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| Acmlm's Board - I2 Archive - - Posts by Alastor the Stylish |
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Alastor the Stylish Hey! I made a cool game! It's called "I poisoned half the food, so if you eat you might die!" Have a taco.  Level: 114  Posts: 5877/7620 EXP: 16258468 For next: 51099 Since: 03-15-04 From: Oregon, US Since last post: 2 hours Last activity: 2 hours |
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| Dunno if I would agree with you on that one. Odyssey had some dull stretches but overall I would say it was quite nice... (edited by Kyouji Craw on 04-15-05 02:02 PM) |
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Alastor the Stylish Hey! I made a cool game! It's called "I poisoned half the food, so if you eat you might die!" Have a taco. Level: 114 Posts: 5878/7620 EXP: 16258468 For next: 51099 Since: 03-15-04 From: Oregon, US Since last post: 2 hours Last activity: 2 hours |
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| *raises finger and takes a deep breath as if I'm about to say something* *lowers finger, closes mouth* No, you're right. |
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Alastor the Stylish Hey! I made a cool game! It's called "I poisoned half the food, so if you eat you might die!" Have a taco. Level: 114 Posts: 5879/7620 EXP: 16258468 For next: 51099 Since: 03-15-04 From: Oregon, US Since last post: 2 hours Last activity: 2 hours |
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| Anyone else find it odd that someone was actually more critical than I? | |||
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Alastor the Stylish Hey! I made a cool game! It's called "I poisoned half the food, so if you eat you might die!" Have a taco. Level: 114 Posts: 5880/7620 EXP: 16258468 For next: 51099 Since: 03-15-04 From: Oregon, US Since last post: 2 hours Last activity: 2 hours |
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Owned. By the trained attack dog. |
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Alastor the Stylish Hey! I made a cool game! It's called "I poisoned half the food, so if you eat you might die!" Have a taco. Level: 114 Posts: 5881/7620 EXP: 16258468 For next: 51099 Since: 03-15-04 From: Oregon, US Since last post: 2 hours Last activity: 2 hours |
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| Trapster is come up with a good, mostly original thought (!?). This is the third time in the last one or two days (!?!). THE POD PEOPLE. (edited by Kyouji Craw on 04-16-05 02:08 AM) (edited by Kyouji Craw on 04-16-05 02:09 AM) |
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Alastor the Stylish Hey! I made a cool game! It's called "I poisoned half the food, so if you eat you might die!" Have a taco. Level: 114 Posts: 5882/7620 EXP: 16258468 For next: 51099 Since: 03-15-04 From: Oregon, US Since last post: 2 hours Last activity: 2 hours |
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| I didn't say that no parts of it were fun, and I didn't say that most of it was crap, but I hardly see how that changes the fact that some levels of it being the worst I've ever seen (if you exclude hacks like Wario World, I mean) lowers the overall a ridiculous amount. | |||
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Alastor the Stylish Hey! I made a cool game! It's called "I poisoned half the food, so if you eat you might die!" Have a taco. Level: 114 Posts: 5883/7620 EXP: 16258468 For next: 51099 Since: 03-15-04 From: Oregon, US Since last post: 2 hours Last activity: 2 hours |
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| Note the lack of the thread title saying something akin to "NEWBIES READ THIS." That's a good way to get your thread not read by newbies, since everyone who actually needs the help feels they're above the stage of newbie and is more likely to go in to a thread like this, since it's phrased in such a way as to indicate it's more advanced. Heheheh. I was talking to DisruptiveIdiot about some key principles of level design over AIM. He's a great guy. Really insightful. Anyway, I had the idea to create this thread to help anyone who's willing to listen (and knowing my reputation, that won't be many people.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. Don't put too much effort in to graphics and ASM hacks. This should be a no-brainer, but actually apparently its not. Now, this isn't to say that graphics and ASM hacks don't make a difference, because they do. If they suck horribly, it's ugly and few will play it. But, level design is the most important thing - never forget that. Other things improve the appearance of the level design that is already there and since many people are tired of seeing the same things over and over again, this is quite nice (see #6) - However, good graphics will never make a bad level a good level. This is where many people get confused - they see reviews saying it's great from idiots who don't know what's actually good and only care about graphics and ASM and get themselves in to the mindset of them a good hacker despite what the people who actually have experience say. This is a very dangerous mindset to get in to, because it's far too appealing to just let go, and since you've resolved yourself to the thought that you're doing a good job, you continue to do poorly since you don't trust anyone who says differently. 2. There is no deadline. If you rush, your levels will suck. 3. Flow is the most important thing, unless it's a castle level. Good levels have good flow. If you can go through a level over and over again for months and months, you've done a wonderful job. It doesn't matter how difficult it is as long as it's fun; there are some really difficult hacks out there that are really fun, and then there are some really easy ones out there that are also really fun (the original SMW comes to mind, though that's not technically a hack). The trick here is to be inventive. Come up with new ideas - new gameplay mechanics which encourage the player to keep going. The player must be allowed to continue moving. If they most be stopped or slowed for something to work, make that thing short so they can quickly get back to what's fun. This is why most people don't like water levels - they're naturally less fun, since you move slower and you can't quickly go where you want to go and do what you want to do - they're restrictive. A water level must be very well-built indeed to be fun, or it must have a fair amount of it where you don't have to be in the water. Now, like I said, castle levels are... Different. They still have to flow, but the atmosphere becomes the most important part. It just needs to be... Umm... Castley, which is something that I could never really describe here - see #6. 4. Playtest your levels over and over again. This sorta ties in to 3. This is very important because you may have new ideas you add that may not work. As a general rule, whenever you construct a new thing, playtest it immediately, so as not to forget. You may say, "But Kyouji, if I do that then it gets dull too quickly!" To this I have to say the following: You're doing something wrong; see 3. This is the alternate purpose of repeated playtesting - while it is good for making sure everything works, it's also good for establishing flow. If something isn't truly fun, then you can't play it over and over again, and if if you can't play it over and over again, then it doesn't have good flow and it isn't truly fun - this is difficult to tell unless you play it over and over again, and doing playtests over and over as you build the level allows this stage of testing to serve two purposes, which is always nice. 5. Not every idea is a good idea, and very few ideas are worth constructing entire levels over. I feel this is the single most important thing for anyone to know. The fact is, plenty of people are full of ideas. While it's good to be inventive, wisdom as to what you should be inventive about is far better. Whenever you come up with something new, always ask yourself, "Is this really a good idea? Will this be fun for me? Will this be fun for the player?" 6. Atmosphere is important. Now, this is where things bit a bit confusing - atmosphere is typically generated through level design and graphics combined. But I said that you shouldn't put too much effort in to graphics because if you do the graphics start to overshadow the level design? Well, it's a tricky subject. Thing is, the level design is the most important single aspect. You can generate atmosphere through skillful use of every aspect together. This is most important in castles but in every level it's useful, because it helps establish a particular feel for your hack, which will not only make it more fun, it will make it more popular. Atmosphere alone won't sell a hack, the way objects are laid out is still most important, but of course, knowledge of how to manipulate your hack's atmosphere will help you get ahead. 7. Glitches suck. You may think that usage of particular glitches is cool. No. Making the player hold two items? No. Loading the wrong tileset and having a particular enemy have the wrong graphics because it looks cool? There are one or two times where this looks decent, but in all other cases it's just bad. Now, I say decent here, not good, and especially not cool. Some clever exit which requires the player to turn a silver POW in to a blue POW through pipes? No. Making secrets (or worse, the proper level exit) accessable only by making them glitch the level so that the air works like a fence (yes, this is possible, though I won't say how)? SUPER no. If it involves glitches in any way, with the exception of items being carried on vines and such (which should still involve an explanation of how), it's not a good idea. Period. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I will close this by saying THIS IS NOT A LIST FOR YOU TO ADD TO. You can give suggestions, and if they're good I'll add them - I know this list could be better, since I'm not perfect either. Just the same, I probably won't add your idea. If I do, you're awesome. Maybe. (edited by Kyouji Craw on 04-16-05 04:21 AM) (edited by Kyouji Craw on 04-16-05 04:21 AM) (edited by Kyouji Craw on 04-16-05 04:41 AM) (edited by Kyouji Craw on 04-16-05 09:22 AM) (edited by Kyouji Craw on 04-16-05 12:40 PM) (edited by Kyouji Craw on 04-16-05 12:42 PM) |
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Alastor the Stylish Hey! I made a cool game! It's called "I poisoned half the food, so if you eat you might die!" Have a taco. Level: 114 Posts: 5884/7620 EXP: 16258468 For next: 51099 Since: 03-15-04 From: Oregon, US Since last post: 2 hours Last activity: 2 hours |
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| Well. He didn't just say exactly what you said. That's kinda a step up for him. | |||
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Alastor the Stylish Hey! I made a cool game! It's called "I poisoned half the food, so if you eat you might die!" Have a taco. Level: 114 Posts: 5885/7620 EXP: 16258468 For next: 51099 Since: 03-15-04 From: Oregon, US Since last post: 2 hours Last activity: 2 hours |
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But of course, Optimus Prime is owned by Unicron. Not just owned, even. Killed. |
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Alastor the Stylish Hey! I made a cool game! It's called "I poisoned half the food, so if you eat you might die!" Have a taco. Level: 114 Posts: 5886/7620 EXP: 16258468 For next: 51099 Since: 03-15-04 From: Oregon, US Since last post: 2 hours Last activity: 2 hours |
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| It doesn't matter how much of it was good if it still has some of the worst levels in the history of SMW hacking. I can kinda see where you're going with your argument now - I mean, I find your argument to be stupid and I don't really care what you have to say, but the point is I can understand where you're coming from - but no amount of rationale can make #4 Crystal Castle anything more than a really bad level. (edited by Kyouji Craw on 04-16-05 08:04 AM) |
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Alastor the Stylish Hey! I made a cool game! It's called "I poisoned half the food, so if you eat you might die!" Have a taco. Level: 114 Posts: 5887/7620 EXP: 16258468 For next: 51099 Since: 03-15-04 From: Oregon, US Since last post: 2 hours Last activity: 2 hours |
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| I'm not saying I know exactly what's good, because that would be damned arrogant of me to say, but I sure as hell know better than those mindless yes-men who like everything, no? And hhallahh... This is not a debate thread. Don't take things from other threads and use them as arguments here, because honestly... How do I say this... I find your ideals to be flawed, and I don't put any merit to your statements. You probably feel the same about me, but eh... I don't care. (edited by Kyouji Craw on 04-16-05 08:03 AM) |
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Alastor the Stylish Hey! I made a cool game! It's called "I poisoned half the food, so if you eat you might die!" Have a taco. Level: 114 Posts: 5888/7620 EXP: 16258468 For next: 51099 Since: 03-15-04 From: Oregon, US Since last post: 2 hours Last activity: 2 hours |
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That's pretty much covered by #4, JJ  Hmmm... I added one on atmosphere and referenced it in other parts. I initially meant to (there were some references to it in parts of it) but I seem to have forgotten. Thank you for reminding me, Sendy. Y'know, I have to say... I respect you. (edited by Kyouji Craw on 04-16-05 09:28 AM) |
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Alastor the Stylish Hey! I made a cool game! It's called "I poisoned half the food, so if you eat you might die!" Have a taco. Level: 114 Posts: 5889/7620 EXP: 16258468 For next: 51099 Since: 03-15-04 From: Oregon, US Since last post: 2 hours Last activity: 2 hours |
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Originally posted by FuSoYaHeh heh... Yeah. I never said it wasn't enjoyable, of course, I just said that, well, I felt that certain parts lowered it overall, and left me with a bad taste. |
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Alastor the Stylish Hey! I made a cool game! It's called "I poisoned half the food, so if you eat you might die!" Have a taco. Level: 114 Posts: 5890/7620 EXP: 16258468 For next: 51099 Since: 03-15-04 From: Oregon, US Since last post: 2 hours Last activity: 2 hours |
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| Smallhacker: I tried to cover the graphics are still important in both #1 and #6, heh. And I tried not to cover ASM in too much detail, since most of the people here can't work with it. I mean, it can be a very useful tool which you can use for awesome things... However, it's not necessary, and inventive use of what's already there can sometimes produce the same results. JJ: Alright. I'll add something to it about that. Later, I mean... I'm tired of this... |
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Alastor the Stylish Hey! I made a cool game! It's called "I poisoned half the food, so if you eat you might die!" Have a taco. Level: 114 Posts: 5891/7620 EXP: 16258468 For next: 51099 Since: 03-15-04 From: Oregon, US Since last post: 2 hours Last activity: 2 hours |
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| You're right, Fu... I'm a horrible person... *sulks off* | |||
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Alastor the Stylish Hey! I made a cool game! It's called "I poisoned half the food, so if you eat you might die!" Have a taco. Level: 114 Posts: 5892/7620 EXP: 16258468 For next: 51099 Since: 03-15-04 From: Oregon, US Since last post: 2 hours Last activity: 2 hours |
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| Hmmm. It's difficult to tell the problem for that alone. All I can really say is that perhaps you wrote something down incorrectly. | |||
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Alastor the Stylish Hey! I made a cool game! It's called "I poisoned half the food, so if you eat you might die!" Have a taco. Level: 114 Posts: 5893/7620 EXP: 16258468 For next: 51099 Since: 03-15-04 From: Oregon, US Since last post: 2 hours Last activity: 2 hours |
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| Oh, that gives me an idea. Is there an IPS patch with the same name as your hack, and are you using ZSNES? If so, the problem is that ZSNES is automatically loading the IPS patch on to your ROM when it opens it, thus screwing parts of it up, possibly one of them being destroy tile settings. If this is the problem, just rename/move/delete the patch and it'll stop happening. (edited by Kyouji Craw on 04-17-05 03:29 AM) (edited by Kyouji Craw on 04-17-05 03:29 AM) |
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Alastor the Stylish Hey! I made a cool game! It's called "I poisoned half the food, so if you eat you might die!" Have a taco. Level: 114 Posts: 5894/7620 EXP: 16258468 For next: 51099 Since: 03-15-04 From: Oregon, US Since last post: 2 hours Last activity: 2 hours |
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| Well you DID give me the idea, and a lot of your reasoning was used... So... That's not terribly hard to believe. | |||
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Alastor the Stylish Hey! I made a cool game! It's called "I poisoned half the food, so if you eat you might die!" Have a taco. Level: 114 Posts: 5895/7620 EXP: 16258468 For next: 51099 Since: 03-15-04 From: Oregon, US Since last post: 2 hours Last activity: 2 hours |
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| I'm just a level 4 pastamancer, but the council is giving me these quests which are wholly impossible for me Drunken rats keep slaughtering me 9 muscle, 13 mysticality, 9 moxie, a chef's hat, and Dr. Hobo's Scalpel is not enough. I require pants. |
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Alastor the Stylish Hey! I made a cool game! It's called "I poisoned half the food, so if you eat you might die!" Have a taco. Level: 114 Posts: 5896/7620 EXP: 16258468 For next: 51099 Since: 03-15-04 From: Oregon, US Since last post: 2 hours Last activity: 2 hours |
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| Actually, it's the secret exit that causes it, not the regular exit. So, event 25. And there's a destructible castle event on 25. I don't know why this is triggering that castle to be destroyed, but I tested it and if you change the one triggered on 25 to an event that's not triggered by anything, the castle won't get blown up except by event 2. (edited by Kyouji Craw on 04-17-05 04:13 AM) |
| Acmlm's Board - I2 Archive - - Posts by Alastor the Stylish |
