Ninjas Vs Pirates (with pictures)

[Mrgenji]

It's been a long long time since i last published a level so I may be a little rusty.

Ninjas Vs. Pirates - @Mrgenji

"The epic struggle continues - climb, jump and sail your way through Ninja Town to find the source of the Pirate menace."

It's the level that everyone is calling:
"What? Who are you? How did you get in my house, I'm calling the cops!"

Just look at our rave reviews:
"This level is a piece of ------ ------ ----- ---- ---- amazing ------- ------ I would-- reccomend this level"
* The gaurdian


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This level came about after several thoughts struck me:

1. It's been ages since you last published a level, what have you been doing with your time?
2. I'm fed up of all these stickers cluttering up my pop-it
3. Whats the point of having MM objects if I don't use them?
4. I wonder if I can make a level entirely out of cardboard
E. I wish I could count

Admittedly the final level wasnt made entirely out of cardboard, around 80% is though which really let me push the thermo with stickers. Don't worry about the MM objects though, its only a small scattering for decoration

Anyway, enough about why I built the level - On to the level itself.

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Your journy begins as you arrive in Ninja town to find it under attack by pirates, wasting no time the local populace (Which seems to be made of 9 Geisha girls and one old man - But i'm not judging) send you on a journy to stop them.

Soon you realise that you won't be able to stop them yourself so you head off the find The Grandmaster who might have a solution. Travel over rooftops and gentle lotus ponds, through Zen gardens the the sky itself, fight pirates on land and on the high seas to finnaly reach Pirate town.

Pictures below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

This level contains two community items (The Grandmaster and The Chinese Junk). If you want them be sure to turn community objects on before the end!

A special thanks goes to Jaqo (for being my muse) and all of the deludge of visitors I had who helped me shape this level.

QPQ: Snow White and the seven sacks - @Enochroot
Cave of wonders - @daredude55

All feedback welcome

[Pinchanzee]

Haha, nice thread, made me chortle a few times.

First impressions of this level were very good, introduction is brilliant, 'specially the pirate, very atmospheric.
The theme was consistent, simple and complimented the storyline.
Gameplay was a bit iffy in places, but all around pretty good. Cannonball enemies were good. Had a lot of trouble with the fish, figuring out when to jump was fair enough, thought that was be the hard and rewarding bit, but jumping over to them (especially the third) seemed a bit too difficult (keep in mind this is my... second online level in a LONG time).
Only just realised that I subconsciously skipped the story.. Been so used to skipping speech bubbles when creating that I skipped most of yours.. So, apologies for that xD
Loved the ship, looked brilliant. Did you steal it from Mm?
One thing I have to pick up on though, it did seem a bit odd to be electrocuted/plasma'd by a cannonball..

Gave it 4 stars, was lacking the originality that I look for for my 5th star m'fraid.
Overall a brilliant level, really enjoyed it, most of platforming had the perfect balance between difficult and rewarding and the visuals were very effective, very good use of the level pack. Kudos

[Mrgenji]

Cheers for the feedback Pinch. Don't worry about the story there wasnt any really, basically "go find the grandmaster" then "go find the pirate captain". I know what you mean about the cannon balls, but sadly it was the onl way i could make them work. I suppose I could replace the plasma ones with gas but not sure if they'd have the same power when being shot.

Ship is mine, the prize version has a bit more on it as the level version got battered about as I was rigging it for that section. Actually quite proud of that ship, only other thing I've ever built that I've been proud of was Sunn's wheel really.

I'm starting to think there wasnt enough platforming sections in the level...ah well, too late now.

[EnochRoot]

let me preface my feedback with a personal comment for MrGenji


















Make more levels you lazy brilliant welsh git!!!


Such talent and creativity kept all to yourself, unbelievable. You have to play this level and when you consider that most of it is cardboard, stickers and cutouts simply phenomenal.I would recommend you put this fact in the level description as most don't realise what they are playing in terms of creative constraints.

I would recommend playing Heist2 as well, the japanese theme linking two brilliant levels.(I'm beginning to think you have a real affinity for all things Nipponese, are you a Japophile? Is that even a word?)

One of the few creators to show restraint with the deployment of the waterpack, and combined with the islands backdrop it really transports you there.The pirate theme was actually quite historically accurate as the Japanese excluded all foreign contact for centuries and most first encounters were with sailors. I was reminded of the tv version of James Clavells Shogun.

I agree with pinch over the third lily pad jump, but the overall balance of gameplay, level length and variety is perfectly judged.
Definitely a level to play and learn from.

[ezBadfish]

What a great level! I really never say that. I mean I just don't do that unless its truly deserved. Perfect use of the stickers and the objects. It really was SOOOO well done. I mean its hard for me to talk about it without seeming overly gushing but I really enjoyed not only the look but also the layout and design of the level itself. The game play wasn't very challenging or anything but it was still fun to play through. I guess my only criticism would be that I wanted more, wishing the level was longer, but I guess I'll just have to wait for the sequel

Five Star... Creator Heart.

[KodeRiter722]

Another great level from MrGenji! It hurts me to know that some folks havent even tried your Heist Series! I agree with others that the lily pad jumps were a bit difficult, and they're the only reason I can't ace the level. I played the level 5 or 6 times just now, and I was amazed when I came and read your description and found out that you constructed the level almost completely from cardboard! It is nice to see a creator challenge themselves and still manage to create a piece of art like this. The level looks beautiful (especially considering the restraints), and I enjoyed the platforming, although I agree with you that there could have been more. Your ship was fantastic (and definitely something to be proud of), and I really enjoyed the scene while you were on it. I like your interpretation of the cannonballs being fired by the pirate ships. I got exactly what I expected from you - a level with great visuals and gameplay to back it up. Please don't make us wait another 6-8 months for another level from you. ITS NOT FAIR!! I had a blast working on my high score. I got 2nd place under Nirvana, who has 12 fingers and tvs implanted in her eyelids so she can study LBP levels while she sleeps...in case you didnt know.

I found a few minor "bugs"...i dont think there are any spoilers in there, but let me know if you want me to take the pics down:

1. I managed to get behind these rocks, and no matter what i tried, i couldnt get back out. Had to commit sackicide. Now i'll never go to heaven:


2. When jumping off the zipline, if you land on the rock the character cannot emit, although the cloud will appear and disappear. I guess you could put a switch on the character and make the cloud from dissolve, so that once the character emitted it set off a time delay switch that would dissolve the cloud a second after the character appears...but that may not be possible depending on therm. Here are the before and after pics:


3. Another small one - is there any way to lower the stairs in this area? It was only a tiny bit annoying, but i did have some unnecessary difficulty trying to get up that stair with my head bouncing off the ceiling:


4. And last but not least, the part with the lantern that you grab hold of to get down to the ship. i had to retry it quite a few times in order to eventually get it right. I think it would be best if you shortened the length of the swinging light and brought it further away from the light which you grab to get down to the ship. With how it is set now, it is most natural for the player to swing and grab the far side of the lantern. Unfortunately, the wooden beams below crush and kill the player every time you are holding onto that side, and it is not possible to let go and grab hold of the bottom because of the downward momentum (you usually just fall until gas kills you). This caused me to have to reattempt that area quite a few times, until i got the hang of jumping off the swinging rope early:

[Mrgenji]

Awww thanks for all the feeback guys!

Glad you all enjoyed it. I've tweaked the level since to include a forth lotus flower in that platforming section to help those who had difficulty with the original section. i've also lowered the speed of the fish.

I'll get right on those problems now V1, always nice to have somebody with a keen eye for these things, I sort of knew about the smoke character bit - just forgot to fix that heh.

Interestingly if you're feeling cruel you can actually ride the lantern up there again and use the momentum to fly kick her ass off there...heh...

[cortez72]

Really cool level. It was the little details I took note of, that were the highlights for me. The samurai sword for example. Great little addition.

The presentation was to a high standard. The enemies looked great. The sound effects were spot on. I thought the platforming was just right, broken up by scenery.

I eagerly await part two. I will have to contend with your previous levels for now, sounds like good stuff!

[KodeRiter722]

Awww thanks for all the feeback guys!

Glad you all enjoyed it. I've tweaked the level since to include a forth lotus flower in that platforming section to help those who had difficulty with the original section. i've also lowered the speed of the fish.

I'll get right on those problems now V1, always nice to have somebody with a keen eye for these things, I sort of knew about the smoke character bit - just forgot to fix that heh.

Interestingly if you're feeling cruel you can actually ride the lantern up there again and use the momentum to fly kick her ass off there...heh...

Wow! I just choked on my orange juice when i read that last bit! You're a nut MrG! No problem on the feedback. I had a blast playing and I will play more when i get the chance. I gotta beat Nirvana's high score still!

[Mrgenji]

Its true about the kick though. might actually install a water switch linked to a plunge sound effect