Hello there, people!

As of late, I've been known to make huge posts just to say something simple. This post is no exception, so if you don't want to read a wall of text, please proceed to the third item on the below list and read on to the end.

I've announced in the past that Wind Meister 4 was "nearly done," and that it would be released with Wind Meister 5. However, due to time constraints and other things, my plans have changed. For the past few weeks, I've been actively working on finishing Wind Meister 4, which I currently am planning to be the final level in the "series." It is to be released in a pack called the "Wind Meister Quadrilogy," which will contain the following:

1.) The brand new "Wind Meister Challenge Edition." This map, at first glance, looks very much like the original Wind Meister. However, once you've successfully completed all the tests, you have the option to replay the level in "Challenge Mode," which makes those same tests much more difficult to complete. This has been done for a while, and I'm excited to finally release it.

2.) Wind Meister 2 and Wind Meister 3. These levels, while previously unreleased, are essentially the same as what you can currently download on J2O; they've just been updated to fix some bugs and add a couple things. Nothing too major.

3.) Finally, the big one: Wind Meister 4. The first level in the series to feature tests for both Jazz and Spaz. The challenges in this level are, in many cases, more difficult than previous levels (by request). It's been in the works for years, and I'm finally nearly ready to release it. However, it lacks one thing: MUSIC.

That's where one of you will come in. I am looking for a talented individual to make me sort of a "remix" of 3ddemo.mod. I want it to take on more of a 'classic rock' feel. In other words, imagine that instead of sounding like keyboard sorcery, it should sound like electric guitar sorcery. Anyone interested?

As for the Wind Meister pack I spoke of, it is tentatively going to be released AROUND the 20th of April. However, I need the music before I can release it.

Soon it's celebration time!

where might one find this 3ddemo.mod?

http://www.jazz2online.com/J2Ov2/downloads/search.php

i'm getting a deja vu

Hey again, people. I come bearing good news! Progress with Wind Meister 4 is splendid. While looking over the level a few days ago, I decided I didn't like... a vast majority of it. As a result, the level is being re-made (mostly) from scratch. This change should not have a very large affect on my original intended release date of April 20th (or so).


The level previously focused entirely too much on a storyline no one cares about and too little on the core of Wind Meister: the signature tests of punishing difficulty. This is no longer the case.

I'd also like to announce that our very own PT32 has volunteered to provide some custom music for the map, and I am very confident that said music will blow us all away.

With the culmination of all these things, it is my sincere hope that Wind Meister 4 will be a challenging test level that people will be playing (and enjoying) for years to come. Stay tuned; I'll release this level if it's the last thing I do.

Hey everyone, quick question for ya'll. "Ya'll" in this case being anyone interested in Wind Meister.

If I were to release Wind Meister 4 fairly soon but not release the "Wind Meister Quadrilogy" (mentioned in the first post) for a while, would that be preferable to waiting a long time to release Wind Meister 4 while I work on the other levels for ages?

I'm leaning toward the first option, but it's really up to any test level fans there may still be out there.

I prefer playing a new test every once in a while rather than 4 tests at once. So... stick for the first option.

Very good news, people; perhaps news that someone out there has been waiting for a few years to hear.

Wind Meister 4 is, with the exception of the final test, what I consider to be completely done. It's certainly more challenging than the previous Wind Meister installments, and I'd say it looks quite a lot better too.

There is one main thing keeping me from pulling the trigger and releasing the level:

I simply haven't been hit with the inspiration I need to create the final test. So far there have been thirteen versions of said test, and I've ended up scrapping them all. It's very important to me that Wind Meister 4 ends on a certain note, and the final test is a huge part of that.

Stay tuned, as this level IS coming out soon.

Wind Meister 4 status blog, part 1337:

Things are coming along quite nicely. I believe that all subjects will enjoy their time in the 'enrichment center.' A few tests were previously unfinished due to lack of inspiration (and also death), but these tests are being replaced with brand new ones from a generous donor at the Foo University of Challenges.

gj!!!

Waiting you know

Soon.

I am currently just awaiting the music and making some final changes to certain tests. For example, it turns out that test 12 was impossible. No more!

It would have been a hell of a hard test to beat. Trying to beat the impossible
Having extremely hard tests which are near impossible are really fun to play though. Just train that level every day until you finally get to beat it... unless it *really* is impossible.

I can assure you that I have spent hours (literally) on each test, and have tried to achieve a balance between punishing difficulty and quick diversions. Wind Meister 4 is looking like it will be fairly short overall; it does feature some tests from previous installments (although none of those are exactly the same, of course). Most tests, however, are brand new (or pillaged from the previously unreleased Wind Meister 4 and 5 work I had done).

Most importantly, I can say that the level is just fun. Playing the level and working on it has reminded me why I used to love JJ2 so much, and I'm hoping it will have that effect on others as well. I think it feels just as fresh and exciting now as the Violet's original Windy Tests did back in the day. How's that? Well, while making the level, there were often times I thought "Why hasn't anyone done this in a test level before?" At such times, I realized the best thing to do give it a shot. As a result, you'll see a mix of things you're used to seeing in Wind Meister (warps, TNT, windless tests, etc) as well as some brand new features that I think will change the way people play the level.

I've received the music from PT32, and it's just awesome. I've been madly in love with 3ddemo.mod since the day I first heard it, and this new music absolutely does justice to its source material - I might even like it better, truth be told.

So, that brings me to my final point, which is probably what most people will be interested in. Wind Meister 4 is, at this point, darn near finished. I have a team of several people playing through it, and once I receive their input, I'll be making my final changes. I don't want to give a specific release date, but I don't think it's unreasonable at all to expect that it will be on your systems within a week. Stay tuned; I fully intend to deliver on my original promise of releasing the level around April 20th.

I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but Windy Tests was originally just supposed to be a single player level. (Thence the original filename brick2.j2l.) The original idea was that the screen would always be scrolling to the right, like you see in lots of platform games, but the closest I could get was wind. Then the only obstacle that really worked with that was warps, as you'd just get stuck on walls. At that point, it didn't make sense for it to be anything than a test.

Remind me to go play windy test.

Just a quick update:

Things were all in place for me to upload the level on the 27th of last month, and at the last minute I somewhat randomly decided not to. I am now adding some new tests to the level, which I am quite pleased with. Stay tuned; the level will be released soon, and I am confident that it will be a test level for the ages. I don't want to give a specific release date, as I hate saying stuff and then letting people down, but I will commit to "very soon."

If I can get the level select working right, it'll be out tomorrow. Stay even more tuned.

Put a bunch of warps in a room and then stick numbers on them?

Originally Posted by EvilMike

Put a bunch of warps in a room and then stick numbers on them?

Yes, Mike. The issue is more that I found some trouble in the trigger system I used to get people back into the level select.

Anyway, it's looking great, so expect Wind Meister 4 to be on your hot little hard drives tomorrow.

And lo, it is done.

I did get a weird SQL error when I uploaded it, so let me know if the upload doesn't work. J2O seems to hate Safari 4.

BN: judging from the facts that you like Green Day, and that you used this track for your level, I sincerely deduce that you're musically challenged.

Ok here goes nothing

Oh, that the speed of wind changes throughout levels is most annoying lol


Edit: Beaten
That took me 14 minutes? Without using the coins or whatever. Level 8 and 12 were sorta hard.

Originally Posted by Vegito

Ok here goes nothing

Oh, that the speed of wind changes throughout levels is most annoying lol


Edit: Beaten
That took me 14 minutes? Without using the coins or whatever. Level 8 and 12 were sorta hard.

I am somewhat saddened by how quickly you beat it. However, I will rest well knowing most people probably won't do it so quickly. ;p

Anyway, might I ask for your thoughts and/or comments? Perhaps a glowing review? :P

Beat it in about 15 minutes without skipping any. I used spaz up until level 8. I was disappointed that it forces you to use jazz after level 8 (8 and 9 are impossible with spaz). The changing wind speed in a lot of the levels added unnecessary difficulty.

I was expecting a finished version of that really old WM4 in top secret 3. That one was fun, and had the same sort of feel as WM3. This one feels more like WM1 and 2, or violet's windy tests, except with fooruman thrown in.

Overall I'd say it's an average test level. Which is to say, it's better than the atrocious crap that is usually hosted online (though not nearly as often these days, thankfully).

I was a little surprised to see you copy some levels from a prior WM.

Originally Posted by Bobby aka Dizzy

I was a little surprised to see you copy some levels from a prior WM.

Well, in Wind Meister 2 and 3, a few levels were borrowed from previous installments, so I figured I'd uphold that tradition and carry over a couple of the harder tests, partly in keeping with my intended theme of "feeling like the old Wind Meister levels." In retrospect, I suppose it could be seen as a bit of a lazy move; to be honest, copying those older tests probably took more work than creating new ones.

Mike, that old Wind Meister 4 still exists, and something is being done with it. As for what that "something" is, it's probably somewhat obvious.

The Wind Meister Quadrilogy pack I spoke about in my first post is on sort of a hiatus, and is going to be replaced with something... different.

What do people think of the optional test skipping system? Is it something you'd like to see return if there were a new installment of Wind Meister?

Originally Posted by Black Ninja

What do people think of the optional test skipping system? Is it something you'd like to see return if there were a new installment of Wind Meister?

You used it well enough. I never found myself accidentally entering a warp, which is good. I used that system once in a test level (it was a very bad test level, don't listen to what bob says about it), and one of the problems was players would always stumble into warps by mistake.

Something extra was thrown in as well, though. If you kept your coin until the very end, beating all 20 levels, you were allowed to play a secret, super hard 21st level. It would be cool if your tests had a similar sort of reward.

Originally Posted by EvilMike

You used it well enough. I never found myself accidentally entering a warp, which is good. I used that system once in a test level (it was a very bad test level, don't listen to what bob says about it), and one of the problems was players would always stumble into warps by mistake.

Something extra was thrown in as well, though. If you kept your coin until the very end, beating all 20 levels, you were allowed to play a secret, super hard 21st level. It would be cool if your tests had a similar sort of reward.

That's the level I know the system from and heck it was a good level
You just had to be careful at some points. I enjoyed that test Lol.
BN, well, there are a lot of people out there who perhaps are better at tests than me nowadays. I could show some tests which people play now as it could give you an impression of how well people control their rabbit. I considered this test sort of easy actually. You may not want to know what I consider hard now though anymore :P. Most tests get beaten by playing them often though. Training the levels.

I did enjoy this test. I didn't mind the swapping between Jazz/Spaz at all actually. I do have better control with Spaz though so I usually try to keep playing with Spaz for as long as I can. (Level 8 obviously is impossible/near impossible with Spaz.) I cant say this test was anything special if it comes to the levels themselves. Changing windspeed hasn't been done before though I believe, and if you look at how the rest that comes around it is done.. Its fun. I wouldn't however mind a starting position where you can decide to get the explanation or just play the test instead.
Overall.. the test is enjoyable but in my opinion just a bit too easy. There were some harder Wind Meisters out there. I am not sure which part it was anymore though.

Ive finished it now as well. I was expecting it to be something extreme. But well, it took me about 25 minutes for the first time. The only level that really took me a lot of tries was the last level, but it wasn't either anything extreme. Of course I still prefer extreme Spaz-tests over some extreme Jazz-tests with wind or sth, Yaxish test being my favourite of course.

EDIT: This either doesn't have a lot of replay-value I guess. I replayed it within 11 minutes or so, now that I got used to the levels and stuff.

Originally Posted by EvilMike

I used that system once in a test level (it was a very bad test level, don't listen to what bob says about it), and one of the problems was players would always stumble into warps by mistake.

That level is great (except for the random entering of skip you didn't mean to). DO NOT LISTEN TO MIKE.

Exactly. One of the best tests I know . I enjoy Platform test v1 too. v2 is so damn hard I beat it once but that also was the last time I actually played it .

Well, it seems the people have spoken, and even more shockingly, I have listened!

What I'm deducing from feedback I've received via PM, the forums, and Wind Meister 4's page on the J2O downloads, is that many of you are looking for a finished version of the original Wind Meister 4 I began work on many years ago. After some digging, I've found the most recent copy of the level on an old backup CD (yes, I used a CD to back up irreplaceable data, go me!).

Anyway, I am working hard on "Wind Meister 4.5," which will continue the fine tradition of feeling like a classic Wind Meister level. This one may have the upper hand, however, because part of it actually IS a really old level.

Just make sure you keep the evil frog and have something amusing like lori being fried by a laser.