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Mario: Dawn to Darkness (CLOSING TIME)

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====================
Updated August 19th
====================


I've decided to Quit the hack (for a while, at least). To me, this has been coming at me for a long time, what with me losing interest in the hack, and the mixed views on it. (And before anyone asks, Yes, The demo will still be available, No, I will not give it to you to work on). The Thing is, the hack getting rejected really put the nail in the coffin that I had already been building. It's not the criticism that I cannot take. That stuff really helps to keep me going. It's this one little statement.

Originally posted by Foursword4

All in all...the hack wasn't terribly bad in terms of playability. But there was one thing I wanted to address here. The first 3 or 4 levels were fantastic. I thoroughly enjoyed them, and was expecting to see more levels of that quality. Unfortunately, as soon as I entered the city level, the game plummeted in the enjoyment factor. The levels after the first castle were...in my eyes...lacking when compared to the other levels. I really don't know what happened, but the levels became bland, boring, and frustrating.


This one paragraph really put it into perspective for me. It made me realize that not only are the general quality of my levels lacking, but they are boring and repetitive after world 1. There is so much to fix in the hack, that I end up fixing it too much and not make enough levels. In addition, the palettes need more than a new makeover, and the music doesn't really fit the tunes of the levels too much. Add all of this on top of various patches not working correctly (Damn you No Sprite tile Limits!) and the hack's incompatibility with Blocktool, and you get a project that is unfixable. I had a [relatively] good time working on this hack, And I hope everyone has enjoyed it as much as I have. I'm sorry to all of the fans that the hack will not be completed. Maybe my next hack will be better.


~Yanamanka





















Mario: Dawn to Darkness has been in the making since mid-2008, when Team Five Star first started a collaborative project. Dawn to Darkness [DtD for short] is the new name for Mario: the Galaxy Chronicles. The Team split up around spring of 2009 though, with me left to man the project. I may not be the greatest at hacking, but I'm definitely making this hack to the best of my ability!

(This thread here is actually a re-hash of an old version of this thread. However, the Updates, Pictures, and demos are very new.)


---DEMO RELEASE---

File Bin Link




Speedyshare Link








++++++
SECRET MOON CHALLENGE
++++++
The Person who can send me an in-game screen-shot of the Hidden 3-up moon in this hack wins a special e-cookie!

This hack contains (currently):
-Custom Music
-Custom Sprites (Not in this demo release, but they're being added as I type this.)
-ExGFX
-Great level design
-Non-repetitive storyline
-Non-linear level design

---STORY---
Originally posted by Storyline

Mario's peaceful vacation in Acrillya has been interrupted by Bowser's disappearance. Surely if the big brute isn't terrorizing our hero, than he must be up to no good! Mario, set off and find out what has happened to Bowser!




As you can see, the beginning of our epic is not a very tragic one. However, the disappearance of Bowser might lead to some trouble. Without our heroes to keep an eye on him, who knows what he is up to?



---Levels---


Currently there are 2 1/2 complete worlds of Mario: Dawn to Darkness. World 1 consists of Yoshi's Valley [and the surrounding areas]. World 2 consists of the Sugar Cliffs, one of the highest areas of Acrillya. World 3 is the Crystal Caverns, and series of mines and caverns where Larry's Mining Co. mines for Crystals.

-World 1-
The Travel guide says...



During your visit of Yoshi's Valley, you'll probably take a leisurely walk in the sandy beach of Cream lake, or go sight-seeing through Yoshi's woods. Shroomville, a town in the eastern part of the Valley, is full of shops and life. The main exit of the Valley is to the North-east.


Yoshi's Estate
Yoshi's Valley
Cream Lake
Yoshi's Cliffs
Goldenrod Ruins
Peach's Castle
Yoshi's Woods
Yoshi's Labyrinth
Shroomville
Morton's Tower

-World 2-
The Travel guide says...
The Sugar cliffs feature exceedingly beautiful cliffside waterfalls. to get across most waterfalls, you'll need to take a boat, but you may be able to swim through some of the calmer water.



Cookie Cliffs
Chocolate Bay
Chip Chip Caverns
Flint caverns
Wendy's Castle

-World 3-
The Travel Guide says...
The Crystal Caverns are home to some of the biggest crystals in the world. The Caverns are also home to the mysterious Ink river, a stream of pure ballpoint-pen ink that runs though the caves. Larry's Mining Co. has been mining the Cyrstal and Rock in the Cave in hopes of finding the Scarlet Ruins. What lies in there?..



Terra Corridor
Blind-eye Caverns
Rorschach Plains


=========
VIDEOS
=========


<object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/J3jRzgYKko0&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/J3jRzgYKko0&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object>
Ah, A wonderful stroll through Cream Lake!

<object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nDMAJUcakWo&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nDMAJUcakWo&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object>
A Sneak Peak of terra Corridor, the entrance into the Inky Caves.

<object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/OKZUjmEpeEc&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/OKZUjmEpeEc&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object>
The "Castle" of World 3. Welcome to Larry's Mining Company, Where Crystal is mined.

=========
SCREENIES
=========
Enjoy the Screenshots of Gameplay in Mario: Dawn to Darkness. I know you'll enjoy playing it almost as much as I enjoyed making it.























The Purple Box with the White Star on it will always give Mario a Mushroom, so that he can replenish some health.






















































With the Light of the Disco Ball, You can see otherwise hidden things.






The Path Splits into two places here... Which way will you go?..







===========
CREDITS (In progress)
===========
Thanks to...
Beta Testers: Dadiro_01, Sonicblue77 (more to be added)








So That's all for now. Comments, Feedback, and Questions are all greatly appreciated.

Notte Luminosa Progress:

Click here to download It! :D
Nice hack you are making. I'll download and play it soon. I'll review on it also... however, I'm not the best reviewer. Anyway, I look forward to this hack.
This looks really nice! I'd play it, but my stupid computer won't download the demo. >.>
Good fucking bye.
I can't seem to download...
If anyone needs help with custom Character GFX,PM me.
<Note> You will have to have a progress thread in order for me to work on GFX for you.No random requests.
Quote
I can't seem to download...


Quote
This looks really nice! I'd play it, but my stupid computer won't download the demo. >.>


Well, That's.... Odd...

Here's a speedyshare link instead then.
http://www.speedyshare.com/666965872.html

Notte Luminosa Progress:

Click here to download It! :D
Thanks. For some reason, my computer sometimes shows a wall of text instead of downloading something from the File Bin. This is a Mac, and when I try to download the same thing on Windows, it works. Stupid computer. >.>
Good fucking bye.
I've finally gotten a AVI converter for my videos, so here's a gameplay example video:

<object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/J3jRzgYKko0&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/J3jRzgYKko0&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object>

Cream lake is the second level in Mario: Dawn to Darkness, and easily the easiest. However, the level is certainly a lot of a fun. This level teaches the player the fundamentals of Powerups, Swimming, Goal Spheres, and Spin Jumping, all while jumping in a nice sandy beach.

(I apologize for the sucky quality, but Windows Movie Maker is the only AVI to WMV software I could salvage at the moment.)

Notte Luminosa Progress:

Click here to download It! :D
I can see this hack being featured at some point, great job! I also like stories that are shrouded in mystery. For once, peach isn't captured by Bowser, but Bowser's missing. I'mma download this right now, as welll as take screenies. I'm supporting this hack 150% whether you like it or not! :P

Also, here are some screenies!


Though I wouldn't say it effects the hack's quality at all, several blank rooms connected with screen exit pipes seem kinda' tedious IMO. Though it doesn't demand fixing, it'd be a bit better to maybe have some stuff in these rooms, or maybe connect them with screen-scrolling pipes. Not a big deal though.


Horizontal bills coming out of diagonal cannons? Kinda' weird, so I'd say replace the cannons with bullet machines, or download the diagonal bill generator.

vvv Wendy's Castle vvv


Fell in the water trying to get the Yoshi coin, couldn't jump out, the bullet machine was too high up to land on. Either lower the land or the machine, get rid of the temptation, or make it inaccessable. There are always going to be some parts that you have a very slim chance of getting stuck, though this one is noticable.


Was there supposed to be something on those lines? Be sure to position the object so that it can fall onto the line. (above it) If you did, it may be sprite tile issues, the patch would help.


More sprite tile issues. The koopa's shell isn't visible.


A bit of noticable cutoff with the two large stone blocks.


Though it doesn't seem possible, the grinder below snaps onto and move along the line. o_0 It shows a glitched frame of it appearing above the I couldn't really get. :/ Reposition that grinder or the ledge it came from perhaps? Also, it made this spin-jump pretty difficult.


For proof and reference, you can see a second grinder; the one that snapped on.

A general note for this level: it took me a while to find the door that lead to the boss. There's no real issue with that alone, however, once to found the white switch, the door behind the spikies didn't have any significance. It brought be to an already accessible area, and I got to the boss without it. The problem isn;t multiple solutions, it's unnecessary items that ened up complicating the level.

^^^ Wendy's Castle ^^^


Could not go on from here. Is this the end of the hack???

Overall, I liked the hack, but Wendy's castle had quite a few problems, most of which are easy fixes, and the first two Wendy's castle problems can be solved with the no more sprite tile limits patch, or maybe different sprite memory settings. Despite the problems, the hack overall is very solid with strong strengths and mostly minor setbacks. Great job! Going by review ratings, I'd give this 8/10, very good for most demos.

P.S. If there's a way past the last noted area, please tell me so I can continue.
Your layout has been removed.
You need the springboard which is found in the 2nd screen from the beginning. It's visible if you jump up near it... There's a backtrack route right underneath you to go get it if you missed it.
As for the sprite tile issues, I am baffled. I set the sprite settings to 10 after applying the patch for that level, yet they still screw up. Maybe I should try using 11 or 12?..

The Other problems have been noted and are being fixed! Thanks for helping me out in spotting those! :)


Notte Luminosa Progress:

Click here to download It! :D
Ok, gotcha', I must be blind not to see the springboard, but I didn't see any backtrack roads. I need new glasses, maybe that's the problem. XD

No problem, I always support promising looking hacks. This one stands out a bit. Now it's not like it's a problem, but to me Dawn of Darkness would sound better, just my opinion. Now that I know how to move on, expect a couple more screenies maybe.

Edit: Scratch that, I got to Inky Stream or whatever it's called, and I couldn't enter, so now it must be the end. Also, why did the river turn red?


Your layout has been removed.
Originally posted by Artsy2
Ok, gotcha', I must be blind not to see the springboard, but I didn't see any backtrack roads. I need new glasses, maybe that's the problem. XD

No problem, I always support promising looking hacks. This one stands out a bit. Now it's not like it's a problem, but to me Dawn of Darkness would sound better, just my opinion. Now that I know how to move on, expect a couple more screenies maybe.

Edit: Scratch that, I got to Inky Stream or whatever it's called, and I couldn't enter, so now it must be the end. Also, why did the river turn red?



I honestly have no idea why the stream hiccups... The water seems to change based on the background of the last level played. Hunh.

In other news, I have a new video:
<object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nDMAJUcakWo&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nDMAJUcakWo&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object>

Notte Luminosa Progress:

Click here to download It! :D
Heya Everyone!
I've got two levels, And some sneak Peaks to show today:


The First One is Larry's Mining Company's Beta Version.
<object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/OKZUjmEpeEc&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/OKZUjmEpeEc&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object>

(The Glitch with the Screen at 0:15 in the video HAS been fixed, By the way.)

The Second one I won't show until the Castle is totally complete. (HINT: It's a switch palace...)

The Beta Castle needs two real things done before I can consider it complete: First, it needs to have a fitting background. Secondly, I need a Custom Larry boss ready to go. Currently, I'm working on it, but work is going slowly.


^^ An idea of what the level would look like without any kind of Background... Yuck!



I've set out to finish World 3 by the End of the Week, and then submit the hack to SMWcentral (hopefully by Next Wednesday?..).
After the Switch Palace, there will be two levels left in World 3; A trip across the fabled inky river, and a trek through a Mad-scientist's Lair.

And now, for a sneak peak for the enemies inside the Scientist's lair...



Yes. Mini Luigis. They may have a bad palette, but I'm still trying to work on that.


Again, Comments, Suggestions, and the Occasional Cheer are always welcome.




Notte Luminosa Progress:

Click here to download It! :D
Umm... The world three submap has an echo, and when you leave it, the main overworld has an echo, but if you go to world one submap, the echo disappears until you go back to world three.

And, also, the only way I could seem to get through Yoshi's Labyrinth was to bring a Yoshi into the level to jump up to the really high platform with the door leading to the exit. Was that intentional?
Good fucking bye.
Originally posted by SpikyRat
Umm... The world three submap has an echo, and when you leave it, the main overworld has an echo, but if you go to world one submap, the echo disappears until you go back to world three.

And, also, the only way I could seem to get through Yoshi's Labyrinth was to bring a Yoshi into the level to jump up to the really high platform with the door leading to the exit. Was that intentional?


Um... No...
If you went through the maze, you would have found your way up there naturally...

This is an older version of the level, but this method of getting out still works:

<object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/buM1gzxnZTo&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/buM1gzxnZTo&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object>

Notte Luminosa Progress:

Click here to download It! :D
I wasn't trying to do it, really, I couldn't seem to find a way through the level, and later brought a Yoshi in after playing around in older levels out of boredom and found that out on accident. You should probably make it a no-Yoshi level or something. >.>
Good fucking bye.
That castle based off of Sonic @'s oil ocean is really good! IMO though, the placement and lack of sprites makes it look really easy. Not saying it's a bad thing, but it could be spiced up a bit more.'

Also, nice Alt. colored luigi's there too.
Your layout has been removed.
Aya, I've got some Updates for levels, and I've fixed a couple errors/bugs.


First things first, I'm trying out a new palette in the Switch Palaces. This one is for the Yellow switch.


For the Red switch, I played around with the background settings, since the red switch is found in a Cave Level...


A Possible Background palette for the Sonic Foreground, as I cannot find a working Background for it...



A Sneak peak at the Beginning of the Scarlet Ruins, where the Red Switch is. The Difficulty is Lax here, due to it being more of a bonus level in the game.


By Sacrificing the Inky palette the OW once had for the river, I've negated the glitch caused by exiting various levels. Hooray!



I've taken out part most of the Grinder section in Wendy's castle, as it was causing too much trouble for me. Now, You simply choose a path through the broken maze in area 2 of the castle.



Notte Luminosa Progress:

Click here to download It! :D
So far some good, but here's two things I don't like.
I think that there are a couple of spelling errors.
Lastly, did you keep the palette to this level?

I think it would be better if it was brown instead of green, since it looks bad to me.
Hello there, here is my new blog. I will usually update it every day.
My Pokemon:

Party Image cause I feel lazy.
I played a part of this hack and i can say this is nice: just another regular hack you can see everywhere :)
I would suggest something:

1-Change the BG on the "Oil ocean" FG level. I see that you couldn't decide, but i advice you to look for play some other SNES games even for search good BGs. You can also check better the ExGFX section: you may find something of good. Thanks for using my tileset, though :D

2-If you don't get annoyed, you can add outlines to the FG of solid stuff in the Oil ocean level, it would fit better with everything else, like coins and sprites. Just a little advice. if you are not satisfied, you can even change it back. Optional, but it will look better, in my opinion.

3-I am not fond of the cutoff waterfall on the submap! you could edit that with custom graphics.

I think this hack will come very cool. Let's see. I guess there is still a long time for the end of this hack. Nice so far.
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Watch, i made a Super Mario 64 level
Originally posted by Alex 92
I played a part of this hack and i can say this is nice: just another regular hack you can see everywhere :)
I would suggest something:

1-Change the BG on the "Oil ocean" FG level. I see that you couldn't decide, but i advice you to look for play some other SNES games even for search good BGs. You can also check better the ExGFX section: you may find something of good. Thanks for using my tileset, though :D

2-If you don't get annoyed, you can add outlines to the FG of solid stuff in the Oil ocean level, it would fit better with everything else, like coins and sprites. Just a little advice. if you are not satisfied, you can even change it back. Optional, but it will look better, in my opinion.

3-I am not fond of the cutoff waterfall on the submap! you could edit that with custom graphics.

I think this hack will come very cool. Let's see. I guess there is still a long time for the end of this hack. Nice so far.



The Background... I just don't know. I'm not a horrid palette editor to begin with, So I make do with what I can. :\
I have fixed the cutoff waterfall though.

Now... For the Boss battle in the third castle, I was going to have Larry use mouser's GFX. This means more palette editing for me... Dangit. Another problem that has arisen is how I am going to get the standard SMW cutscene to play: Mouser is pretty incompatible with the SMW Cutscene generator.

So, I'm trying to find the right combination of sprites that will teleport the player to another level once Mouser is defeated. Once in that new level, the Level will end, and the original SMW cutscene will play.

;-;

Notte Luminosa Progress:

Click here to download It! :D
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