New Great Castle Adventure!

qig · Postby **qig** » Tue Aug 19, 2014 1:41 am

Well, I got to some level in the first world that was basically Toad Town. The gimmick was that you have to talk to a bunch of boring NPCs or something, so I stopped playing. Apparently to beat the level you have to talk to some NPC twice so you can get a key from the shop or some nonsense. It was pretty awful. I don't think the designer of this particular level realized that they were making a level for a platformer, not a bad JRPG. The few levels I played before hand were fine, but not particularly special or anything.

Postby **Julia Pseudo** » Tue Aug 19, 2014 2:10 am

^
I thought that Toad Town level was awesome personally. It was a very relaxing level which I think is a good thing early on in the game. If you continue with it, there are some seriously clever puzzles involving a Toad that follows you around. I liked the NPC interaction as well, it seemed excellently executed and fairly immersive.

Darkonius Mavakar · Postby **Darkonius Mavakar** » Tue Aug 19, 2014 4:57 am

Zephyr wrote:if there's one thing I learned over the course of all the episodes I have been a part of it's that you can't please everybody. to those offering criticism I would ask that you actually state what specifically you don't like. I would also say that the episode gets better and better as it progresses. I'll also say that it gets really hard near the end.

krazykoopa has the list of who made what levels.

Edit: feel free to downrep me or warn me, i think i deserve them, i just said my opinions tho.
alright, explanations coming:
krazykoopas levels looked like they were made by a noob, the block, npc, and item placements were bad. i didn't like how they were designed
zephyr's levels were okay, and exept the mirror level thingy and the CC6 airship the rest of the levels looked generic
Valtteri's levels.... well... they lack originality, we have a kirby level... a ghost house level and so on, all of them mimicing mario games extremely welll but... boringly, i'd expected something original instead of the mario gimmicks already used in games, the levels were designed like they were nintendo's original ones.
Chad's levels were the best in this, original themes, good placement, nice gimmicks.

and yes, it's not about gimmicks but some of the levels weren't that fantastic.

hope this helps, zephyr.

Kyo · Postby **Kyo** » Tue Aug 19, 2014 7:42 am

I enjoyed krazykoopa's levels. They had a classic style and were fun to play, and well designed, so I don't see why you think he's a noob at designing. And why in the world should someone warn you for uttering criticism?

Darkonius Mavakar · Postby **Darkonius Mavakar** » Tue Aug 19, 2014 9:31 am

Kyo wrote:I enjoyed krazykoopa's levels. They had a classic style and were fun to play, and well designed, so I don't see why you think he's a noob at designing. And why in the world should someone warn you for uttering criticism?

I don't know.
maybe because since this is an episode made by popular users. I thought people were going to flame me...

zioy · Postby **zioy** » Tue Aug 19, 2014 11:05 am

My favorite levels so far are Goomba Grudge and Toad Town. Goomba Grudge felt like a SMSE level, while Toad Town had this RPG feel that was actually unique to SMBX.

krazykoopa · Postby **krazykoopa** » Tue Aug 19, 2014 12:23 pm

Okay, guys...first of all, I'm not going to flame anyone for voicing their opinion. I believe this is a great episode and the level design is very good (I'll defend myself and my level design team to death on that one). There's a large variety of themes and gimmicks. Some levels are really complex, some are more simple, and some do play out like classic Nintendo levels. Tracking down all the stars requires you to take on a variety of tasks, and I think the hub really brings everything together perfectly with unlocking the other playable characters and different rooms and everything. That's my opinion, but it's perfectly alright to disagree with me. I'm not really sure how anyone could find this episode boring or lacking creativity...makes me wonder what kind of unrealistic expectations you placed on this project, Darkonius. We were still bound by the limitations of SMBX, after all.

I'm also curious how you know who made what levels since I don't think I ever specified this. But if you guys really want to know, I can tell you. I put it in a spoiler for those who haven't finished the episode and don't want to be spoiled by seeing the names of all the levels.

Spoiler: show

HeroLinik · Postby **HeroLinik** » Tue Aug 19, 2014 12:26 pm

krazykoopa wrote:
Spoiler: show
Zephyr made Ruinous Caverns, Yoshi Mountain, Temple of Despair, Dayzee Falls, Monty's Mines, Frostbite Temple, Forgotten Forest, Koopa Kid Fleet, Dangerous Lifts, Quizmo's Crazy Quiz, Mini-Game Central, and Nightmare Lair.

Valtteri made Larry's Treacherous Tower, Mad Mad Volcano, Boo Family Mansion, Frantic Factory, Dreamland Dread, and The Lost Level.

Hang on...the levels that I bolded were from the original TGCA. Why did you list other people as making them when in reality you technically made those levels for the original TGCA, and the team just remade the levels to fit in with 1.3.0.1? Wouldn't you be the original author of those levels?

FanofSMBX · Postby **FanofSMBX** » Tue Aug 19, 2014 12:36 pm

Some levels have creator info in their folder.

Postby **Julia Pseudo** » Tue Aug 19, 2014 1:06 pm

OK yes, based on the levels you made krazykoopa I can confirm that I personally enjoy your level style a lot. I guess it's pretty polarizing though.

RudeGuy · Postby **RudeGuy** » Tue Aug 19, 2014 1:08 pm

castlewars wrote:
krazykoopa wrote:
Spoiler: show
Zephyr made Ruinous Caverns, Yoshi Mountain, Temple of Despair, Dayzee Falls, Monty's Mines, Frostbite Temple, Forgotten Forest, Koopa Kid Fleet, Dangerous Lifts, Quizmo's Crazy Quiz, Mini-Game Central, and Nightmare Lair.

Valtteri made Larry's Treacherous Tower, Mad Mad Volcano, Boo Family Mansion, Frantic Factory, Dreamland Dread, and The Lost Level.
Hang on...the levels that I bolded were from the original TGCA. Why did you list other people as making them when in reality you technically made those levels for the original TGCA, and the team just remade the levels to fit in with 1.3.0.1? Wouldn't you be the original author of those levels?

I think they are completely new. For example, Dangerous lift is a snow level and uses 7 sections instead of 1 (I guess).

Darkonius Mavakar · Postby **Darkonius Mavakar** » Tue Aug 19, 2014 1:11 pm

krazykoopa wrote:makes me wonder what kind of unrealistic expectations you placed on this project, Darkonius. We were still bound by the limitations of SMBX, after all.

well i expected more well... a kind of Mario Expedition feeling, and having the fact that you are not actually free since you HAVE to get almost EVERY SINGLE star in each world kinda kills the fact that this is a mario 64 styled episode thingy.

my level expectations were high, seeing Chad and Zephyr's levels, they were good, while the others were a bit... different compared to the others, i'm talking about level design.

and smbx's limitations don't count, smbx works with exploits.

but that's just your opinion, i'm sorry for what i said krazykoopa didn't want to offend you.

Postby **Raster** » Tue Aug 19, 2014 3:10 pm

This episode was about on the same level as my expectations. It wasn't anything spectacular and some parts weren't even decent. This is perhaps the most disappointing official episode I've played. I'l post my level-by-level review later.

krazykoopa · Postby **krazykoopa** » Tue Aug 19, 2014 4:13 pm

castlewars wrote: Hang on...the levels that I bolded were from the original TGCA. Why did you list other people as making them when in reality you technically made those levels for the original TGCA, and the team just remade the levels to fit in with 1.3.0.1? Wouldn't you be the original author of those levels?

These are new levels, but just kept the old names.

Darkonius Mavakar wrote:
well i expected more well... a kind of Mario Expedition feeling, and having the fact that you are not actually free since you HAVE to get almost EVERY SINGLE star in each world kinda kills the fact that this is a mario 64 styled episode thingy.

my level expectations were high, seeing Chad and Zephyr's levels, they were good, while the others were a bit... different compared to the others, i'm talking about level design.

and smbx's limitations don't count, smbx works with exploits.

but that's just your opinion, i'm sorry for what i said krazykoopa didn't want to offend you.

It's fine, Darkonius. I don't mind you sharing your opinion. I guess we have different ideas on the types of levels we enjoy. SMSE is a great episode, but that style of level design would not have worked as well here with just the way it was structured (three hidden smw stars vs. NGCA being more smb3 star-focused). Even Chad really didn't design his NGCA levels that way.

Pseudo-dino wrote:OK yes, based on the levels you made krazykoopa I can confirm that I personally enjoy your level style a lot. I guess it's pretty polarizing though.

Well, thanks. I guess my level designing style appeals to some players, and dissatisfies others, but that's okay. I personally prefer levels that are a little less complicated, a little more linear, but that's just me. I actually did try to appease the community by adding non-linear sections to my levels.

zioy · Postby **zioy** » Tue Aug 19, 2014 4:22 pm

krazykoopa wrote: Well, thanks. I guess my level designing style appeals to some players, and dissatisfies others, but that's okay. I personally prefer levels that are a little less complicated, a little more linear, but that's just me. I actually did try to appease the community by adding non-linear sections to my levels.

I personally love that style

YouTube · Postby **bossedit8** » Tue Aug 19, 2014 9:47 pm

I am throwing another part for ya:

Original Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yb3qVXuOE9s

Bombable Destruction!!

sezixor · Postby **sezixor** » Tue Aug 19, 2014 11:55 pm

I played through the first room of levels (I haven't played much since school has been rough) and I really like this so far. The levels are excellently designed and really fun to play. My favorite level is Fungus Village. I love village levels and you (or who ever made it) pulled that one off extremely well. The lost toad part was really clever as well. The castle is also fantastically crafted. However, I do have a few things to mention that you might want to consider changing when you release an updated version. I haven't read any of the other posts to prevent spoilers so I'm not sure if any of these things have been mentioned.

-In the first level, there was no indication that killing all the green goombas would unlock the switch at the end. All the other enemies were green colored, so I didn't think anything of it.
-There is a bug in Fungus Village. In the section with the midpoint, if you die and go back through the door with the lock then you can't go back unless you replay the sequence where you have to talk to the toads to get the key. You could just put the locked door warp on a layer and make an event to hide it when you get the midpoint, and make another layer that will make a non-locked door warp appear when you hit the midpoint. Or just make it a one-way warp in the first place. Just to be clear, this bug only happens if you get the midpoint.
-I'm not sure if it is just me, but I found it a bit odd how the toad in the same level is still running around when you return him to his home. He isn't trapped in the sewers anymore, so he shouldn't have any reason to look so frightened and run around the way he does. Maybe find or make another toad NPC fitting for being safe at home.

All of those things are pretty minor. None of them are serious or game-breaking, but you can decide if they are serious enough to be changed. Besides those things, I really like this game and seriously can’t wait to playing more.

Postby **Julia Pseudo** » Wed Aug 20, 2014 3:25 am

^
You can see that the green goombas are switch goombas somewhat since they turn around at ledges. I do agree that there should be a message block at the beginning or something though.

YouTube · Postby **bossedit8** » Wed Aug 20, 2014 3:34 am

Well, you should destroy enemies more like what I am doing all the time while playing SMBX. There are games that it won't give you indication by destroying specific enemies and after that you can go further on after you have done with (RPG's for example). Green Goombas are easy to destroy anyway so why should be at least a indication as of why you should destroy switch goombas like that.