Cyan Castle

[CyanFruit]

Starting off with my first level.
Cyan Castle
Its short for now, but once I've updated it. It will be bigger.
Q/A

Spoiler: show

Playable - Yes
Custom GFX - Yes
Custom NPCs - No
Custom Player - No

Pictures:

Spoiler: show

DOWNLOAD

Spoiler: show

V1 https://drive.google.com/open?id=1G0kne ... WKBAwIbx-T
V2 https://drive.google.com/open?id=10t2xQ ... pBFoYBkuFb

Update Log: Added a 2 new rooms
Bully as the boss
Refreshment stations
Checkpoint at the end of the level w/ Refreshment station
The link (hopefully) for V2 has been fixed, if you find any bugs, please send them in a Private Message

[Snessy the duck]

Where's the download?

[FireyPaperMario]

Question, is this Cyan Castle episode gonna be a single level which is the whole castle?

[CyanFruit]

Where's the download?

Ill post it when I get the download ready, for now, you've got a nice image of cyan castle

Question, is this Cyan Castle episode gonna be a single level which is the whole castle?

No, its not. This is just a single level that isnt complete atm. So I've posted it here.

[Snessy the duck]

Where's the download?

Ill post it when I get the download ready, for now, you've got a nice image of cyan castle

You should've probably had the download ready before you made the topic.

[CyanFruit]

Where's the download?

Ill post it when I get the download ready, for now, you've got a nice image of cyan castle

You should've probably had the download ready before you made the topic.

I've already got the download link right now, its time to edit the post.

[PixelPest]

Please make sure that you don't post levels until they're finished and do so in the Levels forum. The Projects forum is only for WIP Episodes.

Where's the download?

Ill post it when I get the download ready, for now, you've got a nice image of cyan castle

You should've probably had the download ready before you made the topic.

Please just report it and move on next time

[Taycamgame]

What version of SMBX is this playable on? I'd be happy to do a review of it!

[CyanFruit]

What version of SMBX is this playable on? I'd be happy to do a review of it!

SMBX 2.0 ( I wont recommend playing this)

Please make sure that you don't post levels until they're finished and do so in the Levels forum. The Projects forum is only for WIP Episodes.

Are you sure, I have seen some levels appear on here before.

[PixelPest]

Please make sure that you don't post levels until they're finished and do so in the Levels forum. The Projects forum is only for WIP Episodes.

Are you sure, I have seen some levels appear on here before.

Yes. I'm sure

[Cedur]

At first sight I thought the level was indeed finished but the rooms are so empty ... yeah, gotta fill them with life.

And there are no standalone levels to be found in Projects. If you have seen a single one then it's already been taken care of as well.

[Taycamgame]

Cyan Castle Review by Taycamgame
A very nice 1st attempt at a level! The colours all fit together well. Starting the level, I decided to jump in that pool of blue liquid - I found out how hot it was the hard way. It was confusing as to whether or not this was water or lava due to it being coloured like water, but the animation gives it away. Good job on this! The level also starts in a relatively easy environment and it is impossible to die before moving. Then there is a thwomp - this one doesn't suit the theme and could be made better by recolouring it to blue to fit the scene. Also this is a Maverick Thwomp which poses little to no threat in this setup as it will probably not be triggered. We get our first mushroom at the end of the hall, past a nice, simple jump. Good door graphics btw! In the next area, one thing that i noticed is that the wrap around doesn't quite match; you drop down on the edge of the screen before getting to the other side of the room. When you walk to the left from the entrance door to get to the right of the room, and then walk right back to the other side, you will glitch, go through the floor and end up at the bottom of the stage. This is only a partial skip so nothing major but this can be avoided. Wait, sorry. if you walk to the left at the end of the room you will get stuck in the floor and your only way out is through cheats or death by lava.
The 3rd area would be a nice place to put another mushroom or maybe even a secret 1-UP; there is a pyramid of coins in this room suggesting that something is above them, but there isn't. This isn't bad but would be nice. In area 4 we make our way over slightly trickier jumps, which means you paid good attention to 4 step level design for this gimmick of jumping over lava. However, area 5 is the boss room and we don't get any health before it. There isn't a checkpoint to be found either, which makes things more difficult. Thankfully the boss isn't hard, but what... after beating the boss the game ends. This isn't really neccessary for a stand alone level and should only be used for the final level of an episode, which this doesn't seem to be.
More technical stuff:

Spoiler: show

Length: 6.4/10: This is a really nice start to a level, and is quite fun to play through. However, it is not very long so any enjoyment dies before it climaxes.
Even 1 extra area would work. Also, there is only 1 mushroom at the start of the level and the level's length should mean there should be atleast 2 or 3. Also it may be nice to get a checkpoint somewhere in there if you plan on making it longer.
Gameplay / Themes: 7.3/10: A fun level to play, it doesn't get boring either. The concept behind the level is also cool, and isn't too difficult, and allows the player to chill out in some parts. The jumps over lava get harder towards the end so this was obviously took into consideration. However, some players may find the level too difficult due to only 1 mushroom being given, not even right before the boss.
Aesthetics: 8.3/10: Graphics chosen really suit the theme of a cyan castle. The only exceptions being that one Thwomp at the start, the yellow coins and the boss at the end. However, if everything is one colour, it will often get ignored and because these 3 things aren't cyan or blue they stand out from the rest of the level.
Overall: 7.3/10: A really decent start to a level, especially for a first upload. However the length of the level could be improved as can the instance of the single mushroom. This is a unique level, being cyan, and, if improved, could really stand out from other levels. Also, as the level is cyan, it would have been nice for some parts to be made out of ice, but that would be something to think about after improving in the other ways.

Great job on this and I hope you will get better in time! Also, welcome to the forums, please enjoy it here!

[CyanFruit]

Cyan Castle Review by Taycamgame
A very nice 1st attempt at a level! The colours all fit together well. Starting the level, I decided to jump in that pool of blue liquid - I found out how hot it was the hard way. It was confusing as to whether or not this was water or lava due to it being coloured like water, but the animation gives it away. Good job on this! The level also starts in a relatively easy environment and it is impossible to die before moving. Then there is a thwomp - this one doesn't suit the theme and could be made better by recolouring it to blue to fit the scene. Also this is a Maverick Thwomp which poses little to no threat in this setup as it will probably not be triggered. We get our first mushroom at the end of the hall, past a nice, simple jump. Good door graphics btw! In the next area, one thing that i noticed is that the wrap around doesn't quite match; you drop down on the edge of the screen before getting to the other side of the room. When you walk to the left from the entrance door to get to the right of the room, and then walk right back to the other side, you will glitch, go through the floor and end up at the bottom of the stage. This is only a partial skip so nothing major but this can be avoided. Wait, sorry. if you walk to the left at the end of the room you will get stuck in the floor and your only way out is through cheats or death by lava.
The 3rd area would be a nice place to put another mushroom or maybe even a secret 1-UP; there is a pyramid of coins in this room suggesting that something is above them, but there isn't. This isn't bad but would be nice. In area 4 we make our way over slightly trickier jumps, which means you paid good attention to 4 step level design for this gimmick of jumping over lava. However, area 5 is the boss room and we don't get any health before it. There isn't a checkpoint to be found either, which makes things more difficult. Thankfully the boss isn't hard, but what... after beating the boss the game ends. This isn't really neccessary for a stand alone level and should only be used for the final level of an episode, which this doesn't seem to be.
More technical stuff:

Spoiler: show

Length: 6.4/10: This is a really nice start to a level, and is quite fun to play through. However, it is not very long so any enjoyment dies before it climaxes.
Even 1 extra area would work. Also, there is only 1 mushroom at the start of the level and the level's length should mean there should be atleast 2 or 3. Also it may be nice to get a checkpoint somewhere in there if you plan on making it longer.
Gameplay / Themes: 7.3/10: A fun level to play, it doesn't get boring either. The concept behind the level is also cool, and isn't too difficult, and allows the player to chill out in some parts. The jumps over lava get harder towards the end so this was obviously took into consideration. However, some players may find the level too difficult due to only 1 mushroom being given, not even right before the boss.
Aesthetics: 8.3/10: Graphics chosen really suit the theme of a cyan castle. The only exceptions being that one Thwomp at the start, the yellow coins and the boss at the end. However, if everything is one colour, it will often get ignored and because these 3 things aren't cyan or blue they stand out from the rest of the level.
Overall: 7.3/10: A really decent start to a level, especially for a first upload. However the length of the level could be improved as can the instance of the single mushroom. This is a unique level, being cyan, and, if improved, could really stand out from other levels. Also, as the level is cyan, it would have been nice for some parts to be made out of ice, but that would be something to think about after improving in the other ways.

Great job on this and I hope you will get better in time! Also, welcome to the forums, please enjoy it here!

Thanks for the review
The door is from SMM, I am including it and a few more versions of the door in my GFX pack, so feel free to use it when I upload it

[erkyp3rky]

[center]So, I sat down, pulled out SMBX, got out my reviewing music, and reviewed your level:[/center][/i][/b]

So, when we start off, we have a pit of blue lava. I found it quite obvious it was lava, but some other people might mix it up for water. Maybe add a sign or infomation speaker to alert the player to the danger of the lava?

Continuing, we have quite a... strange random enemy entity? I'm not sure what happened, but he didn't move and literally just sat there not moving, strangely flashing for me.

Jumping on him results in a spin jump bounce, regardless of if you spin jumped. Running into him from the sides will kill you however. I just found this very strange, and both me and Mario are quite confused.

Moving on, the level is extremely short. And when I say short, I mean short. I beat it casually in 45 seconds which is not very good at all. The level is quite bland, featuring mostly empty rooms void of any decoration and enemies. The platforming wasn't too bad, but honestly it was extremely easy. Enemy placement was very questionable at times, and the custom blue Koopa Troopa graphic you used makes it impossible to distinguish if they are red or green, but it wasn't too big of an issue because there weren't any scenarios that affected Mario in this way. Back on enemy placement, there was one Koopa Troopa I am going to use as an example of strange enemy placement.

The poor Koopa Troopa you see above starts around the Blue Door, but ends up stuck in this pit where he is virtually pointless. Making him red would make him more of a threat, but at this point he isn't and Mario can just safely wait for him to walk into his doom. Anyways, the cyan bricks you used, I'm not a fan of them. I think it's because they have no outline. Look, it's just decorative OCD but it really annoys me. Coin placement is very basic, but I felt like there was too much coins.

The boss was quite easy, but as our pal Taycamgame said, there is no "refreshment station" before the boss. A "Refreshment station" is a powerup and possible checkpoint alcove right before a boss, to, well, refresh the player and give them a break from the action. It's important you add this for your players so they don't find themselves in a tricky situation where they're a tiny little plumber up against a massive brute of a boss. But fortunately the boss was easy so for me, I didn't need a refreshment station.

The level its self wasn't too bad, I wasn't enjoying myself but I wasn't having a horrible time. Maybe some kind of ice physics related gimmick would have spiced things up?

Anyways, your level was below average but don't let that discourage you. You can only get better the more you create! Thank you for spending time on this level and putting hard work in it. Hopefully you'll take my advice and use that in the future.

[center]Overall Score: 4.5/10[/center][/i][/b]

[Cedur]

Both of ya keep in mind that this level is sort of WIP and may be expanded further. So keep paying attention if/when it eventually happens ...

[arcade999]

What version of SMBX is this playable on? I'd be happy to do a review of it!

SMBX 2.0 ( I wont recommend playing this)

but why

[CyanFruit]

What version of SMBX is this playable on? I'd be happy to do a review of it!

SMBX 2.0 ( I wont recommend playing this)

but why

1.4.4 is buggy from the things people need help with in the discord, and the level was made with SMBX 2.0, so its recommended to play in 2.0

[ElectriKong]

SMBX 2.0 ( I wont recommend playing this)

but why

1.4.4 is buggy from the things people need help with in the discord, and the level was made with SMBX 2.0, so its recommended to play in 2.0

I think he is asking about the bit in brackets.

[CyanFruit]

but why

1.4.4 is buggy from the things people need help with in the discord, and the level was made with SMBX 2.0, so its recommended to play in 2.0

I think he is asking about the bit in brackets.

well its my first level, so of course im having doubts lol. Anyway, ill post a new update later on whenever I have the chance

[erkyp3rky]

1.4.4 is buggy from the things people need help with in the discord, and the level was made with SMBX 2.0, so its recommended to play in 2.0

I think he is asking about the bit in brackets.

well its my first level, so of course im having doubts lol. Anyway, ill post a new update later on whenever I have the chance

Yes please, I would love to help you out and review your updates.

Keep posted and look out for my later reviews.