Yoshi's Strange Quest (V1.4 in progress)

Really cool hack so far (played through World 1) even though imo the levels feel a bit too long for this early in the game. :/

Also I've found no hints of a secret exit in the red dot levels. D:

And the physics do feel a bit awkward, but it's easy to get used to unlike a certain hack I've played.

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Good fucking bye.

Thanks, GoldenSonic15. About the level length, the levels are about 1.5X longer than the levels in MSQ (MSQ levels were approximately 20 screens, or about the same length as the levels in the original SMW. YSQ's levels are approximately 32 screens in length), and they lack midpoints (the reason is because midpoints don't work anymore, due to the Yoshi Abilities patches (I checked this on a clean ROM with only the Yoshi Abilities patches applied to it). I do plan on using midpoints once that problem is solved).

As for the secret exits, I plan on making the secret exits tricky to find. You'll have to explore the level more carefully to find them (sometimes it may be required to use Yoshi's abilities to find them, too).

As for the physics, I admit they can be a bit awkward at first, but they aren't much different than the physics in SMW. I will say the player will have to get used to them as well as the unique moves Yoshi has, since I'm trying to take advantage of them (especially the flutter jump).


Also, I'm currently working on the overworld (mainly the main map). I think I might post a screenshot of the main map for others to see once I finish it.

Edit: I just finished the main map for YSQ:



So, how is it?

Also, now would probably be a good time to mention the names of the worlds. In no particular order, they are:

- Yoshi Plain
- Submerged Forest
- Key Island
- Fire Mountain
- Bizarre Isles
- Top Secret Area
- Cloudy Zone
- Frozen Desert
- Creepy Cave
- Culinary Plain

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My Hacks:
Mario's Strange Quest V1.6
Yoshi's Strange Quest V1.3 / V1.3.1 Beta 4.6
Mario & Yoshi's Strange Quests (7/8/2022 Build)

Other stuff:
My SMW/SMAS/SMAS+W disassembly
Yoshifanatic's Discord Server: A place for fans of my stuff and/or Yoshi to chat with others.

I've made my decision for how many levels there are going to be in the next demo of YSQ. Based on the layout of the levels on the overworld, there are going to be exactly 30 levels (40 exits) spread across six worlds. Of course, those numbers may change slightly, but you can expect to see around that many levels in the next demo.

Also, I've been thinking about the humor I'm going to use in YSQ, which will be similar to the humor from MSQ it several ways. For example, I'm going to bring back the error messages (I plan on thinking up new ones, though). There will also be the usual references, cameos, use of my personal memes, breaking the fourth wall, toilet humor, and anything else I can think of.

Before I forget, notice the picture I added to the above post? It's a picture of the main map I made for YSQ. How does it look? Is there anything I could do to improve it?

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My Hacks:
Mario's Strange Quest V1.6
Yoshi's Strange Quest V1.3 / V1.3.1 Beta 4.6
Mario & Yoshi's Strange Quests (7/8/2022 Build)

Other stuff:
My SMW/SMAS/SMAS+W disassembly
Yoshifanatic's Discord Server: A place for fans of my stuff and/or Yoshi to chat with others.

I have a pretty strong feeling that you was working on this map very fast, you could put more time into it. The left part looks ok, but I don't like the top and right parts very much. The right part is ok at the bottom, well, not bad, but the middle-right and all top part aren't looking promising for me. The island with the world 4 castle has a strange shape which I don't like, it doesn't look proffesional, and it also hasn't got any decorations, but the top part is worse. It hasn't any curved tiles, things placed on the ground, and it looks squarish. However, I like the left part pretty much. It has a good variety of hills and decorations, and it's pretty well designed. On your place, I would make the OW only if I would be sure I have time and I would be motivated, inspirated to do it. There's also OW making style, but it's a complicated thing. 90% of people who design OWs very well are making them pretty good, but they has a specific style, the style you used on your OW. You have separate islands for various worlds. The last 10% of people has a style which also gives the OW a bonus - they make the OW very creative, and don't separate worlds. They can make the world 6 and 1 be on the same part of the ground and they make it look good; if I would have to give example, superwiidude is in the 10%, well, he doesn't use the curved tiles always, but his OWs are incredibly creative; he can match the lands very well. I wish you luck on fixing the OW look, also, you got a very good palette on this OW! PS. You have exactly 700 posts.

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...Huh?

World 4 is supposed to be shaped like a key.

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Good fucking bye.

Yeah, I know, but it could have more decorations, currently it's a little plain.

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...Huh?

The way you said it sounded like you didn't know what it was, but yeah I see what you mean. :P

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Good fucking bye.

The main map on the overworld is still technically a work in progress, so I plan on adding more to it. I spent 2 1/2 hours on it, by building the overworld around the paths I laid out. Also, here is some more info about the main map (and the overworld in general):

- World 4 is called "Key Island", which is why it's shaped like a key. Of course, that's not the only reason it's called Key Island. Each level in world 4 requires the player to find a key and bring it to a keyhole in order to progress. For example, the first level is called "Key Cliffs", a vertical level where the Keyhole and Yoshi's starting position are at the top, while the key is at the very bottom of the cliff. Also, this idea for a world was actually an unused idea I had for MSQ that I'm using in the sequel.
- World 7 is a sky themed world, so the area along the top of the main map is supposed to be clouds. One thing I haven't done yet is put a shadow towards the bottom of the main map, but that's only if I can find room in the palette window for it.
- The way the levels are laid out, the path the player has to take to beat the game is less linear than in MSQ, yet the player still has to beat 2/3 of the levels to beat the game, just like in MSQ.


Also, as an update for YSQ, I came up with several more level ideas. One level is called "Reverse Cavern", where Yoshi's left-right movement is switched and all the enemies move backwards. Another level will be called "Space Voyage 2", which has the same gimmick from Space Voyage in MSQ (the part where Mario rode on that small platform), except this time I take more advantage of the gimmick this time around (and I make the level longer and more difficult. Needless to say, this level is going to be optional). I have a few more level ideas, but I'm not willing to mention them right now.

Edit: I just added on to the main map a bit more, so some of the areas that looked a bit plain have more decorations. Also, it should be noted that, while the overworld in YSQ may not be the best, this is my first real attempt at making an overworld for a SMW hack. At least there aren't any major errors with it.

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My Hacks:
Mario's Strange Quest V1.6
Yoshi's Strange Quest V1.3 / V1.3.1 Beta 4.6
Mario & Yoshi's Strange Quests (7/8/2022 Build)

Other stuff:
My SMW/SMAS/SMAS+W disassembly
Yoshifanatic's Discord Server: A place for fans of my stuff and/or Yoshi to chat with others.

I'm back from my little trip. I'm not going to discuss what I did during the weekend, since this thread isn't the right place to talk about that, but I will say I talked with my brother about YSQ. Unfortunately, we didn't come up with any new ideas.

So anyway, I'm curious about what others think of YSQ. If the person reading this has the time, could you answer some or all of my questions below?

- If you have played MSQ already, does YSQ feel like a sequel to MSQ or not?
- If you have played MSQ already, do you like some of the additions and improvements over MSQ?
- What do you think of the overworld I made?
- What do you feel were the best and worst parts of the current demo?
- Which parts did you find funny?
- If you have played MSQ already, do you think the level design in YSQ is better than the level design in MSQ or not?

Also, as an update, I almost have enough level ideas to fill up all the level tiles that will be accessible in the next demo. Hopefully, I can think up some more ideas for the remaining levels soon.

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My Hacks:
Mario's Strange Quest V1.6
Yoshi's Strange Quest V1.3 / V1.3.1 Beta 4.6
Mario & Yoshi's Strange Quests (7/8/2022 Build)

Other stuff:
My SMW/SMAS/SMAS+W disassembly
Yoshifanatic's Discord Server: A place for fans of my stuff and/or Yoshi to chat with others.

Kind of, in the way the levels are made up, but in another way, not, as your playing as Yoshi an e has very different mechanics. It feels like a game set in the same world rather than a direct sequel.

In some ways yes and in some ways no. I have very mixed feelings about the Yoshi skills. On one hand, they allow for new level design and on the other, they're a little hard to get used to and a little buggy.

Very nice. All I have to say on that.

Best:
Very nice aesthetically, all of the music and graphics were good and appropriately used. Level design was also mostly a high point. Look bact to my beta report for thoughts on individual levels.

Worst:
Some of the levels didn't feel like they belong belonged belang were in the right place.

You know what, I actually can't think of any specifics right now. The cutscenes with Yoshi speaking as well were pretty funny and original, and I kind of found it funny when I brought a key to the next level, though that may not be the funny you mean.

My least favorite level would probably have to be Mysterious Field. I mean, all the levels in the demo are good, it's just that some, especially that one, felt a bit too hard for that early in the game.

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Good fucking bye.

Don't forget that the current version of YSQ is a fairly short demo. Some of the levels in the current demo will be moved to a different spot in a later version (for example, Cookie Crisis and Fattening Plains will be moved to world 3). Other levels may get modified in some way to make them harder or longer in later versions (for example, since Lava Cavern 2 is going to be a world 6 level in the final version, I plan on making it harder once world 6 is accessible).

As for what Bleaghhh said, thanks for answering my questions.

Also, lately I haven't been working on YSQ. I have been busy playing a few of the video games I got recently (plus one I got for Christmas that I haven't played until now). I'll be getting back to work on YSQ soon.

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My Hacks:
Mario's Strange Quest V1.6
Yoshi's Strange Quest V1.3 / V1.3.1 Beta 4.6
Mario & Yoshi's Strange Quests (7/8/2022 Build)

Other stuff:
My SMW/SMAS/SMAS+W disassembly
Yoshifanatic's Discord Server: A place for fans of my stuff and/or Yoshi to chat with others.

... Oh, it's a level show-off.

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Good fucking bye.

I suppose that's one way to describe it, GoldenSonic15. It's sort of like what I did with the original version of MSQ; the only difference is that YSQ is a much higher quality than V1.0 of MSQ and the levels are organized better. Basically, I designed a few levels that will be in the hack, and organized them within two submaps for the current version.


Also, I thought of another question I wanted to ask along with the others I asked before:

- If you have played MSQ already, do you think the level design in YSQ is better than the level design in MSQ or not?

I was wondering about this, since one of the things I wanted to improve upon from MSQ was the level design (not that the level design in MSQ was bad or anything).

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My Hacks:
Mario's Strange Quest V1.6
Yoshi's Strange Quest V1.3 / V1.3.1 Beta 4.6
Mario & Yoshi's Strange Quests (7/8/2022 Build)

Other stuff:
My SMW/SMAS/SMAS+W disassembly
Yoshifanatic's Discord Server: A place for fans of my stuff and/or Yoshi to chat with others.

Alright, I'm done with my break, so I've gotten back to work on YSQ. Already, I have some work done on a couple of levels, as well as a few more ideas. Here is a few more updates:

- I've thought about what the final boss of YSQ will be. I'm not going to reveal any details about it, but I will say that it is weird. Trust me on this one.

- I've added another level to the overworld, so now there is going to be 65 levels.

- One of the levels I've been working on is called "S.S. Sunk", which is a ship level with a layer 3 tide (the one that rises and falls). The gimmick is the same as the gimmick I used in the level "Tidal Trouble" in MSQ; the only difference (besides the graphics and music) is that I am taking more advantage of that gimmick. Here is a picture to demonstrate:



In Tidal Trouble, the tide needed to be high to reach ledges, and that was it for that gimmick. All low tide did was force the player to wait for the tide to rise again.

In S.S. Sunk, some places become impassible/passible depending on the tide. For example, in the picture above, the tide must be low to get past that Thwomp (unless you want Yoshi pancakes for breakfast). Other cases where the tide comes into play is when there is a ledge that is too high to jump to (unless it's high tide) or platforms that float on the water that block the way when it's high tide.

- Speaking of reusing gimmicks, I may have to reuse some of the gimmicks I came up with for MSQ. When I do, I plan on taking more advantage of the gimmick than I did in MSQ, just like with S.S. Sunk. For instance, I want to make a level with the same gimmick as Mirror Ghost House from MSQ for YSQ. A few ways I could take more advantage of that gimmick is by making the level less linear, having more types of invisible objects (like P-Switches), and/or maybe have a vertical sub-level with this gimmick.

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My Hacks:
Mario's Strange Quest V1.6
Yoshi's Strange Quest V1.3 / V1.3.1 Beta 4.6
Mario & Yoshi's Strange Quests (7/8/2022 Build)

Other stuff:
My SMW/SMAS/SMAS+W disassembly
Yoshifanatic's Discord Server: A place for fans of my stuff and/or Yoshi to chat with others.

ToonLinktheFairy, I don't remember mentioning anything to you about making a puzzle level; what are you talking about?

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My Hacks:
Mario's Strange Quest V1.6
Yoshi's Strange Quest V1.3 / V1.3.1 Beta 4.6
Mario & Yoshi's Strange Quests (7/8/2022 Build)

Other stuff:
My SMW/SMAS/SMAS+W disassembly
Yoshifanatic's Discord Server: A place for fans of my stuff and/or Yoshi to chat with others.

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What does that have to do with Tetris Attack?

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Good fucking bye.