A reason for the lag to be less of a problem at that water level is the lack of land enemies and *Luck Points.
*The left transition side in particular.
@Volcove
That's a lot to think about.
A bit overwhelming for me to say what I think about all this feedback, but I'll give it a shot:
Thoughts (may lag your computer up): show
That makes me feel a little better, at least. (:There are tons of levels that get a total of zero posts, which means that this is already doing much better in that regard. I wouldn't complain if I were you.
What led me to a 'testing' of the concept was this:The problem is more the continued insistence that this is merely 'testing' the concept. Just make it a fully-fledged level and give it an appealing name instead of 'water test'.
When I first thought of the idea, I became overexcited. I wanted to show everyone the idea as soon as possible, so I tried a basic test level. Because of this, many of the things you mentioned went wrong. I rushed myself too far.
This was a result from rushing. I didn't give myself enough time to think. I also rushed by trying to get all the information out at once. Wasn't a good idea, indeed, but I was too excited...The explanation is a bit long-winded and redundant in some areas. All those details likely won't be retained. It should either be provided gradually & briefly or it should just demonstrated within the level itself, the latter of which is most ideal.
Again, I rushed through the process of making this level. Not enough thought..."Moves" is a very ambiguous term, for it doesn't mean any one thing and is too open to interpretation. The fact that they are effectively untrackable doesn't help either.
I could have further explained the deal before... but there aren't any other coins visible, but from enemies, to get confused with. I also should have had pointed out that they weren't collectibles.Using coins to represent the pipes doesn't work well either, since they are too easily confused with actual coins. The color scheme is a bit weird as well. Perhaps arrows would work better. A down arrow would be the lowest setting, one pointing to the side would be the middle setting, and one pointing up would be highest.
I don't understand what exactly is weird about the color scheme, but are you talking about the background? I used that because I (rushed) tried to find any way to make a simple, basic water feel.
...I like that arrow idea!
I didn't like the idea of using doors because I wanted to use any of them for other things, and I didn't find it appealing nor nostalgic enough, personally.I question the necessity of the 'oxygen' rooms as well, and why they must be represented by disabled stars. Why not just use simple doors, or alternatively, just make a natural pocket of air? One doesn't really need to bother at all considering how little of the level involves actually spending time underwater.
It could look a bit odd having unfilled pockets of air (water) within water that's been risen. Logically, that'd look weird to me. Using coins for air would both be confused with the "water changers'" and only be usable once.
Some people may have the desire to explore the depths for secrets, possible solutions, or just fun (like me). It's okay if you do not find it necessary, but if one gets lost or near suffocation, the oxygen rooms could come in handy. Just an addition to the level. That's all.
The 'luck point' sign consists almost entirely of unnecessary 4th wall breaking; other levels do not need to be referenced at all. Beyond this, it is unlikely that they would ever be noticed to begin with, for a single coin being collected is simply insignificant due to how plentiful they are (and thus no one would seek them out). Simple 1-ups already do the trick (due to being rare and having a unique sound effect) without the unnecessary explanation.
Firstly, I totally agree with you. If I took my time and thought, I would think of that reasoning too. However, sometimes, though this doesn't apply to this level, a chain of levels may have information given and considered between different levels. If this were of a series of levels, the referencing could be acceptable, thinking that the proceeding levels could use Luck Points. But that doesn't work here. I just rushed when making this test level.
About coins as Luck Points... I could have mentioned that the amounts of coins given may be significant, meaning that they'd potentially be worthwhile to search out.
This is supposed to be a simple test level, again. And I did rush this, like I said..., again. I could have put so much additional effort into this, but I failed due to my eagerness to post the idea. And in the end, I wasn't the fore-discoverer. I was just too excited to think about whether others found it before me, and I only went by the levels I've already played.An actual theme would help as well, since as it stands, it is only screams 'generic' in the layout. Very little stands out and it is too open, which hurts gameplay as well, since everything just melds together after a point when 80% of the level consists of the same grey bricks.
If I took my time and put more thought into the design, I might as well have had put more detail into the graphics, but alas, I rushed.
I cannot think of anything wrong about that point! I'll consider it, however I have the tendency to add as many things into a level as I can. I always want there to be a lot of things for me to do/collect, but it can be abused.For gameplay itself, it doesn't really offer enough to make it exciting, for the platforming and such is very run-of-the-mill for the most part. It also tries to fit too much into a single level, feature, secret & path-wise, which isn't a good idea. It tries to make use of the alternating water levels, which is commendable, but when there is so much to absorb as it is, the obvious solution of "raise the water level and reach the end that way" becomes the most appealing method to end things.
Very true. I definitely tried to go overboard with features. I even added more things after posting.This level went for quantity rather than quality, and it doesn't work for me that way. The fact that it causes a fair bit of lag in the process doesn't help either. Stick to a single shine within a more confined space, perhaps with a few ways to get to it, and cut back on the extra, unnecessary features. Make a secret shine instead, perhaps, which requires finding all the secret points or whatever, if you want to add re-playability content. Simple is better, convolution is not.
Well, sometimes, it could add onto the re-playability and/or fun, but it shouldn't cause lag. That was an issue here.
Oh! And the 'secrets' being required! I like that!
That sure was a mouthful!
And thanks for the feedback!
EDIT: OOOOOOH, and if you don't think I rushed, given the timeline has lots of work taken into this, I used most of the time to test the level, making sure it works as well and bug-free as possible..., or I was just too bored.
