24.00/100.00 points
Scores:
FPzero:
Ryaa:
FrozenQuills:
morsel:
Design: 11/60
Creativity: 8/30
Aesthetics: 4/10
Total: 23/100
Comments:
There isn't much to this level aside from the black and white aesthetic gimmick. Even then, you still missed a few colors like the browns in the bushes and the status bar. The level is extremely short, with barely any ideas explored before it ends. The midpoint is only 4 screens away from the goal! There's honestly very little to talk about here because the level is so short and basic. Make the level a bit longer, figure out some kind of neat idea you want to base your level around that isn't just an aesthetic idea, and then see what you can make with that idea. If this is your first level ever, don't get discouraged. Keep it up, keep trying, and work to make something great.
Creativity: 8/30
Aesthetics: 4/10
Total: 23/100
Comments:
There isn't much to this level aside from the black and white aesthetic gimmick. Even then, you still missed a few colors like the browns in the bushes and the status bar. The level is extremely short, with barely any ideas explored before it ends. The midpoint is only 4 screens away from the goal! There's honestly very little to talk about here because the level is so short and basic. Make the level a bit longer, figure out some kind of neat idea you want to base your level around that isn't just an aesthetic idea, and then see what you can make with that idea. If this is your first level ever, don't get discouraged. Keep it up, keep trying, and work to make something great.
Design: 11/60
Creativity: 3/30
Aesthetics: 3/10
Total: 17/100
Review: Seeing that this level is Super Mario Land inspired, I thought it was a neat goal to work towards. However, I don't think this level was executed well at all. The palette has a bunch of random dark and bright shades of grey that make Mario look completely different and messy. I was noticing that some bush tiles had actual color in them which made no sense. It would have been more efficient to just lower the saturation of every used color to 0 in the Lunar Magic palette editor to avoid these midhaps.
What I don't like design-wise is that the level itself is very jumbled and doesn't give a clear idea with what it wants you to do at points. To give some examples, the very start of the level launches you directly into a jumping Piranha Plant and it's weird trying to dodge it when the level had barely started. The fact that this is placed over a pit of munchers over a thin pipe is what's even more confused and you don't see either of these things at all later in the level.
As I continued, I saw that there were a bunch of weird jumps and sprite placements that served no functional purpose to the overall movement of the level. The midpoint being so close to the goal point is what's even more confusing to me.
This level would need a lot of work in order to actually feel nostalgic yet new at the same time. Right now it just doesn't do any of that.
Creativity: 3/30
Aesthetics: 3/10
Total: 17/100
Review: Seeing that this level is Super Mario Land inspired, I thought it was a neat goal to work towards. However, I don't think this level was executed well at all. The palette has a bunch of random dark and bright shades of grey that make Mario look completely different and messy. I was noticing that some bush tiles had actual color in them which made no sense. It would have been more efficient to just lower the saturation of every used color to 0 in the Lunar Magic palette editor to avoid these midhaps.
What I don't like design-wise is that the level itself is very jumbled and doesn't give a clear idea with what it wants you to do at points. To give some examples, the very start of the level launches you directly into a jumping Piranha Plant and it's weird trying to dodge it when the level had barely started. The fact that this is placed over a pit of munchers over a thin pipe is what's even more confused and you don't see either of these things at all later in the level.
As I continued, I saw that there were a bunch of weird jumps and sprite placements that served no functional purpose to the overall movement of the level. The midpoint being so close to the goal point is what's even more confusing to me.
This level would need a lot of work in order to actually feel nostalgic yet new at the same time. Right now it just doesn't do any of that.
-------------------
DESIGN | 15/60
CREATIVITY| 7/30
AESTHETICS| 8/10
TOTAL | 30/100
-------------------
COMMENTS:
yay super mario land- oh it's over
This level is too short, and not much happens. Nearly all the enemy placements were
nothing new. I almost got unfairly ambushed by some parakoopas near the beginning.
The 2 kicker koopas in the first half were the most interesting thing here but they
just knocked the shells into each other.
Simply put, this level has aesthetic as the focus, which won't fare well in a
design contest.
DESIGN | 15/60
CREATIVITY| 7/30
AESTHETICS| 8/10
TOTAL | 30/100
-------------------
COMMENTS:
yay super mario land- oh it's over
This level is too short, and not much happens. Nearly all the enemy placements were
nothing new. I almost got unfairly ambushed by some parakoopas near the beginning.
The 2 kicker koopas in the first half were the most interesting thing here but they
just knocked the shells into each other.
Simply put, this level has aesthetic as the focus, which won't fare well in a
design contest.
18
5
3
26/100
And also some yellow in the bushes. This level does not quite come up to the vanilla SMW standard. The first half was not too bad, but the second half is short and feels unfinished. Buoyancy was not enabled so the fish are not able to swim. A curious thing: Just after the midpoint a koopa got stuck to a wall.
5
3
26/100
And also some yellow in the bushes. This level does not quite come up to the vanilla SMW standard. The first half was not too bad, but the second half is short and feels unfinished. Buoyancy was not enabled so the fish are not able to swim. A curious thing: Just after the midpoint a koopa got stuck to a wall.
106th, PHANTASMAGORIA, by LotusLandSigma
30.50/100.00 points
Scores:
FPzero:
Ryaa:
FrozenQuills:
morsel:
Design: 17/60
Creativity: 8/30
Aesthetics: 4/10
Total: 29/100
Comments:
It's a very basic level, not much to say about it honestly. There's some ideas with boos and boo blocks, but for the most part it's just straight left-to-right design with an occasional obstacle like vine climbing or 1F0 hopping. The whole second half of the level is just a big flight segment through a cloud of boos and doesn't feel very fair since they're just placed randomly. You shouldn't use the bottom row of tiles since they aren't visible to the player, and you should watch out for blind jumps in the second half. There just isn't much to say here. Wish you'd included a background that wasn't just a starfield so it could be a bit more visually interesting.
Creativity: 8/30
Aesthetics: 4/10
Total: 29/100
Comments:
It's a very basic level, not much to say about it honestly. There's some ideas with boos and boo blocks, but for the most part it's just straight left-to-right design with an occasional obstacle like vine climbing or 1F0 hopping. The whole second half of the level is just a big flight segment through a cloud of boos and doesn't feel very fair since they're just placed randomly. You shouldn't use the bottom row of tiles since they aren't visible to the player, and you should watch out for blind jumps in the second half. There just isn't much to say here. Wish you'd included a background that wasn't just a starfield so it could be a bit more visually interesting.
Design: 18/60
Creativity: 5/30
Aesthetics: 3/10
Total: 26/100
Review: I'm a little disappointed that this level is as generic as it is and includes an "I Hope I Win" at the end. My biggest issue is that this level has no actual flow. It just happens and there isn't anything in place to actually make you feel like there is a challenge. The cutoff at the midpoint is what really bugs me though. I can see the creator knows how to utilize map16 features if they managed to get 1F0 working right so it would only make sense to have some sort of tile to make it not so unpleasant to look at.
The flight section bugged me a bit because you can just fly at the top and you pretty much skip that entire section. What was the purpose of it? What was the purpose of having switch blocks for a part of the level that you can easily get by. I don't even understand it.
Creativity: 5/30
Aesthetics: 3/10
Total: 26/100
Review: I'm a little disappointed that this level is as generic as it is and includes an "I Hope I Win" at the end. My biggest issue is that this level has no actual flow. It just happens and there isn't anything in place to actually make you feel like there is a challenge. The cutoff at the midpoint is what really bugs me though. I can see the creator knows how to utilize map16 features if they managed to get 1F0 working right so it would only make sense to have some sort of tile to make it not so unpleasant to look at.
The flight section bugged me a bit because you can just fly at the top and you pretty much skip that entire section. What was the purpose of it? What was the purpose of having switch blocks for a part of the level that you can easily get by. I don't even understand it.
-------------------
DESIGN | 18/60
CREATIVITY| 9/30
AESTHETICS| 3/10
TOTAL | 30/100
-------------------
COMMENTS:
what
While this level features many different obstacles, there isn't a sense of
progression nor really any difficulty curve. It wants to be a p-switch level, a
cape level, a platforming level, a ghost level... you get the idea. The p-switch
run at the end also has blind drop issues due to the camera scroll.
It's also on the short end. There really isn't any challenge after the midpoint
aside from randomly hitting a boo during the flight segment.
If this level focused on developing fewer ideas instead of just presenting a bunch
of them, it would fare better.
DESIGN | 18/60
CREATIVITY| 9/30
AESTHETICS| 3/10
TOTAL | 30/100
-------------------
COMMENTS:
what
While this level features many different obstacles, there isn't a sense of
progression nor really any difficulty curve. It wants to be a p-switch level, a
cape level, a platforming level, a ghost level... you get the idea. The p-switch
run at the end also has blind drop issues due to the camera scroll.
It's also on the short end. There really isn't any challenge after the midpoint
aside from randomly hitting a boo during the flight segment.
If this level focused on developing fewer ideas instead of just presenting a bunch
of them, it would fare better.
25
8
4
37/100
Not the best level. The first half is not too bad but lacks focus. Some sprites posed no kind of threat. It was confusing where to go at the midpoint (you have to let yourself fall blindly). The second half is focussed, certainly, but it boils down to flying. People comfortable with flying will not have too much trouble with it, but others might well have. I am not sure the foregoing part of the level properly prepares you for this challenge. It is interesting to use boos in a flying section since they chase you and so you cannot slow down too much. The background was a bit empty. There was an unnecessary invisible block. There was a grinder going behind bush.
8
4
37/100
Not the best level. The first half is not too bad but lacks focus. Some sprites posed no kind of threat. It was confusing where to go at the midpoint (you have to let yourself fall blindly). The second half is focussed, certainly, but it boils down to flying. People comfortable with flying will not have too much trouble with it, but others might well have. I am not sure the foregoing part of the level properly prepares you for this challenge. It is interesting to use boos in a flying section since they chase you and so you cannot slow down too much. The background was a bit empty. There was an unnecessary invisible block. There was a grinder going behind bush.
105th, Bounce and climb!, by RetroKoopa7170
32.00/100.00 points
Scores:
FPzero:
Ryaa:
FrozenQuills:
morsel:
Design: 17/60
Creativity: 12/30
Aesthetics: 4/10
Total: 33/100
Comments:
I think you did pretty good for a first level. I can tell you had fun building it and it's not just because you put a lot of bouncing note blocks and left an enthusiastic thank you note at the end! So here's some beginner advice. Don't be afraid to use the actual ground tiles next time instead of just logs (though I appreciated that you used two different types of log to make things look a bit more distinct). You should also focus on expanding on your level ideas. Bouncing around on logs is nice, but what if you put some hopping koopas that could intercept Mario's bounce and make the player carefully time their bounces and jump heights to avoid or stomp them? Think about ways to make your objects and sprites work together instead of existing separate from each other. That's a way to make a good level. Watch out for lopsided midpoints. Try to make sure they're placed in the middle of the level and not too far to one side of it. Also the P-Switch part was very unnecessary and only served to stop the pace of the level. It's not a great idea to use them as artificial barriers like that.
As you are, this was a nice start. If you keep making levels, I think you'll eventually be making something really nice. Don't let the score deter you, keep trying and improving!
Creativity: 12/30
Aesthetics: 4/10
Total: 33/100
Comments:
I think you did pretty good for a first level. I can tell you had fun building it and it's not just because you put a lot of bouncing note blocks and left an enthusiastic thank you note at the end! So here's some beginner advice. Don't be afraid to use the actual ground tiles next time instead of just logs (though I appreciated that you used two different types of log to make things look a bit more distinct). You should also focus on expanding on your level ideas. Bouncing around on logs is nice, but what if you put some hopping koopas that could intercept Mario's bounce and make the player carefully time their bounces and jump heights to avoid or stomp them? Think about ways to make your objects and sprites work together instead of existing separate from each other. That's a way to make a good level. Watch out for lopsided midpoints. Try to make sure they're placed in the middle of the level and not too far to one side of it. Also the P-Switch part was very unnecessary and only served to stop the pace of the level. It's not a great idea to use them as artificial barriers like that.
As you are, this was a nice start. If you keep making levels, I think you'll eventually be making something really nice. Don't let the score deter you, keep trying and improving!
Design: 10/60
Creativity: 12/30
Aesthetics: 5/10
Total: 27/100
Review:
Welcome to SMW hacking! First of all I would like to say that for a first level, you're off to a very good start. Though the simplicity of this level is explained through your first-hand adjustments to SMW hacking in general, I think that this level is very short and sweet to play. There wasn't a point where this level was unfun or anything. The only real issues I have with it are that the P-Switch portion felt a little unnecessary. Since the coins that turn into a wall are right behind the wall that turns into coins, it's redundant having the player wait for that. The only other thing I think that could have been changed was the placements of the powerups at the beginning. Having the player grab both a Mushroom and a Fire Flower felt redundant as well as only one of those powerups at a time could have done the job.
As I started to explain before, this level is more on the simple side which I'm very indifferent about. So unfortunately I can't give a high score due to nothing in the level giving any sort of "awe-striking" vibe. Just know that this score I'm giving does not mean that I think this level is bad in any way. What I will say though is that I am really hoping to see more hack content from you and I really encourage you to continue making more levels as like I said before, you're off to a really good start.
Creativity: 12/30
Aesthetics: 5/10
Total: 27/100
Review:
Welcome to SMW hacking! First of all I would like to say that for a first level, you're off to a very good start. Though the simplicity of this level is explained through your first-hand adjustments to SMW hacking in general, I think that this level is very short and sweet to play. There wasn't a point where this level was unfun or anything. The only real issues I have with it are that the P-Switch portion felt a little unnecessary. Since the coins that turn into a wall are right behind the wall that turns into coins, it's redundant having the player wait for that. The only other thing I think that could have been changed was the placements of the powerups at the beginning. Having the player grab both a Mushroom and a Fire Flower felt redundant as well as only one of those powerups at a time could have done the job.
As I started to explain before, this level is more on the simple side which I'm very indifferent about. So unfortunately I can't give a high score due to nothing in the level giving any sort of "awe-striking" vibe. Just know that this score I'm giving does not mean that I think this level is bad in any way. What I will say though is that I am really hoping to see more hack content from you and I really encourage you to continue making more levels as like I said before, you're off to a really good start.
-------------------
DESIGN | 25/60
CREATIVITY| 7/30
AESTHETICS| 6/10
TOTAL | 38/100
-------------------
COMMENTS:
light loggy labyrinth
Kinda cute level. It's incredibly easy, and the most challenge you'll find are some
flying koopas. I appreciate the dragon coin side content but it's really just
checking out little alcoves. The moon placement is nice for such an easy level.
The p-switch area is not necessary. The level is also very samey throughout, and it
gets boring quickly.
Next time, try to push your creative limits with enemies and obstacles.
DESIGN | 25/60
CREATIVITY| 7/30
AESTHETICS| 6/10
TOTAL | 38/100
-------------------
COMMENTS:
light loggy labyrinth
Kinda cute level. It's incredibly easy, and the most challenge you'll find are some
flying koopas. I appreciate the dragon coin side content but it's really just
checking out little alcoves. The moon placement is nice for such an easy level.
The p-switch area is not necessary. The level is also very samey throughout, and it
gets boring quickly.
Next time, try to push your creative limits with enemies and obstacles.
20
5
5
30/100
The level is lacking something and not quite up to the vanilla SMW standard. There was a the part where I hit a p-switch and then I had to wait till some other brown blocks changed back into coins. Lots of it feels empty of enemies.
5
5
30/100
The level is lacking something and not quite up to the vanilla SMW standard. There was a the part where I hit a p-switch and then I had to wait till some other brown blocks changed back into coins. Lots of it feels empty of enemies.
#1 mega cd enjoyer AND "making fun of"-er 
