LanErBaby's scary Adventure

[deepstrasz]

Did you make this map?

 

[TNR]

based on the name in pinyin.... ya, I guess is the author

 

[Alexen98]

WARNING: Long post of overall gameplay screenshots

It can become something better, in time, but for now:

• I get that you wanted to go for the classic style and terrain but you can be very creative with the default resources of the editor. The terrain somehow feels dark and mysterious and a bit boring at the same time;
• the fixed camera view is a bit out of hand especially since there is no pin-point alert on the minimap for the quests, making you wander around asking where should you actually go;

Here I am trying to find where is that residential house, yet no hints at all. I'm not saying you should make it very easy but at least guide somehow the player to find and complete the steps for each quest.

After meeting her sorceress friend, a walk in the park is requested even though she is nowhere in the initial park where you are told to go to and meet her, and you wonder "where is the other park?" since almost 80% of the environment feels like a park.

- certain dialogue lines are voiced with baby sounds that don't really fit the rather grown-up lady character you control;

- the screenshot below is a park yet the sorceress friend is not there and no pin signal on the minimap either to guide the player:

- with all due respect, this was one really hard RPG quest:

- the pathing in this specific area needs proper checking since sometimes you can issue commands in different regions rather than the ones actually issued to:

- the Sorceress is actually in the second maze (and it doesn't tell you that in the objective actually), where you find the "Man in Black" that was spotted after entering the park.

- you actually need a key to escape from the black man that follows you, which I accidentally found. No clue for that either.

- pathing is again the worst enemy. How are you supposed to get away if the doodads are blocking the way? There is also no sprint or healing ability, while the character's health is 100 points and the black man's attack damage counts up to 21 points. 5 hits or so and you are dead.

Overall, it was somehow interesting. It needs quite a lot of work and the best place to start posting WIP to get feedback is in the Map Development section: https://www.hiveworkshop.com/forums/map-development.202/

 

[QuYiqing]

Did you make this map?

Yes, I made this map! "邱苡情" is my Chinese online name, and "QuYiqing" is its pinyin. Sorry for the typo in the pinyin—I realized it too late but can't change it now. They're both me. Thank you for reviewing!

WARNING: Long post of overall gameplay screenshots

It can become something better, in time, but for now:

• I get that you wanted to go for the classic style and terrain but you can be very creative with the default resources of the editor. The terrain somehow feels dark and mysterious and a bit boring at the same time;
• the fixed camera view is a bit out of hand especially since there is no pin-point alert on the minimap for the quests, making you wander around asking where should you actually go;

Here I am trying to find where is that residential house, yet no hints at all. I'm not saying you should make it very easy but at least guide somehow the player to find and complete the steps for each quest.
View attachment 590615
After meeting her sorceress friend, a walk in the park is requested even though she is nowhere in the initial park where you are told to go to and meet her, and you wonder "where is the other park?" since almost 80% of the environment feels like a park.

View attachment 590616

- certain dialogue lines are voiced with baby sounds that don't really fit the rather grown-up lady character you control;

- the screenshot below is a park yet the sorceress friend is not there and no pin signal on the minimap either to guide the player:
View attachment 590617

- with all due respect, this was one really hard RPG quest:
View attachment 590618

- the pathing in this specific area needs proper checking since sometimes you can issue commands in different regions rather than the ones actually issued to:
View attachment 590619

- the Sorceress is actually in the second maze (and it doesn't tell you that in the objective actually), where you find the "Man in Black" that was spotted after entering the park.
View attachment 590620

- you actually need a key to escape from the black man that follows you, which I accidentally found. No clue for that either.
View attachment 590621

- pathing is again the worst enemy. How are you supposed to get away if the doodads are blocking the way? There is also no sprint or healing ability, while the character's health is 100 points and the black man's attack damage counts up to 21 points. 5 hits or so and you are dead.

View attachment 590624

Overall, it was somehow interesting. It needs quite a lot of work and the best place to start posting WIP to get feedback is in the Map Development section: https://www.hiveworkshop.com/forums/map-development.202/

Hi Alexen98,

Thank you again for this incredibly detailed review. I read it carefully and I want to explain a few things, and also let you know what I plan to fix this weekend.

About the terrain:
You're right that almost 80% of the map feels like a park. The map is actually divided into five areas: the village, the park, the maze, the criminal's disposal site, and the secret chamber. But my decorative skills are still weak, so the areas don't look distinct enough. I'll work on making each zone visually clearer.

About the navigation and fixed camera:
I chose the fixed camera on purpose to prevent the map from "breaking the illusion" at the edges, but I understand it makes direction hard. I did worry before release that players might struggle to find the village woman at the start, but I ran out of time and posted it anyway, thinking not many people would play a new map right away. I apologize for that. I'll improve the quest guidance and add minimap pings.

About the confusing locations:
Through the later story, it should become clear that Xiaohua was attacked by the man in black inside the maze and then locked in his secret chamber. The area after the maze is neither park nor maze—it's the criminal's disposal site, hinted at in XiaoKai's earlier warning. Also, I did place glowing blue runes in the maze to guide the player. Following the runes should lead you out. But I can see now that the hint wasn't obvious enough. I'll improve that.

About the blocking doodads:
I never imagined a sofa could block the path! After seeing your screenshot, I'll delete that sofa and check for other blocking objects in the next update.

About the voice acting:
All the voices are recorded by me (in Chinese), and I used a voice changer, which is why they sound a bit strange. Also, LanErBaby and Xiaohua are actually young girls, not grown-up women.

About the chase difficulty and pathing:
The pathing is indeed confusing because the map is large, and having the man in black patrol does make it scary. My intended way to survive is to hide inside the statues (press ESC to hide, then press ESC again to come out). I suggest saving the game frequently during this part. In the next update, I plan to add a mechanic: after LanErBaby gets hit, she gains a brief movement speed boost (faster than the man in black), giving the player a chance to escape. I'll also add more pathing hints.

About the missing key clue:
That's entirely my oversight. I thought players would naturally explore and discover the key I placed, but I was wrong. I'll add a clear hint about finding the key.

Finally:
I'm really glad you played my map and gave such targeted feedback. This is exactly what I needed. I'll be making these improvements this weekend. Thank you for playing!

I also want to add: if after this weekend's update you still feel lost or don't know what to do, please feel free to ask here in the comments. You can post screenshots of where you're stuck, and I'll explain and guide you through it step by step.

 

[deepstrasz]

@QuYiqing the images in the description are not visible to us. Perhaps you have to set them to public if you uploaded them in Media. The other ones below these are visible.

@Alexen98 please use hidden/spoiler tags for images not to clutter the screen and enable long scrolling.

 

[QuYiqing]

@QuYiqing the images in the description are not visible to us. Perhaps you have to set them to public if you uploaded them in Media. The other ones below these are visible.

@Alexen98 please use hidden/spoiler tags for images not to clutter the screen and enable long scrolling.

Thank you for kindly pointing out the image issue. I must admit I'm a little lost — I couldn't find the Media section and I'm not sure how to set the images to public. Whenever you have a moment, could you kindly guide me through it? I would greatly appreciate your help.

 

[deepstrasz]

Thank you for kindly pointing out the image issue. I must admit I'm a little lost — I couldn't find the Media section and I'm not sure how to set the images to public. Whenever you have a moment, could you kindly guide me through it? I would greatly appreciate your help.

I guess you didn't add them through https://www.hiveworkshop.com/media/ but directly in the map thread description. They were invisible so I removed them. You can try adding them back by editing the description like so https://www.hiveworkshop.com/pastebin/1fd3b109321e7d1a99dd4cb213d3abb8.23632

 

[Alexen98]

@QuYiqing the images in the description are not visible to us. Perhaps you have to set them to public if you uploaded them in Media. The other ones below these are visible.

@Alexen98 please use hidden/spoiler tags for images not to clutter the screen and enable long scrolling.

Yeah, I sort of forgot it's BB code

 

[deepstrasz]

In the maze you can simply click on the minimap to get to the end without issues. Should add some blockers on the way not to do this exploit.
During the b-man's attack on the village, you can hide somewhere in some corner/place while he destroys everything.

So, the map is nice, short, without replayability value but ultimately
Simple.

---

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R U L E S

Site Rules
Map Submission Rules

M A P - D E S C R I P T I O N

Details

BB CODES
BB Codes | HIVE

MELEE MAPS
Description Guide - Melee Maps
Describing Your Melee Map
Melee Map Description Generator v1.3

MAPS IN GENERAL
The importance of a Description
Description Guide - Maps
Map Thread Guide
Map Description Making: Good & Bad
Map Description - Templates
Map Description Generator [1.2]

How to Add a Screenshot to your Map Description

ADDITIONAL NECESSARY INFORMATION

• A credits list in the map thread description is required where the names of the resource (models, skins, icons, spells, sound etc.) authors are mentioned along with the specific resource. It would be a luxury to have links leading to the used resources. Credits in the Quest Log would be appreciated too.
• A detailed changelog in the first post would be helpful to reviewers and notify fans about the newest implementations to your map.
• Map thread tags are important. Please use those that fit and not more or none.

M A P - C R E A T I O N - G U I D E S

Details

GENERAL MAPPING
A Beginner's Guide to Map Making
The Ultimate Beginners Terrain Tutorial
Advanced Terraining Tutorial
A Guideline to Terraining and the Hive's Terraining Section
Various Terraining Tips!
Basic Mapping Video Tutorial
WE Map Editor for Newbies!
The Path Of Proper Map Making - What to do and what should be avoided

MELEE MAPPING
How to create Melee Maps
General - Melee Maps like the Professionals
Competitive Melee Map
Melee mapping - The reasons behind common aspects of competitive 1v1 maps
Melee Do's and Dont's

PATHING
Pathing - Everything about it
[Terraining] Alternative Pathing Technique

LEAKS
Triggers - Memory Leaks and Custom Scripts

If you're not satisfied with the review and wish another opinion, contact the other reviewers or use the staff contact:
https://www.hiveworkshop.com/forums/staff-contact.692/

 

[QuYiqing]

In the maze you can simply click on the minimap to get to the end without issues. Should add some blockers on the way not to do this exploit.
During the b-man's attack on the village, you can hide somewhere in some corner/place while he destroys everything.

So, the map is nice, short, without replayability value but ultimately
Simple.

---

If you want more reviews, you should participate in the The Grand Review Exchange!

R U L E S

Site Rules
Map Submission Rules

M A P - D E S C R I P T I O N

Details

BB CODES
BB Codes | HIVE

MELEE MAPS
Description Guide - Melee Maps
Describing Your Melee Map
Melee Map Description Generator v1.3

MAPS IN GENERAL
The importance of a Description
Description Guide - Maps
Map Thread Guide
Map Description Making: Good & Bad
Map Description - Templates
Map Description Generator [1.2]

How to Add a Screenshot to your Map Description

ADDITIONAL NECESSARY INFORMATION

• A credits list in the map thread description is required where the names of the resource (models, skins, icons, spells, sound etc.) authors are mentioned along with the specific resource. It would be a luxury to have links leading to the used resources. Credits in the Quest Log would be appreciated too.
• A detailed changelog in the first post would be helpful to reviewers and notify fans about the newest implementations to your map.
• Map thread tags are important. Please use those that fit and not more or none.

M A P - C R E A T I O N - G U I D E S

Details

GENERAL MAPPING
A Beginner's Guide to Map Making
The Ultimate Beginners Terrain Tutorial
Advanced Terraining Tutorial
A Guideline to Terraining and the Hive's Terraining Section
Various Terraining Tips!
Basic Mapping Video Tutorial
WE Map Editor for Newbies!
The Path Of Proper Map Making - What to do and what should be avoided

MELEE MAPPING
How to create Melee Maps
General - Melee Maps like the Professionals
Competitive Melee Map
Melee mapping - The reasons behind common aspects of competitive 1v1 maps
Melee Do's and Dont's

PATHING
Pathing - Everything about it
[Terraining] Alternative Pathing Technique

LEAKS
Triggers - Memory Leaks and Custom Scripts

If you're not satisfied with the review and wish another opinion, contact the other reviewers or use the staff contact:
https://www.hiveworkshop.com/forums/staff-contact.692/

Thank you for the detailed review and for the approval, deepstrasz. I really appreciate it.

About the two issues you mentioned — I was actually aware of both of them. For the maze, I know players can just click on the ground outside the maze boundary, and the character will automatically path there, skipping the whole maze. I actually do this myself when I play, because I'm too lazy to click through the maze every time. So I left it as a sort of "shortcut" for players who figured it out. For the village attack, the Man in Black is ordered to attack random points on the ground, not to directly hunt the player. So I thought it was fine to leave a hiding spot.

But I see your point now. These might be seen as exploits rather than features. I'll try to fix them and add some blockers when I have time to update the map.

Also, thank you for all the links and guides. I'll check them out!

 

[Alexen98]

Thank you for the detailed review and for the approval, deepstrasz. I really appreciate it.

About the two issues you mentioned — I was actually aware of both of them. For the maze, I know players can just click on the ground outside the maze boundary, and the character will automatically path there, skipping the whole maze. I actually do this myself when I play, because I'm too lazy to click through the maze every time. So I left it as a sort of "shortcut" for players who figured it out. For the village attack, the Man in Black is ordered to attack random points on the ground, not to directly hunt the player. So I thought it was fine to leave a hiding spot.

But I see your point now. These might be seen as exploits rather than features. I'll try to fix them and add some blockers when I have time to update the map.

Also, thank you for all the links and guides. I'll check them out!

It was actually marked as simple not approved. It is still approved somehow. Try to focus on the reported things and improve the map.

 

[deepstrasz]

It was actually marked as simple not approved.

Every status aside Awaiting Update, Pending and Restricted means approved. The green thumb you might be thinking of as approved is named Recommended.

 

[Alexen98]

Every status aside Awaiting Update, Pending and Restricted means approved. The green thumb you might be thinking of as approved is named Recommended.

I know they were changed. Mostly wanted to point out that he needs to improve the map.