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Forum Index - SMW Hacking - SMW Hack Discussion - Works in Progress - Articula |
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| Posted on 2009-12-23 09:39:39 AM |
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Hello there! I'm here to introduce my latest hack.
The plotline follows Mario as he grabs the ! Spheres, magical orbs that hold the land (also unnamed) together. He is collecting them for one reason- to make sure Bowser never comes back! He's currently a rouge, looking for a new base, and Mario has to eliminate this island from his sights.
This hack focuses on shorter, more detailed levels over long ones. I've found I lose a lot of motivation in a hack when I stay on one subject for too long, so many levels only make 16 screens (well...you'll see.) before moving to the next. 5 Worlds to a level. This hack will be unfortunately shorter than most, but at least I'm confident I can finish THIS one.
  
Following, you grab the ! Sphere for that level, and:
  
The world begins to crumble as you quickly retrace your steps! Rocks have fallen, branches breaking, and so on as you race to get out before the entire thing falls into the abyss. (Yes, the level actually falls down and you force-die.)
Grassy Overworld.
The overworld system is actually slightly different from even most RPG overworlds. You start in the main "hub," where you have an airship. Then you fly around the main OW to the corners of it, each of which provide a access point to another world. The entire thing is RPG, and I even hacked some of the tiles to allow for swimming and possibly climbing animation if I need them. It's the closest to a realistic free roam anyone's gotten.
Mandatory field level!
 
 
This level tries to emulate climbing a island- you first go through a platformed vertical area, then a flat top, and then after collecting the ! sphere you fall down the other side of the island.
Most worlds work that way- 2 horizontal levels, a vertical level, a gimmick level (not necessarily ASM- could be tides, mist, etc.), and then some variance for the last one.
Entrance to the Cave OW from the hub.
Here's the cave in question. The top half is cave, while the bottom half is icebergs and such.
 
 
Dino City has some good graphics, eh?
You even get to climb UP a iceberg.
And now, the Desert world.
 
Following the ! Sphere:
Also featured in this world is the "beach" area.
Mario's pose in screenshot two will be clear a little later on.
 
And then, we've got the Mountain OW, which I only have a teeny bit of one level completed! :\
This OW took me 4 hours to assemble, not counting porting time. Yuck! Although the result is pretty fantastic, eh?
Mountain GFX demo.
So I've got a good start. But what sets this hack aside and apart? Well, it's a good thing I asked for you! See here:
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| Last edited on 2010-01-27 09:02:02 AM by Maxx. |
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| Posted on 2009-12-23 09:47:06 AM |
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It all looks very nice maxx. Just a few things though (sorry if you already know about these)
^I'm assuming lightning just went off or something. Otherwise why are those clouds black?
Also, on all of your first 7 screenies, the FG has some reddish orange lines going through the green grass tiles. I don't know if this is intentional or not, but I don't particularly enjoy it...
The badge system is cool :>
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| Posted on 2009-12-23 09:47:38 AM |
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I like the graphical style your got going. I also like the cave overworld, and your pallet choices. I really look forward to this.
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| Posted on 2009-12-23 10:04:08 AM |
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GIMMMEEEEEEEHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! RAWR!
on-topic, this hack looks great. I'm looking forward to it.
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| Posted on 2009-12-23 12:51:01 PM |
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This looks awesome!
I really like the OW that took you 4 hours to assemble. Also the pallette is really cool. I really like this hack so far.
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| Posted on 2009-12-23 02:03:51 PM |
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Looks pretty good, with a consistent detailed graphical choice. I personally am not too fond of the odd physics changing badges, but that's just me. (And though the uber-detailed OW looks cool, it just doesn't fit)
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| Posted on 2009-12-23 02:14:58 PM |
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Oh, Maxx. I've always been a fan of your work, and it's good to finally see something after quite a while.
I love that you're going for the shorter and more well detailed levels, as that's what I try to do too.
Screens
1-4) I really like the graphical combination you're using there. The level looks incredibly detailed, and well designed.
5-7) Heh, I really like this gimmick, and once again, the attention to detail here is great.
8) The overworld looks nice, though there is some cutoff. (Shown below) The OW system you're doing sounds nice and non-linear.
Red = Cutoff.
9) I don't really like the black lines on the side of the ground but it's alright.
10-13) I like the idea of using trees as platforms. It looks nice.
I don't, however, like how the grey platform is attached to a muncher. It's just... odd to me.
14)
Red = Cutoff
Yellow = More Decoration
15) Looks pretty nice. There's maybe one cutoff, but I'm not uploading to photobucket and crap to show you juat one. Overall that's a very good submap.
16-20) I LOVE those graphics you are using. And it's great how the rex is trapped inside one of the icecubes in the last screenshot. His expression is priceless.
21-24) Maybe try to either make the foreground or the background a different shade of brown, as they somewhat blend in as of now.
25-26) That could really use a background. Like, it REALLLLY needs one.
27-28) Looks alright, but some clouds in the background would be nice. The top half of the background is quite bland.
29)
Red = Cutoff
Blue = Perspective error
30) I don't know what to think... the graphics are REALLY nice, but it... just looks odd with the cartoony castle and level dots. I dunno.
31) Always been fond of that mountain GFX. Nice pick.
The video is pretty cool too, though the badge messes up 'Mario' in the HUD.
Oh, that reminds me to say that the palette in always all of your HUDs are messed up.
Seriously awesome work, though, Maxx. I'll definitely be following this.
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| Last edited on 2009-12-23 02:16:21 PM by Kristian. |
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| Posted on 2009-12-23 04:00:43 PM |
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OW, that last OW was interesting. Looks like a SMRPG OW!!!
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| Posted on 2009-12-23 04:45:30 PM |
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Looks great.
I lol'd at the rex trapped in the ice cube. 
EDIT:Level up!
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| Last edited on 2009-12-23 04:45:57 PM by 1UPdudes. |
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| Posted on 2009-12-23 04:52:04 PM |
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Originally posted by Kristmas
hm... Now THAT'S just way too picky...
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| Posted on 2009-12-23 05:12:27 PM |
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I was just pointing it out. I am the most super picky guy you'll ever meet on the site when it comes to overworlds.
Well, one of them, anyways. Besides, I wouldn't want to just say 'There is cutoff,' and not show him where it actually is. :<
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| Posted on 2009-12-23 06:12:12 PM |
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Maybe he was planning on making new overworld graphics? I don't think he missed all those by accident. *shrugs*
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| Posted on 2009-12-26 07:01:07 AM |
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Update!
  
  
  
  
  
Just finished these up. Ignore the bad status bar stuff.
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| Posted on 2009-12-26 11:10:35 AM |
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Originally posted by Maxx
The plotline follows Mario as he grabs the ! Spheres, magical orbs that hold the land (also unnamed) together. He is collecting them for one reason- to make sure Bowser never comes back! He's currently a rouge, looking for a new base, and Mario has to eliminate this island from his sights.
This hack focuses on shorter, more detailed levels over long ones. I've found I lose a lot of motivation in a hack when I stay on one subject for too long, so many levels only make 10 screens (well...you'll see.) before moving to the next. 5 Worlds to a level. This hack will be unfortunately shorter than most, but at least I'm confident I can finish THIS one.
Well, It's a better plot then most hacks have. However, I do not understand just how using ! goals will stop bowser. Is Mario going to slingshot them all at the giant turtle during the boss fight? (If so, that would be very interesting...)
Originally posted by Maxx
I do like the way you fused that Background and Foreground together. However, Your usage of a low ceiling over the entire level really makes the scene feel squished together: That background gives the feel of an open, free roaming area to the player. However, the level design clashes with it.
Originally posted by Maxx
Now, that's what I am talking about. A nice mid-level twist, along with good execution of the background and palette to accent the level. However, They way you have worded "force-die" makes me assume that the player will lose a life upon completion. I'm guessing what you actually did is make the level on layer 2 or something, and have it rise and fall (Or something to that effect)?
Originally posted by Maxx
Grassy Overworld.
The overworld system is actually slightly different from even most RPG overworlds. You start in the main "hub," where you have an airship. Then you fly around the main OW to the corners of it, each of which provide a access point to another world. The entire thing is RPG, and I even hacked some of the tiles to allow for swimming and possibly climbing animation if I need them. It's the closest to a realistic free roam anyone's gotten.
You're going to want to work on the forested parts of that overworld. You see, the trees themselves don't give way to where the levels are located. This just doesn't end up looking right. My suggestion is to put the level markers in miniature clearings, so that no trees block them, and so that the player has a clear view of where they are.
Originally posted by Maxx
Mandatory field level!
Try changing up the background and its palette. Not only does that specific SMW background not fit in a field type level, but that background also emits a very vanilla vibe (compared to the graphics used in the previous level).
Originally posted by Maxx
While the level itself seems par, there are many things that could be added in to spice up the area. For instance, the first screenshot seems very barren- Try adding in a new background (other than clouds) to give the player a better ambiance. The Second and Third screenshots look like they take place on a very flat level. Try making some enemy-related challenge (such as jumping on a flying koopa to get up a steep hill) to maximize the fun-factor of the level. The Fourth screenshot's clouds clearly need some fixing. I'm sure that you were going for a dark effect- Maybe you could try a different palette instead and use lightning aswell.
I do like the idea of climbing up an island and traveling back down it though. It features a good use of level transitions.
Originally posted by Maxx
Entrance to the Cave OW from the hub.
Here's the cave in question. The top half is cave, while the bottom half is icebergs and such.
The Overworld is functioning, but no doubt a tad flat. Try having more variations in the geography and elevation of your islands- For instance, your cave submap currently runs one 3 main levels of elevation. Try using different heights of cliffs and hills to spruce it up abit.
Originally posted by Maxx
Whoa! What happened to the status bar palette? O,O
In all seriousness, it looks like you put out a good effort here to emulate the feeling of an ice cave. This looks like good, solid level design.
Originally posted by Maxx
Again with the "WHOAH" in the status bar. However, besides that, it seems like you have a decent desert setup here. Now, I would definitely recommend changing up the foreground and background palettes to look less like a Mongolian desert, and more like an Egyptian desert. (ie.: Use less gray, and use more bright colours). You might also want to change up the sprite palettes in this area to emulate pokey's deserty colors.
Now, the beach area feels very... Bland. It's probably due to the abscence of a background. Even in the 3rd and 4th screenshots, the background is very minuscule.
Originally posted by Maxx
And then, we've got the Mountain OW, which I only have a teeny bit of one level completed! :\
This OW took me 4 hours to assemble, not counting porting time. Yuck! Although the result is pretty fantastic, eh?
O_________________O
Bravo! 
Originally posted by Maxx
Mountain GFX demo.
Hey, Those mountain graphics look pretty nice!
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| Posted on 2009-12-30 10:42:07 AM |
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<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/50aS5hhhLSs&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/50aS5hhhLSs&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
O hrey
An update! This is a tour of all the submaps so far- including two exgfx'd ones. Enjoy.
Yanama and others: Thanks a ton for the advice. I don't know how I missed it- it's interesting. After staring at a hack for so long you start ignoring the obvious and just take it as normal. So, those comments helped a lot and I patched some stuff up.
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| Last edited on 2009-12-30 11:00:42 AM by Maxx. |
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| Posted on 2009-12-30 10:58:46 AM |
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those submaps are just beautiful
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| Posted on 2009-12-30 11:03:56 AM |
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Awesome!!
I love dhow you used AC:GC music on the beach OW. Also I liked the airshp you fly around in.
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| Posted on 2009-12-30 12:24:36 PM |
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Very nice work, Maxx. I like the most of the submaps, however, the style of that epic-high-quality submap (with the drummy music) clashes with the other parts of the overworld, although a breathtaking work, and not a big deal.
However, I'd change that drummy music (on that epic submap), it doesn't really fit in my opinion. You used that Secret of Mana song (Prophecy), I think it'd fit better on that map. But that's just a suggestion, the other music choices are great! Keep up the good work, dude.
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| Posted on 2009-12-30 02:05:49 PM |
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Yep. Awesome work here, Maxx.
All the music choices for the overworlds work so well with the actual theme. Actually, I am straight up amazed at your music selections.
Also, that last starry overworld is pretty much just great. Nice work, as usual, Maxx.
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| Last edited on 2009-12-30 02:09:48 PM by Kristian. |
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| Posted on 2009-12-30 03:34:03 PM |
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Originally posted by Maxx
*stutters in awe* C... c... can't... breathe... so... so... AWESOME! SO AWESOMELY EPIC! Could it be your matching up to Carol's level in OW design? That's a compliment, btw. Seeing all this, just makes me never wanna give up on my own hacks while at the same time makes me think "I'm not worthy!" And that's a compliment, too.
Also, I had no idea you could make an RPG overworld work rather well with the DKC2 arrow OW sprite. Pretty incredible. But seriously, that submap is through the roof! Whatever time you put into it must have been seriously worth it. *hands out a blue ribbon* Kudos to you!
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