Dragons of Myth: Egypt SPOTLIGHTED!

[Morgana25]

Dragons of Myth: Egypt by Morgana25
Make your way through the desert to the pyramid of the keeper of myth. Face the dangers of the pyramid and travel to the underworld to do battle with Apophis the serpent dragon. Many secrets to find and a winners scoreboard and a losing scoreboard. Hope you like it!



awesome trailer by Scoutsboo! Thanks!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNt6k50g3rI

I'd like to think that the releasing of a level without water, especially one that takes place in a desert is more ironic than bad planning on my part Still, dry as it is I think it's pretty cool and hope you enjoy it.

It's taken 3 months to put together. Mostly because of I couldn't get time to work on it a lot.

I want to make sure to mention all the great people who gave me their time, expertise and support. Comphermc for help with the logic and for giving me some inside expertise for how the boss track would work. To rtm23 for his multiple stop piston tutorial and to the whole crew of the logic pack (who's work is featured in a few areas). To claptonfann for his desire to help, his logic work and never ending desire to learn. To Joey (xtrophx) for countless run throughs, some cool suggestions and his patience while I spent too much time in create mode. Lastly and certainly not least to jwwphotos For letting me monopolize his evenings for far too long, for asking more than anyone should for help with logic stuff, for putting up with my frustrations and questions and generally being awesome! Thank you guys so much!

Feedback is always appreciated and as always thanks to LBPC for all the support!

some pics

[Littlebigdude805]

Had totally forgot about this, will play asap

[Jagrevi]

Awesome.

I've been waiting for this series to start up!

I'd like to think that the releasing of a level without water, especially one that takes place in a desert is more ironic than bad planning on my part

Leviathan ... ...

[MrsSpookyBuz•]

Had fun with this earlier.

It has some of your lovely trademark visuals, a good balance of puzzles and platforming, a great opening sequence and a dragon to die for!

The search for Ankhs added replay value - I rushed through a bit, so I only found 4 or 5 - and the dragon chase at the end was suitably dramatic and well orchestrated. (Is it just me, or is the music from the PotC bloody awesome?!!).

Very well done. I remember you mentioning this idea a few months back, and it was great to finally play it.

Problems? Nope, not many at all. In places, the level is a little dark, but that is only an observation not a criticism.

When I was on the barge being chased by the mighty dragon, a fireball dropped and broke the grab switch that was firing plasma. I'm not sure whether this was meant to happen, or whether it was just a freak thing, but I grabbed the other one and continued okay.

Very good level - I hope there're more.

[jwwphotos]

I am probably a bit biased for seeing this one grow up all the way from the beginning sandstorm, but I think this is your best level yet!!

I loved all the lighting, colors and decorations. ..yup, another freaking beautiful as everything Morgana level. This one has a wonderful blend of exploration, platforming, as well as the expected trademarked eye candy.

If I had to nitpick, there is some frame drop later in the level around the spinny things and still possibly a touch around the moving platforms. However, I figure making that big of a trip to combat flying mythology based, corner edited, decorated cardboard is well worth it.

...and thanks so much for the wonderful compliment and thanks. You are most welcome for the help!! It was fun being a part of the experience, but kinda glad you got it done so I can get back to my level !!! LOL!!

5 stars and a heart.

[CCubbage]

This is DEFINATELY your best work yet. Beautiful, fun, mysterious... it really felt fresh and unique. The map and graphics were outstanding!

I would like to mention the boss for a moment.

The first time I played I struggled with how to aim the gun a bit, and when I fired I had no idea which part of the dragon I was supposed to fire at, and I couldn't discern any specific thing that happened that let me know I was hitting him. I died...

The 2nd time I played it I grabbed the sponge and got under it, and just stayed that way through the entire battle. So, the entire battle ended up being me holding the grab button and snuggling under the sponge.

Now, don't get me wrong - the dragon was beautiful and it was very cool to watch, but I felt players could really get confused in this area.

My initial suggestion for the boss (keeping in mind I'm not totally clear on the reason for its design and may be missing something) would be to either just pre-aim the gun and have the player grab it for as long as possible, then run away - instead of having a slightly clumsy aiming experience. Or, have a way to aim the gun using a 3 way switch and then grab. Or, have some really obvious effect that happens when you successfully hit the dragon.

I would just hate for this masterpiece to get frustrating tags because a player felt they lost the battle cheaply near the end - the kiddies may not appreciate the work that went into it.

I gave it 5 stars and a heart - with a beautiful tag.

[Coxy224]

Oooooh, a new morgana level and not in the chroma stones series (too bad that ended)

Yeah, it's epic.


Five stars and a heart. I'm too tired for more feedback.

[claptonfann]

Glad I could contribute to your latest and greatest, Morgy. I wonder which mythology we'll have an adventure in for the next dragon?

[Morgana25]

I would like to mention the boss for a moment.

The first time I played I struggled with how to aim the gun a bit, and when I fired I had no idea which part of the dragon I was supposed to fire at, and I couldn't discern any specific thing that happened that let me know I was hitting him. I died...

The 2nd time I played it I grabbed the sponge and got under it, and just stayed that way through the entire battle. So, the entire battle ended up being me holding the grab button and snuggling under the sponge.

Now, don't get me wrong - the dragon was beautiful and it was very cool to watch, but I felt players could really get confused in this area.

My initial suggestion for the boss (keeping in mind I'm not totally clear on the reason for its design and may be missing something) would be to either just pre-aim the gun and have the player grab it for as long as possible, then run away - instead of having a slightly clumsy aiming experience. Or, have a way to aim the gun using a 3 way switch and then grab. Or, have some really obvious effect that happens when you successfully hit the dragon.

I would just hate for this masterpiece to get frustrating tags because a player felt they lost the battle cheaply near the end - the kiddies may not appreciate the work that went into it.

I totally hear you about the not clear where to aim part and that it can be a bit of a cake walk if you get under the handle. Initially I set it up as simply a keep him at bay kind of encounter where you just shot at him and he slowed up a bit. Essentially that's still what's happening in the level now but we added the dragon attack late in the game. There is actually an audio cue that says your hitting him but no visual feedback. I'd like to put one in but am unsure at this point how I'd manage it. The gun was in a locked position at an earlier design phase too but I thought it was way too easy to just grab it and didn't seem challenging at all. Now that the fire is in I suppose the challenge would come from avoiding the fire then getting back to to the suppression gun.

Anyone have a suggestion as to how to visually indicate he's being hit that won't affect the movement or design of the dragon? Closest thought I've had is to put a paint switch on him and have him pulse when hit.... I'd love some suggestions though

Thanks everyone for playing it and giving it a good send off. It was a bit rocky at first... 2 stars to start. argh It's holding at 4 now.

[Jagrevi]

I have to say I really was very impressed by this piece.

The moment I knew I loved it was when the cutscene began and the camera panned up to the stars. Absolutely brilliant.

I have to admit it, and I may very well be unpopular for saying so, but I wasn't really a big fan of the Chroma series. Don't get me wrong, it definitely found its target audience, I just wasn't in it.

This series though I'm entirely on board. In fact, if you don't announce the next dragon soon, I'm probably just going to bother you every week or so with the names of some great dragons that would contrast well with this first one ... and you don't want that, do you?

I cannot wait to even hear more about this series.

Also, is the boss not beatable? Do you always fail? Because I failed, but honestly, it made perfect sense that I would fail - so I began to wonder if I was doomed to failure. That's a big positive though, just for the record, as it's a far more interesting ending.

Fantastic.

[claptonfann]

I have a suggestion for the visual indicator of a hit: Since the plasma balls from the cannon have mag keys on them, just hook up a corresponding mag switch to an effect on the dragon itself (preferably some kind of flash of light or something).

[jwwphotos]

Anyone have a suggestion as to how to visually indicate he's being hit that won't affect the movement or design of the dragon? Closest thought I've had is to put a paint switch on him and have him pulse when hit.... I'd love some suggestions though

I think I had suggested awhile ago to make his eye pulse and maybe an impact sound... maybe the one of the ICO colossus sounds. ..or he could emit a weird blue glow of sorts when he recoils a bit. ..or all 3 !!

[Morgana25]

Also, is the boss not beatable? Do you always fail? Because I failed, but honestly, it made perfect sense that I would fail - so I began to wonder if I was doomed to failure. That's a big positive though, just for the record, as it's a far more interesting ending.

Fantastic.

Wow - thanks! Yea I didn't figure you for a Chroma Fan It's all good. Different tastes is a good thing.

It is possible to beat the dragon (just not kill him.) It's a matter of keeping enough plasma shooting at his head to keep his speed from ramping up. There's an audio cue but no visual one yet... I'm working on that I think.

Glad you like it and as for the next dragon..... I was going to go for quetzequatl but he may have to wait for a Leviathan showdown... not sure yet Stay tuned!

[CCubbage]

For the effect when shooting the dragon... I'm not sure if you're using the front layer or not, but if you take rubber, sticker it white, embed a tiny white LED light in the middle and make it REALLY bright it looks like a bright flash. If you emit it and have it disappear really quickly it looks like a big impact. I used this technique for the impact explosions in the SMACU for Splat III. But, of course, it will only work if you have a layer to put it in.

[Morgana25]

I think the front layer is open.... I'm going to take a look at that!