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[Xenoboy]

Puzzles and Contraptions

DA9C-0000-00DA-0891

I just played this one, I dug it. I thought waiting on that question block after the first pipe was a bit pointless though. Rest was good.

 

[Jocchan]

...and here's the updated Groundhog Day.

Groundhog Day v4 - (E5D6-0000-00DC-48A6)

Changelog:
- Multiple tweaks to platform and enemy placement to give more breathing room and make traversal smoother
- Fixed a possible exploit for the puzzle solution (that was pointed out in a comment)
- Added a checkpoint right after solving the puzzle, to prevent frustration should one die right at the end
- Small audiovisual improvements here and there

Some more levels of mine: http://i.imgur.com/PMSXoWm.png

Anyone else having this issue?

Haven't seen anything wrong, except a weird error message about Amiibo data being lost (once in a while, with no Amiibos whatsoever around, while having spotty reception on the gamepad).

 

[Simbabbad]

Oh wow, thanks! Glad you enjoyed it (and I see you also liked the updated version of Super Dude Bros. II 1-2).

Indeed, not sure if it's your changes that smoothed out Super Dude Bros. II 1-2, or if it's me who was in a different mood, but I didn't feel the same "jumping through hoops" feeling I got the first time. It flowed more naturally than I remembered, and I really had fun!

Thanks for your feedback on my old school levels, I'm glad you had the same fun I had with my "Cliffs" level. The way Cheep Cheeps are managed in Super Mario Maker is hilarious, it's like Super Mario Bros. 3 "Big Bertha" (the big fish), but "Piranha" style instead of "Jaws" style.

Speaking of which, you actually played the new versions...

My two (so far, the rest is coming) "Old School Super Mario" levels have indeed been updated, not with checkpoints because they don't need them, but with progressive powerups - because without them, an old school level isn't really old school, is it?

At first I was scared it would unbalance the levels, but to my surprise it made them more fun (I did make a few adjustments, though). I've noticed that more generally, Super Mario Maker authors want to control what the player is doing, and plan the exact challenge he/she will go through, but progressive powerups and player empowerment through powerups in general (and classic Super Mario Bros. "playground" design vs. "obstacle course" design à la Super Meat Boy) actually bring a special kind of fun to the player even if obstacles are first and foremost thought for little Mario, like an internal "cheat" mode. Obviously this all has to be balanced, but giving a wider access to the fire flower here improved the levels IMO. This certainly encouraged me to use progressive powerups more. As Tomi Pierce said to Jordan Mechner to encourage him to put fights in the original Prince of Persia (thanks, hardcoregaming101.net):

I like games where you can shoot things. Your game has no rewards except getting to the next level. It's all survival and no triumph.

"Old School Super Mario" levels try to pay homage to the first Super Mario Bros. by translating its philosophy and mechanics despite the huge differences with Super Mario Maker (physics, scrolling management, enemy behaviour, things missing and things added, etc.). To add a little bit of fantasy, a few liberties have been taken: levels "fuse" together different SMB1 level archetypes, and they feature extra mechanics here and there.

I also fixed what axiom pointed out:

I think it's no fun having the star and just sitting there on a ride not using it, but then if you do jump down you can no longer get a high score on the flag pole. While largely meaningless in Mario Maker, getting high on the flag pole was usually the reward for the adventurous player. here you punish them for being adventurous at the very last moment.

The "Cliffs" ending has been changed and works better now IMO.

You can check my other levels in:

- My (French) blog
- SUPER MARIO MAKER BOOKMARK

----

Now, more feedback:

Fancy Feats of Fluttering
(FCB2-0000-00D8-39F7)

Bowser's Bouncy Castle
(BDD4-0000-00D8-3BFD)

Noteworthy Navigation
(E2FF-0000-00D8-3E63)

I liked Fancy Feats of Fluttering, but the very beginning where you indicate the player has to jump on a giant winged mole doesn't give a good first impression. The jump is very unreliable, and after I got tired of trying (one life lost every time for players in the 100 Mario Challenge), I thought: "wait, you don't need this", and I simply jumped straight to the pipe. The indication arrows therefore felt like trolling, which I'm sure wasn't your intention. I didn't have problems later, even if the winged boots on sawblades can get annoying because of the apparent randomness of the rebound - I eventually got the hang of it, but I'm sure many will find it frustrating. In the vertical area where you have to climb on them, you also can get hit by a sawblade that's off-screen because of how vertical scrolling is managed.
For Bowser's Bouncy Castle: as said on Miiverse, I dislike trampolines in general, but I beat and really enjoyed your level, that's saying something. I liked the humour I felt during the whole stage.
I liked less Noteworthy Navigation: the snake section is too long IMO (the sound gets annoying after a while) and I quit after a red Koopa killed me by dropping bombs on Mario without possibility to see them coming.

Planet 2-1 :
Code: 8C82-0000-00D8-5AD8

The concept is nice, but given the way Super Mario Maker handles scrolling and cannonball persistence, and the fact you don't know the level layout before playing, the mechanics create many unfair situations, especially in the long "right to left" part with Wigglers (I simply ran out of cannonballs to jump on because the game deletes the off-screen ones).

Alright, my third official level: Cloud Ride Catastrophe!

6379-0000-00D8-E0F2

You really need to fix the second half, after the checkpoint. The snake platform gets too close to the Bullet Bill launchers, so it's hard to position yourself with everything going on to avoid being instakilled when they fire. It's also too easy being hit by a flying red Koopa that's off-screen when you jump on other flying red Koopas or red homing Bullet Bills. And mostly, the "use a Koopa shell to lower the launcher column" thing is borderline trolling: in the flow of the level, among all the stuff going on, you realize something is wrong only when the snake platform leads you to a wall (and your death). It feels like a giant middle finger, not an incentive to try again and lower the column this time, the action is not interesting enough gameplay-wise to troll the player getting to the top without doing the action first IMO. I really liked everything before the checkpoint.

Old School P'forming: 6A52-0000-00DC-26A7

Any feedback would be awesome. Thanks.

The "die & retry" design really works, because everything is immediately readable and fair and the level isn't too long. When you die, you feel like you can easily do better next time, so you retry until you win, it feels good.
(And thanks for your feedback on Old School Super Mario (Plains), what you describe is really what I was going for.)

Haven't seen anything wrong, except a weird error message about Amiibo data being lost (once in a while, with no Amiibos whatsoever around, while having spotty reception on the gamepad).

This message happened to me too, generally when I load a level where I dragged a costume on Mario last time I saved.

 

[-MB-]

Foudn this level on the subreddit for this game, and it's awesome, go play it.

[B]Level Title: We can do it. Together.[/B]

[I]ID: 5D32-0000-00D6-C166[/I]

 

[Nocturnowl]

Finished my 1st level with a checkpoint. Well I actually finished 3 days ago, I just decided to wait for the update.

Creeping Caverns
09A3-0000-00D6-89E1
http://abload.de/img/wiiu_screenshot_gamepwiu1f.jpg[img]

I'm pretty happy with it. I don't know if I'd call it a traditional style SMW level, but it's close enough. It's easy enough but it's pretty long which is why I waited for the Checkpoints.

It's also great for speedrunning, something I try to do for most of my levels.[/QUOTE]
I played this one back when you first dropped it in the thread, it's a nice solid stage, what really got me though was watching your speed run through it for comparison afterwards, that was some Tropical Freeze style alternative speed paths right there.

[quote="Gotdatmoney, post: 184236149"]I finally made a new level (number 9! Almost used all my initial upload slots haha). It took 2 months after release but I finally made an autoscroller. Tried out the stacking power up feature and it has a check point. Happy with how it turned out. Would love feedback.

[b]Discovery on Frigid Fields
8F36-0000-00D6-A393[/b]

[img]http://i.imgur.com/mcxxfEp.jpg[img][/QUOTE]
Nice solid airship style stage, well minus the ship and bottomless pits. Strong icy aesthetics and I liked the way you made "cranes".

[quote="ScOULaris, post: 184245785"]I got the game a few days ago and spent some time here and there unlocking all of the default building blocks in the editor.

Here's my first attempt at throwing a level together. It's just a straightforward, medium difficulty platforming level. No crazy theming or gimmicks here. I tried to make it fairly challenging while still allowing a skilled player to flow through the level without stopping. I've also hidden a secret or two around. ;)

[B]Cannonball Conundrum[/B]
6118-0000-00D6-C830

Feedback is welcome![/QUOTE]
After playing through many visually geared stages it was actually kinda nice to see this one here that is rather no nonsense straight up platforming, I just about managed to beat it first time but hot damn that final section put the fear into me, perfectly timed that ground pound onto the flag.

Tough in a good way, I look forward to what you'll come up with when you've spent more time with the game.

[quote="Forkball, post: 184265372"]Two new courses WITH check points and transitional power ups! It's almost as if I made these a week ago in preparation for today!

[B]Big Blast Bonanza[/B]
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/bPgDpI9.jpg
4953-0000-00D7-5FC8

Don't dawdle and escape the exploding landscape before it's too late. It includes a failure tunnel for those who cannot make the wall jump.

I love stages that make you run for your life, this is no exception, a great big grin I had at the walljump bit, no chump tunnel for me!

Today's update fixed the invisible platform glitch, which rendered Super Dude Bros. II 1-2 unbeatable. So I reuploaded it with a new ID:

Super Dude Bros.™ II Chapter 1-2: There Will Be B.R.Oil - (37B2-0000-00D6-EDE8)

http://abload.de/img/009_superdudebros1-2wks3k.png[IMG]

I also added two checkpoints, [I]in addition[/I] to Ragnarok's passcode system, and tweaked some stuff here and there.
It's heavily suggested to play this level with [U]comments on[/U] (thankfully my levels aren't popular enough to be swarming with them).

I've also uploaded a new level:


[B]Not Tomorrow ~ Lisa Dies[/B] (2AAF-0000-00D6-F2D2)

[IMG]http://abload.de/img/010_nottomorrow9zse3.png[IMG]

- A Silent Hill-themed music level... but not the way you're used to.
- Three hidden 1ups to find (wait, what?)

Feedback on this would be lovely.[/QUOTE]
Playing both of these was like Mario stages messing with my head.
My experience with SH2 is limited to the first 2 hours so I'm sure a lot of things went over my head yet I still very much enjoyed the experience so I figure that's the mark of a good level there.

[quote="KooopaKid, post: 184340213"]To celebrate the new update and checkpoints, I created a new entry in the [b]Super Mario Planets[/b] series.

I kept replaying this level, over and over, so it might be my most fun level yet! Enjoy!

[b]Planet 2-1[/b] :

[b]Code: 8C82-0000-00D8-5AD8[/b]

[img]http://i.imgur.com/qfkFHpB.jpg[img]

I also updated all my previous courses to include checkpoints. They are complete now![/QUOTE]
Hopefully the checkpoints cause more people to try and push through your stages now.

2-1 might be my favourite from a platforming perspective, pulling off the final cannonball section with the coin countdown was so satisfying.
I somehow managed to slip off and perish right in front of the goal so I'm glad there was that one last checkpoint.

[quote="jarosh, post: 184480289"]My Grand Vertical Adventure course made it into Nintendo UK's official weekly course selection :O

My other courses: [url]http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=182778992&postcount=15911[/url][/QUOTE]
Congrats, that's pretty cool, I thought I recognised the name when I was looking at these as I played it previously.

I only got around to some of your newer stages like Hard Hat Area and Long Live Queen Koopa just the other day, safe to say you know how to nail the visual elements.

What I actually really liked was the [SPOILER]psuedo boss battle[/SPOILER] in the Queen Koopa stage.

[quote="Kirk, post: 184526153"]I put checkpoints in two of my longer levels that needed them. Hopefully this has made them somewhat gentler, as they had pretty low completion rates.

[B]The Ghostess With the Mostest

(1891-0000-00DB-345B)[/B][/QUOTE]
I felt suitably lost during the last half but ended up the exit anyway, how very ghost house like that is to happen.

I'm kind of ashamed at how much I died before the checkpoint, like there was nothing fundamentally challenging in there but my impatience must've caused me my fair share of slip ups.

[quote="Simbabbad, post: 184534475"]"[B]Metroid Resurgence[/B]":
Each level is inspired by a NES Metroid area: [B]Brinstar[/B] focuses on traditional powerup use in a slow, methodical puzzle/adventure level with an atmosphere close to Super Metroid, [B]Kraid[/B] is more action-focused, [B]Ridley[/B] is all about secret passages (like the original Norfair/Ridley levels), and finally, [B]Tourian[/B] is straight action against the Metroids, Tourian's defence system, and Mother Brain.

I'm happy to say the updates improve the levels quite a bit IMO.
[/QUOTE]
It's taken me until the checkpoint update to finally try one of these Metroid stages, only tackled Brinstar so far but man, it really felt like Brinstar.
So with that in mind I look forward to trying the rest at some point soon as well as your more traditional stages.

[quote="Simbabbad, post: 184546724"]I liked Fancy Feats of Fluttering, but the very beginning where you indicate the player has to jump on a giant winged mole doesn't give a good first impression. The jump is very unreliable, and after I got tired of trying (one life lost every time for players in the 100 Mario Challenge), I thought: "wait, you don't need this", and I simply jumped straight to the pipe. The indication arrows therefore felt like trolling, which I'm sure wasn't your intention. I didn't have problems later, even if the winged boots on sawblades can get annoying because of the apparent randomness of the rebound - I eventually got the hang of it, but I'm sure many will find it frustrating. In the vertical area where you have to climb on them, you also can get hit by a sawblade that's off-screen because of how vertical scrolling is managed.[/QUOTE]

I'm not sure why I stubbornly stuck with the Rocky Wrenches at the start, I recall wanting an enemy that could flutter up and down on the spot while also being able to respawn so players had multiple chances, in the end though it is just a bit of a messy hodgepodge (partly because the wrench that comes out the pipe doesn't decide to actually jump until much later so I left the original one there in the hopes to alleviate waiting.

The erratic bouncing of the boot is exactly why I only left one bottomless pit in that section for the final task and yes vertical scrolling is the devil, I thought that last saw blade popped into view early enough but I'd have to check again I guess.

[quote="Simbabbad, post: 184546724"]For Bowser's Bouncy Castle: as said on Miiverse, I dislike trampolines in general, but I beat and really enjoyed your level, that's saying something. I liked the humour I felt during the whole stage.
I liked less Noteworthy Navigation: the snake section is too long IMO (the sound gets annoying after a while) and I quit after a red Koopa killed me by dropping bombs on Mario without possibility to see them coming.[/QUOTE]
I did attempt to rather half assedly try and present the bombs dropping out the noteblocks in advance by timing it so the first bomb that drops out lands in front of the snake track so it's essentially not going to hurt anyone, alas that's like half a second of warning before the koopa knocks out the fatal ones that actually provide a threat so, yeah my bad.

But hey you liked the bouncy castle which I almost didn't upload because I thought it a bit naff so there we go.

 

[CrisKre]

My level is sitting with alkost no plays
Would anyone try it?

Temple of the thousand mirrors
9531-0000-00D9-AE16


There are lots of secrets here and took quite some time to complete it. Ill be playing some of the levels posted here as well!

Here is a video of the beginning:

https://youtu.be/rw5o5hc8xdE

 

[Thud]

My level is sitting with alkost no plays
Would anyone try it?

Temple of the thousand mirrors
9531-0000-00D9-AE16


There are lots of secrets here and took quite some time to complete it. Ill be playing some of the levels posted here as well!

Here is a video of the beginning:

https://youtu.be/rw5o5hc8xdE

Yeah the secrets kinda take the flow away, but otherwise a fun level.

 

[AjNimajwalHansel]

Some Feedback as well as my newest level:

Use the Star Speed Mario-Kun:
6183-0000-00DA-3F9D

I had to get right on the Mario-kun hype as it might be my favorite costume yet! This is a basic course that relies on you using the extra speed granted by the star to speed run the optimal path! I hope someone out there likes it!

All my courses have been updated with previous feedback and checkpoints:

Journey to the Waterfall F86E-0000-00D9-FD75
Grand Ghost Galleon 0892-0000-00D9-F369
Escaping the Martian Menace 6F38-0000-00D9-F5B9
A Dreary Night: Raiding the Tomb 0E67-0000-00D9-FA13
The Mushroom Kingdom ED44-0000-00D9-F8B5
Mushroom Liberation 5024-0000-00D9-FF44
Chompin’ at the Bits FA56-0000-00D9-F12A
Keep of Sacrifice 0529-0000-00D9-F7BB
Ancient Undersea Castles 50AD-0000-00D9-FC1E

----
Some Feedback:

Heartfelt Dreams : (DBBC-0000-00DB-0926)

The level felt like a early concept that needs a little more fleshing out. I like the idea of bouncing back and forth on ghosts. I think the arrows pointing to the ghosts should be removed though, they are confusing. A little more work and this could be pretty nice. I do like the ideas of the springs aiding in a speed-running scenario.

Puzzles and Contraptions
DA9C-0000-00DA-0891

Super fun course and enjoyable. The first part is pretty much just watching, but you get to interact a bit more in the second part. The ending is probably the weakest part, but overall it's a fun experience!

 

[deafsox987]

I suppose this has been done before, but I decided to get onboard with my first level, "The Great Deku Tree," inspired by Ocarina of Time. I hope it can give you a vibe of Zelda puzzle concepts.

I plan to create at least two more levels, "Dodongo's Cavern" and "Inside Jabu-Jabu's Belly" in the future to complete the Spiritual Stones series in Mario Maker. Before that can happen, I want to see how this level goes with the world and I am open to any feedback that I can use for this level and the upcoming levels. Enjoy!

5F79-0000-00DB-49F6

 

[Nocturnowl]

Expert Mario Challenge is getting better, sure I still come across a bunch of stages where you know immediately diving out and skipping is the logical choice but I also am beginning to encounter more stages that are actually perfectly playable.

And I was rewarded for my troubles with Celeste, at last one of the Owls is mine, maybe I'll make a SMB1 stage with the mystery mushroom next.

My level is sitting with alkost no plays
Would anyone try it?

Temple of the thousand mirrors
9531-0000-00D9-AE16


There are lots of secrets here and took quite some time to complete it. Ill be playing some of the levels posted here as well!

Just played it, felt like I was superpowered up walking through with the spike shell and raccoon leaf, in that sense the secrets pay off.
The final room is a bit messy but as someone else who has tried to make a Kamek/P Block "boss" room that's kind of unavoidable it seems.

Some Feedback as well as my newest level:

Use the Star Speed Mario-Kun:
6183-0000-00DA-3F9D

I had to get right on the Mario-kun hype as it might be my favorite costume yet! This is a basic course that relies on you using the extra speed granted by the star to speed run the optimal path! I hope someone out there likes it!

Enjoyable in its simplicity, I tend to forget how much of a speed burst the star gives Mario, made it up to the three lives bit, I am content.

In a way this is a bit like those stages in 3D World that relied heavily on boost pads.

 

[Gotdatmoney]

My level is sitting with alkost no plays
Would anyone try it?

Temple of the thousand mirrors
9531-0000-00D9-AE16


There are lots of secrets here and took quite some time to complete it. Ill be playing some of the levels posted here as well!

Here is a video of the beginning:

https://youtu.be/rw5o5hc8xdE

I actually played and starred this yesterday. Good level. I thought it was a good difficulty and nothing was obtuse to figure out despite there being a ton of different mechanics. Lots of secrets. The level felt very different from the average level though I cant really figure out why sprcifically.

Good job. I wont lie though, I dont get the name

 

[AjNimajwalHansel]

Enjoyable in its simplicity, I tend to forget how much of a speed burst the star gives Mario, made it up to the three lives bit, I am content.

In a way this is a bit like those stages in 3D World that relied heavily on boost pads.

Thanks! Most of my levels so far have been more about theme and adventure rather than simplicity. Glad you liked it. I too had forgotten how much of a difference the star boost made until I tried making the initial jumps without one...that's when I decided to make that the focus of the level.
I'm almost 100% sure I've played levels of yours before, but drop me a code for one of your levels and I'll play through that and more.

 

[Nocturnowl]

Thanks! Most of my levels so far have been more about theme and adventure rather than simplicity. Glad you liked it. I too had forgotten how much of a difference the star boost made until I tried making the initial jumps without one...that's when I decided to make that the focus of the level.
I'm almost 100% sure I've played levels of yours before, but drop me a code for one of your levels and I'll play through that and more.

Well you did indeed play a few already so don't feel obligated.
Though if you do feel so inclined it could be worth knowing how some of the my older stages have fared with checkpoints added, in particular...

Swinging Snappers
(8C2E-0000-00D8-1FE0)

And

Propeller Podoboo's Pursuit
(3610-0000-00D8-376D)

 

[Gotdatmoney]

I can't get passed the part in Bowser's Puzzle Castle when Yoshi first starts walking on lava with the srings and grinders and it's driving me crazy.

Edit: Ah ha! Figured it out. Awesome stage!

That level was super cool. Lots of great mechanics in there. Awesome that Nintendo published a well polished level that actually has some hard as shit parts in it. Lots of great design. Hope we see more.

I worked on this course for FAR longer than I should have. If you guys could check it out it would be greatly appreciated!

Puzzles and Contraptions

DA9C-0000-00DA-0891

I played this yesterday and really liked it. I thought the Yoshi grabbing the falling enemy section was really cool. Good job. The only criticism (and I understand why it exists) is the beginning is just a watch cool shit happen part. I understand you are introducing mechanics.

Fiery Spikes in Reversible Cave (5987-0000-00D8-02F8)

Genuinely gave this a try but there is a lot of places to get stuck and a lot of confusing parts. I can tell a lot of hard work was put in it though. Maybe will try again.

 

[CrisKre]

I actually played and starred this yesterday. Good level. I thought it was a good difficulty and nothing was obtuse to figure out despite there being a ton of different mechanics. Lots of secrets. The level felt very different from the average level though I cant really figure out why sprcifically.

Good job. I wont lie though, I dont get the name

Lol, thanks! The name refers to the heavy use of ice tiles btw. Ill be playing more of you guys levels through the day.

 

[CrisKre]

Well you did indeed play a few already so don't feel obligated.
Though if you do feel so inclined it could be worth knowing how some of the my older stages have fared with checkpoints added, in particular...

Swinging Snappers
(8C2E-0000-00D8-1FE0)

And

Propeller Podoboo's Pursuit
(3610-0000-00D8-376D)

Played both of your levels. Snappers was fantastic, great sense of difficulty, always engaging and creative and a joy to play.

Pursuit im a bit more mixed on. I liked it. I appreciate the creativity, but the main mechanic was a bit frustrating and putting a collapsing platform right at the end is evil. You know this.

Great work!

 

[Oidisco]

I played this one back when you first dropped it in the thread, it's a nice solid stage, what really got me though was watching your speed run through it for comparison afterwards, that was some Tropical Freeze style alternative speed paths right there.

Dayum, I actually speedrun Tropical Freeze so that's pretty much the best thing anyone's said about one of my levels. Glad you liked it.

Don't hesitate to try my latest one too: 8C82-0000-00D8-5AD8

Finally got around to playing this one. The 1st section was well designed and had nice variety, but the 2nd section was pretty awkward I thought. It was pretty easy to end up in a position where it's impossible to finish, largely because it went on too long and you could despawn some of the cannon balls.
So yea, making the 2nd section a bit shorter would be a big improvement in my opinion.

I'll get around to playing some other levels soon!

 

[CoasterFreak225]

I suppose this has been done before, but I decided to get onboard with my first level, "The Great Deku Tree," inspired by Ocarina of Time. I hope it can give you a vibe of Zelda puzzle concepts.

I plan to create at least two more levels, "Dodongo's Cavern" and "Inside Jabu-Jabu's Belly" in the future to complete the Spiritual Stones series in Mario Maker. Before that can happen, I want to see how this level goes with the world and I am open to any feedback that I can use for this level and the upcoming levels. Enjoy!

5F79-0000-00DB-49F6

This is legitimately the stage that will get you salty. I cannot beat it and lost 30 lives. :-(

Great job, I applaud you, deafsox.

 

[Killua]

"P" is a good letter. (D94E-0000-00C9-6139)
The first part is maybe a bit obscure, I'm not sure I solved it the way I should.

Spoiler

I activated the P-switch, which brought the Bullet Bill launcher down. I then activated the second P-switch, then jumped on the coin platform on the right, then to the Bullet Bill to get across the chasm.

The rest is easy. Is the other stuff at the start false hints?

You solved it the right way. They aren't supposed to be false hints, just extra chances incase you mess up. I guess I should probably update it at some point and modify it to be less confusing. Thank you for the feedback.

 

[Killua]

All Right! Got some new levels I want to share. Please try them out. Feedback would be awesome!

Extreme Buzzy Boarding
(1EE0-0000-00DA-AD78)
Mario is into extreme sports! Hop on blazing fast Buzzy Shells and soar through the skies.

The Last Goomba
(A67F-0000-00DD-42FB)
This is my newest and most ambitious level thus far! Here is the story.
Bowser has turned against the Goombas and is on a mission to kill every last one. It's up to Mario to stop him! Will he save them in time?

Bombs Away (Remix)
(11CC-0000-00DA-7606)
This is called remix because it's a re-upload of a previous level with several changes and a new level skin. I tweaked it quite a bit and made it more accessible. I think you guys will like this version better.

 

[Thud]

I suppose this has been done before, but I decided to get onboard with my first level, "The Great Deku Tree," inspired by Ocarina of Time. I hope it can give you a vibe of Zelda puzzle concepts.

I plan to create at least two more levels, "Dodongo's Cavern" and "Inside Jabu-Jabu's Belly" in the future to complete the Spiritual Stones series in Mario Maker. Before that can happen, I want to see how this level goes with the world and I am open to any feedback that I can use for this level and the upcoming levels. Enjoy!

5F79-0000-00DB-49F6

Probably a bit on the hard side, took me a few tries to get to the first pipe. The problem is a few tight spaces and if you take a hit when you find the mushroom you have to restart.

Either distribute the mushroom with a pipe or make spaces less tight. If you want to be sure people pass this part you can do botch. Then there's a problem with entering that pipe, taking damage immediately after it. Going to the left is a death trap. So now I have to retry all the previous stuff and remember to go right...

Sounds like a pain in the ass for the first part of your stage. I'm going finish it, because I love Ocarina of Time, but the translation from zelda to mario is making it hard with your current designs.

 

[Jocchan]

Indeed, not sure if it's your changes that smoothed out Super Dude Bros. II 1-2, or if it's me who was in a different mood, but I didn't feel the same "jumping through hoops" feeling I got the first time. It flowed more naturally than I remembered, and I really had fun!

You know, out of curiosity I just went back to the level to check out what exactly was changed. Turns out that, unless I missed something very subtle, the only changes are:
- the addition of two "official" checkpoints to compliment Ragnarok's passcode system (still left in, so you can theoretically skip most of the level if you know the passcode from a previous playthrough);
- the bombable wall is one tile less thick;
- the removal of the one instance where the invisible platform glitch was used (after it was fixed by Nintendo, it made the level unbeatable);
- some dialogue (implemented through Miiverse comments) is slightly different.
Couldn't really find anything else that wasn't already in.

I guess the safety net given by both checkpoints, plus more knowledge of what to do beforehand, may have helped the most. Whatever it was, I'm glad you enjoyed the ride this time around

Thanks for your feedback on my old school levels, I'm glad you had the same fun I had with my "Cliffs" level. The way Cheep Cheeps are managed in Super Mario Maker is hilarious, it's like Super Mario Bros. 3 "Big Bertha" (the big fish), but "Piranha" style instead of "Jaws" style.

Speaking of which, you actually played the new versions...


My two (so far, the rest is coming) "Old School Super Mario" levels have indeed been updated, not with checkpoints because they don't need them, but with progressive powerups - because without them, an old school level isn't really old school, is it?

At first I was scared it would unbalance the levels, but to my surprise it made them more fun (I did make a few adjustments, though). I've noticed that more generally, Super Mario Maker authors want to control what the player is doing, and plan the exact challenge he/she will go through, but progressive powerups and player empowerment through powerups in general (and classic Super Mario Bros. "playground" design vs. "obstacle course" design à la Super Meat Boy) actually bring a special kind of fun to the player even if obstacles are first and foremost thought for little Mario, like an internal "cheat" mode. Obviously this all has to be balanced, but giving a wider access to the fire flower here improved the levels IMO. This certainly encouraged me to use progressive powerups more. As Tomi Pierce said to Jordan Mechner to encourage him to put fights in the original Prince of Persia (thanks, hardcoregaming101.net):

Progressive powerups are awesome. Even simply getting a fire flower that would otherwise have been there anyway feels more rewarding if you know you'd have gotten a mushroom by playing worse.
They're harder to implement in more puzzle-like levels because you need more control on what abilities Mario can access at any moment, or how many hits the player can take before dying, but for more platforming-oriented or open-ended levels they fit like a glove.

This message happened to me too, generally when I load a level where I dragged a costume on Mario last time I saved.

I usually get it while editing levels that don't even support costumes! ie. levels in SMB3 style.

Playing both of these was like Mario stages messing with my head.
My experience with SH2 is limited to the first 2 hours so I'm sure a lot of things went over my head yet I still very much enjoyed the experience so I figure that's the mark of a good level there.

Heh, thanks! They both play similarly with nightmarish stuff.

At first, the

Spoiler

not-really-hallucination sequence

in Super Dude Bros. II 1-2 was a lot more subdued. But then I realized that, with all the crazy stuff normally going on in Mario levels, it didn't really give the correct impression. So I ramped up the crazy.

Both levels actually used glitches (reason why I had to reupload the first) in a few instances. Thankfully I was waiting for the 11/4 update to add checkpoints to Not Tomorrow, otherwise that would have needed a revision as well.

Too bad they're gone. Getting

Spoiler

shot towards a pit of lava, only to end up on an invisible platform inches above it

, was pretty awesome in-context. And so was

Spoiler

an apparently solid platform that you'd actually fall through (into a pit, with a checkpoint and the real path forward on its bottom)

.

 

[CrisKre]

All Right! Got some new levels I want to share. Please try them out. Feedback would be awesome!

Extreme Buzzy Boarding
(1EE0-0000-00DA-AD78)
Mario is into extreme sports! Hop on blazing fast Buzzy Shells and soar through the skies.

The Last Goomba
(A67F-0000-00DD-42FB)
This is my newest and most ambitious level thus far! Here is the story.
Bowser has turned against the Goombas and is on a mission to kill every last one. It's up to Mario to stop him! Will he save them in time?

Bombs Away (Remix)
(11CC-0000-00DA-7606)
This is called remix because it's a re-upload of a previous level with several changes and a new level skin. I tweaked it quite a bit and made it more accessible. I think you guys will like this version better.

Hey! Great levels. My favorite was the last goomba, but i will say, the whole stretch after the second flag is pretty brutal, especially since you don't offer any power up for a long while there. Also, in the second room flag, i feel you need to put the koopa respawn platforms lower or offer a third tile like a stair on each side (and maybe keep the bowser clown pad at just 1)

Boarding was great and very complex without being frustrating, and bombs away is intricate and fun but somehow the player always feels like going forward.

Since im here, i just uploaded one of my oldest levels with changes and checkpoints. Im very fond of this level for some reason, so id love if you guys could give it a try:

Deep steep forgotten mines!REDUX
0957-0000-00DD-73A7

 

[Green Mamba]

Hadn't played the old one, I really enjoyed this. The chomps on rails are used really well. The only thing that puzzled me is the leaf/fire flower usage: why sometimes there is one, and sometimes the other? Fire Mario is never useful, is he? At times you wonder if you should switch powerups, thinking the "new" powerup is a hint of hazards to come, but the leaf is always better.

Honestly this is a change I made that wasn't really completely thought out--the original version only had Mushrooms with the one hidden Leaf. I changed the Mushrooms to tiered Mushroom-Fire Flower as I thought it'd be nice to get at least an extra hit if you didn't find the Leaf, but I didn't think enough about the dichotomy between the two and the potential confusion there.

 

[deafsox987]

Got to read some comments on Miiverse so I will go ahead and tweak the level.

 

[Simbabbad]

I did attempt to rather half assedly try and present the bombs dropping out the noteblocks in advance by timing it so the first bomb that drops out lands in front of the snake track so it's essentially not going to hurt anyone, alas that's like half a second of warning before the koopa knocks out the fatal ones that actually provide a threat so, yeah my bad.

Also, in the heat of the action, you don't have time to think the Koopa will activate bombs, you see the Koopa itself as the threat, so you hide from it by going under the blocks, which drop bombs that kill you... that's what happened to me.

Whatever it was, I'm glad you enjoyed the ride this time around

Reading the list, I realize the bombable wall a block less thick actually played a huge role, I loathe levels where you have thick walls to bomb. Your level has other slow/methodical areas where you have to wait a bit, but they're OK, I guess the lack of checkpoints and that bomb part spoiled the rest/unbalanced my general impression. Sometimes minor things can make the big picture go one way or the other... that, and/or I played too many frustrating levels in a row before playing your previous version and I had less patience.

Honestly this is a change I made that wasn't really completely thought out--the original version only had Mushrooms with the one hidden Leaf. I changed the Mushrooms to tiered Mushroom-Fire Flower as I thought it'd be nice to get at least an extra hit if you didn't find the Leaf, but I didn't think enough about the dichotomy between the two and the potential confusion there.

You can also put mushrooms on leafs to make them progressive items, I think.

 

[deafsox987]

This is legitimately the stage that will get you salty. I cannot beat it and lost 30 lives. :-(

Great job, I applaud you, deafsox.

Thanks, Coaster! I will have to tweak the level though.

Probably a bit on the hard side, took me a few tries to get to the first pipe. The problem is a few tight spaces and if you take a hit when you find the mushroom you have to restart.

Either distribute the mushroom with a pipe or make spaces less tight. If you want to be sure people pass this part you can do botch. Then there's a problem with entering that pipe, taking damage immediately after it. Going to the left is a death trap. So now I have to retry all the previous stuff and remember to go right...

Sounds like a pain in the ass for the first part of your stage. I'm going finish it, because I love Ocarina of Time, but the translation from zelda to mario is making it hard with your current designs.

Thanks for your input, Thud. When I created this level, I had the exploration and puzzle-solving aspects on my mind because they are part of the foundations for Zelda games.

I want players to feel like they need to earn power-ups (like items and in the Zelda games) to go through specific obstacles. However, like you pointed out, the first pipe leads you to an area that will guarantee damage, and I start to reckon that the concept of a death trap defeats the purpose of exploration because some players would want to see what is in the left. My reason for placing this death trap is so you are forced to earn the next power-up to continue, almost like earning a key in the Zelda games. I will look through the level and place more checkpoints so you would not be forced to start over from the beginning (that never happened in the majority of Zelda games.

Having said that, I will definitely work on the level and hopefully upload a better version tonight. Again, your input really gave me a better perspective of what players, especially Zelda fans, would want to see in this level - thanks!

 

[Thud]

Thanks for your input, Thud. When I created this level, I had the exploration and puzzle-solving aspects on my mind because they are part of the foundations for Zelda games.

I want players to feel like they need to earn power-ups (like items and in the Zelda games) to go through specific obstacles. However, like you pointed out, the first pipe leads you to an area that will guarantee damage, and I start to reckon that the concept of a death trap defeats the purpose of exploration because some players would want to see what is in the left. My reason for placing this death trap is so you are forced to earn the next power-up to continue, almost like earning a key in the Zelda games. I will look through the level and place more checkpoints so you would not be forced to start over from the beginning (that never happened in the majority of Zelda games.

Having said that, I will definitely work on the level and hopefully upload a better version tonight. Again, your input really gave me a better perspective of what players, especially Zelda fans, would want to see in this level - thanks!

I just send you a PM haha. Let me know if you need some help. I have a few ideas how you can improve your stage as well as a few tips and tricks in general. Also you don't have to invent everything by yourself, steal some elements you can use from GAF stages or look how other people tackled a Deku Tree stage.

My second stage (I deleted it) was pretty shitty, but I kept improving it and eventually made a Majora's Mask stage based on it. So keep working on it!

 

[Green Mamba]

You can also put mushrooms on leafs to make them progressive items, I think.

You can, yes, but I felt the Leaf should remain hidden. It's rather powerful in the level.

 

[deafsox987]

I just send you a PM haha. Let me know if you need some help. I have a few ideas how you can improve your stage as well as a few tips and tricks in general. Also you don't have to invent everything by yourself, steal some elements you can use from GAF stages or look how other people tackled a Deku Tree stage.

My second stage (I deleted it) was pretty shitty, but I kept improving it and eventually made a Majora's Mask stage based on it. So keep working on it!

Going to check the PM soon, haha. I am working on it right now, I actually decided to explore other rooms to ease the frustration. I also want to avoid any loopholes, hence that death trap you saw in the basement floor.

So far, it is looking better but once I uploaded it, you can share more tips on how to improve. You are right about not having to invent everything - I wanted to test my capability before looking into others' Deku Tree stages. I will probably do that for Dodongo's Cavern though!

 

[Great Puma]

My latest labor of love: recreations of eight NES classics stuffed into a single stage! Come get high on nostalgia fumes.

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

Just made a Twin Peaks inspired level. Not hard, but meant to be creepy.

Fire Walk With Me

Code is: B6F8-0000-00DD-D285

I'm in the Black Lodge with...Dale...Cooper...

 

[Killua]

Hey! Great levels. My favorite was the last goomba, but i will say, the whole stretch after the second flag is pretty brutal, especially since you don't offer any power up for a long while there. Also, in the second room flag, i feel you need to put the koopa respawn platforms lower or offer a third tile like a stair on each side (and maybe keep the bowser clown pad at just 1)

Boarding was great and very complex without being frustrating, and bombs away is intricate and fun but somehow the player always feels like going forward.

Since im here, i just uploaded one of my oldest levels with changes and checkpoints. Im very fond of this level for some reason, so id love if you guys could give it a try:

Deep steep forgotten mines!REDUX
0957-0000-00DD-73A7

Thank you I'm glad you liked the levels and I really appreciate the feedback. Yeah I can looking into those changes you suggested for the last goomba. Those are some good ideas.

I'll give your level a try too. It looks fun.

 

[deafsox987]

Thanks to the help of Thud, I was able to tweak the level to ease the frustration players might face in the original design.

The updated stage is called "The Great Deku Tree v1.1 and the code is below:

22EF-0000-00DD-EBBE

More feedback would be appreciated, and enjoy!

 

[NetMapel]

Playing Mario Maker now on my Twitch: http://www.twitch.tv/shibafan/

Come submit levels and hangout Can't wait to play people's newly modified levels with checkpoints and all that !

 

[Thud]

Playing Mario Maker now on my Twitch: http://www.twitch.tv/shibafan/

Come submit levels and hangout Can't wait to play people's newly modified levels with checkpoints and all that !

Did you just betray Yoshi?

Shiba pls.

 

[Sixfortyfive]

I haven't really been putting any serious time into level creation lately, but I did get around to updating 3 of my old levels with the new patch stuff.

0042-0000-00DD-AB9C Board the Airship (ver 2)

Still a pretty tough stage, but now there's a mid-level checkpoint to make it more reasonable. There were a few other minor changes too, like reworking the track section underneath the ship so that you don't have to wait as long for it to return if you fall off.

4145-0000-00DD-D4AB Goomba's Spelunking Boots (ver2)

Checkpoint added, plus other minor changes. Most changes were made with the intent to prevent the player from trapping himself if he dismounts the shoe at the wrong time and lets the shoe vanish. This was unlikely to ever happen in the first place, but I always make it a point to eliminate the possibility of being trapped with nothing but the timer as a means of escape. The final bonus room is now harder to access; kind of curious how many people can figure it out.

2C66-0000-00DE-046B Neo Super Mario Bros. W1-1 (v2)

Checkpoint added, plus the level now uses progressive power-ups. The underground bonus room has been changed a little.

 

[digita1alchemy]

I wasn't able to buy the game when it came out but I just got it from Gamefly and love it so far. In fact, the only downside has been that almost no one seem to be playing the levels I've made, so I figured I'd share them here. I've uploaded 2 so far, both are challenging but fair SMB1 stages. Please give them a try

Small Fish in a Big Pond (2BC5-0000-00D8-CD06)

Warning: Contents May Be Hot (0D08-0000-00DE-B092)

 

[NetMapel]

Did you just betray Yoshi?

Shiba pls.

He was sacrificed for the greater good~

 

[Thud]

He was sacrificed for the greater good~

All hail the checkpointgod.

I have a few ideas so you won't betray yoshi next time.

 

[NetMapel]

All hail the checkpointgod.

I have a few ideas so you won't betray yoshi next time.

Looking forward to it !

Checkpoints have been beautiful in the levels I've played so far. Really happy with what people have been using it for so far. Definitely completed a lot more stages that I wouldn't have otherwise.

 

[Forkball]

Beat Gnat Attack. I didn't really bother with it before, but I need the Mario Maker costume for a level I want to make. I almost impaled my gamepad with the stylus.

 

[Twinguistics]

Hey a question:

Is there a way to see where people died in your level? The only way I can see is to play it myself and die but that seems silly.

 

[Robin64]

Hey a question:

Is there a way to see where people died in your level? The only way I can see is to play it myself and die but that seems silly.

It shows on the little minimap overview when you look at a level you've uploaded, but it's tiny and only shows the main area.

 

[daydream]

just got my third coin today, still only at four created levels (though a fifth one is in the making, sorta)

anyway, these event stages are pretty fun, especially the triforce heroes one. also, costumes!

 

[deafsox987]

I am wondering if I am able to rename courses after they are uploaded and still have the same code?

For example, my course is named "The Great Deku Tree v1.1" and once it is final, I would like to rename it from my Coursebot to just "The Great Deku Tree" and upload it to the Course World and still have the same code? Probably a silly question but it does not hurt to ask!

 

[deafsox987]

Like many people here, I've updated some of my levels, including the entirety of my Metroid series. Checkpoints have been added (two, one to avoid repetition at the beginning of the levels and one before their boss/end battle, except for Tourian which needed just one), action has been smoothed out to improve game flow, visual hints have been added on some secrets, and explicit instruction (an arrow) is now used so people understand quicker that they can ground stomp with the giant black boot.

The series has a new title, too, "Metroid Resurgence":

Those courses look awesome, I am gonna try them out today.

 

[Sixfortyfive]

I am wondering if I am able to rename courses after they are uploaded and still have the same code?

For example, my course is named "The Great Deku Tree v1.1" and once it is final, I would like to rename it from my Coursebot to just "The Great Deku Tree" and upload it to the Course World and still have the same code? Probably a silly question but it does not hurt to ask!

When you upload the course, you assign a name to it. It can be different than the one it currently has on your Coursebot.

You can't change the name after it's uploaded, though. You'd have to upload another version of it to do that.

 

[Twinguistics]

My level is sitting with alkost no plays
Would anyone try it?

Temple of the thousand mirrors
9531-0000-00D9-AE16


There are lots of secrets here and took quite some time to complete it. Ill be playing some of the levels posted here as well!

Here is a video of the beginning:

https://youtu.be/rw5o5hc8xdE

Nice level! I really enjoyed it. I was pleased to see the checkpoint as it's quite long but contains lots of good ideas - I especially liked the room where you have to keep descending past magikoopas. All in all, a very fun level.

I made a quick new one today, I'd appreciate a play!

Bouncing Bombs! 2091-0000-00DF-D1B7

Its a one room challenge, can you dodge the bombs and use them to your advantage?

 

[Model 500]

Finally had time to finish / edit my favourite level so far, it's a hard one, but fair. Mainly traditional platforming, action and tight spots. Would be interesting to hear honest feedback.

Here's the code:
B7C3-0000-00DF-E6B8