Open Surge Forum

A fun 2D retro platformer inspired by Sonic games and a game creation system

You are not logged in.

Announcement

Our community has moved to Discord! https://discord.gg/w8JqM7m

#1 2009-07-30 01:11:59

jasonspiro
Member
From: Toronto, ON, Canada
Registered: 2009-05-15
Posts: 53
Website

EPZ1 area with two tiny platforms in mid-air: is it too annoying?

Hi all,

In Exotic Paradise Zone Act 1, there's an area with two tiny platforms that stand in mid-air.  It's the area bounded by F12-key debug-mode coordinates 3150.5100 and 3900.5300.  The user must get Knuckles past that area (to a partner door switch later) but it's very hard.

At one point, Knuckles must climb to near the top of the left wall of the area at horizontal coordinate 3140, then glide to the right.  But it is too easy for Knuckles' belly to accidentally brush the left tiny platform at 3300.5200.  This causes Knuckles to fall down to 5750 and have to spend 20 or 30 seconds to get back to the top of the the left wall at 3140 again.  I had to get back to the left wall perhaps 10 or 20 times until I solved the puzzle.  (I used the F12-key debug mode to look at the level layout, in order to help me solve it.)  Getting back to the area got more and more annoying the more I had to repeat it.

1.  How long did it take you get past this area?

2.  Did you cheat?

3.  This area makes the game longer, but it comes only halfway through the game.  Do you think that it's too early in the game for such an annoying area to fall?

4.  Is the area too annoying to be left in the game at all?

5.  How can the area be made better?

6.  Alexandre, by the way, when the game is eventually made longer, will Exotic Paradise Zone be pushed more towards the end of the game, instead of coming just after the halfway point?

7.  Alexandre, figuring out how to get Knuckles past the area requires some exploration skills.  I don't think any of the Genesis Sonic games needed such exploration skills in just the second zone.  I don't even know if any of the Genesis Sonic games needed any wall-climbing skills so early in the game.  By leaving this puzzle in the game, you're making the game a much more puzzle-heavy game than the Genesis Sonic games.  Are you sure this is what you want?

By the way, everyone, if you post here, you might also want to post in this thread about the game's level of difficulty in general.

Offline

#2 2009-07-30 07:10:01

Alexandre
Administrator
From: Brazil
Registered: 2009-01-27
Posts: 3,300
Website

Re: EPZ1 area with two tiny platforms in mid-air: is it too annoying?

Hello, jasonspiro. Thank you for your feedback. smile

6.  Alexandre, by the way, when the game is eventually made longer, will Exotic Paradise Zone be pushed more towards the end of the game, instead of coming just after the halfway point?

Blue Ocean Zone and Exotic Paradise will be dropped once we have original graphics. They will no longer exist (as they do now) on future versions of the game. Of course, we can create new levels using their names (BOZ and EPZ), but the levels as we know them right now will be replaced by something else with original graphics.

People, please understand that 0.1.2 is actually a demonstration of the game engine. The current levels show some of the stuff that our engine can do, and joined together they can be called a game itself, but they are not part of the final game. They were used to make a small game (two levels) and they demonstrate the potential that Open Sonic has. The only reason I made those levels (BOZ and EPZ) using "ripped" graphics was to sell my idea to other people, so they would come and help to develop the game (creating original musics, original graphics, etc). That's why you people won't see new levels using "ripped" graphics: we would have to replace them anyway, and BOZ & EPZ are sufficient for demonstration purposes.

7.  Alexandre, figuring out how to get Knuckles past the area requires some exploration skills.  I don't think any of the Genesis Sonic games needed such exploration skills in just the second zone.  I don't even know if any of the Genesis Sonic games needed any wall-climbing skills so early in the game.  By leaving this puzzle in the game, you're making the game a much more puzzle-heavy game than the Genesis Sonic games.  Are you sure this is what you want?

I agree with you: it's hard for a second level, but two levels are everything we have right now. This puzzle demonstrates some of the cooperative play ideas (coop. play is *not* just unlocking doors), and it has to be included somewhere. I'm sure that puzzles like that is I what want, but I also recognize that that is used too early on the current game. smile

Offline

#3 2009-11-18 06:40:21

jasonspiro
Member
From: Toronto, ON, Canada
Registered: 2009-05-15
Posts: 53
Website

Re: EPZ1 area with two tiny platforms in mid-air: is it too annoying?

Alexandre wrote:

Blue Ocean Zone and Exotic Paradise will be dropped once we have original graphics. They will no longer exist (as they do now) on future versions of the game.

Isn't it a lot of work to design the level map and place tiles and enemies?  Why not keep the level maps, and just replace the graphics?

Alexandre wrote:

Of course, we can create new levels using their names (BOZ and EPZ) [...]

I think that would be confusing.  If you completely change a zone's graphics and tile and enemy placements, then you should definitely give the zone a new name.  Even if you change only the graphics, or only the tile and enemy placements, you still should rename the zone.  That way when someone says an Act name, e.g. "BOZ2", everyone will know which act they're talking about.

Offline

#4 2009-11-21 14:37:08

Alexandre
Administrator
From: Brazil
Registered: 2009-01-27
Posts: 3,300
Website

Re: EPZ1 area with two tiny platforms in mid-air: is it too annoying?

True.

jasonspiro wrote:

Isn't it a lot of work to design the level map and place tiles and enemies?  Why not keep the level maps, and just replace the graphics?

Because the new brickset image would have to fit exactly to the old one. I can't say much as we don't have an artist yet D: , but exploring new ideas would be better.

Offline

Board footer

Powered by FluxBB  hosted by tuxfamily.org