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SMBX (2014 Yacht of Opinions): MaGL X - Whoohoo!

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Re: He Doesn't Make Anyone Mad, but MaGL X Isn't Over!

Post by Sorel »

The level of today's video was... mediocre. I dont know how it ended up in World 7. Although I liked the use of the level name, it was a monumental level indeed. I would give it 60 points.
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Re: He Doesn't Make Anyone Mad, but MaGL X Isn't Over!

Post by Alice »

Mineyl wrote:Also, the music sounds really familiar, but I just can't place it...
This is exactly what I came here to say. I think it sounded like a Donkey Kong song but I'm not remotely sure.
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Re: He Doesn't Make Anyone Mad, but MaGL X Isn't Over!

Post by Willhart »

Everything music is from Rayman 2: The Great Escape.
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Re: He Doesn't Make Anyone Mad, but MaGL X Isn't Over!

Post by Mata Hari »

I vaguely remember the name Aqualakitu but I would guess they're a member of the SMBX community considering they made a big-ass level with switches in it. Although I could be wrong.
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Re: He Doesn't Make Anyone Mad, but MaGL X Isn't Over!

Post by DatLeon »

I think the most fitting score for #22 was 8flights; The level was really solid and pretty nice. But I often heard the judges say that a few levels were "nothing special" and I think this level felt like that pretty much. It had a nice "Go into a cave thing, then go up and WOAH you're on a mountain! Go higher and WOAH it's snowing!"-feeling, but in my opinion there were levels in the contest which did that even better. Also, I sometimes didn't really like the optical design of it (cutoffs and stuff).
Was it raocows fault or was the secret exit really as annoying as it looked like?
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Re: He Doesn't Make Anyone Mad, but MaGL X Isn't Over!

Post by Mata Hari »

Probably what set him looking in the wrong place was that vase under the cloud. I assume that brings you back from somewhere, but raocow never found where anyway. Let's hope it's more than a ~developer's room~
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Re: He Doesn't Make Anyone Mad, but MaGL X Isn't Over!

Post by Minus »

It's a SMB2 Level Except Way More Monumental I thought was for the most part pretty neat from a design standpoint, but the problem with it lies in the title itself; it's way, way, waaaaay too long. Although I thought the design was pretty cool, it's somewhat negated by just how stressful the rest of the level is. Death is incredibly punishing here - sending you back a huge amount and requiring you to backtrack for a very long time just to get back to where you were, and that's a bit too maddening to be fun for me.
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Re: He Doesn't Make Anyone Mad, but MaGL X Isn't Over!

Post by Aqualakitu »

A few things about my level. First off... seems like a huge amount of the graphics somehow got misplaced in the transition to the contest compilation. The waterfalls are supposed to be ahead of the hills, so they wouldn't look cutoff, and it would look worlds nice than it does now. Neither was the background of the first part supposed to be the pillars from SMB1, it was just supposed to be the background from 1-1. No clue where any of that came from, as all 100+ levels before worked fine, and the level was working properly when both me and Sniggerbobble tested it, and the judges didn't seem to have any issues either, otherwise that probably would've had some sort of impact on the graphics rating.

About the secret exit. I figured I should add one, but it seems like I went a bit overboard with the difficulty, I actually would've liked to add the midpoint for it too, but I had no clue how to work it into the level because it was my first attempt at making something with SMBX. The proper way to get up to the second route in the first SMB2-room is actually to get a second ninji that's also hidden in the grass, but that's indeed very hard to find if you don't explore a lot. Somewhat my fault, because it's off the beaten path, and something to keep in mind for the next time I make a level.

When I tested the level I didn't have too many problems with the difficulty and length myself, but you are always the worst judge of your own work, so I guess I went a bit overboard. What some people already said is pretty much what I was thinking, that it kinda had to be long to fit the level name. The level is actually quite punishing if you don't play it the SMB2 way, taking your time and killing enemies one by one before you move on, so that's another potential issue. It's a bit more combat-focused than what you'd normally expect in a Mario level.

And lastly, about the last pot that raocow missed, that's the exit of a special easter egg area. Suddenly this actually seems oddly topical. Something to look for, for the people that play this once the entire LP is done.

Even if I failed on some ends, I'm still very happy with my placement, and at least I can learn something from that for that time.

Edit:
dr_kraid wrote:I vaguely remember the name Aqualakitu but I would guess they're a member of the SMBX community considering they made a big-ass level with switches in it. Although I could be wrong.
You'll likely remember me from SMWC, or one of raocow's older contest LPs. I used to be a mod and participated in a couple of contests that raocow played previously.
Last edited by Aqualakitu 10 years ago, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: He Doesn't Make Anyone Mad, but MaGL X Isn't Over!

Post by S.N.N. »

benzeenie wrote:It was a lot of fun! Well, to me anyway. Did it ever get any more work done on it??
Unfortunately not. Whichever demo is on SMWC is the last one.
dr_kraid wrote:I vaguely remember the name Aqualakitu but I would guess they're a member of the SMBX community considering they made a big-ass level with switches in it. Although I could be wrong.
He's been in numerous SMW hacking contests. I don't think he's done anything in SMBX before this, but I couild also be wrong.



As for the level itself, it was pleasant but I think others summed it up nicely with the whole "it needs midpoints" thing.
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Re: He Doesn't Make Anyone Mad, but MaGL X Isn't Over!

Post by Sniggerb0bble »

It is kinda sad that the level was shown the way it was, because trust me it is better than it looks. I did quite a bit of testing for Aqua whilst he was designing the stage, and is just a nice solid experience. I wouldn't say there was anything specific that makes you say 'wow' like some of the more recent levels, however it's just a very pleasant level that I found personally to be one that was incredibly relaxing because of its composition of level design, mechanics, graphics and especially the music. (I need more copies of that Rayman 2 music sped up, it's so groovy.)

One question I will ask though, as this is something that came to mind whilst I watched the video, is it possible to have midpoints that appear based on certain switches? As in, if the player had hit the red switch and done all of those shenanigans, would you be able to make a midpoint appear in a separate location and use that one instead?

If such a thing is possible then it may have rectified some potential issues with the secret path, and may have meant that Aqua could have created a more expansive secret route.

Also I think the secret route caused so much ire because of the general mentality people have in making their secret exits in the second half, which is kind of a shame because I found the whole ninja stair thing to be a clever puzzle.

I also wouldn't say that length was really an issue in this one, but then maybe I'm not the best judge when it comes to length! An extra power-up or two may have been nice, but it may have not felt quite as, uh, endurance-y as a result.
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Re: He Doesn't Make Anyone Mad, but MaGL X Isn't Over!

Post by raocow »

honestly for a first smbx venture it was pretty dang good!
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Re: He Doesn't Make Anyone Mad, but MaGL X Isn't Over!

Post by DatLeon »

Aqualakitu wrote:Even if I failed on some ends, I'm still very happy with my placement, and at least I can learn something from that for that time.
And damn right, you should be. #22 in a contest with about... 130 entries, right? That's amazing, especially for a first try at SMBX. Keep up the good work!
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Re: He Doesn't Make Anyone Mad, but MaGL X Isn't Over!

Post by Unaniem »

Everything that needed to be said has been said, I'm just here to add major kudos to including Rayman 2 music, your taste has been approved of.
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Re: He Doesn't Make Anyone Mad, but MaGL X Isn't Over!

Post by Ignoritus »

DatLeon wrote: Was it raocows fault or was the secret exit really as annoying as it looked like?
Honestly, I've gotta say that I feel like pretty much everything that went wrong today was totally 110% raocow's fault. He saw that upper area, and he saw usage of the red switch prior to the midpoint, but then made the pretty logically broken assumption that the secret was after the midpoint. The level isn't even as long as it seemed because he was frustratedcow. It's definitely on the longer side, but the difficulty isn't bad and the midpoint is right smack where it should be.
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Re: He Doesn't Make Anyone Mad, but MaGL X Isn't Over!

Post by Mata Hari »

Aqualakitu wrote:You'll likely remember me from SMWC, or one of raocow's older contest LPs. I used to be a mod and participated in a couple of contests that raocow played previously.
How about that. Convergent evolution, I guess.
Aqualakitu wrote:And lastly, about the last pot that raocow missed, that's the exit of a special easter egg area.
Called it
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Re: He Doesn't Make Anyone Mad, but MaGL X Isn't Over!

Post by Voltgloss »

In my opinion, any "length" issues in today's level could have been mitigated upon by (1) a couple more power-ups - perhaps just one more on each "route"; and (2) trimming back the bomb-the-wall sections, which are always going to be tedious no matter how they're set up.

Also, some of the tedium in the bomb-the-wall sections comes from having to wait around for a bob-omb to explode because it spawned "too soon." Is it possible to mitigate that by, instead of using a pot to periodically spawn bob-ombs, using a patch of grass that becomes a bob-omb when plucked - and then regenerates itself? That way the player is in control of when the bob-omb spawns.

EDIT: I also get the impression the level would be an interesting - and possibly more fluid - play if the player uses Peach.
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Re: He Doesn't Make Anyone Mad, but MaGL X Isn't Over!

Post by Eathanu »

Aqualakitu wrote:You'll likely remember me from SMWC, or one of raocow's older contest LPs. I used to be a mod and participated in a couple of contests that raocow played previously.
You didn't make a level in ASMT, then? I could have sworn I remember your name coming up at least once.
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Re: He Doesn't Make Anyone Mad, but MaGL X Isn't Over!

Post by Willhart »

The hint next to the level was somewhat misleading. Good thing there were no homing koopas at the end.
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Re: He Doesn't Make Anyone Mad, but MaGL X Isn't Over!

Post by Ditocoaf »

To me, that level looked amazing! It's just too bad that raocow kept missing that upper route. He was still in a good mood by the end of the first star, so if that pace had kept up he might have had more fun.

If there's anything to improve, it's the various sections where the player has to blow up crumbling walls with bombs/bob-ombs. That looked a bit... finicky, compared to the wide scale and fun pace of the rest of the level.
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Re: He Doesn't Make Anyone Mad, but MaGL X Isn't Over!

Post by sani »

uh, what's the music from Desert Oasis Fort? Really liked how it fit so well the level.

I think this is being the best MAGL contest thingy so far. A lot of good levels to watch and so much raocow goodness <3
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Re: He Doesn't Make Anyone Mad, but MaGL X Isn't Over!

Post by Burgers »

Today's level was definitely a bit long to me, but I REALLY liked the transition going up the mountain from mountain to icy mountain with snow. It reminded me of the ASMT level where you jump down a vertical area and the background changes while scrolling.
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Re: He Doesn't Make Anyone Mad, but MaGL X Isn't Over!

Post by Nathan the Talkmaus »

It seems that the "Like a SMB* level, but more *" name is a blessed pattern.
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Re: He Doesn't Make Anyone Mad, but MaGL X Isn't Over!

Post by Mata Hari »

Nathan the Talkmaus wrote:It seems that the "Like a SMB* level, but more *" name is a blessed pattern.
Let's be honest, it's prolly because half of it's already done for them.
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Re: He Doesn't Make Anyone Mad, but MaGL X Isn't Over!

Post by Sebby19 »

Yay! Rayman 2 music!

Also, there was another 'raocow' moment when during the last bomb the blocks section, he missed that shells can break the 1st and 3rd block he needed. He didn't need the bob-omb for all three.
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Re: He Doesn't Make Anyone Mad, but MaGL X Isn't Over!

Post by YelseyKing »

sani wrote:uh, what's the music from Desert Oasis Fort? Really liked how it fit so well the level
That came from a Japanese-only RPG called "Atelier Elie". I'm something of a collector of obscure video game music, so I like going with some of the "off the beaten path" stuff to introduce people to it who'd never otherwise hear it. Sneaky, isn't it? :lol: The "boss fight" music (which admittedly falls under the "Wasted Song" trope, considering I used it only in a single short sequence in which it's drowned out by all the explosions and other sound effects) came from a game called "Napple Tale", which I, uh, know very little about, but that has good music. So yeah.


So, today's stage... fundamentally, I liked it. Well-designed, looked really nice. The kind of stage I'd probably have made if I'd gotten a name like that, provided I wasn't in one of my sillier moods. Good music choices, too. The real problem, to me, wasn't so much the length, as it was the dearth of powerups. Really, even a few more mushrooms would've gone a long way in reducing the frustration factor.
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