Segment 1 - I've always loved the rainbow shell parts from other LPs I've seen and games I've played, so I went ahead and gave it a shot. I wanted to make it really tense, so I had The Darkness (aka resprited lava) chase after Cirno. The beginning of the level originally had the rainbow shells generated, but for some reason, whenever there's more than one rainbow shell on the screen at a time, there would be a chance that the player would fall off of it when it grabbed the coin, so I opted in for just one believing there would be no way to accidentally discard of the shell. The second part of this segment is from a scrapped cutscene I was planning (which Doremy Sweet alludes to in Segment #). There were going to be animations of a dark hand reaching out as the player fell followed by a ram skull during the final scream, but time restraints made me cut it. At the end, the falling danmaku-like part was a reference to a certain somebody and his interesting danmaku levels.
Segment 2 - The midpoint room is an obvious nod to Distorted Travesty. I learned about the randomization from a boss in MaGL X2, so I used it for the respawn messages.
Segment 3 - This was originally going to be in a pyramid shape and be MUCH longer, but I thought it might be too hard, so I just put it as a single screen. The bonus star is an obvious reference to a certain American Touhou character.
Segment 4 - I think this multiple layer autoscroll section came out WAY better than in my MaGL X2 entry. It is far more engaging and less unfair; it starts out slow and picks up in difficulty near the end. A lot of cuts were made during the final boss of this segment. Originally, the ram skull was going to make a return and shake and explode the screen violently. Then, the fairies would appear, turn into pixie dust, and cause the ram skull to dissipate. Yeah, time restraints pulled the plug on that idea quickly. Instead, I cut that scene entirely and kept the shaking screen.
Segment 5 - One of the complaints I got about the last level I made was that I didn't put in enough Touhou characters, so this time, I put in a whole bunch. I had a lot of fun coming up with the various messages each character would say, and there are a couple of secrets that are shown off in the video.
I think I've taken my ideas as far as they can go from a non-lua standpoint. The next level I plan on making will incorporate lua in some fashion (provided I can ever figure out how to not make it crash the editor or actually make the script load...), and I'll probably make the level more "linear."
Tinkerbell wrote:Tier 3 or riot. Give up Valtteri you can't win.
Typically, it is revealed around noon Central Standard Time, and 19:00 Central European Time, but in all honesty, if it was three hours earlier or more, it would be perfect. (I can check while not in class) (I get out of computer class in an hour and 20 minutes after this post which is first hour for me).
Tinkerbell wrote:Tier 3 or riot. Give up Valtteri you can't win.
Typically, it is revealed around noon Central Standard Time, and 19:00 Central European Time, but in all honesty, if it was three hours earlier or more, it would be perfect. (I can check while not in class) (I get out of computer class in an hour and 20 minutes after this post which is first hour for me).
Yeah, I have to go to school in around 20 minutes, and I wish I could see the results in the morning.
Spinda wrote:You're acting like this is actually super important, which it honestly isn't, especially considering that this is Tier 3 we're talking about.
Not saying it is or is not important, I am just stating what a better time is. I can care less either way, but my message was aimed at all 8.2 tiers of this contest.
An extremely short and sort of flatly designed grass stage. It sort of amounts to being a type of SMB1/SMB3 1-1 in its own way, where it doesn't do anything wrong with the gameplay, but it's over really quickly and isn't all that remarkable while it lasts. It seems like something that'd be more effective if you played a bunch of levels similar to this in a row rather than working by itself or as part of a contest.
ElTipsta (5.5/10)
Really? Does this level have to be so short? This level didn't even take me a minute and a half to do. What is here is pretty well done though, graphics and music fit well and especially the LUnaDLL once you get the star. me likey ^^
Quill (5.0/10)
This is a cute little level, but nothing really happens in it. It's a really basic 1-1 esque level. Spice things up, be more creative!
Shinbison-Kof (4.0/10)
Simple level, like smb1 1-1 (this level is smb3). The level design is very simple. The level is short and seems flat. It's nothing special. The graphics are good. I don't have much else to say because it's very short and clichey. It's a generic 1-1 level.
Valtteri (4.0/10)
This was a very nice classic-feeling grass level. While it lasted. It was really short.
61. Murphmario - Random Cave Level (4.44/10)
Chad (3.5/10)
An ordinary cave with some SMB3 inspiration here and there. The construction is rather simple and not particularly bad, but it doesn't offer a ton beyond a path choice, a couple nearly-remade sections, and a 1up room with broken warps that can get you stuck. It's not hard to get through, but it's not very memorable either. I also found the warning about jumping on underwater Koopas to be unnecessary because this only applies to one Koopa, and you're only going to encounter it while falling anyways, as well as that idea not really adding anything of worth to the level. The pipe section was interesting, but still in a sort of basic way.
ElTipsta (5.0/10)
This is a very generic SMB3 cave level with simplistic design and vanilla music. Nothing really to fault, part from no scenery and no star. So you've kinda broke the contest rules so you probably will end up near the joke levels now as one whole point has to be deducted from your score. Shame, because this level deserves a decent placement.
Quill (4.8/10)
This level kinda just exists. Nothing really exciting happens in it. It's super generic. I mean, it's not bad, but it's not that fun either.
Shinbison-Kof (4.9/10)
A casual level. The level is decent, the design is decent, everything is decent. It's simple and very short, too. I like the secrets. This level has 2 paths which is interesting. Why is the left path longer than the right path though? The npc placement is good, but I feel it needs more coins. The level seems empty. It could use some more bgos. Some parts are cramped. Overall it's a decent level.
Valtteri (4.0/10)
That's nice that you can choose from different paths. Other than that the level is very decent. The level could use more pipes or anything that would make it more than just flat ground and lines of enemies.
60. DarkWolf658 - Plain Plains (4.45/10)
Chad (3.5/10)
A pretty short standard grassland level. It's nicely built up until the midpoint, but after that the construction starts to feel minimal and effortless. It still plays okay and offers decent platforming and enemy placement, but it could have been given the same attention as the first area. The midpoint sections are tiny and don't leave much of an impact, and having two of them doesn't work in vanilla SMBX. Even if you can't interact with both in the same run, it'll still default to the underwater one if you get the cave one.
ElTipsta (5.75/10)
A nice plains level that's very simple but a bit short. Graphics and music are fine. The design itself is good mostly, however that Bullet Bill that spawns as soon as you enter section 4 nees to be removed. Nothing about this really stood out either.
Quill (5.0/10)
An obligatory 1-1 level of sorts. It’s fine, but it isn’t anything special.
Shinbison-Kof (4.0/10)
This is a very cliche level. It's a simple 1-1 grassland and nothing really interesting. The level design is linear and simple. The only part that stood out at all was the piranha pipe in the cave section. The graphics are good, but some parts seems empty and there's a lot of cut-off. In the third section the bullet bills are random and spammy and this is unnecessary. Overall it's a very, very plain level.
Valtteri (4.0/10)
This level is very plain. Haha, get it? You're relying too much on flat ground and lines of enemies. Have more pipes, pits, Question Blocks and background objects. The long continuous air platform segment with Bullet Bills was boring, too.
59. Super Mario Channel - Isolated Icy Islands (4.48/10)
Chad (3.0/10)
Didn't care much for this one. I'm not really sure what to say about the design besides that it's kinda all over the place. It felt like there was no plan or consistency and just introduces things randomly. The first cave section is sort of interesting, aside from it being awkward to correctly plan around the Piranha Plants and moving platform together, but even that is quickly over and done with. The line ride following the checkpoint feels unnecessary because it's just standing and waiting for a bit, and the key section is sort of lame because they're just in random invisible blocks. Not only are the Roto-discs cruelly placed there but it's also possible to despawn the second key while utilizing the first and get yourself stuck. The boss isn't much fun either considering you're just spending a few seconds throwing ice bricks at a Birdo, and the second one can just fall on your head as it spawns. The level does okay with everything else, but even that is sort of generic and themeless, and the extra stars are effortless.
ElTipsta (6.0/10)
This is an interesting ice level. It starts out as an overworld before entering a cave section. The smog is out of place, although I liked the idea.
Quill (5.5/10)
It's an okay level, it doesn't really have anything that truly stands out. I do appreciate the variety in the level and the attempt to always have variety in every single room, though the gameplay elements present were very basic.
Shinbison-Kof (3.9/10)
This is a strange level. The graphic choices are weird; the brown snow tileset fit the atmosphere, but the blue tileset was odd with the gray background, and the smb1 grass was weird too. The level design is ok for the most part, mainly before the check-point. The level becomes stressful after. The npc placement is bad and there's a glitch involving the keys; they can despawn entirely because you get them from special blocks. The platform system is glitchy as well when the platforms move inside walls. The five free dragon coins at the entrance of the cave are random. You're supposed to evenly scatter them around the level. Why do some parts have a lot of npcs and some have none? Overall it's a strange level.
Valtteri (4.0/10)
Please don't have two Zelda 2 lock gates and expect the player to know to look for invisible blocks containing the keys. I was this close to just concluding that the level is impossible and giving you a very low score. Also, I don't know what the brown octagon at the beginning is and it bothers me. It's so ugly. Overall it's a very decent ice level. It was heavy on flat paths with just a bunch of enemies walking in a line. Vary your design! Have more pipes, pits and Question Blocks! They're basic elements and pretty much every level needs them.
58. krakcurr - The Great Palace (4.56/10)
Chad (4.0/10)
This level starts off pretty nicely, being a clear but good inspiration of a Zelda 2 dungeon. You explore different corners of the halls to get items in the correct order to solve the puzzle, and it's set up well. There are a few minor issues like the bats being really hard to see and too many Spark enemies in one spot, but I can say I enjoyed the first half. The miniboss was fun too, slightly difficult but definitely fair, despite an ambiguous hitbox and very low flying range. The second half is where things begin to fall apart a bit, though. Enemies become more frequent and clustered in ways that feel awkward to work with, you have to clear four rooms of enemies consecutively to hit the switches (the Hammer Bro ones being a bit much), a Billy Gun section with lazier construction and ends about as soon as it begins, and then you have to fight Shadow Mario. I will say I liked the idea of having you fight a silhouette against an alternating black background, especially when you're still given a decent clue of where he is at all times, but the fight did not need more than one phase. The difficulty of the first was great, but each following one begins incredibly suddenly after the previous, which means you have no time to think before you're at the mercy of the additional enemies and projectiles. Dying to the first phase would have been acceptable, but dying at the last makes the redo sound that much less fun. Overall, a very solid foundation for a Zelda-based level, and you've got a good thing going in the first half, but the second needed better imagination and planning.
ElTipsta (5.0/10)
I can sort of see what you were trying to do here, but I thought the design was a bit barren in places. The Mother Brain miniboss isn't a very good idea (it's simply not that fun to play), though the billy gun section was fun. Not many designers use that anymore. The switch block sections were simple timewasters and the level would have done much better witout them, or at least without the switch blocks. The Shadow Mario boss was a cool idea, could have given him eyes though so you could see where he is when the darkness strikes. Otherwise, not bad.
Quill (5.4/10)
When I saw the 4 switch block barrier, I kinda cried a little inside. Thankfully it wasn't that bad. Overall, this level has okay design, there's some cramped areas and some parts feel a little dude heavy. I liked how at parts of the boss fight, you weren't able to see him. That was pretty unique. Other than that, it was fairly bland, but there's potential here.
Shinbison-Kof (4.4/10)
This level has some nice concepts, like the introduction, the gate opening automatically and the puzzles. The level design is ok, but sometimes I don't like it, for instance when the player needs to run back and forth for the keys, and some of the npcs are annoying. The design is flat too. The various switches isn't a good addition. At least the doors that the player needs to open to hit the switches only contain small boss fights. The graphics are ok. I like the atmosphere. The first boss is generic. All you need to do is throw the mushroom block at the monster like mother brain. The last boss is nothing special either; you only need to defeat 3 shadow marios that replace ludwig. The blackout is a nice concept. Having to fight shadow mario three times is unnecessary and pretty annoying, though. You also put a red soldier in the boss that is impossible kill. The npc placement isn't good, because you put numerous hammer brothers and other annoying npcs in the same place.
Valtteri (4.0/10)
This wasn't so bad for a Zelda 2 level. It did feel kind of underwhelming though with the numerous flat corridors. The boss fights were as simple as can be.
57. TheDinoKing432 - Another Typical Level (4.68/10)
Chad (5.0/10)
Here's a level that starts out seemingly simple and ordinary, becomes impressively cinematic once you get into the meat of it... but after that it honestly drags on and ends up overly difficult. I don't have a lot to complain about when it comes to the level as of the first midpoint. I like the effort placed into the moving ships, but other than that it's a standard forest level for the most part. Once night falls, a lot of imaginative things are introduced. I like the increasingly twisted construction of each section and tricky block movements to make the forest appear haunted and corrupted, and the light block with the replenishable battery is pretty cool and well done. However, from the first midpoint onwards, enemies prove themselves to be a major issue. There are a lot of difficult placements that must be overcome at once, because the distance between midpoints is massive and involves limited powerups. The first time I died in the cave, I was not looking forward to redoing what felt like miles of content. The ambushing Boos and Piranha Plant fireballs are difficult to see coming even when the surroundings are lit up because of how well they blend in, too. P-switch runs are also asking a lot because they demand near-perfect runs of highly difficult block arrangements, and the springboard backtrack section was also a pain after everything preceding it. I will say the boss is impressive and unique, though. Placing the final midpoint just before it is very helpful and it's a fun battle with clever projectile arrangements. You don't have to worry about the rest of the level again if you die to the boss. Overall, it's pretty, it's creative, it's immersive... but very difficult to actually play. It's way too long and offers very rare help along the way.
ElTipsta (5.0/10)
This seems like your average SMW level with LunaDLL. This does a good job at capturing the vanilla atmosphere for the first half. And then it changes into this awesome spooky forest atmosphere. The level design is very simple, and while there are some LunaDLL and custom NPC skills (such as the breakable SMW blocks adopting Podooboo properties), there are also a lot of issues with the design. For example, it's a bit barren to play. There aren't a large vairety of surface designs, with many being rather flat and not enough slopes. The P-Switch section is also flawed. You can't respawn out of a pipe where the P-Switch generates otherwise you will glitch up next to it. Also the darkness gimmick in the cave section isn't a very good idea if limited to a timer. When it runs out, it is very difficult ot see and you are more likely to get hit by the Boos as you can't see them without the redundant light block. It's not very fair to the player at all. Likewise dragging out the level. This level is far too long for it's own good, I got bored playing it. The boss would've been cool for me if it replaced half the forest section and didn't lag, but the latter probably is due ot my toaster lol. Really liked the idea and it's backing track, much like the whole level. But the execution was a bit meh, and too long.
Quill (6.4/10)
This uh, took an unexpected turn. Honestly didn't expect the level to go from a basic Mario level to super spooky ville, so uh, props for that? It was pretty interesting though, with some neat gimmicks such as the battery power. There were parts of the level that I thought were kinda weird, such as travelling a long distance to get a springboard, then backtracking all the way back to the start of the section to progress. There's a great concept here, it just needs a lot of polish.
Shinbison-Kof (4.0/10)
This level was clichey at the first half, but the second half was interesting. The use of LunaLua was clever. The flashlight made a beautiful and great atmosphere in the dark cavern and the nighttime forest. The level design is decent but confusing, especially in the cave. Sometimes I couldn't see anything where I wanted jump. I thought this level was long and I couldn't find the exit. It would be better if you guided the player more. I like the way how the airships appear. The problem with this level is the length, and the bad npc placement. It's unnecessary to put many npcs in the same place. Some of the moving blocks are unnecessary. This level has potential but also many issues..
Valtteri (3.0/10)
I'm sorry but this felt like someone's first ever Mario level where they wanted to have everything in it. The level was way too long and had way too much stuff. I have to look at the level again in editor mode because I already forgot the first parts. So we began in a grass land that was invaded by airships. The atmosphere in this section was in heavy conflict with the situation. It was all bright and the cheery tunes of Super Mario 3D World played. Then it was a forest setting. After that there was this autoscroll type of airship battle that I thought was neat with a giant ship flying over you shooting stuff at you. Now the level could very well have ended here but then followed a lazy Boom Boom fight, a dark forest, a setting inside a tree, a cave, back to the forest and finally you fought the star itself and then you win. The level dragged on and on. About the scripts, the lantern was really lazily done. The whole place lighted up as the lantern spawned and it just didn't look good. About the overall design in the numerous areas in the level, it just wasn't good. The ground was flat most of the time and when it was not it was weirdly shaped with random spikes of land sticking out. The enemy placement was inconsistent; you could see two Fish Bones swimming in a pool at one point and then never see a single one again. To sum it up, the level is full of ideas but executed poorly.
56. ShyGuyOfMoonside - Mt Pudding (4.72/10)
Chad (5.5/10)
This level does a nice job of focusing its efforts on exploring both a volcanic exterior and interior, with added bits of exploration here and there. There are minor secrets as well, but invisible blocks aren't good ways of hiding them. The level's nicely short and I like amount of care put into diversifying the layout of each section, but it could have introduced more than just single-block jumps and hilly landscapes. Not a very unique level, but not a bad one either.
ElTipsta (5.5/10)
This is an okay level. I like the idea and the music is fine (even though the underground music is as generic as yuo can get), however there are questionable graphic choices (such as an SMB2 cave tileset being used with a YI background). Having a vine lead to a pipe on an isolated platform that goes underground makes no sense, likewise this underground section having hard and easy paths that, while a nice idea are a bit too long and get boring. If they were in their own section, you would hae had a but more freedom as what to include. Maybe an idea for next time? Also, the P-Switch in the first underground secton is a bit redundant, considering as you have to firstly go to the pipe to remove the way to the Ace Coin, then to the coins above the pipe to free the path, and then back to the Ace Coin when the switch expires. In my opnion, one of those coin barriers should be removed. Otherwise this is a decent shot :)
Quill (4.2/10)
I mean, this level just seemed really samey. There's not enough variety. Sure, there's the underground section, but those sections felt the same too. Add a lot more variety to this!
Shinbison-Kof (4.4/10)
I don't know if this level is a rock/space level or something else. The level design is ok. There are some interesting elements like secret rooms, but the level is so short. I like the atmosphere. The graphics are simple but it's still cool. The level is very well decorated, but I saw some cut-off. Some things are smw styled, but the level leans more to the smb3 style. Maybe recolor some Smw graphics to smb3. The level lacks somthing to make it interesting. It's short and there isn't much to do. The npc palcement is ok.
Valtteri (4.0/10)
There was no reason for that one vine to be so tall. The section that followed was total madness as well. The easy path was just jumping up for like a minute because it had no enemies. Don't have useless parts like this. I like how you used the SMB2 cave tileset in the underground section, even if it's just because you never see that used together with lava.
55. ShoulderBreakDown - Mountain Place (4.94/10)
Chad (4.5/10)
Nice little mountain level. I like the attention to detail in the layout and it's got decent enemy placements and jumps. It's one of those levels that's pretty standard and doesn't really have a lot outside the box, but the design is pretty solid. I wish a bit more was done with it though, because it really doesn't last very long before it just ends very suddenly.
ElTipsta (6.0/10)
This level is about as original as the name. Graphics and music are fine, but the level was a bit too short and had no halfway point. What is here is pretty decent, if this is your first attempt, it's pretty good though, mind.
Quill (4.7/10)
This level was alright, it felt like it was starting to go somewhere, then it just ended.
Shinbison-Kof (5.5/10)
The level design is good. I like the variety in decoration. Almost everything in this level is good: npc placement, coin placement, power-up placement. I don't have much else to say about this level because it's so short. There's nothing special in it. Overall it's a fun level, but disappointingly short.
Valtteri (4.0/10)
That was short... It was decent while it lasted. Just an overworld level, with some athletic influences.
A reasonably short SMB1 castle. It does a nice job with tricky enemy placements and clever bullet-tunnel runs that test the player's caution well, and it ends with a False Bowser. That's pretty much it, but even though it doesn't offer a lot of uniqueness or variety, this was still a fun little level. However, some of the early Bowser statues are a little too difficult to get past. They're paired up with things like Thwomps and Hammer Bros, which means the fact that you can't move while crouching can be punishing in itself. But at the same time, the powerups are distributed nicely enough that they feel rewarding to get while not making the level too easy, which makes the aforementioned issue small. Overall, it's basic, but with a good eye for construction and offers some enjoyment.
ElTipsta (6.0/10)
This is a pretty decent attempt at a Bowser's Castle level with good usage of Sednaiur's graphics and vanilla music. It cna sort of be a little cluttered in places, such as the Bullet Bill sections. It's also somewhat hard to predict the positions of the fireballs. Powerups were good in the second half, though the first half had one too many in my opinion.
Quill (4.5/10)
This was a pretty bland castle. It didn't really have all too many interesting ideas, it was just really basic. There are foundations for a good level here, you just need to really polish everything up and add some cool concepts.
Shinbison-Kof (4.2/10)
A cliche bowser castle. I like the challenges in the level, like dodging bullet bills in varying ways. The npc placement is good. Your level design is too flat. The level seems empty. It's missing bgos and variety and it's short too. The boss fight isn't anything special. It's only a cliche bowser battle. This level is like a first castle in an episode.
Valtteri (5.0/10)
I like the things you did with the Bullet Bills! Other than that it was a pretty classic castle level.
The design of this level is really impressive. There's a huge variety of imaginative gimmicks and themes throughout, and each one is given a ton of focus and done super well. The open sliding and optional flight section make a nice and simple but pleasant intro, the series of Mouser replacements guarding the red switch are strategically placed for unique miniature boss fights, the sliding puzzle-piece nature of the castle area protecting the green switch is brilliant, the Peach-specific log raft performs well, and the Urchin/Torpedo sections leading to the blue switch are cunningly designed. The switch sections are pretty difficult, but for the most part the efforts put into the design and detail of the level are incredible. However, a few major issues are present in this level, mainly that there's just a massive amount of each idea. It's certainly playable if you have the patience, and I really appreciate the anatomy of the level overall, but everything is given an enormous amount of focus. Multiple midpoints are offered, but they don't seem to work, because they just respawn you at the top-left corner of whatever section comes after the last midpoint you touched. In a few cases, this puts you outside of the structural frame of the area and gets you stuck and unable to continue. In others, it is possible to return yourself to the level, but the switches reset either way and you're back to square one. This gargantuan level must be completed in one shot because the checkpoints are effectively superfluous. That's asking a lot because each switch challenge is rather difficult and long. They're fair on their own, but it's not as simple in this case. I also didn't bother with the second star, because even though the Dragon Coin hints next to the main exit are thoughtful, I already spent more than enough time just reaching the main exit, and searching massive open sections for collectibles via flight or invisible blocks does not sound appealing. This level has a lot of redeeming qualities aside from this, but it will be very difficult to complete legitimately except by only the most patient and determined of players. Pretty much all of these issues would have been avoided if you simply had all of the same ideas but way less of everything.
ElTipsta (6.5/10)
I liked the idea of this level, and it's atmosphere. The events in the castle section were very well done and it's clear that a lot of effort was put into it, so kudos to you. However This level's midpoints are buggy. It also lags the hell out of my computer which greatly reduced the enjoyment of this level for me. This level was far too long (particularly Peach Creek), and the usage of switch blocks is cliche. I do like what you treid to do by making a sprawling world though, so it definitely had that going for it. The graphics were also pretty neat too, and the Donkey Kong music fitted in very well.
Quill (5.3/10)
hey dude loving that 228mb of music :) Anyway, the actual level is a bit weird. At the start, I got super lost as it isn't really clear where you have to go when you hit the yellow switch block. As far as I'm clear, progression requires the use of the leaf, so if the player loses that it seems they're screwed unless I'm missing something. The design is pretty basic overall too and the only real interesting design is in the castle section with the moving layers but even that gets pretty repetitive. Collecting all 5 Dragon Coins for the secret star can be a pain if you die. You've used Lua for midpoints, see if you can use it to save progression. Also, this level is super lengthy when it kinda doesn't need to be. The midpoints do help this a lot, but things can get tiring.
Shinbison-Kof (3.5/10)
This level is so confusing. The level design is bad. There's no logic. The player doesn't know where to go. The graphics are good, but the orange background is strange to me. I don't like the npc placement, especially the piranha bomb spam. That's a bad idea because it's very hard dodge them and this level has so many other annoying npcs. This level has many parts with hard jumps. This isn't a good element for the gameplay, especially with the npcs that are hard to dodge and causes unfair deaths. The boss is an annoying Mouser battle. Overall it's a strange and stressful level.
Valtteri (6.0/10)
I must say I appreciate the spaciousness of this level. It's a casual level with a switch puzzle. Slides are always fun, too.
