Pinket Ball

[Camden1]

Just checked out this level a little a while ago, but unfortunately I didn't have anyone to play against . It did seem like a pretty fun level though, so if I have a chance later I'll play it with my friend and edit this post with feedback for you.

[The inFamous Sack]

Hey Steve,

Updated my last post on this thread. I mentioned a small bug of sorts that occurred when playing. I'm going to see if I can recreate it a few more times. Just a heads up

Really like the level!!!

Shifty

[Steve]

Cheers for the feedback Shifty.

Its kind of a bug, but at the same time i left it in there for a reason. Basically, if that happens you just have to let go off the ball and you will drop straight through, its because the light on the ball gets stuck on the front material on the paddle. The rest of the paddle is made of hologram material so the only bit your actual sackboy will not fall through is the bounce pad. I left it like this so you don't get caught on the paddle if you are falling back down. Its a silly little thing, i might actually make the paddle completely solid, i just don't know how much it will become an obstacle.

Glad you enjoyed it!

EDIT: I have now changed the paddles to solid, should avoid this happening for people who don't know how to get out of it.

[cackfog]

Hey steve, actualy played your level a little while ago and realy enjoyed it, the pinball styling was awesome and gave a nice twist to the basket ball gameplay, having a few friends round for some versus matched over the weekend and your levels on the list!

[Steve]

Thanks cackfog!

Made some subtle, but needed changes to Pinket Ball for those that are interested.

I added some chalk arrows to make the purpose of different bounce pads clearer, and also a slight glow around the bottom set of bounce pads and ball chutes just to highlight them a bit, hardly noticeable though.

I also added a themed sack bot in the basketball cage at the end, just for fun really And as a friend for anyone who plays the level on their own - lol.

Finally, i managed to let go of my ambitions and put in a simple, yet in my opinion very effective, Score sign, as i was spending quite a bit of time trying to create a really complex one that wasn't working. Anyhow thats up now, and fills the top gap nicely, plus it adds to the arcade like atmosphere.

So if you haven't played a game of Pinket Ball for a while, what are you waiting for?

[Turkeyntz]

Fantastic game, nicely polished, fun to play and refreshingly different, I'll be back for more Pinket Ball

[Nordh]

Note, I only played this as a single player.

I found the concept to be really great. However there were a few things I didn't have a clue about, like what is the cannon in "round 3" supposed to do other than shoot up in the air? The controls on it were reversed as well. Seemed like a waste of time that could have been spent on collecting points. I guess in multiplayer it could have more uses, if it weren't for the fact that it shot towards a position that noone is?

I had a really hard time getting balls into the tunnels on the side, in fact after 2-3 plays of trying, I still hadn't gotten one in. I'm not sure if I were doing anything wrong, but it seemed I hit them spot on.

The round 4 thing up in the air was too dark, not sure what it was supposed to be, I never managed to jump up to it to try if it was some sort of controller.

The last round was a nice addition, and I liked that each round varied the playfield.

With some tweaks I think it could be really great. And I guess it would have been way more fun not doing it in single player

[Steve]

Thanks to both of you for taking the time to have a look.

@Nordh This is a multiplayer centered game, although you can play it single player, the only point is to take a look, as you did, and i thank you for doing so. However, all of the features are aimed at multiplayer games of Pinket Ball. The cannon is just a feature of round three which allows players who maybe want to get their own back, or restrict other players from scoring. If you noticed the controlinator controls at the bottom of the screen when in it - the left analogue stick is for aiming, whilst R1 is to fire. As for direction of shooting, it reaches in an arc that can fire at and around both nets.

The tunnels are meant for players to go through, the balls are only meant for the nets, which is where the basketball aspect comes into things. I had a big problem with this originally being misunderstood, and so i put in a sticker of a sackboy walking into the tunnel with a dotted line, and the same but with a ball for the net. I thought this would clear it up, but maybe you played the level before i implemented this update?

"the round 4 thing" im assuming you are referring to is the evil teddy bear? This is just a bit of decoration really to go along with the boxing gloves that come out (aimed at making it harder to score for that last round). I just put him in there to make the last round seem particularly antagonising

Once again, i appreciate you taking the time to play it, maybe if you go back and play it again with another player or two, things may be clearer!

[trianglepigsquar]

Ill queue for later

[Yofig]

Nice job! I liked the design of the level, but it didn't really seem that competitive. Players just take whatever ball they want to whatever basket the want... they never have to really interact. (Note: I jumped into the middle of a game, so I could be wrong)

Otherwise, great level, I loved the idea of the ball frenzy or whatever it was called down at the bottom, though I think you should make it rain from the top so it's more fair.

[Steve]

Thanks Yofig.

It is actually more competitive than you think, because the balls come out one each round, each one worth significantly more than the last (500 more each round) which means that if you want to win you are going to have to fight for the highest ball available for that round, otherwise you can only trail behind.

[Jdsfrog]

I played it, and it was fun! I didn't play with another person, but I could see how it gets competetive fighting over the ball link in the basketball minigame. It was also pretty neat how everything changed as the game went on, and the bonus at the end was fun too. I did have a slight problem seeing my sackperson in the lighting, but other than that it was awesome!

[xero]

This level was a nice change of pace from all of the terribly built and unoriginal basketball games.

It's basketball meets pinball in a strange twist that's sure to give you and your friends a good time. I liked how the gameplay changed as time progressed, with the middle bounce wheel spinning and the turret appearing, etc. The only suggestion I could make would be to make most of the light-up text hologram instead of neon-- black, unlit neon everywhere is a little unsightly.

In short, your level boats a neat concept in a very fun and entertaining package.

[Steve]

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions guys!

I know what you mean about the Neon Xero, but it gives a much more solid appearance when on, ill play about with other ideas to see if hologram will suit it though!

@Jdsfrog, i will try and include some more lights to brighten things up!

[Steve]

UPDATE

I have now made some pretty drastic improvements (i hope).

I have tweaked the lighting, to make a it more suitable and visibility better.

I have taken away the neon signs and made them hologram ones that appear at the right times, thanks for that suggestion Xero.

The most drastic change is the inclusion of a menu. It allowed me to split up the introduction (help) from playing the game so there is no longer an annoying intro, hopefully improving the replayability. This also forced me to change the timing method so i have put a timer in place to counter this.

Finally i added some pinball esque stars that light up and give points when passed through.

Thanks for all the suggestions and feedback guys, they have all been incredibly helpful and aided me in polishing my level to a degree i could never have expected!

EDIT: Have now added music to the menu, and improved the instructions with a more visual explanation!

[LukeCF]

Hey Steve. Luke here leaving some more feed back like you requested.

First off, it looks nicer than I remember? Was it always made out of that dark wood, or did you change the material since I last played?
Secondly the small bounce pad at the bottom now performs a lot better than I remember.
I like how you added even more little things (the stars) that give you points (it'd be really cool if the stars would spin when you hit them, or if you could get bonus points for hitting that line of three stars all in one move, just a few thoughts for thinkin')
Finally went through one of those tubes, and it was pretty cool, though I don't like how you can't go 'up' them, like enter through the bottom, and then fly out through the side. If you're good with logic you could accomplish this using sackbots and movers, though I dunno if you'd want to, and it's probably to much work for too little. Again though, just a though.

I like how you added a menu and a little visual flair when you're starting up the game.
Still think that last part might be a little over powered point wise (the white little balls)

My only actual compliant involves a camera issue.
When the last section starts the normal gameplay camera is negated, and it focuses in on the bottom section. Right? I assume that's how you have it working, anyways though I was up top when this happened, and so out of the range of the smaller camera, and what happened was the zoomed out camera focused on me, and I was by the edge of the map, and so I could see past one of the walls to a section where there was nothing. It just seemed kinda ugly, and something that could possibly be fixed? Though without a knowledge base about the camera's / your set up, I would not know how to accomplish this.

Hope this feed back helps!

[Siljin]

Pros: There was a very polished feel to the level. I played with my wife so we only had 2 players but I could see how more players = more fun.

Cons: I was unsure about what some parts of the level were for. At one point I found my self inside a controlinator shooting things and then it exploded and I died. I wasn't really sure what that was for but If I played it more I might have figured that out. The level felt a little big. I assume you only let a couple of balls out at once to make the other players go after them? Once one of us had the ball it was kind of difficult to catch up to the other person.

Conclusion: We had a lot of fun playing and my wife said "lets play again!" after the first match. I liked it I was just a little overwhelmed by the size of the level. I think with 4 people it would be really fun but I don't see too many groups playing 4 player levels and thats a shame. I really liked the pinball stars because it made me feel rewarded for going on that path.

[LukeCF]

Pros: There was a very polished feel to the level. I played with my wife so we only had 2 players but I could see how more players = more fun.

Cons: I was unsure about what some parts of the level were for. At one point I found my self inside a controlinator shooting things and then it exploded and I died. I wasn't really sure what that was for but If I played it more I might have figured that out. The level felt a little big. I assume you only let a couple of balls out at once to make the other players go after them? Once one of us had the ball it was kind of difficult to catch up to the other person.

Conclusion: We had a lot of fun playing and my wife said "lets play again!" after the first match. I liked it I was just a little overwhelmed by the size of the level. I think with 4 people it would be really fun but I don't see too many groups playing 4 player levels and thats a shame. I really liked the pinball stars because it made me feel rewarded for going on that path.

Since Steve isn't here right now I'll go ahead and clear some of your confusion since I've played this level a couple times now in various stages. hah.

That controlinator you found yourself in was a cannon, and it's only available in that round (hence why it exploded when the next round started.) It's there mainly for when four players are playing I believe, so that the other person on your team can hop in and shoot the members of the opposing team thus not allowing them to score.

The later the ball is let out the more points it is worth, so it opens up options: Do you go after the person who's holding the highest value ball and try to stop them? Do you just grab one of the smaller point value balls and go? Or do you wait for them to score and then take the higher value ball? Stuff like that.

(And yeah aren't those stars cool? hah)

[Steve]

Man i cant say how grateful i am for you guys taking the time to give me this feedback! (and for luke responding in my absence )

First ill just consolidate what Luke said, which is the exact description i would have given. However, this has pointed out to me that maybe the Help section needs to explain the features introduced each round. As for the balls, like Luke said, after round one its a choice of whether you go after the higher pointed one or get in the smaller one without much resistance.

@Luke, Thanks a lot for playing again man, im glad you enjoyed it more this time round.

The wood is the same actually, although i did have an issue where i had some unwanted fog misting the level up, so i took that away and it makes things much more crisp.

I like that idea about the stars! Will definitely try to implement both the spinning one and the bonus concept. Im interested to know if you have any other ideas that i could try out, to add more to the level, like other pinball style things such as the stars?

Trust me, i tried everything i could when i started with sackbots, because i had a concept about actually making a team game where two players aside could generate points for their team no matter how they got them, but sackbots and pinket ball dont go well together haha! Mainly because i use a lot of sensors for things, and its much harder to make sensors to work for sackbots rather than actual players. Good idea though.

You think the bonus balls are overpowered? Ive cut them down by half several times, so maybe i could do it one more, i just wanted that round to allow even bad players to get some points in at the end so they dont end up with barely anything.

The camera is an issue, i originally implemented it to focus on the bonus round as you know, but it does follow people, i shall try to mess about with it and hopefully sort it out. If this isnt possible ill just increase the size of extensions.

Thanks again guys!

[Steve]

Since the feedback you have given me, thanks again both of you, i have now implemented your suggestions and some new things!

First off i have embellished the Tutorial/Help movie with a much more in depth description of everything. This should make it easier to understand everything for people playing for the first time.

Luke, i have now made the stars spin once activated, and put a bonus score in place for all three in a row. Additionally, i have put a star at the top, one for each round (coloured) that gives a score valued at 10% of that colour ball's score. I have also taken out the teddy bear because that was a bit random (lol) and replaced it with a red star the same as those just mentioned.

I have also tweaked the camera as well so that it barely follows you when it zooms in for the bonus round.

Finally i have introduced another ball, which is mixed in with the bonus balls (which are now worth only 20 each) which is purple and worth 100, but only a very few of them will appear.

All of this i hope will improve the things that have been suggested.

Cheers!