my first project, SuperJAM!

jennyjams · Postby **jennyjams** » Tue Aug 18, 2015 7:57 pm

these are the first levels I've ever made in Super Mario Bros. X. I'm not very used to making Mario levels, but I thought I would try it out! It very quickly started becoming 'a thing' and now I've got a two-world demo.

screenshots!
download here!
EDIT:
New download
Gallery of corrections

Alagirez · Postby **Alagirez** » Wed Aug 19, 2015 3:09 am

judging for the screens, there are a LOT of cut-offs, clashes, etc. But i like the design.

PixelPest · Postby **PixelPest** » Wed Aug 19, 2015 10:50 am

First of all, the episode folder is a mess. The folders inside your project should contain custom graphics ONLY. Do not put the level and the songs in the graphics folder, leave them outside. When you have duplicate levels and extra folders it can sometimes slow down the game depending on the computer. Also, do not put a screens folder inside the project folder. Just in case you don't get what I mean, I fixed it up and you can download it here:
http://www.mediafire.com/download/9j9t8 ... Cosmik.zip
There were also many errors within the levels. There was a lot of clash between blocks and BGOs in the levels. You often included SMB1 special blocks (brick blocks) and SMB3 special blocks (?-blocks) beside each other which looked really bad when the SMB1 blocks had coins inside them because you ended up with two different "hit special block" graphics. You also mixed a lot of SMB3 BGOs with SMW BGOs. Also, often when you include dragon coins, there is usually some kind of reward at the end (a special star if all are collected, etc.)
1-1: Was okay, but had a lot of cut-off on the corners and clashing BGOs and special blocks, special blocks were also unevenly spaced. (Some two from the ground, some three from the ground; try to stick to just one, I'd recommend three.) You also used SMB1 mushrooms, try using SMB3 instead, since overall your level seemed to be SMB3-styled and SMB1 mushrooms just don't fit. I also wouldn't include two dragon coins in the same secret area. In the warps in section three, place both warps on top of each other instead of one in the middle and one at the bottom of the horizontal pipe.The layout was actually quite good, even though the level was short.
1-2: I liked the concept, however it could have been executed better. You used both SMB1 and SMB2 background objects again as well as SMB3 mushrooms. Piranha plants should also always be in pipes. You also had some multicoloured pipes that didn't look right. Other than those things though, layout was great and I liked the idea.
1-3: It looked very messy and there were a few places where the player could get stuck and not get out which was highly frustrating.
1-4: The outside was pretty nicely made other than not being able to see where to fall to get the key (a hint would be nice). The inside of the castle was a little yikes, as there were a lot of piranha plants coming out of walls and it seemed very tight and cramped. There were also no special blocks, instead the items came out of a dungeon block which just didn't seem right.
1-Battle: It wasn't much of a battle because if you don't care for a super mushroom and a 1-up you can walk off the screen whenever you want.
2-1: Yikes. The biggest mix of clashy BGOs I've ever seen. There was also some NPC spam with the beach Koopas that was really unappealing. All of the SMB1 fences were also all cut off. The level was also very linear and not very fun.
2-2: This level was a linear mess. You mixed NPCs from SMB1-SMW as well as background objects in a very crowded level. I'd remove this from your project due to its extreme shortness, linear-ness?, and clash.
2-3: This was an interesting but deadly maze. It was quite interesting to explore, however the SMB1 special blocks didn't fit and again, dungeon blocks containing coins/items just don't really work too well. The pipe secret area didn't look right in an underwater level and neither did the cave with the NPC-spammed crabs. Layout was interesting though and was a nice break from some of the previous linear levels.
2-4: It started off good, but became a maze of blocks instead of platforms and mixed some non-ghost house NPCs that just didn't fit in. Check out the Ghastly GFX pack for more tiles and NPCs for ghost houses as well as some other good ghost houses in the levels sub-forum to get the idea of a good ghost house level.
2-5: This level had quite an interesting layout, but the cave tiles are, well, for caves. Try finding some mountain tiles in the community GFX pack and it would look 100 times better. The thwomps and spinies also didn't really fit and agin the SMB1 special blocks need to go (just replace them with SMB3 brick blocks). The desert tiles didn't fit either. Loved the layout though.
2-6: This pyramid needs a lot of work. Check out some other pyramid levels such as "Firestorm Pyramid" to get a sense of what a pyramid should look like. There were just too many different BGOs, NPCs, and blocks. It didn't have a theme, it was just randomness.
2-A: A very interesting level. It had some mild clash but overall was pretty unique and had a creative layout.
2-Battle: see 1-Battle
World Map: This map needs some work. First of all, don't combine SMB3 with SMW in the same area. Secondly, don't place levels right on the edge of a region; it just doesn't look right. Also, in most cases (such as yours) all levels should lead somewhere or present the player with a different reward (such as a star at the finish) if the level is a dead end.
Overall, some of the levels have creative and intriguing layouts but they all need some work. Not bad for a first project though. Try finding some custom GFX too. It will assist you in making your levels look better.

PopYoshi · Postby **PopYoshi** » Wed Aug 19, 2015 1:03 pm

I kinda like the design but there are small problems

Is a cave level, need to have a cave tileset not a overworld tileset, the same happen to this

And a typical error but nothing serious

jennyjams · Postby **jennyjams** » Wed Aug 19, 2015 2:27 pm

1-2: I liked the concept, however it could have been executed better. You used both SMB1 and SMB2 background objects again as well as SMB3 mushrooms. Piranha plants should also always be in pipes. You also had some multicoloured pipes that didn't look right. Other than those things though, layout was great and I liked the idea.

This was one of my earliest levels so I can see how you feel about it. I don't think mixing games is entirely bad, but I agree that sometimes it can look wrong. I used the default mushrooms from the quick access buttons on the editor, which are the SMB3 shrooms. I always use SMB1 brick blocks, but I agree that I should at least use the SMB3 brick blocks if I'm going to be using the SMB3 ? blocks.

1-3: It looked very messy and there were a few places where the player could get stuck and not get out which was highly frustrating.

I agree it's a bit of a mess. I don't see many places where I can get stuck, since even after you've made it through the turn blocks, there's always a way out in case you take a hit. I will remove the Goomba from the end of the level though, since if that one gets you you won't be able to keep spin jumping your way down.

1-4: The outside was pretty nicely made other than not being able to see where to fall to get the key (a hint would be nice). The inside of the castle was a little yikes, as there were a lot of piranha plants coming out of walls and it seemed very tight and cramped. There were also no special blocks, instead the items came out of a dungeon block which just didn't seem right.

The hint is the cloud placed right where you're supposed to fall. I suppose I agree about the dungeon blocks, but I actually used the SMB3 Mario Bros. battle blocks and intended to have them blend in a bit, as you can see in the bonus area in that level. Some parts being tight/cramped were also intentional, but I can change the obstacles to remove the Piranha Plants.

1-Battle: 1-Battle: It wasn't much of a battle because if you don't care for a super mushroom and a 1-up you can walk off the screen whenever you want.

I'll make it so you can only warp away after the battle, same with 2-Battle.

2-1: Yikes. The biggest mix of clashy BGOs I've ever seen. There was also some NPC spam with the beach Koopas that was really unappealing. All of the SMB1 fences were also all cut off. The level was also very linear and not very fun.

I'll see how I can change things aesthetically, but as for its linearity it is meant to be a somewhat linear romp to kick off 2-1 in an easy fashion, hence the switch blocks that create coins. I agree that the second half is a little heavy on enemies so I'll see what I can do there.

2-2: This level was a linear mess. You mixed NPCs from SMB1-SMW as well as background objects in a very crowded level. I'd remove this from your project due to its extreme shortness, linear-ness?, and clash.

Again I don't see how linearity is necessarily a bad thing and I don't think it's that short, but I will see what I can do about clash and crowdedness

2-3: This was an interesting but deadly maze. It was quite interesting to explore, however the SMB1 special blocks didn't fit and again, dungeon blocks containing coins/items just don't really work too well. The pipe secret area didn't look right in an underwater level and neither did the cave with the NPC-spammed crabs. Layout was interesting though and was a nice break from some of the previous linear levels.

Once again although they resemble the dungeon blocks, they are the blocks for the All-Stars version of the battle Mario Bros. minigame, which is why they're always seen around Sidesteppers. I was also trying to find a way to make getting to the secret orb involve the Ice Flower power-up and my first thought was an enemy bridge. I'll take your advice into account though.

2-4: It started off good, but became a maze of blocks instead of platforms and mixed some non-ghost house NPCs that just didn't fit in. Check out the Ghastly GFX pack for more tiles and NPCs for ghost houses as well as some other good ghost houses in the levels sub-forum to get the idea of a good ghost house level.

Although I was proud of this level and the block maze was only one of the basement floor-specific challenges, I agree that I should look at more ghost houses and see what other people are doing with them. I will definitely check out the Ghastly GFX pack.

2-6: This pyramid needs a lot of work. Check out some other pyramid levels such as "Firestorm Pyramid" to get a sense of what a pyramid should look like. There were just too many different BGOs, NPCs, and blocks. It didn't have a theme, it was just randomness.

I disagree that it had no theme whatsoever, but I agree that it may have had too many different things going on. It was meant to be a pyramid with vegetation and a partial reprisal of previous concepts from 2-2 (shy guys, pokeys, pots) and 2-5 (donut lifts) to keep a sense of consistency across the world. I try to keep a limited number of enemies and objects to every level and perhaps I went a bit too far for that one.

World Map: This map needs some work. First of all, don't combine SMB3 with SMW in the same area. Secondly, don't place levels right on the edge of a region; it just doesn't look right. Also, in most cases (such as yours) all levels should lead somewhere or present the player with a different reward (such as a star at the finish) if the level is a dead end.

I will probably remove the desert tiles from World 2, they do look odd. I will think about giving 2-4 a better incentive to complete the level. I have considered including stars in the game (only a few, maybe three or four) for certain levels that may be used to unlock something else. I'm of the mind that sometimes playing levels can be its own reward, but I know that not everybody else thinks that way.

Thanks for your advice Cosmik, I will take those suggestions into account. I also made sure the level folders only contain the custom GFX, so my world folder is no longer a mess.

Emral · Postby **Emral** » Wed Aug 19, 2015 4:10 pm

Fun little game, I liked it. My major complaint would be that most of the areas felt cramped. I suggest you avoid creating super narrow passages in which the player can barely jump on his enemies.
Also, +1 for Bastion soundtrack.