Beatus Litus

[Duster]

Howdy, it is me AGAIN. I hope you guys didn't get tired of my levels.

I made a beach type level this time, although i have never done a water level ever so i was a bit inexperienced, beware.

This level has some sidepaths and a star but none of them are long enough for you to get lost.

The level also shares some similiarity to my latest level, Obustus Archipelago.

Here is the screenshot:

Spoiler: show

Spoiler: show

I worked hard for the water section for it to look good and be fun and challenging at the same time, i 'd like some feedback on this though.

The download link:

http://www.mediafire.com/download/2h2x3 ... +Litus.zip

Credits:

Spoiler: show

Tileset and some BGO's by Raster
Custom springboard by Enjl
Fish npcs and some other stuff by Sednaiur
Torpedo by H2643

Please tell me if i forgot any.

And lastly, i hope you guys enjoy the level!

[Zipper]

This is pretty cute! I don't remember the last time I played a water level and didn't want to claw my eyes out.

Graphically, it's really nice to look at. I have a soft spot for the beach theme, so that might be my bias talking, but I find this level really pretty. Perhaps the grass edges (especially near slopes) could use to be slightly less square, but that's just nitpicking. One thing that caught my eye is that you used the same tileset for the underwater section...and it....I dunno, it sort of looks contradictory with an ocean setting in the background? Nothing too annoying, but it rubs me the wrong way.

The gameplay was enjoyable, a simple water stage that doesn't make sure you rub your face in sandpaper after playing. The Ace Coins were in pretty blatant locations, but that's not a complaint for me, as I'm not one that likes to adventure deep into a level for the sake of an aesthetic collectible . The secret star was pretty easy to find as well, while providing its own challenge. One problem I had is that the water areas could occasionally be TOO slow. Consider the Torpedo Teds in the underwater section. They take an eon and a half to get through the screen, since water slows them down. Same goes for some of the big fish, they require you to move VERY precisely in order to not get hit, and while this isn't hard, it DOES consume a lot of time in the process. Perhaps a way to speed up the fish and expand the area they travel would help? It'd be less of a waiting game and more of a timing game.
Other than that I don't have much to say. The powerups were well placed, I didn't really starve for them or anything, and enemies were used pretty fairly (the Venus Fire Traps are a little annoying, but that's because their fire behaviour is weird). The level didn't have much to "stand out", but that doesn't mean it wasn't fun.

Keep it up!

[Duster]

This is pretty cute! I don't remember the last time I played a water level and didn't want to claw my eyes out.

Graphically, it's really nice to look at. I have a soft spot for the beach theme, so that might be my bias talking, but I find this level really pretty. Perhaps the grass edges (especially near slopes) could use to be slightly less square, but that's just nitpicking. One thing that caught my eye is that you used the same tileset for the underwater section...and it....I dunno, it sort of looks contradictory with an ocean setting in the background? Nothing too annoying, but it rubs me the wrong way.

The gameplay was enjoyable, a simple water stage that doesn't make sure you rub your face in sandpaper after playing. The Ace Coins were in pretty blatant locations, but that's not a complaint for me, as I'm not one that likes to adventure deep into a level for the sake of an aesthetic collectible . The secret star was pretty easy to find as well, while providing its own challenge. One problem I had is that the water areas could occasionally be TOO slow. Consider the Torpedo Teds in the underwater section. They take an eon and a half to get through the screen, since water slows them down. Same goes for some of the big fish, they require you to move VERY precisely in order to not get hit, and while this isn't hard, it DOES consume a lot of time in the process. Perhaps a way to speed up the fish and expand the area they travel would help? It'd be less of a waiting game and more of a timing game.
Other than that I don't have much to say. The powerups were well placed, I didn't really starve for them or anything, and enemies were used pretty fairly (the Venus Fire Traps are a little annoying, but that's because their fire behaviour is weird). The level didn't have much to "stand out", but that doesn't mean it wasn't fun.

Keep it up!

Thanks! This was my first experience of a water level so i agree with what you criticised about the water sections.

I also made torpedoes spawn like in 7 seconds or something, but i doubt that helped much because they are too slow. I'll make sure to keep what you said about them in mind if i ever make a water level again!

Fun Fact: This level was supposed to be about ancient ruins in a beach but i just couldn't find the right green tileset. I am still proud of what the outcome of the level is though.

[diamantico21]

there's something wrong with the mask of the cheep cheep's kill effect

[Duster]

there's something wrong with the mask of the cheep cheep's kill effect

Oh yeah i just noticed that, not really sure what causes it.

[Emral]

Review time!

I'm largely on the same page as Zipper when it comes to this level, so I'll try to not repeat his words too much in this review.

This is an interesting little level with tons and tons of areas to explore, kept on a scale small enough to stay interesting and not bore the player. Usually when I see levels which try to go for tons of secrets and split paths, they end them in a dead end, forcing the player to turn around or take a return pipe. This level doesn't do that. You cleverly arranged the geometry in a way where the player always has a ton of choices on where to go next, and the music you chose (while a bit TOO adventurous for my taste) supports this theme of exploring the island and choosing your own path.

Every secret area was stocked with rewards including powerups, dragon coins, 1-ups and even a secret star! Saying that this level has 6 dragon coins is probably the best way to describe just how much stuff you can find in here.

While I had a great time going from one side-area to the next and looking for the treasure of the island, there are two (or three (two of them kinda merge into one, really)) things which bothered me a bit about this level. First off, something Zipper already mentioned: The precise movement required underwater. I think this issue is kind of a result of the small scale you built your level on, and while I didn't have too much of a problem with it, I sometimes did decide to just take a hit because I knew the level would give me another powerup soon enough. What I suggest is taking away some of the enemies near small passages, or if there are multiple, taking one away. Placing enemies in an underwater area is difficult, and it's better to not try to block the player off with them most of the time. They should usually serve as an avoidable obstacle to manipulate the player's path through the level (at least that's my opinion, I'm not a fish scientist).

My second nitpick is that the second half is really lacking after the huge and expansive first one. It's just a big letdown that there's really nothing to explore and I think it could've just been an additional three screens in the first section. I might actually be a bit overly salty about this because I accidentally went into the pipe to the second half, thinking it's another secret area, and finding out that I can't go back to explore more of the first half. The lack of substance in the second half also creates the illusion that the midpoint is heavily lopsided.

Overall, this level was a lot of fun to play until the midpoint, and I suggest looking into building the 2nd half's features into the first one and moving the midpoint to approximately the middle of the first section. The sudden change of pace ripped me out of the experience and just really doesn't compliment what this level is going for. Anyways, I had a lot of fun.

7.3/10

Before I go, I took some gifs during my plathrough of very minor stuff which isn't really an issue but which I'd like you to see:
http://i.imgur.com/dvYbQum.webm
There's something going on with that torpedo ted which you might wanna check out.

http://i.imgur.com/dkuuG9s.webm
Double-check every cheep's effect. I've also seen that the red cheeps look weird when dying and this might also be true for the large ones.

http://i.imgur.com/mISSc6n.webm
Neat little shortcut I found. While it's unusual and probably unintended, it's definitely a plus to me and something which I really don't see enough.

[Duster]

Review time!

I'm largely on the same page as Zipper when it comes to this level, so I'll try to not repeat his words too much in this review.

This is an interesting little level with tons and tons of areas to explore, kept on a scale small enough to stay interesting and not bore the player. Usually when I see levels which try to go for tons of secrets and split paths, they end them in a dead end, forcing the player to turn around or take a return pipe. This level doesn't do that. You cleverly arranged the geometry in a way where the player always has a ton of choices on where to go next, and the music you chose (while a bit TOO adventurous for my taste) supports this theme of exploring the island and choosing your own path.

Every secret area was stocked with rewards including powerups, dragon coins, 1-ups and even a secret star! Saying that this level has 6 dragon coins is probably the best way to describe just how much stuff you can find in here.

While I had a great time going from one side-area to the next and looking for the treasure of the island, there are two (or three (two of them kinda merge into one, really)) things which bothered me a bit about this level. First off, something Zipper already mentioned: The precise movement required underwater. I think this issue is kind of a result of the small scale you built your level on, and while I didn't have too much of a problem with it, I sometimes did decide to just take a hit because I knew the level would give me another powerup soon enough. What I suggest is taking away some of the enemies near small passages, or if there are multiple, taking one away. Placing enemies in an underwater area is difficult, and it's better to not try to block the player off with them most of the time. They should usually serve as an avoidable obstacle to manipulate the player's path through the level (at least that's my opinion, I'm not a fish scientist).

My second nitpick is that the second half is really lacking after the huge and expansive first one. It's just a big letdown that there's really nothing to explore and I think it could've just been an additional three screens in the first section. I might actually be a bit overly salty about this because I accidentally went into the pipe to the second half, thinking it's another secret area, and finding out that I can't go back to explore more of the first half. The lack of substance in the second half also creates the illusion that the midpoint is heavily lopsided.

Overall, this level was a lot of fun to play until the midpoint, and I suggest looking into building the 2nd half's features into the first one and moving the midpoint to approximately the middle of the first section. The sudden change of pace ripped me out of the experience and just really doesn't compliment what this level is going for. Anyways, I had a lot of fun.

7.3/10

Before I go, I took some gifs during my plathrough of very minor stuff which isn't really an issue but which I'd like you to see:
http://i.imgur.com/dvYbQum.webm
There's something going on with that torpedo ted which you might wanna check out.

http://i.imgur.com/dkuuG9s.webm
Double-check every cheep's effect. I've also seen that the red cheeps look weird when dying and this might also be true for the large ones.

http://i.imgur.com/mISSc6n.webm
Neat little shortcut I found. While it's unusual and probably unintended, it's definitely a plus to me and something which I really don't see enough.

Thanks for taking your time and reviewing this level, you really showed some stuff i definetely didn't pay attention to and i'll make sure to take note of them when i am creating another level like this.