We all love to make cute little Mario levels sometimes, but can SmbX keep up with what we expect from a proper Mario level editor? Yes, mostly SmbX does its job fine, but everything has its limits; especially tools which are no longer receiving updates from their creator; one of these 'tools' is SmbX.
However, SmbX is possibly the best Mario level editor we have at our disposal right now. How is it limited?
Well, let's take a look at things SmbX does so badly.
However, SmbX is possibly the best Mario level editor we have at our disposal right now. How is it limited?
Well, let's take a look at things SmbX does so badly.
- SmbX uses a lot of CPU and memory. While the game itself isn't so technically advanced, it shouldn't demand so much power from your PC; that means Redigit did a poor job at optimizing SmbX. The game can be incredibly laggy at times, and lag simply ruins the gameplay experience. This is probably SmbX's biggest flaw. There is no patches, workaround or solution to this dilemma.
- The way SmbX keeps its files is pretty disorganized While some of the graphics, such as HUD elements are hardcoded into the game; the sounds, music, level graphics and world map elements are stored in separate folders inside SmbX's directory. Custom level graphics are .gif files and they come with a mask file. There once was a SmbX build in which the mask files were merged with the actual graphic files; although there weren't as many files as before, that system was incredibly broken and had to be replaced with the current graphics system. But we do still think that the mask files should be merged with the actual graphics so there won't be as many files and we can edit and make new graphics without having to worry about .gif clusterfucks.
- Sound files are very, very low quality. Redigit probably reduced the sound files quality to make the files smaller in size. No, that's not what happened. Redigit did not know how to record music directly from the game, so instead, he used an external microphone to record game music from his TV. That's crazy. We'd rather have good quality sounds and musics instead of being stuck with low sized, low quality sounds. Please learn how to use a proper sound recorder.
- The camera is as large as NsmbW's.. This makes SmbX simple and pixelated graphics seem bland and boring. The game's camera is the reason you have to perk your level with a shitton of graphics. That doesn't happen in NsmbW because their graphics are 3D and detailed. What were you thinking, Redigit? People want to hide secrets in the level and the outrageous camera size makes hiding stuff hard.
- The physics are floaty. SMB3 has precise controls with great, not floaty physics whereas SmbX's physics system is kinda dated. Not talking about Mario in particular, but all characters feel like they stay in the air for too long. There is also no acceleration to falling.
- Netplay is egregious. I'm pretty sure we all can agree on this. While the game has a great two player mode, the netplay is terrible and definitely unplayable. When testing your level, you should expect crashes and runtime errors often. Placing and removing tiles is glitchy and custom graphics or musics cannot be used.
So, is SmbX a bad game?
Certainly not. While there are many flaws in it, SmbX is still one of the brightest Mario level editors out there. If Redigit hadn't decided to quit working on it and update it from time to time, the game would have been much better.
Thanks for reading this blog post. And I'm not Quill. I would rather have my identity undisclosed for the time being, so don't ask.
Please suggest me in the comments what I should talk about next.
Certainly not. While there are many flaws in it, SmbX is still one of the brightest Mario level editors out there. If Redigit hadn't decided to quit working on it and update it from time to time, the game would have been much better.
Thanks for reading this blog post. And I'm not Quill. I would rather have my identity undisclosed for the time being, so don't ask.
Please suggest me in the comments what I should talk about next.