LittleBigPlanet Tips, Tricks and Tutorials

avolee

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I thought we could use this thread as a bit of a reference guide. Anyone who has designed something, found a new way to do something or is seeking advice on the best way to achieve an end goal. People are designing helicopters, tanks and all manner of things, you may not want to do the same thing, but the process of how it was created may help. The possibilities are endless with this game and may seem a bit daunting, hopefully we can help. Anyone posting pics and videos, i`ll keep them on the first page. So people, who`s going to start.:)
 
Seems like a good idea. I'll reserve this post so I can add my tips in the future :thumbsup:
 
Ok, I'll give a few tips on how I created my mk2 tank.

The main body with the wheels attached is created from 2 layers, a main block and a thin strip at the back to mount the wheels. The benefit of doing this was to allow 3 tanks on screen at once and for them to be able to pass each other.

The Wheels are mounted using a motor bolt on each, and all of these are attached to a 3-way switch enabling forward & reverse. Connecting all has given very good traction and allows the tank to drive over most obstacles at a reasonable height.

The upper tank body i conneced with a piston, and the gun barrel is connected with a wobble bolt. This allows an upper & lower limit to be set when operating the guns angle. An emitter fitted to the end of the gun barrel fires the impact explosives - be sure to rotate the emitter 'before' placing, it's easier to get the trajectory right this way, but it's not very obvious.

Another 3-way switch was added to control gun angle, and a grab switch added to the front part of the gun body to fire the cannon. This switch controls the emitter & piston and the timings adjusted to give the impression of recoil when the gun fires.

Finally a magnetic switch (inverted) was added so when it breaks (on recoil) a boom sound is played to signify the shell firing.

Hope that all makes sense, I might edit it if I remember anymore!

http://s357.photobucket.com/albums/oo14/Robothamster/?action=view&current=5fcedb85.pbr
 
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I'm having problems with rotating objects and would appreciate some advice!

Say I have an object that I want to add wheels to, from the view I use I can see the object side on and can easily place two wheels with motor bolts on the side facing me, How do I then rotate the object on a horizontal plane so the other side is facing me so I can easily do the same?

I'm sure I'm mising somethinf painfully obvious:suicide:

TIA:)
 
You can flip objects around by pressing R3 when selected. Not exactly what you're asking for but its useable.

Problem is if you have a front and a back to your object when you flip it over the front becomes the back, and vice versa. But you can workaround that with a bit of preplanning.
 
I'm having problems with rotating objects and would appreciate some advice!

Say I have an object that I want to add wheels to, from the view I use I can see the object side on and can easily place two wheels with motor bolts on the side facing me, How do I then rotate the object on a horizontal plane so the other side is facing me so I can easily do the same?

I'm sure I'm mising somethinf painfully obvious:suicide:

TIA:)

I don't think you can, and you don't really 'need' to either, vehicles work with just the 2 wheels on one side as if there were 4. I tried doing the same on my mk1 tank but when I drove it the outer wheels just stayed put!

It's possible to 'flip' your creation using the R3 button after picking it up but this just mirrors the object so the wheels will still be on the visible side.

Br0ken, nipped in again while I was typing!!! :)
 
I don't think you can, and you don't really 'need' to either, vehicles work with just the 2 wheels on one side as if there were 4. !


Ah right, thanks guys:)

I shant spend 20 minutes trying to do that again tonight:D
 
Right after playing LBP for a solid 4 hours last night (even got the g/f involved :eek:) all I can say is WOW!

This is quite possibly the most innovative game since Metal Gear on the PS1 :thumbsup:

But what I really wanna know is what sort of levels and ideas people have.......

Use this post to discuss ideas you have, ideas you can't figure out how to put in practice and just general level design ideas.
 
Use this post to discuss ideas you have, ideas you can't figure out how to put in practice and just general level design ideas.

There is already a similar thread. Merging threads.
 
I've only built half a level atm but I'll share my experiences so far.


Pick a theme for your level to keep it consistent

Decide early on what type of level you want, eg classic platformer, puzzle, vehicles etc

Sketch out your level on a notepad. This is invaluable so you don't go off on a tangent during creation and end up with something totally different.

Ensure you 'heart' all the commons tools which you will use on your level. This speeds things up considerably because you don't have to keep trawling through all the other items.

Build a bit at a time and playtest as you go along. No point putting together some montrosity and then finding a part is broken. Much harder to diagnose faults on complicated & finished levels.

Include a "risk and reward" strategy for players.

Alternate the terrain level, this keeps it interesting for players.

Ensure your aware of how the different switches work, experiment with these because they are the key to create devilish puzzles.

Use other games for level design ideas. If you have a Wii like me, reverse engineer some of the Super Mario World (SNES) levels to get a handle on quality level design.

Overall keep things simple !!!
 
Is there a simple way to make sure a bolt is centered on a wheel - i was making a sort of ski lift last night - basically a carriage with a switch hanging below 2 wheels - the 2 wheels are behind the level of the carriage so it can basically hang on to any surface and the wheels are rubber edged so it has good traction and can climb well.

The wheels are joined to a thin plank in front of them with motor bolts - the main difficulty i had was getting the bolts centred on the wheels when they were behind the plank.

Any ideas on a simple way to make sure the bolts are centered?
 
Is there a simple way to make sure a bolt is centered on a wheel

The wheels are joined to a thin plank in front of them with motor bolts - the main difficulty i had was getting the bolts centred on the wheels when they were behind the plank.

Any ideas on a simple way to make sure the bolts are centered?
I think that when you hover the bolt near to the centre of a circular object it snaps into place slightly so you should be able to do it ok if you line it up slowly, see that it 'finds' the centre then place it.
 
I think 2 things that really add polish to a level is the use of music cues, so your player gets to what you consider a hard part of your level - speed up the music make it a bit more intense.

and camera angles, the same rules of photography apply - if you want to make something appear powerful/daunting place the camera low looking up at the item/enemy. for something cute & friendly place your camera high looking down on the object.
 
I think 2 things that really add polish to a level is the use of music cues, so your player gets to what you consider a hard part of your level - speed up the music make it a bit more intense.

and camera angles, the same rules of photography apply - if you want to make something appear powerful/daunting place the camera low looking up at the item/enemy. for something cute & friendly place your camera high looking down on the object.


Bl00dy hell tonks you got a Cinematography degree or something? That's ace advice! :smashin:
 
Is there a simple way to make sure a bolt is centered on a wheel?

As said, the bolt should snap to the possible centre of the wheel, but you can also use the grid system in the settings. But this means moving the wheel and then the bolt to work right.

My tips for a really funky level is to get the hang of the emitters, key switches and sound effects. You can do basic forms of animation, as well as inlclude incredible detail in a level.

Also, to get the best out of stickers, make the object you want to decorate very large and then scale down. This allows for greater precision and makes your characters/vehicles/objects look outstanding.

Make your level attractive, nobody wants to play a bland level!

I just got the Platinum today! :)
 
For anyone wanting to create their own backgrounds, there is a "3D" glitch (also known as the 50 layer glitch, which basically lets you create extra layers (although Sackboy can still only walk between the main 3) in the background.
If you search for the 3D glitch level by thi776, you can pick up the shapes you need to be able to do it in his level. :smashin:
 
have seen many teleport lvls, is there a better way to make teleports than just moveing the life portal/what is the best way to move portals if this is the only way. thanks
 
have seen many teleport lvls, is there a better way to make teleports than just moveing the life portal/what is the best way to move portals if this is the only way. thanks

AFAIK the only way to do it is to move the checkpoint with a rapid movement, e.g. piston or strong push etc.
 
I connect all my portals to pistons, and above the portals, I put two lines of invisible dark matter (dark matter set to its' smallest size with no grid; only works in straight lines) This destroys portals.

That's probably not very clear, but basically, any time a portal is pushed through a space too small for it at a fast enough speed it will be destroyed.

Set the piston to .1 second to push the portal up past the dark matter and make sure the portal doesn't fit through the open space between the dark matter. When you reach the area in a level where you want to teleport, just throw down a sensor switch set to direction and connect it to every previous portal's piston in the level.

In other words destroy all previous portals at once. Your sackboy will automatically jump to the closest portal when you kill him even without being activated. (Not sure if there's an easier way, but that's how I do it.)
 

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