Space Crusade

I'll beam you out after I finish my soap opera.

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: Space Crusade MaGMML3 Judge Application Levels

By the Emperor!

Overview Statistics Elements: 1 Enemies: Cannon Joe (reskinned) Crazy Cannon Fan Fiend Jamacy Lyric Metall Returning Sniper Joe (reskinned) Shield Attacker Spring Head Twin Cannon Up'n'Down Gimmicks: Count Bomb Drop Platform Falling Platform (MM5, Custom) Fork Block Plantman Platform Reflect Block Sparkman Platform Splash Woman Water Platform Bosses: Dreadnought

Theme Music Stage Order Previous: X Factory Next: Gate 303

"The Ultramarines have bunkered down, we better move it soldier! We must stop the alien scum!"

―Blood Angel Marine

Overview

Space Crusade is the fourth of the MaGMML3 Judge Application Levels. It is themed around the Warhammer 40K series, and has, by creator ACESpark's own admission, a "billion" gimmicks.

Judge Comments

Judge Applicants' Comments
Pachy  : 48 / 100
I don't know anything about the Warhammer series, so all the references are going to be going over my head. Going go. I find the reskinned Joes to be quite cute, but that and the boss seems to be the extend of the reskinning. I think there should've been more redrawn enemies to help resemble the franchise you're crossing over with. Aesthetics aside, this is where the level start to fall apart, sadly. The first screen with enemies, immediately one of the ladder guys scroll itself off-screen, which is a strange placement by itself. But the catch is on the next screen where there's an annoyingly-placed Lyric that requires you to jump across the gap right as you enter or else you take damage, and if you try to reset the room by climbing down, you'll get hit by the climbing enemy. The Up-and-Downs were introduced in a way that you're gonna get hit without any indications that they're there, it's not instant-death but still a rather rude introductory, especially after considering the next instance you see them, you're not gonna bump into them accidentally. Despite the general poor placements of enemies, I do like the rooms that have the timebombs along with a Cannon Joe and a Fan Fiend. They feel more puzzle-oriented and not as unfair as the other rooms in the level. Gimmicks aren't introduced very well either, as in one of the earlier rooms, there were 3 different platforms all introduced at once! (Over deadly spiky goodness even, and there's one entirely new non-devkit platform.) Right after that, it drops the player into a "think-fast" situation with the donut block that wasn't introduced beforehand either, so they are likely to die the first time around. (Also the inclusion of the Joes there are a bit overkill, don't you think?) You need to make sure to introduce new elements to the player in a safe environment, getting them familiar with the gimmicks before putting them into action right away. Later on, the blue "horseshoe" platforms are used as deflecting surfaces for your shots, a property that wasn't clearly conveyed due to the poor introduction. There's nothing much to say about the boss as it's just the walker enemy with more attacks added in. The spread shot could be a bit annoying to dodge but it's still manageable. I'd also suggest to tone down the laser damage a bit too perhaps? All in all, it's a cute little crossover stage that's unfortunately filled with poor design decisions. I suggest to look more into other people's stage designs or even the official levels, investigate how the difficulty curve for each stages go.
Samario  : 73 / 100
So, first off, this is clearly trying to make a reference to something, but... God knows what it is. It's also somewhat irrelevant really, as it wouldn't affect the stage quality. The stage itself has functional aesthetics, that do look good in some places. The edits to Star Man's tileset do seem to mostly fit with the tileset itself. The stage's boss, while somewhat just an edit of a Dachone, has enough attacks added to it, in combination with the unique arena, that it is actually fun, and definitely more balanced than the rest of the stage. Which seems to have a strange fascination with instant death spikes, as almost half of the rooms have instant death spikes in them. The gimmick of the stage, with the falling, reflective platforms, is sound in theory, but is introduced in a dangerous situation, giving little time for the player to react.
M-Jacq  : 43 / 100
The Warhammer theming is cute, but it can’t disguise how this level repeatedly flaunts one the key principles of good level design: don’t introduce two new things at once. The second screen has two new enemies; the third screen has two new enemies AND a new platforming gimmick; the fourth screen has a new enemy type and THREE new platforming gimmicks... et cetera. And even worse, they’re introduced in high-risk situations where pausing to see what this new platform does will most likely kill you. But not all hope is lost. There were two screens in the level where you had to dodge projectiles/Up-n-Downs while sliding, which I thought were both novel and fun. They felt more like a shmup than regular run-and-gunning, which was apropos giving the spaceship setting. And the boss is cool too: great job making the Star Man miniboss kind of threatening. I just wish you’d spent less time reskinning the level assets and more time using them well.
PK  : 37 / 100
Putting enemies into spots where you cant kill them isn’t fun… But lets start from the beginning. One of the first enemies in the level just straight up goes up the ladder and despawns. Why even have it there? Next up we see the Splash Woman blocks…which appear again at the very end of the stage. Could have used them throughout the stage at least. Also, sliding under spikes on a moving platform seems like a harsh spike in difficulty for a gimmick you only used once before. Next up, you throw 4 new gimmicks into my face, with the danger of spikes right below my feet. And wow, those Up n Downs are placed in the most jerkish of positions. Then, you start putting enemies into spots where you either cant hit them for a long part of the screen, or not at all. Now the idea of that isn’t that bad on paper, but you just didn’t pull it off well. Lastly, we have a boss fight. Im not a fan of the enemy the boss is based off, as I always have had trouble dodging the lasers. Combine that with Centaur Mans bullets, these floor crawling enemies from MM5, and a missle that may as well not exist, and I had quite a bit of trouble at first. Especially because the lasers felt like they did too much damage.
Flashman85  : / 100