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Description
Isrieri's castle compilation in SMBX!
In anticipation of Super RMN World, I'm taking it upon myself to issue a call to all potential SMBX devs! Even if you've never touched the engine, now's the time to give it a shot!
~ The Rundown ~
There is no maximum number of participants: Anyone can join, even those who've had no experience with the SMBX engine. Consider this getting your foot in the door.
~ Projected Timeline ~
Sign-ups: 01/01/12 ~ 01/6/13
Development: 01/06/13 ~ 01/27/13
Judging & Compilation: 01/29/13 ~ 01/31/13
Release: 02/01/13
That's all tentative. I am the worst procrastinator.
~ Submission Prerequisites ~
- Make all levels in SMBX. (This is critical, people!)
- All levels should be compressed in ZIP folders. When saving your level, always put your name followed by the name of the level. For example: “yourname_levelname.lvl”
- Rate each submission on a scale of 1 to 5. Here are some vague words attempting to define each difficulty.
- 1) Mild
- 2) Tricky
- 3) Challenging
- 4) Tough
- 5) Endgame
- You must include one (and only one!) SMW Checkpoint within each level, as this is all SMBX will support.
- The level must end with a ? Sphere.
- Place both the Player 1 and Player 2 start locations.
- If you include a boss, you may use any but Mother Brain. But I encourage putting your focus into the actual level.
- No midbosses though.
- You must be able to clear the level without taking a hit.
~ Level Rules ~
- Castles are supposed to be challenging. That doesn't necessarily mean difficult. Try and stay within the precedent set in previous Mario games. The purpose of this project is to get the hang of challenging the player without frustrating them.
- We're going for quality over quantity here, so you may submit up to 3 levels total.
- You are not limited to staying within any of the “styles” the castles previous Mario games adhered to. Use them as guidelines, but don't be afraid to innovate. Have fun with it!
- You may use custom graphics and MP3s if you wish.
- The game will only utilize Mario and Luigi as characters, so don't make Peach or Toad levels.
- All water must be swimmable. Waterfalls must not be.
- An average castle should take no longer than 2 to 4 minutes to complete. (And no shorter than 1 minute)
- This will be a strictly one player game. You don't have to design your castle to support co-op.
- No secret stars.
- No dialogue! That means no message blocks, signs, or talking npcs!
- You must have at least one power
- up. Remember that the amount of power-ups and how you place them contributes greatly to the difficulty of a level.
- Use invisible blocks wisely. No putting them over pits or other nonsense of that sort.
~ Important Note ~
Remember that this is open to anyone who wishes to explore SMBX as an engine: I'd like to see a lot of new faces for the next RMN Bros! There's a lot of quirks to the editor that I neglected to explain, and so you'll probably have lots of questions. I refer you to these tutorials, but don't hesitate to post your question here. I don't know everything about SMBX, but I'll likely have the answers to any the questions you'll want to ask.
Details
- 01/02/2013 12:00 AM
- 01/31/2013 12:00 AM
-
Isrieri
Registration
You must be logged in to sign up for Castles- Masterpiece Set.
| Participants | Entries |
|---|---|
| kentona | |
| halibabica | |
| Davenport | |
| Desmo360 | |
| Zeuzio |
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| Solitayre | |
| Ratty524 | |
| Decky |
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| Otabo | |
| nin8halos | |
| pyrodoom | |
| Farlon303 | |
| Seiromem | |
| jackalotrun | |
| DarklordKeinor | |
| masterofmayhem | |
| apa649 | |
| Blobofgoo | |
| seena1379 |
|
| thatbennyguy |
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| knight_D |
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| christiannp |
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| Entry Status Key | |
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kentona_gatecrashers.rar
- Validating
- RejectedPosts 
nin8halos
4375
nin8halos
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CloseI think I'll remove some of those enemies from Assault on Skull Castle, particularly the ladder bugs in that one really annoying section and the bat in the coin room. I wasn't planning on it being harder than Mad Science, but altering the difficulty of Mad Science would probably ruin it.
Tonight I should be able to start my final level. It will actually have a boss.
Tonight I should be able to start my final level. It will actually have a boss.
DarklordKeinor
2478
author=Isrieri
DUNGEON OF PAIN
-I love this level. This is right up my alley. And it exemplifies the quality of design we're shooting for.
-The beginning fall is a great way to introduce the level. But since this will be a one player game, you didn't have to make two chutes. You can keep it if you like, just thought I'd mention.
-This castle is definitely a 4. Maybe a 5. It's pretty damn tough. Weird that it's Iggy's.
-Excellent music choice and background. They make the level stand out.
-One of the things I have an issue with is the moving chain. It easily can be thrown out of alignment, forcing the player to wait for it. They may make a leap of faith. To avoid this, take the Axe npc and make it's graphic invisible. Have this on the platform where the chain will appear. Have the axe trigger the chain's movement so that it will move toward the player when they arrive at the platform.
-That first roto-disc is diabolical. So is the bullet! That's acceptable for a late game castle, but if you want it to be a little easier you could make the roto-disc a Top instead of a Bottom. I personally love it.
-I like that little nook at the first hammer bro where you can hide from him if you're quick enough.
-The other thing I'm iffy about is the second hammer bro. Sometimes I can make it past him, other times not. His hammer throwing is too random to predict. Instead, I would make a little nook for a thwomp above that last pillar. That may be even harder, but it's more predictable. And more fair.
-The chain next to the hidden 1up looks strange because only the end-chain graphic was used. So fix that up.
-I got the version where that one-tile wide spike drop was inbetween the fire bros. So if you haven't, definitely make that 2 or 3 tiles wide. The spikes at the ladder are fine though.
-This is my favorite castle so far. I hope to see more from you!
Glad to see my level is getting good reception.
I'm probably not the best gauge of difficulty. I thought it was a 3 personally, but I'm fine if that is the actual difficulty of the castle.
The reason why it is Iggy's is because it goes with his character. After the player beats his castle in the original Super Mario World, it calls him demented. If he's demented, I assumed he would have an evil dungeon or something along those lines.
Not to mention, in the New Super Mario Brothers, Iggy is the boss of castle 5. So it wouldn't necessarily be too odd to have him own a challenging level.
Now as for the critiques, I can do all of those except fix the moving chain issue. I have no clue what you mean by axe and am not the best event user.
Beyond that, I have implemented all the other fixes. The third hammer brother has a thwomp in place of his area.
The third hammer brother (now the first) appears at the start of the second section around the togezo spawner.
I might make another level or two (in regards to the limit) for the project. I'm working on other personal projects at the moment. Regardless, I'll see what I can do. Perhaps an easier, but still challenging, castle level.
author=halibabica
-even Isrieri has almost no complaints about Ascend Descend.
- ...I'll make it 3.
-They'd never get through that spike gauntlet while free-falling. >:3
- ...no.
-Well, it's a good castle!
-Make it 5.
-I did!
-I'll replay the fight a few times and think about it. I may have to bump up the castle's difficulty then. :0
author=nin8halos
altering the difficulty of Mad Science would probably ruin it.
Definitely. I thought it was perfect as it was, and a good early castle.
author=DarlordKeinor
I have no clue what you mean by axe and am not the best event user.
I can help you with that a little later. I can fetch you an invisible Axe and more clear instructions. It would probably require fiddling with the chain's placement a bit, but once that's done the castle will be perfected.
I neglected to mention that I actually wasn't too keen on the boss. It's alright, but this is the one castle that could've really used the Bowser-over-lava setup. It's a short enough castle for it. That's only a nitpick though.
from Isrierifrom meI did!
They'd never get through that spike gauntlet while free-falling. >:3
You lucky bastard.
author=halibabicafrom IsrieriYou lucky bastard.from meI did!
They'd never get through that spike gauntlet while free-falling. >:3
author=halibabicafrom IsrieriYou lucky bastard.from meI did!
They'd never get through that spike gauntlet while free-falling. >:3
Off topic: I was reading your words, and it sounded like something you would say, then I looked at your avatar, and I was like...why do you look so bored all the time? XD Did you sprite it yourself? It's awesome!
On topic: I have realized the same issue may occur between my first castle, and the second castle. Guess what the issue is? They don't feel like castles. I defintely increased the difficulty, but don't worry, no Jelectros. Just like the first one, the difficulty will slide on a curve, if you will, a difficulty curve.
I made it look like a pyramid more than a castle because it's a palace. You may know what I mean when I release the palace, but remember, IT'S A CASTLE.
author=Isrieri
Ratty525GIMMICK CASTLE
-The castle looks much better now! I'm really digging that first outside area.
-The spike setup you have in the first section is very good! A fine introduction to the gimmick. I noticed that you can go up that block from both the left side and the right side, but the right is trickier. Maybe add some coins or a dragon coin (or both!) there to give some tiny incentive to go that way. I highly doubt anyone would, but why not?
-The new backgrounds in the big rooms were a much better idea than my suggestion. Good call.
-That square part of the obstacle blocks in the first big room looked like a good place for coins.
-I still think 3 1ups would be better than 1 for the red coin area.
-I still think you're better off without a boss fight.
SARASALAND TEMPLE
-I've not played Super Mario Land. But I get the feeling I don't have to, you just have to point at this level and say “that.”
-I'm assuming that you intend for Mario and Luigi to enter the level through that first pipe. Even if you didn't, that is what's going to happen. :P
-The dirt blocking off the left side passage was a nice graphical touch. The sandstone blocks mixed with the dirt also looks very nice.
-Good usage of space and positioning of the ceiling.
-I would definitely put this at a 3.
-Those bomb-shells (AIN'T I RIOT) are cute.
-I'd prefer it if you made the hearts into normal 1ups. I know they're a throwback to Mario Land, but consistency with the power ups is important. Just take the SML mushroom you have and recolor it green.
-Nice bonus room! Didn't Mario Land have a bright white background for those areas? I think it might be neat if you had a more “bonus-y” background for that part.
-Not happy with the lion-thingies. It's neat that you can kill them, but because they can shoot backwards it looks really awkward. And it's the bad kind of misdirection, the sort that's more annoying than clever. Just make them one of the statue npcs so they shoot straight.
-The obstacles here are tricky, but not too tough. I like that a lot. The piranha plants and pipes are all placed in very good spots.
-The checkpoint is in a weird spot. I subscribe to the notion that they should be placed relative to the stage's difficulty (The boss shouldn't enter into it). And I would have put it back a little farther if it were me. I'd recommend doing so, but you don't have to as it also works where it is.
-I'm iffy about that last wood platform. Most players will think to wait for it to fall down close to the ledge and jump from there, but SMBX is weird about that sometimes and it won't let you jump. I'd lower it down to the same level as the ledge to avoid this: I always just jumped over that platform and slid down the wall anyway.
-Maybe make a 6 tile high sandstone pillar above those two wood platforms that are on the same level as each other. Since you have the checkpoint right before that part, it could stand to be a little trickier, and I think that would do just nicely.
-The boss fight is pretty neat! When the boss is killed, make sure to hide all Spawned Npcs so his firebreath doesn't kill the player post-mortem. And I would fix the screen positions after his death so it only shows the bridge area and the remainder of the ? Sphere room.
Gimmick Castle:
- Hooray! :D
- Adding the dragon coins would only make my castle a bit more Super Mario World, wouldn't it? I'll give that a go.
- Thanks to Kentona's graphics pack I was able to find one that really contrasted well with the blocks of the room and looked nice.
- Eh... I don't know.
- I don't know either. The level kind of feels "complete" to me with the boss fight, in spite of the fact that it's relatively easy because it's two Boom Booms.
Sarasaland Temple:
- What stood out to me were the splitting paths, linear design, and really bare minimal platforming when I studied the dungeon design of SML. It's always good to study those early Mario dungeons because they provide a foundation.
- I did intend it. I originally wanted them to enter the level through the pipe (with the animation and all) but I couldn't figure out how to do that. :(
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Agreed.
- Bomb shells... I see what you did there. :P
- I was kind of worried about this one. I wanted to throwback to Super Mario Land with the look of the power-ups but I can see how it would look inconsistent with the rest of the game. I'll change it.
- Almost every background in SML were bright white with minimal details. I used the underground background because I thought it would be a bit more consistent withe the dirt tiles that are already in the level.
- Odd. Again, I was trying to stay true to how they were in SML. They originally were bowser statues but in turn they were unkillable, not matter how much I edited the npc in the notepad. How did you get them to shoot backwards, by the way?
- Gracias Isrieri
- I guess since there isn't a lot of challenging obstacles after the checkpoint I can see where you are coming from. I'll move it.
- I see what you mean. I think I'll lower it.
- Don't know, I'm kind of set on moving the checkpoint anyway right now.
- Definitely fixing the spawned npc issue. Otherwise... Eh, I GUESS I could fix the screen at the position of the ? sphere. >_< Didn't really matter that much to me.
I'm going to break a rule. I have to in order to not be cheap!
There will be a sign informing you that the door leads to the boss.
Would I be able to break the text rule for that?
There will be a sign informing you that the door leads to the boss.
Would I be able to break the text rule for that?
author=seiromem
I'm going to break a rule. I have to in order to not be cheap!
There will be a sign informing you that the door leads to the boss.
Would I be able to break the text rule for that?
Nope! No text. I implemented the rule so to cut down on needless dialogue in addition to challenging you guys: It would be too easy to just say that stuff: You should find ways to clue the player about your level through the design instead. Let them learn it on their own. If you have anything in your level that can't be clued without text chances are it's not a good idea anyway.
Besides you won't even need such a sign: Just have a red SMW boss door and the player will know. That will be consistent with what everyone else will be doing as well. Big Red Door = Boss.
author=Ratty
- Odd. Again, I was trying to stay true to how they were in SML. They originally were bowser statues but in turn they were unkillable, not matter how much I edited the npc in the notepad. How did you get them to shoot backwards, by the way?
I'm pretty sure they were resprited snifits in the version I downloaded.
Welp, added my level, this time with no text!
Hope you'll all enjoy. Or not.
If not,go screw yourself oh well.
Hope you'll all enjoy. Or not.
If not,
author=Isrieri
I'm pretty sure they were resprited snifits in the version I downloaded.
Well yes, but snifits don't really turn around once you jump over them... Or do they!? O_o
@pyrodoom: Convince us it's a castle/pyramid through level design, not just by you telling us.
Otabo
1758
Submitted a second level. Much simpler than that mess that is Overgrown Obelisk. I'd rate it a 1, but I have a feeling it might be too short. Or too easy. Or both.
author=Ratty524author=IsrieriWell yes, but snifits don't really turn around once you jump over them... Or do they!? O_o
I'm pretty sure they were resprited snifits in the version I downloaded.
@pyrodoom: Convince us it's a castle/pyramid through level design, not just by you telling us.
I know. I just wanted to make sure you knew as well. :3
author=seiromem
Welp, added my level, this time with no text!
Hope you'll all enjoy. Or not.
If not,go screw yourselfoh well.
"Oh well"? You try again, that's what you do.
Speaking of which...
SEIROMEM'S SPIRIT TEMPLE
Pros:
+ Level is a lot less broad compared to the other
+ Feels more like a Mario dungeon
Cons:
- Mismatch of various graphic styles looks horrid
- Too many enemies you have to dodge
- You can clear the first section of the level by jumping on the quicksand.
- spiked wall section is completely broken
Well seiromem, you are at least getting there, but there are still so many design flaws with your level that you need to address. I quit playing this level after getting to the section section just because of how much of a pain in the ass this level was.
First of all, don't put enemies too close to the player's starting point. Give that player some time to breath if it's necessary for him/her to start a level. It doesn't kill the difficulty of your level, as a matter of fact even in some of the hardest dungeons in Mario the room the player starts in is always empty of enemies.
Second, you have at least 3 different graphic styles for your npc's and tiles and none of them are really working together. The NES skeleton, for example, looks completely out of place. Either choose different graphics or edit those sprites to look a bit more in line with the style you are going for. What's with the snifit statue's standing on top of a flipped snifit anyway? it looks weird.
Third, you have WAY too many enemies on screen that you need to dodge, from the flashing skull things to the swoops and the ninjis... It's ridiculous. The challenge of dungeons should mostly come from the level design, not by having an overload of enemies swarming the player at lengthy periods of time. Also WHY did you bring back the falling bricks? Who cares if you "indicated" that they are falling bricks by placing them under broken pillars? They are hard to notice when you are busy dodging everything else in this level, and it's just not good design. What's wrong with making them regular donut blocks?
Fourth, quicksand is one of the most obnoxious implementations in SMBX. It's too slow to travel through and just prolongs your inevitable demise depending on where they are placed. With your level, they don't even work well as a hazard. It's possible to clear the first section of your level by jumping on top of the quicksand repeatedly, but is that fun? Hell no. Without those stilt guys generating I would have been stuck and just forced to commit suicide. I'd rather have it be a bottomless pit or some lava that will instantly kill me rather than quicksand. Heck, get rid of the quicksand tags to just have the player fall through it and die, at least it would be quick.
Speaking of those stilt guys, get rid of them. Their hitboxes are funky, making hard to land a perfect bounce on them, and they don't even fit the style of your level.
Last I address your second section. It would have been fine if you didn't put Ninji's close to edges and made impossible to climb due to the falling bricks and the snifit statue being pushed off the ledge by the spike wall. The fact that there wasn't a checkpoint before this obstacle made me lose it, as the first section was painful enough, and that's where I stopped playing.
So please, tone down the enemies, and focus on making the level challenging in a fun way, not in an unforgiving, frustrating way.
from pyrodoom
why do you look so bored all the time? XD Did you sprite it yourself? It's awesome!
I did, yes. They're my boss graphics for SRB3 and All-Stars. As you can tell from my tag line, I'm not easily impressed.
I have a feeling we are going to disagree on so many levels throughout this entire project Ratty, I'll point this out right now.
Let's start off with what I'll agree to.
-Snifit statues definitely are weird, but I suck at graphic making and the bowser statues don't seem to fit with the atmosphere to me.
-I ABSOLUTELY have an obsession with enemies ,however, there were only a few times where I had to focus to dodge them.
-First section, I'll fix the sand.
-Fine, the stilt guys don't appear often anyways.
now the disagreements.
- The donut blocks without being disguised look entirely out of place, and the brown ones don't fall nearly fast enough- However, I realized now that not everyone in this project is as.... hardcore as me when it comes to platforming.
So I'll edit it *sigh*
-I don't feel the skeletons look out of place at all! This is just a matter of opinion.
-I am NOT removing those ninjis from the edges. They're SUPPOSED to be there, THAT'S the challenge! I mean really, it's not that hard, just a little timing!
- Lastly, the second section was hardly from impossible! Sure the sniffit statues fell, but at least I had the decency to have the falling blocks regen, but those will be replaced anyways.
-Enemies ARE what make a level fun and challenging! Could you imagine a level without enemies, just pure jumping? Those only work when other elements come to play, like music or graphics.
Speaking of music, there was not one compliment on it. I mean, it's freaking Zelda, how do you not at least comment about that?
Oh well, there are some changes that I will refuse to undergo just because people don't know how to deal with it. However, a majority of which I'll go ahead and submit to.
Let's start off with what I'll agree to.
-Snifit statues definitely are weird, but I suck at graphic making and the bowser statues don't seem to fit with the atmosphere to me.
-I ABSOLUTELY have an obsession with enemies ,however, there were only a few times where I had to focus to dodge them.
-First section, I'll fix the sand.
-Fine, the stilt guys don't appear often anyways.
now the disagreements.
- The donut blocks without being disguised look entirely out of place, and the brown ones don't fall nearly fast enough- However, I realized now that not everyone in this project is as.... hardcore as me when it comes to platforming.
So I'll edit it *sigh*
-I don't feel the skeletons look out of place at all! This is just a matter of opinion.
-I am NOT removing those ninjis from the edges. They're SUPPOSED to be there, THAT'S the challenge! I mean really, it's not that hard, just a little timing!
- Lastly, the second section was hardly from impossible! Sure the sniffit statues fell, but at least I had the decency to have the falling blocks regen, but those will be replaced anyways.
-Enemies ARE what make a level fun and challenging! Could you imagine a level without enemies, just pure jumping? Those only work when other elements come to play, like music or graphics.
Speaking of music, there was not one compliment on it. I mean, it's freaking Zelda, how do you not at least comment about that?
Oh well, there are some changes that I will refuse to undergo just because people don't know how to deal with it. However, a majority of which I'll go ahead and submit to.
from seiromemI think I need to direct you to a little level I made called 'World of Hurt'. Enemies are a part of the obstacles a game presents, but they're not the sole defining element between a platforming challenge and a walk in the park. Level design is the big focus of this event, and it's for reasons like this. Learning how to craft an interesting stage without an army of mooks to slog through is important.
-Enemies ARE what make a level fun and challenging! Could you imagine a level without enemies, just pure jumping? Those only work when other elements come to play, like music or graphics.
Screw it, I'm scrapping spirit temple too.
Maybe I'll finally get it right on the third try.
By the way, I'm stilling using the spirit temple theme, no stealing my music and making one >=l
Maybe I'll finally get it right on the third try.
By the way, I'm stilling using the spirit temple theme, no stealing my music and making one >=l
author=seiromemI recommend finding a threat that isn't a moving NPC. Pits, spikes, lava, even ice when used correctly. Immobile NPCs work too. Bowser statues, thwomps, bullet bill cannons, etc.
Screw it, I'm scrapping spirit temple too.
Maybe I'll finally get it right on the third try.
By the way, I'm stilling using the spirit temple theme, no stealing my music and making one >=l
Also, why is there a 2 day gap between production and compilation
author=seiromem
Screw it, I'm scrapping spirit temple too.
Maybe I'll finally get it right on the third try.
By the way, I'm stilling using the spirit temple theme, no stealing my music and making one >=l
Take a chill pill, bro. You're being too hasty. Spirit Temple actually has a chance to shine if you REWORK it, not start completely over.
In regards to the skeletons, they look out of place because they are in a different graphic style. Skeletons work well with the theme of your level, but they are using an NES palette while the rest of the level is SNES or greater. THAT'S why they look out of place.
And the ninjis on the edge just don't work. They jump up and down too fast, and they kill the pacing of your level as you are kind of forced to study them. At least they weren't as bad as in your other level but still.
Anywho, I uploaded the third versions of my levels. Gimmick Castle now has Yoshi Coins! :D
author=Ratty524
Take a chill pill, bro. You're being too hasty. Spirit Temple actually has a chance to shine if you REWORK it, not start completely over.
In regards to the skeletons, they look out of place because they are in a different graphic style. Skeletons work well with the theme of your level, but they are using an NES palette while the rest of the level is SNES or greater. THAT'S why they look out of place.
And the ninjis on the edge just don't work. They jump up and down too fast, and they kill the pacing of your level as you are kind of forced to study them. At least they weren't as bad as in your other level but still.
Anywho, I uploaded the third versions of my levels. Gimmick Castle now has Yoshi Coins! :D
Hasty is my style. But still, I understand what you're saying, however I am not even going to attempt to rework that level. The *IDEA* of the ninjis work I'm telling you! So now, instead of those ninjis, I'm going to use para-goombas, they jump higher, therefore opening up a wider window. With these re-works, it should be easier and, hopefully, more fun!
Edit: And about the skeleton pallet, I would have no clue on how to do that. I am far from artistically inclined.
