Back in 2014, after deciding not to keep it exclusive to my own hack, I released the
DKC Styled Sprite Status Bar patch. I'd been collecting requests and suggestions for a "next version" I kept promising, but the only updates I made were small fixes.
Earlier this year (motivated by the
C3 podcast), I took the time and gave it what feels like a complete overhaul. I think I'm justified in calling it:
Although it's still represented accurately by these four-year-old screenshots, this new version has lots of improvements and new features! I'm surprised how many of the suggestions people have made I could implement.
Changes:
- (new) Added an option to show all counters when the game is paused (finally got this working! thanks to p4 and Ladida for the help!) (see GIF 1 below)
- (new) Made it easier to disable the status bar on the title screen and in the intro level (via defines; both are disabled by default)
- (new) Added options for independent sliding-in and sliding-out speeds (see GIF 2 below)
- (new) Added options to make the counters appear and/or disappear instantly instead of sliding in/out (see GIF 3 below)
- (new) Added options to show all counters on getting a midway point and/or goal point (see GIF 4 below)
- (new) Added an option to show all counters when the player is idle for a while (see GIF 5 below)
- (new) Added SA-1 compatibility (thanks to MaxodeX for converting the previous version!)
- (fix) Fixed a bug where a Game Over would send you to the overworld with 99 lives and no "continue/end" menu (thanks to imamelia and Gamma V for reporting this!)
- (fix) Fixed a bug where a couple of sprite tiles would disappear when a message box was on screen (thanks to LX5 for reporting this!)
- (fix) Fixed a typo that made all counters except the reserve item ignore the !CounterSpeed define (it had been useless all that time!)
- (fix) Fixed a bug that would glitch mode 7 boss battles (thanks to Gamma V for reporting this, and to Ladida for helping me fix it!)
- (fix) Added compatibility with the VWF Dialogues patch
- Actually named the thing DKC*R* Styled Sprite Status Bar like I intended all along
- Tidied up the ASM file visually
- Moved defines and options to a separate file
- Added a .palmask file for the palette
- Minor technicality: Changed the timer code so it only counts down when a counter is fully visible
This update is probably somewhat of a fluke — after this release, it's not a project I want to focus on maintaining, let alone keep adding features to. However, if you come across any game-breaking bugs (especially if they were introduced in this version), let me know, and I'll try and fix them!
--------------------
Follow Us On