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Terrain

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This article is about the composition of platforms. For information on the platforms themselves, see Platform.
The grass stage of Pokémon Stadium has many grassy and wood-based floors.
Sections of Summit have slippery floors of ice.

Terrain is the type of material that a platform of a stage is composed of. Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. 4, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate are all known to use different types of terrain in their stages, and each game introduces new types of terrain for new uses.

Terrain can produce different footstep noises or visual effects when characters and other objects step or land on it. The main functional effect of terrain is traction; some types of terrain can increase or decrease traction, which means characters and objects will slide less or more, respectively, from movement on the terrain. There are also some types of terrain that are used to damage and launch players upon contact.

Terrain also affects the behaviour of some special moves. In Melee, Yoshi's ability to accelerate during Egg Roll and Jigglypuff's ability to turn around during Rollout are affected by terrain. In Brawl, Olimar's Pikmin Pluck has its speed and the type frequency of resulting Pikmin affected by the terrain he is standing on. In Ultimate, terrain affects what materials Steve will obtain through Mine, except for Battlefield form and Ω form stages, which have a standard selection.

Melee terrains[edit]

The different types of terrain have little effect on gameplay outside of cosmetics, with the exception of ice and other slippery surfaces. However some special moves such as Egg Roll and Rollout may be minorly influenced by terrain, with Rollout being able to turn around an additional time on grass terrain.

The colours in this table are taken from Melee's debug mode.

Terrain Index Description
0 Basic The default terrain type.
1 Rock Stone.
2 Grass/Leaves Plant material.
3 Dirt Uncovered earth.
4 Wood Tree.
5 Light metal Thin metal objects.
6 Heavy metal Thick metal objects.
7 ??? Appears on Flat Zone, but debug mode doesn't show where.
8 Alien goop Among regular stages, only found on the two side platforms of Brinstar.
10 Water Water.
12 Glass The lights of Brinstar Depths and the Fourside UFO.
16 G&W Makes up most of Flat Zone.
18 Checkered Green Greens' blue-and-white platforms.

Brawl terrains[edit]

An icon for denoting incomplete things.

The frequency of different types of Pikmin from Pikmin Pluck is based on the type of terrain that Olimar is standing on.

Terrain Description Pluck Speed Pikmin Frequencies
R Y B P W
Basic The default terrain type. 100% 1 1 1 0.4 0.5
Rock The slowest terrain to pull Pikmin from, though even then the difference is slight because only part of the animation is affected. Relatively rare; only appears in Castle Siege part 3, Spear Pillar, the rock of Pirate Ship, and Target Test 2. 40% 1 1 1 0.4 0.5
Grass/Leaves In general, any sort of plant surface. 100% 1 1 1 0.4 0.5
Dirt Earth that's not covered with anything. Heavily used in The Subspace Emissary where grass terrain might be expected. 75% 1 1 1 0.4 0.5
Wood Any kind of wood - logs, planks, whole trees, and so on. 100% 1 1 1 0.4 0.5
Light metal Usually used for smaller/thinner metal objects. 80% 1 2 1 0.8 0.5
Heavy metal Can be distinguished from light metal by the deeper footstep noises; there is no practical difference. 80% 1 2 1 0.8 0.5
Cloth Things like awnings, carpets, and umbrellas. The only terrain where Pikmin plucking speed is increased. 120% 2 1 1 0.4 0.5
Alien goop Among regular stages, only found on the two side platforms of Brinstar. 80% 1 1 2.5 0.4 0.5
Creature The surface of the Bulborb in Distant Planet. 100% 1 0.5 1 0.2 1
Water Water shallow enough to stand in. 100% 0 1 4 0.4 0.5
Rubber The surface of a Trowlon. 100% 1 1 1 0.2 0.5
Snow Any surface covered in snow. 100% 0.5 0.5 1 0.2 1
Ice Any surface covered in ice. Reduces traction for all characters except for the Ice Climbers significantly. 75% 0.5 0.5 1 0.2 0.5
Subspace A The pinkish-purple glass before The Great Maze. 100% 0.5 0.5 0.5 1 0.5
Subspace B The purple floor where the door to Tabuu is. 80% 0 0 0 1 0.5
Checkered The two floating platforms of Green Greens, as well as the surface of present-skin Rolling Crates. 100% 1 1 1 0.4 0.5
Spikes Touching this causes slash damage. There is no actual hitbox. 70% 1 1 1 0.4 0.5
Lava Touching this causes flame damage in most cases. However, there are many The Subspace Emissary stages where this does slash damage instead, both instead of and alongside the "Spikes" terrain. 70% 1 1 1 0.4 0.5
Frostbite Used for the collision structure of the Iceberg. Touching this causes freezing damage. 70% 1 1 1 0.4 0.5
Electroplankton Only used for Hanenbow. 100% 1 1 1 0.1 0.1
Cloud Surfaces with a top layer of clouds. 100% 1 1 2 0.4 1
Subspace The entirety of Subspace I, Subspace II, and Tabuu's Residence (including normally-Basic objects like blocks and springs). 100% 0.3 0.3 0.3 1 1
Brick Anything made out of bricks. This terrain is also used for Spear Pillar's top platform. 100% 1 1 0.5 0.6 0.5
Mario Bros. The floor of Mario Bros. 100% 0.6 0.6 1 0.3 0.4
Grate Metal surfaces with a latticed framework. 100% 1 1 1 1 0.5
Sand Almost exclusively found on Delfino Plaza. 100% 1.5 1.5 0.5 0.5 0.2
Home-Run Stadium Used to force Olimar to pluck only Purples in Home-Run Contest. 100% 0 0 0 1 0

Smash 4 terrains[edit]

Smash 4 has 33 different terrain types. Most of them only differ cosmetically, but a few have different traction, which is listed as a multiplier in the table below. Several of the terrain types are unknown and may be dummied leftovers from Brawl, while others are known but have unknown usage and may be unused.

In Smash 4 onwards, Olimar's Pikmin Pluck is not random and is not affected by the type of terrain he is standing on.

Terrain Traction Description
Basic 1 The default terrain type. Known internally as "None".
Rock 1 Relatively rare; known to appear in Castle Siege part 3 and the rock of Pirate Ship.
Grass 1.5 In general, any sort of plant surface. Increases traction.
Soil 1 Earth that's not covered with anything.
Wood 1 Any kind of wood - logs, planks, whole trees, and so on.
Light metal 1 Usually used for smaller/thinner metal objects. Known internally as "Iron".
Heavy metal 1 Deeper footstep noises than light metal. Known internally as "NibuIron", roughly meaning "Iron 2".
Cloth 1 Things like awnings, carpets, and umbrellas. Known internally as "Carpet".
Alien goop 1 Among regular stages, only found on the two side platforms of Brinstar. Known internally as "NumeNume", which is a squelching onomatopoeia.
Creature 1 Used for the majority of Master Fortress.
Water 1 Water shallow enough to stand in. Creates water visuals (e.g. splashes) when moved on. Known internally as "Asase", roughly meaning "shallows".
Soft 1 Used for soft surfaces, such as Woolly World.
TuruTuru 0.1 Appears unused. "Turuturu" is onomatopoeia for a smooth or slippery surface. Reduces traction.
Snow 1 Any surface covered in snow.
Ice 0.2 Any surface covered in ice. Reduces traction.
Game & Watch 1 Used on Flat Zone 2 and Flat Zone X. Known internally as "GameWatch".
Oil 0.1 Used for the oil spill on Flat Zone X's Helmet form. Reduces traction.
Cardboard 1 Used on Paper Mario. Known internally as "Danbouru", roughly meaning "corrugated cardboard".
Damage 1 1 Unused hazard terrain. Appears to be left over from Brawl.
Damage 2 1 Unused hazard terrain. Appears to be left over from Brawl.
Damage 3 1 Unused hazard terrain. Appears to be left over from Brawl.
Electroplankton 1 Not known to be used in Smash 4. Known internally as "ElectroP".
Cloud 1 Surfaces made of clouds. Uniquely, players in strong enough downwards knockback will pass through it, upon which their knockback is halved.
Subspace 1 Not known to be used in Smash 4. Known internally as "Akuukan", meaning "subspace".
Brick 1 Anything made out of bricks or stone.
Unknown 1 1 Unknown.
Mario Bros. 1 Not known to be used in Smash 4. Known internally as "Famicom".
Grate 1 Metal surfaces with a latticed framework. Known internally as "Fence".
Sand 1 Sand surfaces, such as the island on Delfino Plaza and the beach on Wuhu Island.
Home-Run Stadium 1 Appears to be unused; the actual Home-Run Stadium uses Basic terrain, as Olimar starts with three purple Pikmin and cannot pluck anymore.
Unknown 2 1 Appears to be unused.
Hurt 1 Hazard terrain. Used for the Danger Zones on The Great Cave Offensive and Master Fortress. This links to stage parameters for hitbox data.
Unknown 3 1 Unknown. Appears to use sound effects named "bomb". Could possibly be linked to Target Blast.

Ultimate terrains[edit]

Ultimate has 44 different terrain types, with one added in a DLC stage. Most of them only differ cosmetically, but a few have different traction, which is listed as a multiplier in the table below. It appears that most terrain types in Smash 4 carry over to Ultimate, but notably, Grass no longer has increased traction. Additionally, Steve can mine different materials depending on which terrain he is on, though it is less affected by specific terrain than Olimar's Pikmin were in Brawl.

Terrain Traction Description
Basic 1 The default terrain type. Known internally as "None".
Rock 1 Used for rock surfaces.
Grass 1 In general, any sort of plant surface.
Soil 1 Earth that's not covered with anything.
Wood 1 Any kind of wood - logs, planks, whole trees, and so on.
Light metal 1 Usually used for smaller/thinner metal objects. Known internally as "Iron".
Heavy metal 1 Deeper footstep noises than light metal. Known internally as "NibuIron", roughly meaning "Iron 2".
Cloth 1 Things like awnings, carpets, and umbrellas. Known internally as "Carpet".
Alien goop 1 Among regular stages, only found on the two side platforms of Brinstar. Known internally as "NumeNume", which is a squelching onomatopoeia.
Creature 1 Used for the dog on the Duck Hunt stage.
Water 1 Surfaces covered with shallow water. Creates water visuals (e.g. splashes) when moved on. Known internally as "Asase", roughly meaning "shallows". Swimmable water which is not deep enough to facilitate swimming produces a similar effect, and can override traction modifiers.
Soft 1 Used for soft surfaces, such as the mushrooms on Golden Plains.
TuruTuru 0.1 Appears unused. "Turuturu" is onomatopoeia for a smooth or slippery surface. Reduces traction.
Snow 1 Appears unused, due to a lack of snow on stages.
Ice 0.2 Any surface covered in or made of ice. Reduces traction for all characters except for the Ice Climbers. Replaces dirt blocks with ice blocks for Steve's Mine. Used on Summit
Game & Watch 1 Used on Flat Zone X. Known internally as "GameWatch".
Oil 0.1 Used for the oil spill on Flat Zone X's Helmet form. Reduces traction.
Cardboard 1 Used for paper or cardboard surfaces. Known internally as "Danbouru", roughly meaning "corrugated cardboard".
Damage 1 1 Hazard terrain. Used on Super Mario Maker.
Damage 2 1 Hazard terrain. Appears to be unused.
Damage 3 1 Hazard terrain. Appears to be unused.
Electroplankton 1 Used on the stage Electroplankton. Known internally as "Plankton".
Cloud 1 Surfaces made of clouds. Uniquely, players in strong enough downwards knockback will pass through it, upon which their knockback is halved. Replaces dirt blocks with wool blocks for Steve's Mine.
Subspace 1 Not known to be used. Known internally as "Akuukan", meaning "subspace".
Brick 1 Anything made out of bricks or stone.
No effects 1 Very rare. Known internally as "NoAttr", implying its intended use is to have no visual or sound effects.
Mario Bros. 1 Used on the stage Mario Bros. Known internally as "Mario".
Grate 1 Metal surfaces with a latticed framework. Known internally as "WireNetting".
Sand 1 Sand surfaces, such as the island on Delfino Plaza and the beach on Wuhu Island. Replaces dirt blocks with sand blocks for Steve's Mine.
Home-Run Stadium 1 Appears to be unused; the actual Home-Run Stadium uses Basic terrain, as Olimar starts with three purple Pikmin and cannot pluck anymore. Known internally as "Homerun".
Asase_Earth 1 Appears to be unused.
Hurt 1 Hazard terrain. Used for the Danger Zones on The Great Cave Offensive. This links to stage parameters for hitbox data. Known internally as "Death".
Boxing Ring 1 Used on Boxing Ring. Known internally as "RingMat".
Glass 1 Used for some surfaces on Boxing Ring.
Slip 0.4 Used for the UFO on Fourside. Known internally as "SlipDx". Reduces traction.
Spirits: Poison 1 Used for Poison-Floor in Spirit Battles. Known internally as "Sp_Poison".
Spirits: Flame 1 Used for Lava-Floor in Spirit Battles. Known internally as "Sp_Flame".
Spirits: Shock 1 Used for Zap-Floor in Spirit Battles. Known internally as "Sp_Electric_Shock".
Spirits: Sleep 1 Used for Slumber-Floor in Spirit Battles. Known internally as "Sp_Sleep".
Spirits: Freeze 0.2 Used for Ice-Floor in Spirit Battles. Known internally as "Sp_Freezing". Reduces traction.
Spirits: Adhesion 1 Used for Sticky-Floor in Spirit Battles. Known internally as "Sp_Adhesion".
Ice (no slip) 1 The same as Ice, except it does not reduce traction. Used on Summit. Known internally as "Ice_No_Slip".
Cloud (no through) 1 The same as Cloud, except that players cannot be launched downwards through it. Used only on Magicant's Battlefield/Ω form. Known internally as "Cloud_No_Through".
Mementos 1 Introduced in version 3.0.0, alongside and for the stage Mementos, where it is used for all floor surfaces. Creates pink splashes from movement.