Neutral:
Name: Flatland
Size:Medium
Background: middle
Flatland is a stage based on an exercise done by boxers were a line is strung at about chest height and the boxers are supposed to duck under the line and throw an uppercut on the way up then duck under again and do the same on the other side alternating while moving forward. I thought about naming the stage "The line" but decided on "flatland" due to the stages extremely liner design.
Flatland's main platform has kill percents off the top equal to final destination, battlefield, smashville, and other neutrals. The top platform is roughly equal in height to the top platform of battlefield (it is slightly lower). The stage is meant to be played in a similar fashion to final destination however you now are able to approach from an upper level making camping less effective due to your ability to duck and weave in-between flours.
Now despite my description of bobbing and weaving this stage is very very similar to the other neutral stages most of all final destination. It plays just about the same so don't be surprised when those who play well on neutrals play well here, although I hope this stage will reduce campiness thanks to the additional approach options.
Video coming soon.
Name: Emotion
Size: Medium
Background: middle
Emotion was intended to be smashville with a platform going vertically instead of horizontally however the stage evolved over time into its new form. The slanted platforms look like eyes to me and when the platform is at the bottom of its path (note it is not supposed to go all the way down the pit) it forms a sad emotional face.
Emotion does not play quite the same as the other neutrals due to the moving platform sectioning off the two sides fairly well however it does not give major advantage in the majority of match ups from my experience. The stage has a very mild cave of life which can be abused by DI'ing down while inside the pit and teching off the slat/walls or by being hit againts the tilted platforms and teching off them. The height of the platforms has kill percents roughly equal to the top of battlefield and the ground level (bellow the platforms above the slants) has kill percents equal to the neutrals.
Characters who play well in the air will enjoy this stage and those who prefer to be grounded may find themselves forced out of their comfort zone. This stage does not have the same feel as other neutrals but it does not favor any character heavily from my experience.
Video coming soon.
name: Warioware 2.0
Size: medium
Background: Right
Oh the memories I have of warioware inc. Random hazards killing me, winning the mini game, and getting screwed over because my opponents got a star and I got a mega mushroom. This stage was created with the intention of playing in a similar way to warioware inc but still having enough differences to give the stage its own personal feel.
Warioware 2.0 ground level just like the other two neutrals has kill percents equal to FD, BF, SV, and the like. The platforms roughly mirror battlefield in terms of kill percents however they are placed differently than all other neutral stages. The moving middle platforms is intended to affect the gameplay in a similar way to smashville's platform however on a much smaller scale. The stage is a bit shorter than Flatland (in terms of length) but is roughly equal to final destination. To get a feel for the platforms imagine if the SV platform was cut in half and moved to the same height as the platform on BF with the platforms from PS1/2 being placed above the lower platforms of BF, and that is more or less warioware 2.0
Those who play well on smashville will enjoy this stage and those who enjoy battlefield will like this stage even more. The stage will favor those who do well on neutrals much the same as all other neutrals do. Sadly this stage does not really add any major gameplay changing aspect to it, it is just my attempt and bringing back what could have been with warioware inc.
Video coming soon.
name: Diplopia
Size: medium
Background: middle
This stage was actually inspired from a bit of massive sleep deprivation. I was playing a few friendlies at around 3am at a friends house and I actually started to have double vision from being so tired (I had not slept in a good 35+ hours). For those who dont know diplopia is the formal term for double vision and after suffering from diplopia on battlefield I was struck with the idea of creating this stage. After getting some sleep.
This stage has a similar feel to emotion due to the large moving central platform dividing the stage. The stage's ground level is equal to that of the other common neutrals, and the central platform at full height goes about a platform above battlefields' top platform and goes even with the regular neutral height at its lowest point. The double platforms allow for interesting nuances of play such as jumping to the lower or higher segment to adjust projectile trajectory and dropping through the higher segment to preform a quick aerial then landing in the relatively same spot.
Characters with quick aerials are able to use the double layered platforms to additional attacks to their land arsenal. Those who enjoy relatively flat areas and have a good air game will do well on this stage.
Video coming soon.
Counterpicks:
name: Foxhole Atheist
Size: medium
Background: right
They say there are no Atheists in foxholes. The general statement is that in times of great trauma such as war everyone will stop and turn to a higher power for hope and guidance. Foxhole Atheist however is instead to be a stage to protect characters from projectile camping and allow players to hide in the metaphorical trenches. Who needs god when you have a foxhole?
The foxholes of this stage are intended to be the key struggle points in this stage. They are excellent spots to camp and avoid camping. The platforms above the foxholes were added to allow plays to move around freely should a player inside one of the foxholes take to jumping out tossing a projectile than falling back into them. Players with the percent lead should defiantly make sure to use the foxholes to their advantage, and those with a stock lead but are at very high percentages should use the foxholes as places of refuge to tech off of should an attack hit you.
This stage is a bit strange, I have seen it favor many characters but I have yet to be able to find a general trend between who it helps and who it does not. The best I can tell you is that you should use the foxholes to your advantage they are the make or break feature of this stage.
Videos coming soon.
name: Ford's Pride
Size: Medium
Background: Right
Ford revolutionized automobile production with the assembly line making it more efficient as well as faster to produce cars. This stage is a memento to Ford's creation as it attempts to emulate an assembly line in a factor. The stage is most similar to Frigate orpheon due to its asymmetrical design and yoshi's island (pipes) due to the incredibly close left blastzone.
The stage is purposely built far to the left side of the screen and high up. The kill percents of the base level is equal to standing on the first layer of platforms on battlefield. Killing of the left side is similar to killing off the left side of Yoshi's island pipes. The intention of this is to make the right side of the stage the go to area to force conflict. Players approaching from the left will find themselves at a disadvantage due to the blast zone being very close and the large conveyor belt turning against them. The stage should have a king of the hill type of gameplay to it where the right side is safer due to the right blastzone being very far away and the benefit of the right being a better area to camp. Chaingrabs can be performed against the conveyor belt on the left side but it is very hard to do since you must grab your opponent while you are both on the tiny square on the far left (about as practical as grabbing someone on the tiny room on onett).
Characters capable of controlling an area will love this stage due to the right side being not only safer but a fantastic place to camp people approaching from the left.
Video coming soon.
name: Turbulence
Size: Small
Background: Right
This stage would earn the title of "the line" much more so than flatland ever would. Turbulence is built to encourage sharking. The stage's spike pit at the bottom however is added to prevent players from simply staying inside the pit at all times and is also added to allow those who cannot normally shark to be able to shark and than should the miss the tiny platform not lose a stock like they would on delfino.
The stage is monstrously high up. The kill percents off the top are equal to that of standing on the top platform of battlefield and the side blastzones are very close as well. These early kill percents are intended to be compensated for by the the ability to drop down to a lower level and DI into the walls with the intention of teching. Just about every character is at a disadvantage when they have to approach from above an enemy, this stage encourages players to instead of forcing their opponent above them using knockback to gain this advantage, to instead drop down and shark it up.
Characters with multiple jumps and quick up-Bs with low ending lag will love this stage. Those who cannot deal with juggling and do not play well in the air in general may not enjoy this stage.
Video coming soon.
name: Brawlage Dropout
Size: Medium
Background: Middle
The name of this stage is a terrible pun on the the phrase college dropout. The stage itself however is based around a choice players can make, stay on the top and risk being killed sooner or move down into the cave and fight the enemy there but risk grabacides, and other falling block related shenanigans.
This stage has four levels, falling block level (which is about a platform below battlefield), base level (equal to battlefield), lower platform level (same as Battlefield's first platform), and upper platform level (equal to you guessed it, the top of battlefield). This stages many feature is the falling block center which can be used for grabacides (grabbing someone letting the block drop until they cannot recover and letting them go then using your assumingly superior recovery to return and save yourself), as well as for dividing the battle field (intentionally setting off the falling block to force air approaches).
Characters with good recoveries and a good air game will love this stage. Those who strongly detest approaching from the air will not be completely out of luck however because the platform will return after a short amount of time allowing them to approach in the air and should they need to drop down be able to.
Video coming soon.
name: Zero Kelvin
Size: Small
Background: Right
Zero Kelvin also know as absolute zero is the temperature (correct me if I am wrong) all maters comes to a halt. This stages name has nothing special to it, its just the coldest temperature possible and the stage has ice.
This stage is intended to allow players to use the speed of fast falling on the inner slants to allow them to glide onto the ice. The ice however is segmented and is intended to affect the flow of battle but not completely change how the battle feels. The general feel of the battle is much more fluent from my own personal experience. Player are able to use the ice to slide forward and back during specific attacks to space/feel out the opponent. Most notably about the ice is the ability to slide forward or back while charging smash attacks and the ability of some characters to preform uncharged smash attacks while sliding.
The following can preform uncharged smash attacks without stopping their slide
The following cannot preform uncharged smash attacks without stopping their slide
:shiek:
This stage is a tough call for who will play well and who wont. Ice is not part of brawl on any legal stages other than pokemon stadium 2 in which the entire section becomes covered with it but many people don't practice up on ice for just those 10ish seconds of ice. I cant really say for sure who will do well and who wont.
Video coming soon.
name: Retro Cannibal
Size: Medium
Background: Right
Now this stage's name is by far the most misleading named stage of all the stages thus far. The stage is based around the central wheel which reminded me of the large ferris wheels seen at carnivals back in the day. The nostalgia encouraged me to name the stage retro carnival but when I first named the stage I forgot the "r" in "Carnival". The mistaken name "retro canival" sounded rather peculiar and made me decided to roll with the mistake and simply change the stage to "Retro Cannibal".
And now onto the actual stage. Moving platforms are a typical part of the average brawlers comfort zone however on no other stage do we have an arrangement of moving platforms which rotate in a circle. The Wheel part of custom stages is very large and I found that if it was placed above a platform it would become a prime area for air camping and stall tactics, so I had the wheel lowered into the stage so that it may function as the middle ground of the battle field instead of this massive intrusion. The wheel at the top of its rotation is on even ground with the rest of the base level and has in kill percentages equal to that of the typical neutrals. The four tiny platforms placed in an arc above the stage are intended to serve as another bit of abnormality due to the platforms being very small and scattered, there is also an even number of platforms unlike most other stages which often have an odd number. The lower level of platforms has kill percents equal to that of battlefield's lower platform and the upper level has the same as battlefield's upper level. The platforms are very small and to maneuver around them requires small, quick, jumps. Focusing your gameplay on the four small platforms and the central wheel will allow you to experience a very smooth flow as you glide from each location to the next.
This stage will have a distinct feeling to its combat due to the eight platforms all being very small compared to all other stages and them being placed in a fashion not often seen in other stages. Air combat will be the key to victory on this stage and those with fast aerial movement and an adaptive air game will prosper on this stage. But please don't eat your opponent after you win.
Video coming soon.
name: Legal Alien
Size: Medium
Background: Right
This stage started out as four large blocks, nothing else. The idea was to keep it simple, but that slowly morphed as I added in falling blocks to remove wall infinites. After adding in falling blocks to make the wall acceptable I decided to try and push as many typically banned game elements into the stage as possible. The result is a flat stage with a wall which infinites cannot be preformed on, a solid central piece which you cannot circle stall with, a temporarily removable cave of life, and extremely close blast zones.
This stage has many of the typically banned features as I said but none of them play the way they typically do. The wall cannot have infinites preformed on it for more than 2 seconds but provides as an area to bounce your opponent off of. The falling blocks allow players to tech off of and combo with. The hope is that the minor cave of life will be countered by the ability to rack damage faster, remove the cave of life, and the extremely low blast zones causing kills to come sooner.
There are no stages with similar mixes of survival based stage features, and combo/damage oriented features so it is hard to say who will do well. I will say that those who can force others into a specific area will do well due to them being able to maneuver their foe into areas for either damage racking or killing.
Video coming soon.
