Miserable Flying Weather: Back To The Future

http://lbp.me/v/yzhyj3

Hi All,

This is my first 'real' stage and it is based on a scene from Back To The Future II, when the DeLorean gets sent back to 1885, it uses a modified version of my DeLorean I have posted in the object showcase.

Spoiler - DeLorean

http://img863.imageshack.us/img863/9066/45610809.jpg

I have been working on this level for quite some time, and is the only real stage I have ever really made. I learnt a lot from making it especially about the value on NOT locking yourself into a creative corner, as I was forced to re-start several times as everything got unwieldy to edit. Building this and my DeLorean were in a way learning tests for me. So now I hope to build smarter and faster!

The stage started out as a short survival challenge, but then I got interested in what happens AFTER the DeLorean gets struck by lightning... So it has a bit of a surprise third Act that I hope fans of BTTF like.

It would be great if anyone with time could offer any constructive criticism or feedback, I built it very modularly so ANY and ALL suggestions will be considered to make it better and learn from.

The photos came out a little dark... But it is at night. In a storm.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH6zcQxE0rE

http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/2252/aphoto8.jpg

http://img688.imageshack.us/img688/2019/aphoto13.jpg

http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/701/aphoto6.jpg

http://img571.imageshack.us/img571/1305/aphoto7.jpg

Spoiler - Doc

http://img560.imageshack.us/img560/576/aphoto5.jpg

Spoiler - Marty

http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/3933/aphoto4a.jpg

http://lbp.me/v/http://lbp

1. Skippable Intro
   Done Skip with 'O'
2. Fix tree barrier in ACT II - 1955 and make direction of play clearer
   Done There is no option to jump on the tree and some noisy point bubbles should help.
3. Sackbot Checkpoint System No longer needed.
4. Slow down the tutorial text
   Added 0.5 second to the entire help menu
5. Finish buildings in ACT III - 1885
   Done No more white anti-matter place holders
   Apart from discussions around building colour, which I am toning down slightly
6. More detail in the background of ACT I - 1955
7. More detail in the clouds of ACT II - 1955
8. Clearer Menu Select Colouring

Wow, I love the pictures. I tried to que this level and once more the PSN is down. I am going on a trip today, but when I get back I will check this level out. I really like the displays in the screne images though. Thanks tons for your feedback. I will also work on that when I get back. I thought about the sub levels, but I wanted the entire ship to be drivable, so that is why I have avoided that (it driving unlocks in the 7th mission and in the V.S. mode).

Got a chance to play the level a few times last night. I love the intro, very nicely done, and a good feel. You may want to have some of it skippable for replays (as I had to replay it I noticed nothing could be skipped. The menu/help lloks very nice, but I could not tell which color was the selected color, perhaps if you added your nice burning tire marks animation to which ever is selected, it may fit well...but even a little dot or something would help. I liked the next intro, but once more I could not skip it on the replay. The help was also nicely done but one time by buttin mashing I managed to appear at the spwan point and could not see the menu (I have no clue how I did that).
So I started flying and it was a very good look. I wonder if a second layer of clouds behind the first to make a more 3D look would work, having them pass by slower or such. I liked thechallenge as you got further, niocely done. The issue I ran into was once I got zapped I could not figure out what to do, the first time I went left and got stuck under the tree, had to reset my guy, but then would not respawn to the bot...so I had to replay level. The next time I went back to the right and got the next scene. I really liked the idea there, I figure it is not how it is going to look, but I did like the town and the change in my guy...I figure that white anti-matter is not there to stay. :)
I am likeing how this level is going. I would just touch up on skippings, the menu to know which color is the select, and the figuring out what to do once you get zapped. Also what happens if I keep going? Does it just get harder?

Wow, thank you for this feedback. It address some of the things I was wondering about and brings up something I didn't think of. You sure do like trying to break my stuff though :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by celsus

Got a chance to play the level a few times last night. I love the intro, very nicely done, and a good feel. You may want to have some of it skippable for replays (as I had to replay it I noticed nothing could be skipped. The menu/help lloks very nice, but I could not tell which color was the selected color, perhaps if you added your nice burning tire marks animation to which ever is selected, it may fit well...but even a little dot or something would help. I liked the next intro, but once more I could not skip it on the replay. The help was also nicely done but one time by buttin mashing I managed to appear at the spwan point and could not see the menu (I have no clue how I did that).

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I was worried about no skipping for replays and my two options are a subtitle saying press and hold x to quick start, or a selection on the main menu that says skip the cut scenes. I didn't think that the select colour wouldn't be easy to tell but it's a great point. I'll have to try out some options and your suggestions. Not sure how you broke out of the cut scene. I'll have to look into that.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by celsus

So I started flying and it was a very good look. I wonder if a second layer of clouds behind the first to make a more 3D look would work, having them pass by slower or such. I liked thechallenge as you got further, niocely done. The issue I ran into was once I got zapped I could not figure out what to do, the first time I went left and got stuck under the tree, had to reset my guy, but then would not respawn to the bot...so I had to replay level. The next time I went back to the right and got the next scene. I really liked the idea there, I figure it is not how it is going to look, but I did like the town and the change in my guy...I figure that white anti-matter is not there to stay. :)

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"the car actually flew?"
"yeah we had a hover conversion done in the early 21st century"

I think I have room to get some more clouds up there. I'll check it out!
Stop breaking my Sackbot logic! Actually, I'll put a spawn gate up next to the tree to help with that. I tried to make the flaming tree safe and jump-on-able, but impassable. The idea here is meant to be a quick "now what moment". What will happen is the cut scene pulls out you regain control as it starts to rain. You're stuck in 1955... So in a way I'm glad you weren't sure! But I'll make sure that tree doesn't make it complicated.

There is alot of empty space in the town at the moment. I'll be adding a train station/hill valley sign and that antimatter will be a clothesline/bathhouse with some rustling noises.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by celsus

I am likeing how this level is going. I would just touch up on skippings, the menu to know which color is the select, and the figuring out what to do once you get zapped. Also what happens if I keep going? Does it just get harder?

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Hard to say if it gets harder, not sure how far you got. The clock does tick through three levels. Each level does have a faster point spawn, and a greater likelyhood of a lightning strike from more places and that also comes in from the sides. Stage 3 also makes the point bubbles be able to be struck. They will become balls of plasma for a few seconds after a strike getting one costs -100 and counts as a hit. It does become tricky but I guess you could go on forever if you're good. Do you think there should be something else?

Again thank you for this. It was really helpful!

did you try my 3D tank shooter multiplayer level yet? I wonder if a 3D BTTF level is possible?

Ok that is annoying. My post just vanished when I hit reply. Oh well. I was just saying that it may not be worth your time to place more in it, but adding a tornado or such may work. I had a bonus for beating the meteor storm, but no one has ever made it...adn now it is just bugs me. I think you should make the tree larger to avoid the invisible wall, so it still has the what now feel, but no invisible wall...also have him drop something back there so you have a reason to go back, and not just a random location for a start point.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by celsus

adding a tornado or such may work.

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I was thinking of making the car get buffeted by winds so it becomes harder to control, but couldn't think of a way to show why it was happening... I think that the tornado is a good starting point though. The first iteration only let you get struck by lightning once. So a game could go for 20 seconds!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by celsus

I think you should make the tree larger to avoid the invisible wall, so it still has the what now feel, but no invisible wall...also have him drop something back there so you have a reason to go back, and not just a random location for a start point.

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I always liked the idea of the burning tree as the barrier, but was never really happy with how it behaves. I think that if I rebuild it larger and without bits to jump on, and have the cut scene end when you're right next to it with a spawn point there then have some point bubbles pop one at a time in the opposite direction it may work, maybe add a little camera tilt...

I want to avoid a big flashing arrow. And if the fire is more present, with the sackbot in the corner of the screen it should sort of suggest NOT THIS WAY.

This is an amazing level. The cinematics were absolutely great, the transitions were fluid and there was a lot of variety in the camera angles which was nice as well as a ton of detail in the visuals. The character designs were well done also and the setting was very true to the movie and the dialogue was spot on, as far as recreating the movie goes I think you nailed it. The gameplay was simple but fun and well polished, I enjoyed it a lot :D

When it comes to suggestions I only really have 2 things to say:
1.) I'm not sure how feasible this is, but maybe add a checkpoint for the sackbots. After I crashed in the western setting, Doc got lodged between a barrell and trough and ended up getting squished to death, but I couldn't respawn.
2.) Make the intro skippable. After the death incident I replayed it but the intro is pretty lengthy and I wasn't crazy about having to watch it in its entirety after watching it just 5 minutes earlier.

Overall this is a great level, you did an amazing job on it :D

If you have the time I'd appreciate it if you could give my level a try: Enigmatic Music Pack

Hi,

First off, thanks for playing my level and all the constructive feedback you wrote.

just gave your level a go, thought it was great! really clever in the way the cut scenes merged with the game play in addition to a nice amount of detail involved.
I particularly liked the way the delorean looked inside..

I wasn't really sure what to do or expect on the flying section but it became clear very quickly.
Thought it really worked well on the second part when doc appeared back in time to the wild west, the saloon style bars and buildings looked good.

let me know then the second part is ready!

Cheers.

*noticed your in Australia, lived in Eastwood NSW for years.. miss it like crazy!

Mr_Fusion thanks for the feedback on my 40k level i've finally played yours and it was definately worth the wait.

Firstly i really liked the Universal title and the main menue they really set the mood for BTTF.

Really nice interior for the car it looked great though the cinemtic speech was a little fast and i couldn't read it all in time maybe you could make it a little slower. I do like the subtitles though its a pitty you can't easily add speeh sounds to them. I'm not sure if any of the voice sounds would really work though as when i read what the characters were saying i imagined the characters real voices as i read it and that felt good enough.

The cars flying controls were pretty much perfect and car looked great like in the demo. Also mart's hover board was a good touch.

I really liked the transition from getting struck by lightning as the Doc in the car to Marty calling him on the walky talky (Liked the walky talky by the way) When i first got hit i thought i failed then as this happened i was amazed to find the story continued.
As marty i ran backwards pass the Lion statues and a small cutscene kicked in then the setting changed as i found myself as the doc again transported into the wild west which i though was done really well. I liked the crash scene and the rock that fell down the cliff seconds later, the extra little touches you put into the details were marvelous.

Maybe when you walk marty to the end where the tree barrier is have him say something like the receptionfor the walky talky is bad and he better go back to the lion statues just so some people realise the map isn't bugged or broken.

Though as i ran forwards i found a square white wall and another Doc and when i went behind thw wall i found yet another doc dressed in a cowboy oufit and as i jumped and ran both docs mimiced my every move and followed me around the western town to the end where another western sackperson also followed me to the end of the level.
I'm pretty sure this wasn't supose to happen. Although when i played a second time my little doc character hanged into the cowboy outfit without any problems but still not sure why there was another doc standing next to the white clothes changing screen.

Overall a great looking level with some good logic and character transitioning. I though it played smoothly and there wasn't really anything much needed fixing. Great job and i really can't wait now for the next part to see your story progress.

I know this isn't much but i hope i helped.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Flatbadger

*noticed your in Australia, lived in Eastwood NSW for years.. miss it like crazy!

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Eastwood Ravine you say? :p

Quote:

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Originally Posted by roflwaffle

1.) I'm not sure how feasible this is, but maybe add a checkpoint for the sackbots. After I crashed in the western setting, Doc got lodged between a barrell and trough and ended up getting squished to death, but I couldn't respawn.

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I actually tried to block off that area with invisible light matter and palsma-holo, but I worked out you managed to jump through a gap in the setup! I have been working on a sackbot spawn system to put a point near the flaming tree but I guess it'd also be a good idea to get one down there after the clothes swap.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by roflwaffle

2.) Make the intro skippable. After the death incident I replayed it but the intro is pretty lengthy and I wasn't crazy about having to watch it in its entirety after watching it just 5 minutes earlier.

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Yeah... I realised that this was a priority when I was testing ACT 3, the re-entry into 1885, because I had to watch it every time :(. Now, the scenes are set up in a way to do this, but I'm not sure what'd be the best option...

As the Title screen loads it says 'HOLD X TO QUICK START' but people may jump ahead

An option on the menu screen that says skip intro

When you trigger the ending in ACT 3, before it drops you at the scoreboard it tells you about the skip option if you want to play again...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lordwarblade

I know this isn't much but i hope i helped.

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Any time spent helping each other is well worth it. Your feedback most definitely helped! Especially about the subtitle speed! I also wanted to make their mouths move with the subtitles, and it works as speech bubbles but I don't want the text over the game.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lordwarblade

Maybe when you walk marty to the end where the tree barrier is have him say something like the receptionfor the walky talky is bad and he better go back to the lion statues just so some people realise the map isn't bugged or broken.

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This is a really good idea, as this spot seems to be the main point of confusion for most people.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lordwarblade

Though as i ran forwards i found a square white wall and another Doc and when i went behind thw wall i found yet another doc dressed in a cowboy oufit and as i jumped and ran both docs mimiced my every move and followed me around the western town to the end where another western sackperson also followed me to the end of the level.
I'm pretty sure this wasn't supose to happen. Although when i played a second time my little doc character hanged into the cowboy outfit without any problems but still not sure why there was another doc standing next to the white clothes changing screen.

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Yeah, this is place holder stuff as I haven't finished the full town yet. :) As for the second Doc... well it seems like you may have opened some sort of paradox! :boo:

Actually, the extra Doc fell from the character select screen, I must've not locked him into place.

Hello there,

I've played your level twice, and I want to play more before giving you a propper feedback (cause it has a good replay value and I liked it for what i've seen).

But the first suggestion I can do (and I see that it's already mentionned above) is to make the cutscene skippable, as the level have a replay value.

I'll give you a more detailled feedback later !

I'll queue this and eventually give some feedback:)

Great original level dude. Using the back to the future theme and merging it with lBP seems partners made for each other.
The scene at the start was a great for adding impetus to the levels gameplay. Flying the Delorean through the lightning would have been a great level just by itself, wonderfullly implemented. Then the icing on the cake with the switch to the old west at the end, really adds interest for the next part. Let me know when it's ready and I'll happily play it.
F4F: http://www.lbpcentral.com/forums/sho...OW-WHITE-Noire

Hi Mr. Fusion

Your level is very cool and creative. Congratulations. Its very successfull to reproduce the movie's feeling.

Some points:
The logos at the begining are very nice.
I could use the popit cursor while in the initial menu and some other moments. Why dont you disable it?
I entered the help twice. After the second time, the level was totally glitched. You'll need to fix this issue.
I could not recharge the flying board with R1 button. It doesn't worked to me.
I think the 1955 scenery can be more detailed. Its a bit empty.
What are those white structures in 1885 scenery? The other buildings are amazing.

One question: How do you did to show the L2 button icon in the legend? Can I do this in a magic mouth?

Best regards!

DizaumBR.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by EnochRoot

Great original level dude. Using the back to the future theme and merging it with lBP seems partners made for each other.
The scene at the start was a great for adding impetus to the levels gameplay. Flying the Delorean through the lightning would have been a great level just by itself, wonderfullly implemented. Then the icing on the cake with the switch to the old west at the end, really adds interest for the next part. Let me know when it's ready and I'll happily play it.
F4F: http://www.lbpcentral.com/forums/sho...OW-WHITE-Noire

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Thank you, there a few more stages that are half built or in concept stage, but I am yet to finish this one. I spent a lot of time learnign while makeing this, and I sort of got sick of it! I wasn't sure if I was on the right track, Its great that people have responded so favourably to it. I'll stick with the original vision, and polish off the multiplayer component and go from their.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DizaumBR

Hi Mr. Fusion

Your level is very cool and creative. Congratulations. Its very successfull to reproduce the movie's feeling.

Some points:
The logos at the begining are very nice.
I could use the popit cursor while in the initial menu and some other moments. Why dont you disable it?
I entered the help twice. After the second time, the level was totally glitched. You'll need to fix this issue.
I could not recharge the flying board with R1 button. It doesn't worked to me.
I think the 1955 scenery can be more detailed. Its a bit empty.
What are those white structures in 1885 scenery? The other buildings are amazing.

One question: How do you did to show the L2 button icon in the legend? Can I do this in a magic mouth?

Best regards!

DizaumBR.

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Hmmm, the popit should be disabled, I'll have to look into that one. As for the sever glitch, is there any more information you can give to help me re-create it? Or was it as simple as doing the help screen twice?

The hoverboard recharge is for the multiplayer component and is disabled for this test. I will reactivate it soon as it's the next stage of testing!

I'm guessing you mean the land in the background of 1955, I have some earth mover equipment to drop in which should add to the depth.

The white squares are place holder buildings I dropped in to get the right scale. The level is only about 80% done and while I was testing the final Act (1885) I started to feel that maybe the level wasn't very fun and the cut scene were too much, so I wanted some feedback to see if I was on the right track, and apart from a LBP troll booing me and saying I copied this, I seem to be on the right track!

As for the icons, you can put the text in a magic mouth, and there is a great discussion on the wiki about this. It's a little tricky to get right the first time because you have to write it exactly and you jump all over the PS3 keyboard.

the L2 button would be 

the L Stick is E00A but with &#x in front and ; at the end.

The stuff in bold HAS to slot around the number you want to use, then it puts a huge space in your text, you just click in to edit the magic mouth again and exit without doing anything and it'll look right!

Wow, I thought it was just a minigame and was already enjoying it, then i realized it wasn't over! I like those moments in games where you play through sequences that you fail, and it is actually a part of the story. I loved how the characters looked, and their alternate costumes were perfect. The DeLorean looks incredible, and your cutscenes are great. I like how you jump back and forth between characters, as well.

The architecture in the old west looks really nice so far. If there's one thing I can suggest fixing, it's the green paint on the one building. I probably never would have thought of it, but buildings like that did have some random bright colors here and there :P
Buuut it seems like TOO bright of green. Maybe make it look more faded either by placing some dirt stickers over it, or make a big green wall somewhere and change the lighting in your level to make it look like a faded green, then take a snapshot of it and use that color.

Other than that, everything is fantastic! I can't wait to see more of this!

I just played this level and it is certainly like the "Back To The Future" movies.

VISUALS:
The cinematic really does relive the moment at the close end of Part 2. The lightning effects is awesome, too. However, the light matter material objects with notes at the start of the western part are off topic, but the rest of the level's detail is nicely done.

SOUND:
Good music usage in this level.

GAMEPLAY:
The controls of the time car is well done. Although it's a little hard to predict when will the lightning strike, the survival challenge is pretty fun.

OVERALL:
It's a fun level that takes you in a stormy ride for survival. A yay.

F4F Cybernetic Adventures Gamma or Delta

When you said you hope to do a good BTTF3 train. Im sure you will make a great train. This was all i could come up with so im sure you will do better than i did.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoIGk5YYvJs
time car in video made by mccarter101.
Video is not a level just a quick top dowm BTTF3 ending i tried to make in 5hrs time

The into text was well done. I liked the character representations and the wardrobe change in the western part was nice. I think you have the car and characters down. I would still try and add a little more detail to the level here and there if you have time. I think you could block off that far right side a little cleaner with either another building or bigger fire. The West had some real nice buildings and detail, but like someone else said, I might tone down the green a bit. The walk from the car to the first building might have been a tad too far, which reminds me I really liked your crash sequence at the start of this part of your level. Overall, your off to a great start and it sounds like you know where to look for ideas and inspiration...

When you get time, please give my Ka-Boom Basketball or Afro Troll lvl in my sig some feedback.