Stage Builder: Ideas and Improvements

[SMAASH! Puppy]

There's no way to tell right now, and anyone claiming they know with 100% certainty is lying.

Or just biased...

Guilty as charged.

 

[MetaWeegee]

On it's own, I probably would have been torn between whether these datamined files were actually for a future patch or just cut content.... but then I remembered what one of the blurred out images looked like:

Coupled with the fact that it most likely didn't return becuse they scrapped some **** out to get the game in stores by December, and honestly, I'm certain at least Stage Builder is coming.

 

[TheDuke54]

It'd be cool if it were true, but that just looks like a bunch of blotches of colors to me.

 

[RileyXY1]

It was pure speculation up untill a few days ago in which dataminers found files titled Stage Builder and Home Run Contest. These indicate either cut content or content that is soon to be. It's probably the latter.

I think that it's the former.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

I think that it's the former.

It could technically be both.

 

[StarFan13]

was making a blueprint for a stage so i can make anything rep the stage going to look like this

 

[TheTrueBrawler]

On it's own, I probably would have been torn between whether these datamined files were actually for a future patch or just cut content.... but then I remembered what one of the blurred out images looked like:

Coupled with the fact that it most likely didn't return becuse they scrapped some **** out to get the game in stores by December, and honestly, I'm certain at least Stage Builder is coming.

This comment aged well.

You actually predicted stage builder based on part of a blurred screen. Congratulations.

 

[Miifighters4Smash5]

Here's How I Would improve Stage Builder:
1. Ban ALL Custom Stages that have Pictures of $3x, d1cks, and make it so that The Person's Console is Banned from Posting their NSFW Stages online; so that even IF they use a different user; If It's on the same Console, they'd still be banned; and Remove their stages from the Recommended & Popular Sections of the custom stage showcase
2. Make it so that Platforms are SOLID enough for the players to NOT Phase through them WHEN THEY'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO!!!!!!
3. Make it like SMM2 Where You don't need the touchscreen to make stages; but CAN use the joycon controls to move each stage IN HANDHELD/TABLETOP MODE; Because THAT'S my biggest problem with stage builder itself. . .

 

[Yuya-Noboru]

Okay so now that the Stage Builder mode is released, I want to talk about serious issue this mode has.

PART 1 - EXISTING CONTENT TO CORRECT/IMPROVE ---------------------------------------------------------------------

01) The fact that you cannot choose where players begin/respawn sucks. Basically, every stage with a roof is unplayable because of the ******** respawn system. The unofficial PC stage builder of SSBB gave that possibility so there's no reason Nintendo can't put that in the next update. It also destroy the fun of most conceptual stages.

02) Drawing is a pain in the ass, it would be nice that the "erase" feature wont delete completely every piece in the selected zone. That would be nice to have the same tools (rectangle, sphere, etc.) which give you ease the drawing feature. For example, you create a rectangle, then you erase with the "delete" tool with the "sphere" mode and you can create a perfect arch in 2 step.

03) Since they implemented a "playlist" feature, it would be intelligent to be able to select a playlist rather than just 1 title for our custom stage. Each time we enter a fight, a random song in the playlist will be selected.

04) Better grid that would adapt correctly when you zoom in / zoom out.

05) It would be nice when you create a stage to have the selected music (of the custom stage you're creating) playing rather than the same track over and over again. It's annoying !

06) Objects: It would be nice to have a rotating barrel (DK Style), instead of a stuck one.

07) Expand the editable zone above the stage so we can better use the "gravity" functionality. The stage would look better as well.

PART 2 - NEW CONTENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

08) EVENT CREATOR. A feature that will probably never see the light lol. It would be nice to be able to create "events". Basically, you select a "timer" where you can enable/disable some content you put in the edited stage (possibility of loop). It can get even more complex but I'll let you think about it.

09) Additional feature: Being able to create a point where a character can grab the side of a platform. There are a lot of interesting shapes that are useless because characters cannot grab the ledge though it looks correct.

10) More objects: Spikes (like in Brawl); Falling platforms when a character step on it (like in Brawl); P-Switch that would goes with special platform that could appear/disappear.

11) Having the possibility to expand/reduce the size of the stage while creating it (the same way you crop a picture in Photoshop).

12) Lightning options & particles so stage doesn't looks terrible in comparison to real ones (though it's way better than the two previous stage builders).

 

[Suspicious Squirtle]

Just after a couple of hours with the 3.0 update, I think that Stage Builder, while better than Brawl and 4 could use some improvements.

1. Give us all the backgrounds from the in-game stages (or at least all the Nintendo ones if there are copyright problems with the 3rd party stages). I guess I got my hopes up too high when the information video came out and I saw actual stage backgrounds.

2. Acid, poison, and water as terrain options.

3. More objects: implement some objects from Brawl like the spinning wheel, stairs, conveyor belts, and spikes while also giving us new ones.

4. Maybe for online have a 18+ tab for the sexual stage creations. That way, people who aren't looking for joke stages can find cool stages without seeing those in there.

5. Give us more letters for stage names. I think 25 or 30 would be good.

6. More than one song per custom level. Like mentioned above, I think the playlists would be a great way to implement this.

 

[ryuu seika]

Acid, poison, and water as terrain options.

Isn't acid just a lava recolour? I've been wanting water since stagebuilder existed, though. The ability to have it floating over ledges for weird recovery would be super cool, IMO.

 

[Xelrog]

I am disappointed with the lack of interactive objects, that being my main issue with Smash 4's editor. That said, I expect more to be added in future patches. I hope I'm not proven wrong.

 

[FartyParty]

My issues with Stage Builder:
1) It would be nice if there was a simple "Platform" object we could place, that defaults to the battlefield length but could be extended.
2) Maybe I'm just being stupid but my attempts at using lines to create platforms are not working out. I turned off the grabbable edges, but they're still not behaving like platforms, regardless. Characters can ricochet, tech or wall jump off the sides of my platforms, and I don't know how to change that; there doesn't seem to be a setting for it.
3) Maybe it's just my poor fine motor skills, but it's hard to draw a straight line. Would be nice to have separate options for straight line or free-form line.
4) As others have mentioned, being restricted to a single song is pretty lame. Let us use a playlist.

 

[Krimnorr]

My issues with Stage Builder:
1) It would be nice if there was a simple "Platform" object we could place, that defaults to the battlefield length but could be extended.
2) Maybe I'm just being stupid but my attempts at using lines to create platforms are not working out. I turned off the grabbable edges, but they're still not behaving like platforms, regardless. Characters can ricochet, tech or wall jump off the sides of my platforms, and I don't know how to change that; there doesn't seem to be a setting for it.
3) Maybe it's just my poor fine motor skills, but it's hard to draw a straight line. Would be nice to have separate options for straight line or free-form line.
4) As others have mentioned, being restricted to a single song is pretty lame. Let us use a playlist.

For number 2, there's unfortunately no way to bypass this. The thinnest line you can make is always techable. I'll just assume this is a glitch and will be fixed.

For number 3, if you hold L or R as you're drawing, it will straighten the line perfectly. (Maybe you already know this, but still a useful little tip)

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

I wish the stage builder was better but I'm really happy with what we have. Right now my biggest gripe is about the Switch touch screen in that it doesn't read styluses. I don't know about you but I'm not to keen on finger painting my stages especially since I don't file my nails. It's a good thing that using the thumbstick is somewhat managable, though making slight movements with it it pretty impossible since it seems to be all or nothing.

For number 3, if you hold L or R as you're drawing, it will straighten the line perfectly. (Maybe you already know this, but still a useful little tip)

I've never had trouble with streight lines but this is a pretty cool feature. I think alternitively you can tap (or press the button) in two coordinates to have the game draw a line between them.

 

[TheTrueBrawler]

I think my biggest issue with stage builder is the lack of an option to use a controller while in handheld mode. I'm restricted to my fingers.

 

[Yuya-Noboru]

I'd also add that there are no copy/paste option which isn't hard to develop.

 

[Xelrog]

Both the above two are big flaws. Lack of copy/paste is kind of a critical flaw, and not being able to use the control stick in handheld mode is also very bad.

Has anyone found a way to copy or otherwise Save As entire stages? I want to make two versions of one stage, but I can't seem to save it to a second stage slot. You're not telling me I have to re-draw the entire stage from scratch, are you, Nintendo? -_-

 

[Arthur97]

If you're using a controller, you can just select two points and it can make the line for you. Unfortunately, there is no way to undo a mistake while doing this to my knowledge meaning that if you mess up, you probably have to scrap the whole platform.

I miss Brawl's version.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

If you're using a controller, you can just select two points and it can make the line for you. Unfortunately, there is no way to undo a mistake while doing this to my knowledge meaning that if you mess up, you probably have to scrap the whole platform.

I miss Brawl's version.

Furthermore, it seems that you cannot cancel mistakes before you finish building the terrain as pressing the B button brings up the "Are you sure you want to quit without saving?" message.

 

[Ze Diglett]

Honestly, as someone who's spent quite a bit of time fooling around in the Stage Builder, a basic copy+paste function would be a godsend. Making a symmetrical stage is so hard when you have to make both sides separately, especially if there are parts of your stage that you have to draw freehand. Being able to manually set the blast zones and spawn positions of the players also feels like a feature that's long overdue.
Overall, though, I'm loving the Stage Builder. It could use some tweaks, which is why I hope they update it throughout this game's dev cycle and don't just leave it how it is, but as it is, it feels like I can do some really cool stuff with it, which is more than I can say for Brawl's, or especially Smash 4's Stage Builder.

 

[MacDaddyNook]

4. Maybe for online have a 18+ tab for the sexual stage creations. That way, people who aren't looking for joke stages can find cool stages without seeing those in there.

I wish it were possible to sift out the trash, but unfortunately I'm certain nobody would use the tab out of laziness or deliberately because they think it's funny to post inappropriate stuff in the family friendly section. And if Nintendo has to manually sort out the 18+ content to put it in its own category, they might as well just stick with removing them from the servers all together like they are now.

Honestly, as someone who's spent quite a bit of time fooling around in the Stage Builder, a basic copy+paste function would be a godsend. Making a symmetrical stage is so hard when you have to make both sides separately, especially if there are parts of your stage that you have to draw freehand. Being able to manually set the blast zones and spawn positions of the players also feels like a feature that's long overdue.
Overall, though, I'm loving the Stage Builder. It could use some tweaks, which is why I hope they update it throughout this game's dev cycle and don't just leave it how it is, but as it is, it feels like I can do some really cool stuff with it, which is more than I can say for Brawl's, or especially Smash 4's Stage Builder.

I'm hoping for additional updates as well, the mode is turning out to be very popular already and having some addition "quality of life" options like copy/paste and mirror are a must. It'd also be nice to get the backgrounds, and possibly textures, from Brawl and Smash 4, not to mention I still miss the Drop Block.

 

[SvartWolf]

well... i have to admit that im grateful that i got my multi layer solution to make stages less super flat. it was the best way to implement it i think.. that being said... do everything not on the player area needs to feel like cardboard cuts?

-would love if every figure you create got an Z depth slider along when yo choose stuff like gravity and stuff. with a max ammount that doesn't interfere gameplay. that way you could give more volume to background elements if needed and create more interesting forms.

-more platform textures... like.. there aren't a single brick wall texture.. like.. come on? (extra points if they reuse final destination stages textures)

-Also a simple way to change color to platforms, so you don't need to use a jeans texture everytime you want blue. maybe a RGB slider,? or a simple saturation/brightness/contrast/Hue sliders, plus a pallette per stage so you can easily access this new textures in the same stage.

-While a very lite ilumination system would be welcome... at least having acces to global ilumination parameters of teh stage would be nice. (bloom, light, shadows, etc..)

-different skins to hazards, like DK barrels, or wooden stairs, or sonic springs, as examples.

-A couple of new hazards blocks, like a brick destroyable block (that respawn), question mark blocks (mario) or Candles (castlevania)

-Also a hazard "block" that works exactly like battlefield platform (and can be reskined as any platform from the battlefields versions)

-Player spawn and respawn nodes (important)

-Decoration blocks that are pretty (maybe even thematic, like bowser castle themed pillars and stuff) , and are instanced, so only teh first you put on the stage counts towards the stage weight,. ( i'm sure that assist trophies are instanced, so you can have like hundreds of teh same assist trophy withouth issue)
(also extra points if they reuse tons of assets from the stages (castlevania pillars, yoshi's trees, sonic's palm trees, etc etc etc...)

-more backgrounds, they have over 100 they can reuse, so i don't see why not?

Still the improvements over smash 4 stage builder are substantial.

 

[TheTrueBrawler]

-Also a hazard "block" that works exactly like battlefield platform (and can be reskined as any platform from the battlefields versions)

-Player spawn and respawn nodes (important)

The first one should just be all regularly drawn platforms anyways, but these two are big for actually designing stages.

 

[lucasla]

If they wanted, they could just create a destructable "target" object, add timer and the possibility to create a "challenge level", and then we would have infinite Break the Targets created by the community. It's actually a very simple thing for them to do and provide to us, now that the stage builder is ready.
I also dont understand why they dont give us the possibility to use entire objects from other stages to create really beautiful custom stages. Just take whateaver that could be considered an "object" in all stages and add on a list on stage builder, maybe simpler versions of the objects to make things easier.. Objects like cristals, rocks, ships, entire houses from the earthbound stage, and them allow us to manipulate, the size, rotation... it would be awesome.

 

[PeridotGX]

On the whole I'm very satisfied with Stage Bulder, there's just a few more things I'd like

1. More Backgrounds. While being able to use any stage's background would be ideal, there are a few I think would really add to the stage builder, such as Fourside, Mushroomy Kingdom, GCO, and Brinstar Depths.

2. Changeable spawning points and recovery platform location.

3. The ability to use while Stage Morph is active.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

-Player spawn and respawn nodes (important)

2. Changeable spawning points and recovery platform location.

I really hope they add this. It's kinda dumb when you go to play a stage and both players are within attack distance of each other.

 

[Tasokun]

I agree with several points in this thread, copy+paste, more backgrounds, more textures, and a z axis slider (to make a block take up two or more layers) are the big ones to me.

There's one more big thing, though. After I draw an object and then draw a second object, there's no way to put the first object in front of the second one when on the same layer. Although it is possible to just move the second object back a layer, there are some cases where this would not be preferable. I would like a way to refresh an object and bring it to the front of a layer.

 

[TheDuke54]

Does anyone know of a stylus that works for the Switch? I'm trying to make stages with my finger on the touch screen or the control stick, but they don't really get accurate enough for me. That's the one thing that confuses me about the Switch and games that use features that would require a good stylus. Why haven't they made an official one or sent on with the console?

And yeah the copy paste thing should had been a thing. Not sure why it wasn't. Hopefully they update as time goes on.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

Does anyone know of a stylus that works for the Switch? I'm trying to make stages with my finger on the touch screen or the control stick, but they don't really get accurate enough for me. That's the one thing that confuses me about the Switch and games that use features that would require a good stylus. Why haven't they made an official one or sent on with the console?

And yeah the copy paste thing should had been a thing. Not sure why it wasn't. Hopefully they update as time goes on.

Soft tip styluses seem to work fine while hard tip ones (like the ones for the 3Ds and Wii U) do not. If you have a mobile device that came with a stylus then it should work, if not I think you can buy them individually elsewhere. The one my mom had on hand also doubled as a pen, which is actually quite useful if you want to practice drawing your ideas before building your stage.

 

[MetaWeegee]

Just found out I can't play my custom stages in training mode.

Seriously? What the ****.

 

[TheDuke54]

It'd be nice if you could throw something into another layer. I've made things and then realized they were in the wrong layer. It shouldn't be that hard to edit it into one of the other layers, instead of having to delete and do it all over again. Even if it is a small change, it'd be nice to fix it quickly.

 

[pupNapoleon]

Idea (maybe stated before, have not read it all):

ALLOW MORE ITEMS! I love the warps and bombs and everything, but I think we are missing a lot of customization options with currently available assets: Give us the option to use actual items and summonable items in the stage!
The Mii's should have this as well, in my opinion.

 

[TheDuke54]

It'd be nice to have the spawn zones be able to be edited somewhere else. I put a lot of work into one stage and when I had to respawn I realized how stupid it looked because the spawn portal was way to high. It doesn't let you edit stuff above a certain limit that is grayed out, but the spawn portal is above that gray line so you can see where all the designs had to be forced to end and it just looks weird.

 

[Hadokeyblade]

One thing they didn't bother to add was platforms. Why can't you put platforms on the stage?

 

[Xelrog]

It'd be nice if you could throw something into another layer. I've made things and then realized they were in the wrong layer. It shouldn't be that hard to edit it into one of the other layers, instead of having to delete and do it all over again. Even if it is a small change, it'd be nice to fix it quickly.

I read on Reddit that you can move between layers using birds-eye view. Try messing with that.

 

[pupNapoleon]

Honestly- the thing about any kind of editing software, or any tech at all, is that it falls to one of two sides in a spectrum:
-Easy controls, with less to do
-Advanced controls, with more to do.

So I guess, I would want this version of stage editor to be considered a basic version, and have an option for those who wanted to learn it in depth to be able to focus on a "do everthing" mode.
Example: the respawn point from above. I cannot see a way in which everyone who creates a stage should need to know what this is, but yes, it does help to flesh out a stages abilities.

Sadly, I cannot imagine us getting two versions of a stage builder, with just a toggle to make it advanced or not.

 

[Ze Diglett]

Now that I think about it, why can't you edit stages you've downloaded off of Shared Content? That comes off as a bit dumb. That means that if I download somebody else's stage and notice an easily fixable defect within it (like, say, a clipping issue or a ledge where there really shouldn't be one), I can't go in and fix it and I just have to hope the creator also notices it and uploads an entirely separate version of the stage for it to be fixed. I just can't see the harm in letting people do that.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

It'd be nice if you could throw something into another layer. I've made things and then realized they were in the wrong layer. It shouldn't be that hard to edit it into one of the other layers, instead of having to delete and do it all over again. Even if it is a small change, it'd be nice to fix it quickly.

I read on Reddit that you can move between layers using birds-eye view. Try messing with that.

This is correct. Using the edit tool tap on any item you want to move, go into birds-eye view and then press up or down on the d-pad.

 

[Yuya-Noboru]

Honestly- the thing about any kind of editing software, or any tech at all, is that it falls to one of two sides in a spectrum: Easy controls, with less to do; Advanced controls, with more to do.

So I guess, I would want this version of stage editor to be considered a basic version, and have an option for those who wanted to learn it in depth to be able to focus on a "do everthing" mode. Example: the respawn point from above. I cannot see a way in which everyone who creates a stage should need to know what this is, but yes, it does help to flesh out a stages abilities. Sadly, I cannot imagine us getting two versions of a stage builder, with just a toggle to make it advanced or not.

This is absurd. That respawn feature would be the easiest feature to use and is the most essential missing feature. Everyone should need to know that it exists and, as someone said before, how many people get their stages screwed because of the stupid way the actual respawn system is? Your example is wrong, but I understand the message you wanted to share.

However, there aren't any problem of having "advanced controls" and "basic controls" in the same editor. They just need to add a "advanced button" in any feature that needs it and that's all. If low-IQ people don't want to be bothered by advanced features, they'll just ignore it, and the other will be able to use those functionality without getting limited because of them.

Now that I think about it, why can't you edit stages you've downloaded off of Shared Content? That comes off as a bit dumb. That means that if I download somebody else's stage and notice an easily fixable defect within it (like, say, a clipping issue or a ledge where there really shouldn't be one), I can't go in and fix it and I just have to hope the creator also notices it and uploads an entirely separate version of the stage for it to be fixed. I just can't see the harm in letting people do that.

This is probably to prevent people from stealing other's works but (as always) they didn't choose the best way to do that. There are no private chat features so you cannot inform them that they made a mistake and if you want to correct them, you'll need to recreate from A to Z the said stage. That's so dumb. If it's really about "stealing other's works", then they should just block the "share" option on downloaded stage. That would be easier and better for everyone.

Also, I'd (again) add other things to improve: The selection tool is trash. Sometimes you want to select on thing but you select everything that collide with the first object, and sometimes you want to select a group of objects and you end up selecting just one of them. The funny part is that I tried doing the same thing over and over and it looks like it gave different results.