The Lost Crystal Caverns

[ryryryan•]

The Lost Crystal Caverns
PSN: ryryryan

So this is my first level, and it really is more of a full level than a tester. I've put most of my weekend into it and a few other nights on top of that and I'm quite happy how it turned out. There were a few bugs that kept popping up now and again but I finally got the level sorted and all the bugs gone (I think)

It's also got a simple and cheesy story, cause I'm rubbish at making up stories :P
Also, my biggest weakness is creatures, so I've kept everything quite simple in that respect. Though there are a few parts involving some logic here and there, particularly with the plat forming.

Hope you get to try the level out and any feedback would be much appreciated!! I'm always looking in ways to improve

[Gilgamesh•]

This is an amazing level. It's really detailed and has some awesome effects. The characters were well made (I wish my attempts had turned out like that) and the gameplay was fairly straightforward. The enemies may be a little simple though, but they got the job done.

One bug to report : Your second magic mouth (the one that appears after you die at the beginning) is censored. I imagine they use the same censoring system as on the PS3, so you could look at the censored words thread.

Also, a couple of the magic mouths (the one after falling in the trap and another one I can't place precisely) opened and closed instantly. This is probably because their radius doesn't extend far enough.

I also recall seeing a sound object early in the cave, near a place where things fall. I don't know if it was intentionally left visible or not, but I imagine not.

Great work, and ♥'ed.

Hope you'll be able to fix those issues so I can redownload it and play through again!

[ryryryan•]

This is an amazing level. It's really detailed and has some awesome effects. The characters were well made (I wish my attempts had turned out like that) and the gameplay was fairly straightforward. The enemies may be a little simple though, but they got the job done.

One bug to report : Your second magic mouth (the one that appears after you die at the beginning) is censored. I imagine they use the same censoring system as on the PS3, so you could look at the censored words thread.

Also, a couple of the magic mouths (the one after falling in the trap and another one I can't place precisely) opened and closed instantly. This is probably because their radius doesn't extend far enough.

I also recall seeing a sound object early in the cave, near a place where things fall. I don't know if it was intentionally left visible or not, but I imagine not.

Great work, and ♥'ed.

Hope you'll be able to fix those issues so I can redownload it and play through again!

Thanks for the feedback! Yeah, I bet I know which magic mouth it is, I say 'Darn' in it. I did think twice about it when I made it... should of thought a 3rd time! I've made it say 'Argh!' instead now
Oh wait wait wait... I'm editing the level right now and there is nothing bad in that sentence. Did the 'Darn, Cave In' one not censor then? The one that appears when you die is emitted behind him and should say 'What happened? Oh well, Wait for the wedge to be pulled back up and try again. And don't touch the Ice!'. Now nothing there would be censored if Darn isn't. Must be an emitter bug with magic mouths :/ May have to investigate further.

Fixed the radius on the other one too, should work now. Was the second one at the end by the helicopter? If you jump off without it telling you too that may just flash up quickly.

And thanks for the heads up on the visible sound device. Fixed. Also added a few more sounds throughout the level for detail.

Anyway the level has just been republished. I'm going to download it myself and see if that magic mouth still censors.

EDIT: Yup it is >.> hmmm. May have to figure out another way for it to appear. Just thought of one

[Gilgamesh•]

The word "happened" cannot be used on the PS3 because it contains "pene", this is a pet peeve of a lot of people (myself included) and I'm sad that it translated over to the PSP.

You'll have to find some other way to write that phrase.

[ryryryan•]

The word "happened" cannot be used on the PS3 because it contains "pene", this is a pet peeve of a lot of people (myself included) and I'm sad that it translated over to the PSP.

You'll have to find some other way to write that phrase.

Wow, thanks for that. I literally just pressed publish then read that so it's cancelled. Oh well it's also got a new method, more reliable without an emitter which shifts. (kind of like material shifting, except the emitted material seemed to keep changing place).

One other thing I noticed... you cant glue switches down (2 way, and 3 way ones) if theres a wall behind because the switch will get stuck and not work. Remove the back wall, then glue, then put all back.
Also, if you look carefully you can see just the moving part of the switches in my level have shifted. If I try to correct this the level goes nuts, so I'm editing it as few times as possible now so the switches dont move much.

Finally, level is republished and fully working Hopefully no bugs now. Also made it easier to jump down to the fallen ice by taking the gas back a bit.

[xkappax•]

Lost Crystal Caverns?! ... Well, now I know what the first level that I'm playing is when I get this for Christmas. ^_^

[Taffey]

This is a great level! You're tied with Jaeyden for the best community level I have seen yet. (Sorry Gilgamesh, yours is great but this is spectacular.) The gameplay is very good and polished, and the mechanics throughout work very nicely. You did a particularly good job on the overall snowy/icy look and feel of the level - very well done indeed.

I found the initial descent between the ice cliffs to be very difficult. The controls in the game just aren't tight enough to easily keep Sackboy in the right spot - I had the same problem in the Sewn Identity story mode level. Regardless, the rest of the level flowed nicely once I got through it.

5 stars, hearted, and a creator heart. I'll be keeping this on my PSP for a long time.

[ryryryan•]

Wow, thanks so much for the feedback! I never really got this kind of praise on my PS3 levels, though I never get to play it too much anyway.
I was worried about that decent at the start. I'm almost tempted to make it a bit easier but I'm not too sure yet. I'll see how others found it too. What about the part similar to that when being pulled out of the ice cave? That's another part I was worried about being an annoyance.

[Gilgamesh•]

I thought the ascent part was tougher than the descent, but in the end I managed to make it through both without too much trouble. I think I died once on the descent, and about four times on the ascent.

[ryryryan•]

I thought the ascent part was tougher than the descent, but in the end I managed to make it through both without too much trouble. I think I died once on the descent, and about four times on the ascent.

Hmm, 4 times does sound a bit too much for an experienced lbp'er, I may make the gap a bit wider so it's less of an annoyance. Ideally I'd like it to be a first time pass thing, while still feeling like you have had a challenge.

[Gilgamesh•]

Well, the first two times I didn't expect a corner in time, the other two times I was just a bit too nervous and overcompensated on the analog stick (which made me "bounce" against the wall and back towards the gas). By using controlled stick movement I managed to make it through afterwards. I think it was alright really.

[ryryryan•]

Well, the first two times I didn't expect a corner in time, the other two times I was just a bit too nervous and overcompensated on the analog stick (which made me "bounce" against the wall and back towards the gas). By using controlled stick movement I managed to make it through afterwards. I think it was alright really.

Fair enough. I've decided I'll keep it how it is then for a bit and see how it goes, just cause I don't want things shifting about even more when I go into edit mode again. Darn bugs >.>

[Taffey]

Actually, I thought the descent was much harder than the ascent... I died maybe 5 times during the descent but aced the ascent. So maybe it's fine as is afterall.

[ryryryan•]

Actually, I thought the descent was much harder than the ascent... I died maybe 5 times during the descent but aced the ascent. So maybe it'ss fine as is afterall.

Ah cool cool. The main thing which kills people on the descent no doubt is that bit at the end poking out. However, if I get rid of that people can just jump down which makes the winch pointless D:

[Coxy224]

Wow, very impressed at this level - especially as your not a well known PS3 creator.
Lovely icey style really felt it.
I found the ascent harder than the descent (which I aced quite easily) but I think the difficulty is about right.
Not much more to say, enemies were simple as was the gaeplay but it all worked well together.

Oh and the ending is superb

Five stars and a heart