The Ship Yard

[Jdsfrog]

Hey everyone, I have recently posted my new level, The Ship Yard. It is a platformer that takes place mostly underwater, and should be multiplayer friendly. I am relatively new to creating in LBP though, so I would like any advice more experienced creators have to offer, so I may improve the level to the best of my abilities. (I am going to work on a better level icon too) Feedback on any of my levels is much appreciated, and helps me get better at creating. I will also play your level and give feedback if you wish. Thanks!

http://lbp.me/v/xjqs6e

[alexstone108]

Wow! That was both a humbling and an inspiring experience. This is easily MmPicked quality. It's one of the most well designed water levels I've played in any game.

I wish I had more constructive advice. The only problems I had were very nitpicky. The difficulty is definitely up there, but the infinite checkpoints offset it greatly. Also, getting to the last platform with the wave was a bit tricky, but far from impossible.

The oxygen points were perfectly placed. They kept the tension of the level without making you frustrated. It was also beautiful to look at. The nautical theme carried well throughout. A++ work.

[Jdsfrog]

Thanks very much! When I next log on I'll take a look at the platform at the end and make that bit easier. Thanks again!

[CuthbertAllgood]

I added your level to my queue, I will try it when I come back from work and I will review it. Try mine too! http://lbp.me/v/xgsskq

[shawneboi]

Not bad...nice visuals and some very tricky underwater gameplay. I would suggest a few more air vents throughout...especially in the area with the three purple keys. I liked the idea of floating mines...I've never seen that before and got even better when they actually started chasing me down. Good times.

Shawn

[waffledogRTK]

I don't usually like water levels very much, but you did really well on this one. I liked that there were a good bit of secrets and scoring opportunities and the theme was really good. It gave a slightly confusing (but not too much) claustrophobic feel that works well with the theme. The only issue I could potentially see people having is the difficulty. However, I thought it was fine and the hardest sections were the mine sections which get easier the more you die. However, based on this, I think it might be a good idea to reward players who manage to get through without detonating many mines. Perhaps a hidden area that opens up with prize bubbles for anyone who manages to make it through. Another thing I noticed is that the keys in one section worked well for taking out mines. You might be able to add a secret area that is completely block off by mines that the player needs to drop the key into to get through. Once again very good job. If you have the opportunity, I would appreciate if you could try my level as well (only one I have posted here).

[phort]

That was really good! This should have way more plays than it does. *Looks* Oh, you only published it three hours ago. Well, hopefully it has more plays soon.

I liked the style and the use of materials. The way stuff is held together with string can sort of move around freely is neat. Also, the use of score bubble chains was good.

You might try replacing the strings on the mines with winches, since that will give them a chain graphic. If you give them zero strength they'll act the same as a string.

I wish the water controls were a bit better... (Not your fault of course.) In any part where I wanted to swim slowly, if I released X, I would keep going in the direction I was going, and run into whatever I was trying to slow down to avoid.

Could you try making the mines on a bit less of a hair-trigger? Like hook the impact sensor up to a 0.1 second timer and see if that makes them a bit more forgiving?

The weird octopus about halfway through confused me, I couldn't tell if it would hurt me if I touched it, so I swam around it. Right after that there was a little glowing area, and I couldn't tell what that was supposed to be. I tried going in there by grabbing, and then I realized I was running out of air so I swam ahead.

I liked how parts one and two used the same scene, so you had some continuity. I didn't notice it at first.

Good use of the 3D layers glitch, not too over-exaggerated.

Will you please play my Cave Story level? Thanks!

[Jdsfrog]

Wow, thanks for the feedback everyone! I just played all of your levels and left feedback in their forums respectively. I will take a look at adding more air vents and fixing a few glitches. I would give the player a bonus for not detonating any mines, but I'm not sure if that data could be tracked between the first section and its sub-level. And giving the mines a timer delay wouldn't exactly help, it would just detonate the mines in .1 second instead of immediately. But I will space them out a little more and see if that helps. Anyway, thanks a lot!

[Steve]

The perfect example of a platformer done right.

Apart from being one of the best platformers i have played in a long time (i mean it), this also has to be the most unique and creative.

The way you have structured the level is fantastic, completely submerged from start to finish, including expertly placed checkpoints, bubble supplies and obstacles. I found myself actually enjoying the challenge of platforming, whereas mostly the LBP community just chuck out levels full of obstacles that are only slightly different than each other. The variety you have incorporated is excellent, and specific things caught my eye, like the bombs that react to you being in their vicinity, or the little challenges like the clam and pearls.

I loved the way you had the doorways to new areas hidden, i barely noticed any of them until I had unlocked them.

As always i appreciate good lighting and attention to theme the most. You did both excellently. The lighting created drifting moods as it changed subtly throughout the level. It also aided my path by showing me the areas i needed to progress to.

As far as theme goes, you have managed to create a huge world from such a small amount of style. All of the details fitted in perfectly and complemented the level as a whole.

It would be nice to see some bonus/hidden score bubbles or point yielding challenges. Little things stowed away, maybe a hidden room accessed through a closed chest that needs a specific key to be opened. Im sure you could easily create some suitable mini-challenges for such areas.

Other than that there is nothing else that i can see improving the level!

Incredibly good job.

If you have the time please take a look at my mini-game, link in my sig.

[RacingCreed]

Awesome, i've added this level to my queue, i'll play it later tonight or tommorow.
In return, please try my level and comment honestly.

http://lbp.me/v/xk-j9v

Thanks!

[LukeCF]

You're level was awesome mate, probably my favorite 'under water' level I've ever played. I only had two problems with it.

The key section: I have major gripes with this sections.

First off it doesn't really fit into your whole atmosphere. It all felt very mystic and mysterious. And then there are three glowing purple things that make no sense what so ever? Huh?

Secondly, you can easily just drop the key onto bombs to explode them, granted though you do have to first get past them.

Third, once you get all three keys onto the platform it plays a short movie showing you what opens. And that's fine, but while it plays you're still losing oxygen. so when the short cutscene ended, I only had 10 seconds of breath left. I went anyways figuring you would have thought of this and placed a bubble emitter. I was wrong and died though. So perhaps put one there, just a thought.

Other than that great level man.

[Jdsfrog]

Thanks for the great feedback everyone. I will try your levels and leave feedback in their forums when I get the chance.

I attempted to make those purple keys look like pearls, as that was my original intention; however, it seems most people didn't take them as that. (I made them out of brushed steel, with a material key to allow grabbing) The lights on them were for looks, but also in case you dropped one out of sight. I'll try to change their material up a bit and change the lights to make them fit in more. And I originally tried to find a solution to not having your air depleting while the cutscene was going, but the best I could do was tweak gravity during that instance so your sackperson doesn't float up into a mine while it was playing. Perhaps I'll shorten the cutscene duration. And I agree there should be an air vent inside the cave, I'll put one in.

I like the idea of having a sort of side-area for points, so I'll look into that as well.

Thanks everyone!

[Turkeyntz]

Excellent work! Had a great environment (totally a shipyard ^.^), and I love how the level doesnt "hold your hand" the whole way through.. Great design + nice challenge = fantastic gameplay!

[Jdsfrog]

Alrighty, I have added a small room which branches off of the main course towards the end. This room is full of homing mines, but at the top is a chest filled with tons of point bubbles. I also made modifications to some of the sceanery and added air vents where needed.

RacingCreed: I thought your level was awesome, it reminded me of the tower of whoop level. It never got too difficult (for me anyway), but it wasn't easy either. I didn't really run into any problems, except maybe make the intro camera activate sooner. If you put a tag sensor somewhere, then right before you play the level put the corresponding tag in its range, you can trigger an event before the players even come out of the checkpoint. So you could hook up your camera to that. Just my two cents though.

Thanks again everyone.

[rialrees•]

Wow. I almost don't feel worthy to leave a full feedback, but I know how much I appreciate detailed comments, so here goes:

Playability

As I said on my review, this is easily the best community water platformer I've played. The hazards are diverse whilst reminaing in keeping with your theme, and I absolutely loved the idea of the mines that sensed you nearby and moved towards you - it really added another dimension and ramps up the difficulty as you progress.

I also loved the area with the pearls to open the gate. It took me a minute to find the first key, (having completely missed the first through my own stoopidity) and then I was on a roll. Having them made of metal also keeps the stakes high, as even though you can use them as a shield against the mines, it still drags you around a bit and forces you to take care on the controller. Love this.

The whole level kept me interested all the way through, and I found it challenging, but not impossible. That's what I'm after in a platformer. Great job!

Looks

Stunning.

I could leave it at that really, but I won't. Considering how you've limited your material palette, you've done a great job with this. The limitations force a theme, and you keep everything tied in very well with lighting, and mood. It felt like a shipyard from start to finish, and the use of mines (lost underwater, forgotten by most) felt right.

Rating

Superb yay from me.

F4F

If you're able to review versus levels, I'd really appreciate some constructive feedback on mine. linky