Attack of the BORG! "Part 4: The Space Battle!" *SPOTLIGHTED*

Well it is time again for a new chapter in my BORG saga!

Let me say that this was originally part of AOTB Part3 but it became a monster of it's own and wouldn't have left room for much else.

The story:

Last time aboard the USS Discovery...

The Captain and the rest of the bridge crew were abducted by the BORG. You completed repairs on the ship and are now ready to go after the BORG and retrieve your crew mates!

-*-Attack of the BORG-*- "Part 4: The Space Battle!"

Take your place on the Bridge and hail the BORG vessel.
Meet the BORG Queen! (Designed by Morgana25!)
Fire Phasers at the BORG ship!
Blow up Asteroids for Points that you get at the finish...if you survive!

If you Die fighting the BORG you will crossover and meet the Grim Reaper! (Designed by Morgana25!)

I want to thank Morgana25 for the Awesome job she did on the BORG Queen, her set piece, and the Grim Reaper you meet if you Die.

It is worth it to play just to see the excellent job she has done. I give full credit and more as I think these 2 elements totally Make the level.

As for the Level it was a real challenge! I have learned how to put every layer to use in this (dare I say...) Epic space battle!

EDIT: This is the first level I have made where I may not be able to keep the high score!


*Level was Republished - High Score is up for grabs!*


As always I will return any feedback that is given!

Screen Shots:

http://i678.photobucket.com/albums/v...lle/AOTB4a.jpg

http://i678.photobucket.com/albums/v...e/AOTB4i-1.jpg

http://i678.photobucket.com/albums/v...lle/AOTB4c.jpg

http://i678.photobucket.com/albums/v...e/AOTB4b-1.jpg

http://i678.photobucket.com/albums/v...lle/AOTB4e.jpg

http://i678.photobucket.com/albums/v...lle/AOTB4d.jpg

http://i678.photobucket.com/albums/v...lle/AOTB4f.jpg

http://i678.photobucket.com/albums/v...lle/AOTB4g.jpg

AJ, since I temporarily have first place on this level, I'll jump in here and be the first to give you feedback.

I thought this level was magnificent!

Attack of the BORG! "Part 4: The Space Battle!", which is definitely one of a kind, establishes a new benchmark for space battles on LBP! The "Larger Than Life" Ship's screen on the Bridge is absolutely awesome! I was taken aback when I saw it (WOW)! The Borg queen was obviously created with extreme attention to detail, a masterpiece in itself--Well done Morgana25! Then, if that wasn't good enough, I'm thrown right into the middle of a Borg attack, executed in such a unique manner, that I felt compelled to engage in this mission to defeat them. All of this, coupled with the asteroids and stars, brought this level to life.

Bravo! Well Done!

5-Stars and a Heart from me.

It will be difficult to top this one AJ, but somehow I think you will find a way, and I can't wait to see it.

Rick

WOW! What can I say that hasn't been said.

The level pulls you in one way or another:

Die- you have to play again to defeat the Borg
Win- you have to play again to defeat the Borg and get more of the asteroids & meteors.

Overall excellent visuals in the design and creations through out and on both endings.

Well done both of you.

The stars filled my eyes and captured my heart.:D

Not that I'm biased or anything.... lol

I LOVE this level. :) The technical requirements of the system for the asteroids, Borg ship and the earth and moon challenge is amazing! Well done!

I've always loved your levels but I have to say this one is so great and I'm privileged to have seen you grow as a creator and humbled to have been asked to contribute to your level. :)

I hope players realize how much skill it takes to pull this off and that your efforts are rewarded tenfold!

Oh yea - the business end of this post - 5 stars & hearted tagged BRILLIANT!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RickRock_777

AJ, since I temporarily have first place on this level, I'll jump in here and be the first to give you feedback.

I thought this level was magnificent!

Attack of the BORG! "Part 4: The Space Battle!", which is definitely one of a kind, establishes a new benchmark for space battles on LBP! The "Larger Than Life" Ship's screen on the Bridge is absolutely awesome! I was taken aback when I saw it (WOW)! The Borg queen was obviously created with extreme attention to detail, a masterpiece in itself--Well done Morgana25! Then, if that wasn't good enough, I'm thrown right into the middle of a Borg attack, executed in such a unique manner, that I felt compelled to engage in this mission to defeat them. All of this, coupled with the asteroids and stars, brought this level to life.

Bravo! Well Done!

5-Stars and a Heart from me.

It will be difficult to top this one AJ, but somehow I think you will find a way, and I can't wait to see it.

Rick

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Wow I'm speechless (ok not really but that sure is nice to hear!)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lady_Luck__777

WOW! What can I say that hasn't been said.

The level pulls you in one way or another:

Die- you have to play again to defeat the Borg
Win- you have to play again to defeat the Borg and get more of the asteroids & meteors.

Overall excellent visuals in the design and creations through out and on both endings.

Well done both of you.

The stars filled my eyes and captured my heart.:D

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Ahh...what a nice thing to say :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Morgana25

Not that I'm biased or anything.... lol

I LOVE this level. :) The technical requirements of the system for the asteroids, Borg ship and the earth and moon challenge is amazing! Well done!

I've always loved your levels but I have to say this one is so great and I'm privileged to have seen you grow as a creator and humbled to have been asked to contribute to your level. :)

I hope players realize how much skill it takes to pull this off and that your efforts are rewarded tenfold!

Oh yea - the business end of this post - 5 stars & hearted tagged BRILLIANT!

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Ahh shucks! (lowers head and kicks a rock)


Thank you so much for those kind words and a 'BIG THANK YOU' for your awesome characters! I trully meant what I said...this level wouldnt have the same impact without them!

:)

Ok, played this and had a lot of fun with the idea but a few glitches stopped me from beating the level :(

Pros:
+ Good character design (well done again Morgana!)
+ Alternative endings
+ LBPC advert!
+ Brilliant idea
+ Good execution
+ Different types of weapons

Cons:
- Phaser's stopped working half way through for me
- I wasn't keen on the aiming system

Overall though a very good level which I hope I get to complete properly! 4 stars and a heart

Just noticed you wondered if anyone noticed what happened if the earth and moon blew up. Yup I did last night - poor Earth - I didn't mean to hit it. :)

I think it's fair. Might not make too many players happy but meh - that's what you get for blasting the home world!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Morgana25

Just noticed you wondered if anyone noticed what happened if the earth and moon blew up. Yup I did last night - poor Earth - I didn't mean to hit it. :)

I think it's fair. Might not make too many players happy but meh - that's what you get for blasting the home world!

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LOL...Right!?

But I take it everything worked properly. That was one of the last things added and was hard to test as I had to keep running through the game to see and I don't remember if I killed both to make sure the doors stayed closed on both.

Did you think it worked well, and looked good?

I thought of them (Earth & Moon) as the flying saucers in the old asteroids game only this time you don't want to hit them :)

It worked just fine for me - I intentionally blasted the moon at one point just to see what would happen and I was denied my bubble fix, then I nailed earth by accident and was denied again. So it seemed to work. :)

I did think of them like ufo's crossing the sky. It added another element of difficulty.

I made some adjustments and had a play through and everything worked fine :)

Let the score war begin!

Just got done with this one. Gotta say - I'm impressed. This is a totally new play mechanic I hadn't seen, and it was done well.

My first impression of this level... if it was a stand-alone level that didn't have the support of the rest in the series, it probably couldn't stand on its own. HOWEVER, that being said - it fits really well with the rest of the series, and along with the other levels is a fantastic piece of the whole.

I gave it 5 stars and a heart. I love seeing new creative techniques. Great job!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CCubbage

Just got done with this one. Gotta say - I'm impressed. This is a totally new play mechanic I hadn't seen, and it was done well.

My first impression of this level... if it was a stand-alone level that didn't have the support of the rest in the series, it probably couldn't stand on its own. HOWEVER, that being said - it fits really well with the rest of the series, and along with the other levels is a fantastic piece of the whole.

I gave it 5 stars and a heart. I love seeing new creative techniques. Great job!

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Thank you!

I will take that as a compliment :)

I am glad that I at least get points for originality!

What do you think would help it be a 'stand alone' level?

BTW: I have tweaked the asteroids and made them quite a bit faster which helps keep things exciting! (I hope)

I also added a light over the asteroid read out on each side which lets you know if you have destroyed the Earth or the Moon and which points you have lost!


I have improved my score to 25+K but Gravel still has the lead with over 30+K!


Thanks again!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AJnKnox

What do you think would help it be a 'stand alone' level?

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It's an interesting question... Generally to me something that stands out as an entire experience in itself has more variety, and tighter interaction.

For instance, fighting your way through an asteroid storm, then fight enemies, then face a boss, and so on... Right now, you walk into a room and you stand on a button to shoot torpedo's, and another to shoot phasers. And you do it over and over again with the same objects floating by. So, even though the visuals are cool and the interface is unique it almost acts out more as a minigame.

However, keeping in mind the series as a whole and playing through all of them - it fits in well and I'm not really suggesting you change anything.

I'll give you an example - in Ratchet & Clank Tools of Destruction they have several parts where you use the sixaxxis functionality to tilt a circuit board to complete a circuit and hack doors - which is a lot of fun... if they tried to sell this as the WHOLE game it would would be lacking - but as a mechanic inside the full game it's great.

To make this a level that can completely stand on it's own, I would have a responsive aiming system (such as running to the left to aim up, and to the right to aim down), have diverse stages of things flying by a bit faster, and have a responsive firing system (like grabbing and having it fire quickly).

But, this isn't a critisism as much as an observation. I think your response to this level from those playing through your entire series is going to be much better than those who ONLY look at this level and don't have the full story to drive them forward.

If you like you can check out my level "Vertigo!" - it uses a magnetic switch system with hundreds of keys to control many stages and diverse objects. Not that this is a perfect example of what you're trying to create because your level is really unique, but it may give you an idea.

Well I went ack on today after you said you'd fixed the problem and I finally managed to finish it! :D
Didn't die and got a pretty decent score! I think you could easily make a proper XP contest out of this :)

5 stars

Another excellent level AJnKnox, I'd love to see the switches that power it all :)

Its definetly a fresh and original mechanic in LBP and is an excellent addition to a great series. I could'nt find any problems what so ever, its been refined a great deal over the last few weeks and is now perfect. I liked Morgana's characters to, very well designed. I've given you most of the feedback over the last couple of weeks while I was testing so you basically know the score from me ;)

Excellent level, I loved it.

*****, brilliant and hearted

Did you 'read all about it' in the headlines this morning? Apparently the Borg have all but been defeated...

You really have become a very notable creator AJ. Your series has truly become epic in proportion and fun.

It is as inventive and imaginative as anything I have ever seen on LBP... I'm not kidding. I have a great imagination, but I could never had dreamed of this level... not the mechanics behind it... nothing. It Looks beautiful and it all works like it's supposed to... I've played six or seven more times since I made you aware of the "message". (By the way, you've sped it up quite a bit haven't you? ... feels 'slicker' now!) I also can come nowhere near my previous score... (first play died, second play 30k). Go figure! So thank you for a great game (and Hi-Score.)

Good Job, but in the back of my mind, I've already set my phaser for kill...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GrantosUK

Another excellent level AJnKnox, I'd love to see the switches that power it all :)

Its definetly a fresh and original mechanic in LBP and is an excellent addition to a great series. I could'nt find any problems what so ever, its been refined a great deal over the last few weeks and is now perfect. I liked Morgana's characters to, very well designed. I've given you most of the feedback over the last couple of weeks while I was testing so you basically know the score from me ;)

Excellent level, I loved it.

*****, brilliant and hearted

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GrantosUK, thank you for your kind words, play testing, support, stars, and Heart!

There are so many great level designers here I am humbled to make something (even if it is not a huge success with the rest of the LBP community) that much more experienced LBP creators can look at and say wow, or how did he do that!? Thats got to be the best feeling yet!

If I have done something original (BTW thats awesome!) then I am even happier!

You can look at my logic anytime you'd like!

I had an idea that I thought would be cool...A backstage pass to this level!

I would redo/edit certain parts, (to give me some thermo room) create a ride mechanism and take you around and explain some things and show some logic. What do you think...and don't be the nice judge...be Simon Cowell!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gravel

Did you 'read all about it' in the headlines this morning? Apparently the Borg have all but been defeated...

You really have become a very notable creator AJ. Your series has truly become epic in proportion and fun.

It is as inventive and imaginative as anything I have ever seen on LBP... I'm not kidding. I have a great imagination, but I could never had dreamed of this level... not the mechanics behind it... nothing. It Looks beautiful and it all works like it's supposed to... I've played six or seven more times since I made you aware of the "message". (By the way, you've sped it up quite a bit haven't you? ... feels 'slicker' now!) I also can come nowhere near my previous score... (first play died, second play 30k). Go figure! So thank you for a great game (and Hi-Score.)

Good Job, but in the back of my mind, I've already set my phaser for kill...

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"You use your mouth purdier than $2 *****"--(Said by 'Taggert')
*Quote from the movie Blazzing Saddles!*

Thanks Gravel!

Yes your right I have sped things up...well I have sped up the asteroids and the earth and moon, but didn't speed up the BORG vessel, although it seems like I did :)

I am glad that the level designers here appreciate the complexity of the project. Tricky to do, but not really hard I don't think??


What do you think about the 'Backstage pass' idea?
I don't even know if anyone has done anything like that in a level?
Course you wont see the wires but seeing the logic bits with 'some' explanation to me seems like a cool idea.


Thanks for the praise, comments and plays!

I'd love a backstage pass option. But I'm fascinated by the "how" of LBP more so than an average player - I think most "serious" creators are. You could always take pictures of all the switches/logic in edit mode to show the wiring too. Or you could just put a thread in the tutorial section here on LBPC with photos of how you did it and not have to mess with the level.

Either way - would be cool to see.

Quote:

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What do you think about the 'Backstage pass' idea?
I don't even know if anyone has done anything like that in a level?
Course you wont see the wires but seeing the logic bits with 'some' explanation to me seems like a cool idea.

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I think most would like to see it. You could just give a tetherless jetpack, and use DM to make sure people don't wander off course, be easier to see what was going on if you could control it.

But yeah, I'd love to see it :D

Thanks Morgana!
I'm glad you like the idea, I do as well and feel the same as you do about seeing how things work! Great idea with the pictures!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GrantosUK

I think most would like to see it. You could just give a tetherless jetpack, and use DM to make sure people don't wander off course, be easier to see what was going on if you could control it.

But yeah, I'd love to see it :D

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Grantos:
Thats an excellent idea! Would also save on thermo if I didn't build a 'ride'. I will just have to put a few cameras around on some DM to open up the view so you can see the 'full' picture.


OK I am going to work on this! Shouldn't be too hard at all. I will make all the strings and pistons visible and take pics and post them near the items showing the wires.

Cool thanks for the input!