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Super Mario Maker Course Sharing & Feedback Thread

I got to play some more levels tonight made from some TBT fellows there and here's my thoughts on them:

@lars708:
The first level (at least, the early version) does seem to be, well, pretty standard overall. At least you didn't threw too many ideas on one stage and the difficulty is just right. Also, I thought I managed to get stuck between the Bumpers from the bonus room, but I eventually got shot out soon enough. Aside of that, nothing much to say here.

The second level is a bit more interesting to discuss about it, but that's mostly about on how the stage reveals the problems with the Bumpers. There's some blind jump involved in some of the Bumper sections, as they fall on rails off-screen and have to rely on memorization regarding where the Bumpers might be.
The camera doesn't follow quite well the player after jumping off from a Bumper until they land on another one, which could possibly lead to unwanted collisions from potentially off-screen obstacles. It's tolerable if the stage couldn't scroll vertically, but it does, so...
The final section has us relying on either holding the jump button or not, to dodge obstacles accordingly. It's tricky, since not holding it would make Mario jump rather low and not have much room to move between the Bumpers, while jumping higher would propel him much faster than bouncing high from a trampoline. The fact that hitbox of a Bumper is actually a circle, rather than a square? That also makes it harder to anticipate how to control Mario's aerial movement. Maybe if the Bumpers are bunched up closer to each other in a similar fashion to what I did with the blocks on my level called Sweeping Snake Block Fortress, it would make balancing Mario more controllable? It's even easier to do that by using the doors to "synchronize" the Bumpers on rail and make sure they're lined up the way you want without having to rely on vertical track.


@TykiButterfree:
I have nothing to say about the music level, since I'm no expert on that matter. I've got to say a few things about the another iteration of "Have some death!".

I appreciate on how you picked the right theme for what the level is. It feels like the Ghost House theme is more fitting than the Castle theme of the previous version. All of the set pieces you've used feel right at home with that theme.

The section where you have to tread between the carefully placed masses of Boo Circles is probably one of the best aspects of this level. The difficulty is just right and it's fun having to adjust my character's position without too much hassle.

My only problem with the stage is that it's possible to instantly die right at the beginning of the stage. Thankfully, it's not immediately right next to Mario, but still.


@Matt0106:
I did enjoy the level. The puzzles were pretty light, as it mostly involves hitting the P-Switch and hurrying up to open passages. It did made for a relatively seamless Zelda experience on a Mario platformer. The level is just short and easy enough that not including a checkpoint is pretty much a moot point, at least for a seasoned Mario player. I did get the feeling that you actually went up to polish the level before uploading it, save for one instance.

At the very beginning of the level, I can access the top of the dungeon by running & jumping off from a note block and landing on trees. Then I did the same from a higher tree to reach the top of the building. And it leads to nothing but an area that anyone could get permanently stuck until they fall in a hole. Since a fair amount of effort went for some outside of the box tricks, it would make sense to reward the player with something and a way to get back to the main path. A small shortcut, coins and/or whatnot are a good reward for that.

Overall, the level is solid!



I'll be writing my opinions about the levels requested by Jetix and Yoshisaur within 2 days or less. I was writing this entire post at night and don't want to be too late at work. I do have a lot to say about the former's latest effort, but I can definitely tell he has improved since I last played his levels. And the latter's level design for that stage is reminiscent of Kaizo Mario where repeated plays is the name of the game.

Thanks for trying it out! I made it to submit for the Beard Bros to play on youtube and the theme this go around was Kaizo, so at least I was on par with the theme lol
 
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Without any further ado, here's my thoughts on what Jetix and Yoshisaur presented to us.

@Jetix:
As I said before, the stage seems to prove you've improved a bit since I last dropped my views on your previous levels.

For example, you've certainly cut back the enemy spams you were used to and avoided encouraging Damage Boosting altogether, which made your latest stage a favor in giving more focus on the actual level design. And it also seen more effort put in it than your previous efforts. But, there's still more room for improvements.

First off, there are a handful of areas where one could skip a significant portion of the stage that might be where you'd want consider so they wouldn't inadvertently avoid the sections you may want the players to go through. One of them has a very skilled player who could pull off and skip pretty much the entire subarea that would otherwise be mandatory for clearing the stage. Someone could possibly pick up a shell, throw it at the wall near the goal pole, jump on the shell in midair and reach the ledge that leads them directly to the goal pole. Here's some examples of it in execution below.


Another huge shortcut is found by performing a wall-jump, then airspin and rinse and repeat to scale between the walls. Naturally, I was expecting being rewarded with something, but I've found nothing in there. It does have a purpose of being a shortcut, but it does allow players to skip a significant portion of a level you'd want them to go, which I believe is dealing with Bill Blasters and Cannons?

I believe that the waiting section was there to set up another P-Switch challenge, but it turns out it isn't used after a couple of segments involving the mechanic. Well, the wait was unnecessary at the end. Of course I could skip the waiting by doing a running jump, but it still doesn't have to be there in this case.

Airship theme from all game styles has some visibility quirk that might throw off some players off-guard. You may know that the camera for this theme is moving up and down slowly as if you were on an actual airship. When the ground from completely below is only 1 block high, like most of the subarea, I couldn't see the ground regularly and I had to wait until I actually see it before I could move on, since there is a possibly of a trap being hidden by the camera. That's why I avoid leaving less than 3 vertical lines of blocks if I should have some ground on the very bottom of the area.

Remember that I previously said that polishing the level also means making the level more visually attractive? Well, you've actually started doing so. But, I still feel there are some areas where it could be better decorated if more effort were put into them. At one point, I saw a mushroom platform that seems to float in air. That can be quickly fixed.
Did you know that you can use semi-solid platforms to form a more aesthetically pleasing wall? You can even cover the part of a semi-solid platform you don't want to show with any block.

I gave that level a star as a sign that you've actually done some effort to that level, yet I still feel like there could more improvements to be done. Keep besting your previous levels and who knows you might end up making great levels.


@Yoshisaur:
By saying hard/expert level, you actually meant that the level is inspired from the level design of Kaizo Mario. I was surprised seeing that type of level popping up, considering that it would be more logical to start out with easy/medium difficulty levels and gather some players to play them, hopefully starring them in the process. And then Super Beard Bros. is now accepting these levels forever, so I figured out you didn't missed the opportunity. One day, they'll play your levels.

I didn't beat the stage the proper way, but I actually went to download this one to my Coursebot and played the entire stage, albeit without necessarily having to try certain sections over and over. In theory, the stage itself wouldn't take very long to complete without accounting all of the deaths from precision movements and one invisible block.

The falling platforms section is pretty tough to overcome consistently, as I have only a very few correct frames to jump and land on a vine without hitting the Munchers. I figured out it would be easier to throw the P-Switch next to the vine that came out from a block, grab the vine and hit the P-Switch.

The most difficult section has to be the one with a Muncher that holds the P-Switch. Getting the thing isn't too bad. However, it's gauging the jump after jumping high off a trampoline to get through a narrow passage that becomes problematic, thanks to the airship camera's visibility problem that could possibly hide Mario. After all of the most difficult segments done, the rest is pretty smooth sailing.

For a Kaizo level, this seems to be a solid effort on your part and is fun to figure out what to do. For that reason, you deserved a star.
 
Finally, after 3 recreations and hours of having to rework it over a 3 month span (long story short: I started working on the level for a few hours, uploaded an almost complete version of it to have a friend test it out, then quit for 3 months, came back two days ago to finish it, found out it was taken down because it used the invisible glitch for one of the puzzles but I assumed that if I edited it out I could reupload it, added a bunch of stuff, then when I tried to reupload it wouldn't let me so I had to spend 4 hours remaking it today)...I'm finally done with...








How well do YOU know SMM?

F8D9-0000-0180-3375 (There's some minor things I need to fix to prevent cheap deaths, so I'll reupload it with a new code later, but this one still works if you want to check it out.)

Although fair warning; as the name implies, I designed the level with the intent of testing your knowledge of Super Mario Maker. With that said, some, if not most, of the puzzles will require you to know some random tidbits of info on how things work to progress through the level (albeit since I couldn't really force some of the puzzles without making the solution obvious you probably won't need to know all that much).

Hope you know your trivia!
 
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My new level might have some interest for this forum.

♪Animal Crossing - Kapp'n's Song

5930-0000-0183-3170_full.jpg

5930-0000-0183-3170

To be honest, I'm not really looking for critiques at the moment. I'm just trying to put this in front of people who are fans of the game with the hopes that you'll enjoy the music.
 
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Without any further ado, here's my thoughts on what Jetix and Yoshisaur presented to us.

@Jetix:
As I said before, the stage seems to prove you've improved a bit since I last dropped my views on your previous levels.

For example, you've certainly cut back the enemy spams you were used to and avoided encouraging Damage Boosting altogether, which made your latest stage a favor in giving more focus on the actual level design. And it also seen more effort put in it than your previous efforts. But, there's still more room for improvements.

First off, there are a handful of areas where one could skip a significant portion of the stage that might be where you'd want consider so they wouldn't inadvertently avoid the sections you may want the players to go through. One of them has a very skilled player who could pull off and skip pretty much the entire subarea that would otherwise be mandatory for clearing the stage. Someone could possibly pick up a shell, throw it at the wall near the goal pole, jump on the shell in midair and reach the ledge that leads them directly to the goal pole. Here's some examples of it in execution below.


Another huge shortcut is found by performing a wall-jump, then airspin and rinse and repeat to scale between the walls. Naturally, I was expecting being rewarded with something, but I've found nothing in there. It does have a purpose of being a shortcut, but it does allow players to skip a significant portion of a level you'd want them to go, which I believe is dealing with Bill Blasters and Cannons?

I believe that the waiting section was there to set up another P-Switch challenge, but it turns out it isn't used after a couple of segments involving the mechanic. Well, the wait was unnecessary at the end. Of course I could skip the waiting by doing a running jump, but it still doesn't have to be there in this case.

Airship theme from all game styles has some visibility quirk that might throw off some players off-guard. You may know that the camera for this theme is moving up and down slowly as if you were on an actual airship. When the ground from completely below is only 1 block high, like most of the subarea, I couldn't see the ground regularly and I had to wait until I actually see it before I could move on, since there is a possibly of a trap being hidden by the camera. That's why I avoid leaving less than 3 vertical lines of blocks if I should have some ground on the very bottom of the area.

Remember that I previously said that polishing the level also means making the level more visually attractive? Well, you've actually started doing so. But, I still feel there are some areas where it could be better decorated if more effort were put into them. At one point, I saw a mushroom platform that seems to float in air. That can be quickly fixed.
Did you know that you can use semi-solid platforms to form a more aesthetically pleasing wall? You can even cover the part of a semi-solid platform you don't want to show with any block.

I gave that level a star as a sign that you've actually done some effort to that level, yet I still feel like there could more improvements to be done. Keep besting your previous levels and who knows you might end up making great levels.


@Yoshisaur:
By saying hard/expert level, you actually meant that the level is inspired from the level design of Kaizo Mario. I was surprised seeing that type of level popping up, considering that it would be more logical to start out with easy/medium difficulty levels and gather some players to play them, hopefully starring them in the process. And then Super Beard Bros. is now accepting these levels forever, so I figured out you didn't missed the opportunity. One day, they'll play your levels.

I didn't beat the stage the proper way, but I actually went to download this one to my Coursebot and played the entire stage, albeit without necessarily having to try certain sections over and over. In theory, the stage itself wouldn't take very long to complete without accounting all of the deaths from precision movements and one invisible block.

The falling platforms section is pretty tough to overcome consistently, as I have only a very few correct frames to jump and land on a vine without hitting the Munchers. I figured out it would be easier to throw the P-Switch next to the vine that came out from a block, grab the vine and hit the P-Switch.

The most difficult section has to be the one with a Muncher that holds the P-Switch. Getting the thing isn't too bad. However, it's gauging the jump after jumping high off a trampoline to get through a narrow passage that becomes problematic, thanks to the airship camera's visibility problem that could possibly hide Mario. After all of the most difficult segments done, the rest is pretty smooth sailing.

For a Kaizo level, this seems to be a solid effort on your part and is fun to figure out what to do. For that reason, you deserved a star.

Thanks a million for trying it out and letting me know your thoughts :)
 
Without any further ado, here's my thoughts on what Jetix and Yoshisaur presented to us.

@Jetix:
As I said before, the stage seems to prove you've improved a bit since I last dropped my views on your previous levels.

For example, you've certainly cut back the enemy spams you were used to and avoided encouraging Damage Boosting altogether, which made your latest stage a favor in giving more focus on the actual level design. And it also seen more effort put in it than your previous efforts. But, there's still more room for improvements.

First off, there are a handful of areas where one could skip a significant portion of the stage that might be where you'd want consider so they wouldn't inadvertently avoid the sections you may want the players to go through. One of them has a very skilled player who could pull off and skip pretty much the entire subarea that would otherwise be mandatory for clearing the stage. Someone could possibly pick up a shell, throw it at the wall near the goal pole, jump on the shell in midair and reach the ledge that leads them directly to the goal pole. Here's some examples of it in execution below.


Another huge shortcut is found by performing a wall-jump, then airspin and rinse and repeat to scale between the walls. Naturally, I was expecting being rewarded with something, but I've found nothing in there. It does have a purpose of being a shortcut, but it does allow players to skip a significant portion of a level you'd want them to go, which I believe is dealing with Bill Blasters and Cannons?

I believe that the waiting section was there to set up another P-Switch challenge, but it turns out it isn't used after a couple of segments involving the mechanic. Well, the wait was unnecessary at the end. Of course I could skip the waiting by doing a running jump, but it still doesn't have to be there in this case.

Airship theme from all game styles has some visibility quirk that might throw off some players off-guard. You may know that the camera for this theme is moving up and down slowly as if you were on an actual airship. When the ground from completely below is only 1 block high, like most of the subarea, I couldn't see the ground regularly and I had to wait until I actually see it before I could move on, since there is a possibly of a trap being hidden by the camera. That's why I avoid leaving less than 3 vertical lines of blocks if I should have some ground on the very bottom of the area.

Remember that I previously said that polishing the level also means making the level more visually attractive? Well, you've actually started doing so. But, I still feel there are some areas where it could be better decorated if more effort were put into them. At one point, I saw a mushroom platform that seems to float in air. That can be quickly fixed.
Did you know that you can use semi-solid platforms to form a more aesthetically pleasing wall? You can even cover the part of a semi-solid platform you don't want to show with any block.

I gave that level a star as a sign that you've actually done some effort to that level, yet I still feel like there could more improvements to be done. Keep besting your previous levels and who knows you might end up making great levels.


@Yoshisaur:
By saying hard/expert level, you actually meant that the level is inspired from the level design of Kaizo Mario. I was surprised seeing that type of level popping up, considering that it would be more logical to start out with easy/medium difficulty levels and gather some players to play them, hopefully starring them in the process. And then Super Beard Bros. is now accepting these levels forever, so I figured out you didn't missed the opportunity. One day, they'll play your levels.

I didn't beat the stage the proper way, but I actually went to download this one to my Coursebot and played the entire stage, albeit without necessarily having to try certain sections over and over. In theory, the stage itself wouldn't take very long to complete without accounting all of the deaths from precision movements and one invisible block.

The falling platforms section is pretty tough to overcome consistently, as I have only a very few correct frames to jump and land on a vine without hitting the Munchers. I figured out it would be easier to throw the P-Switch next to the vine that came out from a block, grab the vine and hit the P-Switch.

The most difficult section has to be the one with a Muncher that holds the P-Switch. Getting the thing isn't too bad. However, it's gauging the jump after jumping high off a trampoline to get through a narrow passage that becomes problematic, thanks to the airship camera's visibility problem that could possibly hide Mario. After all of the most difficult segments done, the rest is pretty smooth sailing.

For a Kaizo level, this seems to be a solid effort on your part and is fun to figure out what to do. For that reason, you deserved a star.

Thank you very much for the review!! *o* Will consider your tips n.n
 
[...]

How well do YOU know SMM?

F8D9-0000-0180-3375 (There's some minor things I need to fix to prevent cheap deaths, so I'll reupload it with a new code later, but this one still works if you want to check it out.)

Although fair warning; as the name implies, I designed the level with the intent of testing your knowledge of Super Mario Maker. With that said, some, if not most, of the puzzles will require you to know some random tidbits of info on how things work to progress through the level (albeit since I couldn't really force some of the puzzles without making the solution obvious you probably won't need to know all that much).

Hope you know your trivia!

I'm surprised that this level hasn't been beaten yet and is considered as a Super-Expert level, presumably because of the possibly obscure tricks that the vast majority of players and one particular section. Perhaps that the most difficult section is the second one, with a Red Bill Blaster shooting out a Buzzy Shell. That threw off a good amount of players, probably because there's no clue on where exactly the player is expected to stand, as opposed to the first section, with a Bowser's Pole telling exactly where to stand to spit the triple bones. I had to crouch like 3-4 squares away from the blaster to be able guarantee on wearing the shell and grab a another. That's what I figured to clear this section. Otherwise, the level shouldn't be too difficult if you know those tidbits.

My new level might have some interest for this forum.

♪Animal Crossing - Kapp'n's Song

View attachment 161497

5930-0000-0183-3170

To be honest, I'm not really looking for critiques at the moment. I'm just trying to put this in front of people who are fans of the game with the hopes that you'll enjoy the music.

Since this is a music level, which is usually an automatic level in first place, so I obviously couldn't say anything about the level design. I get what you were saying.

I can definitely see you've put a lot on effort on making the thumbnails look great, along with a music that is a near-perfect rendition of the Kapp'n Song from Animal Crossing: New Leaf. Both of them managed to co-exist in harmony, especially in the main area. I can safely say that the fans of Animal Crossing won't be disappointed at all.
 
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I'm surprised that this level hasn't been beaten yet and is considered as a Super-Expert level, presumably because of the possibly obscure tricks that the vast majority of players and one particular section. Perhaps that the most difficult section is the second one, with a Red Bill Blaster shooting out a Buzzy Shell. That threw off a good amount of players, probably because there's no clue on where exactly the player is expected to stand, as opposed to the first section, with a Bowser's Pole telling exactly where to stand to spit the triple bones. I had to crouch like 3-4 squares away from the blaster to be able guarantee on wearing the shell and grab a another. That's what I figured to clear this section. Otherwise, the level shouldn't be too difficult if you know those tidbits.



Since this is a music level, which is usually an automatic level in first place, so I obviously couldn't say anything about the level design. I get what you were saying.

I can definitely see you've put a lot on effort on making the thumbnails look great, along with a music that is a near-perfect rendition of the Kapp'n Song from Animal Crossing: New Leaf. Both of them managed to co-exist in harmony, especially in the main area. I can safely say that the fans of Animal Crossing won't be disappointed at all.

Well, what I intended was to have people stand under that little space with a block popping out, that way when the shell came out you'd just jump, land, and ride it over the nippers. Getting the shell works too, but I was planning on fixing that later, heh.

But yeah, the level itself wasn't so supposed to be challenging, with the main challenge stemming from whether you knew those tidbits or not, like the Yoshi not crouching to eat thing.
 
Since this is a music level, which is usually an automatic level in first place, so I obviously couldn't say anything about the level design. I get what you were saying.

I can definitely see you've put a lot on effort on making the thumbnails look great, along with a music that is a near-perfect rendition of the Kapp'n Song from Animal Crossing: New Leaf. Both of them managed to co-exist in harmony, especially in the main area. I can safely say that the fans of Animal Crossing won't be disappointed at all.

Thanks! I like the review after all! :) Thank you for playing!
 
MY FIRST COURSE

My first attempt at a course lol. Using only the first set since that's what I had. Just wanted to get feedback thanks!

I played the stage and here's what I have to say about your first foray:
The level have a few glaring issues, but its overall length does alleviate a lot of frustrations from such problematic sections.

The first section has you jump from pipe to pipe. It seemed you wanted to replicate that Mario is flying high in the air with its costume, but that portion of the stage is placed too high. Mario would have to jump offscreen to leap from pipe to pipe, forcing the players to memorize what position he is and where he should land.

The second section always force Damage Boosting no matter which path the player takes. If someone took a hit as Costume Mario before that particular area, they will most likely have to start over as a result of the level design decision. So, you're basically forcing every player to use a powerup. That's not exactly a fair level design, especially if someone tries to speedrun the level as small Mario. Yes, there is an alternate path that the player could use it to skip a huge portion of the stage, just by running and then jumping at the very end of the last ground block and land on a mass of course blocks. However, it still requires Damage Boosting to do so.

From what I've seen on the level, it does really feel like it's your first foray at level editing. I hope you continue exploring on what these tools can do and how to use them efficiently. The more knowledge you have on the course elements, the better you'll know how to design a level that's enjoyable to not only you, but everyone who would end up playing your levels. After all, it's only the beginning.
 
I got to play some more levels tonight made from some TBT fellows there and here's my thoughts on them:

@lars708:
The first level (at least, the early version) does seem to be, well, pretty standard overall. At least you didn't threw too many ideas on one stage and the difficulty is just right. Also, I thought I managed to get stuck between the Bumpers from the bonus room, but I eventually got shot out soon enough. Aside of that, nothing much to say here.

The second level is a bit more interesting to discuss about it, but that's mostly about on how the stage reveals the problems with the Bumpers. There's some blind jump involved in some of the Bumper sections, as they fall on rails off-screen and have to rely on memorization regarding where the Bumpers might be.
The camera doesn't follow quite well the player after jumping off from a Bumper until they land on another one, which could possibly lead to unwanted collisions from potentially off-screen obstacles. It's tolerable if the stage couldn't scroll vertically, but it does, so...
The final section has us relying on either holding the jump button or not, to dodge obstacles accordingly. It's tricky, since not holding it would make Mario jump rather low and not have much room to move between the Bumpers, while jumping higher would propel him much faster than bouncing high from a trampoline. The fact that hitbox of a Bumper is actually a circle, rather than a square? That also makes it harder to anticipate how to control Mario's aerial movement. Maybe if the Bumpers are bunched up closer to each other in a similar fashion to what I did with the blocks on my level called Sweeping Snake Block Fortress, it would make balancing Mario more controllable? It's even easier to do that by using the doors to "synchronize" the Bumpers on rail and make sure they're lined up the way you want without having to rely on vertical track.


@TykiButterfree:
I have nothing to say about the music level, since I'm no expert on that matter. I've got to say a few things about the another iteration of "Have some death!".

I appreciate on how you picked the right theme for what the level is. It feels like the Ghost House theme is more fitting than the Castle theme of the previous version. All of the set pieces you've used feel right at home with that theme.

The section where you have to tread between the carefully placed masses of Boo Circles is probably one of the best aspects of this level. The difficulty is just right and it's fun having to adjust my character's position without too much hassle.

My only problem with the stage is that it's possible to instantly die right at the beginning of the stage. Thankfully, it's not immediately right next to Mario, but still.


@Matt0106:
I did enjoy the level. The puzzles were pretty light, as it mostly involves hitting the P-Switch and hurrying up to open passages. It did made for a relatively seamless Zelda experience on a Mario platformer. The level is just short and easy enough that not including a checkpoint is pretty much a moot point, at least for a seasoned Mario player. I did get the feeling that you actually went up to polish the level before uploading it, save for one instance.

At the very beginning of the level, I can access the top of the dungeon by running & jumping off from a note block and landing on trees. Then I did the same from a higher tree to reach the top of the building. And it leads to nothing but an area that anyone could get permanently stuck until they fall in a hole. Since a fair amount of effort went for some outside of the box tricks, it would make sense to reward the player with something and a way to get back to the main path. A small shortcut, coins and/or whatnot are a good reward for that.

Overall, the level is solid!



I'll be writing my opinions about the levels requested by Jetix and Yoshisaur within 2 days or less. I was writing this entire post at night and don't want to be too late at work. I do have a lot to say about the former's latest effort, but I can definitely tell he has improved since I last played his levels. And the latter's level design for that stage is reminiscent of Kaizo Mario where repeated plays is the name of the game.

Sorry I only saw this now but thank you! I really appreciate your feedback, and I'm glad you enjoyed the level! Thank you!
 
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My levels

Koopa's Revenge:
Code: A5AF-0000-0165-2039
Description: Took me 2 hours to make and 3 hours to beat, my hardest level ever made.

Run For It!:
Code: E661-0000-0165-2108
Description: The title is quite literal
 
I got to play some more levels tonight made from some TBT fellows there and here's my thoughts on them:

@lars708:
The first level (at least, the early version) does seem to be, well, pretty standard overall. At least you didn't threw too many ideas on one stage and the difficulty is just right. Also, I thought I managed to get stuck between the Bumpers from the bonus room, but I eventually got shot out soon enough. Aside of that, nothing much to say here.

The second level is a bit more interesting to discuss about it, but that's mostly about on how the stage reveals the problems with the Bumpers. There's some blind jump involved in some of the Bumper sections, as they fall on rails off-screen and have to rely on memorization regarding where the Bumpers might be.
The camera doesn't follow quite well the player after jumping off from a Bumper until they land on another one, which could possibly lead to unwanted collisions from potentially off-screen obstacles. It's tolerable if the stage couldn't scroll vertically, but it does, so...
The final section has us relying on either holding the jump button or not, to dodge obstacles accordingly. It's tricky, since not holding it would make Mario jump rather low and not have much room to move between the Bumpers, while jumping higher would propel him much faster than bouncing high from a trampoline. The fact that hitbox of a Bumper is actually a circle, rather than a square? That also makes it harder to anticipate how to control Mario's aerial movement. Maybe if the Bumpers are bunched up closer to each other in a similar fashion to what I did with the blocks on my level called Sweeping Snake Block Fortress, it would make balancing Mario more controllable? It's even easier to do that by using the doors to "synchronize" the Bumpers on rail and make sure they're lined up the way you want without having to rely on vertical track.


@TykiButterfree:
I have nothing to say about the music level, since I'm no expert on that matter. I've got to say a few things about the another iteration of "Have some death!".

I appreciate on how you picked the right theme for what the level is. It feels like the Ghost House theme is more fitting than the Castle theme of the previous version. All of the set pieces you've used feel right at home with that theme.

The section where you have to tread between the carefully placed masses of Boo Circles is probably one of the best aspects of this level. The difficulty is just right and it's fun having to adjust my character's position without too much hassle.

My only problem with the stage is that it's possible to instantly die right at the beginning of the stage. Thankfully, it's not immediately right next to Mario, but still.


@Matt0106:
I did enjoy the level. The puzzles were pretty light, as it mostly involves hitting the P-Switch and hurrying up to open passages. It did made for a relatively seamless Zelda experience on a Mario platformer. The level is just short and easy enough that not including a checkpoint is pretty much a moot point, at least for a seasoned Mario player. I did get the feeling that you actually went up to polish the level before uploading it, save for one instance.

At the very beginning of the level, I can access the top of the dungeon by running & jumping off from a note block and landing on trees. Then I did the same from a higher tree to reach the top of the building. And it leads to nothing but an area that anyone could get permanently stuck until they fall in a hole. Since a fair amount of effort went for some outside of the box tricks, it would make sense to reward the player with something and a way to get back to the main path. A small shortcut, coins and/or whatnot are a good reward for that.

Overall, the level is solid!



I'll be writing my opinions about the levels requested by Jetix and Yoshisaur within 2 days or less. I was writing this entire post at night and don't want to be too late at work. I do have a lot to say about the former's latest effort, but I can definitely tell he has improved since I last played his levels. And the latter's level design for that stage is reminiscent of Kaizo Mario where repeated plays is the name of the game.

Also, I think I came up with a small yet pleasant reward for the player that will be a nice little touch.
 
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My levels

Koopa's Revenge:
Code: A5AF-0000-0165-2039
Description: Took me 2 hours to make and 3 hours to beat, my hardest level ever made.

Run For It!:
Code: E661-0000-0165-2108
Description: The title is quite literal

I got to play these levels and cleared them without much trouble. Here's what I got to say about them:

On the first level, there's quite a lot to say about it, but given that it could have been your first foray on level designing, I'll just cut down to the most noticeable issues I've encountered.

First off, the first Grinder section had these things set up in such manner that it forces the player to get hit no matter how hard they'd try. I'm not sure if it's even possible to get past this section as small Mario, but I can definitely consistently cheese it as Super Mario by Damage Boosting through it and abusing his brief invincibility frames in a hurry.

The next problematic section is the room full of pipes where luck dictates the player's survival. One of them leads straight to insta-death, and is frowned upon. That's not really challenging; that's a cheap shot. Luckily, I took the third pipe at the bottom and managed to find the correct path on my first try. Avoid guess-which-path-doesn't-lead-to-death at all cost.

After getting past of the Bill Blaster and Rocky Wrench section, which was probably the most difficult segment in the level, the level suddenly thankfully becomes much easier than you probably thought because the rest of the stage gives you plenty of opportunities to cheese through. One section would normally require that I perform a tricky shell-jump or a triple jump to reach the otherwise unreachable ledge. Then, I found out that I could just use the Bullet Bill coming out of a blaster from the previous section and jump off from it to get over there.
Next up, we were told that the spring could mean something useful if I carry it with me, but it turns out it isn't even necessary at all. I can easily get past of the Boo Buddies by bopping on the cannonballs and skip it, and it's generally a better idea to either rush below the Thwomps or lure one of them to fall and spin jump off from a wall to the fallen Thwomp and have the second one drop down. Then, I reach the segment where Magikoopa spawns from, with a trail of coins telling me where to go. I can decide to ignore the coins, as I could jump high enough to reach those impassable ledges and reach the room with a POW Block.
And finally, the boss section is laughably easy in comparison to the rest of the stage. You don't really need to actually fight with the boss, as all I needed is the large Bowser to spit multiple large fireballs at once and destroy the course blocks that you thought they were for decoration. Then, I enter the door, quickly wall jump from the left wall to skip the enemy spam and immediately hit the axe.

All of these aforementioned cheesing portions made me even more surprised that the clear rate is extremely low at the moment. Part of that could be explained by the level design itself frequently requiring precision movements. The total absence of checkpoint made the stage more tedious than it should've been, considering how long the stage is. You could've shaken the arrow sign and transform it into one, and then place it like after the half portion of the stage is completed. Sure, it'll take you a longer while to beat the level for uploading, but it'll offer a much better experience for others who would stumble on long levels.

Also, there's too many different types of course elements in one stage. Some of them only ever appear in one section and then never reappear in a meaningful way. As result, it's very lacking in its identity and its cohesiveness, so it won't be memorable for me. Consider limiting the amount of course elements per stage and you'll be amazed on how much you can with just a few of those.

Overall, I didn't enjoyed that stage. The challenge mostly consisted of random mishmash of challenges that ask precision movements, a tiny bit of guessing which way is right, and relies on players who don't abuse outside-of-the-box tactics. Not exactly what I'd call a fair, fun and difficult level.
If you'd like a few examples of mine on how to make it enjoyable and challenging, why not trying Coconut Airship (clear rate: 25%+), Hardship on Airship (clear rate: 20%+) and Twisted Plants EVERYWHERE! v1.1 (clear rate: 15%+). All of these stages assume that you're familiar with the basic Mario's moves (including running, performing a running jump and precision movements), so you shouldn't struggle as much as you did with your early uploads.
Coconut Airship has you land with precision on Bullet Bills and hop off from them to gain extra height, which help you reach to the otherwise inaccessible ledges. There's also Rocky Wrenches and their ridiculously small wrenches to watch out for.
Hardship on Airship is a slow autoscroll stage that has move to dodge against a variety of obstacles, mainly cannons, Rocky Wrenches and Bob-Ombs. There are alternate paths you can take, but some of them are harder and more rewarding than others. Keep in mind it lacks checkpoint, but the latter half of the stage does certainly get easier to compensate.
And last but not least, Twisted Plants EVERYWHERE! v1.1 is a stage centered on spin jumping on Jumping Piranha Plants. You'll briefly learn on how to spin jump on these guys like a pro and control your landing before throwing some trickier challenges along the way, at least after the first checkpoint. And if you're crafty enough, you could end up finding a hidden area and a few shortcuts, but those are optional.


Speaking of your other level, I found this one to be much more enjoyable despite still suffering the "first-timer syndrome". The short and sweet stage doesn't take too long to finish it even after losing a life a few times, and is practically all about running and jumping. The stage didn't need any having both of the autoscroll the low timer at once. Either that autoscroll or low timer would suffice, although I would prefer you'd leave the autoscroll on and set the timer much higher. It can get annoying to hear the "hurry up" sound effect every time I start the stage.
I gave this one a star, as I enjoyed it.
 
Two New levels I made. Thought you should see them.

Castle Blitz… OF DOOM!
A level I made BEFORE reading your review of my first course. Actually quite sucky... Might take down and fix.
https://supermariomakerbookmark.nintendo.net/courses/6506-0000-0192-1D71

Airship Fortress - Mario Kart DS
Made after reading review. A level where you run three laps of the Mario Kart course. I like it :)
https://supermariomakerbookmark.nintendo.net/courses/CF42-0000-019C-DAFA

Two levels my SISTER (who is not on bell tree!) Made. (Optional review)

Springs
Take a guess
https://supermariomakerbookmark.nintendo.net/courses/7BBB-0000-018F-701F


What the world needs
Just... Look at it.
https://supermariomakerbookmark.nintendo.net/courses/AA19-0000-018D-C129
 
Two New levels I made. Thought you should see them.

Castle Blitz… OF DOOM!
A level I made BEFORE reading your review of my first course. Actually quite sucky... Might take down and fix.
https://supermariomakerbookmark.nintendo.net/courses/6506-0000-0192-1D71

For a moment, the way you placed coins and Question Blocks at the very beginning of the level looked, well, very odd. It was apparently supposed to be an arrow, but they were drawn in a way that reminds me of something else entirely. Perhaps I just happen to have such a naughty mind.

Anyway, the level seems to have little bit more effort put in it than the previous one I played, but it certainly has a few glaring issues. There's so much stuff going on at once (there's a too great deal of variety in the obstacles) and requires so much focus that rushing through the level is the best way to play it, which of course is the purpose. If I didn't took the star from the beginning, I would end up damage boosting through the Thwomps and Firebars section, along with the boss "fight" one.

For an expert level (it had a clear rate of around 7%), this is so easy I managed to beat it in one try, even if the supposed shortcut turns out to be a trick that thankfully doesn't outright kill Mario. The level is also fairly generous with its powerups shot by some of the cannons, which opens up for more damage boosting opportunities the stage seems to encourage.


Rather than fixing/remaking the level, I'd suggest you create a new level that incorporates one or two of the concepts that worked best and put enough emphasize on it/them. The course would be likely more enjoyable since you began acknowledging what works and what don't.

Airship Fortress - Mario Kart DS
Made after reading review. A level where you run three laps of the Mario Kart course. I like it :)
https://supermariomakerbookmark.nintendo.net/courses/CF42-0000-019C-DAFA

The level design is quite certainly a noticeable step-up from your previous efforts. The course elements are finally more reasonably thought out. There's no enemy spam, the coins are actually guiding where I need to fly and the enemy placement is reasonable to say at least. It seems that you began to learn on how to properly decorate the stage with semi-solid platforms.

My biggest issue with the level isn't about the actual level design, but it's more about the idea of repeating the exact same layout from the first lap a couple times. There could be at least adding more differences to the duplicate sections, spicing things up a bit. It could be different course element placements, it could be remixing the first lap.

Two levels my SISTER (who is not on bell tree!) Made. (Optional review)

Springs
Take a guess
https://supermariomakerbookmark.nintendo.net/courses/7BBB-0000-018F-701F

This level just seems to be pretty lazily made in my eyes, for a couple of reasons. It's obvious that the creator started with the cave theme level template and switched to the ground theme, as I recognized that layout despite some few minor differences here and there. Afterwards, they placed trampoline in a rather random fashion, along with a few Piranha Plants bouncing off from trampolines.

Also, the Lakitu Cloud is so easily accessible that I could thrash the rest of the level design to the oblivion, which was the only section that actually has springs, therefore missing the whole point of the stage.

Sorry if I sounded harsh here, but the level clearly lacked any real effort to make it worth uploading. I do understand that she was getting into level design for the first time in her life. One thing she should know, is that the level is expected to entertain the players who come across it. The manual does have some great tips on how to make enjoyable levels, which is really worth reading.


At the beginning of the stage, there's some semblance of level design, or so I thought. Hitting the ? Block actually made force to hit underneath the brick blocks to topple the Koopas and kick on it to reveal a Propeller Mushroom. With it, I'm not only assured that I could get a few extra hit points, but I can also bypass the stage just by propelling Mario a few times and skip many obstacles.

The ground looked like someone draw a few lines on and don't feel organic. Also, cutoff pipes. Yeah, there was nothing that supports the bottom part of the pipe.

I would say the same verdict as I did with the previous level of her, though I do have to commend her this time around for not blatantly leaving any of the default level template obviously untouched.



I guess I'll need a reddit account and frequent the Mario Maker subreddit to get my levels played. It's been more than a month and half that I last uploaded a level. And I've got an interesting idea on what my next stage will be, but I'm working to get it released before I go on vacation near the end of the next week.
 
Hey! I'm back with another level: A ZELDA LEVEL... AGAIN! But this time, things are different. Hyrule Castle is taken over by Ganon, but it won't be Link who will be saving it.

Personally, I'm not sure if this level is as good as the other one I did, but I tried my best to make it seem as though the castle is ruined and at the brink of falling. Some parts might be a little bit more challenging than "My Zelda Dungeon", but it might not be as long, I can't really tell. But I hope you enjoy! Once again, this is especially for Zelda fans who want a twist on their adventure. Warning! No checkpoints once again!

Course: Taking back Hyrule Castle
Course ID: 758F-0000-01A1-5AE1


Let me know what you think! And don't be afraid to tell me any flaws it may have!
 
Hey! I'm back with another level: A ZELDA LEVEL... AGAIN! But this time, things are different. Hyrule Castle is taken over by Ganon, but it won't be Link who will be saving it.

Personally, I'm not sure if this level is as good as the other one I did, but I tried my best to make it seem as though the castle is ruined and at the brink of falling. Some parts might be a little bit more challenging than "My Zelda Dungeon", but it might not be as long, I can't really tell. But I hope you enjoy! Once again, this is especially for Zelda fans who want a twist on their adventure. Warning! No checkpoints once again!

Course: Taking back Hyrule Castle
Course ID: 758F-0000-01A1-5AE1


Let me know what you think! And don't be afraid to tell me any flaws it may have!

That level is actually pretty good. It's well-decorated for a dreary-looking castle that would appropriately fit in Zelda franchise, and the enemies aren't out of the place.

The challenge here is so reasonable that the lack of checkpoint is entirely a moot point and the stage progresses smoothly for any seasoned Mario player. Tricky jumps may be what trip the newcomers, but the more experienced players can through these just fine. I liked on how I can get through the small hole as Fire Mario and still be able to progress, despite ruining the Zelda thematics, and that any other form of Mario isn't entirely screwed as well.

Though, climbing the vine with SMB1 style is a bit trickier than I initially thought, due of Mario having to hang either at the left or right side of the vine, unlike the rest of the game styles. It might be wise to have at least one open space at each side to solve this minor issue.

This level could've benefited from having a secret bonus or two, excluding the item room right below the boss room. Sure, they aren't as useful as they actually are in the previous Super Mario Bros. games, but there's still the sense of satisfaction when collecting things that adds up to the experience.


So, I finally uploaded a level today, to prove that I'm still alive and well. "Mounted Monty Mole Puzzle" isn't a traditional stage that I often tend to create, as the name suggests. I came up with a simplistic one-screen puzzle that can be solved very quickly if you're a Mario veteran and provide some tidbits about how the Monty Mole and stack mechanics work for anyone. It involves having a mounted Monty Mole following you, while avoiding it being de-stacked from solid obstacles.

WVW69i0S1IsHoJerYv


The Course ID for this one is: 767A-0000-01A4-9444
 
That level is actually pretty good. It's well-decorated for a dreary-looking castle that would appropriately fit in Zelda franchise, and the enemies aren't out of the place.

The challenge here is so reasonable that the lack of checkpoint is entirely a moot point and the stage progresses smoothly for any seasoned Mario player. Tricky jumps may be what trip the newcomers, but the more experienced players can through these just fine. I liked on how I can get through the small hole as Fire Mario and still be able to progress, despite ruining the Zelda thematics, and that any other form of Mario isn't entirely screwed as well.

Though, climbing the vine with SMB1 style is a bit trickier than I initially thought, due of Mario having to hang either at the left or right side of the vine, unlike the rest of the game styles. It might be wise to have at least one open space at each side to solve this minor issue.

This level could've benefited from having a secret bonus or two, excluding the item room right below the boss room. Sure, they aren't as useful as they actually are in the previous Super Mario Bros. games, but there's still the sense of satisfaction when collecting things that adds up to the experience.


So, I finally uploaded a level today, to prove that I'm still alive and well. "Mounted Monty Mole Puzzle" isn't a traditional stage that I often tend to create, as the name suggests. I came up with a simplistic one-screen puzzle that can be solved very quickly if you're a Mario veteran and provide some tidbits about how the Monty Mole and stack mechanics work for anyone. It involves having a mounted Monty Mole following you, while avoiding it being de-stacked from solid obstacles.

WVW69i0S1IsHoJerYv


The Course ID for this one is: 767A-0000-01A4-9444

Thank you so much! I'll be sure to take note for the Zelda level I make if I do make one again.
 
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