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Super Mario Bros: Vanilla Islands - World 7 is done!

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Before I show off the hack proper, I figured I might as well show off my new Nintendo Presents screen. The Gamma Prime logo is inspired by the Transformers Prime series logo. I also decided to try that Nintendo Presents HDMA thing I've seen in several other hacks, figuring it'd be as simple as just putting standard GradientTool gradient code into the correct game mode through UberASM. That's indeed all it took.


Here's the title screen. Like always, it's simple and static. I honestly haven't done a moving title screen since Kola Kingdom Quest, and that title screen was made in late 2013. Static title screens are not only easier to build, but also don't require ZSNES savestates. I've come to pretty much dislike ZSNES. SNES9X SUPERIOR!


The intro screen makes a vague reference to the ill-fated Super Mario Outbreak by mentioning quarantine. Could Outbreak be restarted? Maybe, but it'll likely be a bit simpler and shorter. I did burn out pretty badly early last year and probably was a bit too hasty in starting that project. Stupid coronavirus!


Here's the World 1 map. I went for a slight hybrid of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World style with these. SMB3 inspired the blockiness of the landmasses and the straight paths between levels. Blocky overworlds are only a problem when they're clearly done to be lazy.


World 1-1 - Here We Go
"Here We Go" is probably one of the most cliche names one could give a first level in a Mario game, official or fanmade, but I wanted to make every non-boss level's name a reference to a song I like. In the case of this one, that would be a song by *NSYNC.


World 1-2 - I Wanna Be Down
It took a little while to decide on this name, and part of the process involved either looking through my music library or thinking about the songs therein. I decided from the start that 1-2 would be an underground level. Past name candidates included "Underneath It All" and "6ft. Underground." imamelia said that the former would be better suited for a water level, and I figured the latter would be better for some sort of underground crypt in a world with a haunted theme. I ended up going with the title of Brandy's first hit, "I Wanna Be Down."


World 1-3 - Rex in Effect
Yeah, I recycled this name from World 2-1 of Outbreak, but it fit with the theme of the level and the music-based level naming scheme I have going on here. Sometimes, I opt to use puns and or name the level after a band. Here, I did both. I apologize in advance for the lack of rump shaking.



World 1-4 - Morton Koopa Jr.'s Castle
It's a typical first castle. The first room introduces Goomba-generating pipes and Podoboos in the lava. The second room (pictured here) introduces Thwomps and is a bit more open vertically. Why choose Morton though? The vanilla Morton Boss, which I originally intended to use before realizing that it didn't play nice with the custom Status Bar I'm using, is one of the easiest bosses in SMW. Morton's room is a slight homage to the vanilla boss, and he uses some of its graphics, but he's custom. He's a n00b sprite (I still don't know enough ASM to code my own bosses from scratch) who simply walks around while jumping, speeding up slightly and jumping a bit more frequently as he takes damage. There's also a Podoboo in the room.


World 2 Map
World 2 is the obligatory desert world. Here, you see some graphics that are edits of vanilla graphics. In this case, I used the water level background tiles as the base for the pyramids, and part of the dirt-embedded bushes from GFX15 for the palm trees. All custom graphics are based on vanilla ones to varying degrees.


World 2-1 - Sand in my Shoe
I decided to name this one after one of the many, many Sonic remixes I have on my computer. In this case, I chose Jose the Bronx Rican's take on Sandopolis Zone.


World 2-1 - Diggin' on You
TLC gets a shout-out in this level's name. This was an easy choice for a level based around the digging mechanic from Super Mario Bros. 2.


World 2-3 - Heat of the Moment
The song this is named after just popped into my head as I began typing this. Deserts are pretty hot, and this part of the desert is probably the hottest as it features lava, Fire Pillars that burst from small divots in the ground, Sumo Bros, and Venus Flyin' Traps. Will you lose your head, lose your mind, and not know what to do, or will you keep your cool?


World 2-4 - Ludwig von Koopa's Castle
Things haven't cooled down much in this castle. Be careful of unusually large flames in the sconces on the pillars. They're Hopping Flames. Since the sconces are actually solid to all sprites, and I'm using the Shell-collectible coins/Yoshi Coins patch, quite a few Yoshi, or rather, Lunar Coins are placed in ways that require using them, along with kicked shells, to be collected.


World 3 Map
The hardest thing about making this map was getting it to play the correct music. This hack uses Medic's Submap Split patch, which is supposed to assign a different music track to each of the new submaps created from what used to be the main Overworld. Unfortunately, due to the AddMusic updates that have happened since 2016, that function no longer worked in the patch. I ended up needing to apply the Multiple Songs on Main Map patch to work around that. Even then, the first couple notes of the "default" song would play before switching to the correct song. That was bypassed by setting the LM default to 00. There's still a bit of a delay before the music starts, both on this map and the map of World 1.


World 3-1 - Soak Up the Sun
At first, this level was hampered both by the music issue I was having with the overworld and difficulties with choosing the right enemies to reflect the level's name. I ended up going with the Sleeping Goomba sprite. They'd be the ones soaking up the sun. They probably weren't listening to Sheryl Crow though.


World 3-2 - Underneath It All
The dirt here is based on an upscaling of the background rock pattern. The corals are made of pieces of the moving stone castle block sprite graphics. I guess I forgot to mention that those rejected name candidates for 1-2 would resurface later.


World 3-3 - Under the Bridge
Yeah, I used that name for my OLDC level back in 2017, but that name was lost when I integrated said level into Super Luigi Land. Here, I went with the gimmick of having Pipe Lakitus attacking from under bridges. Here, though, they're not all throwing Spinies. Some throw Bob-Ombs, which can be used to destroy the wooden blocks in the level, potentially allowing access to extra goodies.




3-4 - Wendy O. Koopa's Castle
Here, it may not be a good idea to let explosions destroy the stone blocks. You could end up impaled by spikes or making the battle with Wendy more challenging than it already is. Wendy's a Mouser reskin, so letting her Bob-Ombs blow up the stone block bridges will make it harder to throw the explosives back at her to do damage.


World 4 Map
I ported/arranged the Pumpkin Zone theme from Super Mario Land 2 specifically for this map. I haven't decided whether or not to submit it here though. We could use a better, fuller version of that theme than the one we have. As overused as desaturated palettes can be, I think they fit well here.


World 4-1 - Nothing Compares 2 Boo (Alternate Name: I'm So Into Boo)
Boos are everywhere here. Some are even hiding among the stone blocks. In the second segment of the level, dozens of Boos swoop down on you from the canopy if you dawdle too long.


World 4-2 - 6ft. Underground
I did mention using this level name for some sort of spooky underground area. Well, here it is!


World 4-3 - When the Lights Go Out
This level put me at a standstill for longer than I would've liked. Originally, I wanted the enemies to change when the lights went out. Since the UberASM used for the lighting effect has an option to tie it to the P-Switch, I decided that that would be the easiest way to make the lighting effect "change" the environment. For the blocks, this was easy. There are plenty of P-Switch-sensitive blocks here on the site, and I used them. There aren't enough P-sensitive sprites though. I initially tried using the Conditional Sprite Spawner to achieve the changing sprite effect, but that ended up being less than optimal. I wanted the sprites themselves to change with the switch. If not all sprites, one would do. I decided on the Fire-Spitting Boo being the one and ended up requesting a Boo sprite that would always chase Mario unless the P-Switch was active and spit fire if the Extra Bit was set. I ended up losing my patience and very nearly losing a friendship in the process. Eventually, though, I decided to scrap that idea when I thought about Phanto. Here was a sprite whose behavior was conditional, and therefore linked to a conditional branch. Conditional branches were the farthest I got when I tried learning ASM back in 2012, and I figured that editing the Phanto sprite to respond based on P-Switch status rather than whether or not Mario was holding a key would be fairly easy. It turned out that it was. All I had to do was nuke all the key-checking code and just replace it with a P-Switch timer check, which could be accomplished in only two lines. Thankfully, the sprite's routine labels were clear enough that I could easily figure out where to go and what parts of the code to change. I ended up getting it working and canceling the request as it was no longer needed. Next time, I'm gonna make a request further in advance of actually making a level. That should give whoever takes it more time to get it done. I'm very impatient and inflexible when it comes to level ideas, and I like to do my levels sequentially. Due to the SMB1-like level progression, there are not alternate paths/levels I could work on while waiting.
Quintesson Judge: Silence, or you will be held in contempt of this court!
Hot Rod: I have nothing but contempt for this court!
- Transformers the Movie (1986)
Hi!

You have a very interesting new work from the new Super Mario Brothers, Vanilla Islands.

This screenshot shows a lot of personality. Good!#w{=D}

I'll do that, but when will the demo be released?
I love you! I'm a girl.

As it snows, the atmosphere is very unstable and lightning keeps hitting me. ㅠㅠ

I like the cartoon character of the girl the most.

This place will update photos every month.
Really cool hack so far!

I LOVE the aesthetics used here, the levels look great and fun to play, although, I'm not too big of a fan of some of the palettes used in certain worlds (Desert World...), as well as the structure of some of them (Beach World, Haunted World...).

Also would be nice to get some actual videos of levels, rather than just screenshots, but that's not too much of a necessity anyway.

Where was I? Oh yeah.
The structure of some overworlds looks exactly or at least all similarly to each other, which, I mean, consistency sure, but some variation in the landscapes between them would be nice.

Not that big of a fan of the beach world, some stuff like the small islands and trees are nice, but the coast doesn't look like a coast. Let me explain.

Basically what you have here are floating coasts, they don't look like they're interacting with water in any way, which can look very weird.

(just an example picture)



On the other hand, something like this (Photo taken from my recent project) is a real looking coast, because the coast is interacting with water, as you can see by the lighter water near the surface.



And listen I get it, you're going for a more SMB3-ish looking OW, but even this small change could improve the Overworld so much.

Also, if you want the same coast tiles I used you're free to ask me on discord.


Anyway, that's all I had to say, can't wait to see how this hack turns out, good luck on making it! #smrpg{y}

Lots of love, S1Z2 #w{<3}
The great ones are the levels



List Soundtrack - List Hacks

Mega Man X3 OSTs
Originally posted by gamma v
Here's the title screen. Like always, it's simple and static. I honestly haven't done a moving title screen since Kola Kingdom Quest, and that title screen was made in late 2013. Static title screens are not only easier to build, but also don't require ZSNES savestates. I've come to pretty much dislike ZSNES. SNES9X SUPERIOR!

You can use snes9x save-states these days lol


Anyway, the hack looks awesome so far#ab{^_^}.
What a good hack with classic 4 world levels (SMB-ish). I like your world styles:
World 1 - A simple grass-ish
World 2 - Desertic and ruined themed
World 3 - Tropical and refreshing
World 4 - Terrific and spookier

So, I hope that you keep going with your works and I wish to play in a future when you finish the hack.
Congratulations #smrpg{y}
Super Mario World: Season 3: 2nd demo complete
Tag (span) was not closed.
Originally posted by Gamma V
Past name candidates included "Underneath It All" and "6ft. Underground." imamelia said that the former would be better suited for a water level, and I figured the latter would be better for some sort of underground crypt in a world with a haunted theme.

Wait, I did? I thought all that I said in the former case was that I happened to have used the same name and the same song reference for 1-4 in Peach's Quest: A Princess Story, which was an underground level.

I can definitely relate to having the whole project screech to a halt because you need something for the current level, too. I'm in that position right now, in fact. Stupid line guides...

I don't know if there's much that I need to say about the levels because I'm fairly sure that I already commented on them earlier, but keep up the good work.

----------------

I'm working on a hack! Check it out here. Progress: 64/95 levels.
@Segment1Zone2: I took your advice when it came to the World 3 map.


I'm now pretty much 50% done with this now, at least in terms of building levels. I may release a demo, but I might want to try to fix up any minor issues that might still exist before I do so. Either way, here's...

4-4 - Iggy Koopa's Castle

Why are the Suu Spiders red? It's so they'll work with the color math used in the next room.


The best way to get that Lunar Coin is to bounce off the Suu.


The Dry Bones also use a palette that doesn't work well with the color math, but the HUD counters do. I could probably change both fairly easily.

The boss for this is vanilla Iggy. Thanks to Anas for giving me a version of the NSMBWii Sprite Status Bar that plays nice with the Mode 7 sprites. The only real side-effect to that that I've noticed is increased slowdown in some levels, but I could tweak sprite layouts to work around that.

World 5 Map

When I was discussing the idea of naming all non-boss levels after songs I like with some friends on Discord, Counterfeit mentioned having a level called "I Wanna Sex You Up" after the Color Me Badd song since she knows my tastes in music. I told her at the time that I didn't see a reason to use that title since I don't do NSFW content in my hacks and the song names have to reference something about the level. It took me a little while to think of a name for 5-1. I already used Welcome to the Jungle in Tatanga's Return for the first level of that hack's jungle world. I then remembered that I originally planned to use the pipe-dwelling custom Rex sprite in 1-3, but found its behavior too difficult for such an early game level. I thought "Why not use it in World 5?" A jungle level involving Rex variants, huh? I'll call it "I Wanna Rex You Up." I guess Cou was kinda right about me referencing the old CMB song after all.

Before I close out this post, how about a preview of things to come?


Here's the map for World 6, the mountain/sky world. Originally, I was planning to use this song, but, while working on it, this popped into my head. Which would fit better?

World 7 Map

Slippy Slidey Ice World


Here's the background for 7-1. It'll be a while before I get to actually making the level, but I wanted to make some sort of progress on my hack while 4-3 was on hold.


I also put together some of the decorative tiles for both 7-1 and 7-2. The Christmas lights are a mix of line guides and Yoshi's rotated tongue. They also animate. You'll see them in 7-2, along with any other underground bits of World 7. Just don't ask where they're plugged in.

World 8 Map

The lava pools here originally looked a bit different before I added in those water outline tiles for World 3. I decided to use those again here. The large walls are a throwback to Outbreak's World 8 map. I wonder if I should use the same music for this (VLDC7 Fortress Map).
Quintesson Judge: Silence, or you will be held in contempt of this court!
Hot Rod: I have nothing but contempt for this court!
- Transformers the Movie (1986)
Loving that new Beach Map!

Now it's more in line with the current beach maps, while still having that SMB3 look.

The levels, as always, look fantastic.
It's nice seeing the Suu still being used, it's a neat sprite that isn't used too much in hacks nowadays.

The World 6 Map looks nice, though, the Monty Mole dirt doesn't fit that well with the rest of the decorations.

The clouds don't have any sense of movement, they look a bit stationary, mostly because they aren't placed dynamically, but rather repeated over and over again.

Example:



I suggest you move most of them differently, either 1 tile left or 1 tile right, while keeping others in the same place.

Also, I found a few songs you might want to take a look at.
Trials of Mana - Harvest November by DMB - Fits nicely with the mountainous/sky themed world.
Kururin Paradise - Mining Land by Dispace - Doesn't fit as nicely like the first one, but it's an alternative option if you want something more serious. Can also work in mountainous levels.
Illusion of Gaia - Drifting Endlessly by qantuum - It fits more of a sky theme rather than mountain, but it's a nice fit for the OW.
Bahamut Lagoon - Orerusu Salvation Army by qantuum - A more waltzy type of OW song
Alcahest - Mountain Trail by KevinM - Another waltzy type of OW song, this one being a bit more serious than the previous one.

The World 7 Map looks a bit barren, not many decorations that are easily visible. Maybe adding more trees and some custom icicles would help it stand out a bit more. Otherwise, looks pretty nice!
I like the background used in it, pairs nicely with the HDMA.

The World 8 Map, like the World 7 Map, looks a bit barren. I love those wall tiles, though, Bowser's Castle (I assume) has an out of place looking shell at the top. I would suggest making some sort of Bowser looking shell, like those from SMM2 Overworlds, rather than using the vanilla Ludwig (I think) shell.

Also got a bit of songs for that OW as well.
Opeth - Windowpane (loop 2) by qantuum - I'm iffy about this one, It does sound grim and has a strong percussion, so maybe...?
Sweltering Caves by MoosieHD - Quite a grim and spooky song, again, with strong percussion.

That's all I had to say, well, mostly what I had to say, one more thing...

If you decide to release the demo, I would be more than happy to test it if you want.

Good luck with the rest of the worlds, don't overwork yourself! #smrpg{y}

Lots of love, S1Z2 #w{<3}
I have to agree that the "square-ness" of the overworlds really made them feel more unique, it makes them look like a hibryd of SMB3 and SMW maps which is really cool, also I relly liked the aesthethics of the previews for the later worlds.
Good job.#smw{:peace:}
Looking foward to play this one.
Check out my profile to see a list of SMW Hacks I made and where to find the latest and best version of them.
Thanks for playing and have fun!
Clique no meu perfil para encontrar a lista de minhas hacks feitas até o momento.
The demo is still waiting in the moderation queue, but I figured I'd go ahead and start on World 5.


Here's what the World 5 map looks like in-game. It marks the first time I've ever used fully-sampled music in one of my hack. In this case, it's KevinM's recently-approved port of the 65 Million BC theme from Chrono Trigger.


World 5-1 - I Wanna Rex You Up
When I was talking with friends in a Discord group DM and discussing naming non-boss levels after songs, Counterfeit (one of the group members) made a remark about calling a level "I Wanna Sex You Up" after the old Color Me Badd song. I dismissed the idea at first as the chosen songs had to relate to the level in some way, and I'd never make a level for which that song name would really work. A bit later, I was setting up the level names in the Extended Extended Level Names patch I'm using. I was at a loss for what to name 5-1 until I remembered my scrapped idea of using those pipe-dwelling chasing Rex sprites RussianMan made in 1-3. I decided then that I'd use them in 5-1 and, while I couldn't reference the song name directly, I could make a pun on it to reference the use of Rexes in the level. "I Wanna REX You Up."


World 5-2 - Urchin-ly in Love
Originally, I used this name for an Urchin-themed water level in World 3 of Outbreak. Of course, with that being canceled before the public got to chance to play World 3, I figured I might as well reuse the name here. After all, it does reference a song.
Quintesson Judge: Silence, or you will be held in contempt of this court!
Hot Rod: I have nothing but contempt for this court!
- Transformers the Movie (1986)
Both levels look pretty good! Fitting music, and solid design as well. I love the name of the rex level - pretty clever.
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Thanks, K.T.B. World 5 is very close to being done.

World 5-3 - Grrrol With It

Originally, this level was going to be called "Stone Temple Riot," but trying to build that level gave me a case of Designer's Block. I then decided to shift gears and renamed it "Grrrol With It," playing on the name of a Backstreet Boys song that never left Europe.





VIDEO

World 5-4 - Roy Koopa's Castle

This one's only halfway done.



Quintesson Judge: Silence, or you will be held in contempt of this court!
Hot Rod: I have nothing but contempt for this court!
- Transformers the Movie (1986)
Haha, that looks nice! Next up is the Sky World (a.k.a. World 6), with a level named "Sky Full of Lighters" (reference to Bad Meets Evil's "Lighters" ft. Bruno Mars).
The Hacking of PuyoPuyo. Come join the fun, friends. 『いけいけ団長、頑張れ頑張れ団長!』
Help us raise funds for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. #ДопомагаємоРазом / #HelpTogether
“Even if you personally are so dissatisfied with life that you want the world to end, surely the cruel reality is that it will continue on, unchanging. All the better for someone perfectly content, like me.”
Aya Shameimaru, Touhou Suzunaan ~ Forbidden Scrollery
@Klug: You're right about the next world having a sky theme (sort of). You're wrong about the song reference though. I don't even know the song you're talking about. A lot of the non-game music I listen to, and reference, is from the late 80s through the mid 2000s. I'm an old fart after all. :P

World 5-4 - Roy Koopa's Castle



I decided to swap out the gray "Fire Munchers" for green ones. I had to use a little trial and error figuring out what colors did what since their behaviors weren't really described in the .asm file. The other variants will likely show up in future levels.



The second room swaps out the Thwomps and Thwimps for skewers. It also brings in Koopas and Ceiling Munchers, some of which will fall on you since they're just reskinned Falling Spikes. Roy himself is the vanilla boss from the original game. IMO, he kinda fits in with the whole theme of things trying to crush you.


Title Screen v3.0
I swapped out the wooden plank border for the checkerboard pattern seen on the Overworld.
Quintesson Judge: Silence, or you will be held in contempt of this court!
Hot Rod: I have nothing but contempt for this court!
- Transformers the Movie (1986)
In the screenshots from 5-3 the surroundings of the bushes in the background have the wrong palette, in case you didn't notice. Aside from that the hack seems cool and solid! Good overworld too!
@N450 You're not the first to notice that. I've since fixed it.

I did more than just fix a palette error the last time I cracked open Lunar Magic. Last night, I finished the first level of World 6 and almost put off doing the dishes even longer. Yeah, that's how focused I can get on this hack. To be fair, I never liked doing dishes and sometimes wonder why, in 2021, we don't have robots doing that.

World 6-1 - You Rock My World


True to its name, this level involves a lot of rocks. Some are thrown by the Monty Moles, while others are continuously shot out of the pipes that litter the stage. It's pretty challenging overall.

VIDEO
Quintesson Judge: Silence, or you will be held in contempt of this court!
Hot Rod: I have nothing but contempt for this court!
- Transformers the Movie (1986)
The clouds in the background in W6-1 look amazing!
The layer 3 clouds look great! I like how it scrolls to the right on it's own. While I find the setups nice and all, would it be possible to change the speed of the rocks that shoot out of pipes? Because I notice you getting hit unfairly a few times because they come out of nowhere.

@Slakkmichael: It shouldn't be. Either way, I'm moving that level to 6-3 and doing something else for 6-1. The reason is that what I came up with for 6-2 is easier than 6-1.

Speaking of which...

World 6-2 - You're Always on My Mine
I just can't resist the mind/mine puns, especially if it gives me the chance to reference a song by SWV, which is one of my favorite bands.





Quintesson Judge: Silence, or you will be held in contempt of this court!
Hot Rod: I have nothing but contempt for this court!
- Transformers the Movie (1986)

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