Kiwi's Levels [Criticism Appreciated]

[Kiwi27]

thanks! It's working now :]
I'd rep you, but I've given out to much in the last 24 hours . So please accept this thanks.

Thanks.

[Rave_J]

in the future graal level editor sort of hates loading .png files idk y
most of my tilesets i have to make a offline verison and make them into .gif file for them to load in graal editor wish stefan would fix this. would be helpful for .png files alot show up on graal editor and the tilesets

same with ganis i have to upload them on a blank level online then c them
then put them in the gani editor.. i try everything same folders ect

[Kiwi27]

Okay, so I decided to make a small (4x4) Delteria gMap. And that I have.

Currently I have the outline of the area, and the level I've already done is part of it. I have removed all the NPCs for now to make it easier. I'm posting it here because it's easier to make changes now than it will be in the future, and your eye is a lot better than mine for errors .



The individual level links are:
hither
hither
hither
and hither


My plans for the levels are:
Bottom left will be a forest, with a path leading out of a cave, through the forest, and to that little look out. In the top left platform like area, I plan to have a small village, and, on the raised area, the Mayors house. In the top right, I'm unsure exactly what I want, but would like to have a lake and waterfall somewhere.

Things I am aware of:
Some of the cliffs are too straight.
The beach has far too many shells.

Again, comments, questions, and suggestions are much appreciated.

[Fulg0reSama]

Originally Posted by Rave_J

in the future graal level editor sort of hates loading .png files idk y
most of my tilesets i have to make a offline verison and make them into .gif file for them to load in graal editor wish stefan would fix this. would be helpful for .png files alot show up on graal editor and the tilesets

same with ganis i have to upload them on a blank level online then c them
then put them in the gani editor.. i try everything same folders ect

Well with ganis its probable that the image saved may not have been indexed without truecolors (24 bit and up colors), which can be done if you save your images in a program such as GIMP or photoshop if you have it.

[Crow]

Originally Posted by Rave_J

in the future graal level editor sort of hates loading .png files idk y
most of my tilesets i have to make a offline verison and make them into .gif file for them to load in graal editor wish stefan would fix this. would be helpful for .png files alot show up on graal editor and the tilesets

same with ganis i have to upload them on a blank level online then c them
then put them in the gani editor.. i try everything same folders ect

That's most likely because PNG files need to be 8-bit to work in the editor. GIF files are automatically saved with that restriction since the format doesn't allow anything else.

[Tricxta]

Originally Posted by Kiwi27

...

Things I am aware of:
Some of the cliffs are too straight.
The beach has far too many shells.

Again, comments, questions, and suggestions are much appreciated.

It's not a case of your cliffs being too straight, it's more a case of them being to repetitious(yes, there's a difference).

[Kiwi27]

I think I understand what you mean, but could you give an example of more random cliffing?

[Imperialistic]

Originally Posted by Kiwi27

I think I understand what you mean, but could you give an example of more random cliffing?

~ see attached

[Kiwi27]

ah, okay. Thanks

[Kiwi27]

After only just getting the tileset to work again, I think I'm nearly done. Next, I'll add bushes and go into grass detailing.



Thoughts?

[haro41]

looks pretty good so far. Remember to keep playability in the forefront of your mind when creating these levels. Yes they look pretty, but a many places are detailed where players would never go, and you have some tough choke points that players would get caught on. Walk around on it while you build. Good luck.

[Kiwi27]

Originally Posted by haro41

looks pretty good so far. Remember to keep playability in the forefront of your mind when creating these levels. Yes they look pretty, but a many places are detailed where players would never go, and you have some tough choke points that players would get caught on. Walk around on it while you build. Good luck.

Thanks for the advice :]. I tried walking around, but couldn't find any bits like you described. Anyway, I tried detailing it, but I really don't like the outcome at all. I'll post it anyway, but I'm redoing all detail bits in a different way.



It looks littered and ugly.

[maximus_asinus]

An example of Haro's advice would be the top corner cliffing, a player could jump down to the second level but not the third forcing them to retrace their steps for however long.

Another example is the areas that are only wide enough for a single player to pass through. Another player could easily come along and pin a player in one of these areas. That would be incredibly frustrating for a newbie don't you think?

[Kiwi27]

Originally Posted by maximus_asinus

An example of Haro's advice would be the top corner cliffing, a player could jump down to the second level but not the third forcing them to retrace their steps for however long.

Another example is the areas that are only wide enough for a single player to pass through. Another player could easily come along and pin a player in one of these areas. That would be incredibly frustrating for a newbie don't you think?

I didn't think about the multiplayer aspect. You're right. I'll change that.

As for the second comment... I don't really understand it. You aren't meant to be able to jump down that bit -- there are three levels of cliffing on the bottom level of cliffing. Wait, that makes no sense. The third level of cliffing consists of three tiers. I hope you understand more. I understand the pinning bit, but could you please elaborate on the cliff bit?

[maximus_asinus]

I just noticed how your west/east cliffing changes height 3 times for no real reason. I assume that is a tile set limitation (not sure since I do not cliff in that fashion).

As for my cliffing comment, I can't really explain myself as I am on my phone and cannot create an illustration to demonstrate my point. Hopefully Haro returns and helps you out.