Making a mario hack in my spare time.

[CatalystiCam]

Although my time has been a lot more occupied lately, I normally have quite a bit of down time for tuesdays to fridays. So I always loved mapmakers and adored building them to play in shown through my obsessive amount of maps made in timesplitters 2 & 3. Given that Lunar Magic is a lot more complex its not that much of a step up once you figured it out, at least now that I've watched about 7 tutorials I get the idea lol.

Cutting to the chase, I am designing a hack and have been for a day or two now. Given that time frame I haven't accomplished much other than a small first level that is a bit interesting but needs more challenge (ie: more enemies!). I like to devote lots of time and care into making maps so by no means will this be of low quality... At least I'd hope lol.

I know how to do most things already and let me tell you that it aint simple. Quite a bit of manual programming and stuff, with that said however, it is not too bad once you get the hang of it.

Anyways, I'd like to fix quite a few things and probably extend my first level. I'd also like to learn how to do a custom map and all that other stuff so there is no complaining about it being mario world after the levels I make. Also since it's better and much more fun to work with if its my own world.

Right now, I'm looking at about 3 worlds-ish... See, I don't really now, with the detail I normally add to maps it may not be but I'm hoping to just keep adding to this hack as I go.

For now, I'll be releasing it to a few select individuals here for testing if they want of course. After about 3 levels or one completed world I'll start posting the updates in this thread with my rom attached.

Please post some questions and comments if you are interested in this and for support. Ask me personally if you can have the hack to test later on. There is nothing to see for today, nothing I want to present just yet anyways.

Please comment, and I look forward to releasing it bug-free and for the fun of it :)

[Slime Slayer]

Make it brutally hard, yet possible.

---------- Post added at 06:39 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:38 AM ----------

Oh, and infinite lives too.

[CatalystiCam]

I kind of want it to be one where you don't need saves like a legitimate game. I finished the first level anyways although I'll probably add stuff. I can beat it fairly easily now that I've done it eight times. I really like it.

[elrod21]

Cool idea Cam3ron. I look forward to see what the finished product looks like. :)

[Demon-Mask]

You should make it very dreamlike, very surreal.
With intense colors in interesting patterns, and enemy placement which wouldn't have happened in the original game, like those flytrap looking things that grow out of pipes growing out of nowhere instead.

[CatalystiCam]

The landscape generally makes sense so far. I'm working on level 2 but I'm pretty much watching tutorials as I go, lol. Just to learn new things. Oh and this is Super Mario World. Just clarifying, one of the individuals I sent it out to thought it was a nes mario hack and I haven't really said.

---------- Post added at 10:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:25 PM ----------

Another update...

I cleaned up level 1 today quite a bit. I really like it now honestly so I'd say it's on its final draft if not close. Level 2 is getting there also, I spent pretty much all my time after school today on it and other stuff with the rom. Level 2 was too hard originally to play without saves since I got caught up in my idea... I added a fair amount of flowers and such along with a midway point but it is almost finished also. There is one or two things I'd rather clean up first and make less sloppy.

I also edited the starting intro... It's nothing permanent right now, all I did was change the theme and try and throw corresponding items in marios preset path for now. Changing it to something custom will be a thing to do later seeing as I have to cut out a few things and record my own and its just a hassle for now.

I also edited the welcome screen to look a bit cooler in a castle theme with more stuff around but its just for appeal. Yoshis house still is not edited and I have not figured out the yellow switch palaces coding number yet to edit it.

I will now be distributing this out to a small group of people if they want to play and test to give feedback.

Oh, and I looked into editing the overworld but its so complex and the tutorial is over an hour long alone, I tried to make my own piece of land for now but its like building it 8x8 micropixels at a time or something like that... I'm hoping to have a custom overworld before world 1 is finished.

Overall I've put like 5-6 hours into this now if not more.

[Wolf]

I will test the game

[CatalystiCam]

I'll see if I can get it to you tomorrow. I'm off the pc now, lol.

[fungusman]

Make it brutally hard, yet possible.

---------- Post added at 06:39 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:38 AM ----------

Oh, and infinite lives too.

This. Adding ridiculous music will help too. In fact if you make fun of the player and taunt him it might help.

[Slime Slayer]

This. Adding ridiculous music will help too. In fact if you make fun of the player and taunt him it might help.

The floor falling out rom under when you start 1-2 would be sweet too.

[CatalystiCam]

I want custom music but I'm not sure how.

-Yellow Switch palace change but still relatively simple.
-fixed some things in level 2

---------- Post added at 06:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:01 PM ----------

Finally figured the music out after a long while when the tutorials kept leaving one crucial thing out. I added music. :)

---------- Post added 12-18-2010 at 07:43 PM ---------- Previous post was 12-17-2010 at 06:29 PM ----------

Alright, so the ultimate test today. I decided to throw my hack onto the psp and take the psp out with me to see my friends for bowling. I had like 3 of them play it and see what they thought since there is no quick saves on psp. They had a lot of trouble with level 2 so I think I need to tune the difficulty down on that one a lot. Generally they liked it a lot but I had double jumping fish generators on lol.

So far so good but I also rented DKC 4 today and have been preoccupied though.

---------- Post added 12-20-2010 at 08:34 PM ---------- Previous post was 12-18-2010 at 07:43 PM ----------

had quite a few people play this now. Many people like it and one of my friends is an expert at this apparently and looked at it this morning. He found a few things to work on and so I did. But before that I also fixed level 2 and made it cooler as well as easier slightly since there is no double fish generators now on the big bridge. I am onto the fifth level now if you count the switch palace and it looks very nice and plays very nice and is very fun imo. I will release it here probably after I finish the castle.

Things to do next:

Long term:

-Edit overworld
-fix any minor graphical bugs
-make custom sprites and add stuff from other snes games like dkc bosses, etc.

Medium Term:

-finish about 20 levels including switch palaces
-fix title screen and make my own video for it

Short Term:

-Finish world 1
-Release hack to RU audience for testing
-Clean up whatever may not fit perfectly in the first few levels
-Fix the yellow switch palace shortcut and level 3's disappearing sprites.

[StarfoxFan2009]

sounds cool. btw what kind of music could you add?

[CatalystiCam]

here is the list of songs I added:

Level 1A & 1B:
Perfect Dark: Pelagic II

YouTube - Perfect Dark: Pelagic II Exploration

Level 2(Sounds better in game):
Zelda OoT: Lost Woods

YouTube - the legend of zelda ocarina of time-lost woods song

Level 3:
Donkey Kong Country 2: Hot Head Hop

YouTube - Donkey Kong Country 2 - Hot Head Hop

Level 4B:
Donkey Kong Country: Aquatic Ambiance

YouTube - Best VGM 172 - Donkey Kong Country - Aquatic Ambiance

Overworld Theme for Yoshi's Island (world 1):
EarthBound: Onett

YouTube - Onett Theme: Earthbound Music

I've been taking some suggestions from others though

[StarfoxFan2009]

i was thinking something like the star wolf theme for a boss fight

[CatalystiCam]

Hey, I've got like potentially 100 levels to have here and sub levels so I'm sure I'll use a lot of songs lol (although if I get to 100 I'll be shocked). Earthbound and OoT songs I used were both suggestions but both worked.

[Demon-Mask]

I know how to do most things already and let me tell you that it aint simple. Quite a bit of manual programming and stuff, with that said however, it is not too bad once you get the hang of it.

And stuff?
What stuff?

To me, manual programming isn't difficult. Once you get a feel for the syntax of a language, it becomes easy.

[CatalystiCam]

stuff like setting specific values to make this and that "Type" of sprite appear lets call it and some manual programming to make things fit in certain tilesets. Setting values specifically to make the level scroll or be a vertical level. lots of steps to simply getting custom songs into the availability list, like going through command prompt, and then putting them into the level and making them work.

I could go on and on about all the things but none of it is simple. I know a lot of it now and how it works. Things like overworld editing is a whole other story, an overwhelming one at that.

manual programming isn't difficult. Once you get a feel for the syntax of a language, it becomes easy.

Very true, I have to give this time and I can't learn 100% of it like that. Take it step by step and now I know most of what the buttons do and what these numbers on this sprite represent and how to make them appear not glitched up so on and so forth.

Also, due to the fact that I will be making this a custom world donut plains will be made in the theme and context to suit the "Icy Cave style" until I can implement the overworld of this to look like an Icy cave.

---------- Post added 12-22-2010 at 11:02 PM ---------- Previous post was 12-20-2010 at 11:29 PM ----------

An update once again. I am happy with how this hack is turning out now but with the contest I've decided to delay the beta release or whatever you want to call it until some people here actually have the time to try it. I probably won't be working on it much either but I'm on the first castle.

[CatalystiCam]

An update:

Been a long time since I posted an update, or at least so it feels. I am going to set one thing straight, this isn't really a priority of my time. I've taken frequent breaks that last days sometimes so my progress may be a bit of a surprise.

I'm into the donut plains still, I have completed one level I'm very proud of. I'm starting to care a lot more about how my levels are looking and making it look like it would as if it were a real level. You see, I do and I don't care about this, it provides a good look I think when it looks more realistic, should I call it. So looking back on my first 3 levels or so they are very rookie in how they look. They are still fun and work great but there is some things like floating pipes as the run and a p-switch trail of coins that kind of stick out like a sore thumb. I mean it's by no means bad, but to me it just looks rookie and I could do with it looking better, with that being said I have tried making some alterations with the land forms in the first couple of levels and it works for the most part but I'm just saying don't be surprised about the floating grey blocks or pipes suddenly being the ground and stuff like that. In the grand scheme of things it's not a big deal and the levels still work great, don't worry, I can't stress that more.

As for things like overworld editing, I got into that with my friend and it was so freaking complicated and overwhelming to look at for the moment. He was helping me through share screen in skype so he could see what I was doing in lunar magic but it was just too hard to map out with my levels the way they are. So, I will be waiting until my game is finished level-wise before doing the overworld, it works better that way.

Other than that I've really got an advanced understanding of the editor now and what it offers, external programs that you can add to it to make custom sprites and such I have no clue yet. I thought getting custom music was really hard to implement being an external program but then again, it was well worth it so one day changing the graphics and such might be as well. As for the music I've noticed lately I'm really playing by the theme, a few examples would be the castle where I put the dk64 creepy castle music in, and played a long with that making a dark outdoor ghost yard within the level. Worked quite well. What came to work even better was playing to the Hilltop grassland theme for the sonic 2 song; Hilltop. I am actually really impressed with how the hill top level worked, it was the first level you get the cape and I think it plays really well to its theme. It also looks like a real mario level, its "Realistic Boundaries" as I like to call them are really met well with land masses, and the level works great other than a few flying koopas I need to lower for a particular jump. I'm also working on a level to play to the dkc song; "Aquatic Ambiance" and dk64's Crystal Caves theme for the underground level. (I am at the split point in the game so both of these are being worked on right now).

like I said I'm really playing to themes lately and my later levels and such will have a heavy favour played towards the likes of sonic and DKC. I'm trying to stay away from favouring any series but then again it doesn't matter much as long as the song is good as well as the level of course.

In case you are wondering here is a list of songs I have used and songs that are not in use yet:

In use:
Level 1: Perfect Dark - Pelagic II
Level 2: Zelda OoT Woods
Level 3: Donkey Kong Country - Hot Head Hop
Level 4: Yoshi's story - Yoshi's in the wind
Level 5: Donkey Kong 64 - Creepy Castle
Level 6: Sonic The Hedgehog 2 - Hilltop
Level 7: Donkey Kong 64 - Crystal Caves
Secret Level 1: Donkey Kong Country - Aquatic Ambiance
Starman Theme: Mario 64 - Metal Mario Theme
Yoshis Island: Earthbound - Onett

Not in use:

Starfox - Star wolf
Final Fantasy IV/Mario RPG - Culex Battle
Donkey Kong Country - Fear Factory
Sonic The Hedgehog 2 - Chemical Plant
Blaster Master - Level 1 Theme

Most of the unused ones I just don't have a suitable level for at the moment (except blaster master which will likely be used next).

Don't worry, the songs really aren't my main concern but I usually pick one and map the level out to play to the theme. I'm also taking song suggestions if you have any.

Well, this turned out to be a big update. I will release a beta very soon.

[Demon-Mask]

If you need, I can test it for you.

[Wolf]

you should use the main theme of chrono trigger

[CatalystiCam]

you should use the main theme of chrono trigger

I actually like this for a main over world theme. Reminds me of final fantasy over worlds so I'm putting it in the over world for now.
Edit: Shoot! They don't have it but I found a good chrono cross song for the overworld

If you need, I can test it for you.

It's that time anyways ;) I've already released a few betas to smaller communities and mega men. Now I'm releasing Beta 1.12 here.

Incidentally I released this to another community yesterday and in the starting level a koopa was glitched out and levitated through walk-through dirt so I'm glad I noticed that and fixed it. This was from adding more of that "Realism" to the first level.

Here you go guys, enjoy! You should be able to play this on RU by launching the real super mario world then booting up my version of the rom in the options of the emulator. If you have an emulator outside RU it may work better. I have tested this with Zsnes 1.43, Zsnes 1.54 and RU's Snes9x and regular Snes9x and they all work without error.

also, keep in mind as long as you keep the rom name the same every new update you shouldn't lose your progress from natural saves but if you load a save state with the new update you will be loading the old version of the game.

[Wolf]

they should have it on vgmusic I had it and used it

---------- Post added at 07:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:02 AM ----------

VGMusic.com - Super Nintendo Music - A-F (http://www.vgmusic.com/music/console/nintendo/snes/index-af.html)
go to chrono trigger and it should be called chrono trigger for the main theme

[CatalystiCam]

Well, the problem is wolf that the final files wind up being text documents and as strange as that is there is still 1700 songs on smw central and they all sound good. I would love to put mp3 files into a rom but currently the only emulator that can do that is bsnes.

[Demon-Mask]

Convert the mp3s to the file format needed, it shouldn't be too difficult.

I've downloaded it, and now am going to test it on the emulator on my psp.

[CatalystiCam]

yeah, psp should be fine, it works perfect there though the emulator seems to make the controls of any snes game slightly stiff... Or maybe it's just the psp. Do you have that snes9xtyl?

@ also you can't convert mp3s into the text doc format. I've asked.

---------- Post added 01-16-2011 at 12:56 PM ---------- Previous post was 01-10-2011 at 05:39 PM ----------

Bump, So any Comments or complaints? Hows the level design, how's the music choice, etc.?

[CatalystiCam]

Okay, Finally got back to work on this game and it's hard to drag myself away from Diddy Kong Racing at the moment so that is good.

I am thoroughly enjoying designing the next level and I think it's shaping up to be the best yet. Reason being that it's not one though out path and it's going by the theme of Crystal Caves from DK64. What you get is a very spiky landscape underground with some split-offs of the original path to get a mushroom/flower or whatever. This level will probably be a really long level being that the song that it goes with is about 4 minutes long so be prepared. With that said, I've probably got about a quarter of it done if that.

Something I've been considering though and it's really going to hit me when making the overworld. I don't know whether or not I should shuffle the levels around or not for the final project. I mean, so far I've tried to make every level type possible and world 1 generally seems like it could all fit together. My problem is that stages 1, 2 & 3 seem very special world suiting so I've considered putting them in the special world or the star world. Let me know what you think of that because I can admit that levels 4-7 have been a lot more well done.

I've also been contemplating how long each world should be, I mean I'm getting many themes done so I was thinking about 5-7 levels per world and probably a finish result of 4 worlds and of course star world and the special world making 6 worlds.

Please let me know what you think and keep in mind that I really don't think these levels are in sequential order yet and the overworld isn't finished.

Oh, and one more thing I did was finally name all of the levels. I made up my own names for the first 4 levels but I called the castle creepy castle off its theme, hill top off its theme and crystal caves is called crystal caverns.

Let me know, feedback is exactly what I need.

[Demon-Mask]

I've had no problems using my emulator to run it, I have the latest version of SNES9x Euphoria for my psp, no problems with stiff controls or anything.

I like the game thus far, but I think some of the levels need a slight tone down in difficulty, you should ease into the difficulty a bit more, particularly on the stage with all of those Bullet-Bills.

The music is good, I like it.

Oh, and one more thing:
In the stage with the purple triangle blocks on either side of a gray column, I found a glitch. The purple block on the right is defective. You can't run up it, and Yoshi can't bounce off of it.

[CatalystiCam]

First off, I know about the triangle, they only work with real land below them which is something I could fix but it's mainly for the shell to shoot off.

I mapped out my plans for world 1 on a sheet of paper now which made it a lot easier. To the right, I have level 4, level 8 and the yellow switch palace on an island. Below the star/yoshis house is level 1, followed by a chemical fortress I'm making (to model sonic 2's song), followed by level 2 above and finally creepy castle.

I just put in some time fixing up level 1 & 2 and they look a hell of a lot better now imo and actually work better. I also changed the music to more familiar tones to start out and better suiting songs. level 3 now has star wolf theme being that it's in a high nigh time theme and level 1 now has the blaster master theme since it suits it better. Yellow switch palace has no song set currently.

I'll release a beta after level 7 and chemical fortress are done.

---------- Post added 01-28-2011 at 04:03 PM ---------- Previous post was 01-27-2011 at 08:20 PM ----------

Oh man... I just spent the whole morning working on this. My little plan for world 1 overworld has come alive now after slaving over it for hours... I am very pleased with how world 1 looks, but let me tell you, it aint no cakewalk. Nothing in building this has been so difficult as making this overworld work. At first it was fun designing and building it but when you get to events and placing how it's going to go through the sequence... It's not pretty and with that said there is a few bugs I need to fix in the looks department of the overworld.

Other than that, I am pleased. What I think I am going to do for now is still have the levels in the wrong order. I mean, they are in the new order, but my plans for the 2nd level splitting in each direction... Well, they aren't finished, I've got the chemical fortress I'm working on off to the right with no exit and a water level in the ocean off to the right I haven't even started yet. So, what I mean here is that Crystal Caverns is temporarily in the spot of the unknown water level to make the rom work. There is also the original 3rd level which is up in the air, so for now it will probably be coming after Hill top which will be the first level in world 2 or 3 or something. I've only got as far as world 1 finished and I haven't even decided what comes next, so that is up in the air.

For the sake of releasing betas at the moment, levels after world 1 will not be in order so you can all look at them. Crystal Caverns also happens to wrongfully be in world 1 right now so I'd like to fix that and get the real level done there first before another beta. So next beta, expect 3 new levels you haven't seen yet: Chemical Fortress (I even got the water changed to pink), Crystal Caverns and a nameless water level.

Working on this all morning has exhausted me so I can't say i'll get much more done today but I'd expect the new beta sometime before Wednesday as long as I put in a fair amount every day, I'm finding that levels only take me the better part of 2 hours now that I know what to do and they still work out real nice so look forward to a lot more!

[DrunkN]

Confidence crush:
You are trying to develop a new Mario


( ) fan game ( ) ROM hack ( ) music ( ) fiction ( ) art ( ) other

project. Your project will not succeed. Here is why it won't succeed:


( ) Your project is too ambitious for any fan community to finish.
( ) Your project is too ambitious for the Mario fan community to finish.
( ) Your project is not interesting enough for any fan community to take interest in.
( ) Your project is presented in a hurried, disorganized, impersonal, and/or haphazard manner.
( ) Your project may suffer from inexperienced or improper leadership.
( ) Your project is too similar to several other projects, all of which have failed.
( ) Your project is too similar to several other projects, all of which are much further along than yours.
( ) Your project may suffer from your apparent inability to form coherent English thoughts.
( ) Your project is at the stage of "Hey, wouldn't it be cool if...?"
( ) Your project does not have a well-defined development plan.
( ) Your project does not have any tangible signs of progress.
( ) Your project does not have the talent needed to complete development.
( ) Your project would likely end in a Ceast and Desist letter.
( ) Your project is not feasible using existing technologies.
( ) Other (please specify): ________________________________

You should:


( ) Try again after better enumerating your project.
( ) Try again when you can demonstrate some tangible progress.
( ) Try again after adjusting your project's feasibility.
( ) Give up; your project shows no signs that it will be successful

Just a joke, don't take it seriously.

[CatalystiCam]

I lol'd and don't worry, I know what's a joke and what's not lol.

This is a project I enjoy though if I'm going to get serious. I only hope others enjoy playing the game as much as I enjoy making it.

---------- Post added 01-30-2011 at 12:08 AM ---------- Previous post was 01-28-2011 at 05:48 PM ----------

Another Daily update. General over world is almost entirely finished. Unfortunately I have to route the over world 100% now before I can release another beta. turns out if I load my old game file now, it spawns me in the exact spot of the world I left off, which is now a changed map so you get stuck in limbo. I guess I was wrong about that but I can surely try and ensure that doesn't happen again and worst comes to worst now, if you save on a permanent level like they all will be coming soon, updates shouldn't do much, it may look a bit buggy I found, but that's all, and only for that save file.

Good news, my Chemical Plant themed level is really cool, It looks very fancy, and while of course it's not going to look much like the sonic 2 one, it had to have something to go off of. I had some neat ideas though I would say and it's kind of a partial water level with pink water a lot of places and I made a lot of useless pipe contraptions for look appeal. The level runs well, isn't too difficult and has some new ideas I never used and some variety to the sequence of the level instead of 1 bland path.

I hate to say it considering I say it a lot but it may be my favourite level yet. Crystal Caverns is actually a little short so I would like to extend the level yet but yeah. Chemical Plant is right up there with hill top at the moment, if not better imo. I guess its just natural I want to outdo my last creation every time but as I've said, you can definitely see the difference as the game goes on, another reason for me wanting to change the level order, and also my reason for going back and pathing stuff up/adding to older levels.

I like everything a lot so far except crystal caverns which needs to be extended some but that's about it. I also am rethinking the names of some of the levels, I don't want it to be deliberately mimicking the names of other well known game levels but I would like it to be reckonised by the theme the level is playing to.

[StarfoxFan2009]

that's good to hear Cam. can't wait to see the finished product lol

[CatalystiCam]

okay, chemical plant is done almost, I want different underwater enemies I think but. My friend is going to test it and make a video tomorrow or friday so I can probably show you that if he's okay with it.

[DrunkN]

I like that, it's original. Don't get too crazy with the themes though. Do it Donkey Kong style.

[CatalystiCam]

actually, I'm looking into adding custom foregrounds and backgrounds.

---------- Post added 02-04-2011 at 08:55 AM ---------- Previous post was 02-02-2011 at 11:04 PM ----------

YouTube - CAMSMW 2

few bugs I'm aware of like the switch palace and the water in world 1. I will fix what I can but generally it's good and he's been making and playing hacks for something like 4 years. Enjoy and thanks to Aaron.

[Mareeps]

Will you be uploading the new updated rom file soon?

[CatalystiCam]

I have an issue with the overworld I want to resolve yet, and another level I want to make. I'm not going to set a time since I work on this whenever or not at all, like in the last few days. But hopefully, only a few hours of work before the next beta.

[Alice]

YouTube - CAMSMW 2
Here you are Cam.
Also, keep up the good work buddy. :3

[Wolf]

hey cam can you upload the game somewhere that I can download it or send it to me i cannt download stuff on retrouprising

[CatalystiCam]

yeah, probably wolf.

[CatalystiCam]

Alrighty! I know it may not seem like I have been working on this much, but I have. I have now officially gotten 4 levels done since the last hack I released to you guys.

So, yes I finally have beta 2 or whatever you want to call it ready for you guys. I had a lot of snags I hit lately with some levels in the rom acting up all because of a bad music file. that's why they were doing that I found out. Also, I wasn't sure what to do since I don't think you guys wanted to play the first levels over and over again every new beta because of overworld changes. Simple solution I came up with, all levels are open to play regardless of whether or not you beat the levels before them. There is one exception to this, and that is the castle. You must beat the castle to see the levels after it simply because I can't openly enable the pipes after the castle, so you need the event to be triggered there.

With this being said, levels may not appear to have there tile there if you just skip to them, but they will show up if you beat the levels in order. About this though, I'm taking aaron's advice and leaving the fancy trail events until the end since they are fussy and I shouldn't be dealing with them right now anyways.

Level orders are in the right order up until hill top. The next 3 levels after hill top are just there so you can play them, 2 of those levels have a place in the special world or star world, and the other in a cave world. However, I'm not that far yet, so they just exist in the wrong spots at the moment.

there probably is minor graphical bugs on the overworld, but like I said, I'm not going to worry about that just yet.

About the songs, they have shuffled up quite a bit, but I will post a list here after the beta is up for download.

Edit: I don't think you tube videos are necessary, and I apologize if I don't know the songs name since some of these were suggestions:

(Levels are represented by their new order and not the order I made them in)

World 1
World 1 Theme: Earthbound - Onett
With the Wind (Level 1): Yoshi's Story - Yoshi's In The Wind
The Dodge (level 2): Donkey Kong Country - Aquatic Ambiance
Red Switch Palace: Donkey Kong Country 3 - Fireball Frenzy (Temporary)
The Charge (Level 3): Blaster Master - Stage 1
Chemical Fortress (Level 4): Sonic The Hedgehog 2 - Chemical Plant
Field Of Wonder (Level 5): Zelda OoT - Lost Woods
Creepy Castle (Level 6): Donkey Kong 64 - Creepy Castle

World 2
World 2 Theme: Chrono Cross - ? (Wolf's Suggestion)
Hill Top (Level 7): Sonic The Hedgehog 2 - Hill Top

Levels without an official spot:
Night Endeavor (Current level 8 ): Star Fox 64 - Star Wolf (SFF's Suggestion)
Crystal Caverns (Current level 9): Donkey Kong 64 - Crystal Caves
The High Road (Current Level 10): Diddy Kong Racing - Darkmoon Caverns

[Slime Slayer]

Looking good Cam.

[CatalystiCam]

Looking good Cam.

Thanks, I've really enjoyed making it, especially with the last few levels.

Also, I think considering I've got 10 levels done in 2 months that I could be in this for the better part of 2011, because I'm hoping to get a few dozen levels done at least.

@Wolf, I sent you the hack to your email.

[Wolf]

cool thanks
another song that will be good is ninja gaiden stage 4-2

[CatalystiCam]

I'll look into it, thanks.

I had downloaded a song that was supposedly big blue from f-zero. But it's not big blue, it's a million times better thoguh but idk if I could name it from anywhere.

I am about to work on this some more, I haven't been all too much with my short attention span for games lol, however I have been sidetracked with Final Fantasy IV again so yeah.

My new level I have been designing has the awesome song on it and is a level involving the fish trying to eat you at the bottom. ths level will most likely officially take place after hill top.

[Demon-Mask]

I have two songs I think you should add, well maybe three:
"The Red Wings" FFIV, definitely should be used in a castle
"Dancing Mad" FFVI, probably should be used for an epic level.
The theme WildARMs, I can't remember the name of it. Should be used in a desert type level.

[CatalystiCam]

I checked and both the ff songs are there. I'm pretty sure I know which one the FF IV one is and I'll have to check the others but thanks.

[Demon-Mask]

Sorry, I was thinking about the overworld music from Wild ARMs, not the actual theme. It's called "Lone Bird in the Shire" and should sound familiar whether or not you've heard the song or played the game.

YouTube - Video Game Music #20 Wild Arms - Lone Bird in the Shire

[Alice]

Cam, send me the hack when you can.
However, there likely won't be a video this time around, mostly due to my video drivers being incapable of running Zsnes and Camtasia at the same time.

[CatalystiCam]

It's up for download here, aaron a few posts up :P

But yeah, I can probably send it to you if you can't download it for some reason.

my video drivers being incapable of running Zsnes and Camtasia at the same time.

Really? I thought this worked fine? Was hoping you'd showcase some of my later more awesome levels (at least the one level anywho).

Also, to update I'm having trouble with my newest level. I can probably talk to Aaron about it but I think I may just need an entrance screen or something that's really short. Why? Well I need an info box to explain briefly what the level is like because I had an Idea for it now. I'm not entirely sure I want to reveal the idea. but I suppose it doesn't hurt.

First off, my level has the setting on to have a low water tide throughout the level. This is the kind of level it is, with the big fish chasing you at the bottom. Anyways, complications hit when the level glitches out around screen 10 which in hex is about screen 18. So my level is only 0C (11 screens) which isn't enough for a level that far into the game. So I put a pipe at the end that takes you down into the pipe and sends you back up on an identical level. When I say identical, all the foreground stuff is the same but the background is now night time and the enemies have all reversed directions. It's actually a concept that works well, although I want to explain through 2 info boxes that the pipe at the start of the level does not work until night-time and that you need to get to the pipe at the end of the level to change the time of day then make your way back.

Now, with all that, this is the main issue. Info boxes seem to make the water tide option disappear. Big problem, because now the water is gone and all the sprites fall of the cliff that technically now exists and you have no dolphins to ride and stuff. Simplest solution I can think of is create a short entrance screen with the info box in it (much like smb3), then have a small underground room with an info box in it to tell you that the enemies reverse at night off down the pipe on the other side of the level. Both areas would exist mainly to house the info boxes but I also think it may look a bit nicer to have them to go with the level.

and that is where I'm at. As always, feel free to comment on my hack and my plans. The latest level is all set out pretty much but I need more sprites other than dolphins and the big fish that chases you as well as I need the two additional sub levels.

[Demon-Mask]

I'm really loving this hack thus far, I like that it has a new world map, I like it better that way.

Oh, no problems to report using SNES9x Euphoria V4 on my PSP.

[zyborg]

This looks awesome. However, using the SNES emulator from this site, I am not getting any sound...

EDIT: I seemed to have gotten it to work by loading a different game afterwords, then reloading this one.

[joz]

This looks awesome. However, using the SNES emulator from this site, I am not getting any sound...

On the menu bar of your game's window, click on sound -> playback -> make sure it's not muted.

[zyborg]

It was, but... all the options were greyed out, so I couldn't change it. Luckily, I got it to fix itself, somehow, after loading Earthworm Jim and then this game again.

[CatalystiCam]

well, bigger issues have hit. Shaw finally pissed me off and I have no internet upstairs, but the short story is that I can try and usb stick the rom to this computer every now and then.

[CatalystiCam]

umm issue above resolved for now.

I have taken the time to work on this now and then but I stopped for probably about 3 weeks straight since I really have problems holding my attention to any game generally. I keep snapping myself back to working on this every so often since I do enjoy it every time except over world editing which is a PAIN! That being said, I'm working on correcting over world events to a more simple manner that will be easy to work with.

I can't remember the last version I released to you guys... Nonetheless, there will be a new release soon.

Official Level names and list in order of the time they were made, comments added to any I feel like commenting on

The Charge - Made some better hill formations and such

Field Of Wonder - Nothing edited recently, but I have plans to make it more interesting and maybe scrap the whole back-tracking thing.

Night Endeavor - Still have done hardly anything since it's initial release so I probably need to.

With The Wind - Seems kind of bland and rushed, needs something more.

Creepy Castle - Pretty satisfied with this one, this was my turning point imo to better levels.

Hill Top - Again, pretty happy with this level.

Chemical Fortress - Might lengthen the level a bit, but overall satisfied

The Dodge - Happy with this one, fire flowers can glitch through the border if you are on a downward-slanted roof but not really a problem

Crystal Caverns - Really happy with this level

Red Switch Palace - Alright... for a bonus level... I made it in like ten minutes and it needs it's own song.

The High Road - Fine piece of work if I do say so myself, by far my most favourite level and the most intricate level by a long shot.

Time Paradox - The concept here was pretty cool with the night and day level changes. Pretty happy with it.

Untitled Ghost House - I like it so far, but I'd definitely still call it a first draft. Both exits are done, but I need to come back to it I think.

I think I need to go back and incorporate the some red switch blocks more into each level, but that's all for now. Going to work on the hack some more in a minute.

Few more interesting things to note is that I have made an smwcentral account and have recently submitted my hack to the "Works in progress" section for some better opinions and such. My rom is officially for download there now and for that reason I finally titled it on the spot to sort of mimick my favourite sonic game... Unreleased sonic game, but hey, the name wasn't taken so I used it. Super Mario X-Treme is the name at least for now. Reason I did this was to get a lot more opinions from people that have been doing this for a long time and get some pointers and such. All opinions help, and I still want opinions and feedback from you guys if possible. It's really appreciated.

Thanks guys, I have to resolve a few things here then you can expect another release here on RU in a day or two probably.

[CatalystiCam]

okay, did some major overworld planning by placing levels down and such all the way up to the top of the mountain and the result in the amount of levels I got was about 32 levels plus a few special bonus world levels so I'm looking at about 35-38 levels in the end including 4 switch palaces..

So just what kind of levels are we finally looking at here? Well, we have the initial first world with some castles, a water level and some generic levels. Then we have the main overworld which will generally be generic levels with water levels. About the second level up on the main overworld there is 2 entrances to a cave world that I am working on. one entrance to the cave world will be just so you can get the blue switch and the other entrance is the way to continue up to the third level of the main overworld. On the third level of the main overworld is the green switch and another route to the left, over a river and to the top of the mountain/hill. On the very top we have 5 levels, two being regular levels, 1 being a water level, another being a water ghost ship and finally the end castle.

The reason I have to estimate the level amounts is because both the caves world and the special world aren't finished and therefore don't have a set level amount to contribute. As it stands, the level count sits at 28 I believe. Nothing is set in stone however.

Red switch palace now has much more use as it enables some simpler paths and in the case of the newly redesigned Field of Wonder level, it lets you have access to the springboard first time around so you only have to do the level once. Seemed like a great idea to me and there is other contributions that the red switch palace has now, but we will let you find that out. I am really impressed with what I have done in order to better most of my starter levels so definitely check out the new version being released now! Please let me know what you think and please continue your support by testing this for me. I think it's finally starting to become a game.

Enjoy everybody!

Edit: Can a mod combine my posts? they don't seem to be auto-combining...

[CatalystiCam]

It's been longer than I thought since I updated this. Anyone that knows me knows how randomly I pick and play games. This is really no exception. So I have been working on it every now and then but really not often at all. I pieced together 1 really interesting level in about an entire week spending about 15 minutes each day average probably lol. The level turned out quite well and it is really not a flat level. I played around a lot with piecing together all these floating platforms and it's just insane how well it came out. It looks like insanity with all these platforms, or maybe that's just because I know how insane it is to piece them together like that without them overlapping weird and looking glitchy. There is literally 6 different tiles for each tiny piece that you can imagine inn the game, all of them for suiting different purposes for things like what lies behind them, is it water, is it this piece of land, etc. Even so, these 6 or so varieties are never enough so it's brutal trying to work around this. That is the reason it took so long but it was worth it.

On top of that I have completed the koopa ghost house a long time ago.

Finally I began work on a forest level a couple of weeks ago and it is finished I'd say, but I really didn't have much fun working with that level. So you guys know the forest of illusion levels? You got the trees above you all the time? Yeah, one of those. I like those levels so I decided to make one. A lot of things struck me as boring however. First off you can only use about half the height of the game that you normally can in those types of levels because the trees need to be there, and because of that auto-scroll was disabled. Another thing was that in these levels the only land tiles you get are flat or just jagged edges to end them. I mean, yeah throwing in random tree trunks and stuff was kind of cool but it got more annoying than anything to have to keep placing those things everywhere. I got through that level finally, and it didn't suffer really. My interest in working on the hack did die because of this however. It seemed like a chore to work on that, and because of that fact I never really did want to work on it. I'm glad that levels over, it's fun to play for sure but unfortunately I highly doubt I'll bring another level like it to the table. So, I'm sorry to those who like the forest-of-illsuion-type levels. Kind of sorry to myself as well but I need to enjoy working on this hack or it suffers.

Big wall of text above, a bit more to come. This will be a more important note however, so if you read something, then read this.
As you can probably no doubt tell, it's been 3 months, and I have 3 levels and some fixes to show for it. My original plan to make a 30-40 level hack has died. I realised that if I pursued this goal, I would probaly not reach it. My interest for this simplistic-hacking of SMW is dying as I move on, but that's not to say I don't still enjoy it, because I do. For those that need me to cut to the chase now, I cut out the plans for the 2 extra sub-worlds leaving myself with a goal of 5-15 more levels to build all on the main world and possibly those extra few for a special world. This is a more realistic goal and I hope to achieve it before October. (I'll be gone most of the summer) Maybe before 2012 worst comes to worst. Don't mean to sound so cryptic though. It's something I do for fun so the importance of it is obviously just for my enjoyment of making it and having others play the game. I appreciate those of you that have tried it.

More wall of text coming lol. Am I stopping hacking completely? Of course not, I just want to move onto something more interesting like more high tech smw hacks with lots of outside programs integrated in to make those amazing hacks you see with all the custom graphics and sprites. I want to be making mario hacks at that level. unfortunately, in order to add that sort of stuff into the rom I have now, it would mean rebuilding almost every level and I just don't have the time or patience for that. My other interest is Dkedit or Dkedit 2, DKC & DKC 2 editors much like lunar magic. It would be fun to work with DKC editors because there would be a lot more to do I believe and it's just something I'm considering.

Thanks for taking the time to read if you did read. A new beta? Soon, I'd like to get some comments and stuff in as to if you guys still ant betas or if you just want to wait for the finished product.

Let me know, thanks guys.
~Cam

[barnawesome]

So here is my awesome idea for the hack, for when you beat a boss or get the flag in the end it should play the music when you beat a boss in the first Castlevania , or make a level with some wicked Castlevania 1,2,,3 or Super Castlvania music in it.

That is my suggestion .

[CatalystiCam]

not sure thats an editable bit in lunar magic but all smw songs should be replaced by the time that I'm done.