Stipkip's Levels (Mintstone Ruins)

[Stipkip]

I really enjoyed it. Sorry for only saying that now.

Say, do you work at a project at the moment? (I can read the Profile Information, but mine for Example also a bit outdated)

I am not really working on a project atm. The project in my profile, 'The Heart of Heat', is dropped for a while, I don't know if I will continue it.
I was planning to make an episode that would include this level though but I don't know if I will continue that too.

I understand. Would you be intrested into doing a few levels for MH2, my Main Project?

I wouldn't know actually, at least not now as im busy with other stuff atm. Perhaps another time.

[Stipkip]

It's been a while since I posted in this thread, but I've created a new level so here you go:

Spoiler: show

Vulture Hideaway

A level using NSMBWalls as gimmick combined with Neckys.

[Luna]

I like what you did with those Trees. It's an interesting idea.

[Stipkip]

Added my CCX2 entry, Detonation Hazard.

Spoiler: show

An explosive level that takes place inside a factory.

Download

[Stipkip]

Woooh, I've finally had some time to make a new level! Took me some time, but I think it was worth it.
Check it out and let me know if there's any issues!

Cave of Crystal Cylinders

A cave level using MrDoubleA's Spikes in combination with Clear Pipes.

Spoiler: show

Download

[ExpressionlessBA747]

This Level is so COOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!

[Stipkip]

Hello everyone and welcome to my new level, Heated Beetles! I was making this level for the choco contest but lost motivation at some point so didn't finish it in time. However, I got my motivation back and now it's finished! Used rooms.lua for this level, making it a bit different from how I'm used to making levels, so I'm curious what you guys think of it. I hope I didn't get too excited on the difficulty near the end...
Anyways, this probably won't get a lot of attention right now with the contest levels being played at the moment, but I would highly appreciate you leaving a comment if you do get to play this! Feedback is always welcome! And, well... have fun!

beetles in a kind of heated environment: show

Download

[cato]

Anyways, this probably won't get a lot of attention right now with the contest levels being played at the moment, but I would highly appreciate you leaving a comment if you do get to play this! Feedback is always welcome! And, well... have fun!

Quite a nice level. Shame that you didn't make it in time. For such a simple, dare I say, Vanilla gimmick, you can make it fun and enjoyable. As your last year's entry preceded this, which only uses the in-game built TNT blocks, you did very well utilizing the gimmick with a lot of setups (more so with rooms.lua since you can retry as many times as you want). The difficulty, as well as the complexity of each individual setup/trick, increases linearly, and I don't think it is too unfair in the end. Some parts are repeated, mostly about how to pass through walls of fires and beetles as a normal platform. Nonetheless, the progression in skill and level design feels very natural like most other good levels that use rooms.lua.

The chase sequence at the end is a good climax. It puts everything for the player to go through in one sequence without stopping. While it appears short, I can't come up with any possible setups except. Maybe a vertical section with the chase sequence would work better instead of ending with the big Beetles stopping while you wait on the ledge. I also suggest toning down the Earthquake effect, since it is very distracting to the tough platforming you have to do without stopping.

I think there exists a problem where some jumps are precise and require quick reflexes. The SMBX physics doesn't work in favor of its slow acceleration and change of momentum. It is easy to miss a jump, or failing to gain enough momentum to make distance across the lava. In some time, you also have to wait out for the cooldown of the Raccoon suit since you can't go into Statue mode in quick succession.

I feel like there is a great potential for a 2nd version. Just replace the Big Beetles (which drops when standing) into the Small Bettles (which rises when standing) as a more difficult version. Not only does the space you can stand on it is smaller, but also gives a new whole variety of setups without changing a single block in the level.

[Stipkip]

Quite a nice level. Shame that you didn't make it in time. For such a simple, dare I say, Vanilla gimmick, you can make it fun and enjoyable. As your last year's entry preceded this, which only uses the in-game built TNT blocks, you did very well utilizing the gimmick with a lot of setups (more so with rooms.lua since you can retry as many times as you want). The difficulty, as well as the complexity of each individual setup/trick, increases linearly, and I don't think it is too unfair in the end. Some parts are repeated, mostly about how to pass through walls of fires and beetles as a normal platform. Nonetheless, the progression in skill and level design feels very natural like most other good levels that use rooms.lua.

Thanks for the review! I'm glad you liked it.

Maybe a vertical section with the chase sequence would work better instead of ending with the big Beetles stopping while you wait on the ledge.

That's a good idea, it could make a better ending for the level.

I also suggest toning down the Earthquake effect, since it is very distracting to the tough platforming you have to do without stopping.

Yeah I was wondering if that effect might be too heavy. Good to know, I'll tone it down.

I think there exists a problem where some jumps are precise and require quick reflexes. The SMBX physics doesn't work in favor of its slow acceleration and change of momentum. It is easy to miss a jump, or failing to gain enough momentum to make distance across the lava. In some time, you also have to wait out for the cooldown of the Raccoon suit since you can't go into Statue mode in quick succession.

Good point, I can see that at certain points there may not be enough time to react to the setups. Maybe I should use playerphysicspatch.lua for better acceleration in this level.

I feel like there is a great potential for a 2nd version. Just replace the Big Beetles (which drops when standing) into the Small Bettles (which rises when standing) as a more difficult version. Not only does the space you can stand on it is smaller, but also gives a new whole variety of setups without changing a single block in the level.

Interesting idea! Maybe I'll rework this level in the future and do something like that.

[Stipkip]

Hi everyone! I'm proud to announce an extended version of Detonation Hazard! It's a level I made around a year and a half ago for ChoccyCon 2021. I had so much fun making this level, that I decided to expand it, while also taking in the feedback I got from the judges. So here's the result!



Featuring:

- A bunch of new sections with cool setups
- Two more Starcoins added, making a total of 5, and added a reward for collecting them all
- Some new and improved setups in already existing sections
- Fixed a very annoying issue of barrels that kept making the 'thwomp' sound after falling below the section (no idea why they did that lol)
- And finally:

Spoiler: show

A secret alternate ending...

Download

I'd love to hear what you guys think of it!

[55jedat555]

Heated Beatles (review):

A quite enjoyable, well-constructed and decently challenging level that presents its ideas and setups in a clear and concise manner. I’m always happy to see levels that revolve around the movement options and abilities of a specific powerup in their core design, rather than using powerups in the more traditional Mario fashion. As a consequence of that you obviously can’t tank any hits to bypass obstacles, but I believe that to be a good thing – and either way, the level provides very frequent checkpoints to make up for that lack of a “second chance”. The level itself treads on the lengthier end of the spectrum, which is where the main point of my critique comes in, and that is the lack of setup variety. While it is true that the level presents a nice escalation of both difficulty and complexity throughout (albeit the final few hallways before the chase sequence are a bit of an abrupt difficulty spike), it does become repetitive by the end since all of the setups effectively rely on the same handful of moves, just presented in a slightly alternated order each time. I think more variety would be needed to justify the level’s length; the lack thereof additionally struck me as a bit of a shame seeing as the level is designed around the mobility of the Tanooki suit, which is by far the most versatile powerup in terms of mobility options it offers. Why not make more use of momentum-cancelling and quick-falling by holding down while statued, or flight and its preservation through statuing, or statue-slamming and tail-thwacking, or being able to jump off harmful blocks without taking damage? All of these are pieces of tech that are relatively simple and straightforward to pull off, and could help the level feel less monotonous. Also as a final nitpick, considering the level uses quick respawning, looping music would be a nice addition.

Overall a very solid and entertaining level that’s perhaps just a tad too long in its current form.

[Stipkip]

Heated Beatles (review):
A quite enjoyable, well-constructed and decently challenging level that presents its ideas and setups in a clear and concise manner. I’m always happy to see levels that revolve around the movement options and abilities of a specific powerup in their core design, rather than using powerups in the more traditional Mario fashion. As a consequence of that you obviously can’t tank any hits to bypass obstacles, but I believe that to be a good thing – and either way, the level provides very frequent checkpoints to make up for that lack of a “second chance”. The level itself treads on the lengthier end of the spectrum, which is where the main point of my critique comes in, and that is the lack of setup variety. While it is true that the level presents a nice escalation of both difficulty and complexity throughout (albeit the final few hallways before the chase sequence are a bit of an abrupt difficulty spike), it does become repetitive by the end since all of the setups effectively rely on the same handful of moves, just presented in a slightly alternated order each time. I think more variety would be needed to justify the level’s length; the lack thereof additionally struck me as a bit of a shame seeing as the level is designed around the mobility of the Tanooki suit, which is by far the most versatile powerup in terms of mobility options it offers. Why not make more use of momentum-cancelling and quick-falling by holding down while statued, or flight and its preservation through statuing, or statue-slamming and tail-thwacking, or being able to jump off harmful blocks without taking damage? All of these are pieces of tech that are relatively simple and straightforward to pull off, and could help the level feel less monotonous. Also as a final nitpick, considering the level uses quick respawning, looping music would be a nice addition.

Overall a very solid and entertaining level that’s perhaps just a tad too long in its current form.

Thank you for writing a review! I can see what you mean with the level being too long for the amount of variety it has. Looking back at the level, it feels more repetitive than when I was creating it. I think I built up the complexity of the setups too slowly, and there could indeed be more variety in them. I like your examples of different ways to use the powerup, especially the statuing in flight I think could work well in this level.

Anyways, thank you for your feedback, this will be helpful in my future level design!

[Stipkip]

Realm of Resilience

Hi all! After working on this for almost 2 months I am happy to share my newest level with you! I had a lot of fun making this, and learned quite some new things along the way. I think my level design has changed and improved as well!



Featuring: bouncing, teleporting, swinging and more! I implemented some Celeste-styled gameplay this time, using respawnRooms and playerPhysicsPatch. On top of that, there's a bunch of Star Coins and a secret ending!

All credits are included in the level folder.

Download

Enjoy!

[Stipkip]

Hi! I've made something new!!



Download a short simple level that is all about crumbling and jumping. Crumping. I should go sleep now

[Just_Thomas]

You have really good taste when it comes to using backgrounds and tilesets properly.
I particularly like "Vulture Hideaway", for example. The number of shades of green is limited, which makes the whole thing look homogeneous and more cohesive than if you were to use what feels like 1000 different colors.

I like "Cave of Crystal Cylinders" and "Heated Beetles" also a lot, and of course the YI Water-/Lavafall fits in perfectly. With "Realm of Resilience" you've also achieved a good uniform color mix. Perhaps you could have adjusted the color of the Kirby Tileset objects a little, but I think that's a minor detail.