Metal Gear Sackboy - Unraveling Stitches

[RakasaPlus]

Really had fun with this level, deserves some more plays. I'd suggest polishing up some little things and adding more detail but other than that I had fun and it was nice to see a mix of platforming and shooting/puzzle elements good work.

[VelcroJonze]

Hey bud!

Sorry it took so long to get to your feedback but here it goes.

I played all three of these over the course of the week and I was genuinely impressed by all of them. The art style was right there with what I would expect from a Metal Gear level. And the designs of the levels were good, if somewhat confusing at times. The codex sticker switches were a good idea. Not to many people use sticker switches these days but it was implemented nice in the metal gear universe you created.

I am not a big fan of vehicle segments in lbp. But yours looked and controlled great!

My problem is I never finished any of these. I have bad ADD, and it does not take me long to give up on a level when I have no idea where to go next. That's not your fault. There are plenty of players who relish in levels where they have to experiment in the environment to get to the next segment. I am just not your core audience unfortunately.

These were all done very well and I ranked them all up!

[forevertuesday]

Hey bud!

Sorry it took so long to get to your feedback but here it goes.

I played all three of these over the course of the week and I was genuinely impressed by all of them. The art style was right there with what I would expect from a Metal Gear level. And the designs of the levels were good, if somewhat confusing at times. The codex sticker switches were a good idea. Not to many people use sticker switches these days but it was implemented nice in the metal gear universe you created.

I am not a big fan of vehicle segments in lbp. But yours looked and controlled great!

My problem is I never finished any of these. I have bad ADD, and it does not take me long to give up on a level when I have no idea where to go next. That's not your fault. There are plenty of players who relish in levels where they have to experiment in the environment to get to the next segment. I am just not your core audience unfortunately.

These were all done very well and I ranked them all up!

I'm not too sure what "three" you played since it's only two acts (although Act 2 is split with a level link) but thanks for playing anyway. It seems that I've gotten the "confusing at times" reaction from several people and judging by the number of people that don't finish the level I'm assuming that they run into the same problem you did. I tried to design optional paths that the player could take if they enjoy exploring and that tends to throw people off. No worries on the ADD bit though. Long levels just aren't everyone's cup o' tea. I am glad that you enjoyed the parts you played though.

[wheelbbase911]

Queued. I'll get on to as soon as possible. ( next week )

[bluesteel789]

Writing this review as I go along.
I like the way I can go up or down on the lift. Going up reveals a secret area, with a chef and a prize bubble. Really good, because it makes the level different from all the standard 'go right' platforming levels.
A tank?! Yesss, nothing more fun than cruising around and blowing up toy soldiers! But oh noes, my tank tracks broke almost straight away, I can understand this, because it's sooo difficult to make a working tank, and you've done a good job. I had to restart.
Very nice fire effects on the ground as I blew the whole place up. a good detail, which really shows the quality of the level.
Personally I don't like the scenery at this part of the level. The background glitch could have been used, just to make it more visually interesting, unless the tank occupies the back thin layer of course.
The weathering effects using stickers on the buildings are fantastic. It seems really war-torn.
oooh plasma bubbles... i don't own the MGS pack, so those enemies seem pretty cool to me. Climbing stairs is a lil boring, I suggest a ramp of sorts.
I like the section where I have to switch layer to avoid getting shot. very creative.
Infinite spawn checkpoints would have been nice, as I did die and could not complete the level. Other than that, awesome. One of the better MGS levels out there for sure. Overall, a yay.
Graphics: 7/10 Mixed opinions. Indoors it was a lot better, whilst outdoors it was a lil' lame.
Sound: 8/10 Couldn't fault it.
Gameplay 7/10 SOme original, and some paintinator spamming.

[forevertuesday]

Writing this review as I go along.
I like the way I can go up or down on the lift. Going up reveals a secret area, with a chef and a prize bubble. Really good, because it makes the level different from all the standard 'go right' platforming levels.

I worked hard on that upper area and liked the idea of giving players the option to explore. That concept is used a bit more in Act 2 as well. Glad you enjoyed the chef and his "food."

A tank?! Yesss, nothing more fun than cruising around and blowing up toy soldiers! But oh noes, my tank tracks broke almost straight away, I can understand this, because it's sooo difficult to make a working tank, and you've done a good job. I had to restart.
Very nice fire effects on the ground as I blew the whole place up. a good detail, which really shows the quality of the level.
Personally I don't like the scenery at this part of the level. The background glitch could have been used, just to make it more visually interesting, unless the tank occupies the back thin layer of course.

That darned tank is always breaking... I tried many different ways of fixing the thing but have yet to find a permanent solution. As for the background in that area I couldn't agree more with you. If you play Act 2 you'll notice a major difference between the levels as far as details go. And yes, the tank does occupy the back layer...This makes using that background glitch a no go. I first realized that when I attempted to put a back wall in the basement area... The tank wound up stuck on it.

The weathering effects using stickers on the buildings are fantastic. It seems really war-torn.
oooh plasma bubbles... i don't own the MGS pack, so those enemies seem pretty cool to me. Climbing stairs is a lil boring, I suggest a ramp of sorts.
I like the section where I have to switch layer to avoid getting shot. very creative.
Infinite spawn checkpoints would have been nice, as I did die and could not complete the level. Other than that, awesome. One of the better MGS levels out there for sure. Overall, a yay.
Graphics: 7/10 Mixed opinions. Indoors it was a lot better, whilst outdoors it was a lil' lame.
Sound: 8/10 Couldn't fault it.
Gameplay 7/10 SOme original, and some paintinator spamming.

I apologize for you not being able to finish it... I swear I switched out all of the regular checkpoints for infinite life checkpoints... I'll take care of that right away. I appreciate you taking the time to write a detailed review and I hope you get a chance to check out Act 2 someday. Cheers!

EDIT: I beefed up the details significantly. I also think I fixed the tank problem (fingers crossed). I will continue to add stickers and decorations to enhance the level of detail over the next few days. Let me know how it looks.

[wheelbbase911]

The elevator kinda confused me because it reveals the secret area quite quickly ( though I like the fact that you added a little secret ) i liked the fact that the tank had limited ammo, it made you think about the number of shots so you cant just spam the fire button but it didn't make the level difficult. One of the problems that occurred to me was the requirement of the sticker ( I had prizes off ) but then again it was my fault not yours. Another problem was that the elevator system was a bit clunky for my tastes, maybe a grabbing system, controllinator system or a smaller 3 way switch would be better.Overall act 1 has simplicity that is similar to an a LBP1 level yet still having the charms of LBP2 all in all a completely different feel from the MGS pack.


Act 2 seemed like it was more detailed and had more attention put into it. The fact you recolored the enemies made it seem more detailed and also because not all of the enemies were from the MGS pack. The exploding bridge's camera angle kinda made a bit disorientating when swimming out of the REX. Overall Act 2 has a slightly different yet still enjoyable gameplay experience to Act 1.

[MonkeyofFear]

Your level has a solid basis, but it falls short in a few places. The platforming works well, the aesthetics are good, but the direction leaves much room for improvement.
The aesthetics are great, but small bits and pieces feel out of place. In the first are on the far left you are able to see out of the side of the building, where it’s completely bare. (See uploaded pictures.) The intro seems kind of long, especially when you have to restart the level quite a few times. The elevator, while a nice touch is also lacking in direction. I spent a solid minute or two on the top floor trying to find out what to do.
Once I finally figured out where to go, the bottom floor left me there for a while jumping around the tank trying to figure out how to make it go. It took me a bit to realize the actual tank was outside. A small issue, but a few arrows, or dialogue indicators would help.
Perhaps my biggest issue was the tank itself. The tracks kept breaking forcing me to restart quite a few times. Once they broke I couldn’t move anywhere. I think this was enough of a problem for me to justify wheels. The thin layer that the wheels were attached to also prevented me from moving after the tracks were broken. Needless to say this area was very difficult.
Now once you reach the compound area, it is pretty straight forward, yet it bothers me that I need these stickers to continue the level. This method has always bothered me, because I only need these stickers once, yet they are going to stay in my inventory for a while. This problem persists with quite a few, throwaway objects like the flag. I don’t mean to offend you, but these are unnecessary. I think a simple switch lever would be a more reliable method.
The plat forming is solid, yet the rockets on the spinning tunnels seemed out of place. The electric spinning platform also forced me into another play, as I didn’t realize it spun when I jumped over it.
Like anything there is a lot of potential here, but there are an overwhelming amount of issues. I personally don’t have the patience to complete the level fully, and I apologize for this.

[forevertuesday]

The elevator kinda confused me because it reveals the secret area quite quickly ( though I like the fact that you added a little secret ) i liked the fact that the tank had limited ammo, it made you think about the number of shots so you cant just spam the fire button but it didn't make the level difficult. One of the problems that occurred to me was the requirement of the sticker ( I had prizes off ) but then again it was my fault not yours. Another problem was that the elevator system was a bit clunky for my tastes, maybe a grabbing system, controllinator system or a smaller 3 way switch would be better.Overall act 1 has simplicity that is similar to an a LBP1 level yet still having the charms of LBP2 all in all a completely different feel from the MGS pack.

Act 2 seemed like it was more detailed and had more attention put into it. The fact you recolored the enemies made it seem more detailed and also because not all of the enemies were from the MGS pack. The exploding bridge's camera angle kinda made a bit disorientating when swimming out of the REX. Overall Act 2 has a slightly different yet still enjoyable gameplay experience to Act 1.

Thanks for giving the level a run through. The limited ammo was something that I really wanted to include because the ability to "spam the fire button" really detracts from the reality of the battle field. Glad to hear you liked it. I've played online with people who will hop in the tank, fire of all of the rounds and then complain... We then restart and they repeat the whole ordeal again only to abandon the level.

As for the sticker requirement... This is something that I've received both praise and condemnation for... Since these two levels were the first two levels I've ever made I went with the simplicity of sticker switches. I did finally get around to putting the disclaimer in the description though.

I agree that the elevators are a bit simple in terms of mechanics and aesthetics... I'd like to have really awesome elevators but my logic skills aren't the best. If you've got any tips I'm all ears.

I really want to thank you for playing through both levels (not every one does). I must agree that Act 2 is much better... Act 1 was my first attempt at creating so it only makes sense that the second act is an improvement.

Your level has a solid basis, but it falls short in a few places. The platforming works well, the aesthetics are good, but the direction leaves much room for improvement.
The aesthetics are great, but small bits and pieces feel out of place. In the first are on the far left you are able to see out of the side of the building, where it’s completely bare. (See uploaded pictures.) The intro seems kind of long, especially when you have to restart the level quite a few times. The elevator, while a nice touch is also lacking in direction. I spent a solid minute or two on the top floor trying to find out what to do.
Once I finally figured out where to go, the bottom floor left me there for a while jumping around the tank trying to figure out how to make it go. It took me a bit to realize the actual tank was outside. A small issue, but a few arrows, or dialogue indicators would help.
Perhaps my biggest issue was the tank itself. The tracks kept breaking forcing me to restart quite a few times. Once they broke I couldn’t move anywhere. I think this was enough of a problem for me to justify wheels. The thin layer that the wheels were attached to also prevented me from moving after the tracks were broken. Needless to say this area was very difficult.
Now once you reach the compound area, it is pretty straight forward, yet it bothers me that I need these stickers to continue the level. This method has always bothered me, because I only need these stickers once, yet they are going to stay in my inventory for a while. This problem persists with quite a few, throwaway objects like the flag. I don’t mean to offend you, but these are unnecessary. I think a simple switch lever would be a more reliable method.
The plat forming is solid, yet the rockets on the spinning tunnels seemed out of place. The electric spinning platform also forced me into another play, as I didn’t realize it spun when I jumped over it.
Like anything there is a lot of potential here, but there are an overwhelming amount of issues. I personally don’t have the patience to complete the level fully, and I apologize for this.

I certainly appreciate the honesty in your review. Thanks for giving the level a play through. I noticed that you played the level almost two weeks ago and I want you to know that I've made some significant changes since then (fixed tank tracks and improved overall aesthetics). I actually addressed a few of your comments in the updates.

After reading your review I decided to take your advice regarding adding some hints to guide players along. I went ahead and added another sackbot character on the top level to send players back to the elevator and I added some dialog to the mechanic to push the player along.

Sorry to hear that the room with the rockets and spinning platforms proved to be difficult. That area is the final stretch before the level's completion. I'll go back and take another look at the electric spinning platform (I'm assuming you're referring to the first room in the enemy compound). Thanks again for the play and thorough review.