Level Portal 101: Rules and How-To's
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Level Portal 101: Rules and How-To's
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by Raiyuuni » August 27th, 2017, 2:05 pm
- Welcome!
So. You've played through Runouw's games, found out about the Level Designer, sat down and made a level of your own - and now you want to share it with us. Or maybe not - you might just want to try something new, see what crazy stuff the community has to offer in those games.
Whichever the case, you're new, and you've just made it here. But what's with all these convoluted instructions in the subforums?
Runouw.com has been running since 2009, and it's been revamped a number of times down the path. With a thread backlog that massive, the everyday newcomer quickly loses their footing with so much information crammed into one place.
This thread's here to help you break the ice. Here, we have a quick rundown of the in's and out's of the Level Portal, sorted in subjects of interest. It's a quick and light read. More detailed documentation already exists, and I won't bore you through all the details.
Let's get started!
- You've buckled down and made a brand new level. For the rest of us to be able to play it, we'll need its code.
And here's where you can find it: show
- Threads in the Portals are dedicated to one level each. Enter your game's subforum and make a new thread there with your own code in it - but there's a little more to it than just emptying your clipboard on the form.
See those buttons just above the form? They're shortcuts for commonly used BBCode tags, including a handy little code command to keep your codes in. But it's still confusing at first, so we've set up a dialog that sets the post up for you, and you can see the tags in action!
If you've followed these steps, you're good to go! Hit Submit and your level will be uploaded to the community.
And while the topic is still post formatting, here's one last tip. You should avoid double posting - rather, edit your posts with new information. You can even update your level codes - but remember to keep tabs on when and what changes were made.
- You've just submitted your level, but it doesn't appear in the subforum right away. What gives?
- Thread duplicates. If you haven't had any news from your thread for a long time, it has probably been disapproved. Feel free to PM the staff and ask why it wasn't greenlit.
- Threads with no code. New users often submit threads without levels - repetitively, even. Needless to say, they don't pass.
- Threads and level signs are written in languages other than English. This is an English-speaking community, but there's people from all around the world. It's often not their native language either.
Besides, you have a significant portion of the Internet to use to your advantage. Google Translate is a thing. Dictionaries are a thing. Use them.
It's okay to make mistakes - hell, there's probably a few dozen scattered in this post. We won't really mind if your speech is sloppy. And if someone does, they're a know-it-all. - The level is incomplete, or can't be beaten. It's in the Portals' subtitles: only finished levels go in there. If you need any help with a level you're working on, feel free to ask us directly in our Discord server, or to post about it in the Level Designer subforums.
In Super Mario 63, custom levels normally end with a Shine Sprite. Some don't, but we can still tell it ended by following the story through the signs. Here's an example of one such level.
It may also happen that a certain obstacle's solution escapes us, or that its execution must be pixel perfect. We'll ask around until we rule out the latter case. And if we can't, the level will likely be turned down. The user is to playtest their own level and ensure it isn't too hard (or too easy) to beat. - The level uses annoying gimmicks. Platforms too fast to stand on, jumping on single falling logs repetitively, spawning on top of a bottomless pit, sling stars that toss you into those pits, forced damage, and so on. These are best avoided. A level will get away if it has some rough edges, but one that focuses on these things specifically will be turned down in a moment's notice.
- The level has poor frame rate. The game won't handle too many items without a hitch, regardless of how powerful your machine is. If your level is running slow, add more level transitions - and if that's not enough, then cut back on your decoration and enemies.
All members have their first few Portal submissions reviewed by the staff before being published. Both and can see levels queued for approval. After you've had five greenlit levels, your next submissions will be made available right away.
Unfortunately, even with both these usergroups and a limited influx of new levels, we aren't able to monitor the forums 24/7. Life happens. If your creation isn't greenlit right away, don't rustle your jimmies. We'll get down to it in no time.
Now, I'll address levels and threads that don't make the cut. We have a Wiki article (by the way, we have a Wiki) covering every reason a thread is disapproved. Here's a quick rundown of those motives:
- You've already looked into other people's creations, and now you want to leave some feedback. If you're still learning the ropes here, I have a handy TL;DR for you:
- About the Star Rating: It's all right to just drop a score review if you can't (or won't) elaborate on your impressions, rather than just write a reaction such as "wow, 5/5". Naturally, fair judgment is still a must.
- Switch perspectives. Thoughtfulness on full reviews is never too much. Rather than attack the designer or the level, give them some food for thought - point out which were the level's rough edges from your point of view, and how they can be handled differently, there or in future works.
- Respect goes both ways. Don't take it too hard if you receive a negative review - we never really expect them, but they're important more often than not. Take a few minutes to test any suggested changes, and see for yourself if they're helpful. In time, there'll be less of them - but it doesn't mean you should agree to any and all requests either. If and what changes should be made is always your call.
- Don't feed the trolls. If you've received outright offensive or unreasonable answers, don't bother replying - report it to the moderators right away.
You don't need 500 words per reply to offer constructive criticism either. Here's a few tips on how to give (and take) criticism:
- To wrap things up, here's a handful of relevant threads and pages - some of which have already been brought up earlier.
- The best rated Portal levels of both Super Mario 63 and Last Legacy. There's also the LDC Hall of Fame and Amp's Tier List, but each of these two is longer than an Iron Man marathon on their own.
- Runouw.com's Discord server. It's where most active members (especially the old-timers) hang out most of the time.
- Runouw Wiki. It's still work in progress, but our most comprehensive Super Mario 63 level designing guide, as well as a bunch of record keeping, is hosted there.
- The Rules subforum. Everything that's in there applies here as well. 's and 's threads are especially helpful reads.
- Every Proven Glitch and Idea for this Known to Man. There's a serious amount of Super Mario 63 glitches and gimmicks stashed away in here.
- The Last Legacy forums. It's an empty place, but it's where most Last Legacy documentation can be found.
And with that, we've covered everything! Thank you for your time, and see you around!
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Raiyuuni - Chillin' on the West Pole!
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