Now, on to some feedback. I see that there hasn't been much on stages, so that's what the rest of this post will be about.
It's true that the #1 problem with walkoffs was due to chaingrabs, but blastzone camping is also a major problem. If a fast character with a projectile and a good bthrow just camps out near the edge of the stage, a character without a projectile will have trouble approaching and run the risk of getting KO'd as soon as he gets in.
Onett: Onett is just a poor stage altogether. There are still walls all over the place for wall locks (ex multi-jabs), blastzone camping is nigh unbeatable, and don't get me started on the cars. The layout is still very constricted, and it was really only Dedede's cg that was much of a problem - removing it isn't nearly enough to make me consider playing on this stage.Mario Circuit: Same deal as Onett, but to a lesser extent. Again, watch out for blastzone camping and annoying cars. This is another one I don't see working.
Distant Planet: I've always liked DP, even if it isn't the most competitively-oriented stage. The cg fix does get rid of a problem, and makes the stage closer to legal. How much closer is up to debate.
Yoshi's Island (Melee): Now that the cgs are gone, YI still has one problem in my eyes: small blastzones. Of course, having small blastzones could be a good thing...Personally, I find the double slopes a bit constricting as well. YI is better already, though.
Bridge of Eldin: No. Just no. It's just too much of a boon to camping. The bomb that breaks the stage in 2 completely grinds the match to a halt, and even when unbroken, it's too easy to spam a projectile all day.
MK 1-1: At first I was skeptical, but "Rainbow Cruise for ground characters" is an apt descriptor. Great job on this stage, I never thought I'd see the day when I considered Mushroomy Kingdom a legit counterpick.
I am highly against the swimming fix. The intent is there, but it has a whole slew of side effects, such as creating a super-high blastzone once you hit 90%. Instead of making the water a place to be careful around, this fix only makes it something to be avoided, which isn't what it should be. Perhaps simply using the frame speed mod to speed up the swimming and flailing states 2x or 3x would suffice, but removing flailing altogether just won't cut it. Pirate Ship: Even though this works to fix to stage, it breaks it in another way. I began to fear chasing an opponent into the water after I died on the offensive. The blastzone height change at 90% also irks me. I doubt that you can remove the abuse of voluntarily going in the water (ie camping) without creating an abuse of involutarily going in (ie being hit in). Right now, Pirate Ship just isn't ready. (EDIT: give water the flower effect? Good idea? Possible?)
Jungle Japes: You already would want to get out of the water asap, this just restricts your timing when you hit higher percentages. Makes the stage worse, even if only by a little bit.
Delfino Plaza: The beauty of the water (not to mention the walkoffs) at Delfino is that it is temporary, and therefore just about immune to abuse in vBrawl. The fix only puts limitations on the attacker. Again, it's small, but it makes the stage overall worse.
Stage slowdowns: Great job on all counts. Green Greens and Big Blue at 2/3 have a much larger positive effect than I expected them to. Though the hazards are out longer at Picto, there is more time between the hazards, so it's good. I especially like that the wind effect is slower. As I said before, great job on Mushroomy. Mansion is still fairly campy, and I miss deadlands, but it's better than vBrawl. I still think it's more suitable for doubles.
Blastzones: Though Corneria still has the wall to contend with, its blaszones are better. Perhaps give this treatment to Yoshi's Island Melee? Spear Pillar is still off...random floors caving in, laser beams coming out of the sky, and other random stuffz. The blastzone is too high, and I know you can;t lower it. All things considered, SP is a writeoff. Temple, even though the loop was removed, is still campy, and it seems to have too-close blastzones on all sides. I especially love what I have termed the "descent into Hell". Twas fun. Again, We've got a writeoff. It was worth trying, but I don't think it'll make the greatest cometitive stage.
Dude, replace 75m or Mario Bros., those stages don't have a ghost of a chance of being anywhere close to legal. Hanenbow has a chance, at least in doubles. Also, what specifically does the music code change (is it music on all instances of wifi waiting room, wifi waiting room only when attached to hanenbow, or what?), and how can I return it to normal? Also, the button combinations are cool and all, but they won't make either of those stages legal. Also, I support not making WWR aonther FD. Sandbag forever!
I was going to argue the stage list, but it's only a suggested list. I'd just like to say that I don't consider anything below Brinstar playable (except Big Blue, wtf is it doing down there?). Half of what's above Brinstar should probably be shifted down a notch as well...
I don't see Flat Zone 2 being legal, even with a stage hazard modifier...PTAD could work, though
I'm skeptical, but I'd like to see a fix for Rumble Falls
The minigames can cost you a stock. You end up fighting the stage, not the opponent. Is that fair? Frozen WarioWare is a great neutral. I know you've made a rule against it, but at least consider it
Again, for the water, 2x or 3x on swimming and flailing should do the trick (EDIT: flower effect on water)
I don't know if we want to speed up character transformation for Sheik/Zelda...that would increase interdependency and be seen as a buff to the two of them together, making any single-character strat weaker. Also, it'd probably be seen as unfair to PT if it didn't include him.
I didn't realize it before, but the Halberd problem applies to Brawl+ as well. We should get a fix for it.
As well, when we tested out Spear Pillar (Dialga) today, the screen sorta went fuzzy when he did his 'slow down time' routine. I'm not sure if that's supposed to happen and I just haven't been on that stage in so long that I forgot...
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Other stuff: Is it a problem to include the buffer-handicap code in bBrawl? It doesn't really change anything, and being able to choose a buffer allows much greater precision.
Also, if you're considering any buffs for Kirby, I recommend looking at ftilt (damage or bkb buff) or nair (see BRawl+). Ftilt would be a buff in most matchups, the kind you would want to put in if it turns out that Kirby is low tier. As it is presently outshadowed by utilt, dtilt, fsmash, or jab, depending on the situation, this would result in a general buff. The nair buff present in Brawl+ (bkb 60 from 10) would be a more specific buff, as it pays greatly to have a ranged move that can positively trade hits with vertical recoveries and can kill. Bair is much more precise against a horizontal move, as, say, a Phantasm user can maneuver around the laggy nair. Running offstage to nair a Marth's Dolphin Slash, on the other hand, can easily result in hits trading, with Kirby going verical and Marth flying horizontally, away from the stage without his jumps. Nair is much too laggy to risk not hitting when offstage, regardless of its power, and so it would be very effective as a stock finisher but not as a general-purpose WOP-type move. Note that G&W's Parachute goes straight through nair, so it would be useless in that matchup.
I think I suggested it before, but you should add:
Coloured shields
File replacement
Unrestricted Color Choice
Unrestricted Pause Camera
Unrestricted Replay Camera
Unrestricted Button Mapping Editing
Tags in Replays
There was probably more, too
Altogether, AA and Think, I applaud your efforts thus far.
