Idea Brainstorming And Design Feedback

[Emral]

Demo of the idea suggested here: viewtopic.php?f=69&p=323232#p323211

Here's how this works:
Visit this thread if you have an idea but need help with it in some way. Maybe you need ideas on how to continue a gimmick in the 2nd half of a level? Maybe you have a few screens which you would like feedback and suggestions on? Perhaps something isn't quite working out and you need another pair of eyes to look over it? Got a really cool aesthetic but don't know how to craft some unique design around it?

This thread is intended to help out with situations like that. It's intended for people to help others in carrying their level design further. Since this is a singular thread, we might run into the risk of overlooking one post on occasion if this gets busy, and it might be hard to keep track of a conversation if two are happening in parallel.

How is this different to a discord channel?
You'll get more in-depth feedback within a single post here than you would on any instant messaging service. The pace of forum conversations is much slower, so if you're concerned about getting a thorough response, this might be what you're looking for!

To everyone trying to help people out here
Try to explain where you're coming from as good as possible. Not everyone is as familiar with various level design theories as you might be, and some people might have learned things differently than you have. Make sure to make your thoughts and suggestions easily understandable. If you want to visualise an idea, attaching animated gifs or images can go a long way in making an idea easier to understand.

If you've got some time to spare and haven't already...
... make sure to also check out this topic, which goes into the fundamentals of level design. It touches on various subjects which are frequently repeated when it comes to level design, but don't take it as the be-all-end-all.

I encourage...
...everyone to remember that a solution that works on one problem often works on another problem as well. If you've gotten advice on one setup in your level and return to ask for help on the next, chances are the responses are going to be very similar. Step 1 to learning something is familiarising yourself with a concept. Step 2 is internalising it and transferring it to similar situations.

All that being said... anything you need help with? Post it below!

[Eri7]

Will i get help if my levels are being made in smbx 38A?

[Emral]

Will i get help if my levels are being made in smbx 38A?

Of course. Regardless of version it's probably best to only attach levels if it's necessary though. For example, if you want to know how to improve the design of some setups, or are concernd about if something works well with what came before. Half of this topic is brainstorming for ideas, where screenshots usually suffice.

[MECHDRAGON777]

I am working on a level where the main idea revolves around time and the stopwatch effect. I have noticed a few special things that happen when time is frozen in SMBX, so I would like feedback on the effects of time being frozen that I may have overlooked. Such as when time is Frozen, the player can stand on ♪ blocks without them bouncing them into an enemy, or other hazard, of if you need to be more precise than normal. I currently have a lua code that runs a loop of 777 ticks or frames since that is how long a stopwatch is active. I am trying to figure out what a good way to teach this to the player in a controlled environment though. Maybe having the player land on a ♪ block after time is frozen? Any suggestions? I am using Darkonious's Clockwork tileset which is from a level that used time stopping like a P-Switch that either showed or hid layers. I plan to do similar, but I do not know if the two ideas mash or not. Especially since I am freezing time in a Beat-Block sense and not a P-Switch/Stopwatch sense. Thanks for any feedback given. (I know this is not the music thread, so I will not ask for music in this topic, However, I do think this should be a subforum over a topic.)

[Emral]

Hmmm.. what I think is important with Beat-Block-type switching is to give some sort of indication for when the rhythm switch happens. Having a few notes play before the time-stop starts and ends would deal with the issue of players potentially getting caught off-guard (for example you could cut 3 or 4 individual notes out of the time-switch music and have them play in a beat before the switch). I don't know your current setup for the gimmick, but toggling Defines.levelFreeze seems like the way to go in making this gimmick happen. It allows you to make the timespan shorter or longer on the fly, too (and doesn't interfere with the time-switch music).

The idea of dropping the player on note blocks in an area could work, though the level might flow more nicely if the area you're traversing just happens to be covered in note blocks for a while. Since the gimmick is on a timer, it's hard to gauge when a player will be where, so casting a wide net during your introduction to an idea should help with players accidentally missing it. This is also why I suggest doing the Defines.levelFreeze way above. A shorter timer is easier to cast a net over, though it should of course still be long enough for you to build challenges around.

Another thing you might know that happens with the stopwatch is that ?-Blocks don't release their item until time is no longer frozen. You could take that to your advantage by hiding a powerup and having to run around and catch it before it moves out of reach. Later in the level you could even hide secrets that way: There could be a vertical SMB3 airship pipe coming out of a block and the player has to move around and get on top of it to access a gap in the ceiling and get a reward.
I think another thing that might be neat is using various projectile enemies to make use of the fact that the bullets freeze in midair. You can make some unique platfoming with that in mind.
I don't know specific stopwatch ideas beyond that, sadly. Maybe someone else has some to contribute. I think that combining your ideas with Darkonius' stopwatch blocks could work very well in the level, though. They add an element to the level that can be used in favour and as a counter to the gimmick, requiring the player to sometimes pass an obstacle while time is frozen, and sometimes while it isn't.

[PROX]

oh yay this is a thing! Awesome! I'll definitely consult this in the future. I need all the help I can get when it comes to ideas for my episode.
Also this should be pinned.

[LP76]

I'm kind of wondering how to add in blocks and powerups into the SMBX texture library. (I don't want to just retexture them.) I was looking into making greens that could be on ceilings, like vines, bushes, grass and whatnot.

[PROX]

You can't add blocks. You can only change the graphic or the .txt file. You could do more to it with lua, but as far as adding new blocks/npcs/bgos to the texture library, we don't seem to have the option.

[smoke40]

I tried to make a P-switch maze, so that some blocks would appear when P-switch starts and then disappear when it ends. I made a layer called "block maze", and toggled it when the level starts. Then I made it so it toggles in both P-switch start and P-switch end. However, now when the P-switch ends, the blocks make the disappearing smoke effect but stay there. When P-switch is hit again, they disappear and stay that way. How do I fix this?

[FireyPaperMario]

I got this one idea for making a custom level with high-detailed cutscenes* in between sections of the level to build a story of what's going on! So will it be possible to do that on SMBX2.0 Beta 3 & 38A?

*When I said "High-Detailed" cutscenes, I was talking about cinematic scenes from Ninja Gaiden I, II, III and Magical Kid Doropie on the Nintendo Entertainment System,/Famicom. Look some of it up on YouTube if you don't believe me!

[Eri7]

I'm making a level based around the penguin suit , what stuff are essential to creating a good designed level around this power up?

[Yang]

Well, I'm making a level with a "Koopa" theme. I want to create a sort of Koopa boss rush kind of thing. I really would like to know because I'm struggling.

[PROX]

What would be some cool layer attacks for a blargg boss that's still in the lava? I'm thinking that one attack would be wart fireballs, a bully ramming attachment while Mario is on a platform or something, beta 4 sumo bro attacks, maybe a venus fire trap npc? Idk if anyone else has any other ideas. Also idk what I should do as far as hitting the boss without it turning into a waiting game. And no, I'm not going to use mother brain. I was thinking of it spitting diagonal podoboos after it gets hit so there's an additional challenge to the fight. Idk, I'm literally just throwing out ideas.

[Inspirited]

What would be some cool layer attacks for a blargg boss that's still in the lava? I'm thinking that one attack would be wart fireballs, a bully ramming attachment while Mario is on a platform or something, beta 4 sumo bro attacks, maybe a venus fire trap npc? Idk if anyone else has any other ideas. Also idk what I should do as far as hitting the boss without it turning into a waiting game. And no, I'm not going to use mother brain. I was thinking of it spitting diagonal podoboos after it gets hit so there's an additional challenge to the fight. Idk, I'm literally just throwing out ideas.

Using lua, I assume? How does the arena look like? Maybe something like this, where the boss shoots a bunch of flames that move in from the side:

Spoiler: show

[CoinKillerL]

help,i need to make an event that makes you hold down (slide) but it also gives you the ability to jump because i wanted to make something like at the start of the video,and if it's possible have a custom snowboarding sprite that does not replace any other,but that's not a priority

[PROX]

What would be some cool layer attacks for a blargg boss that's still in the lava? I'm thinking that one attack would be wart fireballs, a bully ramming attachment while Mario is on a platform or something, beta 4 sumo bro attacks, maybe a venus fire trap npc? Idk if anyone else has any other ideas. Also idk what I should do as far as hitting the boss without it turning into a waiting game. And no, I'm not going to use mother brain. I was thinking of it spitting diagonal podoboos after it gets hit so there's an additional challenge to the fight. Idk, I'm literally just throwing out ideas.

Using lua, I assume? How does the arena look like? Maybe something like this, where the boss shoots a bunch of flames that move in from the side:

Spoiler: show

I mean...without lua.... That's what I mean by "layer attacks"

[Archived]

Archived

[PROX]

Something as an interesting topic I thought of this thread could be suited for is just discussing level design topics as a whole such as its philosophy and pitfalls of level design. However, I do not know exactly if that is allowed in this thread, but it could bring to light some really interesting discussion

this thread is mainly just for sharing level ideas and asking for help if you find yourself at a loss for what to do with your plans. Say you introduce a gimmick, and you want to build upon it, but you don't know how. That's basically what this is for. Of course, it doesn't have to be that way. Also I'm pretty sure there's already another thread regarding what you just suggested as far as making a good level.

[RhysOwens]

So I'm planning on doing an unofficial sequel to The Princess Cliche (The Daisy version) like Kley/whoever did with "Another P.C." under the name of "After the Princess Cliche".

You know how the NPCs have death effects equal to the Super Mushrooms? Well the plot is a theory of sorts on what happened after Bowser stomped the Princess, turning her into a mushroom.
Basically the Mushroom Transformation was done using a Special Wand and Mario/Luigi has to reclaim the wand from Bowser who's moved castle to turn Daisy back to normal.

[Emral]

So I'm planning on doing an unofficial sequel to The Princess Cliche (The Daisy version) like Kley/whoever did with "Another P.C." under the name of "After the Princess Cliche".

You know how the NPCs have death effects equal to the Super Mushrooms? Well the plot is a theory of sorts on what happened after Bowser stomped the Princess, turning her into a mushroom.
Basically the Mushroom Transformation was done using a Special Wand and Mario/Luigi has to reclaim the wand from Bowser who's moved castle to turn Daisy back to normal.

So what exactly is it that you need help brainstorming with?