LittleBigPlanet – Over 3 Million Community Levels!

[toef]

Originally Posted by hellmonkey

Played Chaplin and thought it was well done. I havent seen any of his movies, so i couldnt appreciate it, but i liked it. Ive spent most of my time working on my level TWICE, because it crahsed when i was almost done. but now that its out, im going to play around a while, and try out the rest of all the levles you peeps have made.

Aw, thanks. Glad to hear that the few people who have actually played it all seem to like it.

Originally Posted by CYMBOL

The Oz levels sound great - and they sound like a LOT of work. The Winter series was turning out to be quite a bit of work - but that was partly because of me.

Sorry to be so long winded - the point is - it can become a VERY time consuming and draining process making a large story - because you feel pressure to "hurry" because you need to finish the story - and you may feel pressured by yourself to keep "making things better".

That's the biggest thing holding me back. When I was working on Chaplin, which isn't a very complicated level, I roughly figured out what I wanted to do ahead of time, and then it became somewhat irritating that I couldn't create it as fast as I was thinking of what exactly to do.

If I do go after the Wizard of Oz level, I might put more consideration into having 4 separate boards (one each for meeting Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion, and one for getting to Emerald City/meeting the Wizard). Maybe I can cut it down to two (one meeting the 3 friends, and one for Emerald City), but I just don't want to run out of thermometer space and have to cut back too much on the level.

3 separate levels would allow me to really try to customize meeting each character, but I think the only way I'd go through with this plan is if I could make 3 separate boards that are all fun to play. The general idea would be that you would have to do something/complete some obstacles for the person before they agree to go with you.

Actually, now that I really think about it, maybe I can really cut this down to two levels. Or if I want to be really ambitious, I can turn it into 3 (first one is the sepia-toned part of the movie, before you get to Munchkin land). Second level is in color, when you get to Munchkinland, and then find the 3 people. 3rd level you go with the three people to see the wizard.

I think the first step will be to try and make a Scarecrow, a Tin Man, and a Lion, and see how those come out. It's times like this that I wish we could put NPC sackboys into our level, and just dress them up in costumes.

[caliblue15]

If you do wizard of oz, you better do it right... Although I hate the Wizard of Oz with a passion because I am from kansas, and whenever I go to another state they always have to do the saying " You aren't in kansas anymore."

As I also just watched the Matrix on blu-ray last night and forgot they used that line in the movie... Just a personal gripe, and a great movie.

[BorrowedTime]

Originally Posted by caliblue15

If you do wizard of oz, you better do it right... Although I hate the Wizard of Oz with a passion because I am from kansas, and whenever I go to another state they always have to do the saying " You aren't in kansas anymore."

As I also just watched the Matrix on blu-ray last night and forgot they used that line in the movie... Just a personal gripe, and a great movie.

So, would it be funny if everyone here went back and edited their levels so that one of the first captions (magic mouths) to be seen/read would be "You aren't in Kansas anymore" as a shout out to Caliblue?

[groovyone]

Originally Posted by BorrowedTime

So, would it be funny if everyone here went back and edited their levels so that one of the first captions (magic mouths) to be seen/read would be "You aren't in Kansas anymore" as a shout out to Caliblue?

Hahaha, that would be cruel, but hilarious.

[CYMBOL]

Originally Posted by toefer

Actually, now that I really think about it, maybe I can really cut this down to two levels. Or if I want to be really ambitious, I can turn it into 3 (first one is the sepia-toned part of the movie, before you get to Munchkin land). Second level is in color, when you get to Munchkinland, and then find the 3 people. 3rd level you go with the three people to see the wizard.

I think the first step will be to try and make a Scarecrow, a Tin Man, and a Lion, and see how those come out. It's times like this that I wish we could put NPC sackboys into our level, and just dress them up in costumes.

Yeah, well get ready to break the themometer from the sounds of it.

Believe it or not - my original idea for Winter Wonderland was to actually meet all 4 villians, go through each of their areas, have a small boss battle and then save Santa - my themometer space limited me to "introducing them".

But again, I do that stuff to myself. I could have started the level off with you meeting Santa in jail - but noooooooo, I wanted to start in darkness and have a "reveal" to the Winter Wonderland" - and a slow decent with "credits" and snow falling, and a trek through the Wonderland to find Santa in jail.

I never seem to be able to make things "simple" on myself.

Same with the Great Race, I start thinking, "Wouldn't it be cool if you could be dropped into the race while on Power-Balls from high above. . . " And then I can't rest till I figure out a way to do it.

Good luck on keeping it simple. Me, I would do go waaaaay overboard with this and probably have - Sepia intro with the twister, Munchkin Land, ScareCrow, Tin Man (come on - the trees throwing apples would be awesome to do), and the Lion, then the city of Oz - and then getting the Witch (which would probably turn into two level like my Dark Pixie level, one level to get to them, and then a Boss Battle, which somehow end up filling the themometer again.)

So, what is that - 8 levels?

See, I think I have a sickness.

[CYMBOL]

Originally Posted by BorrowedTime

So, would it be funny if everyone here went back and edited their levels so that one of the first captions (magic mouths) to be seen/read would be "You aren't in Kansas anymore" as a shout out to Caliblue?

I say we all create a level called, "You aren't in Kansas anymore".

[caliblue15]

Originally Posted by CYMBOL

I say we all create a level called, "You aren't in Kansas anymore".

Yes a tribute to me, I've always wanted that!

[toef]

Originally Posted by CYMBOL

Yeah, well get ready to break the themometer from the sounds of it.

Good luck on keeping it simple. Me, I would do go waaaaay overboard with this and probably have - Sepia intro with the twister, Munchkin Land, ScareCrow, Tin Man (come on - the trees throwing apples would be awesome to do), and the Lion, then the city of Oz - and then getting the Witch (which would probably turn into two level like my Dark Pixie level, one level to get to them, and then a Boss Battle, which somehow end up filling the themometer again.)

So, what is that - 8 levels?

See, I think I have a sickness.

While I think I don't have the same disease you have, I do have some of the symptoms.

Just thinking about the way to do this makes me want to "do it justice" and really put a lot of time into it. The first level would definitely be sepia toned, and then the second level I'd do whatever I could to try to create the sepia-to -color transition from the movie.

If you've ever played Spore, that's the best example of what I can give for how I'd want to make the character levels. I'd want each level to have it's own distinct style of play (though in Spore, each level of the game is based off a classic gaming structure), instead of just having 3 different versions of a basic sort of level. Anyhow, I'm off to dinner, and might try to think up some sort of story ideas for each mini-level. It's unfortunate that I always hated the Cowardly Lion, because making a level for him might now be a drag (although since he's a coward, that seems like an easy idea to build a level off of).

I guess my biggest concern is that I don't want to group all three (Sc,Tin,Lion) into a single level, but I'm not sure I can do enough to warrant having a separate level for each.

How did you go about fleshing out the Winter Wonderland level, leading up to the boss, without feeling like you were just delaying the story? I wouldn't want to create a bunch of obstacles that don't really fit into the Oz story, and seem out of place.

[jamclaur]

Originally Posted by CYMBOL

I hate when I unglue one thing and the ENTIRE LEVEL comes crashing down.

The latest update seemed to reduce that happening, but every now and then I run into it again.

Just last night I unglued one piece and EVERYTHING fell apart - I kept trying and finally after about the fifth time - it deleted and everything kept running as usual.

As I said, the glitches and space limitations will probably have me setting this game aside MUCH, MUCH sooner that I would have liked. But these issues are a bit maddening. I shouldn't have to work so hard just to play this game.

The Creation part of this game can be frustrating and trying as it is - add in some game ending glitches and it may drive many creators away.

the same thing happened to me a lot... so i started building in the air then letting it hover, then unpausing where it would just fall into place...

also, i kept getting a thing telling me my level was too complicated and i couldn't add anymore, though my thermometer was less than half full.... wtf?

[BorrowedTime]

Originally Posted by jamclaur

the same thing happened to me a lot... so i started building in the air then letting it hover, then unpausing where it would just fall into place...

also, i kept getting a thing telling me my level was too complicated and i couldn't add anymore, though my thermometer was less than half full.... wtf?

Not your level. The shape of the object you're creating. It really only applies to a shape made up of a single continuous object, often when it has a lot of angle changes.

Edit: If you make it far enough into my level "Winter Games", you'll come across 3 slides/ski jumps one green, one red, one purple. I got the "too complicated" message on the first slide (which I then copied and used the material changer on to make the other two). If you were able to take a closer look at the slide, there are actually a lot of small obtuse corners on the top side, and a lot of acute ones on the bottom. Not one of those slides can be further altered, because of the "too complicated" shape limitation.

[CYMBOL]

Originally Posted by BorrowedTime

Not your level. The shape of the object you're creating. It really only applies to a shape made up of a single continuous object, often when it has a lot of angle changes.

Correct - to avoid this - piece things together to make editing easier.

So, - instead of making a MASSIVE square - make the massive square, then cut it into fours and glue those together - now each piece can be edited without fear of the "This Shape is getting too complicated" message.

Look at MM's levels - you'll see that there is very seldom one large object. They have a LOT of seams. It doesn't look at nice as one continuous shape - but, it's a limitation you have to work with. Actually, most times you don't even notice it. If a seam is in an area I don't like, or breaks the illision on a cliff, etc. - I'll cover it up with a thin layer.

[jamclaur]

That makes sense. I was going to make a little maze for a rocket car but I was just going to cut the path out of a single block... to save time... but I axed the idea and like the level more for it.

I tried to make my level as real as I could... i.e. A normal house doesn't have swinging monkeys so I didn't use it...

[hardcore_canadian]

Originally Posted by jamclaur

That makes sense. I was going to make a little maze for a rocket car but I was just going to cut the path out of a single block... to save time... but I axed the idea and like the level more for it.

I tried to make my level as real as I could... i.e. A normal house doesn't have swinging monkeys so I didn't use it...

What kind of house do you live in? My House has all sorts of Animals swinging around

I've finally started on my Strip Club Level, but I'm running out of ideas, so I'm putting that one on Pause. I've started on my Ode to Dance Music, but before that, Starting with my Ode to Madonna I think. Any Ideas? I've already got the gondola and the Tiger, and still want the Burning Crosses... Even tho I may get killed for it.

[Stephie_is_a_dork]

Toefer: how 'bout part 1 is sepia, part 2 in brilliant color and part 2 in color, but night time? If you can make the Emerald City and the fake Wizard head glow they'll be much more impressive at night. The WWotW and her flying monkeys will be creepier at night too.

Re: Cowardly Lion...maybe it would help you like him more if you looked into A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire. I haven't read it yet myself, but it's the third installment of his Wicked series (I've read Wicked and seen the musical...totally different stories, BTW) and the Cowardly Lion is the main character.

I totally know what you mean about character design though! I went as far as dressing my sackperson in Lost character clothes and hair, stickering their clothes so they were the right color/pattern, taking a photo sticker of it, sticking said photo on poly foam, doing post-editing (like haircuts, giving Charlie a guitar, and making Hurley fatter), and THEN cutting the damn thing out! It's a royal P.I.T.A., but I like the end effect.

[toef]

Originally Posted by hardcore_canadian

What kind of house do you live in? My House has all sorts of Animals swinging around

I've finally started on my Strip Club Level, but I'm running out of ideas, so I'm putting that one on Pause. I've started on my Ode to Dance Music, but before that, Starting with my Ode to Madonna I think. Any Ideas? I've already got the gondola and the Tiger, and still want the Burning Crosses... Even tho I may get killed for it.

Don't forget the pointy brassiere.

[toef]

Originally Posted by Stephie_is_a_dork

Toefer: how 'bout part 1 is sepia, part 2 in brilliant color and part 2 in color, but night time? If you can make the Emerald City and the fake Wizard head glow they'll be much more impressive at night. The WWotW and her flying monkeys will be creepier at night too.

Re: Cowardly Lion...maybe it would help you like him more if you looked into A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire. I haven't read it yet myself, but it's the third installment of his Wicked series (I've read Wicked and seen the musical...totally different stories, BTW) and the Cowardly Lion is the main character.

I totally know what you mean about character design though! I went as far as dressing my sackperson in Lost character clothes and hair, stickering their clothes so they were the right color/pattern, taking a photo sticker of it, sticking said photo on poly foam, doing post-editing (like haircuts, giving Charlie a guitar, and making Hurley fatter), and THEN cutting the damn thing out! It's a royal P.I.T.A., but I like the end effect.

Good ideas. I'm taking notes. I like the lighting ideas (sepia, color, then nightime color) to give each section it's own distinct look.

I should give your Lost level a good look, to maybe get an idea for what to do for the characters.

I didn't have time to play at all today, but tomorrow hopefully I can find the time to mess around with making some characters, and then go from there.

[Stephie_is_a_dork]

Next time we're both on, I'll show you my workshop

[jamclaur]

Originally Posted by hardcore_canadian

What kind of house do you live in? My House has all sorts of Animals swinging around

I've finally started on my Strip Club Level, but I'm running out of ideas, so I'm putting that one on Pause. I've started on my Ode to Dance Music, but before that, Starting with my Ode to Madonna I think. Any Ideas? I've already got the gondola and the Tiger, and still want the Burning Crosses... Even tho I may get killed for it.

go for it... I LOVE MADONNA. And those crosses are her history.. haha

[fsavoie]

I don't know if someone can help me here, I have 2 friends that just bought LBP and we can't seems to be able to play together. We've all tried to play online with other game and that works. We've also all tried a quick play with other people in lbp and it works for all 3 of us. But when we invite or try to join each other after we accept the request it says " failed to connect to player" any idea someone?

[Stephie_is_a_dork]

Originally Posted by toefer

Good ideas. I'm taking notes. I like the lighting ideas (sepia, color, then nightime color) to give each section it's own distinct look.

I should give your Lost level a good look, to maybe get an idea for what to do for the characters.

I didn't have time to play at all today, but tomorrow hopefully I can find the time to mess around with making some characters, and then go from there.

Originally Posted by Stephie_is_a_dork

Next time we're both on, I'll show you my workshop

Then again, maybe not...I just noticed you haven't accepted my friend request yet

Originally Posted by fsavoie

I don't know if someone can help me here, I have 2 friends that just bought LBP and we can't seems to be able to play together. We've all tried to play online with other game and that works. We've also all tried a quick play with other people in lbp and it works for all 3 of us. But when we invite or try to join each other after we accept the request it says " failed to connect to player" any idea someone?

LBP servers often get overloaded. There's nothing wrong with your system or game disc, or your friend's system or game disc. Try again later, it should work.