12 replies to this topic

[Falaflame]

Screenshots
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{10} {11} {12} {13} {14} {15} {16} {17}


My creation is being released. It is still a beta, and I'm not so sure if I will ever get to completing the entire work. Yes, because it is a beta, it is UNFINISHED, and it can be very buggy. A lot of things need to be fixed, and there are some levels that are unedited. There are 1 and a half worlds to be played through (half of world 2 is unchanged).

I made this out of complete boredom. It's fun at parts, but also very challenging at parts. Difficulty is sproadic. It can be simple on some levels, it can be very difficult on others.

Things changed:
(Most) Levels
Overworld Maps
Overworld Music
(Most) Level Music
Level Background on 1-3 (first screen)
Invincibility Music
P-Switch Music
No Feathers (they do exist, but I don't have their blocks anywhere in the levels)


Patch Download

Before I give you the patch download, I have one thing to emphasize.

READ THE README
I can't stress this enough. It's called README for a reason.

Download Patch (v1.1)

[Sgt. Fly]

A Super Mario World ROM hack, is this what you have here? Very interesting. I'll be evaluating this if you don't mind.

The intro sequence seems to not work properly. It forces you to go through a portion of a level before the opening message displays. Unless this was intentional on your part, but the music that plays during the level suggests otherwise.

The Mario's Pad level is a nice idea, although I may suggest that you scrap the pipes and have the sides of the level be open-ended. That way, you can put the "Side exit enabled" sprite in to the level, and then make it so that the level has no vertical or horizontal scroll. (Scrolling options are controlled by clicking on the Mario head in Lunar Magic if you were unaware.)

As for Yoshi's Castle, it doesn't seem like a good way to start the game off. It's a narrow and claustrophobic stage with a bit too much emphasis on puzzle-solving for my tastes. Be sure to have an adequate balance between action-based levels and puzzle-based ones. The music choice... Zeal Palace, isn't it? Not a bad choice at all.

Underwater Reactor needs some more visual appeal to it. Try to avoid making areas comprised largely of cement blocks, it's rather unpleasant to look at. There are also a lot of fish here, I think you need to cut back on them. They get fairly annoying once they start blocking your path and forcing you to wait until they cross.

This is all I've played through so far. If you require any further critique I'd be willing to evaluate a few more levels.

[Falaflame]

Yeah these levels are some of the oldest... even before I grasped the knowledge on how to use the right terrain the right way.

Cut down on fish? I can definitely do that. I can also replace the cement blocks with something. Maybe the switch palace tiles. How many fish (in your estimate) should I get rid of? Half? 25-35%?

And I have been meaning to replace the intro song with a song that's looped.

And just a reminder (for everyone else that's analyzing this) it is a Beta, so not everything is set in stone. There's levels that need to be fixed (2-2, 2-1), nerfed (2-1, 1-5, 1-6), and overall balanced (2-5, 2-secret-1, 1-secret-1) as well as unedited levels that needs editing (2-3, 2-4, 2-6, 2-7, 2-secret-2, World 2 Switch)

I appreciate the constructive criticism Sgt, do you mind playing through some more?

[Crunchy]

I'm confused, why is Mario purple?

[Falaflame]

MegaMan Volnutt, on Sep 5 2011, 02:57 PM, said:

I'm confused, why is Mario purple?

I gave them costumes. :3

Mario is wearing Waluigi's costume.
Luigi is wearing Wario's costume.

Don't ask me why. xD

[Sgt. Fly]

Ledah, on Sep 5 2011, 03:47 AM, said:

Cut down on fish? I can definitely do that. I can also replace the cement blocks with something. Maybe the switch palace tiles. How many fish (in your estimate) should I get rid of? Half? 25-35%?

35% sounds about right. Just in case they still get in the way, you might want to put in some things Mario can use to take them out, like those blue blocks that he can hold and kick at enemies.

Ledah, on Sep 5 2011, 03:47 AM, said:

I appreciate the constructive criticism Sgt, do you mind playing through some more?

I was just going to do that, but it appears that for Yoshi's Castle and the Underwater Reactor, no new routes appear after beating them. Therefore it's impossible to move on beyond this point.

I tried hacking in a route myself but then I realized that I have absolutely no overworld editing experience whatsoever!

[Falaflame]

Sgt. Fly, on Sep 5 2011, 10:43 PM, said:

35% sounds about right. Just in case they still get in the way, you might want to put in some things Mario can use to take them out, like those blue blocks that he can hold and kick at enemies.


I was just going to do that, but it appears that for Yoshi's Castle and the Underwater Reactor, no new routes appear after beating them. Therefore it's impossible to move on beyond this point.

I tried hacking in a route myself but then I realized that I have absolutely no overworld editing experience whatsoever!

Did you get the secret exit in Yoshi's Castle? To get to the key+keyhole, you need both spring boards. One to get up to the ledge the Blue Koopa is on, and the other to spring over the door leading outside.

[Sgt. Fly]

Oh.

Derp.

Alright! Now I shall proceed.

Deep Earthground is actually a pretty cool level to look at. The red grass, brown earth and blue sky compliment each other well. The second area looks a bit unpolished on the other hand, mostly because of the transparent corners on the cement blocks. You could fix this with a bit of 8x8 tile editing. You could sharpen out the corners of the cement blocks and make them look a lot less messy when placed upon a background like this. The actual level design was underwhelming; it seemed to be promising at first, but it was all too short to live up to any of the potential it initially displayed.

Sliding Slope Hills? This level looks pretty cool. But I should really stop focusing so much on the levels' aesthetic qualities. I did really like the part where you have to run up the walls, leap off of them and land on the nearby platform. It's a very simple, but fun an well-implemented obstacle. The level architecture here is nice, and very proper for an earlygame level.

Artillery Bay... Shall wait till tomorrow.

[Falaflame]

How's the hack so far? I know I have things to fix, but I'd love to know what I can fix, and what kind of ideas I can get to make my level design better.

Sgt. Fly, on Sep 6 2011, 10:25 PM, said:

Deep Earthground is actually a pretty cool level to look at. The red grass, brown earth and blue sky compliment each other well. The second area looks a bit unpolished on the other hand, mostly because of the transparent corners on the cement blocks. You could fix this with a bit of 8x8 tile editing. You could sharpen out the corners of the cement blocks and make them look a lot less messy when placed upon a background like this. The actual level design was underwhelming; it seemed to be promising at first, but it was all too short to live up to any of the potential it initially displayed.

I can fix the 2nd part. All I have to do is flip the ledges upside-down to make it look less choppy with the cement blocks.

Too short? In length? I can fix that too.

[Sgt. Fly]

I haven't been playing much of it. It's not because I'm busy or anything. I won't lie, my lack of progress is due to my own lethargy. As of now I have no criticisms to offer.

[Falaflame]

It's been 17 days since the last time you've made an analysis on levels. Are you by any chance still doing that?

[Sgt. Fly]

Playing Mario romhacks / fangames is hardly something I'm enthusiastic about. I did offer and give critique on this, but I don't feel impelled to assess them all.

If needed I'd be very willing to help you with Super Mario World hacking in general, and tell you exactly what things would make a level good or bad. Then you could polish up your levels with that advice in mind. If not, you could always go and post your hack on Super Mario World Central, and I'm sure some of their members would be more dedicated to reviewing it than myself. That's what I did when I first started hacking Mario World.

[Falaflame]

Okay. Thanks for your input on what you've given me. I appreciate it. And when I get around to editing the romhack, I'll be sure to address you accordingly.

Speaking of getting around to it, I made Deep Earthground twice as large, and cleaned it up a lot. The overuse of cement blocks bugs me.