The Universal Dueling Arena

[MessengerOfDreams]

he's not yet, I was just stopping 1018 from sending them only to you

[MessengerOfDreams]

Well, it's clear to say that this was a truly epic duel. One designer changed their style, the other refined it, and it made two interesting levels. Look, I made a nice big-ass post and it deleted so ♥♥♥♥ it, I'm too irritated to waste that much time into it. So here's the score

Duel!: show

The winner is Supershroom, with 17.42! (15.25 from Peter, 18 from Ven, 19 from me)

This means Harmless is the runner-up, with 13.75. (14 from Peter, 16 from Harmless, 11.25 from MoD)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Bz8 ... BVME4/edit

[Harmless]

This means Harmless is the runner-up, with 13.75. (14 from Peter, 16 from Harmless

wat

ggs though, I enjoyed it even if I got completely bodied

-.5: Jesus ♥♥♥♥ Christ Harmless the lag what the ♥♥♥♥ how do you go that long in a level with zero transitions I spent five straight minutes at 6fps. It was unbearable. Maybe it’s just my computer so I’ll cut some slack, but still.

That's... really, really interesting. Because I suffered like zero lag minus the third traincart, and even then I only had like 3 FPS drop. ._.

not saying you're wrong or anything but that's certainly something

[1018peter]

Ride Through The Mines
By Supershroom

Fun: 8/10
The difficulty of this level is otherworldly,however,you backed it up with various gimmicks.
With each section,you introduced different gimmicks. They're hard,but interesting.
However,backtracking to the last section with the checkpoint you provided is tedious,due to the annoyance that is the thwomp carts.
The carts and the platforms are arranged perfectly to ease the platforming,that's quite a nice detail there.

Graphics: 5/5
As always,your graphics are impressive. It sets the vibe of the mine really well. The landscape of the mine looks really natural,like how they would look like in an actual mine. I can't possibly ask for more.

Others: 2.25/5
-0.5: Unfortunately,your level doesn't quite fit with the given song,Disco Train. Your mine level abstracts from the techno feeling that song gives.
-0.5: The loading time makes what would be pleasant rather tedious. Bearing with the loading time (One flash player warning upon exiting) every time I die is annoying.
+0.25: Checkpoint service. Always a good thing to have in a hard and long level.

Total: 15.25

All Aboard The Space Train!
By Harmless

Fun: 7/10
The level is quite enjoyable,constantly putting Mario in an accelerating pace. However,it's rather lackluster in difficulty.

Graphics: 3/5
The graphics are rather bland,to be honest. Whether it's in the train station or the train,you didn't put any decorations in the background. There's also minor cutoff at the sling star platform.
The one thing that shines in your level is probably the train. It's made really well.

Other: 4/5
+0.5: The level fits the given music quite well. The action-paced movie set works great with the music.
-0.25: Minor cutoff at the sling star platform.
+0.25: No lag,at all.
+0.5: Interesting plot. I would never guess that it's all a movie set from the beginning.

Total: 14

[Venexis]

Heyo. First off, congrats to the both of you. As you'll see in a moment, both of my scores are something to be proud of- I really enjoyed this duel. Anyway:

All Aboard the Space Train! (Harmless): show

Gameplay: (7/10)
First off, I'm really glad you marketed this as a plot driven level, otherwise your score here would have been pretty disappointing. That out of the way- I had a lot of fun. The platforming is pretty straightforward (although perhaps a bit touchy in the train segments, a couple of the moving blocks and rotating platforms inside the train gave me a decent bit of trouble when going for the "Veteran Counter-Terrorist" achievement), but it's obvious that platforming is not intended to be the primary focus of the level... and I gotta say you really nailed everything else. Don't really have much more to say here, but expect more on the plot side of things in Other.

Graphics: (4/5)
Glossing over the hilariously massive train interior compared to the miniscule exterior (something something TARDIS joke), this level is... actually pretty plain. I love the tiny details, though. Signs made out of coins, the train actually having rails... even the varied, bustling crowd inside the station. While it could do with a bit more decor (litter, potted plants in the station; miscellaneous cargo in the train; etc.) it's easy to overlook with everything else going on.

Other: (5/5)
+2. Alright. Your Gameplay score is a little lower than I wanted, because it mostly focuses on the technical side of things. There's a LOT more to this level than just fancy jumps, though, so while the things I'll cover here aren't strictly gameplay, I hope this +2 makes up for the lower score. Without further ado, I really did love the plot, and especially the charming dialogue of your characters. The quirky, often self-referential humour (that poor Boo, how could you ) and amusing accents in an otherwise fast-paced and grim mission (how does the music fit so well with BOTH the lighthearted and serious side of things?) really added a lot to what would otherwise be a pretty linear level. The achievements were pretty nifty as well, increased replay value and gives the player other goals to distract from the level's few shortcomings.

Overall: (16/20)
This is a great level. I was initially thrown off by the unique mix of drama and jokes and wasn't sure if you wanted me to be serious or laugh, but OMG that final transition where it's all revealed to be a movie wrapped everything up beautifully without detracting from the quirky atmosphere at all. I'm glad I got to experience this level.

Ride Through The Mines (Supershroom): show

Gameplay: (9.5/10)
Dang man, you've really mastered difficulty progression. Starts off nice and easy, almost relaxing even. Midway through, I'm needing to watch my jumps and be prepared to spin back to a safe spot. Near the end... well, let's just say I would've really loved a second checkpoint, lawl. In fact, that's pretty much my only complaint- I died. A lot. Most of the time, it was definitely my fault, but a few times there was a section that I just couldn't anticipate properly- the small hill on the second last pass of the final transition comes to mind (was not expecting the green platform after the rotating wooden platforms to pass through the hill and come out the other side. Even after knowing this, not being able to see it pass through meant my timing was off for several subsequent attempts). The bit with the "dangerous material" minecarts is another one that took a ridiculous number of tries to get right (would always hit the roof and fall short, I'm honestly not sure what stroke of luck let me pass through eventually), although, to be fair, you can try that one as many times as you want without needing to restart. I love your innovative challenges, and it was great fun, but failing repeatedly so close to the shine and then needing to backtrack from the checkpoint did get extremely frustrating (I can't even imagine what it would be like on a slower computer, with abort script notifications eating up even more time).

Graphics: (5/5)
Beautiful work here. I can't think of a single suggestion or critique, actually. I love how you blend different tilesets, and was particularly impressed by your use of wooden tiles... never would have thought it could look so great. Loving your use moving blocks as decoration and to cover gaps in the tilework, too.

Other: (3.5/5)
+0.5. Those dangerous minecarts are brilliant.
+0. Apparently, being a Music Duel, I'm obligated to at least mention the music bit. :p You certainly represented it literally, with rails (and minecart trains, of course) being an integral part of the level throughout, but it did feel a tad out of touch with the slower half of the level. More "just another background music" instead of a driving force in the level, you know? No points lost, however.

Overall: (18/20)
Amazing work. Love the attention to detail, and how you always seem to come up with some sort of new mechanic. My only advice would be to add another checkpoint nearer to the end.

[Harmless]

and now, time to fix every single thing mentioned and make this level absolutely perfect

tyvm for the judgings

[Supershroom]

from all the happiness and joy I don't reply here for three days

Yeah, this was a tedious duel to finish but it was really worth it. 17.42, another personal best and the second highest score of the year ... wow. Especially with a 19 from MoD.

[Oranjui]

Raz and I are doing an LL duel. Theme is Oasis. No set deadline yet.

[Karyete]

That's gonna be interesting to see, I can't really predict a winner there.

[NanTheDark]

OH RIGHT I FORGOT THIS THREAD EXISTED

Adding Duel to the first post.