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SMWC Trivia Contest: Results

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This was definitely an interesting contest to mark, and I was glad to see that quite a few people submitted answers (10-15, considering the time frame was so small). I was a little shocked at some of the answers, laughed at a few, but I had a fun time marking them overall. Note that I was rather generous for the most part, but there were some I just couldn't accept.

I'll cut to the important part first. The results were interesting .. we have a three way tie for third place. If you guys would like, we can do a tiebreaker of sorts for it, or you three can all accept third place. It's really up to you .. I am fine either way. Now, without further ado, here are the rankings for the SMWC Trivia Contest:

spigmike: 49.5/50
Vic Rattlehead: 49/50
smkdan: 47/50
pieguy1372: 47/50
Boingboingsplat: 47/50

--------------------------------
Dispari Scuro: 45.5/50
scratch799: 43/50
Haaaaaach: 41/50
Giga: 34.5/50
Supertails: 33.5/50
Daaa77: 29/50
Kh2playa: 13.5/50
Cirno: 13/50 (incomplete)


The answers to the questions are below. If you want to see YOUR marks, you can view this scrawled Word file here. Just Ctrl + F to your name. NOTE: If you have a complaint about a mark anywhere, please post about it, but do not flame others or I. No one wants to hear it. If I approve of the error, your mark will be bumped up.

==GENERAL LUNAR MAGIC LEVEL EDITING==

1. What is the default level that all SMW ROMs load to?
Level 105
2. Which tile would you use for a transparent 16x16 square?
I accepted either F8, or 25 here.
3. The X position of the Message Box determines what?
Which message box is displayed.
4. Why is it unwise to edit level 104?
It is used in the credits/ending cinema/end/whatever.
5. What is the purpose of Secondary Exits?
They enable you to enter levels at points other then the main entrance.
6. Name two sprites that require Sprite Buoyancy.
There were many, but Podoboo and Rip Van Fish were two.
7. Name five Tileset Specific sprites compatible with the Castle sprite set.
Moving castle block, wooden spike, Grinder, Thwomp, Thwimp, Magikoopa, Net Climbing Koopas ....
8. What happens if you use a message box and layer 3 in the same level, and why?
The layer 3 will disappear, as they are both on the same layer.
9. Mario's main entrance location is at (5,6) on screen 2. What is his midway start location at screen D?
5,6. No exceptions.
10. TRUE OR FALSE: Level Mode 01 will allow Mario to walk on Layer 2 platforms.
False. Level Mode 01 does NOT allow interaction.

==GENERAL LUNAR MAGIC OVERWORLD EDITING==

11. List the steps required to set up two working overworld pipes.
Choose the destination exit on the first pipe, set the exit index, choose the exit index on the second pipe, set the destination exit to the first pipe, and then go back to the first pipe and fix it.
12. What is the code used to unlock title screen editing in older versions of Lunar Magic?
Chelsea, not ChibiMoon. The later was for locking hacks, and still is.
13. What will happen if you put a ghost in a sprite slot other than the last three?
The position of the second ghost on the submap will be random. This was mainly a test of your Help-file skills too.
14. What is the purpose of "Layer 1 Mario Paths"?
They allow you to walk around the overworld.
15. If a fortress is set to activate event 5F when it is completed via a goal sphere, and the player finds the hidden keyhole, what event does the level activate?
Event 60. Secret exits are always +1 .. 5F + 1 = 60
16. Butterscotch Castle is three 16x16 tiles away from Butterscotch Land 5. When they player beats Butterscotch Land 5, the three 16x16 tiles reveal themselves, but the player cannot move to Butterscotch Castle. What is a possible error the creator made?
Many. Incorrect direction settings, forgetting to activate an event, not laying down Mario paths, etc.
17. List three Palette Numbers and Color Numbers that vary depending on the submap you are editing. (I.E. Palette 9, Color 2)
Any palette from 4-7, and color from 0-7 would have been accepted.
18. What is the difference between blue Mario paths and green Mario paths?
Green is land, blue is water.
19. What was special about Donut Secret House?
It was the only level where the Big Boo enabled a secret exit instead of a normal exit.
20. TRUE OR FALSE: You can draw more event tiles under the default tiles with no errors.
True. You CAN in fact draw more tiles without any errors.

==EXGFX, BLOCKTOOL, SPRITETOOL==

21. What must you do before you insert ExGFX for the first time? Why?
Extract them and reinsert them at 4bpp. The 4bpp is what I was really looking for on this.
22. How many 16x16 tiles can be stored in one ExGFX file?
32.
23. What must you do to prevent the default Map16 squares from showing up when you load your hack?
F9 to save. F9 TO SAVE. Let's all laugh at smkdan for getting almost every single question right but this one (no seriously don't.)
24. What extension do BlockTool blocks use?
.bin. No, for Christ's sake, it is not .block.
25. What knowledge must you possess to create your own custom blocks?
ASM
26. When typing in interaction offsets in BlockTool, what is the difference between 0 and -1?
I saw some technical answers, which were great. All I really needed was that 0 executes the code, -1 doesn't.
27. The first value in a SpriteTool .cfg file means what?
Whether the sprite is a tweak or a custom.
28. In Lunar Magic, what is the proper method for inserting a custom sprite into your level?
Notice how it says LUNAR MAGIC. Click on the Add Sprites button, push Insert, pick your sprite number and the Extra Bits, and then click OK.
29. All custom sprites must contain "_ _ _ _" and "_ _ _ _"
"INIT" and "MAIN" is what I had in mind. However, if you said ".asm" and ".cfg", I accepted these too.
30. TRUE OR FALSE: BlockTool values in hex must be converted to Map16 decimal before the block can be properly inserted.
Haha, my favorite question. The answer is FALSE. You have to read it very carefully. Blocktool values in decimal must be converted to hex

==MUSIC, ASM, OTHER TOOLS==

31. The tool "addmusic" must be used on a ROM of what size?
1MB, 1024 KB
32. Mozart discovers "addmusic" and decides to create a song. In the end, he has five melody channels, and four percussion channels. This will not work in SMW. Why?
SMW can only support 8 sound channels.
33. What is a "sample"?
The EXACT answer, made by smkdan, is "a piece of digitized audio". However, I was rather generous here, and accepted things such as "sound that makes up instruments and musics." I did NOT accept things like "a note played."
34. When editing the status bar, why can't the Small Bonus Star Counter be moved?
It is hardcoded. That's all you need to say.
35. What does HDMA do for levels?
This was a freebie. I would have accepted anything from "hot special effects" to the exact definition of what it does.
36. Name two tools required to do ASM.
Yes, DO. BlockTool and SpriteTool do not do ASM. However, stuff like Xkas, TRANSM, any text editor, does.
37. What are "thingy tables" used for?
This one was tricky. "Thingy Tables", the more technical term for it, convert strings of hex into ASCII format. In short, you can edit the text of a ROM with a .tbl file opened in a hex editor easier.
38. What is the difference between $XX and #$XX?
$XX is a RAM address. #$XX is a direct value.
39. ASM uses "_ _ _ _ _ _ _" as it's commands.
"OPCODES"
40. TRUE OR FALSE: By loading a custom music value and storing it the "Level Music" address, you can easily swap between SMW's music and your favorite inserted tune.
True, believe it or not. If the song is in the same bank as the current one, the tunes will switch.

==CHALLENGING==

41. Why are values in the ROM map unable to be written to through ASM?
They are Read Only Memory. This was the main answer I was looking for.
42. What is the lowest number a "generator" sprite can be inserted as?
D0
43. What is the purpose of High Bytes and Low Bytes?
They allow for 16 bit values to be loaded, or in a more understandable term, anything past FF
44. What was the submap and level number of the beta switch palace?
Valley of Bowser, level 112.
45. What is a side effect of installing the optional Shift + F8 fix of the message box displayer sprite?
The intro level becomes 1C5 if Mario starts on a submap.
46. Name one area in Super Mario World that uses Mode 7.
Bowser, Reznor, any boss battle that wasn't in pipes
47. When naming empty music slots in Lunar Magic, what is the name and extension of the external file used?
.msc
48. Which channel numbers do the sound effects of SMW use? Why should these channels not play a melody when inserting custom music?
Addmusic: 4, 5, 6, 7. SMW: 5, 6, 7, 8. If you left out the third one, that was fine too, as the main ones are the other three.
49. What is the difference between the top and the bottom half of the LM Palette Editor?
The top half is objects. The bottom half is sprites.
50. TRUE OR FALSE: A .bin and .cfg file are required when inserting a custom sprite.
Again, false. While a .bin may be required for certain sprites, it is a .asm file that is missing from this statement.
51. BONUS: If the value #$0B is loaded into $0100 while in a level, what happens?
This does NOT refer to the level mode, it refers to the game mode. Setting this value fades you to the overworld in a level without activating events.

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That's it. Congratulations to the winners, and I will update the trophy case and see to it that you get your badges soon. If you have any questions/comments/concerns, feel free to discuss it now.

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Aw, just below the cutoff point. But I at least made an A-, which was my real goal.
Heh, I won. (although I have no clue what question I missed cause I'm on my wii.) Anyways, congrats to everyone who did well. And, I'm fairly shocked as to how well some people did.

Edit: I take it was 40?
Your layout has been removed.
You and your trick questions.

But yeah. 3rd place. Whooooo.

....or something
Oh, #23 ;_;. Didn't know what it was asking, but no complaints since I didn't bother asking for a re-word before submitting.

Congratulations spigmike on gold. Personally I'm happy with the podium spot and I don't really mind sharing 3rd.
I didn't even noticed that contest existed>_<

I guess that's the kind of stuff that happen when I get away from SMW hacking too much...

I think however, that the HDMA question should have refered to the HDMA effect in the original game(spotlight, message box, circle around mario at level end)
You marked me right on this:
51. BONUS: If the value #$0B is loaded into $0100 while in a level, what happens?
-It turns into a boss battle level! – YES

But didn't you say that it fades to the OW map or something?
Originally posted by Haaaaaach
But didn't you say that it fades to the OW map or something?


Ah yes, that one was totally my fault. It doesn't affect your rank, so I won't bother updating the .doc - I'll just update your score.

Originally posted by Necro
I think however, that the HDMA question should have refered to the HDMA effect in the original game(spotlight, message box, circle around mario at level end)


That probably would have been a more challenging answer then what I accepted, which yeah, now that you mention it, I should have done. Still, I considered that a "freebie" for most people, as I accepted "makes pretty effects".
Originally posted by S.N.N.
39. ASM uses "_ _ _ _ _ _ _" as it's commands.
"OPCODES"

OBJECTION!


ASM uses mnemonics, machine language uses opcodes.

An assembler's purpose is to translate mnemonics (readable text strings) into opcodes ("unreadable" sequences of bytes).

It sort of makes me sad to see how many there are that confuses Assembly languages with machine languages. Sure, they are extremely closely related (an assembler pretty much runs a "search and replace" routine on the code), but they're still not the same thing.
smallhacker is right about the mnemonics. Personally didn't give the question much thought.

If it'll help rid of another misnomer in the community I'll explain it with a quick example:

Assembly is a more manageable representation of machine code. Machine code contains opcodes and operands. The opcode represents the command, the operand is the parameter(s) to be used with said instruction if necessary.

ASM:
LDA #$12
Machine code:
0xA9 0x12

LDA #$XX is the mnemonic for opcode 0xA9 and the 12 is the operand (value to be loaded into A).
*Cues "what the fuck I actually won" mode*

Anyway, I'm still quite glad with third...to tell the truth, I wasn't expecting to do that well. :D Congratulations to all who played, and further congrats to those who won a trophy.
Your layout has been removed.
Ah, every tutorial I have ever read called them "opcodes", so it has kind of stuck with my throughout my hacking career. I have never heard of them being called "mnemonics" before.
Will there be a fifth place trophy? Please? :D

I can't believe there are so many users below me... here I thought I was going to get something low.

Edit: Oh, and if it's not too much trouble, could you PM me the specific ones I got wrong?
It's not even close to Halloween, and already Christmas Sales are starting early!
Originally posted by sugarcube121

Edit: Oh, and if it's not too much trouble, could you PM me the specific ones I got wrong?


Um, if you actually read through the first post, I posted an entire Word file with all of the answers submitted by every user. You can check your results there.
How did you actually know all those answers?
My biggest guess would be that they're smart. <_<
I only only knew about eighty percent of those answers.
If I knew I would have entered.
ALERT: SNN is bad at math.

While this doesn't directly affect me, this totally changes the outcome of the contest.

I infact only had a score of 49/50, which would tie me with Vic Rattlehead, essentially jumping everyone up a spot. I had 2 half-offs and a whole off, and 51-2=49.

FIX PLZ.
Your layout has been removed.
Actually, you should be at 49.5. Later on in my marking, I accepted "boss battles" as an acceptable answer, because they all are except two. Either way though, thanks for catching the error, but you're still in first.

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