Description

WHAT IS THIS?
Super RMN World 2 is a collaborative effort to make a solid Mario game in SMBX. It's the latest in the RMN Bros. series that has run on this site over the years. Unlike previous events, this project is more organized to produce a cohesive result. Even so, all users of RMN are welcome to participate! No past experience necessary! I'm your gracious host, halibabica, and I'll be overseeing the whole thing.



THE STORY
The Mario Bros. are on vacation with Peach in Yoshi's Archipelago, a group of exotic islands far from the Mushroom Kingdom. Of course, wherever they go, trouble quickly follows. Bowser and his Koopa army crash the party and kidnap the princess! The brothers' mission is clear, but something seems off about Bowser'whatever may be, there's work to do! Mario and Luigi hop right to it with the help of the princess' devoted bodyguard, Agent Toad!



WHAT YOU NEED
To participate, you need only make stages in SMBX and submit them. There are some rules, though. Please read the following before diving in.

  • You need Super Mario Bros. X to make your levels.
  • You need to save your levels in this folder. Put it in SMBX's 'worlds' folder and save your levels inside. It contains resources that will be standard for the project.
  • Levels must be created for this event. Don't submit preexisting work!
  • You may use custom graphics and music, but be sure to put them in a folder with the same name as your level. This graphics pack may be useful.


Once you have the engine and the standard resources, you're ready to start! However, for your stages to be accepted, the following must be adhered to.



SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
As this game is intended to feel like a legit Mario title, there must be some consistency in the levels. For this project, you will need:

  • 1 middle ring; the checkpoint for your stage. It's the sparkly ring in the SMW NPC tab. You can't use more than one due to engine limitations, so place it wisely!
  • 5 smiley flowers; these replace dragon coins. They're also on the SMW NPC tab and your stage needs exactly five of them. They must all be obtainable in one go through the level. The debugger can tell you how many you used. For technical reasons, they must all be on the Default layer.
  • 1 end goal roulette; this gate marks the end of the stage. It's on the SMB3 NPC tab, and jumping through it ends the level. The player automatically walks to the right and off-screen when they touch it, so every level must end going to the right.


These objects will only appear if you save your level in the Super RMN World 2 folder. Include them in your stage, and beyond that, the sky's the limit! Or is it?



ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES
This game is themed around Yoshi, and SMBX has a wide variety of them. Each island has its own theme, too. Your stages need to match the themes of the islands they're being made for. The difficulty should be relative to the island's order in the game. Each island also has its own color of Yoshi, so any you include should match, and you're encouraged to use them!

  • You may only submit one stage to each island.
  • You must be able to complete each level while riding Yoshi. This means no ladders required for progress or jumps where you must ditch Yoshi. This includes boss stages (more on this later).



WIsland NameThemesYoshi
1Green Grass Islandgrass/woodGreen
2Deathly Desert Islandsand/ghostsYellow
3Giga Growth Islandplants/giantsPink
4Molten Mine Islandcave/lavaPurple
5Slip Drip Islandwater/iceLight Blue
6Sky High Islandcliffs/cloudsDark Blue
7Pyre Fire Islandfire/wastelandRed
8Brain Drain Islandpipes/factoryBlack

About boss stages, you're allowed to make them, but their rules differ slightly. Each island can only have one boss and one mini-boss. Boss stages should end with the boss room instead of the end goal roulette. Due to post-production event handling, you don't need to include an exit; the stage will end when the fight is over. Boss stages still need to be thematically appropriate and have 1 middle ring and 5 smiley flowers. The player should be able to beat the boss while riding Yoshi. The boss stages of islands 7 and 8 are reserved for story purposes.




GENERAL GUIDELINES
I know, I know, we're almost there. In addition to all of the above, please keep the following in mind:

  • Try to stick with one art style for your level. Don't mix SMB3 and SMW koopas/coins/etc.
  • Don't let mushrooms from blocks escape off nearby screen edges.
  • Since stages must end with the end goal roulette, all other exit types are banned.
  • The SMW Bowser statue and SMB3 Lakitu are banned for their quirkiness. Use the SMB3 Bowser statue and SMW Lakitu instead!
  • No swimmable waterfalls. These should be for aesthetic use only.
  • Stages must be two-player compatible. Include both player start positions and ensure the stage is passable more than once. Basically, avoid scenarios that could trap the 2nd player.
  • Prevent no-win situations. If the player isn't dead, they should still be able to complete the stage.
  • Avoid single-tile gaps. The player wall-zips if they stand up in a short passage. This can break the game sometimes, so use caution!





LEVEL FEEDBACK
'HALI THERE ARE TOO MANY RULES I HATE THIS'
I know the rules are extensive, but we're aiming to make this the best episode yet. Don't fret if you can't remember it all. As you submit your stages, I'll be reviewing them and providing feedback. You will be expected to use it to make revisions. Failure to do so may result in your levels being altered post-production, or denied completely! Users are encouraged to test each other's levels. Every bit of feedback helps!



TIMELINE
Submissions will be open for all of July. Afterward, there will be a two-week period where revisions can still be made (but no new submissions). Then the gates will shut and the rest of the game will be processed by yours truly. It will take time, but it will get done.

If you have any questions, please ask! I hope we can build a fantastic new RMN World together!

Details

  • 07/01/2016 12:00 AM
  • 08/15/2016 11:59 PM

Registration

You must be logged in to sign up for Super RMN World 2: Yoshi's Archipelago.

Participants Entries
kentona
Davenport
Jparker1984
Solitayre
Ratty524
outcry312
nin8halos
Bart_Sol
pyrodoom
Seiromem
jackalotrun
Blobofgoo
Animebryan
lonestarluigi
Jalex
TungerManU
NeverSilent
Illy
Frozen
Fflo
El_WaKa
Frogge
Punkitt
Thunder176
Kloe
KuraiYukiChan
eric00051
Entry Status Key
  • - Pending
  • - Validating
  • - Accepted
  • - Rejected

Posts

halibabica
RMN's Official Reviewmonger
16873
from Ratty524
> I guess Pink Yoshi can go in there. I just sort of feel like it makes the level too much of a cakewalk.

> I'm not sure if splitting the stage into two sections would work without destroying the autoscroll. Doesn't the way autoscroll work in SMBX is that only the first section can autoscroll?

> As for the beginning with power-ups, I did place those there in case there is a 2P. What were your thoughts on that reasoning again?
> It's W3. It's probably harder without Yoshi.

> You're right, SMBX can only have one auto-scrolling section. What I meant is that the second half of the stage would not be scrolling anymore. You'd auto-scroll to the pipe I mentioned and come to a checkpoint in a normal section on the other side.

> We're aiming to be compatible with 2P, not catering to it. I expect 99% of players will not have a local friend to play with. We're just making sure the game isn't broken for that 1%.
Ratty524
The 524 is for 524 Stone Crabs
12986
author=halibabica
You're right, SMBX can only have one auto-scrolling section. What I meant is that the second half of the stage would not be scrolling anymore. You'd auto-scroll to the pipe I mentioned and come to a checkpoint in a normal section on the other side.

I'm not particularly keen on this as it may have a risk of breaking the pace of the level in a weird way. I think I'll try condensing the level if the primary issue is that it goes on for too long.

Otherwise I'm okay with everything else.
Bouncy Bouncy was traumatizing.


Not the level.
The fallout.
Ratty524
The 524 is for 524 Stone Crabs
12986
I think I was one of the few people who wholly enjoyed Bouncy Bouncy, despite being a bit long for an autoscroller.
The biggest problem with Bouncy Bouncy was that you couldn't make the roof would bounce you down and have a segment where you bouncy up and down at maximum velocity.
halibabica
RMN's Official Reviewmonger
16873
from GreatRedSpirit
The biggest problem with Bouncy Bouncy was that you couldn't make the roof would bounce you down and have a segment where you bouncy up and down at maximum velocity.

Nah, the biggest problem was that dying at any point ruined literally everything. But I'll agree with this statement anyway. :3

from Ratty524
I'm not particularly keen on this as it may have a risk of breaking the pace of the level in a weird way. I think I'll try condensing the level if the primary issue is that it goes on for too long.

That's the thing, though, it may feel TOO condensed if you try to fit it all in the auto-scroll section. Would it really be so bad for the second part of the stage to play out normally?
Ratty524
The 524 is for 524 Stone Crabs
12986
author=halibabica
from Ratty524
I'm not particularly keen on this as it may have a risk of breaking the pace of the level in a weird way. I think I'll try condensing the level if the primary issue is that it goes on for too long.
That's the thing, though, it may feel TOO condensed if you try to fit it all in the auto-scroll section. Would it really be so bad for the second part of the stage to play out normally?

Yes, because suddenly changing the entire flow of a level, once a certain pace is already established through autoscrolling, is always going to be jarring to some degree. Like, even though I enjoyed the level overall, I kind of felt the same thing when I played an auto-scrolling city level from Super RMN World 2. It was like a core gimmick of the level was awkwardly thrown out. It could just be me, though.

Maybe a better compromise would be to remove autoscrolling altogether and make the level a "no turn back" level? I think it would bring the same kind of challenges as the autoscroll while allowing checkpoints and the player to go at their own pace.
Thanks for the feedback. Updates complete.
I need me some feedbackZ!>@>!@>!@!@> HALI WHY U NO FEEDBACK MY LEVEL!

I'm kidding! no I'm not
Even more Super RMN World 2 level feedback:

Green Thumb (W3) by jackalotrun:
The watering block making the mushroom platforms grow is an interesting gimmick, but you shouldn't be able to see the platforms through the ground (not sure if this can be help though). I don't like blind jumps like the one before the 2nd flower. The player needs to be able to see where he's landing or have some guidance on where to land.

The watering block right after that is also messed up. I couldn't throw the ice block into the block after one try with the paratroopa. I actually thought I was stuck with no way to activate it until I let go of a ice block & watched it glide along the bottom of the screen. That mushroom platform should be visible for that type of action because world 3 is too early of those type of 'blind faith' shenanigans.

I also felt cheated for not getting enough time to grab that last flower. Btw, what was the deal with that sign above the pipe? It looked like Samus' helmet or something.


Tempest Valley (W1) by pyrodoom:
Aww! You butchered the secret room (sad face). The new entrance to that path allows the player to circumvent most of the level though, not a good idea. Maybe have them exit back out closer to where the entrance was.


The Grand Pyramid (W2) by Blobofgoo:
No different than the 1st version. Mid-point still is too close to the end of the level instead of the halfway point.


Twilight Desert (W2) by Davenport:
Putting a spark in a bonus room is so uncool. As far as that red coin & lotus flower above the spikes go, you should at least get rid of that wood background behind the spikes. I didn't even realize they were spikes until I hoped down there after taking the lotus flower out. Why is the camel killable? Heard a 'Zelda' sound collecting a few of the flowers. And why aren't the goombas (resprited dry bones) edible?

The place where you get yoshi, I broke all of the blocks before the pipe & had no way to get over the pipe without ditching yoshi. You should make 1 of those lower blocks a coin or power-up block so you can hop onto it & the yoshi block to clear the pipe




Greenwood Forest (W3) by Davenport:
Nice background & music. Brown donut platforms don't fall like they're supposed to. Also, for the love of god!, why do you have a Keyhole secret exit in this level!?


Ice Valley (W5) by Davenport:
What's with the glitchy 'A' coin? You're supposed to use the Yoshi's Island Flowers! Those weird looking penguins have a black shadow visible when they revert to a shell form. The player also can't reach the yoshi (which is the wrong one BTW). I noticed that the level design is mostly identical to the 4th Special World level 'Awesome' from Super Mario World.


Blazing Inferno (W7) by Davenport:
You're power-up blocks shouldn't have just mushrooms! They should be either fire/ice flowers or leaves. Those new little grey rocks just took out a boulder that I was gonna ride & caused me to fall into the spikes!

The fact that you added a not so hidden pathway above the start of the level to circumvent the main part of the level, plus the grey rocks knocking out the boulders that are NEEDED to get over the spikes makes me think that you're either trolling or your level designing skills are getting worse. This level is so bad that I refused to complete it. I just hope Hali can salvage it.


Tokotoko Desert (W2) by Frozen:
When a player is in a quicksand pit, their jumping height gets nerfed, so its important to make the walls/edges of your quicksand pit low enough for them to escape, because I couldn't get out of this one:



Also, for a world 2 level, trapping the player in a quicksand pit while venus fly traps snipe you is pretty cheap (because avoiding a fireball AIMED DIRECTLY AT YOU is hard to avoid when your movement & jumps are being hindered). I was guaranteed to lose my yoshi every time I fell into quicksand (plus I think being on a yoshi gives you a slightly bigger hitbox).


Still working on my boss level for world 3, Naval Piranha's Bog. Working with the resources is a pain & I have to redo sprites & stuff. Also, is it possible to replace sound effects just like with graphics? Because after seeing how Davenport is replacing sonic rings for YI red coins I figured that the sonic ring sound doesn't fit & should be replaced with the actual YI red coin SE along along with the 'All red coins collected' SE as well. I'll be sure to provide feedback for some of the newer levels as well.
halibabica
RMN's Official Reviewmonger
16873
from Ratty524
Yes, because suddenly changing the entire flow of a level, once a certain pace is already established through autoscrolling, is always going to be jarring to some degree. Like, even though I enjoyed the level overall, I kind of felt the same thing when I played an auto-scrolling city level from Super RMN World 2. It was like a core gimmick of the level was awkwardly thrown out. It could just be me, though.
I'm sorry if it feels unnatural to you, but the structure of this game isn't very conducive to pure auto-scroll stages. The engine's limitations are to blame for this one. If you're unsure about it, give kentona's Ghost Coast stage a try. In the end, do whatever you feel makes the stage the best it can be for the project's purposes.

@AnimeBryan: it's impossible to replace sound effects without copying over them in the engine files.
Ratty524
The 524 is for 524 Stone Crabs
12986
author=halibabica
from Ratty524
Yes, because suddenly changing the entire flow of a level, once a certain pace is already established through autoscrolling, is always going to be jarring to some degree. Like, even though I enjoyed the level overall, I kind of felt the same thing when I played an auto-scrolling city level from Super RMN World 2. It was like a core gimmick of the level was awkwardly thrown out. It could just be me, though.
I'm sorry if it feels unnatural to you, but the structure of this game isn't very conducive to pure auto-scroll stages. The engine's limitations are to blame for this one. If you're unsure about it, give kentona's Ghost Coast stage a try. In the end, do whatever you feel makes the stage the best it can be for the project's purposes.

Fair enough, in regards to kentona's level...

Ghost Coast
- I still hold my opinion that a level that goes from autoscrolling to suddenly not autoscrolling is jarring. The second section is both your shortest and weakest, too, as most of your space is taken up by water with a lot of nothing in it.

I think the sudden change of pace could work, however, if done in the following way: Make your second section take place in like, an actual ghost house or something that completely changes the environment you're in. That way, the broken flow of the level wouldn't break the suspension of disbelief so hard.

- I think this is a bit too hard for World 2. Yoshi definitely makes it easier, but the screen still manages to get cluttered with enemy projectiles that still feels a bit overwhelming, despite me being able to clear through it first go. I'd tone it down a bit by maybe limiting some of the cannons or Rocky Wrenches used.

+ Other than that, I liked the level overall.
halibabica
RMN's Official Reviewmonger
16873
Dude...how can you recommend that? Don't you think the complete change of level style would be at least as jarring as suddenly being able to control the screen? I'm pretty sure there are some canon Mario stages where some sections auto-scroll and others don't. I really don't get the trouble you're having here.
Frogge
I wanna marry ALL the boys!! And Donna is a meanc
18536
I don't exactly know if I'm skilled enough to do PSA's but I think I should point one thing out anyway--

Frogge PSA

-Levels shouldn't require you to spin jump, carry objects and/or walk on spikes to beat. These can work for bonuses, but remember that some players may not know about these features. Personally when I started playing Mario I had no idea you could grab anything, let alone spin jump. I think it's better to avoid making these mandatory and just use them for bonuses if possible. If this is a stupid thought, please tell me >.<
Ratty524
The 524 is for 524 Stone Crabs
12986
author=halibabica
Dude...how can you recommend that? Don't you think the complete change of level style would be at least as jarring as suddenly being able to control the screen? I'm pretty sure there are some canon Mario stages where some sections auto-scroll and others don't. I really don't get the trouble you're having here.
Oh definitely, but at least then the change of style would feel more "justified" as you are entering a new area with different architecture/hazards, whereas not changing the setting at all just feels as if there is an aspect to the level that's completely missing.

EDIT @Frogge: Not a bad point, but maybe that can be alleviated with a tutorial level or something at the start. I feel like, in general, if your level has a specific gimmick to make it work, you should explain it in some form regardless of the difficulty you are aiming. That can be done by careful level design or even just putting a speaker box/npc that tells you these things.
author=Frogge
I don't exactly know if I'm skilled enough to do PSA's but I think I should point one thing out anyway--

Frogge PSA

-Levels shouldn't require you to spin jump, carry objects and/or walk on spikes to beat. These can work for bonuses, but remember that some players may not know about these features. Personally when I started playing Mario I had no idea you could grab anything, let alone spin jump. I think it's better to avoid making these mandatory and just use them for bonuses if possible. If this is a stupid thought, please tell me >.<

I'm pretty sure anyone who's going to play a Mario fangame probably knows about basic Mario features like that.. I think there's a fine line between making stuff that's too mechanics abuse-y for a Mario-like game and just having boring generic Mario levels with no interesting tricks to show off people's creativity and that's probably going too far in my opinion.

Not that all true Mario-like levels are boring, but I think spicing your level up a bit is okay, no?
Blobofgoo
Legs are a burden. Return to snek.
2751
I would support a tutorial level. Although maybe tone it down from the one you made in the pit. I think rmn bros 3? It was very good, but also had a lot of techniques that never came up in the game.
Solitayre
Circumstance penalty for being the bard.
18257
Yeah spin jumping and item carrying are basic Mario functionality.

For something a bit more esoteric like walking on spikes, there are creative ways you could hint at this.
Blobofgoo
Legs are a burden. Return to snek.
2751
Spin jumping on grinders and thwomps is not canon. Learned this with super Mario maker. The tutorial should accentuate differences between smbx and traditional Mario rather than explain every aspect of every possible level.
Solitayre
Circumstance penalty for being the bard.
18257
author=Blobofgoo
Spin jumping on grinders and thwomps is not canon.


Agreed, but I think its okay to hide secrets this way. (Within reason, if you need to ride a buzzsaw for three screens I'm going to yell at you)