The Missing Plot Demo (V1.0) - DDM295

Hack Name: The Missing Plot Demo (V1.1)
Length: 11 levels
Author: DDM295 - Submitted by: DDM295
Description: Compatible With NTSC SMW
Difficulty= Average

Bowser has stolen the plot to this hack and it's up to you, as Mario, to get it back and find out just what is going on here!

Features:

11 Exciting levels (now improved over V1.0!)

Varied environments to traverse!

A Castle to besiege! (now longer!)

A twisted fun land to escape...

If you find ANY problems, PM me and I will fix them.

Hope you have fun!

Read the included readme file for the full information on what has been updated over V1.0

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Reasons

Not too shabby, but there's still a lot of things left to fix.


There's still room for improvement on the menu palette.


The overworld still leaves a lot to be desired - cutoff tiles everywhere. Learn how to properly use edge tiles (I believe there's a tutorial for it in the aptly-named subforum), and if that doesn't help you, better use the original SMW overworld or have someone else make one for you.


Minor issue: The top tiles of Yoshi's paw print aren't aligned correctly.


The background palette could use some work here. Try creating a smooth dark->bright gradient - it helps to click on the first and last color of the gradient while holding down the Alt key in the palette editor.


A wrong corner tile just beside me. Remember:



Why the sudden style change? Not every word needs to be capitalized.


The pipes cut off the ground a little.


Another wrong corner tile + slightly cutoff pipe.


You shouldn't be able to walk inside diagonal pipes like this. Block the right side off, just like SMW did it.


More cutoff... And since there's no proper "bottom outline" tile (to properly end the dirt tiles above the coins), I'd suggest rebuilding those structures completely.


Cutoff caused by the pipe and missing ledge edge tiles.


Random blank tile in the ground?


The question blocks also cut off the dirt behind them a little.


The goal tape goes a little too high - make sure to place it right above the ground, with no space in between.


You're using the wrong type of moles here - The ones with this animation should be placed on the ground, not inside it.


Sorry, but that's not an excuse for not using sprite E6.


The blocks and the pipes cut into the lava.


Incorrect initial FG position - the camera starts too high up and has to scroll down to Mario. Fix this by changing the settings there → ().


The power of changing the message box text will turn readable text into text partially covered by switch blocks.


I see you changed things around here a bit at Lightvayne's suggestion, but unfortunately it's still slightly cutoff.


Another wrong corner tile, right below the brown block.


Lower the entrance position here to not make Mario stand in the air like this.


Cutoff right wall.


Cutoff block.


Nice idea actually, although a tad boring when all you have to do is run as fast as you can. Why don't you spice this part up a bit by varying the mushrooms' heights and/or adding a few small obstacles?


Is it just me, or does the goal walk take way longer than necessary? I suggest putting a pipe in the last scree leading you to the actual goal.


Cutoff corners.
Also, I'm not sure if the moon is too big of a reward for such a relatively small task... I guess it's fine, though.

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So... as you can see, your main problem here is the large amount of cut-off tiles. When placing objects in a level, make sure they don't overlap another object in a way that reveals the background behind them or makes them look cut-off in some other way. Also make sure to always end your ledges etc. with the proper edge tiles. Look out for cases of cut-off everywhere - the ones I showed here might not be all of them.

You might want to take a look at this video to get an idea of what you should avoid in the future.
As I said, though, the level design is quite nice, and it looks like a rather promising hack overall. Keep on trying!