Gargantuan Insect Snowstorm

They're not that bad, but they're not that good either.
PersonNamedUser
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Gargantuan Insect Snowstorm

Postby PersonNamedUser » Sun May 15, 2016 1:32 am

This level was made for TTK's Snow level contest, and also as a sequel to Gargantuan Insect Rainstorm.
It got in 5th place which is an okay placing. So here it is.
Screenshots:
Spoiler: show
Image
Image
Download

feedback, as always, is appreciated

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Re: Gargantuan Insect Snowstorm

Postby MECHDRAGON777 » Sun May 15, 2016 2:07 am

Here are your reviews from the contest and you got a 5.5 average. I think that would be pretty good, but I am no level judge yet, so I can not say.

The Thwomp King
Spoiler: show
Entry 9
Gargantuan Insect Snowstorm by MosaicMario

Well I didn’t expect a sequel to the Weather Contest entry. Maybe you should’ve saved this for Weather Contest 2 [Or will that even be a contest? ;)]. Anyway the level isn’t as long nor is it as unfair as the last one, but everything from here is treating the level as it’s own, not me comparing to the rainstorm one. NPCS look nice again, and the music and graphics look relatively decent too. A little more background or environment could help out (Bgos and blocks). The level plays well too, but there are some npc spammed areas as well as a handful of opportunities to get hit in a cheap manner. I also got stuck while playing this level too, resulting in me having to replay it all over again. This occurred during the second or third bug spam event when you’re on the ice blocks. So it’s an alright level, but I think your design is better when you don’t use the giant bug theme.

4.6/10
Linik
Spoiler: show
Gargantuan Insect Snowstorm - 6.6/10
At first glance, this appears to be a carbon copy of Gargantuan Insect Rainstorm, but on closer inspection, it looks and plays much differently from its predecessor. The falling snow looked appealing and the bugs enhanced this. The basic challenge of the predecessor is still there though, except with a different set of challenges, ranging from seeking a switch to remove a lava blockade and using what appears to be a Piranha Pipe to clear out blocks, and each one of these seem to be executed quite well. The surprise ambushes were also nice, but the size and amount of enemies there are to take out in each wave make it much harder than it should be, and this isn't helped by the ice physics. The boss battle though was pretty much badly executed despite the ideas used, because it dragged on for too long. This is especially considering that the second phase took too long because it's an SMB1 Bowser fight; it's easy to think the battle is over after that phase. Also, the final Ludwig phase moves too fast. Overall though the level was good, if it weren't for those flaws.
PROX
Spoiler: show
Gargantuan Insect Snowstorm: 3/10
Well it looks like we're back to the long level trend again. There are numerous areas that you can get hit unfairly,
and get swarmed by numerous npcs at the same time. You can even get stuck in one of those areas if an npc just happens
to walk offscreen. Never make npcs randomly spawn without some sort of indication first. Also the level is very lengthy.
It really needs to be toned down. The boss really dragged on and npcs can really build up in numbers if you aren't constantly
fighting them and the boss itself. It's good to keep the player engaged, but there's a limit to it as well. Also there were
times where npcs would randomly spawn on me during the boss which again is very unfair. You clearly tried in this level, but there's
a lot to be improved upon. It wasn't nearly as lengthy as its predecessor, but it's still a very long level. If you want to use more
sections, make them shorter.
HVMetal
Spoiler: show
-Entry 9: Gargantuan Insect Snowstorm 8,8/10

This level was one of my favorites! The music of the overworld section fits perfectly to the levels action-based stormy overworld. I want
to mention that the GFX were so pure, especially the backgrounds. Block placement was alright. The level wasnt flat or boring but at the
same time it wasnt too agglomerated. The BGOs were also ok, the level was very well decorated. Sometimes there are some small cutoffs
for example the SMB3 grass and the small bushes, or in section 4 at the swtich the small hills with the SMB1 fence. The snow effect was
good and it didnt hurt my eyes. There was a HUGE variety of NPCs. They were placed in a way to be an obstacle for the player and not only
a snail falling in a pit. What mostly broke the levels score are the small boss fights in the level. Not because they are hard or something
like that, but the player can get stuck easily. For example in the first one, I got stuck when I was closer to the left side of the screen
but I could proceed when I was on the right side. The second boss fight is almost impossible to figure out how to get past without getting
stuck there. The flamethrower part was one of my favorites. The final boss fight was creative, the boss gets a little bit aggresive at
the end of the fight resulting in a Super Fast insect. At overall, except some BGOs and the mini-boss fight, this level was pure beauty
with its pure graphics and I enjoyed playing it.
MECHDRAGON777
Spoiler: show
Gargantuan Insect Snowstorm
The only thing this level has going for it is that it looks and sounds nice. When I had to play all of the levels again, this is the one level I did not even bother with trying to finish at all. The secret in the first frozen pipes is impossible to get to since their is no fire flower in the first section. In the monster houses (screens where you have to kill all enemies), you can get stuck if the bugs go off of the screen. You can also break these by flying up. The star as a second checkpoint is clever (...and I remember doing this in CC7) it is still missable if play through the level after beating the level. You should have the event trigger another event just to hide the warp half a second latter if you do the multi-points with stars. The boss fight is really cheap as well as he can land on you between form changes. Also, if you throw the Spring board out of the "Weather Machine" area, you can get stuck down there. It is near impossible to get enough speed to jump out of their. The level is also on the long side, but not as long as your usual levels. I know this is your level SuperMario12345/Mossaic Mario.
Replayability 0/10
Music 5/5
Gameplay 3/20
Contest Theme 5/5
Gimmick 4/5
Difficulty 0/10
Aesthetics 10/10
Total 27/60
Average 4.5/10

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Re: Gargantuan Insect Snowstorm

Postby HeroLinik » Mon May 16, 2016 2:49 pm



Why didn't I upload this earlier?

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Re: Gargantuan Insect Snowstorm

Postby PixelPest » Wed Jun 22, 2016 10:03 pm

Review of Gargantuan Insect Snowstorm

Level Design/Gameplay (weighed 70%): 3.0/10
This level was really too long for what it had to offer. Most of the NPCs and concepts used throughout the level are introduced near the beginning, so the player starts to get bored of the same old endeavours: piling mushroom blocks and avoiding spammy NPCs. NPC placement (and their shear number) is a major issue with this level. Not only are there too many NPCs, but the number of NPCs on the screen at a time, as well as a number that have projectiles, make it just way too hectic. Many spots in the level are terribly cramped and unfair. The flamethrower gimmick was okay, however it really didn't go anywhere. It's use wasn't very creative, nor was it intriguing for the player, but more seemed like another element used to drag out the length of the level. There are so many ways it could have been used in an interesting way, but it really wasn't. The boss battle now takes things to a whole other level, including NPC spam. It was poorly designed, such as the large amounts of NPC spam (again, this time in the form of NPCs just suddenly appearing on the screen, almost on top of the player) and a really long, painful SMB3 Bowser re-skin bossfight. Although there was some variety to the phases, it just wasn't fun to play. Really, the only thing that saved this level from a below-three score in this category, is its small bit of variety, power-up placement that somewhat compensates for its awful amount of NPC spam, its coin placement, and the first couple of minutes of gameplay which portrayed positive level design elements before it went on for too long and became overly cramped near about 1/3 of the way throug (not including the boss battle).

Graphics/Sounds (weighed 30%): 4.5/10
The snow graphics were nice and some good variety in these graphics was provided between sections. However, the bugs really didn't really look too great and the colouration of some really didn't seem to fit the level. Some bugs also looked too disproportionate and just unappealing in general when trying to consciously figure out what some of them are due to their movement which seems unfitting and nonsensical for some of their graphical designs. The music should have been varied a bit more between sections, especially for the boss battle. The music for the boss battle didn't seem to be a good fit and as the backgrounds and other graphics for the sections changed, it would have been nice to see a change of music; it fit overall, it just would have had a better effect on the atmosphere and the player's mood as it drones on and on.

Overall Score: 3.45/10 (Average)


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