Looks like I need a worse computer. Most times I load this level, I don't get any crash warning, and at some very few times I only get one. And I'm curious to know how many crash warning you get when loading "The Water Butterfly".
I'm very sorry for being an unexperienced designer who didn't have any plans for a small but sweet level, and probably still doesn't have any.
I guess I should leave my judgings nonetheless.
Hellfire: show
FUN: 7.25/10. On one hand, I truly like and enjoy the feeling of a dark world with creatures of darkness. On the other hand, sometimes it felt a bit too dark and lost and sad etc, especially due to the black background. I’ve tried to play it with Space and Underground, and it feels better.
The level mainly suffers from smaller issues relating to its buildup. The switch run at the start is a good idea, but not well-thought-out as the boos can help you to cross this part much faster, and so I reach the switch block 3 or 4 seconds before it disappears. At the house which was declared as a “trap”, I’ve expected that I enter a real, big mansion with traps, and not a room with 1-ups and a block. I’ve liked the jump over the tipping logs and the gameplay in the “Hell” section, but there’s that glitch with diagonal flames that hurt you even if you don’t really touch them, making some jumps more difficult, and you’re also likely to get hit by a ghost or skelegoonie, and then you can use the short invincibility frame to go through a flame. Furthermore, some passages in the mansion section were intented to be challenging, but they aren’t. The room with the book blocks can simply be passed by running over the tipping log, and the room with the thwomp block can be passed by double-tapping and running through two of them at a time. The ending also comes a bit abrupt IMO.
GRAPHICS: 4/5. The “dead atmosphere” also impacts the graphics in a controversial way, some background textures also look nice. Décor is used well, not too less, not too much, with nice mushrooms and twisted plants, and I also like the cave tile structures. Sadly, the mansion room with 1-ups looks very bland. Within the hell sector, I feel like the variety of tiles has been a little bit exaggerated. The mansion sector at the end has some cool background tile combinations that fit very well together, except from the unfinished night mosaic in the final room. And if you zoom out inside of the mansion, you can see a lot from the darkness outside, and also some of the grey bricks that are supposed to separate the transitions (border blindness).
OTHER: 3.75/5.
+0.5: no lag, good loading time
+0.5: also good alternate music
+0.5: Extra props for the very successful background tiling in the mansion, especially mansion tiles and gold tiles – that’s rather brave.
-0.25: It feels pretty unlogic to enter the mansion by a free pipe on a mushroom.
-0.25: To be honest, the storyline is rather simplistic, and it also requires a kind of boss IMO.
-0.25: The first checkpoint is dispensable.
+0.5 (joke): YAY THERE ARE MUSHROOMS
-0.5 (joke): I'M MORE THAN AN ORDINARY MUSHROOM
OVERALL: 15/20. Your best work until now (maybe together with Blazing Run). A good concept with interesting ideas, and it’s just a bunch of smaller details that got you. Basically you should try to make your level more "logic" and more "fluent". But you definitely have the requirements to do great or even very great. Good job.
The level mainly suffers from smaller issues relating to its buildup. The switch run at the start is a good idea, but not well-thought-out as the boos can help you to cross this part much faster, and so I reach the switch block 3 or 4 seconds before it disappears. At the house which was declared as a “trap”, I’ve expected that I enter a real, big mansion with traps, and not a room with 1-ups and a block. I’ve liked the jump over the tipping logs and the gameplay in the “Hell” section, but there’s that glitch with diagonal flames that hurt you even if you don’t really touch them, making some jumps more difficult, and you’re also likely to get hit by a ghost or skelegoonie, and then you can use the short invincibility frame to go through a flame. Furthermore, some passages in the mansion section were intented to be challenging, but they aren’t. The room with the book blocks can simply be passed by running over the tipping log, and the room with the thwomp block can be passed by double-tapping and running through two of them at a time. The ending also comes a bit abrupt IMO.
GRAPHICS: 4/5. The “dead atmosphere” also impacts the graphics in a controversial way, some background textures also look nice. Décor is used well, not too less, not too much, with nice mushrooms and twisted plants, and I also like the cave tile structures. Sadly, the mansion room with 1-ups looks very bland. Within the hell sector, I feel like the variety of tiles has been a little bit exaggerated. The mansion sector at the end has some cool background tile combinations that fit very well together, except from the unfinished night mosaic in the final room. And if you zoom out inside of the mansion, you can see a lot from the darkness outside, and also some of the grey bricks that are supposed to separate the transitions (border blindness).
OTHER: 3.75/5.
+0.5: no lag, good loading time
+0.5: also good alternate music
+0.5: Extra props for the very successful background tiling in the mansion, especially mansion tiles and gold tiles – that’s rather brave.
-0.25: It feels pretty unlogic to enter the mansion by a free pipe on a mushroom.
-0.25: To be honest, the storyline is rather simplistic, and it also requires a kind of boss IMO.
-0.25: The first checkpoint is dispensable.
+0.5 (joke): YAY THERE ARE MUSHROOMS
-0.5 (joke): I'M MORE THAN AN ORDINARY MUSHROOM
OVERALL: 15/20. Your best work until now (maybe together with Blazing Run). A good concept with interesting ideas, and it’s just a bunch of smaller details that got you. Basically you should try to make your level more "logic" and more "fluent". But you definitely have the requirements to do great or even very great. Good job.
SuperCraig64: show
FUN: 1.75/10. Sadly, I have to say that this level barely has to do anything what you have to expect from an entertaining SM63 level. You start off at plain jungle tiles with some décor, go into the door, press the switch, have endless time to cross the lava, then you enter the first “boss”. This can hardly be called a boss as its very simple to beat. You just grab an invisibility star, let the bullies be defeated by the bullet bills, then go down. However, the mass of bullet bills makes it annoying to go down. Then the second room. JUST WHY DO YOU THROW SO MANY SKELEGOONIES AT US. That’s skelegoonie spam. And I mean, yes you have to go down, but disabling the caps is absolutely unnecessary, a stupid way to trick the player. Going up without the caps was simply frustrating. Then you finally get that second silver star, get out and receive a forced damage by the big boo at the end.
All in all, these are all the dirty tricks to make a level annoying instead of enjoyable. Enemies must not be spammed over and over. Boss battles must be interesting and challenging. The level itself needs to give a good feeling to the player.
GRAPHICS: 2.25/5. There is no cutoff, and the décor at the start is pretty standard, but nice, however the ground of the jungle tiles don’t show. The use of bricks was very simplistic, and at the shine sprite, you just fall out of the mosaic tiles, however their arrangement with mansion bricks and hex bricks feels well. In the skelegoonie room, the platforms arrange quite well together, but the mass of skelegoonies misshapes the picture and makes it unappealing.
OTHER: 2.25/5.
+0.25: no lag, not even in the skelegoonie room
-0.25: no title. Why not call this something like “skelegoonie nightmare”.
-0.25: music and background also don’t fit well.
-0.5: Like I’ve said, tricking the player to give away the protecting caps with no reason.
+0.5 (joke): GIBE ME BLUE COINS YES
-0.5 (joke): I WANT EVEN MOAR BLUE COINS
OVERALL: 6.25/20. I guess everything is said already. I understand if this score makes you upset, but it's never too late to learn and improve. Play many good levels, investigate what makes a good level, also read about judging styles, and then maybe come back with much more skill.
All in all, these are all the dirty tricks to make a level annoying instead of enjoyable. Enemies must not be spammed over and over. Boss battles must be interesting and challenging. The level itself needs to give a good feeling to the player.
GRAPHICS: 2.25/5. There is no cutoff, and the décor at the start is pretty standard, but nice, however the ground of the jungle tiles don’t show. The use of bricks was very simplistic, and at the shine sprite, you just fall out of the mosaic tiles, however their arrangement with mansion bricks and hex bricks feels well. In the skelegoonie room, the platforms arrange quite well together, but the mass of skelegoonies misshapes the picture and makes it unappealing.
OTHER: 2.25/5.
+0.25: no lag, not even in the skelegoonie room
-0.25: no title. Why not call this something like “skelegoonie nightmare”.
-0.25: music and background also don’t fit well.
-0.5: Like I’ve said, tricking the player to give away the protecting caps with no reason.
+0.5 (joke): GIBE ME BLUE COINS YES
-0.5 (joke): I WANT EVEN MOAR BLUE COINS
OVERALL: 6.25/20. I guess everything is said already. I understand if this score makes you upset, but it's never too late to learn and improve. Play many good levels, investigate what makes a good level, also read about judging styles, and then maybe come back with much more skill.
And last but not least, the oh-so-hilarous joke judging for Triple J:
I also have holes in my bags - NOOOOO!!!: show
FUN: BURRRRRRRRRRRRRRN/10. THIS IS AN ULTRA-EPIC BURNER TIME TO GET ROASTED AND BURIED INSIDE THE BONE PLATFORMS
GRAPHICS: ROASSSSSSSSTTTTTT/5. Yaay, we’re baking waffles in this level! With vanilla sauce and sugar powder! And with our ultra-powerful flamethrowers, they’re done in less than a second! But watch out not to throw then into the lava! OH NOES! WHY DID YOU DO THAT THEY’RE BLACK NOW good appetite
OTHER: AAAAAAAAAARGHHHHHHHHHHH/5.
+AAAAAAAAAAAR: THAT LAVA ALSO MAKES A HOLE IN MY BAG HELP ME
+GHHHHHHHHHH: THE HOLE IS GROWING AND GROWING
-3: I HAVE A JOB INTERVIEW TODAY OHHHHHH NOOOESSS
OVERALL: TROLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL/20
I hope you liked that.
GRAPHICS: ROASSSSSSSSTTTTTT/5. Yaay, we’re baking waffles in this level! With vanilla sauce and sugar powder! And with our ultra-powerful flamethrowers, they’re done in less than a second! But watch out not to throw then into the lava! OH NOES! WHY DID YOU DO THAT THEY’RE BLACK NOW good appetite
OTHER: AAAAAAAAAARGHHHHHHHHHHH/5.
+AAAAAAAAAAAR: THAT LAVA ALSO MAKES A HOLE IN MY BAG HELP ME
+GHHHHHHHHHH: THE HOLE IS GROWING AND GROWING
-3: I HAVE A JOB INTERVIEW TODAY OHHHHHH NOOOESSS
OVERALL: TROLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL/20
I hope you liked that.
