More control options, plus fixes

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MD
Site Admin
Posts: 195
Joined: Sun Aug 12, 2007 2:06 pm

More control options, plus fixes

Post by MD »

You now have the option to aim with the mouse or keyboard (as well as previous controls)

You cannot edit someone else's level anymore.

You can now rate a level through the pause menu; at all times, not only when you defeat/lose a level, which means the unbeatable levels with infinite lives can actually be rated.

~MD
swartzer
Posts: 144
Joined: Sun Oct 21, 2007 1:38 pm

Post by swartzer »

First off, thanks for creating this game! I've been playing it since there were fewer than 400 levels. It's nice to see the steady improvements, even though you also have a life too.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the ability to rate those impossible levels. It looks like a few people were creating levels, rating them high themselves, then making them impossible and giving them infinite lives so nobody else could rate them down. That's cheating, IMHO. Impossible levels stink and I think everybody should rate them zero to discourage people from making more of them. Of course, levels that seem impossible but just require a high level of skill are different; by "impossible" I mean ones where the core is surrounded by a forcefield with no way to break in, or too many lasers sweep the entire screen too fast for anyone to avoid them, etc.

I also like the idea of keyboard aiming, but wish there were more than four directions. Would it be possible to combine expert and keyboard aiming, for instance? If I could rotate the aiming point freely by moving without firing, but also have the key commands to change aim in tight spots, that would be the best of both worlds. Or else add commands to rotate the aim clockwise and counterclockwise.

I'm not sure what to think about turning off editing of other people's levels. After having played this game for many weeks, I'm finally getting into level design, but all of a sudden if I want to see how someone did something, I can't look at their level in the editor anymore. On the other hand, I can understand removing the temptation for people to copy levels and call them their own. I've been seeing a fair bit of that lately. Would it be possible to allow opening other people;s levels, but not changing them or saving them? Either that or allowing changes but disabling both saving and playing (in case playing a changed level messes with the stats for the original.)

And I would love the ability to leave a short comment on a level. I understand this would mean at least one more database table, though, and lots of coding. But it would be nice to give more feedback to level designers; there are some people out there doing great work, and a lot who look like they are trying, but need some help. And now that I'm starting level design myself, I would love to hear more detailed criticism than just a single scale. (BTW, I wasn't the one who rated my "Good Design is Hard" level at 100. I'm flattered someone did, but that level is far from perfect. I will never rate my own levels and think that ability should be removed.) Would it be possible to make multiple ratings, maybe? I'd love to be able to rate difficulty, design, and just plain fun separately.

Anyway, thanks again for making this great game! And thanks to all the level designers out there. After my first attempt at it myself, I have a lot more respect for you.
Geiss
Posts: 77
Joined: Tue Sep 25, 2007 9:52 am

Re: More control options, plus fixes

Post by Geiss »

MD wrote:You now have the option to aim with the mouse or keyboard (as well as previous controls)

You cannot edit someone else's level anymore.

You can now rate a level through the pause menu; at all times, not only when you defeat/lose a level, which means the unbeatable levels with infinite lives can actually be rated.

~MD
Thankyou, MD. I was going to suggest the third fix but I'm glad to see that you already took care of it. :)

The re-saving of someone else's work should definately be prohibited but I see nothing wrong in being able to view someone's level in the editor to learn from them. Thanks again MD.

Geiss
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