I think part of the problem with water levels is movement feels imprecise and too floaty compared to out of water. It's not fun to slow things down in general. I imagine clever use of the tools could make fun water levels but how many people are interested in even trying? I'm not.
Possibilities with the water tileset are too limited. There are some cool water specific enemies in SMB3 and SMW and stuff like currents that make the old games more dynamic. The giant hungry fish or awake sleep fish for example arr enemies that could really helped. Blocks that you pick up and have a limited time to throw are used a lot in SMW and SMB3 water levels.. I dont feel limited to make a good land level in SMM. I do with the water tiles. No land water mixes are also a huge discouragement.
SMW really needed saws to turn into Urchins under water.
Urchins and Rip Van Fish make up a large part of the underwater puzzles in SMW.
I actually made a stage in SMW style that had to use saw blades where the real game would have used Urchins and it made me think they should have just made them visually turn into them, like how spikes change to Jelectros/Small Urchins. Galoombas could have become Rip Van Fishes (since under water they sort of do the same thing, except without the sleeping).
Hey I think I'm having a problem or I'm missing something. I've been trying out the various event courses as I haven't played the game since they launched.
First I had a problem trying to even open the courses but I got that fixed by rebooting my router.
Now when I play the courses I don't see any custom costumes. Like from what I understand playing the Mercedes-Benz course the mystery mushroom should give me a car, but instead I get random one from my unlocked costumes. And when I complete the course I get a notification about unlocking a costume but nothing is actually unlocked, the square stays empty and I don't see anything new in the editor.
So am I doing something wrong, is the game bugged or what's going on?
Update to this, booting my Wii U got it fixed (and/or letting it be for a while). Napster also only just now appeared so there was something funky going on with my Wii U.
I couldn't finish your level dude, sorry. I left you a Star and a comment on your level where I got stuck. I think you need another check point just before that part with the P switch and the clown car throwing turtle shells. It was too frustrating to have to back track back to that point over and over again, I gave up.
Part of the reason I put it there so you get a chance to get a Fire Flower as I have progressive power ups now. There's a hidden star also in the beginning of that area.
I dunno what this update did but my Snowy Tundra level has had a significant boost in plays and stars. I dunno if it appears in the search feature more or it has been shown somewhere on the net but last night it had 40+ plays compared to my other levels and 14 stars and today its added another 12 or so stars. Its at 87 stars now. My most popular level surpassing my first ice level that had 84 from some 3 months ago.
I wonder if the update is helping any other gaffers.
I dunno what this update did but my Snowy Tundra level has had a significant boost in plays and stars. I dunno if it appears in the search feature more or it has been shown somewhere on the net but last night it had 40+ plays compared to my other levels and 14 stars and today its added another 12 or so stars. Its at 87 stars now. My most popular level surpassing my first ice level that had 84 from some 3 months ago.
I wonder if the update is helping any other gaffers.
I got over 100 new stars over the last 2 days, so yes. Probably that and Holidays are seeing more new owners and playtime. All my levels are seeing increases, but mostly Snowy Sky Lift Summit which is featured on the recommended section of the Bookmark and has 199 stars right now.
I got over 100 new stars over the last 2 days, so yes. Probably that and Holidays are seeing more new owners and playtime. All my levels are seeing increases, but mostly Snowy Sky Lift Summit which is featured on the recommended section of the Bookmark and has 199 stars right now.
I am at 597 stars. I always remember your sky lift levels because you used the clouds as snow mechanic I suggested. I do it in my snow level as well. People seem to go ape shit for that
I am at 597 stars. I always remember your sky lift levels because you used the clouds as snow mechanic I suggested. I do it in my snow level as well. People seem to go ape shit for that
Hahaha, yes I did, and its my most starred level by far (with the second being Shiveringly Frozen Cold Manor, which is my personal favorite of the levels I created). So I thank you for that kind sir! Some of my stars are yours!!!!
New level!
The 1rst time I'm actually remaking a level I made earlier.
It wasn't that great to begin with so I never posted it anyway.
This is less noob friendly than I'm used to.
I'd really like some feedbacks on this one Bouncing Rodeo : 158E-0000-012A-2180
New level!
The 1rst time I'm actually remaking a level I made earlier.
It wasn't that great to begin with so I never posted it anyway.
This is less noob friendly than I'm used to.
I'd really like some feedbacks on this one Bouncing Rodeo : 158E-0000-012A-2180
Hahaha, yes I did, and its my most starred level by far (with the second being Shiveringly Frozen Cold Manor, which is my personal favorite of the levels I created). So I thank you for that kind sir! Some of my stars are yours!!!!
Yeah, you've veen killing it with the levels. I understand now why I'm getting so my more plays on my one level. My level is one of the top displayed for SMB3 Normal with the theme tag. Its like third on the list so I'm benefiting from that I think it helps that smb3 is the least used theme. Anyone looking for levels in there is way more likely to come across my stuff.
I liked it! Actually was trickier than I first thought, and I ran out of p-switch in a very frustrating spot, but I enjoy short tricky levels. Not sure I get the title though?
Great fun - I like puzzles that are tricky to figure out but perfectly reasonable to execute. One thing though -
just after the checkpoint you can actually get a mushroom if you just wait past the munching things! Nothing major but you can certainly speed up the next couple of bits.
For ages I've been wondering how to get some feedback on my stages, since I don't know anyone with a Wii U. Can't believe I forgot about GAF.
Anyway here's a couple of mine that I like- not after stars or anything, genuinely just want feedback
Basically a multi-part level, at each point you can progress via a puzzle or via a platforming segment. Again, let's see if someone can be the first to beat it xD
Played it, I thought it was pretty good and it flowed rather well. I have a little feedback, but it's really just personal opinion, so feel free to ignore it if it doesn't make sense.
I can tell you wanted the player to experience the gimmick immediately, with the first screen attacking you with multiple coins at once. I personally think that the beginning of a level needs a small amount of space to breathe with basic platforming/elements. It's just nice to remind the player of the game's baseline, so they have something to contrast against the gimmick.
The gimmick doesn't quite dovetail the way I would have preferred it to. The dizzy effect fudges your jumping accuracy, but you focus on larger/complete jumps, which is fine at the start of the level, but loses its punch towards the end. Smaller platforms, or ones moving side to side, or falling platforms, or jumping enemies, would have provided a more believable climax to the stage's theme.
I would also suggest using static coins too, rather than just the flying kind. Flying hazards tend to make the player wait around until they pass by, but static ones need to be evaded more directly
Yeah, you've veen killing it with the levels. I understand now why I'm getting so my more plays on my one level. My level is one of the top displayed for SMB3 Normal with the theme tag. Its like third on the list so I'm benefiting from that I think it helps that smb3 is the least used theme. Anyone looking for levels in there is way more likely to come across my stuff.
Played it, I thought it was pretty good and it flowed rather well. I have a little feedback, but it's really just personal opinion, so feel free to ignore it if it doesn't make sense.
I can tell you wanted the player to experience the gimmick immediately, with the first screen attacking you with multiple coins at once. I personally think that the beginning of a level needs a small amount of space to breathe with basic platforming/elements. It's just nice to remind the player of the game's baseline, so they have something to contrast against the gimmick.
The gimmick doesn't quite dovetail the way I would have preferred it to. The dizzy effect fudges your jumping accuracy, but you focus on larger/complete jumps, which is fine at the start of the level, but loses its punch towards the end. Smaller platforms, or ones moving side to side, or falling platforms, or jumping enemies, would have provided a more believable climax to the stage's theme.
I would also suggest using static coins too, rather than just the flying kind. Flying hazards tend to make the player wait around until they pass by, but static ones need to be evaded more directly
Thanks for the feedback. All of your points are absolutely correct. The truth is I only spent a fraction of the time I would have compared to any other level. I kind of regret uploading it, but I may go back and do more of a fully fleshed out level.
I got over 100 new stars over the last 2 days, so yes. Probably that and Holidays are seeing more new owners and playtime. All my levels are seeing increases, but mostly Snowy Sky Lift Summit which is featured on the recommended section of the Bookmark and has 199 stars right now.
The bookmark site raises a whole new discoverability issue, which is that levels with 100+ stars are more likely to get played a whole lot more, but everything else is just as likely to get lost. I went through a bunch of recommendations, all good stages that looked good, but after I finally played them I realized that all of them already had triple-digit stars. Until we get actual, honest curation on that site, really good stages will still get completely lost.
Congrats on the four-digit mark by the way, Snowy Sky Lift is a good stage, glad you're seeing a lot of plays!
The bookmark site raises a whole new discoverability issue, which is that levels with 100+ stars are more likely to get played a whole lot more, but everything else is just as likely to get lost. I went through a bunch of recommendations, all good stages that looked good, but after I finally played them I realized that all of them already had triple-digit stars. Until we get actual, honest curation on that site, really good stages will still get completely lost.
Congrats on the four-digit mark by the way, Snowy Sky Lift is a good stage, glad you're seeing a lot of plays!
I agree. Snowy is not my favorite stage of mine as a matter of fact. Though the site is great and does as good a job as expected. Its our job, i think, as a comunity to share good stages and get the word out to other players about interesting/quality creations.
Just wanted to second regarding the comments from the previous page how frustrating it is that so many people will play through levels without starring them. Unless a level is flat out dull, bad or sloppy it's just rude and stingy not to give a star. Either that or maybe having the Star button grayed out and stuck inside the comment bubble shoved off into the upper left side of the screen just isn't visually motifying? I think the Star system would have worked better as a "Like" set up. Every time you complete a level you'd get a message in the middle of the clear screen simply asking "Did you like this stage? Yes/No."
To quote myself: This isn't a definitive list of the best levels I've played or my all-time favourites (although a few of those are on here) but more a list of levels that I think are worth playing that don't quite get the attention they deserve. Maybe consider it a list of some very different hidden gems! A few are from NeoGAF and a couple I've posted individually on here. (I also haven't played Beetlemania since I first posted it and it's been updated at least twice. Pain in the ass tracking it down, this is why you don't delete levels. Anyway, I'll try it again but I can't vouch for its current state, although I trust it's as excellent as ever.)
For ages I've been wondering how to get some feedback on my stages, since I don't know anyone with a Wii U. Can't believe I forgot about GAF.
Anyway here's a couple of mine that I like- not after stars or anything, genuinely just want feedback
I tried and part after the 1rst door is a bit punishing, if you don't what's coming you end up dead :/
I'm in a mood for a precision based level on my last workday of the year >.<
I'll come back to it later.
Basically a multi-part level, at each point you can progress via a puzzle or via a platforming segment. Again, let's see if someone can be the first to beat it xD
Precision all the way, the puzzles are fun to figure out and the 2nd one there's multiple ways to do it.
Also after the blue moving platform you can cheese the level with a mere jump, I expected plenty of obstacles and stuffs but got a shortcut.
Awesome level, my SO tried it and really like the concept.
Now she has to play Yoshi's Island (oh damn, how will she ever survived playing one of the finest platformers out there!).
Really liked it, doing that without touching any coins could prove quite a challenge though.
With the bookmark website legitimately allowing players to curate their own list of picks, I hope that the people using stars as a pseudo favourites tag will be a little less frugal.
I tried and part after the 1rst door is a bit punishing, if you don't what's coming you end up dead :/
I'm in a mood for a precision based level on my last workday of the year >.<
I'll come back to it later.
Precision all the way, the puzzles are fun to figure out and the 2nd one there's multiple ways to do it.
Also after the blue moving platform you can cheese the level with a mere jump, I expected plenty of obstacles and stuffs but got a shortcut.
Can't actually believe I missed that, could literally have been fixed with two blocks - just careless. Feel like reuploading...for what it's worth the bit you skipped is full of obstacles and stuffs xD
To quote myself: This isn't a definitive list of the best levels I've played or my all-time favourites (although a few of those are on here) but more a list of levels that I think are worth playing that don't quite get the attention they deserve. Maybe consider it a list of some very different hidden gems! A few are from NeoGAF and a couple I've posted individually on here. (I also haven't played Beetlemania since I first posted it and it's been updated at least twice. Pain in the ass tracking it down, this is why you don't delete levels. Anyway, I'll try it again but I can't vouch for its current state, although I trust it's as excellent as ever.)
New level!
The 1rst time I'm actually remaking a level I made earlier.
It wasn't that great to begin with so I never posted it anyway.
This is less noob friendly than I'm used to.
I'd really like some feedbacks on this one Bouncing Rodeo : 158E-0000-012A-2180
To quote myself: This isn't a definitive list of the best levels I've played or my all-time favourites (although a few of those are on here) but more a list of levels that I think are worth playing that don't quite get the attention they deserve. Maybe consider it a list of some very different hidden gems! A few are from NeoGAF and a couple I've posted individually on here. (I also haven't played Beetlemania since I first posted it and it's been updated at least twice. Pain in the ass tracking it down, this is why you don't delete levels. Anyway, I'll try it again but I can't vouch for its current state, although I trust it's as excellent as ever.)
I played your course yesterday, traditional and easy going level.
Barely beat the record of a Japanese player (51 seconds to 50 seconds) but it was taken down with a 49 seconds by another Japanese player a couple minutes later!
It should be a very easy course, I targeted 40-30% clear rate.
The player will learn/use the spin jump to complete the level. Optional objective: can you find the hidden Thwomp house?
I just mentioned this to you on Miiverse but in case you missed it, leaving a comment does not auto star a stage. Pretty sure Nintendo removed that in an update. Comment and star button are both separate functions unless I'm missing something.
Nice! I woke up to several new comments on my Bob-omb Shooting Gallery 2 course. Went on to that new search website thing (hadn't played with it yet) and refreshed the "recommended courses" once, to see it right there. So cool.
My other ones are awful or remake so please don't check those :x
I want to make new courses but I have no idea and I'm really bad at level design, as you can see, all my original courses are too "classic" = almost never use Mario Maker exclusive features. I'll look for design tips and tricks in the coming days.
I suggest Babysitting Bobombs if you want your reflexes and your brain tested a bit, others here seem to really be digging the concept on that one. Yoshi's Safe Landing (checkpoint version) or Yoshi's Boo Bustin' Bonanza are good old school choices. I'll check out more of yours soon.
OK so, I finally got around to finishing off my bookmarks list and I played three of yours: R-TYPE Blast the Bydo Empire!, Babysitting Bobombs and Yoshi's Safe Landing-Checkpoints. I'll start with Babysitting Bobombs because it's the one I have the most to say about.
First off, I really enjoy the mechanic where you ride a giant koopa troopa or bob-omb with a bullet bill launcher on its back. Visually it's very cool, and the game doesn't let you stand atop a koopa troopa normally. It can be hard to come up with something that feels really fun that isn't done to death, but I feel like you hit on it here. With that said, the first stretch is much, much too long and empty. Normally, Mario stages will have a very slow, very open area at the start to get the player accustomed to the layout and slowly introduce new mechanics. However, Mario doesn't learn any mechanics here -- the koopa troopa does! It's probably better to get Mario where he needs to get a little quicker, or perhaps introduce some sort of alternate thing to do, like collect coins, jump up on an alternate platform above the main area for platforming, whatever. Making Mario stand still without running or jumping is about the worst thing a level can do.
Later on, the bob-ombs (the babysitting part!) turns into almost a puzzle, and I think the transition here is fantastic. The one thing I would point out about this stretch is that before entering the pipe before the winged-block section, the first time playing through that part a Bob-omb blew up off-screen and took out half of the winged block structure. Playing it the first time it was unsolvable, and I had no idea what was going on. This would be a fatal flaw if it weren't for the checkpoint!
Two final broader points: I feel like you try to communicate things to the player a bit too often and a bit too obviously, either spelling out whole words in coins or using arrows, which you do a lot. Motion and subtle clues such as coins, safe areas and such can influence where Mario will just as well as arrows, and the stage looks less cluttered and the player feels smarter for having figured it out. Additionally, there's no way to get the 1-up at the flagpole. That spot is a great place to re-introduce a mechanic used throughout the stage as a sort of victory lap, or to just toss in a fun little challenge as a parting gift. I always feel a bit let down when it's just used as an exit.
To sum up: I thought this stage was a little bit rough around the edges, but I loved what was at the heart!
Now, R-TYPE Blast the Bydo Empire! I like what's going on in this stage a lot, as when you stick to the main path it feels like a shoot-em-up and the enemy placement is quite clever. However, it's very, very easy to just go to the top half of the stage and ignore everything you've laid out. It's also easy to destroy essential blocks with the fire clown car. On Miiverse you said you weren't really expecting this and put the clown car into an old stage. Just feel like I should point it out here that you need to use a lot of the non-destructable ground blocks in this stage and you might have to rethink the finale. I can see why your shooter stages are so popular though!
As for Yoshi's Safe Landing-Checkpoints, it's really short. I liked it a lot though. Not much to add, just really good work there!
Oh, and have a very happy Patrick Swayze Christmas.
I just mentioned this to you on Miiverse but in case you missed it, leaving a comment does not auto star a stage. Pretty sure Nintendo removed that in an update. Comment and star button are both separate functions unless I'm missing something.
I think part of the problem with water levels is movement feels imprecise and too floaty compared to out of water. It's not fun to slow things down in general. I imagine clever use of the tools could make fun water levels but how many people are interested in even trying? I'm not.
For ages I've been wondering how to get some feedback on my stages, since I don't know anyone with a Wii U. Can't believe I forgot about GAF.
Anyway here's a couple of mine that I like- not after stars or anything, genuinely just want feedback
I wouldn't expect many completions of this level tbh. It's far too difficult the break out into something most players will ever be able to beat. My main issue with this level (well and really levels as a whole on gaf or otherwise) is that there is little things that spike the difficulty just for the sake of spiking the difficulty. I will provide examples.
Right in the beginning for instance the player gets a mushroom and 9/10 times I imagine the player loses it within 1 screen forward. That small cavern is much harder to navigate with a mushroom to point that picking it up will almost immediately lead to the player losing it until they play the level a dozen times and figure out the precise timing and spacing. If the goal of the mushroom is to ease the level, designers need to accommodate the level design to work with it. Here it feels more as though it was thrown in just as a bone but not necessarily tested out for average use. If you want the section to be easier just space the spikes out or raise the sealing one square up. The mushroom serves little purpose there.
Directly after that there are stairs with green koopas coming down. Okay that is fine, except directly behind the second koopa is a spiny. It is so close to the koopa the player has little options on how to approach it and because you have applied pressure with the launcher pushing the player forward you are assuredly causing many a death simply do to a placement issue. Further more, SMM screen scroll upwards only occurs when the player lands on a space higher elevated than their last position. You have another spiny that is effectively off screen and it kills players before they can even see it due to the games mechanics. Perhaps you didn't realize this because you know the level but to a newcomer, this is just frustrating. Within the implementation of two mecahanics and maybe 3 screens, I definitely know many players will have said fuck this already and moved on. Its not really because the level ideas are bad, it's just that you need to refine the design from the stance of someone who will be going in blind.
One other thing to note that someone mentioned earlier, the spikes after the door are definitely the sticking "nope" part for 95% of players. The spike like 3 blocks out of the door is bad. Don't do that, after the entire last section of the level, that being what kills you feels cheap. That entire section is heavy handed, the spike placement is really close and unforgiving and there is still another small section after that before the first checkpoint. Frankly, it's too much. Of the first section until the checkpoint you need to pick one of the places I mentioned and tone that shit down. The level as a whole has a lot of these moments (particularly the giant green koopa jump over the spikes to the second checkpoint . . . how would anyone know the first time that was going to be a thing?) and if you want to keep the difficulty up and still boost your completion you'll have to redesign some of the challenges to be tough but fair in that the player knows what they have to do and has ample time to execute.
I starred the level, as of the last time I checked I was the only completion. There are good ideas but I do think it needs to be refined.
Basically a multi-part level, at each point you can progress via a puzzle or via a platforming segment. Again, let's see if someone can be the first to beat it xD
I also beat this one. I went puzzle, platform, platform. I liked this one quote a bit. The first puzzle I thought was really clever. I will say, between this level and your other one you seem to have a thing for putting spikes and jumps that require one block precision and I don't particularly think it makes for harder platforming more than it's just sorta annoying. A lot of people do this and I mostly think it happens when they don't know how to increase the challenge of the platforming naturally. I would suggest playing around with some other mechanics to vary your platforming sections up a bit.
Great level, really cool use of all the pipes and the sub worlds to make it feel like everything was interconnected. I would say, be careful about the placement of the plants, the way they spawn in and out of the pipes in MM is bad and so it is a bit unpredictable for the player when you wait several seconds and think its safe "then" the plant pops out after you jumped. Had that happen twice during this level for essential jumps.
Speedrunning level. Can you complete it without ever braking?
Was a really solid level. Frankly no complaints except I dunno why there was a mushroom on the block at the end. Sorta seems like by the time you can actually reach it the goal is right there. Otherwise great job. Star given for both levels.
It should be a very easy course, I targeted 40-30% clear rate.
The player will learn/use the spin jump to complete the level. Optional objective: can you find the hidden Thwomp house?
Fun level, pretty well balanced, lots of air travel was star fox like. I didn't realize I had to break the wall at the end, but the checkpoint right before made that a none issue. Gave ya a star, good work.
My other ones are awful or remake so please don't check those :x
I want to make new courses but I have no idea and I'm really bad at level design, as you can see, all my original courses are too "classic" = almost never use Mario Maker exclusive features. I'll look for design tips and tricks in the coming days.
This was a good level. Gave it a star. Nothing wrong with classic levels man, that's pretty much all I make. If you wanna get better at designing though you just gotta pick on or two mechanics, learn them inside out then build a level that progressively uses them. I made a level called Bob Ombs Forest Assault that is based around a bob omb invasion of the forest, progressively shows the destruction of the forest while showing off man cool things you can do with the enemies. Try for something of that nature. Gaf will be able to give you lots of solid tips and feedback.
Played your Sonic level and it was your usual high quality. Good platforming and intelligent use of hazards. The only thing I'd say is you went for the Sonic theme and didn't really play to it until the end with that speed section, which was brilliant but all too short.
Thank you, but have you played the Genesis Sonic games? My level was built going back and forth between Super Mario Maker and those games, to really mimic their design (as much as possible without slopes, anyway)... except my speed section at the end, which I threw in there so that there's an area that fits the idea that people who don't know Sonic have of Sonic !
I wouldn't expect many completions of this level tbh. It's far too difficult the break out into something most players will ever be able to beat. My main issue with this level (well and really levels as a whole on gaf or otherwise) is that there is little things that spike the difficulty just for the sake of spiking the difficulty. I will provide examples.
Right in the beginning for instance the player gets a mushroom and 9/10 times I imagine the player loses it within 1 screen forward. That small cavern is much harder to navigate with a mushroom to point that picking it up will almost immediately lead to the player losing it until they play the level a dozen times and figure out the precise timing and spacing. If the goal of the mushroom is to ease the level, designers need to accommodate the level design to work with it. Here it feels more as though it was thrown in just as a bone but not necessarily tested out for average use. If you want the section to be easier just space the spikes out or raise the sealing one square up. The mushroom serves little purpose there.
Directly after that there are stairs with green koopas coming down. Okay that is fine, except directly behind the second koopa is a spiny. It is so close to the koopa the player has little options on how to approach it and because you have applied pressure with the launcher pushing the player forward you are assuredly causing many a death simply do to a placement issue. Further more, SMM screen scroll upwards only occurs when the player lands on a space higher elevated than their last position. You have another spiny that is effectively off screen and it kills players before they can even see it due to the games mechanics. Perhaps you didn't realize this because you know the level but to a newcomer, this is just frustrating. Within the implementation of two mecahanics and maybe 3 screens, I definitely know many players will have said fuck this already and moved on. Its not really because the level ideas are bad, it's just that you need to refine the design from the stance of someone who will be going in blind.
One other thing to note that someone mentioned earlier, the spikes after the door are definitely the sticking "nope" part for 95% of players. The spike like 3 blocks out of the door is bad. Don't do that, after the entire last section of the level, that being what kills you feels cheap. That entire section is heavy handed, the spike placement is really close and unforgiving and there is still another small section after that before the first checkpoint. Frankly, it's too much. Of the first section until the checkpoint you need to pick one of the places I mentioned and tone that shit down. The level as a whole has a lot of these moments (particularly the giant green koopa jump over the spikes to the second checkpoint . . . how would anyone know the first time that was going to be a thing?) and if you want to keep the difficulty up and still boost your completion you'll have to redesign some of the challenges to be tough but fair in that the player knows what they have to do and has ample time to execute.
I starred the level, as of the last time I checked I was the only completion. There are good ideas but I do think it needs to be refined.
I have a tendency to start off too tricky and I'll take all that on board. I watch a lot of Mario Maker mornings with Patrick Klepek and some of the shit he plays I feel has skewed me towards some more trial and error, develop a strategy stages. The problem with 100 mario challenge is that people can't afford to play those kind of levels.
I also beat this one. I went puzzle, platform, platform. I liked this one quote a bit. The first puzzle I thought was really clever. I will say, between this level and your other one you seem to have a thing for putting spikes and jumps that require one block precision and I don't particularly think it makes for harder platforming more than it's just sorta annoying. A lot of people do this and I mostly think it happens when they don't know how to increase the challenge of the platforming naturally. I would suggest playing around with some other mechanics to vary your platforming sections up a bit.
This is interesting because I totally agree with you. I struggle to make platforming difficult naturally, to the point where I've considered going back to the nintendo stuff and trying to understand how they do it.
If you have any good examples of tough platforming stages or sections that are more natural I'd love to check them out
So since my Junior Airship Showdown level was deleted by Nintendo I decided to upload an improved version. I removed the checkpoint mechanism since it was unnecessary and replaced it with a 3rd phase for the Bowser Jr. chase sequence. There's also a nice secret at the end.
I have a tendency to start off too tricky and I'll take all that on board. I watch a lot of Mario Maker mornings with Patrick Klepek and some of the shit he plays I feel has skewed me towards some more trial and error, develop a strategy stages. The problem with 100 mario challenge is that people can't afford to play those kind of levels.
I hope my feedback isn't coming off as scathing, I know I can come off as harsher than I mean. Sometimes its hard to articulate a point without it sounding mean. No tone on the the net.
I agree the structure of the game discourages playing through hard levels. The only real reason to do so is because you just have the motivation to. I don't like to hype my own shit but there are some good examples of tough but mostly fair levels by gaffers that I think would be good study pieces. If I can find em again I'll post the bookmarks.
This is interesting because I totally agree with you. I struggle to make platforming difficult naturally, to the point where I've considered going back to the nintendo stuff and trying to understand how they do it.
If you have any good examples of tough platforming stages or sections that are more natural I'd love to check them out
Same sorta thing, if I can find some of the gaf levels I liked I'll link em. A lot of Koopakid's super mario planets series is a good example of solid challenging platforming that doesn't rely on small spaces necessarily.
As another example, it might actually be harder to jump on a 3 block wide platform with a ghost attached to it than a single one block platform. Enemy placement, height differences and bottomless holes can help mix up the platforming difficulty.
I hope my feedback isn't coming off as scathing, I know I can come off as harsher than I mean. Sometimes its hard to articulate a point without it sounding mean. No tone on the the net.
Not at all, it's very good to have some perspective from someone other than just me xD
I think when you have no one to playtest your levels it's super important to remember that the fact that you designed and tested it will make your play-through at least 30% easier than most others. I need to try and avoid adding stuff to make sections harder just because I'm starting to get good at it.
Excellent reuse of areas to open up the level Metroid-style. A couple of times I wasn't sure where I should go with the shoe. The level has a clean, uniform look, but on the other hand could do with a few more visual flourishes to identify each section.
Nothing wrong with the level other than I've quickly discovered I don't get on with these new bumpers! I found them more inconsistent than any spring or note block, though I did like the different trajectories they provide. Well done for being one of the first to give it a crack anyway.
Surprised at the completion rate, once you figure out the start (and not jump onto the question block like I did 3 times!) this is pretty easy. It's a distinctive and highly memorable level that was fun to navigate. My only criticism is it could do with a checkpoint. The speed of the moving vines is really slow and because you can't really dictate the pace it's a bit of a grind to have to start back at the beginning if you die near the end.
Cool concept, lovely presentation and solid platforming. I like how you presented the two paths near the end. If I didn't have such a long list of levels I would have given it a second go.
What you might call a thumbnail level. Looks great in preview but the terrific design is lost a up close. This leaves players with the shooting, but strangely there's not enough of it for my tastes. I remember there being more in your R-Type level. I am so pleased that you're paying homage to these great shmups though, keep it going!
You have the gift CrisKre. You somehow seem to cram so much stuff in your levels but they never feel cluttered. Your platforming is by equal measure interesting and surprising yet easy to figure out. Well done.
Love the title, and anything with ZSS in is cool in my book. Level is a bit short and easy for my tastes but gives just enough of a pleasant diversion.
My son found it hilarious how many times I died in the same spot, and the more laughter I got the worse I did. I had tremendous fun though. The Bullet towers on conveyor belts provide for some skillful platforming that also taxed the brain. Knowing where to be on the conveyor belt was as important as making the actual jumps. Great work.
Another shooter, but what this one lacks in style compared to Agent Unknown's makes up with shooting. Quite good, a little unimaginative perhaps but showcases the new Clown car charge mechanic well.
Enjoyable, free flowing level until the muncher part where you are thrown out of your rhythm until you figure out where the star is hidden. I feel this bit is unnecessary as it isn't very intuitive, nor interesting enough of a diversion. I found your level well designed from a platforming point of view though.
I was working on this one for quite some time, it was mostly ready before the update but I think it's worthy enough for upload.
I feel like the last part is the weakest I'd like to know how you guys feel about it.
And it's Xmas so I guess it's my present for the 150 stars!
Also
First off, I really enjoy the mechanic where you ride a giant koopa troopa or bob-omb with a bullet bill launcher on its back. Visually it's very cool, and the game doesn't let you stand atop a koopa troopa normally. It can be hard to come up with something that feels really fun that isn't done to death, but I feel like you hit on it here.
Awesome, thanks. I'm really glad to hear this, one of my number goals making this stage was to make something that felt fresh. I think what helped was I wanted to make something that I myself would find interesting if I hadn't made the stage myself.
With that said, the first stretch is much, much too long and empty. Normally, Mario stages will have a very slow, very open area at the start to get the player accustomed to the layout and slowly introduce new mechanics.
Isn't that pretty much exactly what I did with the first area? It's a huge, wide open, very slow area which demonstrates the main mechanics to the player.
However, Mario doesn't learn any mechanics here -- the koopa troopa does!
Well, yes of course the Koopa Troopa is mainly the one "learning" as that's kind of the point since I intended to make a stage where you have to depend on the enemies to survive. But the player still learns here since
by walking across the obstacles and stepping on the P-Switch to create a small bridge, the Koopa Troopa demonstrates to the player the key mechanics needed to get through the stage.
It's probably better to get Mario where he needs to get a little quicker, or perhaps introduce some sort of alternate thing to do, like collect coins, jump up on an alternate platform above the main area for platforming, whatever. Making Mario stand still without running or jumping is about the worst thing a level can do.
But before this you said it's better to start off really slow. I'm going to have to disagree as another key objective in making this level was teaching the player patience. After giving it a lot of thought I specifically decided against adding coin collecting bits as I didn't want the player jumping around and dying just to grab some pointless extras when they need to be concentrating on learning what will help them through the rest of the stage. The level is meant to go against the grain of "normal" Mario stages where the player is usually somewhat encouraged or at least allowed to jump around, grab coins and melee enemies, this stage turns that on its ear a bit and tells the player, "Sorry, you gotta take it easy this time." Once the player has learned the mechanics of the stage though and arrive at
the Bobomb "escort" areas
then I let them loose at that point and they can do plenty of running and jumping.
Later on, the bob-ombs (the babysitting part!) turns into almost a puzzle, and I think the transition here is fantastic.
The one thing I would point out about this stretch is that before entering the pipe before the winged-block section, the first time playing through that part a Bob-omb blew up off-screen and took out half of the winged block structure. Playing it the first time it was unsolvable, and I had no idea what was going on. This would be a fatal flaw if it weren't for the checkpoint!
will start to fly over shortly after you complete the main "escort" section and you can hear it explode above you before you go down the second checkpoint pipe. I have no idea why simply making contact with the lower level causes the Bobomb to either explode or fall out of the "crib" automatically (I tried many times to find a way to fix this but there just wasn't enough space left, so to compensate I specifically added plenty of ground below the crib to catch the Bobomb for when it explodes or drops above you, this usually works really well 99% of the time as a failsafe). Maybe it's sort of a glitch and the game engine pushing back a bit since that section of the stage is just so crammed full of stuff? In any case obviously that doesn't prevent the player from proceeding and the flying "crib" section resets and actually starts once you go down the pipe after the second checkpoint flag. Are you saying there was actually a time it dropped out or exploded early once you were actually starting the flying section?
Two final broader points: I feel like you try to communicate things to the player a bit too often and a bit too obviously, either spelling out whole words in coins or using arrows, which you do a lot. Motion and subtle clues such as coins, safe areas and such can influence where Mario will just as well as arrows, and the stage looks less cluttered and the player feels smarter for having figured it out.
Sorry, I disagree. I agree some stages go overboard with communicating but this is a case where the stage depends on really sticking to what makes everything tick so I felt stringent communication to the player was necessary both due to the level's objective and the fact it's hard enough as it is to get decent completion rates. This is kind of a darned if you do, darned if you don't point in my opinion. I'd rather "over communicate" than be criticized later for "not communicating enough."
Additionally, there's no way to get the 1-up at the flagpole. That spot is a great place to re-introduce a mechanic used throughout the stage as a sort of victory lap, or to just toss in a fun little challenge as a parting gift. I always feel a bit let down when it's just used as an exit.
But a mechanic was re-introduced there and the player was given one final mini-challenge
when they escort the final Bobomb to the barrier in front of the goal.
Also, originally I tried to add a hidden block with a vine which would lead to a ceiling which would allow them to bypass the barrier and hit the top of the goal but ultimately I decided against that and removed it as that room wasn't quite big enough to accommodate an alternate path without it being really obvious and breaking the final room a bit. In the end I decided
guiding the final Bobomb to the goal
was its own reward.
To sum up: I thought this stage was a little bit rough around the edges, but I loved what was at the heart!
Thanks, I'm so happy you enjoyed it and really enjoyed both reading and responding to your feedback.
Now, R-TYPE Blast the Bydo Empire! I like what's going on in this stage a lot, as when you stick to the main path it feels like a shoot-em-up and the enemy placement is quite clever. However, it's very, very easy to just go to the top half of the stage and ignore everything you've laid out. It's also easy to destroy essential blocks with the fire clown car. On Miiverse you said you weren't really expecting this and put the clown car into an old stage. Just feel like I should point it out here that you need to use a lot of the non-destructable ground blocks in this stage and you might have to rethink the finale. I can see why your shooter stages are so popular though!
I totally agree, I wish I would have caught that and added a few more indestructible blocks before I added in the Fire Car but missed it in my gleeful delight moment of "Woo hoo! I can finally make real shmup stages!!" Haha. Oh well, hopefully it's not something a lot of players will do, at least you're the first to point it out. I'll have to go with that for now. Anyways, I plan on starting to make new shmup stages from the ground up in the near future.
As for Yoshi's Safe Landing-Checkpoints, it's really short. I liked it a lot though. Not much to add, just really good work there!
Thanks. It's meant to be a short but sweet stage and the player is encouraged not to neglect Yoshi. You might enjoy Yoshi's Shell Game if you want a bit more complex example of a take-care-of-Yoshi concept stage.
Thanks again for your engaging feedback, I'm going to try to play another one of your stages soon. And congrats again on getting Caramel Cliffs selected by GameCenter CX! I actually can't imagine a higher honor one here could receive outside of having their stage played by Tezuka or Miyamoto themselves.
Oh, and have a very happy Patrick Swayze Christmas.
