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Other things that should be replaced (music, graphics, etc)

Here's the final relevant "replacement" thread. If you think there's anything that isn't a level or boss that should be replaced, talk about it here. I'll start us off with a couple of personal quips.

-Reggie Banzai Bill. This was a horrible idea - the collision is off and the joke is stupid.
-Literally every cutscene. Let's just get rid of them.
-The "spacesuit" required to enter the bonus world. It really wasn't necessary and we can make the world reveal with a simple event.
-Llama coins.
That Koopa Beach port used in a level in world 1 at some point is pretty bad. We should replace it with something else.
Most of the graphical swaps made in the game are inferior to their original counterparts in general. Here's a list of things to consider, though:

:: Graphics ::

- Cave Story graphics should be stylized with, at least, dark/black outlines to match the rest of SMWCP.
- Chargin' Chucks had more than one set of graphics made for them, and in some levels (like Amethyst Vein), you can see Chucks with random giant panda body parts.
- Many of the redrawn tiles to replace the graphics in the vanilla levels are inferior to their SMW counterparts. They don't necessarily need changed, but a touch-up would be swell.
- On that note about vanilla, there are levels that still use full vanilla graphics such as Sinister Dungeon when there were graphics drawn up to replace them. This is more of a stylistic consistency thing, though.
- The title screen is ugly and not very representative of the hack as a whole. It should probably be redesigned.
- We need more consistency in "essential" blocks and some of the block functions need to be more obvious, such as the on/off blocks in Palace Acropolis that look very much like brown used blocks at a glance.

:: World Map ::

I have few complaints with the overworld, but a couple of things in particular:

- The first level of the sewer world, Deep Dark Drains, leads nowhere upon completion.
- The four secret, non-postgame levels that don't have events tied to them (Forgotten Forest, Swampland Passage, Forest's Furnace, Creepy Dark Woods) need to be given purpose as they currently unlock nothing. Also, it may be a good idea to shuffle them around with other levels because all four of them are forest-themed.
- Minor, but there was probably no real reason to remove the ability to press start and view the main map.
- I don't think the path leading from world 1 right into world 7 had much thought put into it and should be eliminated. A shortcut leading from world 7 back to world 1 would be okay, but not the other way around because it's either a chore to walk all the way back to world 1 after obtaining the requirements or it lets the player skip WAY too much content if it can be activated immediately.
- I think the pipe leading to world 8 is a little...anti-climactic? We don't need to go full-on Bowser-head-cave-rising-from-the-ocean, but a more appropriate entrance worthy of the final world would be nice. As it is, the transition from Bully's Brambles to Confusion Chambers is a very odd one.

:: Misc. ::

- The shop system needs to go. It's almost completely redundant and doesn't contribute anything of real value to the game due to the nature of SMW.
- Either Toad Town needs to go or it needs to be expanded to validate its placement in the game. Maybe with random, trivial NPCs that talk about the game world? I dunno'.
- The hack is really bipolar about reset doors and pipes. There should probably be some added in places that ought to have them, and there should be indicators over the doors and/or on the pipes spelling out their function so that it's not a mystery and they're not entered by accident.
- Also, if the shop system is removed, then hopefully we can bring back the default 100 coins = 1up system. Most players will rack up thousands and thousands of coins, and it'd be good to not force them to farm lives arbitrarily.

More to come later, maybe. I'll edit new things into this post instead of making new ones.
-WIP POST-

Personally, since a lot of the songs used in the hack are now awful sounding ports or legacy ports/songs, we should just get rid of them. I'll update this post tomorrow with more info.

Extras



I should have something witty to put here (even if it's just to update dated info), shouldn't I?

Advertising Space

ALSO A WORK IN PROGRESS

Graphics:
- Revert all enemy graphics to their SMW counterparts. If you want to go the extra mile, replace them with their SMWCP2 incarnations instead.
- The Question, Turn/Throw, and Note Blocks can stay.

Cutscenes:
- They can all be cut down to just a few, and even then, they're not so much cutscenes anyway.
- The opening cutscene can basically read "Peach's Birthday is soon and Mario is setting out to find some of the best eggs to use for a cake! Oh, and Toadsworth got kidnapped or something."
- The ending cutscenes can be a few screens of free sublevels (using basic "vanilla" cutscene materials) just be "Oh I'm not dead guys, and they all go have a great birthday party until a bunch OF FUCKING KOOPAS BURY THEMSELVES IN A GOD. DAMNED. CAKE."

Music:
- I have no idea what the hell happened with the music when Mario bit it, so could it be returned to its former glory?
- I'm on the fence on the invincibility music.


JimmyNumbers:
sux

Pipe graphics and the some of the blocks (i.e. flip block, question mark block, used block).

I think these graphics don't tend to blend in well with the levels, and could either be replaced with newly drawn ones or perhaps different palletes.

Also I think backgrounds from other games (i.e. New Super Mario Bros) should be replaced, only because it stands out and doesn't suit the level (an example of that would be Toad Town, the bg doesn't look smooth).
Oh, so we're NOT doing another big collaborative soundtrack after all. :(

All the same, if you want anything music-related, I'd be happy to slap one or two things together, even if it's just "updating" some ports to today's standards.
Check out my music!
Originally posted by Moose
Oh, so we're NOT doing another big collaborative soundtrack after all. :(


I don't recall saying that.

wink
The credits theme that I made should be replaced. It's super unfitting, in my opinion.
Title screen
I actually agree with Mineyl. The title screen needs to be redone and since it's my thing I want to take responsibility for it first. In retrospect, I detest the hat and the logo placement, and the color scheme is too dark. Mario isn't supposed to be dark. I think I should scrap the theater theme too in favor of something more plot-oriented.

Just look above you...
If it's something that can be stopped, then just try to stop it!
I didn't mean to sound so harsh about the title screen, so sorry about the wording there. I think the title screen fits the name of the hack, for what that's worth, just not the game itself. Plus, it's years later, and I'll bet you've improved since you originally made it. :D
-Replacing the very outdated Ice Cap Zone Act 1 port with something else.
-Garden Path needs better graphics.
-and more...
-Removing the Goddamned Bats-type enemies in some levels.
Originally posted by Mineyl
I didn't mean to sound so harsh about the title screen, so sorry about the wording there. I think the title screen fits the name of the hack, for what that's worth, just not the game itself. Plus, it's years later, and I'll bet you've improved since you originally made it. :D
You weren't any harsher than what I've been thinking of it, so no worries. :P And yes, part of that probably stems from the fact that I actually never played SMWCP (hell, I didn't even follow the development of SMWCP2 much.) I'm already well underway developing a new title screen, but I wonder what kind of setting do you think would best fit in with the new one? I'm thinking of something involving Peach's castle and balloons since her birthday's coming up but I dunno if there should be more to it. I don't want to overcomplicate the screen.

Just look above you...
If it's something that can be stopped, then just try to stop it!
Originally posted by Counterfeit
I'm already well underway developing a new title screen, but I wonder what kind of setting do you think would best fit in with the new one? I'm thinking of something involving Peach's castle and balloons since her birthday's coming up but I dunno if there should be more to it. I don't want to overcomplicate the screen.

That sounds like a pretty good base, but admittedly, I don't have any ideas at the moment.
Am I the only one here who actually liked the cutscenes to an extent? They were meant to be a lighthearted way to advance the (somewhat thin) plot. I think they achieved their goal. I always looked forward to each cutscenes, personally.
Mario's Vanilla Journey

Progress: 22/72 levels complete
@Counterfeit: That's probably fine. Many gripes with the other one were simply the fact that everything looks really "gloomy" on the title screen. I know you're capable of better, and I think we can get a new + fitting title screen theme to match whatever you produce.

@akacesfan: They're just .. really poorly written and tend to drag on. Plus, the fact that Mario speaks is awkward. I don't think it's necessary for us to go overboard, especially when we don't exactly have a worthwhile plot to boot.
For the banzai bill, would we consider using the SMWCP2 one? Or will we use a new one that's black.

I'm sick of spriting FE portraits for awful emblem and wanna do some more simple SMW stuff so I'm up for any spritework if need be.
I'm open to redrawing as much as the artists helping out want to redraw, and then anything that doesn't can simply be replaced by SMWCP2's.
Yeah, my biggest complaint was the graphics. I'm sorry, they just didn't look that great. They seemed rushed.

And yes, the music needs a definite change, as a lot of the songs are just bad ports of songs that now have better ports.
Click here to enter the world of mediocre!
Originally posted by MrDeePay

- I'm on the fence on the invincibility music.


NO. YOU DO NOT DARE TOUCH THE INVINCIBILITY MUSIC. IT WAS LITERALLY THE BEST PART OF THE HACK. IT IS PERFECT.

PLEASE, HAVE MERCY.

Anyway, unless this counts for levels or something, it would be best to replace the bar with something more interesting, with current members and older ones too, and have information on them, etc. Maybe have more information as things go along. Also, I think the shop should be cut entirely. With these changes, hopefully we won't need coins to buy items necessary for some levels.

AS for if I'm actually going to do something besides give ideas... I do not have a clue. I'm going away for two weeks so... that might give me ideas.

We'll see.

- BlackMageMario