Much Ado [KS+] [Challenge] [Medium] [Normal]

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Offline SilasMann

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Much Ado [KS+] [Challenge] [Medium] [Normal]
« on: May 24, 2017, 04:46:40 »

It's my level! For Knytt Stories!


After a month in development, hopefully it was worth the wait. Much Ado is a linear, mildly challenging story with 100+ screens and a secret ending (and a couple toasts). My fastest time speedrunning is 9m09s. The initial idea of this map was to have several very distinct and separate areas each with their own interesting gameplay gimmicks. I eventually ended up with this level.  :)

Juni wakes up and does stuff. A lot of stuff. And dies a lot, probably.

All tilesets used in this level are original and drawn by me.  :D
Another candidate for this levels name was "A Midsummer Knytt's Dream"

DOWNLOAD i guess (v3)

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A few boring screenshots!
Spoiler: (click to show/hide)
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Credits!
Spoiler: (click to show/hide)
« Last Edit: June 05, 2017, 05:51:44 by SilasMann »

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Offline egomassive

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Re: Much Ado [KS+] [Challenge] [Medium] [Normal]
« Reply #1 on: May 24, 2017, 19:16:03 »
There's some neat stuff here. The graphics are terrific, surprisingly detailed compared to Woji Valley. The gameplay is smooth and not too hard. I liked that you introduced new gameplay elements along the way, especially the un-climbable walls. I was like, "Hey! what gives? ... Oh, I see. How clever."

I've only seen the basic ending and no Toast. I'll definitely be playing this one again. *gives star*

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Offline SilasMann

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Re: Much Ado [KS+] [Challenge] [Medium] [Normal]
« Reply #2 on: May 25, 2017, 06:15:57 »
Thanks for the stunning review haha!  :D
Unlike my previous level, this one I mapped out a theme, general game map and concepts on paper before drawing tilesets and putting it together in the editor. Definitely an interesting way of doing it  :^^:

toast hint just in case:
Spoiler: (click to show/hide)
« Last Edit: May 25, 2017, 06:20:14 by SilasMann »

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Offline ixMarcel

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Re: Much Ado [KS+] [Challenge] [Medium] [Normal]
« Reply #3 on: May 25, 2017, 15:43:54 »
Beautiful level! Very enjoyable indeed.

Loved the fact that you could inspect various items along the way (the commentary was fun). Some little gameplay tricks you did were cool!

Seen both endings and I'm a little confused.
Spoiler: (click to show/hide)
You really left it open to interpretation!

Also, payback time!

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Offline SilasMann

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Re: Much Ado [KS+] [Challenge] [Medium] [Normal]
« Reply #4 on: May 26, 2017, 02:21:09 »
Thanks! I'm glad you noticed the inspect-able items :)

Regarding the ending:
Spoiler: (click to show/hide)

I was so confident that this level was airtight of void screens. Great job C)
« Last Edit: May 30, 2017, 05:44:58 by SilasMann »

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Offline Wibi

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Re: Much Ado [KS+] [Challenge] [Medium] [Normal]
« Reply #5 on: May 26, 2017, 18:39:24 »
I did some pixel-perfect leaping on x1002x1001 (the grassy room with the pink follower) and managed to get to the cave without knowing the run powerup even existed. I had convinced myself this was the hardest environmental map I'd ever played. :P
Still a very good map!

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Offline SilasMann

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Re: Much Ado [KS+] [Challenge] [Medium] [Normal]
« Reply #6 on: May 28, 2017, 03:43:31 »
Great job, map breaker ;)
Fixed in v3, which I'll upload eventually. Thanks for playing!

Re: Much Ado [KS+] [Challenge] [Medium] [Normal]
« Reply #7 on: May 30, 2017, 21:48:27 »
Nice level!
And nice tilesets  :)
Imho a good decision to make tilesets with black outlines for ground tiles.
Spoiler: (click to show/hide)
I was on the verge of doing the exact same thing as canteven but then i remembered that post.
Playing through it was a breeze with no frustrating parts.
I'll try for the secret ending soon if i get time!
« Last Edit: May 30, 2017, 21:51:09 by BanderAnder »

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Offline SilasMann

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Re: Much Ado [KS+] [Challenge] [Medium] [Normal]
« Reply #8 on: May 31, 2017, 02:50:43 »
Thank you BanderAnder! I was actually afraid to release the level as I thought it was severely under-detailed, didn't like the shapes of some areas, etc. but ultimately did because I didn't want to spend any more time on it. I'm very happy people like how the level looks. Whenever I'd get coder's block I'd load up a nice easy Knytt Stories level to play and clear my mind, which probably influenced this level's difficulty and linearity.

I tried a whole lot, but I couldn't for the life of me get past that follower without the run power up. Nonetheless, fixed in v3. Thanks for playing!
« Last Edit: May 31, 2017, 05:22:21 by SilasMann »

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Offline SC

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Re: Much Ado [KS+] [Challenge] [Medium] [Normal]
« Reply #9 on: June 04, 2017, 19:02:42 »
I really really really liked this level. A lot. I love the custom tilesets and the ending was quite nice (haven't gotten the secret one yet but I think I know what to do to get it). Overall a great piece of work. I'm not sure if I would call it "Normal," though. Maybe "normalhardish" would be a bit more fitting? The reason I say this is because some areas feel like they're a bit challenging (especially that spiky umbrella-y pit bit ARGH), but at least the level wasn't too long and the saves are spaced out nicely, for the most part.

Very nice level! :D

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Offline SilasMann

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Re: Much Ado [KS+] [Challenge] [Medium] [Normal]
« Reply #10 on: June 05, 2017, 07:12:56 »
I'm really really really glad you liked it! A lot. From these posts I am learning my tilesets are not exactly the mess I thought they were.
About the umbrella part, I wanted to make every area stand out from others. One way I tried this was with a separate "difficulty ramp" for each area. The umbrella-area was the hardest one. Thanks for playing!

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Offline Vegetal Gibber

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Re: Much Ado [KS+] [Challenge] [Medium] [Normal]
« Reply #11 on: June 07, 2017, 19:48:33 »
It was a fun and quirky adventure :D  The difficulty curve was quite smooth for the most part (with only some of the looping icy screens giving me a bit more trouble than I expected), and the graphic style was clean and appealing. I also particularly liked the dialogue and the way you handled the transitions between the different areas.

Some KS levels by me:

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Offline SilasMann

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Re: Much Ado [KS+] [Challenge] [Medium] [Normal]
« Reply #12 on: June 08, 2017, 05:49:33 »
Thanks for playing!! I consider myself TERRIBLE with dialogue, so I'm flattered that you found it particularly enjoyable. The transitions between areas actually came about because having 2 tilesets on screen was too complicated for and looked ugly, and coincidentally did a good job of separating the areas further than music and art style can.

Spoiler: (click to show/hide)
« Last Edit: June 08, 2017, 05:51:41 by SilasMann »

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Offline yohji

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Re: Much Ado [KS+] [Challenge] [Medium] [Normal]
« Reply #13 on: June 09, 2017, 14:59:26 »
I had a lot of fun with this one, even if the difficulty curve was a bit uneven (the spike shaft... argh!). Reminded me of older classic KS levels, which is a good thing. I hope you'll make more levels XD It was great to see tiny little details sprinkled here and there, like the rain clouds. You had me completely taken in by that first rain cloud to appear, really - most people I think would've just settled with one type of cloud.

Excellent work and please make more  :)

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Offline egomassive

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Re: Much Ado [KS+] [Challenge] [Medium] [Normal]
« Reply #14 on: June 09, 2017, 15:21:51 »
You had me completely taken in by that first rain cloud to appear, really - most people I think would've just settled with one type of cloud.
That stood out for me as well. I can't recall ever seeing rain clouds in a KS level before.