Special Madness (Complete!)

[Seelkadoom]

Unluckly for me, i didn't finish the WIP Egg Attack, but i'm currently working on an insane Wad. It will feature modifications for all the Special Stages, and at the same time using the way to "get a certain number of rings within a certain time limit to get a Chaos Emerald". I'm nominating each of them, even the titles are almost useless:

S.S #1 - Tube Madness (250 rings and > 100 seconds) - Level based on Sonic Heroes' style of Emerald hunting, where the level is inside an apparently-endless tube with the intention of getting the emerald.

S.S #2 - Enemy Madness (200 rings and > 100 seconds) - Level where the Player have to beat enemies in a certain floor to reach the next one, and getting rings. It's pretty easy, if you don't lose your rings even once.

S.S #3 - Egg Madness (10 rings and 80 seconds) - Boss-based level where the player have to get the rings that Eggman shots, but there's a special water that drain away your rings faster than you get.

S.S #4 - Spring Madness (210 rings and 110 seconds) - Level that have very-fast action based on spring-connection-between-themselves and get the rings at the same time.

S.S #5 - Pushing Madness (150 rings and 80 seconds) - Level where the player will have to dodge the enemies and get the rings while being pushed the whole time.

S.S #6 - Egg Madness 2 (80 rings and 50 seconds) - Run and duck! Eggman is going to attack you while you don't have all the rings needed!

S.S #7 - Ultimate Race (1 ring and 170 seconds) - Level where the player has to be really fast and get to the unic ring in the end of the level before the time ends.

The wad is now complete, and shall soon appear in the 'Releases' section.

UPDATES-------------------------------------------------------------

The Ultimate Race is still under progress, as there will be a path for each character using each ability at it's maximum. Also, if you try the Pushing Madness as Knuckles, you may not be able to dodge the lasers by jumping, so here's a tip: Jump to outside the plataform with caution, and return to there once the lasers gone (fast action); but you maybe lost some rings.

The Challenges:

"Plataform Challenge" (Sonic path) - Not too much to say (Complete 100%)

"Tree Challenge" (Tails path) - Challenge based on Sonic Heroes' levels Frog Forest and Lost Jungle. Don't get suprised if you see huge trees instead of mushrooms. (Complete 100%)

"Castle Challenge" (Knuckles path) - Challenge based on Sonic Heroes' level Hang Castle; where the player already starts it upside-down, with the traps alongside. (Complete 80%)

Challenges soundtrack

*Rail Canyon Zone* Plataform Challenge

*Frog Forest Zone* Tree Challenge

*Bullet Station Zone* Castle Challenge

Screenshots:

Animated gif showing an overview of Tails' path

Sonic's path (note the informations in the upper part; this means the level have Polyobjects moving)

Knuckles' path. Note the upside-down torches here.

Download:

Sendspace (Full wad)

 

[Katch]

I honestly don't think this is a bad idea, but by just looking at the times and how many rings you are supposed to collect, I'm guessing the ring placement isn't going to be too far apart, right?
Anyways, I'll try it.

 

[Sparkz]

S.S #1 - Tube Madness (250 rings and > 100 seconds) - Level based on Sonic Heroes' style of Emerald hunting, where the level is inside an apparently-endless tube with the intention of getting the emerald.

That also sounds like the second special stage from Sonic Chaos. The one with all the tubes and those useless invincibility monitors. Anyway it sounds pretty intense. How bout' some screenshots?

 

[MascaraSnake]

You should Sign Up or Login to download this file

I won't create a 4shared account just to test your WAD, so you will have to upload this somewhere else.

 

[akb778]

I actually did get the opportunity to play this, and, TBH, I really like what I'm seeing here. However, there really are some things that need to be fixed IMO.

SS#1: Dial down the death pits and lasers here and you'll be OK.

SS#2: Quite honestly, you don't need to get any rings until you get to the final floor. You can just skip the enemies on the final floor, and grab all the rings...

SS#3: This one has to be my personal favorite of all the stages here. Only thing I'd suggest here is to slow down the ring drain water and maybe make Eggman shoot two at a time?

SS#4: Really suggest raising the initial platform and maybe adding some more rings here and there.

 

[Seelkadoom]

That also sounds like the second special stage from Sonic Chaos. The one with all the tubes and those useless invincibility monitors. Anyway it sounds pretty intense. How bout' some screenshots?

It's a bit early for screenshots now, and also, there's only Rings monitors in all Special Stages, except the fourth, where there's an Armaggedon Shield to blow up all the enemies around and to the get the ring box safetly.

---------- Post added at 02:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:44 PM ----------

I actually did get the opportunity to play this, and, TBH, I really like what I'm seeing here. However, there really are some things that need to be fixed IMO.

SS#1: Dial down the death pits and lasers here and you'll be OK.

SS#2: Quite honestly, you don't need to get any rings until you get to the final floor. You can just skip the enemies on the final floor, and grab all the rings...

SS#3: This one has to be my personal favorite of all the stages here. Only thing I'd suggest here is to slow down the ring drain water and maybe make Eggman shoot two at a time?

SS#4: Really suggest raising the initial platform and maybe adding some more rings here and there.

The notes you said in SS #1 and #2 are good cheats to get the rings faster, and if you think well, it's pretty easy to do it. However, you didn't notice that the third one is the easier of them all: there's a border aroudn the arena where the water doesn't get to. And i see no problem on the fourth one: Fast action, many rings, and time fits perfectly. The model of the SS #4 i was thinking to use in a SRB2 Version of Hang Castle (Stage of Sonic Heroes) but it would be really hard to apply.

---------- Post added at 02:53 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:49 PM ----------

I won't create a 4shared account just to test your WAD, so you will have to upload this somewhere else.

And i can't add it to the thread, but if i could, i would certainly do it. I don't know where else to upload it... Any suggestions?

 

[MascaraSnake]

And i can't add it to the thread, but if i could, i would certainly do it. I don't know where else to upload it... Any suggestions?

Sendspace, for instance.

 

[Sparkz]

I use MediaFire for my files and Imgur for pics.

EDIT; Early's no excuse not to have pics. People want to see what their downloading. Besides, their fun to have around later. You can can look at them and be all like "I remember when the zones looked like that!" Think of them as baby pictures:D

 

[D00D64]

There's also Dropbox, allowing you to update files without needing a new link, and collaborative folders.

 

[Seelkadoom]

Sendspace, for instance.

Thanks man. The link will be now on the thread.

 

[kyllian1212]

I have some random idea,why not use the secret SS8 to make a combinaison of every special stages you made?

 

[Puppyfaic]

I have some random idea,why not use the secret SS8 to make a combinaison of every special stages you made?

There's a reason why SS8 doesn't work. From the map dictated by SpStage_Start in the MAINCFG, the next six stages are special stages. It's impossible to have 8 of them from what I know.

 

[Monster Iestyn]

There's a reason why SS8 doesn't work. From the map dictated by SpStage_Start in the MAINCFG, the next six stages are special stages. It's impossible to have 8 of them from what I know.

Yep, it's impossible, given there's no such thing as the 8th (black/master/whatever) emerald in SRB2 2.0 anyway. Once you have all 7 emeralds, the tokens just give you 50 rings instead.

 

[Seelkadoom]

I have some random idea,why not use the secret SS8 to make a combinaison of every special stages you made?

This was my original plan for SS7, (Ultimate Race) but all the six Special Madness Stages are very easy. Then i decided to make something original. Soon i shall upload a version with a 30% complete Ultimate Race (sonic's path complete).

 

[Sparkz]

Tested... First off, thank you for the screenshots and the downloads.
Second off, you shouldn't upload your wads to a site that needs sign-in info. Nobody's going to want to create accounts for file sharing. try another file hosting site. There's plenty that don't require this nonsense. Needless to say I didn't download your first attachment.

I'm not sure if the screenshots you provided are from the first upload but I didn't see anything from the screenshots in the special stages I just played. On to the Special Madness.

Uhh, I'll candy coat this. They need work. You have too many obstacles that can rob you of all rings and not nearly enough rings to make up for it. you get whacked once and your stuck waiting down the clock to lose. Not cool. Not fun.

In some of these stages you spawn at the ceiling, losing precious seconds waiting to hit the ground before you can start collecting rings. Why do you have end level signs?

I have no idea what you had in mind when you designed that stage with Robotnik shooting rings at you. Did you test this stage? Don't you find the lowering water table unrealistic? (especially without rendering its sides) My advice for this stage (if you must have it) is keep the water on the ground where it belongs and make it rise. Give the player some platforms to protect themselves against the rising water because even with your border it's not clear how your supposed to collect the 10 rings that Robotnik slowly shoots at you while being bathed in ring draining water.

Then there's your death pits, which are actually killing you. Taking lives in special stages is not cool. Their supposed to be a hunt for rings and emeralds, not a survival situation. The death pits are also virtually invisible. All your walkable platforms are transparent, which makes spotting such traps difficult.

I understand that this is a new twist on special stages but they lack in concept, design, and imagination. Your sectors are lopsided, uneven and nothing has a flow (except the straight lines) Uncandy coated, I'm sorry to say but I could have built all of these in a single night. They don't feel or play like special stages. I know you can do better. I'm not suggesting you start over but you need to think hard about what it is you want players to do. I can only guess that your not testing enough. Test more and make sure your stages feel like something.

 

[Seelkadoom]

Second off, you shouldn't upload your wads to a site that needs sign-in info. Nobody's going to want to create accounts for file sharing. try another file hosting site.

I don't know if you noticed, but there are two links: One in 4Shared and other in Sendspace (no log-in needed).

I didn't see anything from the screenshots in the special stages I just played. On to the Special Madness.

Did you read the description of the images? They're of the Ultimate Race, the level i'm still making.

In some of these stages you spawn at the ceiling, losing precious seconds waiting to hit the ground before you can start collecting rings. Why do you have end level signs?

This was in only one Stage. Also, the end level signs are based on Sonic Heroes' Special Stages, where the player have to reach the Chaos Emerald before it reaches the level end (in the end there's a sign).

Give the player some platforms to protect themselves against the rising water because even with your border it's not clear how your supposed to collect the 10 rings that Robotnik slowly shoots at you while being bathed in ring draining water.

Even by the fact that he shot the rings not too fast, the time limit is enough.

Then there's your death pits, which are actually killing you. Taking lives in special stages is not cool. Their supposed to be a hunt for rings and emeralds, not a survival situation. The death pits are also virtually invisible. All your walkable platforms are transparent, which makes spotting such traps difficult.

Special Madness. And i know that the levels are pretty easy.

 

[Knux576]

I don't like the fact that you have to get ALL the rings in the stage. I couldn't get passed pushing madness.

 

[Seelkadoom]

I don't like the fact that you have to get ALL the rings in the stage. I couldn't get passed pushing madness.

I know that you have to get all rings in the first four stages, but if not, the levels would be more easy than they already are. In the pushing madness, timing is everything. Try it as Sonic.

 

[Sparkz]

I'm sorry if you took my critique the wrong way, Selkadoom. I understand that you would stand strong behind your designs, as well you should. All I'm saying is try taking a hard objective look at your maps.

You yourself admit to them being easy, and piling in more rings would make them a cakewalk. Why not add the rings and make the maps more difficult? Cause' I'll say it again, Gettin' whacked once with no opportunity to regain the rings didn't make for a fun experience.

 

[NitemareDT]

I agree with Sparkz. The "one chance only" thing kinda takes away from making it "hard", difficulty wise, and makes it seem more "cheap".

Also, on the first special stage, the opening level text actually covered the first hole and I fell down it when running towards the first trail of rings since I couldn't see it. XD

Try making gaps more prominent since you ARE using a semi-transparent texture and everything sorta...blends together. Perhaps make the hallway a bit longer at the beginning? Of course, the ideas are great, real fun if you execute it properly.

....Although, don't take anything I say to heart, I haven't made any maps per-say...only played a lot.