Overgrowth

by Cobalt
created Feb 15, 2013
Leaderboards
581 views | 753 downloads

Rating
/ 11 votes

Difficulty
/ 8 votes


map notes
An overgrown city level inspired by the setting in a short story I wrote. I just familiarized myself with the level editor interface and I immediately fell in love with it. It's my first level, and understandably, I got a little prop-happy. I spent an incredibly long time on the scenery, so feel free to not rush through it the first time; stop and enjoy the sights!

Note: The particle emitters for the rain might slow your framerate a little if you're playing on a slower system.

10 comments

Riokaii
said Feb 15, 2013
So first off, let me say that this is VERY good for a first map. And i'm gonna drill into this a bit here but. Overall its not a bad level.

The rain is a bit overbearing, but i can see how it fits the aesthetic of a harsh storm theme map so its not too bad (i really LOVE the detail you put into the trees even with their leaves looking blown hard by the wind)

Its hard to see where the platforms are in places but this isnt too bad, specifically in the ending city section it was hard to distinguish what was foreground platforms, and what wasnt, as hte background wasnt really different enough to contrast.

Some of the platforms and dust were shaped and placed a bit oddly, but overall felt pretty nice(although had its difficulty as well)

There was a specific problem with dust blocks you had to land on, as you came from a decent height. if you didnt jump again just before hitting them, you fell through and died. which feels really bad.

There was also a problem with a "zig zag" jump into a ceiling run, the spikes were placed so that even if you jumped as soon as you hit the walls and gained as little height as possible, you died. so you had to slide down AND THEN jump. This also feels really bad.

Overall, it is a very cool level, and feels as though the difficulty wasn't intended and kinda robbed you in spots. I suggest checking out the custom map "thicket" by tinker, it has a similar asthetic and i think you would like it a lot :D
Cobalt
said Feb 16, 2013
Thank you for commenting! I'm glad you liked it.

I agree that end section makes it difficult to know where the foreground is on the side of the building, and I was really hesitant about putting it in there because of that. But I *really* liked the idea of building props like windows and trees into the foreground so that you could interact with and stand on them. I tried to put leaves and other entities to help hint at where you can jump to, but I guess I still need to work on making it a bit more apparent.

Also, the dust blocks. I see what you mean. I worked for hours on that one ramp spot trying to find a way that would allow you to fall a bit softer on them instead of tearing through them and dying. As far as the difficulty is concerned, though, I did intend it to be a moderately hard map, as I tailored it to my personal skill level.

I definitely plan on making more maps in the near future, so keep an eye out for them if you like.
ABoss
said Feb 16, 2013
This is such a great job for a first level! It is beautiful and it really gives this rainforest temple feeling. I like how all the jump elements/walls all feel so original, yet intuitive. I know how much time it takes to construct a map, especially if it is your first full map and so many decorations added (and a very long one also :D), so really good job! 5/5
edited Feb 16, 2013
Cobalt
said Feb 16, 2013
Thank you for trying this one out. It's always nice to see someone who knows the effort that goes into building a map. I'll make sure to check out some of your maps as well!
czulki
said Feb 16, 2013
Great map although the rain causes fps lag from some people [including me ;_;].
Cobalt
said Feb 16, 2013
Thanks. I was afraid the rain might make it hard to run smoothly. If you're having trouble with frame-rate, try turning down the graphics settings in the options menu (Turn on Low-res sprites, etc.).
Tinker
said Feb 16, 2013
This is awesome! I really liked the windowsills being platforms and the entire design of that last building, it didn't confuse me (although I could see why it would others). One minor caveat though: it's very dark - I could only play now that it's evening here, I couldn't see a damn thing otherwise.
Cobalt
said Feb 16, 2013
Strange. I had the exact same problem. When I was in the level builder it didn't look all that dark. Must've been the way I set up the trigger for the sky. I'm not sure why it looks darker now that I've published it. It might help to turn up the brightness or mess with the contrast a little--that's what I did. Anyway, I'm glad you liked it.
krackocloud
said Feb 17, 2013
I found this level a little more frustrating than it needs to be. The design is good, but lots of things are dim, slightly covered up, and merged with the background. Although it's a night level, don't be afraid to make the foreground brighter!
Cobalt
said Feb 17, 2013
Thanks for the advice! I actually didn't intend to make the level as dark as it is. It was a result of me being inexperienced with fog triggers. It was supposed to be a difficult map, but on the other hand, I agree that there are some spots, like the one TheBirdofPrey mentioned (falling too hard on leaf blocks), where the difficulty was just a result of my bad design.

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