(Idea) Stage contest for two neutrals

[menotyou135]

So right now we have two clear neutral stages to use (Battlefield and Smashville) and a few more stages that "could" be neutrals (Final Destination, Town & Country, Lylat) but have small flaws in character balance or stage elements that make them not ideal.

But we have another tool in the game, the stagebuilder, and when online sharing becomes functional, it will be possible to distribute these stages to everybody.

So my idea is that we hold a competition to create the most neutral stages possible while also being unique from the other stages using the stage builder. Then have a panel of experienced smashers who are reputable in the community (similar to a back room) judge the entries to crown a few winning stages to use as neutrals (or possibly CPs if a really good stage comes out that isn't perfectly neutral).

Once this is done, the stages could be distributed in a similar way to how forge maps were distributed by MLG in the Halo community, or how Blizzard distributes custom stages on their seasonal ladder in Starcraft.

Ideally, this could allow for the most balanced and varied stage list we have ever gotten (except maybe in PM) for tournament play.

Pros of this idea:
Basically what I said above
-unique new stages
-great list of neutrals to play in competition
-highlighting community members
-could add variety
-could hypothetically rotate out stage lists to add variety over time

Cons of this idea:
-might be inconvenient for TOs when people bring their own setups
-the distribution system might not be good for mass distribution
-aesthetics of tournament legal stages could look repetitive (a similar problem happened with forge in competitive Halo)
-might be hard to organize
-requires people to keep up with what is happening in the smash scene
-might lead to a divide in the community between people who support and don't support custom maps

A simpler idea would be to simply remake certain maps that have worked in the past as neutrals in other games, or have one/two remakes and one/two original neutrals.

 

[Munomario777]

I like the idea, but I'm pretty sure Final Destination will be neutral.

 

[ryuu seika]

Why 2? If, as you say, we have two already, then surely it would be more convenient to have an odd number of custom stages for the sake of the stage striking process?

 

[menotyou135]

Why 2? If, as you say, we have two already, then surely it would be more convenient to have an odd number of custom stages for the sake of the stage striking process?

TBH, it is because I wrote the post originally with FD as a neutral and posted it, but then thought about how many don't feel FD should be a neutral so I edited it but I don't know how to edit the title.

 

[ryuu seika]

IIRC it's one of the features available in the advanced edit ("more options").

I don't actually have the WiiU version myself but pride myself upon my design ability so I threw together a quick mockup. Details would be tested and sorted on a friend's console before any real submission of course.

Spoiler

In terms of layout, it's a lot like Pokemon Stadium with slopes, though it was originally going to be a platformless FD type stage that used this feature to dissuade projectile spamming. The lava on the underside is just for fun really but it could, theoretically, be used to prevent crossing under the stage without giving the option for wall jumps.