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Temporary => Knytt Stories Level Releases => Topic started by: Talps on October 24, 2020, 01:45:26

Title: LPChip Hooray Fun Time [KS+][Large/Challenge/Scenic]
Post by: Talps on October 24, 2020, 01:45:26
Click HERE to begin downloading your EXPERIENCE. (http://knyttlevels.com/levels/Nifforum%20-%20LPChip%20Hooray%20Fun%20Time.knytt.bin)

Egomassive's KS+ mod is required to play (available for download here (http://egomassive.com/ks/) - make sure you have the most up to date version).



Ladies, gentlemen, boys and girls, people of the jury and distinguished members of the world press...

...Allow me to tell you a story.

It is the story of a man.

That man's name...
...was LPChip.

LPChip was a man who enjoyed many things, including...
Administrating an indie videogame forum...
...Making bodacious music...
...And licking other people's cats...

...But what he enjoyed most of all...
...was searching for new stars with his telescope.

Every clear night LPChip would search for new stars...
...Even when the sleep deprivation was really bad...

(which might possibly help to explain all that cat-licking)

...And then one day, he realised that he had discovered one hundred totally new stars.

And so, LPChip decided to travel the world, telling everyone he met of his amazing accomplishment.

This is the story of what happened next.
This is his story.

This is...

LPChip!
Hooray!
Fun Time!


'LPChip Hooray Fun Time' is a community built level made by myself, Fubaka, Firecat, IxMarcel, Ultigonio, StraightFlame, Vegetal Gibber and canteven, with contributions by sergiocornaga, egomassive, BloxMaster and SiamJai, to celebrate the occasion of LPChip receiving his one hundredth star (which happened... four, five years ago? Ahem, anyway...)

The level features glorious unique tilesets, COs and music entirely composed by LPChip himself apart from the bits that were composed by other people, besides extensive use of KS+ features, an extended dream sequence, unrealistic weather effects, a magic carpet, a world-ending slood-related crisis, and one really tastelessly coloured signpost.

We who are listed above hope you enjoy playing it as much as we enjoyed making it, and we are sure you will join us in thanking LPChip for all he has done in hosting and maintaining these forums for all these years.

Thank you, LPChip. Thank you, and goodnight.



Download not finished yet?

Why not pass the time by...



Title: Re: LPChip Hooray Fun Time [KS+][Large/Challenge/Scenic]
Post by: Fubaka on October 24, 2020, 06:22:20
Glad to see that this level finally got finished. Kind of ironic that the day I decide to check in the forums again after a long absence is the day this gets released. Now, in proper me fashion, I will conduct a review, as I have just completed the level. For my metric, I will be using the classic T-DAVE subjective rating system. For those unfamiliar, check out this old review thread. (https://nifflas.lp1.nl/index.php?topic=6604.0)

Now, just a quick disclaimer before I get started. Some might consider it to be a conflict of interest for me to be reviewing a level that I myself took part in designing. However, since I completed my section nearly five years ago, I think enough time has passed that I can look back at my own work more objectively, and I do not plan on going easy on my own design choices wherever there are issues to be raised.

Trustworthiness: This level is described as a large challenge-based adventure, with the forum post including the unofficial designation of "scenic" (which from what I remember is used to denote that a lot of emphasis was placed on visual effects and/or tileset work without specifically using the "environmental" category). I think these designations are apt, as it will take a couple hours at least for your typical player to get through this level the first time, and a lot of work was indeed put into visual effects, mainly in the form of unique locales and cut-scenes.

While the preview and forum description give a good idea of what the story and scenario of the level will be about, it is not quite mentioned that this level is a largely linear affair, with relatively little backtracking. In addition, the level itself is listed as Normal difficulty, but I personally would have listed it as Hard instead. Keep in mind that I try to keep my metric based on the idea that Nifflas' original level The Machine is the benchmark for Normal (or Easy) difficulty, and this level is definitely harder than The Machine.

Overall, I judge this level's character to be Neutral Good.

Design: Given that this level was built by several different people with their own design philosophies, one cannot necessarily expect a seamless experience throughout. In order to help sell this notion of disjointed level design to the player, the level makes use of shifts through various dream sequences in order to connect the disparate areas together. Due to the inherent difficulty in making a level like this coherent and smooth, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the level actually does manage to flow smoothly from stage to stage, with the difficulty curve being very consistent as well. None of the stages veer too far away from the central challenge-focused gameplay of dodging enemies and obstacles, and the power-ups build upon each-other very organically from stage to stage. The unique designs of each stage also help to diversify the types of obstacles that LPChip will be traversing, keeping gameplay fresh.

Now, I wasn't necessarily looking for errors this time around, as I was just in for a casual playthrough. That said, I never got stuck in a wall nor accessed any voids, so from my perspective, the level is pretty rock-solid in design.

There are a few nit-picks I would make in places however when concerning platform and enemy placement. There are a good deal of areas that require leaps of faith off the edge of the screen in order to reach new platforms. This is not necessarily a fatal flaw, but it does become a minor source of frustration when working with limited access to powerups near the beginning of the level, creating a need for trial and error to get around some environmental hazards. A few areas also suffer from somewhat haphazard enemy placement, which makes it more luck-based to get past than I would like, which can sometimes be aggravated by a dearth of save points. Lastly, there are many places, particularly in the Dreamworld section, where ghostly enemies can blindside you in areas where they are hard to see coming.


Although the level is mostly straightforward, there are a few secrets that can be discovered here and there with a little determination. A lot of these I did not personally find until I peeked into the editor after I finished my playthrough.

Spoiler: One missed secret (click to show/hide)

Despite these little blips, I think the level does a really good job design-wise, and I never really thought any challenge was unfair, nor did I really get stuck anywhere. Overall, I think the level design is superb.

Agenda: This level is very heavily story-driven for a Knytt Stories level, with much of the game giving way to lengthy and often humorous dialogue exchanges between LPChip (our protagonist) and the various inhabitants of the world he traverses (whether they be based on other Nifforum users or not).

The story can be essentially broken down as follows. One starry evening, LPChip looks through his telescope and discovers his "100th star". To commemorate this achievement, he runs off to tell as many people as possible about his discovery (against Mi's wishes) and ends up in a heap of trouble as he trespasses into several dangerous realms.

Spoiler: More plot details (click to show/hide)

The story does a good job of justifying the nature of the level's design and is packed full of humorous moments and references to the community at large. It also feels appropriately celebratory (even if it came several years late :P ).

Overall, the agenda is met summa cum laude!

Vibe: Each area of this level has a distinctive look, art-style, and set of music, though a lot of the tracks you will hear come from LPChip's own repertoire of songs. (Speaking personally, if I had known about that particular factoid in advance, I would probably have used an LPChip song for the Dreamworld area as well.) As such, the vibe changes drastically from one area to the next, though given how the story operates, this is not really an issue. The credits of the level further enforce the patchwork nature of this level, by giving separate credits for each section.

Due to this design, it becomes easy to form opinions on your favorite areas. For me personally, I'd have to pick Vegetal Gibber's peanut butter desert as my favorite section.

The vibe overall feels like a box of assorted sweets.

Enjoyability: Due to the good design and the humorous nature of the story and dialogue, I found myself enjoying this level quite a lot. Its linear nature does make it a largely one-and-done experience, however, unless you want to go back and look for secrets you may have missed, or if it has been a while since your last playthrough.

Overall, it was quite entertaining.

Summation: After a while, I had resigned myself to the realistic possibility that this level would never see the light of day. After all, Knytt Stories is over 13 years old now, and it's rare for a community to remain engaged with relatively small games like this for an extended period of time, not to mention the now sluggish pace of the forums compared to how they once were. But it goes to show that, even if it takes much longer than initially promised, things like this can still be done. I suppose that's one thing I resonate with in particular, since I also have a long-standing promise to fulfill in this community that I intend to keep. (let's just say someone here's either gonna get a level or 20 dollars at some point in the future).

To see that not only was this level actually completed, but that it's also really good is a light of hope for me in these trying times. I'd like to give my thanks to everyone who contributed, and to Talps in particular for not letting this dream die. And of course, here's to LPChip and his 100th star, and any others in the future.
Title: Re: LPChip Hooray Fun Time [KS+][Large/Challenge/Scenic]
Post by: Talps on October 24, 2020, 14:07:11
Regarding the difficulty, the original plan was to make a Normal level so that was how I set it up when I created the first area, but as the project went on it very obviously become Hard. I think we all forgot to update the category.

Glad you enjoyed, and thanks for your help in making this happen. It did not feel real when I uploaded it last night.

Title: Re: LPChip Hooray Fun Time [KS+][Large/Challenge/Scenic]
Post by: Purple Ink on October 25, 2020, 07:50:14
This is exactly what I'd expect from assembling some of the greatest KS designers to collaborate on a level. What an awesome experience! The humour and references throughout were great and I actually laughed at a couple of them. Top notch stuff, guys. Really great to see a monumental level like this finally brought to fruition. I'm sure this will go down as a beloved level for a lot of people. :D
Title: Re: LPChip Hooray Fun Time [KS+][Large/Challenge/Scenic]
Post by: zhynna on October 25, 2020, 12:17:57
Very good level!
Title: Re: LPChip Hooray Fun Time [KS+][Large/Challenge/Scenic]
Post by: LPChip on October 25, 2020, 23:06:32
Small note from me.

Thank you everyone. I saw the news yesterday morning, got the level and started recording a video. I did get stuck in the level, but after a visit to discord and a few hours later, I knew where to go. Today I finished the level and recorded all footage.

But I want this to be more than just showing my play through, so there will be some extensive editing taking place and stuff.. This means it will be a bit before my video will be ready for everyone's viewing pleasure. Its probably going to be long. Luckily not 5 years long... But probably somewhere close to that... maybe... maybe not.

Anyway, I did want to reply so others know I have seen it. :) I just want my real reply with video to be something as special as this level is. :)

Anyway, LPChip signing out. See you in a bit. :)
Title: Re: LPChip Hooray Fun Time [KS+][Large/Challenge/Scenic]
Post by: GrayFace on October 27, 2020, 17:30:40
Amazing level!
Also, what a nice coincidence that this level came out just as egomassive has returned a mere month ago :)

The only problem is that text in time-based dialogs often switches insanely fast so you can't read it.
I also found one void accessed by a tricky jump, but seeing how useful these things sometimes are for speedrunning, I'm not even sure they're worth fixing.
Title: Re: LPChip Hooray Fun Time [KS+][Large/Challenge/Scenic]
Post by: LPChip on October 27, 2020, 23:27:43
Yeah, the text went really fast in the last dialogs, but given that I have recorded everything, one of the things I'll do is make that section play slower so one can actually read the dialogs just fine (me included)
Title: Re: LPChip Hooray Fun Time [KS+][Large/Challenge/Scenic]
Post by: Talps on October 28, 2020, 01:42:16
I deliberately made some of those dialogues play a bit too fast to make it feel like everyone was talking over each other. If I could show more than one text box on the screen at once, I would have made that section even quicker. I know it makes the text hard to catch, but it's hard to hear everyone in a crowd when they're all talking at once.

Though I admit, the word 'obsequiousness' is hard to read even when not at lightning speed.

GrayFace, can you tell me where you found the void?
Title: Re: LPChip Hooray Fun Time [KS+][Large/Challenge/Scenic]
Post by: GrayFace on October 28, 2020, 10:14:57
I deliberately made some of those dialogues play a bit too fast to make it feel like everyone was talking over each other.
Well, then you can make it pause when up is pressed, for example. That would require employing good old wallswim trick, e.g. https://www.dropbox.com/s/m7mvsjptsealhbu/GrayFace%20-%20Test%20Time%20Shift%20Pause.knytt.bin?dl=1
Ultimately, anything's better than not being able to read what they're saying.

GrayFace, can you tell me where you found the void?
x1057y1063. And I just checked - it doesn't seem to be useful for speedruns.
Title: Re: LPChip Hooray Fun Time [KS+][Large/Challenge/Scenic]
Post by: pfrangip on October 29, 2020, 00:40:20
Hello!

Congratulations to all involved... this really was a thrilling experience. The end scene in particular was incredibly entertaining! I had a lot of fun figuring out who did what section... Ultigonio, Vegetal Gibber, Straightflame, and Fubaka's sections were all very stylistically obvious. Talps successfully convinced me that his portions were actually designed by Sergio Cornaga, so well done there. ixMarcel and Firecats sections were less obvious to me... good job creating a cohesive seamless experience there!

I did not find any secrets the first time around, but I look forward to trying to find them.

And Congrats to LP Chip on your 134th star!
Title: Re: LPChip Hooray Fun Time [KS+][Large/Challenge/Scenic]
Post by: LPChip on October 29, 2020, 09:28:31
Technically 133... one star was stolen in a level or smth... :nuts: But thanks. :)
Title: Re: LPChip Hooray Fun Time [KS+][Large/Challenge/Scenic]
Post by: Vegetal Gibber on November 07, 2020, 21:34:30
Just chiming in to say it's been an honor for me to contribute to this project. It's been a long (and I mean loooong :P2 ) but exciting ride. Congratulations to everyone involved, especially to Talps who kept the project alive for all these years and led it to completion. You guys rock :hiddenstar:

It's not much, but here's some bonus stuff I wanted to share with you all to commemorate the occasion:

Title: Re: LPChip Hooray Fun Time [KS+][Large/Challenge/Scenic]
Post by: egomassive on November 11, 2020, 12:28:01
Now that this level is out and we can talk to LPChip about it, I have a question I've been wondering about since early development. The LPChip character in this level is based on the DJ from Knytt Underground seen in LPChip's current forum avatar. Do you identify with the DJ, LPChip? I felt like that was a big misunderstanding.

Also, congratulations on completing this level everyone! Vegetal's minigame was amazing. The cameo's were cute. The jokes were terrible. The ending was epic. Thanks for including me in the game even though I mostly just observed from a safe distance. After pounding Endless Winter into a finished product I was not enthusiastic to join a similar project. However, LPChip certainly deserves the honor and I'm glad you all (eventually) made such a fine level without me.
Title: Re: LPChip Hooray Fun Time [KS+][Large/Challenge/Scenic]
Post by: Talps on November 11, 2020, 15:52:44
You can count it as your 200th star celebratory level as well. Glad you enjoyed.
Title: Re: LPChip Hooray Fun Time [KS+][Large/Challenge/Scenic]
Post by: LPChip on November 12, 2020, 09:19:54
Now that this level is out and we can talk to LPChip about it, I have a question I've been wondering about since early development. The LPChip character in this level is based on the DJ from Knytt Underground seen in LPChip's current forum avatar. Do you identify with the DJ, LPChip? I felt like that was a big misunderstanding.

Also, congratulations on completing this level everyone! Vegetal's minigame was amazing. The cameo's were cute. The jokes were terrible. The ending was epic. Thanks for including me in the game even though I mostly just observed from a safe distance. After pounding Endless Winter into a finished product I was not enthusiastic to join a similar project. However, LPChip certainly deserves the honor and I'm glad you all (eventually) made such a fine level without me.

The DJ from Knytt Underground, featured in my avatar is a reference to swedish (I think?) DJ Dub Dictator, who makes electronic/dance/dubstep kind of music.

The reason why I have this in my avatar is basically for the following reason: I wanted to update my avatar and put something of Knytt Underground in it. As Knytt Underground doesn't have much music related things in it, using this scene was an obvious choice. I am an electronic producer though I would say our music styles are quite different. So to answer the question, do I identify with DJ Dub Dictator... honestly, not entirely, but it was not a problem for me playing the level.

PS. I'm still working on my video review/playthough. I'm pretty far in it, still about 45 minutes of video to edit...
Title: Re: LPChip Hooray Fun Time [KS+][Large/Challenge/Scenic]
Post by: LPChip on November 14, 2020, 18:19:12
The video is done! YAY

Enjoy it here, but keep note, its duration is OVER 3 hours! Reserve some time to watch it, or watch it in chunks if you must. I'd love to hear feedback from you guys about the video. I did my best to make it something special. Feel free to comment directly on the video or in this topic. :)

The link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHSZxjocelc
Title: Re: LPChip Hooray Fun Time [KS+][Large/Challenge/Scenic]
Post by: Talps on November 15, 2020, 13:37:23
Phew, that was a lengthy video. I'm glad you enjoyed. It was great seeing your responses.

And well done for cruising past every secret (including the reference to The Explore Challenge). :P
Title: Re: LPChip Hooray Fun Time [KS+][Large/Challenge/Scenic]
Post by: LPChip on November 15, 2020, 21:48:15
Yeah... Sorry 'bout that... I have plans to replay the level to actively find the secrets. The problem with the blind-run was that I felt that my skills were not as good as they once were, so instead of just searching everywhere I was more focussed on playing the level to keep the pace of the video high and enjoyable. There were a few places where I thought there could be a secret and I did look for some places but wasn't like: I'm going to check every single wall and back-track after a new powerup just to see if there is a secret. I did want to see every screen so I did back-track for that, but nothing more than that. It is something I do plan to do in my 2nd run though.

Not sure I will be recording that however. But I actually did consider recording a 2nd run to find all secrets, then edit it in at the end as a bonus feature. But given that I already spent more than a week on what I brought out now, I decided against it.
Title: Re: LPChip Hooray Fun Time [KS+][Large/Challenge/Scenic]
Post by: Vegetal Gibber on November 15, 2020, 23:43:18
It was a fun watch and it was nice to see you had a good time with the level :^^:  Also, it was cool to get some background on the music.

Sorry for that 10th coin :oops:  I tried to make that area a bit more noticeable using detector blocks, but it seems my plans were expertly foiled XD
Title: Re: LPChip Hooray Fun Time [KS+][Large/Challenge/Scenic]
Post by: LPChip on November 16, 2020, 08:51:01
Ah! Yeah, I still don't get how I missed the detector. But that is just a silly bugger on my end, enjoying the experience so much I just breezed through it not even finding a single secret, which I normally am pretty capable of doing. I think the "I want this to be a great viewing experience" took the better part of me.

Glad you enjoyed the video though. :)

Btw, if you had shifted the entrance to the other side of the ledge, I would not have seen it as shadow and would have investigated it most likely. Now it just seemed like I'm entering a cave so this is probably shadow, even though the same shadow was not on the inside, but that never clicked in my mind.
Title: Re: LPChip Hooray Fun Time [KS+][Large/Challenge/Scenic]
Post by: Comhon on December 19, 2020, 18:44:57
Finishing this level took me a while. I played the level area by area, day by day and it took me two weeks to complete, since some of the challenges were quite hard for me, because this is the first (large) KS level I have played for years.
And is the most beautiful one so far and really out of the ordinary. The level design is perfect, the music is epic, the challenges are deeply thought and well designed.
The level gave me a lot of inspiration how the Knytt Stories levels can be made today using KS+. Even I have played the egomassive's feature demostration in the past, I somehow overlooked much of the features.
Thank you guys all for your awesome work.
Title: Re: LPChip Hooray Fun Time [KS+][Large/Challenge/Scenic]
Post by: LPChip on December 19, 2020, 23:27:22
You may want to view my Lets Play too, I was quite a bit quicker than 2 weeks luckily, but I share some insights too, given that I made music for my own level without knowing I made music for my own level.... or something. :D

See here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHSZxjocelc
Title: Re: LPChip Hooray Fun Time [KS+][Large/Challenge/Scenic]
Post by: Comhon on December 23, 2020, 19:47:36
Thank you for the link. I might noticed it on Niffcord, however it was quite a time until I finished the level so I completely forgot about it.
By the way, your music is great. I mostly enjoyed the one in the cold mines and I now find myself humming the main theme during the day.
I am still halfway through the let's play :) Looking forward to your reactions in the later parts of the level.
Title: Re: LPChip Hooray Fun Time [KS+][Large/Challenge/Scenic]
Post by: Polana on March 05, 2021, 23:22:01
Just finished it, although I'm sure I wasn't everywhere. Ending was probably the most epic one I've ever encountered in a KS level.

Spoiler: (click to show/hide)