[SMBX2] Jumpin' Jungle (Version 2.0 now available!)

[Cornholio309]

About:
Hey everyone!

A while back, I reinstalled SMBX2 again after finding a couple of episodes that caught my interest. It made me want to give the level editor another shot to see what fun things there were to mess with again.

And then I created a level to test some features that SMBX2 added.

Slowly but surely, it morphed into an actual level revolving around SMB3's Donut Block platforms. Several months of doing jack-all later, I got a sudden burst of energy, added a new gimmick that aided with the development of the level, and I think I have a level that's probably fun enough to publicly release and play. Welcome to Jumpin' Jungle!

Features:

• Quick reaction based gameplay! Think fast! Get off them blocks when your stop arrives, or suffer the consequences!
• Dodge Piranha Plants, Koopas, Goombas, and Spinys as you make your way through the jungle! Are you courageous enough to handle such astonishing enemy variety? Beware, some of those Spinys are in pretty nasty locations, too...
• 7 (or is it 8?) Sections of heart-stopping action! You'll be here for around 5 minutes, maybe...but your heart will probably start and stop again. Many times.
• Level design that's compatible with the original 5 cast members of SMBX! Replay the level with each playable character to challenge yourself, or switch it up if you're struggling!
• Custom Jungle Zone visuals provided by Airship! It's almost like you're playing the Master System version of Sonic 1!...Except not really at all!
• 5 Star Coins for you to find and keep track of (using Blake Izayoi's excellent Minimalist HUD!). Feeling daring? You'll get a fair bit more challenge out of the level if you go after all of them.
• Coyotetime, playerphysicspatch, and anotherPowerDownLibrary are included with the download! Play with a snappier and easier to handle cast. Enjoy that sweet reaction time and that extra power in your play. Want a challenge? Prefer how SMBX normally controls? Well, I guess you could disable that stuff...

Screenshots:: show

Video Walkthroughs (Outdated): show

Mario (No Hit)
Luigi

Level Download (Latest Release):
MEGA
Dropbox

1.0 Release (Outdated!): show

Dropbox
MEGA

Credits: show

LunaLua Scripts Used:

• Minimalist HUD [v2.1] by Blake Izayoi.
• coyotetime.lua and playerphysicspatch.lua by Emral.
• anotherPowerDownLibrary.luaby KBM-Quine.
  
  If you're looking for a 'more vanilla' SMBX experience or want a psuedo-'Hard Mode' for the level, head into Jumpin' Jungle's level folder and open up luna.lua in a text editor. You can delete the last three lua libraries used to get SMBX's slippier physics and less hits per power-up! For convenience sake though, I would recommend playing through the level with them present first.
  
  Graphics Used:
  • Jungle Zone Tileset by Airship.
  Music Used:
  • Pac-Man World 2: Butane Pain by David Logan ~ Main Jungle Areas
  • The Flintstones (SNES): Password Screen by Dean Evans ~ Secret Easter Egg Room
  • Heavy Rain Sounds (75 Min.) by Stardust Vibes - Rain Ambience in Main Jungle Areas.
  Special Thanks:
  • My Wife, who suggested the finalized level name.
  • docs.codehaus.moe, which provided LunaLua documentation for sound effects.
  • Blake Izayoi, for an idea of how to do a decent looping rain sound effect that plays throughout certain sections of the level.
  • FireSeraphim, for a good idea on how to do an attractive level banner for this post.
  • ECS.98 on SMWCentral, who provided the 'Vanilla Styled Title Screen Font' used to make the banner for this forum post.
  • Cold Soup and MrNameless, for playing through and reviewing the level. Their feedback was used in the 2.0 update!
  • MrNameless (again!) and Radiance, who provided assistance in the SMBX Discord with having music progress carry over between sections.

Feedback on the level would be greatly appreciated! If any of the above authors have any issues with the way I used their work, please feel free to reach out to me. I think I've implemented everything in a way that doesn't step on toes, but if you feel uncomfortable with the way something was used, I'd have no issues re-working the level to modify the assets used.

[cold soup]

this was a great time! i love how this level makes use of seemingly mundane mario mechanics (like question blocks, p-switches, donut blocks and moving platforms), and uses them in ways that are clever, challenging and fresh. i love the verticality and overall winding level structure. the level makes great use of space. the star coins were easily my favorite part, the challenges they're tied to are satisfying to get right.
as for gripes, my main one is that i feel there could have been more checkpoints. the two "halves" of the level are pretty long, and it was kinda frustrating losing a lot of progress after dying even if it didn't ruin my experience overall. especially since going for the star coins makes the level even longer. my other issue has to do with the fifth star coin. i don't know if the intention is that you have to ride the moving platform in order to enter the pipe, because you can still enter sideways pipes in midair. if this was an oversight then i don't like the idea that if the platform moves off screen, you're forced into dying.
aside from that though this is just some good ass mario. thoroughly enjoyed it

[Cornholio309]

Hey Cold Soup! Thank you so much for the feedback! I'm delighted to hear that someone had a wonderful time with the level. The comments are extremely flattering since I'm still very impressed with your work in this game. This level was an extremely fun time to design! Progress on the level stalled for months actually until the moving platforms were added - I felt they gave the level some additional depth and paired up quite nicely with the Donut Blocks themselves in forcing a bit of strategic timing on the player's part. I was initially worried there would've been a bit too much 'cycle-based' platforming, but I actually found replaying the level the downtime the player had while waiting for the blocks to fall was pretty minimal.

I'm also glad to hear you quite liked the Star Coin puzzle design here - Number 4 was my personal favorite. Originally the player had to interact with a set of breakable blocks like it to progress through the level, but I thought it was really clunky with the way it was implemented and the re-generating Koopa Shells near it. Moving it to the side and making it a 'one-chance only' deal improved things considerably. I was also pretty proud of the puzzles for 1 and 2.

I also appreciate the honest feedback about some of the more rough spots of the level. MrNameless in the Discord server also gave me some similar feedback about the checkpoints being spread a bit too far apart. He also brought up concerns about the lack of power-ups between the checkpoints as well. I was a bit worried I was being too generous with Power-Ups in the level, but I do think on retrospection the long stretches with little inbetween can make things a bit tedious...

I also realize in what experts are calling a major 'whoops' moment, the music for the secret section was broken, so uh...now is probably a good time to release a new revision of the level. Welcome to Jumpin' Jungle...2.0!

Spoiler: show

Changes:
[*] Added a checkpoint near the second Star Coin, right underneath the platform that has the Donut Blocks above it! I added this checkpoint to make it slightly less tedious for the player if they're going after the third Star Coin. Previously, if the player accidentally took the coin staircase up to it and wanted to retry, they'd have to either restart the stage or use the original (now second) checkpoint.
[*] The section near the second Star Coin has also been modified slightly. Two blocks have been added to the far left of the moving platform. One gives a Super Mushroom/Fire Flower. This is to also give the player a slight advantage when attempting the first P-Block section. An extra hit can go a long way! The second has a coin.
[*] Added a checkpoint near the second P-Block section.
[*] Modified the area near the second P-Block. A ? Block has been added that contains a Super Mushroom/Tanooki Leaf, replacing a Breakable Block! The Breakable Block that originally occupied it's place has been moved to the right.
[*] Added a ? Block with a Super Leaf in it near the spiked pipe section. I feel a powerup here should alleviate some potential frustration that arises from the pipe section ahead and the two Spinies in a later section.
[*] Completely reworked the final Star Coin section, based on feedback by Cold Soup. The intention was that if the player was too slow to grab the coin and escape, they'd be forced into dying. However, on re-evaluation of this, I do agree it's perhaps a bit too harsh. This new section has a decent timing element to it while allowing both warps to still be used!
[*] Fixed a rather embarrassing issue where the music in the secret section was not properly set up and thus wouldn't play. Again, props to those who can find it without looking in the editor! It's nothing major, but was fun to set up regardless.

(A copy of the change log and updated credits are also included in the new zip. The original I'm still keeping up for archival/curiosity sake, but I advise against playing it.)

I hope everyone enjoys this! I'd love to hear more comments and critical analysis of the level!