Platform Story [demo seven]

TrashboxBobylev · Jan 3, 2019

Platform Story

Something is hiding behind rows of platforms and walls...
You wake up in a small room with a bed and a trash can, open the door and find yourself in a room. Can you reach the last door and find out the reason?

Screenshots:

Download zip here:
https://doukutsuclub.knack.com/database#search-database/mod-details/5c83e247d766340875e516dd/

Pixel, for Cave Story.
Noxid, for Booster's Lab.
Thomas Xin, for bunch of useful hacks, awesome music and creating some features.
Romana Dell and StudioDixel, for second character spritesheets.
StudioDixel again, for reviewing first flaws of mod, testing on final stages and allowing to reference himself.
BLink, for some advices.
Serri, Mint, X-Calibar, 32bitpolygons, ChampionDude345 for playtesting.
2dbro, for his awesome (really awesome) music.

Suote · Jan 3, 2019

So I'm just gonna skip the nitpicks about unedited stuff, since this is clearly your first mod and probably doesn't need a lot of extraneous details.
Though I would prefer if there was no Profile.dat...

I'll talk about what I think of each room once I beat it, and I'll make some new thoughts after I beat the mod.

This mod starts off in a pretty charming way, with an edited Kazuma intro that you even put a skipflag in! Once you exit the first room, there's even semi-autosaving! This would be off to a great start... if the tiling was better.
Everything is so open that the level feels empty. While you did put some details in what little level was there, nothing gave this first room the spark it needs to catch the player's attention. This is made worse by the lack of slopes, something that works with a factory-type level to a degree, which is fine if that's what you're going for. Still, it certainly doesn't help the level feel more alive.
I recommend making the ceiling lower, but not so low that the player could hit it by accident. Aside from that, you should probably change the tileset, as the Core tileset is pretty hard to make work with an open design. You should probably take some more steps to make this level feel creepy and unsettling in its emptiness, like the Core room in vanilla CS. I'm assuming that's what you were going for, but the music isn't going to do that job for you.
Wow, that was a lot on aesthetics. You might say that what I just said isn't that important, since this is a gameplay mod. But the gameplay isn't that much better. It's kinda boring, though I can excuse it for being the first room. It's supposed to be easy, after all. Still, some of the boredom can be negated with decent atmosphere and tiling.

"And, yeah, some tiles are fake."
Off to a great start.
This room is pretty beans. It 100% convinced me that you should edit the Core tileset. And by edit it, I mean basically make a whole new tileset with some of the Core's tiles. You have no idea that the spikes are spikes until they kill you, since they're not sharp at all. Try to make sharper looking spikes, or take some from PrtJail or another tileset.
The "ride on moving blocks" section is boring. There's nothing to stop you, and it feels like filler.
Also, some of the tiles are fake. By that, you mean ONE completely obvious block is fake. While I really dislike the "invisible hole" trap (it was dumb when Megaman 2 did it, and it was pointless when I did it) if you REALLY want to do it, you should do one of two things.
1. Make it hard to see them. Do this if you want to be a dick.
2. Minimize the punishments. Do this if you want people to like your mod.
Also, when you fall, use H/V triggers with the "You were never seen again..." event, it's a lot better than just having Quote explode out of nowhere.
Also Curly exploded. What.

okay so i have no idea what youre talking about with the first sign
A lot of this mod's English is pretty bad. English takes time to fully learn, but it's still useful to learn English grammar if you're gonna make something in English.
So, we have a cool gimmick that has nothing interesting done with it, followed by Behemoth riding, the least cool gimmick. While the only time I've seen it done well was WTF Story, that time (aside from that final challenge) was so good that it made almost any other Behemoth riding sequence pointless. Nothing interesting was done with it here, either. Once you get the gun, (with Balrog's theme playing for some reason) a bunch of important blocks are breakable. Don't do that. The player can get stuck by complete accident and have to die to progress.
also there are a bunch of quotes and a sign that says something like "you can not excuse"
what
The "break blocks under the Presses to progress" hasn't been done before from what I can remember, but with one good reason: It's boring. I had to play that section about five times, and each time was more boring than the last. This boring section is followed by two hard sections. The first is the "harder version of what Room 2's moving blocks should have been," and the other is the cool "invincible critters" section. I would have liked both of them a lot more if they didn't come after a super boring section.

This section would be really cool if there was any actual danger. Maybe there is danger, but I couldn't find any. The music alone makes this section tense, though.

After the best dog ever, we get to the worst room ever.
First, it opens with a Press about to kill you. That's beans. Second, the moving block is a garbled mess. That's very beans. Third, the intro to Bolrag's fight message uses <KEY instead of <PRI. That's super beans. Fourth, you don't even have to fight Bolrag. You can just go right past him into the final room of the demo. I beat him and got nothing of value, so I'm assuming this is unintentional. THAT'S INFINITY BEANS!!!
Take out the Press, change the tileset so the moving block works, use <PRI instead of <KEY, and make sure you have to beat Bolrag before finishing the demo.
Then the mod ends.

This mod is kinda beans. Sorry, but I didn't like it at all. Hopefully more people will give you feedback, and you can take my advice to make this mod better. And even if it's not good, I can't really blame you. It is your first, after all. Keep improving, and you'll go far.

TrashboxBobylev · Jan 4, 2019

New version!

1. New levels: 6, 7, 8.
2. Increased Level 4's difficulty.
3. Increased Bolrag's difficulty.
4. Redesigned Level 3.
5. Almost levels recieve more decorations.
6. Fixed bug on Level 5.
7. Added multisaving.
8. Death now much speeder.
9. Replaced bottom-screen spikes with H/V trigger.

New version!

1. New levels: 9, 10, 11, 12
2. Increased Bolrag's difficulty.
3. Fixed engrish in almost texts.
4. Fixed Level 8's unbeatability.
5. Nerfed some enemies.

Suote · Jan 5, 2019

Well, this mod got much better!

I already reviewed the first 5 rooms before, but now they're better. There's more detail everywhere, and pretty much everything is better from a gameplay perspective. The English is much better, too! Some issues weren't fixed, but by now these first 5 rooms are pretty good. I have at least one problem with each room, but I'll get to the good stuff first.

Room 3's "Press X to win" was cute, I liked it.
Room 4 has actual danger now, yay!
Room 5 has a Power Critter you have to kill instead of a Press right above you. The tileset is PrtMaze too, which fixes the moving block problems. The Bolrag fight intro is fixed too.

I have a few problems with the first 5 rooms, though.

Room 1 is still kinda boring, though the detail helps.
For Room 2, you can go through the "white with red arrow" blocks on the first moving block trip.
For Room 3, the Behemoth riding is still kinda boring.
While Room 4 has danger, it still doesn't justify the OH CRAP RUN RUN RUN music it's given. A few Basils in between parts of a maze isn't the most panic-inducing challenge. I'd say either change the music or have something like a rising lava floor (you could change PrtPens to have lava and use <CMPs and H/V Triggers so the lava "rises").
There's no way to cheese Room 5 this time, which makes it actually hard. I'm fine with this concept for a fight, but it takes a bit longer than I think it should. I don't have too much of a problem with it, but it might feel tedious for others.

Room 6 is boring. I'm assuming it's supposed to be a transition level, but maybe you shouldn't call it Room 6. It feels like filler. Also, I recommend putting a transition between Rooms 5 and 6. Maybe a cutscene or a small room where the player has to jump down a hole, something like that.

Room 7 is hard. The beetles are less than a tile wide, and they move most of the time. Still, by now I can tell this is supposed to be a hard mod, so I'm fine with difficulty. I'm also fine with this room being open, as it's designed that way.
The rest... is kinda bad. The English and aesthetics feel like the first demo all over again. "Pro" tip: Floating corners of the Hermit Gunsmith's entrance being used as blocks (even ones that only Beetles can touch look like crap. There's also this:

You can't get killed by the death spikes because the beetle above the spikes' hitbox. Either make the spikes higher or take them out.
"Who said, was i doens't
fill levels?"
I did, and that problem is no better in this room than the first demo (unless you were making fun of yourself, in which case it's fine, as I accept this level being very open).

Room 8 one is a combat-focused one, with critters and stuff. The level design is okay, but the tiling is really flat. Like pretty much every other room, the blocks are usually just one tile repeated over and over. The background rock tiles, which I assume are supposed to be pillars, are too square. Either make them more sprawling or have them look more man-made. Still, this room is one of the better ones.

Room 9 is a 99% combat room. I really like the concept of using Beetles to get to a higher level, especially if the player has to time it so they can avoid the other enemies. The enemies take a lot of hits, but it seems like you're supposed to avoid most of them, so it's fine.

oh no curly died
so much hyper realistic blood
After that, there's a fight with Bolrag dressed as Curly. It's a bit beans, considering the moving blocks, but it's also REALLY quick and easy. It's alright.

Room 11 is barely a room. You choose either Room 12, or "No-Booster Hell." You have no idea which one leads to which. I'm assuming the "No-Booster Hell" section is supposed to be unwinnable, but making the player guess their first time is a really mean thing to do. Unless I'm missing something, you should probably scrap this room.

Room 12 is a neat gimmick, but there's not much to it. It's just using the Snake's (or Shake's) main feature in the level design, which has much more potential than you used in this room. Still, I won't give you a bunch of suggestions for super clever puzzles. That's half because I can't think of anything that doesn't rip off another mod or game, and half because it's your mod, not mine.

This mod is okay. While it has a lot of flaws, it's pretty good for a first mod. Even with its flaws, it still gets points for having original level design, something that seems to be rare in first mods. Keep improving, and you'll go far.

Infinityβ · Jan 6, 2019

I downloaded your mod and my pc thinks it's a virus

TrashboxBobylev · Jan 6, 2019

New version!

1. New levels: 13.
2. Overhauled Level 12.
3. Improved Level 6, 7 design.
4. Increased Bolrag Brace's difficulty.
5. Fixed some bugs.
6. Title screen still weird.

Redownload mod from OP post.

TrashboxBobylev · Jan 8, 2019

New version.

1. New levels: 14, 15, 16.
2. New playable charaster.
3. Finally fixed the title screen.
4. Huge thanks to StudioDixel and BLink for their assets!
5. Something weird...

Suote · Jan 8, 2019

"Review" time! This will probably be the last one for a while, as I want to wait for more people to play and respond to this mod.

Room 6 and 7 are better aesthetically, though as far as I can tell they're the same gameplay-wise. Bolrag Brace is about 10 times harder due to an increase in health, but none of that is what I want to talk about.
For Room 11, if you choose the Laser (Spur?) path, you can control Quote like the Ironhead fight, which would be fine if the screen scrolled. It doesn't, breaking what I assume was supposed to be a perfectly beatable secret path. Please, take out the Laser path entirely and just replace Room 11 with something else.
Room 12 is longer and better. It's actually a bit challenging this time around, and you can use the Shake (Snake?) pretty cleverly in certain areas where a lvl 3 Polar Star wouldn't work. Good job.

It's just two Red Demons. You can actually fight them one at a time if you don't hit the other one, which I'm not sure you intended. I'm pretty sure there's an <ANP command that makes the Red Demon attack you as soon as it's activated. Still, their projectiles going through solid tiles was a nice touch, one that would probably make for a really cool challenge if the arena had more stuff in it and the player didn't have the Shake. Maybe you could do that for another Room?

okay right off the bat there's a fence that is apparently a spike
not good

oh hi Mary Sue
"Dixel?"
oh
oh my
Wait what room with the aquarium? Room 7?
Downstairs?
WHY AM I IN THIS??? actually i knew about this already on discord but you know
So I walk off the ledge with a stray white pixel on my hat. I decide to follow myself and... I die with glitchy fade-outs even though there is clearly a floor below me.
???

Despite this weirdness I have to applaud your use of skipflags. Just be careful, you might run out of them.

okay
So the bar thingies are solid (so Quote is standing on air), there are breakable blocks under the "spike fences," and the middle of the cage is bouncy. Players shouldn't have to guess on what's solid or dangerous and what isn't.

Alright, now I can jump down! Maybe instead of putting in "fall damage," you could fill the bottom area with spikes and have the player press a switch to get rid of them. And maybe make a joke about how I survived the fall into spikes somehow when Quote couldn't.

Then there's a dialogue branch while talking to me about the teleporter. There's no reason for it, as it doesn't even give you a "PRETTY PLEASE" that repeats until you accept, or something like that. As far as I can tell, nothing changes whether the player says yes to helping me or not.
And you forgot to put a H/V trigger at the terminal area. I just fall forever and then land in water and drown.
So I help myself and go to a room, and I lock the door behind Quote! I'm a jerk.

After Quote finds another way around, we find... THE CORE!
???
Then I fight the different-eyed Core alongside myself. Either the Shake is super OP, or the Core is easier than I thought, because I beat it in one try with 3 health. After Misery and Bolrag Doctor teleport the "Brimstone Core" to repair it, Bolrag Doctor acts super mean and kills Quote.

i love this
so much

Then I take Quote's weapons and the floating bubble disappears. Then I take his weapons again, and...
I dunno. I think I'm stuck or something, because the door at the start won't open and I can't find any other way out. : (

This mod has flaws, especially in room 14. Still, it's rather good for a first mod, especially one that has come this far in under a week. Other than the things I already mentioned or implied you should fix, you should make the Core fight more original. Make a new arena of some sort, and make it easy to find the end of the demo. The mod also very suddenly decides it wants to have a prominent story, and introduces a character (me) who Quote apparently already knows, which can feel a bit jarring to some, though I'm fine with it personally (probably because it's me).
It does have some really good moments, though. Rooms 12, 9, and maybe 7 were really good. The part where Quote dies and I take over as player character is amazing, and elevated this mod from a 6/10 to 600/10.

I have one more thing to say. You should probably take a week to polish, refine, and improve the rooms you've already made, rather than just making more rooms every day. You're pumping out demos a bit faster than you should. They say "quality over quantity" and you're starting to have a lot more quantity than quality. In other words, try to make sure what you have is great, rather than just making a bunch of okay stuff. You have a good foundation, it's just that this mod lacks polish in a lot of places. Whatever you do, I'll probably come back to this mod in a week or two.

Keep improving, and you'll go far.

X-Calibar · Jan 9, 2019

Fun test of skill with some unconventional choices. A bit painful at times with some later enemies having lots of health; slow moving platforms; and the story/engrish is confusing.
But, overall a good platforming challenge! I had fun. Nice work.

Room 1: 1 death
Room 2: 15 deaths (I am rusty!)
Room 3: 7 deaths
Room 4: 1 death
Room 5: 9 deaths
Room 6: 3 deaths
Room 7: 8 deaths
Room 8: 5 deaths
Room 9: 3 deaths
Room 10: No deaths
Room 11: 2 deaths?
Room 12: 1 death
Room 13: 2 deaths
Room 14: 11 deaths
Room 15: 10 deaths (1 from boss)

No idea what's going on with the story in this mod. Seemed to be going somewhere with Bolrag, but that's about as far as it made sense D:
Some nice moments though

Fun to fight this "Bolrag" in various forms. The brand new levels were the best.

Really quick feedback...
Room 1 was a nice looking beginning.
Room 2 KILLED me the most in the whole mod. Cave Story floaty jumps are different than other games I've played recently, so I kept drifting into the spikes over and over.
Might have been easier with normal looking spikes honestly... I even had an easier time riding the moving platforms up and down, rather than going straight across! But, I made it.
Room 3 slow Behemoths make for a slow room. So, I used Cheat Engine to speed things up while riding them! I bumped into the spikes at the end several times...
Room 4 interesting, but easy. Good use of the instant kill critter Basil. Maybe running away from deadly water would have been fun though!
Room 5 was very nice! Bolrag was veryyyy easy once you see his pattern. At first I kept falling into the spikes, but the boss was fun.
Room 6. Now here is some simple platforming! Nice change of pace. Plain but, not bad.
Room 7. I kept falling off from being impatient. Not my favorite level, but a nice test. I died once thinking I would retain momentum from a beetle! lol
Room 8 was simple. I made some silly mistakes and let myself die when falling. I appreciate this one though! Good use of critters. A level like this reminds me the mod should be timed.
Room 9. One of my least favorite levels. But, flexing my weapon finger makes for a good warm up. Enemies have a lot of HP. Not sure I like that.
Room 10. Love this boss fight! Didn't die, but moving platforms made it enjoyable.
Room 11. What's going on here... Is it intentional? I went for Laser and it was a trap! Oh well...
Room 12. Really straightforward battle. Lots of shooting, not much platforming.
Room 13 had even more shooting! Should have had both fighting at the same time... xD Though, this is a platformer mod right? This level was just a boss.
Room 14 was different... More traps! Don't follow Dixel to your death

Story has fallen apart or taken a completely different turn, but okay!
Room 15... unfinished? I opened up the blast door, but apparently don't need to. And the core battle is the same, except for the nice graphical edits and text.
Funny to take Quote's weapon xD Poor Quote...

Took me less than a hour. Made for an enjoyable test of skill! Clever designs and a good platforming challenge especially early on.
Dialogue needs major proofreading and editing. Maybe ask someone to edit it for you? But, it was fun engrish.
Why call him Bolrag though? x)

Favorite levels were 5 and 10. xD I guess that means I love a good boss fight the most.
Anyway, hope you reach lvl 25. Maybe I'll record next time?

TrashboxBobylev · Jan 12, 2019

New version!

1. New intro and new title screen things.
2. Level 16 now accessible.
3. Changes in Level 4, 7, 11, 13,14.
4. Rebalanced Level 15's boss.
5. Fixed weird bugs.

TrashboxBobylev · Jan 27, 2019

New version!
That tooked over 60 years...

1. New levels: 17, 18, 19.
2. New music for old and new levels.
3. Removed multisave.
4. Improved levels.
5. Improved second char sprites.
6. Fixed bugs.

TrashboxBobylev · Feb 27, 2019

Who bother about that thread after month after last update?

Yes, I'm not dead. Demo 8 didn't appear.

It will be release of mod.

TrashboxBobylev · Mar 9, 2019

Mod finally released!

Also, Mod can be downloaded here:
https://doukutsuclub.knack.com/database#index/showcase-details/5c83e247d766340875e516dd/

nburgin · Mar 18, 2019

This was kind of hit and miss. Some parts were fun, but the difficulty was inconsistent, often harder earlier on than later.

The story didn't make too much sense, to the point that it took me a while to figure out it was even supposed to have one. For a while I thought it was just meant as absurdism, like a Dali painting.

I actually couldn't beat Bolrag without blatantly cheating. Depending on the RNG for his first shot, it might be impossible to avoid, and it had too much health. Some of my deaths made me admire the deviousness of the boss room, but others just felt stupidly unfair.

The later fights, like the Curly one and the Core one, were comparitively not as hard and were actually fun.

I had no idea what was going on in the puzzle room with the teleporters. I just trial and error'd the thing, I couldn't make any sense of the puzzle even after somehow completing it.

...And now I just noticed that I was playing the demo the whole time. That explained why it got to a point where I couldn't advance without it crashing.

You should edit the actual release into the OP, not just drop it in a new reply at the bottom...

EDIT: Nevermind, the other link crashes in the Misery fight also...