Now that I had the opportunity to watch the majority of your stream, I must thank you for playing my level despite being not regularly submitted due to way too different time zones. Also, nice video: several interesting / good levels
(the one with no music was quite strange and terrifying at the same time :lol)
I´ve just uploaded a new level: RtDL8: Forest of Delusion (681F-0000-00CA-FC09)
Usually I put a lot of powerups in my levels and try to keep instant death situations to a minimum, but for this level Evil Correojon has taken over XD
This is a sort of trolling level, but all deaths are avoidable if you proceed with care and take a good look at your surroundings before attempting anything. When in doubt, just assume the worst and you´ll prevail.
Please tell me your opinion about it, I´m pretty sure this won´t be a popular level online, but I had great fun designing it and would love to hear people´s reactions.
I usually HATE troll levels when I encounter them, but I guess I'm more forgiving if I actually search for them instead of getting stuck on them in 100 mario :/
Not my fav out of your levels, I mean the level in the tree was all kinds of fantastic.
However you kinda warn the players that they're not going to get what's expected right at the start.
You should have thrown a curveball at the end where the actual obvious path is not a troll just to throw the player off.
Good use of that one bug, the false ending actually made me laugh out loud!
The fake boss with the actual boss after was a genius idea
All in all a very good level.
to the point that my SO tried it and while a little confused could progress by making educated guess, although the jump at the start was evil for people not used to Mario World.
New level :
Magician's Trap : 9182-0000-00CE-843A
This one proved to be a bit tricky to make it work reliably.
I think it's overall fair but a little on the hard side, people here should have no problem I think.
Not many secrets, I hope the path is straightforward enough.
tell me what you think Gaf.
I have another level or 2 nearly ready but I kinda want to wait for the update to put proper checkpoints.
This one is not long enough to warrant even 1 I think.
I don't think I'm the only one but I kinda stopped posting levels when I heard about the update to update the levels I was working on to accommodate the coming update.
Hey guys! I haven't uploaded a new stage in a while, but I finished this stage the other day; I worked pretty hard on it, and I hope it shows. It's not at all similar to my lukewarm "Boo's Music Box!" stage, so I hope it's well received!
Not bad at all!
The bosses were a bit on the extreme side but they were really cool.
You can skip the bosses a bit too quickly for my taste but aside from that, really enjoyable and good use of the tileset.
Spooky!
I love how the interrupter works in the narrative of the level.
Really great use of ghost and everything.
I spotted a weird configuration so I felt like leaving a message, the ending requires a jump of faith if you use the 2nd passage, I died here for no reason :/
The password system is ingenious.
However the 1rst part is harder than the 2nd part.
Also Ice is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay harder than fire here.
Great level to demonstrate mastery of the engine really.
Looking for some more feedback on my revised map, doesn't have much plays. If you post a comment I'll take a look at your latest levels too.
Traveller of the Cosmos
Rosalina wakes up to discover that she is lost in an unknown galaxy. Traverse through fiery depths, icy caverns, metallic corridors and overgrown jungles as Rosalina races against the clock to make it back to her ship.
I played your level and it was fun, but there was no real point to Yoshi, and you have a section right after a warp pipe that is just a dead end into your death, I have no idea why that part even exists. Also the cape is infinitely better than the fire flower and trivializes the red wiggler encounters since the cape destroys them, the level really lacked direction.
I had an hard time figuring what to do with the Tanuki suit, I only found out after randomly getting a mushroom at the beginning..
Jumping from the blue skull platform inside the pipe was hard, and each time you failed you had to listen once more to the rave tune, nooo..!
This level is very hard. A Hammer Bros, a Flying Thomp, a Koopa and a Flying Spiky on the starting screen will make a lot of people skip.
The underground section had a lot of nope moments too. Hammer Bros + Conveyor makes him nearly invincible, Skull platform + unreachable Hammer Bros..
I updated my last level: Title - A Nice Stroll... ID - 7852-0000-00CF-CF49 Difficulty - Hard
Ice, Music Blocks and fire!
A short level with a few demanding jumps, I would like some critique!
I had an hard time figuring what to do with the Tanuki suit, I only found out after randomly getting a mushroom at the beginning..
Jumping from the blue skull platform inside the pipe was hard, and each time you failed you had to listen once more to the rave tune, nooo..!
The whole point was to either wait for the magicians to destroy blocks near the pipes or destroy them being not-small mario,
I gave the leaf because it was after a tricky sets of jumps and in a dead end,
The last section is a bit of a troll if you don't know what to expect, once you passed the 1rst hurdle you can use a secret passage above the final pipe, the music was overkill I agree
This level is very hard. A Hammer Bros, a Flying Thomp, a Koopa and a Flying Spiky on the starting screen will make a lot of people skip.
The underground section had a lot of nope moments too. Hammer Bros + Conveyor makes him nearly invincible, Skull platform + unreachable Hammer Bros..
I updated my last level: Title - A Nice Stroll... ID - 7852-0000-00CF-CF49 Difficulty - Hard
Ice, Music Blocks and fire!
A short level with a few demanding jumps, I would like some critique!
Thanks for trying out my level. But really impressed you got very far into the level.
when you get to the skull platform and unreachable Hammer Bros, theres a block just above the note block, inside theres a mushroom which would help if you get hit by the hammer bros.
0.00% clear rate with 68 people not passing the level does give me an indication, not people are going to pass it.
I actually had a play with your level. Really challenging. It did felt really difficult
towards the end when you were jumping upwards with two flames with ice blocks on each side of the wall. The judgement of each jumps gets tricky but I guess thats part of the challenge right?
Had some random plays with a select few of your other creations as well and completed them
I only just started coming back to neogaf but I will try other GAFs uploaded levels a go soon.
I have not got this yet, thinking about it, just wondering though, how long do people think Nintendo will leave the servers up for this? Nintendo are known to drop support pretty quick when a new system comes out (NX).
How popular do fellow GAFers thing this is going to be in the long-term, i don't want content to dry-up after a few months.
I have not got this yet, thinking about it, just wondering though, how long do people think Nintendo will leave the servers up for this? Nintendo are known to drop support pretty quick when a new system comes out (NX).
How popular do fellow GAFers thing this is going to be in the long-term, i don't want content to dry-up after a few months.
I really don't think you need to worry about this. The game has sold over a million units already, and its a Mario title. Plus it came out for little over a month. The servers are gonna be up for a long time.
I have not got this yet, thinking about it, just wondering though, how long do people think Nintendo will leave the servers up for this? Nintendo are known to drop support pretty quick when a new system comes out (NX).
How popular do fellow GAFers thing this is going to be in the long-term, i don't want content to dry-up after a few months.
Considering the Wii and DSi stores are still up (the only part of the online architecture Nintendo ran themselves for the old systems) there's not much precedent for them closing down online services.
The Nintendo WiFi Connection was run by GameSpy. It being shutdown was an issue outside of Nintendo's control.
Updated this level based on previous advice that it felt empty. Made some visual changes to the critical path, that didn't really fundamentally the platforming challenges, but did open up the potential for a second hidden path, which I added for fun. It's a real shame you can't make playlists with secret exits/etc in this. It would really open up levels to more interesting alternate paths.
Do You Like Mario Bros?
4E2A-0000-00D0-C5F9
Difficulty - Moderate/Challenging
Also upped a couple others and would like some feedback. A little less happy with how these shaped up:
Go East Young Man
306B-0000-00D0-C2EB
Difficulty - Moderate/Challenging
The Mushroom Fiefdom
E287-0000-00CE-B27E
Difficulty - Challenging
I have not got this yet, thinking about it, just wondering though, how long do people think Nintendo will leave the servers up for this? Nintendo are known to drop support pretty quick when a new system comes out (NX).
How popular do fellow GAFers thing this is going to be in the long-term, i don't want content to dry-up after a few months.
Alright guys I'll be doing a short stream on Twitch in half an hour (4PM PST). Kind of testing out some things so what better game to experiment on than Super Mario Maker ?
I played your level and it was fun, but there was no real point to Yoshi, and you have a section right after a warp pipe that is just a dead end into your death, I have no idea why that part even exists. Also the cape is infinitely better than the fire flower and trivializes the red wiggler encounters since the cape destroys them, the level really lacked direction.
Yoshi was just to help you get through the stage. There's a section in the beginning with munchers that you can use to take you to a completely different path, so maybe you should try exploring more...
The section after the warp pipe is just there for aesthetics. I didn't think anyone would be curious enough to jump down the side when there's a pipe for you to progress. I could have covered it up, but I liked how it looked when it wasn't filled in.
And there's a reason the cape was in the beginning of the stage and not further in. It's a reward, and the boss encounter was just adding context to the stage. Even without the cape it's relatively easy. It's not meant to be a difficult stage based on the length..
I dunno, man. I'm glad you found it fun, but I feel like your criticisms comes off a bit too brash and perhaps misinformed?
I'll keep these things in mind for my next stages.
Yoshi was just to help you get through the stage. There's a section in the beginning with munchers that you can use to take you to a completely different path, so maybe you should try exploring more...
The section after the warp pipe is just there for aesthetics. I didn't think anyone would be curious enough to jump down the side when there's a pipe for you to progress. I could have covered it up, but I liked how it looked when it wasn't filled in.
And there's a reason the cape was in the beginning of the stage and not further in. It's a reward, and the boss encounter was just adding context to the stage. Even without the cape it's relatively easy. It's not meant to be a difficult stage based on the length..
I dunno, man. I'm glad you found it fun, but I feel like your criticisms comes off a bit too brash and perhaps misinformed?
I'll keep these things in mind for my next stages.
I did explore with Yoshi but it really didn't add to the stage and neither did the cape. I think it's not great design to give a power up which is strictly inferior to the player when you've already given the cape, the fire flower doesn't do anything for the player and if they get it they've made the stage harder for themselves.
There is death counters past the warp pipe that several other people died too. Aesthetics are nice but you lead the player to their death for no reaaon, no one sees that section unless they go down there and die. You could still block it off and retain the same design.
If you think I'm being brash that's fine, but misinformed? I'm giving honest feedback on your level, that's all.
Good design and great puzzles. I completed the ice section. I was into the fire section when I died. Then I noticed there was still a lot to go over on the main map. Perhaps too long to do all of it? This map will be great when the checkpoint arrives!
this one guy managed to create invisible floors. somehow he paired hidden blocks with the above-ground solid blocks to create a really awesome ghost house. i assume this is a glitch because i couldn't recreate it, but is anyone aware how it's done?
this one guy managed to create invisible floors. somehow he paired hidden blocks with the above-ground solid blocks to create a really awesome ghost house. i assume this is a glitch because i couldn't recreate it, but is anyone aware how it's done?
Shine a light (3 Ups, 100 coins) (291F-0000-00AB-7E77) Weng
10:00 Goomba Adventure (C9CC-0000-00B5-4B8A) Roi
21:00 Super Mario Rugby W.C. Edition fabprems
I have these pending to recod, if anyone else is interested in having their level recorded quote this text and add your level to the list (1 per user). I´ll also, if you´ve discovered an awesome level you can add it to the list too:
"P" is a good letter. (D94E-0000-00C9-6139) by Killua
Snake Oil (3927-0000-00C3-B9FA) by Axiom
Slide me a Bullet-Bill (7D46-0000-00C9-8DEC) by kinggroin
I usually HATE troll levels when I encounter them, but I guess I'm more forgiving if I actually search for them instead of getting stuck on them in 100 mario :/
Not my fav out of your levels, I mean the level in the tree was all kinds of fantastic.
However you kinda warn the players that they're not going to get what's expected right at the start.
You should have thrown a curveball at the end where the actual obvious path is not a troll just to throw the player off.
Good use of that one bug, the false ending actually made me laugh out loud!
The fake boss with the actual boss after was a genius idea
All in all a very good level.
to the point that my SO tried it and while a little confused could progress by making educated guess, although the jump at the start was evil for people not used to Mario World.
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it! I tried to make the level as fair as possible, by putting clues or just keeping consistency between all challenges:
*The correct pipe in the MagiKoopa room is the only one without flowers.
*To exit the pipe maze you always have to take the pipe without arrows.
*Whenever you are given 2 choices, the most dangerous looking path/situation is always the safe one.
I think that throwing a curved ball at the end would´ve been straight up trolling and it would undermine the whole idea of the level: trolling but fair. Though I´m sure some people would´ve found it funny....you can´t please everyone I guess, I´ve already had some complaints saying this level is too much trial and error. I think that´s bruteforcing the level and by stopping a moment and thinking about the challenges you can beat most challenges the first time, but I guess it´s hard to put the player in that state of mind when all other SMM levels out there ask for the opposite.
Thanks for playing and for the comments
Good design and great puzzles. I completed the ice section. I was into the fire section when I died. Then I noticed there was still a lot to go over on the main map. Perhaps too long to do all of it? This map will be great when the checkpoint arrives!
You should give it another try, the level already has a checkpoint after you beat the ice and fire worlds and you´ll be missing on a really great level.
this one guy managed to create invisible floors. somehow he paired hidden blocks with the above-ground solid blocks to create a really awesome ghost house. i assume this is a glitch because i couldn't recreate it, but is anyone aware how it's done?
Place a solid block somewhere, then elsewhere place an invisible block. Draw a track and move the invisible block to the track. Put the track+block on top of the solid block you created earlier and now, with the track elements selected, removing the track by clicking on an end and draggin to the other. be ware that sometimes it doesn´t work (it´s a glitch after all) so if you don´t get it right try few times. You can use almost any kind of blocks, for example mixing solid and musical blocks. Always the block that´s on top sets how the glitched block will look in game and the block at the bottom sets how it will behave. If you want to you can check my latest level RtDL8: Forest of Delusion (681F-0000-00CA-FC09), I use a lot of different block combinations there, you can download it and see how every combination is done.
I actually had a play with your level. Really challenging. It did felt really difficult
towards the end when you were jumping upwards with two flames with ice blocks on each side of the wall. The judgement of each jumps gets tricky but I guess thats part of the challenge right?
Had some random plays with a select few of your other creations as well and completed them
I'm starting to see some trends with my levels:
- It is hard to go above 50% for the star/clear ratio.
- Most players won't star levels if they can't beat them.
My levels are either too difficult with a clear rate lower than 15% or are too boring with a high completion rate but very few stars.
Just found out that Reverse design has put out videos summing up the main points of his examination of SMW level design and on how you can apply them to making your own level in Mario Maker. Great stuff that's worth a watch.
If you don't know Reverse Design is a site that looks at classic games and works to see the underlying design guiding them and what makes them work. Their mostly JRPGs but he did do SMW. The books are all free to read online, but you can buy a PDF that has a little more. Anyway the videos:
In celebration of my written (and hopefully passed) exam today I'm ready to play and record your guys stages again today. Quality won't be the best but should still give valueable input for you creators
Please quote this post and write down your level name and ID!
(Will use google docs next tume but am not at home yet right now)
In celebration of my written (and hopefully passed) exam today I'm ready to play and record your guys stages again today. Quality won't be the best but should still give valueable input for you creators
Please quote this post and write down your level name and ID!
(Will use google docs next tume but am not at home yet right now)
This first one I like quite a bit. It's a fairly straightforward Mario 1 stage, with a secret hidden path
the green turtle knows the way
Do You Like Mario Bros?
4E2A-0000-00D0-C5F9
Difficulty - Moderate/Challenging
Also upped a couple others and would like some feedback. A little less happy with how these shaped up, so if you have a lot of submissions, you can skip them.
Go East Young Man
306B-0000-00D0-C2EB
Difficulty - Moderate/Challenging
The Mushroom Fiefdom
E287-0000-00CE-B27E
Difficulty - Challenging
In celebration of my written (and hopefully passed) exam today I'm ready to play and record your guys stages again today. Quality won't be the best but should still give valueable input for you creators
Please quote this post and write down your level name and ID!
(Will use google docs next tume but am not at home yet right now)
I'll post 3 levels, though don't bother playing all of them if you don't want to. First 2 levels are traditional Mario style. Nothing too challenging in either of them, and both are designed for speedrunning. 3rd level isn't really traditional, it's more about atmosphere and challenge.
The Journey to Yoshi's Home!
CEC5-0000-00AC-403E
Molehills,Mushrooms and Munchers
F3DA-0000-00B7-D016
The Forgotten Fortress
483C-0000-003E-38A7
Also the final section of the Fortress has some enemy spawning issues, I really need to go back fix it someday.
I really don't think you need to worry about this. The game has sold over a million units already, and its a Mario title. Plus it came out for little over a month. The servers are gonna be up for a long time.
Considering the Wii and DSi stores are still up (the only part of the online architecture Nintendo ran themselves for the old systems) there's not much precedent for them closing down online services.
The Nintendo WiFi Connection was run by GameSpy. It being shutdown was an issue outside of Nintendo's control.
I'm starting to see some trends with my levels:
- It is hard to go above 50% for the star/clear ratio.
- Most players won't star levels if they can't beat them.
My levels are either too difficult with a clear rate lower than 15% or are too boring with a high completion rate but very few stars.
Each jump felt logical. It wasn't frustrating at all.
I don't think levels will get 50%+ completion unless it is really simple. Most of my stages are 5% completion and you see people die at the simplest of platforming. I just had a stage put up and the first guy who played it took 50 tries before he completed it, the next 8 people took 50 tries between them all. That guy really took down the completion rate.
No matter how easy you might think a level may be, there will be people who cannot complete them.
Still thinking about where to put checkpoints in my level since it's asymmetrical. Maybe after the hardest planets? I wonder if checkpoints will save the game state of the world, or if it will just be completely reset. I know it will probably be the latter but unlocking gates with checkpoints will require more thinking now lol.
In celebration of my written (and hopefully passed) exam today I'm ready to play and record your guys stages again today. Quality won't be the best but should still give valueable input for you creators
Just found out that Reverse design has put out videos summing up the main points of his examination of SMW level design and on how you can apply them to making your own level in Mario Maker. Great stuff that's worth a watch.
If you don't know Reverse Design is a site that looks at classic games and works to see the underlying design guiding them and what makes them work. Their mostly JRPGs but he did do SMW. The books are all free to read online, but you can buy a PDF that has a little more. Anyway the videos:
Traditional was definitely my intention. There is a way to reach the flagpole in DYLMB? - You have to use the second (upper) path and leap from the end of the last cloud. Yes, it's a leap of faith, but the critical path is simple enough that I didn't mind having one for the flagpole.
Yeah, that mushroom was intended to be difficult to get. You can manipulate the Bloopers to get it, but the level isn't all that hard as small Mario anyway.
Still thinking about where to put checkpoints in my level since it's asymmetrical. Maybe after the hardest planets? I wonder if checkpoints will save the game state of the world, or if it will just be completely reset. I know it will probably be the latter but unlocking gates with checkpoints will require more thinking now lol.
Just found out that Reverse design has put out videos summing up the main points of his examination of SMW level design and on how you can apply them to making your own level in Mario Maker. Great stuff that's worth a watch.
If you don't know Reverse Design is a site that looks at classic games and works to see the underlying design guiding them and what makes them work. Their mostly JRPGs but he did do SMW. The books are all free to read online, but you can buy a PDF that has a little more. Anyway the videos:
This is great content, thanks for sharing! I loved the RE: SMW book, it has helped me a lot when developing levels in SMM, I strongly recommend it to everyone.
Still thinking about where to put checkpoints in my level since it's asymmetrical. Maybe after the hardest planets? I wonder if checkpoints will save the game state of the world, or if it will just be completely reset. I know it will probably be the latter but unlocking gates with checkpoints will require more thinking now lol.
I think you could use 3 checkpoints if possible: 2 with RagnarokX´s system and another one with the in-game system. The first 2 will take you to the pipes outside of the fire and ice world where you kick the shell to open the path forward (you can do this by overlapping pipes): for example if you beat the Ice World you´ll get the password before entering the exit pipe of this world, that way if you then die in the fire world you can skip the ice world and vice versa.
The in-game checkpoint should be placed after the first 2 barriers, replacing the one you´re using now.
I think this is the most user-friendly way to use them in your level: you ease up a bit the first part of your level which is the hardest. Also, as it´s soon into the level the player still hasn´t seen everything that makes this level so awesome, so he´ll be more likely to skip it when dying in the ice or fire world. This way, even when dying after beating one of them he´ll feel he´s made progress, be thankful for the checkpoints and will be more likely to go on. Once he´s in the last 2 planets there´s no need for more checkpoints, as everything that he´s accomplished to that point will push him to not throw that effort away and finish the level. Also, the last 2 worlds "are easier and shorter" (quotes because this is the impression I got when playing) so dying there is not as bad as dying after beating the ice world and having to repeat everything.
I disagree...forcing the player to repeat over and over the hardest part can be very frustrating. I think it´s better to place them after a hard challenge, so the player gets some breathing space and gets renewed energy to take on the last part of the level. Though I think it depend on how you have structured the level as a whole and where those hard parts are located. For example, if you have a slow paced section at the start of your level followed by a hard challenge it would be a good idea to use the checkpoint to skip that slow section and let the player just take on the harder challenge.
Anyway, I would never design the level so the hardest part is right next to the checkpoint, I think it´s better to put a small section between the checkpoint and the hardest part, so the player has some time to refresh instead of headbutting against the hard challenge repeteadly, that can get tiring very fast.
What I´m trying to say is that you can´t just slap a checkpoint somewhere and call it a day: sure it will help, but the ideal thing is to design the level layout and challenge distribution with the checkpoint in mind.
"P" is a good letter. (D94E-0000-00C9-6139) by Killua: Very short and simple level, with some confusing parts. The 3 Yellow Blocks (which get turned into coins when you press the PSwitch) really threw me off, I first I thought I had to time my jump on the Bullet Bill to get on them as they got turned back to blocks when the PSwitch effect ended. You could place these blocks in an arc so they trace the jump trajectory necessary to bypass the first pit instead of in a straight line. What´s the purpose of the second PSwitch? If it´s just there to give the player another chance you´d better use a pipe so it´s purpose is clear. As it is I thought it was part of a bigger puzzle and was a bit let down when I saw there wasn´t anything else.
Also, what´s the purpose of the Grinder in the second part and of the second PSwitch?
The cape part felt a bit out of place: you name the level after the PSwitch, use it in all the challenges but in the last part it all comes down to using the cape. That shift of focus that "late" into the level felt a bit weird, I would remove the cape from the level and just make the last part a rush over the already existing layout.
4:00 Snake Oil (3927-0000-00C3-B9FA) by Axiom: Nice level, I specially liked the underwater parts, great use of angry Wigglers to set the pace and make it challenging. The big Wiggler underwater was a very cool moment and totally surprised me (even though I had already played this level last week). Overall, this level is a great example of how to develop a mechanic and use it in different and interesting ways. Wigglers are used mastefully in different ways through all the level and few different elements (fire and Chain Chomps) are thrown into the mix from start to finish to create a consistent experience. Very solid level mechanic-wise.
BTW, what´s the story being told? I thought like I was missing something.
Tight and solid level with great underwater parts and very good development of the main mechanic (Wigglers).
12:10 Slide me a Bullet-Bill (7D46-0000-00C9-8DEC) by kinggroin: Too hard, punishing and confusing at the start. I couldn´t beat it. Well, in fact I couldn´t make any real progress.
The start is very confusing with the moving Blasters which throw a Mushroom at you and the "lightbulb" SFX seemed to hint that was the way to go, but I coud not find a way to do so. Also, getting that Mushroom was a chore after some tries, the first Mushroom should always be more accessible. It didn´t help much in the next part anyway...
The part after the pipe is too tight: if you took the Mushroom you won´t have enough space to move around without hitting the spikes. If you didn´t, or you just took a hit things aren´t better: there is just no room to do anything. This can be presented as an advanced challenge and that is legit, however I think that the level should start with something easier, giving more room to the player to move and experiment, then develop this and make it more complex before presenting such a punishing challenge. Dying so early into the level before being able to make any progress will make most players skip this level after the first try.
18:35 Magician's Trap (9182-0000-00CE-843A) by Mael: Overall I liked this one, but using Magikoopas and their randomness can break the level. There were a few nice secrets and I liked that if you didn´t solve the puzzle of the Blue Skull Raft the first time (which if you do will surely be a fluke) you were just a few jumps away from being able to try it again with new info.
I didn´t like much the ascension with the Magikoopas shooting at you to unlock the Mushroom/pipe. The randomness of the Magikoopas allowed me more than once to be already big at the start and make that section pointless. But my major complaint is that if you fail to unlock the Mushroom or pipe at the first chance, the Magikoopas will take a loooooong detour before coming back, so you just have to stand there and wait for a long time.
A Dreary Night: Raiding the Tomb: A246-0000-009A-6230: I liked this one a lot, like all your levels it featured AWESOME theming and decoration, the raining effect was specially cool. The platforming was challenging and fair, but it lacked some focus on the mechanics: it used too many different elements but didn´t choose any of them as the main one. This hurts it a bit specially in the part with the "hopping" platform between Grinders with fire bars. I miss an introduction to that part to see how everything worked separatedly: they were too many concepts to introduce at once in one single challenge. You were given a Mushroom nearby so it was difficult to die there, but that negates the challenge completely. I think this was a missed oportunity as the concept of the hopping platform is really cool and I would´ve loved to see it used more.
The same thing to a lesser extent happens with the platform next to the Mushroom on a track where cannonballs are shot from above; thre were too many things at once and it was a bit difficult to focus attention on what was really important.
I think that overall your level will benefit of some more pacing, presenting each challenge in a more relaxed situation before making it really threatening, instead of putting everything in sucession and throwing Mushrooms at the player so he just gets through the challenges using the invincibility frames instead of really understanding how each one works and conquering them.
I´m aware there was another path I left unexplored, I will surely play this level again and try to find it
Necessary highlight: the rain effect, joined with the theming at the start and ending was very cool, specially how the rain bounced on the roof at the end.
This is great content, thanks for sharing! I loved the RE: SMW book, it has helped me a lot when developing levels in SMM, I strongly recommend it to everyone.
I think you could use 3 checkpoints if possible: 2 with RagnarokX´s system and another one with the in-game system. The first 2 will take you to the pipes outside of the fire and ice world where you kick the shell to open the path forward (you can do this by overlapping pipes): for example if you beat the Ice World you´ll get the password before entering the exit pipe of this world, that way if you then die in the fire world you can skip the ice world and vice versa.
The in-game checkpoint should be placed after the first 2 barriers, replacing the one you´re using now.
I think this is the most user-friendly way to use them in your level: you ease up a bit the first part of your level which is the hardest. Also, as it´s soon into the level the player still hasn´t seen everything that makes this level so awesome, so he´ll be more likely to skip it when dying in the ice or fire world. This way, even when dying after beating one of them he´ll feel he´s made progress, be thankful for the checkpoints and will be more likely to go on. Once he´s in the last 2 planets there´s no need for more checkpoints, as everything that he´s accomplished to that point will push him to not throw that effort away and finish the level. Also, the last 2 worlds "are easier and shorter" (quotes because this is the impression I got when playing) so dying there is not as bad as dying after beating the ice world and having to repeat everything.
I disagree...forcing the player to repeat over and over the hardest part can be very frustrating. I think it´s better to place them after a hard challenge, so the player gets some breathing space and gets renewed energy to take on the last part of the level. Though I think it depend on how you have structured the level as a whole and where those hard parts are located. For example, if you have a slow paced section at the start of your level followed by a hard challenge it would be a good idea to use the checkpoint to skip that slow section and let the player just take on the harder challenge.
Anyway, I would never design the level so the hardest part is right next to the checkpoint, I think it´s better to put a small section between the checkpoint and the hardest part, so the player has some time to refresh instead of headbutting against the hard challenge repeteadly, that can get tiring very fast.
What I´m trying to say is that you can´t just slap a checkpoint somewhere and call it a day: sure it will help, but the ideal thing is to design the level layout and challenge distribution with the checkpoint in mind.
Two in game checkpoints is a major boon, because currently, I'm at the sprite limit and block limit, and the password system I adapted from RagnarokX was just a quick stop gap, meaning I stuffed it in a corner and used as little space and sprites as possible. There's no realistic way to expand it to have two pipes (already at max doors and pipes). So the problem is that the in game checkpoints won't save the progress of the unlocking gates, so I can place one at a mid way point and one after a level, and I'm not sure where to put the password system, if I even need one, I could scrap it to get a bigger overworld.
Two in game checkpoints is a major boon, because currently, I'm at the sprite limit and block limit, and the password system I adapted from RagnarokX was just a quick stop gap, meaning I stuffed it in a corner and used as little space and sprites as possible. There's no realistic way to expand it to have two pipes (already at max doors and pipes). So the problem is that the in game checkpoints won't save the progress of the unlocking gates, so I can place one at a mid way point and one after a level, and I'm not sure where to put the password system, if I even need one, I could scrap it to get a bigger overworld.
2 in-game checkpoints solve all your problems! Place one in-game checkpoint right next to the exit pipe in the Ice World, so the player respawn at the end of the ice world, walks through the pipe and kicks the shell to unlock barrier #1. Then, he can go to the Fire World.
Do the same for the Fire World.
Last, use RagnarokX´s system after the barriers, just like you have right now.
You just have to put the new 2 checkpoints and leave the rest as it is.
Some people are really obtuse about the custom checkpoint system though, I've seen several streamers beat the first two worlds, walk past the password, die, and then complain how the level is too long and give up. Quite disheartening. I'll have to think about it more, my current solution is just for the fire and ice world to lead to the same area with two one way gates going in opposite directions, meaning you can only go one way, and it unlocks half the gate. It'd allow you to use the checkpoint from either the fire or ice, but that could be confusing too.
If the state of the world is reset every time you respawn from a checkpoint, if you beat the fire, then ice, and then die, it'll respawn you at ice, and you'll need to do fire again lol.
I had the same problem with some of my earlier levels, that´s why I stopped using checkpoints as no one was getting them...
About your level: I think it depends on how the checkpoint system works, I think it will just respawn you at the last checkpoint you crossed, so you´ll be able to use them interchangeably. I hope it works this way, it would be much more flexible and allow more things not doable with checkpoint1 and chekpoint2. It seems the most logical way for me but you never know what Nintendo will decide.
If what you say is applied, then you "force the player to repeat over and over the hardest part" every time he fails, AND on top of it force him to replay the easy part that comes before.
The most vital use of checkpoints is to keep the pacing up, to skip the easy but long/complicated tasks away. When I skip/give up a level, it's generally because I want to avoid redoing the mundane tasks, like blasting a large wall with several Bob-ombs, not because of a quick, challenging part. The entirety of Super Meat Boy is based on this philosophy.
Also, if the checkpoint is before the hard part, that means what goes after is easy until another hard part, and another checkpoint. So it's unlikely you'll die after you passed that hard part.
If the state of the world is reset every time you respawn from a checkpoint, if you beat the fire, then ice, and then die, it'll respawn you at ice, and you'll need to do fire again lol.
Very obviously, the state of the world will be reset when you respawn from a checkpoint, otherwise you could be stuck in unwinnable combinations. Resetting everything every time and forcing the creator to clear the level from each checkpoint is the only way to make them work.
If what you say is applied, then you "force the player to repeat over and over the hardest part" every time he fails, AND on top of it force him to replay the easy part that comes before.
The most vital use of checkpoints is to keep the pacing up, to skip the easy but long/complicated tasks away. When I skip/give up a level, it's generally because I want to avoid redoing the mundane tasks, like blasting a large wall with several Bob-ombs, not because of a quick, challenging part. The entirety of Super Meat Boy is based on this philosophy.
Also, if the checkpoint is before the hard part, that means what goes after is easy until another hard part, and another checkpoint. So it's unlikely you'll die after you passed that hard part.
Very obviously, the state of the world will be reset when you respawn from a checkpoint, otherwise you could be stuck in unwinnable combinations. Resetting everything every time and forcing the creator to clear the level from each checkpoint is the only way to make them work.
Yeah, checkpoints should be used to skip the obvious parts once you have them figured out. So after long and easy parts or after a puzzle.
But also after a difficult part, if your level is just difficult parts one after the other.
Do we know how many checkpoints can be used per level?
If it's, let's say 2, the creator has to complete the level 3 times?
I had the same problem with some of my earlier levels, that´s why I stopped using checkpoints as no one was getting them...
About your level: I think it depends on how the checkpoint system works, I think it will just respawn you at the last checkpoint you crossed, so you´ll be able to use them interchangeably. I hope it works this way, it would be much more flexible and allow more things not doable with checkpoint1 and chekpoint2. It seems the most logical way for me but you never know what Nintendo will decide.
Yeah, checkpoints should be used to skip the obvious parts once you have them figured out. So after long and easy parts or after a puzzle.
But also after a difficult part, if your level is just difficult parts one after the other.
Obviously it depends on the level. For my Ridley level, the hardest part is actually at the very beginning (to avoid tediousness), so I'll put a checkpoint after it, and another one just before the boss.
The Nintendo video said we can have two checkpoints. Since we'll have to complete the level from each checkpoint on top of from the start (without dying nor using checkpoints), that indeed means we'll have to complete the level 3 times.
The process isn't as simple as some thought, and this is why they tried to make the game without checkpoints. But very clearly, people want to design one ambitious level rather than several smaller ones, hence the update. Even I, who's more into SMB3 design, made long and hard levels with my Metroid series, and checkpoints will definitely help them.
