New Super Meat Boy hub world, level editor and portal coming next month
While we already knew a level editor was on the way for the PC version of Super Meat Boy, news that it will also add an online portal for the custom levels is, um, news! Additionally, both the PC and Xbox Live Arcade versions will soon be updated with a new hub-world chapter, which will be home to new levels uploaded by Team Meat. All the new content is expected to be released mid-January, according to the developer.
The PC-only online portal will catalog all user-created maps (created with the level editor, of course) and allow players to rate them and sort them based on a variety of criteria, says Team Meat. As for the new hub-world chapter, dubbed "Super Meat World," it will unlock as a destination prior to the first chapter (The Forest) on the chapter select screen once the player has collected 20 bandages.
"Super Meat World" will behave a bit differently on each platform. On both XBLA and PC, this world will become the default destination for all new levels uploaded to the game by Team Meat (but not "Teh Internets" world, which will continue to reside in its own spot and even get some additional level love via this impending update) and will gain levels designed specifically for some of the hidden characters in the game. Also, Team Meat says that while a level editor won't be gracing XBLA, it will upload "all compatible user made level packs that we deem 'awesome'" to the XBLA's "Teh Internets" world.
On the PC, "Super Meat World" gets an additional exclusive feature: an "Enter the Unknown" area which will feature a dynamic playlist of random, highly-ranked, custom maps made by the community each time you play. Players will need only to choose a level of difficulty at the outset on PC, then they'll be thrust into multiple levels that meet both the rating prerequisite and toughness level chosen.
