The 'Shroom:Issue 157/Pipe Plaza

Director’s Notes
Written by:

Holy smokes I can't already believe it's April. Quarantine has somehow made time both fly right by and drip like molasses. It's weird. As I type this, I've been processing the news that the rest of my school year has been cancelled. And since this was my senior year, you can imagine how I feel. However, I don't want to linger on that too long, so on a much lighter note, I finished my first audio mixes with tuning! I'm actually really proud of myself of these, and I can't wait to keep improving my mixes.

Awards season has started, so that means Anniversary Announcements is back! And remember, if you're interested in writing for Pipe Plaza, check out the sign up page to get started!

Enjoy Pipe Plaza and the rest of the month, and please stay safe.

Section of the Month

NIWA News
Written by:

Hello, everyone! Welcome to NIWA News, a section where I, Alex95, talk about the going ons with the wikis in our NIWA group within the last month!

Promotions

 * YoshiFlutterJump was promoted the rank of Editor-in-Cheif for WiKirby!
 * Gigi was promoted to the rank of patroller on WiKirby!

Demotions

 * Cipriano 119 and RAP have been demoted on Lylat Wiki due to inactivity.
 * Fubaka has stepped down from Editor-in-Chief on WiKirby.

Maintenance

 * Icaruspedia is locked due to a server transfer.

Other

 * Pikmin Fanon is closing on September 1, 2020.

Anniversary Announcements
Written by:

And I'm back with my sixth season of Anniversary Announcements! Awards are starting back up, and thus so does this section! This will be the 14th Awards season for the wiki's 15th anniversary.

For the people that are new to this section, Anniversary Announcements is a section that tells you about the behind-the-scenes developments behind the Mario Awards, the yearly event that celebrates the anniversary of our beloved Wiki. This includes the Awards themselves, tournaments, and all other things that influence the event.

As always, we start by introducing…

The Awards Committee
Every year, the awards are being combed through and updated by the lovely people of the Awards Committee!

The committee's top consists of:
 * – Awards Director and Mario Awards host
 * – Sub-director and Fail Awards host
 * – Community Awards host and the current director of The 'Shroom
 * – Awards Staff consultant
 * – Awards Staff consultant
 * – Awards Record Keeper and writer of Anniversary Announcements

The committee otherwise consists of, , , , , , and. You can contact any of these people if you have questions, and if they don't know the answer, they will pass it through as needed. For questions or suggestions relating to Anniversary Announcements, you can contact me.

Among these folks are two newcomers and two people who returned after a few years, so you can expect them to appear in fresh Committee Interviews in a few months!

The Fly Guys
There haven't been any big changes to report yet. Up for discussion at this time is the venue where the chat party is to be held. This is traditionally in the IRC chatroom of #mwikiawards, but Discord has also been suggested.

Several tournament ideas and hosting intentions have also been raised, but nothing is set in stone at this time. For Nintendo Switch-based tournaments, which require a Nintendo Switch Online plan to participate in, at least one user has expressed that they are willing to provide access to a family plan for others to participate without requiring them to have a plan of their own.

Awards
In this part of Anniversary Announcements, I will list all awards that have been discussed, and changes made to them. This includes existing awards, completely new ones and removals, and the additions, removals and changes within each award.

M5 through M7, Favorite DK, Wario, and Yoshi Character respectively, are rotating awards, and will be changing to Favourite Game awards of their respective series this is what the awards were before the rotation started, thus the previous set of nominees is reused and updated.

Refer to this document for a full list of nominees.

And that marks the end of the first Anniversary Announcements of this year's season. As always, stay tuned for more updates next month and beyond, and enjoy this year's awards season! Have a good one, bye!

All information above was correct as of 2020-04-12.

Poll Committee Discussion


Written by:

Two month have passed, as did several polls. Thus, like always, this section will try to find meaning in the results of said polls. Note that you can see the archives of past polls here and that you can submit your own poll ideas here, though please note that any polls that are accepted may be altered before they are released. These alterations can be big or small.

There is no public news regarding the Poll Committee this month.

Analysis

 * What is your opinion on competitive modes in platforming Mario games, such as Vs. Mode (SM64DS) or Mario vs. Luigi (NSMB)? Unsurprisingly, the most popular option was for those who like these modes but don't find them nessecary. Finding these modes unnecessary makes sense given that as these games are usually focused on their single player content, most players would thus mainly want to play these games for said content. Plus there has been many popular Super Mario games without these competitive modes, some without any multiplayer at all, like for example the original version of Super Mario 64, thus showing that these games don't need these modes to do well. The third most popular option for voters who aren't affected at all by these modes, the fifth most popular option for those who don't mind them being in the game but don't enjoy them, and the least popular option for those who don't think that these modes should even be added, could all be explained using this logic. However, the thing that separates the most popular option from the ones just mentioned is that the voters for this option still enjoy these modes despite them feeling like they're not needed. This likely is because, while these games' main focus is on single player, these modes can still regardless be well made and fun to play with a friend or family member. I feel like the quote "It's not what you'd call outstanding multiplayer gaming, but it is a nice little bonus to an already amazing single-player experience.", describing the Mario vs. Luigi mode in New Super Mario Bros. from Nintendo Life's review sums up well what many of the people who voted for this option probably feel. Still, more than a quarter of the voters find these modes greatly appealing, with them affecting their decision in purchasing a game. Makes sense, given these modes have been received well, given that they regardless add more content and thus playtime to a game, and there's also some people which have to purchase games which include multiplayer to play with a sibling, as well as those who simply just greatly enjoy competitive multiplayer. There's one option yet to be analyzed, which is the no opinion option, which accounts for nearly ten percent of voters. This can be from not owning any games with this type of multiplayer, not having the opportunity to play multiplayer, and just naturally not really having an opinion on the subject.


 * What is your opinion on the guest characters system on the recent Mario & Sonic games? This is a somewhat controversial subject. I say somewhat as a slightly larger than usual 18.76% of voters have no opinion on this subject at all, with this option being the third most popular one. So many voters having no opinion on the subject could be because the recent M&S games, which are the only ones which have this system, are either recent and thus likely have less players then older titles do, or have the version affected most by this system be on the Wii U (as in the 3DS version of the 2016 Rio game most characters are only available in certain events regardless, with the guests apparently just being in less events, and the arcade version's guests are apparently not playable according to the wiki, though I couldn't find footage of this and thus unfortunately cannot verify the wiki's claim), thus making it likely that fewer people have experienced the guest system than if it was in older games in the series. However, I couldn't find the sales data of the recent games in the series, thus this is merely and purely conjecture. Still, the quantity of voters without opinion is somewhat higher than usual for these polls. Anyways, the most popular option for this poll is for people who like having guests but would rather that they were just playable in all events. It makes sense why this option is so popular, as since the 2010 games no permanent additions have been made to the series' roster. Having the same roster over so many games would be tiring, so the guests system is likely better than nothing for many people as it at least gives them the opportunity to play with different characters, even if only in certain events. This logic likely applies to the other options which enjoy guest characters, though for the options like the most popular one which wish for there to be more freedom with how these characters can be played, or for them to straight up be available for all events, are additionally explained by people simply not liking being arbitrarily limited in how they can play their game. The options which dislike this system too can be explained by people just not like being limited like how the guest system limits their choices.


 * What is your opinion on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's first Fighters Pass DLC? Over half of the voters really enjoy the additions made by the pass and find the whole pass to be worth it. While it is not surprising that people would like at least a few parts of the pass, given the initially poor reception to certain characters, with the Hero being controversial in the series' competitive scene, Terry causing confusion with many not knowing who he is and Byleth's reception causing the series creator to respond to complaints about the character, acknowledging the criticism regarding the amount of Fire Emblem characters and sword users in the series, the fact that so many like the entire pass is quite surprising. Perhaps this is because, in the case of Hero, the competitive scene isn't the entire fanbase, people who dislike the character in competitive play might like Hero in casual play, and of course not every competitive Smash player would dislike Hero regardless, in the case of Terry, just because someone may not know who he his doesn't mean they would dislike him, plus obviously many people are fans of the Fatal Fury series, and in the case of Byleth, just because one dislikes the amount of sword users and FE characters doesn't necessarily mean that they wouldn't give the character a chance and potentially like the character for the character's own merits, plus of course there's many people who don't mind or even want more sword users and characters from the series. This poll could show that the internet's initial reaction may not be the same as the consensus upon release, and it could also show that many people still enjoy new fighters even if they would prefer if a different character was chosen instead, or if the fighter was better balanced. Of course, the option still only accounts for a bit more than half of the voters. The second most popular option is for those who don't like all of the Challenger Packs in the pass, but still find worth in buying the whole pass. As for not liking all of the challenger packs, one may not like certain fighters for the reasons stated above, even after release, and they may still want to purchase the whole pass for the sake of having the full roster, especially if they play with friends, family, or host tournaments and want other people to be able to play as their favorite character even if it's a dlc fighter that the buyer doesn't like. The third most popular option is the evergreen no opinion option. Obviously, not everyone is even interested in Smash, so a good percentage of the voters not having much to say about the pass, especially on a site that's not even primarily dedicated towards the series, is perfectly normal and fine. The forth most popular option is for those who find certain Challenger Packs individually worth buying, but don't find the entire pass worth it. Again, there's many reasons for someone to not like certain fighters, with me listing some of these reasons above, and some may just not want to spend extra money on additions that they don't even want. These voters, however, presumable dislike more than one pack. This is because, in USD, the Fighter's Pass costs 24.99 for all five fighters, ignoring tax. Each Challenger Pack on their own costs 5.99 USD, meaning that if all five were bought on their own it would cost 30 USD ignoring tax. So, by purchasing the Fighter's Pass, you only pay one dollar more than the price of four fighters for five, so even if you only like four you might as well buy the whole pass as you would only save a single dollar by buying the four fighters on their own. The fact that most of these voters would have to dislike two packs likely decreased the number of votes the option got. The remaining options all have a small quantity of votes. In fifth place we have those who like the pass but don't think any part of it is worth it. These voters likely didn't like the price of the packs, given that without dlc, Smash Ultimate has over 60 fighters and a lot of music and stages, and that's not including echos, so 5.99 for each pack, or even 4.99 per pack when buying the whole pass, isn't that good of a deal when compared to what you get in the main game already. Next up is the sixth place option is for people who dislike the whole pass and don't find worth in any part of it. This could be from wanting different characters, not liking how they play, not liking the price, any combination of that, as well as many other things which could cause people to dislike the whole pass. Close by in seventh place is the option for people who don't support dlc at all. The matter of dlc is quite divisive and so naturally some may dislike the practice entirely and just wish that games always come with everything inside at launch. Finally, there's the option for those who simply think that any additions to the game aren't needed, due to how large Smash Ultimate already was at release. Makes perfect sense that some would have this opinion, as the game is absolutely massive and some may want the resources spent on the game's additions to go elsewhere.


 * What is your opinion on partner characters that are a part of the gameplay and can be used with the main character in single-player? (e.g. Gooigi, Cappy) Unsurprisingly over sixty percent of voters find these characters to greatly improve the gameplay of the games they appear in. Whether in Luigi's Mansion 3, Super Mario Odyssey, or the Paper Mario series, these partner characters are beloved. Critics agree with the audiences, as evidenced by these reviews, for example. The second place option is simply for those who like these characters but still generally prefer to not play with them when given the option. Liking these characters while still preferring to play without could be because one likes them as characters but not as gameplay mechanics, or perhaps still like their changes to the gameplay but prefer traditional gameplay due to personal preference. The option which places in third is the no opinion option which a bit less then a tenth of voters voted for. This could be due to them not playing any game with partner mechanics before, or doing so but not having strong feelings either way. In forth place there's the option for those who dislike partners that you can take full control of but like ones which add to your moves, and the option which is the reverse of that is in seventh place. There's not much to analyze or say here. In fifth place there's an option for those who like these characters, but don't want them to appear outside the series they first appear in. The people who voted for this option likely find that their mechanics shouldn't affect other series and could potentially damage them due to their gameplay mechanics not being made for other series, or they just don't want the characters to become large, iconic, characters which appear throughout the franchise, perhaps also not wanting these characters to steal the spotlight from other characters in other series. The sixth place option has voters who like the gameplay changes to these characters but dislike them as characters. Again there's not much to say here, though given that some of these partner characters, especially from the Paper Mario series, are not just loved because of how they affect gameplay but also due to their personalities it is not surprising that this option isn't very popular. Eighth place is for those who don't like these characters in any way, and last place is for those who like their personalities, but not their changes to gameplay. As stated above, these characters are immensely popular, so as evidenced by this poll these last two options are more unpopular opinions, though obviously it's fine if you do have opinions which aren't popular.


 * What was your favorite cosmetic item, only $9.99 each, for Mario? (April Fools) Given that this is an April Fool's poll and thus a joke, practically all voters voted ironically, meaning that not much meaning can be found in the results of this poll. At most the Luigi option being more popular than the rest reflects on how Luigi is often joked about and is overall a popular character. I hope that our voters enjoyed this year's April Fool's poll!

Ending Notes
Those were our polls from the last two months, with me giving my opinion on the results of these polls. Of course, what I say might be why one option is or isn’t popular is merely speculation. Voters could have voted for any option for any reason, so what I think is why an option was voted for doesn't mean that every or any voters voted because of that. There are many potential voting reasons that I didn’t list. What you vote for and why is a matter of opinion and often personal preference. I hope you read the Poll Committee Discussion in two months, and continue to vote on the polls as they come out. Goodbye!