Level designing
Moderator: Moporators
Level designing
Hi all of you Elma fans!
First I´d like to say that I couldn´t find any topic about level designing (!?). So if there is, please let me know by a kick in the head or something like that.
I´m interested in a thread where you can discuss or share tips about level designing. I, as many others I think, love to make levels and I have maked 1 good level in my opinion. But 1 is far from enough. I want to make hundreds of `em. The sad thing is that everytime I do a level, I first think it´s real good looking at it in ALE. Later after I´ve played it a few times I realise that it really sucks.
I need:
*tips
*inspiration
*to know what all you guys like in a level
And I´m also interested in some level designing bugs if there is. So as lines in the level that isn´t there. (?!). If you know what I mean...
So share as much as you like, but only if it´s good
First I´d like to say that I couldn´t find any topic about level designing (!?). So if there is, please let me know by a kick in the head or something like that.
I´m interested in a thread where you can discuss or share tips about level designing. I, as many others I think, love to make levels and I have maked 1 good level in my opinion. But 1 is far from enough. I want to make hundreds of `em. The sad thing is that everytime I do a level, I first think it´s real good looking at it in ALE. Later after I´ve played it a few times I realise that it really sucks.
I need:
*tips
*inspiration
*to know what all you guys like in a level
And I´m also interested in some level designing bugs if there is. So as lines in the level that isn´t there. (?!). If you know what I mean...
So share as much as you like, but only if it´s good
hihi heres an easy technique I often use to make very smooth loops just as big as I want them (WARNING! ALE-users, this is 10secs loss of ur lifes)
ok I decided to make loop as high as the distance between the red dots...
start out by making some sort of arrow like this, making it too spiky wont become smooth, same with making it too flat. bah just do smth...
create new vertexes just in the middle and slightly outside the 2 previous ones...
create new vertexes just in the middle above the 4 previous ones...
just continue doing this and it will be real round =)
bet u didnt know this tech already
ok I decided to make loop as high as the distance between the red dots...
start out by making some sort of arrow like this, making it too spiky wont become smooth, same with making it too flat. bah just do smth...
create new vertexes just in the middle and slightly outside the 2 previous ones...
create new vertexes just in the middle above the 4 previous ones...
just continue doing this and it will be real round =)
bet u didnt know this tech already
- The_BoneLESS
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Really good tip John...
Another tip is before throwing yourself in the editor, try thinking about the level and drawing the level on a piece of paper first. When you think your level looks playable and good, make it in the editor.
Another tip is before throwing yourself in the editor, try thinking about the level and drawing the level on a piece of paper first. When you think your level looks playable and good, make it in the editor.
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Yeah great tip John! Very simple but also very usefull.
Tried that in the very beginning, stopped cus I ran out of paper good tip!Another tip is before throwing yourself in the editor, try thinking about the level and drawing the level on a piece of paper first. When you think your level looks playable and good, make it in the editor.
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- Kuski
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Draw it in MSpaint perhaps? You only need a rough idea.Bogart wrote:Yeah great tip John! Very simple but also very usefull.
Tried that in the very beginning, stopped cus I ran out of paper good tip!Another tip is before throwing yourself in the editor, try thinking about the level and drawing the level on a piece of paper first. When you think your level looks playable and good, make it in the editor.
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- Kuski
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Haha you´re swedish, lovely me too!
But that was really low to say that we´re noobs
I actually tried boneless tip about drawing on a piece of paper. And it actually worked so later I´ll make the best level ever! No but this thread doesn´t do any harm does it? So just come with a tip or leave it alone would ya!
But that was really low to say that we´re noobs
I actually tried boneless tip about drawing on a piece of paper. And it actually worked so later I´ll make the best level ever! No but this thread doesn´t do any harm does it? So just come with a tip or leave it alone would ya!
It´s just impossible to draw on paper. Someone once said this was a good way to make levels. So I tried. Fuck that sucked. Nothing worked as a planned, just normal jumps that was needed to even finish the level wasnt possible. Just impossible to know how things work irl (irl = when you accually play with the Real elmabike). When I make a level I dont plan at all how it shall be, I just open the editor.. makes a few polygons and hope for the best. If the level sucks I just move on and make another one, I never bother spending time to change a crappy level to a good one.. once crappy, crappy. Then, if yuou didnt know.. I make tons of levels. Most crappy, most that ppl never get to see.. only me hehe..The_BoneLESS wrote:Really good tip John...
Another tip is before throwing yourself in the editor, try thinking about the level and drawing the level on a piece of paper first. When you think your level looks playable and good, make it in the editor.
I usually dont spend too much time on every level.. sometimes when I like a level I have a bad habit of putting too much time to make it "perfect", which really just sucks...
Elasto Mania - ez better
I've got a little tip.
* When the level is finished you need to name it (It's always a lot more fun to play a named level) remember to say what number the level is. It's a real pain in the but not knowing the number of the level when you have got a nice rec.
* try and get an good/average time in the top ten before publishing it. I think it's always a lot more fun to know the average time of the level before the actuall hoyling. however don't "super hoyl" the level before publishing it. If I can't make the top ten on a level i just downloaded I get tired of the level quite fast.
//niN
* When the level is finished you need to name it (It's always a lot more fun to play a named level) remember to say what number the level is. It's a real pain in the but not knowing the number of the level when you have got a nice rec.
* try and get an good/average time in the top ten before publishing it. I think it's always a lot more fun to know the average time of the level before the actuall hoyling. however don't "super hoyl" the level before publishing it. If I can't make the top ten on a level i just downloaded I get tired of the level quite fast.
//niN
So true!It's a real pain in the but not knowing the number of the level when you have got a nice rec.
Okey, this thread didn´t turn out exactly as I wanted it...
I´m the most intersted in my last point:
Anyone who has an idea what I´m mean and has an answer?And I´m also interested in some level designing bugs if there is. So as lines in the level that isn´t there. (?!). If you know what I mean...
- Kopaka
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Yeah. It mostly happens because you place to polygons very close to each other. You can often get it away by changing the vertex's very little, or put some very small polygon in the air where the line is, that will make the line stop at that polygon.Bogart wrote:Anyone who has an idea what I´m mean and has an answer?And I´m also interested in some level designing bugs if there is. So as lines in the level that isn´t there. (?!). If you know what I mean...
If 2 vertexes or polygons are placed very close to each other, sometimes a bug line appear. You can drive right through it. If you edit your vertex or polygon a little, the bug line will most likely be gone. I wouldn't recommend trying to make bug lines, as the interfere with the playing and are ugly.
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Kopaka wrote:
Xhomaz wrote:
Edit: How am I doing those "xxx wrote:" stuff correctly?
Okey so it´s pretty hard to do then...Yeah. It mostly happens because you place to polygons very close to each other. You can often get it away by changing the vertex's very little, or put some very small polygon in the air where the line is, that will make the line stop at that polygon.
Xhomaz wrote:
But wouldn´t it be kind of fun if you do a level which is very hard to guess what´s gonna happen? So as invisible polygons, "drawing bugs", wrong textures and so on...I wouldn't recommend trying to make bug lines, as the interfere with the playing and are ugly.
Edit: How am I doing those "xxx wrote:" stuff correctly?
I have tried that couple of times. The only problem is that the levs get very big For example The Analysis i made first on paper.The_BoneLESS wrote:Really good tip John...
Another tip is before throwing yourself in the editor, try thinking about the level and drawing the level on a piece of paper first. When you think your level looks playable and good, make it in the editor.
This is maybe the most buggy lev ever I have seen, thanks to Juski. He said he got the errors with Ale: http://koti.mbnet.fi/zebra/women.lev
By the way, I made an article about level designing tips, it can be found here: http://koti.mbnet.fi/zebra/level_designing_tips.html
A winner of 4 GAA's (mc2 included), winner of mkup206, and a proud member of team TAP.
Play uni levels: http://koti.mbnet.fi/zebra/uni.html
Homepage: http://koti.mbnet.fi/zebra/elma.html
Play uni levels: http://koti.mbnet.fi/zebra/uni.html
Homepage: http://koti.mbnet.fi/zebra/elma.html
Nice, Zebra! Golden Apple for You!
Last edited by berhabdul on 12 Jan 2006, 00:24, edited 1 time in total.
- Juski
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NO!Bogart wrote:But wouldn´t it be kind of fun if you do a level which is very hard to guess what´s gonna happen? So as invisible polygons, "drawing bugs", wrong textures and so on...
And thanks to zebra who uploaded my lev :* thought of doing it myself but never really got to itn and btw that isn't the worst bugs i have done, did some big apple harvest fall level the was leik that but 5x bigger.
No regrets
Are you LOST?
Are you LOST?
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- Kuski
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- Kuski
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- Joined: 10 Jan 2004, 23:31
- Location: Lisbon, Portugal
haha lol ye I did I´ve finished some lev some hours ago using that method... anyway, another tip: make a lot of islands with cool shapes and then make some kind of lab proo lev. Just put those islands around "randomly" and you´ll probably get a not so bad lev. I´ve made some like this, including 1 master cup lev
Looks pretty bango but it works.
Looks pretty bango but it works.
belele