Hello everybody, and thanks for coming by to check out this thread on my magnum opus. Those of you who are familiar with this project and those of you who aren't, this is a remake of the original Devious Four Chronicles #3: The Crater. For a long time now, the original Crater has been the intended introduction into the SMW Hack Series known as the Devious Four Chronicles, but it is also plagued with bugs, glitches and worst of them: confusion. ReTold aims to not only fix all of these issues, but also looks to expand and yet constrict the lore of this world.
This hack is rebuilt from the ground up, and lots of changes have been made along the way. One year ago, I made a C3 thread which detailed a good bit on the changes made to the first half of the hack; in retrospect, this year's thread will detail the changes made in the later half of the hack, starting after Scorpion's Iceberg and Hunter's Focur which was defined by many as the midpoint of this hack.
So, what all is different? Well, let's start off with Crystal Mountain.
Crystal Mountain is no longer a monotonous, uninspired mess of random ideas and executions. No, this place is alive, and it is dangerous. Taking inspiration from Metroid Fusion, you'll find quite a few not too aggressive, but hardy enemies like the flame spewing Sovas and Yards. Near undefeatable, but slow and the projectiles they fire are laughably as slow. But don't let the slow speed fool you, slow and steady is just as difficult as fast and furious. These levels will test your mettle.
So, Crystal Mountain is back, that means boss level Disturbing Evil is back too? Yes, and no. Disturbing Evil has been completely retooled as part of the new content this remake is adding. While it does provide a bit of a lore dump in regards to future entries, it is also the turning point of this entire adventure.
This temple is filled with the evil spirits you've been fighting past the whole of the Crystal Mountain...
But evil spirits are also the least of your concerns. Introducing the absolute biggest change this hack has, and what is possibly its crowning acheivement:
The main villains, Hunter and Scorpion, do not remain background objects that are all talk and no bite. No no no... Hunter and Scorpion's words are completely laced with venom, and they have the fire power ingame to back up their claims. They aren't just here in the cutscenes to talk you down anymore, they are an active threat, so be sure to always keep a look out. In the interest of keeping encounters a surprise, I will not be showing any more screenshots of the two of them in action than necessary. You'll have to play the game to actually figure out how to engage with these two.Though if you're curious, a bit of sifting in my Youtube Channel will yield an early video of their AI's in a beta state... just keep in mind they've been optimized heavily since then.
The Turning Point
Glad you asked, so what is next in this show off? Well, I don't want to show off too much, but I also don't want to hide everything either. So what all is done exactly? Anybody here familiar with the place called "The Tower?" For those who don't, it is the final set of levels in the original hack. So what does that mean? It means that I'm pretty much almost done with all the level design in the hack, which basically means... the hack is almost finished being designed gameplay wise. Now that does not mean unfortunately that it is finished. Close, but close is not done. -_- There's still quite a good bit of polishing that needs to be done, like adding multiple midway points and fixing the occasional bug here and there. Putting that aside, this hack started out as a remaster, but I always had plans to make big changes, especially in the late game. And boy, does the late game have the most changes, it barely resembles a remaster anymore as 50% of it or more is just brand new stuff! But that's basically it for the progress report. Have some screenies and changes!
Now known as "The Crater Worksite"
The Crater, the area, not the hack used to be heavily uninspired and had only one biome. In short, it was nothing pretty to look at. Cool, but it got old after two levels. Despite being the titular area of the hack, it was not as noteworthy or memorable as Hunter's Focur or Scorpion's Iceberg... Now, the Crater Worksite is beautiful, full of life, new challenges and from this point, you'll find stuff that can't be experienced anywhere else (until somebody else makes it.
)
I felt it was very important to not just have this place be a barren wasteland filled with machines, no, that's not pleasant to look at. The place is filled with life but also filled with industrial machinery that highlights the fact this place is in fact, an important base of operations for the main villains. As you explore you'll find a plethora of secrets, and maybe health expansions along the way???
Such secrets would also include these wire filled areas. Scorpion's super weapon requires a lot of machinery to run and the only way he's doing that is expanding and building big! He thinks he owns this world just by him being present, and given what kind of fire power he brings, he may as well! O_O But the disadvantage of having to build such a large machine is that, there are always holes to sneak around. Not every place is filled with their machines, these areas can lead you to secrets or just downright lead to brand new areas, places Scorpion nor Hunter want you to be...
Speaking of Scorpion's Super Weapon, getting into the Furnace is not going to be an easy task, this isn't just a place you can clear level after level and eventually reach, no no no. Scorpion is much smarter than that, so you're going to have to think outside the box if you want to stop these two.
Now Hunter's Research
The location that probably sees the biggest changes is the place called Hunter's Capitallarium. No longer a floating palace in the sky, it is a detailed and running laboratory that is host to experiments on the animal life on Vita. You didn't think Scorpion was the only one who was doing things yes? Hunter's Research apparently doesn't just exist for nothing, it is actually doing something. Where as Scorpion is known for building weapons to wipe out worlds in one go, Hunter is a lot more personal. Those of you that are familiar with Hunter know how twisted an individual this mad man is, and this place certainly shows it. Be prepared for what you might find in his closet, these skeletons are literal.
As with all their important locales, the gates are closed off, maybe there's another way in close by???
...no name change here...
The Furnace likewise has seen quite an upgrade, as it too, in the original, was uninspired and mostly filler. Though it did have some unique designs, it didn't change it was quite a slog. Now the Furnace is a proper heated weapon! Prepare for some amazing encounters here.
So, I suppose that's it. No, I will not hide progress.
That's it for progress
Those last screenshots are actually from a level I just finished designing. I sorely wished I could have had The Crater ReTold ready by this C3, but alas I couldn't make that window. In any case, I won't be relegating the release of this hack to a C3. I will release this hack when it is ready, and I certainly do hope that people are excited to play this. It's quite a departure from what most people usually expect out of a standard Super Mario World hack, but I do hope that those of you who are looking forward to this can be patient for just a wee bit longer. I want to do my best to provide an enjoyable experience for all those who are fans of the Devious Four Chronicles. This hack is a celebration of all things Devious Four, and I hope that you all have a good C3! Happy trails!
Also, for those who wish to relive a bit of the userbar days on SMWC, here's a userbar if you want to show your support, or just want something to throw into your layout. Again, thanks for stopping by!
Just put this code in your signature with the appropriate IMG tags:
Code
https://bin.smwcentral.net/u/1055/UserBarThinner.png
Before I go, I want to give a huge shout out to the people that have helped me a ton along the way:
imamelia Who has always been a help in the ASM department, giving me advise and tips for things, lots of things, I don't really understand.
Mellonpizza who provided the asm base that I am using now to develop most of the enemies and bosses for this hack. Though it was several years ago now, I am still heavily thankful for all of his work which has laid the foundation of the rest of this series. You're awesome.
Ahrion who is basically the MVP in the audio department. Any time I've needed something audio related done, either SFX or music, you have been there for me. A true friend, and I can't be any more thankful.
lx5 who provided the Player Graphics Kit and customizing it heavily to fit my needs in regards to the customization of the player's animations.
SF - The Dark Warrior for the constant testing and feedback whenever asked for. You've always been a pal for the Devious Four Chronicles, and it can't be understated. You guys are great.
