Super Mario: Stellar Rescue (previously known as Super Mario: Daisy's Kidnapping) - new first level wow

(I'll update the title to something more formal and appropriate when I have something more formal and appropriate to put there) - @e: I came up with a name

Hi! So, I've been out of the 'hacking game' for a looong time and lunar magic 3 looked quite cool. Started playing around with it and thought 'oh well might as well try and make a hack' and here we are.

right lets get on.


Story
Mario and Luigi get invited by Princesses Peach and Daisy for afternoon tea at the castle (afternoon tea is like something that british snobs)
amazingly, Daisy gets kidknapped lol
Luigi gets upset
Mario must rescue Daisy
ah but its not that simple, this isnt your bog standard 8 world romp nah
Mario must collect six power stars to be able to power the ship across seas of lava to rescue her from Bowser (surprise)

The intro level is fairly interactive. As explained by screenshots below:

whats the thoughts on the spacing between "please join" on the first line? Because "princess" won't fit there and I wanted the text spaced evenly. anyway its minor but I'm happy to change it if a suitable way comes up


This is Mario and Luigi's house. Not much here, just sort of serves as a place for a Luigi NPC to live


You exit the house and you're taken to the castle with a little transition scene and then you're in the castle. Various NPCs, doors that are enterable once you've spoken to NPCs etc so you know where to go. I'm aware of the weird typos in the message boxes (noticed them as I typed the post!). Darkness HDMA comes on when Daisy is taken etc etc etc. Peach explains what you need to do and off you go. I'll probably upload the intro into a video so you can experience the FULL DRAMA of the kidnapping once I've ironed out a couple of bugs.


How do you get around?
So, there is an overworld but it's sort of the secondary way of getting around. There's map for each world but they're not connected via overworld.
The intro level will lead directly into a hub level, consisting of:
- Peach's Castle
- Toad Town
- Mario's House
- and a couple of other areas like the boat dock, a little grassland section etc

Each overworld map starts with a warp pipe to get you back to the hub level through a mini sewer. To get to each world, Mario must use the magical paintings in the Princess's gallery to retreive the power stars back from bowser's kids (or something). There's a couple of sections to Peach's Castle as seen below (a second throne room which contains a secret little game - to be revealed) and the gallery.

The empty stars above the paintings will be filled once the world as complete. And when I say it's not your standard romp, worlds 1-6 can be played in any order you like. Of course, world 1 is the easiest and world 6 is the harder one, but I wanted to do something a little different I guess.
The paintings aren't actually minimalist white, I just need to fill them in by making friends with a cool gfx artist on the site, getting some work out of them and then abandoning the friendship and never speaking to them again as they'll be no more use to me.

Here's a little GIF of the castle:

The use of NPCs throughout the hub explains pretty much everything.

Outside the castle is the rest of the hub:



So, once you beat all six main worlds you have enough power stars to power the ship. The ship is accessed in the docks in the hub level:

You'll see I make use of filling in stars here too. And the last one on the other side is another power star. Apparently, the ship needs another power star to be able to survive the journey back (so once you're in the bowser world, you can't get back until you win!)
That door I enter gets some use later on, Mario's told to "rest in his cabin" for the journey and then BAM you're in lava world



There will be a bonus world too which is unlocked once you win the game.


That hub and intro level has probably taken me a good three weeks to get done. There's a lot of detail gone into it (which will be more apparent in a video i guess?)



Anyway onto some levels

unimportant overworld


I hereby name this world Verdant Green



so this is your fairly normal 1-1 level. Couple bonus areas. Introduces basic enemies etc. I liked the more newer mario games bonus cloud sections with the colourful tiles (well, I'm more thinking 9-8 of NSMBWii) so I did that too.



unsurprisingly the second level is a cave. I made use of LM3s new big levels here so it's quite expansive, a couple of underwater caverns. Buzzy beetles, swoopers (I've got various other cave stuff like buster beetles, upside down things and ninji's implemented too, but i'm saving those for later).



other stuff
back in the day I used to draw my own graphics but I don't really care for that now plus I wasn't any good at it back then so definately wouldn't be now! So I decided to make use of SMAS stuff, but mix it in a way that doesn't clash and looks conventional (or at least I hope). Though I've beefed stuff up with layer 3 backgrounds, HDMA (all the c001 stuff) and expanded on the tilesets a little (like adding slopes etc). As such, I've ended up reripping a lot of stuff from the games to suit my exact needs, mostly foreground stuff. Oh and a couple of Gamma V's stuff makes an appearance too

You can wall kick. I may look at ground pound at a later point but the rom is very patch heavy all ready! Plus getting it to work properly with ? blocks and all is time consuming and if I can't get it to work how I want it I won't have it at all!!

Using LX5's powerups (not all, just some). I guess these get used a lot but they're going to be used effectively and not just there for the sake of it.

Also, using that overused status bar too.

Star coins are in the hack, three per level. I'd like them to unlock something but getting the BWRAM expansion stuff to work is a nightmare so that may not happen. I'm imagining some kind of ultra fun but super hard level being unlocked where I go crazy with venus fire traps--- or not. I might seek help on that one (although my cool italian ASM friend Lui37 isn't around anymore)

and you'll notice the HDMA stays between level transitions, HDMA fix patch is a shit to work as well so whatever

I'd really like some name suggestions as I'm stuck on finding anything that isn't similar to these


I welcome everyone's feedback! Like I said, I've been out of hacking for ages (and SMWC in general to be honest) but I seem to be having fun. I'm a busy guy so don't expect many regular updates.


also you can have this as a little preview of level 3

ok yeah Hammer Bros and any bro in fact are not that easy of an enemy, but I never said world 1 was easy, I just said it was the "easier world"

Its looking quite good so far. I really like the way in which you can choose levels/worlds. Makes a change from the standard formula we see in plenty of hacks.
As for name suggestions I can't think of any at the moment...

Lastly I'll say its always nice to see members come back and do some hacking again. Hope it all goes smoothly.

Thanks 1UPdudes! Cool to see you're still around too!


Progress... some. I've intregrated the ground pound patch fully to work exactly how I need it! Mini Mushroom reacts with sprites correctly if you ground pound, ? and brick blocks all work from pounding them too.

This will definately open up new level ideas (or I hope so lol)


So the aforementioned level 3:

Bros are obviously a difficult enemy, especially this early on (but hey NSMBWii did it). They're positioned so they're easy to avoid if you take a run up so not too hard.


You get a little go with the mini mushroom here too, allowing access to a star coin. Wasn't really sure on the player gfx here, so it's just small mario shrunk even more. Yeah, I guess it's a little pixellated or so, but this is a 16bit game so I'm cool with it.


The level then dives into an underground section with a little P-switch action. Travel left to hit it and race back to get through.


There's also a little secret area up here though which can only be accessed when you hit the switch to another star coin. Also, that fire bro placement may seem odd - but if you don't know the level you will probably collect the coins before you hit the p-switch. If you do know the level, you can avoid him!
And coins and star coins are collectible by shells, ice blocks etc thanks to some patch by Erik (and me as I had some issues with coins but that's a looong story)


Or if you don't find the bonus we just carry on.


that's all for now pals - also we have a name now too as you may be able to see

Slowly but surely we are becoming SMBX.
Haha, but this is awesome! How long do you plan on this being?

It's certainly been a while since we had an actual Super Mario Bros styled hack in a good while... especially one that takes advantage of stables established from the NSMB games as well. I'm looking forward to this!

The tileset mixing is also well done.

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Want progress on 100 Rooms of Enemies: The Nightmare Edition? Go here to see.

(rip my other userbars momentarily)

The Mini-Mushroom stuff reminds me of how NSMB DS had these little bonus rooms all about utilising the mini-mush in someway.
The Ground-Pound looks like it'll allow for some dynamic levels that involve finding secrets by breaking blocks and such.

The screens are looking good so I am eager to see more progress as this project develops.

@LethalBrownies: Thanks - it's looking at around 70 exits/levels (all single exits). Although that may come down a little bit (particularly in later worlds where worlds get a bit longer) if I don't have enough ideas. I'm hoping I do though!

@Daizo Dee Von: Thanks too - glad you're looking forward to it (I hope I'm able to finish it lol)

@1UPdudes: Definately going to be utlising the mini-mushroom for more bonuses later on, yeah. Everything will be utilised so it doesn't seem pointless or just in the hack for the sake of it.



So, I've done the promised intro level video! As well as taken you on a little tour of the hub level. Toad Town isn't huge, it just sort of acts as a transition between Mario's house and the castle - as well as accessing the bonus world later on.

As you'll hear, I'm using mostly SMAS music (to fit everything else really). There's a couple of non-SMAS songs though. Originally, Peach's Castle had the SM64 song for it, but I opted for the World-E SMA4 castle (I think?) tune instead after finding that.

dont laugh at my title screen btw i never know what to do for them



Also - I've been busy. Have some GIFs of Verdant Fortress:

Featuring some Thwomps, Podoboos, layer 2 stuff and more. I reduced a couple of colours on the dungeon bricks to work for layer 3. I'm using that blacked out door outline as a non-entry door (as in to say, this is the door you came through but can't go back). Not sure if that's how it was used in SMAS or whatver but that's how it's being used here.
e: I forgot to add that the Boom Boom reacts to ground pound (taking two hits as demo'd) and doesn't start begin the fight until the player gets near. There's a slight delay between the music tracks changing (not sure what I can do about that really) as you'll notice though

until we meet again friends

so it wouldnt be a grassland without the obligatory mushroom level so here goes


Mushrooms bounce sprites etc otherwise it wouldn't be any fun. That GIF looks scarier than it actually is btw


Lots of high up coins that you can't really reach unless you grab yourself a mini mushroom (hidden away in the level).


This level also introduces the super leaf with some high up coins if you fly for them too. The mushrooms are actually from SMAS SMB1, the larger ones are just blown up bigger. I'm unsure on the HDMA here though - thoughts?


What else have I been doing? I made the janky parts for the intro smoother. Comparison. Old left, new right.




It's only really odd frames where animations kept jumping when the message boxes went but it bothered me so I fixed it. Probably hard to see the difference.



And then I implemented a post-game mechanic. Hidden Marios! Name definately not stolen from Hidden Luigis at all.

It's that shiny 8-bit Mario. Once the main game is completed, a Hidden Mario appears in every main world and one in the Princess Castle. Find all eight and you unlock something (but I don't know what yet - probably a cool final final final level). You can keep track of them in the castle from a room that unlocks when you finish the main game.

That pipe btw isn't how you get in the room, it starts working when you find all the Marios. And the Marios become filled in/coloured in when they have been found.

Useful NPC toad explains everything for you too.



so any level that starts a bit like this with the ? blocks has a Mario - because that's how SMB1 starts

Love me some Super Mario Bros 3, really like how it looks so far

It's all coming together quite nicely. Really enjoying seeing some of the smaller touches to detail here and there.
For example I quite like that Fuzzy Lineguides are now looking more like ropes instead of just black lines.

The whole bouncy mushroom thing always reminds me of NSMB on the DS.
It'll be fun seeing how well Mario can get around those types of platforms.

I'll be looking forward to seeing more progress but yeah great work.

I really don't see why the Marios have to be only collectible after completing the main game. Pure padding, if you ask me.

Hey Tahixham, pleasant surprise to see you're still around! It's nice to know new LM releases are inspiring oldbies to come back to hacking. Considering how recent LM 3.0 still is, it's incredible how much progress you've already made! You might as well have been working on this for a year and I'd still be impressed with your work ethic.

What you have so far looks very consistently themed, and it strikes a really nice balance between a familiar SMAS experience and introducing new features. This looks like it could be a fangame! (one of the well-executed ones.)

The text alignment in the intro letter I'm not really fan of. Maybe it wouldn't look so bad to just left-align everything? Alternaively, you can try rewording things ("Princess Daisy and I are having afternoon teat at the castle. Would you like to join us? Yes, you do. Don't be late! :)" or something.)

Good luck with this project!

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@Stiviboy: Thanks!

@1UPdudes: Literally stole the idea from NSMB, not gonna lie. Glad you noticed the improved line guides too - always hated just boring black lines when they could look so much better. Thanks!

@kyasarintsu: Thought about this when I saw your post - I'm going to drop an NPC somewhere early on that tells you to look out for levels that start like SMB 1-1 (in a more in-universe way). To hint you towards keeping track of the levels that do, because you may want to re-explore them again latter. Although, making them appear pre-post-game(?) is easy enough. If there's a collective opinion on this then I'll look into it.

@WYE: Hey! Yeah, I'm still around (somewhat). Glad you're liking it so far. You've hit the nail on the head with the balance I'm going for (familiar SMAS experience but with new features), the sort of hack I've always wanted to pull together but never got it to work right before. I've reworded the intro letter too, so it looks less weird (thanks for the wording!)



So, what have I been working on?


Verdant Green 5

A level with a simiar aesthetic to Verdant Green 1, but mainly centered around pipes, piranhas, venus fire traps and piranha caves. I wanted to utilise those piranha and venus fire traps that are taking a huge 24 sprite slots in my ROM (better get my monies worth out of them! --ish). Also, features quite a few areas/bits that are accessible by ground pounding brick blocks when big.


Verdant Tower

Vertical tower level (final level of Verdant Green). Revolves around moving layer 2 sections, the star coins are mainly hidden on layer 2, too. There's a section hidden away in a pipe that comes in and out of the wall. Knockback spikes to prevent players running over them when stunned.
(also, you'll notice there's no brightness hdma, i forgot it but it's going in)


and with that we get our first power star back in the gallery

I'm still thinking over bosses, how Mario reobtains the star etc, whether we travel back on the OW to the hub level or get teleported straight back there - working on the logistics, so to speak!



I also made some other minor improvements:


Midway points now show a yellow or red flag depending on whether it's obtained or not. And the player can walk straight through the flag pole to get the midway instead of physically having to touch the flag itself.


Implemented GreenHammerBro's cannon pipes to add more variety in finding bonuses and making level warps.


Made a red coin thing. Though it's a bit basic (I don't understand like fancy custom score sprites or anything too ASM-y), it's stable and does all I need for the hack. If you're small you get made big, or if you are already big you get a 1-up. Simple little feature to keep it interesting I guess.

Welcome to the 100% unique and totally original named Dry Desert...


Dry Desert 1

We meet fire snakes here. You'll notice there's no clouds on the BG because there's no water in the desert to make clouds (the submap actually has an oasis but let's not ask questions).


Got planned for the desert world though:


Better Spikes that don't give a care to who gets in their way.


Stone Spikes from NSMBWii(u) that throw stuff down at you.


Mega Goombas that spawn to normal goombas when jumped on. It's not like a giant enemy world or anything I just wanted a mega goomba.

that's just like a test level btw don't go saying it looks flat


I'm working on world 1's boss when I feel like it so eventually I might have something to show on that

hello I was wondering where can i find this sprites

@jona255: You can't, unless someone else has made a public one. The sprites from the GIFs in the last post are ones I've coded for the hack. Sorry!


Dry Desert 2
So this level's fun. Drawn a the inspiration from NSMBU where there's that level with the stone spikes throwing their balls down at you. However, it's not like a ripoff of that level or anything! There's not really much other use for them unless they're throwing down at you.


A lot of careful sprite placement to make sure the balls actually land on the platforms was needed. Also definately wouldn't have been possible without this patch! Thought I'd change up the ambience too and go night time for this level.

Normal spikes will definately get a bit more use in the hack too at some point - I'm sure I can find a use for them with their balls plowing through enemies. Or, could make them destroy brick blocks too? Could be interesting.

also, you got a glimpse of the desert submap on the last gif

Finally! Hidden Mario in this level?

but where?????????????

Those giant goombas look like dahnamics mega goomba pack, except they are much better and Mario can jump on him 1 time to split instead of 2 jumps. And as for the upside down beetle enemies, those sprites were made by Chris, just like in this video. Flamesofshadow was asking for requests about it so you got to PM him. I believe we will see those in action. I hope it turned out better than the video. You are an amazing sprite maker.

I love that you're designing these custom sprites to interact with other sprites.
The visuals are really nice, too. I like seeing tilesets expanded and mixed together, as seen in Verdant Green 5. A lot of nice minor touches too, like the powerup animation, puffs of smoke when the big Goombas split, and the new checkpoint. Maybe there should be clouds of dust when the spike balls hit the ground, just to add some impact.

Your screenshots and GIFS are so nice to look through. It's got that classic Mario feel but with new features which is what I really like.

All the levels are looking solid so far and all the small details like Cannon Pipes and New Enemies.
Like the Spikes really make the level feel more dynamic with the way in which they interact with other sprites.
I keep getting this feeling to play those older NSMB games because of what I see in this thread.

I will say though that the edited Desert BG with no clouds as well as its palette looks really nice.
Other than that all I can say is keep up the great work and I'll be looking forward to seeing more as always.

@CalHal: I didn't know those Goombas existed in the sprite section! They wouldn't have fit my requirements, but as you say they're pretty similar.

@kyasarintsu: I gave the puffs of smoke a go when the balls make impact with the ground. But I'm a little unsure. I kinda feel like the ball should disspear when smoke comes up you see? It's easy for me to toggle so we'll see!

@1UPdudes: Thanks I wasn't sure how I felt about the desert BG initially with the HDMA going from orange to blue, especially with it looking a little bare with no clouds. It's growing on me though!


Desert Pyramid

The next level is the alternative to a fortress in this world.


This level introduces Ninjis, jumping and moving ones. We also keep some classic staple cave enemies like Buzzy Beetles and Swoopers.
The Buzzy Beetles don't actually spin when they land as they're these ones. However, it's something I'm thinking about changing, but I will need to rework some bits.


Moving Ninjis. Some secrets are accessible down below. It's quite an explorative level!


One of these pipes is a cannon to a star coin! But which one?


As it's a the equivalent to a fortress - we should have a boss. It's on its way! I'm scrapping that Boom Boom boss I used that's from the sprite section and coming up with alternatives (Boom Boom related tho).