EVENT 3: Super Mario 63 Level Designing Contest

[Harmless]

Wait, the pipe isn't the only way to enter the cabin... you can literally just walk in from the side.

[1018peter]

Judgings (Runolympics)
[b: show

The Crystallised Palace by ~MP3 Amplifier~ (Team Dark)
Fun: 8.25/10 Generally enjoyable, it's too easy for my taste but that shouldn't influence the score too much.
I wasn't really fond of the wing cap usage, or the whole room. I guess the purpose was to collect all coins and that was kinda annoying with the sling stars shooting you against a wall anyway and the big flipping platforms being the only way to get up really high. No, that wasn't hard to perform but triple jumping in one spot isn't necessarily the most entertaining thing to do when you wanna do a little bit of wing cap...

Graphics: 4.75/5 I would complain for graphics being a bit overdone but it's consistent and the layering+moving object usage just looked so damn good. It also fits, you would imagine a place full of treasures being quite.. this-looking.
I must admit, the first room looked a little bit too empty.

Other: 3/5 +0.25: Nice music.
-0.25: I felt like a real treasure room was missing. More than the "gold medal" and the coin rain in the flying cap. I don't know, I would have liked a little bit more treasure considering what I was promised.
Overall: 16/20


Death's Castle by Jumbo101 (Team Super)
Fun: 7/10 It might the overall depressing mood caused by song and level theme that reduced the fun a little bit. But I couldn't really enjoy the level - challenges were kind of repetitive, too short or not well thought about - latter being the flame tower/penguin challenge. Here, once burned, you will not stop unless you get on a Shy Guy and it didn't feel right to me.
The last room was kind of nice, felt like you could've used the open space a little bit more instead of placing a single falling log for 2 red coins...

Graphics: 3.75/5 The tiling was pretty nice, it changed depending on the room you're in so it's unique to every room. The score would normally be slightly higher but some bits were a little bit unpolished - most note-worthy being the curved pipe and the fact that the beginning of the level didn't look like "death's" castle. Too much plants in my opinion.
As a side note, please move doors all the way to the ground : (

Other: 3.5/5 +0.25: Nice music
+0.5: Interesting Boo usage at the end
-0.25: At this spot when leaving the door without invincibility, you WILL get damaged by the boo.
Overall: 14/20


Frozen Fantasy by Harmless (Team Magma)
Fun: 6.25/10 It was okay. It had some nice gameplay elements but majorly it's just enemies and tiles. Some were a bit more boring, like the spiral on the right side.

Graphics: 3/5 Generally I felt like the tiling was too flat to fit for a winter land cause you normally imagine that with lots of slopes to slide down and stuff. Objects were nicely used, though. Inside the cabin the longer stairs look a bit strange.

Other: 3/5 0: I feel like the song has a lot more pace than the level (unless you dash around) but it fits the winter feel.
+0.5: Dat extra goal.
-0.5: Burns you. I don't know if that's intended but considering the pipe brings you here, I doubt it. Reduction is larger than on Jumbo's level due to his case being something that you normally shouldn't do without invincibility, while entering the pipe is needed to enter the cabin.
Overall: 12.25/20


The Little Hero by SuperMIC (Red Team)
Fun: 6.75/10 I must admit, I had higher hopes when I first started the level. The wing cap and invis cap usage was nice, as well was the platforming. Not incredible, but also not boring, annoying or "I WANNA THROW MY WINDOW OUT OF MY MONITOR"-ish.
Then the cave happened. You were successful in changing the mood very quickly with the darkness and stuff and it was a nice idea - but just like you criticized Ghostly Cave, I thought that you couldn't see enough. The Goombas were quite invisible to me, I had to question myself for a short bit when I got squashed (twice) there because I really didn't see anything until I took a veeeeery close look at saw that there were two moving rocks. It was kind of unpredictable.
The end was more enjoyable again, with a nice mixture of gimicks and those two big creatures at the end. I thought it was out of place first but you saved yourself with the story : D

Graphics: 3.5/5 Beginning looked good, end looked okay (but also interesting also those plants aaah), cave looked plain. Kinda disappointing, the tiling was very flat compared to the other parts. It had a nice mood though. I'd be more careful with layering next time :C.

Other: 3/5 +0.25: The whole story idea was nice.
+0.25: Block enemies.
-0.25: Classic.
-0.25: Ignoring the story, the song did not fit at all for me. Each individual part had a very different feeling than what the song gives me: Beginning felt light, cave felt dark and mysterious, it might fit the end a bit.
0: You could collect the invis star early with the goonie but it didn't you any good cause of that short flying duration aaaahaha.
Overall: 13.5/20


Spirit of the Olympics by Vendai (Crystal Clods)
Fun: 8.75/10 Very fun level, indeed. There were a few minor flaws (except loading time) that ruined a few parts for me though; most you will find in the Other section.
Phase 1: Very interesting and well-timed platforming. After not being stupid for a few secs I also got through all fires and flames without going up directly to the platforms. Only issue is that the switch didn't always work due to the things flying through there, which led me to have to press the switch like, 4 times. Affects Other section only
Phase 2: I question the possibility of doing this without getting damaged. I tried several things and I ALMOST got up without damage but it requires insanely precise timing which is not needed in the rest of the level, kinda weird. Same with the end: I could not figure out a way to not-get burnt. I don't know if that was intended, or just weird. The flame tower challenges between that were good though.
Phase 3: Loved this one. Remembering lasers and timing stuff right while having to watch out a liiiiitle bit to not get caught by the moving blocks, good stuff. Slightly disappointed about the invisibility, I accidently jumped in fire and ended up a the Sling Star directly.

Graphics: 4.5/5 Good tiling patterns, everything makes sense and it doesn't look bad. Especially the beginning had very good block usage.

Other: 3/5 +0.5: Bonus points for that totem, his text, his design, everything.
-0.25: Loading time - 1 crash warning :C
-0.25: Switch in first part needed to be pressed several times. I might have had a wrong timing though, it seems like I shouldn't have stopped in the head so I think I just did it wrong.
Overall: 16.25/20

Also, 1018peter I agree that you have potential, sir, and it will be a loss to the community if you quit designing. I think if you just reach out to some other designers for some of their input on your levels before submitting, you can avoid some of the more glaring issues. We do not learn to walk instantly. There's a lot of falling down to do before you get there. Everything else works the same way, really. Best of luck to you either way, but I'm with everyone else in hoping you will stick around.

Would you believe if I told you I let FF and several others test my level before I send it out?

Their inputs are only about lag issues,which I more or less fixed.

Go figure.

[Doram]

Wow, Harm, you really got spanked on that cabin. Sorry, man. I'd say if you want to do that again, give us a small vertical segment inside the chimney, and maybe a sign or two, otherwise I join you in being amazed that you managed to LOSE points for interactivity.

---

Peter, I am amazed that none of them picked up on the forced damage bit. It's something people have been complaining about forever. Perhaps your other testers were lucky enough, or god-tier gamers enough to not have a problem with it, but I can say from an average gamer's perspective, it was a bit much. If it helps, in the future, I would be more than happy to give you my take on your future levels. PM me any time on it.

[Harmless]

This isn't the first time I get a low score,but this is a swift descent.

I tried to use my low placing as my motivation before,but I only got lower. This isn't just something I can brush off with motivation. This is my inability to change,to improve,and to meet the expectations of the judges.

Let me quit. I don't want to be tormented by this anymore.

You got a medal a year or two into your career.

Me? It took me four.

You're hardly bad lmao

[Raiyuuni]

Pete, let me do a quick throwback to one of your level/series from not so long ago - from the 29th LDC (probably).

I'll put aside all (or at least most) graphics and effort considerations and point out what platforming elements I remember from it:

• an iconic and troublesome cloud moving platform, and usually not annoyingly so;
• this one passage way too close to the lowest border and really tricky to time right;

and, most of all:

• the sidescrolling boss wrapping up the big picture, and all the untimely flame sentries coming from nowhere.

I actually started playing this LDC's entrants today. Yours was second in line, and here's what I have to point out about it: none of the above affected your gameplay this time around. In fact, from a passer-by's point of view, there was little to no trouble in the playthrough of this level.

Forced damage? Big deal. There's way too much space to recover. Shroom, our local SM63 Steven Spielberg, states in the judging that the first flame obstacle was only trespassed at the expense of 4 HP. My first sloppy attempt through that resulted in 2 HP being lost, and with some extra quick drilling and figuring out the "power pad" mechanism afterwards, I cleared it with no damage.

The big horizontal flames? Those are intimidating, and here's where you probably deal with the most intense "close call" event. But you can activate the first platform in a safe zone. You know, somewhat, what behaviour to expect from the following platforms in the chain, with that first one as a reference.

And if you do get hurt here? Patience. Coins may seem scarce, but they're there. I got wrecked in the Big Bully fight, and there's still enough money to restore your HP completely afterwards.

After the comments on the power pad/sentry combinations, I looked back at the level. Truly, I didn't even know that mechanism for automatic leaping even existed. If you tried to replicate the spinners or even my "bull's eye power boost" method (see Every Glitch and Idea etc etc), you'd end up with a system which involves much more risk in doing the right stunt. The only alternative I'm aware of to achieving the same effect you did is doing a backward somersault on the spinners. Granted, it allows more fine tuning than a powered normal jump, but it is even harder to control.

I can show you a recent example of occasionally poorly handled pyrotechnics from a third party, if you want, and how it differs from yours - because you did your homework right. There was no random behaviour from hazards, and no damage that couldn't be prevented or lessened.

[~MP3 Amplifier~]

I wanted to give some time before handing out the medals to make sure there were no miscalcs. Is everything clear? If so, I'll go for it.

[Supershroom]

I don't see any miscalcs; for one moment I've thought I'd lose my 5th place but Doram already booked Nwolf's 14.25 which was a 14 earlier.

And I've also thought further about Peter and him wanting to quit. I understand you that you feel bad and I agree that if you have a longer losing streak, it may be useful indeed to have a short break of not entering LDCs (after the 30th, mind you), but it should not be forever and all time given that you have potential. And also I really say it to you, keep making portal levels like you did all the time. There it's not about any medals to win, we're less strict with reviewing and your rating bilances have been really confident recently. We all believe in you, you only have to believe in yourself. (To be totally honest: I can't believe you'll remain in that depression forever).

[Venexis]

Congrats to our winners, and to our not-so-winners. Hopefully we all had an... well, I can't really call it a good time because it turns out limited time AND size is actually pretty awful, lawl. :p It was a heck of an experience though, and I at least learned a lot- there are a ton of top-tier entries here in addition to my own experience designing something for it.

Anyway, without further ado, the only missing reviews (it's not very many because I am but a lowly backup judge <3):

Mario's Mysterious Merry-go-round (Supershroom): show

Gameplay: (8.75/10)
I like this level, because it forces you to focus and play a bit differently than you otherwise would. There's a lot of moments where a full out triple jump simply isn't the answer, and trying will actually mess you up- that's kinda cool. I guess because of that, it felt a bit like a puzzle level too... certainly an interesting experience. Difficulty wasn't super hard (but it definitely wasn't easy, lawl) if you take a second or two to analyze the obstacles, but there's a couple points I was completely stumped on- the six pronged rotating platform before the timed section, and the 4 pronged rotating platform over a wooden bridge right before the end- I just couldn't find the "proper" way to do it, and eventually glitched past them. It's a super neat level you've got here, but a couple parts were a little rough, no doubt owing to the constraints of the contest.

Graphics: (5/5)
I can't complain about your graphics at all, so it's a perfect score for you, but here's why. It's pretty plain you were going with an almost creepy atmosphere for this- if the music doesn't do that for you, the claustrophobic overhangs and unique use of surface tiles in the middle of land formations combine to make something a bit unsettling to look at. Your use of disabled stone was great, decoration placement was impeccable, and there's that signature Shroom fusion of different tilesets I've come to expect from you.

Other: (3.75/5)
+0.5 for extremely fitting music
+0.25 for the super neat coordinated flames
+0 for the dialogue, Mario seeming not at all thrilled to find himself in one of your levels made me giggle <3

Overall: (17.5/20)
I swear, all your levels must try for a totally different feeling, even beyond choice of theme. I was distressed in a way that had absolutely nothing to do with tough obstacles, and despite that, my only regret is that the week deadline forced it to end a little on the short side. I'm incredibly impressed you managed to push this out in a week, 17.5/20.

EDIT: miscalculation on my part resulted in a quarter point worth of Gameplay being unaccounted for in Other. Yes, I still feel this level deserves a 17.5, no, nothing needs to change. It's fixed now unless the hosts have a problem with it. Sorry for the screwup, guys.

Port of Ice (FluorescenceLight): show

Gameplay: (6.5/10)
You've got a relaxing level, here. Simple, straightforward, and smooth. It's a bit on the easy side, though, at least until you go trying to find the silver stars- the platforming isn't challenging, but navigating all the doors and pipes to find them can be a little frustrating. It's not always super clear where a door was going to take you, or even how to get into certain areas like the right-most building (I managed it by falling down below the lower level boundary, then swimming under and up the other side, but I feel like this probably isn't the intended way to do it), so I had to frequently backtrack and see if I'd missed anything a number of times. Confusing warps are about the only thing I had a problem with here, although they make up a substantial part of the level.

Graphics: (4/5)
Not a lot to say here. A lot of the level is open, so that kinda limits your decoration options to various trees and stuff on the ground, but your structures are pretty impressive. I especially liked your first building, with the tile mixing and torches, and even the foundation detail.

Other: (3.5/5)
+0.5 for great music choice

Overall: (14/20)
This is a pretty solid level, considering the week long deadline and the size restrictions. I wasn't disappointed, but I was confused- perhaps such an exploration themed level just doesn't work very well in such small dimensions. That being said, it was a great attempt, 14/20.

Death's Castle (Jumbo101): show

Gameplay: (8/10)
This is a nice level, and it's got everything. Platforming, puzzles, progression; I even had to run away from enemies every so often, which is a feat in itself because they usually stop being threatening fairly fast. It is, however, fairly straightforward. There isn't a whole lot of freedom to leave the beaten path, and the areas you don't yet have powerups are right in the open (in fact, you often need to go past them as it is the only available path to take), and this makes the level feel fairly linear. Even the enemies contribute to this- after a while you begin to feel like they're the only real challenge of the level. That being said, it felt remarkably in character, and some parts did amazing at breaking that slightly monotonous feeling; the very last transition in particular stands out quite vividly.

Graphics: (5/5)
I really appreciate how spacious you made this feel, with clever use of level transitions and atmosphere. It's a gorgeous level that feels way more vast than it actually is- I had to stop midway through, because there was just no way this all fit into 4000 blocks. But it does, and it looks amazing, from the moving blocks embedded in the solid tiles, to the (perhaps a little unorthodox) use of blue water/ice background tiles as pillars.

Other: (3.75/5)
+0.5 for a fitting, dangerous sounding background track
+0.25, because the boos in the final transition are super cool

Overall: (16.75/20)
I've heard that you're one of the most creative designers on the scene today, and now I understand why. The gameplay might be a little on the simple side, but your level is beautiful... and I still can't get over how disproportionately large it feels. I'm impressed, 16.75/20.

Questions, concerns, just hit me up and I'll address them as best I can.

[Awesomeguy 99]

Holy crap, you guys have no idea how happy I am right now, getting a medal at all seemed like it was going to be really far off, but getting third... that's much more than I ever could have hoped for. Well, I guess since I have nothing else better to talk about, I'll babble about stuff you most likely don't care about! The reason I've stayed with SM63 and not moved on to LL is that the SM63 designer has lots of limitations and I've used it for almost over a year now. Getting used to a new format and such would be hard and slow as getting used to SM63 for me which took months. I only started being active in the Runouw community about a month before these Olympics and I joined them. I started and as soon I saw there was a SM63 LDC I wanted to be the rep, but SuperMIC took over for the team. I'm still impressed that I got that far in the contest and I'm super happy.

[Jumbo101]

I have a medal!
Now a I can die happy.