Okay, so you're going to hate me for saying this again, even though you already did it a little; the rise and descent of the characters is too fast - you fall to the ground within half a second. This is just frustrating and hard to use; the player shouldn't have to fight against the system, as I'm sure you well know. I'd personally say you should use a more mario-like speed and style of jump, as it's easier to control.

Re:

May I ask which character you were using and what you were trying to do?

I noticed it most badly on Olivia's 'Apples' section, but it seems to just apply to jumping in general, as the characters have trouble performing any complex jumps.

For the apple tree, you practically cannot change the direction in mid air. The way I expect that part to be played is that the player first look at the apples, imagine a path, climb up the ladder and jump onto the first apple. The player would hit/hold the

or

keys knowing the approximate path ahead of time (there is no need to hold [UP] once the bouncing starts). There is no time to decide the next apple after a bounce, the player would need to think one step ahead most of the time.

That section is only applicator for Olivia because other characters are too heavy to bounce off an apple. Occassionally (rarely) the player could get all the apples.


Mechanics related to jumping:
o Each character has a different maximum running speed
o The height of a jump is related to the horizontal speed. (i.e. holding

and then hit [UP] jumps higher than just hitting [UP])
o Since the running speed is different for each character, some characters can never jump as high or as far as another character
o A character will use its max speed after running for a while or after jumping a few times.
o Parmesa cannot get back to the upper deck in the Albatross because two of the key platforms on each side are too high.


Gameplay related to jumping:
o Strategy - Which platform a character should be at
o Action - Player's execution of a jump
o Role - Player's knowledge of the character's physical limits



I don't have mario and I don't remember how it was. Was it like this?

Mario has a lot of empty space and could jump way higher compared to my characters. My stages are much smaller. When I imagine the character jumping like mario, I imagine I would need much bigger stages, otherwise the characters would appear floating when they jump.

Quote:

Original post by Wai Mechanics related to jumping: o Each character has a different maximum running speed o The height of a jump is related to the horizontal speed. (i.e. holding and then hit [UP] jumps higher than just hitting [UP]) o Since the running speed is different for each character, some characters can never jump as high or as far as another character o A character will use its max speed after running for a while or after jumping a few times. o Parmesa cannot get back to the upper deck in the Albatross because two of the key platforms on each side are too high.

The problem with the horizontal running affecting the height of the jump isn't the mechanic itself, it's that too much weight is placed on it. For example, in the first robot room to the left of Crouton's starting point, there are several extremely short platforms. It is simply not possible to gain the necessary speed for each jump to the next platform. Perhaps this is a level design issue, then, rather than a game design issue, but a more 'floaty' jump seems to work fine for many games with an emphasis on jumping. Forgive me, but as the ship seems to be built around being the 'hub' of the game, surely it should be easy to navigate? Even in relatively recent games (such as Devil May Cry), the jumps are easy to use. In my opinion, the player shouldn't have to struggle against gravity when they jump - it should come naturally. Different jump heights and character fitness has nothing to do with it.

I agree that the level had a problem. Now I made it such that a jump can at least go up a "stair". I also changed the some platforms so that you could just hold [UP] to go up the entire stairway. Is it better?


[ Radar (Flash) ]

Info: The radar can be switched off to save electircity.


Choices:
1) Atiel
2) Precipitation
3) Bogota Gate
4) Town Folk
5) Repairable robots
6) Character Modes

Roll: 1 - Atiel

Atiel

Story Role:
o Romaina's bird
o Flies
o Carries Romaina
o Uses electricity

The latest release seems to fix the jumping problems, it seems to be just fine now.

[ Bird Riding (Flash) ]

Control:
o Hit R to select Romaina.
o Hit [UP][UP] to summon the bird.
o Press [DOWN [UP]] to dismount.

Choices:
1) Region Material Stockpile
2) Precipitation
3) Bogota Gate
4) Town Folk
5) Repairable robots
6) Character Modes

Roll: 3 - Bogota Gate

Bogota Gate


Story Role:
o Opens a portal to transport big equipment from the moon during full moon
o The Albatross can carry the equipment to areas beyond Bogota

Additional Graphics:
o Moon phase and stars

[ Bogota Gate (Flash) ]

Instructions:
o Land the Albatross
o Give the grid 500 units of electricity
o Hit 'A' to select Allisa
o Turn on the gate
o Hit 'V' to see the chamber in Bogota gate
o Hit 'G' to see the chamber in Copernicus gate.

When the bubbles are revolving, the gate is drawing energy.
The gate collapses if energy runs out. The gate continues to
draw energy for 21 days each time it is activated.


Now Rolling for the next addition:
1) Region Material Stockpile
2) Precipitation
3) Toxicity
4) Town Folk
5) Repairable robots
6) Character Modes


Town Folk

Story role:
o The mission objective was to let people come back to live on earth
o Town folks help rebuilding the towns, but also uses resources
o The Council on the Moon selects the people that are transported back to earth.

Townie:
Little Red Riding Hood the Baker
o Bakes and delivers

Town Folk:



[ Bakes and Delivers (Flash) ]

o Use the telephone to call for bakery delivery
o When the basket runs out of bread LRRH returns to bake more
o When the basket is not empty, hold [DOWN] to select item inside
o Drop item above the basket to put it in
o There is no shortcut key for the LRRH, but she could be selected also.


Now Rolling:
1) Region Material Stockpile
2) Precipitation
3) Toxicity
4) Albatross's Grapper
5) Repairable robots
6) Character Modes