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Mushroom Kingdom 2 - The Dark Side [Open collab!] - On hold... managing another project

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News, people.

Remember I said that my laptop died during a backup I was making? So... my old laptop HDD went bust, and so I wouldn't be able to recover what was in there even if I managed to open it through some other OS. All backed up files related to this hack would possibly be corrupted and lost forever...

...or so I thought. I had extended warranty, and after weeks waiting for my laptop to come back to my hands, I was finally able to check out my backups. Everything was safe!

Soooooo... MK2TDS is back to life, and I bring here a base ROM update, too!

And here's an overdue video upload. It's a playthrough of Haunted Firedance.

I've also finished most of my side project for a friend so I'm gonna resume working on the Smash Badlands song really soon.

Lastly, I'd like to know from Paperdomo101 if he's still working on his level or not. It's been a while since the last update (though it's understandable due to my own issues).
MK2TDS
Finally, some good news to read about! It's also good that all your progress was saved. I'm sure it would've been extremely grueling to remake everything from scratch. Also that Haunted Firedance level looks very cool (as ironic as that sounds).
What is a Lunar Magic, and can I eat it?
Hey, glad to hear the good news! I haven't had a whole lot of time to work on my level lately, but thankfully school ends tomorrow for me, so I'll get to work on it very soon.
I'm so glad that you could recover (almost) everything!
Well, i think it is time for enjoy the party too. In other words, how the collab works?
Exclusive content and nostalgia!
Yay, hope you success from now on in your collab!

I'll see if I got some time to claim a level too :)
@E-man38: Glad you liked the level!

@Paperdomo101: It's alright. As long as you show steady progress, there's no need to rush. Hope you can make good use of your free time!

@ThalesMangaka: It's pretty simple: just download the base ROM (which also includes all resources currently being used), claim something by posting in here or by PMing me, and I may post some of the ideas I have for said level/submap/song for you to start working. You don't have to claim anything else like Map16/ExGFX/Sprite slots as these are reorganized later during insertion - just make sure you include all of your custom resources into the final ZIP file. More details can be found here.

@Yan: Thanks a lot! Whenever you feel like and you're able to, just let me know!

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I've finally finished this little boy here. I guess it's time for me to claim another level. And it's Honey Forest (W3) Fortress. The old level made by Mao was split into exterior and interior sections, being the interior dark, and including sticky honey blocks and bees hidden behind layer 1 tiles with priority (which was a bit unfair despite the warning at the beginning). My idea is to be faithful to its original idea involving sticky honey blocks, like in Daunting Diet, and using variations of bees like the ones that are generated in Honeydripper Cave/Sweet Honey Pond, and also reskinned and slightly tweaked Rounding Boos as inspired by Paperdomo101's WIP level. The boss was a modified Ultimate Noob Sprite - a Bee-Porcu-Puffer, and the fight was located underwater. I may stick to an underwater boss battle but I'll probably change the boss creature to something else more interesting. Suggestions are welcome!

fake edit: Jonny has just claimed level F from World 2. His name was added to the list as well.
MK2TDS
Just here to show some early progress to give an idea of the general direction my level is going in. This level is focused around Cheep Cheeps, Torpedo Teds and a slow autoscroll. I'd like to use Erik's Cheep-Cheep sprite, but I have no clue how to use PIXI and would probably end up setting my rom on fire, lmao. So with that being said for now I'm just using vanilla sprites. The waterfalls in the background use a palette exanimation so they give the illusion of falling water. I know it isn't much so far, but any advice and feedback is welcome!

Update: Came back later today and realized I could improve those bridge graphics. So here is a screenshot for comparison. Still subject to change. :)
I love how simple the atmosphere looks and how beautiful it is despite the simplicity. As for using/inserting a custom sprite, do like this:

> Get the sprite and place the ASM/CFG files inside sprites/MK2TDS located in the PIXI folder;
> Open MK2TDS-list.txt and put "xx MK2TDS/spritename.cfg" in there;
> Place the base ROM inside the PIXI folder with the name MK2TDS.smc;
> Run the batch named '-npl something.bat'. Done!

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Here goes screenies of W3-Fortress, which I'm gonna call Fortress of Swarms.

The exterior section looks nothing like the old version made by Mao, which looked more forest-y than fortress-y. However, I made the interior dark like the original did. I've used variations of bee sprites (modified Rounding Boo, modified Darolac's Annoying Bee, also converted to PIXI, and my exclusive bee spawner, used in some other levels.)

Pics time!


By the way, the design is finished. All that's left is coding the boss, which also has got graphics.

Its name: Abeessal. Basically an abyssal kind of fish with some bee parts. It'll spawn sting mines that explode into four small stings, occasionally spawning throw blocks to be thrown back at the boss.



monstrosity
MK2TDS
Originally posted by Blind Devil



monstrosity

Nah man, it's beautiful.

Okay jokes aside, it sounds like this boss will have a neat fight pattern. The fortress level itself looks neat too. I especially like the light gradient in the third screenshot. Also @Jonny that background you got there is very nice. #ab{^_^}

Also, by the way, I'm interested in claiming one more level, being 11A.
What is a Lunar Magic, and can I eat it?
Alright, the level is yours. Name is already added to the list.

Here goes random ideas from me to hopefully inspire you:

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Level 11A (World 6 - Hell Valley) - Regular level, 2 exits, hard difficulty

Located in a small flat place of the map, a bit far from lava pools, this level may not have any lava pits. Instead, it would be centered around trivial fire-based sprites like Jumping Piranha Plants, Venus Fire Traps, Hopping Flames, Volcano Lotuses and whatnot. Fire Brothers are also a good choice, but I'd avoid using sprites like reflecting Podoboos, Hotheads or anything that would fit in castle levels. The level can be 500 seconds long. The secret exit route could be pretty short compared to the main one, but it's meant to be more demanding and devious, as it leads to the Red Switch Palace. Would be cool if the main route benefitted of red switch blocks that help the player a lot as a reward.

Suggested tilesets: cave FG (brownish color), SMW's level 103 or level C6 BG (greyish color).


Good luck!
MK2TDS
Originally posted by Blind Devil
> Soundtrack will be entirely original. Custom sample usage will be discussed, but we'll probably make a global collection of samples to use rather than going free-for-all or unsampled.

So... hypothetically..... if I wanted to compose something am I free to use my own samples or is there already a "global collection?"
There is supposed to be a global collection (and there are two custom samples already inserted - one used for a certain SFX and another used in the ghost house theme), but you kinda have the freedom to use new ones if they sound fitting and have potential to be used in future compositions. Currently, the collection is too small to be considered a global set. We'll progressively build it.
MK2TDS
I figured since it's been roughly a week I should post some sort of update. I'm still working on a visual direction to take the level and may ditch the idea of an auto-scroll in favor of something that encourages exploration (think early SMB3 influenced design), but we'll have to see what works best with what.

Image.

This isn't part of the level, just a little scene to show the graphics in context. I'm no artist so all pieces of advice and opinions are definitely welcome!

Edit - Thanks Blind Devil for the guide on PIXI. I've managed to add custom sprites!
The palmtrees are particularly cute out of your original GFX part. The waterfall, bridges and hills are also swell. I'm not sure what short plants are supposed to be but they're looking pretty close to cacti. Anyways, your mix of vanilla and original graphics is overall adorable!
I have a Discord server as well! (by joining, you agree to the rules)
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Basically, I believe in peace and bashing two bricks together.

That W3-Fortress boss looks awesome, in GFX, behaviour and even the name.

Mind if I ask what modifications you did to my Annoying Bee sprite? I am planning to update it in the future, so maybe that can give me ideas on features to add; for example, I was thinking in reducing its speed on water, so that swimming would allow for a possible escape from the sprite.

I also see you changed the GFX of the wings (if I'm not mistaken, you changed the darkest pink to orange and left the rest as white?); I must say they look better now, with that mix of orange and white.

Besides that, I must say that the rest of the hack looks really great. The idea of just using a pool of samples for the hack is brilliant; is something that I think gives the perfect balance between (sometimes) boring unsampled and (sometimes) clashing sampled soundtracks.
Some progress over here on my end. Here is an image. The focus on platforming and avoiding cheep cheeps will pick up as the level goes. I just like to start levels off with a rompy intro. The red X sprites are actually inserted cheep cheeps that jump in the air like dolphins.
My level (014) is half way complete, and at this point I feel I could use some feedback, so I've uploaded a patch with my progress up to this point.

download
@Jonny: I really love the graphical style there! The cave FG is going extremely well with the background thanks to the gorgeous palettes and decoration. Great to know that you've also managed to insert custom sprites. I also love rompy level introductions begore going complex on setups, because of the progression feel. I'm looking forward to the finished product!

@Darolac: The most notable changes I did ASM-wise were related to interaction with objects and the follow player routine. The edit to the former makes it so when the sprite touches a wall/floor/ceiling, the respective speed gets reversed, "bumping" it. The edit to the latter was that it now it doesn't use the aiming routine to follow the player. Instead, it reads the player's X and Y positions relative to the sprite to determine its acceleration/max speeds by using small tables. I've also slightly modified the vertical portion of the proximity routine a bit so it checks the player's body instead of the head (included an SBC #$0010 after SBC $96).

And thank you for the kind comments! I'm glad you liked the boss GFX and the planned behavior, as well as the choice of going for a global set of samples for the soundtrack.

@Paperdomo101: The level looks and plays sweet (pun unintended), and the difficulty is spot-on. My only complaint is that it's not obvious if rounding bees are flying in front or behind layer 1 when they're located far from objects. Not your fault, though, and not a worry, too - I have a workaround in mind. I may edit the sprite code so the sprite uses a different, darker palette when it's on background. That way, the player won't get confused. Anyway, keep up the nice job!

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I have an update. Abeessal is done! The fight is pretty simple and straightforward, but hopefully a good one.
MK2TDS
The Abeessal boss fight is pretty simple, like you said, but it still looks quite nice. So I don't have anything to be a buzzkill about. I also like how when you kicked the ice block, it didn't go flying into the wall! A very unique addition.

I've got some progress to share too, albeit not a whole lot. I'm naming the level Lavaless Flatlands, for obvious reasons. Also the custom sprite is imamelia's Falling Fireball sprite, which is a very fun sprite to work with.
What is a Lunar Magic, and can I eat it?
I'd like to claim the World 2 Fortress(010) please. Been following this project for a while so I've been real interested in participating.

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