Hey guys!
It sure has been a while since I last posted in this thread, hasn't it? Well, I've got a little surprise for you guys. In between working on my homebrew level editor and my next hack, I've made a few changes to YSQ. Here is a new version:
YSQ V1.3.1 Beta 4.6
With this version, I made a few more adjustments, re-balanced the difficulty for hard mode and removed a beloved mechanic that I'm sure brought a lot of you guys joy in previous versions.
- Removed the knockback from when Yoshi takes damage. Yoshi still gets knocked back during the intro to prevent it from desynching and when Yoshi takes damage when he has less than 4 HP (where you lose control of Yoshi anyway).
Yoshi can now take hits like a man! ...err dinosaur. No more of that wimpy knockback stuff.
- Holding the B button while Yoshi is stunned from knockback will cause Yoshi to flutter jump as soon as his stun period ends, making it less likely that Yoshi will be knocked into pits if hit while near or above a pit (this change was made before I decided to remove the knockback. Yoshi also won't cancel his flutter jump if he takes damage now)
- Made a few more minor optimizations to the code to make it run faster:
+ Yoshi's tongue collision with blocks code now runs in FastROM mode.
+ Got rid of some CLCs in the Yoshi ASM by making a nearby REP opcode clear the carry flag in addition to changing A to 16-bit.
+ Made a few comparisons slightly quicker (using BMI/BPL rather than AND #$80 BEQ/BNE)
- Made the DKC barrels rotate at a slower speed to make it easier to shoot in the correct direction (You now have a 16 frame window to shoot in X direction instead of an 8 frame window).
- Added a watermelon to the room with the Emerald switch that can only be reached if you bring the springboard with you into this room.
- Added a small easter egg in the bomb error message room, where if you wait on that screen for 1 minute, Yoshi will die and an explosion sound will play due to the bomb actually going off.
- Put some more spikes by the pitchin' chuck in the second half of Rainbow Road to discourage the player from jumping over to the visible used block and getting stuck.
- On Normal difficulty, you now start with 10 lives and on hard, you start with 5.
- Reduced Purple Yoshi's speed from $18/$E8 to $10,$F0 in Yoshi Race. It now takes him 185 seconds to reach the finish line instead of 121 seconds.
- Made the patch a BPS patch and converted the IPS for the original version of V1.3.1 into a BPS patch as well.
- Fixed a bug where at the end of the secret exit path of www.level.com, the red X blocks didn't fade out.
- Added a note in the readme regarding which site I'm most active on (Youtube). This is meant to tell the reader where I'm most likely to get their message if they need to ask me something.
- Hard mode has been rebalanced. This is what hard mode did in the previous version:
1). Doubles Yoshi's knockback when he gets hit, up to V1.2 levels.
2). Increases the damage Yoshi takes from 5 to 10.
3). Caps the maximum health Yoshi can have to 20 instead of 30.
4). Midpoint tapes become useless (they'll still be present; they just won't do anything)
5). Starts you off with 2 lives instead of 5.
This is what it does now:
1). Start you off with 5 lives instead of 10, either when starting a new game or after a game over.
2). Caps the maximum health Yoshi can have to 5 instead of 30.
Essentially, this means that hard mode now handles the health system similar to SMW, where you can only survive a maximum of 1 hit from full health. Yoshi also takes double knockback in hard mode, but that only can be seen when Yoshi has died.
Also, I noticed that YSQ was reviewed in the Featured Hacks subforum a couple months ago, but it was rejected.
Link to the thread
I'm disappointed that it wasn't featured, but I can understand why it wasn't. V1.3 is the version in the hack section, and it's got a lot of issues that V1.3.1 addresses or fixes. Maybe V1.3.1 will have a better shot at being featured once I decide to update the version on the hack's page? Anyway, since I can't post in that thread, I'm going to reply to the reviews posted there in this post:
For Wakana's review, I'm assuming that (s)he was playing V1.3, since that's the version in the hack section. Here is my responses to some of the stuff said in the review:
QuoteThe savestates spam starts right on world 2,
I'm not surprised if that was the case. I've already mentioned that V1.3 suffered from terrible play testing.
Quote- Energy coins are too rare. If I recall correctly, the old demo worked so that even normal coins would refill your health: I think 5 normal coins gave you +1HP. I also think the SM64 hp system was used. That was a very good way of handling HP (forgive me if I'm confusing with another hack here!), but yeah... the health system in this version isn't "organized" well. For example, there are places where you can get 4 green coins (not even a full HP point, since each hit takes away 5 HP points), that are so hard to pass that you'll probably die by trying to just get past it. Considering how long the overall level is, you'll probably ignore these paths and that such coins exist in this hack. Again, they exist, but they're too rare in my opinion.
The green coins are distributed similarly to how they would be if they were standard power ups, but I guess I could increase the amount of them, at least in the first few worlds. Also, I've been using the same health system in YSQ since the beginning, so you were thinking of a different hack when you were thinking about that SM64 health system.
Quote- Sloppy controls, mainly the flutter jump: you see, when you jump and keep the button held, you normally flutter. Keeping the button pressed while jumping also grants you a much better boost than the one you get if you just press and relase the button. The thing is that the flutter jump doesn't work when you jump off enemies, or vines, or any non-solid elements. In order to make it work, in these cases, you have to double press the jump button, which compared to just holding it, makes stuff very annoying to deal with. I should be more worried about how to make the flutter jump succesfully rather than looking at the ambience and enemies around me. That's not very pleasing.
I agree about the controls, which is why I made a bunch of improvements to them in V1.3.1. Yoshi handles a lot better in V1.3.1 and the player is less likely to die because Yoshi didn't flutter jump when they wanted or they pressed down while over a hole.
QuoteI said "controls", but the only other thing that bugs me (other than the flutter jump) is the fact that ducking stops you completely, even if you're walking. This is minor though, and it's understandable, since you probably didn't want players be able to slide. Yet, it wasn't a very comfy thing to add. I'm aware that I could've get accustomed with it by playing the hack more, but again, overall difficulty doesn't make a good work at welcoming you
I didn't actually add that. That was part of the Yoshi Player patch by default. I just designed my hack in a way where it shouldn't matter than Yoshi doesn't slide when ducking (unless he is on a slope).
QuoteI believe the tutorial level isn't enough. If I was you, I'd probably have made atleast 2 worlds that put the player at ease with the new controls.
If all the changes I've made to V1.3.1 (including the changes I've made in the latest patch) are enough, then the player should get the hang of the controls by world 6, where things start getting particularly hard, in my opinion (ignoring the two secret worlds, if accessed earlier). There might still be some levels that will give people trouble early on, but it's not quite as bad as before.
Quote- Knock-back. I hope I don't have to explain why this is an issue. Gotta love all dem huge pits with enemies that hit you and make you fall down and die, even if you had all the HP possible.
After much consideration, I've decided to remove the knockback. This change alone should significantly reduce the difficulty.
For niko's review, I'm also assuming that he was playing V1.3. In which case, he would be happy to know that V1.3.1 is a lot easier than V1.3, and that I decided to nerf the level he specifically mentioned (Yoshi Race) in the latest patch.
For Daizo's review, I don't think he actually played YSQ, but he does state that he watched levelengine's LP of it (which was of V1.3.1).
QuoteHis goal is to exterminate all Yoshis, and the eggs are stolen because.... unexplained reasons?
It's stated in YSQ that
EYF lives to torment Yoshis
. So, what better way to do that than by taking away a Yoshi's kids and forcing them to go on a dangerous and difficult quest to get them back? In addition,
EYF also stole YSQ Yoshi's eggs because he believed that YSQ Yoshi was one of the famous green Yoshis like the one from YI. But, YSQ Yoshi isn't that Yoshi. Of course, when YSQ Yoshi points that out to EYF, he doesn't care since he made a Yoshi suffer anyway.
QuoteFrom World 2 and onward, you will encounter at "that one level" a bunch of times due to one very annoying feature in the game: the forced knockback. Believe it or not, it was worse when v1.3 was out when the knockback didn't allow any movement (alas Ninja Gaiden/Castlevania), meaning if you were next to a pit AT ALL, it was instant death despite your health. Recently it was nerfed a little, but you still can't control your movements for a quarter of a second, so it's only a 50/50 chance that you'll actually save yourself. Because of this irksome mechanic, it almost makes the green coins irrelevant
As I mentioned earlier in this post, I've decided to remove the knockback entirely. It seems that no matter what I do to improve it, someone is always complaining about it, so I decided that it wasn't worth keeping. Now, Yoshi's movement is not affected at all when he takes damage unless Yoshi takes damage when he can't survive taking another hit or he takes damage during the title screen demo.
QuoteThat's probably 50% of the problems in this hack, but a good 15% of the game is ruined by it's very crude humour. Now, the hack DOES have good humour...... 30% of the time. The remaining 75% is either random, poop/piss jokes, or fat/yoshi fetishes.
Ignoring the fact that 30% + 75% = 105%, when coming up with all the goofy things in YSQ, I wanted to try to provide a variety of jokes so that there would be something for everyone. You may not like the toilet/random humor, but you did like 30% of YSQ's jokes. That has to count for something, right? I can't please everyone, and for every joke I made that you liked, there is a good chance that someone else hated it and vice versa.
QuoteGetting back to the fat fetishes,
you play a good portion of the game as fat yoshi after the World 6 castle... and you can't get out of this form until after you beat Bowser's Castle for the first time.
So, I made a game about a dinosaur that is known to eat stuff as one of his main abilities,
I decide to make him fat at one point (in addition to mentioning fatness throughout the game on occasion)
, and I call my game Yoshi's Strange Quest. And people find this surprising? I wonder what would happen if I replaced every mention of fatness with, I don't know... hats, and made it so that
Yoshi's alt sprites show him wearing a hat instead of him being extremely fat.
Would people accuse me of having a hat fetish or would they see it as some quirky aspect of YSQ?
In all seriousness, I'll admit, I do have an interest in this sort of thing, but even if I didn't, I still would have made fat references in YSQ. Why? Because Yoshis are big eaters. The fact that they eat stuff is their main ability in many of the games Yoshis appear in. So, what happens when someone eats too much? They get fat. Shocking, isn't it? Now that you know that, can you see why I'd do things like make a level where Yoshi has to avoid eating the nearby food, or else he becomes fat, make it so that
Yoshi doesn't mind being fat after he becomes fat
, etc.?
Also, I named my hack "Yoshi's
STRANGE Quest". Every weird and quirky element I put into YSQ, regardless of whether I intended it to be funny or not, was put there to add to YSQ's strange theme. Having Yoshi
suddenly become fat and having to play as fat Yoshi for the next 2 worlds afterwards at minimum
adds to YSQ's strange theme. If you don't like it though, that's fine.
QuoteAnd the Post Post Game Final Boss is
.... actually not really, Yoshifinatic apparently suggests that the final form of
EYF is a giant P-balloon Yoshi sprite detailed.
Har har har, you think we believe that after
BEING a Fat Yoshi for a good part of the game?
You're right, Daizo. These two sprites have nothing in common. But, this EYF sprite sure does have a lot in common with Yoshi's standing sprite. I guess I should have said that it was based off of that!
In all seriousness, you misunderstood what I said in the comment I posted on part 47 of levelengine's YSQ V1.3.1 LP. For reference, this is what I said:
"Fun fact: This pose is based off the P-balloon frame is based off of Yoshi's unused P-balloon frame."
First things first, after going to that video to go get this comment, I just now noticed that I accidentally repeated myself in that comment (it should read: "Fun fact: This pose is based off of Yoshi's unused P-balloon frame."). But anyway, what I meant by that comment was that
image for that fight was made by using Yoshi's unused P-Balloon sprite as a base. Heck, I have a sprite sheet that has the backups I made of his graphics as I was making them, showing a little bit of how I went from a resized P-balloon frame to the final graphics. I never said that
was in a P-balloon state during that fight.
Link to the sprite sheet
QuoteUnless you can handle hacks like Bits and Pieces, JDCGames Collaboration, and even SMW Central Production without save states, you are going to have a bad time.
That might not be the case now, since I've removed the biggest issue that people were having regarding the difficulty in the latest version. Maybe the average player will be able to at least get to Bowser without too much issue now?
Originally posted by Hobzholy moley, this hacks been going for 5 years eh? Do you ever go back to the start of this thread to watch yourself grow as a hacker?
I haven't gotten to check out the hack yet, but from your screens and I gotta say I'm into it! Definitely a worthy homage to Yoshi's Island. I especially love that dancing number above your HUD. This is definitely a hack with style~
Yep, it still is. XD Also, no, I haven't skimmed though this thread yet, but I can imagine that it documents my growth as a hacker pretty well.
Also, did you check out YSQ yet? If so, what did you think?
Originally posted by xirtamehtsitahwActually, using the following set of cheats and patches, one should easily be able to complete YSQ within 3 to 4 hours:
Patches:
DisableDeath.asm
TeleOrDie.asm
Cheat Codes:
Infinite HP
Infinite Eggs
Invulnerability (can walk through enemies/on spikes, etc.)
Moon Jump
Stop Timer
Disable Swimming
Press (button combo) for 4 Yoshi Coins
Basically, the only problems you'd have with a "perfect" speedrun would involve the various auto-scrolling and maze-type levels. As well as those featuring sometimes aggravating puzzles. Oh, and it IS possible to get "stuck" (such as behind a wall during an auto-scrolling level or ground-pounding into a pit or lava). In that case, just reset the game (hopefully you remembered to save often!
)
Neat. How well did your speed run go?
My Hacks:
Mario's Strange Quest V1.6
Yoshi's Strange Quest V1.3 /
V1.3.1 Beta 4.6
Mario & Yoshi's Strange Quests (2/10/2023 Build)
Other stuff:
My SMW/SMAS/SMAS+W disassembly
Yoshifanatic's Discord Server: A place for fans of my stuff and/or Yoshi to chat with others.