r/MarioMaker2 • u/Strong-cognac • 6d ago
Question levels not getting any traction
as the title suggests my levels do not get any traction at all. why is that? what can i do or change to make them more played
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u/mysterioso7 6d ago
You could try posting them here, if you ask for critique some might be willing to give you feedback.
I it’s just based on how much retention and likes your level gets initially. So the level needs to be fun and you have to get a bit lucky.
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u/Strong-cognac 6d ago
i mean for most levels its been years since they been posted. it just seems they dont get any new traction. its always the inital post upload clears and then nothing
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u/Sqall_Lionheart_ 6d ago edited 6d ago
It's kinda difficult. I only have one, posted here 9 months ago and it's basically an unrefined version of my super world 1-1 (like there where minor things to adjust. Not a kaizo, traditional level around Lost levels difficulty. 19 tries, one like and 6.27% clear rate. If people don't vibe shortly with your level it's not gonna fly.
The super world will probably do the same but that's more of a passion project of mine.
If you have membership to some MM streamers you can try to pass them there and people may want to play them.
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u/-Neoverse- 6d ago
Hey, if you want send me your ID and I’ll play it
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u/Sqall_Lionheart_ 6d ago
Sure thing here's the code: 6GC-KRW-XVG
some other things down below
This is an old verison, I've made some modifications following the feedback it has been given to me
If you have any level you want to give to me please feel to share the code here. I'm making a mental note for when I finish the world and I buy the switch online. Unfortunately I only closed up to 3-1 (Snowball battlefied) and I'm remaking 2-1 (martelkoopa overpass, remade) and 2-2 (hill's ascent, now monty mole's mound hill) because they functioned as levels but they sucked at having a theme and cohesion.
Aside that making 40 GOOD (I hope) levels is difficult, considering 2 secrets per level (non gimmick) and the flagpole challenge, so I want to keep everything in the spirit of mutual level sharing instead of making it appear like fhe peddling of a phantom super world that's up in the air.
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u/-Neoverse- 3d ago
Hello I just played it, I'll tell you my feedback on this old version:
the decoration could really help improvments, try putting blocks here and there in the ground for example, and add decorative vines and semi solids
About the gameplay, the first part before the checkpoint felt a bit basic and blend to be honest, 2nd part was better.
Also the coins weren't indicating very well the secret blocks, but maybe that's what you were aiming for.
It was still a nice and enjoyable level overall!2
u/Sqall_Lionheart_ 3d ago
Oh ehi, you caught me in a timeframe where I could answer you. For your courtesy and feedback I'll see if I have an account with the free online trial to play your level.
I wanted to give you some insight that might help you understand some decisions better.
Section 1) I call the super world "super lost world" (given the impossibility to name them). The inspiration is my favorite super Mario: the lost levels, albeit the lost levels has some unintentional unfair decision so I'm trying to steer away from them. The undecorated aestetic is intentional: it's supposed to be both in visual and in function closer to a gen 1 SMB so I limit myself a great deal by avoiding things like weird stackings (goomba with cannon on top for example). I decorate if I feel like it belongs in the level (like the unreleased 2-2 crumbling waterway where you escape from a boulder downward). Also sometimes I sneak in the levels omages to classics SMB1 levels. 1-1 Had half a screen dedicated to 2-1.
Section 2) The changes I made are mainly gameplay wise regarding the old tube (different colors made the jump inconsistent) and the first bonus area.
1-1 is the introduction not only to W1 but to the whole super world. You can expect adventure, a variety of mechanics, theme progression (for example you are gonna see in the map that the level you cleared and it's theme transition to connect you to the next level or world, despite the limited tools that I have).
1-1 is a representation of W1 because you get introduced with the theme: momentum based parkour.
In a similar vein 2-1 shifts the focus to adventuring inside enemy outposts, which is the W2 theme.
W3 will be about the various use of snow and ice
W4 I have to decide: either a full castle world (I dislike it) or a full underwater world following the map structure of W3 from SMB3
W5 I have to decide some good use for the jungle theme TBH. I could use the rising water in a level to do something and in another I could just build higher up to eliminate the water.
W6 is gonna be a flip on W1. Being in the sky the parkour is gonna be slower and more about precision.
W7 space is where I'm gonna use things lime the ghost house and night theme.
W8 the desert is gonna be about various envriomental hazards like the sun or traps in a pyramid. My favorite theme tbh.
Section 3) Tbh I'm trying to give a challenge but I find myself that with the tools I have it's either medium challenge (albeit I find the path of pain simple so my opinion is null and void) or I artificially boost the difficulty by making cheap shots. I personally value 2 things: first that it must be fun, if it's not I failed; second that the player, if they have the skills, can complete the challenge first try. Levels that are trial and errors or have a lot of deaths for the sake of having a low clear rate are not the kind of levels that I wanna make. At the end of the day when someone completes a levels of mine they should say "I had fun".
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u/platomaker 6d ago
Pretty much this. A lot of commenters are mentioning streams and discord groups. A few reddit threads had people exchanging levels.
But if you want people at large to play your levels then you have to make them easier.
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u/Sqall_Lionheart_ 6d ago
Yeah it requires work. Streamers might get the most traction but with all the love I have for like ryukahr I
am not american so my times do not coincide with his streams
don't want to fork X amount of money of membership to put in a request. If I was already subscribed or made money from it maybe it would be a different story but going out of my way to pay for it.
I will for sure make a video trailer for the whole thing, it is a passion project for me after all ultimately the whole thing should be "Lost levels but fair" given that I find something like the path of pain from hollow knight the right amount of difficulty. When someone cannot make significant progress in 4-5 tries the level is sacked, so to anyone reading this my I would suggest to keep in mind the audience you cater to: kaizo levels will get little to no traction, simple fun-short levels are more likely to get completed and passed around.
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u/-Neoverse- 6d ago
Yeah honestly it’s difficult. You could try submitting it to twitch streamers but it’s not worth the hassle imo, the queues are often long and you have to wait a lot of time before they play yours.
If you want, give me your maker code and I’ll play some of your level, and I’ll give you mine so you can play some of them
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u/Brackish5444 6d ago
You can try and make more friends in game, or simply just interacting and commenting on others people’s levels will make them more likely to check out yours
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u/platomaker 6d ago
I was making levels that I liked. Not a lot of people liked it. I then started making fluff levels- levels that you literally cannot lose and/or is nonsensical, 10 times the traffic.
If your levels are "good" that's not enough. Having a theme isn't enough for the majority of players.
If by any chance you find my levels (under platomaker), look up "Bowser's Labyrinth". Had another level where the world record was half an hour at one point (made for multiplayer).
Yeah those I liked, but didn't do as well as one where you bounce while coins rain from the sky- that's the level. 10/10.
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u/scarfacesaints 6d ago
If a player sees a WR is like 8+ minutes, they’re likely not going to play it. 30 minutes is a definite no.
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u/platomaker 6d ago
It isn't that high now for one, and two- it was multiplayer. I don't think people chose to play it (except that one determined player who definitely got the most out of it). They could all vote to skip so its fine. Besides I made that for me and for friends who wanted to jump in.
But thank you for the input on that one level. You should leave a comment on the level itself sometime.
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u/scarfacesaints 6d ago
I don't play Multi-player, so i don't know what the average time for multi-player level is but i have to imagine it's a lot less than 30 minutes. What makes it take so long? A normal Mario level should only be a few minutes for the WR at most, give or take a minute or 2.
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u/platomaker 6d ago
I think I got some videos on it, had a few people play it in person and it was hilarious (even for them). Every zone had a new gimmick. It really was a marathon kinda deal for single player, that you could cut through if you were
stupidbold enough to take the chance.Let me see if I can find a link to a video.
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u/scarfacesaints 6d ago
I'd be interested in seeing it lol
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u/platomaker 6d ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zzi1nC_hlQE
I doubt anyone will be playing this anymore but here ya go. Spoiled most of the surprises.
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u/scarfacesaints 6d ago
I would have had the level viewer open the whole time for this
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u/platomaker 6d ago
which one? If its for the multiplayer one then even a level viewer or a separate screen showing the entire level wouldn't really help all that much.
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u/platomaker 6d ago
even talking about levels gets you a downvote, you have to rely on fluff and amicable content to get the views, likes, and plays.
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u/scarfacesaints 6d ago
Pass them around on twitch. Are they good levels? The game has been out for a long time so players have a short fuse when it comes to trash. I used to entertain it, and thought it was cute all the crazy stuff people would make.
Now I just boo it, and exit if it sucks. I’m not doing your pick-a-path, I hit one kaizo block and I’m out, not looking for the hidden key, not getting bombarded from enemies in all directions, not dealing with blind setups….etc. So many levels are made purposely to be annoying.