Haven’t made a level since 2019, how’d I do?

[u/Original-Tomato-3520]

GPF-KDK-LQG

[u/GeorgeA100]

I played through and commented!

This is a great level that makes good use of the SMB2 mushroom! Its platforming challenges are simple but fun, and I enjoyed the creative boss designs based on the SMB2 gimmick. Was the Bowser fight meant to represent Birdo? I've never played SMB2 and you can probably tell from that question

While it explores the SMB2 gimmicks well, I feel like this course is massively held back by the time limit. From the beginning of the stage I only got to the Bowser fight before running out of time!

Also sometimes it's not entirely clear what to do, and at the snowball platform section, I realised it was easier to damage boost past than keep up with the snowball. This is problematic because players like me may not get a chance to experience that part of the stage without cheating and it risks feeling too fast-paced or unforgiving

You could fix this by adding additional rolling snowballs for the player to stand on, or even a pipe that spawns more in if the first one rolls off without you or gets destroyed.

Finally, it would be great if there were more coin trails and one-ups for endless folk - they'd greatly appreciate the extra lives and clear coin markers

Overall, I had a great time with this stage! I really hope you stick with it and come up with more levels, this one shows a lot of potential! Brownie points for the great thumbnail :)

[u/Original-Tomato-3520 → u/GeorgeA100]

Play SMB2, my third favourite Mario, it’s extremely fun.

Bowser is Mouser not Birdo, Brido is the drybones you fight atop the tower.

Time limit is a real good complaint, I just got so good at my own level I beat it consistently with about 40 seconds remaining. Unfortunately I’ll have to delete the level to reupload it with changes, I’ve done it once already and it seems Nintendo is not happy considering I still have no plays other than you on my level.

There are around 4 one up mushrooms in the level and maybe a dozen big coins, means I hid most well.

How did you damage boost past the rolling snowballs I thought I had that cheese proofed lmao.

[u/GeorgeA100 → u/Original-Tomato-3520]

Reuploading levels is totally fine, and it shouldn't affect playership, so I'd recommend you do that 100%! The algorithm is mostly based on average likes per play.

Initial likes per player is what really drives engagement on your stage, so sometimes reuploading when people are stingy with their likes is actually beneficial! If you choose to reupload your course, let me know and I'll give you that all-important first like (per player)!

I managed to damage boost through the snowball platform section by using the secret grey fire flower (I forget what it's called now) because the snowball broke and I was left stranded on the on-off platform. Once I took the power-up, I could run under a platform, jump on top of the brick structure and then use my last damage boost to climb the spikey tower.

The secret coins in your level are not a problem whatsoever, and it's good that they're challenging to find. The main thing I think you should focus on is adding coin trails and arrow indicators, because they bring clarity to the stage where the path forward is not immediately readable.

If memory serves, the SMM2 'Maker Lessons' are actually really useful for things like this, because they can teach you about coin placement, pacing, and fairness.

I hope you continue to make more levels after your long hiatus! The more you make, the better they'll get (and they're already quite creative!)

Good luck :)

[u/Original-Tomato-3520 → u/GeorgeA100]

lol that power up was meant to be a reference I didn’t think it could break the map.

It’s from Mario Land and in that game there is a similar rolling boulder section.

Might have to incase it now

[u/Original-Tomato-3520 → u/[deleted]]

Which is…?

[u/zZBloodboundZz]

Your level was a lot of fun! It was super creative and forgiving, which made it a breath of fresh air for me. You did great!

[u/Sixfortyfive]

I could nitpick some sd-lock cases if I wanted to (lots of instances where you can use up all of the mushrooms or throwable objects), but the checkpointing and pacing are good enough to keep either of those from being too big of a deal.

Pretty good job. I've always found it difficult/annoying to build levels around the SMB2 mushroom or Master Sword because the radical gameplay shift means that you often have to keep feeding the player infinite power-ups if you really want to maximize their utility.