(RESULTS) 5th Annual SMWCentral Level Design Competition - Old Contests & Events

Well, I guess 22nd place isn't too bad, but I'm wondering about some of the commentary I read...

For instance, MrDeePay apparently took off half a point from my functionality score, due to piranha plants getting stuck in the switch blocks. I think that only happens with just one piranha plant, and only on the Easy path, and it's intentional, so that the player has one less enemy to deal with. (However, if there are other piranhas getting stuck that I wasn't aware of, then I guess that score would be fair.)

Also, I think I was judged a little too harshly based on the Lunatic difficulty's presence. Yes, it's borderline-Kaizo (which was intended), but it's also completely optional. It's not like Touhou games force you to play on Lunatic difficulty, and would Touhou games get judged with lower scores just because of how tough Lunatic is? I doubt it. It's true that SMW isn't Touhou, but I still think my score was unfairly affected a little bit just because of the Lunatic difficulty...

Sorry if I came off as sounding a little harsh, and I don't mean any offense with any of what I'm saying here, but after reading MrDeePay's commentary, I felt compelled to at least speak up and defend my level.

Good to see it's finally done, and the top ten entries are (roughly) what I imagined them to be. I did expect BMF's to place a few spots higher, but in all fairness, most of those upper entries are worthy of their spots.

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I should have something witty to put here (even if it's just to update dated info), shouldn't I?

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Originally posted by SomeGuy712x

words

Everything about the level from the start to goal is (and should be) factored into the judging, not just what is selectively chosen. If the LUNATIC version of the level did not exist in its current form, I likely would've scored it much better. There's a difference between difficult and unreasonable.

Originally posted by KevKot

MDP: Yeah, no. Not really. Your review is way too vague, and a example is Appeareance. OK, half of my level has a not so good palette. And you decrease Appereance by 3 points. FOR THIS. IS this reasonable? Not at all.

To sum it up: This contest took place quite good, on the side of the contestants, but with the judges...One gave me a good review, an other one gave an also good review, and the final one gives such a vague, unreasonable review it brings your level down a whole lot.

Am I going to call the material of this contest good? Of course. Will I call this contest a success in general? Not at all.

~~Give me a moment.~~

This visual look is just eh; it doesn't really fit with anything and would've benefited better as giving off a more sinister vibe.

Mario can easily jump up there and get the Flower without needing to hold the jump button.

This is literally one screen after the Flower.

Music resets itself.

The door here strikes me as completely unnecessary.

You're too kind.

Three power-ups, three extra lives, and a good amount of coins is the reward for having at least decent eyesight upon reentry. You're too kind.

Followed up with another power-up.

...

This entire room is just item babysitting combined with constantly being forced to wait out P-Switch timers. Having to lug items here and there frequently is just lazy design; having to wait out their timers (~16 seconds) while nothing's going on is just bad design. You do this multiple times in the room.

Low ceiling, damage blocks that hurt you even from the side, and a Grinder in the middle of the two. This is blatant Big Mario Discrimination and virtually a crap shoot to make it through unscathed. Hell, the optimal strategy here would be to just brute force your way through and continue on.

(no screenshot)
"Disco" Koopa hopping isn't a reliable form of movement due to the erratic movements they make and how hard it is to constantly bounce on them without screwing up. It's typically for naught, though, because...

If you're fast enough, you can just go around and get the Flowers anyway without that hassle!

The level beyond that point takes a massive nosedive in difficulty because the way the Koopas and terrain are set up makes it more than possible to just jump over (or stomp... or shoot) all of them without a single trouble in the world.

Allinall, the problems with your level was that things just existed just to exist, you forced the player to wait around, you were extremely generous to the player, and some setups just weren't thought all the way through.

Originally posted by Feenicks

Eh, 47th. Wasn't expecting such a mediocre score, either, but whatever.
The thing is, the level was tested - by myself and other(s) - and the issue of the super koopas not really being that big of a threat never really popped up. I understand why them not really being too much of an actual threat could be an issue, but honestly direct interaction isn't the only way an enemy can impact the player.
But, again, whatever. Maybe next time I'll do better.

Frankly, I was surprised to be the one to give your level the highest rating :b I agree that not every enemy has to attack Mario head-on, but at the same time, I think the general consensus among the judges was that too many super koopas fell flat to the point where it became noticeable, as if it were a systematic oversight rather than intentional design.

Originally posted by SomeGuy712x

Also, I think I was judged a little too harshly based on the Lunatic difficulty's presence. Yes, it's borderline-Kaizo (which was intended), but it's also completely optional.

This is why I personally didn't take off too many points for it- you already know what you're getting yourself into if you choose that level of difficulty. Having said that, while Touhou on Lunatic difficulty can still be fun once you reach a certain threshold of skill (or just to marvel at the difficulty/ pattern complexity), things in SMW like Big Mario Discrimination and jumping on Amazing Flying Hammer Bros. are more annoying (sometimes even inconsistent) than they are hard. Or at least, that's what I think. I don't equate Touhou Lunatic mode to SMW "Kaizo" at all. You could argue I was being lenient considering what the Lunatic version of the level contained :b

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Ah, 51th place. Considering everything, it's actually pretty good.
I kind of got into a slump during the creation of the level due to real life problems, so the latter half of the level didn't have half the creativity nor the testing of the first half. In this case, 51 of 98 is quite acceptable. I'll try harder next time!

Not sure how I managed to place with one disqualification. Something of an achievement. Nevertheless, congratulations to the winners.

Heh, really ironic. The only level I have played 2 months ago from this contest was yoshicookiezeus's level. =D I somehow felt it's a very good level and I was right. =) Congratulations to the people again!

...Huh?

35th? Eh. Good Enough for me. I can see the problems that decreased the value of my level.

Originally posted by MrDeePay

React or get hurt setup at the very end, after Mario is fired from the pipe.

Seems all the judges had something to say on that, but completely understandable. Guess I should've looked at that point from a "first-time player's" point of view rather than my own, which knew the koopa was coming.

Otherwise congrats to the winners!

Originally posted by "raocow"

is there a zipfile or something with all the files? Alternatively, can someone get me a zipfile with up to the top ten and the last three? (there's two 10ths, so 11 'winners' )

Well, after reading the comments by Axem and DeePay I see why my level placed 74th.... just stings a bit. Particularly the use of the word "boring" to review my levels.

I guess I'll absorb all the criticism on the design and enemy placements, then meditate on them. I am however going to be stubborn with changing my palette-ing habits though.

I made a standalone game once, look for Seabug Stampede on Google Play.

Originally posted by Caracc

I guess I'll absorb all the criticism on the design and enemy placements, then meditate on them. I am however going to be stubborn with changing my palette-ing habits though.

I guess i couldn't say it any better. Minus the pallete part, i'm planning on staying away from the grey/black for a while now, i can't seem to make it work...

As for the reason of this post, i'm ansewring MDP's mini question on his review. The reason for my having the wrong OW sprite was an oversight on my part.
Sorry.

And when you're lost, and out of time
I will be right here
waiting

@MrDeePay and AxemJinx:
Okay, I suppose I could've eased up on the difficulty of Lunatic just a little bit... Maybe done something different with that Hammer Bro. and the tight jumps in the lava cave... I'll try to keep this in mind for next time.

55. Check em.
I think I excepted it to be better, but honestly I don't care about my score, I'm more interested about the comments.

Whoua AxemJinx you have written a lot in your judging file, a full page for every entry. You are a great judge man.
Not like Firephoenix who stopped writting comments after the 34th entry.

To be honest, I wasn't expecting anything better than what I got. Now that I look back on it, I'm not sure why I bothered to create an entry in the first place. I comletely forgot about the contest until the day before the deadline, and I knew I couldn't make anything half-decent in a few hours, but I decided to try anyway. I'm not disappointed at all, really. Just knowing that I got 93^rd and not last makes me happy.

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Oh, also thanks a lot for your comments and tipps, Axem and DeePay :3
And thanks to Fire Phoenix for running the contest ^^ It was a fun competition :3

Wow 6th place, didn't see that coming.
Not too bad for my first contest =D
Thanks everyone! And congrats to the winners.

66th place? I think it's not bad, but I could be better. Also, congratulations to the winners!

Wow, I placed a lot higher than I thought I would.

In case I decide to participate again in a contest like this, I'll ~~try making~~ make a more reasonable entry. I can't really say I was expecting to place much better with this anyway.

At least I had fun making it, I guess.

I see how much more valuable honest feedback is than sugarcoated comments that just say what you want to hear or one word responses that just say "epic".
I will probably use my level (Punishing Pothole) in Combo Breaker with a much more redesigned second half, because I think the second half of my level was where most of the problems occurred. I will also probably tone down the difficulty to maybe where it can be a world 5 level (world 5 will be cavern). I might also change the name slightly.

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