Stage Builders Guide Part VI - sections M-N

(M) Suggestions for New Features

(1-M) External Saving: The ability to save stages to an external device, such as a USB or SD card. Why this feature wasn’t here from the beginning baffles me. Since we are so limited in the number of stages we can make, we should be able to save onto memory cards or USB sticks. This limitation is the most limiting in my opinion; it really destroys the stage builder appeal for me. I had over 400 stages in Brawl, and my system memory still wasn’t full. But now I can only have about 50 or so, and if I want to make a new one I cannot do so unless I tear down an old one. If I delete an old stage and try to start a new one, it will tell me that there is not enough memory, even though I just deleted one. I have to erase all pieces of an existing stage and start from scratch, meaning that I am limited to the layout of the stage that I am most willing to get rid of. This is absolutely ridiculous.

(2-M) Larger Weight Limits: This is so needed.

(3-M) Breakable Walls/Floors: Speaks for itself. I would like to adjust how many hits it can take before breaking.

(4-M) Water: I’d love to see water that can be drowned in if it’s too deep, or walked in if it’s shallow enough.

(5-M) Ice: I’d love to see this return from Brawl. It would be really cool to be able to melt these ice blocks with fire attacks!

(6-M) All Skins Available For All Layouts: I understand that there are probably size limitations that keep this from happening, but maybe there could be a limit of 5 skins used on each stage, but you could pick which ones you use from all available skins.

(7-M) Falling Blocks: Another thing I’d like to see return from Brawl, except that you could pass through them, from the underside only; that way they could no longer trap you inside something. I would suggest that you could only pass through them if they are set in place, not if they are falling. I also think that they need to have a longer time limit to standing on them before they begin to fall, and maybe they could have grab-able edges.

(8-M) Lighting Effects: Being able to add torches or light fixtures would go a very long way to increasing the realism of these stages.

(9-M) Warp Points/Pipes: These would be great for some interesting game play mechanics, and they would also go a long way in adding to the freedom to create for the builders, allowing new modes to be created.

(10-M) More Hazards: I think that stationary guns that fired at people who came too close would be cool; perhaps they could even be set to teams, so that each team could have their home base area of sorts. Not really sure what that would look like or how it would play, but I think some cool stuff could be done with stationary guns, even if the teams thing doesn’t work. Other hazards could include things specific to games, like Chain Chomps, Petey Piranha’s; or more general items like spikes. Having Warp pipes that Petey Piranha’s were in, where you have to defeat them before you could use the pipe would be awesome; maybe they re-spawn every so often.

(11-M) More Options for Moving Platforms: Perhaps a circular movement pattern, and also an elevator type with a never-ending series of platforms that all go one way (the player chooses the direction), like you see at the end of the first underground level in Super Mario Bros.

(12-M) Stage Shifting Options: I would like to be able to highlight a portion or all of a stage and pick it up to adjust its location on the map, without having to redraw the whole thing.

(13-M) Line Adjustment: Before finalizing a piece, when it is still a green line, I would like to be able to adjust its position, at least the end of the last segment, before finalizing it.

(14-M) Stairs: It would be great to add stairs that do not hinder movement for any character, and that can be adjusted in terms of the horizontal size of the individual steps, and to be able to choose from each available skin design.

(15-M) Item Testing in Stage Editor: I hate having to back out through menus and load up a training session just to test items on my stages. I would really love to see the ability to do this right from the editor.

(16-M) Opponent Action Options From Stage Editor: The same options for opponent movements in training mode should also be available in the editor.

(17-M) No Limits on Grab-Able Edges: I would like to have the option of a grab-able ledge no matter how close it is to something else, or if there is ground under it.

(18-M) Grab-Able Edgs o Soft Platforms: I would also love to have this option on regular platforms and Moving Platforms.

(19-M) Pass Through Walls: Or the ability to create a solid mass that is hollow so that characters could pass through them. I would think that it should become transparent when someone is inside, as with Luigi’s Mansion. I would like the ability to choose the open side and potentially have a box with only one entrance/exit, even from the top or bottom. Hopefully these could be drawn to any shape we want, but if predetermined boxes are necessary for this to be a reality, then please offer multiple shapes and multiple sizes to each shape.

(20-M) The ability to “Yeah” stages from Smash without having to log in to miiverse: When viewing stages from Smash’s online service, you have to load up miiverse (which takes a minute and sometimes fails) in order to give the stage a “yeah”. This means that it is too cumbersome for most to do, leaving many to ignore showing support in this way. Commenting from Smash would also be great.

(21-M) Stage Info Automatic for Miiverse Posts: I would like for the size and song info to be automatically added to any stage post, so that we do not have to spend time writing that up for each and every post, since typing on the game pad is slow and tedious.

(22-M) Solid/Soft (Pass Through) Toggle for Soft and Moving Platforms: I would like the ability to make thin platforms solid, as well as for Moving Platforms.

(N) Making Stairs

(1-N) The Bend Method: I had actually intended not to add a section on stairs because they are so annoying and difficult to get right, and because there are so many ways to do them, but since I have finally developed a staple method for myself, I decided I would add this to the guide. This requires you understand the Bend Method from section (5-B), so you may need to refresh yourself on that. In short, when changing direction, in this case going from horizontal (surface of step) to vertical (rise of step), and vice versa, you simply change directions without lifting your stylus, this allows for a shorter line segment; that I call Microns.

The concept is really simple, but the execution is tedious, it requires lots of concentration, and it will probably take several failed attempts before achieving it. Essentially I draw a two Micron segment for the surface of each step, and then a one Micron segment down, and continue until I have all the stairs I need. Of course you can choose the number of Microns that you want the top surface of each step to be, but the longer they are, the harder it will be to get it right. Also, the more steps you make the harder it will be. I recommend limiting yourself to 2-4 steps, that’s about my personal threshold of pain for trying to get this right.

In (A) below you can see a single Micron, which is just a bit longer than half a grid block. In (B) you see the horizontal portion of one step, which is two Microns long, and the rise, which is one Micron tall.

In (C) and (D) you can see three steps completed. It took about 15-20 tries at least, to get this right, so you can see that this is not an easy method, but it looks really nice. In (C) and (D) you’ll also notice that the third step doesn’t quite come down to the grid line that it is near. I’m not sure how many steps you’d need to create in order to end on a grid line, but it’s definitely too many. I’ll leave it to you guys to find creative ways to deal with this. I simply start my stairs in a place that allows me to end on a grid line, or else I compensate the area below the stairs to reach the bottom in a functional way.

What I would like to see is a tighter grid that could be toggled off and on, that goes over the current grid. This one could divide each grid block into four tiny squares, allowing steps to be made much more easily, that can also be fought on by most of the cast. I would also like for the characters to be able to walk down these steps, instead of going into a very brief free fall animation when attempting to walk down, as is the case with most stair constructions.

(2-N) The Insert Method: In this method you start out with a main base made up of stairs using the grid, but you add inserts with the grid off. In (A) below you see the main structure, and the starting point of the first insert.

In (B) above you can see the insert partially drawn. Note that the vertical line was drawn with the bend method.

The picture below shows two ways of drawing inserts. The first insert is the one we drew above. Notice that the length of the trim (the walking surface) isn’t even with each step. For the second insert I brought the left side of it halfway into the step above it, which makes an even trim length among all stairs.

I left the Bending example under the Insert example, just so that you can see the difference. As you probably noticed, it is really difficult to get even spacing between steps. Notice how the first insert is closer to the step below it, than it is to the one above it? The second insert has the same problem. It is possible, but WAY harder than it should be to get an even spacing. This is one reason that I like the Bending Method better. The Insert method, when spaced evenly, makes for shorter rises, meaning fewer problems for fighters, but sometimes I find it nearly impossible to get the spacing correct. It can be really quite maddening. Of course the Insert Method takes up more weight as well.

One option is to have two inserts per grid step, but it is literally impossible to space each step evenly. It’s the best to fight on, but it’s wonky looking, and it takes up even more weight.

The bottom line is, steps are WAY too difficult to make. I feel that this is one of the biggest problems with the editor, and that it needs to be fixed.

(99-N) Put A Spring In Your Step: This one is numbered as (99-N) just in case I end up posting info on other stair strategies, so that I won’t have to keep shifting things around. This little trick actually makes stairs useful in a very specific way. Let’s say you have a tall object on your stage, and you want to place a spring at the base of it to make it easier to navigate. While making my stage Mystery Box, I stumbled onto a way of hiding a spring so that you only hit it while walking up the stairs, but when landing on the top stair, you avoid being bounced back up. Below is an image of the full construction, along with an image that shows the soft platforms and the spring missing, to give you an idea of how the solid structure looks.