Discarding your own levels

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Bludek
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Discarding your own levels

Post by Bludek »

Today I was randomly crusing some levs in my EOL folder (e-puuXXX.lev to be precise) and I only had 002.lev, 003.lev and then some much higher numbers (like 028.lev) and nothing inbetween. I like the first two, so I started dowloading the others with ctrl+f4 (I do that sometimes), but than I realized, they were in database but never battled. At first I thought, that someone made them and then never started them as a balle, coz he though they were too shit. A bit later I realized it could be also an old levelpack. idk. But it raised a question in my:

Do you sometimes make a lev and then after some testing just delete it? Or sometimes you let the level be and continue with higher number and never start it as balle?

I personally battle all my levels, but recently I start the "worse" ones with different names (not in my BluExxx.lev line).
Also I almost never make levels for later. Usually I make them and start them right away, eventhough it's the middle of the night and noone plays them :). On the side note, I play my own levels A LOT. Especially my old FFs :) It feels like all levs should be finished, so I try that at least with mine.
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Polarix
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Re: Discarding your own levels

Post by Polarix »

Yeah sometimes just trash levels even if I used some time with them.
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Re: Discarding your own levels

Post by jonsykkel »

all my levels go through an elimination process where the worst 999 of 1000 levels are discarded, so the final products you have all seen in my battles are always of the highest quality
thats the secret to how they get their signature "feel" that no other designer seems to be able to capture
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kuchitsu
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Re: Discarding your own levels

Post by kuchitsu »

My typical design process is quite chaotic and mainly consists of drawing random "cool" shapes (very hard to explain what they are, some polygons just look neat somehow) and then seeing if I can do something interesting with them. Usually even if the level turns out sucky I can relaively quickly rearrange the polys in a different manner, change some things here and there and get a decent lev. Very rarely I get the feeling that my "sandbox" simply isn't going anywhere and yeah, in that case I delete the lev and try again (I never continue with the next number) or just go do something different.

I also almost always start the battle immediately after making it, even if there is a big queue and I probably won't be there to witness it. But one time, when EOL was down, I made like 10 levels in the meantime and later it was a pretty cool feeling to be able to start many battles without any effort. It's always nice when someone says "NEEEEEEW" and you can grant their wish immediately. :)
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roope
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Re: Discarding your own levels

Post by roope »

Well actually, those e-puu levs are mine and all of them (save for a couple) were battled, but most have wrong version in database :P

I've wondered about the same thing sometimes. I've heard quite many people talk about how they often just delete what they've done if they decide they don't like it, and I personally just can't understand it. A lev you have made but don't like can be an excellent basis for a good lev. At least for me it's so much easier to make something good when I have something to work with, compared to starting from scratch. And the other option is using the lev regardless if you like it - might seem a bad option and lev is more likely get dissed, but battles are always needed and chances are at least someone likes it.

I do have one bad habit though. I used to make a lot of storage levs for different categories (good lev, norm lev, special battle lev) so I can start them whenever there's a good moment. I've used almost all of the levs by now, but there's still just a few levs hanging around waiting for the perfect moment, which I'm not sure will ever come :D
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kuchitsu
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Re: Discarding your own levels

Post by kuchitsu »

When I work on a level for a while but it isn't going anywhere no matter what I try, I can get quite frustrated and might end up hating the level. The frustration piles up so much that I can't stand looking at my level anymore. At that point it makes me so sick that I just have to delete it, there are no other options that will make me feel better. This happened to me a lot back when I was making Doom levels. With Elma it's a lot more rare because the design process is a lot quicker (in Doom, it usually takes many hours to create a good level) but still it can happen to me sometimes. If you haven't experienced it personally, you can't fully understand it I guess.
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insane guy
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Re: Discarding your own levels

Post by insane guy »

Like 1/100 levs I delete the outer polygon (usually before testing) because it feels like its going nowhere and it's a lot faster to just make a new lev from scratch instead of fixing all the shit parts. I only save some levs that have a lot of potential or just feel super nice to send in for Wcup or put in some lev pack in 10 years. In that case I rename them to some bango, so not skipping any numbers in my balle levs.

Also I always make battles for the moment and only save them for later if suddenly the queue is too long so I wont be able to spy my own lev.
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Re: Discarding your own levels

Post by Mrrrr »

I always submit my levels to the board of directors - 10 highly trained mans in physics, astronomy, nutrition, plumbing etc.

Depending on their states of mind (sober, tipsy, drunk), they choose only very high quality levs which are started as battles.
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Tigro
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Re: Discarding your own levels

Post by Tigro »

Mrrrr wrote:I always submit my levels to the board of directors - 10 highly trained mans in physics, astronomy, nutrition, plumbing etc.
It seems to be just one guy. This guy.
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Re: Discarding your own levels

Post by Mrrrr »

Tigro wrote:
Mrrrr wrote:I always submit my levels to the board of directors - 10 highly trained mans in physics, astronomy, nutrition, plumbing etc.
It seems to be just one guy. This guy.
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That's a porn actor if I am not mistaken :roll:

I don't trash any levs, I start shitty ones as battles when I am drunk so I have an excuse. :mrgreen:
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Re: Discarding your own levels

Post by Tigro »

Mrrrr wrote:That's a porn actor if I am not mistaken :roll:
insert youdontsay.img here
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Madness
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Re: Discarding your own levels

Post by Madness »

Christians are allowed to watch porn?
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Ramone
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Re: Discarding your own levels

Post by Ramone »

I deleted elma and saveload elma with all my levels and replays the other day. All levels discarded. All levels that didnt make it to HALF, deleted. So thats how I roll.
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Re: Discarding your own levels

Post by Bjenn »

Ramone wrote:I deleted elma and saveload elma with all my levels and replays the other day. All levels discarded. All levels that didnt make it to HALF, deleted. So thats how I roll.
Nice one ragequit xD
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Re: Discarding your own levels

Post by Mrrrr »

Madness wrote:Christians are allowed to watch porn?
They are recommended to, but being born in a christian country doesn't mean I still am one.
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Re: Discarding your own levels

Post by Tigro »

Mrrrr wrote:
Madness wrote:Christians are allowed to watch porn?
They are recommended to, but being born in a christian country doesn't mean I still am one.
Mrrrr delivers once again.
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Re: Discarding your own levels

Post by abruzzi »

Tigro wrote:
Mrrrr wrote:That's a porn actor if I am not mistaken :roll:
insert youdontsay.img here
Madness wrote:Christians are allowed to watch porn?
For sure they are not allowed to masturbate, but maybe glancing some porn from time to time is oke? Tigro, respond properly. U fap?
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