JACKALOTRUN'S PROFILE

author=pyrodoom
BTW, to whoever told me to replace Jelectros with Amps, I don't think Amps exist in SMBX.

author=Isrieri

author=jackalotrun
As for the Banzai Bill part, I won't scrap it yet, but I was thinking of adding a large array of springs and firebars to aid and hinder the player.

That won't help: The problem isn't that it is too tough, but that it's boring and no fun. All this tower consists of are platforms that slowly take you up, and some very difficult Banzai bills to dodge. It's way too easy to fall back down the tower, and you should've have used Banzai bills anyway. But most importantly: It goes on for too long, so it gets boring. You can't make something tricky if it isn't engaging and fun for the player at the same time, otherwise they'll ask "Why am I doing this? This is dumb!" and get frustrated. You could make something much better than that.

So you must scrap that part. I wouldn't tell you to do it if I thought it could be salvaged. Adding some firebars is a good idea, use a section with some of those instead of the Banzai tower. Firebars in the first section won't work well because the area's too big.

Note: Firebars work best when the player can plan around them. They're a lot trickier than roto-discs, and so when placing them remember to put them places the player can see them well.

Oh! If you want that music track's MP3 I can get it for you. Just say the word.

author=Isrieri
jackalotrun

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Air Fortress
My big beef with this is that it doesn't feel like a castle: The first reason is that there's too much cloud and not enough brick. It feels like a sky level. The second reason is that the beginning isn't particularly engaging, in fact its a bit of a snore. This is a problem.

And the part with the Banzai Bills is terrible. Falling back down the tower you're trying to climb up is an interesting, if unintuitive, idea. But I don't think it's executed well here. The Banzai Bills aren't timed well enough with the platforms, and so it gets immensely frustrating to dodge them. Plus it's basically filler material. It goes on for way too long and isn't engaging in the slightest. That whole section needs to be scrapped.

So those are the big things that need to be fixed: Find some graphics that can help make this level look more appealing, and more like a castle! Make the first room a little more interesting. And make a room or two that make up for the Banzai tower.

-I think one of the things you need to work on is what I told pyrodoom: You're trying to make the rooms too big. That first room is already huge, and you don't do much with the empty space. Try and make the next section(s) a bit smaller: Don't even touch the Top or Bottom boundaries unless you must.

-You NEED to lower the Top boundary in the first room. The level boundary should be five blocks high from the coin blocks by the door. Enough room for a 3-4 tile ceiling. Don't put a brick ceiling up there though! Use the cloud tiles instead: This first section can be your “outside” area. The later sections can be the “inside” and use more bricks.

-I know you were looking for a good "sky" music track, but the one you have now just seems sort of meh. I think this would be better.

-Those cloud thingies everyone's talking about probably just need to be slowed down. A lot. They should probably be moving at a speed of 0.5. Maybe then it will be more obvious you have to duck.

-The 1ups aren't placed very well. No one will ever get them, because it isn't worth it to try. The hammer suit though, that's in a good spot!

-The beginning is fantastic buildup. Make sure to have just as good a payoff!

-Don't be afraid to get rid of some things, like those 1ups, and replace that stuff with something else. No, I don't mean the blocks, I mean all the stuff around it. The clouds, the enemies. Retool the level to make it more interesting to play through. Like adding some hovering koopas or goombas.

-Under no circumstances whatsoever should you have a cannon that shoots homing koopas.

-Under no circumstances should you use homing enemies unless you know how hard they are: They're like bloopers. They are a foil to Mario's controls.

-The midpoint room could be a bit bigger. Some ? Blocks maybe? You could also mix the cloud tiles and the brick tiles together.