Here is what Flan has to say on the bosses:
Well then. I'll start by voicing my disappointment with Quickboss VIII's judging, and I hope it will be resolved in the near future. Please? Pretty please? Anyway, I'll be posting my thoughts in reverse rank order, because obviously I have to save the best for last. Here's a run down of the process I'll use to determine the ranks, and exactly what I'll be writing up:
- I'll be playing against (almost) all of the bosses personally, in addition to watching any video associated with them.
- I'm going to try and analyse every individual attack, as well as the design and fluidity of the boss.
- Rather than scoring the bosses based on each area and then working out an average, and then using that to determine rank, I'll just assign the rank based on how I felt the boss was as a whole.
- I will be writing my thoughts on the bosses in the following order: White Glint, TBD, 4boxes, dracmeister, vortexreaper, TheMMM, DrThunderous, CoreShooter.
- My list of rankings will be at the end of this post, along with some final thoughts and proper summaries of the boss' good/bad points.
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I will not sugar-coat things, and I will not give constructive criticism in my thoughts. I would like to establish that these are just that: My thoughts while I experience the boss, given to provide insight as to why my rankings are what they are. If you would like constructive criticism from me, then do get in contact with me, but this isn't the place for that.
- Lastly, since I am doing a step-by-step analysis of every attack, I cannot possibly cover every aspect of every attack in words, so I will just discuss my most imminent thoughts. What I'm actually saying is that the important stuff is at the very end.
Without further ado, let's begin (I feel like I'm writing a shitty essay).
#-- White Glint: DZR Squadron --#
And we start with this. I don't know what to say, I really don't. Can you even call this a boss? Even the video just abruptly ends with no credits or fade-out or anything, I was expecting something after that. But no. After playing it, it really is just 5 drones with annoying movement that spam bullets and missiles at you. That's all there is to it.
I honestly don't know what I'm supposed to say. They're annoying to dodge, and the TRY doesn't even set up window size for you. There's no player weapon, it's just so... bland. Just like the ending of that video, I will make my conclusion swift and abrupt: Boring.
#-- TBD: Crusader --#
Alright, something with actual substance. I don't know if the boss uses a randomiser or what, but the attacks loop weirdly so I'll just comment on them in order of appearance (which is the same as in the video).
Let's get started. Since the boss doesn't have phases, I'll just do a single general summary.
[- Boss Thoughts -]
[Design] Firstly, the design. It's simple, small and there's not a lot to it, but that's fine. It's adequately detailed and while I may not consider it good, it is certainly average.
[Attack 1] The first attack, like the design, is simple. I would be a liar if I said it wasn't typical of bosses like this. It feels a bit lacking in originality in general. Other than that its difficulty is fine, I have nothing more to say on it.
[Attack 2] The next attack is more complex fundamentally, but still appears basic enough and is of an acceptable difficulty compared to the first. The powerball maze at the end of the attack seems pointless, however, as it is easy to navigate through and, even with the homing lasers from the next attack, poses little threat.
[Attack 3] Just homing lasers being spat out at the player, very easy to avoid. Lazy.
[Attack 4] I dislike the Panel-Rolling M just phasing in like that. (I'll be sure to make that apparent when I comment on the other bosses' too, just letting it fade in with the default phase in animation seems really lazy to me). The attack in general poses no threat to the player as there are tons of safe spots, even with the sonic wave pulling the player in. The part of the attack where the ship returns seems pointless too, as even though I let it hit me, due to the lack of an OHKO system, it didn't kill me. Generally a poor attack.
[Attack 5] Simple, reminiscent of the first attack. Eh. It's ok.
[Attack 6] Definitely need warnings where the boss is going to shoot from, and the ion rings are easy to dodge. Feels incomplete.
[Attack 7] AKA: Homing Lasers MK-II.
[Attack 8] Lasers. Cool. 10/10. Best attack on the boss. Dislike projectiles fading out on-screen, but that's a personal thing - Nothing wrong with it, just seems like bad form.
[Attack 9]
http://i.imgur.com/hpfeITP.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; BEHOLD MY MIGHTY FORM AND DESPAIR, YE MORTALS. QUIVER IN FEAR OF MY SPLASH ATTACK. No, really. It does nothing. I'm just sitting here, waiting for the attack to be over so I can damage the boss. ZZZZzzzzzz...
[Attack 10]
http://i.imgur.com/ncZboRr.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; In the off chance it does fire something at me, it won't exactly be hard to dodge. (Source: It
did fire something at me and it
wasn't hard to dodge)
[Finale] Way too hard. In fact, maybe even impossible to beat it without dying. No, really, what were you thinking?
[Boss Thoughts Synopsis] To put it bluntly, the design was mediocre. The first two attacks were of satisfactory quality but they felt lacking. The third and fourth attacks suffered from general laziness. The last two attacks before the final especially make me question whether you actually play-tested the boss. Well, all in all, it wasn't terrible. Below average, I'd say.
#-- [][][][]: ][ Eliminator [Fraxy Ver] --#
Another boss I can't do anything in-depth on. A shame you changed entries, I was fully prepared to rip Aunvertex apart.
Well, to be fair, I do like this boss. There's just not much to it. It has fancy effects, but not many attacks and doesn't fair well as a standalone entry. Its only problems are its difficulty and the fact it spawns on top of the player's spawning position whilst giving them very little time to react. At the end of the day though, this is really just a midboss.
#-- dracmeister: Suckerpunch Delivery --#
The following thoughts were created and shared by flan, for free. You know, you could've used WinRAR or something...
Anyway, I will be mostly basing my opinion of this entry off the boss, rather than the stage preceding it (you should consider yourself lucky...), but the stage will of course also be a factor.
[- Stage Thoughts -]
Why did you use that horrible PG set. It's eye-searing. And that background. Oh my god. This is a bit dickish, but come on. I'm prepared to forgive you just this once, but if that seriously looks acceptable to you... Ugh. Maybe I'm overreacting, there's just a lack of really good PG sets.
As for enemy placement etc., well, at least make the helicopters spawn off-screen so you don't see them phasing in. The stage is really easy in general, and maybe I shouldn't call it a stage but just the introduction to the boss. Either way, it feels a little pointless. It's too long to be an introduction and too short to be a stage. I don't know.
[Stage Thoughts Synopsis] Why does it even exist. Oh, also. You people who use TRYs. Set the bullet colour please, I don't want to have to manually change it to something visible against the background, that's your job. It's a big deal!!
Now, onto the boss.
[- Phase 1 Thoughts -]
[Design] Eh. It looks forcibly meshed together and the repeated parts disturb any flow it might otherwise have. It's ok I guess. Not fantastic.
[Attack 1] Just grenades. They can be avoided by clinging to the bottom of the screen for a while which is a bit of an oversight, and even without that safespot they don't pose much threat. Very lacklustre.
[Attack 2] Lazily spread out grenades from the side. At least give them a random pattern rather than a sloppy intrusion from the side like that.
[Attack 3] Honestly, I don't have any immediate thoughts on this attack. The pattern the grenades create is lazy and ugly. It's blatant spam.
[Attack 4]
http://i.imgur.com/EIevJzK.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; I'm a God walking (flying) amongst mere mortals. Oh, you have homing lasers to snuff out safe-spots? Shame they don't OHKO me. I'm not saying that OHKO systems are the solution to all your problems, but OHKO systems are the solution to all your problems.
[Attack 5] The energy wall at the bottom is too high up so the reflect rays can't actually hit me there, and with that the attack becomes child's play. Even without cheesing it it's pretty easy.
[Attack 6] Safe spot mania. Lasers feel unnecessary, and don't have very good cohesion with the boss.
[Attack 7] Straight-forward bullet hell. Fun.
[Attack 8] Don't you think
[Attack 9] these attacks
[Attack 10] are a little
[Attack 11] too short?
[Phase 1 Thoughts Synopsis] Eh. The design is nothing special, and the design of the options is, well, they're just barrier parts - They're, like a lot of things in this contest, lacking. By the end it just felt like a spam-fest. The attacks didn't have much thought put into them and the difficulty curve was non-existent. I'm not even going to check if there's more attacks or if they loop, I've seen enough of this Phase.
I'm not entirely sure how to get the additional form, and way too lazy too look it up (probably something to do with not dying, it's hard thinking of what to type whilst trying to stay alive sometimes), so I'll just use the video for the rest of this. I'll use video timestamps to mark the attacks I didn't see. For reference, the video link is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rvTW3JjdbA" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
[3:41] Projectiles fading out on screen, and a typical over-used attack. Well, I can't say those are inherently bad things, but it's a bit creatively lacking.
[3:55] I would love this attack, if it weren't for the fact that plasma rings are useless garbage.
[4:05] Yo guys, did you know? There's this attack part, and it's called Ripple...
[5:20] More spam without much thought put into it.
And now, Phase 2.
[- Phase 2 Thoughts -]
[Design] Well, it's one of those RAIWAT things. It suffers from the same flaws as the Phase 1 design.
[Attack 1] Easily the best attack so far, as it actually poses a substantial threat to the player.
[Attack 2] Another straight-forward, good attack. I honestly don't know what else to say - It's far easier to tear apart attacks than to compliment them when they're as generic as this.
[Attack 3] Well...
[Attack 4] I guess your good attack streak couldn't last forever. I mean come on, there was basically no effort put into these last two. I don't even need to say what's wrong, do I?
[Finale] I can't really say much about the laser since it's a reference, and the attacks from here on out are solid, so I don't really feel the need to comment on them. I'll treat them all as part of the finale.
[Phase 2 Thoughts & Boss Thoughts Synopsis] Much better than the first phase, design was nicer too but still had the same flaws as the design of everything else in this TRY. Maybe I was a bit harsh, but this isn't bad by any means. It's just not very good.
#-- vortexreaper: Dimension Master typicalvrname --#
Due to the nature of this boss, I can't do an attack-by-attack analysis on the first form or the secret form (and good riddance, less work for me!), but I'll do one for the second forms. Lastly, to avoid complications, I'll be marking attacks by their position in the video (from 3:50 onwards for Phase 2 and 5:50 onwards for the Secret Form). For reference, the video link is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vv1wrkdVl0s" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
(for elaboration on complications: I've already fought two bosses with weird attack looping and I don't want to risk it again)
The first form, however, was a pleasant surprise. A bit of a trip back into the past, and a generally good free-roam boss. Very gimmick-oriented, and not too difficult. The design of the boss is poor, however. It's too static, and suffers greatly because of that. Another gripe is the warning effectors used - specifically, the arrows. They feel out of place when the actual attack is a circle of grenade explosions. To summarise, the first form is fine, but nothing astounding. I'd even go so far as to say I prefer drac's entry at this point.
... But jesus, it just gets better from there.
[- Phase 2 Thoughts -]
[Design] I mean, oh my god. That intro. Yes. So basic, but so good. And that sword. The design hasn't changed at all but I needed to put that somewhere goddamnit.
[Attack 1] Teleporting sword ball rain. I mean, well, basically,
yes.
[Attack 2] This is literally like a conversion of the wavy wall attacks onto a free-roam boss done right. I'd also like to take this moment to say the difficulty curve on these attacks is perfect.
[Attack 3] When I was watching this video for the first time I was grinning so hard I ended up having a mouth like the Joker's. Looking back at it now I realise that these are pretty standard, though solid attacks. But if you seriously watched the video for this boss for the first time thinking it was just above average (which it really is), then you aren't human. Ok, that might be going too far, but seriously this boss is the hypest thing.
[Attack 4] Ok, I've calmed down. Let's do an actual analysis (it's not just because this attack is one of my least favourite or anything (besides can you even call any of these thoughts an analysis?)). The attack is literally just bullets slapped on a rolling panel with swords chasing you around. The warnings are adequate, and it's not too difficult to avoid, and is just generally a good attack.
[Attack 5] Cliché charging attack into a burst attack, except the charging on this is fairly quick so it doesn't get tedious like these attacks can be. Good execution of a decent, albeit unoriginal, idea.
[Phase 2 Thoughts Synopsis] A generally well-rounded phase with no major flaws. Some attacks could use a bit more work, but honestly there's nothing wrong with it bar the static design. Especially when it's teleporting. It's just weird.
Now, the Secret/True Form is what really makes this boss, in my opinion. The way the boss transitions from a Free Roam boss to a Fixed Area boss is great. The laser which creates the energy wall the boss uses for attacks is also a nice touch. This form has a plethora of great attacks and combines a lot of them, resulting in fun game-play and is just visually impressive in general. I can't express enough how much I love the attacks, so I'll just leave it at that.
Overall, I'm a little disappointed that the design didn't change throughout the fight, but the boss was just generally fantastic.
#-- The MMM: No Man's Land --#
This boss is the real reason I said I'd play through "almost" all the bosses (I -did- play it, I just didn't play through all of it, to clarify). I simply do not have the time to sit through this thing. It has way too much HP. Way too much...
TheMMM « Sun Jul 13, 2014 9:15 pm »
TBD wrote:
I feel like MMM's boss needs less health
Having checked my footage of my boss, I do agree that some of the cores(Especially the final core of phase 2) need a health reduction. However, I'll update the health later, since it'll be funny for a long boss to be in a contest that has "Quick" in the title.
... Hahaha, yeah. Yeah yeah yeah. (... I hate you ;~;)
But yeah, I'm not doing an in-depth attack-by-attack analysis for this one since I can sum this up easily with a few choice sentences. The boss is boring. The design is dull, meshed together, and is literally just a lump of parts spammed over (at least dracmeister put thought into his mesh of parts). The attacks are boring and a lot have easy to find safe spots. It has way too much HP. It's tedious to fight. Sorry, I really don't like this boss.
#-- DrThunderous: Fanblade Warship --#
Oh man. DrT entry. Hype.
Another boss I'm not doing an attack-by-attack analysis on because the nature of its attacks are unpredictable. Regardless, to summarise my thoughts on this boss: It's just a bullet hell boss. It's very average. A lot of the attacks have projectiles which move way too fast, however, and it's difficult to play at 39 fps. I feel the boss would be too easy if the projectiles were any slower, however. The attacks in general though are fine, but not visually impressive. In that regard, the design is similar to the attacks - presentable, but very bare, throughout all its phases. The design does make the boss memorable though, but I can't decide on whether that's a good thing...
#-- CoreShooter: BEST EVER --#
Just as you failed to predict the winner of the World Cup, you failed to predict the winner of this contest.
I'm sorry.
#-- Final Rankings & Miscellaneous Notes --#
Rank 8: BEST EVER (CoreShooter)
I can't think of anything funny to put here.
Rank 7: DZR Squadron (White Glint)
Well, this should've been expected. What can I say? It just doesn't have a place in this contest.
Rank 6: No Man's Land (TheMMM)
I'll just copy what I said before: "The boss is boring. The design is dull, meshed together, and is literally just a lump of parts spammed over (at least dracmeister put thought into his mesh of parts). The attacks are boring and a lot have easy to find safe spots. It has way too much HP. It's tedious to fight. Sorry, I really don't like this boss."
Rank 5: Crusader (TBD)
I'm 90% sure this boss would have ranked higher if you had actually properly play-tested it beforehand, and put more effort into the attacks. The design was fine, whatever, but some of its attacks were just unacceptably bad.
Rank 4: ][ Eliminator [Fraxy Ver] (4boxes)
Whilst I love this boss, I just can't rank it higher. It doesn't feel finished, and in fact I know it isn't finished. It doesn't have much going on and is, like I mentioned before, just a midboss.
Rank 3: Fanblade Warship (DrThunderous)
I was honestly stuck between choosing this or drac's for third/second - it was seriously tough. And, to be honest, I didn't want to put drac's in second place, but I really can't justify placing this entry any higher. It's just a straightforward bullet hell boss, but its design is very lacking and some of its projectiles are way too fast. On the other hand, it has some good bullet patterns and doesn't last long enough to get stale, and that's why it's earned at least third place.
Rank 2: Suckerpunch Delivery (dracmeister)
While the designs were lacking, the pre-boss fights felt pointless, and the bullet patterns were in general lackluster, I can't say this boss really had any other competition before it. It was a bit boring, but it was just better than the other bosses. I don't know. It was just above average.
Rank 1: Dimension Master typicalvrname (vortexreaper)
Not a surprise at all. Fun boss that takes full advantage of a gimmick at the start, then evolves into something brilliant. Overall, I don't really have anything too bad to say. Some of the attacks felt plain, and whilst the first phase was gimmicky, its attacks also weren't stellar. The secret form more than makes up for its lacklustre attacks in the first and second forms, but that one bouncing attack could have used a little more work...
There were absolutely no exceptional designs this time. I'm really disappointed. I was looking forward to both Aqua and Garo/Haku's entries, but they didn't make it in time. The latters' looked really good (apart from the PG set)! I know I probably put way too much effort into judging this, but I wanted something to do and this was a fun task (but I'm never doing an attack-by-attack analysis again - seriously, what happened to just putting attacks on a loop, why you gotta combine them or have weird looping?! It's so frustrating!). Finally, maybe some people will get upset at my thoughts, but like I said, I'm not sugar-coating anything, and I'd like to think I'm not biased (well, that's what we have multiple judges for anyway).
I'll leave you all with some motivational words from me: At the end of the day, if you learn from your mistakes and/or poor design decisions, and had fun making the boss, then in the end you can still be proud of yourself, no matter how good or trashy the boss was.