[Environmental/Playground] [KS+] Exploring the Golden Land

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Offline Vegetal Gibber

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[Environmental/Playground] [KS+] Exploring the Golden Land
« on: January 27, 2016, 00:39:34 »

Type: Environmental/Playground
Size: Medium

[ Get the level here! ]
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(Note: KS+ version 1.2.0 or later required)

Exploring the Golden Land is a medium-sized playground level focused mainly on atmosphere and aesthetics. It's intended to be a sequel of sorts to Journey to the Golden Land, where you'll have the chance to explore this beautiful and relaxing place to your heart's content.


Although there's no ending nor a main goal in this level, there is a total of three special areas and a secret bonus that you'll be able to access by collecting all the coins and golden creatures scattered through the land. About half of the map is hidden at the start, waiting for you to discover it.

This scenario was designed to be played on egomassive's Knytt Stories Plus mod and uses some of its exclusive features. It won't work on vanilla KS.


Spoiler: Credits (click to show/hide)
« Last Edit: March 14, 2017, 19:06:15 by Vegetal Gibber »
Some KS levels by me:

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Offline Fubaka

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Re: [Environmental/Playground] [KS+] Exploring the Golden Land
« Reply #1 on: January 27, 2016, 03:25:44 »
Very good level. This is the sort of thing that environmentals should strive to be.

Spoiler: Secrets (click to show/hide)
Things to remember when writing figures of speech and sound:
The power of poetry comes from the ability to defy logic. Defy logic often.

Use a metaphor and tell us that your lover is the sky. Tell us that your lover is the sky. When you do that, we won't believe you. We won't believe you because saying so makes no sense, but we'll see a meaning. We'll see a meaning.

The other thing is the ability to be remembered. Love anything.

Love anything

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Offline Mitorun

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Re: [Environmental/Playground] [KS+] Exploring the Golden Land
« Reply #2 on: January 27, 2016, 06:47:01 »
Excellent level, it was a pleasure to play. KS again surprising, thank you for that.

Spoiler: (click to show/hide)

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Offline ixMarcel

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Re: [Environmental/Playground] [KS+] Exploring the Golden Land
« Reply #3 on: January 27, 2016, 14:32:03 »
This is one of the most beautiful KS levels ever made. Fantastic use of Ego's KS+ mod and Custom Objects. Also, trying to find all the golden creatures and coins is very fun.

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Offline Vegetal Gibber

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Re: [Environmental/Playground] [KS+] Exploring the Golden Land
« Reply #4 on: January 27, 2016, 18:53:44 »
Thanks for the comments guys! Glad you enjoyed the level :D

@Fubaka, @ixMarcel:
Spoiler: (click to show/hide)

@Mitorun:
Spoiler: (click to show/hide)

I've updated the level file with some minor edits:

Spoiler: 1.1 Changelog (click to show/hide)
Some KS levels by me:

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Offline Talps

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Re: [Environmental/Playground] [KS+] Exploring the Golden Land
« Reply #5 on: January 27, 2016, 19:09:45 »
Someone call Quincent Cartographer and tell him he has to give his 'Prettiest KS Level Ever' trophy back.

That was brilliant; most fun I've had playing a new KS level in a very, very long time. Your use of KS+ features was incredible (I'll soon be trawling through your level to work out how you did some of that!)

Well done and thanks!

If I have one criticism...
Spoiler: (click to show/hide)

« Last Edit: January 27, 2016, 19:26:14 by Talps »

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Offline Vegetal Gibber

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Re: [Environmental/Playground] [KS+] Exploring the Golden Land
« Reply #6 on: January 28, 2016, 01:19:18 »
Whoa man, that is some praise right there :O  Thank you for the kind words, I'm happy you enjoyed the level so much!

My original plan was to use only the collectible items and the screen tints, but as I started trying out some of the other KS+ features while I was making the level, I decided to use this project to familiarize myself with as many of them as I could (although I tried my best to avoid being too greedy and adding stuff that would feel too tacked on).

Some KS levels by me:

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Offline vdweller

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Re: [Environmental/Playground] [KS+] Exploring the Golden Land
« Reply #7 on: January 28, 2016, 19:28:53 »
Yup, another top notch design! Great job!  :D

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Offline egomassive

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Re: [Environmental/Playground] [KS+] Exploring the Golden Land
« Reply #8 on: January 29, 2016, 11:11:26 »
This was so good! I think this is the first level for KS+ that uses its features in ways I never imagined. I used to push the boundaries of what vanilla KS was capable of. It's such a delight to see someone doing the same with KS+. Playground is a genera I've never found appealing, but I think you've figured out how to make a playground as well as one can be made. *gives star*

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Offline Vegetal Gibber

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Re: [Environmental/Playground] [KS+] Exploring the Golden Land
« Reply #9 on: January 29, 2016, 18:47:17 »
Thanks a lot for the compliments! Glad you guys liked the level :D

@egomassive: I had a blast experimenting with the extra features you added to KS, there's a ton of useful stuff in there! I found the triggers and the screen tints particularly interesting, and the support for multiple blending modes is what made it possible to create a different atmosphere for each area while still using the same tileset.

Regarding the secondary category of this level... I suppose this couldn't be strictly called a "Playground". It has no ending and no real plot, but collecting the golden stuff could be considered a main goal. You can, of course, ignore the collectibles completely and just jump around enjoying the atmosphere, but getting them all is required in order to get access to a good portion of the level.

Then again, I really enjoyed Healy's A Day at the Beach precisely because it had a lot of optional/hidden stuff to reward the player's curiosity (even multiple endings). In fact, it's my favorite Playground level for that very reason :P
« Last Edit: January 29, 2016, 20:15:03 by Vegetal Gibber »
Some KS levels by me:

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Offline pfrangip

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Re: [Environmental/Playground] [KS+] Exploring the Golden Land
« Reply #10 on: January 30, 2016, 05:49:28 »
Great level! Loved the use of foreground objects... perhaps the best use of them I've seen! Really added an extra layer of depth and immersion! Beautiful stuff!

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Offline egomassive

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Re: [Environmental/Playground] [KS+] Exploring the Golden Land
« Reply #11 on: January 31, 2016, 15:56:09 »
... I suppose this couldn't be strictly called a "Playground". ...
Hmm. I suppose it did have 2 specific goals, and one relied on the other. That's probably why I liked it so much. I knew what I wanted to do and I knew when I was finished. So you're right, it's not a pure playground level. Still, it's a great variation on the concept. There are many fun things to see and I was free to wander in any direction as I pursued the goals.

Re: [Environmental/Playground] [KS+] Exploring the Golden Land
« Reply #12 on: February 01, 2016, 04:30:43 »
Wonderful level! Playing this was extremely soothing!  :)

One idea:
Spoiler: (click to show/hide)

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Offline Purple Ink

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Re: [Environmental/Playground] [KS+] Exploring the Golden Land
« Reply #13 on: February 02, 2016, 05:04:19 »
Just wow! Simply amazing. Such a great level. A great showcase for KS+'s features too.

Can't really say anything that hasn't already been said. Loved the level! :)

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Offline sergiocornaga

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Re: [Environmental/Playground] [KS+] Exploring the Golden Land
« Reply #14 on: February 02, 2016, 19:44:25 »
Brilliant level. I noticed some solid shadows at x1002y1002 Pos x2y2 and x1004y1001 Pos x16y6. The latter uses all four layers though, so maybe you just decided visuals were more important than a minor collision oddity there!