So the non-disclosure agreement has finally lifted for us on the LittleBigPlanet 2 beta. We can talk about it. But what to say? First things first, it’s very much like LittleBigPlanet. It hasn’t changed too much that you won’t recognise it. In fact, without the bounce plates (like Sonic’s springs) in the first level, you could be forgiven for thinking that you were still playing the first game. It’s got the same adorable aesthetic, the same floppy controls and the same quiet madness that permeated Sackboy’s first outing.
There are a very limited selection of three levels to play from once the game has finished importing your stuff from your LBP save (it even keeps your pod looking like… well, your pod) but they do serve to show off some of the new features and award you with plenty of materials with which to start your own creations.
Creation is where the beta really sets its stall. The first LBP had a comprehensive and complicated set of create tools which were, for the vast majority of players, too much. For every person that got comfortable with the creation tools there were ten or twenty (or a hundred) that just couldn’t find the time and commitment required to learn how to build decent contraptions and put them together into a good level. For every decent level there were a hundred with the sole purpose of grabbing trophies and a thousand which were unfinished, broken messes.
I had assumed that Media Molecule would try to simplify that in the sequel. I was eager to see how they had managed to include more options and give creators more tools whilst also making it accessible to a wider audience. I had assumed that they would take some cues (in return) from ModNation Racers and include some kind of idiot proof quick build components. They haven’t.
If the beta is anything to go by, Media Molecule has just added more tools, more options, more everything. It’s not less complicated, it’s more so. This is not, in itself, a bad thing. The mind boggles at what some of the master creators will do with all of these tools but for the vast majority of people who purchase this game it will probably be a case of playing the best of the levels that others create, if you can find them.
Let’s take a look at some of the tools. The first level introduces those bounce plates or “jump pads” as well as the grappling hook which is picked up like a jetpack and can be used to grab the sponge materials that Sackboy could always grab. The difference is that the grappling hook grabs from a distance and can be used to swing in that floaty Sackboy way we’re all used to. Jump pads can be used (and are) to thump your Sackboy around the level like he was in a pinball machine.
There’s a factory level which introduces Sackbots which follow you when you rescue them. You have to guide your new acolytes through hazards to safety, it’s like Flicky on the Mega Drive. The AI isn’t the most complex you will ever encounter but these cursory introductions do serve to hint at what some creators will be doing with the tools in the months after the game’s release.
Finally, there is a level set on a spaceship which serves to show how the gravity in the game can be altered. There are puzzle aspects to this and the controls change so that Sackboy’s floppy hopping becomes sweeping leaps which a certain Italian plumber would be proud of.
The tool set is larger and more complex. Those who make themselves familiar with it will, no doubt, be capable of great things. This has always been the case with LittleBigPlanet. Whether that means that the create mode will remain prohibitively difficult to crack the surface of is the burning question. If nothing else, those of you without the time to create masterful levels of your own should be able to enjoy the more complex tools via the fruits of other’s hard labour.
teflon
I think the crucial point is that quite a few of the new tools are there to make things a lot simpler. Logic, for example, you now pick the logic you want, plug in your switches, plug in your output and you’re away.
Much much much simpler than creating several blocks with magnetic switches on and then having them on pistons etc. etc.
So /some/ things are simpler, and then they’ve added several layers of extra stuff for you to play with. Hurrah!
LBP2 will be awesome.
BalramRules
im just LOVIN da logic gatez =D
TSBonyman
And, Or, Nand, Nor .. that type of logic gate? If so that sounds cool.
Tanzil
Although I wasn’t that good at creating, it was a lorra fun. Looking forward to this, the new layer of creatability will be something to experiment with
doby
Yeh the tool set has definitely been expanded although they have tried to simplify where possible, e.g the mover and rotator tools that dont require specialised boltage. Also you can now peer behind exsisting layers so building a level has become less linear.
Its funny how the NDA is lifted before the US beta, coincidence i think not! :p
BalramRules
lbp2 iz just FAB! =D
SpikeyMikey23
whats with the spelling fella? iz can be spelt properly with no extra effort. I forsee the end of novels and decent literary pieces within the next 100 years, coz evry1 spks lik dis! innit.
tantalus_blank
I was relieved they decided to go the route they did as opposed to the Modnation route. There’s no other game anything like LBP, so it’d be a shame to turn it into something so accessable that it just becomes average and easily forgotten. If they can make the game more accessable without compromising freedom then I’m all for it
Rocket_345
Didn’t get into the geta but from what most people on here have said the creation is no easier than the first one so i think that leaves me out. I can already see a palce in the forums for a TSA boosting thread if there are any creation trophies.
Rocket_345
*beta
Rocket_345
*place* stupid phone with its samll buttons
Rocket_345
ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH *SMALL*
SpikeyMikey23
lol just give it up dude, smash the phone!
Rocket_345
Tempting but im not halfway through my contract yet so i can’t change my phone and i don’t have no money to buy a new one so im stuck with it for another year.
kevatron400
Interesting. I loved the create mode in lbp1. Don’t have access to the beta for 2, but it sounds really exciting. Yes it’s more complicated, but like others have said, some bits are easier than before (logic gates) and although I was proud of my random lightning machine using pistons and magnetic switches, it took me bloody ages, and didn’t even make it into a published level. I honestly do think that it could speed up the level creation process.
Can’t wait for the game, and can’t wait for the tsa competitions!
recommended4u.co.uk
Given this game is basically Littlebigplanet 1.5 the only thing that would have convinced me to get it was if they had simplified the creation tools. I won’t be rushing out to get this now and will probably pick it up when it inevitably drops to around £10 in after a few months like the first one did.