04-20-2010, 04:51 AM
Castle Basano - Hard
Wow! Truth in advertising -- it really was hard, and a heck of a lot of fun to work through, but it definitely made you work to get through it. It really seemed to me that the designer had a lot of fun with it. I would easily rank it up there with the hardest from the first game. There were a few screens that were frustrating, but you know I was glad it was hard. It makes the finishing all the more satisfying.
I would hate to see it made too much easier. It's good to have something to work towards - this should be difficult for newer players to get through. That's why there's the Easy and Normal levels to work through. I think having levels like this helps to extend the life of the game.
Having said that, I think the difficulty level further highlights issues with Normal and Easy. I played Easy, Normal and Hard for this mansion without trying any others so I could try and get a sense for the differences between them, and I don't think the levels are very balanced as they are right now. Easy and Normal are too similar.
I think Normal is just about right for that level, Hard is very hard - there might even be a few minor tweaks to tone it down slightly, but in my mind the real issue is with Easy. It's not Easy enough (at least the last time I played it). I think the difference between Easy and Normal should be roughly the same difference between Normal and Hard.
Some things that might be done for Easy:
Obviously... just my opinion. Seriously, though I thought the Normal and Hard levels were excellent. An alternative would be to make Normal a bit harder to help separate it more from Easy, but this skews the whole game harder. So, I'll stick to my suggestion, that the Easy level should be easier.
Some notes as I explored the mansion:
15693 - Wow - sure is easy to fall off those appearing/disappearing blocks! I tend to agree with Missy on this one.
15698 - Really tricky - a big departure from other levels, but not really that hard if you're careful.
15701 - darn I hate those ghosts. I think they have my vote for most annoying monster since they can pop out of nowhere - usually at the worst possible time.
16298 - Seeing some strangely high jumps from the up/down platforms. It's thrown me off a few times now.
16499 - Cheap death with bird when you enter this screen?
16901 - I laughed when the elevator saved me a life by pushing the creature up and away from me - it really caught me by surprise. I didn't expect the monster to be affected by the moving platform. This was also a case where the low ceilings was an advantage. I didn't actually have to ride up and dodge the creature. I was able to jump up and get coins/keys.
16101 - Room with coins and vanishing blocks which I'm really starting to dislike. A very frustrating room. I think a small platform that goes left and right across the lava might be nice here. It wouldn't be high enough to give access to all the coins, but would give you a way around while still keeping it pretty tough. Yeah.. not a fan of this room.
15297 - Save point seemed unnecessary here. Very close to the other one a few rooms to the right, and there didn't seem to be too much hard stuff to justify it.
16307 - I think the layers are a bit off on the stalactites in the right side of the screen. It spoils the illusion of depth.
15706 - Cheap death w/ giant spider?
15506 - Tough screen. Good thing there was a save not long before...
15908 - Message: I realize the wording is meant to be somewhat stylized but I really think
There was one screen, I'm going to have to find the number and post it later where I fell through the floor (it was the area where all the gold/silver blocks were. I jumped and fell through solid floor. I tried repeatedly to reproduce it, but couldn't.
Wow! Truth in advertising -- it really was hard, and a heck of a lot of fun to work through, but it definitely made you work to get through it. It really seemed to me that the designer had a lot of fun with it. I would easily rank it up there with the hardest from the first game. There were a few screens that were frustrating, but you know I was glad it was hard. It makes the finishing all the more satisfying.
I would hate to see it made too much easier. It's good to have something to work towards - this should be difficult for newer players to get through. That's why there's the Easy and Normal levels to work through. I think having levels like this helps to extend the life of the game.
Having said that, I think the difficulty level further highlights issues with Normal and Easy. I played Easy, Normal and Hard for this mansion without trying any others so I could try and get a sense for the differences between them, and I don't think the levels are very balanced as they are right now. Easy and Normal are too similar.
I think Normal is just about right for that level, Hard is very hard - there might even be a few minor tweaks to tone it down slightly, but in my mind the real issue is with Easy. It's not Easy enough (at least the last time I played it). I think the difference between Easy and Normal should be roughly the same difference between Normal and Hard.
Some things that might be done for Easy:
- Fewer rooms. I think there should be a general feeling that the mansion is larger as the difficulty rises.
- Fewer creatures. I tend to think as a general rule of thumb having three monsters in a single pathway per screen might be too much.
- Fewer irregular path creatures such as birds, and fewer creatures that can drop in from above.
- I think for Easy mode the main challenge should be getting accustomed to the varying terrain and the different creatures - one or two at a time. It should make it relatively easy to focus on the main goal and finding keys without having to make too many hair trigger decisions.
- I also think that it should be fairly easy to find all keys/doors. It ought to be nearly impossible in Easy mode to be trapped outside of locked areas (even if it doesn't interfere with being able to finish).
Obviously... just my opinion. Seriously, though I thought the Normal and Hard levels were excellent. An alternative would be to make Normal a bit harder to help separate it more from Easy, but this skews the whole game harder. So, I'll stick to my suggestion, that the Easy level should be easier.
Some notes as I explored the mansion:
15693 - Wow - sure is easy to fall off those appearing/disappearing blocks! I tend to agree with Missy on this one.
15698 - Really tricky - a big departure from other levels, but not really that hard if you're careful.
15701 - darn I hate those ghosts. I think they have my vote for most annoying monster since they can pop out of nowhere - usually at the worst possible time.
16298 - Seeing some strangely high jumps from the up/down platforms. It's thrown me off a few times now.
16499 - Cheap death with bird when you enter this screen?
16901 - I laughed when the elevator saved me a life by pushing the creature up and away from me - it really caught me by surprise. I didn't expect the monster to be affected by the moving platform. This was also a case where the low ceilings was an advantage. I didn't actually have to ride up and dodge the creature. I was able to jump up and get coins/keys.
16101 - Room with coins and vanishing blocks which I'm really starting to dislike. A very frustrating room. I think a small platform that goes left and right across the lava might be nice here. It wouldn't be high enough to give access to all the coins, but would give you a way around while still keeping it pretty tough. Yeah.. not a fan of this room.
15297 - Save point seemed unnecessary here. Very close to the other one a few rooms to the right, and there didn't seem to be too much hard stuff to justify it.
16307 - I think the layers are a bit off on the stalactites in the right side of the screen. It spoils the illusion of depth.
15706 - Cheap death w/ giant spider?
15506 - Tough screen. Good thing there was a save not long before...
15908 - Message: I realize the wording is meant to be somewhat stylized but I really think
whenworks better than
whilehere.
There was one screen, I'm going to have to find the number and post it later where I fell through the floor (it was the area where all the gold/silver blocks were. I jumped and fell through solid floor. I tried repeatedly to reproduce it, but couldn't.