Charred Wasteland

BlimpFruit · Postby **BlimpFruit** » Sat Mar 07, 2015 8:40 am

This is just a level I made for my project. Hope you enjoy!
Screenshot:

Spoiler: show

Download:

Spoiler: show

Credits to Sednaiur, Nickname, and I did some recolors.

Bowser is ded · Postby **Bowser is ded** » Sat Mar 07, 2015 9:35 pm

Look awesome i think i will download this

underFlo · Postby **underFlo** » Sun Mar 08, 2015 5:50 am

Bowser is ded wrote:Look awesome i think i will download this

Please don't make a post that you will download it, give your opinion after you played or be at least more constructive than "Looms awesome".

Bowser is ded · Postby **Bowser is ded** » Sun Mar 08, 2015 7:44 am

Nickname wrote:
Bowser is ded wrote:Look awesome i think i will download this
Please don't make a post that you will download it, give your opinion after you played or be at least more constructive than "Looks awesome".

k sorry but i am not good with the review

This level background,bgo,ground look nice the music fits the area perfectly and have fair amount of enemy and good amout of coins

i dont think this level is difficuit it kinda short and i only got hit once

(where did you get that smb3 goal graphic? it look awesome

)

i dont know what to say anymore i didn't see any ploblem in this level

this level is pretty good but it not the best so my review is 8/10

(hey sorry

if i have bad grammar i am in asia)

HeroLinik · Postby **HeroLinik** » Sun Mar 08, 2015 8:59 am

Level Review: Charred Wasteland by BlimpFruit

Reviewed by castlewars.

Level Design: 6.95/10
What a nice casual linear run, and it's still nice even without any fancy layers and events. It's a bit short, but I enjoyed playing it, and it was fun discovering all the little secrets in the level. It felt like a throwback to the classic Mario games, and in actual fact, despite being SMB1-styled, this level appears to capture the feel of a typical SMB3 level. A lot of design aspects really exuded the theme of the level and there's the perfect balance between flat ground and slopes, giving off the volcanic mountain theme well, and I also liked how you had to ride a Skull Raft near the end of the level, dodging hazards along the way. Unfortunately, there are still flaws in this level as well. I still liked all the hidden bonus rooms in the level, but considering the length of the level, two is a bit excessive - I would personally remove one of the bonus rooms. As well as that, I wouldn't recommend placing lava at the same level of the tiles as well because making a false step can bring about a fiery death, especially when jumping. Also, look what I discovered if you don't hit the invisible block below one of the pipes:

Spoiler: show

I know you're meant to hit the block first, but it's still possible to go through the pipe without it, and it looks really odd entering a pipe out of thin air. To fix it, I would put the warp on its own layer, hide it, and have it show when the invisible block is hit. However, they're still only minor flaws, and the level still shines with them.

Music: 10/10
You can't go wrong with the music track you used - it fits the level perfectly, and it's rare for me to dish out 10/10 scores in a category. The music brings to mind flowing lava, which is a central theme in this level, and it's not fast-paced either, which represents the fact that it's only a casual level, not a really difficult one in world 8 where the player's just about to reach Bowser.

Graphics: 7.3/10
You did a good job with those graphics. The level is really decorated and aesthetically pleasing, mostly in a way that makes the level look natural, and not just with the BGOs used, but also with the little decorations inside the tileset that don't make it look too static. However, that's only on the ground. In the air, it appears as though there's a lot of BGO spam concerning the clouds. There are around 10 clouds in a lot of screens of this level, and that's a bit excessive if you ask me, and it makes the level look a bit artificial in the air. Removing the clouds so they're placed in a natural manner will make the level look nicer. Also, I wouldn't recommend mixing animated clouds with non-animated clouds, as it clashes slightly. But that aside, there's no cut-offs in the level, and as well as that, I liked how you used Sednaiur's SMB1 GFX pack, which is always lovely to see in SMBX. However, there is a masking issue with background-36, as can be shown here:

Spoiler: show

The issue can be seen if you look closer. This is really a fault with the GFX creator, not the designer, but a simple fix of the mask can solve the issue. On a similar topic, it seems as though all the GFX from the corresponding folder have been pasted into the level, and a lot of them have gone unused. This increases the filesize of the level, making it take longer to open. If you can remember which ones you didn't use, delete those from the folder to free up space. Yet this doesn't affect what's in the level.

NPC Placement: 6.7/10
The NPC placements were not so good compared to the rest. However, there are still good points to it as well - enemy NPCs weren't overused in some areas and underused in others, and there are no real issues with coin placements. Powerup placements are fine as well, and they're placed in very convenient spots, and the checkpoint placement is just right. The only real problem is that some of the NPCs are placed in annoying spots, such as this pesky Hammer Bro. here:

Spoiler: show

The player isn't expecting anything when they exit the pipe, and that Hammer Bro. appears to be placed too close to the pipe, meaning they'll get off a hammer throw before the player has time to act, and the trajectory of the thrown hammer can go through the warp box, unfairly damaging the player. I wouldn't put a Hammer Bro. there if I were you, but I'd make the section slightly bigger so the Hammer Bro. can be pushed further back, giving the player more time to act. As well as that, considering the short length of the level, I personally wouldn't be giving away two free 1-Ups - one for each bonus area, as it's a bit excessive. For the second one (with the Paratroopa) I would personally give them a Leaf. But not counting those flaws, the NPCs are placed in a way that enhances the throwback theme of the level well.

Overall Result: 7.74/10
Great level, even without any layers and events. Fix the Hammer Bro. issue, the pipe issue and the cloud spam above all else, and the level should look nicer. However, I still enjoyed this level even though it had those flaws, especially as it was aesthetically pleasing and was more casual than eventful.

BlimpFruit · Postby **BlimpFruit** » Sun Mar 08, 2015 10:27 am

Thanks for the review! The level has been edited to fix those flaws and reduce the file size, and the new link is in the first post!

Imaynotbehere4long · Postby **Imaynotbehere4long** » Mon Mar 09, 2015 6:35 pm

castlewars wrote:look what I discovered if you don't hit the invisible block below one of the pipes:

Spoiler: show
I know you're meant to hit the block first, but it's still possible to go through the pipe without it, and it looks really odd entering a pipe out of thin air. To fix it, I would put the warp on its own layer, hide it, and have it show when the invisible block is hit.

That, sir, is where I disagree with you. Being able to enter pipes in midair is as integral to SMBX as the player-characters' physics. If anything, not being able to enter the pipe until after the block is hit is worse since it would be unintuitive (rather than just "look really odd"); if the player (knowing that it's possible to enter pipes in midair in SMBX) jumps at the pipe without hitting the block first, he/she will just think the coins were meaningless or that the level creator simply forgot to put a warp there in the first place. The only way I found out about the secret was by hitting the block on accident.

Honestly, I recommend making the warp visible again and removing the invisible block altogether, but I think that a good compromise between us would be to raise the lower pipe-line as well; that way, it's directly below the warp, meaning the warp isn't in midair anymore (what you want), and the player can enter the warp from the get-go (what I want).

castlewars wrote:The only real problem is that some of the NPCs are placed in annoying spots, such as this pesky Hammer Bro. here:

Spoiler: show

The player isn't expecting anything when they exit the pipe, and that Hammer Bro. appears to be placed too close to the pipe, meaning they'll get off a hammer throw before the player has time to act, and the trajectory of the thrown hammer can go through the warp box, unfairly damaging the player.

...okay, I'm pretty sure you're just being paranoid. I put a Hammer Bro in the exact spot shown in your screenshot and tested the level a few times, and the closest a hammer ever came to me (before I could "act") was here:

Spoiler: show

@ BlimpFruit:

Notice that castlewars said "that Hammer Bro. appears to be placed too close to the pipe"; that tells you that he didn't actually play that part and doesn't know what he's talking about. You may put that Hammer Bro. back in that section, and in that same spot.

ANYWAY, MY REVIEW:

This level is quite boring. The NPC placement is sparse to the point where there's an average of ~2 enemies per screen length, and that's counting ordinary Piranha Plants! Plus, there wasn't much variation with what NPCs the level gives us, with the exception of one Hammer Bro and one Nipper Plant sprite-swap. Also, the song choice is really short and repetitive, only lasting about 32 seconds before looping, but the level itself is also really short and without much substance, so it fits.

Now, for a couple oddities that can only be expressed by a screenshot:

Spoiler: show

Summary:
GOOD:
-Graphics aren't terrible.
-The repetitive and short song choice fits the repetitive and short level well.
-Block placement is okay.

BAD:
-The warp thing that castlewars told you was a good idea.
--NPCs ARE SPARSE AND HAVE LITTLE VARIATION.
-Missing background object at the end.

In conclusion: Despite the lava aesthetic, this isn't anything more than another Basic Grass Level. I'd say this deserves a 5/10.

HeroLinik · Postby **HeroLinik** » Tue Mar 10, 2015 11:36 am

Imaynotbehere4long wrote:
castlewars wrote:The only real problem is that some of the NPCs are placed in annoying spots, such as this pesky Hammer Bro. here:

Spoiler: show

The player isn't expecting anything when they exit the pipe, and that Hammer Bro. appears to be placed too close to the pipe, meaning they'll get off a hammer throw before the player has time to act, and the trajectory of the thrown hammer can go through the warp box, unfairly damaging the player.
...okay, I'm pretty sure you're just being paranoid. I put a Hammer Bro in the exact spot shown in your screenshot and tested the level a few times, and the closest a hammer ever came to me (before I could "act") was here:
Spoiler: show
@ BlimpFruit:

Notice that castlewars said "that Hammer Bro. appears to be placed too close to the pipe"; that tells you that he didn't actually play that part and doesn't know what he's talking about. You may put that Hammer Bro. back in that section, and in that same spot.

I did play that part.