New user wondering where to start?

[Opportunist88]

Hello

I am new to SMBX/SMBX and was just wondering how to best get started. I for now at least am not interested in creating my own worlds, rather just playing other peoples past creations.

I know there are guides and FAQs but from a quick glance most seem to deal with starting the creative side of thing whereas for now I just want to play so that all means very little to me. Sorry if I missed something.

Is it as simple as downloading SMBX1.3/SMBX2 Beta 4 and just heading to an episodes topic downloading it and following any instructions? If not what where should I start?
Any other programs I need?
Is there some sort of episode mega thread for episodes considered to be of a certain higher standard that I missed or it all just read the comments and trial and error?

Whilst I am new to SMBX/SMBX2 I am not new messing about with custom stuff on the PC so I don't need help with archives or the like. Just a kind fella to point me in the right direction to bouncing on the heads of Mario foes with maximum ease so it's not just all trial and error from the get-go.

Thanks for reading and any and all assistance you can provide!

[Emral]

Generally: just download the proper version and you're ready to go. There's currently way too many leading versions so bear with me:
SMBX 38A 1.4.5 - not smbx, but instead a remake of the engine.
NSMBX - continuation of the source code, released recently
SMBX2 (current: 2.0 Beta 4) - hack of 1.3, with the most features out of these and most levels around here

All 3 of these are compatible with levels made in 1.3 but are incompatible with one another, so you won't have to download 1.3 separately.
To play an episode, download it and extract the episode's folder into the "worlds" directory. Running the game will then load that episode into your world selection from which you can play it.

For standalone levels: In 1.3, 38A and NSMBX you need to start the game and open the EDITOR, and then load the level and hit F5 to play.
In SMBX2 you can run the lvltest_assoc.bat file in the root directory to make your computer associate lvl and lvlx files with SMBX2, allowing you to run them with a double-click. If you choose not to do this, you can either go through the editor like in the other versions, or use the "open level" button on the launcher.

For episodes of high quality, I think it's best you say what you're looking for. Eclipsed is currently on their way to beat all episodes ever made, so they'll probably be able to recommend some if you share your interests. People have made many different episodes that appeal to different kinds of players (easy/traditional, more gimmick-based, difficult, puzzle...)

Hope this helps.

[Opportunist88]

Ah. So you don't launch worlds from within a sort of game like menu. Interesting then this thread was absolutely worth it or I might have been quite stuck.

I'd be looking mostly for traditional/easy stuff or puzzle gimmicks. Nothing based on continuous split second precision jumps and/or where the timer becomes a pain and definitely nothing based on non-Mario mechanics.
But I guess I better investigate all that myself, wouldn't want to seem completely ignorant.


Thanks that was very helpful.

[Cedur]

I'd say to get to learn the game you should play The Invasion 2. It introduces you to all basic mechanics and stuff in the game.
SMBX2 doesn't come with a gameplay manual yet (that's still WIP?), so you need the old 1.3 download for it.

First off you should adjust the controls depending on your type of keyboard or whatever works best for you. In the default controls, you use Z for jump, while the Up arrow is used for opening doors, throwing things upwards (in combination with X/S), talking to NPCs etc. Maybe you even want to play on a controller.

If you struggle with any combination of controls, ask away here, I also didn't figure out all of them immediately. (like I didn't know how to execute upthrows for like a year).

If you're looking for puzzles, Super Mario Enigmatic and Super Mario Enigmatic 2 by Reign are the prototypes for this. But yeah I really recommend getting to know the game first.

[Chanceux2]

You could also try TheXtech

[Opportunist88]

Thanks a lot guys
You're being a huge help.



Nevermind the bit I posted that got automerged. I figured it out simply enough by just bothering to install the thing to begin with.

[Cedur]

You could also try TheXtech

that's basically covered by NSMBX, isn't it?

Also I just open levels by assigning the PGE application to them.

[Wohlstand]

that's basically covered by NSMBX, isn't it?

While TheXtech is used by NSMBX as a base, TheXTech lives by own live and it's separated product. The goal of TheXTech is giving an accurate replica of SMBX 1.3 to keep an ability to play old levels and episodes on modern hardware and on non-Windows operating systems (Linux, macOS) and and non-x86 processors like ARM. TheXTech and NSMBX existing together with different goals:
- TheXTech is a replica of SMBX 1.3 with minor set of technical extras without expanding of elements, maintained by me
- NSMBX is a project intended to give extended set of gameplay features and items, maintained by Core, sometimes I sending changes of main TheXTech's branch into Core's NSMBX to improve quality and fix bugs.