Stage Editor

[Russta]

I guess primarily for those that have experienced it, what are your thoughts on it?

Personally, I think it's terrible.

I wasn't expecting to be able to make something as epic as Hyrule Castle or as complex as WarioWare but, even with the low expectations I had for it, it's left me really dissapointed. With everything unlocked you're still left with a paltry three backgrounds that fundamentally involve the same pieces dressed up a little differently. Even when I do manage to come up with some good ideas it's nearly impossible to realize them because all the structures have a one square dead zone around them which prevents them from touching. Infact, it's hard to link a bunch of stuff together and created levels end up feeling "fake".

The other problem I have with it is the general AI. It's impossible to make certain types of levels because the game doesn't allow you to determine advanced features (such as start points). If you wanted to, say, put a roof on with a tiny gap in it so it'd be a fun, pinball type match, the game will just spawn you on the roof and you have to hope everyone drops in.

On top of that, the computer AI seems to struggle with what you create and dies in situations where they'd get easily on a normal stage. Oh yeah, the game also likes to drop items on top of spike pits too rendering them useless.

I've seen one good level made with it so far and that was posted here somewhere. Maybe when the NTSC-U and PAL versions come out the infinite monkey theorem might be realized and we'll see a handful of fun levels.

[Ryko]

We made a custom stage last night and I honestly think it's a ton better than some of the default stages. There's enough room for brawl matches, enough variable parts to change tactics, to wall bounce/wall shine (for a few seconds, platform moves), to dash around, to cut it off short if you need to or want to turtle, it was pretty nifty. If I get a chance ill save a picture of the stage. I think the editor, if used well, isn't a bad tool at all.