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

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Posts

Seiromem
I would have more makerscore If I did things.
6375
There, fixed it. And for the pow door, I made a layer of coins that point all the way back that appear when you hit the block that contains the P-switch.

Also, don't forget Plan Z!
Thank you Isrieri!
Oh, now I get what you mean by that koopa, IT MAKES PERFECT SENSE NOW!
Ratty524
The 524 is for 524 Stone Crabs
12986
So many green check marks. 8D
Updated level, hopefully final version.
Blobofgoo
Legs are a burden. Return to snek.
2751
Changes to DDD:
- Added some pits
- Added Bomb Bridge
- Took out fish room
- Restored firebar and added a powerup in those blocks

Changes to Meteor Fort:
- Added sizables
- Added enemies on those sizeables
- Changed boss layout
Solitayre
Circumstance penalty for being the bard.
18257
I made a Castle!

Forgotten Temple, probably only 1/5 difficulty.
Ratty524
The 524 is for 524 Stone Crabs
12986
author=Solitayre
I made a Castle!

Forgotten Temple, probably only 1/5 difficulty.

Look at you trying to compete for the Easiest Castle Award. :P
I'll have a test of Forgotten Temple...

Note 1# : Music isn't playing because you've typed in a very long name which is: Solitayre_ForgottenTemple/InPieces.mp3 scrap the first part before the slash.

Note 2# : I have one single nitpick with the level: those two black swoopers blend in with the background and it wasn't until they killed me I noticed them, make them a bit more visible.
I got something done again, so...
Yeah...
third times the charm?... or was this fourth.
I made something to replace the old boss, so I hope it's good enough.
Decky
I'm a dog pirate
19645
Oh no, I'm running out of time. :(

I will probably compete for the Easiest Castle Award as well.
Isrieri
"My father told me this would happen."
6155
WHY?! I was sincerely hoping you would use this event to make something with a bit more teeth.

Either way, remember: Tonight is only the deadline for submissions. You still have time to fine tune the level once you have the first draft down.
Blobofgoo
Legs are a burden. Return to snek.
2751
author=Isrieri
Either way, remember: Tonight is only the deadline for submissions. You still have time to fine tune the level once you have the first draft down.
How is this going to work? We have to delete submissions and then submit the new version. Won't RMN stop letting us submit period? We'll delete the level and then just be stuck from there, right?
Solitayre
Circumstance penalty for being the bard.
18257
I can change submission deadlines to whatever we want. Don't worry.
Isrieri
"My father told me this would happen."
6155
Well the event page will be down, yes. But it is only a page, after all. I still have to create the Game Page for Masterpiece Set, and we can all manage after-cutoff date stuff there if need be. Nevermind, Soli can do things, I forgot.

But that won't be an issue either way, since pretty much everyone's levels are now up to snuff!


@Solitayre

-Like Deckiller, I was kind of hoping you'd use this opportunity to make a tougher castle. But OH WELL.

-I really like the way the temple is shaped. All the walls are jagged.

-The section with the moving parts was the best part of the level. Not because you had moving layers, but because that spidey-thwomp was in a pleasantly tricky location!

-The only real gripe I have with this level is in Section 2: The enemies you have there are pretty ineffectual for even a level 1 castle, particularly the piranha plants. The whole section might as well not be there! I'd put some Roto-discs in place of the plants.

-I don't like how you changed birdo's egg effect. I know why you did it, but that sort of "help" irks the hell out of me.


@jackalotrun

-I think it's about done. The only gripe I have is that it's too irritating to make those jumps around the 3 platforms and buzzsaw going in-between them near the top (second buzzsaw, not the first). All you'd need to do is make each platform one block shorter than the last. Same with the final green platform, since if you get stuck in there you can glitch out and get stuck in the wall. Since it's such a small change, I can do that for you if you'd like. Otherwise I think the level's GOOD TO GO.


@apa649

-I tested your boss quite a few times looking for kinks. Couldn't really find any bugs. It works just like it's supposed to.

-I like how breaking some of the yellow blocks can slow the boss down for a while. Good idea!

-Although it's not necessary, I'd make that single brown block two tiles instead of just one. And to not have that single yellow block sticking up at the end of that line. It's not necessary because they don't affect the setup too greatly, but something in my gut tells me to do so.

-But I'm iffy with the donut blocks on the conveyer belt. The player may not jump on 'em or fail to realize their purpose. So if the boss turns around, you have to wait forever as he goes against the current of the belt. I'd just get rid of them, as I think it would be more exciting that way.

-I'm also don't know why the player has to be the one to fall down the pit to escape the boss. It adds a bit of needless walking. I would just have the boss die by falling into the pit down below. And then the player can walk right out to the exit. But since I have no clue how the boss dies when you fall into the pit, maybe it's more trouble than it's worth? I just don't like the idea of the boss dying offscreen for mysterious reasons: It takes you out of the action.

-Other than that, I declare the level READY. Probably a 3 on the scale.


@Blobofgoo
DEADLY DANGER DUNGEON

-At first I was thinking, "Where are those bridges?" but then I found them!

-The bridge section isn't too bad. I like what you did with it. I think the bombs come down a bit too quickly, but you don't have to change it. What I do think you should add are some coins in a few blocks, or even a powerup. It would neater that way.

-You can put dungeon blocks on the sides of the holes you have. So it doesn't look like the ends just got cut off.

-Still kind of long for how bland it is, but it's certainly better than it was before. I think it'll be alright to Approve as a level 1 castle.

METEOR FORT
-It's now pretty darn good! I don't have anything to add so I declare it READY AND DONE WITH. One question: Did you deliberately want the level to only have 2 powerups? If so, that's fine. But it'll bump the rating up to a 2.
I get you Isrieri but did you have to wait till I was tired...
NVM, I'll get on with it...
Ok, this is odd, I don't know if it's the computer or me but two odd and strange things seems to have happened...

a) The castle bricks seem to have darkened which I find kinda creepy
b) But the way the background has changed really has creeped me out
Yesterday when I looked it was white, with a slight bit of a line of a cloud in the background..
It's now just a sky with dark gray clouds in...
I'm just really confused...


I'm going to upload it separately to see if anyone else sees a difference
It's the 3rd version

I have 3 ideas

a) Someone or something has changed my graphics
b) Some update on my comp has changed it
c) I have been viewing it from a higher angle (don't see that happening though)
d) My memory just got worse
e) I have some weird eye illness
f) I'm losin it (Most likely)

Answer is: A
Someone has obviously turned my contrast down which made anything on my computer look darker. So now i'm confused: what DOES my background look like?
Solitayre
Circumstance penalty for being the bard.
18257
Isrieri
-The section with the moving parts was the best part of the level. Not because you had moving layers, but because that spidey-thwomp was in a pleasantly tricky location!

It actually ended up like that by accident, but when I tested it I decided I liked it better this way, where you have to get the timing just right.

author=Isrieri
-you changed birdo's egg effect.

I did?
Is Solitayre even capable of making a difficult SMBX level?
Isrieri
"My father told me this would happen."
6155
author=Solitayre
author=Isrieri
-you changed birdo's egg effect.
I did?

You didn't? Well someone did then: The egg is supposed to fall off the screen when it hits a wall. But here, it just disappears entirely. Hrm. Maybe that's how it was preset inside whatever folder you got the graphics from.

Also, when I said Section 2, I meant Section 3 with all the water. *shame*

author=kentona
Is Solitayre even capable of making a difficult SMBX level?

That's when you hire me on the project.
Decky
I'm a dog pirate
19645
Would anyone object if I make my level Monday, one day after the deadline?