Cave Story - Rise of Ballos

second image sums up my thoughts on this level design

 

Someone has to run through the most recent update(s), so it might as well be me.

Spoiler: sigh

you didn't put the mod's files into a single folder before putting it in a .zip file
why

also heard from others that window.rect is better off deleted

xin the entire mod is on hard difficulty as is
you absolute madman

the intro cutscene upon choosing your difficulty still has problems with facepics appearing for split seconds at a time

it's also a bad idea to have more than three lines of dialogue display without a <NOD

you also need more <CLR's

what the fuck is this Moonsong remix

opening the chest didn't play the "opening chest" sound

#MakeBladeGreatAgain

thanks for finally giving Curly a <KEY

all these updates
and this house is STILL shitty

all these updates
and this mountain is STILL as flat and boring as a pancake

again, chests need that sound effect

i just touched one of these guys by accident and took 21 damage
fucking
WHY

armor capsules are neat and all, but everything still does a shitload of damage
why not just nerf the damage done by EVERYTHING?

it sure is fun grinding up for half an hour to get everything to level 3

it may just be me, but the yellow critters feel faster

btw
hiding spikes in giant columns of breakable blocks (or any breakable block really) is bad
please stop doing it for fuck's sake

did you just hide a yellow critter in a breakable wall that you need to break to progress?
fuck OFF

that breakable block below the capsule nearly made it impossible to grab the capsule

>touch green critter while falling
>take 23 damage
good shit right there
(why the actual fuck)

good to see that Sand Zone is still Swarms of Enemies: The Level
despite several updates

that isn't sand
why did a sandcroc come out of it

glad to see that the upper door in Deserted House still leads to a bullshit deadend that effectively softlocks the game
despite several updates

glad to see that this random dumb slope and camoflauged breakable block are still here
despite several updates

stop fucking hiding your save points

le balanced rainbow critter boss of much """strategy"""

that's 30 damage
30 damage = that tiny sliver
"""""BALANCED"""""

wow would you look at that
i got touched, took 9999 damage, and exploded

i like how you noticed that i kept cheesing the fight with 9999 health a la save editor
so you fucking BUFFED THE RAINBOW CRITTER TO DO 9999 DAMAGE

replace "autism" with "fucking horrible mod design and balancing"

you may be able to make it do max damage
but you can't make it hit through invincibility :^)

it legit took me full minutes of nonstop firing to kill it with the level 2 blade
you have to chew through several thousand HP and it can oneshot you at any moment
this is the epitome of bullshit difficulty

also what the fuck'd i do

it's entirely possible to destroy your only way up, forcing the player to reset

whoa what the heck

the platforms need more variation fam

stop placing fake/falling blocks below your capsules
it's bullshit

slopes like these are glitched
pls fix

you do know these vines are solid to enemies, right?

this tiling is pretty bad my dude

this door doesn't animate upon opening it
nor does it make the sound of opening a door

neither does this door

what was the point of hiding the life capsule in a box of blocks

NONE OF YOUR DOORS WORK

this, once again, is shitty design
stop hiding life capsules behind required damage

went back through the door that lead from the end of that level to sand zone
black screen

you can just fly off the screen here and out of the mod

standing in this alcove and firing the machine gun did nothing
i had to back up and use the blade to break the block/kill the npc
why

why does the northern star have ammo again
it makes it worthless

i have no words

can you stop making Omega dying lag the game so damn bad
it's annoying

glad to see that this is still Falling Spikes and Enemy Spam: The Level
despite several updates

glad to see that this """puzzle""" still has no hints
despite several updates

glad to see that the booster is still hidden behind a block for no reason
despite several updates

glad to see that i still need to redo the bullshit """puzzle""" after getting the booster v0.8
despite several updates

glad to see that your cancerous fake block mazes are still here
despite several updates

how have i already missed a weapon upgrade

oh

literally stolen from Cave Story Redesign

1. you didn't give me the choice to get this; you just stole my weapons
2. you didn't play any kind of fanfare

why the fuck does this thing have forever health

WHY IS THERE A FUCKING RAINBOW CRITTER HERE

level 3 snake mk2 is 2op tbqh

you could have put literally anything else as a ceiling
and you choose the glitchy down blocks
ok

>goes back to a level that needs sprucing up
>places even more spikes
i know i've asked this time and again already but what the actual fuck is wrong with you

broken slope

glad to see that this spike-filled fake block maze was left unchanged
after all these updates

dick move
even more so since i would need to go through 3/4 of the map just to get back to it

speechless

this is why you don't put breakable blocks underwater
it looks dumb when you break them

stop
hiding
shit
behind
blocks

if there's anything you've learned from making this, it's how to ruin a perfectly good map with spikes and enemies
>inb4 "b-but you can skip it with the machine gun!"
yeah well not everyone will have the level 3 machine gun ready OR think to use it to skip that part of the map

i like how you didn't even delete the teleporter npc
you just placed blocks over it

>get complaints about black critter in water physics
>change it to rainbow critter instead
>hide an armor capsule in the block, forcing the player to go get it
what the actual fuck
is wrong
with you

you didn't use <PRI

you uh
you also didn't make it disappear after use

you can fall out of the mod here
quality

i like how i was able to fly over the trigger for the boss fight

actually nevermind, the trigger for the fight was hidden in the middle of the arena for NO reason

the berserk core fight is dumb it fires too much shit hp regen is fucking stupid etc. etc.

i know you won't listen to me regarding the berserk core since you clearly haven't for several updates, but hp regen is seriously a bad mechanic
if you can't get through its wall of bullets, it'll heal back the damage you just dealt to it
if you can't reach it from the back of the arena when it blows you back, it'll heal back the damage you just dealt to it

i also just ran into a glitch where i was firing the missile launcher and no missiles were coming out
i had max ammo, too

wat
you also forgot to make the chest stay open after opening it, like literally every other chest you've made

neat

the old resevoir is complete bullshit without a map

glad to see that this entire level exists
despite several updates

big jellyfish shouldn't have over 200 hp

it boggles my mind how good you are at making levels even shittier than they were before
this down block makes it possible to miss the thing you need to unlock the exit to this watery hell

pretty much everything else i've said in the past about Waterway has been left unchanged

i even got stuck in the same spot despite you trying to fix it, so you clearly haven't playtested this

*one trip to Booster's Lab later*

you need several <NOD's and <CLR's here

STOP
FOCUSING
ON
ASM

 

Someone has to run through the most recent update(s), so it might as well be me.

Spoiler: sigh

you didn't put the mod's files into a single folder before putting it in a .zip file
why

also heard from others that window.rect is better off deleted

xin the entire mod is on hard difficulty as is
you absolute madman

the intro cutscene upon choosing your difficulty still has problems with facepics appearing for split seconds at a time

it's also a bad idea to have more than three lines of dialogue display without a <NOD

you also need more <CLR's

what the fuck is this Moonsong remix

opening the chest didn't play the "opening chest" sound

#MakeBladeGreatAgain

thanks for finally giving Curly a <KEY

all these updates
and this house is STILL shitty

all these updates
and this mountain is STILL as flat and boring as a pancake

again, chests need that sound effect

i just touched one of these guys by accident and took 21 damage
fucking
WHY

armor capsules are neat and all, but everything still does a shitload of damage
why not just nerf the damage done by EVERYTHING?

it sure is fun grinding up for half an hour to get everything to level 3

it may just be me, but the yellow critters feel faster

btw
hiding spikes in giant columns of breakable blocks (or any breakable block really) is bad
please stop doing it for fuck's sake

did you just hide a yellow critter in a breakable wall that you need to break to progress?
fuck OFF

that breakable block below the capsule nearly made it impossible to grab the capsule

>touch green critter while falling
>take 23 damage
good shit right there
(why the actual fuck)

good to see that Sand Zone is still Swarms of Enemies: The Level
despite several updates

that isn't sand
why did a sandcroc come out of it

glad to see that the upper door in Deserted House still leads to a bullshit deadend that effectively softlocks the game
despite several updates

glad to see that this random dumb slope and camoflauged breakable block are still here
despite several updates

stop fucking hiding your save points

le balanced rainbow critter boss of much """strategy"""

that's 30 damage
30 damage = that tiny sliver
"""""BALANCED"""""

wow would you look at that
i got touched, took 9999 damage, and exploded

i like how you noticed that i kept cheesing the fight with 9999 health a la save editor
so you fucking BUFFED THE RAINBOW CRITTER TO DO 9999 DAMAGE

replace "autism" with "fucking horrible mod design and balancing"

you may be able to make it do max damage
but you can't make it hit through invincibility :^)

it legit took me full minutes of nonstop firing to kill it with the level 2 blade
you have to chew through several thousand HP and it can oneshot you at any moment
this is the epitome of bullshit difficulty

also what the fuck'd i do

it's entirely possible to destroy your only way up, forcing the player to reset

whoa what the heck

the platforms need more variation fam

stop placing fake/falling blocks below your capsules
it's bullshit

slopes like these are glitched
pls fix

you do know these vines are solid to enemies, right?

this tiling is pretty bad my dude

this door doesn't animate upon opening it
nor does it make the sound of opening a door

neither does this door

what was the point of hiding the life capsule in a box of blocks

NONE OF YOUR DOORS WORK

this, once again, is shitty design
stop hiding life capsules behind required damage

went back through the door that lead from the end of that level to sand zone
black screen

you can just fly off the screen here and out of the mod

standing in this alcove and firing the machine gun did nothing
i had to back up and use the blade to break the block/kill the npc
why

why does the northern star have ammo again
it makes it worthless

i have no words

can you stop making Omega dying lag the game so damn bad
it's annoying

glad to see that this is still Falling Spikes and Enemy Spam: The Level
despite several updates

glad to see that this """puzzle""" still has no hints
despite several updates

glad to see that the booster is still hidden behind a block for no reason
despite several updates

glad to see that i still need to redo the bullshit """puzzle""" after getting the booster v0.8
despite several updates

glad to see that your cancerous fake block mazes are still here
despite several updates

how have i already missed a weapon upgrade

oh

literally stolen from Cave Story Redesign

1. you didn't give me the choice to get this; you just stole my weapons
2. you didn't play any kind of fanfare

why the fuck does this thing have forever health

WHY IS THERE A FUCKING RAINBOW CRITTER HERE

level 3 snake mk2 is 2op tbqh

you could have put literally anything else as a ceiling
and you choose the glitchy down blocks
ok

>goes back to a level that needs sprucing up
>places even more spikes
i know i've asked this time and again already but what the actual fuck is wrong with you

broken slope

glad to see that this spike-filled fake block maze was left unchanged
after all these updates

dick move
even more so since i would need to go through 3/4 of the map just to get back to it

speechless

this is why you don't put breakable blocks underwater
it looks dumb when you break them

stop
hiding
shit
behind
blocks

if there's anything you've learned from making this, it's how to ruin a perfectly good map with spikes and enemies
>inb4 "b-but you can skip it with the machine gun!"
yeah well not everyone will have the level 3 machine gun ready OR think to use it to skip that part of the map

i like how you didn't even delete the teleporter npc
you just placed blocks over it

>get complaints about black critter in water physics
>change it to rainbow critter instead
>hide an armor capsule in the block, forcing the player to go get it
what the actual fuck
is wrong
with you

you didn't use <PRI

you uh
you also didn't make it disappear after use

you can fall out of the mod here
quality

i like how i was able to fly over the trigger for the boss fight

actually nevermind, the trigger for the fight was hidden in the middle of the arena for NO reason

the berserk core fight is dumb it fires too much shit hp regen is fucking stupid etc. etc.

i know you won't listen to me regarding the berserk core since you clearly haven't for several updates, but hp regen is seriously a bad mechanic
if you can't get through its wall of bullets, it'll heal back the damage you just dealt to it
if you can't reach it from the back of the arena when it blows you back, it'll heal back the damage you just dealt to it

i also just ran into a glitch where i was firing the missile launcher and no missiles were coming out
i had max ammo, too

wat
you also forgot to make the chest stay open after opening it, like literally every other chest you've made

neat

the old resevoir is complete bullshit without a map

glad to see that this entire level exists
despite several updates

big jellyfish shouldn't have over 200 hp

it boggles my mind how good you are at making levels even shittier than they were before
this down block makes it possible to miss the thing you need to unlock the exit to this watery hell

pretty much everything else i've said in the past about Waterway has been left unchanged

i even got stuck in the same spot despite you trying to fix it, so you clearly haven't playtested this

*one trip to Booster's Lab later*

you need several <NOD's and <CLR's here

STOP
FOCUSING
ON
ASM

Ok, so for the fireball thing:

There will never be updates on this from me, but anyone else is welcome to take apart the exe and find my changes, or use graphics, etc.

The reason no new updates will ever come from me is some time ago I had an accident with my hard drive, and one of the things lost was the entirity of the CSR work folder, which included a file detailing each address range and its function. Sorry.

Encase the link is dead, here it is again: http://www.mediafire.com/download/myanz3p02x31p38/CSR0506.zip

Again, sorry but when the files were lost it was too painful and I just had to walk away.

anyone else is welcome to take apart the exe and find my changes, or use graphics, etc.

Also I just used the idea of the spiral shape, if you'd look closer you'd see it's not exactly the same, plus it's a different colour, I think... It's been a while since I looked at it.
Most of what you've said was fixed ready for the next update, including the enemies with way too much health; I found the flag that was breaking them.
But thanks for playing it through again anyway. The only thing that won't be removed completely is the fake block mazes, which have already been made a lot less tedious. Also, on a side note, how do you have so much time to play this mod?
Anyway, it's going to be a few days until the next release, so you can rest for now. I'm working on adding to the start where you jump off a mountain. I've made a bit of progress with making the part you land in once you've jumped off.

 

Some things I want to note:

Spoiler

1.Why are the orbs weapons?
2.Why does Quote pass out from something that does less damage than his max health?(unless you changed that already)
3.When Curly asks me wether I want to loot Quote or not she just does regardless of my choice.
4.Why is Outer Balcony a thing.
5.Why is Curly following me after saving in the area Quote passes out, as Curly?
6.Why are rainbow critters practically things to never get close at.
7.Seriously, why is Outer Balcony.
8.Why are there traps that trap you in an area where you can't get out and die.
9.Why are there blind jumps in Outer Balcony with a lot of unsolid blocks to fool you?
10.I can understand when torches hurt me, but why do bubble tiles hurt me?
11.Why are there fake save/health/ammo points.
12.Is it even possible to get through Outer Balcony without losing over 1000 lives?

 

Some things I want to note:

Spoiler

1.Why are the orbs weapons?
2.Why does Quote pass out from something that does less damage than his max health?(unless you changed that already)
3.When Curly asks me wether I want to loot Quote or not she just does regardless of my choice.
4.Why is Outer Balcony a thing.
5.Why is Curly following me after saving in the area Quote passes out, as Curly?
6.Why are rainbow critters practically things to never get close at.
7.Seriously, why is Outer Balcony.
8.Why are there traps that trap you in an area where you can't get out and die.
9.Why are there blind jumps in Outer Balcony with a lot of unsolid blocks to fool you?
10.I can understand when torches hurt me, but why do bubble tiles hurt me?
11.Why are there fake save/health/ammo points.
12.Is it even possible to get through Outer Balcony without losing over 1000 lives?

Huh? Could you please tell me how you even got there? If it's an old save or from an older version, then I suggest that you don't do that.

BTW, for the Omega II's death animation, I can't really figure out what's wrong... I never modified any of the death animations...
EDIT: I figured it out now. It's because of the extremely high amount of pierce for the Level 3 Blade and Machine Gun. The bullets remain after the boss is dead and keep damaging it below 0 health, forcing it to keep repeating the death animation. To fix that I'll probably have to make a TSC command <DAB (Delete all bullets) to stop the repeating death animations.
Also, about the music, I'm currently having issues with the space that the music takes up...

 

If it's an old save or from an older version, then I suggest that you don't do that.

Don't do what? Did I got past what is now the end of a demo or what?
I mean, you don't expect me to start over every time you release an update do you?

 

Don't do what? Did I got past what is now the end of a demo or what?
I mean, you don't expect me to start over every time you release an update do you?

No, but I don't expect you to move on to unreleased areas that I haven't time to fix yet.
But thank you for at least making a reply that's not full of mindless insults and swearing

 

No, but I don't expect you to move on to unreleased areas that I haven't time to fix yet.

You might need to define 'unreleased', I don't remember anything saying I reached the end of the version I played until I reached the end of Outer Balcony.
EDIT:I'll check the version I played once I get home if you want.
EDIT2:it says version 8.0.0 so eh

 

1. Swearing isn't inherently bad, this is a forum with unrestricted language and afaik seasons never specifically threw around profane insults
2. Fake block puzzles ARE inherently bad, do not use them in any circumstance

 

Even if Dubby said people could use Redesign's assets, you still need to give them credit. Same goes for everything else you borrow assets from.

Most of what you've said was fixed ready for the next update, including the enemies with way too much health; I found the flag that was breaking them.

I can't help but doubt you after what I've seen.

But thanks for playing it through again anyway. The only thing that won't be removed completely is the fake block mazes, which have already been made a lot less tedious. Also, on a side note, how do you have so much time to play this mod?

Xin, the fake block mazes are 100% fake difficulty, and they get even worse when you decide to throw spikes into the mix. I don't understand why you're so set on keeping them in the mod when they actively hurt it. As for me having enough time to test the mod, class has been out for a while now.

But thank you for at least making a reply that's not full of mindless insults and swearing

I already went over this in the "My Modifications" thread. I'm going to use fitting language if the mod angers me, and this mod's questionable choices have a very easy time doing that. It's possible to overdo it, but this also isn't a hugbox.

 

Even if Dubby said people could use Redesign's assets, you still need to give them credit. Same goes for everything else you borrow assets from.


I can't help but doubt you after what I've seen.


Xin, the fake block mazes are 100% fake difficulty, and they get even worse when you decide to throw spikes into the mix. I don't understand why you're so set on keeping them in the mod when they actively hurt it. As for me having enough time to test the mod, class has been out for a while now.


I already went over this in the "My Modifications" thread. I'm going to use fitting language if the mod angers me, and this mod's questionable choices have a very easy time doing that. It's possible to overdo it, but this also isn't a hugbox.

STOP CALLING ME XIN
I want to replace the fake block mazes with SOMETHING, but since I had already changed the colour of the fake ones, I decided to leave it because I don't know what to do instead. If I remove them it'll just be too boring...
Also I was planning to make my own fireball sprite, I just used that as a placeholder

 

STOP CALLING ME XIN
I want to replace the fake block mazes with SOMETHING, but since I had already changed the colour of the fake ones, I decided to leave it because I don't know what to do instead. If I remove them it'll just be too boring...
Also I was planning to make my own fireball sprite, I just used that as a placeholder

Xin is shorter than Thomas or Thomas Xin. Also, you are basically saying, "Making mods is hard, therefore I won't fix it." You already have it easy since you are building off of vanilla Cave Story's maps, so you don't really have much of an excuse to design something else.

 

I'm gonna be blunt, boring is better than unfair. At least when something is boring players actually have the ability to progress. I suggest you take the fake block maze puzzles out, FOCUS ON FIGURING OUT WAYS TO IMPROVE THE CONTENT YOU ALREADY HAVE, and if you can't figure out something right away, at least your players won't quit out of frustration because of fake difficulty fake block puzzles.

 

I'm gonna be blunt, boring is better than unfair. At least when something is boring players actually have the ability to progress. I suggest you take the fake block maze puzzles out, FOCUS ON FIGURING OUT WAYS TO IMPROVE THE CONTENT YOU ALREADY HAVE, and if you can't figure out something right away, at least your players won't quit out of frustration because of fake difficulty fake block puzzles.

They're really not that hard. I don't find them annoying at all now since they're clearly a different colour to the rest now.

 

I didn't say they were hard, I said they were composed of fake difficulty. It's not hard, it's tedious to the point of frustration. It's possibly the worst thing you could do to the player.
Judging from Seasons' playthroughs, it appears that this same statement can be applied to a large portion of, if not all of, your mod's content.

 

I didn't say they were hard, I said they were composed of fake difficulty. It's not hard, it's tedious to the point of frustration. It's possibly the worst thing you could do to the player.
Judging from Seasons' playthroughs, it appears that this same statement can be applied to a large portion of, if not all of, your mod's content.

There are only 3 maps with that sort of puzzles

 

If it's bad then there should be zero.

 

There are only 3 maps with that sort of puzzles

Please see:

Judging from Seasons' playthroughs, it appears that this same statement can be applied to a large portion of, if not all of, your mod's content.

 

Please see:

There are only 3 maps with fake block puzzles.