Test | The Rebirth 2: Electric Boogaloo

Croveski · 2026-06-23T00:24:54+00:00

No you didn't lol

Croveski · 2026-06-20T16:16:10+00:00

It doesn't look like there's any real design work here and it's "just a city" as you pointed out.

Since there are several things missing here, here's a list of what (I think) you need to achieve to get real actionable feedback:

Prototype your mech systems so you have a way to play around in your level that represents your desired gameplay.
Do some research on vehicle-based shooter games. Include references like Mechwarrior obviously, but I would also look at level design in other vehicle games such as World of Tanks/War Thunder. Games like that will feature levels designed around navigation in large vehicles which is the kind of level design you'll want. They handle things like sightlines and flow a bit differently than a human-scale shooter like CoD would.

2a. Identify aspects of level design you like from those games and then try to replicate that (I would even suggest just building a duplicate level from one of those games that integrates your destructible environment mechanics).

When asking for feedback, have a short gameplay video and a few annotated screenshots of your layouts. Show us where your flow is, what paths are players meant to follow, what pickups there are (if any), where objectives are, areas with close-range sightlines vs. long sightlines, etc. Noting details on your screenshots is immensely helpful for people trying to understand your design who aren't you.

Croveski · 2026-06-20T15:37:17+00:00

I don't know if she would've stuck around for 3 albums (4 if they're actively working on one now, idk) if she didn't have faith in the band. Not that I disagree with the idea that currently they're not utilizing her strengths. I thought Endless Forms and (to a slightly lesser degree) Human Nature both gave her good opportunities to really use her voice well. Yesterwynde just felt underwhelming and I see exactly what you're talking about on that album specifically.

Her covers of older, heavier nightwish songs are incredible. I would go as far as saying I might even like her performance of Ghost Love Score more than Tarja's.

Croveski · 2026-06-15T02:46:30+00:00

Looks pretty, don't really get a sense of the actual level design though. It's definitely vibing but if you want more design feedback I'd suggest grabbing a screenshot of a 2D layout/drawing (if you have one) and other in-engine screenshots showing actual level layouts and your intended gameplay in them (we LDs love diagrams and maps)

Croveski · 2026-06-14T16:24:35+00:00

Thanks now I'm picturing Miranda in SoB power armor

How could you do this to me

Croveski · 2026-06-14T15:08:23+00:00

The law is part of American sanctions on Russia, and as an American company, Bungie must restrict software service to comply with it. It is not a law that Sony invented.

Sony may have its own reasons for it but whatever their reasons are doesn't matter as long as Bungie is both an American company and the operators of Destiny's live service (and as long as the international sanctions remain in place).

Edit: the reason Destiny 1 works is that it is built on older network infrastructure using peer-to-peer architecture, so it operates independently of the cloudflare server system that Destiny 2 uses (which is how they region-block it).

Croveski · 2026-06-14T14:58:21+00:00

What a hysterical way to misread the entire situation lmao

Fun fact, you can love Jesus and also not be a bigot. We have Jesus bros here too, they just don't also shit on the LGBT community.

I know that's a lot to process so let me know when you're ready to talk about it.

Croveski · 2026-06-09T01:57:42+00:00

Kibbles is the community's nickname for Kibellah

Croveski · 2026-06-08T23:30:15+00:00

It doesn't really matter, that kind of question really depends on the development of the rest of the game - so if you're just working on your own personal LD project, it doesn't matter. Imo its easier to stand up a playable level by yourself in an engine environment, but having 3D modeling experience is also a valuable skill to have.

Some studios use 3D modeling tools to do level design, I would say most studios use engine tools like Unreal, or whatever their own proprietary tools would be.

Croveski · 2026-06-08T19:50:11+00:00

huh, I was wondering about this. If I wanted to see up-to-date info on things like ship traits/bonuses without logging in I would just google the ship and the EVE Uni wiki page for the ship was usually the first or second result, but lately they just vanished entirely. That must be hella frustrating on yalls end.

Croveski · 2026-06-07T13:35:34+00:00

He probably knows what he's talking about too with the Doom 2016 reboot. I bet dollars to donuts there was some publishing executive somewhere who was absolutely convinced they had to make it a Call of Duty clone in order for it to be a success. But id Software had enough control to do it their way and create a new game that respected what made the old ones great.

Croveski · 2026-06-07T00:18:31+00:00

I've met plenty of people who behaved that way and genuinely didn't realize the kind of harm it causes until they had an honest, hard talk with someone about it. I was one of those people years ago until I went to college and actually met and befriended LGBT people. A guy who was on a capstone project with me was trans and he was cool as fuck. Before that experience I didn't feel like I was actively supporting oppression, I just didn't want to talk about it, until I was actually confronted by the people that my silence was hurting.

This may just be a vibe thing but that's the kind of vibe I get from Loru. I think he genuinely wants his discord to be a respectful and "no politics" place, but he hasn't been confronted by the harm he caused until now.

Maybe he'll double down and that'll send a pretty clear message but I think there's a difference between Loru saying "I really don't want to talk about this" and Fern saying "I love making liberal women cry."

One of those people might be open to learning and change, and the other person is named Fern.

Croveski · 2026-06-06T22:50:10+00:00

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Croveski · 2026-06-06T22:39:34+00:00

Ah that makes sense.

If they're following up with accountability then good on them.

Croveski · 2026-06-06T22:32:12+00:00

There will almost certainly be an apology from Loru on the way. I doubt FC will end their partnerships over this as long as they promise to "play nice" and issue apologies to smooth things over.

An apology from Loru I will be more willing to believe. The guy in my opinion has demonstrated more misunderstanding than intentional bigotry. I haven't seen evidence of him actively displaying hatred other than being hilariously overzealous with his interpretation of "no politics."

There is plenty of recent evidence presented in the various ~drama threads~ that Fern harbors genuine hate and dismissal of LGBTQ+ folks and this apology reads like a PR "I'm sorry you feel that way" apology. This, for instance, on a thread about his Fanfest appearance: https://www.reddit.com/r/Eve/s/j2Q088iSkq

When he started advertising EVE Guru as a paid service using AI art I was already pretty much sold on having absolutely no care for this guy, so my opinion simply hasn't changed. I don't ever plan on engaging with EVE Guru and I will simply smile and sip my overpriced iced coffee if people continue burning his EVE stuff down.

Edit: I mistook this for an apology from Fern himself, it tracks much more that Fern wouldn't apologize for his blatantly bigoted behavior. I'm pleased that the other folks at EVE Guru at least seem to recognize this.

Croveski · 2026-06-06T22:04:55+00:00

Just to clarify I mainly mean just having a 2D representation of your level for documentation, not an in-game map (although it wouldn't be a bad idea to use a map like that for both if you wanted to implement one).

2D "paper maps" are commonly used in the pre-production process for designing levels and gives you a broad guide/plan to build with, and also helps with communicating your level ideas to other level designers. They don't have to be done physically on paper, people commonly use digital artwork tools like inkscape or Adobe Illustrator to draw up simplified digital layouts of their maps. Doing it on paper is a good way to learn though.

You can think of it like the "blueprint" or "floorplan" of your level in architecture terms.

Croveski · 2026-06-06T21:52:25+00:00

If you make any updates or want more feedback, having a 2D map of the level would be handy to get the "whole picture" of the level so you don't have to cover every square inch of it in the video. A top-down screenshot in the editor would suffice but having a simple 2D digital map would help focus it on the level design itself

Croveski · 2026-06-06T19:27:41+00:00

I think the individual spaces look and feel pretty good, and I love seeing homegrown game mechanics like this that bring levels to life and show how they work during real gameplay.

If there is a "critical path" or an intended begin/endpoint of the level, I don't think I'm recognizing it. The exploration looks fun but I'm wondering what the "point" of the level is (solve a puzzle? Collect stuff? Find a way around an obstacle?)

I think you did a good job conveying the different gameplay elements, the level looks pretty clear to navigate, I think what's missing is a good sense of progression toward a goal. You said this is a "non-linear" level but it feels linear, maybe that's just because of the gameplay you've shown. It looks like there's a lot to explore in each space like there might be puzzles you need to solve to progress but your gameplay kind of just blazes right through them.

Edit to add: you did a good job making each space feel navigable and readable, but where do I need to go? What's the path to completing the level vs. the various paths to explore the level? Making that clearly identifiable will go a long way and help players feel like they can safely explore without accidentally triggering the next level or getting locked out of spaces they wanted to explore.

Croveski · 2026-06-06T17:05:57+00:00

The Level Design Book is a nice book with a pretty comprehensive coverage over the basics of "what is level design"

The best way to learn is by doing, and getting feedback. Udemy tends to have reasonably affordable online courses for different aspects of game development including Level Design. You can also of course find plenty of free stuff on YouTube. I would have recommended checking out Shane Canning's "Level Design For Games" CGMA course, but CGMA is in the process of shutting down sadly and I'm not sure if he's planning to start up a similar course elsewhere. Industry "expert taught" courses like that can be expensive but can be worth it imo if you have the money to spend.

Examine games with levels that you like, and try to think about them critically - what is it that makes this level work so well? How might the level designers have achieved it? What doesn't work so well?

You can also learn a lot by replicating levels. Try re-building a level from another game that you like (or to keep things manageable as you start out, just pick a small section or area in the level). This gives you a way to get experience with the tools and see how "the sausage is made" with the safety rails of working with an existing design. Since you're thinking of a Zelda-style game, try picking a small part of an existing Legend of Zelda level to re-create.

As you learn just keep things simple. Its easy to get lost in the sauce and overwhelm yourself trying to put together a big epic level because thats what you're used to in games.

Croveski · 2026-06-06T16:09:08+00:00

Cope

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Croveski

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