Why do so many stages lack platforms?

[jackal27]

This might be kind of a weird question, but I've been mulling it over for a while.

Why are there so many stage creators that don't add platforms to their stages, especially imports? As I'm browsing Brawl Vault I just see so many stages that are either long and flat or just kind of hilly with not a lot going on. Maybe one raised area or something along those lines. It's a shame too because many of these stages look pretty, but just aren't much fun to play on due to the lack of platforms, cliffs, and other things that add variety to gameplay.

Is it something to do with wanting to remain accurate to the original area in the game they're representing? Do a lot of people genuinely like stages like this? Is it the weird "Only Final Destination is balanced." myth that a lot of folks believe?

I'm tempted to just start throwing in animated and static platforms myself since it really isn't a crazy amount of work.

 

[Xermo]

Examples?
Can't speak in place of others, but I'd assume that the primary intentions behind importing a stage isn't to add platforms or make it "diverse" in terms of it's original layout, it's just to have it working in-game. If you want platforms, then feel free to do so by all means; I certainly do that myself.

And yeah, there are plenty of people who don't care about platforms, where the stage just serves as a varied backdrop with fitting music.

 

[jackal27]

Examples?
Can't speak in place of others, but I'd assume that the primary intentions behind importing a stage isn't to add platforms or make it "diverse" in terms of it's original layout, it's just to have it working in-game. If you want platforms, then feel free to do so by all means; I certainly do that myself.

And yeah, there are plenty of people who don't care about platforms, where the stage just serves as a varied backdrop with fitting music.

Eh, I won't give examples due to the fact that I wouldn't want to offend anyone in particular, but there are tons of them out there. I suppose I just wonder what's the point of importing it if it isn't even fun to play? There are several stages I already have on my radar to make some adjustments to, this just seemed like a big enough recurring issue that I wondered if there was a specific reason for it.

Also, I not sure merely importing is the reason, because many of these stages have animated characters and models that are much more difficult to implement.

 

[Xermo]

Well I wouldn't exactly call it a recurring issue. How they make and play with their content is up to them.

 

[ECHOnce]

Omega/Alpha platformless stages are kinda trending more recently. But it hasn't been that big, and as far as I can tell, there's plenty of platformed stages being released still. At least to the extent that...I believe they're still the majority?

 

[jackal27]

Omega/Alpha platformless stages are kinda trending more recently. But it hasn't been that big, and as far as I can tell, there's plenty of platformed stages being released still. At least to the extent that...I believe they're still the majority?

Yeah, Omega stages aren't really the issue I'm thinking of. I'm thinking more along the lines of imported areas from games where the appearance is kept the same as it is in the game itself instead of being a little modified to make it more enjoyable in Smash Bros. It hasn't really been lately either as most of the examples I've seen of this are kind of all over Brawl Vault and span years and years, but there does seem to be a lot of them.

I guess I should just learn a bit more about editing stages and get over it or release my own versions haha. I'm just surprised no one is already doing this so I thought there might be a deliberate reason these imports don't have platforms, drop offs, etc.

 

[Dastardly Ridleylash]

Mostly, it's so that they're competetively viable, personally. There's also the fact that not many people have the knowledge to make good stage hazards that aren't reskins of others or not very fun.

 

[jackal27]

Mostly, it's so that they're competetively viable, personally. There's also the fact that not many people have the knowledge to make good stage hazards that aren't reskins of others or not very fun.

Yeah, but I'm not talking about hazards. Your Ridley's Lair stage (great stage btw) is great example of what I'd like to see more of. It has platforms and a drop off and isn't just one long floor that extends past either end of the screen. Even a stage extending like that isn't the issue if there are a couple of platforms to get easier kills off the top or mix things up. It even has some neat details that add to it like the space pirates, but I'm not even wondering about that. I'm sure just throwing those platforms in was one of the easier parts right? And it's still competitively viable (if a bit dark).

EDIT: Oh wow! Your platforms are even animated and the stage has a hazards version which is far beyond what I'm even thinking. Excellent work. Not sure why I wasn't using this one sooner.

 

[Sandfall]

Barring the "omega" stages people have been making, I haven't really noticed the flat stage trend either...