Chocolate Level Design Contest 2020 - Discussion - Old Contests & Events

Questions posted in the Rules and Submissions thread will not be answered + removed, so use this thread instead.

FAQ:

Can my level be completely Vanilla?

Yes, nothing in the rules dictates that you must use custom elements. Being honest, however, you may face an uphill battle if you try to do a completely vanilla level in a contest that allows for custom elements. We tend to have VLDCs or OLDCs for a reason.

Does my level have to be themed around chocolate?

No, Chocolate just refers to the usage of custom ASM, graphics, or other things not found in the regular SMW. You can theme your level around whatever you please.

How do I insert [ASM, ExGFX, Custom Music, UberASM, etc]?

We have many Tutorials here for how to use custom tools, and our FAQ has further information on Custom Resources for SMW.

What do you mean by "Completely unchanged Vanilla SMW aesthetics will be given a 6/10."?

Basically, any level that uses regular SMW Tilesets, regular SMW palettes, and regular SMW music will be given a 6/10. That doesn't mean you have to use ExGFX, but we do encourage you to play around with palettes and music at least to create a unique aesthetical experience. I do understand if this rule may be seen as controversial, but I wanted to try it out for this contest.

Have fun! I may add more stuff to the FAQ if there are common questions here or over the Discord channel.

I got a question. I know that were supposed to use. SNES9X AND BSENES. Can I use ZMZ to test my level?

So FPzero's predictions were true after all!

Originally posted by Enan63

I got a question. I know that were supposed to use. SNES9X AND BSENES. Can I use ZMZ to test my level?

you may use whichever emulator you'd like to test your level, but i encourage doing a final test in either snes9x1.60 or bsnesv112. if your entry doesnt happen to work in either of those emulators, you will be disqualified.

hi i have a question this is probally gonna sound dumb but its my first contest........to make it easier i assume we are to edit the first level..level 105 correct?

So I have a question about live farming. Does it need to be in the level that were making or can I just make a separate level just for that?

Check out my Hack Thread

I've been a member of this site for a long time, but I've never entered any contests. I'm thinking about making this one be the first contest I enter. And I have a question about the rules. The rules say that you can work with a partner, but does the partner HAVE to be a member of SMWCentral or can the partner be from outside SMWCentral?

Click the character on the right side of my layout to visit my Discord server and discuss and play and look at and get updates and sneak peeks of the games and other things I'm making.

The authors of these 2 My Little Pony fan games have removed their games from the Internet.
Rise of the Clockwork Stallions has been updated! Download My Little Pony: Rise of the Clockwork Stallions DX: Director's Cut and My Little Pony: Magic Shards now! Spread this link!

Originally posted by Lordfrieza2020

hi i have a question this is probally gonna sound dumb but its my first contest........to make it easier i assume we are to edit the first level..level 105 correct?

you may edit any level you wish. if you choose to edit level 105, please start from an empty slate - edits of original SMW levels or levels built "on top" of original SMW levels will likely get a low score.

Originally posted by slakkmichael

So I have a question about live farming. Does it need to be in the level that were making or can I just make a separate level just for that?

i would encourage separate, mostly because everything in your level is judged, so if you include a side room for a life farm that will be judged along with the rest of your entry. if you include a life farm in another level, it will not be judged.

however, if you think you have a fun idea for a life farm that would fit into your main levels design, you can take that risk - it could work out for you.

Originally posted by DPBOX

I've been a member of this site for a long time, but I've never entered any contests. I'm thinking about making this one be the first contest I enter. And I have a question about the rules. The rules say that you can work with a partner, but does the partner HAVE to be a member of SMWCentral or can the partner be from outside SMWCentral?

they have to be a member of smwcentral. that being said, nothing is stopping you from asking them to make an account even if they do not plan to use it.

it's obligatory to give credits to the authors of the chocolate sources (custom music, ASM, exgfx)?

Can we change Mario's graphics and abilities for the level?

Click the character on the right side of my layout to visit my Discord server and discuss and play and look at and get updates and sneak peeks of the games and other things I'm making.

The authors of these 2 My Little Pony fan games have removed their games from the Internet.
Rise of the Clockwork Stallions has been updated! Download My Little Pony: Rise of the Clockwork Stallions DX: Director's Cut and My Little Pony: Magic Shards now! Spread this link!

Originally posted by Doug Walker

it's obligatory to give credits to the authors of the chocolate sources (custom music, ASM, exgfx)?

you do not have to include a credits file. all we require is a .bps.

Originally posted by DPBOX

Can we change Mario's graphics and abilities for the level?

you can change any graphics or smw mechanics as you would like. keep in mind the further abstracted your entry is from traditional smw, the more prone it may be to not quite adhering to the judging criteria.

Why no subforum for this contest? We have one for VLDC, KLDC and BLDC. Is this just because you predict not as many contestants as in KLDC? CLDC isn't a 24hoSMW but one of major contests, so a subforum could be included.

I have a Discord server as well!
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Basically, I believe in peace and bashing two bricks together.

Originally posted by Idol

Do not include your name within your entry. Failure to do so will result in a small penalty.

Why is this rule important?
I mean, will the user's name influence the rating of the judges so anonymity is justified? I'm curious.

"If you imitate someone, you can never surpass them."

No, if they see who's the author before they play the level, they'll know what to expect. If the name is included inside the level, they won't be surprised, either. Surprise is part of fun.

I have a Discord server as well!
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Basically, I believe in peace and bashing two bricks together.

Originally posted by TheMorganah

Why is this rule important?
I mean, will the user's name influence the rating of the judges so anonymity is justified? I'm curious.

many times in the past people complained about how some judges seemed like they gave preferences to levels made by either friends of theirs or very popular/established level designers in their scoring, so level anonymity was put forth as a rule to prevent that. judges are not allowed to peek into things like the contest's show-off channel on discord, and stuff like that.

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to hear birds and see none.

Originally posted by Maxodex

Many times in the past people complained about how some judges seemed like they gave preferences to levels made by either friends (...)

Oh, it makes sense now.
Thanks for the explanation.

"If you imitate someone, you can never surpass them."

me: new contest! yay!
also me: aight imma pass.

the competition is horrible, there are so much contestants more talented than me everytime, it should be exciting but it's also frightening. anyways I'll ask my questions,

is it as usual? with the overworld and the title screen not accounting in the final scoring? fun there is no mandatory theme, it will sure be interesting. If I motivate myself to participate I'll choose something I'd never put in a regular romhack project..

I have a question, can you also use the link as HDMA?

List Soundtrack - List Hacks

Mega Man X3 OSTs

Originally posted by idol

Originally posted by Enan63

I got a question. I know that were supposed to use. SNES9X AND BSENES. Can I use ZMZ to test my level?

you may use whichever emulator you'd like to test your level, but i encourage doing a final test in either snes9x1.60 or bsnesv112. if your entry doesnt happen to work in either of those emulators, you will be disqualified.

I have SNES9x v1.56.2 so if it works in that, should it work w/SNES9x 1.60? I had v1.60, but I deleted it b/c the screen was flickering, and I do not use BSNES. Could I try it in ZSNES too or will they be really overcritical and only try it in SNES9x1.60 and BSNES? Just making sure because I want to make sure it works well.

Can I create an other level putting credits and/or unused stuffs of my Level?