A small Mappack survey

Mapping related threads and questions go in here!
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Jorichi
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Post » 09 Aug 2013, 11:22

Alright, I'm gathering some information.
If you would just answer this list of questions I'd appreciate it a lot.

All these questions are about Mappacks and how you'd like to see them. Please answer them concisely.

1. Roughly, how many different mappacks have you played?
2. What kind of mappack do you prefer (Platform, Puzzle, Fast paced, Environmentally, Mixed, Story driven, etc)? Please elaborate.
3. How long would you like a level to be (lengthwise and duration. How low with and without checkpoints)?
4. What kind of themes do you enjoy?
5. How much do you care about coins (how badly do you want to collect them)?
6. How much do you care about the story behind the mappack?
7. How much do you care about Secrets and Eastereggs?
8. Do you prefer Mappacks with reskinned enemies/entities (which would make them mods actually)?
9. How important is the music to you in a mappack?
10. How would you like the difficulty to flow across levels?
11. How hard should a mappack become near the end?
12. If a new mappack would be selected in order to unlock cheats, the editor or different characters, which requirements should it meet?
13. How important is the mappack's 'gimmick' to you?
14. Would you prefer a mappack to stick to the NES colors or not?
15. How important is the 'artwork' to you in a mappack?
16. Which entities and situations using specific entities would you like to see the most in a mappack?
17. What do you think of hidden world- or level-shortcuts?
18. How much do you care about hidden worlds and/or levels?
19. Could you tell me what your current top 3 mappacks are (completed or uncompleted)?
20. Which discontinued mappack would you like to see completed?
21. Got something else you'd like to tell me regarding your thoughts on Mappacks?

Please don't quote or copy the questions. The corresponding numbers with an answer behind it is good enough.
Also, please refrain from discussions in this thread.
Thanks for your time.

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FlamingRok
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Post » 09 Aug 2013, 11:42

1. About six, since I'm waiting for SE so that people can be even more creative.
2. Platformers will always be my favorite, but puzzle maps are quite fun as well. When the two are mixed together, you get something truly entertaining.
3. It all depends on what world it is in the mappack for me. If it's early on, I want the levels to be a little bit shorter than ones later on. The last worlds I typically want to be longer. I also usually don't believe a level needs more than two checkpoints unless it's a marathon level (extremely long level).
4. I have no preferences.
5. I feel that coins should typically be included, as an alternate way of getting 1-ups. Also, it can make a level seem more lively.
6. It's a game with 8-bit graphics. I don't care for story all that much when it comes to one of these games.
7. Secrets and Easter Eggs on the other hand I find very neat when placed cleverly. I feel these can flesh out a level even more.
8. Surprisingly, no. If it's a mod, it generally takes longer to download than just a normal mappack.
9. It's got to at least fit the area. Bonus points if 8-bit custom music is used.
10. I don't particularly like difficulty spikes, so the difficulty should flow smoothly.
11. The difficulty near the end should be difficult enough so only more experienced players can pass without losing a life. The less experienced should have trouble.
12. The requirements it should meet are that it's fair (no bullshit invisible blocks), has a smooth difficulty curve, is fun to play, and can make the player think at some puzzles (if there are any).
13. If it's a good gimmick, keep it. If it's a horrible gimmick, toss it. It's quite simple.
14. Not necessarily the original NES colors, but graphics that bypass the 256 color bitmap that MSPaint can save at are typically bad for me.
15. Having a good level is made of two things, and one is the design. I feel that the artwork is just as important as the level design.
16. I don't really have any.
17. If they are hidden well enough, I don't have a problem. If they are difficult to get to or are a much more challenging puzzle than before, I don't have a problem. If it's easy to get to, then I have a problem.
18. I think it's a very clever thing to put in a mappack. Bonus points is if they go beyond that (other bonus content all together).
19. Sadly, even though I've played about six, I still don't have an overall feeling for them quite yet. The only ones I can really name off are O'Brothers and the remake of SMB2J. O'Brothers stunned me with a lot, and SMB2J is more nostalgic for me, and it cleverly worked around the missing components from Mari0 (example are poison mushrooms and the springboards that launch you even further).
20. I've never played a discontinued mappack yet.
21. Mari0's mappacks remind me a lot of Super Meat Boy's Meat World, but unlike Meat World, I feel mappacks are going to last for quite a long time.

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renhoek
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Post » 09 Aug 2013, 13:25

1 - I don't really keep track of how many maps I played but if I were to guess I'd say around 15 or 16 including dlc maps.

2 - I'd have to say puzzle as with mari0 it's kind of boring not being able to use my portal gun in regular mario like maps. (seeing as that's one of the main features, but I digress.)

3 - I like medium length levels which between 300 and 400 width in game with checkpoints, but if it's without I prefer them short which would be somewhere between 200 and 300

4 - I prefer suburban themes as this makes the game feel a lot less empty to me.

5 - I honestly don't care about coins, does anyone really care nowadays?

6 - I don't really care all that much about story though if the creator plays his cards right I might get very engaged in the events.

7 - I love that stuff, I really like it when creators take their time to put extra things in hidden locations.

8 - I like it but it's not necessary (and I hate having to download mods just so a goomba has an outline.)

9 - I find it necessary if creators don't want their maps to seem repetitive and boring.

10 - like any other good game, from easy and gradually grow to extreme.

11 - I'd say hard but not too hard to the point that there's no power ups for the rest of the game. (world 8)

12 - I think unlocking should only be done by beating the original mappacks, not custom mappacks.

13 - If the entire mappack's meant to use a gimmick I don't want to make it halfway through a game only to realize I haven't used it in over 5 levels.

14 - I really appreciate it when people take the extra effort to do this..

15 - There can't be clashy tiles, I hate seeing multiple art styles used in a game.

16 - faith plates and the gels, these were the most fun for me to play around with.

17 - I normally pass when It comes to secrets because I want to see the entire journey not skip it. (Unless I've gotten a game over in which case I use it to skip to the point I died at.)

18 - I don't really care if a game has a secret world though since I'm a 100% completion kind of guy I'll go out of my way to beat it.

19 - sure
1. The flow of time for it's unique gimmick
2. Acid trip for it's creativity
3. A0zora I like the overall feel of the game and how it tries to throw a puzzle level in here and there

20 - Vel0city at least I think it's cancelled.

21 - I find my self rarely downloading mappacks because of lack of creativity or the main focus of the map is the tiles, I prefer maps that try to stand out from other mappacks here.

Hope this info helps.

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Automatik
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Post » 09 Aug 2013, 14:10

01. 20-30 mappacks?
02. Puzzle( or mixed), Story driven. I don't like Platform because you end up never using the portal gun, and also It's easier to screw up and die.[/color]
03. With checkpoints: 300-500 blocks, 5-10 mins, without:200 blocks, 3 mins
04. No preferences.
05. I don't care.
06. I care, uh, "a lot". I enjoy VG stories when they don't feel like a "pretext" to do stuff.
07. Not much, but that might be because ususally there is none.
08. If it's a SE mappack, yes. If I need to use a mod to play them correctly, no.
09. 3/5
10. If I die three times on a challenge, then it's too hard.
11. Harder, but again, If I die three times on a challenge, then it's too hard.
12. Being fair, original, and also, the unlock should make sense(ex: you beat portal mappack, you get Chell). Also, why would we lock the EDITOR? It's stupid.
13. 5/5, It's what make the mappack unique, after all.
14. If you have to make your tileset shittier just to comply to NES colors, then you're doing it wrong.
15. It's, well, important.(I liked Pop a portal for that.)
16. Lasers, Springs.
17. As long as it don't permit me to avoid 75% of the mappack, and as long as it's difficult to get there, I'm fine with them.
18. 5/5
19. Pop a portal, O'Brothers(yes), and Bob's community mappack.
20. WNTM (Turret, why did you remove the download!), Mari0 the best of stabyourself
21. Avoid fillers levels with absolutely NO challenges.(There was a level like that in Pop a portal) Avoid "tutorial" (extremely trivial) levels.

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Gramanaitor
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Post » 09 Aug 2013, 14:23

1. I have played atleast 20 mappacks not including dlc (I can thank sjb for that...).
2. I prefer puzzle and story driven mappacks. (Mad Science, Pop a portal, etc. After a while, platformers turn into rage games for me.
3. A good puzzle level has a length between 250 to 350 with checkpoints. I'm not a huge fan of the mappacks without checkpoints.
4. No preference.
5. On a scale of 1-10, my care for coins would be 3/10.
6. I would find the story behind a mappack interesting, but not as interesting as the mappack itself. I would say about 6.4/10.
7. Secrets and eastereggs?!? I'm all over the world when it comes to those! 10/10!
8. I think it usually makes it better with reskinned enemies.
9. I honestly don't care about the music as much as long as it's not something completely random to the game like dubstep or pop.
10. For a puzzle mappack, a difficulty of 7.5/10 would be fine with me.
11. Maybe a bit more difficult than 7-4 of smb would be fine with me.
12. The requirements are that it should be fun, fair and it be all the way to 8-4.
13. Very important. Sometimes a gimmick can make a mappack more fun to me.
14. No preference.
15. I would say 8.5/10. If the mappack has a shitty design(dumb design, poorly made tileset), it's shitty itself.
16. I have two entities that I like the most: Lakito and aerial faithplates. Lakito cause he adds difficulty to the mappack and faithplates because you could think of a
bunch of puzzles with them.
17. I think of them as a creator's cheat. Because no one else except the creator knows about them unless they stumble across them.
18. I care a lot about them. I would say 7.8/10.
19. For puzzle: Mad Science, Pop a Portal and Old Aperture Bowser Science. For platformer: 0'brothers, the 1-up and glitchy error 5.2.
20. If you continued the Flow of Time I would be happy.
21. No other thoughts on mappacks. Thanks for asking!
Last edited by Gramanaitor on 10 Aug 2013, 23:41, edited 1 time in total.

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TurretBot
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Post » 09 Aug 2013, 14:25

1. Plenty.
2. Mixed or Platforming.
3. Around the size of a normal SMB level, unless it's a puzzle map. I'm not a huge fan of the mappacks without checkpoints.
4. All of them!
5. I don't really care.
6. I don't mind a mappack without a story, but I usually read it if there is one.
7. If there are no secrets, I'm going to sue the person who made the mappack.
8. I like modded stuff, but I just get the non-modded version.
9. Music makes everything, the tunes from SMB can get repetitive.
10. Easy to hard, with a few easy levels to let us breathe along the way.
11. Hard.
12. The unlockable needs to make sense to be matched up with that mappack.
13. The gimmick is almost always the best part.
14. I don't care.
15. Here, let me show you.
16. Unique puzzles with SMB entities.
17. Shortcuts are always nice, but not required.
18. I love secrets, but whole levels aren't required.
19. Pop a Portal, Outside The Box, Glitchy Error.
20. The Flow Of Time, The Journey.
21. I like group mappacks, they are always fun.

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idiot9.0
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Post » 09 Aug 2013, 17:16

1. Too many to count.
2. Platform ones the most, with puzzle and mixed in a close second. Gimmick ones are in third.
3. 400 seconds is the perfect time limit for a level. Usually anything longer than 1000 is just too damn long. And 1 checkpoint is perfect.
4. As long as it looks nice, any theme is enjoyable. I do give more props for a proper custom tileset that fits the 8-bit theme look.
5. GOD I LOVE COINS.... not really. I tend to grab them on my way and hit a multicoin block or two but won't waste a lot of time searching for one.
6. If there's a story I'll read it. I like if it does have a story.
7. It depends how hard it is to get to them. If it's challenging but can be done, sure I'll grab them. If on Kaizo-terms, they can piss off.
8. I prefer the classic enemies more, since usually you won't see reskins in a normal mappack because lazy people.
9. I can take it or leave it. SMB music is still awesome anyway.
10. World 1= Easiest of the pack, Last World = Hardest.
11. Challenging but still fair.
12. Make sure the mappack can be finished without any form of assistance; ie cheat menu, level editing; etc.
13. It's very important if it has one. If it does the gimmick better fucking work or the map will suck.
14. Yes unless they edit Mario himself to look like a different style. Overall matching feel.
15. Very. I like when levels look pretty.
16. Honestly I got nothing here.
17. I like them. I won't use them as often as others will but they are a neat bonus.
18. I care that they're in there, just not so much to use them every run-through. Again, it's a neat bonus that gives players a choice to skip levels if they want.
19. Pop a Portal by Hugo, Mindache by WillWare, and O'Brothers by Baf.
20. Don't really got a solid answer for this one.
21. -insert thoughs about mappacks here-

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TheJonyMyster
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Post » 09 Aug 2013, 17:41

1. like ten
2. ones that are good in quality
3. any length as long as the check points are every half smb level length
4. I don't care just make it look nice
5. if there are lives and coins and a large or infinite time limit then I will get every single coin
6. the story behind it means nothing to me, but if you meant in the mappack i'd like to see some one day (BECAUSE I NEVER DO)
7. Sure why not
8. It's nice but I really don't care
9. if the music is crap i'll just mute it
10. i dont care anything is fine as long as it's worth playing
11. harder than the rest
12. Must be related to the character or the cheat like in super meat boy
13. it's nice to have but if the mappack is good without one thats fine
14. I don't give a crap just make it look decent
15. copy and paste snapshots of MC paintings for all I care
16. mazes with portal elements and springs abused properly
17. just dont make it confusing I dont want to have to draw a map
18. a world negative one is cool ill just check it out later
19. no I can't really
20. My mappack
21. I like hard mappacks but I don't care really

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Sky
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Post » 09 Aug 2013, 18:09

1. I don't know the exact number, but I still have 70+ in my mappacks folder.
2. I'm willing to try anything, though I'm held most by mappacks with lots of energetic level design.
3. I don't have a specific block amount, but I do have this: When I design, I make a specific obstacle for Mario to deal with, such as a horde of enemies, a couple of platforms to cross, or a puzzle. Usually I put two or three of these obstacles between checkpoints, and then I put a couple of checkpoints. That's about all it needs to be - however long it takes to achieve that.
4. Anything that seems like it fits in the Mario universe - although I'm not really picky about that either.
5. I will get them if they're there. If they're not, I may not even notice.
6. 0%, unless it's story driven, in which case 100%.
7. 100%. MUST. FIND. EVERYTHING.
8. I don't use the mods. They take up extra space on my hard drive. I'll be all over custom enemies in SE, though.
9. I usually have Mari0's volume at zero. I have my own music.
10. Smoothly. That probably doesn't help much...
11. Harder than when it began. Doesn't matter how much it begins at or ends at, as long as it flows together.
12. As long as it's completable, that should do it. Although if it's an important unlockable (read: editor), I'd keep the difficulty toned down a little.
13. ...depends on the gimmick. If it's interesting, I'm all for it.
14. I really could not care less. It could clash horribly to everyone else and I might not even notice.
15. Very important. The artwork must match the theme, assuming it doesn't create the theme on its own. It should also be consistent (although that's obvious). It doesn't have to be anything fancy - I'm okay with the SMB tiles - but fanciness can add to the experience.
16. Mappacks should use most of the entities that make sense for the type of mappack it is. For example, a Portal mappack should use most of the Portal entities, and a timed mappack should have primarily gels, platforms, and enemies. Just make things interesting and I'm fine with it.
17. Yes, please.
18. I will find them all just for the sake of finding them all.
19. ...not really... I have quite a few favorites... Narrowing them down would be difficult.
20. Vel0city.
21. I can't wait to see what comes out of this survey...

Dark[Ol(U23)leneri]
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Post » 09 Aug 2013, 20:09

1. Ten or twelve, maybe more, i always trying to play nice new mappacks with good tiles and nice puzzles
2. Puzzle, Story driven, Portal themed
3. It doesn't matter how long the level. It just must be able to complite. So, if there is a really hard challenge, better to make lvl short. And of course there must be pretty enought checkpoints to make lvl more frienly to player
4. Classic portal themes
5. I think coits doesn't feet to portal theme
6. If we can tell a good story for our player it's a pretty good at all
7. I trying to add some secrets and eastereggs to everything i doing because it's fun)
8. if it feets for mappacks themes, why not?
9. We all love music
10. As creator of hard mappacks i think it's ok, but as a tester of some shitty mappacks i think we need some cheats over here
11. Difficulty of mappack must go on rise, because if player already see what i want from him in first time, he can think about this in second time
12. This mappack must have some good replyes from community
13. Doesn't understand what u mean
14. Maybe, i don't sure cause i like Portal theme
15. My paint skills is so awful so i using already complited tiles from other mappacks
16. Many things from Turtle95's Extra Entities. Also i want some diagonal platforms and triangle tiles
17. Don't using hidden worlds, but i like sub-lvls
18. ...
19. I need time to search them because of i changed my computer
20. ^ also need time
21. i want propose my mappacks xD

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Costinteo
Posts: 705
Joined: 09 Mar 2013, 17:49

Post » 09 Aug 2013, 21:54

1. I didn't count them, but not many.. I think about 5-10 at maximum.
2. I like all of them being mixed, but not too many puzzles as it gets really boring.
3. I, for myself, make them about 200 at the beginning worlds and I make them bigger each level, until about maybe 500 at maximum. If the mappack is meant to be a little challenging, then, I put about 2-3 checkpoints on width 200 and about probably 4 or 5 on 500
4. I like any theme as long as it's followed correctly and it's attractive.
5. I don't like coins, they kill the background tiles. BUT NOW WITH MAURICE'S SUPER NEW INVENTION, it's okay if you add coins (if you wait until SE). Just make them fit the mappack.
6. I don't really care about the story behind it, but it'd be fun to actually play for a reason. Also, it makes it feel complete.
7. Not at all.
8. If the current enemies fit the mappack's world/artstyle/enviroment, I'm okay with it.
9. The SMB music makes my head hurt if I listen too much of it. So I guess it's important for me at least.
10. Easy to Hard or Extremely Hard. Maybe even start from Extremely Easy, so it'd be easy to balance the difficulty for 8 worlds.
11. Not enough to make people ragequit maybe. It's pretty hard to do that, but I guess it's worth it. If it's a challenging mappack, then MLG PRO Ragequitting hard next to almost impossible. Not WAY too hard though.
12. I.. Ugh.. I didn't really understand that question. But if you can unlock other characters and stuff, maybe make it based on completion or collecting different things. Like for example, if you find all the 1ups or something, you can get the 1UP man.
13. I like all kinds of mappacks. If it's attractive, I play it. If the gameplay is as good as its sexiness/artstyle, it's even better for me. So I guess a gimmick makes the mappack better, but don't overuse it. If it's in regards with gameplay, not graphics. If the gimmick is more the graphics and the setting, OVERUSE IT.
14. It doesn't matter for me. I like the NES colours, but I like the "normal" colours too. As long as it looks good, I'm okay with it.
15. Artwork as in graphics? VERY IMPORTANT. For me, it's the thing that attracts me most, since I don't download stuff that doesn't attract me.
16. Interesting entities combinations maybe?
17. I hate level shortcuts. xD In every game I accidentally enter a secret level shortcut, I never know how interesting different parts of the level are.
18. Not at all. I don't mind them though.
19. O'Brothers, Pop-A-Portal, Glitchy Error.
20. We Need To Go Deeper by MrCytosine
21. ... Mappacks are a work of.. art? Yes that's it, okay that's what I'm saying. Always have fun doing them!

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HugoBDesigner
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Post » 09 Aug 2013, 22:32

1. Probably around 50
2. Puzzles (specially Portal-themed), but I like platform too...
3. Hmm... Probably not larger than 400-500 blocks. It becomes very boring after this...
4. Mostly Portal/Portal 2 themes, but I love when someone come up with a original theme (for example, I'm making a spaceship-themed mappack, which I haven't seen yet).
5. I try to get as much as I can, but I prefer not doing crazy-over-complicated things only to get them.
6. A lot. It's the most important feature of the mappack (I think). Who likes to play a super-tileset-awesome-puzzle mappack without a story behind it? Certainly I don't.
7. A lot (if I know that there are some).
8. Yes, I do. Even if they require a mod (or the use of an already existing one), they improve a lot gameplay.
9. As much as for everyone, I guess. After story, puzzles and graphics, the music is the most important feature.
10. Who don't? It makes mappacks so much better!
11. Let's say that if I die over... let's say... 7 times, it's harder than enjoyable. So, make them hard, but not crazily impossible...
12. Not sure if I understood, but I'd say cheats and characters (I guess)...
13. Very important...
14. In my personal personal case, I don't carry very much about color palettes...
15. As I said before, after story, the art is the most important.
16. I don't have any preference of entities, but I love using drains, and people don't usually use it.
17. If the mappack is good, then it's awesome...
18. A lot, but if the mappack is terrible, then I don't even give it a try...
19. Pop A Portal (of course), Mad Science, Go Stabyourself Group Mappack.
20. Mad Science, from Hans1998. I just loved playing that mappack...
21. Make them as much original as possible. Try to innovate. Make new types of puzzles, use entities in a different way they're supposed to be used, and make a good work in the end...

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Firaga
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Post » 09 Aug 2013, 22:39

1. 50-80. I never kept track.
2. Puzzle or Fast-Paced.
3. Doesn't matter, just as long as there's a fair amount of time.
4. Depends, I usually go with colors that blend well together.
5. Coins are the shits.
6. Story is nice, but not if it doesn't make any sense.
7. 1 per map is good enough, 2 if it's well hidden.
8. I usually do, it gives the feel that you're playing in the world the creator wants you to play in.
9. Meh.
10. Easy gradually increasing the difficulty.
11. Hard. Like 'priest at a playground' hard.
12. Fair difficulty, good level design, no copying the same level, no padding.
13. As long as it's good, I don't care the gimmick.
14. No. Things don't have to stick to a palate to look nice.
15. Usually it balances out between either 'good art, bad level design', or 'good art, bad level design', but there's a few out there that are good at both.
16. The Piranha Plant doesn't get enough love.
17. They are good, if they are used correctly.
18. The more levels, the better.
19. <<<I'll edit this once I have a definite answer>>>
20. What Not To Make
21. Nope!

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Mari0Maker
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Post » 09 Aug 2013, 23:10

1. About 50, but I've only finished a few.
2. Platform.
3. Size, 200.
4. Mario and Retro
5. Don't care at all, unless there is a reason to collect them.
6. Never care unless it's Portal theme (most of the time).
7. They are interesting. I would like to see more secrets/eastereggs in mappacks.
8. Yes. Absolutely prefer.
9. Very important. I love it when there is "custom" music in a mappack.
10. Easy to Hard, with some Hard spots in some areas here and there.
11. Difficult, but not Rage Difficult.
12. I don't really understand that question.
13. It's not important, but you have to deal with the gimmick anyways.
14. I don't care. Just don't mix NES tiles with SNES/HD tiles. It normally looks bad.
15. Pretty Important. I like it when there is custom backgrounds, especially custom tiles.
16. I don't know. Just create something original. :)
17. Sounds cool. Could create some interesting mappacks.
18. If they are in the mappack, yes, I do care. A lot.
19. Super 0' Brothers, A0zora, and Super Mario Bros. Special.
20. Vel0city.
21. Every mappack should be original, and people shouldn't be lazy when working on it. And everyone should add at least one custom song.

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