STAR WARS: The Empire Strikes Back: Chapter One....err...Etc!

Hey all,

I've just published my latest level for playtesting, and would be grateful for any constructive criticism or thoughts before i publish proper next week - I'll tweak any bugs/glitches/stupidity on my part over the weekend....

(is this the appropriate thread to ask for feedback he wonders..?)

A few pics from the early stage of the level, there's ALOT of white.:eek:

Any thoughts would be much appreciated...:D

I know 'movie' levels are slightly frowned upon here, but i always try to back it all up with some decent gameplay,i promise!

I don't frown upon them, and your other levels are good quality. I've popped it onto my play list for tonight!

i frown upon all your main stream, licence abusing, childhood killing levels! hehe.

actually, before i forget to ask for the millionth time, how did you make the bacta tank?

Thanks Cubbage, hope you enjoy it.

I had to google that Matt, you're even more hardcore Star Wars than me! Its a big milk bottle with some stickers, and a little backlighting. Probably fairly similar to what they had to make do with in 1981 i expect, heh heh.

Its made into a container by some invisible walls on the plane behind.

I love star wars so I had to try this one. let me tell ya, it's great. Just about the whole level is white, but it works. I thought the platforming was very solid, and the characters were funny. EVERYTHING you brought over from the movie I thought was excellent. Everything worked good for me, so it looks like you got most if not all of the bugs. Probably one of the best star wars levels I've seen yet. good work!!

Ditto from Smasher - great level, practically bug free.... however, I did find something I thought could be improved.

When you first ride into the base (by the way - butt-rockets... fantastic) and you turn on the switch, then need to swing - the background was so dark I couldn't see my Sackboy while I was swinging. I would suggest an LED light on the back wall just to light it up a TAD.

Other than than, fantastic - no problems at all. I was actually highly impressed by the gameplay. The one thing that kind of worries me on movie levels is they are usually walk-throughs, but this one has incredibly solid gameplay.

Excellent work - 5 stars and a heart from me.

Thanks for playtesting guys, i'll return the favour anytime.

In regard to the lights in the hanger, i know what you mean Cubbage, it is too dark. Once i played it through i actually kinda liked that the only thing guiding you was the beam of light. Thats probably fine when you know exactly what to do, but anyone playing for the first time won't have that advantage so I'll tweak it, thanks.

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Originally Posted by julesyjules

Thanks for playtesting guys, i'll return the favour anytime.

In regard to the lights in the hanger, i know what you mean Cubbage, it is too dark. Once i played it through i actually kinda liked that the only thing guiding you was the beam of light. Thats probably fine when you know exactly what to do, but anyone playing for the first time won't have that advantage so I'll tweak it, thanks.

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When I played I had on my neon eyes. If you want to keep the look of the level maybe you could throw in a speech bubble telling people to put on neon eyes or skin. I realize some people don't have these, but it's an option for you.

Oohhhh..... maybe he can have a switch right before you jump on the platforms that says "pull this switch to light-swing in dark, neon suite mode".... ;)

This could start a whole new, constantly customizing your level all the way through thing. Each section has an option switch that sets the global lighting tool....

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Originally Posted by CCubbage

Oohhhh..... maybe he can have a switch right before you jump on the platforms that says "pull this switch to light-swing in dark, neon suite mode".... ;)

This could start a whole new, constantly customizing your level all the way through thing. Each section has an option switch that sets the global lighting tool....

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good idea!

Published proper today, so if anyone wants to give it a bash, hope you enjoy it. It had the honor of having the first player rate it 1 star. Yay!

Yeah, I republished Splat Invaders Saga yesterday.... a level that had consistent 20% hearts, a spotlight here, and an IGN pick....

First play.... a heart..... a comment from a dude saying "H4H".... and a 1 star rating.

The good thing is, I actually know who the user is because it was the only play at the time. It confirms my fears that there are kids sitting out there waiting for people to publish their levels - and doing a 1-2 punch - getting a heart out of them and at the same time decimating their level attempting to prevent it from seeing the light of day.

But don't worry... when I get home today I'm giving this one a 5 star and a nice little no-strings-attached heart because I want to give that 1-star-giving-guy a big proverbial smack on the forehead (.....and I think its a 5 star game deserving a heart).

I checked for it online last night and couldn't find it. Did you take it down or did I just miss it completely? I saw the Tattoine one and the excape from the Death Star but not the Hoth one.

Ah, it was locked over most of the w/end while I did a few tweaks, sorry!

Up and away now. : )

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Originally Posted by CCubbage

Yeah, I republished Splat Invaders Saga yesterday.... a level that had consistent 20% hearts, a spotlight here, and an IGN pick....

First play.... a heart..... a comment from a dude saying "H4H".... and a 1 star rating.

The good thing is, I actually know who the user is because it was the only play at the time. It confirms my fears that there are kids sitting out there waiting for people to publish their levels - and doing a 1-2 punch - getting a heart out of them and at the same time decimating their level attempting to prevent it from seeing the light of day.

But don't worry... when I get home today I'm giving this one a 5 star and a nice little no-strings-attached heart because I want to give that 1-star-giving-guy a big proverbial smack on the forehead (.....and I think its a 5 star game deserving a heart).

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Hahaha. Oh! That "Give me a heart and I'll give you a star" Exchange Program I've heard about... We're lucky there's no Zero Star rating, imagine the fun!

Thanks for the support Cubbage. :)

I`ve noticed that all the levels get hit early with a few 1 stars. If someone I know publishes a decent level I`ll give them 5 stars and a heart just for support if nothing else. But you see in no time that 5 stars drop to 4. And it ain`t because someone gave it 3 stars that`s for sure.

Great level julesyjules, had a blast playing this!
Everything is so well designed and the level is really fun to play!
Can hardly find anything negative, although i would add a camera and zoom
out on the part with the ice-platforms (so you can see what the rocks are doing once they felt on the floor, now you see them falling, but you don't see what they are causing)

besides that minor remark, a really great level! hearted it and gave you 5 stars.

misty.

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Originally Posted by Mother-Misty

Can hardly find anything negative, although i would add a camera and zoom
out on the part with the ice-platforms (so you can see what the rocks are doing once they felt on the floor, now you see them falling, but you don't see what they are causing)

misty.

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Ah, hadn't thought of that! Nice idea Misty, have tweaked : )

Well, you just got a 5 star and heart from me. I absolutely love this level - it's..... a Star Wars level with great humor and ACTUAL gameplay rather than a "walk through and look at the pretty scenery" level.

I'm pretty sure I commented in this level when it was first released but I loved it. Everything that CCubbage said is right on the money. I also loved everything thats come after it too. Really..really good stuff.

Great and fun level!

I like the platforming on this one compared to some of the others. I am a huge fan of all your Star Wars levels. ..which possibly accounts for quite a few pics of myself on some of your other levels. This one just seemed to have a bit more platforming, which made it a bit more challenging.

I did get stuck for just a bit in the one control room, but realized the slidey panel thingy was a switch and soon exited.

As all the others, I really love the humor. I also loved the walker and the base defense thingys. ..though kinda wished I could battle the walker a bit longer.

Once more, loved the platforming. Though some of it at the beginning seemed a bit more huge and felt somewhat less engaging than some of the earlier levels.

..however that might just be from frostbite.

5 stars and hearted.

I've played your other Star Wars levels too but this one is really something special. Beautiful snowscapes and a great sense of humor running throughout the story. Loved your model work on the snow speeders and your walker is incredible! I wish I could get a look at all of it at once as the camera angle only shows a part of it at any given moment.

Great gameplay too - most certainly a 5 star level! Hearted it too - thanks for sharing it and keep 'em coming!

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Originally Posted by jwwphotos

Great and fun level!
Once more, loved the platforming. Though some of it at the beginning seemed a bit more huge and felt somewhat less engaging than some of the earlier levels.

..however that might just be from frostbite.

5 stars and hearted.

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Thanks for the play and the heart! In regards to the platforming, for this one i wanted the actual landscape to be more a part of the challenge, rather than the mechanical platforms in something like the Death Star level. Its fairly open in the first half, to give it a completely different feel from the enclosed spaces of the last chapter. As a result its probably a bit less frantic and probably less 'exciting'.

I did have another big walker in the level at one point, but the thermo was taking such a big hit i had to really compromise on other stuff, so i kept it to one.

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Originally Posted by Morgana25

I've played your other Star Wars levels too but this one is really something special. Beautiful snowscapes and a great sense of humor running throughout the story. Loved your model work on the snow speeders and your walker is incredible! I wish I could get a look at all of it at once as the camera angle only shows a part of it at any given moment.

Great gameplay too - most certainly a 5 star level! Hearted it too - thanks for sharing it and keep 'em coming!

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Thanks for the heart and play, appreciated! I wish i could take full credit for the speeders and walkers but I customized versions of vehicles by a creator called dog-egg. ( I've given him a credit in the level description). I'm pretty hopeless at the vehicle side of things on LBP, there's no way i could ever make them function half as well as he has. And believe me i tried. (laugh)

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Originally Posted by julesyjules

Thanks for the play and the heart! In regards to the platforming, for this one i wanted the actual landscape to be more a part of the challenge, rather than the mechanical platforms in something like the Death Star level. Its fairly open in the first half, to give it a completely different feel from the enclosed spaces of the last chapter. As a result its probably a bit less frantic and probably less 'exciting'.

I did have another big walker in the level at one point, but the thermo was taking such a big hit i had to really compromise on other stuff, so i kept it to one.

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Most welcome!

To the point of having the landscaping being the challenge. That makes prefect sense. ...afterall, it was a pretty darn cold bleak planet !!

Too bad about the 2nd walker... I need to try again and kill that other one slower to enjoy it more!

Take care!

Wow, a really lovely level here - just great fun :)

Pros:
+Fun gameplay
+Great vehicles
+Characters
+The very clever humour
+Nice use of materials

Cons:
-Not much.....

Overall, 5 stars and a heart from me - really nice level

Thanks Coxy! : )

I wish i knew why its getting 'frustrating' as one of the tags. 'Difficult' or 'Tricky' wouldn't bother me, but 'frustration' is annoying the tweaker in me. I've only been left two feedback comments on what it could potentially be (each a different problem) so I'm no wiser as to the cause, and i don't want go through and make the whole thing easier just to alleviate any and all possible problems. Oh well.

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Originally Posted by julesyjules

Thanks Coxy! : )

I wish i knew why its getting 'frustrating' as one of the tags. 'Difficult' or 'Tricky' wouldn't bother me, but 'frustration' is annoying the tweaker in me. I've only been left two feedback comments on what it could potentially be (each a different problem) so I'm no wiser as to the cause, and i don't want go through and make the whole thing easier just to alleviate any and all possible problems. Oh well.

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Actually, I can certainly tell you where you are getting the "Frustrating".... you have good gameplay that takes some skill.... which in LBP will cause "frustrating" tags. I had the same problem with Splat Invaders II when it was on Cool pages because of the initial POD descent, which takes a bit of practice.

Some areas I can guarantee you will get frustrating tags on are the very beginning, if a kid can't figure out how to get up to the pull switch, and the part where you go back and forth and have to perform timed drops in between the electric.

I think when we try to incorporate these kinds of things we have to remember theres a 7-year-old out there somewhere who its simply too difficult for - which is why many of the absolute top levels in LittleBigPlanet have practically nothing like this.

But the "frustating" thing for me is that many of these parts are my personal favorites...

Yeh, i agree, and I'm usually pretty forgiving where the difficulty level is involved. It's one of the hardest balances to get right, i think.

One comment was from a guy who couldn't get out of the first room, and spent 10 minutes doing 'EVERYTHING!!!' . I've added an additional solution to the problem now,but I thought it was a pretty nice way to start a level, in an empty white room, with a solution that would take most players (even the younger ones) about 20 seconds till they clicked. It might have been an under-estimation. (laugh)

It's amazing how Star wars has permeated into our collective cultural subconsious. I'm a big Scifi/fantsay film and book fan butI've never seen a Star wars film, sure I've seen lots of bits of them but have never sat down and watched an entire film, I can identify characters, quote lines "Luke I am your Mother!", even speak a little wookie "Grraaaahhgghh!"

So it was a little trepidation that I tried some of your Star/sack war levels.
I tried the very first episode set on Tatoo land and new all the scenes and characters. A lot of creators/star wars fans must of spotted this great use for the MGS pack when it came out. Couldn't find a thread for that one so I jumped to this one and was once again amazed by how much of the scenes and plot I could identify.
You really intergrate the Lbp side of things smoothly into the star wars mythos to create a humourous amalgam. All the platforming elements were fun, the glass ones a tad tricky.
The models of the characters were well realised and added to the fun feel of the level.
A nice variety of gameplay and the narrative provided a mechanisam that drew the player through the level. You have created a robust and crediatble Space opera with your entire series, will return to play others and learn more about the Star wars universe, cheaper than renting the films, and I'm sure you've taken no liberties with plot or dialogue.
P.s. tell princess Leia my sack boy wasn't wearing knickers!

You call yourself a big sci-fi fan yet you haven't seen one star wars movie through yet? What's taking so long?