SMWCX version 1.21 (SMBX 1.3)

[Imaynotbehere4long]

The Mushroom Kingdom has experienced a long time of peace ever since Bowser decided to stop kidnapping princesses and to take up golf and kart racing as hobbies instead. Because of this, the former defense castle is being turned into an art history museum (with a focus on paintings). However, something strange is going on: the nearby power stars are being drawn into the paintings, no pun intended, and making the paintings come alive to an extent (beings in the paintings can move, but can't leave the paintings). Everyone knows it can't be the work of Bowser since he's off in the Beanbean Kindom participating in the big game, so Mario and co. are called in to investigate what's going on (not like they had anything to do that day, anyway).

Yes, that's right. The SMWC collab you've all been waiting for is finally here! No, VLDC 9 will be released soon. Yes, I know that SMWCP2 will be released later this year. I'm talking of course about SMWCX! After over three long years of nothing happening development, it's finally complete! Worried about outdated design choices bringing the episode down? Don't be: our expert team of two guys has thoroughly play-tested the episode to make sure that the difficulty curve stays consistent and that the episode is as enjoyable as possible. This episode will not disappoint you unless you get disappointed by it.

In this episode, all the levels are represented by paintings, meaning they're only limited by the artist's imagination (and SMBX 1.3, obviously). Some artists create paintings of simpler times, back when the land was just a flat expanse of grass speckled with the occasional Goomba. Some create paintings depicting battles of the past, back when Bowser used to be a villain and had an army of tanks. Still, others create paintings of alternate realities, with their own peaceful times and epic battles. Then you have those who just put a stick figure on a canvas and call it "art."

Features:
Easy paintings
Difficult paintings
Short paintings
Long paintings
Secret paintings
Smart paintings
Dumb paintings
Unique paintings
Re-purposed paintings
Old paintings
Older paintings
Bouncy paintings
Artistic and moving paintings
A stick figure on a canvas (whether it's a painting or not is debatable)
Stained glass
A painting pretending to be stained glass
A Shroomship
A series of plants (whether it's a garden or not is debatable)
Full compatibility with SMBX 1.3
Partial compatibility with SMBX + LunaLua (still not sure how that works).

That's not a joke, either. For whatever reason, the way LunaLua works, it crashes not long into The Finale, even though the level works perfectly in SMBX 1.3. That's why it's at least recommended to keep a version of SMBX 1.3 as backup if you decide to play the episode with LunaLua; that way, you can just move the episode folder when you reach The Finale.

Here's some screenshots:

Spoiler: show

EDIT: Version 1.01 is out!

Changes:
- 1-ups have been added to the hub.
- The boss in Bowser's Dark Castle has been given another overhaul.
- A couple typos have been fixed.



Patch to upgrade v. 1.0 to v. 1.2

Patch to upgrade v. 1.2 to v. 1.2.1

Link to the thread on SMW Central

[Julia Pseudo]

So, this is finally finished! Nice! I'll have to give it a try, SMW Central stuff is always exciting.

[MegaMario2]

The best.

[HeroLinik]

The best.

Don't make useless posts like that. Be more constructive.

[CynicHost]

Looks great, gonna give this a play.

[Alucard648]

I found this episode really difficult as early as W4. Ran out of lives (Yes, got game over, even though had about 50 lives before entering W3) and rage-quit. Forced grinding for 1ups that early is not fun.

[Imaynotbehere4long]

I found this episode really difficult as early as W4. Ran out of lives (Yes, got game over, even though had about 50 lives before entering W3) and rage-quit. Forced grinding for 1ups that early is not fun.

Don't worry; we're working on a patch that makes the W4 end-boss easier and adds 1-ups to the hub (so you won't have to force yourself to grind for them). I can't say when it will be out since I have to wait on approval from Blue Leaf, who then has to wait for the admins to reupload the episode to SMWC.

[Alucard648]

Also had some more issues:
1. Sticks and pricks: Needs to add a hint on finding that invisible shoe block. Without the shoe, I found the 1st section of this level as difficult as W6-early W7 level. On the other side, I have managed to beat 2nd section, after checkpoint, on my 1st try.
2. Spookier ghost house. Never be able to beat tetris-like section. Spammed to unavoidable death (no power-ups!) by huge swarm of boos near the end.
3. MagmaRock Galaxy. "Lava-Vator" section. Elevator rises too fast for W2 level, and HUD sometimes obscures already hard-to see hazards. Add a few more enemies, and you will end up with genuine W8 level.
That`s all for now.

[Imaynotbehere4long]

Version 1.01 is out!

Spoiler: show

http://media.smwcentral.net/SMWCX/SMWCX%201.01.zip

Changes:
- 1-ups have been added to the hub.
- The boss in Bowser's Dark Castle has been given another overhaul.
- A couple typos have been fixed.

For those who already downloaded v 1.00 and don't want to have to download the entire episode again, here's a "patch only" download:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/x42kmjv7fcsga ... y.zip?dl=0

2. Spookier ghost house. Never be able to beat tetris-like section. Spammed to unavoidable death (no power-ups!) by huge swarm of boos near the end.

Tip: Don't just stand still and let the Boos come to you; turn around quickly and repeatedly to keep them at bay. Also, use spin-jump for the lower platforms. You'll find that section to be much easier if you follow this advice.

3. MagmaRock Galaxy. "Lava-Vator" section. Elevator rises too fast for W2 level, and HUD sometimes obscures already hard-to see hazards. Add a few more enemies, and you will end up with genuine W8 level.

World 8 in normal Mario standards, or World 8 in SMWCX standards??
Anyway, the first half has an easy-to-follow coin trail. For the second half, stay relatively close to the center and you'll find that most of the flames won't require you to move at all. Also, don't forget that you can spin-jump on the Grinder; it makes staying in the center much easier, and I can't imagine trying to play that part of the level without it.

1. Sticks and pricks: Needs to add a hint on finding that invisible shoe block. Without the shoe, I found the 1st section of this level as difficult as W6-early W7 level. On the other side, I have managed to beat 2nd section, after checkpoint, on my 1st try.

The shoe is only supposed to be for the secret, but the disparity between the difficulty of the first and second half was something we've been having trouble with for a while. However, due to your last two issues, I'm going to assume that you haven't been using the spin-jump, as it makes getting past the Nippers (and certain Piranha Plants) much easier since Nippers and Piranha Plants can't bite through a spin-jump.

Let me know if you still have issues with those parts, or if you have any more issues.

[Alucard648]

3. MagmaRock Galaxy. "Lava-Vator" section. Elevator rises too fast for W2 level, and HUD sometimes obscures already hard-to see hazards. Add a few more enemies, and you will end up with genuine W8 level.

World 8 in normal Mario standards, or World 8 in SMWCX standards??
Anyway, the first half has an easy-to-follow coin trail. For the second half, stay relatively close to the center and you'll find that most of the flames won't require you to move at all. Also, don't forget that you can spin-jump on the Grinder; it makes staying in the center much easier, and I can't imagine trying to play that part of the level without it.

1. Sticks and pricks: Needs to add a hint on finding that invisible shoe block. Without the shoe, I found the 1st section of this level as difficult as W6-early W7 level. On the other side, I have managed to beat 2nd section, after checkpoint, on my 1st try.

The shoe is only supposed to be for the secret, but the disparity between the difficulty of the first and second half was something we've been having trouble with for a while. However, due to your last two issues, I'm going to assume that you haven't been using the spin-jump, as it makes getting past the Nippers (and certain Piranha Plants) much easier since Nippers and Piranha Plants can't bite through a spin-jump.

Let me know if you still have issues with those parts, or if you have any more issues.

Now try to do both these levels as Peach, who can`t spin-jump. Especially MagmaRock Galaxy because character switch blocks need access to W3 to use.

World 8 in normal Mario standards, or World 8 in SMWCX standards??

World 8 in normal Mario standards/W5 in SMWCX standarts.

[Imaynotbehere4long]

character switch blocks need access to W3 to use.

What are you talking about? There are character switch blocks at the beginning of world 1 and 2, even in v. 1.00.

I admit that most of the levels weren't designed with Peach in mind, though.

[Imaynotbehere4long]

Version 1.2 is out!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ensjt9843gdim ... y.zip?dl=0

This update includes misc. bug fixes and difficulty re-balancing for much of the late game. It also switches the last level of world 4 with the last level of world 5.

[Imaynotbehere4long]

New update: turns out we forgot to update the hub after changing the total number of stars, so if you updated to v 1.2, you'll need to download this as well:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6izgun524fin5 ... B.lvl?dl=0

[Ethereality]

Great update! The episode looks excellent! This episode looks a collaboration project made by SMW Central, especially for staffs, admins, and members for a collaboration project SMWCX. I'll play later! Good job, SMWCX and SMW Central members!

[Cedur]

Is this actually compatible with SMBX 1.3.0.1 or do I need to find the old SMBX 1.3 to play this?

[Imaynotbehere4long]

Is this actually compatible with SMBX 1.3.0.1

Yes, it is compatible. Remember that 1.3.0.1 only replaced the default songs and some graphics, so it's not that different from 1.3. Heck, you could play this in 1.3.0.0X if you wanted to.

Just make sure the SMBX build you're using doesn't have Lua.

[arcade999]

wow! that look a bit like MKF