KS Round Robin - Reloaded

I know what you mean about respecting people's efforts, but I don't think I've been doing it to the same degree. Apparently my feelings have changed since 2010, probably because I really liked seeing the expansion of my environmental path into something much larger. I've been adding extra details to existing rooms that extend their ideas, but hopefully retain their original spirit. I hadn't really considered that these actions could be received negatively. Oh well, if anybody's unhappy with my changes you have my blessing to undo them.

If I had access to the animations for that green guy, I'd probably make a palette swap of him with a grey metallic body and red eyes. As I mentioned, I like the idea of modifying his dialogue slightly in reference to dotdot's talking computers from Rainy Day Adventure:

EDIT: I've noticed that several doors are marked with '(press down to enter)' signs, especially in the village, but the vast majority aren't. This is a tough decision, so I'd like to hear some opinions: do you think these signs should be removed for consistency? Or maybe something else should be done?

I've noticed that several doors are marked with '(press down to enter)' signs, especially in the village, but the vast majority aren't. This is a tough decision, so I'd like to hear some opinions: do you think these signs should be removed for consistency? Or maybe something else should be done?

That was something I questioned myself. I did a lot to try and make everything similar, but everybody had a different method. In some places putting, "push down to enter," is impossible because all the signs are used. In one place it notifies you when the doors are locked. I think the instructions on card swipes that indicate weather or not they will work are important to preventing frustration, and the decontamination area should be altered to have the same behavior. Also, the messages that describe what you've picked up are important, and should be applied to the relic.

Personally, I'd prefer to see the doors marked because "push down to enter" although very common is not standard. But when combined with card swipes, the information becomes redundant. Maybe the message could be placed on the Elder's house, since it is key that the player enter it, but afterwards not have it appear there or anywhere else in the game.

The dialogue changes you've suggested sound good to me. The fact that a person was placed there altered the direction the game was headed, so I think this change would respectfully bring it back on course. If anyone oversteps their bounds I'm going to blame Hmpf for everything, because it was her idea to do a round robin and she wasn't here to moderate us. But seriously, I think everyone involved would be most happy just to see this project concluded.

Just a suggestion, maybe you guys can look into this, see if it is a possible solution.
In my "Time Fixes Everything" level, I place a blue "Detect Target" object in front of any object that can be used by pressing down. It might not be completely obvious at first, but if you start with stuff that yell "PRESS DOWN HERE", the player will get used to it and start associating the blue glow with a usable object. The problem is that the glow might not be very visible in some backgrounds (white ones in particular, if I remember correctly), so it would be a good idea to have darker doors.
Don't know exactly what your situation is, but this could be a way for you to do it.

I think the instructions on card swipes that indicate weather or not they will work are important to preventing frustration, and the decontamination area should be altered to have the same behavior.

Do you mean "Swipe card... (nothing happens)"? To me those messages felt erroneous, an indication of the result of using the wrong card rather than having no card. I preferred the cases where there was no supplementary message. Do you think something like "Swipe card... (you don't have a card)" would address this issue, or were you referring to something else?

Maybe the message could be placed on the Elder's house, since it is key that the player enter it, but afterwards not have it appear there or anywhere else in the game.

This is a good idea. But I think "(Press down to open doors)" signs should also be placed outside Mrs. Soup's house and the other houses in the village, since they will probably be encountered prior to the Elder's house. The climbing power should be suitable as a flag to remove the signs.

I just looked. I didn't export the sprites for object 3:27 myself, but I believe you can find sprites for everything in KS DS.

Thanks! Using 3:27 as a base, I've implemented an explicitly robotic custom object.

In my "Time Fixes Everything" level, I place a blue "Detect Target" object in front of any object that can be used by pressing down.

This is also a good idea, but I think it would be too troublesome to implement in this level now... we've been using the detector as a flag-based substitute for scuba gear.

I've been working on this for over 2 weeks! Sorry, everyone. I should be done and ready to let someone else have a turn soon.

I agree that "nothing happens" isn't perfect, but it's short and to the point. "you don't have a card" is only applicable when you don't have any cards, and "you don't have the right card" is slightly wrong when you have no cards. I'm not against a change there though.

Your plan for cabin door messages at the beginning sounds good to me.

The detector can easily be swapped out for a flag if we want to use it to indicate places of interaction. Just search the ini for "Power5" and replace with "7" assuming you haven't used flag 7 already. I'll need to know if this is what we're doing before I make the cutscene where she get's the power to go underwater.

I've been working on this for over 2 weeks! Sorry, everyone. I should be done and ready to let someone else have a turn soon.

I'm just glad other people came back on board. I don't mind if you take your time --gives me an excuse to procrastinate on the last 4 cutscenes.

I agree that "nothing happens" isn't perfect, but it's short and to the point. "you don't have a card" is only applicable when you don't have any cards, and "you don't have the right card" is slightly wrong when you have no cards. I'm not against a change there though.

If you need something that works for both cases, why not just "you need a green card" or something like that?

"you don't have a card" is only applicable when you don't have any cards, and "you don't have the right card" is slightly wrong when you have no cards.

I think that at the moment, when you have the wrong card it lets you swipe it but sends back "access denied", so unless that also needs changing , "you don't have a card" shouldn't be a problem.

IMHO you should take all the time you need, unless perhaps someone is explicitly waiting for a turn.  And I too am just so happy to see this level on its way to completion!  Every time I get an e-mail saying someone has posted here, I grin quite largely.

OK then! I'll work on the level until progress slows to a crawl or someone else posts about wanting a turn... whichever comes first.

I finished another cutscene today. That makes 6 completed scenes out of 9. This last one was a doosy with 9 frames, but the final 2 main story scenes will be even bigger with 12 and 18 frames. On the bright side, I shouldn't need to make too many new sprites for the remaining scenes.

I'm excited to show these scenes off, but I think it's better if I keep them under wraps until we release the final version. Then, people who have already played the level several times will get the most enjoyment from the final product.

star!

I give you props for taking all this effort to finish what a lot of people Started!

*Gives star*

I've been putting off bringing up an important topic, but I think this level's using copyrighted (non-public) music. I'm pretty sure Music 22 and Ambiance 23 are remixes of the Zora's Domain theme from the Legend of Zelda games. If I'm right then we should look for replacement options. I like the mix and usually take the Icicle Cave challenge route so I can hear it, and the intro-to-loop transition is well done. It will be hard to replace, but I don't want my name attached to a product using stolen music.

If you mean this song, I can't hear the resemblance. I thought those might be original tracks by Ultigonio(?) but I could be mistaken.

Ah, when I listen to them side by side the similarities fall apart. I read through Ultigonio's comments on the old thread. He made the area, and though I didn't see him comment on the music he probably authored it being a musician. I guess I've heard it so many times now that it feels like an old classic to me. Sorry, for the false alarm.