Originally posted by natnewOriginally posted by GbreezeSunsetThis opinion might make sense for, say, the pure vanilla contest, where all the levels look like regular smw with default palettes. But most levels in this contest go above and beyond, and a few of them look so completely un vanilla with how much their designers stretched the meaning of vanilla, is it maybe fitting for the overworld to do the same?
All the not-valilla-ness was through editing tricks. There's no issues with using editing tricks to give the illusion of not-vanilla.
Looking non-vanilla and being non-vanilla are two entirely different things, and are very different.
If there was no distinction between vanilla and not-vanilla (chocolate), this contest wouldn't exist
tl;dr bad argument.
Also, I do want to see a non-ASM vanilla OW, but... I'm in the minority, so... yeah.
You didn't actually address my point. Of course there's an
actual,
real difference between chocolate and vanilla-like levels that barely look vanilla. However, going by looks alone, many vldc levels are flashy and extravagant enough to fit in perfectly with the atmosphere and aesthetics that the vldc9 overworld displays. The purpose of the VLDC is
not to restrict ourselves as much as possible and make levels super vanilla to stick with the "theme". In fact, the "vanilla" aspect of the contests encourages insane creativity that would never be seen in a chocolate contest or in a regular user's regular old hack. How?? The nature of the contest, the restrictive aspect of it, places everyone on a (somewhat) even playing field, being that you don't need to be experienced in ASM at all to win. The highly competitive and popular nature of the contest also brings out people's best. What does this have to do with the overworld? Play some of the top levels in vldcx, and then play a level from "vanilla twist" or "return to Dinosaur Land", and you will notice quite a difference. So why do people want an overworld that would match hacks like those, instead of a collab that pushes the boundaries of design and aesthetic creativity more and more every year?
Also, let's not forget that, while
VLDCX is a "vanilla" contest, the overworld contest is an entirely separate contest and was never stated in the history of ever that it had to be vanilla. However, if you'll notice by looking at the VLDC9 overworld and then maybe playing a handful of the levels, maybe you will realize they don't clash that
at all! The users who put together the VLDC9 overworld kept in mind the fact that the VLDC is a vanilla contest, and designed the overworld accordingly. It has this fanciful ASM and sprite work, but the actual tiles are mostly regular smw. It's almost like the VLDC levels themselves, with absolutely insane gimmicks and level design, beautiful aesthetics, etc, to the point that the levels barely feel like SMW anymore. Yet, you know it's still SMW because there's a strong hint of SMW in it, since it's all vanilla.
Now, the creators of the overworld have to be very discerning when they make an overworld, because it still has to fit with the style of the contest, since yes, the point of the contest is the levels. But I don't think the makers of the overworld had it in their minds that people would just trek through the OW, go "oooh that's pretty", and then close the ROM without playing an entry. In fact, the designers of the VLDC9 overworld actually designed
with the entries in mind, and they
enhanced the experience of playing the levels.
Also, looking non-vanilla and being non-vanilla aren't quite as different as you think they are, and that's because you're focusing too much on semantics and lingo. The JUMP collab
feels more vanilla than many of the levels in the VLDC9 collab, even though that hack has more ASM than almost any hack. I can design a level or overworld that uses chocolate resources that gives off a very vanilla, smw feel. On the other hand, creative uses of what is given within smw can be used to create things that feel very un-smw.
EDIT: This isn't really addressed to you specifically, but towards the opinions that have been brought up.