MB2D - Physics Modifications

Over the next week or so, I'll be working on tweaking the physics, fixing bugs (such as jumping on bouncy platform) and systems (like if jump rolling should be more effective than simply rolling) as well as tweaking values (ie jump height, air movement speed, etc).

This will almost assuredly change the best paths, and may make current best paths impossible, which will invalidate some of the top leaderboard scores. This is generally common practice among games in alpha stages, but I know that some of you spend considerable amounts of time perfecting paths to get the top times.

Unfortunately that is one of the problems with making games for a community of speed-runners. While I get some invaluable feedback that other people just wouldn't experience as they don't play games the same way. I feel bad when I change gameplay since people spend a fair bit of time getting used to it. Hopefully the changes will enhance the overall experience and you can forgive me changing the game in the pursuit of a more enjoyable final game.

We are still working to add more levels soon, but I think that it would be better to work on the physics system and streamlining the map-making pipe line, than create a few more temporary levels immediately.

Also, keep a lookout for more features, like customizing the marble skin / particle effects / Light effect. There is still a lot to be done!

The next immediate revision will have a Parallax scrolling background that will be improved upon in the future, but feels better than the current static one, and a different marble skin (very similar) that uses a different skinning system so that in the future it will be trivial to set up more texture options.

Feel free to drop a comment/suggestion, I love getting feedback from the community, as everyone else has a different perspective to bring to the table.

After playing it, my only issues are:
- Marble texture is an eyesore.
- Movement sensitivity is very high.
- Bouncing platform texture is solid red with no noise.

Overall I liked it, though.

Textures are of course placeholder atm, marble will be changed (actually slightly different now) and currently the bouncy platforms are red so anyone giving me a map knows how to show a bouncy floor without having to explain or have it look weird.

When you say movement sensitivity is high, you mean that the marble moves a bit fast and has a fair bit of inertia for stopping?

A bit more on physics design:

The general game design is that you need to really take into account the marble physics to do the maneuvers you need. The game is supposed to be fairly difficult, and therefore the levels are short, and it is incredibly easy/quick to restart.

As a comparison, in a game like Super Meat Boy, the controls are tight and you can change directions in an instant, however, the levels are brutal and in some cases pixel perfect accuracy is needed.
Here, I want the same sense of speed and fluidity of motion, where you never really stand still, but the levels are nice and curvy, almost nothing will kill you, and you're only racing against yourself. The requirement is that you master the marble's physics so that you can throw your marble's inertia into doing what you want, faster than you thought it could.

When you get a whip around a corner, and bounce up onto the next platform in one fluid motion, it feels fantastic, unfortunately, those awesome experiences can't be accomplished if the marble is rolling slowly around the map so that it never falls off a ledge.

-- Caveat --: The physics isn't done (as the first post attests) but the 'fixing' will be so that it will be intuitive, and after you get used to it, nothing will mess up a perfect time that isn't within your control to fix. You will still fly off an edge if you were going too fast, just as you won't make an wall-hit if you are going too slow.

Glad you enjoyed it so far and hopefully future improvements will only enhance the experience!

Ah, alright. Thoroughly explained. I've just been having issues balancing on a moving platform with the finicky movement, but I've gotten better.

Slightly off-topic, but great work with your 3D game as well. I can see it going places!

Thanks, unfortunately that game was lost when my HDD crashed over the summer.

One more thing I forgot to ask, what is the width/height of the marble compared to the rest of the level in pixels? Or does it vary by map size? I was thinking of making something in Paint.NET.

Varies by map, since some maps are higher resolution than others.
Just make sure it's consistant throughout the map.