Hey mantha16,
I just finished playing through your Sammings pack, so I just wanted to send you my replays. I also did an LP of this pack, so the link to watch it is here:
Kaywhyn's LP of mantha16's Sammings pack. Enjoy!
Feedback on the PackI'm mostly going to echo a lot of the feedback that Strato provided you, as I agree with nearly everything he has already said. The Snow levels were definitely enjoyable, particularly since I love the great variety from level to level in this group. None of the levels were particularly difficult, although I say Snow 2 is probably the most precise in terms of skill assignments. My favorite Snow level would have to be the final one, Snow 8. Quite open-ended and very easy. My only gripe with it is how the exit doesn't display fully, as most of the top seems to be abruptly cut off. Also, in Snow 5 and 6, the pickup label for the entrance could be more clearly shown, as I didn't even notice it until after the hatch opened. The easiest way is to simply move the pickup label beside the entrance and out of the way so that no lemming actually falls on top of it and "collects" it and make the skill icon disappear.
Regarding the Pillar levels, I also agree with Strato that this group of levels suffers the most in quality from being extremely repetitive in the level structure, as there isn't too much difference from one level to the next. I'm also not much of a fan of exits in midair. I got to say that it was amusing seeing a sideways water pool on Pillar 7 and was certainly great for the variety in the group of levels. At the same time, the level would also work with just a horizontally placed water pool on ground level. It was nevertheless my favorite of the Pillar levels. Pillar 8 was also a really good level, but I would make the pick-up skills clearer since it's very hard to tell what they are when they're partially hidden by the ceiling. It's not all bad here, since they simply turn out to be the skills that you don't have any of available at the start. It was probably my favorite level of the group or at least a close second. Pillar 6 was really nice for the creative trick of using a stoner to get lower with a digger.
For the Bubble levels, the Bubble tileset happens to be a big favorite of mine, as I kind of love the association of bubbles with playtime and with surprisingly how much you can do with them besides just blow bubbles from a wand. There was somewhat more variety with these levels than the Pillar ones, but for the most part these levels don't stand out as much from one another as well. So, I'm in agreement with Strato on not much variety here either and so the overall quality of these levels suffers as a result. Bubble 3 was certainly the hardest Bubble level of the group, and probably the hardest level of the entire pack, as evidenced in my LP in that this level took me the longest out of any level in the pack. I'm definitely not used to using stackers after platforming to get higher, as I'm more used to using them after building.
Finally, for the Marble, I 100% agree with Strato that I absolutely loved the huge variety of the levels in this group. Although the Bubble tileset is a huge favorite for me, I probably liked the Marble levels the best out of the other 3 groups in the pack. Well done!
Both Marble 1 and 8 are quite precise in the skill assignments, with constructive skills and bomber, respectively, and I'm generally not a fan of fiddliness that can result from such precision. Other than that, these two levels were quite nice, although in the former we have the exit in midair again. Marble 7 is also really precise with bombing a digger so that there's a step on both sides for lemmings to land on to prevent them from splatting to get to the exit. My favorite Marble level is Marble 4. It has a time limit, but I don't mind them. I just love the solution the most in this level out of any of the other levels in the group. Finally, Marble 6 is another great level, although I would certainly make the fall clearer that it is not fatal. In my LP, when I did use the splat ruler, 1 more pixel lower and it would had been a fatal drop.
Overall, this is certainly not a bad attempt at a first pack. At least you've done something that I've yet to do, and that is design levels, let alone release a pack. I doubt I'll be releasing any level pack, but I will likely give level designing a try just to see if I'm truly capable of making great puzzles from levels. Just to reiterate my dislikes, I'm not much of a fan of exits floating in midair, as well as hidden pickups, whether partially or fully, and to an extent extremely precise skill assignments, but it all depends on the skills needed. Also, something that I have yet to point out, but I also generally don't like levels where the exits and entrances are cut off at the top. In some levels, the decorative object on top of the exit got cut off with the top of the level, and that to me just looks strange. Other than this minor gripe, some of the levels where this happens were still great ones!
Most importantly, the pack felt quite dull and repetitive with the same tileset, especially when there wasn't that much difference between the levels in each group to make them stand out from one another, which was especially prominent in both the Pillar and Bubble level groups. So, I'm in agreement with Strato here. Now, I wouldn't had mind levels being in the same tileset over in a row as much if there was much greater variety in the layout each time. Then the pack wouldn't had been as boring to me. However, I do understand that this is just your first level pack and you were simply learning at the time. I'm quite certain that you've learned from the feedback you have already been given and was able to use them to improve your sequel pack and future ones. As if I could do better than what you released. Pff, I wish
That's why I prefer playing and solving levels, as my talents lie there, not in level designing, as I'm just no good artistically. Never was, never will be. It's a wonder how everyone in my family can draw except me.
To close off, I do appreciate these easy levels that you have made, so thank you for that!
I've been playing nothing but very hard levels for the past several weeks, so this was a pleasant surprise to play much easier levels for once. Now, I don't mind difficult levels, as I can definitely pass them given enough time, but with how I've played nothing but hard levels for a long time, they're certainly burning me out. As much as I love the challenges of playing hard levels, I definitely need to play a bunch of very easy levels from time to time, as a way to relax and have more fun.
Once again, good job on a fairly decent first pack. Hope your studies for your Master's is going well, and I'll see you around whenever you come online
