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Projects => Works in Progress => Topic started by: saiwong3268 on November 30, 2019, 03:58:28 PM

Title: Jet Set Manic Adventure
Post by: saiwong3268 on November 30, 2019, 03:58:28 PM
Hello,

I would be pleased if you could try out my first game using Platform Builder

It is called "Jet Set Manic Adventure"

it currently has 3 levels (with a placeholder 4th level) and would welcome any feedback

p.s.
Update: I currently have 10 levels done in the game. I am Beta testing and tweeking them to be published later.
Title: Re: Jet Set Manic Adventure
Post by: CGM on November 30, 2019, 04:10:32 PM
I will play the game as soon as Explore starts working again. :)
Title: Re: Jet Set Manic Adventure
Post by: War on November 30, 2019, 09:10:43 PM
I will play the game as soon as Explore starts working again. :)
?!?!?!? *ded*
Title: Re: Jet Set Manic Adventure
Post by: Antikore on December 01, 2019, 10:38:10 AM
I will try out when they explore section starts to work again, it seems cool.
Title: Re: Jet Set Manic Adventure
Post by: saiwong3268 on December 01, 2019, 06:56:52 PM
Some screenshots


(https://i.ibb.co/8z4Cjxz/lv1.png) (https://imgbb.com/)



(https://i.ibb.co/KbgdFC5/lv6.png) (https://imgbb.com/)




(https://i.ibb.co/WWxskxH/lv7.png) (https://imgbb.com/)
Title: Re: Jet Set Manic Adventure
Post by: Alley on December 01, 2019, 07:25:01 PM
I must admit that looking those images I get a really good nostalgy but I think that in the game it wouldn't hold me for too long. Your random choice of tiles, backgrounds, obstacles and probably even music is not a good skill about how to design your game properly. I am sorry but I hope you will accept it instead of quitting. It is not too difficult to make your levels to look more reasonable using PB. ;)
Title: Re: Jet Set Manic Adventure
Post by: War on December 01, 2019, 08:04:38 PM
Alley, the game is not complete yet. Every good game designer make first a prototyp that define the level design of the level and they visually polish it AFTER. This is NaughtyDog phylosophy. And with this they always made excellent games. (well except Jak X lol)
Title: Re: Jet Set Manic Adventure
Post by: War on December 02, 2019, 10:10:53 AM
JET SET MANIC ADVENTURE REVIEW
The game is really short, but this is not finished (and it make it easier to speedrun). The first 3 levels of the game are finishable only by collecting all collectibles of the level. Sometimes tiles are not linked. Altought the game is promising, it needs more polish. Also, at the first level, the items were spawning at the top of the question blocks, but I couldn't jump high enough, and I did not have super jump(that thing that make us jump higher while running in Mario games) so I had to go at the higher platforms to land on the top of the question blocks and then get the items.
And the third level is horrible. Those little enemies that jump randomly, the ice slopes... Uuhhhhhhh.
6/10
Title: Re: Jet Set Manic Adventure
Post by: saiwong3268 on December 02, 2019, 10:43:09 AM
JET SET MANIC ADVENTURE REVIEW
Also, at the first level, the items were spawning at the top of the question blocks, but I couldn't jump high enough, and I did not have super jump(that thing that make us jump higher while running in Mario games) so I had to go at the higher platforms to land on the top of the question blocks and then get the items.
6/10

This is by design. I wanted to provide a "puzzle" for players to work out as to how to get the items.

Glad you worked it out.

My initial focus is to make the levels as playable as I can, then move on to polish/presentation.

Thank you for taking time to try out my game and to give feedback
Title: Re: Jet Set Manic Adventure
Post by: War on December 02, 2019, 11:13:59 AM
This is by design. I wanted to provide a "puzzle" for players to work out as to how to get the items.

Glad you worked it out.

My initial focus is to make the levels as playable as I can, then move on to polish/presentation.

Thank you for taking time to try out my game and to give feedback
Your initial focus is good, it is exactly Naughty Dog philosophy. And for the feedback, it's totally normal. It's what make games live.
Title: Re: Jet Set Manic Adventure
Post by: CGM on December 02, 2019, 05:54:10 PM
I'll play it later today. :)
Title: Re: Jet Set Manic Adventure
Post by: Gizgord on December 02, 2019, 05:56:03 PM
it's fair for a first try. lacking in visual department, I hope you touch on that sooner than later.
I'm sure you can take more advantage of given tools as you advance.
not much to say now, I'll wait for an update. :)
Title: Re: Jet Set Manic Adventure
Post by: Alley on December 02, 2019, 10:20:57 PM
I just played the game and my opinion remains the same. Yeah, Warrior555MainGanon can be probably right about the game is not being done and so the game may become better also. However, taking this as an excuse, I also can say my opinion is not that good and may change in time when the game gets improved and updated. At the same time, a lot of people here can't keep work with their projects for too long so the games which don't begin big never probably will.

Basically, I started my alternative project same way with a priority to be fast rather than good first but also I added some most important rules, however, like monsters, their roles, when the stronger ones will come, some new ACS functions to make one different from the other, etc. ::) PB is not a complicated application and the most important rules for the beginners should be still at least connected tiles, fitting music, backgrounds and such to gain at least some first interest. Noone asks for advanced systems, such as customs, new sprites music, crushers, lasers and such. Just placing things randomly may also get a developer's brains crashed very soon when it is time to polish things. You basically will need to replace everything.
You even can't plan anything special without building at least the first amateur shapes of the level, without using certain things, etc because that is how it will work. In toolkits, the most difficult moments to create something big is considering with proper choices and positions.

My first suggestions for everyone no matter if they are my close friends or not are that the level tiles must be connected, fitting backgrounds and music, nothing special but still something that looks like a regular game. :)
Title: Re: Jet Set Manic Adventure
Post by: saiwong3268 on December 03, 2019, 01:27:24 PM
that the level tiles must be connected, fitting backgrounds and music, nothing special but still something that looks like a regular game. :)

Alley, you need to understand that my game, as its title reflects, is a homage to older platform games
such as "Manic Miner" and "Jet Set Willy". The levels are designed in the same style which includes
unconnected tiles

Just do a Google search to view pictures of their levels and you will see why my levels are designed in this way. see link below:

https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=manic+miner+levels&FORM=HDRSC2

Here are some example pictures from the games



(https://i.ibb.co/r6n728j/Manic-Miner-Screen5.png) (https://ibb.co/85FKgvC)

(https://i.ibb.co/HGkPGhp/gaming-manic-miner-1.jpg) (https://imgbb.com/)


(https://i.ibb.co/gj1M7pH/Level-04.gif) (https://imgbb.com/)

Chuckie Egg level

(https://i.ibb.co/v16bDyY/hqdefault.jpg) (https://imgbb.com/)



(https://i.ibb.co/KWW40qK/hqdefault.jpg) (https://imgbb.com/)
Title: Re: Jet Set Manic Adventure
Post by: Alley on December 03, 2019, 03:10:07 PM
I understand what you are pointing out about but please don't think I haven't considered completely about what I am complaining about!
First I can argue on your own examples if you are trying to say that tiles are not connected in the game showed by you. :) Secondly, you may not understand completely what I am trying to say. To understand, please watch the picture below and answer if you actually understand!
(https://i.ibb.co/JnmVbJg/Tile-placement.png)

Now, okay, I agree that your Alpha is not too difficult to be polished to look like a game you showed me later. However, you then can make your game look like an old original and PB does have some simple resources to start with such a completely black background. At the end of the development, it should have no quality graphics tiles when being unproperly connected between those tiles. See? Cutting out some lines, shapes, colors from one piece of ground can make a whole line of the ground look all connected.

The final decision, of course, is yours if you still think I am not right about what should you fix but you only can wake some interest by your close friends that way. There is a lot of regular looking stuff already now and people are not going to choose a game for a long gameplay experience where things even haven't been connected.
Title: Re: Jet Set Manic Adventure
Post by: War on December 03, 2019, 08:56:46 PM
(https://i.ibb.co/r6n728j/Manic-Miner-Screen5.png) (https://ibb.co/85FKgvC)
(https://i.ibb.co/HGkPGhp/gaming-manic-miner-1.jpg) (https://imgbb.com/)

 (https://imgbb.com/)
MY EYES!
Title: Re: Jet Set Manic Adventure
Post by: CGM on December 03, 2019, 09:01:29 PM
My review:

Jet Manic Adventure really could use a bit of work. Really, I shouldn't be reviewing this game. Because maybe some people like these kinds of games, but personally, I'm not the kind of guy who likes to play a game that has short not too well designed levels with messed up tiles. And that's not the problem for me. I love levels where you find collectables. But not where the take 30 seconds to beat, and enemies are swarming the place. If I was the developer, I'd add puzzles and stuff to be necessary to access collectables. I'm not trying to be mean, but really, if you want to make a good game, make it challenging, fun, and something that takes a couple minutes to beat.

Star rating: 2 Stars
Title: Re: Jet Set Manic Adventure
Post by: saiwong3268 on December 22, 2019, 02:51:57 PM
I have updated Jet Set Manic Adventure. This version has 10 levels.

Enjoy
Title: Re: Jet Set Manic Adventure
Post by: CGM on December 22, 2019, 10:23:07 PM
Yay! I'll play it tomorrow and review it then.
Title: Re: Jet Set Manic Adventure
Post by: War on December 23, 2019, 10:54:41 AM
I already finished it 8)
This was really hard to play but the idea is good. But if I can have a suggestion, you should add bosses.
To kill them, we should don't need attacks but interruptor pressing, that sort of thing.
For example, in the game Never Give Up, there is bosses and to beat them, we have to avoid boss attacks and press buttons when possible in order to deal them damages.
Title: Re: Jet Set Manic Adventure
Post by: Gizgord on December 24, 2019, 02:11:54 PM
I like how you made levels not very linear. you also came back and decorated previous levels, now they look pretty nice.
not much wrong with this. my only complaint is you sometimes went overboard with hazards (enemies and cannons), for example in level 6. it looks too busy. if you think hazards are justified, put in more hearts to collect.

are you planning on making more?
Title: Re: Jet Set Manic Adventure
Post by: War on December 24, 2019, 03:03:54 PM
are you planning on making more?
Im pretty sure the answer will be YES :D
Title: Re: Jet Set Manic Adventure
Post by: saiwong3268 on December 24, 2019, 03:06:51 PM
Thanks for the feedback, it is appreciated.

With regard to the difficultly, I made levels harder due to previous feedback that they
didn't want to play levels that you can complete in 30 seconds. Also other games that I played
in the Explore section were much more harder, so I assumed these were the standard difficulties you
were accustomed to.

However, from your new comments
I can tweek my levels to make them easier (e.g. reduce cannons and enemies).
I can also look into providing
options for different difficulty levels (e.g. easy, hard, impossible).

I want to make a game that the community can enjoy. So once I make the adjustments, give
me feedback if they have been adjusted to the right difficulty level for you. 
Title: Re: Jet Set Manic Adventure
Post by: saiwong3268 on December 27, 2019, 02:21:41 PM
I have just updated Jet Set Manic Adventure.

It now features Standard & Hard difficulty levels that you can choose from by entering house in Overworld map.

It also includes 1 bonus level and a boss.

Hard difficulty is original game levels.
I have created easier versions which I've placed in Standard difficulty level. Let me  know if
the difficulty is now at an acceptable level. Enjoy.
Title: Re: Jet Set Manic Adventure
Post by: CGM on December 27, 2019, 03:27:27 PM
Thank you, Saiwong! I will try it right now.