How Should We Balance Geometry Dash Difficulty?

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  • čas přidán 5. 09. 2024
  • There are many different ideas on how creators should balance their gameplay. Let’s discuss those ideas and determine what good difficulty balancing looks like.
    Inspired by a video by ‪@WHErwin‬ • difficulty balancing
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Komentáře • 204

  • @rootbeerfloathaspop3301
    @rootbeerfloathaspop3301  Před 11 měsíci +20

    What's the best way to balance a level? Check out more of my opinion videos: czcams.com/play/PLqu9Hh8jRA8BigH8Jxi7RI34kzVY-6Ep5.html

    • @rainbownoob2927
      @rainbownoob2927 Před 11 měsíci +3

      I think that the level should start easy, then get harder and finish easy

    • @JustBreadGD
      @JustBreadGD Před 11 měsíci +2

      I'm a fan of the hardest part being at the beginning, because I find it less boring when grinding and when you do get far it really turns into a nerve test

    • @cobaltrix
      @cobaltrix Před 11 měsíci +1

      I like when XL levels slowly increase in difficulty, like how the first 25% of future funk is relatively easy, and 25-50% is a bit harder. The second half is definitely a good bit harder but Its not a big enough difference to ruin the level for me.

  • @AustynL
    @AustynL Před 11 měsíci +263

    yknow what type of balancing i absolutely despise? clubstep/supersonic type balancing where it's really second half heavy, it just makes it annoying as hell to play from zero

    • @rootbeerfloathaspop3301
      @rootbeerfloathaspop3301  Před 11 měsíci +101

      Do you mean levels where the first half isn’t challenging at all and the second half is super hard? If so, I agree with you; that’s so boring.

    • @AustynL
      @AustynL Před 11 měsíci +34

      @@rootbeerfloathaspop3301 yeah i hate that kind of balancing which sucks, because I'm grinding supersonic rn and it has that type of balancing, so i'm just practicing the dual onwards and like nothing else

    • @lemonadonGD
      @lemonadonGD Před 11 měsíci +6

      Nine Circles is also like this, playing it from zero was SO boring 😮‍💨

    • @thefakekenzieOG
      @thefakekenzieOG Před 11 měsíci

      ​@@AustynLdual is ez actually lol its just 78-100

    • @Grenate
      @Grenate Před 11 měsíci +2

      Poltergeist 20-50, I hated this part so much. Least I fluked it from 44 :D

  • @HelloHSR
    @HelloHSR Před 11 měsíci +64

    I know it's comical how much I mention Dark Odyssey, but I feel like it's a perfect example of a balanced level with MASSIVE changes in difficulty. The beginning is like 5 star, and the level at its peak difficulty is probably like hard demon gameplay. However, this doesn't happen all at once. This gradually changed over 6 MINUTES. The level only has a few noticeable jumps in difficulty, but they massively help the storytelling of the level.
    Balancing should match the intensity of the song, the intensity of the level itself, the storytelling (if there is any, lol), and it shouldn't be much harder/easier than the part before.
    Unbalanced doesn't necessarily mean unfun btw, it all depends on what you enjoy. I just personally think that it's best if you balance this way, since it not only makes the level more fair to play, has more gp diversity than the "flat line" balance, and usually helps intensity.. There's always an exception to the rule though (idk an exception though)

    • @rootbeerfloathaspop3301
      @rootbeerfloathaspop3301  Před 11 měsíci +8

      Good idea. I think if your level is longer, you can change the difficulty more (as long as it still happens gradually) without it becoming “unbalanced”.

  • @sticktricks
    @sticktricks Před 11 měsíci +43

    I had never considered progressive difficulty and difficulty breaks, this is awesome. Learned a lot from this vid, keep it up!

  • @GMFan
    @GMFan Před 11 měsíci +41

    My least favorite balancing type is the “U” where the beginning and end are the hardest parts. An example of this is Acu where the beginning and end are significantly harder than the rest of the level which makes it very frustrating imo

    • @xela953
      @xela953 Před 11 měsíci +3

      yeah i died to the 85% pink orb in acu 15 times in the same sitting lmao. the entire main chunk of the level eventually felt non existent after doing it over and over

    • @thisguykreas
      @thisguykreas Před 11 měsíci +4

      I disagree in the case of acu. I found that the predrop gets decently consistent, and the second half of the predrop was never a problem (at least for me) anyway. I also though the drop wasn't completely free, and the level kind of tenses me up until I reach any of the waves. The waves definitely being the hardest parts. The ending is definitely tough, but to me that just makes it 100x more exhilarating when I pass it. Although 85x15 in one session is crazy like how tf does that happen, for the future if something's that inconsistent practice the hell out of it. This is all coming from someone that beat Acu as his first extreme and gave it a 10/10 btw. I'm (clearly) very passionate about the level.

    • @xela953
      @xela953 Před 11 měsíci +2

      @@thisguykreas EVERYTIME I PRACTICED THE HELL OUT OF THE PINK ORB I DID IT LIKE 5 TIMES IN A ROW AAAAAA

    • @GMFan
      @GMFan Před 11 měsíci +2

      @@thisguykreas I personally found everything from 24-88 to be insanely easy and could do it every third attempt at the drop, it could have been mental block but I at one point got to the end literally 3 attempts in a row.

    • @fewbronzegames
      @fewbronzegames Před 11 měsíci

      i found the first part pretty easy tbh, the drop was easier tho but not by much and the end sucks ass

  • @chaken6187
    @chaken6187 Před 11 měsíci +11

    Love how you use the graph to describe the type balancing. I immediately understood what you said

  • @GeckoGD
    @GeckoGD Před 11 měsíci +32

    my favourite balancing is first half, as you can practice the easier half and get super consistent at it making the levels quite flukable most of the time. overall any type of balancing that gets progressively easier as it compensates for your nerves playing the level, giving it the illusion of very balanced gameplay when playing from 0

    • @rootbeerfloathaspop3301
      @rootbeerfloathaspop3301  Před 11 měsíci +8

      Yeah, that’s a good point. I think the tension will work better if the easier part isn’t too long, though.

    • @aquanos
      @aquanos Před 11 měsíci +6

      Fluking isn't really fun in my opinion.
      With a geometry dash level, the fun doesn't come from finishing the level, it comes from playing and progressing in the level.

    • @rootbeerfloathaspop3301
      @rootbeerfloathaspop3301  Před 11 měsíci

      @@aquanos Does that make you dislike levels with easier second halves?

  • @superkobster
    @superkobster Před 11 měsíci +6

    example of what not to do: falling up. literally gets harder and harder gradually until it becomes top 1 silent oppenheimer impossible hell demon at the end

  • @Sinnohy
    @Sinnohy Před 11 měsíci +2

    1:57 holy shit the ducklife race ost gave me a sudden wave of nostalgia, absolutely loved it! I can see you've done your homework :)

  • @flamingbird101
    @flamingbird101 Před 11 měsíci +3

    Honestly, balancing isn't something that I care about much when analyzing levels. The top three things that affect enjoyment are as follows:
    1. Bugs: If I have to change my refresh rate to pass a part or entering a portal in a specific way causes unintended side effects then the level will immediately be less enjoyable.
    2. Readability: If it's not intended to be a memory level or learny, it should be relatively obvious what I'm supposed to do next. Also, deco being unclear as to what's solid/not and overly flashing is annoying.
    3. Gameplay: Optimized gameplay and good transitions are key. The level should feel good to play, and the music should sync to what's going on on screen.

  • @aidancode
    @aidancode Před 11 měsíci +5

    Something important to note, I think, is that in levels built for their length, relatively even difficulty throughout is basically required in order to make the level not be massively tedious. Butiti 2 comes to mind as having really fun gameplay but being so obnoxiously second half heavy that I could never stand beating, even multiple years after I got... 87% iirc. It's very easy to make your level feel painfully second half heavy in XL levels.
    From my experience creating and playing, I've leaned towards (in my own levels) 20-30% having a difficulty spike, 50-60% having a difficulty spike, 60-70% being a break, and 70-80% being a very slight difficulty spike. It's a format that works pretty well for me.

    • @asdfoifhvjbkaos
      @asdfoifhvjbkaos Před 11 měsíci +1

      personally i think long levels should gradually get easier as time goes on (with maybe a few increases if the level is super long)

  • @fewbronzegames
    @fewbronzegames Před 11 měsíci +7

    i think it's usually best when it matches the song, also i know that chokepoints are inherently bad, but honestly sometimes passing a way harder part or even just tiny section in a part at like 60% and than having a chance at beating the level is fun, tho usually this is only the case when it isn't a super hard level for your skill level, i think it's impossible to make gameplay that is good for everyone and the way gameplay plays is usually more important than the balancing
    also do not ever make the gameplay for each part perfectly balanced, it is only marginally better than balancing the entire level, if a part kinda just feels the same throughout it it's not really that fun, this is pretty common in a lot of layouts now and also not just exclusive to the difficulty of it, ig what i'm saying is don't have chokepoints (unless it works) but have some clicks feel a little harder and whatnot

  • @txtronixgd7373
    @txtronixgd7373 Před 11 měsíci +7

    Some things that probably affect how satisfying a level is to play are: don’t put choke points/really hard parts around transition sections. I.e the last few clicks before the drop and first few clicks of the drop.

    • @buzzybees8604
      @buzzybees8604 Před 11 měsíci

      Looking at you, beginning of Acu drop...

    • @dids5
      @dids5 Před 11 měsíci

      @@buzzybees8604 where are the chokepoints at the start of the acu drop lol

    • @aaanimations_
      @aaanimations_ Před 11 měsíci +1

      @@buzzybees8604 Looking at you, toe2 and deadlocked drops...

    • @itamarowak
      @itamarowak Před 10 měsíci

      ​@@dids5the 2 mini wave clicks

  • @integercyclolcyc
    @integercyclolcyc Před 11 měsíci +1

    My most favourite balancing in the linear graph for easier levels, a slow decay for demons.

  • @Walter_
    @Walter_ Před 11 měsíci +2

    2:16 this is definitely me.
    I want every difficult level/challenge in any game to have this curve.
    The reason is that it makes choking at the finish less common, like i am really bad at keeping nerves.

    • @rootbeerfloathaspop3301
      @rootbeerfloathaspop3301  Před 8 měsíci

      You know what, I think I would really enjoy this type of balancing in an XL level

    • @Jamaldover
      @Jamaldover Před 22 dny

      Yeah you guys are definitely NOT gonna like my xl level, the beginning is Pretty hard, the middle is a break, the middle-end is.
      Pure agony, suffering, painful, and a shocking difficulty spike, and the end is the break and End
      Basically beginning is around 6-9 stars - easy demon, middle is 5-9 stars, middle-end is Easy demon (11 seconds of 4-8 stars break at the end of the first part) - easy demon - high-end easy demon, and the end is insane - low easy demon to [auto (end)]

  • @lavatrex
    @lavatrex Před 11 měsíci +4

    i dont think the ending should be harder. i verified a level with a really hard ending, so you get there every time and its really really annoying. first half heavy levels on the other hand are SO much more fun to me because it makes you excited for a longer amount of time.
    my optimal difficulty "chart" is a 3/5 first quarter, 2/5 second quarter, 4/5 third quarter, and then a 3/5 fourth quarter. what do you think?

  • @flamingbird101
    @flamingbird101 Před 11 měsíci +8

    A lot of top players seem to share this sentiment, but a level doesn't have to be balanced for the experience to be enjoyable. A great example of this is Fexty. This is one of my favorite levels of all time and yet it's extremely imbalanced. It goes from a hard demon up to 51% and then multiple 60hz frame perfects in the wave. While it can be frustrating, when you finally get past the fexty wave it is *satisfying*.
    Mastermind by Hinds and The Caverns by pasiblitz are two levels I enjoyed because they were extremely balanced. No part felt way harder than the rest of the level combined, which brings up another point: Parts will be harder than others in a level, but one part generally shouldn't stand out as being way harder than the whole rest of the level. While fexty proves to me balance isn't everything, it is a large part of what makes a level enjoyable.

  • @BennyCocoPop
    @BennyCocoPop Před 11 měsíci +5

    I think harder sections at the beginning work better the progressively shorter a level is. Like take an extreme example like a challenge for instance. Most challenges, in my experience at least, generally gravitate towards extremely difficult beginnings, which helps a lot when grinding them from 0, as it reduces the consistency required to pass the gameplay when its at the beginning, which makes the general playing experience of them a lot smoother in my opinion, and this concept extends some to most levels under a minute generally (although its not often you'll see actual short levels so, but the lack of 40-50 second long levels is a different tangent entirely lol).
    In longer levels, say 80+ seconds, you have a lot more room to cultivate an actual difficulty arc, which is where I think drops being the hardest parts, and having troughs like you explained, actually works really well.
    Edit: Additional thing, having a stupid easy predrop can easily kill levels (thinking like Poltergeist for example, where the predrop is so mind-numbingly boring its hard to focus when you get to the wave.), and having a stupidly hard/annoying predrop can as well (Sparkling Hope comes to mind).

    • @fjaps
      @fjaps Před 11 měsíci +3

      it depends on how hard the level is imo, it's cool when easy/medium demons become more and more intense but for harder levels it can become frustrating

  • @lancezealot
    @lancezealot Před 11 měsíci +3

    This video is well made and has many agreeablene points
    I find that many people get their head wrapped around this topic, whether their level being perfectly balanced, abiding by a formula, or making pointless balance changes. Sometimes these sorts of things hinder levels from reaching their full potential. Imagine if the robtop demons were perfectly balanced, that would be real boring.
    Honestly, levels don’t need to be perfectly balanced or strictly follow a certain difficulty pattern
    There’s nothing wrong with a little unbalance
    Creators should strive to match the difficulty of a part with the intensity of the song at said part
    TLDR As long you don’t go sakupen circles mode on the balancing, and your difficulty curve is well thought out and meaningful, you’ll do just fine

  • @bluu4444
    @bluu4444 Před 11 měsíci +3

    i like videos where people talk about their opinions on more general topics like this in gd

  • @istvanvincze7411
    @istvanvincze7411 Před 11 měsíci +1

    I've been playing this game since 2016, and in my time doing so I beat levels of all kinds of difficulty ranges ( except for today's list demon ), and over time I realized that by far the best kind of difficulty for hard levels like insane and extreme demons is a kind of "trapezoid" shape. My explanation will only be true for extreme and high insane demons, though, so keep that in mind.
    It starts off rather easy in the first 3-6% just so you don't bang your head into a wall like an idiot because the first 3 clicks are insane, this gives a sense of relief and lets you breathe a little bit between attempts. Then it starts ramping up the difficulty *slowly*, if it's done right then it won't be all that noticeable, only that, say, 20% is harder than 5%. If it's based around a drop like the overwhelming majority of the levels are, then at the end of the buildup ( excluding any potential auto parts ) the difficulty should stop, and completely flatline ALL THE WAY until the end of the drop. If you want a break in there, put it there. If you want to make the second half of the drop harder, only do ever so slightly so it's noticeable that it's harder, but still only ever so slightly. Then if you have a post drop ending part, make absolutely sure it's below the difficulty of the drop, preferably somewhere between the beginning part and the drop.
    Why is this the perfect one in my opinion? Because it adjusts to the needs and demands of the human psyche to make the best kind of experience. You won't die at the very beginning over and over again. Every popular list grinder ever has said many times that if the predrop is ridiculously hard then the level is frustrating. A slow increase makes it sure that you can adjust on the fly. Whatever you do, make ABSOLUTELY SURE the difficulty increase stops rather early in the level then remains constant or close to it throughout the level. Why? This is the most important part:
    Well, you might think a climax looks cool and all and that you should adjust the difficulty, but after over 10.000 attempts every level kind of gets old. At that point stress will come from the grind being close to being over, not the flashy climax or something. Every player will grow numb to your climax after a certain point. What does that leave the player with? The hardest part being in the second half of the level, usually in the 60-80's. And let me tell you, it is VERY frustrating. Because at that scale of the difficulty, it's almost guaranteed that you will die to the end multiple times. If you get unlucky, your player might get mind blocked and end up dying 30-50+ times at the end because it's just that hard and because they now gave up on getting away with a few thousand less attempts. Your player will hate your level, or not feel great about it once they finished it despite liking the level initially. You don't want that. Listen: A level being flukable IS A GOOD THING. If you fluke a level from the mid 50's and 60's then the player will feel good about it and fondly remember your level, ASSUMING you did the predrop balancing part well. This is also why it's important that the last part is significantly easier than the ones coming before it. The player will be nervous. That will make them play worse. They can control it to some extent, but in reality they can't, unless their skill level is so beyond your level's one that they just don't care due to apathy. Also make sure you don't leave seconds of inaction in your ending, because that will let the player sit and get out of the flow and realize "oh shit I'm approaching the end" and get nervous. If you can keep your player in flow at the end don't let them go. This is why the last part of RUST is infamous, despite being a level with very high reputation for it's gameplay. Adjust to the player being nervous and make the ending easier.
    This formula is at it's best with levels like Incipient and Endless Dream just to give you two examples. It just works every time. Of course, other forms of balancing are good as well, but the more you play the more you will realize that the most liked levels in the community will have a correlation with the trapezoid difficulty curve, and not only that, the more they fit, the more revered they will be.

  • @Ceereeal
    @Ceereeal Před 11 měsíci +1

    Haven’t really seen any videos on difficulty balancing yet (maybe besides Zeronium’s video on balancing Atomic Cannon) but I’m glad it’s been covered

    • @rootbeerfloathaspop3301
      @rootbeerfloathaspop3301  Před 11 měsíci

      Have you watched Wherwin’s video? It’s what inspired this one

    • @Ceereeal
      @Ceereeal Před 11 měsíci

      @@rootbeerfloathaspop3301 I have not. I shall check it out

  • @a05polzar
    @a05polzar Před 11 měsíci +5

    If you want to make one half of the level harder than the other. Choosing the first half will probably make your level slightly less annoying. Levels like Future Funk and CraZy take forever to complete because the really hard stuff is at the end, and the levels become very annoying and/or boring after a while. However, having the beginning be impossible can be just as annoying. Levels like Poltergeist and HeLL annoyed me to no end because you never get anywhere. Now, I did only die to one spot in particular for Poltergeist, but my point still stands. People also complain about a lot of Extremes having impossible predrops, too. However, I'd say that no matter what half you choose, try to make the level thrilling as a result of the increase in difficulty. For me, HeLL does a great job at this because I would also get super nervous every time I passed 40%. Now I don’t have any examples of second half heavy levels in mind. The closest I have is Elecrodynamix.
    That was just some of my thoughts on this topic

    • @rienn8559
      @rienn8559 Před 11 měsíci +1

      slaughterhouse drop being easy makes it boring lol

    • @blokvader8283
      @blokvader8283 Před 11 měsíci

      Yeah I tried to do Future Funk as my first hard demon, and I gave up after I got 91% because I just wasn't making progress
      For me atleast, the hardest part was the clutter funk mini ship in the middle, and the high life wave after, about 40% in
      I had practiced the dual to the end to hell so it really wasn't all that bad to me, but my nerves would get the better of me so early on so I barely even made it to the dual.
      I gave up and did Nowise instead, which was also annoying as shit

    • @a05polzar
      @a05polzar Před 11 měsíci

      I actually liked Nowise personally. What I've found with Hard Demons is that they are either the best levels ever or Classical by: RayOriens

    • @blokvader8283
      @blokvader8283 Před 11 měsíci

      @a05polzar Ehh, I found the gameplay awkward and annoying with too many weird choke points
      Also I do have bias because the object count made my computer run like shit lmao

  • @1_AlphabetCrew
    @1_AlphabetCrew Před 11 měsíci +3

    This will help a lot in my "worst top 1"

  • @EpicFurbynerd76YO
    @EpicFurbynerd76YO Před 7 měsíci +1

    I would do
    For the pre-drop, let the difficulty kinda crescendo, bump the difficulty by a reasonable amount at the drop, and at the post-drop section, let the difficulty kinda decrescendo.

  • @exquisicy5429
    @exquisicy5429 Před 11 měsíci +2

    recently beat a level called the road runner which is pretty easy but has a decently confusing section at 90% which irritated me as its not super conventional gameplay (and my brain stops working when im stressed)

  • @theone360
    @theone360 Před 11 měsíci +2

    Really solid video. Agreed with lots of the points made here. Take a sub :)

  • @ytac-ss7vz
    @ytac-ss7vz Před 11 měsíci +3

    I'm currently balancing a level I took a lot of time into, thanks for this video. I'll watch it later because balancing is a complex matter 👍

    • @rootbeerfloathaspop3301
      @rootbeerfloathaspop3301  Před 11 měsíci +2

      Good luck! Would you mind telling me the ID when you finish?

    • @ytac-ss7vz
      @ytac-ss7vz Před 11 měsíci +2

      ​@@rootbeerfloathaspop3301Thank you, I watched the video and it was great! It liked the open-mindedness of it, and it went straight to the point with no clutter, while also being easy to understand. The level is XL so it's taking me months, but it's almost done, it mostly needs deco retouching, and balancing. The balancing is similiar to ToE2 in your example, but I'm trying to not make it too drastic when giving breaks, and the tip about making difficulty more gradual definetely cleared up my mind, I'll tell you when it's done. Thanks again, I'm subscribed

    • @rootbeerfloathaspop3301
      @rootbeerfloathaspop3301  Před 11 měsíci +1

      @@ytac-ss7vz Thanks for the kind words, and I can’t wait to play this level when it’s finished (assuming it’s within my skill)

    • @ytac-ss7vz
      @ytac-ss7vz Před 11 měsíci +1

      @@rootbeerfloathaspop3301 It's a low-end extreme, so it's very hard... but the length is XL so it won't be too overwhelming, you could still play some parts with start pos

    • @ytac-ss7vz
      @ytac-ss7vz Před 9 měsíci

      ​@@rootbeerfloathaspop3301I finished and verified it! It's called "Sephiroth Ultra"

  • @falkeborg9432
    @falkeborg9432 Před 8 měsíci +1

    Absolutely amazing video, the most interesting analysis I’ve seen in GD I think. I think the middle part could be as hard as you want if you make sure that it’s 100% consistent, for example a memory part. The difficulty should come from learning it, not timings imo.

  • @Kasser_KSR
    @Kasser_KSR Před 11 měsíci +1

    this seems like an obvious answer but I believe scaling the intensity of the gameplay with the intensity of the music works best. i come from dance dance revolution/post-in the groove charting community and difficulty balance tends to work best when there's a slight difficulty spike around when the music does something a little interesting. having a level get increasingly harder as it goes on also has some merit (i.e. pump it up charting) but personally I find difficulty spikes around the main "sections" of the music with it easing off inbetween the most fun I have. I find it tiring if it's too hard for an extended period of time and too boring if it's too easy for too long
    I haven't played this game seriously since like 2019 so take my opinion with a grain of salt

  • @ohadish
    @ohadish Před 6 měsíci +2

    imo it shold be balanced mainly around the songs intensity

  • @X3m.Gaming
    @X3m.Gaming Před 11 měsíci +1

    i think it just depends on the level style. for short levels having a challenge part can be sometimes ok. but long levels probably dont want to have big differences with each part. i personally just like it to fit the music

  • @moritzackmann5934
    @moritzackmann5934 Před 11 měsíci +1

    I like levels with 2-4 shorter break parts just to be able to collect yourself before the next hard part

  • @sonicwaveinfinitymiddwelle8555
    @sonicwaveinfinitymiddwelle8555 Před 11 měsíci +1

    5:38 The background music syncs

  • @buzzybees8604
    @buzzybees8604 Před 11 měsíci +1

    I never thought about this! I'll keep this in mind when making layouts. Great video!

  • @givikap120
    @givikap120 Před 11 měsíci +2

    I like osu-like balancing
    When difficulty is bound to music intensity with some limits

  • @jasoninirllife
    @jasoninirllife Před 11 měsíci +1

    As some one who likes levels that start out harder I like it (as long as the beginning isn’t too hard) because when you play from zero you naturally become very consistent at the beginning over time, and since the end is easier it makes the level more fun to play from zero as you always feel like you could beat it randomly, it also makes a level more flukable
    An example would be a level starting out like bloodbath difficulty and then gradually decreasing in difficulty to an entry level extreme demon difficulty

  • @dids5
    @dids5 Před 11 měsíci +1

    i think the best type of balancing is the start/predrop being the SECOND hardest part, the start of the drop being really easy compared to the rest and then the second half ramps up massively

  • @GDDwibble
    @GDDwibble Před 11 měsíci +9

    You should check out well being spot by devin. It sure has balancing.

  • @rohand.-bd7qc
    @rohand.-bd7qc Před 11 měsíci +1

    I personally disagree about electrodynamix. When i went for it as a new hardest the ship and ufo were the hardest parts. While the 2xspeed cube felt like a breeze, you could see hr ship was harder. The break was definitely after the ufo into the miniufo, and the 2x speed cube was a nice little break. The 3xspeed gameplay was so much harder than the rest, even harder than the ufo, and it felt satisfying to get past the two ship parts. The nervewracking gameplay until the end followed by satisfaction was such a good experience. It was the most attemtps I spent on a level, 600ish. And it was the modt fun level I played

  • @OmegaFalcon
    @OmegaFalcon Před 11 měsíci +1

    Very interesting video! This is the kind of content I like to see on gdtwt

  • @blockygamez9389
    @blockygamez9389 Před 11 měsíci +1

    I personally really like first half heavy levels bc I can actually improve at the beginning while I play it instead of it feeling like autoscroll

  • @UraniumFractal
    @UraniumFractal Před 11 měsíci +1

    Great video! I've had these thoughts for a while but never seen them articulated before.

  • @lancezealot
    @lancezealot Před 11 měsíci +1

    I’m not sure why people like first-half heavy levels. When I play those types of level, I barely make any progress or get far, and it gets frustrating, annoying, and highly demotivating. But when it comes to the opposite type, I’m usually having a good time. It feels good since I get to *play the level* while giving the illusion of progress

    • @rootbeerfloathaspop3301
      @rootbeerfloathaspop3301  Před 11 měsíci

      Same for me, but I guess it’s a personal preference thing

    • @THTB_lol
      @THTB_lol Před 10 měsíci +1

      a good example of a level like this would be hell by serponge, due to that one wave part, or verity (also by serponge), due to that one wave part

  • @Dashy7u
    @Dashy7u Před 11 měsíci +1

    That layout at 0:45 looks fun to play ngl

  • @potatojuiceultra
    @potatojuiceultra Před 11 měsíci +1

    I play a lot of old demons (going through each one chronologically), and they are usually a good example of how not to balance. A lot of them are balanced as just a flat line (minus a few chokepoints), and that makes the levels sometimes mind-numbing to play. For example, Extreme Park is a really creative level, but it is basically the same difficulty throughout. And it made the level really boring, there was no anticipation, no relief at passing a hard part, no memorable sections. It is just as frustrating to die at a completely random place every attempt as it is to die at the same part every time.

  • @liutjinsiu9689
    @liutjinsiu9689 Před 11 měsíci

    Best balancing for levels are the ones that start off witht the hardest part and sizzle out slowly (usually only works with difficulties up to hard demons tho)

  • @nidiiii9788
    @nidiiii9788 Před 11 měsíci +1

    awesome vid, im gonna keep this in mind when making my new solos
    second vid in my “good gd tutorials” private playlist afer like 2 months LOL

  • @Fearless13468
    @Fearless13468 Před 11 měsíci +2

    I don't care how a level is balanced, as long as one part isn't just stupidly hard compared to the rest of the level.

  • @user-cb2ne4si6x
    @user-cb2ne4si6x Před 11 měsíci +1

    If you’re building a half hour level you better don’t make it become harder but instead make it get easier so there is less chance of dying at 99%. This would make people die less on ending and rage less. Rage isn’t good.
    That’s the only use for decreasing difficulty for me.

  • @shoplifter01gud
    @shoplifter01gud Před 11 měsíci +1

    I despise people who put difficulty at the end, I literally died at the same point at 97% on my hardest.
    Genuinely thought about deleting my account during that.

  • @blokvader8283
    @blokvader8283 Před 11 měsíci +1

    Damn, I thought this was gonna be about demon balancing, like how levels that are rated as harder keep getting rerated easier because people are getting way better at the game.
    I hate finding a level thats hard demon difficulty, but its under the mask of easy demon because a few sweaty people greatly underestimate its difficulty
    Imo Shiver and Sidestep are not both easy demon, nor are ICDX and Magma Bound both Insane demon.

  • @Macbook_Noob
    @Macbook_Noob Před 11 měsíci +1

    Worst type of balancing has to be the an extremely bs beginning. Doesn’t matter if the rest of the level is the most fun thing ever or intense, being stuck at the beginning for like 3 minutes in a row on average is the easiest way to lose patience and any motivation to play the level. Great example being Firewall by Hinds, piece ofnpiss

    • @rootbeerfloathaspop3301
      @rootbeerfloathaspop3301  Před 11 měsíci +1

      Totally agree. Dying at the start for a long time is the worst.

    • @ozone8897
      @ozone8897 Před 11 měsíci

      I beat this as my hardest yesterday lol. The beginning was a bit frustrating at times, but honestly I enjoyed the level

  • @airyyyyyyyy
    @airyyyyyyyy Před 11 měsíci +1

    sick video, nice editing, felt like a big gd youtuber. Subscribed, and i dont even play gd

  • @_CRUMP_
    @_CRUMP_ Před 11 měsíci

    I prefer balancing that stresses difficulty in the first half. The longer attempts are the most annoying, so putting harder parts later just makes the player feel like they’re wasting their time. Putting the difficulty in the start may not make the attempts even, but the time spent getting to each % milestone should be about the same.

  • @mountainfetus3679
    @mountainfetus3679 Před 11 měsíci +1

    I completely disagree with this, gameplay should always be a flat line in difficulty. I don’t care if it makes the ending less stressful, it makes everything much more fun. Only time I could see a difficulty change being useful is if there is a break part in the middle of a level. It still builds up the intensity for the next part without making the end more difficult. I would much rather die at random parts in a level than die to one part over and over again, especially for extreme demons.

    • @rootbeerfloathaspop3301
      @rootbeerfloathaspop3301  Před 8 měsíci

      Is it possible that you dislike changes in difficulty because creators have a tendency to change difficulty too much at a time, and that if the shifts were more reined in, you would find them enjoyable?

  • @GDGroundflower
    @GDGroundflower Před 11 měsíci +2

    i love you this video is so absolutely good

  • @rbz5544
    @rbz5544 Před 11 měsíci

    Having hard parts at the beginning is way better because if the hard part is at the end it makes the level frustrating because u spend most of the time doing an easy section just to instantly die when u get to the hard part

  • @cironix
    @cironix Před 11 měsíci +1

    Nah bro didn’t let electrodynamix end at the outdo 😮

  • @ferln4
    @ferln4 Před 11 měsíci +1

    What about "difficulty should represent the song's intensity"

  • @Qxe7
    @Qxe7 Před 11 měsíci +4

    bro that yellow furry i think colon but walmart edition

  • @darius_gen
    @darius_gen Před 11 měsíci

    I just follow the music and my heart, the music is my guide and it should be a warning for everybody, hear the little details as you feel you're in the level
    Tho I'm no expert of making levels so, yeah

  • @Greg_3613
    @Greg_3613 Před 11 měsíci +1

    Very nice video bro! Keep going i believe in you

  • @elliottlava7784
    @elliottlava7784 Před 10 měsíci +1

    1:08 don't look at me guys

  • @dexongd5723
    @dexongd5723 Před 11 měsíci

    best balancing is a downwards line from the beginning to the end

  • @gravi-stars6665
    @gravi-stars6665 Před 11 měsíci

    4:40 my guy called the ship before the long tunnel in toe2 difficult💀

  • @funnyPoop1
    @funnyPoop1 Před 11 měsíci

    I prefer second half very slightly harder than first half, but depends on the length of the level

  • @edthabeast2359
    @edthabeast2359 Před 11 měsíci +2

    People like a harder start because if they die they haven’t lost as much progress

  • @qwertzuwu
    @qwertzuwu Před 11 měsíci

    is that.. is that the duck life racing music

  • @HEALER__
    @HEALER__ Před 11 měsíci

    you know what we don't need? making electrodynamix even harder cuz its already the hardest insane level.

  • @WaveSucks
    @WaveSucks Před 11 měsíci

    as a kowareta enjoyer (terribly unbalanced) idk what balancing is best bruh

  • @Krakyy
    @Krakyy Před 11 měsíci +1

    bro is gd cologne

  • @Crimery1
    @Crimery1 Před 11 měsíci +1

    This was my daily level… 0:19

  • @goindown
    @goindown Před 11 měsíci

    Levels that are harder in the beginning are better because you dont have to spend a while doing easy shit before getting to hard parts.
    Oh, and the easy parts of levels are not easy to build tension, its to give you either A: a break or B: robtop being bad at balancing

  • @kazaaakplethkilik3229
    @kazaaakplethkilik3229 Před 11 měsíci +1

    why the quality of the clips is SO BAD

  • @PenguinBoi27
    @PenguinBoi27 Před 11 měsíci +1

    this channel is great :)

  • @alyme_r
    @alyme_r Před 11 měsíci

    exactly why everyone loves danzmen gameplay.. except god yeeter

  • @gappleofdiscord9752
    @gappleofdiscord9752 Před 11 měsíci

    For me magmatic sanctuary is the best example of a balanced difficulty level

    • @SomuaSomua
      @SomuaSomua Před 11 měsíci

      Yes but they nerfed it :(

    • @gappleofdiscord9752
      @gappleofdiscord9752 Před 11 měsíci

      @@SomuaSomua I didn't know about that, but maybe it was required. The drop is still a good spike in difficulty.

    • @THTB_lol
      @THTB_lol Před 10 měsíci

      haha no

    • @gappleofdiscord9752
      @gappleofdiscord9752 Před 10 měsíci

      @@THTB_lol Any evidence or even just opinions to support your claim?

    • @THTB_lol
      @THTB_lol Před 10 měsíci

      @@gappleofdiscord9752 unstable speed part is ass in balancing, first wave is way too easy, first cube is way too

  • @limitless_valley
    @limitless_valley Před 11 měsíci

    why is the entire video offset

  • @cheesydinos
    @cheesydinos Před 11 měsíci +1

    damn subbed

  • @starsyt3164
    @starsyt3164 Před 11 měsíci

    Unbalancing Is kinda memorable.

  • @envor_
    @envor_ Před 11 měsíci +1

    Has anyone told you that you sound exactly like colon 😭

  • @Sucksatgd
    @Sucksatgd Před 11 měsíci +2

    No

  • @Амоеба17
    @Амоеба17 Před 10 měsíci

    I think we can all agree that cataclysm balancing sucks

  • @handledav
    @handledav Před 11 měsíci +1

    so

  • @timcellar9021
    @timcellar9021 Před 11 měsíci

    Why do you sound like gd colon

  • @Gamr-bc6kp
    @Gamr-bc6kp Před 11 měsíci

    Idk

  • @petterlarsson7257
    @petterlarsson7257 Před 11 měsíci

    you sound like gdcolon

  • @UnlimitedRadioButNoSoap
    @UnlimitedRadioButNoSoap Před 11 měsíci

    denouement 😈

  • @IDK_imnotKev
    @IDK_imnotKev Před 11 měsíci +1

    Bro stole gd cologne voice 💀

  • @deleted-something
    @deleted-something Před 11 měsíci

    lol

  • @lIIlIIlIIllIllIl
    @lIIlIIlIIllIllIl Před 11 měsíci

    I like chosal levels. Husal levels are trash lol

  • @kiogmd
    @kiogmd Před 11 měsíci

    сука я хотел сделать что то про эту тему

    • @rootbeerfloathaspop3301
      @rootbeerfloathaspop3301  Před 8 měsíci

      I didn’t invent this idea either I got it from Wherwin 💀

    • @kiogmd
      @kiogmd Před 8 měsíci

      @@rootbeerfloathaspop3301 ок просто грустно(((((

  • @Xanzy.
    @Xanzy. Před 11 měsíci

    what the hell is wrong with your video quality dude