Nebula: Enter the Unknown

[Not Sure]

Hey. Here's the new level I've been working on for a while. It's not as big or hard as Supernova, but it does get very challenging towards the end. There are also 3 hidden areas that lead to a harder final boss challenge if all the trinkets are collected.




Good luck. (Hopefully it works properly...)

Nebula.zip
update: v1.01 fixes some skips and free-flip on loading save

[Dynaboom4]

I haven't completed the level or anything, but i thought it would be a great idea to have a Nebula completion document, so i did one :
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1c0yrx48yYaAC7LZCqZWwUh8VXoagWBHfzgMIxmZf8qI/edit?usp=sharing

[Balneor]

So, Nebula. Not Sure's third grand hit. This time, a much more accessible gameplay entry, albeit still really challenging towards the end. Despite its relatively short length, it feels like Nebula's development spanned for just as long if not longer than what came before.

In the first minute of play, I couldn't help myself but chuckle at the sight of Not Sure using VVVVVV's most common custom level story trope : dimension exploring via the DSS Souleye. As this is a huge contrast to the creator's past crazy ventures in level building and designing.

This surreal instant doesn't last for very long however, as after entering a warp token placed in a pitch black room directly below the ship's exit port (the transition is so crude it's kind of distracting), we are directly led back to normalcy : A series of graphically and musically themed areas comprising of one dozen sections to individually overcome.

The music is mainly 8 bit, either original tracks or remixes. And the graphics are - I assume - from games of similar age. I'm not surprised, this has been Not Sure's artistic signature since he's tried his hands at it. I guess you could say he was one right person to fiddle with VVVVVV, which itself is a throwback to the old era of computers.

As you can expect, the graphics do a marvelous job at giving a different atmosphere and feel to each themed sub sections we find ourselves wandering through. (well, as much as the spikes's black outlines love to get in the way of that...)
And the music choices, while minimalist, only further accompanies that. I almost fell off my chair hearing that first area's theme. And let's not spoil the music of the ultimate climax please.

Story wise, as hinted at earlier, there understandably isn't that much to cling onto... and yet you might be wrong at the same time ? I'm not going to claim I'm getting it all, as some of it is a bit cryptic (or doesn't ring me any bells)... but at the same time, if you know, you know.


This level took me just short of three hours to beat, as in getting past the last challenge.
It progressively gets harder, and as usual for these levels, the end retains surprises that took me one full third of my clear time to overcome.
But far from this being a mere test of skills about overcoming obstacles, and much like tradition, this level tries to bring fun in other ways. We have things such as nice little visual appetizers, easter eggs... but the main dish here are secret areas holding this game's "trinkets". I only found the last one on my first playthrough... which I instantly skipped as it was riddled with what was essentially my kryptonite. And granted... the process of finding most of them won't leave you thinking with much else but the play of a fart sound effect in your head (or staying on theme, duck noise). But once you get to them, you're basically through the tedious part already.
They act as level refreshers, and are nowhere as ridiculous as those seen in Supernova. And although they aren't based on never before seen topics or ideas... they're clearly not overstaying their welcome.
Besides, you'll need the treasure if you want to get closer to the heart of this mystery... or it may be a bad idea after all... like that tablet hints.

... and honestly, I don't have much of any criticism to bring about this level.
The release version has had been some pretty embarrassing collision errors here and there (including one leading to a huge skip). Room cheeses... and then there was a game breaking bug I uncovered while trying to save and load. Made the final section impossible to complete if you did so much but quit the game there... but it was fixed quickly, didn't ruin my save.

I don't feel like any sections in particular felt unfair or frustrating to me. I definitely enjoyed more sections than others, but overall I think what you have is a solid balanced experience I had a ton of fun with.
And it can't be denied, this level oozes of sections that range between cool, and near instant iconic ideas that somehow work. But it's true that you'll have to remain patient and wait for the second area to kick in before seeing lots of these. 

As for new gameplay quirks, Not Sure doesn't necessarily innovate (that I can see). But a lot of what he did, was taking ground on some of the more novel gameplay gimmicks and scripting tricks that got introduced into the scene in recent years. And started digging down for blueprints.
The same way he uncovered those for Nova and Supernova, who have memorable sections at every corner, and some who inspired the crafts of other level makers (including himself here, funnily enough).
Some gimmick he was familiar with, and others he had possibly never played around before. They include gotoposition, custom enemy entities, custom platform and conveyor speed (!), infinite flipping (!).


In short, with this release, Not Sure's once again rekindling the world of gameplay levels, and proving that it's still very much burning with ample fuel. Not that he has been the only one over that recently.
I guess the only actual downside to this level is that the entire map isn't filled like the others. My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined.

[Not Sure]

Thanks for the thoughtful response! Hopefully my next project can live up to expectations, whatever that may be.