ParanoidDrone
Smash Master
Super Mario Maker is a very unique stage and it's actually really cool to see in action. And the Mario Maker theme is absurdly catchy.
Previously Covered
Hyrule Castle (64)
Peach's Castle (64)
Miiverse
Suzaku Castle
Dream Land (64)
Final Destination & Ω Forms
PAC-LAND
75M
Skyworld
Flat Zone X
The Great Cave Offensive
Onett
Palutena's Temple
Yoshi's Island
Wily Castle
Gaur Plain
Pyrosphere
Temple
Mario Circuit (Brawl)
Boxing Ring
Port Town Aero Dive
Bridge of Eldin
Pilotwings
Jungle Hijinxs
Wrecking Crew
Halberd
Pokemon Stadium 2
Big Battlefield
Battlefield
Smashville
Lylat Cruise
Castle Siege
Town & City
Duck Hunt
Delfino Plaza
Kalos Pokemon League
Mario Galaxy
Coliseum
Gamer
Wii Fit Studio
Kongo Jungle 64
Windy Hill Zone
Luigi's Mansion
Norfair
Orbital Gate Assault
Woolly World
Skyloft
Garden of Hope
Mushroom Kingdom U
Wuhu Island
Mario Circuit
Layout
Super Mario Maker is different every time you start a match. Trying to pin down a layout is futile -- ingame tips claim it has 995 possible forms.
Instead, the stage is built out of...well, building blocks, as it were. There's a ton of variety in how it can form: floating island, floating islands with pits, walkoffs, half-walkoffs, lava, ice, conveyor belts, moving platforms, floating platforms, solid platforms, destructible blocks, falling blocks, mushrooms...suffice to say there's a lot of stuff. On top of it all, the stage cycles between 4 different skins: Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and New Super Mario Bros. U. The skins are purely cosmetic and do not affect the fight, although one of the BGM tracks will change to reflect the current skin.
As a rule of thumb, anything that extends to the edge of the screen continues to the blast zone. This includes the ground, floating platforms, moving platforms, and conveyor belts. That said, the ingame camera is oddly restricted on this stage, so the screenshots below are not representative of this.
The one consistency is spawn location. Players start the match on temporary purple platforms in the sky that fade away once the fight starts. Players 1 and 2 start near the edges of the screen, while Players 3 and 4 start near the middle. The Omega form floats over a void and also cycles between the 4 skins.
The stage flattens characters into 2D projections, although the effect is not visually obvious unless the game is paused and players rotate the camera around. In terms of gameplay, this keeps all hitboxes and hurtboxes on a single plane, even when a character would normally animate into the foreground or background.
Super Mario Maker has a number of stage elements that need addressing. Some of them are destructible and will be replaced by the stage over time.
A "typical" (there's no such thing) stage in Super Mario Maker. It's not actually this trippy ingame, that's Photoshop.
The platform players spawn on.
The hand that replaces destroyed, activated, and fallen blocks. It can also be Mario's glove or a cat's paw.
Building Blocks
Some of the stage parts are pretty standard. You have your solid ground and your platforms, for starters. Pipes are also solid, with nothing fancy about them. Several parts are dynamic, however.
Brick and ? Blocks
Brick and ? Blocks can be present in the stage. Bricks can be broken by jumping into them from below, including Luma and Pikmin, or by taking 6% damage. ? Blocks can likewise be jumped into, but will also activate upon any hit regardless of damage. If items are enabled, ? Blocks will release an item when hit, with a higher chance to release items from the Super Mario series.
Blocks can be located over gaps in the stage. If a player finds themselves underneath, they can still recover normally since the blocks break on contact with the bottom.
Once a block is destroyed or used, a hand wielding a stylus will later appear to replace any missing blocks. The timing varies and is possibly tied to how the stage cycles through the skins instead of counting down from the moment a block is hit.
The Super Mario World skin uses Flip Blocks instead of normal brick blocks, but they function identically. Unlike normal Flip Blocks, they will not stop spinning on their own and must be replaced by the hand.
Donut Blocks
Donut Blocks are a recurring Mario obstacle. In this stage, they start to fall after about a second of cumulative pressure. That is to say, if you dash back and forth across a row of Donut Blocks, eventually they'll start to fall.
Fallen Donut Blocks are also replaced by the hand.
Moving Platforms
Some platforms move. Their path is indicated by gray lines in the background. If the path goes offscreen, that means the platform will continue to the blast zone and kill players standing on it at the time before coming back. Platform speed is constant.
Conveyor Belts
Moving conveyor belts can be embedded in the ground or floating in the air. Like everything else, if one extends off the edge of the screen then it will continue to the blast zone. However, the conveyor belts will not force a player to fall off the end. If one is at the ledge, it will also be grabbable.
Lava
Pits of lava can take up the bottom of the screen, or fill a hole in a floating stage. Contact does 25% damage with strong vertical knockback sufficient to kill Mario at 103%. Luma and Red Pikmin are immune to lava. Lava counts as a solid surface if you touch it while invincible.
Ice
Sheets of ice can occupy the ground. They can take up only part of the surface, or they can extend all the way to either side. If it forms a ledge, it will be grabbable.
Course World
With that out of the way, here's a small sampling of some stages observed during data collection and testing.
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A fairly tame layout, all things considered. The wooden blocks are solid.
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The donut blocks can be jumped through from below.
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The mushroom is solid from above, with a grabbable ledge, but can be jumped through from below. The stalk is not solid.
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A hilariously small amount of space to fight in.
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Ice is slippery, to no one's surprise. The gray path gives away a platform that's currently off-camera.
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The left platform moves up and down.
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The conveyor belt here extends all the way to the blast zone.
Summary
Previously Covered
Hyrule Castle (64)
Peach's Castle (64)
Miiverse
Suzaku Castle
Dream Land (64)
Final Destination & Ω Forms
PAC-LAND
75M
Skyworld
Flat Zone X
The Great Cave Offensive
Onett
Palutena's Temple
Yoshi's Island
Wily Castle
Gaur Plain
Pyrosphere
Temple
Mario Circuit (Brawl)
Boxing Ring
Port Town Aero Dive
Bridge of Eldin
Pilotwings
Jungle Hijinxs
Wrecking Crew
Halberd
Pokemon Stadium 2
Big Battlefield
Battlefield
Smashville
Lylat Cruise
Castle Siege
Town & City
Duck Hunt
Delfino Plaza
Kalos Pokemon League
Mario Galaxy
Coliseum
Gamer
Wii Fit Studio
Kongo Jungle 64
Windy Hill Zone
Luigi's Mansion
Norfair
Orbital Gate Assault
Woolly World
Skyloft
Garden of Hope
Mushroom Kingdom U
Wuhu Island
Mario Circuit
Layout
Super Mario Maker is different every time you start a match. Trying to pin down a layout is futile -- ingame tips claim it has 995 possible forms.
Instead, the stage is built out of...well, building blocks, as it were. There's a ton of variety in how it can form: floating island, floating islands with pits, walkoffs, half-walkoffs, lava, ice, conveyor belts, moving platforms, floating platforms, solid platforms, destructible blocks, falling blocks, mushrooms...suffice to say there's a lot of stuff. On top of it all, the stage cycles between 4 different skins: Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and New Super Mario Bros. U. The skins are purely cosmetic and do not affect the fight, although one of the BGM tracks will change to reflect the current skin.
As a rule of thumb, anything that extends to the edge of the screen continues to the blast zone. This includes the ground, floating platforms, moving platforms, and conveyor belts. That said, the ingame camera is oddly restricted on this stage, so the screenshots below are not representative of this.
The one consistency is spawn location. Players start the match on temporary purple platforms in the sky that fade away once the fight starts. Players 1 and 2 start near the edges of the screen, while Players 3 and 4 start near the middle. The Omega form floats over a void and also cycles between the 4 skins.
The stage flattens characters into 2D projections, although the effect is not visually obvious unless the game is paused and players rotate the camera around. In terms of gameplay, this keeps all hitboxes and hurtboxes on a single plane, even when a character would normally animate into the foreground or background.
Super Mario Maker has a number of stage elements that need addressing. Some of them are destructible and will be replaced by the stage over time.
A "typical" (there's no such thing) stage in Super Mario Maker. It's not actually this trippy ingame, that's Photoshop.
The platform players spawn on.
The hand that replaces destroyed, activated, and fallen blocks. It can also be Mario's glove or a cat's paw.
Building Blocks
Some of the stage parts are pretty standard. You have your solid ground and your platforms, for starters. Pipes are also solid, with nothing fancy about them. Several parts are dynamic, however.
Brick and ? Blocks
Brick and ? Blocks can be present in the stage. Bricks can be broken by jumping into them from below, including Luma and Pikmin, or by taking 6% damage. ? Blocks can likewise be jumped into, but will also activate upon any hit regardless of damage. If items are enabled, ? Blocks will release an item when hit, with a higher chance to release items from the Super Mario series.
Blocks can be located over gaps in the stage. If a player finds themselves underneath, they can still recover normally since the blocks break on contact with the bottom.
Once a block is destroyed or used, a hand wielding a stylus will later appear to replace any missing blocks. The timing varies and is possibly tied to how the stage cycles through the skins instead of counting down from the moment a block is hit.
The Super Mario World skin uses Flip Blocks instead of normal brick blocks, but they function identically. Unlike normal Flip Blocks, they will not stop spinning on their own and must be replaced by the hand.
Donut Blocks
Donut Blocks are a recurring Mario obstacle. In this stage, they start to fall after about a second of cumulative pressure. That is to say, if you dash back and forth across a row of Donut Blocks, eventually they'll start to fall.
Fallen Donut Blocks are also replaced by the hand.
Moving Platforms
Some platforms move. Their path is indicated by gray lines in the background. If the path goes offscreen, that means the platform will continue to the blast zone and kill players standing on it at the time before coming back. Platform speed is constant.
Conveyor Belts
Moving conveyor belts can be embedded in the ground or floating in the air. Like everything else, if one extends off the edge of the screen then it will continue to the blast zone. However, the conveyor belts will not force a player to fall off the end. If one is at the ledge, it will also be grabbable.
Lava
Pits of lava can take up the bottom of the screen, or fill a hole in a floating stage. Contact does 25% damage with strong vertical knockback sufficient to kill Mario at 103%. Luma and Red Pikmin are immune to lava. Lava counts as a solid surface if you touch it while invincible.
Ice
Sheets of ice can occupy the ground. They can take up only part of the surface, or they can extend all the way to either side. If it forms a ledge, it will be grabbable.
Course World
With that out of the way, here's a small sampling of some stages observed during data collection and testing.
A fairly tame layout, all things considered. The wooden blocks are solid.
The donut blocks can be jumped through from below.
The mushroom is solid from above, with a grabbable ledge, but can be jumped through from below. The stalk is not solid.
A hilariously small amount of space to fight in.
Ice is slippery, to no one's surprise. The gray path gives away a platform that's currently off-camera.
The left platform moves up and down.
The conveyor belt here extends all the way to the blast zone.
Summary
- Don't bother trying to nail down a consistent layout. Just don't.
- In general, anything that extends offscreen goes all the way to the blast zone.
- Stage is 2D, everything is flat.
- Brick Blocks are breakable, ? Blocks release items.
- Donut Blocks fall if you stand on them too much.
- Ice is slippery. (Surprise!)
- Lava is dangerous, kills Mario at 103%.
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