Strong TR2 vibes, neat

Looks and sounds great!

Also,

Originally Posted by DennisKainz

[Image]
How about this?

Looks good.

I heard many of the best developers, such as, alas, Agama, retired from level making.

You guys have potential, so ...



@snzspeed: You might use AngelScript on the score to track the percentual of completion of each level. And if they're all completed at 100%, according to the score, unlock a super bonus level!

Originally Posted by DennisKainz

I heard many of the best developers, such as, alas, Agama, retired from level making.

Agama's been gone from the community for like 10 years if not more, longer than you were ever around

Most, if not all talented developers wouldn't stuck their lifetime career with JJ2.

Anyway, some neat developments from DennisKainz, Violet, and Snz in the last 2 pages of this thread!

The magical process that is getting around some JJ1 bugs by exploiting other JJ1 bugs continues. These platforms are flat and solid while going up, but spin and can be fallen through while going down. (WIP section of level with temporary palette.)

Those remind me of Sonic's Scrap Brain Zone which had similar (the same?) rail platform mechanics.

Will you make your episode as difficult as Mission Spaz: Foreseeable Future?

Originally Posted by Slaz

Will you make your episode as difficult as Mission Spaz: Foreseeable Future?

Dunno. I haven't played it a long time, so I don't really remember any of the details besides that occasional review snippet that gets displayed on the downloads page, where I mention "vertical spaces."

JJ1 level design is a constant battle between speed and resolution, and pretty much every single tile needs to be placed with those in mind, so I do what I can to make the challenge reasonable. I place strings of pickups at the tops of pits that are safe to fall down, if they look like they might be ambiguous, or have bushes (or whatever) sticking up from the ground below that stick into your visible screen. If there are enemies or spikes below, I try to make them close enough that you can see them while crouching. If you're supposed to jump over a pit, there may be a string of pickups in an arc above it. If you've been going through a fast area of the level, I try to place something that obviously slows you down without hurting you—a short wall to climb over, a pit to fall down, a visible platform to jump onto in advance, or even a little warning sign in the background—before you reach the actual danger. If a type of obstacle occurs more than once, generally the first time you see it is the easiest, to give you a chance to learn how it works before it gets more complicated. If there's an obstacle or enemy that's only visible part of the time, like the fire monsters in Marbelara, I may try to include common visual cues for each part of the level it appears in, which exceptionally attentive players can pick up on. I bear in mind a general principle of Sonic-themed level design that the lower down you are the more likely you are to get hurt, so I hope other people know this too, and mark your height with visual cues like caves or background mountains vs. clouds or stars. If an enemy or obstacle is going to shoot at you, I make the bullets infrequent enough that you can probably see it coming first and kill it/get out of the way.

All that said, it's not like I want everyone to blaze through every level on Turbo without taking a scratch. There are plenty of obstacles that will likely hurt you even if you do know they're there, and that's good. All the above paragraph is about trying to ensure that every time you get hurt, you feel like it's your fault, not mine. And no matter what I do, there will always be people who rush in where angels refuse to tread, or simply disagree with me about what feels like a dangerous area and what feels like a safe one.

So... we'll see!

Ah ok, that all makes sense. Gameplay-wise it'll likely come out way different than Mission Spaz was. I didn't read your review on that episode, but what you probably meant by 'vertical spaces' is the broad usage of going up through springs or one-ways followed up by an imediate 'falling down' part. More than in the original JJ1 levels where you go straight in one direction for longer distances. Basically, Mission Spaz has a lot of pits that are deep enought for the player not being able to see what's down there, not even by crouching. Thus it relies on trial & error with a strong taste of muscle memory. It also had annoyances on the horizontal space, with most notably the 'bats' on the 2nd planet that zip into the screen at high speed.

Besides that, I'm not complaining and joyfully played through Mission Spaz several times!

this is what I'm making now.(King of Board..quoted by QOB..)
But.. I have some of question about Event.

I want to using the 'Trigger Zone' when the activate some gates, but it doesn't work! Am I something wrong?

I tried a lots of way to place it such like set to empty blocks, some blocks, and even animation blocks.. but it never activated..
so now, I using the 'trigger crate' instead.. but it doesn't looks good and it seems like a bit silly.
where to I place the trigger zone event exactly, and how to activate it?

and one more..
how to insert the text? such like 'welcome to the ~~.. '.
I open the 'set event' and select the 'text', but there is only 2 parameters!(vanish,text ID) so what should I do next? So I search the JCS help, but there is nowhere about it.

Please!.. Let me know how to use it!

This isn't really the right thread for asking questions like that, but anyway...

• By default, trigger zones turn triggers off, while trigger crates turn them on. Set the "onoff" parameter to 1 and you should be good.
• Click the "Tools" menu at the top left of the window and select "Level properties..." At the bottom of the resulting window is a list of sixteen Help Strings which you can click on and write stuff in. The "TextID" parameter for the text event specifies which of those sixteen help strings should be displayed.

King of Board, sweet DM would have loved that.

Originally Posted by Violet CLM

• Click the "Tools" menu at the top left of the window and select "Level properties..." At the bottom of the resulting window is a list of sixteen Help Strings which you can click on and write stuff in. The "TextID" parameter for the text event specifies which of those sixteen help strings should be displayed.

Sometimes(For me at least), I find that it takes multiple fast clicks to actually get it to let me type them, though. Also, each help string has an upper limit of 31 character. Oh, and remember to use @ symbols to add new lines.

In short, I summarize the test results , this map is horribly fucking hard! it's almost impossible without cheats!(even I can't go to end of level!..and..I think that DM will be very angry when he play this map.)

Well, don't underestimate JJ2 players playing since '98!

Release a level that's possble to clear and I'm sure someone eventually does.

this is the two of maps in 'King of board' which I making now..(2nd,5th of the 6 levels.)

Comming soon..

Originally Posted by Slaz

Well, don't underestimate JJ2 players playing since '98!

Release a level that's possble to clear and I'm sure someone eventually does.

I don't mean that underestimate any other players.
But..the truth is.. this map is so really rough.. at least to me.(I attempt over than 100 times, but I passed only once.)







Oh god.. I can't play this.. fuc..

Nice that you're making KOB a 6 level pack! Love the dragon art.

And I know you didn't mean to underestimate other players, I meant it in a way to say that I feel challenged to try clearing your pack once it's finished. And that even when you make a level so rediculously hard, or even more unfair to finish than Queen of Board already was, someone will at some point manage to clear it. The player just has to feel challenged enough to spend the time and effort on it.

For an example of a very hard level being cleared in style, check this amazing play by Sir Ementaler on the level Astroid City: http://youtu.be/fFSy1tFqtEM

Correct answer is just only one.

Maps are too large, or only partially redundant information has been provided to prevent exposure. Sorry about that.

KOB Level 1. : King of Board



KOB Level 3. : Chaser



KOB Level 5. : Dragon's Lair

Well.. Level 3(Chaser)is finished, but I don't want upload unfinished files or demo version.

so.. just be wait until it finished and tested.
Comming soon..



P.S.

but.. it have a big problem..



yeah.. these files are for 1.24 version.(the secret files version)
so, if load this file on 1.23 version JJ2, JJ2+ or JCS,





Can't load the file..







Oh shit..

Is there any good suggestion?

I think it's not a good idea that upload this file on J2O without any changes..(I know that this files are required conversion to 1.23 for upload the files, but I don't know how - or maybe, basically I can't do that..)

zapS has a tool for converting levels saved in the TSF JCS to the earlier format, but it's not really a big deal at this point, since 1.23 can run such levels if you have JJ2+ installed.

Originally Posted by Violet CLM

zapS has a tool for converting levels saved in the TSF JCS to the earlier format.

Wow. It's amazingly useful utility!
I always thanks to you Violet!

Silly Test!

of course, that is one of test level for Party mode.(for single mode is slightly different.)
But, that map is.. 'Silly' itself.(maybe this map will make your brain melting. XD)
I'll upload it to J2O(for single mode) after I test it.
see ya!

Cool, there's a Test category on J2O though!

Originally Posted by cooba

Cool, there's a Test category on J2O though!

Upload is done
I look forward to it. XD

sorry for some of ads..

Originally Posted by Louis K

sorry for some of ads..

Very exciting video, this makes me want to play.

Originally Posted by Louis K

sorry for some of ads..

Nice one! This reminds me of BlurredD's intros mixed up with QoB's. Yet it's not so calm like QoB, nor so dramatic as BlurredD or EvilMike's intros (though I enjoyed those too). It has a smile of it's own.

Originally Posted by Louis K

sorry for some of ads..

Looks promising, may I suggest using the following script though? This will remove the HUD, greatly improving the atmosphere of the intro.

bool onDrawLives(jjPLAYER@ p, jjCANVAS@ canvas)  { return true; }
bool onDrawScore(jjPLAYER@ p, jjCANVAS@ canvas)  { return true; }
bool onDrawAmmo(jjPLAYER@ p, jjCANVAS@ canvas)   { return true; }
bool onDrawHealth(jjPLAYER@ p, jjCANVAS@ canvas)  { return true; }

Originally Posted by PurpleJazz

Looks promising, may I suggest using the following script though? This will remove the HUD, greatly improving the atmosphere of the intro.

bool onDrawLives(jjPLAYER@ p, jjCANVAS@ canvas)  { return true; }
bool onDrawScore(jjPLAYER@ p, jjCANVAS@ canvas)  { return true; }
bool onDrawAmmo(jjPLAYER@ p, jjCANVAS@ canvas)   { return true; }
bool onDrawHealth(jjPLAYER@ p, jjCANVAS@ canvas)  { return true; }

Nice suggestion.. but I don't know how to use it and insert it.. because I'm not a vetaran level maker.. yet!..
And my opinion, that's seems not essential works.

But if I learn about how to use it, then I'll use it right away!

Originally Posted by Slaz

Nice one! This reminds me of BlurredD's intros mixed up with QoB's. Yet it's not so calm like QoB, nor so dramatic as BlurredD or EvilMike's intros (though I enjoyed those too). It has a smile of it's own.

Same here XD but of course, this levels are my first home cooked story level. So I quote the other awesome level's style 'a lot'.

Anyway, thanks for watching!

Grass is hard to draw. Does anybody have any resources/references/feedback? Mainly I'd like the top to look less flat, but I haven't had much luck striking a balance between upper grass looking like green spikes or green lines.

Originally Posted by Obi1mcd

Grass is hard to draw. Does anybody have any resources/references/feedback? Mainly I'd like the top to look less flat, but I haven't had much luck striking a balance between upper grass looking like green spikes or green lines.

I think it should be quite a bit deeper (more entwined with the dirt) and have little variations of spikes. For grassy spikes, I suggest making them look like this:


(I am not the greatest artist)

Starting off wide at the bottom with curved lines going up, slowly meeting up in the middle gives you the illusion that the player is walking on the grass and it's bent backwards, towards layer 5 (so you needn't bother with layer 3).

My two cents.

Originally Posted by CrimiClown

I think it should be quite a bit deeper (more entwined with the dirt) and have little variations of spikes. For grassy spikes, I suggest making them look like this:


(I am not the greatest artist)

Starting off wide at the bottom with curved lines going up, slowly meeting up in the middle gives you the illusion that the player is walking on the grass and it's bent backwards, towards layer 5 (so you needn't bother with layer 3).

My two cents.

Please don't use RGB green. You can get away with using it in mechanical things, but in nature themes it looks ugly and clashes with everything else.

Also, for your tileset it would be convenient to upload as a gif/bmp for editing, so I have the pallette instantly too. I could improve it.

Anyway, the main problem I see is that theres no dedicated light source. It's like a texture was drawn on, but I don't get a feeling of contrast. Drawing the light/shade source first can help, then you can improvise on the textures by reshaping the shading and lighting.

Also, the stone pallette is way too limited. There's not enough shades to make it look smooth and they look slightly flat. You don't need to limit yourself so much when you stick to a colour scheme. The offical tileset pallettes are huge.

I made an edit. I made two versions of grass. One that more reflects what it looks like at the moment, and the other being an overhaul. I didn't completely edit the stones because it could take too long and so I wouldn't waste my time if you dislike the changes. The pixel gradient there was just for easy reference (and I added two shades of brown).



There's all sorts of ways to draw grass. After all, it's a symbol.

I believe he was talking about shape, rather than colour. That's why I barely mentioned colour and, for the idea, could've left the inside of the grass transparent for demonstrative purposes.

The colour is not really my focus at the moment, no, since that can generally be toyed with later. I think one conclusion I've reached is that I should for a start try and make it a bit bigger, seeing as an attempt at lots of small blades ends up blending together.
And the rocks are a whole separate thing that I probably won't touch for the time being.
Thanks for the feedback, I'll have another crack at the grass!

Short term: An episode of three single player levels, called "Therion" (the levels are respectively called Pegulis, Atlatos and Therion). Mainly done to polish my JCS skills and understand the basics of Angelscript. Here's a screenie from Pegulis.



Long term: I hope to be able to create an ~21 mission RPG episode with somewhat open world (you can somewhat choose the order of the planets you visit), an RPG system based on coin collecting (you can upgrade things like maximum health, weapons and fastfire) and, among other things, utilising the Devan as follower snippet and even playing as Devan in one of the levels (in a space sidescrolling shooter type of gameplay).

I will need help with coding, though, so we'll see where this idea goes. First I'll finish the Therion pack.

Originally Posted by AvalancheMaster

-snip-

I'm not sure why you saved in JPEG in the first place. (sure it's a png now but I can see the compression artefacts). I'll take it as a mistake.

I would maybe say it looks flat but then again it's a blade tileset, the recent ones usually look like that way.

I'd also go for a more sky blue (or you can check out ice blue). Or a de-saturated brown since that's what frozen soil usually looks like.

Also, you might want to make the shading of the snow a bit darker for more contrast. It's not very noticeable. Then again it's a JPEG which isn't a good way to judge tilesets on.

Originally Posted by Treylina

I'm not sure why you saved in JPEG in the first place. (sure it's a png now but I can see the compression artefacts). I'll take it as a mistake.

I would maybe say it looks flat but then again it's a blade tileset, the recent ones usually look like that way.

I'd also go for a more sky blue (or you can check out ice blue). Or a de-saturated brown since that's what frozen soil usually looks like.

Also, you might want to make the shading of the snow a bit darker for more contrast. It's not very noticeable. Then again it's a JPEG which isn't a good way to judge tilesets on.

Didn't save it in JPG, I made a screenshot and Ctrl+V-ed it in imgur's upload window. And as for the sky... Er... There's no sky in the screenshot? It's winter white in colour, so it fits quite nicely.

I might try to increase the contrast of the snow, though.

Thanks for the advises!

Imgur does weird things to images; try CTRL+V-ing it into GIMP, and saving it as a JPEG with maximum quality settings(Not sure if that will work, but I theorise that it'll at least make the artifacting not quite so bad).