Description

WHAT IS THIS?
Super RMN World 2 is a collaborative effort to make a solid Mario game in SMBX. It's the latest in the RMN Bros. series that has run on this site over the years. Unlike previous events, this project is more organized to produce a cohesive result. Even so, all users of RMN are welcome to participate! No past experience necessary! I'm your gracious host, halibabica, and I'll be overseeing the whole thing.



THE STORY
The Mario Bros. are on vacation with Peach in Yoshi's Archipelago, a group of exotic islands far from the Mushroom Kingdom. Of course, wherever they go, trouble quickly follows. Bowser and his Koopa army crash the party and kidnap the princess! The brothers' mission is clear, but something seems off about Bowser'whatever may be, there's work to do! Mario and Luigi hop right to it with the help of the princess' devoted bodyguard, Agent Toad!



WHAT YOU NEED
To participate, you need only make stages in SMBX and submit them. There are some rules, though. Please read the following before diving in.

  • You need Super Mario Bros. X to make your levels.
  • You need to save your levels in this folder. Put it in SMBX's 'worlds' folder and save your levels inside. It contains resources that will be standard for the project.
  • Levels must be created for this event. Don't submit preexisting work!
  • You may use custom graphics and music, but be sure to put them in a folder with the same name as your level. This graphics pack may be useful.


Once you have the engine and the standard resources, you're ready to start! However, for your stages to be accepted, the following must be adhered to.



SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
As this game is intended to feel like a legit Mario title, there must be some consistency in the levels. For this project, you will need:

  • 1 middle ring; the checkpoint for your stage. It's the sparkly ring in the SMW NPC tab. You can't use more than one due to engine limitations, so place it wisely!
  • 5 smiley flowers; these replace dragon coins. They're also on the SMW NPC tab and your stage needs exactly five of them. They must all be obtainable in one go through the level. The debugger can tell you how many you used. For technical reasons, they must all be on the Default layer.
  • 1 end goal roulette; this gate marks the end of the stage. It's on the SMB3 NPC tab, and jumping through it ends the level. The player automatically walks to the right and off-screen when they touch it, so every level must end going to the right.


These objects will only appear if you save your level in the Super RMN World 2 folder. Include them in your stage, and beyond that, the sky's the limit! Or is it?



ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES
This game is themed around Yoshi, and SMBX has a wide variety of them. Each island has its own theme, too. Your stages need to match the themes of the islands they're being made for. The difficulty should be relative to the island's order in the game. Each island also has its own color of Yoshi, so any you include should match, and you're encouraged to use them!

  • You may only submit one stage to each island.
  • You must be able to complete each level while riding Yoshi. This means no ladders required for progress or jumps where you must ditch Yoshi. This includes boss stages (more on this later).



WIsland NameThemesYoshi
1Green Grass Islandgrass/woodGreen
2Deathly Desert Islandsand/ghostsYellow
3Giga Growth Islandplants/giantsPink
4Molten Mine Islandcave/lavaPurple
5Slip Drip Islandwater/iceLight Blue
6Sky High Islandcliffs/cloudsDark Blue
7Pyre Fire Islandfire/wastelandRed
8Brain Drain Islandpipes/factoryBlack

About boss stages, you're allowed to make them, but their rules differ slightly. Each island can only have one boss and one mini-boss. Boss stages should end with the boss room instead of the end goal roulette. Due to post-production event handling, you don't need to include an exit; the stage will end when the fight is over. Boss stages still need to be thematically appropriate and have 1 middle ring and 5 smiley flowers. The player should be able to beat the boss while riding Yoshi. The boss stages of islands 7 and 8 are reserved for story purposes.




GENERAL GUIDELINES
I know, I know, we're almost there. In addition to all of the above, please keep the following in mind:

  • Try to stick with one art style for your level. Don't mix SMB3 and SMW koopas/coins/etc.
  • Don't let mushrooms from blocks escape off nearby screen edges.
  • Since stages must end with the end goal roulette, all other exit types are banned.
  • The SMW Bowser statue and SMB3 Lakitu are banned for their quirkiness. Use the SMB3 Bowser statue and SMW Lakitu instead!
  • No swimmable waterfalls. These should be for aesthetic use only.
  • Stages must be two-player compatible. Include both player start positions and ensure the stage is passable more than once. Basically, avoid scenarios that could trap the 2nd player.
  • Prevent no-win situations. If the player isn't dead, they should still be able to complete the stage.
  • Avoid single-tile gaps. The player wall-zips if they stand up in a short passage. This can break the game sometimes, so use caution!





LEVEL FEEDBACK
'HALI THERE ARE TOO MANY RULES I HATE THIS'
I know the rules are extensive, but we're aiming to make this the best episode yet. Don't fret if you can't remember it all. As you submit your stages, I'll be reviewing them and providing feedback. You will be expected to use it to make revisions. Failure to do so may result in your levels being altered post-production, or denied completely! Users are encouraged to test each other's levels. Every bit of feedback helps!



TIMELINE
Submissions will be open for all of July. Afterward, there will be a two-week period where revisions can still be made (but no new submissions). Then the gates will shut and the rest of the game will be processed by yours truly. It will take time, but it will get done.

If you have any questions, please ask! I hope we can build a fantastic new RMN World together!

Details

  • 07/01/2016 12:00 AM
  • 08/15/2016 11:59 PM

Registration

You must be logged in to sign up for Super RMN World 2: Yoshi's Archipelago.

Participants Entries
kentona
Davenport
Jparker1984
Solitayre
Ratty524
outcry312
nin8halos
Bart_Sol
pyrodoom
Seiromem
jackalotrun
Blobofgoo
Animebryan
lonestarluigi
Jalex
TungerManU
NeverSilent
Illy
Frozen
Fflo
El_WaKa
Frogge
Punkitt
Thunder176
Kloe
KuraiYukiChan
eric00051
Entry Status Key
  • - Pending
  • - Validating
  • - Accepted
  • - Rejected

Posts

author=Seiromem
So I started on my world 9 level. I'm gonna make it into a spooky "Glitch" realm (with coherent tile placement, i assure you) . Had to find a good piece of music to use that would fit the theme. I Thought "Lavender Town, why not?".
So I worked it out and put it in the level and started working.

10 minutes into working on the level my body is shaking like I'm starting to get an anxiety, but it never escalates any further. I managed to endure it for 5 more minutes before snapping and turning off the editor.

So anybody have an idea of a piece of spooky music I should use?

Are you saying you were experiencing symptoms of Lavender Town Syndrome? Which version of it were you using? As for creepy music, you can find plenty on YouTube like this one:


Anyway, I have more feed back for your levels:

Giga Funklen (W3) Seiromem:
The precaution you took with the flower & P-Switch, the block on the right of the flower can lead the player to their death (even while pushing left). It would be better if you move the flower & the blocks 1 tile to the left, so the right side block isn't flush with the edge of the platform. Other than that, much better.

Debilitating Depths (W5) by Seiromem:
Apparently, if you're underwater while standing still (no momentum) & standing on a slippery surface, you can't walk to the left or right. Thanks for the 1-up factory at the 1st big cracked ice block :) When I got to the cracked ice block with the trapped 1-ups, I couldn't manage to break it, but when I left the room & came back, 1 of the 1-ups was out of the block without breaking it (the other 1-up simply wasn't there). Apparently, yoshi can also just eat the 1-ups right through the block. Quite the challenging level.

Fiery Flumes (W7) by Seiromem:
Nice to see you fixed that impossible to reach pipe toward the end. The difficulty is definitely on par with a world 7 level instead of a world 4 level.

Abandoned Factory (W8) by Seiromem:
The difficulty hasn't changed much, still rage inducing. Poison mushroom generators still too fast. Bots are a pain when getting the 1st flower. I'd feel sorry for anyone trying to get all 5 flowers in this level without relying on the checkpoint.

One problem I kept having during my testing of all these levels was whenever the P-Switch effect ends, I would get a ridiculous amount of lag, which lasted for a few seconds, enough to get you hit or killed without knowing what was going on. I don't know if its just on my end or what.

@Hali's feedback:
As for my Naval Piranha boss fight, I've been testing it to get it to work right. I'll put up another video by Monday (no internet access over the weekend) showing how the boss fight plays out, but to be honest, its kind of a mess.

For the W7 level, I don't mind taking the 'Hell' out of it into 'Fire & Brimstone'. This wasn't a revenge level but meant to be a challenging fire/lava level that I was excited to work on. I usually keep mp3s outside the level folder & did that by habit. When you say 'expand the ground' are you talking about making all the landing surfaces wider or actually using more of the black ground tiles? Because that almost requires a redesign of most of the stage.

I'll cut back on the power ups & get rid of the invisible coin blocks too. I'll cut the fireball generator's duration by a whole second as well. I guess I need to cut some more hazards from the 2nd half as well. I'll have the 2nd version up by Monday then. Aside from those 2 levels, I'll try to get my world 6 level finished (if the editor will stop trolling me with layer movement & auto-scrolling) & maybe a world 4 level next.

Btw, I'm not so sure a 2 week extension is going to be enough. While some people here can generate a level more quickly, some people like me can take a while (1st time making professional grade levels).
halibabica
RMN's Official Reviewmonger
16873
from Seiromem
10 minutes into working on the level my body is shaking like I'm starting to get an anxiety, but it never escalates any further. I managed to endure it for 5 more minutes before snapping and turning off the editor.

Oh, write a creepypasta why don't you. You could just listen to happy music while making the stage, then put the spooky part in last. ;P

Regarding your stage theme, well, be careful how you use it. Since this is meant to be a more coherent project, having a stage that's buggy (even intentionally) is counter-intuitive.

from Animebryan
When you say 'expand the ground' are you talking about making all the landing surfaces wider or actually using more of the black ground tiles?

Basically, put in more blocks of any fitting sort so the first section isn't just 1-tile jumps. Those ground tiles do look nice, but I know they can be a pain to work with, too.

As for the deadline, do the best you can with it. I can't let it go too long or we'll be flooded with stages. It's also not a hard line thing; this project has a peculiar nature. If more stages are needed post-event, I may commission them from participants who are willing.
I can't seem to create anything! I tried a few times and nothing comes out. Like, I'm reaching into my creative brain space and it's completely void. I should mention that it's been several years since I did anything related to game making. I'm losing it :(

Since the deadline was extended I'll maybe try again.
Ratty524
The 524 is for 524 Stone Crabs
12986
author=Link_2112
I can't seem to create anything! I tried a few times and nothing comes out. Like, I'm reaching into my creative brain space and it's completely void. I should mention that it's been several years since I did anything related to game making. I'm losing it :(

Since the deadline was extended I'll maybe try again.

How long has it been since you've played a Mario game? What I do when I find myself in creative slumps like these is to play other games for inspiration. Maybe there is stuff you did in the past that you think you could also do better on? Food for thought.
Ratty524
The 524 is for 524 Stone Crabs
12986
Submitted my World 9 endgame level: Radiant Rainbow Road

It's a lonely road, just be sure not to fall off~! <3
I decided to scrap my world 8 level, it wasn't working out well, decided to make a world 9 level instead, I'm going to make this level as insane as possible! With of course the level rules in mind.
halibabica
RMN's Official Reviewmonger
16873
Y'know, just 'cuz it's the bonus world doesn't mean it needs to be balls-to-the-wall hard. Just sayin'...
author=pyrodoom
Edit: Also, I played Jalex's "Lakitu Rampage", and that stage frustrated me so quickly. Those dang lakitus are BRUTAL, man. Also, I know what you intend the player to do with that koopa section at the very bottom of the second section... but I really don't feel like that's a good idea, because it requires you to have a yoshi or else it's a no-win scenario. I even had a leaf and I couldn't make it back to any other parts of the stage, and I BARELY made it back to the koopa thing when I ran out of fly and had to float back - I don't know why I bothered though, might as well either cheat or drop down the pit. Some of the flowers weren't worth collecting in the brutality of the lakitus raining death upon me, and eventually I just sort of... got tired of the level, and flew to the end.
Even despite all that, it could just be my playing skills and that I suck horribly, but I also wanted to say that I'm split on whether it'd be better for your lakitu to be killable or not. I hate getting blindsided by lakitus when they CAN hurt you, but I also like being able to kill them. Having them friendly feels better in SMBX, but would also make it alot harder because you can't hurt them anymore. I had alot of fun bouncing around like a maniac every time I killed lakitu, though. I forgot the exact situation, but I think I was flying, hit the lakitu and lost my yoshi, then proceeded to kill the lakitu and land back on my yoshi IMMEDIATELY after. Awesome.
Also... what's the point of that intro bit? It doesn't add anything to the level, and one time it REALLY confused me because I didn't realize the ship was going to fall. You could have started Mario in the second section, or had the pipe in section 1 right after the first stretch of land and just ignore the airship all together, and that'd feel alot better.
The music was nice, and I liked the background you chose for the fourth section, though the stage feels empty at times. Maybe a few more clouds could do it?
Thanks for the feedback. One of my goals is for my levels to be accessible to everyone, not just the super-players. To be honest even I had trouble playing this level; the Lakitus are tough enough that I found myself nerfing the rest of the level to compensate, and even then most of my test plays result in killing Lakitu early, or falling into a pit (usually trying to kill Lakitu).

I'll most certainly keep the lakitus killable, because of how brutal they can be.

The airship sequence was originally supposed to be more complex (initially I was going to have a Lakitu carrying a bomb knock the ship out of the sky), but I simplified it because eventing in SMBX is such a pain. I can rework or remove it if people feel it doesn't work.
Seiromem
I would have more makerscore If I did things.
6375
author=halibabica
from Seiromem
10 minutes into working on the level my body is shaking like I'm starting to get an anxiety, but it never escalates any further. I managed to endure it for 5 more minutes before snapping and turning off the editor.
Oh, write a creepypasta why don't you. You could just listen to happy music while making the stage, then put the spooky part in last. ;P


Are you dismissing it completely, or don't think it was that bad? Either way I was legitimately freaked out.

Anyways, no, the stage won't feature glitches and bugs, it will just have an extremely odd tile-set choice.

halibabica
RMN's Official Reviewmonger
16873
from Jalex
To be honest even I had trouble playing this level; the Lakitus are tough enough that I found myself nerfing the rest of the level to compensate

One thing to note about Lakitu is how SMBX manages its camera. Lakitu hangs out near the top of the screen, but the game tries to keep Mario directly in the middle. Stages with high ceilings and low floors may result in the player jumping too close to Lakitu, which makes things more difficult. As such is the case, you may want to adjust your screen edges to compensate...though that would also mean you should ditch your 3-up moon secret. Just an idea.

from Seiromem
Are you dismissing it completely, or don't think it was that bad? Either way I was legitimately freaked out.

I know how creepy Lavender Town's theme is, so I can understand. It just doesn't have that effect on me. Not like the Unown's radio tune. *shudder*
Thanks for the feedback.
This mp3 works well for a creepy environment.
https://rpgmaker.net/users/Davenport/locker/ghostly2.mp3
Nvm, Heres the original Lavender Town
https://rpgmaker.net/users/Davenport/locker/preview.mp3
Lastly, here are the level layouts for the SNES Yoshi's Island including
all the bonus levels. It's a good referance for making future levels.
https://rpgmaker.net/users/Davenport/locker/YI.zip
Alright, so i renamed Frosty to Frosted Meadow, fixed the things hali found out also including the removed pipe.

Send in a new version of it hope it's better now to fit into it.

Now that's done and Tokotoko Desert also i should do a World 9 level, since i did have some stuff that didn't really fit in any of the 8 Islands.

Great to see this whole thing getting huge.
halibabica
One thing to note about Lakitu is how SMBX manages its camera. Lakitu hangs out near the top of the screen, but the game tries to keep Mario directly in the middle. Stages with high ceilings and low floors may result in the player jumping too close to Lakitu, which makes things more difficult. As such is the case, you may want to adjust your screen edges to compensate...though that would also mean you should ditch your 3-up moon secret. Just an idea.

So basically any area more than one screen-height tall will put Lakitu too close to Mario. Is it possible to make Lakitu friendly but still keep the spinies harmful? If so, that might make the last section more manageable.

author=Jalex
So basically any area more than one screen-height tall will put Lakitu too close to Mario. Is it possible to make Lakitu friendly but still keep the spinies harmful? If so, that might make the last section more manageable.



I think if you set the lakitu to friendly, things it throws will still hurt you.
halibabica
RMN's Official Reviewmonger
16873
True, you can make Lakitu friendly while his projectiles are still harmful. However, I wouldn't recommend that for a couple reasons. First up, it's not intuitive that bumping into Lakitu doesn't hurt you. Second, and more importantly, making him friendly means he can never be killed.

The section doesn't need to be exactly one screen tall for Lakitu to work well, though. There's room for a little leeway, and you just have to manage your space as best you can. Toy with the boundaries and see what works best. Keep in mind that Lakitu tries to stay near the top of the screen, so he ascends when the player jumps and descends when he climbs too high. The only trouble is he doesn't rise as fast as the player sometimes can.
More feedback:

Carps Against Humanity (W5) by NeverSilent:



You see this, it's called a poor design choice. I can't get out of there without ditching yoshi. I brought something in his mouth to hit the switch with an ice block but it didn't hit it. Need to bring the ceiling down 1 tile so only shells can fit through there, but then there's the 1 tile gap problem. And why have 2 shells together when only 1 can be reached with yoshi's tongue? (The green shells, not the ones in the pic). Apparently I missed that 4th flower, well hidden. The P-Switch just past it should help the player get to it (even hint at it) instead of blocking it (literally, its surrounded by a diamond of coins).


Bullet Bill Bouncing in Billowy Brumes (W6) by pyrodoom:
Repositioning bullet bill blasters, genius! I found Agent Toad, but was scary trying to reach it only to keep falling short (almost literally). Having in unkillable Lakitu constantly throwing spinies around haphazardly is so not cool (especially when there's 2 of them). Nothing is more worse than having a npc generator that follows you everywhere throwing spinies in your way (usually in mid-air) when you least expect it. Otherwise, pretty good level.


Anyway, I've uploaded version 2 of my Fire & Brimstone level (I just hope I made enough changes). I've been working on a world 6 boss level (it's a Airship level) but the editor keeps trolling me when it comes to auto-scrolling & sprite placement. I'm literally raging so hard at the editor that I came up with this:


(which is based on this: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xOnuBsOjZJo/VT7ek0XoK4I/AAAAAAAAIk0/_lSmAPGdCRk/s1600/konami%2B2015%2Byear%2Bplan.jpg )

(I've actually scrapped my world 6 level because of the stupid editor BS)

Oh, and here's a video showing my current progress with my world 3 boss level with Naval Piranha (it's a freaking unstable mess):

NeverSilent
Got any Dexreth amulets?
6280
@Animebryan:
Thanks for the feedback! You're right, that is a poor design choice. My intention was to make the player unable to hit the switch with an ice block instead of a shell, but I failed to factor in the possibility that someone might actually jump down there to try it. And apparently I also didn't realise that the second shell isn't accessible. I'll try to fix that.
Regarding the P-switch, it's supposed to make the next part easier, and not help the player find the fourth flower. (The additional sizable platform in the background should be a hint that there is something more up there.) But you're right that it shouldn't prevent access to that flower because of the coins either. I'll change the way they are placed.
I appreciate your help!
Wow, this thing exploded with posts! I love the W9 idea and will do my damnest to submit something for it, but I still intent to try for a world 4 and 6 cuz we need them. Now that my lan event is over, I can resume my focus on this project! First, I need to clean up my current levels with all the feedback I've gotten.
I was planning to make a World 4 level, but for personal reasons I wanted to try a World 8 or 9 level.
Say, if I tried the cheese thing again, do you think putting "quicksand" over some blocks would be a good way to make them seem 'sticky'?
halibabica
RMN's Official Reviewmonger
16873
from pyrodoom
if I tried the cheese thing again, do you think putting "quicksand" over some blocks would be a good way to make them seem 'sticky'?

Hmm...as long as your consistent about what blocks are sticky and use the gimmick carefully. You're certainly welcome to try.

I was going to test some new stages tonight, but I feel totally drained and I'll have to try again tomorrow. Thanks for being patient, folks.