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[MisterAnderson]

Quick question: is there any way to make a switch make any other material disappear other than "dissolve"? The red ambush turrets I made and the current work in progress flying power-up are all made out of dissolve with stickers put on to look like metal, but I feel like it's restricting. I feel like I'm just dumb and am missing something.

 

[EL Beefo]

Quick question: is there any way to make a switch make any other material disappear other than "dissolve"? The red ambush turrets I made and the current work in progress flying power-up are all made out of dissolve with stickers put on to look like metal, but I feel like it's restricting. I feel like I'm just dumb and am missing something.

Stick a brain on it with the switch connected to it. Set the switch to 1-shot, and it'll destroy the brain, killing turret. Just be sure not to glue the turret to rest of the level, if you do, your whole level will disappear when you kill the turret.


Also, for extra coolness, hide an explosive crate inside the turret that's also connected to the switch. Now when the brain is destroyed, the bomb will send all the pieces flying. Make sure you don't glue the explosive to the turret though, if you do, it will disappear with the brain before it can explode. This is how I made the boss in the Energy Zone blow up, along with the door at the end that blows open, and I assume it's how Jaeyden made the spike walls in the Hanger explode.

 

[Jaeyden]

Yup...also make sure it's a protected brain, I always set it to vulnerable. That way the only thing that will kill it will be the action that you want to make it be destroyed.

Ryanardo's waterfall was a blast to play. It's up and the key is published if anyone else wants to check it out.

I wonder if Sony will ever start using some of the awesome user-created levels (like Azure Palace) in their advertisements for LBP??

:lol I'll let donkey show answer that one.

 

[donkey show]

^ :lol :lol :lol

I wonder if Sony will ever start using some of the awesome user-created levels (like Azure Palace) in their advertisements for LBP??

Well, aside from the horrid moderation example the stage had to go through for the first couple of months, The Azure Palace has been in an official LBP video on PSN and I think littlebigworkshop. It's also featured on February's issue of Playstation: The Official Magazine where you can see my ugly mug too since I did an interview about it. :lol

 

[MisterAnderson]

Alright thanks I'll implement that into the turrets I made as soon as I get a chance to jump onto LBP. Unfortunately this weekend is going to suck for me as I have to work a good chunk of it so sunday night will likely be the next best chance for me to make some progress in Jungle.

One last question before I take off for work: how do I make the player gain points after destroying something? By adding the brain will that do the trick?

 

[Orz]

Today's meeting went way longer than I thought it would, but I still got a few hours of work into my level. The basic infrastructure of the wall is mostly complete. Soldier models are mostly complete. Need to do:

• Making the individual walls off of the base model
• Implementing the system to spawn the walls at the appropriate juncture (50% complete)
• Implementing advancing 'wreckage'
• Implementing rollers
• Making the walls fire
• Making the soldiers fire
• Fine-tuning the bullets
• Creating the bosses
• Much cosmetic work
• Adding sound effects

And, as promised, a picture of the work in progress. Sorry for the flash.

 

[MisterAnderson]

Oh shi...that's pretty damn sweet!! Can't wait to try it out Orz. I just got back from work *sigh* I was thinking about ideas for my level all day....itching to go get them done. I have an idea for the common wall turrets I think we should try implementing. I'll work on it at some point and show you guys, if what I have in mind works it shouldn't be difficult to implement.

 

[Teknoman]

Were there hidden turrets (in the ground) in Contra 1 or did they first appear in Super C?

 

[MisterAnderson]

There were surely hidden turrets

 

[Teknoman]

Alright, because who ever tackles those in the stages...i'm going to need some pointers later on :lol

 

[MisterAnderson]

I'm working on those turrets now...hahah

 

[MisterAnderson]

Just a quick update:

Just had a long night of tweaking shit that had been bothering me on my level for quite a while. Finally made my background layer one piece (a big mistake I made early on...) and it was hell getting some of my level to not fall apart after fixing that shit. Also made my wall turrets work properly (for the most part). Long story short I didn't get much progress done as far as finishing the level but what I did have done was polished. Didn't publish it though for testing yet I'll do that tomorrow (or later today rather).

Anywho, Jaeyden and I had a talk about adding a bonus race at the beginning of each stage. The first time you play through the level it's normal but after beating it, the player is rewarded a special sticker to place on a sticker switch somewhere at the start of each stage that makes a race start appear. I think this would be great for replay value and also prevent people from hording respawned enemies for high scores. We could make the race time really challenging as well.

Another idea we had talked about was making stickers of the various powerups in Contra (M, L, S, etc.). When destroying the powerup pods that float about the stages, the player can collect these for nostalgia reasons, and also on a given stage (I suppose it would make the most sense at the very end of Alien's Lair) you can turn in your stickers you collected to earn some bonus items. It could be either the more stickers you have the more items you get, or you need all the stickers to activate the "secret" and get the bonus items. This would also enhance replay value for the player to go back and find the stickers that they might have missed through the various levels of the game.

Another variation of that same idea is to still have the cool powerup stickers that pop out of the floating pods, but I think as far as those items being the "secret stickers" to find is too easy. In addition to those stickers we should hide 1 or 2 bonus stickers in secret locations/hard to reach spots/whatever for the player to collect and turn them in at the end somewhere.

Feedback on these ideas would be appreciated. Let me know if you guys think it's worth doing.

One thing we haven't talked about yet is the inclusion of point bubbles or not. As far as Contra is concerned they don't really belong, but this is "LittleBig" Contra, so I don't think it would really hurt having point bubbles in certain spots (they would be good to pop out of the wall powerups and powerup pods for example) but it's up to what everyone else thinks. Regardless of whether or not we have point bubbles I think prize bubbles should be in for sure.

Edit: The special hidden prize stickers can be the NeoGAF logo with a number corresponding the the stage number (Ex: 1 for Stage 1: Jungle, and so on).

 

[Ranger X]

Love love your work so far guys. Keep it up!

 

[ChackanKun]

Jesus, this is really amazing lol

 

[Jaeyden]

I made a ton of progress on the Hangar this weekend. I have two bars left on the thermo for the end but waiting to see how donkeyshow opens the Alien Lair for cohesiveness. Ryanardo got the boss fight built in the Waterfall and it's a blast of a level.

 

[Teknoman]

I made a ton of progress on the Hangar this weekend. I have two bars left on the thermo for the end but waiting to see how donkeyshow opens the Alien Lair for cohesiveness. Ryanardo got the boss fight built in the Waterfall and it's a blast of a level.

Cant wait to see how that big alien boss battle at the waterfall plays out.

 

[Orz]

Base 1 is coming along. The walls are in place, just needing some cosmetic alterations and fine-tuning of their extensions. The boss is finished as well. I'm running out of thermometer, so it looks like Base 2 will only be 6 walls and a boss as opposed to the 9 in the actual level. Maybe 7. I still have to implement the advancing wall wreckage, which may be a pain. Rollers need to be implemented as well, but that shouldn't be a problem. Then it's a whole whack of cosmetic and audio additions.

Some sacrifices:

The boss only fires standard shots
There are no soldiers spawning on the boss level (insufficient space)

But in lieu of those items, and potentially a few more, I've got an unexpected surprise planned... I won't be able to work on the levels for the rest of the week, so it would seem they won't be done till the weekend at the earliest.

 

[The Blue Jihad]

Ryanardo got the boss fight built in the Waterfall and it's a blast of a level.

I played this amazing Waterfall level the other day. Was randomly browsing the Contra LBP levels and found it. I can't remember if it was Ryanardo's, though. I think it might have been? The level creator got the boss fight and level down perfectly. Hope the game keeps track of your Hearted levels, so I can check when I get home.

 

[Jaeyden]

Yes the game does keep track of your hearted levels. Click on 'Me', then press R1 to access your hearted levels starting on page 2. But, I doubt you played his level?? You might have, but all the Contra WIP's are locked and should only be accessible by people we give access to at this point. Hmmm...

 

[MisterAnderson]

Base 1 is coming along. The walls are in place, just needing some cosmetic alterations and fine-tuning of their extensions. The boss is finished as well. I'm running out of thermometer, so it looks like Base 2 will only be 6 walls and a boss as opposed to the 9 in the actual level. Maybe 7. I still have to implement the advancing wall wreckage, which may be a pain. Rollers need to be implemented as well, but that shouldn't be a problem. Then it's a whole whack of cosmetic and audio additions.

Some sacrifices:

The boss only fires standard shots
There are no soldiers spawning on the boss level (insufficient space)

But in lieu of those items, and potentially a few more, I've got an unexpected surprise planned... I won't be able to work on the levels for the rest of the week, so it would seem they won't be done till the weekend at the earliest.

Are you not making Base 1 and Base 2 two separate levels? I assumed you would be, that way players could play the game in the proper chronological order if they wished.

In either case I can't wait to try out what you've managed to make, it looks and sounds like a great concept and it definitely seems like it will do the base levels great justice.

 

[Orz]

Are you not making Base 1 and Base 2 two separate levels? I assumed you would be, that way players could play the game in the proper chronological order if they wished.

In either case I can't wait to try out what you've managed to make, it looks and sounds like a great concept and it definitely seems like it will do the base levels great justice.

Oh they'll absolutely be separate levels. I don't have the thermometer to lump them together even if I wanted to.

Don't get your hopes up too high. It's a reasonable approximation, but don't expect it to be as smooth as the original game. I'll be happy with 'functional representation'.

 

[RedNumberFive]

I absolutely love what you guys are doing, but you have to know that at some point Media Molecule / Sony are going to pull this for copyright infringement. I realize that "parody" is covered just about anywhere else, but tell that to Sony.

 

[Teknoman]

I absolutely love what you guys are doing, but you have to know that at some point Media Molecule / Sony are going to pull this for copyright infringement. I realize that "parody" is covered just about anywhere else, but tell that to Sony.

They pull for complete layout copies? I know they wont for just having certain images in the game. I think cutman level from gamesradar is still up though.

As long as its got a name that sounds NOTHING like Contra, im sure they will be good. Someone has to flag it for it to be modded.

 

[RedNumberFive]

They pull for complete layout copies? I know they wont for just having certain images in the game. I think cutman level from gamesradar is still up though.

As long as its got a name that sounds NOTHING like Contra, im sure they will be good. Someone has to flag it for it to be modded.

I hope you're right. I just got tired of recommending some kick-ass parody or homage level to a friend, only for it to be pulled shortly after.

 

[The Blue Jihad]

Yes the game does keep track of your hearted levels. Click on 'Me', then press R1 to access your hearted levels starting on page 2. But, I doubt you played his level?? You might have, but all the Contra WIP's are locked and should only be accessible by people we give access to at this point. Hmmm...

...really? If all the Contra WIPs are locked, then who was level? (haha)

Once LBP finishes updating I'll post the guy's name so y'all can check it out. Pretty damned good stuff he's done.

The guy's name is Neruthul

 

[Lord Error]

Speaking of waterfalls, there's a couple of crazy good looking waterfalls from the user levels I've seen. I'm pretty sure one of them is on UrbanDevil's Mayan level. That one might have been the best waterfall I've seen actually (the same guy made that amazing Ultimate Pinball level)

Now I have to check Neruthul's level as well. It's particularly interesting to see water presented so well in these levels when there's no real support for water anywhere in the game.

 

[MisterAnderson]

I absolutely love what you guys are doing, but you have to know that at some point Media Molecule / Sony are going to pull this for copyright infringement. I realize that "parody" is covered just about anywhere else, but tell that to Sony.

Neruthul has the Contra name and logo all over his levels and if his haven't gotten taken down I doubt we will have any issues :lol

 

[donkey show]

Yeesh, recreating that veiny look in the Alien's Lair is proving to be very, very difficult. I might have to take some visual liberties in order to make this look somewhat decent and get that fleshboat-like atmosphere.

 

[Teknoman]

Yeesh, recreating that veiny look in the Alien's Lair is proving to be very, very difficult. I might have to take some visual liberties in order to make this look somewhat decent and get that fleshboat-like atmosphere.

Dont you have a PSeye? Work some camera magic

 

[Xenon]

MisterAnderson walked me through some of the levels last night and you guys are doing an incredible job. I can't wait to play the finished product.

 

[MisterAnderson]

I made a lot of progress on the Jungle today. I put a large dent in the background design, all I need to do to finish it off is finish drawing the mountain ranges and finish the tall trees in the later part of the stage. I also started on the boss; hope to have it completed in playable form in the next day or two. If I don't manage to get it done by this weekend then it will have to wait until monday or tuesday most likely since I'm going to have to work all weekend, but in any case I have a few ideas on how to improve upon the rather bland Jungle wall boss that we all know and love.

 

[Orz]

I absolutely love what you guys are doing, but you have to know that at some point Media Molecule / Sony are going to pull this for copyright infringement. I realize that "parody" is covered just about anywhere else, but tell that to Sony.

Possible, but you could also argue that Konami has given tacit permission to manipulate its properties by releasing a Metal Gear Solid pack.

 

[donkey show]

Dont you have a PSeye? Work some camera magic

Haha, I tried. It totally looks like ass. :lol

 

[MisterAnderson]

Hey Donkey Show, whenever you get a chance Jaeyden (and I, heh) would really like to take a peak at what you've got so far. Jaeyden especially since he would like to transition into the Alien's lair as smoothly as possible after the Hangar boss fight so he'd like to get an idea of how your opening to the level looks.

Also as far as that idea for making each of the 3 planes correspond to a specific bullet color to hopefully prevent the player from being confused, since warm colors jump out and appear closer than cooler colors I'm thinking a good way to go is: foreground = red, middle = yellow, background = white. At first I was thinking green for middle, but in sections where there are only the foreground and middleground it would look too Christmas-y lol.

If anyone can suggest a better set of colors since I just pulled these 3 out of my ass just this second, feel free.

 

[Teknoman]

Haha, I tried. It totally looks like ass. :lol

Damn. Well im sure you'll work something out. Know anything in real life that looks that way? I dunno...PSeye some hamburger meat or something :lol

Seriously though, if it comes out nice, that might work. Going to have to take a few liberties anyway im sure.

EDIT: Once done, im helping to advertise the hell out of this level set.

 

[MisterAnderson]

Maybe that skeleton material looking stuff from the weddings theme? I don't know, I can't wait to see how it ends up though.

 

[Jaeyden]

We need to get someone that can make "good PSeye" captures...mine sucks but I've seen some super clear captures that look almost like MM did em.

 

[Teknoman]

We need to get someone that can make "good PSeye" captures...mine sucks but I've seen some super clear captures that look almost like MM did em.

I still have no idea how Gamesradar got their PSeye textures to come out so sharp...and even my own SMB3 NES Doomship textures used in Aerial Armory cam out sharp.

Whoever did that Razhotep's tomb stage had some really sharp textures as well. Its either gotta be stuff printed or taken directly off a monitor. Maybe its the surrounding light in the area?

 

[Ranger X]

It might be Eyetoy capture? Does it work with the game?

The image of the PSEye is actually worse than the Eyetoy one. Also, the compression in LBP is completely atrocious and I can't capture anything for shit.

It really is a useless feature right now. Seriously.

 

[Teknoman]

It might be Eyetoy capture? Does it work with the game?

The image of the PSEye is actually worse than the Eyetoy one. Also, the compression in LBP is completely atrocious and I can't capture anything for shit.

It really is a useless feature right now. Seriously.

Seriously? Thats messed up that the PS2 eyetoy captures stuff sharper than the PS3 pseye. I think the eyetoy does work with LBP as well.

Since MM has been open to user suggestions...maybe we can get em to shape up the camera capture?

 

[Ranger X]

Seriously? Thats messed up that the PS2 eyetoy captures stuff sharper than the PS3 pseye. I think the eyetoy does work with LBP as well.

Since MM has been open to user suggestions...maybe we can get em to shape up the camera capture?

The better solution would be to allow image importation from the HDD...

 

[Jaeyden]

Added some prototype human enemies to the Hangar today just to get the rough thermo impact accounted for. It's about ready to pop..LOLs.

 

[MisterAnderson]

Added some prototype human enemies to the Hangar today just to get the rough thermo impact accounted for. It's about ready to pop..LOLs.

Lol, I am going to cherish the day MM releases water so that i can replace my thermo sucking water shapes with real water and watch that thermo drop giving me the freedom to do everything I want with my level.

 

[Ranger X]

Lol, I am going to cherish the day MM releases water so that i can replace my thermo sucking water shapes with real water and watch that thermo drop giving me the freedom to do everything I want with my level.

Actually real liquid would still be "a material" for the engine and with the complex physics that it would involve, let me bet it would take more thermo than the current reproductions of water we are doing right now. Either that or we would have animated but stationary water, just like gaz and fire.

I'm also pretty sure it's why it's not in the game in the first place. Too much memory consumed and probably caused too much slowdown for their engine so far.

 

[MisterAnderson]

Yeah I was assuming it would be like the gas and fire, but who knows you're probably right

 

[Jaeyden]

Made a pretty good logo sticker today. Sent it out to everyone, check your LBP in boxes.

 

[Teknoman]

Yeah I was assuming it would be like the gas and fire, but who knows you're probably right

I'd like stationary water objects. Blue gas looks ok, but water would be so much better. Also just make sackboy float atop the water, but drown if they dont get out after a certain amount of time.
:lol Got Contra virt remixes of each Contra 1 area ready to go for "advertising".

EDIT: Have you guys decided on a series name yet?

 

[Orz]

To quote a great Professor: Good news, everyone!

Base1 is now playable more or less as intended. I completely redesigned the system for delivering walls, as well as for registering hits to each wall component / boss component, which vastly simplified things. I now have plenty of thermometer to implement all walls in Base1, as well as Base2 when I create that level.

Still to do:

• Roller emitters / roller enemies / grenade enemies
• Advancing wall wreckage
• Base2 (mostly the boss design)
• Gameplay tweaks (As it stands right now, it's really hard. Not sure if I want to keep it this difficult.)
• Sounds
• Much visual work for non-gameplay areas (The area where you spawn in, the 'Game Over' area, and 'victory' area. All are barren or spartan right now).

I'm unsure the procedure to create a locked level you can all preview. If someone would care to walk me through it, I'll post the level tomorrow after making a few more adjustments for you to see the work-in-progress.

 

[Jaeyden]

Publish the level locked. There is a level under my name in Antarctica called Lock and Key! Copyable. Make a copy of that, there is a tutorial built into on how to use either combination or sticker switch. Use the camo/star sticker I sent out for the sticker switch. Stick the level key in that safe and publish it unlocked/uncopyable.

 

[MisterAnderson]

So I didn't do very much (was just tweaking some emitters/adding a couple) but LBP decided to not save my editing progress, which doesn't bother me so much since I didn't get much done but it makes me feel very uneasy about further progress that might be lost. I suppose I will just have to publish after every save now, but still what gives?

Edit: Great job on the logo Jaeyden, you made that with no PSeye?