Dojo update: Stage Builder
If you ever doubted Brawl would have the potential to decimate your social life, then now is perhaps a good time to revise that opinion. According to today's Dojo update, the game will ship with a fully-fledged Stage Builder feature, allowing tinkering types like us to choose the size of the stage, the background pattern, the music that plays as you're scrapping, and offering an array of platforms, traps, terrain, ladders, and more.
Once you're done, you can save your handiwork to an SD card if you like, but here's the really superb part: you can send your creations to other people, or even to Nintendo. If Ninty really likes your level, it'll be sent out over the Internet for other Brawl players to sample, with a different user-created stage distributed each and every day. As the Dojo update itself puts it, "This means you'll be able to experience a new stage every day -- the flavor of the day, if you will. However, the plan is for that stage to vanish once one day has passed. It's a once-in-a-lifetime encounter."
A most excellent addition, we reckon. What say you?












Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-29-2007 @ 3:04PM
troy said...
I agree, this one feature alone is worth extending the release date til Feb! I mean I was wondering what I was going to do when I had to wake up at seven every morning with my girlfriend while she was doing her homework after the daily dojo updates stopped, and now I can check on the new daily smash bros LEVEL!
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10-29-2007 @ 3:18PM
Shadow31 said...
Okay, I take back any worries that Brawl won't live up to the name it's getting. I mean, seriously... the only thing left for this game to be perfect is downloadable content, which would include characters, stages, more parts for stage building, and maybe even items and stuff. But this alone can make replayability near infinite. I'm already planning out some stage designs off of what I've seen in the screenshots there... and I must say some are downright devious.
Oh, and I figured out a way around having that daily stage disappear if you really like it, assuming you can't save it. Take a screenshot of the stage, then recreate it in this mode. :)
Now how am I going to resist playing the game daily as to not miss a stage...?
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10-29-2007 @ 3:19PM
Snively said...
OH SWEET JESUS! EXCELLENT!
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10-29-2007 @ 3:21PM
sly said...
This is a gift to everyone who will inevitably break up with their significant others during February. Instead of picking up the controller with an empty feeling inside, you'll have a daily gift from nintendo. This almost certainly makes up for a gamer's loneliness.
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10-29-2007 @ 3:22PM
dave said...
sounds like a lot of fun
I'm a little confused though. Does this mean that if your level is chosen, anybody can SEE it or does it mean that anybody can PLAY it? (kind of in response to troy's comment)
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10-29-2007 @ 3:23PM
chris said...
Is it just me or does King Dedede look like he's floating like Kirby and Jigglypuff. Having a heavyweight character that can float would be quite awesome.
Plus, creating my own stage is really exciting. I wonder if I could make something as intricate as "The Rainbow Cruise" from Melee.... If I can, I'll be the happiest boy in all of the land.
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10-29-2007 @ 3:34PM
Shadow31 said...
@ sly: Except those of us lucky enough to have a significant other who not only really enjoys Smash Bros, but doesn't own a Wii. My fiancee will be coming to my place just to play this game, haha.
@ dave: Anyone can play it, but only for a day, then it disappears.
@ chris: Yes, King Dedede can float like Kirby. He has in every past Kirby game, I have no doubts that they would change that.
And finally, I got thinking... I hope this is as deep as it sounds. Hopefully you can use parts and hazards from any stage, use any background, etc... I noticed in a screenshot some meter for the number of parts you can use, so I'm hoping it's not as limited as Mario vs Donkey Kong 2 (I always ran out of parts trying to finish my designs). I doubt you can mix and match hazards (rising lava from Norfair and destructable platforms from Skyworld), but that would be sweet. I just hope they include pretty much anything... can you use stages like PictoChat as base designs, adding complexity to them? What about WarioWare? I most think there will be some sort of limitations, it's a matter of where those limitations lie...
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10-29-2007 @ 3:37PM
comtar said...
Well thank god it uses the SD Card...
If that's the case it should be completely reasonable to have downloadable characters that can be loaded from the SD stick. Most SD sticks nowadays can hold as much as a DVD and are actually reasonably priced.
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10-29-2007 @ 3:43PM
Shadow31 said...
@ comtar: ...I frickin' love you. I hardly thought of the fact that they'll be played right off the SD card, so downloadable characters could in fact work like that. I wonder at how well that would work, but you brought up a great point!
Level boxed in with solid blocks, except the floor is destructable. Keeping it small, too. A few missed attacks might screw everyone over. :) And if I can add the rising lava, it'd make it all the more amusing...
Another idea: rising lava, but the stage wayyy above it. If you fall, the chances of recovery are minimal at best, but you do get to be tossed around like a potato.
Last... training stage that could double as an insane fight club. All boxed in except maybe a hole or two up higher in the walls. Rack up damage 'til they fly out the hole!
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10-29-2007 @ 3:54PM
Trogdor said...
*drools* MAN THIS IS AWESOME!!! Seriously, it's a good thing my girlfriend likes video games, cuz otherwise I'd be torn between spending time with her, or playing Brawl. Now I can do both....AT THE SAME TIME!!!! I hope you don't just need an SD card to save levels, though. if you do, I'll be forced to buy one.
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10-29-2007 @ 4:09PM
racecar said...
@sly Ha. Just in time for Valentine's Day.
Why do I foresee a slew of fan sites dedicated to remaking the (worthwhile) one-a-days? SmashBrosStages.com or some such thing. Hmm... Maybe I should look into that.
-racecar
http://everybodyvotes.blogspot.com
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10-29-2007 @ 4:22PM
burrito67 said...
I wonder if you could design a map that would spell out your friend code. Hmmmmm.....
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10-29-2007 @ 4:39PM
TheTallGuy said...
This is such a prodigious update! I already have a few in mind that I will save until you see them come up on the daily level creations :D. But I noticed something that I don't think anyone has commented on. In one of the pics, Mario is climbing a ladder... he is CLIMBING a ladder... I don't remember anywhere saying that objects could be interactive... Does this mean there could be a classic Mario level from Mario vs Donkey Kong? Interesting indeed...
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10-29-2007 @ 4:43PM
Soiden said...
I really and seriously think this is the best update ever [Or maybe the 2nd best after Online play]. This is so awesome, and I'm so excited to try this option, I already have more than 10 stages ideas in my head.
One think I wonder is about the selected stage Nintendo sends to every Wii. It longs only 1 day, but how? I guess we must download it to use it, so we can save it in a SD card. That way, the only way I think it could be erased is that it has some code that automatically erases it after 24 hours.
The good point is that we can make the same stage in our Smash Brawl.
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10-29-2007 @ 4:46PM
TheTallGuy said...
Also another thing I didn't realize until now is that in the pictures of the perosn building the level, at the top middle it says "Remaining Parts" with a gauge on it... so there goes the idea that you could have infinite stuff on a map... time to get creative!
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10-29-2007 @ 4:54PM
LeChuck said...
Know what else would be a great addition? Mii integration! Wait, hear me out. People come up with some really interesting Mii designs and M&S Olympics shows that a game can take the Mii heads and put them on better bodies. They could let you import a Mii and choose a fighter class: speedy, heavyweight, etc then mix and match moves from the characters in that class.
Then we'd be able to create/share/download new stages AND characters into the game all the time and NEVER run out of new content.
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10-29-2007 @ 5:20PM
Mr Khan said...
So, If Melee had infinite Replayability then Brawl will have infinity squared replayability?
Is this possible?
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10-29-2007 @ 5:29PM
Shadow31 said...
@ Trogdor: Yes, you should be able to save it on the Wii internal memory, but do you know how quickly that would fill? With all the ideas I have, I'm thinking of using an SD card dedicated to this game. SD = Smash Data? Yeah, that was horrible.
@ TheTallGuy: The ladders were already announced for the Donkey Kong stage. If you look at the screenshots of it on smashbros.com, you will see examples of this. As for "remaining parts", I already pointed that out, haha, and how much I've had bad experiences with such limitations... I'm hoping it's lenient.
@ Soiden: Yeah, um, by the way Sakurai is making it sound, rather than us choosing to download it, it seems like either it's sent out to the WiiConnect24 and written over every day (replacing the memory slot with it), or it's loaded into RAM when you select the stage (less likely). But yes, you lack the creativity or just really enjoyed a particular stage, take a screenshot, recreate it, there you go.
@ LeChuck: ...please no, I considered that, then realized, that would get old fast and... just no. Let's not make the game too gimmicky. Just give us downloadable characters later on and that'd be sooo much better.
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10-29-2007 @ 5:30PM
todde7 said...
I just hope they allow you to play with your friends over WiFi on these stages that would be sweet!
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10-29-2007 @ 5:48PM
Ultima said...
Yeah, I'd have to agree with Soiden. This is probably (one of the) best, most exciting updates for this game. With this feature, Brawl will last many many many MANY times longer than it already would have! This makes the February delay worth the wait!
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10-29-2007 @ 6:03PM
badboy007ing said...
yep defintely and guys on the fanboy thing saukiari did get some people who have played smash like 10,000 times so he could be getting ideas from them too this was well worth the delay i mean whats next "make ur own character"
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10-29-2007 @ 6:34PM
DonWii said...
All I need to know is if I can make a scrolling upward stage, so that I can design an Ice Climber's classic stage.
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10-29-2007 @ 7:17PM
Drahken said...
Brawl truly is shaping up to be the experience of this, or any, lifetime.
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10-29-2007 @ 7:21PM
thatswhyilikespam said...
Awesome update.
@Lechuck: I'd love to see Miis as playable characters in Smash Bros, but I don't think the mix and match thing sounds very good. I'd rather they have they're own set of moves inspired by the games they are in so far (Wii Sports, Wii Play, maybe Mario & Sonic at the Olympics).
Standard combo could come from Wii Sports boxing, Special moves could involve swinging a Tennis racket, Golf Club, and Baseball Bat and rolling a Bowling Ball. Up B could be make him float up in a bubble like in Wii Play. I'm just thinking of this while I write, but I think it would be cool.
But thats just me.
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10-29-2007 @ 10:13PM
Seba said...
If they don“t include Miis they will be wasting a great oportunity to be the best game ever
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10-29-2007 @ 10:42PM
Blast Processing Megadrive said...
The DOJO also revealed in this post that you can also submit snapshots to Nintendo.
If you go back to the blog entry about Taking Snapshots, you'll see that the pink/purple button has been unblurred now.
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10-29-2007 @ 11:10PM
Shogan said...
This is truly the best news from Smash Bros so far (since online multiplayer, anyway). I've got ideas racing through my head for this... a Donkey Kong level, maybe some other classic platformer levels. IF this is as complete as I pray it will be, the Wii shortage could last until 2050.
Another interesting thing is the ability to play off the SD card. Given that we can already use MP3s in Forever Blue, SSBB, and Excite Truck, SD card integration seems to be what Nintendo is aiming for. MAYBE that gives those of us with VC game storage issues some hope. If only Nintendo could increase the storage restriction on SD cards from 2 gigs to... well more.
All good though. Super Smash Bros Brawl is THE most wanted game on my list. There's just nothing else that's even coming close to how awesome this is going to be. Not. A. Thing!
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10-30-2007 @ 12:39AM
apjgraphix said...
This makes me really sad... to think that there are smash bros fans out their that will die between today and the February release date, without experiencing this game...
so sad indeed. but my biggest fear is that I die without actually playing it... is worst then dieing a virgin.
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10-30-2007 @ 10:58AM
Matt said...
Hmm, just a thought, but hopefully this means the SD card will start to be used more? Maybe they'll do what they did with Excite Truck and allow musical playlists? I'd love to smash whilst thrashing to some heavy rock/metal...
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