Deep-Shallow Water Test

[Volkove]

The great bay temple was not that bad at all. In fact, it was quite the fun puzzle system. The time limit gave more trouble with the stone tower temple due to the sheer depth behind its workings.

[Harmless]

I guess.

But then we have OoT's water temple as adult Link. What if someone remade that.

[CedarBranch]

I would appreciate it if the below comments are more on-topic/about my level. This discussion seems to be straying a bit too much. Thank you.

[Harmless]

We/Volcove pretty much already said that the idea has been used a few times in several other levels.

[CedarBranch]

I understand. But I would at least like to know how I executed the idea/how I designed the level/how fun it is/how clever it may be/how good it is, graphically/what you like or dislike about it/what could use improvement.

Just because the same idea has been used before... doesn't mean you cannot tell me what you think about this level. I do not want to sound rude. Really.
All I want to know is how well I did this. Why is that so hard to ask?

[CedarBranch]

...I am starting to feel insulted, We/Volcove. Why?

I spent at least 3 whole days STRAIGHT on this level, and I get this:

We/Volcove pretty much already said that the idea has been used a few times in several other levels.

3 entire days of my life, wasted.

---

I wouldn't be feeling this way if you showed this level some respect. Where's the constructive feedback?
All I hear is "on-topic" discussion.

EDIT: And ignorance.

[KABOOM]

If you're spending entire days on a level, you need to rethink your priorities.

The level's quite fun and interesting, but also very laggy.

[CedarBranch]

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE FEEDBACK!

First off, the outburst on my previous post was the result of loneliness in this forum... and a personal, traumatic experience.
Secondly, I honestly didn't make a healthy decision by working on it for that long of a period. And, I feel the impulse of providing you with the designing timeline (it is sad that I remember):

Friday, November 23rd: 13 hour work. Constant work after school. Went to bed at 3:30am the next morning.

Saturday, November 24th: 17 hour work, but at least I had lunch and dinner (however I rushed them... and had a drink with me upstairs...).

Sunday, November 25th: 18 hour work. I only had lunch and a couple of evening snacks and drinks.

Monday, November 26th: 0 hour work. I HAD NO MOTIVATION. I WAS ON A COUCH FOR 4 HOURS, THEN DID LAZY THINGS THE REST OF THE EVENING.

Tuesday, November 27th: 7 hour work. An hour after returning from school, I worked until I accidentally fell asleep around 11pm.

Wednesday, November 28th: 10 hour work. After immediately getting to work once home, I had a few, short drink/eating breaks. I became bored at 1am the next morning, and gave-up by going to sleep.

Thursday, November 29th: 3 hour work. I took a few different intervals of work on the level before submitting it at 9:03pm.

Lastly, the lag WAS a bummer. I was disappointed in myself when I kept ADDING AND ADDING AND ADDING things. I enjoyed making this level too much.

[KABOOM]

Saturday, November 24th: 24 hour work, but at least I had lunch and dinner (however I rushed them... and had a drink with me upstairs...).

Honestly?

After playing some more, I noticed that oddly, the "blue coin" water level wasn't very laggy at all. Strange.

[Volkove]

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; I'd love for even one of my submissions to get this sort of attention.

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'.

But fine, since, you insist, starting with the signs:
- 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.
- "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.
- 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 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.
- The 'luck point' sign consists almost entirely of unnecessary 4th wall breaking; other levels do not need to be referenced at all. No professional game does this; they remain properly distinct unless there is a series involved, and even then it is subtle and not outright.
- Beyond this, it is unlikely that said luck points 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.

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.

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.

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.