A level which takes place in a dark underground city. It features ant troopers, sparkies and walljumps as its main gimmicks. It should technically be beatable with all five characters, but since I've only tested it with Mario, I recommend playing as him.
My NLC2 entry is available now! Both powerups and the spin jump are unavailable in this level. Like last time, I recommend playing as Mario. Also, you may or may not know that this level originally had a different name, but I changed it retroactively, because it was quite similar to a completely different stage's name. Anyway, while I definitely think that I went too far with a couple of setups, I hope that you end up liking this level!
More of a tech demo than a full-blown level. This one's all about a specific movement technique with Link and also served as a bit of an aesthetic test for me, because I felt like it.
I designed this almost two years ago, for a project that is unfortunately dead by now. I still like this level a lot though and think that it can stand on its own when removed from its original context, hence I figured I could preserve it in my level thread. Designed with Mario, Luigi and Toad in mind.
My CCX entry from last year. This level has only been tested with the standard Toad costume and I do not recommend to play it with anything else because it might break, lol.
Inspired by the 'What's Your Favorite Powerup?' thread, I figured it'd be fun to dedicate a small level to my beloved Ice Flower. Wouldn't really call this a fully fleshed out stage, but instead a showcase of a couple interactions and uses I could think of.
As always, a playthrough is available on my YouTube channel!
The first level I have completed in the year 2025. While I'm not particularly satisfied with it overall, I think it turned out pretty alright for a level that was (mostly) done within a single day. Here's the download link and the obligatory YouTube playthrough.
Re: The Salt Pile
Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2021 6:21 pm
by SuperAlex
Your level is awesome! I Played this, but I c'(ANT) survive.
Keep it up!
Re: The Salt Pile
Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2021 6:56 pm
by TheNightingale
Insanely dark level. Seems fun!
Also, nice name and logo for the thread lol
Re: The Salt Pile
Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2021 12:19 am
by Sux
This level is awesome! You have conjured up the walljump gimmick and bounce on the ants very well throughout the level. The autoscroll section was very well done and a great ending. Definitely one of my favorite levels of the contest, in my opinion it deserved even a higher placement, I'm looking foward for next levels you would share here
Re: The Salt Pile
Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2021 4:25 pm
by Luna
Interesting level idea, but you shouldn't be this salty.
Re: The Salt Pile
Posted: Fri Nov 26, 2021 1:14 pm
by Saltlord
Added my NLC2 entry to the first post!
Re: The Salt Pile
Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2023 9:19 am
by Saltlord
Been a while! New level added to the first post.
Re: The Salt Pile / Newest addition: Clockwork Plumber!
Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2023 6:27 am
by Saltlord
New level just dropped! You know where to find it.
Re: The Salt Pile / Newest addition: Gutter Greenery!
Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2024 7:14 am
by Saltlord
A new(?) level is now available.
Re: The Salt Pile / Newest addition: Demolition Dudes!
Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2024 5:04 pm
by Saltlord
And my entry from last year's Chocolate Contest is now available, albeit in a slightly altered fashion.
Re: The Salt Pile / Newest Addition: Cold Goat!
Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2024 4:14 pm
by Saltlord
New Saltlord just dropped. Kind of? A mini-level, anyway!
Re: The Salt Pile / Newest Addition: Cold Goat!
Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2024 7:46 am
by Ness-Wednesday
I admire the creativity applied to all the setups! I especially love the setup where you're on an elevator controlled by an underwater Toad. This level is highly replayable, too. I beat the level four times, looking for ways to beat several setups creatively. The Ice Flower at the beginning of the level tells you to press alt jump to reset the section, but the level reset is set to alt run. Besides that, I had a thrill playing this level. This level proves why the Ice Flower is the best SMBX power-up!
Re: The Salt Pile / Newest Addition: Detonator Den!
I admire the creativity applied to all the setups! I especially love the setup where you're on an elevator controlled by an underwater Toad. This level is highly replayable, too. I beat the level four times, looking for ways to beat several setups creatively. The Ice Flower at the beginning of the level tells you to press alt jump to reset the section, but the level reset is set to alt run. Besides that, I had a thrill playing this level. This level proves why the Ice Flower is the best SMBX power-up!
I appreciate the kind words! That little blunder has been fixed by now, I realized that alt run is a much more reasonable reset button a couple of minutes before I uploaded the level to the forums.
Anyway, my New Year's Vanilla Contest submission has been added to the main post.
Empire Ants (CCX2 12th Place)
Springhatter's Suite (NLC2 3rd Place)
Shifty Shore (Sciencecon 2023)
Clockwork Plumber
Gutter Greenery
Demolition Dudes (CCX4 18th Place)
Cold Goat
Detonator Den (New Year's Vanilla Contest B-Rank)