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afternoon delight · Feb 11, 2017

Agent Unknown said:
I have a couple of really tough ones you might enjoy:

Thanks, I'll try them out!

WOW this game is fucking incredible. Dropped five or six hours into creating like it was nothing, oh man, I really have wanted something like this since I was a child. I'm just treating it like DX missions or Master Level arrangements- nothing like Dark Souls precision platformers, just a perfect eight or nine level world campaign for me and my friends.

So far my favorite idea is a level with two ways of reaching the end via air and ground, each with different obstacles.

Just bookmarked the hell out of the lists in here, ready to rate, star, and download for that megahits romhack feeling I've been craving for awhile hahaha

Ranger X · Feb 11, 2017

Here's some more push on the stuff I made over the course of time Super Mario Maker was popular around here. Bookmark my levels here: RangerX profile page

(descriptions are always under the images)

This is a series. There's 4 levels to try in order they been numbered. Its more "puzzle" than a traditional Mario here. I made those levels right after the game came out because everybody was trying to make "normal" levels and I wanted something that can distinguish itself. So here's the deal: You are given ONE mushroom in those levels. If you use it wisely, the level will be easier to complete. If you LOSE that schroom, the level will be a pain.

There as been alot of automatic levels in the community but I don't like to make those. What I did here though are levels that can be played "traditional Mario" but the real goal is to complete them by running without ever braking. If you like pulling some reflexes and aren't affraid to start over multiple times, its great fun to run like hell the whole time.

Those are traditional Mario experiences. Still I meant to give each a different flavor. Frozen is like a fire and ice themed level that never was in SMB3. Subterranean Pipeworks is my love letter to the 7th world of SMB3. I made some rarely seen visual pipe tricks in there (took forever to make lol). Kuribo's Savage Islands is a 2 way level where you can stay in the harder jungle rough on ground or you go in the sky for an easy way out (almost cheat-easy!).

Those 2 levels are Metroidvania type levels. If you like exploration and figuring your way out, this really is your thing there. The levels are quite long and there's alot to do and find.

As the title suggest, this is a time based level . You have a very short time to complete it by figuring your way out. There's even an added challenge I made in there if you don't wanna go casual: Good players can collect 50 coins while completing it in time. Are you up to it?

This one is particular. Somehow its a traditional Mario level but at the same time its not. If you want a long and challenging experience, a level with alot of intricacies, secrets, etc. I crafted this one for a long time. You go through it as normal Mario and then once again as Giant Mario. There's also a way to complete it by running the hell to the goal following a special secret path. Good luck!

At the time I made that level there was a huge trend of making skull ride levels. They mostly play like Donkey Kong Country's minecraft levels (reflexes + figuring your way way fast). Problem is, everything time I was playing a skull ride level it honestly sucked. It was just a random bullshit coming at you, no levels were really thought out as much as I would have like. This is why I made "Now this is a skull ride". I am pretty happy about this one.

At some point there was this update with the Bowser's cart that gave us not only the opportunity to drive it but also to make it shoot fire balls. This was a huge door at being able to make shooter levels! So that's what it is right there. A shooter but underwater ('cause I don't like to make things normal lol).

This one is a particular essay in trying to create a theme Super Mario Maker didn't really plan out. Its a mix of swamp and the ghost house theme and I think it gave the levels a little style that is interesting. You need to unlock the 4 doors to complete the levels so... go find the keys.

When you'll be an expert player (or just a crazy person), here's my attempt at making a Kaïdo level. This is those levels with EXTREME difficulty where you have to devellop great muscle memory. Its super duper hard and nobody completed it without actual cheating. Might just be the hardest Super Mario Maker level although am sure some extreme guys I see on You tube would probably complete it no cheat. The process I used to make the level is particular though. Because I am not good enough to complete it myself. What I did is to make the level in parts and made sure I could complete each part seperately. So basically, I completed every part and tested them so its doable but it takes some serious skill to complete the whole level in one go.

I had to put a cheat in there so I could complete it in order to be able to publish!
lol

Agent Unknown · Feb 11, 2017

QuixoticNeutral said:
Throwing Up All Over
0641-0000-010D-66E3

Synopsis: A castle stage built around strategically placing and throwing held objects, this is an extensive regurgitation of mechanics specific to Super Mario Worldin particular, the titular upchuck. (Not to be confused with a Chargin' Chuck.) A mastery of other SMW mechanics, like spin jumps and flight, will also provide you with alternative methods for clearing obstacles or even skipping them entirely.

Difficulty: Moderate. Challenges demand a mix of dexterity and good observation/planning, as in light puzzle-solving, but nothing here is beyond the difficulty of a mid-to-late-game Nintendo stage.

- You must be comfortable throwing objects in mid-air or placing them gently. You don't need to be perfect; the challenges here have ample room for error.
- It should be self-evident that fluency with the run button is required.
- Other skills from SMW are optional but potentially helpful. There are some big skips and breaks I found in testing that I decided to leave in as a speed runner's route.
- Yes, there are checkpoints. This is a lengthy stage.
- No Kaizo tricks, no juggling required.
- That said, let's not pretend the clear rate will end up over 5%.

Also, there may not be custom achievements in this game, but in this stage there is a bonus objective: finish the stage with Yoshi. He is not hard to find (in a room of his own, not tucked away in a hidden block or anything), but rescuing him is, by design, a puzzle of its own that is harder to solve and execute than simply reaching the goal.

I point this out now because I know many players in Super Mario Maker (myself included) habitually clear stages, star them perhaps, and never return, even to the ones they like most. So here I've put in an optional achievement that is highly visible at a glance when you reach the goal, and if you do it, I encourage you to brag about it in a Miiverse post.

Not sure if you still read here but I found your level last night randomly digging back through the thread, really enjoyed it and starred it (my Miiverse user is AgentMST), good design and balanced challenge but after playing it for over an hour I still can't find Yoshi. >__< Hopefully soon.

Inkwell · Feb 18, 2017

I've gotten back into Mario Maker a little bit after watching AGDQ and some Mario speed running on Twitch. All but one of these are actually old ideas I never finished, and the newest one was more of an experiment I originally wasn't going to release. I'll try to go through these newer posts and play some of the newer levels you guys have made.

The Outsider

It's meant to be kind of an adaptation of the Lovecraft short story by the same name. I can't remember when I started this, but I got pretty far into it before abandoning it the first time around. I'm curious to see if this level will get pulled due to the title or religious iconography used. Not a great level but a fun one to make.

Haunting Déjà Vu

I barely had a concept for this level when I worked on it initially. It's pretty much a brand new level compared to what it was. I tried to make a slightly trollish ghost house that wouldn't be maze like or confusing. It should be pretty easy.

Lava Fried Fish

This was the last level I was working on before I stopped, and it was nearly complete. It was originally going to be an incredibly hard level, but I decided to tone that down quite a bit. It's probably still difficult. It's also very speed run friendly by design. I tried my best to make the boss fight work properly, but there might be a small chance of a soft-lock if someone manages to despawn the boss.

Red Shell Bounding

This is actually the level that got me back into Mario Maker, though I think it's the worst out of the bunch. I wanted to experiment with using koopas for platforming, but the majority of it is pretty by the book stuff. There's a few blind jumps but I think people can deal with it (and I didn't care enough to change it).

Anteo · Feb 19, 2017

How do you guys still have ideas. I tried to make a stage the other day but ended up with nothing

Gotdatmoney · Feb 19, 2017

Anteo said:
How do you guys still have ideas. I tried to make a stage the other day but ended up with nothing

Haha, I never ran out of ideas. I got bored with the backgrounds and music. I like making theme levels and such but the current toolset is too samey. I figured they would update the game with more backgrounds and music but they never did, so I am just waiting til Mario Maker 2 or the switch port.

Anteo · Feb 19, 2017

Gotdatmoney said:
Haha, I never ran out of ideas. I got bored with the backgrounds and music. I like making theme levels and such but the current toolset is too samey. I figured they would update the game with more backgrounds and music but they never did, so I am just waiting til Mario Maker 2 or the switch port.

I think Im just looking too hard for something interesting to put in a stage, like a mechanic or a theme. I end up doing half of a stage and then dropping it because Im not satisfied with it. Also I feel like I peaked with this stage and I cant seem to find something better.

Inkwell · Feb 19, 2017

Gotdatmoney said:
Haha, I never ran out of ideas. I got bored with the backgrounds and music. I like making theme levels and such but the current toolset is too samey. I figured they would update the game with more backgrounds and music but they never did, so I am just waiting til Mario Maker 2 or the switch port.

Anteo said:
I think Im just looking too hard for something interesting to put in a stage, like a mechanic or a theme. I end up doing half of a stage and then dropping it because Im not satisfied with it. Also I feel like I peaked with this stage and I cant seem to find something better.

I hope they make a second game. I agree though, even adding a desert theme or jungle theme would have added so much to the game. Actually, it would have been really cool to have other song options as well. As it is right now though, it feels like people have done just about everything you can with the current toolset. New themes, enemies and power-ups are a no brainer, but I really hope with a Mario Maker 2 we get slopes, vertical levels, and some more advanced tools. I think that's when people can get really creative.

jholmes · Feb 20, 2017

OK, I have some stuff bookmarked here and I will play some levels soon. I also have a level on the 3DS version I could port over, but I'm sorta waiting on a bit of feedback on that. Believe it or not I've never once Streetpassed anyone with Mario Maker, even when I went to a Nintendo Switch event a month back. Feel free to try my stuff, I'm so close to that 2,000-star medal and it's driving me nuts.

Anteo said:
How do you guys still have ideas. I tried to make a stage the other day but ended up with nothing

I try to base it around something -- a play mechanic, a neat combination of stage elements, something thematic. I rarely play a full round of 100-Mario Challenge without getting some sort of inspiration.

Agent Unknown said:
I have various platform puzzlers and some shoot 'em up stages you might find very unique, jholmes will back me up on my shmup levels.

Yes.

Anteo · Feb 20, 2017

jholmes said:
I try to base it around something -- a play mechanic, a neat combination of stage elements, something thematic. I rarely play a full round of 100-Mario Challenge without getting some sort of inspiration.

Yeah thats what I did too, but there are many stages I tried to make but stopped half way because I wasnt satisfied with what I got. For example the last time I tried mking an airship level, first based around running jumps, then tried navigating around bullets, but in the end I felt it was jus unninteresting and I dropped it. Maybe I should just try to iterate over an idea I already worked on.

dickroach · Feb 22, 2017

I just picked the game back up after trading it in like a year ago. I've got so much to catch up on. jeez

edit: doing a 100 mario challenge. I see auto-levels are still all the rage. I grabbed a snack because I don't need my controller for half these levels -_-

gimme suggestions for some best-of-the-best levels

jholmes · Feb 22, 2017

dickroach said:
I just picked the game back up after trading it in like a year ago. I've got so much to catch up on. jeez

edit: doing a 100 mario challenge. I see auto-levels are still all the rage. I grabbed a snack because I don't need my controller for half these levels -_-

gimme suggestions for some best-of-the-best levels

Not a best-of-the-best per se, but I do a running community showcase list of levels I really like that need more attention, last updated here. Also my levels are pretty cool.

afternoon delight · Feb 25, 2017

When you see StarmanSupr667 giving stars out, know that it's me! Bookmarking and going through these in between bouts of designing a 5 stage run like some of the more connected ones out there. What a blast, this game is dope sauce once you get a handle of the physics.

I'm just gushing right now, what a fun experience. Sourcing global Mario levels in a convenient and attractive central program, what a beautiful thing!

Gotdatmoney · Feb 26, 2017

Anteo said:
I think Im just looking too hard for something interesting to put in a stage, like a mechanic or a theme. I end up doing half of a stage and then dropping it because Im not satisfied with it. Also I feel like I peaked with this stage and I cant seem to find something better.

Honestly sometimes you just gotta throw stuff in a stage and get some feedback. I think I peaked with some earlier levels in terms of playability but some of the design of my later courses I really like. Main thing is sometimes getting carried away and forgetting your audience doesn't want to play 1 level for 20 mins

Inkwell said:
I hope they make a second game. I agree though, even adding a desert theme or jungle theme would have added so much to the game. Actually, it would have been really cool to have other song options as well. As it is right now though, it feels like people have done just about everything you can with the current toolset. New themes, enemies and power-ups are a no brainer, but I really hope with a Mario Maker 2 we get slopes, vertical levels, and some more advanced tools. I think that's when people can get really creative.

Yeah I am gonna be all in for a second game. New music and new themes would add tons to the core. But new stuff in a sequel would take it next level. I don't think the current game has been maxed out by any means though. Stuff on reddit and gaf alone has shown just how far you can push the game. There are literally thousands of good levels in just this thread. Kinda crazy.

jholmes said:
OK, I have some stuff bookmarked here and I will play some levels soon. I also have a level on the 3DS version I could port over, but I'm sorta waiting on a bit of feedback on that. Believe it or not I've never once Streetpassed anyone with Mario Maker, even when I went to a Nintendo Switch event a month back. Feel free to try my stuff, I'm so close to that 2,000-star medal and it's driving me nuts.

I try to base it around something -- a play mechanic, a neat combination of stage elements, something thematic. I rarely play a full round of 100-Mario Challenge without getting some sort of inspiration.

Yes.

I'm gonna go through your catalogue today. I was keeping up but other stuff has held me back a bit. You did get 2000 doe

dickroach said:
I just picked the game back up after trading it in like a year ago. I've got so much to catch up on. jeez

edit: doing a 100 mario challenge. I see auto-levels are still all the rage. I grabbed a snack because I don't need my controller for half these levels -_-

gimme suggestions for some best-of-the-best levels

My levels are basically all platforming and I have like 16 so it should be a decent start if you just wanna have a quick run through.

My Page

afternoon delight said:
When you see StarmanSupr667 giving stars out, know that it's me! Bookmarking and going through these in between bouts of designing a 5 stage run like some of the more connected ones out there. What a blast, this game is dope sauce once you get a handle of the physics.

I'm just gushing right now, what a fun experience. Sourcing global Mario levels in a convenient and attractive central program, what a beautiful thing!

It's a really fun game. Gaf has an awesome community.

jholmes · Feb 26, 2017

I'll probably do another community showcase update soon, but for now, some feedback:

Mael said:
Tatanga's spaceship :

It's probably the 1rst level I post with an automatic section.
You really need to pace yourself if you don't want to make a hellish mario killing landscape.
I don't think it's that hard (especially compared to the last one where the boss is really too hard for my taste).
Don't bother searching secrets, there's probably isn't any worth finding. No shortcuts either.
Again if you like the level, do not hesitate to comment on what you liked or not.
See you tomorrow for another level hopefully.

Ranger X said:
This one is particular. Somehow its a traditional Mario level but at the same time its not. If you want a long and challenging experience, a level with alot of intricacies, secrets, etc. I crafted this one for a long time. You go through it as normal Mario and then once again as Giant Mario. There's also a way to complete it by running the hell to the goal following a special secret path. Good luck!

I liked these but they have something in common: I felt like both of them kinda wore out their welcome a bit. Good, but maybe longer than they needed to be. Also, the Tatanga's Spaceship level has a pipe that ends in thin air and uggggh I hate how that looks.

Thematically though, really neat levels. Enjoyed them both.

Inkwell said:
Lava Fried Fish

This was the last level I was working on before I stopped, and it was nearly complete. It was originally going to be an incredibly hard level, but I decided to tone that down quite a bit. It's probably still difficult. It's also very speed run friendly by design. I tried my best to make the boss fight work properly, but there might be a small chance of a soft-lock if someone manages to despawn the boss.

I liked this quite a bit, to the point where I went back to set a solid WR time, but I feel like it sorta takes a bit of a turn with the boss encounter -- thematically, the boss makes sense, but this whole level is about running, and jumping, and just rushing past danger, and then the boss makes things stop dead in place, so I think it might've been better with a big, showy piece of platforming, rather than a boss battle for the sake of a boss battle. My two cents. Again, highly recommended otherwise, I really liked the stuff before the boss.

Gotdatmoney said:
I'm gonna go through your catalogue today. I was keeping up but other stuff has held me back a bit. You did get 2000 doe

Indeed!

We can't all get to five digits like some of the guys in this thread but I'm really happy to have got one of the last three medals, even if the final two are out of reach.

Inkwell · Feb 27, 2017

jholmes said:
I liked this quite a bit, to the point where I went back to set a solid WR time, but I feel like it sorta takes a bit of a turn with the boss encounter -- thematically, the boss makes sense, but this whole level is about running, and jumping, and just rushing past danger, and then the boss makes things stop dead in place, so I think it might've been better with a big, showy piece of platforming, rather than a boss battle for the sake of a boss battle. My two cents. Again, highly recommended otherwise, I really liked the stuff before the boss.

Thanks! Yeah I agree with you about the boss though. I felt people would want something kind of cathartic after dealing with all the irritating fish, and hadn't used a large cheep cheep yet. In hindsight I should have done a platforming section with a star and some more fish or something. I think part of the problem was that I was juggling those 4 levels I released at once, and was constantly bouncing between them. In the past I was just super focused on 1 or maybe 2 levels at a time. At the very least, I did make sure players can get a pretty quick kill on the boss.

Ranger X · Feb 27, 2017

This thread having some life back, I almost feel like making new levels

tryagainlater · Feb 27, 2017

Continuing to love and star all your levels. Special shout out to Gotdatmoney above. Really like your levels, especially the Volcano Peak one.

I'm not really happy with any of my levels but I'm still learning. Here's my page anyway in case someone wants to give them a look: https://supermariomakerbookmark.nintendo.net/profile/tryagainlater?type=posted

Inkwell · Feb 27, 2017

tryagainlater said:
Continuing to love and star all your levels. Special shout out to Gotdatmoney above. Really like your levels, especially the Volcano Peak one.

I'm not really happy with any of my levels but I'm still learning. Here's my page anyway in case someone wants to give them a look: https://supermariomakerbookmark.nintendo.net/profile/tryagainlater?type=posted

I played all of your levels. They're all pretty decent and it's obvious you have a good idea of what you're doing. Here's a few tips though:

1. Be very mindful of the difficulty. Outside of shooting for a specific difficulty rating, there are some things that will seem way easier for you than other players. Just remember that you will get quite a lot of practice on your level. Also, there are going to be times where you master a section and think it's easy so you'll decide to increase the difficulty further. I'm sure some people will not agree with me, but I've come to the conclusion that if I'm unsure about the difficulty of a section of a level, I always opt for the option that makes the level easier.

2. Try to be careful of the placement of enemies and platforms and how they come on screen. A level can go from pretty easy to fairly difficult if a player moves too fast or slow to have platforms and enemies not line up how you intended. I had some problems in Perilous pipes (specially the part with the moving platform and fireballs after all those bullet bills). Also there's an automatically moving platform on Slippery Ghosts that you have to stop and wait for. It's a fun speed running level, and I can almost guarantee the majority of players will get to that part and do a running jump thinking it will line up, and instead fall into the bottomless pit.

3. This is a small one, but it feels very unsatisfying to hit a block and only get another mushroom if you are already big. I've made the same mistake trying to keep a level balanced. People want to feel like they are rewarded for not taking any hits. I would say if you don't want to use modified powerups, there's a couple of other ways to give people a mushroom. First, you can place one on a track or some other way to hold it in place. Second, you can always add a pipe that spits out mushrooms.

My favorite levels of yours were your first one, Skull Twist, and Slippery Ghosts. I feel both had a solid vision of what you intended the level to be, and I like how they stuck to their themes. Something else that goes along with this, outside of Perilous Pipes, All of your levels were a very good length. I think Slippery Ghosts was your longest, but it works because of how fast the player goes. I've played (and built) too many levels that are over long and try to do way too much.

Gotdatmoney · Feb 28, 2017

tryagainlater said:
Continuing to love and star all your levels. Special shout out to Gotdatmoney above. Really like your levels, especially the Volcano Peak one.

I'm not really happy with any of my levels but I'm still learning. Here's my page anyway in case someone wants to give them a look: https://supermariomakerbookmark.nintendo.net/profile/tryagainlater?type=posted

Glad you're enjoying them.

The main thing about level designing is just that you have to do it a lot and get as much feedback as possible and use it when you make your next level. If you look at my first 2 levels you can see they are a mess compared to my later stuff. Lots of trial error and gaf criticism helped me find a style I liked and make stuff that found an audience. I'll play some of your levels and offer some feedback.

jholmes · Mar 1, 2017

So it's official, I have another level in the works. But it's not here yet. For now, I'm updating my community showcase list:

It's The Icies and the Bonies by Hukyo! (Forgive my amateur translation, I don't know much about European French slang.) It's a tough, tight and beautiful stage based around the mahjong piece costume. Definitely try it out!

To anyone not familiar with the list, it's a way to draw attention to really good levels that don't get enough plays or stars in my book. It's not so much a best-of-the-best list as a collection of hidden gems. Below are all the previous showcase levels. Try them out, they're all fun!

Touch Buzzy, Get Dizzy by Chris
Spiny Mine Glacier by Nick
Beetlemania by Slate
The Runner by Novakobx22
Shippo de Ban Ban! Goomba Coaster by Shin
Rosalina's Night at Bowser Tower by Picard
Infiltrate! Bowser City! by MARUPON
Cavern Of Lost Secrets by ZEROMOUS
Goomba's Safety Hat Emporium by Zeus
Flying Munitions Cache by Mercury C.
Super Mario Bros 2 : World 4-2 by SLA83
The Great Riders of Chomponia by Joe
Sunshine by Elliot
Cannon Crush Rush by KBK
Clownfrontation by SADJ
MTW 3-5 Piranha Tracks by Aidturith
Chain Chomps Chase by Cisco
Mario's Far Eastern Adventure by BGBW~nya
Superstarship by aaronrift
Boos and Arrows by Bockman

tryagainlater said:
Continuing to love and star all your levels. Special shout out to Gotdatmoney above. Really like your levels, especially the Volcano Peak one.

I'm not really happy with any of my levels but I'm still learning. Here's my page anyway in case someone wants to give them a look: https://supermariomakerbookmark.nintendo.net/profile/tryagainlater?type=posted

I played Skull Twist and I agree with basically everything Inkwell said, the difficulty balancing is way off, you should use contextual power-ups but the platforming is solid and I had fun, so you're on the right track. I would say that level is way too short after the flag. On levels like that with long horizontal setpieces, it's good to use a subarea to stretch it out.

tryagainlater · Mar 5, 2017

Thanks for the feedback guys, I appreciate it. The contextual power ups is something I never thought of. I'm pretty new to 2D Mario games.

Also, that list of levels is great. Thanks for going to the effort of doing it up. I particularly liked Chain Chomp Chase.

Icedburden · Mar 13, 2017

I'm going to throw my bookmark in here. I appreciate the feedback if anyone has any. I'm still figuring out how I want to do certain elements. But I feel like I improve with every new level. 'Jump Jump', 'E. Gadd' and 'Forest' I feel are my best so far. The others are trials I've tried to test mechanics.

Thanks for any feedback
https://supermariomakerbookmark.nintendo.net/profile/Icedburden?type=posted

Inkwell · Mar 13, 2017

Icedburden said:
I'm going to throw my bookmark in here. I appreciate the feedback if anyone has any. I'm still figuring out how I want to do certain elements. But I feel like I improve with every new level. 'Jump Jump', 'E. Gadd' and 'Forest' I feel are my best so far. The others are trials I've tried to test mechanics.

Thanks for any feedback
https://supermariomakerbookmark.nintendo.net/profile/Icedburden?type=posted

I see a general trend of your levels getting better. I thought E. Gadd, Beware the Air, and Heck in High Heels were your best. I have a few general tips that I tend to give most people.

All of your levels are pretty challenging. Maybe not Super Expert but pretty close. There's nothing wrong with that, but I would try to keep the difficulty consistent in each level. It can kind of be all over the place. Something else you can do is trying to gradually increase the difficulty as you go through one of your levels. It's very hard to gauge difficulty if you don't have anyone testing your levels. Pay very close attention to how you fair through each section of your levels on your first attempts. After that you may forget just how difficult a section is for a new player.

Second, you can make conditional power-ups. That's where you drag and drop a mushroom on a fire flower, leaf, etc, and you will get a mushroom if Mario is small instead of the power-up. I don't think I saw you use that anywhere but I could be wrong.

Finally, this is more personal taste, but I really really hate "troll" level elements. I didn't see anything too mean (no soft locks or kaizo blocks). There were a few small things like cat paws and enemies in blocks. I think your levels are probably challenging enough without those things.

jholmes · Mar 14, 2017

OK, I made a new level and it may be the last one I ever make (I have one on the 3DS I could port over, full disclosure). And it's a gimmick! Yay! I remade the Green Energy Plant stage from Paper Mario: Color Splash. I'd appreciate any feedback but if you haven't played that game, this level probably won't do much for you (and you might as well avoid it so as to not be spoiled about the level anyway).

I haven't played any levels lately (but if anyone wants me to check something out, I'm certainly willing to). But this level here is really nutty and I wanted to share it eventually. My fellow countryman and general good Mario Maker guy SLA83 based a really short level around a really weird quirk in how Mario Maker treats de-shelled koopas in the Super Mario World style. The puzzle's a bit hard to figure out but it's forgiving and it's really quick when you do get it, so I encourage everyone to give Mighty Morphin Ninja Koopas! a look.

Icedburden · Mar 14, 2017

Inkwell said:
I see a general trend of your levels getting better. I thought E. Gadd, Beware the Air, and Heck in High Heels were your best. I have a few general tips that I tend to give most people.

All of your levels are pretty challenging. Maybe not Super Expert but pretty close. There's nothing wrong with that, but I would try to keep the difficulty consistent in each level. It can kind of be all over the place. Something else you can do is trying to gradually increase the difficulty as you go through one of your levels. It's very hard to gauge difficulty if you don't have anyone testing your levels. Pay very close attention to how you fair through each section of your levels on your first attempts. After that you may forget just how difficult a section is for a new player.

Second, you can make conditional power-ups. That's where you drag and drop a mushroom on a fire flower, leaf, etc, and you will get a mushroom if Mario is small instead of the power-up. I don't think I saw you use that anywhere but I could be wrong.

Finally, this is more personal taste, but I really really hate "troll" level elements. I didn't see anything too mean (no soft locks or kaizo blocks). There were a few small things like cat paws and enemies in blocks. I think your levels are probably challenging enough without those things.

Thank you very much! I was going to try the gradual difficulty with my new levels.
I had no idea about the conditional power ups! I'm definitely going to use them now

Thanks again!

KidGalactus · Mar 15, 2017

Could some people give my new level a shot?

Monty's House:

https://supermariomakerbookmark.nintendo.net/courses/1F88-0000-030B-7CC2

No one has been able to complete, and I'm not sure if it's because stuff is unclear, or just that not many ppl have tried it.

Icedburden · Mar 15, 2017

KidGalactus said:
Could some people give my new level a shot?

Monty's House:

No one has been able to complete, and I'm not sure if it's because stuff is unclear, or just that not many ppl have tried it.

I bookmarked it, I'll play it tonight.

Inkwell · Mar 16, 2017

KidGalactus said:
Could some people give my new level a shot?

Monty's House:

No one has been able to complete, and I'm not sure if it's because stuff is unclear, or just that not many ppl have tried it.

The level isn't very long, but it's really difficult and a bit trollish. There's some really awkward, low-ceiling jumps.There's enemies in blocks that are also in tight spaces. That note block with the spikes is really difficult too. Then there's the door that drops you and you have to dodge spikes, and there's really no time to react. I think that's the main issue with the level in general. It's either designed to have players learn the level by dying multiple times, or you expect people to have lightning fast reaction times. Either way the level is just going to gobble up players' lives.

Unless someone takes your hidden alternate path. That route feels way more balanced and has the more interesting sections. The only reason I noticed it was because I downloaded the level to see if I missed anything obvious to make the level a little easier. I think you put the door in plain sight as a hint, but I never made the connection. I have a feeling someone will eventually leave a note there and everyone will start taking that route.

chrixter · Mar 16, 2017

So after a long hiatus I've been addicted to this game again for the past month. Been going through more of GAF's levels, among others - so much fantastic stuff out there. It's mindboggling how far the mechanics have been pushed by creators. I feel like every time I pick up the game or watch a stream I see something fresh. It's amazing. I also finally finished a level I started way back when, just my third level overall:

Wall Jump Transit

It's a pure platforming level with a series of set pieces featuring the moving walls mechanic. Spent a lot of time trying to come up with some different scenarios and balance their difficulty. It's meant to be hard (Expert level, I guess), but all that's really needed is some experience with wall jumping, jump height management and midair twirling. I'm quite happy with how it turned out but of course I don't know if others will find it fun, too hard, etc. I'd appreciate any feedback.

Inkwell said:
1. Be very mindful of the difficulty. Outside of shooting for a specific difficulty rating, there are some things that will seem way easier for you than other players. Just remember that you will get quite a lot of practice on your level. Also, there are going to be times where you master a section and think it's easy so you'll decide to increase the difficulty further. I'm sure some people will not agree with me, but I've come to the conclusion that if I'm unsure about the difficulty of a section of a level, I always opt for the option that makes the level easier.

I found this to be really good advice when making my latest level. I especially kept that last part in mind. When in doubt, I went with the easier option. I'm still not sure I dialed it back enough but I tried. Also, I've been going through your levels. Awesome stuff. Since I was making a wall jumping level, Fiery Keep stuck out to me, especially the moving walls section. Really cool.

jholmes said:
OK, I made a new level and it may be the last one I ever make (I have one on the 3DS I could port over, full disclosure). And it's a gimmick! Yay! I remade the Green Energy Plant stage from Paper Mario: Color Splash. I'd appreciate any feedback but if you haven't played that game, this level probably won't do much for you (and you might as well avoid it so as to not be spoiled about the level anyway).

Heh, I haven't played Color Splash so the reference was lost on me when I played this level a week or so ago. I did play all of your levels over the past month, though. Your style is a joy to play. Fantastic design. There are a couple I haven't beaten yet - if I remember right I think your gravity level was giving me some weird RNG on the flying Bloopers, either that or I just didn't figure out what exactly to do. I do plan to go back and beat all of them. Really enjoy your stuff!

jholmes said:
I haven't played any levels lately (but if anyone wants me to check something out, I'm certainly willing to). But this level here is really nutty and I wanted to share it eventually. My fellow countryman and general good Mario Maker guy SLA83 based a really short level around a really weird quirk in how Mario Maker treats de-shelled koopas in the Super Mario World style. The puzzle's a bit hard to figure out but it's forgiving and it's really quick when you do get it, so I encourage everyone to give Mighty Morphin Ninja Koopas! a look.

This stumped me for a good while but I managed to figure it out. Neat tricks. On a related note, I was watching someone stream a puzzle level that required hitting Koopa shells at different speeds. I had no idea Koopa shell speed changed depending on how fast you're running when you hit it. Kinda blew my mind. I assume they work that way in the original games. Never knew.

Icedburden said:
I'm going to throw my bookmark in here. I appreciate the feedback if anyone has any. I'm still figuring out how I want to do certain elements. But I feel like I improve with every new level. 'Jump Jump', 'E. Gadd' and 'Forest' I feel are my best so far. The others are trials I've tried to test mechanics.

Thanks for any feedback
https://supermariomakerbookmark.nintendo.net/profile/Icedburden?type=posted

I played all your levels. Heck in High Heels is my favorite. In terms of environmental design I think you're generally getting the right idea, but the one thing I'd say is that you have somewhat of an enemy spam issue going on. All the enemies in question blocks and the multiple Bowsers/Bowser Jr.'s at once, for example, are definitely a bit much. Honestly, if you removed half the enemies/hazards in some of your levels, I think the amount would still be kinda overboard. I think back to some advice someone gave from the beginning of this thread: ask yourself if you should really place a number of enemies on screen at once when just one or two smartly placed enemies might suffice to really challenge the player or at least keep them engaged. Difficulty is such a tricky thing. I think there's a fine line between keeping the player on their toes and frustrating them. Adding just one more enemy or hazard could be all it takes to cross that line. And then at some point it just becomes impossible for the player to keep track of everything that's happening on screen and it's no longer fun.

KidGalactus said:
Could some people give my new level a shot?

Monty's House:

No one has been able to complete, and I'm not sure if it's because stuff is unclear, or just that not many ppl have tried it.

I don't think it's unclear, but to echo what Inkwell said, the level has a very claustrophobic feel since the player is forced to confront enemies in very confined spaces. I assume that was your intention, but I can see how that might turn players away. A personal pet peeve of mine is whenever Mario's head unavoidably hits a ceiling when the player is expected to jump. To steal a thought from Patrick Klepek: Mario is a series largely about the joy of jumping, because jumping is fun, and jumping high and jumping on/over things feels good. But jumping isn't as fun when your jump height is severely restricted by low ceilings (being restricted by enemies/hazards is kind of a different story, as that's more about avoidance). I've come to realize that the levels I enjoy the most tend to be the ones that give the player plenty of room to freely jump around hazards and be creative with their jumps. That's just my personal take, anyway.

Inkwell · Mar 16, 2017

chrixter said:
So after a long hiatus I've been addicted to this game again for the past month. Been going through more of GAF's levels, among others - so much fantastic stuff out there. It's mindboggling how far the mechanics have been pushed by creators. I feel like every time I pick up the game or watch a stream I see something fresh. It's amazing. I also finally finished a level I started way back when, just my third level overall:

Wall Jump Transit

It's a pure platforming level with a series of set pieces featuring the moving walls mechanic. Spent a lot of time trying to come up with some different scenarios and balance their difficulty. It's meant to be hard (Expert level, I guess), but all that's really needed is some experience with wall jumping, jump height management and midair twirling. I'm quite happy with how it turned out but of course I don't know if others will find it fun, too hard, etc. I'd appreciate any feedback.

I think the level turned out more difficult than you intended, but it's still pretty solid. I really liked how you took the concept and played around with it and experimented. My favorite kinds of Mario Maker levels are the ones that take a concept and explore it. I think the timing for some sections was a little too tight, but overall I thought you did a great job.

chrixter said:
I found this to be really good advice when making my latest level. I especially kept that last part in mind. When in doubt, I went with the easier option. I'm still not sure I dialed it back enough but I tried. Also, I've been going through your levels. Awesome stuff. Since I was making a wall jumping level, Fiery Keep stuck out to me, especially the moving walls section. Really cool.

Thanks! I had a lot of fun making the level, but I definitely over-did the difficulty. I mean that was intentional, but I made the mistake of slowly increasing the difficulty as I got more practice. I do have to say I think the moving block part is my favorite section of the level.

jholmes · Mar 16, 2017

chrixter said:
Heh, I haven't played Color Splash so the reference was lost on me when I played this level a week or so ago. I did play all of your levels over the past month, though. Your style is a joy to play. Fantastic design. There are a couple I haven't beaten yet - if I remember right I think your gravity level was giving me some weird RNG on the flying Bloopers, either that or I just didn't figure out what exactly to do. I do plan to go back and beat all of them. Really enjoy your stuff!

I definitely appreciate the kind words! I've put a lot of work into my stuff over the years and a lot of times it seems like it's only the really gimmicky stuff that gets noticed. If you really dig my style, I recommend you look over the list in this post, made up of some hidden gem stuff I like. The design philosophy is similar, they're fun and they could use the extra stars.

And yeah the bloopers in Gravity Central can be jerks if you're too cautious. Normally I wouldn't have been as mean as I would when I made that level, but I wanted to crank up the difficulty and it proved pretty popular. (My bet is that's just because people misinterpret part of it as being Metroid-esque, but whatever, so long as they're having fun.)

Icedburden · Mar 16, 2017

Icedburden said:
I bookmarked it, I'll play it tonight.

KidGalactus said:
Could some people give my new level a shot?

Monty's House:

No one has been able to complete, and I'm not sure if it's because stuff is unclear, or just that not many ppl have tried it.

It's because it's very tough and relies on precise, almost frustratingly so, timing. It's super claustrophobic in spaces and the spiked musical jump is pretty unfair.

I liked the idea, but you have to give a liiiiittle bit of space for error sometimes.

Icedburden · Mar 18, 2017

Alright, so I've taken everyone's feedback into consideration and worked on enemy placement, esthetics and overall difficulty. I've also made sure the level is FUN, most importantly.
So, I spent a good amount of time designing this new level. I also tried a design here where you can choose your favorite play style. No gimmicks, no trolls and most of all it's enjoyable to go through (I think). I have an idea to expand on it but this is my first shot.
Thanks guys and give me your honest opinion!
https://supermariomakerbookmark.nintendo.net/courses/E8E8-0000-0311-D3E5

Inkwell · Mar 19, 2017

Icedburden said:
Alright, so I've taken everyone's feedback into consideration and worked on enemy placement, esthetics and overall difficulty. I've also made sure the level is FUN, most importantly.
So, I spent a good amount of time designing this new level. I also tried a design here where you can choose your favorite play style. No gimmicks, no trolls and most of all it's enjoyable to go through (I think). I have an idea to expand on it but this is my first shot.
Thanks guys and give me your honest opinion!
https://supermariomakerbookmark.nintendo.net/courses/E8E8-0000-0311-D3E5

First thing, you kind of need to pull the level and fix something. If you go through route 1, you end up in a soft lock. The pipe at the end doesn't go anywhere. I assume it's meant to take the player to the flag pole.

A loadout is a neat idea. I have a feeling most players will just take all the most powerful items like the spike helmet over the regular helmet. In general the level seems pretty balanced, and people can just choose a different route if they're having trouble. Everything is pretty simple and clear too. You have some good ideas going on in each route.

I don't think the entire level should have been made using those blocks. I understand why you did it, but I believe it creates a couple of problems. For example, the first route I chose ended with a brick wall and a pipe with bobombs. I tried to blow up the wall, and instead made a hole in the ground in a way that made it way too difficult to continue on the route. There may be 1 or 2 other situations like that. I'm trying to remember if the Bowser fight can lock the player out of completing the level somehow but I'm not sure.

The other reason for not using those blocks is that it makes the level seem a bit boring and same-ish aesthetically. I would have used regular ground blocks everywhere, but placed those other blocks a bit more strategically for the spike helmet, bombs, or wherever else you may need them.

Here's something else to think about. There's nothing wrong with making multi-route levels. It can be a nice change to have some choice. I personally prefer linear levels in Mario Maker though. I'll play levels posted here multiple times, but most people are going to end up playing your level through the 100 Mario challenge. In that case they will only play once. With multiple routes, the level ends up being pretty short, and most people won't experience everything else in the level. I think with the ideas you have here you could make a more focused, linear, fine-tuned level. Maybe even 2 levels. I want to reiterate I'm not criticizing your level for doing this, I just want to give you my opinion on it.

Anyway, keep it up! I'm curious to see what you make next.

Icedburden · Mar 19, 2017

Inkwell said:
First thing, you kind of need to pull the level and fix something. If you go through route 1, you end up in a soft lock. The pipe at the end doesn't go anywhere. I assume it's meant to take the player to the flag pole.

A loadout is a neat idea. I have a feeling most players will just take all the most powerful items like the spike helmet over the regular helmet. In general the level seems pretty balanced, and people can just choose a different route if they're having trouble. Everything is pretty simple and clear too. You have some good ideas going on in each route.

I don't think the entire level should have been made using those blocks. I understand why you did it, but I believe it creates a couple of problems. For example, the first route I chose ended with a brick wall and a pipe with bobombs. I tried to blow up the wall, and instead made a hole in the ground in a way that made it way too difficult to continue on the route. There may be 1 or 2 other situations like that. I'm trying to remember if the Bowser fight can lock the player out of completing the level somehow but I'm not sure.

The other reason for not using those blocks is that it makes the level seem a bit boring and same-ish aesthetically. I would have used regular ground blocks everywhere, but placed those other blocks a bit more strategically for the spike helmet, bombs, or wherever else you may need them.

Here's something else to think about. There's nothing wrong with making multi-route levels. It can be a nice change to have some choice. I personally prefer linear levels in Mario Maker though. I'll play levels posted here multiple times, but most people are going to end up playing your level through the 100 Mario challenge. In that case they will only play once. With multiple routes, the level ends up being pretty short, and most people won't experience everything else in the level. I think with the ideas you have here you could make a more focused, linear, fine-tuned level. Maybe even 2 levels. I want to reiterate I'm not criticizing your level for doing this, I just want to give you my opinion on it.

Anyway, keep it up! I'm curious to see what you make next.

I'll have to pull it and edit it. I though I ran through that already. Damn. Thanks! I'll do a quick run-through!
Here's the fixed level: https://supermariomakerbookmark.nintendo.net/courses/5B10-0000-0311-F5FD

jholmes · Mar 19, 2017

Icedburden said:
I'll have to pull it and edit it. I though I ran through that already. Damn. Thanks! I'll do a quick run-through!

I'll play it when it's back up, but a good piece of advice: Try to break everything. Look at places where they player can get stuck. Try every possible route several times. Try doing the level without running. Try doing the level without ever not running. Try doing it without getting dying once, without power-ups, without items. Basically, put in some serious playtesting. I playtest a ton and I still miss things sometimes.

Icedburden · Mar 19, 2017

jholmes said:
I'll play it when it's back up, but a good piece of advice: Try to break everything. Look at places where they player can get stuck. Try every possible route several times. Try doing the level without running. Try doing the level without ever not running. Try doing it without getting dying once, without power-ups, without items. Basically, put in some serious playtesting. I playtest a ton and I still miss things sometimes.

That's why I have you guys

Thank you for the advice though. I had a million things I tried on my first go through, I don't know how I missed the pipe thing. Kinda upset about that.

Inkwell · Mar 19, 2017

Icedburden said:
I'll have to pull it and edit it. I though I ran through that already. Damn. Thanks! I'll do a quick run-through!
Here's the fixed level: https://supermariomakerbookmark.nintendo.net/courses/5B10-0000-0311-F5FD

That was quick! Also, I think the level looks better with the changes you made.

jholmes said:
I'll play it when it's back up, but a good piece of advice: Try to break everything. Look at places where they player can get stuck. Try every possible route several times. Try doing the level without running. Try doing the level without ever not running. Try doing it without getting dying once, without power-ups, without items. Basically, put in some serious playtesting. I playtest a ton and I still miss things sometimes.

Icedburden said:
That's why I have you guys Thank you for the advice though. I had a million things I tried on my first go through, I don't know how I missed the pipe thing. Kinda upset about that.

jholmes is right. It's a huge pain but it's worth doing all of that. I always miss stuff too. I'll spend days just testing and making small tweaks.

chrixter · Mar 19, 2017

jholmes said:
I definitely appreciate the kind words! I've put a lot of work into my stuff over the years and a lot of times it seems like it's only the really gimmicky stuff that gets noticed. If you really dig my style, I recommend you look over the list in this post, made up of some hidden gem stuff I like. The design philosophy is similar, they're fun and they could use the extra stars.

And yeah the bloopers in Gravity Central can be jerks if you're too cautious. Normally I wouldn't have been as mean as I would when I made that level, but I wanted to crank up the difficulty and it proved pretty popular. (My bet is that's just because people misinterpret part of it as being Metroid-esque, but whatever, so long as they're having fun.)

I went back and beat the ones I hadn't yet. You're right, not hesitating on the Bloopers helped me get through that section. Thanks for the list, good stuff so far.

Icedburden said:
I'll have to pull it and edit it. I though I ran through that already. Damn. Thanks! I'll do a quick run-through!
Here's the fixed level: https://supermariomakerbookmark.nintendo.net/courses/5B10-0000-0311-F5FD

I liked this. The loadout section and overall theme made me grin. The multiple paths within paths is neat.

Inkwell said:
I think the level turned out more difficult than you intended, but it's still pretty solid. I really liked how you took the concept and played around with it and experimented. My favorite kinds of Mario Maker levels are the ones that take a concept and explore it. I think the timing for some sections was a little too tight, but overall I thought you did a great job.

Thanks for the feedback. Yeah, 2.65% clear rate (11 out of 414 so far) is a little lower than I intended. I underestimated how much wall jumping experience and midair control is demanded. I had some changes in mind, but having watched some streamers clear it within 5-10 minutes I think I'm okay with it being borderline Super Expert. witwix (!) came across the level in 100-man on stream yesterday and beat it, so that was cool to see.

Still going through your levels. Baron Kuribo's Screwy Skewery is fantastic. My favorite of yours and seriously one of the best I've played.

Speaking of SMM streamers, do any of you enjoy watching any on Twitch? It's super impressive how good some players have gotten at the game. No-skip Super Expert runs would drive me insane but some of these guys do it 5+ days a week for hours and hours and routinely beat it. Amazing to watch. It's also a way to see how a lot of the more esoteric mechanics in the game work because SE is full of them.

A lot of streamers do viewer levels as well. 90% of levels that get submitted are Super Expert/Kaizo difficulty so they're used to playing hard levels if you want to give them one, but they'll also welcome a good level that isn't quite as hard. I highly recommend it, especially for newer creators. It's quite an experience watching someone play something you've created, and you'll probably learn a lot about your level in the process.

Inkwell · Mar 19, 2017

chrixter said:
Thanks for the feedback. Yeah, 2.65% clear rate (11 out of 414 so far) is a little lower than I intended. I underestimated how much wall jumping experience and midair control is demanded. I had some changes in mind, but having watched some streamers clear it within 5-10 minutes I think I'm okay with it being borderline Super Expert. witwix (!) came across the level in 100-man on stream yesterday and beat it, so that was cool to see.

That's pretty cool! That means a ton of people saw your level and it got some exposure.

chrixter said:
Still going through your levels. Baron Kuribo's Screwy Skewery is fantastic. My favorite of yours and seriously one of the best I've played.

Thanks! I was proud of the level but it was another one of mine where I made a few mistakes and misjudged difficulty. I think it was the first major update I was around for when they added keys and skewers. I was really excited to build a level themed around new stuff.

chrixter said:
Speaking of SMM streamers, do any of you enjoy watching any on Twitch? It's super impressive how good some players have gotten at the game. No-skip Super Expert runs would drive me insane but some of these guys do it 5+ days a week for hours and hours and routinely beat it. Amazing to watch. It's also a way to see how a lot of the more esoteric mechanics in the game work because SE is full of them.

A lot of streamers do viewer levels as well. 90% of levels that get submitted are Super Expert/Kaizo difficulty so they're used to playing hard levels if you want to give them one, but they'll also welcome a good level that isn't quite as hard. I highly recommend it, especially for newer creators. It's quite an experience watching someone play something you've created, and you'll probably learn a lot about your level in the process.

I used to watch quite a bit of it when I first started playing Mario Maker. I'll only watch some streams once in a while now. I always used to hope I would catch one of my levels on a stream. that was before they added super expert, and most streamers seem to stick to that exclusively. I actually submitted one of my levels on Vellhart's stream. When he played it he was... not enthused. Literally said almost nothing while playing either. It's not his fault he didn't seem to like it all that much, but I quit playing around that time. I had other issues with the game too, but I think it was really that incident that made me quit for a while.

chrixter · Mar 19, 2017

Inkwell said:
I used to watch quite a bit of it when I first started playing Mario Maker. I'll only watch some streams once in a while now. I always used to hope I would catch one of my levels on a stream. that was before they added super expert, and most streamers seem to stick to that exclusively. I actually submitted one of my levels on Vellhart's stream. When he played it he was... not enthused. Literally said almost nothing while playing either. It's not his fault he didn't seem to like it all that much, but I quit playing around that time. I had other issues with the game too, but I think it was really that incident that made me quit for a while.

I feel you. Negative feedback makes me want to delete and reupload my levels with changes. Whatever though, that would probably turn into an endless process. Feedback or lack of it can be disheartening but I've learned to take the good with the bad. Nothing is going to appeal to everyone.

jholmes · Mar 19, 2017

chrixter said:
Still going through your levels. Baron Kuribo's Screwy Skewery is fantastic. My favorite of yours and seriously one of the best I've played.

To think that level was almost called Goomba McSpiny's Crusher Keep!

chrixter said:
Speaking of SMM streamers, do any of you enjoy watching any on Twitch? It's super impressive how good some players have gotten at the game. No-skip Super Expert runs would drive me insane but some of these guys do it 5+ days a week for hours and hours and routinely beat it. Amazing to watch. It's also a way to see how a lot of the more esoteric mechanics in the game work because SE is full of them.

A lot of streamers do viewer levels as well. 90% of levels that get submitted are Super Expert/Kaizo difficulty so they're used to playing hard levels if you want to give them one, but they'll also welcome a good level that isn't quite as hard. I highly recommend it, especially for newer creators. It's quite an experience watching someone play something you've created, and you'll probably learn a lot about your level in the process.

I don't watch streams really, most of the time when people do this kind of stuff they go for really gimmicky or really kaizo stuff and I'm just not into that. I totally agree though, if you can watch someone work through your level you learn a lot. Back in '15 you had people in this thread streaming levels and I would sneak a peek at them doing mine whenever I could. And of course I got a level on GameCenter CX, but there was a lot of luck in that. If anyone did a stream of some of the last couple dozen stages posted in this thread, I would definitely check it out to see if there's something I'd really enjoy that I missed.

Icedburden · Mar 24, 2017

So I went back and remade one of my first levels, 'Forest of Frustration', and WOW I couldn't believe how poorly made it was. From the low ceilings to the cheap troll deaths to the enemy spam and stale esthetics, I realized how much I learned/you guys taught me.
I'll throw it here and if you guys could tell me if it is a decent improvement, I'd appreciate it. As always, if you ENJOY it, please star. If not, kill it with fire.

Old level: https://supermariomakerbookmark.nintendo.net/courses/FAAF-0000-030C-EB0E

New level: https://supermariomakerbookmark.nintendo.net/courses/FA95-0000-0314-FBAD

Inkwell · Mar 24, 2017

Icedburden said:
So I went back and remade one of my first levels, 'Forest of Frustration', and WOW I couldn't believe how poorly made it was. From the low ceilings to the cheap troll deaths to the enemy spam and stale esthetics, I realized how much I learned/you guys taught me.
I'll throw it here and if you guys could tell me if it is a decent improvement, I'd appreciate it. As always, if you ENJOY it, please star. If not, kill it with fire.

Old level: https://supermariomakerbookmark.nintendo.net/courses/FAAF-0000-030C-EB0E

New level: https://supermariomakerbookmark.nintendo.net/courses/FA95-0000-0314-FBAD

I didn't replay the old one, but I can tell you playing the 2.0 level definitely went more smoothly than I remember the old one being. There might be a few small nitpicks I would have, but only 1 potential major issue. If you kill bowser when he is by the locked door, the red canon will fall in front of it and block the door. I don't know how many people would run into this issue, or how serious it would actually be.

As for the nitpicks, the first is you have 2 sections where you're supposed to wall jump downward with some spikes on the wall. The first section is fine, though you can just drop down in the center. Once you get to the second one there's a bottomless pit. I would actually have put a pit (or spikes to be less punishing) At the bottom of the first one. That way players would know not to do the same thing where you have the pit. By the way, that section with the pit feels really good to wall jump down, and the wall jump to the mushroom platform feels perfect. The other thing is that you can attach the boss music to an enemy. I think I've noticed it in your levels before, but definitely saw it with bowser here, where you just place it as a trigger. If you attach it to an enemy, it will start playing when they are on screen and end when you defeat them.

On another note, I've noticed there's some levels you haven't posted here. Feel free to post all of your levels, even if they are experimental or even made by family or firends, etc. It'll get you more stars more quickly. Especially since less people are playing the game, and are also more stingy with giving out stars.

I played Mario's Mystery Mansion. This one is pretty good. There's a whole lot a player can skip depending on their skill level, but it feels like a very balanced puzzley ghost house level. You did just enough to guide the player on the intended order and give hints. Plus I like that you placed some easily found hidden blocks to give players a little boost. There's a section where there's a semi-solid platform that goes to the top of the level. Players can get stuck up there and can only continue playing if they run into the spikes or restart. Also, there's a coin arrow in one section. There's nothing necessarily wrong with it, but I would use those background arrows that can be placed. Someone may absent-mindedly collect the coins and not realize where the arrow was pointing, or the fact it was an arrow at all.

Icedburden · Mar 24, 2017

Inkwell said:
I didn't replay the old one, but I can tell you playing the 2.0 level definitely went more smoothly than I remember the old one being. There might be a few small nitpicks I would have, but only 1 potential major issue. If you kill bowser when he is by the locked door, the red canon will fall in front of it and block the door. I don't know how many people would run into this issue, or how serious it would actually be.

As for the nitpicks, the first is you have 2 sections where you're supposed to wall jump downward with some spikes on the wall. The first section is fine, though you can just drop down in the center. Once you get to the second one there's a bottomless pit. I would actually have put a pit (or spikes to be less punishing) At the bottom of the first one. That way players would know not to do the same thing where you have the pit. By the way, that section with the pit feels really good to wall jump down, and the wall jump to the mushroom platform feels perfect. The other thing is that you can attach the boss music to an enemy. I think I've noticed it in your levels before, but definitely saw it with bowser here, where you just place it as a trigger. If you attach it to an enemy, it will start playing when they are on screen and end when you defeat them.

On another note, I've noticed there's some levels you haven't posted here. Feel free to post all of your levels, even if they are experimental or even made by family or firends, etc. It'll get you more stars more quickly. Especially since less people are playing the game, and are also more stingy with giving out stars.

I played Mario's Mystery Mansion. This one is pretty good. There's a whole lot a player can skip depending on their skill level, but it feels like a very balanced puzzley ghost house level. You did just enough to guide the player on the intended order and give hints. Plus I like that you placed some easily found hidden blocks to give players a little boost. There's a section where there's a semi-solid platform that goes to the top of the level. Players can get stuck up there and can only continue playing if they run into the spikes or restart. Also, there's a coin arrow in one section. There's nothing necessarily wrong with it, but I would use those background arrows that can be placed. Someone may absent-mindedly collect the coins and not realize where the arrow was pointing, or the fact it was an arrow at all.

I didn't know that about the music, that's interesting!
Ill go back and look at the pits and Bowser issues in a couple days. I thought about the door issue and forgot about fixing it. I played through quite a few times and nothing came up so I let it go I guess. I spent much more time playing through them this time to get a good feel for jumps and such.
I also wanted to make it quicker on repeat playthroughs.

Marios mystery mansion was my first try at a skill based level where you could go where you wanted when you wanted. It's far easier to go in order but if you're lucky (or that damn good) you can go straight to the end. I put the hidden blocks as rewards and using the conditional power-ups more frequently as well.
The coins are there because I couldn't get the arrows to work with the background.
Thanks again for the advice and playthroughs! You guys are helping me big time!

Inkwell · Mar 29, 2017

Here's a new level

Bumper Jumper Thumper

There's nothing super special about this one, but I did have some goals in mind. First (and most obvious) is that I wanted to use bumpers everywhere. I actually really dislike them in levels, but I wanted to try to use them extensively, but with enough restraint to make the level still feel like a regular Mario level. Second, I really wanted to make something that had a decent difficulty curve. I honestly don't know how successful I was. Sometimes I get carried away and make a really big difficulty spike right near the end. I did do that here, but I tried to show some restraint. Finally, I wanted to make some sections that seemed more menacing than they actually are. There's a few sections that will seem overly difficult, but are relatively easy if you don't panic.

Icedburden · Mar 29, 2017

Inkwell said:
Here's a new level

Bumper Jumper Thumper

There's nothing super special about this one, but I did have some goals in mind. First (and most obvious) is that I wanted to use bumpers everywhere. I actually really dislike them in levels, but I wanted to try to use them extensively, but with enough restraint to make the level still feel like a regular Mario level. Second, I really wanted to make something that had a decent difficulty curve. I honestly don't know how successful I was. Sometimes I get carried away and make a really big difficulty spike right near the end. I did do that here, but I tried to show some restraint. Finally, I wanted to make some sections that seemed more menacing than they actually are. There's a few sections that will seem overly difficult, but are relatively easy if you don't panic.

Really fun level! I'd say the end gets a touch hard but nothing crazy. Nicely balanced and the 'decieving' parts were just that, really good fun.
Always great seeing how you pull the 'look' of your levels too.

Inkwell · Mar 29, 2017

Icedburden said:
Really fun level! I'd say the end gets a touch hard but nothing crazy. Nicely balanced and the 'decieving' parts were just that, really good fun.
Always great seeing how you pull the 'look' of your levels too.

Thanks! I usually try to make my levels look as simple and clean looking as I can. I might not have amazing looking levels, but it's nice to see people can still appreciate the look of mine.

Icedburden · Mar 29, 2017

Inkwell said:
Thanks! I usually try to make my levels look as simple and clean looking as I can. I might not have amazing looking levels, but it's nice to see people can still appreciate the look of mine.

The closer they feel to a Nintendo-made level, the better.

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