Super Mario Maker getting an update next week – mid-level checkpoints, Event Courses, more

Nintendo has announced a sizable update for Super Mario Maker. This will be made available starting on November 4.

Once the update has been applied, mid-level checkpoints can be used. These flags let players start at the selected point if they lose a life instead of having to start again at the beginning of a level. Existing levels that are edited and re-uploaded can be made with checkpoints as well as entirely brand new ones.

Also coming next week is the addition of Event Courses in the Course World online hub, which feature levels from partner creators outside Nintendo. One of these will be the “Ship Love” from Facebook’s “hackathon” event. You’ll also find a new Official Makers section in Course World that contain specially selected courses, including some created by Nintendo.

Finally, the patch introduces a more challenging version of Gnat Attack and allows players to insert power-ups dependent on Mario’s status. For the latter, by attaching a Super Mushroom to a Fire Flower and placing it inside a block, Mario will receive the Super Mushroom when he is small, and the Fire Flower when he is large.

View a trailer for the update below. You can also find today’s full announcement after the break.

On Nov. 4, a free software update for the Super Mario Maker game brings new content to the hit title for the Wii U console. These include the ability to add mid-level checkpoints to levels, as well as the addition of Course World categories that highlight new levels from Nintendo and partner creators outside Nintendo. To date, players have uploaded more than 3.3 million levels globally, and these new features add even more ways to play and create in the game than ever before.

With the addition of mid-level checkpoints, users now have the option to add flags to their levels, allowing players to start at the selected point if they lose a life – rather than having to start over at the beginning of the level. Players can choose to edit and re-upload their own levels, or create new levels from scratch using this feature. Shaking an arrow sign item from the course parts palette will allow you to place a checkpoint flag.

Following the update, players can also insert power-ups that are dependent on Mario’s status. For example, by attaching a Super Mushroom to a Fire Flower and placing it inside a block, Mario will receive the Super Mushroom when he is small, and the Fire Flower when he is large.

The software update also introduces Event Courses in the game’s Course World online hub. Event Courses will feature levels from partner creators outside Nintendo. One of the first Event Courses will be “Ship Love,” the winning level from the “hackathon” event that was held at Facebook’s headquarters in Menlo Park earlier this year. Facebook is the first outside partner in the United States to design a level for Super Mario Maker; employees had the opportunity to design and present their creations to a panel of judges before the winning level was selected.

The level that was featured in the final round of the Omegathon event at this year’s Penny Arcade Expo event will also be available for players to experience shortly after the update goes live. New Event Courses will be added to the listing on an ongoing basis, some of which may even feature new Mystery Mushroom transformations. Additionally, a new Official Makers section in Course World will be added after downloading the update, featuring specially selected courses, including some created by Nintendo.

The free software update goes live on Nov. 4. For more information about Super Mario Maker, visit http://supermariomaker.nintendo.com/.