Eclipse Edition

Eclipse Edition Demo 0.2

I genuinely don't understand why the staff allowed this to be published in such an unstable state.
There are glitches, softlocks, errors, crashes, among other things in this that they really should monitor stuff like this more closely before letting it out on the message board.

Let's first start with the issues:
Issue Number 1: No stage is playable from the start.
What does this mean exactly? It means if you were to immediately start the game in multiplayer, no stages to select at all.
Additionally, and I don't even know what happened here for this to be caused: the game will crash when trying to load any other gametype.
Issue Number 2: Stages that have a completion area loop continuously when complete, or lead to a stage that isn't compatible with any gametype.
This means two things: you cannot go back to the hub world without cheats, and the game loads levels that were not deleted, usually resorting to the vanilla campaign. The last one is a common practice seen with these demos though, so I'll give that one a pass.
Issue Number 3: Black Moth's stage is broken on multiplayer.
Where if you die and respawn, you are stuck on the ceiling because the gravity flip mechanic works once. This also means if you are attempting to host this and go to Black Moth, all other players will be stuck on the ceiling because of this.
Issue Number 4: The rail grind section used for a loop-de-loop can kill you if attempted to get out of it.
This is usually for when you're in the wall, I don't really think using the rail grind for this job is necessary.

Now, the gameplay:
The only thing finished in this demo is Special Stage 1 for multiplayer.
Not even the first stage has been completed, half the level roster has NO endpoints that tell the game you completed the level, if you want to complete one of these you literally have to open up console to exit the level or type out the demo hub's map ID.
This is inexcusable for a demo. There should at least be some sense of finality before you make this public. If the bar really is set that low, I'd be convinced to move to other sources for addons if the quality control is this bad.

With that being said:
This demo is actually quite interesting in terms of how it seems like it's going to go. I do look forward to this being in a playable state, but with how this is shown right now, I cannot physically recommend this to anyone due to how unfinished it is.
Yes, the gameplay is fine for what is there, yes, the stages are pleasing to look at, yes, there is creativity shown in these levels, yes, there is something that can happen with this...
No, there isn't enough to do to consider this a public release.

If there is anything to learn from this, we should have work in progress showcase be a bit more intriguing to those who want to publicize their work.
Just making it so stuff like this doesn't bloat the addons & more list - as when stuff gets published here, I (and probably a lot of others) expect something that can be completed without cheats.

I really do hope this gets picked up again. In the meantime: play demo 0.1. I can confidently say that version can be completed without using the console
Andromeda
Andromeda
Hey so... thanks for the feedback.
Firstly, I'd like to note that I agree with you, and this is not exactly the most playable. However, when I published this I did so because I burnt out... again.
I did what I could to make it somewhat cohesive before I completely burnt out and the project potentially died, nobody knowing any progress was made. This project's scope has gotten bigger over the... 2... years...? I've been working on it, and it's very hard to stay motivated to try do it all by myself.

Also, I was sure I made sure the levels were accessable via level select, but maybe I didnt test everything right?

Regardless, I thank you for your feedback, and I will take what you've said into account.
Though, if you, or anyone else would like to help, you can reach me on Discord via the link in the description.
Upvote 1
Bizarre and incredible.
Upvote 0
Amazing map bro keep the work
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Dunno how I missed this pack! The stages look nice and stand out alot, and there's a disproportionate amount of polish in places. I'm even seeing the rare use of Lua in stages. The finish on the final stage changing the lights caught me off-guard in an awesome way.

Eclipse feels experimental, sometimes in a good way, sometimes not. Some of the current oversights are pretty jarring, at least. I found an enterable optional house, which was cool, but it's just got empty rooms. I simply walked to the first boss' capsule without fighting. I got softlocked when slipping under the first level's closing door. You need a spindash to even beat Toxic Factory and slip into a vent. There's alot of completely misalligned textures in random spots too.

It feels like most of my issues are from this being a WIP, so I'll judge the pack based on a polished version's potential. Hope you find the motivation to keep things going!
Andromeda
Andromeda
Thank you for your feedback! I Totally understand, the polish is over the place - due to different stages being done at different times, and just me focusing on some parts more than others.
Also: there is no lua used in any stages (yet). The light changes are all done within the map itself.

Again, this is just me throwing together the stages that were PLAYABLE, not finished. All maps will be redone by the time I release a "full" demo.
Thank you for your support.
Upvote 0
Its honestly a good map for a early development map. It has nice textures, awesome Hud and custom title screen, and good story.

Although there are places where the level is too dark and confusing. If im correct, i have to use or partner with tails to complete the first level. I tried finding a way to complete it without tails but didnt. Just gonna assume that its because its in early development.

The difficulty curve is also a bit too high. Went from a slightly harder gfz1 boss to a harder metal sonic boss. But its overall awesome :D
Andromeda
Andromeda
Thanks for the feedback. I've already been informed that the route to the top section in the first level (jump into honey>go through gap>spring up) is not obvious enough.
And FYI, the metal sonic boss is actually near the *end* of the campaign. So no, one of the hardest bosses is not the second boss.
Upvote 0
this so good I wish I could make maps like this ngl
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