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Details
Description
Isrieri's castle compilation in SMBX!
In anticipation of Super RMN World, I'm taking it upon myself to issue a call to all potential SMBX devs! Even if you've never touched the engine, now's the time to give it a shot!
~ The Rundown ~
There is no maximum number of participants: Anyone can join, even those who've had no experience with the SMBX engine. Consider this getting your foot in the door.
~ Projected Timeline ~
Sign-ups: 01/01/12 ~ 01/6/13
Development: 01/06/13 ~ 01/27/13
Judging & Compilation: 01/29/13 ~ 01/31/13
Release: 02/01/13
That's all tentative. I am the worst procrastinator.
~ Submission Prerequisites ~
- Make all levels in SMBX. (This is critical, people!)
- All levels should be compressed in ZIP folders. When saving your level, always put your name followed by the name of the level. For example: “yourname_levelname.lvl”
- Rate each submission on a scale of 1 to 5. Here are some vague words attempting to define each difficulty.
- 1) Mild
- 2) Tricky
- 3) Challenging
- 4) Tough
- 5) Endgame
- You must include one (and only one!) SMW Checkpoint within each level, as this is all SMBX will support.
- The level must end with a ? Sphere.
- Place both the Player 1 and Player 2 start locations.
- If you include a boss, you may use any but Mother Brain. But I encourage putting your focus into the actual level.
- No midbosses though.
- You must be able to clear the level without taking a hit.
~ Level Rules ~
- Castles are supposed to be challenging. That doesn't necessarily mean difficult. Try and stay within the precedent set in previous Mario games. The purpose of this project is to get the hang of challenging the player without frustrating them.
- We're going for quality over quantity here, so you may submit up to 3 levels total.
- You are not limited to staying within any of the “styles” the castles previous Mario games adhered to. Use them as guidelines, but don't be afraid to innovate. Have fun with it!
- You may use custom graphics and MP3s if you wish.
- The game will only utilize Mario and Luigi as characters, so don't make Peach or Toad levels.
- All water must be swimmable. Waterfalls must not be.
- An average castle should take no longer than 2 to 4 minutes to complete. (And no shorter than 1 minute)
- This will be a strictly one player game. You don't have to design your castle to support co-op.
- No secret stars.
- No dialogue! That means no message blocks, signs, or talking npcs!
- You must have at least one power
- up. Remember that the amount of power-ups and how you place them contributes greatly to the difficulty of a level.
- Use invisible blocks wisely. No putting them over pits or other nonsense of that sort.
~ Important Note ~
Remember that this is open to anyone who wishes to explore SMBX as an engine: I'd like to see a lot of new faces for the next RMN Bros! There's a lot of quirks to the editor that I neglected to explain, and so you'll probably have lots of questions. I refer you to these tutorials, but don't hesitate to post your question here. I don't know everything about SMBX, but I'll likely have the answers to any the questions you'll want to ask.
Details
- 01/02/2013 12:00 AM
- 01/31/2013 12:00 AM
-
Isrieri
Registration
You must be logged in to sign up for Castles- Masterpiece Set.
| Participants | Entries |
|---|---|
| kentona | |
| halibabica | |
| Davenport | |
| Desmo360 | |
| Zeuzio |
|
| Solitayre | |
| Ratty524 | |
| Decky |
|
| Otabo | |
| nin8halos | |
| pyrodoom | |
| Farlon303 | |
| Seiromem | |
| jackalotrun | |
| DarklordKeinor | |
| masterofmayhem | |
| apa649 | |
| Blobofgoo | |
| seena1379 |
|
| thatbennyguy |
|
| knight_D |
|
| christiannp |
|
| Entry Status Key | |
|
kentona_gatecrashers.rar
- Validating
- RejectedPosts 
Blobofgoo
View playlists
CloseNew Smbx Tutorial by me! Check it for how to make SMW swiinging platforms and ball n chains.
Just got home from a 12-hour shift. Will play new levels tonight. Will respond in-depth another day. Good night. ZZZZZZZ.
nin8halos
4375
Uploaded my third level and made very minor changes to Assault. I removed maybe 3 enemies. I don't think splitting it into two sections will make it work better, and from my past experiences, it tends to permanently screw up the block placement by shifting everything about half a tile. If there's anything else I need to change, let me know.
author=nin8halos
What the hell is a Funklen anyway?
Funklen is the name of my forest level in RMN bros 3.
It's basically a nonsense name derived from fungus.
Oh and thanks about Sand-Flow Fortress!
However, I just found out that FunKEln(Different from FunKLen) can mean "Brilliance" in German =o
Well Ratty, I can say a few things about Treestone tower.
I'm not going into extreme detail or anything, but it seems solid to me.
Those snifit graphics were both inventive and freaky. Seeing a venus plant wearing a snifit mask x.x And those snifit faced thwomps!
I would put it at 2.5-3.5 in terms of difficulty.
The music and background graphics worked well, and I like the premise of the dungeon!
I'm not going into extreme detail or anything, but it seems solid to me.
Those snifit graphics were both inventive and freaky. Seeing a venus plant wearing a snifit mask x.x And those snifit faced thwomps!
I would put it at 2.5-3.5 in terms of difficulty.
The music and background graphics worked well, and I like the premise of the dungeon!
Davenport
Hey dude. I have a new rule for your next levels.
No custom graphics. At all.
They are ruining your levels. If this event was to make the most abstract levels, you would be doing pretty well right now. But we're not. This event is for simple castle levels. They need to be simple and straightforward!
I thought Sky Temple was okay and could be modified to make a better castle. But then I played Mermaid's Castle. Davenport, you're just making the levels however you feel like making them. That's okay if you want to make them look unique, but it isn't what we're trying to do.
We need to focus on the design of the castle. That doesn't mean the architecture or how it looks, that means how fun and engaging the castle is for other people to play. And the two new ones you submitted aren't very fun or engaging for most people or me. Because they're so complex and don't exhibit a lot of tight or cohesive design. Not always though! Agony Castle is very good! That's your best level so far. It was straightforward, fun to play, and felt like you spent time working on it.
I can see that you're trying to make fun things for the player to do, but a lot of those things aren't good ideas. But you do have good ideas! I like the first part of Mermaid Castle. It's like being in a big fishbowl. And if you made the level more fun to play, I would have accepted it as a castle level. I also like how you placed the first key, so that it falls onto the piranha plant!
Your levels were interesting to look at, but I didn't like playing them. And that's because of the bad ideas in them. In Sky Temple, it isn't very clear the moving platform takes you up to the moving spike pillar, because the custom graphics on the ceiling don't look like you can jump through them. But all you would have to do to fix that is place some coins that lead up to it. In Mermaid's Castle, you have to go all over the place and look for keys and switch blocks to open doors. That's boring to have to do. And the custom graphics are confusing in the castle. I didn't know that you could pick up the brown bricks.
I think the reason there are so many is because you like to use lots of custom graphics. It's harder for me to help you make your levels better, because having so many different graphics means the whole level becomes complicated. When a level is complicated, it's harder to change.
I don't think Mermaid's Castle is worth trying to save. It's a great big mess right now, and it's easier to make a new level.
I like how Sky Temple looks. And I think it can be a good castle. But it needs to have a lot more work to fix it up. Like that big moving spike: You need to get rid of that, it was a bad idea to make it so long and make the player wait for it to go back and forth. Post a comment here and tell me if you want to keep working on Sky Temple, or if you just want to try again with a new level. I don't want you to go through a lot of effort if you don't think it will amount to anything. So if you want to keep working on it, I'll post more feedback for you later.
I think Agony Castle is ready to go, so it's approved!
By the way, I love the music in Sky Temple!
Otabo
nin8halos
Farlon303
seiromem
jackalotrun
I was thinking, you guys. Are we in agreement that a majority of enemies ought to be vulnerable to fireballs? I'm referring primarily to SMB2 enemies. Like shy guys and snifits. I didn't make it a rule because I was just going to do it myself when I compile the levels together. It really shouldn't matter whether they are or not, but I want to check in with all of you and hear your thoughts.
I just want all the checkpoints and powerups to look similar, so that there's no confusion whatsoever. It will make us all look more professional.
Hey dude. I have a new rule for your next levels.
No custom graphics. At all.
They are ruining your levels. If this event was to make the most abstract levels, you would be doing pretty well right now. But we're not. This event is for simple castle levels. They need to be simple and straightforward!
I thought Sky Temple was okay and could be modified to make a better castle. But then I played Mermaid's Castle. Davenport, you're just making the levels however you feel like making them. That's okay if you want to make them look unique, but it isn't what we're trying to do.
We need to focus on the design of the castle. That doesn't mean the architecture or how it looks, that means how fun and engaging the castle is for other people to play. And the two new ones you submitted aren't very fun or engaging for most people or me. Because they're so complex and don't exhibit a lot of tight or cohesive design. Not always though! Agony Castle is very good! That's your best level so far. It was straightforward, fun to play, and felt like you spent time working on it.
I can see that you're trying to make fun things for the player to do, but a lot of those things aren't good ideas. But you do have good ideas! I like the first part of Mermaid Castle. It's like being in a big fishbowl. And if you made the level more fun to play, I would have accepted it as a castle level. I also like how you placed the first key, so that it falls onto the piranha plant!
Your levels were interesting to look at, but I didn't like playing them. And that's because of the bad ideas in them. In Sky Temple, it isn't very clear the moving platform takes you up to the moving spike pillar, because the custom graphics on the ceiling don't look like you can jump through them. But all you would have to do to fix that is place some coins that lead up to it. In Mermaid's Castle, you have to go all over the place and look for keys and switch blocks to open doors. That's boring to have to do. And the custom graphics are confusing in the castle. I didn't know that you could pick up the brown bricks.
I think the reason there are so many is because you like to use lots of custom graphics. It's harder for me to help you make your levels better, because having so many different graphics means the whole level becomes complicated. When a level is complicated, it's harder to change.
I don't think Mermaid's Castle is worth trying to save. It's a great big mess right now, and it's easier to make a new level.
I like how Sky Temple looks. And I think it can be a good castle. But it needs to have a lot more work to fix it up. Like that big moving spike: You need to get rid of that, it was a bad idea to make it so long and make the player wait for it to go back and forth. Post a comment here and tell me if you want to keep working on Sky Temple, or if you just want to try again with a new level. I don't want you to go through a lot of effort if you don't think it will amount to anything. So if you want to keep working on it, I'll post more feedback for you later.
I think Agony Castle is ready to go, so it's approved!
By the way, I love the music in Sky Temple!
Otabo
OVERGROWN OBELISK
-I'd like a pipe that the bros Enter the level through. This is another castle that could use an outside entrance area, but I don't feel as strongly about it as with Underground Fortress.
-The monty moles are better! I was fine with the shy guys, but these hopping moles are better, I find.
-The level is also far less cluttered. It looks amazing now. Well done.
-I still think the fire flowers look tacky.
-I still think the Spike Tops should be red. I also think the sprinboards ought to be red too: To help them stand out against the cool darker colors of the level.
-I don't know about the big piranha plant at the start. I think you'd be better off just taking it out, and putting some floating SMB3 platforms where the egg blocks are. So that they can float in the water all pretty-like.
-Why'd you block off that one drain behind the checkpoint with blocks but not the one earlier?
-Still desperately needs secrets! That pipe with the venus plant after the springboard bit is a prime candidate for a bonus room. I also find that this level could really benefit from a stopwatch powerup. By which I mean, the stopwatch could be utilized well here.
-I like the platform falling into the spikes at the end: It killed me, but the level was short enough this time that it didn't bother me. I see rave reviews for this level now.
-I'd like a pipe that the bros Enter the level through. This is another castle that could use an outside entrance area, but I don't feel as strongly about it as with Underground Fortress.
-The monty moles are better! I was fine with the shy guys, but these hopping moles are better, I find.
-The level is also far less cluttered. It looks amazing now. Well done.
-I still think the fire flowers look tacky.
-I still think the Spike Tops should be red. I also think the sprinboards ought to be red too: To help them stand out against the cool darker colors of the level.
-I don't know about the big piranha plant at the start. I think you'd be better off just taking it out, and putting some floating SMB3 platforms where the egg blocks are. So that they can float in the water all pretty-like.
-Why'd you block off that one drain behind the checkpoint with blocks but not the one earlier?
-Still desperately needs secrets! That pipe with the venus plant after the springboard bit is a prime candidate for a bonus room. I also find that this level could really benefit from a stopwatch powerup. By which I mean, the stopwatch could be utilized well here.
-I like the platform falling into the spikes at the end: It killed me, but the level was short enough this time that it didn't bother me. I see rave reviews for this level now.
nin8halos
ASSAULT ON SKULL CASTLE
-I don't suppose there's anything we can do about how if you fall in the pits halfway through, you just fall into space? I know those gaps are there to save memory and reduce lag, which I heartily approve of. So I'm more than willing to overlook it.
-I noticed a glitch with the checkpoint: The bottom right background tile won't appear for some reason when you playtest the level. Maybe it has a lower priority?
-I now agree about leaving it one big section. I am simply biased.
-Still as good as I remember it.
WILY HEART
-No Mega Man 10 music?! Seriously, the Wily music in that game is kickass.
-Wow those thwomps are in some rough spots. Fantastic! The first one surprised me because it blends in so well with the level tiles. You could make them more noticeable by recoloring them red, but I imagine their current color was intentional.
-I love the elevator. But I have a minor gripe with it. It's possible formegaman I mean Mario to get crushed if he's standing on top of a spike when he reaches the floor. I can't think of a workaround though.
-This level punishes hasty twitch-control players like myself. I got my ass handed to me, so it's difficult for me to place this. It was a 3 or 4 for me, but I imagine it's a 4 or 5 for everyone else.
-I have no clue how you pulled off an elevator that goes up and transitions into an area at the bottom of the map.
-Just a nitpick here: There's a block at the “top” of the elevator that is a quarter of a tile too high, and so I kept getting stopped when I moved forward. Only fix it if it's worth bothering with. It may be more trouble than it's worth, I dunno.
-The cannon-dudes have a very light box surrounding their sprites. That's only the case in this level, they're fine in Assault.
-How do you get that 1up on the ledge? Leaf? Or is there another way?
-I got on Farlon about this: The player should only be able to enter pipes that have flat ground before them. I'm referring to the tanooki room entrance. Set it up so the player can hop up there a little easier.
-The Wily fight is deceptively simple. The hardhats are in the prime trajectory to nail you if you aren't careful. Funny story: When I first played the level I did it without sound, so I had no clue if I was hitting him. Made me laugh when I figured out what you did. Well done.
-I don't suppose there's anything we can do about how if you fall in the pits halfway through, you just fall into space? I know those gaps are there to save memory and reduce lag, which I heartily approve of. So I'm more than willing to overlook it.
-I noticed a glitch with the checkpoint: The bottom right background tile won't appear for some reason when you playtest the level. Maybe it has a lower priority?
-I now agree about leaving it one big section. I am simply biased.
-Still as good as I remember it.
WILY HEART
-No Mega Man 10 music?! Seriously, the Wily music in that game is kickass.
-Wow those thwomps are in some rough spots. Fantastic! The first one surprised me because it blends in so well with the level tiles. You could make them more noticeable by recoloring them red, but I imagine their current color was intentional.
-I love the elevator. But I have a minor gripe with it. It's possible for
-This level punishes hasty twitch-control players like myself. I got my ass handed to me, so it's difficult for me to place this. It was a 3 or 4 for me, but I imagine it's a 4 or 5 for everyone else.
-I have no clue how you pulled off an elevator that goes up and transitions into an area at the bottom of the map.
-Just a nitpick here: There's a block at the “top” of the elevator that is a quarter of a tile too high, and so I kept getting stopped when I moved forward. Only fix it if it's worth bothering with. It may be more trouble than it's worth, I dunno.
-The cannon-dudes have a very light box surrounding their sprites. That's only the case in this level, they're fine in Assault.
-How do you get that 1up on the ledge? Leaf? Or is there another way?
-I got on Farlon about this: The player should only be able to enter pipes that have flat ground before them. I'm referring to the tanooki room entrance. Set it up so the player can hop up there a little easier.
-The Wily fight is deceptively simple. The hardhats are in the prime trajectory to nail you if you aren't careful. Funny story: When I first played the level I did it without sound, so I had no clue if I was hitting him. Made me laugh when I figured out what you did. Well done.
Farlon303
CASTLE CRASH
I hadn't realized that you used the World of Nothing music for the castle areas, but that's actually worse than the SMB3 music you had! I know, I know. I'm being really picky here. But trust me, music is a very important aspect of level aesthetics: When people here that “clickity-clack” noise at the beginning of the audio track it will put them off and think less of your level. You can just go back to the SMB3 default music or use a different track. I recommend this one. I'll change the updated level's status to Accepted once you're done. Sorry for not doing a more thorough test. :(
I hadn't realized that you used the World of Nothing music for the castle areas, but that's actually worse than the SMB3 music you had! I know, I know. I'm being really picky here. But trust me, music is a very important aspect of level aesthetics: When people here that “clickity-clack” noise at the beginning of the audio track it will put them off and think less of your level. You can just go back to the SMB3 default music or use a different track. I recommend this one. I'll change the updated level's status to Accepted once you're done. Sorry for not doing a more thorough test. :(
seiromem
SANDFALL FORTRESS
This level is excellent now. Only two things.
-There's a donut block in Section 1 that still spawns into being that you need to fix.
-You missed the fire-spitting torch at the end.
Once those are patched, I declare this READY.
FUNKLEN TOMB
-The shadow temple music doesn't fit with this level...okay it does, actually. But it's the SHADOW TEMPLE, dude. People will think it's weird even though it does fit. I recommend this track in it's place.
-I dig the shell getting kicked into the first ? Block. As well as the hole you can hide in. The coins are a bit misleading, most people will think they're a trail to jump on the first guy. Get rid of those and just stick some elsewhere.
-You went a little overboard with the pipe corridors. Having two almost back-to-back is a bit bland. If you can come up with something else for the second corridor at the bottom instead of piranhas I encourage it, but I recognize that's kind of the “theme” of this area.
-The powerup above the ! Blocks looks too glitchy for my tastes. Move it to the left side, replacing that branch in the wall. Make the other branches ? Blocks with coins in them too.
-All those pipes and not a one you can go into! I have a good idea: Put ! Blocks in front of the pipe that takes you to the checkpoint. Have some of the pipes (particularly the ones with no piranha plants) Take you to the other end of the same pipe. So that way you can go up and down the section. Bear in mind that you can't have the player come out a pipe if it has one of those plants that chomp downward. They don't work right and the player could get hit cheaply.
-This way you add an element of maziness and non-linearity to your level. Not really, of course. But it creates the illusion of it, which is just as potent. It also solves my gripe about the surprise pit: The player can see it beforehand and know that it's there. This will make your level more memorable.
-Good job with the second section. And with placing that first shellkicker dude at the start so we see they'll be the theme of this part.
-Make that 1up visible. You can mislead them into trying and get it from the platform instead of hopping on the podoboo, which they won't be able to do. And it seems to much to put it over a fireball like that and making it invisible on top of it.
-Good setups with all the shells.
-The powerups here NEED to be fire or ice flowers. Something other than mushrooms.
-This area also needs a bonus area of some sort. A hammer suit would be the prime thing to give the player. Let them wreck the place, this is a good level for that.
-I'd take out that venus plant in the pipe corridor.
-At the end of the corridor, get rid of the hopper plant and the donut bridge and move the exit closer. That corridor is more than enough.
-Once those changes are implemented, I think this will be a 3 or 4.
This level is excellent now. Only two things.
-There's a donut block in Section 1 that still spawns into being that you need to fix.
-You missed the fire-spitting torch at the end.
Once those are patched, I declare this READY.
FUNKLEN TOMB
-The shadow temple music doesn't fit with this level...okay it does, actually. But it's the SHADOW TEMPLE, dude. People will think it's weird even though it does fit. I recommend this track in it's place.
-I dig the shell getting kicked into the first ? Block. As well as the hole you can hide in. The coins are a bit misleading, most people will think they're a trail to jump on the first guy. Get rid of those and just stick some elsewhere.
-You went a little overboard with the pipe corridors. Having two almost back-to-back is a bit bland. If you can come up with something else for the second corridor at the bottom instead of piranhas I encourage it, but I recognize that's kind of the “theme” of this area.
-The powerup above the ! Blocks looks too glitchy for my tastes. Move it to the left side, replacing that branch in the wall. Make the other branches ? Blocks with coins in them too.
-All those pipes and not a one you can go into! I have a good idea: Put ! Blocks in front of the pipe that takes you to the checkpoint. Have some of the pipes (particularly the ones with no piranha plants) Take you to the other end of the same pipe. So that way you can go up and down the section. Bear in mind that you can't have the player come out a pipe if it has one of those plants that chomp downward. They don't work right and the player could get hit cheaply.
-This way you add an element of maziness and non-linearity to your level. Not really, of course. But it creates the illusion of it, which is just as potent. It also solves my gripe about the surprise pit: The player can see it beforehand and know that it's there. This will make your level more memorable.
-Good job with the second section. And with placing that first shellkicker dude at the start so we see they'll be the theme of this part.
-Make that 1up visible. You can mislead them into trying and get it from the platform instead of hopping on the podoboo, which they won't be able to do. And it seems to much to put it over a fireball like that and making it invisible on top of it.
-Good setups with all the shells.
-The powerups here NEED to be fire or ice flowers. Something other than mushrooms.
-This area also needs a bonus area of some sort. A hammer suit would be the prime thing to give the player. Let them wreck the place, this is a good level for that.
-I'd take out that venus plant in the pipe corridor.
-At the end of the corridor, get rid of the hopper plant and the donut bridge and move the exit closer. That corridor is more than enough.
-Once those changes are implemented, I think this will be a 3 or 4.
jackalotrun
AIR FORTRESS
-Rename the level Cyclone Citadel instead.
-The version I downloaded didn't have the P1 start position moved back. So be sure to move it back to the start!
-I like the level much better than you had it before. But I still think the level looks really flat and boring: You and pyrodoom have a similar problem, where you only make flat ceilings and walls. It would really help (especially in the firebar room!) to have bumpier ceilings. Kind of like how you added that little bump to the entrance area to make it less flat.
-Actually, that entrance could use a ceiling too: Add some clouds up above to make it feel more like it's inside a huge cloud or storm. Bumpy ceilings! Don't just add a line and use “Fill!” Really make it feel like a huge cloud with a fort on the inside.
-The music isn't playing in the level. Filename problem? Or do you have it in the level folder? It should be in whatever directory the actual level is in.
-The firebars are much better than what you had in your first draft. You still need to change them back to the normal red kind. They shouldn't fit the level because the level is mostly white! They should stick out like sore thumbs!
-I don't really get why you used a different background in the entrance than the rest of the level.
-The first room could still use a little more stuff in it. The clouds are nice, but you need some ledges on the walls. They're too flat as they are. If you have to expand the Left and Right level borders to make some intersting wall areas, you ought to. If you can think of neat ideas while you're revising, try it out!
-You can change the layout of the room, for instance. Move some powerups around, take out some ? Blocks. Or maybe keep some ? Blocks and add some more enemies in there like hovering koopas or whatever else you think would be good. We're getting there!
-You're probably sick of hearing this by now, but there are some spots where you don't have the clouds filled in all the way or the wrong tiles. Look carefully over the first room and fix those.
-Don't use the big red boss doors unless there's a boss in the next room. Just use the SMB3 or SMW doors instead.
-You should add “0” fireballs to your firebars: The 0 one shouldn't move and needs to go on the center of all the empty coin blocks. This isn't really a big deal, but it shows attention to detail.
-Why does the first room have a big ol' hole in the wall near the bottom? Put something there.
-Cut back on some of the firebars on the floor in the bottom 2 corridors. They're a but much at the moment. What difficulty were you going for again? I forget.
-The checkpoint room is still boring. It's just a box!
-The switch blocks are a much better idea than the banzai bills! They're like Beat Block galaxy. But right now you aren't using them as well as you could be.
-That red coin shouldn't trigger the blocks. The koopa should. Go to the koopa's Events tab and have him Activate...uhm....
-Yeah you really need to name your Events. Right now you just have “New Event” for everything so I have no clue what does what. Click the koopa and have him “Activate” whatever event starts the switch blocks going.
-You shouldn't have made staircases like that. Because the blocks switch on and off so much, there's a good chance the player can get stuck inside one of the staircases when they turn on. It's more annoying to have to climb stairs too. You should just make them flat platforms. 2 blocks or 3 blocks wide.
-Same problem with that one yellow switch Block in the corner. The player could stand inside that and get glitched.
-Replace those two bullet bills with a buzzsaw on a track. Make sure it's moving left like the bullets did.
-I like that setup you have right above the bullets. But the staircase problem again! Actually, you should just take those lower green ones out and make them regular platforms of some kind.
-The homing koopa isn't in a very good spot, and he wasn't a good idea either: You ought to take him out and do something else with all that empty space on the left side of that part. That whole left side is empty! Rework it to use more of the space. Maybe have random switch platforms that allow the player to go up the left and right side? I dunno.
-But now that you have a nifty switch block tower, you are now much better off without a boss. Mouser wasn't really all that great anyway, and because it takes so long to go up the tower, it would really be a pain to die at the boss and have to do it all over again. Get rid of him and make that the ? Room (make it fancier!)
-Rename the level Cyclone Citadel instead.
-The version I downloaded didn't have the P1 start position moved back. So be sure to move it back to the start!
-I like the level much better than you had it before. But I still think the level looks really flat and boring: You and pyrodoom have a similar problem, where you only make flat ceilings and walls. It would really help (especially in the firebar room!) to have bumpier ceilings. Kind of like how you added that little bump to the entrance area to make it less flat.
-Actually, that entrance could use a ceiling too: Add some clouds up above to make it feel more like it's inside a huge cloud or storm. Bumpy ceilings! Don't just add a line and use “Fill!” Really make it feel like a huge cloud with a fort on the inside.
-The music isn't playing in the level. Filename problem? Or do you have it in the level folder? It should be in whatever directory the actual level is in.
-The firebars are much better than what you had in your first draft. You still need to change them back to the normal red kind. They shouldn't fit the level because the level is mostly white! They should stick out like sore thumbs!
-I don't really get why you used a different background in the entrance than the rest of the level.
-The first room could still use a little more stuff in it. The clouds are nice, but you need some ledges on the walls. They're too flat as they are. If you have to expand the Left and Right level borders to make some intersting wall areas, you ought to. If you can think of neat ideas while you're revising, try it out!
-You can change the layout of the room, for instance. Move some powerups around, take out some ? Blocks. Or maybe keep some ? Blocks and add some more enemies in there like hovering koopas or whatever else you think would be good. We're getting there!
-You're probably sick of hearing this by now, but there are some spots where you don't have the clouds filled in all the way or the wrong tiles. Look carefully over the first room and fix those.
-Don't use the big red boss doors unless there's a boss in the next room. Just use the SMB3 or SMW doors instead.
-You should add “0” fireballs to your firebars: The 0 one shouldn't move and needs to go on the center of all the empty coin blocks. This isn't really a big deal, but it shows attention to detail.
-Why does the first room have a big ol' hole in the wall near the bottom? Put something there.
-Cut back on some of the firebars on the floor in the bottom 2 corridors. They're a but much at the moment. What difficulty were you going for again? I forget.
-The checkpoint room is still boring. It's just a box!
-The switch blocks are a much better idea than the banzai bills! They're like Beat Block galaxy. But right now you aren't using them as well as you could be.
-That red coin shouldn't trigger the blocks. The koopa should. Go to the koopa's Events tab and have him Activate...uhm....
-Yeah you really need to name your Events. Right now you just have “New Event” for everything so I have no clue what does what. Click the koopa and have him “Activate” whatever event starts the switch blocks going.
-You shouldn't have made staircases like that. Because the blocks switch on and off so much, there's a good chance the player can get stuck inside one of the staircases when they turn on. It's more annoying to have to climb stairs too. You should just make them flat platforms. 2 blocks or 3 blocks wide.
-Same problem with that one yellow switch Block in the corner. The player could stand inside that and get glitched.
-Replace those two bullet bills with a buzzsaw on a track. Make sure it's moving left like the bullets did.
-I like that setup you have right above the bullets. But the staircase problem again! Actually, you should just take those lower green ones out and make them regular platforms of some kind.
-The homing koopa isn't in a very good spot, and he wasn't a good idea either: You ought to take him out and do something else with all that empty space on the left side of that part. That whole left side is empty! Rework it to use more of the space. Maybe have random switch platforms that allow the player to go up the left and right side? I dunno.
-But now that you have a nifty switch block tower, you are now much better off without a boss. Mouser wasn't really all that great anyway, and because it takes so long to go up the tower, it would really be a pain to die at the boss and have to do it all over again. Get rid of him and make that the ? Room (make it fancier!)
I was thinking, you guys. Are we in agreement that a majority of enemies ought to be vulnerable to fireballs? I'm referring primarily to SMB2 enemies. Like shy guys and snifits. I didn't make it a rule because I was just going to do it myself when I compile the levels together. It really shouldn't matter whether they are or not, but I want to check in with all of you and hear your thoughts.
author=pyrodoom
You noticed how I wanted to make my level SMB3 styled, right? So, I'd be happy to find SMB3 styled checkpoints
I just want all the checkpoints and powerups to look similar, so that there's no confusion whatsoever. It will make us all look more professional.
author=Isrieri
seiromemSANDFALL FORTRESSThis level is excellent now. Only two things.
-There's a donut block in Section 1 that still spawns into being that you need to fix.
-You missed the fire-spitting torch at the end.
Once those are patched, I declare this READY.
FUNKLEN TOMB
-The shadow temple music doesn't fit with this level...okay it does, actually. But it's the SHADOW TEMPLE, dude. People will think it's weird even though it does fit. I recommend this track in it's place.
-I dig the shell getting kicked into the first ? Block. As well as the hole you can hide in. The coins are a bit misleading, most people will think they're a trail to jump on the first guy. Get rid of those and just stick some elsewhere.
-You went a little overboard with the pipe corridors. Having two almost back-to-back is a bit bland. If you can come up with something else for the second corridor at the bottom instead of piranhas I encourage it, but I recognize that's kind of the “theme” of this area.
-The powerup above the ! Blocks looks too glitchy for my tastes. Move it to the left side, replacing that branch in the wall. Make the other branches ? Blocks with coins in them too.
-All those pipes and not a one you can go into! I have a good idea: Put ! Blocks in front of the pipe that takes you to the checkpoint. Have some of the pipes (particularly the ones with no piranha plants) Take you to the other end of the same pipe. So that way you can go up and down the section. Bear in mind that you can't have the player come out a pipe if it has one of those plants that chomp downward. They don't work right and the player could get hit cheaply.
-This way you add an element of maziness and non-linearity to your level. Not really, of course. But it creates the illusion of it, which is just as potent. It also solves my gripe about the surprise pit: The player can see it beforehand and know that it's there. This will make your level more memorable.
-Good job with the second section. And with placing that first shellkicker dude at the start so we see they'll be the theme of this part.
-Make that 1up visible. You can mislead them into trying and get it from the platform instead of hopping on the podoboo, which they won't be able to do. And it seems to much to put it over a fireball like that and making it invisible on top of it.
-Good setups with all the shells.
-The powerups here NEED to be fire or ice flowers. Something other than mushrooms.
-This area also needs a bonus area of some sort. A hammer suit would be the prime thing to give the player. Let them wreck the place, this is a good level for that.
-I'd take out that venus plant in the pipe corridor.
-At the end of the corridor, get rid of the hopper plant and the donut bridge and move the exit closer. That corridor is more than enough.
-Once those changes are implemented, I think this will be a 3 or 4.
This level is excellent now. Only two things.
-There's a donut block in Section 1 that still spawns into being that you need to fix.
-You missed the fire-spitting torch at the end.
Once those are patched, I declare this READY.
FUNKLEN TOMB
-The shadow temple music doesn't fit with this level...okay it does, actually. But it's the SHADOW TEMPLE, dude. People will think it's weird even though it does fit. I recommend this track in it's place.
-I dig the shell getting kicked into the first ? Block. As well as the hole you can hide in. The coins are a bit misleading, most people will think they're a trail to jump on the first guy. Get rid of those and just stick some elsewhere.
-You went a little overboard with the pipe corridors. Having two almost back-to-back is a bit bland. If you can come up with something else for the second corridor at the bottom instead of piranhas I encourage it, but I recognize that's kind of the “theme” of this area.
-The powerup above the ! Blocks looks too glitchy for my tastes. Move it to the left side, replacing that branch in the wall. Make the other branches ? Blocks with coins in them too.
-All those pipes and not a one you can go into! I have a good idea: Put ! Blocks in front of the pipe that takes you to the checkpoint. Have some of the pipes (particularly the ones with no piranha plants) Take you to the other end of the same pipe. So that way you can go up and down the section. Bear in mind that you can't have the player come out a pipe if it has one of those plants that chomp downward. They don't work right and the player could get hit cheaply.
-This way you add an element of maziness and non-linearity to your level. Not really, of course. But it creates the illusion of it, which is just as potent. It also solves my gripe about the surprise pit: The player can see it beforehand and know that it's there. This will make your level more memorable.
-Good job with the second section. And with placing that first shellkicker dude at the start so we see they'll be the theme of this part.
-Make that 1up visible. You can mislead them into trying and get it from the platform instead of hopping on the podoboo, which they won't be able to do. And it seems to much to put it over a fireball like that and making it invisible on top of it.
-Good setups with all the shells.
-The powerups here NEED to be fire or ice flowers. Something other than mushrooms.
-This area also needs a bonus area of some sort. A hammer suit would be the prime thing to give the player. Let them wreck the place, this is a good level for that.
-I'd take out that venus plant in the pipe corridor.
-At the end of the corridor, get rid of the hopper plant and the donut bridge and move the exit closer. That corridor is more than enough.
-Once those changes are implemented, I think this will be a 3 or 4.
Sand Flow Fortress
-Alright, The few things that slipped under the edit radar have been found! The one generating block, and that one fireball spitter.
Funklen Tomb
As I suspected, there were many problem I could not see myself!
Let's get down to it....
an important thing to me was the music change! Shadow temple was a good choice, but I like yours too, and it less creepy than the shadow temple, and my level was not all that creepy.
-Some of your suggestions made absolutely no sense to me. Not that they were bad ideas, just that I didn't understand a word you said.
For Example...
author=Isrieri
-All those pipes and not a one you can go into!Alright, I can add some... I have a good idea: Put ! Blocks No such thingin front of the pipe that takes you to the checkpoint. 'Kay Have some of the pipes (particularly the ones with no piranha plants) Take you to the other end of the same pipe.Wouldn't that just let you completely skip a majority of it? So that way you can go up and down the section. Bear in mind that you can't have the player come out a pipe if it has one of those plants that chomp downward. They don't work right and the player could get hit cheaply. it would be cheeap.
There are some parts of this I don't understand at all, and wouldn't agree with. Maybe I'm being dense.
-The 1-up is tricky enough, I can make it visible.
-The power ups can be made into the flowers, though I'll be spreading them more thin (Not that much)
-I'm not all that creative with bonus areas, but I'll see what I can do.
-Hammersuit? Fine, but that secret will be trickier because of the All mighty-ness of the hammer suit.
-Too generic, which venus plant? The first or second one?
-I'll shorten it up if you wish it.
(These changes have not been made yet)
Sand-Flow Fortress Officially updated!
nin8halos
4375
author=Isrieri
ASSAULT ON SKULL CASTLE
-I don't suppose there's anything we can do about how if you fall in the pits halfway through, you just fall into space? I know those gaps are there to save memory and reduce lag, which I heartily approve of. So I'm more than willing to overlook it.
I'm not entirely sure what you mean, but if you're talking about the giant empty space below those pits, I have many carefully placed invisible friendly Goombas that readjust the level borders so that the bottom of the screen is actually higher once you reach the area before those pits. Even if you manage to fly way above. And there are more invisible friendly Goombas that restore the original borders if the player backtracks. So it's not even noticeable.
author=Isrieri
-I noticed a glitch with the checkpoint: The bottom right background tile won't appear for some reason when you playtest the level. Maybe it has a lower priority?
Yeah, it does seem to have lower priority. I'd consider that a flaw in the program, since obviously you'd always want the checkpoint graphics to appear in front of anything else. I could fix it by merging the two into one background tile.
author=Isrieri
WILY HEART
-No Mega Man 10 music?! Seriously, the Wily music in that game is kickass.
I'll consider it. I'm not actually too happy with the music in this level, but it's all I could find. And I'm surprised how lame all the Wily boss music is.
author=Isrieri
-Wow those thwomps are in some rough spots. Fantastic! The first one surprised me because it blends in so well with the level tiles. You could make them more noticeable by recoloring them red, but I imagine their current color was intentional.
I actually recolored those from red-orange to gray because it fit better with the level. I can change them if they're not conspicuous enough.
author=Isrieri
-I love the elevator. But I have a minor gripe with it. It's possible for megaman I mean Mario to get crushed if he's standing on top of a spike when he reaches the floor. I can't think of a workaround though.
That's one of those lovely SMBX quirks that we can't do anything about. Fortunately, the player will be avoiding those spikes anyway.
author=Isrieri
-This level punishes hasty twitch-control players like myself. I got my ass handed to me, so it's difficult for me to place this. It was a 3 or 4 for me, but I imagine it's a 4 or 5 for everyone else.
As long as there isn't anything unfairly difficult about it, that's fine. I intended for this to be the most challenging of my levels anyway.
author=Isrieri
-I have no clue how you pulled off an elevator that goes up and transitions into an area at the bottom of the map.
The elevator doesn't move up. The walls, spikes and coins move down. That way I could keep the entire level one screen high.
author=Isrieri
-Just a nitpick here: There's a block at the “top” of the elevator that is a quarter of a tile too high, and so I kept getting stopped when I moved forward. Only fix it if it's worth bothering with. It may be more trouble than it's worth, I dunno.
The downside to the elevator trick is that I couldn't get the walls to stop in a position perfectly even with the rest of the level's blocks. That's the best I could do. A minor problem considering how well the rest of it worked out. It does kinda suck though.
author=Isrieri
-The cannon-dudes have a very light box surrounding their sprites. That's only the case in this level, they're fine in Assault.
I didn't even notice. I'll have to fix that. If they look fine in Assault, that means the background there just makes their sprite box unnoticeable.
author=Isrieri
-How do you get that 1up on the ledge? Leaf? Or is there another way?
Leaf.
author=Isrieri
-I got on Farlon about this: The player should only be able to enter pipes that have flat ground before them. I'm referring to the tanooki room entrance. Set it up so the player can hop up there a little easier.
I can move the pipe back a tile.
author=Isrieri
-The Wily fight is deceptively simple. The hardhats are in the prime trajectory to nail you if you aren't careful. Funny story: When I first played the level I did it without sound, so I had no clue if I was hitting him. Made me laugh when I figured out what you did. Well done.
I'm thinking about adding cracks, like the glass normally gets when you damage it. Shouldn't be too hard; these are 8-bit graphics I'm dealing with.
Otabo
1758
author=Isrieri
OtaboOVERGROWN OBELISK
-I'd like a pipe that the bros Enter the level through. This is another castle that could use an outside entrance area, but I don't feel as strongly about it as with Underground Fortress.
(The pipe can be arranged, but I don't know about an outside area entrance.)
-I still think the fire flowers look tacky.
(Can change those back no problem.)
-I still think the Spike Tops should be red. I also think the sprinboards ought to be red too: To help them stand out against the cool darker colors of the level.
(I'm taking all the Spike Tops out, to be honest, and by all, I mean all 2 of them. Springboards can change no problem. though.)
-I don't know about the big piranha plant at the start. I think you'd be better off just taking it out, and putting some floating SMB3 platforms where the egg blocks are. So that they can float in the water all pretty-like.
(I disagree. I mean I want to have something growing out of the water, but actually, I might switch out the big pirahna plant for a normal sized one instead (not the fire-spitting kind like the ones at the end of the level). Shouldn't be too bad because the player can just easily shoot it with a fireball - if someone loses their fire flower power-up before that point, I don't know what to say. The platforms I can dig, however. But to match the style of the level, I'll make them the blue YI platforms instead. Those wooden ones aren't going to work.
-Why'd you block off that one drain behind the checkpoint with blocks but not the one earlier?
(It was something I forgot to take out a long time ago.)
-Still desperately needs secrets! That pipe with the venus plant after the springboard bit is a prime candidate for a bonus room. I also find that this level could really benefit from a stopwatch powerup. By which I mean, the stopwatch could be utilized well here.
(Maybe I could work in a bonus area, but I disagree about the stopwatch though, that kinda takes away a bit of what little challenge this level has, IMO. To be honest, I never liked using stopwatch powerups/grey P-switches in SMBX because they're so cheap. I loathe stopwatches almost as much as hammer suit.
-I like the platform falling into the spikes at the end: It killed me, but the level was short enough this time that it didn't bother me. I see rave reviews for this level now.
(Dunno when I'll get to update my levels though, if at all. Gonna be busy, so unless I get some time with SMBX, I'll just have to make do with what's here currently. Can't promise anything.)
author=Isrieri
I was thinking, you guys. Are we in agreement that a majority of enemies ought to be vulnerable to fireballs? I'm referring primarily to SMB2 enemies. Like shy guys and snifits. I didn't make it a rule because I was just going to do it myself when I compile the levels together. It really shouldn't matter whether they are or not, but I want to check in with all of you and hear your thoughts.
YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!!
PS: On a side note, check out this guys castle level on youtube. Yes, it's made with SMBX.
http://youtu.be/sJuOneOlZG0
@seiromem: I definitely intended for the snifit graphics to be kind of quirky. Glad you like it. :)
I didn't even realize we had so much time with this collab until today.
nin8halos
4375
author=Isrieri
I was thinking, you guys. Are we in agreement that a majority of enemies ought to be vulnerable to fireballs? I'm referring primarily to SMB2 enemies. Like shy guys and snifits. I didn't make it a rule because I was just going to do it myself when I compile the levels together. It really shouldn't matter whether they are or not, but I want to check in with all of you and hear your thoughts.
You probably already know my opinion on this, but to restate, YES.
Davenport
5200
Thanks for all the feedback :D.
I want to continue my efforts on improving sky castle,
a unique level with good potential.
I want to continue my efforts on improving sky castle,
a unique level with good potential.
Submitted version 2 of Treestone Tower. I modified the second tree trunk section a little, removing the line of snifits and replacing it with a corridor-based section, and touched up the visuals a bit. I also reworked the thwomp section to be a bit more challenging. In the first section I also added a tanooki suit powerup as sort of a hidden bonus, accessible only if you are racoon mario and a curious player, just as a means of rewarding exploration.
Aside from this, what comments do you guys have on the third versions of my other two levels?
Aside from this, what comments do you guys have on the third versions of my other two levels?
Submitted version 2 of Desert Palace, replacing the music, changing some things to make it more interesting, and changing the checkpoints. Plus I added a little trick that I learned lately, because I can, so you don't forget your mushrooms! The Boos may be a pain if you aren't good at dodging, but there should only be 2 Boos on screen at most.
A few things though, that part I think Isreirei said was interesting is kind of buggy. I didn't change it though, because he liked it. Just mention that if you kill one of the Koopa and the Pokey is near the ledge, he can drop on you, or block your way forcing you to jump into him. Another thing is the first door. If you carry an item through the door into the pyramid, it will disappear. I believe this is because you can't carry an object that didn't exist in that section, to that section, so it becomes non-existent. I made sure that NPCs weren't blocked, so that isn't it.
I'd have to say it's a 2.5 or a 3, no further above. :3
A few things though, that part I think Isreirei said was interesting is kind of buggy. I didn't change it though, because he liked it. Just mention that if you kill one of the Koopa and the Pokey is near the ledge, he can drop on you, or block your way forcing you to jump into him. Another thing is the first door. If you carry an item through the door into the pyramid, it will disappear. I believe this is because you can't carry an object that didn't exist in that section, to that section, so it becomes non-existent. I made sure that NPCs weren't blocked, so that isn't it.
I'd have to say it's a 2.5 or a 3, no further above. :3
Farlon303
127
author=Isrieri
Farlon303CASTLE CRASH
I hadn't realized that you used the World of Nothing music for the castle areas, but that's actually worse than the SMB3 music you had! I know, I know. I'm being really picky here. But trust me, music is a very important aspect of level aesthetics: When people here that “clickity-clack” noise at the beginning of the audio track it will put them off and think less of your level. You can just go back to the SMB3 default music or use a different track. I recommend this one. I'll change the updated level's status to Accepted once you're done. Sorry for not doing a more thorough test. :(
Alright I like this music you suggested! Much more suitable the the World of nothing so I've changed it and re-submitted!
author=nin8halos
I have many carefully placed invisible friendly Goombas that readjust the level borders
...oh. I never fell in those pits, I just noticed it in the editor.
author=Ratty524
On a side note, check out this guys castle level on youtube
Meh. You guys are making better castles.
author=Davenport
I want to continue my efforts on improving sky castle
I'll try and post some feedback by tonight. But I'm busy today so no promises.
author=pyrodoom
If you carry an item through the door into the pyramid, it will disappear.
There is a button to allow items through doors. When you go to the Warps & Doors tab, there is a button that says "No NPCs" and by clicking No before placing the door you can let the player carry stuff through it.
author=seiromemauthor=Isrieri
-All those pipes and not a one you can go into!Alright, I can add some... I have a good idea: Put ! Blocks No such thingin front of the pipe that takes you to the checkpoint. 'Kay Have some of the pipes (particularly the ones with no piranha plants) Take you to the other end of the same pipe.Wouldn't that just let you completely skip a majority of it? So that way you can go up and down the section. Bear in mind that you can't have the player come out a pipe if it has one of those plants that chomp downward. They don't work right and the player could get hit cheaply. it would be cheeap.
-! Blocks are those switch blocks. The blue ones you have in the level. Put some to block off the pipe that leads to the checkpoint.
-It could potentially let you skip a little of it. But that's not a terrible thing: Keep in mind that not everyone will check these pipes for secrets since it's an entire corridor of piranhas. I just thought it would be good to connect the pipes that go through the whole floor.
author=Isrieri
-! Blocks are those switch blocks. The blue ones you have in the level. Put some to block off the pipe that leads to the checkpoint.
Oh, that, right.
It's irrelevant anyways, I'm remodeling the tomb. no new challenge or gimmick or anything, just with the pipes branching off to different paths that ultimately come together. Nothing expansive, just like you said, an Illusion of it.
EDIT: I got a run time error for dividing by Zero (No idea where) O.o
