Yorpius II level design

Discussion and analysis of graphics, story, levels, and so on.
Stealthy71088
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Post by Stealthy71088 »

How long should I wait before I go to the next level? Has everyone said what they want to say?
KeenRush
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Post by KeenRush »

I guess so, so go ahead. :D
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levellord
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Post by levellord »

Wait! Nobody rebuilt the level to take advantage of our comments!
Stealthy71088
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Post by Stealthy71088 »

Well, if you want to...
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Freeyorp101
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Post by Freeyorp101 »

Hmm...

Image

The dino charges, but stops. the candy is more organised, and the 1st green thingy is optional. (ie, dodge him to get points.) the 2nd green thingy is trickier, but you should be able to send him up long enough to slip by. as for the yorp, I think the player needs to realise that, unlike keen1, there is a floor beneath keen.
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levellord
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Post by levellord »

Excellent.

However, I'd've just replaced the level bottom tiles with fall through or kill tiles

Linky to file?
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XkyRauh
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hum

Post by XkyRauh »

It looks like you've introduced some of the tiles from the "Ruins" set there... not sure if KeenRush's planetary layout would support civilization in the middle of nowhere. :) I think he saved those tiles for special levels on purpose--you may be degrading the overall continuity of his mod!
Stealthy71088
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Post by Stealthy71088 »

It looks nice, although I wish the dinos could still kill keen in the beginning by charging.

I don't know how wise it is to use the ruins theme this early in the game- having new themes appear as you get further and further into the game rewards the player for getting that far. I hope that doesn't "ruin" your level.
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levellord
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Post by levellord »

Well, it might be wise to replace them yes, then give us a link so we can add it to the levelpack.
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Freeyorp101
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space

Post by Freeyorp101 »

... then give us a link so we can add it to the levelpack.
I don't have any free webspace for this, but I could always e-mail it to S--_D--_P-- at hotmail dot com if you wish.

At the moment I have the stone replaced with the wood planks, would that be better?
Stealthy71088
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Level 3 and More!

Post by Stealthy71088 »

I think that's all right. Although, if the stone on the right is wood now, it just looks like a wooden ruin, unnatural. Perhaps you should add some of those black rocks in there too to make it more natural?

I've been making a levelpack too. My two levels aren't much different from what we already have, although the basic level design is mostly the same in the second. I can put up pictures, but it's difficult. If I get a level I think is really good, I'll send it to LL via email.

I've been looking through Yorpius II in Keenedit, and I've found some interesting things. Every level has 2 insignificant sprites. Each level either has a sprite of some specific number in the 300's in the upper left corner, or a specific sprite of some number 2300ish in the lower right corner. What is this?

There's also 2 secret levels in this game, not one like most people believe. If you go down in the beginning, and press control on one of the flower beds, you wind uphere.

The light switch works as a light switch, but other than that, it's just one small mad level. If we wanted to, we could make a new level from scratch for our level pack, even including our own tiles, although that might be pushing it. But we may want to save that for later, when we are done looking through the other levels.

If I remember right, Keenrush didn't include a butlerbot. We could make one, and put it in only this level.

Here's the next level.

Stealthy's Notes
-There are no sprites here, other than keen and that weird one I told you about.
-The plants are very clever. When you are playing, assuming you are a noob, it can be a bit of a puzzle learning how to get around. That's a good thing.
-The bottom of the map is not blocked.
-For the most part, the high level points are very easy to get.
-The level is very linear, with only one, possibly two different places to go try to get extra points.
-The first jump is painful if you are a noob. I was a noob when I played it, so I know. I must have died 4-5 times there.
-The ladders on the bottom are deceptive in terms of where you can stand and where you can't.
Stealthy's Questions

Code: Select all

 -Should a yorp or garg be added to spice it up a bit, and if so where?
-How would you restructure the level to keep that puzzle aspect in the level and yet open new areas to explore? Make sure you can get all the points in one life- no one way paths.
-What should be done with the bottom of the level?
-Should the points be repositioned? Possibly taking out some of those hotdogs, and maybe a radio?
-Should anything else be different?
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XkyRauh
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bah

Post by XkyRauh »

This level is awesome the way it is, with a few exceptions. Make the ceiling of the level one tile taller, to help with that first jump, and then put a proper floor along the bottom (and a proper border along the sides)... Other than that, I think KeenRush did a fantastic job with playtesting this level. It asks the player to slow down and THINK, which is a nice change of pace. We've had a few levels to introduce us to the graphical style of the mod at this point--this is our first real trial.

Actually, we may want to go back to the very first one-screen level (level01) and add a tile of the "broken bottom of the ladder," so players can become familiar with it. This helps fight some of the ambiguity with those tiles... though I agree, they should be more clearly defined. But that's an art question, not a level design question. :)
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levellord
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Post by levellord »

And why not? Artistic suggestions could be very helpful. Personally I think Xky's bang on the button I also think the second secret level [yeah I found it, I look over all the maps in KeenEdit] is perfect the way it is, although it might use a little candy.
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Freeyorp101
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Post by Freeyorp101 »

add a tile of the "broken bottom of the ladder,"
I did that with my reworked level, though the plaer may not be able to exxactly see that you can't stay on it.

since the broken ladder tile in itself has a fixed rung, you could argue that it sould be solid on the top.

I'd forgotten about that secret level, though I do vaguely remember finding it once.this level forms a nice 'maze' format I use sometimes, but a few gaps mean a fall you can't get up from, and no way to commit suicide and retry the level. (ie, the green key & door section. If you miss the jump you don't have the keycard to get out, and you can't pogo high enough to get out.)

the 500 point items are pleniful here- perhaps keenrush confused them with the 100 point items when he first made it because of the layout of the tiles. or maybe it was just being generous, giving lives to waste on the mega-hard levels ;)
and maybe a radio?
...computer.

----------------------

this will be an intersting level to restruct. perhaps the size of the level should be changed and the nodes mapped out, so that a similar pathway maze with similar corridor sysems can be done? and yes, enemys should be placed too. Maybe in chambers between the corridors, xky style?
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grelphy
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Post by grelphy »

This is one of my personal favorite levels for this mod. It succeeds in being linear (logistically, not layout-wise) without being confining or even walled in. The unusually designed hazards make for a level that is interesting in both visually and in gameplay. I might only change the third hazard jump to lower the absurd difficulty a little, and remove the green door trap. Aside from that, I like it.
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