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| Posts by Counterfeit |
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*On topic: Welcome to SMW Central, Big Al and Player 1! You'll fit in well as long as you abide the rules. No flaming/trolling/spamming, basically. We'll be glad to help as well as listen to the advice you have to offer. People here range from beginners who are still figuring out Lunar Magic to experts who can code some crazy ASM, so don't worry about feeling like a noob here. Chances are you'll have a lot of friends here. The community is, for the most part, forgiving and willing to answer your questions as well as ask you for your advice if we need to, but we have no tolerance for people who like making others angry... Fortunately, you both seem like the former, so have a great time here!
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Warning: LONG POST AHEAD - tl;dr at the end in case you need it.
*To answer Delmaru and sympathize with Player 1 and Xgor: Wow. I guess that makes 3 of us, because I also have Asperger's Syndrome. It's a mild form of autism... your IQ will be slightly above average (mine's about 130, and that's usually where it is in people with AS) but give you the tendency to become very obsessive about few things (and have a narrow field of interests, not try a lot of new things) and it's difficult to interact with people normally. You can often become too rigid in your thinking, and too critical of what other people think.
What I mean is, I couldn't hold a normal conversation with people IRL, it's difficult to understand when people are being sarcastic/joking around etc - EASY to take jokes personally... and it's not always easy to train yourself to accept it. It's a LOT easier communicating via internet where people are expected to say what they mean since most sarcasm can only be recognized when it's spoken, not written. 
FACT: Quite a few famous scientists had AS... e.g. Einstein. Also, the name of the disorder comes from the researcher who found this form of autism in the 1940's during WW2 in Europe, but it wasn't seriously looked at until the early 90's, IIRC, but my memory is fuzzy on this. Very fuzzy. I'll come back and edit if I have the dates wrong.
Of course, I'm not entirely sure I'm 100% correct because I haven't done a lot of research on it, but I know a site that can tell you a lot if you want me to edit in a link here. And, yes... if I'm interested in what I'm talking about, I'll post in massive walls/ladders of text like this, so my posts tend to be quite lengthy. I only found out I had it around a year ago, and now I see why I'm so stressed at school... What I know about it comes from there, an autobiography I read about someone else who has it, and of course, guidance counselors at school. I also tend to have mood swings... I can be very hyper one moment, and be crying in a corner the next. I also have a VERY overactive imagination, and prefer not to "hang out" with people. Hence, I have no social life, but it's not nearly as stressful as when I try to have one.
People are afraid of me because I'm "too weird" or what I hear a lot of from people, "Oh, her morals are too high. She never does anything fun, just video games, animé, drawing, writing, and sewing, and she reads the DICTIONARY, for crying out loud. That's not normal for a teenager. She should be partying like all of us." LOL @ my school's mentality. We all know where they'll end up. 
I'm always concerned that people will take what I say the wrong way and it will become trouble, so I try to be direct when I say something. I'm not sure it's part of AS, but ESPECIALLY after that huge argument I got into with the king of all forum trolls (very very mean person) on the WoW forums on my realm forum a year ago, I WANT to make sure I don't say anything that has half a square-root-of-pi of chance of making someone mad. No, I will not tell you what server I played on or my Horde character's name, because then you'll remember me and vote me out of SMW Central. The tribe has spoken. Minus 50 DKP! MANY WHELPS! Yeah, I went Alliance with a buddy after that on the same server, PvP, so I /deleted my first 60 and leveled another to 60... Spent way too much time on that game. Yeah, I was a cheap little affliction warlock, too. 46/5/0, in fact. 5 in demo for stamina. A walking vat of mana, fear, and DoTs. Then TBC came out. /wowquit >_>...
Also, Delmaru, you have to be born with AS to have it. You can't just get it when you grow up, like depression, so if you don't have it, don't worry. You won't get it. ^^
I've been told it's a social disorder, but not a mental disorder, but it's a neurological disorder. Guidance counselors make so much sense... *rolls eyes*
I hope I answered your question somewhere in there... Like I said, I'm not 100% certain of everything, but it's what I remember from looking it up. Perhaps I should double-check later to make sure none of this is false. It took me an hour of proofreading and typing, and I'm confident that I shouldn't have many problems after I submit this.
Wait: tl;dr version in case you don't feel like skimming through all that: It basically socially impairs you, and makes you obsessed with a few specific interests, but at least you're smart in exchange. The rest of it is just a few examples and reasons I'm paranoid.
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@Terricalmario: Is the pic uploaded onto a website (e.g. photobucket)? I'm not sure that you can upload them from your own computer, and I think it has to be .PNG to work, but I'm not really sure. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. Also, welcome to SMWC!
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@Xiaos: I know you've been on SMWC longer than I have, but welcome anyways. (It's never too late to say "WELCOME!") I'm sorry to hear about your Cystic Fibrosis. It's not a very pretty disease, and I hope you're managing it well. It sounds like it, too.
Also, @Kelgis: Same story. Welcome, although you've been a member here longer than I have.
Also, according to the news and not me, about 4% of people in America have some form of autism, from what I heard in the news, and they're usually wrong, but if they're not, then I'm guessing PDD-NOS and AS are the two most common kinds based on what I've seen. Classic autism is a bit on the rare side. Then again, it's the media, and I only believe 12% of what I hear in the media. Most of it is grade-A spoiled bologna IMO. I actually have the diagnosis for AS, so I'm fairly certain I have it, although people make mistakes, but I've been evaluated twice and there haven't been any changes. Otherwise, I really don't know what to say here. All I can say is, if you think you have it, just get evaluated and let an expert tell you, because most people with AS seem like typical people except they don't like talking to others that much and have almost no RL friends/none at all, and vice versa... Now I'm the one confused. :|
Again, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
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| Last edited on 2007-10-14 02:34:32 PM by Counterfeit. |
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Distribution of Assisting Sprites/Blocks (a.k.a avoiding cheapness)
What this means is: Don't place them to make the game too easy, but also don't place them so that an item can be permanently lost and you must die to reset the level in order to progress.
Yoshi: Arguably the best "power-up" in the game. Yoshi shouldn't be omnipresent. Try to fit him into a puzzle or make him a reward for an obscure or difficult challenge. If you don't want to, then like the "fats, sweets, and oils food group" - use sparingly.
Feather: Again, a strong power-up. It should be rarer than the fire flower, and can be used well in a few different puzzles or tricky places. If not, then try not to introduce the feather too early, because it makes some spots incredibly easy, like Yoshi does. Also, try not to let a player fly over entire levels once they do have the feather, since that's the biggest concerning advantage with this power-up.
Fire flower and mushroom: As basic power-ups, they can be used anywhere. Test the level and see where you need them most so you don't underuse or overuse them. A tip on this site says they work best near midway points. Don't make a player run through a hurricane of sprites small, because chances are they'll need a save state or two. On that note, try not to ever make luck a factor, unless it's a bonus stage where luck is the only thing involved.
Spring boards and P-switches: Don't make it so that the player can accidentally drop it down a hole, especially if it's required to advance, then be forced to die and restart the level. If there is a chance, then give the screen an alternative exit, or try to make it so that you can't accidentally kick it off screen/dropping it down a pit, or can restart that segment of the level by entering a pipe or door. I can't begin to emphasize how strongly I feel about this or how often this is forgotten.
Timer blocks: (a.k.a the blue things in Star World 3 and the Big Boo fight) Try to make sure there is enough so that if the player accidentally misses the boss or whatever sprite he/she needs to beat that there will be enough to win. E.g. if you need to beat a Lakitu to progress, try 4 blocks, and for Big Boo, try (HP+4, since boss HP can be changed with hex) for minimum. It's no fun to "almost have it" then have to start over.
1/3-UPs: NEVER put them on the main path, and NEVER use them in every level. Dragon coins are okay, but try to hide some (and keep them off subscreen boundaries) so it adds some thought to the level, especially if it's on the linear side. 3-UPs should be used at a maximum of once every world (world, not stage) but be very difficult to find. I personally only have them in the switch palaces because you can't re-enter them. Having too many lives makes the game too easy.
Rebounding from sprites to reach a ledge: Don't overuse them, and when you do for the first time, it's good to remind a player who doesn't know what to expect so they don't kill it before they realize they need to bounce from that sprite to advance. I'm not as concerned with this one because I can usually stop before a cliff and see what I need to do to pass it. It's a fun challenge in moderation, but you kill it if you use it too much.
That's my input. I can't really say anything about balloons, though, because I have never really seen any abuse in hacks with them. I'll probably say the same thing I said with feathers... that is, don't let the player fly over the whole level with a balloon, but you can fit them into puzzles.
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Hold on, Master kirby. Go to Start, Search, select "all file and folders", and type in the name of your ROM. That is, unless it got deleted... I can't find a program that lets you restore SMCs. If you can't find it, then I guess you'll have to restart it. I'm assuming you're using Windows, yes? Well, I hope you find it, because it's awful to lose all that work. Try your best to recover it before you're sure you'll start over.
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It's pretty decent, but the main part of the level could use a little tweaking. The first part where you get the Yoshi coin is a little problematic because there aren't solid edges surrounding them (it looks like you can walk through them and die) so I recommend you change it so they are solid. Same with the left part of the bridge. Maybe add a few more hills to the main part so the landscape isn't so flat, and make the Amazing Flyin' Hammer Brother not as close to the goal point. A few spaces to the left will do.
Also, I think trader2340 and Bad luck man cover the rest of the cons pretty well.
I liked the cave room with the shallow water, but I don't have anything else to say about it. The bonus room had a little too many coins for being the first level, even if it was tricky to get to, so maybe remove the top row of coins? The custom music is also a plus, and the palette is easy on the eyes.
I'm sorry if I'm too critical, but in all honestly, it's a decent level, and it's great for the beginning of the game in terms of difficulty. Just fix those things, and it will be perfect.
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| Last edited on 2007-10-14 03:59:36 PM by Counterfeit. |
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Aah, I'm sorry Player 1. I'm just saying what I've been told about it (since I had no idea what AS was until a year ago, and it's like "oh, you have this" and I'm like HUH?) and a lot of it seems true for me, so I'm just going with it as semi-fact. About *normal* conversation, it's a little sketchy for me until someone brings up something I'm incredibly obsessed with, then it crashes. Sorry if I offended you...D:
Everything you said after that sounds true for me too. Maybe we should take this to the B&G since it's getting off-topic.
(EDIT: NoScript + AdBlock = WIN, and yeah, I used to have times I always had a little too much coffee before school... >_<)
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| Last edited on 2007-10-16 09:35:41 AM by Counterfeit. |
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I agree, for the most part, with andy_k_250 and carsr4carpeople1 in the sense that it's a nice-looking traditional SMW hack, and I can appreciate what you're doing with it. The levels are clean-looking (i.e. no visual glitches in the screenshots) and it seems to have a good balance of sprites. It's okay for the early levels to be linear, like the first screenshot, because they are learning stages. Tricky platforms require precision, so they're always fun to get by. The castle design looks awesome, too, but I'd like to see what puzzles you're going to throw in. It looks like a nice balance of difficulty so far.
The only problem I have that hasn't been mentioned already is the bush being right on the edge of the cliff... it looks like a piece of it isn't connected to the ground on the right side of it, which is a tad weird...
It looks great, though, for a pure SMW mod. I'll definitely be sure to play the demo/beta test it. Remember - even though there are custom blocks, sprites, graphics, and music, you don't really need them to make a good hack. If you know what to do with what's already there, you're all set. Excellent work.
(EDIT: I'll probably wait for the second demo so you have time to tweak it a little more. Didn't feel like making another reply because I don't want to be spammy.)
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| Last edited on 2007-10-17 05:44:36 PM by Counterfeit. |
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I think the fall-themed palette is very nice, and I always loved the Forest Maze song from SMRPG. It fits quite well.
The level design itself is satisfactory, but try to avoid all the cement blocks and surplus of sprites at the end.
One tip: It's a lot of blocks to transfer, and time-consuming to rebuild, but if you set the bush blocks for Big Bush 1 or 2 to palette 6 and save them on another map16 page, you can have yellow bushes to place along the road to decorate it a little more. That would look awesome for this level!
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Mario's GFX are mostly stored in GFX32, but there are tons of tiles you would need to edit. (There are a few tiles in GFX00, mostly just hands, though.) You would have to redraw everything, preferably in YY-CHR, and it would be smart to line up the colors first if you have no intention of changing all the palettes around for Mario. After that, you would have to test the sprite ingame to make sure there are no glitchy appearances. That's what I'm doing right now, in fact. It eats up a lot of time, but if you're determined, then NO ONE will have a hack that's "just like yours." (You can also edit it in AllGFX, but I prefer having multiple files... whatever floats your boat.)
To make it less confusing, make a copy of GFX32 that you'll edit so you're not overwriting the ones in the GFX folder in case you want to make small edits to existing GFX, and store it somewhere where you won't accidentally delete it.
Be prepared to spend several days on this alone, though.
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Instead of using the SMW Redrawn patch, extract the GFX from SMW Redrawn itself. Expand the clean ROM to 1 megabyte and add the music, then after, insert the SMW Redrawn GFX with Lunar Magic into the 1MB ROM rather than patching it. This should work better.
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| Last edited on 2007-10-19 04:23:26 PM by Counterfeit. |
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I haven't used SMW Redrawn GFX, but I'd think if it's only with those two objects, then you should try recoloring only the chimney and the big bush objects with a tile editor, such as YY-CHR or TLP, so you don't mess up the palettes of the other objects.
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What I do with YY-CHR is look at the objects ingame, and tweak the palettes shown in YY-CHR to make it closest to what it looks like ingame. I think the big bush uses palette #5, so try to identify all the colors in palette 5 by dumping paint on one spot of the big bush object, saving it, and reinserting them with Lunar Magic. Then, reload the level and see if it's the right color. You only have to cycle through 16 colors, and once you find the right ones, match them all up. (There are a lot of pieces of the plants, eh?)
To make sure you don't re-test a color, after you see what it looks like in LM, change the color of the one you just tested in YY-CHR to the color closest to that of what it looks like in LM. I don't know if I'm explaining it clearly, but it should be easy once you start.
(EDIT AGAIN: I don't really use ZSNES since I like SNESGT more for testing everything and don't want to eat up too much memory on my computer, so Boingboingsplat knows more about it than I do. I always seem to do things the hard way. I did know that you could import palettes from .ZST's, but I never really did that before, so it never crossed my mind. I think he solved your problem better than I did.)
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| Last edited on 2007-10-19 06:03:17 PM by Counterfeit. |
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Oh, wow. I remember when I had dial-up... not that I WANT to remember... 56k modems, the bane of all gamers. My computer seems friendly to me, at least, but remember that thing about mice? Yep... I'm on my fourth mouse this year... I bet I'll need a new one by the holidays. I hope you can upgrade soon. Comrades! We shall band together to rid the world of this evil known as dial-up! CABLE FOR ALL! >
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Considering Kirby Super Star is my personal favorite Kirby game, with Crystal Shards at a close second, this is very exciting for me. I'm a bit concerned though since the site didn't say all of them were coming back. I'm 99% sure they will, though, but in case they don't:
Revenge of Meta-Knight was my favorite game in KSS (also the only timed Kirby game I've played... the rest as far as I know have no time limit) and I'm glad to see that one make a comeback, but I hope they bring back Milky Way Wishes since I liked the gimmick of collecting copy abilities rather than eating enemies for them...
The Arena HAS to come back. Kirby games aren't complete without "fight all the bosses now that you've seen all the other stuff we squeezed into the game" mode! I always used Plasma since it was easiest... >_> I thought of another thing - how about Wi-Fi arena, where you can play either against each other in a tournament, or cooperatively with a friend?
The enhanced graphics are just WOW... imagine making a SMW hack with those, although it would be difficult to fit all the colors in it...
I also hope all the combos with the abilities return too, but maybe nerf Plasma just a little so I don't abuse it in the arena... *puts up flame shield* I might just buy a DS for this eventually, since my SNES broke down last year.
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