[The Koopaling Castle Saga] Mortons Franctury

[Mable]

Oh boy it's me posting a level after 10 years again
So, this is pretty much the second castle from the seven ones i make. Yes actually Larry would be first but i somehow made Morton first therefore he gets posted.
The endfight can be a bit hard but is possible to make you just have to time it right or else you may not win. Don't worry i did put a checkpoint before the fight so you don't have to go through the entire level again
The first lava jump is also possible it depends on ur timing again. Typical me i don't expect anything great like usual. But i guess i just post it now so that i maybe get some more feedback since thats how we can improve our levels.


Obligatory download link
https://mega.nz/#!JchC1LRT!uyxLFPsAY4HC ... v29oqAhz0s

Screenshot: Note the block with the mushroom at the end has been moved over to the right. And yes there are only mushrooms in this, the level itself isn't really cruel or unfair and there wouldn't be any difference between mario having another power or the mushroom one as in smbx you turn small anyway.
http://i.imgur.com/XQnv0qt.png

Video:


This level doesn't use anything from lunalua and i advice to play it in the 1.3.0.1 version.

Edit for anyone who downloaded this already: Fixed stuff which Neko pointed out.

[mrwalder22]

I didn't play it yet,but the ambient and course is very good judging from the video.Spear Of "Justice" is a very good ( but ironic) choice for the boss as well.

[Cedrik]

The level is ok.

First I hate the jump on the hothead.
The blocks with the face of the Koopaling are not good.

I think I run 3 times the same way.

The music is good, but the cut is terryble (I do not think you cut the mudic, do it is ok).

I like the custom Koopas.
The blocks are all good or ok.

So I give the level 4.7/10.

[Mable]

The level is ok.

First I hate the jump on the hothead.
The blocks with the face of the Koopaling are not good.

I think I run 3 times the same way.

The music is good, but the cut is terryble (I do not think you cut the mudic, do it is ok).

I like the custom Koopas.
The blocks are all good or ok.

So I give the level 4.7/10.

1. ok?
2. why do you hate it?
3. what?
4. isn't that how most custom music ends up being used in smbx
5. uh ok
6. also ok.
7. uh sure.

[Cedrik]

The level is ok.

First I hate the jump on the hothead.
The blocks with the face of the Koopaling are not good.

I think I run 3 times the same way.

The music is good, but the cut is terryble (I do not think you cut the mudic, do it is ok).

I like the custom Koopas.
The blocks are all good or ok.

So I give the level 4.7/10.

1. ok?
2. why do you hate it?
3. what?
4. isn't that how most custom music ends up being used in smbx
5. uh ok
6. also ok.
7. uh sure.

2. I hate it, because I die so often and I play with Link first. You can't do it with Link.
3. It looks like he is crying.
7. I think more of a sorted ruin than of a castle.

[Mable]

Uh.. thx anyway i guess.

I hope Valtteri will make you a contest judge soon.

[Mable]

Updated download link.

Torches and Windows now better match with eachother.

[GreenyNeko]

Nevermind about writing text I'm lazy.

I noted some other things besides mentioned in the chat:

http://i.imgur.com/STVpPvl.png

But hey without the screenshot it would've been more difficult ^^

[PixelPest]

You are way too picky. Not everything needs to be symmetrical. The square blocks interrupting the usual floor tiles are completely fine and that idea of design is often used; it looks fine. Also, your coin placement critique is completely unnecessary as it's completely fine throughout the level. Finally, windows and torches don't have to be at the same height and the same spacing (and neither do pillars) throughout the level.
I actually quite like this level and will review it when I get the chance.

[GreenyNeko]

You are way too picky. Not everything needs to be symmetrical. The square blocks interrupting the usual floor tiles are completely fine and that idea of design is often used; it looks fine. Also, your coin placement critique is completely unnecessary as it's completely fine throughout the level. Finally, windows and torches don't have to be at the same height and the same spacing (and neither do pillars) throughout the level.
I actually quite like this level and will review it when I get the chance.

For achieving to have a perfect level being picky is never wrong. We all want to improve don't we?

Yeah, not everything needs to be symmetrical but in some cases asymmetricity looks bad or wrong.

I just noted those tiles interrupting the floor tiles as a reason to compare it to a ruin more than a castle in reference to Cedrik's comment. I never said it didn't look fine. Though I said more about this on the chat than in the forum here or in the image.

The spacing between blocks, objects and coins should be perfect to match the player's movement though the level as seen in all official games and levels. Deviating from this would be uncommon or against common sense. As some of the coins are placed jumping perfectly might end up that the player lands on an object (followed by falling off eventually due to speed) or in front of it. Not quite what a player would like. Oh yeah and there are more reasons but w/e. Another reason is the aesthetic aspect.

They do not need the same height and the same spacing but if you do it on one part of the level you should keep the height pattern (relation between windows and torches). That's what I meant. If you don't it looks wacky. Oh and the spacing should just match the current position of the level it does not have to relate to the rest necessarily.

Besides all things I mentioned were rather suggestions on the aesthetic aspect in reference to level design of games sold tons of times with but not limited to Mario titles as well and it's still the op's decision whether to take my criticism by heart or ignore it as they do not see it fit. That's how all kinds of reviewing systems work. From level design review to code review.

On a side note: there's a historical reason why symmetry is important.

[zlaker]

Review of Morton's Franctury

What I liked about the level

The level looks and sounds pretty good to be honest. Really like the track you chose and the tileset, sceneries and enemies all blend well together. And this was a tricky level to navigate through. The Podobo (or whatever you call them) challenge at the start of the level was a nice addition. Having the Flying Goombas above the Podobo (again idk how to spell their name and i'm too lazy to look it up) added some challenge in the level. I don't know if that was intentional or not, but either way good job. And lastly the boss; it was pretty well made. I really liked the addition of the Bowser Statue. It actually made the boss battle a bit harder.

What I didn't like about the level

Now I did mention that the level had some good aestethics choices such as the tileset and the BGOs, but I feel the level is a bit empty at some points. And by that I mean there were lack of Coins and BGOs at some points. I'm not trying to say that the level needs to be spammed with BGOs and Coins, but I feel it would be nice if you decorated the level a bit more. And the pillar BGOs is looking a bit weird. Another I found is that, depsite the fact the level is short. Other than that to be honest I can't say I saw something innovative in this level. Now I'm not trying to shit on this level or something, I'm just saying compared to most castle levels I've played, this didn't really bring anything new to the table.

So in summary

+ The level was challenging!
+ Good choice music and graphics.
+ A really well made boss.
+ Really fun to play

- The level feels a bit empty at some points.
- Not really anything that made it stand out to most castle levels.

My Score: 8/10

Without a doubt this is a really fun, challenging level. However there are room for some improvements.

[PixelPest]

Approved Zlaker's review. Moved to Pretty Good.

[PROX]

yeah the pillar's masks are broken, I'll update that in the future.