Level I made a few months ago. It has two stars; one secret and one for the exit. Download
Re: Zenithbreak's nice levels free download no virus
Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2016 1:32 pm
by youngtomlin
I hope it's free and I don't think the mod's would have allowed it, if it had a virus.
Design
The level is a basic forest level. It has trees and bushes and looks like most forest levels. The trees had berries on then and the standard forest BG was in place. It's not bad to look at. It just looks like every standard forest level with a bit of tweaking. Make the level look how you wan't it to look. It's not bad to look at but there is nothing special that will make me want to remember this more than any other forest level. The main part of the level was good. Platforming and enemies placed well. There were only a couple of secrets and they were not very well hidden. Other than the hidden 1-Up everything else is in plain sight. The hidden star is in a obvious place. I would make that more hidden if I were you. It didn't take me very long to find. The Donut blocks are well placed and create a good platforming part of the level. The second part of the level is strange however. I found that a bit rushed. It was a small sections with Spinies and the Nipper Plants were a bit out of place. If you used them earlier in the level except right at the end it would have made more sense. The level is a medium length, getting on the shorter side but still not much of a problem.
Difficulty
The level is not very hard. It's pretty standard with basic enemies to dodge and some basic platforming. The Donut blocks are placed around to keep things interesting but they don't make much of a change. If more of the Donut blocks were used I think you could create a better theme based on "Donut Forest" and also it would be a more challenging level to keep the player occupied more. The final section could be extended a bit further for example. Adding more Donut blocks to jump across. Otherwise there is not many problems.
Enjoyability
The level is pretty enjoyable. It's fun to get through but there is not much afterwards and leaves the player wanting more. I think you could have done so much more with this level and I think you should expand on it to make it harder. It would be more fun to play and give the player a bit more enjoyment when they complete the level.
Overall
The level is not bad and works completely fine with no bugs. It looks OK albeit on the standard side. Make it look different to all the other forest levels out there. I think if you extend the level a bit basing the last section on Donut Blocks you could have a very good level on your hands.
6.5/10
Re: Zenithbreak's nice levels free download no virus
Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2016 5:47 pm
by Matt_The_Slime
Hey, this is a really good, albeit pretty standard forest level.
Video:
Re: Zenithbreak's nice levels free download no virus
Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2016 5:41 am
by HeroLinik
Official Review of Donut Forest by Zenithbreak (Reviewer: Linik)
This level, in essence, is a basic forest level, and it does well to adhere to its theme with the choice of graphics used, as if making the player feel as though they are actually in a forest. The level was well-decorated and all the graphics fit into the forest theme, ranging from the berries on the trees to the bush/tree graphics, all the way to the background used. The different types of tree leaf graphics used made the level interesting decoration-wise, ranging from straight edges to curved parts. However, while the level doesn't suffer from a lack of BGOs, the atmosphere suffers from flaws related to the graphic choices used. First of all, there's this:
It's quite hard to spot, but it can be seen here that the edge of the tree leaves has not been continued, leaving a gap that doesn't look good, so this needs to be fixed. While the pipes are good and fit well, the door at the end just seems random, and doesn't fit in with the rest of the level, even worse considering it doesn't take the player into a building. Also, the secret star is SMW-styled, and sticks out like a sore thumb because its cartoonish sprite clashes with the detailed look of the SMB3 style of the sprites. The same story can be said with the checkpoint. Finally, the music track doesn't seem to fit either. While it seems like a happy overworld theme that goes with the level's motives, the level is predominately SMB3-styled as stated earlier, and the music track is from SMW. Moving on to the design and gameplay, the level's got the traditional platforming not unlike that seen in the classic Mario games, and has a respectable length, but could do with a little bit of lengthening, and the end section is quite flat and boring in comparison to the other sections, suggesting that this part was rushed. This leads on to the next point; the level's selling point, the Donut Lifts, add an interesting change to the platforming and were worked into the level quite well, but they are only used in one section. The secret star, as mentioned before, was a nice addition and encouraged replay value, and while the player has collected the star they are treated to a rising platform to get them back on track, and this gimmick was handled very well. The NPC placement has some features to talk about as well. For a short level there is fair powerup and coin placement, and there is some variety with the enemies used, ranging from four-legged Koopa Troopas to Nipper Plants. While there are Koopa Paratroopas, they are on two legs and when the player jumps on them they go four-legged, which seems jarring.
To be honest, this has the potential to be a great level, but there are things that need to be fixed, especially with the graphics. Cut out the SMW-styled stuff and fix that tree flaw, then you can work on the other suggestions I pointed out, like lengthening the level and featuring the Donut Lifts more. This gets a 6.2/10 from me.
Video playthrough also made:
Re: Zenithbreak's nice levels free download no virus
Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2016 7:27 am
by Mable
I disagree with the whole cut out the smw stuff.
Smb3+Smw looks good together, and this level shows it. You guys need to stop acting like it's still a sin to use both in the same level.
Re: Zenithbreak's nice levels free download no virus
Re: Zenithbreak's nice levels free download no virus
Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2016 3:10 pm
by zlaker
Linik wrote:Finally, the music track doesn't seem to fit either. While it seems like a happy overworld theme that goes with the level's motives, the level is predominately SMB3-styled as stated earlier, and the music track is from SMW.
10/10 judging
Re: Zenithbreak's nice levels free download no virus