It may be worth extending a theme more fully across a level and ensuring that you don't have 'dead zones' that just seem like areas to traverse, without much happening.
This particular level was designed to be paced in a certain fashion, lulling the player into a false sense of security and then hitting him hard with a particularly tricky jump or other obstacle. That was entirely deliberate.
Bezman wrote:
I got some fun out of it, but it fell short of the quality of good professional output, and those are some reasons maybe why.
The level's been drastically changed (and some new ones have been added). I will be uploading the new ROM some time tomorrow for further analysis.
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Let me step in by saying that I don't think a 100% should obsolete this run, especially since some of the coolest tricks involve skipping "essential" dungeon items. Plus I'm not sure how much of it can be done out of order when you consider that quite a few items are obtained in specific cutscenes.
I'll also be a naive bastard and ask why the Deku Tree can't be put off until after the Forest Temple is completed. Or is it simply too much to ISG bomb hover up to the top of the Deku Tree and drop down?
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After watching this run twice through, I am absolutely astounded not just by the execution of this run, but also its creativity and entertainment value. Whether it was using Grappling Hook to open doors, that glitch on Mother Brain, the painstaking damage and route planning or just the sheer SPEED of it all, this run knocked my socks off and could easily get my vote for run of the year (that's saying a lot).
Instant yes vote.
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This doesn't really apply as much if you can backtrack to get the springboard, mind.
It's almost possible to backtrack, but I just need to have an extra flying Koopa spawn so players can jump over the large gap near the end from the other side.
I hope to post another update in the next few days with at least one new level as well as all the major changes to the first.
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– making the level impossible to complete unless the player chose earlier an action that seemed completely irrelevant
In the changes I'm making to the level now, using the springboard is the easiest, rather than the only, option. For example, the player could potentially bounce off two Bullet Bills and land on the pipe (which has replaced the goal) or, if they bring a cape with, they can simply fly up.
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Fly with the lakitu cloud up to the end. It's way easier. You can also jump from the help block, onto a bullet bill, to the end.
Hehe...oops. I only realized the Lakitu trick when my roommate went to test it, so...darn. Anyway, the bullet bill trick was intended but I'm altering now to make it (slightly) easier.
I've also been trying to do some colour matching. Not going very well I'm afraid :(
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I'll have to wait for the AVI on this one but congrats to Flop for FINALLY getting this run done! You've convinced me to start working on my Prince of Persia GBA run again... :D
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– graphics: is the scene constructed of wood, question marks, tiles; what kind of backgrounds you use
– music
This hack is based entirely on design, mainly becuase I have no skill in uploading graphics, and secondly because I just want to focus solely on level design.
FODA wrote:
You have to question yourself if it's meant to be a hardcore gamer game only or if you want as many people as possible to play it.
With the level I demoed above, I was taking a middle ground with that concept. (And for those who don't know what to do, you have to carry the springboard across the level. Come on, it's called Spring Valley for a reason!)
For example, look at the puzzle just after the midway point. There are two ways to get across, one for the casual (bad) player and one for the hardcore (good) player:
1. Activate the invisible blocks, get up to the Lakitu cloud and hold on to the springboard while flying across to the other side (casual)
2. Hold on to the springboard and rebound of the Koopas to get to the other side (hardcore)
In my tutorial level that I created (which I haven't shown, for good reason) I always tried to make a riskier but shorter path that those looking for a challenge would want to check out.
My design philosophy is that difficulty should come not from control limitations, but challenging the player to give it his/her all and make the obstacles themselves the challenge. This is in part why I chose the Super Mario World engine (the other being that Lunar Magic is AMAZING).
So...what do you actually think of the level above? What mistakes from that level should I avoid in the future? What actually worked?
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This is a level I made before getting this advice (where Yoshi's Island 1 is normally; the level is called Spring Garden). You can play it here http://www.megaupload.com/?d=2QJK4HRG
It centres around two themes: a) having more than one way to solve any one puzzle and b) multi-tasking platforming and puzzle-solving. I won't spoil it, because a big part of the level is figuring out just HOW to beat it.
Rather than trying to justify the level's design, I'll put this level on the operating table for it to be judged, analyzed, and have tomatoes thrown at it.
*cringes*
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So I've gotten into basic Super Mario World level design with Lunar Magic. Now I'm starting to create my own levels, and I've done some background reading on 2D level design.
I especially enjoyed the "cells and portals" theory put forth by A Framework for Analysis of 2D Platformer Levels (Smith, Cha and Whitehead, 2007) that each level is designed with one portal (exit) and several "cells" or pathways. I've also raided Gamasutra's servers for any interviews and essays on level design, though sadly they are mostly on 3D level design.
Keeping in mind I'm working with the Super Mario World engine, what advice would you have as players and/or level designer for a fledgling 2D designer such as myself (and yes, I have taken the "play more than you design" aesthetic already). I also have a few questions for anyone with 2D design experience:
1. What is it that makes Nintendo's designs so successful?
2. How prominent is pacing in a semi-linear platformer such as Super Mario World? Do individual levels need to "feed" off one another's pacing?
3. Are there any geometric rules to follow when placing blocks?
4. What's the easiest way to tell if a level's difficulty is unbalanced from the outside (I found that constant playtesting can create difficulty immunity)?
5. Should puzzles be designed around a single "screen" or backtracking throughout the level? Is there ever a "right time" to create a backtracking puzzle?
I'd appreciate any constructive advice thrown at me!
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