Difference between revisions of "Grassy Plains"

At first, this didn't strike me as great, but I was at least *intrigued.* Not many levels use grassy plainlands for their visuals, and that gave the level something unique. It also had some neat toys, including bounce platforms on rails, some baffling pit rescue service (that doesn't always work) and these broken down Crash Lifts (which don't get NEARLY enough use for what they're capable of, on top of an ineffective intro). And... weirdly enough, Double Hanabiran works okay on a flat surface. Again, not great, but it at least had a good start.

And then we randomly switch to this generic CFTF cave, and my interest takes a nosedive. There's still some interesting elements, such as the random Wander Bell river. And the reskinned Bomb Man guy has a neat sort of concept behind him - I think it's cute to turn the jumping sprites into an indicator of where he'll come out. But otherwise? This loses a lot of its former charm, and turns into something completely boring. I wasn't sure what to expect from this, but... wow, what a disappointment.

Well...the first half resembles the level's namesake, at least. I'm not sure why it switches to a cave setting midway through, but it definitely caused some mild confusion during my first playthrough. I would say this is just a minor oddity with the level's theming, but the sudden shift in ideas doesn't stop at just the visuals.

This whole level suffers heavily from the "one and done" problem; Where a gimmick or enemy will show up for a little bit, and then is never seen or heard from again for the rest of the stage. It's unfortunate, seeing as it has two rather interesting custom gimmicks in the first half: the deteriorating Crash Man lifts, and the bouncing platforms on rails. Both of these have the potential to be fun gimmicks, but they end up feeling very mishandled here. The platforming surrounding them (and the other gimmicks, for that matter) is very awkward, especially in the rooms that come after the two Hanabrians. The deteriorating platforms are used a total of three times (the first of which you can easily skip interacting with), while the bounce rail segment is made slightly annoying thanks to how easy it is to ricochet off the other spring spheres (especially that first cluster). The bad visual conveyance here doesn't help, as part of the platform's path doesn't have any rails to show where it leads.

The second half of the stage shares most of the same issues as the first half, barring certain things (like the music now looping properly). However, it feels...strangely empty by comparison. The room layouts are overly basic, even when doing some more intricate gimmick usage (such as the reverse gravity room or the water current segment). Granted, the first half wasn't all that exciting either, but its challenges were at least a little bit more engaging. All in all, it really makes me wish the level had just focused on its two custom gimmicks, rather than shifting between different ones for two (relatively short) halves of a stage.

Cavey Caves May Be Included.

Weird aesthetics and overall a rather awkward stage to get through. The primary detriment is that the stage often fails to convey what the gimmicks will do or are actively doing to the player.

It took me a while to understand why the line-guided bouncy balls sometimes bounce you and sometimes don't; they bounce you if the line is in the "off" state. Yeah, the fact the ball graphics don't reflect that, and the player was never introduced to it in a more controlled environment, was a fairly annoying experience, to say the least.

Same goes to the weird, almost-glitch-looking Crash Man platforms. Their whole concept is they just disappear if you stand on them for too long, but the graphics just don't convey what it's gonna do, like the bouncy balls again.

Gonna love dealing with airborne homing enemies as you stand on a tiny platform. Just don't fall off, 4head!

The second half just feels like a completely different entry, coupled with different theming and background music, and none of the gimmicks really carry over, except the random gravity flips.

The water "current" gimmick, again, has no graphics to immediately convey that the water is in fact pushing you. It took an unfair death to realize what was going on initially.

The boss is just a Bomb Man reskin that has somewhat confusing sprites. The arena is smaller to make it a little bit more tricky than his original incarnation, so that's at least something?

I want you to play this level like I did: picking apart the details and trying to break everything.

Sigh at the self-deprecating sign setting the level up for failure. Take in the unappealingly basic surroundings, but appreciate the graphical flair of the parallax clouds. Enjoy the understated soundtrack, and try not to think about the improper looping and melange of audio styles.

Recognize that the rail-guided platforms have creative merit. Consider that the crumbling platforms need a proper destruction animation, as well as bits of debris falling off, to clearly communicate what's going on. Criticize the bouncy platform trains for their nonexistent learning curve, inappropriate use of invisible rails, and failure to look like they belong against a blue background.

Ponder why the level title only refers to the first half. Raise an eyebrow at the Drill Man switch and the key gate, which waste time and muddy the challenge focus. Lament that most challenges are either empty and dull or egregiously unfair, and that more checkpoints are needed.

Marvel at how a body of water can look perfectly still but contain rushing water, and at how the water abruptly disappears when its purpose has been fulfilled. Observe that the only way to determine what's a downward screen transition and what's a bottomless pit is to throw yourself in. Reel at the boss's incomprehensible appearance and inconsistent vulnerability to Magnetic Shockwave.

Replay the level and avoid almost every challenge with Rush Jet. Enter every screen transition with the intent of crashing into something on the other side. Notice the invisible solid objects riding around on the moving platform tracks. See what catastrophic nonsense you can achieve with Magnet Beam when gravity is reversed. Hop on Rush Bike and push against the wind for a truly surreal experience.

There's a lot to work on for next time.

How the springs on wires are taught is so poorly introduced that I almost asked the devteam if the stage had broken. Given that is the core mechanic in your opening area... not the best of starts.

Still, I can't go too hard on this, really, it's clearly a beginner's effort. So I'll just quickly point out what needs fixing for future stages.

Several screen transitions straight-up kill you if gone through wrong (either by being shunted out from a wall or just plain not having a floor to stand on), suddenly invisible wires that you need to know exist, and let's just say the music looping in this stage was... unique.

Yeah, this is a level that was not really tested now, was it. And areas in the final portion of the stage often feel tacked on and are frequently just devoid of any content, or with a gimmick showing up once and never again. Stick to just a few, otherwise the level really does feel also devoid of challenge.

Another recurring issue is the death pits simply aren't labelled as such via graphical changes. Given that the way forward and instant death look exactly the same, you can see why this is an issue.

All that said, I think the idea of wire-riding springs has potential and, honestly, the water rush at the end of the stage is a fun idea.

There was an attempt at a new Robot Master. He uh, y'know, it's cute. This is somewhere where a custom object was needed, since he still had a hitbox even when he's supposed to be, a warning I guess?

Yeah, not much else to say really.

Learning stage design is a gradual process, my recommendation is - try looking at the source games some more, especially the later ones. See what works. Learn from it.