Toxic Plateau Zone

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Rob

Rob

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Hey guys

Toxic Plateau is 2.1's second special stage. This is being released to the general public for a few reasons.

1) To get some useful feedback that should help further NiGHTS special stage quality development.
2) To give you guys an idea of what's been going on and to show you what one of the 2.1 special stages actually looks like.
3) Because beta content is actually fun, right? ;)

I need as much feedback as I can get from you guys on this. What you did like, what you didn't like, what felt mediocre and what felt awesome.

When commenting, please note that this is the second special stage and, as such, it's not meant to be very difficult. Because this is beta content and I wanted to give you guys somewhat of a challenge, the time limit is lower than it is in its 2.1 version. Other than that, it's the same map.

Special thanks to Prime 2.0 for setting up the SOC so that some of the visuals match what's changed in 2.1.

And sorry guys, but because of the instabilities of the NiGHTS track and online play, I highly recommend you avoid using this online. This is not something I can do anything about.
Have fun!
 

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NEAT! If all special stages are gonna be in NIGHTS mode, the new game is gonna rock!

The change in scenery (inside/ outside) is well done and the backgrounds are fantastic. It took me 3 tries to get through it, which is perfect for a 2nd special stage.

Good work, y'all!
 
#srb2fun said:
[17:25] <Sryder13> Rob is telling us not to play Toxic Plateau online, so, who wants to try playing it online?
[17:25] <Zipper> me
[17:25] <Sryder13> Really?
[17:26] <Zipper> sure why not
[17:28] <Sryder13> Well, I've put a server up if you want to join
[17:28] <Sryder13> Let's see how much we can screw up stuff
[17:28] <Sryder13> Hint: probably not much
[17:31] * Monster|Away is now known as MonsterIestyn
[17:32] <MonsterIestyn> Sryder13: I have a hunch it might be to do with stuff like the orbiting emerald SOCed extra
[17:33] <Sryder13> Yeah, that's the only thing that didn't show up when someone else destroyed the capsule
[17:33] <Sryder13> Otherwise it worked fine
[17:33] <Sryder13> Hello Jeck_Jims
[17:33] <Zipper> Guess what we DIDN'T screw up
[17:33] <Sryder13> The game
[17:36] <Sryder13> Yeah works fine, the player who destroys the capsule or get's "Nightopian Helper" gets the floating thing around them but no-one else, but otherwise it works completely fine
[17:36] <Zipper> ROB YOU SUCK AT BREAKING THINGS
[17:37] <Sryder13> Yes we wanted the sky to fall and the emerald to spaz out
[17:40] <@Inuyasha> [13:35] <Sryder13> Yeah works fine, the player who destroys the capsule or get's "Nightopian Helper" gets the floating thing around them but no-one else, but otherwise it works completely fine <- in other words it works completely fine then
[17:41] <Sryder13> Well at least I can sleep knowing that I can add MD2's over Nights Super Sonic that aren't super sonic without the game saying it's modified
[17:41] <Sryder13> :>
[17:41] <Sryder13> As I said Inuyasha, it works fine and it completely works fine.
[17:42] <Sryder13> (Why did I say it works fine twice then, I do not know)
Click to expand...

Sounds like it works online just fine despite what Rob said.
 
I'm not talking about SRB2 crashing or anything.

I'm talking about what happens if you happen to paraloop someone on a transfer. It breaks the track for that person and they can't complete the stage. It's not incredibly common but it does happen.
 
I've already seen and commented on this map, but in the interest of keeping this thread active I will say this: This map is very cool and SRB2 will be a markedly better game with the rather crappy current special stages replaced with NiGHTS ones. Also, somebody should announce the release of this map on the front page of srb2.org.
 
I definitely enjoyed this map as a special stage more than the current ones we have. If this is a good indicator of what the rest of the special stages are like, I'm sure to have a much better time collecting emeralds in 2.1.
 
Man, I hope this special stage is an indicator of how awesome the other special stages are going to be in 2.1. The NiGHTS special stages are way better than the boring and bland special stages that SRB2 has now.
 
Just the general fact that NiGHTS was recreated so well and used so little is sort of insulting to it. I'm glad you guys are putting it to better use. Such a thing should not go to waste, and this just seals the deal on 2.1 being possibly the most progressive update we get yet.

I'll most definitely test it out when I can.
 
I find some areas to be lacking visually; particularly the outdoor areas. For example, the area just before the entrance to the building thing has pretty much no scenery items to be found, and it's somewhat jarring. It's otherwise very nice, and I had fun playing it.
 
There are some areas, especially outside areas, in the special stages that have a distinct lack of detail because we considered framerate to be more important than visual flair. NiGHTS mode in SRB2 has framerate problems to begin with and we didn't want to exasperate them.
 
Wow that was awesome. Like I'm extremely excited for 2.1 now.
I really like the layout in the beginning where you paraloop to reveal the super paraloop power-up, but don't have to wast time to circle around and collect it. That's really cool.
And dunno if this is just from me using the Mac port of SRB2, but I seem to get bumped into the wall on the first bumper and get stuck.
Also have no idea if this'd be better, but maybe put something to show that you need to travel up to previously stated bumper so you don't into a glass tube on your first playthough.
But this is pretty much a perfect NiGHTS track. Gonna play this like crazy. Just wish you could paraloop tighter like in the real NiGHTS, but I don't know if that's something that can be fixed.
191 link on the second run~ Let's see if I can get that higher next time.

Also wondering something about future NiGHTS mode in general. Would it be possible to have items re-appear after you go around a mare once? I know you can do that with timing tricks and whatnot, but for short multimare wads, it's really weird to play if you have enough time to make it around again with nothing to collect and link together.
 
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Chao Freak 1 said:
Also wondering something about future NiGHTS mode in general. Would it be possible to have items re-appear after you go around a mare once? I know you can do that with timing tricks and whatnot, but for short multimare wads, it's really weird to play if you have enough time to make it around again with nothing to collect and link together.
Click to expand...

Let me give you a little clue: there's a reason the time limit is 60 seconds higher in 2.1, and it really isn't entirely because of difficulty.
 
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Okay, I played it three times, and here are my criticisms:

  • My biggest issue is that the stage is trivially easy. I understand that this is only the second stage, but I had upwards of 100 rings when reaching the Ideya Capture without even trying. The time limit should be flexible enough so that expert players can run through and pick up just about everything, but novice players should be forced to put some effort into scavenging enough rings by the time they reach the halfway point.
  • The rest is mostly just cosmetic issues. The stage starts up with an inverted axis, which means the camera doesn't move much and just rotates, which feels a bit weird right off the bat. I would try reworking the stage so it starts on a line or on a standard axis.
  • Not far from the start, after the first loops, there's a segment where rings are sparsely placed along a line while nothing else is going on. My immediate feeling is that this was an incredibly boring way to start the stage. Either add something to spice things up, like placing the solitary line of rings along an axis so the view rotates while you're picking them up, or come up with a more visually interesting formation.
  • The vertical bumpers inside the glass tube seem to want to toss you every way but exactly vertical. I'm not sure if this is a problem with the game engine, or if the bumper specification changed slightly in 2.1, but this annoyed me greatly. Up means up!
Other than that, I have nothing to point out, everything is lovely and delicious and I would like more. Though it's kind of strange to go and change the grass in the main stage to withered grass in order to differentiate it from GFZ, and then shrug it off in the special stage. What The Hell, Dev Team?
 
I agree with the others, this stage is way too easy for the second special stage. IMO, getting the emeralds should be an extra challenge, as it was in the genesis Sonics. The first special stage is the easy one, and this one definitely felt like it could be the first.

Other than that, very fun! xD Managed to get a 314 Link run in (without touching the Egg Capsule during the link, ofc).

I do think some of the "rotations" in the stage are a tadbit sharp though.
 
All right, having played through this 10 plus times now, I've narrowed down my complaints to two areas that I feel are seriously lacking in either detail and/or gameplay/direction.

srb20063.png


Right at the start, I can notice a building over to my left, so I'm drawn to that direction, but instead of going that way, I'm moved to the right, to see a giant, bland, brown THZWALL texture instead, please add something to that area, it looks really ugly, anything simplistic will do to break it apart some.

srb20064.png


Next is this cylinder segment, upon first reaching here, I went down, ignoring the gap between thinking that there might be another path with some more rings and such to find. Instead, I'm met with a dead end floor and a Super Sonic with too much speed, so I start fumbling around before I can get my bearings and go back up. If you're going to leave this area as a dead end, at least put a bumper there so the player will immediately get the idea that the gap between the cylinder is the way to go.
 
Played through it thrice and it is looking pretty sweet. The main problem with this special stage is how easy it is in general. I was not really playing spectacularly and stacked up many rings with ease. The visuals are not a problem to me, but after you get to the Ideya Capture the parts afterwards feel devoid of anything to test your skills whether you are a novice or not. I was kind of expecting the section to have a bit less of a straightway exiting the factory.

I do like the placement of the power-ups and how useful they are for more advanced players that are trying to achieve a high score on the stage, however, the Super Paraloop does not seem all that useful outside the area by the glass tube.

Will there be more elements from NiGHTS introduced like multiple types of loops? Or will there be more original ideas that are things that you expect to be in a NiGHTS game but aren't. It is looking like NiGHTS mode in general is going to be one of the highlights of 2.1 considering how well it plays. The special stage is on a good start, but it is way too easy for even the average player. I am looking forward to seeing more of stuff from 2.1 like this.
 
This stage is so easy on purpose. SRB2 operates under the assumption that you have never played a NiGHTS stage before. And believe me, this stage is difficult enough if you're new to NiGHTS or even SRB2 itself. Back on page one there was somebody who took three tries to finish this one.
 
There's going to be replay value in 2.1, where everything respawns after you pass the starting point. Score attack is going to be a thing.
 
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