[Puzzle/Misc] Fissure

Full title: Fissure
Updated: 24/5/09

Welcome to the preview page of 'Fissure', a subquest-orientated hub-based level, complete with custom everything. By that, I mean that aside from standard KS objects, these levels will have brand new tilesets, gradients, ambience and music along with new custom objects.

This will be released in parts, each part released as an add-on which will overwrite the previous one level, adding new areas... If that makes sense. The structure will be as follows:

• Ch1 - Twisted Roots (a village, a pumping station, an overgrown garden)
• Ch2 - Crystal Playground (an underground cave system, a crystal temple)
• Ch3 - Damaged Ground (ancient ruins, a robot factory, a volcano)

All areas will be accessible from the hub, the starting village (in some cases, chambers beneath the village).

The story takes Juni across a variety of landscapes (each with their own challenges and style of gameplay) in pursuit of a being that has infected her dreams with rage. Juni flees her village after receiving a terrifying vision, seeking a way to protect her village from certain destruction, or to end to her torment...

As Juni travels through each area, the style of gameplay will change, from simple platforming / exploration in one area, to shift-based surreal puzzles in another, to enemy evasion and even perhaps a boss fight.

Category: Puzzle / Misc
Difficulty: Hard
Size: Medium
Completed Custom Tilesets: 5.5
Completed Custom Gradients: 10
Completed Custom Objects: 5.5
Custom Music: All music confirmed, with permission from the artist!
First Chapter Completion: 80%

For a taster of general story-arc, please visit here for a download of the abandoned project this is essentially a remake of.

Below are a couple of sample screenshots - see page 2 for more screenies (excuse the slight manipulation in #1, it's currently part of a desktop background ).

Sounds nice and the screens are good too. Go on =)

Looks epic so far.

Keep it up. :3

It's lovely!

Thank you all!

The leafy tileset still needs some work... I'm considering an uneven edge to the main tiles (and a darker outline). The gradient is still a WIP too.

This looks great keep it up!

Beautiful screens. Keep working on. 

looks amazing.

I can't wait til it comes out

This looks amazing!

Looks really great. Youve certainly got the tone, and mood right in those pictures, at least from what we can see. I like the atmosphere and how the backgrounds adds to the scenes : ) Good job so far, keep it up

Guys, download the abandoned project that was the original version of this level. It's great, and playable.

Thanks for the plug, CPW!

The abandoned version can be found HERE, if anyone's interested. Work is still going ahead as planned (although a bit slower since I just bought Fallout 3). Garden tileset is finished and underground and caves tilesets are on the way. Gradients still needing some work...

S'cuse the double post. I have a question for the masses:

What would be more preferable: smaller (and sooner) releases of the level in chapter form, or a longer wait for one larger, complete release?

I ask because I'm quite eager for people to see what I've done (though I don't want a beta release) and get feedback (especially as I've got a new idea brewing). Then again, it'd be nice to wait until Knytt Levels is finished and upload it properly there... I'm not really a fan of the temporary forum.

So what do you think?

I'd prefer the chapter format, because feedback on one chapter could then be used to the betterment of the next chapter(s).

Also, I think it would be neat if the chapters were released as expansions upon the existing level, rather than as standalone levels. (Unless the chapters are huge.) All chapter-based levels I know of have been released in discrete installments, rather than as one unit. (This gets really frustrating when I have to go back through the pages of levels to open the next installment in a series like Cube.) As long as each new release doesn't have tons of new music, the size wouldn't be much of a problem. (Even if there were this sort of size problem- the music could be packaged in the first chapter, say, and then each subsequent release wouldn't have any music, to save space. The new releases would overwrite the map and world files, but wouldn't overwrite the music from the original level.) In the short term, for chapter-based release, the individual levels would be more convenient, but in the long term the expansions-upon-a-single-level thing would work better, especially as it would make players play the chapters in order.

(Sorry if this suggestion seems a bit complex. It's just that chapter-based release hasn't been done much, and what has been done hasn't been particularly efficient- like letting players skip ahead to the next chapter if they don't feel like beating the one they're on.)