Super Mario Maker

Ghost riding is better.

I've been experimenting with this a bunch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSqAtxQsFQ0

It works as a invisible block with the cloud platforms as well as the ice platforms. Acts a bit weirdly with other stuff.

With coins, it becomes a coin you can't collect, although the order appears to matter, or else it becomes an ordinary hidden block. (Edit: Donut blocks also become visible, but ineffective.)

Some things can allow it to act simultaneously as a hidden block and what it normally is. For most things, this allows you to hide a block where you normally can't, like in a burner or a fire bar.

edited 6th Oct '15 5:52:10 PM by Meophist

That's gonna get patched out.

So, it has been a while since I made a new stage. So I slapped together an idea I've had for a while.

Kick The Galoomba - ID: 8C6D-0000-0095-0468

What do you consider to be a good star ratio?

I used to have an average 20%-25% star ratio, but they're dropping as more people play my levels without starring them.

I've also redone some of my levels a little bit to make them more fair and easier. I hope it works. I was annoyed at the low completion ratios.

I played through it. Fun concept. I might experiment with the idea of a Galoomba based level.

I don't know a good star ratio, but from what I have noticed, it seems most people that play my level got mine from the 100 Mario Challenge and are probably just plowing through everyone's levels mindlessly just to get more Mystery Suits.

Hey, when I play through 100 Marios I do give stars to courses I either enjoyed or found creative/entertaining.

Speaking of which, I tend to frequently see Auto Mario levels in 100 Marios.

I know they take a lot of trial and error and time to make, but they've become dull for me if the only gimmick is that it's automated.

Musical Auto Mario is still good though. Those at least have more entertainment value to them than just watching a level play itself.

Something to keep in mind for when I try to make an Auto Mario: include some other gimmick than just being automated.

There's an extremely popular musical level based on Gerudo Valley from Ocarina of Time, but it's not automated and I died so many times on the same jump over and over that I just gave up in frustration.

As for giving stars to others during the 100 Mario Challenge, I rarely even give them out anymore since people either make their levels too easy, can't design for shit, or make levels hard for the lulz.

There was one level I really liked and I gave it a star and a comment. The author was happy that I liked his level and left a thank you in return.

Well, for levels designed like shit, boringly easy ones without anything to make them stand out or ridiculously difficult ones that probably have a hidden block in a spot nobody would look for it that lets the creator insta-win^note Game Grumps has taught me this is how "Rubber Ross" most likely uploads his brutal levels, those don't need stars.

And I played the Gerudo Valley one. How exactly is it hard? You just run full speed and jump. And keep holding the jump button to gain maximum bounce from enemies.

I don't know how I always screwed it up. I always run full speed and jump right before the edge of each platform, yet I somehow fall short somewhere. I'm not the only one either based on the comments.

Making a good level is very hard. It has to be designed to accommodate various different playstyles, since you have no idea how each person plays. It should look visually nice (a big problem I see with many levels). It shouldn't be too easy or too hard.

It is so damn hard to come up with good ideas. My real goal is to make Nintendo-style levels, even if I can't quite reach Nintendo quality.

I try to focus primarily on making it fun, mainly because my sense of aesthetics is weird anyway.

Fun is a given. But each person's idea of fun is different. A level could be too hard to be fun, too easy to be fun, or you assume the player will act one way, when they actually act a different way.

Some people want to rush through a level, others are okay with levels that are slower paced and require you to look before you leap, they all want different things.

Well, that's the whole problem, really. There's no way to create a single level that everyone will like, so your best bet is to just experiment and come up with something that works for you.

Trying to make a course for everyone is something Nintendo does. That's because they only make a single 2D Mario game per platform. On the other hand, one of Super Mario Maker's strengths is the sheer number of playable courses, so you can make a course that appeals to a small niche and it could still be a good course.

Trying to make Nintendo-like courses is fine, but there's more to good Mario courses than stuff that is typically Nintendo-like.

That's what I think, anyways.

Perhaps. I'd rather get more stars than less. I'm not creating these levels solely for myself.

I'm actually drawing ideas for a level on a sticky note here at work, and I plan to take the sticky note home. Maybe I'll just do a little at a time, aiming to make it as good as I can get.

I really want to make them more professional. One person I follow on You Tube made early levels that felt much more Nintendo-esque, only to later create levels that felt more like the sort of silly randomness that many people make, and eventually made superhard ones. I so much prefer the Nintendo-esque levels.

One thing I've noticed is that levels I like that got a high star ratio are seeing their star ratio drop as well, so it's not just me. I wonder if fewer people in general are starring levels?

Yeah, in that case it's balanced by the number of available levels. It's a bit rougher when you only have ten to work with. When I upload my door level I'll have to decide which current level to remove.

Frustrating as it may be, I think having a level limit per creator is a good thing. It basically says "Make better levels!" I'm all for that. And I also like that stars raise that limit. It's a reward for, well, making better levels.

I played your Galoomba course, Orion, as you happened to upload it shortly before I did my nightly trawl of levels (which I've mostly been doing to get inspiration for my mirror-layout level). Well done; I had been trying to figure out a good Galoomba level myself, and I had been hitting blanks. Don't like the Door to Before in there, but it's not a deal-breaker.

As a side note, I think I finally have a set piece that will bring the mirror-layout level together. I ironically found it as a "you eventually lose via timeout" trap in a level while playing the expert 100-Mario Challenge. I lamented that there should have been a door out of there... then realized that said trap setup could be turned into a puzzle with sufficient inclusion of doors.

Oh, one other thing - I've been playing around with making a more combat-oriented take on the treasure ship levels from SMB3. Beyond lots of coins, autoscroll, and a fight against Hammer Brothers, what do folks think should go into such a level? I'm also thinking of doing it in SMW style despite the inspiration; I really love the way this game renders airships in that style.

If I weren't so busy, I'd play the other tropers' levels more. I'm sorry; I haven't even had time to work on my own, or play the game itself that much. Babysitting on the weekend, watching movies in the Cytube Troper Coven (see my sig for the link), conversing with my friend on Skype - all these things are leaving little time for Super Mario Making for me. Or even Splatoon.

For the airship, pipes that shoot coins? I'd rather see the coins come from pipes and cannons and such rather than just all being in the air. I think it would be cool if all the coins came from things that shot them.

edited 8th Oct '15 10:47:11 AM by BonsaiForest

I always liked those coin ships, but I had a bad tendency to die in the final room XD

@1422 I think everyone loved those; that's why I want to bring them back. But a bit more action-y; I think I'm going to call it "Assault on Bowser's Treasury," and have Mario have to fight past guards and weapon placements to get away with his loot. I'm thinking of ending with a Bowser Jr. in the clown car as the boss fight; should be more fun than trying to get a hit on a Hammer Brother (though I think some clever placement of those in the level itself is a must).

@1423: Have you played the level "Bowser Jr.'s Stolen Cargo Train"? It has a few ideas similar to the ones you described. Maybe you could play it for inspiration, and to avoid mimicking some of its ideas too closely.

I'm not familiar with that one; it's not one on the spreadsheet. I'll admit, I haven't played many levels outside of what we've made and what I've been given via the 100-Mario Challenge.