This is where we post awesome hacking ideas that "mere mortals" shouldn't see, due to the ideas being too awesome for them.
Unless you state otherwise, the ideas you post are free for anyone (read: staff) to use.
Now for my idea: A two-part hack
Well, splitting a hack into two parts is barely a new idea. However, allowing the two parts to interact with each other is.
Now, this assumes that less than half the SRAM is used by SMW, but I don't know if that's the case. If not, one or possibly two save files could be sacrificed to make room for this.
(Note that when I say "save file", I mean one of the three files you can choose at the title screen, not the SRAM file. The same applies to the rest of the post.)
Basically, the idea is to make two hacks that can use the same .srm file (or whatever extension the SRAM file your emulator uses).
The first half of the SRAM would be used for the first hack. The second half would be used for the second hack. An additional section (which, technically, means that the two above parts aren't "halves", but whatever) would be used by both hacks.
The first hack would be playable right from the start. When you reach a certain part of the story, a few bytes are set, allowing that save file to be opened in the second hack, continuing the storyline.
This idea can be expanded further. For instance, at some point in the second hack, it would unlock a new path in the first hack with some extra levels. This can be taken even further to being able to do something in the second hack which unlocks items that can be collected in the first hack, which would then also be usable in the second hack. (Stop 'n' Swop, anyone?)
Also, to make things more logical, maybe one could use a train station / port / airport / something to travel between hacks. When you visit it in the first hack, it locks access to that save file in the first hack and opens access to it in the second hack instead. The player would be shown a screen containing instructions on how to "swop" the save file. This screen wouldn't go away (to prevent one from continuing to play after the hack has been locked). The same procedure would be used in the second hack to return to the first one.
That could also be used as a plot element. One needs to retrieve a story-related item from the first hack, but a thief in the second hack steals your train/boat/plane ticket, making you unable to return to the first hack until you've found and caught the thief.
It can also be used for logical reasons. If a part of the story is to be trapped in a certain world for a while, it would be impossible to get to the train/whatever station and thereby impossible to return to the other hack until you've escaped from that world.
The general idea could be expanded further into a three or four part hac- ...wait, I'm pretty sure that the SRAM can't hold that much information. ...but a third hack could still be used for, for instance, bonus material. As you progress through the two main hacks, you can also load the SRAM file into the bonus material hack to see various things you've unlocked. Imagine something like a trophy system from Super Smash Bros. Melee and Brawl. The bonus hack could also contain information about characters and places you've met/been to in the main hacks, provide hints about how to proceed with the story and possibly even contain a password system that allows you to activate some otherwise inaccessible places/items/cheats.
Using this two (or three) hack idea, one could make an enormous hack (well, technically two) with nearly 200 levels, a very complex storyline and tons, tons, tons and yet again tons of possibilities.
Unless you state otherwise, the ideas you post are free for anyone (read: staff) to use.
Now for my idea: A two-part hack
Well, splitting a hack into two parts is barely a new idea. However, allowing the two parts to interact with each other is.
Now, this assumes that less than half the SRAM is used by SMW, but I don't know if that's the case. If not, one or possibly two save files could be sacrificed to make room for this.
(Note that when I say "save file", I mean one of the three files you can choose at the title screen, not the SRAM file. The same applies to the rest of the post.)
Basically, the idea is to make two hacks that can use the same .srm file (or whatever extension the SRAM file your emulator uses).
The first half of the SRAM would be used for the first hack. The second half would be used for the second hack. An additional section (which, technically, means that the two above parts aren't "halves", but whatever) would be used by both hacks.
The first hack would be playable right from the start. When you reach a certain part of the story, a few bytes are set, allowing that save file to be opened in the second hack, continuing the storyline.
This idea can be expanded further. For instance, at some point in the second hack, it would unlock a new path in the first hack with some extra levels. This can be taken even further to being able to do something in the second hack which unlocks items that can be collected in the first hack, which would then also be usable in the second hack. (Stop 'n' Swop, anyone?)
Also, to make things more logical, maybe one could use a train station / port / airport / something to travel between hacks. When you visit it in the first hack, it locks access to that save file in the first hack and opens access to it in the second hack instead. The player would be shown a screen containing instructions on how to "swop" the save file. This screen wouldn't go away (to prevent one from continuing to play after the hack has been locked). The same procedure would be used in the second hack to return to the first one.
That could also be used as a plot element. One needs to retrieve a story-related item from the first hack, but a thief in the second hack steals your train/boat/plane ticket, making you unable to return to the first hack until you've found and caught the thief.
It can also be used for logical reasons. If a part of the story is to be trapped in a certain world for a while, it would be impossible to get to the train/whatever station and thereby impossible to return to the other hack until you've escaped from that world.
The general idea could be expanded further into a three or four part hac- ...wait, I'm pretty sure that the SRAM can't hold that much information. ...but a third hack could still be used for, for instance, bonus material. As you progress through the two main hacks, you can also load the SRAM file into the bonus material hack to see various things you've unlocked. Imagine something like a trophy system from Super Smash Bros. Melee and Brawl. The bonus hack could also contain information about characters and places you've met/been to in the main hacks, provide hints about how to proceed with the story and possibly even contain a password system that allows you to activate some otherwise inaccessible places/items/cheats.
Using this two (or three) hack idea, one could make an enormous hack (well, technically two) with nearly 200 levels, a very complex storyline and tons, tons, tons and yet again tons of possibilities.
