Freezing Forest (v1.35)

'Twas the Choco Latte Contest 2022.
Deltom
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Freezing Forest (v1.35)

Postby Deltom » Sun Aug 21, 2022 2:17 am

Image

A level for Chocolattecon 2022, by yours truly!


Seems like Mario has got into a chilly situation!
3 Yoshis have been trapped inside their egg in a cold forest, and Mario is up to save them!
He better bring a jacket, though! You don't want to get cold in this kind of weather, do you?


Get the level here!

v1.1 - Fixed a BGO at the start that makes the level really gosh darn unplayable

v1.2 - Changed a lot of stuff, mostly taking advice/criticism. Also added a different message if you don't get all Yoshis.

v1.3 - Small changes, added back "boss" part except not a boss anymore

v1.35 - Defaults player to Mario

I hope you enjoy!

Last edited by Deltom on Mon Aug 22, 2022 12:53 am, edited 4 times in total.

cato
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Re: Freezing Forest

Postby cato » Sun Aug 21, 2022 4:02 am

I suggest you force the player to play as Mario/Luigi via a Lua code. As you said, the level is not meant for Link, and playing as Toad/Peach removes all the Yoshis in the level. Just make it if the player chooses anything other than Mario/Luigi, force the game to start as Mario.

This is a cute, SMW theme level indeed. I think you can focus a bit more on the tree logs that have holes and Podoboo (that you would need to fix the lava effect from red to blue). Gameplay-wise, I don't think there are any problems given this is a fun, casual level that uses Walljumps and FakeWalls as supplements. I suppose you can make the Star Coins a bit more challenging as you only put them in an obvious spot (Star Coin 1), behind fake walls with a big arrow pointing at it (Star Coin 2), and behind a foreground tree BGO (Star Coin 3).

The problem is with the weird length and progression the level has. Right at the end of the section, there is a random transparent pipe segment. And thereafter, another random underground lava section with a checkpoint that lasts like 10 seconds long. The moving platforms can screw over if you don't see it go down, and only go down when you jump due to bad timing when you see the platforms. And after the boss, there is yet another section with very nice castle structures that could've been placed earlier. The walk towards the Yoshi house in the last section is a bit too long.

The boss, too, is underwhelming and doesn't do well compared to the rest of the level. Visually, it takes place underground with Vanilla SMW tileset that contrast with the overall snowy theme. How about it takes place inside the ruins of the castle? Gameplay-wise, it is just a 6-hitter with occasionally ice beams and spin tops walking around. I prefer you just put the Sumo Bro (a.k.a the boss) as a standard enemy in the Castle structure section. It makes it rather nice to have a harder enemy in the level. Otherwise, you would need to tweak the boss a bit more to make it more exciting and as a climax of the level.

As a bit of extra content, use SaveData/GameData to check if all Yoshis have been rescued, and trigger a different event/dialogue. It isn't necessary, so do that if you like. I also suggest extending the walls higher to prevent the players from reaching the top from wall-jumping.

I liked this level a lot. It stands out among all other gimmick-heavy levels. Just having a typical, charming, and simple SMW snow level gives the players a breather.

Deltom
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Re: Freezing Forest

Postby Deltom » Sun Aug 21, 2022 6:55 am

cato wrote:
Sun Aug 21, 2022 4:02 am
I suggest you force the player to play as Mario/Luigi via a Lua code. As you said, the level is not meant for Link, and playing as Toad/Peach removes all the Yoshis in the level. Just make it if the player chooses anything other than Mario/Luigi, force the game to start as Mario.

This is a cute, SMW theme level indeed. I think you can focus a bit more on the tree logs that have holes and Podoboo (that you would need to fix the lava effect from red to blue). Gameplay-wise, I don't think there are any problems given this is a fun, casual level that uses Walljumps and FakeWalls as supplements. I suppose you can make the Star Coins a bit more challenging as you only put them in an obvious spot (Star Coin 1), behind fake walls with a big arrow pointing at it (Star Coin 2), and behind a foreground tree BGO (Star Coin 3).

The problem is with the weird length and progression the level has. Right at the end of the section, there is a random transparent pipe segment. And thereafter, another random underground lava section with a checkpoint that lasts like 10 seconds long. The moving platforms can screw over if you don't see it go down, and only go down when you jump due to bad timing when you see the platforms. And after the boss, there is yet another section with very nice castle structures that could've been placed earlier. The walk towards the Yoshi house in the last section is a bit too long.

The boss, too, is underwhelming and doesn't do well compared to the rest of the level. Visually, it takes place underground with Vanilla SMW tileset that contrast with the overall snowy theme. How about it takes place inside the ruins of the castle? Gameplay-wise, it is just a 6-hitter with occasionally ice beams and spin tops walking around. I prefer you just put the Sumo Bro (a.k.a the boss) as a standard enemy in the Castle structure section. It makes it rather nice to have a harder enemy in the level. Otherwise, you would need to tweak the boss a bit more to make it more exciting and as a climax of the level.

As a bit of extra content, use SaveData/GameData to check if all Yoshis have been rescued, and trigger a different event/dialogue. It isn't necessary, so do that if you like. I also suggest extending the walls higher to prevent the players from reaching the top from wall-jumping.

I liked this level a lot. It stands out among all other gimmick-heavy levels. Just having a typical, charming, and simple SMW snow level gives the players a breather.
Thanks for the tips! I'll try improving and extending the level by tomorrow.

1 - Yeah, I'll try. I feel like I definitely under-used my main idea for this level
2 - Will change up the 1st star coin a-bit. Definitely will remove the big arrow since it makes it too obvious
3 - I'll change that section up a bit to have a better transition, and yes I definitely felt like the moving platforms were kind of crappy too
4 - What castle structures? I don't remember adding any castle-related stuff.
5 - I'll reduce the length to Yoshi's House
6 - That'd be pretty cool, I'll try it out
7 - I'm not really sure how to use SaveData/GameDatas yet, so I'll have to learn on that first.
8 - I'll use slopes to block players from walljumping further, I think that could work. Speaking of walljumping, I'll definitely use more of the fakewalls
9 - Thanks!

cato
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Re: Freezing Forest

Postby cato » Sun Aug 21, 2022 7:34 am

Deltom wrote:
Sun Aug 21, 2022 6:55 am
Thanks for the tips! I'll try improving and extending the level by tomorrow.
4 - What castle structures? I don't remember adding any castle-related stuff.
Sorry about that. I saw it wrong. It was the Forest tileset that is in the 2nd last section (and looked more orange than all other sections). It looked so square-like I thought it was the SMW fortress tilesets.

Deltom
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Re: Freezing Forest

Postby Deltom » Sun Aug 21, 2022 7:38 am

cato wrote:
Sun Aug 21, 2022 7:34 am
Deltom wrote:
Sun Aug 21, 2022 6:55 am
Thanks for the tips! I'll try improving and extending the level by tomorrow.
4 - What castle structures? I don't remember adding any castle-related stuff.
Sorry about that. I saw it wrong. It was the Forest tileset that is in the 2nd last section (and looked more orange than all other sections). It looked so square-like I thought it was the SMW fortress tilesets.
Oh, alright
My bad if it didn't look like it was going into morning, then

And, about the underground section
Should I keep it or remove it? Just thought I'd ask since there's an underground part with lava, in a snow-themed level

cato
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Re: Freezing Forest

Postby cato » Sun Aug 21, 2022 8:02 am

Deltom wrote:
Sun Aug 21, 2022 7:38 am
And, about the underground section
Should I keep it or remove it? Just thought I'd ask since there's an underground part with lava, in a snow-themed level
It is your choice. I don't think it does anything in your level. It felt weird when I first entered the section. It was quite out of place, especially if it just a dark SMW standard cave.

Deltom
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Re: Freezing Forest

Postby Deltom » Sun Aug 21, 2022 8:39 am

cato wrote:
Sun Aug 21, 2022 8:02 am
It is your choice. I don't think it does anything in your level. It felt weird when I first entered the section. It was quite out of place, especially if it just a dark SMW standard cave.
I might edit the tiles to be kind of blue-ish, to fit with the other tiles

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Re: Freezing Forest

Postby Main Pro » Sun Aug 21, 2022 2:39 pm

Not only level design, but atmosphere of this wonderful creation struck me, there are very, very few really good levels in the style of the forest, especially winter ones, and here, in addition to the fact that very interesting design solutions are collected, various mechanics and interactions with them are also correctly included. I would especially like to note logs with holes, this is perhaps even a key aspect in the level design of this level, maybe I will seem short-sighted, but I have seen very little of this in levels not only related to SMBX, but also SMW, etc.. Keep it up!


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