JACKALOTRUN'S PROFILE

So Deck, I went through your levels (which I had to check a couple of time, I believe you had six levels, correct?) and if I was to rate them from worst to best, they'd go:

6: Forest Temple

I'll start by saying that the Ocarina Temple music fits all of your temple levels perfectly, even the fire temple's which if you were to ask me prior, I would say that it wouldn't be a good match for an SMBX level

Also let me point out that I am by no means saying this level is bad in any way, shape or form, it is only the weakest when compared to your other levels, I actually hold this level in high regard

However the other temple levels all really manage to make a great identity for themselves, there's nothing objectively bad about the fact that this is a well designed SMB3 Dungeon level with vines thrown in, but it certainly isn't as memorable as your other temple levels

It's also worth noting I really appreciate the creativity that went into the falling ceiling area

5: Shroom Lake

This level is rediculously mellow and relaxing, the music was definitely the correct choice

This levels main gimmick is that it lets you pick if you want to go over the ground or underwater, over the ground is easier but the rewards are better where it's wet - which gives it a great feeling of risk vs reward, it also has an absolutely fantastic secret chain of events, assuming you find said cave first, you can backtrack slightly with a P-Switch to a massive blocked cave underwater and as long as you beat the obstacles fast enough, are rewarded with a hammer suit, keep that hammer suit from being taken before getting to the mandatory indoor area and you're rewarded with a 3up, excellent and well thought out

I do have some minor nitpicks with this level, mainly that it's quite short and that the transition between the relaxing outdoor music and drum-based indoor music can be a smidge jarring

4: Fire Temple

As I mentioned, if you'd have asked me prior to this level if you could make a good SMBX level based on the Fire Temple's music, I would at the very least have stressed the difficulty that would go into doing so, but this level nails a sense of desolation that goes really well with said music

The level looks nice and plays out like a mini-adventure, with callbacks to Ocarina of Time with saving the toads and collapsing the pillar, great level

3: Shadow Temple

The cave absolutely nails a dark creepy atmosphere that again, goes greatly with the shadow temple's music, the dark boos that are invisible when they're inactive were a great idea and the coin platform gimmick is used to great success, it also has some of the best pure, difficult yet fair platforming in the game

The level also does the tanooki suit great justice, with not one but two well made harder paths to acquire them and secrets being rewarded for those who are eagle eyed enough to spot potential secret paths with said suit

Again, I do have my nitpicks, I kinda wish that it was made more clear which paths where harder optional paths for tanooki suits and which paths where the primary paths and I think the change in aesthetic for the blood river, while not bad by any means, doesn't suit the level's feel as well as the main area does

2: Spirit Temple

This level looks and plays absolutely fantastic, SMBX is a very hard game to pull of scale in but you manage to make your temple here feel vast and atmospheric, the switch puzzle is great but the level really shines for the moving platform section just after, it looks so right and it plays just as well, definitely one of the best levels this game has to offer

1: Water Temple

This level has a water temple puzzle, I love it, it's not stupidly complicated without being braindead, it certainly doesn't sacrifice platforming or visuals as both are equally fantastic, the way the puzzle encompasses the level, should you be struggling - means it becomes easier to concentrate as you lower the enemy count which means players who don't get it off the bat don't have to keep worrying about the horde

It also has a great, unique bossfight with an ace dynamic arena and fair yet challenging attack patterns, seriously - this is one of the best levels in the game

Now see, there's a reason I like to dance around my words when I record, and often try and correct myself if I feel I judge too harsh so lemme set a few things straight here

For starters, yes - I was tired while playing, editing and uploading, this may have caused me to be less careful about my words and I obviously am not going to blame anyone for that

Let me be clear that when I said I held you responsible for the level kicking the bejesus out of me I was joking - I'm not going to point fingers because waaaaaaaah level hard, I knew it was a hard level going in, however I will accept that, quite clearly, I should've stopped at an earlier point as my patience did in fact clearly get the better of me

Look, you're defending your creation here and I respect that, but please do not gauge my ability as a gamer as the right to whether I am allowed to criticise work, yes I was impatient and clumsy but that does not mean that I don't have a right to state my opinion as much as you have a right to defend your work

Hali, you have, as head judge, created a game here with an incredible array of interesting levels created by a large array of talented hobbyist game designers - your final level is fine, incredibly tight and well designed and at no point is it unfair or ugly, but after a game of incredible looking levels, to have the final stage, the pinnacle, be aesthetically something that has been in every SMBX game I've ever played multiple times isn't going to be all that interesting to look at, I didn't make the level so I don't know why I am expected to understand why you went for a universal tileset without it being told to me prior

Quite frankly actually, the level itself is a near-perfect refinement of the SMW castle if you ask me, genuinely the best SMW Castle stage I have EVER played, and that is not hyperbole, small sections that play off their specific gimmicks in a great way that means the level does not fall flat at any point and the multi-stage boss fight is great too

I think in my excitement to actually finish this 5 year project of mine, I recorded when I really shouldn't have, I should've waited until a day when I was more alert and awake

I actually have episode 24 rendering now, but I feel as if I need to note a few things first

A) It's an hour
B) I get really annoyed doing the final level so I've had to replace a good section of commentary with music because no-one wants to hear me cuss at the top of my lungs a lot
C) I start, but fail to complete, the final boss
D) The next episode, for the fact explained above is most certainly the finale

author=halibabica
Also, meant to say sooner that I read your blog entry and it's really sad to hear you've had such a rough time of things. I hope you're able to get your life back on track soon.

Also, also, meant to say sooner, appreciate it - sounds like my first recording session will be monday not next week - week after, so I'm hoping to have some content up that evening

Now I've been planning on working on an SMBX project, I've only really worked in the massive SMBX collabs before and thus only really used SMBX 1.3, now I'm aware that there are now different versions and editors available to me and I have no idea which one to use

I have attempted to use PGE, but have no idea how to get it to load up SMBX graphics as it seems to be adamant upon using it's own and have very little knowledge of any extra features it may have beyond perhaps locking certain object-types from movement

I should also point out my knowledge of coding is limited to a basic understanding of Python, which I'd imagine is considerably different from the Lua I'm aware many of them have the ability to use