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[RockLeeSmile]

I wasn't planning on distributing levels from my new chapter...
but it has become a point of contention as to whether this one is too hard (or is not enjoyable enough), and rather than just go with my gut (which seems to have an irrationally high tolerance for frustration and difficulty), I will put the decision to keep it in the chapter up to you guys.

Pic: http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y224/RockLeeSmile/brotch.jpg
Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?ns8dinbzwd2y16x

A full level pic would actually not do much good with this design, you'll see what I mean when you play it.

After you check it out, vote and tell me if you enjoyed it, or it just pissed you off in the wrong way.

Thanks!

[sh00takai]

I find the visuals and the level idea very nice, but it was slightly irritating to figure out how to pace the run because the route wasn't speedrun friendly in the classic way. I would've loved to blindly jump right in the beginning and keep jumping fast from platform to another, so it was a slight letdown to wait for the platforms at various points. That is only my opinion though and I know levels like this can strongly divide opinions.

As a suggestion, it could make route planning a bit easier and reduce some early blind jumps if there was vertical decorations (like those metallic poles) to show where the platforms are coming from.

[RockLeeSmile]

I find the visuals and the level idea very nice, but it was slightly irritating to figure out how to pace the run because the route wasn't speedrun friendly in the classic way. I would've loved to blindly jump right in the beginning and keep jumping fast from platform to another, so it was a slight letdown to wait for the platforms at various points. That is only my opinion though and I know levels like this can strongly divide opinions.

As a suggestion, it could make route planning a bit easier and reduce some early blind jumps if there was vertical decorations (like those metallic poles) to show where the platforms are coming from.

Good point and thank you. So maybe I can get away with smoothing out some of the frustration by adding some more visual cues? I wouldn't be opposed to that.

[sh00takai]

Good point and thank you. So maybe I can get away with smoothing out some of the frustration by adding some more visual cues? I wouldn't be opposed to that.

I guess it could make wonders to the levels.

[MegaMew]

FUCK THIS LEVEL!

But you already knew I'd say that 

In the name of being actually helpful, I will say that visual cues could potentially do wonders for this level.

I still refuse to get along with it though >:(

[RyokoTK]

Yeah I don't know about this one. It's impossible to guess where the platforms are going to fall and since they all fall at different rates, there's no way to build a rhythm.

A platform that went up about halfway across could really reduce some of the frustration factor, too.

[PsychedelicEyeball]

Great looking level, although I never found out how you were supposed to beat it.

Visual cues for the elevators would be nice, and what about making the camera zoom out more so that you have a better view of the stage? Maybe then figuring out the way to ride the elevators to the exit would be easier to guess.

[RockLeeSmile]

Good idea on zooming out the camera, I forgot about that.

I'll try a couple of things and if all else fails, I'll just not include it.

[cousinoer5]

It's a cool concept, but it is too trial and error and for my tastes. Don't throw the level out though, instead, try to tweak it in a way to reduce the tedium.

One thing I noticed is it's kind of unpredictable if you don't go the first time the platforms come, since each platform is set to go down at a different speed, they loop back at separate times, throwing them off sync. One way to mitigate this is to set an "equalizing waypoint" to make them float around off screen until the slowest platform has reached the end of it's journey.

Other than that, nthing the "visual cues" and "upward moving platform" sentiments already posted.

[RockLeeSmile]

It's a cool concept, but it is too trial and error and for my tastes. Don't throw the level out though, instead, try to tweak it in a way to reduce the tedium.

One thing I noticed is it's kind of unpredictable if you don't go the first time the platforms come, since each platform is set to go down at a different speed, they loop back at separate times, throwing them off sync. One way to mitigate this is to set an "equalizing waypoint" to make them float around off screen until the slowest platform has reached the end of it's journey.

Other than that, nthing the "visual cues" and "upward moving platform" sentiments already posted.

I think I know what to do now. If it's gonna move forward in this level pack, I'll just have to reconstruct the way the platforms move, simplifying and making their pattern a bit more intuitive. The thing that was stopping me from doing that already was just that I got this really cool sequence all set up (I personally liked the way it made you hop around)... but I'll just hang on to this version and make it a "dark world" remix that can exist later and outside the chapter.

Thanks for your guidance O' amazing SMB community. You guys are the best!

I'm on my 9th map now, and I have a small list of ideas to work through, so I'm actually getting somewhere with this!

[Xenesis]

Yeah, the biggest problem is that there's absolutely no visual clues. I found it really frustrating because I couldn't tell in the slightest which platforms I should be jumping to. Also that I could never see where the platforms were coming from until I'd fallen into the abyss.

[RockLeeSmile]

Yeah, the biggest problem is that there's absolutely no visual clues. I found it really frustrating because I couldn't tell in the slightest which platforms I should be jumping to. Also that I could never see where the platforms were coming from until I'd fallen into the abyss.

You're right, it's a bit of an old-school challenge. Which is something I was trying to downplay or eliminate in my new chapter. Moving the camera back will be a big help here and that's the first thing I will do... after that, see the above post.