F.A.Q. - Addendums - Announcements

Hey. I'm going to be working on a small rewrite of some sections of the FAQ over the next little bit. As I'm sure you all know, it is getting to be rather outdated. Most of the information in there is still pretty accurate, but it could use some more AND some fixes.

Take a look at the current one here.

For a limited time only, you may supply questions and answers here that you would like to see in one of the various sections of the FAQ. If you happen to find any flaws in the current data, feel free to note those as well.

Should you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask.

Okay.

The Music section is somewhat of a mess. Almost every link is broken (the only one that works is a link to the SMB1 music patch). I'd make the following changes:

Update the link for the Addmusics to lead to the Tools section.

Update the link for the music help thread so that it leads to the 'Need help with AddMusic' thread.

The music request thread is frighteningly out-of-date. I would be happy to start up another one, and you can put a link leading to it.

Update the link for the music tutorial so that it leads to a modern one (possibly your own).

Put a question and answer about $E5 music, then provide a link to the $E5 promotion thread.

I'd also put information on Sample Tool.

Finally, no one uses the music IPS patches anymore, as they cause glitches, and people can simply use the SMAS soundtrack for any SMAS songs. Delete the section on the patches.

Music-wise, that should be it.

Add this question to the graphics section.

Q: How do you see Mario's/Enemy's Sprites?
A: Press SHIFT-CTRL-PG DN on the 8x8 editor to access the Inside sprite viewing mode. You cannot edit them, however.

Layout by algorithmshark. Additional help by mockingod.

Linkable Links: Youtube Channel - If any of you want me to do hack videos, I will. I cannot guarantee sound, however.

Shadow of A Hero Progress:

Not doing much.

Submitting (I noticed there wasn't really alot on this, aside from the hack part, so yeah):

Q: I want to submit something to the site, are there any requirements to do so?

A: To pass moderation, the submission has to obey the submission guidelines for that section, which can be found here. Please make sure your submission does obey the guidelines before submitting it!

Q: A while ago I submitted something which passed moderation, but it's gone. What happened to it?

A: Sometimes we make the submission guidelines stricter, unfortunatly this also means that we sometimes have to delete older files which do not obey the guidelines anymore.

Q: I submitted a file a couple of days ago, but it still isn't moderated. Will it be soon?

A: Our moderators will try their best to moderate something as soon as possible. Please not that this cannot always happen instantly, as there are quite a few files submitted each day that have to moderated and moderators also have a life outside SMWC.

Hacking:

Q: Is there any easy way to make good palettes?

A: In the Lunar Magic Pallette editor, hold alt and then click 2 colors that are not next to eachother. It will create a gradient between those 2 colors.

Other:

Q: I want a sprite/music/patch but I can't make it myself, is there any way I could request this?

A: There is a request section for this, which can be found here here.
Make sure you pick the right category when you request something!

Some other questions, but I don't think they are really necessary:

Q: I saw some post about this thing called IRC, what is it?

A: IRC is used for chatting. smwcentral.net has an IRC server called caffie.net where quite a few people for smwc chat with eachother.

Q: How can I parcipate in the IRC chat?

A: See this thread.
Also, please read the rules before parcipating.

That's all I can think of at the moment, I hope this will be usefull.

My Rips/Exgfx:
01|02

The custom block page suggests usage of Blocktool D=

Here's something that could be added to the question, "How do I create an IPS patch?":

You can also create an IPS Patch in Lunar Magic 1.80+ by going to File -> Restore -> "Create IPS File for this ROM..."
Choose a name for the file and save it wherever you like.

I don't know what is frequently asked in english here, but in French, this is a really [too] F.A.Q:

Q: No! I've inserted an ExGFX, and now all my graphics are buggy!

A: No, your graphics are not buggy. Once you have changed one of the GFX files with the 8 slots avaible with the red mushroom icon, you have to make your custom map16 with your ExGFX and replace tiles of your level.

Which GFX Files is for the _____ tileset. When I was new to smw hacking, Figuring out which gfx files to use was a royal pain ( except sprite gfx because it told you which file to use in the sprite window)
Perhaps a brief explanation of the "change index of graphics" button (poison mushroom) and how it affects GFX and map 16 would be a good idea.

Finally returning to this awesome hobby!

Something about how to change the map16 page background tiles use, because the method has changed since Lunar Magic 1.7 came out and the old 1.6 method is now obsolete. You know, the bit where you select everything, press F9 and add a certain number of tiles to everything.

More on palettes, like a chart showing what colour changes what foreground tile, sprite, overworld tile, etc.

Something on adding a custom boss or making one. Because it seems once a week in one section or another, someone asks about one, or how to modify an existing sprite to be one, or how to get one from Brutal Mario, or how to the fix the newbie boss sprites in some way involving behaviour/sprite insertion errors/tilemap, and maybe an FAQ entry would cut down these topics somewhat?

An entry about overworld ExGFX.

Entries on cluster and dynamic sprites.

For gaming news and Wario discussions, check out Gaming Reinvented and Wario Forums respectively.

As for Mario's Nightmare Quest? Well, it's currently on Fusion Gameworks, ROM Hacking.net or the GCN at the moment.

I never liked the tutorial links in the ASM section. Maybe you could link to Maxx's "Basic, Basic codes in 20 minutes", as that's a great tutorial for beginners.

Here are a few suggestions:

- Remove all outdated, broken links and information and update them with new stuff.
- Provide (quality) tutorials for each aspect of hacking, such as creating a block, sprite, patch and inserting GFX. We have plenty of these.
- Possibly add a few more sections, such as HDMA.
- Add more tips to the Technical Fixes, and Helpful Tips section.
- Add the submission guidelines.

I assume this is for the tip box too?
Tip: Never set your entrance position too low if Mario's high or if Mario's low because it can sometimes kill him.
This makes no sense. Did someone forget some words or something?

<blm> zsnes users are the flatearthers of emulation

Q: I want to have custom palettes for my overworld. Palettes 0,1,2,and 3
affect my other unedited levels. How do i fix this?

A: Switch your editor to Lunar Magic 1.7, otherwise think and watch what color you choose...

Some things that I think should be mentioned...

- custom objects (normal and extended)
- Layer 2 levels
- Layer 3 (backgrounds and the like)
- variable width font tools (both Romi's and RPG Hacker's)
- any features in Lunar Magic 1.64 and above that weren't around when the FAQ was originally made

Some things that I think need more information or need to be updated...

- Linking star and pipe tiles. Since Lunar Magic 1.7 came out, there is an alternate method.
- "Note that you're still limited to 8 (Ex)GFX files per level. There's no way to use more than that." <-- That needs to be changed to 10 now. Actually, everything around there that mentions 8 GFX files or 4 FG/BG GFX files needs to be changed.
- Animation, especially ExAnimation, and especially the ExAnimation in Lunar Magic 1.7+. This includes using uncompressed ExGFX files 60-63 for animation frames.
- A link to a .dat file for YY-CHR that has all the colors in order could be useful. (I have one if we need it, but it's not hard to make.) A .pal file with a SMW palette might be less useful, but it could still be nice for some.
- The Map16 page needs to be updated to reflect Lunar Magic 1.7+. Now, pages 0-3F can be used for the FG, 40-7F can be used for the BG, and 2 can be set to be non-tileset-specific. Also, for users of Lunar Magic 1.8+, multiple Map16 tiles can be selected as a single object.
- The custom block page DEFINITELY needs to be updated, since it mentions the original Blocktool and not BTSD. (Saying something about manual insertion might be nice, too, but it's not terribly important.)
- The custom sprite page doesn't mention Romi's Sprite Tool, and it needs to say something about sprite Map16 (in Lunar Magic 1.65+). It should also mention GEMS when it comes out, along with the extra sprite data bytes in Lunar Magic.
- In the music section, AddmusicM and, as stated, Carol's MORE.bin need to be mentioned. Some common bugs with Addmusic should also be brought up, including ones that only mess up in bsnes.
- The section about transferring data needs to mention the backup feature of Lunar Magic 1.8+, and it needs to mention backing up overworld palettes.
- The miscellaneous tips section could probably use more things, but the only one that immediately comes to mind is andy_k_250's Fix-All patch.
- I honestly don't see the point in the first of the four links in the section about ASM tutorials. Why do we need a page on Acmlm's Board about writing direct hex code?
- The hack moderation section could use a link to the "Hacks" moderation subforum.
- Somehow, I don't think the badges section is current...
- There is a layout request thread; we might want to mention that in the section about layouts.
- The link in the screenshot page sends a PM to Tatrion. I don't think he still has the right position for that anymore.

Wow, that's a lot of passive verbs. Those were some things I came up with, anyway.

----------------

I'm working on a hack! Check it out here. Progress: 64/95 levels.

Maybe also some information on the Collection of Custom Sprites in Lunar Magic.

Feel free to visit my website/blog - it's updated rarely, but it looks pretty cool!

Progress so far:

-Fixed the "Music" portion of the FAQ completely. It will be updated soon.
-Also fixed + added some things on the "Graphics" page.
-Added some "Tips of the Day".

Originally posted by SacredSilverYoshi

Which GFX Files is for the _____ tileset

This is a good idea, and it is something I will consider once the rest of the F.A.Q. is fixed.

In locking hacks, there probably should be a link to Recover Lunar Magic so people know what that last question is about.

Q: What are the SNES Registers and Level Modes for?

A: They are there for changing how your level looks such as Vertical or Layer 2.

I'm really glad the FAQ is being revamped; it seriously needed it. However, I think that there's a big flaw with it. It's trying too hard to be a tutorial. So instead, I think it should be like this:

Definition/explanation about the topic.
Tools needed for the topic.
Quick and simple overview of how to use the programs and answer Frequently Asked Questions.
A link to more in-depth tutorials on the topic.

This way, the FAQ remains an FAQ, not a mega tutorial. It explains the basics, and provides links to already established tutorials. I think that on top of revamping the FAQ, we should assemble a list of the best tutorials for each topic. Here's a few:

Level Editing

[Video Tutorial] Chainfire9001's LM Basics Tutorial
[Video Tutorial] Chainfire9001's Advanced Level Editing Tutorial

Overworld Editing

[Video Tutorial] Chainfire9001's OW Editing Tutorial

Graphics

Weeabuu's ExGFX Tutorial
ImJake9's How to Make Your Own ExGFX Tutorial (shameless plug)

ASM

I also think that the Level Editing and Level Entrances/Exits sections should be merged.

Something about Terra Stripe and Layer 3.