Elemental Shield vs. Water and Fire

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Mystic said:
4. How to use the various powerups and items, such as shields, invincibility, special stage tokens, etc.
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GFZ1 does not do a particularly good job of this one. There should be one of each shield hidden in the level, so that if the players look around, they can find out what each shield does right in the first level. Same goes for Super Sneakers, though I'm not quite sure if there are any in it or not. Also, there should probably be an Eggman monitor somewhere, but next to a large cache of rings. I remember thinking it was a power-up when I first discovered one in Mystic Realm. It's probably better to make it clear early on.
 
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SpiritCrusher said:
GFZ1 does not do a particularly good job of this one. There should be one of each shield hidden in the level, so that if the players look around, they can find out what each shield does right in the first level. Same goes for Super Sneakers, though I'm not quite sure if there are any in it or not. Also, there should probably be an Eggman monitor somewhere, but next to a large cache of rings. I remember thinking it was a power-up when I first discovered one in Mystic Realm. It's probably better to make it clear early on.
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Following this logic, GFZ1 should also have death pits, lava, conveyor belts, lasers, chains, ropes, zoom tubes, antigravity and space countdown.

Sonic 3 only introduced the Eggman monitor as late as Ice Cap Zone (the fifth stage), and it was fine. It's more about exposing a new element of gameplay to the player in a safer enviroment, and then starting to use it in more complicated set-ups. (Though I do agree there are some difficulty spikes throughout the game, Techno Hill in particular is guilty of straight out using new gimmicks such as lasers, conveyor belts and crushers all at the same time without first easing the player in.)
 
Neo Chaotikal said:
Following this logic, GFZ1 should also have death pits, lava, conveyor belts, lasers, chains, ropes, zoom tubes, antigravity and space countdown.
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No, since those are only supposed to show up once. Power-ups however, are an integral part of every stage and should be introduced right away.
 
SpiritCrusher said:
No, since those are only supposed to show up once. Power-ups however, are an integral part of every stage and should be introduced right away.
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Well, I think the Eggman box is more of a hazard than a power-up, and hazards should be introduced with each stage, one at a time. However, I do agree with having all power-ups in GFZ1, it would help with learning what each one does.
 
If you're going to do that, then you should probably include a section that specializes for each power-up so that way you can get a test for each one. Like a part that you could use the whirlwind shield to get up for (but still get up another way in case you lose the shield.).
 
SpiritCrusher said:
No, since those are only supposed to show up once. Power-ups however, are an integral part of every stage and should be introduced right away.
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Are you implying that Eggman Monitors are more ubiquitous as a hazard than things like death pits or crushers? Because that is most emphatically not true. Like Spherallic said, Eggman Monitors are hazards in the guise of powerups, and they are actually pretty rare throughout the official levels. I don't think they start getting pretty common until ERZ, and even then they are hardly an integral part of the difficulty...they're really just a touch-up, another tiny little danger to watch out for every now and then. And they would be exceptionally out of place in GFZ.

I agree with the rest of your sentiment in general. Most of the powerups should be included in GFZ1 to allow the player to experiment and learn the value and use of all the goodies. Maybe not Invincibility and Super Sneakers, though; I kinda like how it is now, the way they are introduced towards the beginning, but not directly at the start.
 
Fawfulfan said:
Are you implying that Eggman Monitors are more ubiquitous as a hazard than things like death pits or crushers? Because that is most emphatically not true. Like Spherallic said, Eggman Monitors are hazards in the guise of powerups, and they are actually pretty rare throughout the official levels. I don't think they start getting pretty common until ERZ, and even then they are hardly an integral part of the difficulty...they're really just a touch-up, another tiny little danger to watch out for every now and then. And they would be exceptionally out of place in GFZ.
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Actually, I agree, Eggman Monitors are not necessary to introduce. I was more referring to the shields anyway when saying that.

Fawfulfan said:
I agree with the rest of your sentiment in general. Most of the powerups should be included in GFZ1 to allow the player to experiment and learn the value and use of all the goodies. Maybe not Invincibility and Super Sneakers, though; I kinda like how it is now, the way they are introduced towards the beginning, but not directly at the start.
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You, sir, have not spindashed under the first bridge in GFZ1.
 
Oh, I forgot about that one. I had a feeling there was something I was missing. Still, the introductions of those two powerups are quite appropriate.
 
Mystic said:
The thing is, this isn't really any different in the old system. The Liquid Shield would be extremely good in Tidal Palace, and the Inferno Shield would be extremely good in Infernal Cavern. The only difference in the new system is that the shield that's NOT aligned with the stage isn't around to be useless, as it's all placed in one shield.
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Okay I am insanely late but remember that the Inferno Shield could not breath into the lava back in 1.09.4a.
 
Lava is still intangible from the sides, so there are cases when it is possible to be submerged in it. But such cases are extremely rare, so your point still stands.
 
Yeah, I didn't mention the issue with the sides, since you'd need lava protection to get under lava in the first place, thus making you an utter idiot if you actually drown. Not to mention that the lava is very shallow anyway.
 
SpiritCrusher said:
GFZ1 does not do a particularly good job of this one. There should be one of each shield hidden in the level, so that if the players look around, they can find out what each shield does right in the first level. Same goes for Super Sneakers, though I'm not quite sure if there are any in it or not. Also, there should probably be an Eggman monitor somewhere, but next to a large cache of rings. I remember thinking it was a power-up when I first discovered one in Mystic Realm. It's probably better to make it clear early on.
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In GFZ1 there is an attraction shield, an armageddon shield, an invicibility, and a 1-up. In the second act, there is an elemental shield, a force shield, a speed up, another invincibility, two more attraction shields, and another armageddon shield. So almost all of the monitors have been introduced by time you get to the first boss of the game. You don't need all the monitors in the first act if you can fit the rest in the second act, which is just as easy.
 
Chrome said:
In GFZ1 there is an attraction shield, an armageddon shield, an invicibility, and a 1-up. In the second act, there is an elemental shield, a force shield, a speed up, another invincibility, two more attraction shields, and another armageddon shield. So almost all of the monitors have been introduced by time you get to the first boss of the game. You don't need all the monitors in the first act if you can fit the rest in the second act, which is just as easy.
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No Whirlwind Shield there. Though you do have a point that the second act can also serve as introduction.

Phantom said:
Lavafalls, duh.
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SpiritCrusher said:
Yeah, I didn't mention the issue with the sides, since you'd need lava protection to get under lava in the first place, thus making you an utter idiot if you actually drown. Not to mention that the lava is very shallow anyway.
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Sure, ignore my other post.
 
Chrome said:
In GFZ1 there is an attraction shield, an armageddon shield, an invicibility, and a 1-up. In the second act, there is an elemental shield, a force shield, a speed up, another invincibility, two more attraction shields, and another armageddon shield. So almost all of the monitors have been introduced by time you get to the first boss of the game. You don't need all the monitors in the first act if you can fit the rest in the second act, which is just as easy.
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But some of them you have to go way out of your way to get to them. The armageddon shield is hidden in a place that requires you to go out of your way to get. Same with the electric shield. The invincibility is hidden under the bridge. All these "starter powers" are all hidden and require you to go out of your way to get.
 
Well, you SHOULD be required to get out of your way for power-ups. I personally wouldn't expect a game to teach me how hidden items work if I don't try to find them. I just would like to have all shields available somewhere in the first zone, so that the player has a sense of what to do before it starts getting difficult.
 
SpiritCrusher said:
Well, you SHOULD be required to get out of your way for power-ups. I personally wouldn't expect a game to teach me how hidden items work if I don't try to find them. I just would like to have all shields available somewhere in the first zone, so that the player has a sense of what to do before it starts getting difficult.
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or maybe not force a whole bunch of hazards onto you all at once like the laser beams, poison, and crushing ceilings.
 
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