Oof, thankful I got that extra day. Here's my level, now updated to include the .ips file.

Somber Sepia

All the information is in a .txt file included in the .zip, but here's a couple things I should note here.

Music: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask - Final Hours (by Slash Man)
Level used: 105
1 Exit

I'm kind of new to actually posting on this site (I mostly just make random levels without submitting anything), so if there's anything missing that I needed to include, please message me via private message ASAP (maybe along with instructions on how to get said files ). I don't want to hold up the contest. Thanks!

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5 STAR POINTS!

Complex Citadel
(2 exits, with Dragon Coins)

C3 Content Used:
Ninji Morph - leod & Medic's Morph Powerup Pack (Removed wall jump sound effect to prevent audio glitches)
Castle Walls BG - Gamma V's Graphic Gallery 2015 - New Cave BG (very small changes to work better with a different pallet)
Some of Wakana's Music - Wakana's music thread (Some Touhou Mario 2 SPCs added!)

Outside Resources:
Vertical Autoscroll - Details for Vertical Autoscroll

Level tested in snes9x. What a ride, had to learn yychr, addmusick, and spritetool all just to make this level. At least the experience will have future use.

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5 STAR POINTS!

Song: Mario Kart: Double Dash!! - Sherbet Land
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJz_d_lMvJY
Midi: http://themushroomkingdom.net/sounds/mid/mkdd_sherbet_land.mid
Addmusic: K
Sampled: Preferable (but not necessary)

This is a pretty complex track, so it's perfectly fine if you simplify it (obviously keep the important/most audible parts). Thanks in advance, and PM me when it's done.

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5 STAR POINTS!

WARNING: This is a question for my VLDC 9 entry, so if you're a judge for the contest you should probably back out.

So I'm trying to make a level with an interactive layer 2. However, I also want to keep vertical scrolling enabled, which causes some problems. No matter which setting I use for the layer 2 scrolling rate, layer 2 always moves vertically with the screen, causing janky movement. I want it to move the same way as layer 1, plus the movement caused by the Layer 2 Scroll 4 sprite (moves it up and down 6 tiles). Is there a way to fix this using only vanilla tools? My header property is currently set to 02, a horizontal level with interactive layer 2 enabled and vertical scroll at will.

This question isn't related to the rules but rather a small technical problem I'm having.

I'm using an interactive layer 2 in my level, and I want to allow vertical scrolling in my level. Normally this isn't a problem when I set the vertical scrolling to constant, but when I try to add a sprite that causes layer 2 to move up and down, layer 2 stays aligned with the screen instead of acting like a moving layer 1.

Basically I want layer 2 to move up and down, but not break when I scroll the screen vertically. I was wondering if there's any way to fix this using only vanilla tools.

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5 STAR POINTS!

Here we go, last minute submission babyyyy.

Dry Ice

http://bin.smwcentral.net/u/21949/MegaMarioMan9%2BVLDC9%2B-%2BDry%2BIce.zip

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5 STAR POINTS!

Here's a glimpse at my two-exit level Dry Ice, and a download in case you want to try it for yourself.







I guess you can say this level has a bit of a gimmick. Look in the spoiler below to see what I mean!



Just download here and use the .ips patch to play it (I included everything needed for the contest entry, so just don't pay attention to anything else).

http://bin.smwcentral.net/u/21949/MegaMarioMan9%2BVLDC9%2B-%2BDry%2BIce.zip

Thanks! That means a lot, actually. I definitely think I improved a lot since last time; my level design feels a little more natural now, rather than having some of the janky sections like my last entry did. Just wish I didn't procrastinate as much since there were some technical problems I was facing toward the end that interfered.

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5 STAR POINTS!

...18th? I was honestly aiming for somewhere around the 40's so this is super surprising to me. I'm happy I seem to have improved so much since last time, considering I took, what was it? last contest? Happy the judges seemed to enjoy my level, haha. Take this as advice to learn from your mistakes.


Glad to see I wasn't the only one with an apparently huge improvement.

Anyways, congrats to the winners! I haven't played any of the levels myself, but I've browsed through some of the threads and there were a lot of levels that looked really impressive! Great contest, everyone.

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5 STAR POINTS!

Thanks for taking on my music request! Sherbet Mountain's always been one of my favorite Mario Kart tracks and the song itself is catchy. There's some other great tracks in here too. Snakey Chantey, What is Love, and DK Summit are among my favorites in there. Good stuff, hope to see (hear?) more music from you in the future.

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5 STAR POINTS!

I guess I'll post some of my thoughts.

First and foremost, I think we should keep most of the rules similar to last year's contest. The leniency on what should be considered vanilla or not was pretty solid for the most part, especially stuff like overlapping 2 GFX on one tile. I found that stuff useful.

I don't know how mode 0 works, but it sounds neat and I would go for it.

I'd like to see the no-fly-cape implemented. It can lend itself well to certain levels that could otherwise be exploited by flying. A sign before the level would be enough indication you can't fly in the level.

Optional patches on a per-level basis would be nice, but I think that would be too much work and those inconsistencies would be more confusing than, say, the no-fly-cape. I'll go with no on that one.

It'd be great if the Spinjump/double sprite glitch was patched out, quite annoying when that happens.

Yes please to all the ExGFX, map16, and ExAnimation patches. Had some trouble fitting everything into my entry last year. The extra space for ExGFX and the new ExAnimation triggers sound especially appealing. EDIT: I'll say no to the graphics rotation to any degree and upscaling however.

Either way, no matter what the rules are I'll try to make something nice for the contest given the time frame. Thanks to the SMWC staff for holding this every year.

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5 STAR POINTS!

Alrighty then. Here's my entry, NEW FUNK CITY.

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5 STAR POINTS!

After some strenuous last minute effort, I finished up my entry.

NEW FUNK CITY

Here's a screenshot because why not.



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5 STAR POINTS!

I guess my level was kind of inspired by New Donk City (the city in that new Super Mario Odyssey game, you might have heard of it). I ended up branching off from it and made my own aesthetics unrelated to the inspiration, but the idea of making a city level and my level name (NEW FUNK CITY) came from that initial idea.

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5 STAR POINTS!

Can't say I expected much considering I ended up rushing things a bit toward the end, so I'm content with being in the upper half. Hopefully I'll come back next year with something that'll knock the judges' socks off.

Congrats to the winners as always!

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5 STAR POINTS!

Haunted Stronghold

No secret exit, utilizes SA-1, and tested using Bizhawk. Figured I should cover my bases just in case.

Best of luck to the other entrants!

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5 STAR POINTS!

Sounds like a good time.

Ace Attorney Investigations 2 - Pursuit ~ Wanting to Find the Truth
Miitopia - Extra Battle (Cyberpunk)

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5 STAR POINTS!

-I-
A Hat in Time - Peace and Tranquility

-II-
Ace Attorney Investigations 2 - Pursuit ~ Wanting to Find the Truth
(I assume I'm allowed to vote for my own nominations?)

-III-
PaRappa the Rapper 2 - Big

-IV-
Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon - Foreboding Forest

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5 STAR POINTS!

-I-
Undertale - Another Medium

-II-
Dragalia Lost - VS Greatwyrm

-III-
Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim - Release of the Far West Ocean

-IV-
Deltarune - Field of Hopes and Dreams

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5 STAR POINTS!

-I-
Touhou 11: Subterranean Animism - Last Remote

-II-
Touhou 10.5: Scarlet Weather Rhapsody - The Ground's Color is Yellow

-III-
Death Road to Canada - Rigor Mortis Rag

-IV-
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - One They Fear

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5 STAR POINTS!