Editing User:Monsieur Crow/Gameplay modification

==Notable gameplay mods==

===''Balanced Brawl''===

''[[Balanced Brawl]]'' is unusual amongst ''Brawl'' mods in that it does not significantly alter the core gameplay physics of ''Brawl''. In its attempts to make the game more balanced, it instead primarily focuses buffing and nerfing all the characters, as well as adding some universal nerfs, such as altering how [[ledge]]s work in order to combat [[planking]]. In addition to its various character tweaks, some of the stages were also changed, though not to an extent seen in other mods; most stage hazards are still present, but instead are either weakened or occur less often. Likely as a result of its lack of immediately visible changes, ''Balanced Brawl'' was unable to find the popularity of other mods for ''Brawl'', though it did attain a small niche composed of those who opposed the changes made by ''Brawl+''.

===''Brawl-''===

''[[Brawl-]]'', like most other ''Brawl'' mods, attempts to change the cast and physics of ''Brawl'' in order to make the game more balanced. As a farcical jab to the then-concurrent mod of ''Brawl+'' and its careful use of appropriate nerfs and buffs, the changes to the characters and physics in ''Brawl-'' are intended by the developers to be absurd and over-the-top in comparison; ''Brawl-'s'' development has relied on the mantra of "if everyone is broken, no one is". [[Hitstun]], for instance, has been drastically increased as to allow for combos that are much easier to perform than either ''Brawl'' or ''Melee'' and allowing all characters in the game to [[wall jump]]. In addition, instead of giving characters a mix of appropriate buffs and nerfs to balance the cast, all the characters have been buffed to ridiculous levels and each given a plethora of new, very powerful options; {{SSBB|Ness}}, for instance, can use his side [[taunt]] to wield a bat to change his playstyle. The mod is noteworthy for being the only major ''Brawl'' mod  aimed towards casual players instead of competitive players, though the mod is still intended to have competitive balance.

===''Brawl+''===

''[[Brawl+]]'' was the first notable gameplay mod available for ''Brawl'', and it also became the first mod to develop its own tournament scene, though such tournaments were not recognised as official. The mod featured multiple tweaks to gameplay that would later be seen in most future mods; in addition to changing the physics engine, some stages were changed in order to make them fit the guidelines for [[Tournament legal|legality within tournaments]], and individual characters had various attributes nerfed and buffed in an attempt to reduce competitive inequality between characters. Despite popularising the concept of modifying the base gameplay of ''Brawl'', ''Brawl+'' was immediately controversial to some members of the community, due to the fact that most of its changes were seen by many as solely attempting to make ''Brawl'' play exactly like ''Melee'', particularly in regard to changes to individual characters, such as {{SSBB|Fox}} and {{SSBB|Jigglypuff}} having become altered to make them almost identical to their ''Melee'' counterparts. ''Brawl+'s'' own staff became estranged and antagonistic towards each other because of controversies over the development and ultimate goal of the mod.

===''Melee: SD Remix''===

''[[Melee: SD Remix]]'' is the most notable of hacks involving ''Melee''. While hacking the [[GameCube]] is comparatively more difficult than the [[Wii]], the hack still holds some niche appeal amongst some devoted ''Melee'' players. The concept behind ''Melee: SD Remix'' can be compared to that of ''Balanced Brawl''; both mods avoid making changes to to the game's base engine in favour of buffing and nerfing individual attributes of characters to make the game more balanced. Some stages have also been altered as to allow for better competitive gameplay.

===''Project M''===

''[[Project M]]'' can be seen as a spiritual successor to ''Brawl+'', due to the two mods sharing much of the identical staff. ''Project M'' features many of ''Brawl+'s'' previous physics changes, but was able to distance itself from the previous mod and its related controversies by giving more thorough changes to all characters. Of all ''Brawl'' gameplay mods, ''Project M'' remains the most popular, due to its altered physics engine that makes it play similarly to ''Melee'' and thorough nerfing and buffing of all characters in the game; although aimed primarily at hardcore players as opposed to casual gamers, ''Project M's'' considerable "fanservice", such as the inclusion of [[Roy]] and [[Mewtwo]], new [[palette swap]]s that reference more video games than ''Brawl's'' standard selections, and other such interests have allowed it to reach popularity amongst such players. ''Project M'''s popularity led to it eventually becoming a notable side-event in tournaments, and it later developed its own distinctive tournament scene, with [[Apex 2014]]'s ''Project M'' event attracting even more entrants than ''Brawl's''.

[http://smashmods.com/forum/ Smash Mods], a forum devoted to discussing and improving various gameplay modifications.