 |
|
 |
|
| What makes The Second Reality Project: Reloaded so magical? |
|
Forum Index - SMW Hacking - SMW Hack Discussion - What makes The Second Reality Project: Reloaded so magical? |
|
Pages:  1  |
|
|
|
| Posted on 2012-06-25 10:23:10 PM |
Link | Quote |
|
Since its release in 2008, there has been no hack that has surpassed TSRPR in terms of sheer "awesomeness". I've seen promising demos and screenshots of awesome hacks, but they never seem to get finished. It's made me wonder why TSRPR is the "perfect" hack that others are set against now. Perhaps its sheer nostalgia for me and a lot of other people, as I remember being released from 6th grade on the first day of summer and invited to a pool party on the day TSRPR was released. On the next day I went to an awesome bonfire that my town no longer does due to lack of funding. This was also before the financial collapse, but I think that pushes it a bit too far.
Still, playing TSRPR, it seems to be on another level in terms of quality and effort. Graphics all fit seamlessly into one eye-pleasing style, and there's dozens of awesomely-designed levels with catchy custom music to boot. The fact that this was all done mostly by one person makes this hack all the more mind-blowing.
ASMWCP had the most potential to be the next TSRPR, but it's too inconsistent overall in terms of aesthetics and quality. What are your thoughts? Are there any hacks that, in your opinion, are better?
|
| Last edited on 2012-06-25 10:24:03 PM by Suns. |
|
| Posted on 2012-06-25 10:34:28 PM |
Link | Quote |
|
Currently? Not better, but at the same would be Odyssey and TKO.
Upcoming? I really think SMWCP2 WILL surpass TSRPR.
|
|
| Posted on 2012-06-25 11:04:03 PM |
Link | Quote |
|
|
TSRPR is still the "perfect" hack? That's news to me. I personally think TSRPR is probably the most overrated hack in our data base, and it certainly shouldn't be the only standard people are aspiring to. If it is, maybe that's the problem with so many hacks. While I will admit that there are very few hacks I really like (and TSRPR is not in that special minority), even the ones I do like have noticeable flaws. Even my absolute favorites I wouldn't call perfect, or even nearly perfect. I don't believe there even is such a thing as a perfect hack, or a perfect video game for that matter.
|
|
| Posted on 2012-06-25 11:14:25 PM |
Link | Quote |
|
I played it for about a half hour, got lost in the huge levels, and got bored.
/shrug
|
|
| Posted on 2012-06-25 11:28:21 PM |
Link | Quote |
|
Originally posted by KaijyuuI played it for about a half hour, got lost in the huge levels, and got bored.
/shrug
This exactly, I stopped playing in world 2, it's not that great to be honest, they're way better hacks here.
|
|
| Posted on 2012-06-25 11:33:57 PM |
Link | Quote |
|
Originally posted by MasterlinkOriginally posted by KaijyuuI played it for about a half hour, got lost in the huge levels, and got bored.
/shrug
This exactly, I stopped playing in world 2, it's not that great to be honest, they're way better hacks here.
... such as?
*My apologies for low-content post*
|
| Last edited on 2012-06-25 11:34:33 PM by Suns. |
|
| Posted on 2012-06-25 11:34:41 PM |
Link | Quote |
|
It's still one of my favorite hacks to this date for the reasons the OP listed - nostalgia. I had a lot of fun with it, but I'm fully aware of how flawed it is. Strangely enough, I recall saying it was "perfect" or "nearly perfect" in 2008, but I also used to be a lot less critical of things back then. The difficulty curve is quite wonky (see: Ice Bomb Bridge), but at the same time, it has this special charm to it. Part of it probably has to do with the fact that TSRP was the first hack I ever played as well.
Are there other hacks I've liked more? Probably, but I can't really remember them off of the top of my head.
|
|
| Posted on 2012-06-26 12:05:44 AM |
Link | Quote |
|
As obvious, I didn't played every single hack of the site but these are fun to me, of course, it's a personal opinion (forgot to say that in my last post by the way, I didn't meant to attack the hack or something so I apologize for that):
1
2
3
4
5
|
|
| Posted on 2012-06-26 12:21:04 AM |
Link | Quote |
|
|
@Masterlink: Gawd, I almost totally forgot about the Essence Star! That hack was amazing, definitely 10/10, but not as 10/10 as TSRPR in my opinion. Looking at those other hacks you listed, I think one thing that drives people away from hacks is uninteresting screenshots to preview an otherwise good hack. When you post screenshots you gotta make good first impressions, y'know?
|
| Last edited on 2012-06-26 12:21:41 AM by Suns. |
|
| Posted on 2012-06-26 12:39:37 AM |
Link | Quote |
|
Originally posted by imameliaTSRPR is probably the most overrated hack in our data base
As much as I love TSPR series, I agree to this. A Strange Mission is second to that. I try to find underplayed hacks nowadays (though, after numerous recommendations on Odyssey, I just had to play it).
Though, it does seem almost all potentially quality hacks get cancelled. :/
I think that's why the TSPR series, especially TSPRR, is so recommended is because it's one of the earliest quality hacks, and it's done.
Though I still hate the difficult spikes in levels throughout the game.
And another thing on why I agree about having a better "featured hack" system of some sort - the ones made a long time ago usually gets the spot-light, leaving little or no leeway for obscure ones.
And I've got to say I am surprisingly having too much fun with a certain "obscure" hack by a surprising author.
|
|
| Posted on 2012-06-26 01:30:43 AM |
Link | Quote |
|
|
A bit offtopic, but people should stop relying on ZSNES. I don't recall when it was last updated. Sure, SNES9x still has issues, but the ones Buu posted for Tetris Attack and Speedy Gonzales: Los Gatos Banditos are about the only ones I'm aware of where the described problem isn't fixed. If the other old hacks were updated, that could give them a bit of a boost over TSRPR, as they'd actually work on the hardware as opposed to TSRPR (as Addmusic destroys the ROM's ability to produce echo, though I'm not entirely sure how; does it warp the addresses or something?). The original TSRP is a vanilla hack if I'm not mistaken?
|
|
| Posted on 2012-06-26 07:31:31 AM |
Link | Quote |
|
It seems my opinion is somewhat redundant to the others on this thread, I too feel that TSRPR is overrated, and I think the reason for that is because of how magical it was to all of us when it first came out. As you said Suns it was very nostalgic for you and it was for me too a glorious day (even though I wasn't on SMWC at that time), and I guess with a sheer amount of luck it caught the attention of some of the biggest faces of SMWC at that point, and it's name spread like an ant farm in a candy store.
But TSRP2R, now that is a story for another day.
|
|
| Posted on 2012-06-27 02:01:18 PM |
Link | Quote |
|
|
My guess is that TSRPR just hits every point about hack quality. It's finished, so no 'Will I ever find out how it ends?' problem. It's a full-length hack with more exits (117) than even SMW itself. It includes custom blocks, sprites, music, and ASM (I have to say, that 'warp to new submap' trick really impressed me). Finally, it has an original story- no rescuing the princess, you're fighting off an invasion from another dimension! Combine this with the fact that it's had forever to get famous- the original was released before LM was even finished, if memory serves- and you get a hack that, while only adequate, is adequate in every area, unlike a lot of hacks that really shine in one way but lack in the others.
|
|
| Posted on 2012-06-27 08:25:41 PM |
Link | Quote |
|
I would definitely agree with the above comment that one of the main factors that makes TSRPR stand out is that it hits the mark in pretty much all areas--and was, more significantly, perhaps the first hack to really do so, making it to a very large degree responsible for setting the much higher standards of quality that we have today as compared to back in 2008. At the same time, I don't think it's solely that quality by itself--there have been many other other works that have attempted something similar since, but of all SMW hacks, TSRPR (and also its pre-dating sequal, TSRP2), is the one of the few I seem to find myself consistently replaying, either in part or entirety, long after I've completed the game several times and explored every corner of the game. Now why should that be?
I suspect it's because TSRPR not only does well in all the essential hacking categories, but more importantly, taken as a whole, it additionally succeeds in feeling more "complete" than any hack before it ever did, and no hack since has ever quite succeeded in doing to the same degree (though I too have strong hopes for SMWCP2). TSRPR, it seems to me, captures that same feeling a lot of our favorite games do--of creating an immerse and compelling environment which the player genuinely enjoys being in and exploring. I've always been a huge proponent of atmosphere (which is not the same thing as having fancy graphics and music) in games, and the importance of the idea of a level as an experience rather than just a cleverly designed obstacle course. After all, looking back at my childhood, I similarly remember playing random levels in games like Yoshi's Island, Kirby's Super Star and other classic SNES games over and over again, long after I had completed the games countless times and new every level inside and out--that is to say long after both the novelty and challenge had been quite thoroughly exhausted. Why? Because these games created environments I genuinely enjoyed exploring, and even simply hanging out in, so to speak. That quality is precisely what has always drawn me to video games in the first place: the opportunity to explore and interact with new, imaginary worlds. And that's something that TSRPR always seemed to offer, and which many other hacks--including many extremely well-made and entertaining ones--never quite seemed to offer, at least to the same extent.
The Essence Star was brought up above as another example of another one of the great landmark hacks, though I think it provides an interesting contrast with TSRPR here. TES, like TSRPR, was a fairly revolutionary work which completely changed the SMW hacking playing field in a permanent way, redefining the way a hack could be structured in comparison to the original SMW, and the role and extent that story and the like could play in a hack, and how this could be presented to the player. However, though an extremely impressive hack, TES always somehow gave me the feeling of a work whose whole felt a little less than the sum of its parts. A lot of the stages feel as though they're sort of there because it's a video game and we need levels, and the world of the hack doesn't quite come together to form the cohesive video game universe that some of our childhood favorites did. Thus, while it's a more technically impressive and structurally innovative work than TSRPR, it simply doesn't engage the player to quite the same degree or leave quite the same lasting impression (and desire to experience its world again and again) that TSRPR does, at least from my perspective. And that, I think, is TSRPR's greatest strength, and why it still holds the position it does nearly four years later, even with some of its flaws now more clearly apparent (amusingly enough to a large degree due to the aforementioned higher set of standards the hack itself helped introduce). I suppose that is in itself a bit of a nebulous and subjective quality, and this may go a long way toward explaining why some people adore the hack and others can't quite see what all the fuss is about. But diversity of opinion is not a bad thing.
|
|
| Posted on 2012-06-28 02:22:49 PM |
Link | Quote |
|
I always liked TSRP2 (Zycloboo's Challenge) a lot more than TSRPR. I think the nostalgia factor pushes PR higher for a lot of people that grew up with P1, but I did not, so when I compare the level design of P2 to PR, P2 takes it several times over for me-- it is the paragon of what a "chocolate hack" (not quite vanilla, but no super fancy custom blocks/sprites/etc. inserted) needs to be.
Another thing the OP said is that TSRPR is actually finished. That might have a lot to do with it.
People need to stop comparing their works to others' works anyway. If they did that, maybe they'd feel more motivated to do it for themselves just because they want to, you know? Then we'd see more cool hacks like TSRP2/PR/Essence Star/etc.
|
|
| Posted on 2012-06-29 03:09:09 AM |
Link | Quote |
|
I tend to agree that TSRP2 has superior level design (some of the best I've seen in SMW hacking), but TSRPR comes together better as a complete package, in my estimation. Above all else, it's considerably more polishedthat TSRP2, not just æsthetically, but gameplay-wise as well. The difficulty curve of TSRP2, particularly, is far more out-of-whack than R, especially in the early game (World 2 being the prime offender) and the number of argh-spots is considerably higher (TSRPR has a few of those as well, but not quite as man as its older sequel, as the more experienced FPI who made it smoothed out a lot of the many kinks present in the original version). But that's why a lot of people are excited at the prospect of TSRP2R--it promises all of the charms TSRPR had, plus the level design of TSRP2. Sounds like a good deal to me.
Concerning the lack of finished epic hacks these days, I think a lot of it is simply due to how much SMW hacking has advanced from a technical perspective in recent years. There's so much that can be done (and has been done) these days that hackers feel compelled to embark upon particularly ambitious projects, not realizing they're in for quite a long haul (remember that even the above mentioned TSRP2, made in a far simpler time, took a good four years to make), and tend to get disillusioned when their project doesn't seem to be anywhere near completion even after they've put a very considerable amount of work into to it. The more you can do, the more you're expected to do.
|
|
| Posted on 2012-06-29 03:46:52 AM |
Link | Quote |
|
I think TSRPR was playable without savestates until the later levels (especially Bowser's starship).
But i would give a little short cent:
TSRP series is considered the best because FPI is the only one that does not screw up everything for boredom and just continues to work on his hack, even if it freezes. Many of us, though, don't have patience, so, we may stop working on hacks. I think the main reason is lack of motivation.
|
|
|
|
|
| Pages: 1 |
|
|
|
|
Forum Index - SMW Hacking - SMW Hack Discussion - What makes The Second Reality Project: Reloaded so magical? |
|
|
 |
|
 |
The purpose of this site is not to distribute copyrighted material, but to honor one of our favourite games.
Copyright © 2005 - 2013 - SMW Central
Legal Information - Link To UsTotal queries: 29
|
|
|
|
