LittleBigPlanet – Over 3 Million Community Levels!

[justbugin]

Hey I dont do this very often, but im looking for some fair minded individuals to critique my levels based on creativity and design. A couple levels are more than rediculously difficult by design which is why i need a fair critique and not just "your level sucks because i cant beat it." Im going for the create trophy so any helpful criticism is welcome. You can find them under my psn: Justbugin. Thanks in advance.

[CYMBOL]

Originally Posted by justbugin

Hey I dont do this very often, but im looking for some fair minded individuals to critique my levels based on creativity and design. A couple levels are more than rediculously difficult by design which is why i need a fair critique and not just "your level sucks because i cant beat it." Im going for the create trophy so any helpful criticism is welcome. You can find them under my psn: Justbugin. Thanks in advance.

Well - which level are you putting up for the create trophy? What is the theme for the create trophy (which matters greatly) - if the theme is "Treasure Hunting" and your level is a horror level with no treasure - well then, the critique might be about your theme.

Let me know which level you want specifically, and I'll give it a try. Although, I won't bump it down because I "can't beat it" (trust me, my levels are known for being difficult and loooooong) - but I'm more of a creator than a player, so I can't promise that I'll get through the whole thing - since I may not be able to beat it. I will give a fair critique based on your level - not my "skill" level.

[CYMBOL]

Originally Posted by fsavoie

I might not be online saturday, but maybe sunday if you need more beta testing.

Originally Posted by Chris60119

I'm gone all weekend. Going on vacation. Next weekend I will definatly check it out.

What do I pay you guys for?! Sheesh!

Yeah, Fsavoie - if I see you on I'll see if you're around - still completing the ending - just need a good solid hour or two to complete it. Can't wait to be done.

[justbugin]

Originally Posted by CYMBOL

Well - which level are you putting up for the create trophy? What is the theme for the create trophy (which matters greatly) - if the theme is "Treasure Hunting" and your level is a horror level with no treasure - well then, the critique might be about your theme.

Let me know which level you want specifically, and I'll give it a try. Although, I won't bump it down because I "can't beat it" (trust me, my levels are known for being difficult and loooooong) - but I'm more of a creator than a player, so I can't promise that I'll get through the whole thing - since I may not be able to beat it. I will give a fair critique based on your level - not my "skill" level.

The create trophy can be attained through your compilation of levels but if i had to put one up specifically it would be Ace Skillzzz. The theme for it being can you ace this level.
If not that one it would be Sunkin Cave Adventure. Just dont critique Traitor. its a joke level for my friend.

[CYMBOL]

Originally Posted by justbugin

The create trophy can be attained through your compilation of levels but if i had to put one up specifically it would be Ace Skillzzz. The theme for it being can you ace this level.
If not that one it would be Sunkin Cave Adventure. Just dont critique Traitor. its a joke level for my friend.

Oh wait - I'm very sorry - I was thinking of the "Create Crown". Sorry about that.

What do you need for the create trophy? 50 plays on one level? Or 50 creator hearts?

I can't remember - again sorry, I mis-read that - that changes how I would look at your level and what I'd recommend.

Creator hearts are the hardest to get - a lot of people on this forum traded hearts for that. I don't care about trophies personally, so I never bothered - but I know their important to a lot of people.

[justbugin]

Originally Posted by CYMBOL

Oh wait - I'm very sorry - I was thinking of the "Create Crown". Sorry about that.

What do you need for the create trophy? 50 plays on one level? Or 50 creator hearts?

I can't remember - again sorry, I mis-read that - that changes how I would look at your level and what I'd recommend.

Creator hearts are the hardest to get - a lot of people on this forum traded hearts for that. I don't care about trophies personally, so I never bothered - but I know their important to a lot of people.

it takes the 30 creator hearts. I mainly just want to drive more plays to my levels. im not usually a trophy guy but i enjoy LBP so much that i want all its trophies.

[CYMBOL]

Originally Posted by justbugin

it takes the 30 creator hearts. I mainly just want to drive more plays to my levels. im not usually a trophy guy but i enjoy LBP so much that i want all its trophies.

Well, having a good level is mandatory - if I get a low star rating at the beginning (because the level is hard and people get frustrated) - I'll delete it and re-start the publishing phase until it has at least a 4 Star rating early on.

I made a big post several pages back on how to get your level stuck on the "Cool pages", but it takes work.

From what I've seen - addictive, well made survival levels get the most plays - heck, even a lot of cr@ppy ones get thousands of plays. Or, make a "contempory level" - meaning, something that is in the media - a recent movie or something. Start creating that "Iron Man 2" level right now!

Make a well made survival level and add community keys to your other levels. That would be the simplest way.

My last level (The Great Race 3D) - added hundreds of plays to each of my previous Great Race levels (about 100 on 1 level and about 500 on another one).

I'll see if I can find my old post - but I have limited time at work right now.

But like I said, creator hearts are the most difficult to get. I have around 15,000 plays from my 7 levels (combined) - and only have 278 creator hearts (just got another one the other night). I'm guilty of not giving people creator hearts - even those that totally deserve them. It's just not something you think to do after you've played it - and hearted the level and/or made a comment.

How many do you need?

[justbugin]

Originally Posted by CYMBOL

Well, having a good level is mandatory - if I get a low star rating at the beginning (because the level is hard and people get frustrated) - I'll delete it and re-start the publishing phase until it has at least a 4 Star rating early on.

I made a big post several pages back on how to get your level stuck on the "Cool pages", but it takes work.

From what I've seen - addictive, well made survival levels get the most plays - heck, even a lot of cr@ppy ones get thousands of plays. Or, make a "contempory level" - meaning, something that is in the media - a recent movie or something. Start creating that "Iron Man 2" level right now!

Make a well made survival level and add community keys to your other levels. That would be the simplest way.

My last level (The Great Race 3D) - added hundreds of plays to each of my previous Great Race levels (about 100 on 1 level and about 500 on another one).

I'll see if I can find my old post - but I have limited time at work right now.

But like I said, creator hearts are the most difficult to get. I have around 15,000 plays from my 7 levels (combined) - and only have 278 creator hearts (just got another one the other night). I'm guilty not giving people creator hearts - even those that totally deserve them.

How many do you need?

i need 14 more for the trophy. ive made survival challenges and had decent ratings on some but then i get a couple people that come in and 1 star it and that drops my rating to 3 usually. on my 7 levels i have less than 1000 plays total. it might be because i usually play and publish late at night.

[CYMBOL]

Originally Posted by justbugin

i need 14 more for the trophy. ive made survival challenges and had decent ratings on some but then i get a couple people that come in and 1 star it and that drops my rating to 3 usually. on my 7 levels i have less than 1000 plays total. it might be because i usually play and publish late at night.

Here is my old post - still holds true - my last level, The Great Race 3D, has a little over 3,000 plays (and as I said, increased the plays on the "linked" levels by a few hundred each).

Let me know if you have any questions after reading it.

Originally Posted by CYMBOL

HOW TO GET YOUR LEVEL PLAYED:

Back when LBP first came out, you simply published your level, and if you wanted more plays - you simply published again.

LBP did an update several months ago - and basically, if your level was more than 7 days old and you republished your level - it would fall off the "cool" pages almost immediately.

There was one trick to get it to "stick" for a little while. You had to "add or delete" something from your level (add a small block of material where no one would see it, etc.) - then, when you republished, it would actually "stick". Even so, you'd only get 10 more plays or something before it slid off the cool pages.

If you want 100's/1,000's of plays - follow these steps.

1. Make a good level that people want to play. (If you want to use an older level that simply never got the plays it deserved, that is fine, make sure you have a copy on your "MOON", then delete the "published version" that never got played much).
2. Choose a week that is not busy (coming home late, being gone for a few days, etc.) The key is - your level will have 7 days from the day it is "first" published to stay on the Cool pages: you need to get it stuck on page 1-3 by the weekend (when most people play), so you can have 100 people playing it an hour.
3. Publish your level for the first time Sunday/Monday evening. Wait a couple of minutes - then scroll through the Cool pages and see where it is. You want to try and get it to land on pages 1-10 (the higher up the better). If it lands through 1-10, leave it until it slips off. Once it slips off add a small block of material to your level (on your moon), save, and republish (when you republish again, you can simply delete that block of material - LBP needs to see your level as something "new", changing the size of your level accomplishes that.

The trick is to get it stuck on Cool pages 1-10, as more people play your level, the "patch icon" will grow larger (which is great, people usually choose those large patches), however, once your growing patch gets a certain size, it will move up to the next page and become small again - starting the process over again. Don't be surprised if it drops back to the previous page.

Keep up this process the first few days, usually by Thursday, you've had a few hundred plays (maybe more if it's a really good level), and your just sitting there watching your level move up. Hopefully, by Friday evening your level is on pages 1-3 and the weekend will have many, many people choosing to play your level. By the time your level gets taken off the Cool pages next Monday evening, you should have a few thousand plays.

Hope this helps. Good luck everyone.

[Petra_Kalbrain]

Originally Posted by justbugin

it takes the 30 creator hearts. I mainly just want to drive more plays to my levels. im not usually a trophy guy but i enjoy LBP so much that i want all its trophies.

Same here. I want the trophies too, but I can't be bothered with the time it would take to create a good enough level. All I'm missing are the FEEL THE LOVE & CREATE trophies.

FEEL THE LOVE - A level you published was hearted by 10 or more people.
I'm sure that I can get this one easily just from people on my friends list that have the game. I just need to publish a crappy level and get them to heart it for me and then I can just delete it.

CREATE - The levels you published were hearted by 50 or more people and you were hearted by 30 or more people.
THIS ONE will be a pain in the arse to get for me.

[justbugin]

Originally Posted by CYMBOL

Here is my old post - still holds true - my last level, The Great Race 3D, has a little over 3,000 plays (and as I said, increased the plays on the "linked" levels by a few hundred each).

Let me know if you have any questions after reading it.

i will probably just make a new level (difficulty turned down) and try that method. thanks for the tip. i would still like some critiques just to make sure my design methods arent seriously flawed. Also I link all my levels together and even ask for author hearts in my descriptions.

[justbugin]

Originally Posted by Petra_Kalbrain

Same here. I want the trophies too, but I can't be bothered with the time it would take to create a good enough level. All I'm missing are the FEEL THE LOVE & CREATE trophies.

FEEL THE LOVE - A level you published was hearted by 10 or more people.
I'm sure that I can get this one easily just from people on my friends list that have the game. I just need to publish a crappy level and get them to heart it for me and then I can just delete it.

CREATE - The levels you published were hearted by 50 or more people and you were hearted by 30 or more people.
THIS ONE will be a pain in the arse to get for me.

just be careful that "crappy" level you make for feel the love can turn into an obbsession real quick.

[CYMBOL]

Originally Posted by justbugin

just be careful that "crappy" level you make for feel the love can turn into an obbsession real quick.

Yeah, I always start out with a very small idea - and before I know it my level is busting the thermometer and I have to end it a lot sooner than I wanted. Most of my levels take about 20 minutes to play.

I did the same thing with my latest level I plan on publishing soon, The Dream Catcher, I have to end it waaaaaay earlier than I ever thought I would - now I'm wondering if I could even finish it in 2 parts - would probably need a trilogy to do it properly.

Seriously, I don't know why I do that to myself. However, creating the effects for the Dream Catcher levels has been a lot of fun - tedious as all hell - but fun.

Ok - if I get time tonight I'll try and find you on LBP and play a level or two.

If they are super hard, I probably won't get far - I'm just not a good player - although, I can beat my own levels.

[CYMBOL]

Originally Posted by Petra_Kalbrain

Same here. I want the trophies too, but I can't be bothered with the time it would take to create a good enough level. All I'm missing are the FEEL THE LOVE & CREATE trophies.

Just co-create with Stephie, and I'll stop by and help out if I can - make a simple, but effective survival level.

That will get the level hearts - creator hearts are very, very, very rarely given.

[justbugin]

Originally Posted by CYMBOL

Yeah, I always start out with a very small idea - and before I know it my level is busting the thermometer and I have to end it a lot sooner than I wanted. Most of my levels take about 20 minutes to play.

I did the same thing with my latest level I plan on publishing soon, The Dream Catcher, I have to end it waaaaaay earlier than I ever thought I would - now I'm wondering if I could even finish it in 2 parts - would probably need a trilogy to do it properly.

Seriously, I don't know why I do that to myself. However, creating the effects for the Dream Catcher levels has been a lot of fun - tedious as all hell - but fun.

Ok - if I get time tonight I'll try and find you on LBP and play a level or two.

If they are super hard, I probably won't get far - I'm just not a good player - although, I can beat my own levels.

Thanks i appreciate it. I played your 3D race and your lighting effects are astounding. How do you make your levels so long? I cant seem to get mine half of that before the thermostat starts screaming at me.

[CYMBOL]

Originally Posted by justbugin

Thanks i appreciate it. I played your 3D race and your lighting effects are astounding. How do you make your levels so long? I cant seem to get mine half of that before the thermostat starts screaming at me.

The biggest trick to keeping your thermo low is not using MM creations/objects.

I played the two levels of yours you recommended - I notice you had some of the crabs from the Pirates levels, etc. - using those MM created objects makes your thermo shoot up.

My advice - create your own objects, structures, characters, etc. Sure, they probably won't be as good as MM's, but they will be original (something we haven't all seen) - and keep you're thermo a bit more under control.

All my levels are long - and every single one of them had to be ended early due to the thermo. Which is probably a good thing - I let someone play my new level last night (still not finished) - their main complaint was that it was too long - they recommended that I split it up - I told them, I already did, this is only the first half!

I will try and post a link to keeping your thermo down. By the time I found it, I had already discovered all those issues - but there might be some helpful info for you.

Thanks for trying my level - yeah, I'm big on lighting. Most of my levels are dark cause I love working with lighting effects.

When I get some time I'll let you know what I thought about your levels.

[CYMBOL]

Originally Posted by justbugin

Thanks i appreciate it. I played your 3D race and your lighting effects are astounding. How do you make your levels so long? I cant seem to get mine half of that before the thermostat starts screaming at me.

Ok - as far as your levels go - they need some fine tuning.

The ACE SKILLZ level was difficult - which is fine - but the camera angles need some tweaking - I restarted a few times because I got killed before I could even see what the danger was (the bullets).

Two tools I really recommend you get more familiar with are the camera angle tool and the corner editor. I noticed a lot of your structures are fairly basic. I personally never used the corner editor till this current level I'm working on and it's made a HUGE difference allowing me to really get some much better structures and angles.

For the second level - I'll apologize ahead of time, I didn't have much time - I was hoping to play it real quick but I couldn't figure out exactly where I was supposed to go. I jumped off the boat to search below and got killed by one of the crabs - which made me spawn back at the beginning of the level - unfortunately, the boat wasn't there anymore making me have to swim the level. As I said, I didn't have time to really explore and couldn't figure out where I was supposed to go in the time I had.

So, my basic recommendations are to get more familiar with the corner editor to start to enhance your architecture/creations, and try out different camera angles to adjust how your level is viewed/played.

[justbugin]

thanks for the feedback. ill work on the cornering and camera angles, for the boat ive been tinkering with a way to get it to return but havent got it working yet.

[CYMBOL]

Originally Posted by justbugin

thanks for the feedback. ill work on the cornering and camera angles, for the boat ive been tinkering with a way to get it to return but havent got it working yet.

The only way to solve that would be to have a spawn portal be "on" the boat. That way, you don't have to worry about it. If you die, you'll always spawn back on the boat.

Oh yeah, one more suggestion - always use infinite portals. LBP players don't like levels that are too challenging - and they HATE it when they have to start a level over. Most will never try it again and probably give your level a low rating out of frustration. I went back and updated most of my levels with infinite spawns checkpoints.

It's hard enough to get people to play your level - why kick them out before they want to leave.

[HollyPopDid]

I just bought LBP and, wow, I never thought it would be this addicting. O_O I want the Sonic pack and I think I'ma get it tomorrow. (: Any other packs I should check out? Thanks.