Level designers: When posting your full level for the first time, or if there are a plethora of issues you didn't anticipate, please consider posting in your respective level threads and/or the screenshots/videos thread first/instead, as in the long run this will help to remove clutter from the clearing thread.

Not a hard-and-fast rule at all (hell, I don't have the authority to ordain anything), but something to keep in mind for times when it gets unmanageably crowded in here.

Also, please include the level number, your username, or some form of identification in the .ips filename. I'll be downloading most if not all of these and I need to keep them organized, so I would appreciate it :p

One syntax you could follow is <Game level number>(<Username>)

For example, 1-4(AnybodyAgrees). Knowing in what world the level is located helps me comment on difficulty, so it would help.
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AnybodyAgrees: Why is the silver quarterPOWnder (misappropriation, I know) surrounded by some sort of force field? o.O Is it supposed to work with the blue p-switch? Will there be a smwcoin in between those munchers?

-You can skip a significant portion of the level by spinjumping on the first piranha plant. Consider adding "girders of dissuasion."
-Four koopas next to p-switch cause slowdown.
-Note to FirePhoenix: Ladder/girder intersection tiles are misleading.
-Note to AnybodyAgrees: Ladder/girder intersection tiles are misleading. (You can fall through them. I guess it isn't a huge deal, but still. At the least, don't put them in places where it could easily mean death when players aren't paying attention; save stuff like that for later worlds. You have one beneath a pipe in the second area, and I don't think that's a good idea, for example.)
-1up placement in secret area is good, albeit easily farmable once discovered.
-Winged koopa placement next to wall-running triangles looks awkward. In general, attacking Mario while wall-running is kind of a no-no (no?).
-Blue quarterPOWnder and On/Off switch leave no wiggle room for jumping. Don't have the former on the edge of the platform, and for the latter, put three blue blocks instead of one there.
-Blue quarterPOWnder can be overridden by p-switch from before, ruining the tension of the setup. Also, it's not immediately obvious what you have to do since question blocks appear off-screen.
-3up moon placement is clever. I am pleased. (Can moons only be collected once?)

Architecture: Ok, but too sparse and flat in places.
Sprite Layout: Boring. doesn't engage the player at all (except for maybe the first few screens).
Concepts: Under-explored. Level feels way too short.
Prognosis: Heavy modification required.

Essentially, your level feels too empty and short-lived. Firephoenix's has more sprites, is longer, and generally has more stuff going on than yours, and that's only the first stage. Take a look at that stage again- and indeed, other levels- to get a sense of how you could improve.

Some of the p-switch mechanics aren't bad, but you just don't do enough with them. It's ok to have a lot of p-switches in a level so long as it's not the same setups over and over. Brainstorm variations.

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agie777:Whoa, what's with the flashing yellow pipe? That seems a bit out of place...

If you don't defeat the jumpin' chuck initially, and you use the springboard where it is after dropping down for the smwcoin, you could end up right next to him, which isn't good.

It's not very fun to wait in place for p-switches to run out. The footballs can build up, and moreover you can actually bounce on them and work your way to the other side without using the p-switch. Not a good area by any means.

The gaps in the clouds under the pyramidal coin block formation are needlessly difficult.

What to do if you run out of throw blocks for that volcano lotus under the vine block?

The level feels too long, the secret exit path seems to be plainly visible, and I don't even know where the regular exit is, unless you haven't finished designing yet.

I don't think you're using the right sprites for this stage. The tileset has wide platforms but you almost exclusively use enemies that jump in place or have slow x-speeds. The volcano lotus plants, wigglers, and jumpin' (not clappin') chucks, on the other hand, are a good fit.

Also, I feel like there should be more elevated/tiered platforms as you go. There are still long unbroken stretches of ground, and series of platform after platform. You definitely have a sense of verticality what with the directions Mario moves in, though. It's like an amplified sine wave, and I like that aspect of the level.

This is a moderate improvement over previous versions, but I still feel you have a ways to go. Sometimes the level feels too sparse, sometimes the difficulty is too high...Focus on using the right sprites to complement the wide platforms. Add some tiered platforms here and there to give a sense of flow and arrangement rather than "this platform is 7m long, this one is 10m with a slight curve, and so on."
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Testers, feel free to override me if you disagree, but I'm going to recommend that agie777 and AnybodyAgrees post in their respective level threads for now, since their levels still seem early in development and I'm not sure if anyone besides testers will post their opinions/advice here.

Anyway, thanks for the prompt level submissions, but try to take all the advice into account and be more deliberate about where to place everything and how to design everything, and don't be afraid to ask questions of other users if you're stumped or just want general advice. I know I'll be looking in the level threads too (I have my fingerprints all over this forum, heh.)

I suppose if the only means of showing your level you have is linking an .ips, and nobody besides testers is touching it, then posting in this thread would be best. I'm just trying to figure out a good way to segment the process.

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