IPS Link
Note to the author: feel free to send me a message or post a reply in this thread if you have any questions or comments.
Major Complaints
Okay, I've played the first four worlds of this hack, and I sincerely believe that it's probably in the author's best interests to simply host the hack in his or her filebin rather than submitting yet again. This hack would have to be reworked almost completely in order for me to be willing to accept it. Most of the levels are long boring flat jaunts with groups of custom sprites thrown in erratically. There's a few good ideas that pop up every now and then, but the bad far outweighs the good (in my opinion). It's going to be tough to suggest tangible improvements, but I'll try my best. It seems that a lot of MrDeePay's comments on level design were not addressed, although the grammar does seem to have been improved since the last submission.
Images 1 and 2
To begin, the hack does a poor job of explaining the plot to the player. The storyline isn't the most important part of a game, but hopefully the player isn't left thinking "What the heck is going on here?" (Seriously, what the heck is going on here?) On a side note, the underwater music from the original Super Mario World feels really out of place.
Images 3 through 7
The confusing nature of the hack continues past the introduction onto the overworld and the first stages. E. Gadd plays absolutely no role in the rest of the game (or at least the next three worlds), so this room just feels like a filler area. There doesn't seem to be any indications of what "Model A" and "Model Z."
I don't feel that having a level titled after SMWCentral user's handle is very appropriate for this hack. It only adds to the random cluttered nature of it. I'm not sure what exactly this area has to contribute to the rest of the game either. Is the player ever allowed to enter the "party?" If not, then I fail to see the purpose this area holds.
Image 8
On to the actual levels. The levels have most of the same issues that earlier moderators pointed out in previous versions of this hack. Few are memorable. For the most part, they all follow the same pattern of "long boring flat jaunts with groups of custom sprites thrown in erratically." There's no reason to have the same stage design repeated in level after level ad nauseam. I can't spell out every single thing that needs to be changed, but I'll provide a few examples. Pretty much everything that needs to be said has already been said, honestly.
Images 9 and 10
Upwards of 90% of levels in this hack can simply be flown over using a cape. I wouldn't be as strict about this if it weren't for all the other problems weighing this hack down.
Image 11
Just an observation: what does "#1 STANDARD GREY" even mean? It's nice if the level names actually have some use to the player.
Images 12 and 13
I'm no expert in music, but at least three or four of the ports used in this hack sound really funky in Snes9x. The author may want to check with a more proficient musician on this aspect of the removal log.
This level encapsulates everything that I believe to be wrong with this hack. A generic landscape with custom music that sounds completely out of place (at least to me), a couple custom sprites, and then a doorway to a poorly incorporated custom boss. It feels like the author is just attempting to insert as many custom items as possible in an attempt to cover up for what's lacking in the core design of the hack. I played through the next two worlds as well, and they seem to follow the same pattern as the first.
Honestly, at this point I would advise the author to simply host the hack in his or her filebin as an IPS and create a thread in the Full Hack Releases forum; it seems that the design choices in this hack are incompatible with those most hack moderators encourage.
tatanga
Note to the author: feel free to send me a message or post a reply in this thread if you have any questions or comments.
Major Complaints
Okay, I've played the first four worlds of this hack, and I sincerely believe that it's probably in the author's best interests to simply host the hack in his or her filebin rather than submitting yet again. This hack would have to be reworked almost completely in order for me to be willing to accept it. Most of the levels are long boring flat jaunts with groups of custom sprites thrown in erratically. There's a few good ideas that pop up every now and then, but the bad far outweighs the good (in my opinion). It's going to be tough to suggest tangible improvements, but I'll try my best. It seems that a lot of MrDeePay's comments on level design were not addressed, although the grammar does seem to have been improved since the last submission.
Images 1 and 2
To begin, the hack does a poor job of explaining the plot to the player. The storyline isn't the most important part of a game, but hopefully the player isn't left thinking "What the heck is going on here?" (Seriously, what the heck is going on here?) On a side note, the underwater music from the original Super Mario World feels really out of place.
Images 3 through 7
The confusing nature of the hack continues past the introduction onto the overworld and the first stages. E. Gadd plays absolutely no role in the rest of the game (or at least the next three worlds), so this room just feels like a filler area. There doesn't seem to be any indications of what "Model A" and "Model Z."
I don't feel that having a level titled after SMWCentral user's handle is very appropriate for this hack. It only adds to the random cluttered nature of it. I'm not sure what exactly this area has to contribute to the rest of the game either. Is the player ever allowed to enter the "party?" If not, then I fail to see the purpose this area holds.
Image 8
On to the actual levels. The levels have most of the same issues that earlier moderators pointed out in previous versions of this hack. Few are memorable. For the most part, they all follow the same pattern of "long boring flat jaunts with groups of custom sprites thrown in erratically." There's no reason to have the same stage design repeated in level after level ad nauseam. I can't spell out every single thing that needs to be changed, but I'll provide a few examples. Pretty much everything that needs to be said has already been said, honestly.
Images 9 and 10
Upwards of 90% of levels in this hack can simply be flown over using a cape. I wouldn't be as strict about this if it weren't for all the other problems weighing this hack down.
Image 11
Just an observation: what does "#1 STANDARD GREY" even mean? It's nice if the level names actually have some use to the player.
Images 12 and 13
I'm no expert in music, but at least three or four of the ports used in this hack sound really funky in Snes9x. The author may want to check with a more proficient musician on this aspect of the removal log.
This level encapsulates everything that I believe to be wrong with this hack. A generic landscape with custom music that sounds completely out of place (at least to me), a couple custom sprites, and then a doorway to a poorly incorporated custom boss. It feels like the author is just attempting to insert as many custom items as possible in an attempt to cover up for what's lacking in the core design of the hack. I played through the next two worlds as well, and they seem to follow the same pattern as the first.
Honestly, at this point I would advise the author to simply host the hack in his or her filebin as an IPS and create a thread in the Full Hack Releases forum; it seems that the design choices in this hack are incompatible with those most hack moderators encourage.
tatanga