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Water Level Platforming\Hack Preview

Kaizo

Hey everyone! Its been a while.

For the last year, I've been refining my skills to produce a hack where every level is given extreme care and thought, a hack devoid of any filler levels, and where no ideas are ever repeated. The result is 5 or 6 extremely long stages, each with multiple checkpoints (both limited and infinite-life). The levels are extremely difficult, but never approach "pit" difficulty. Most experienced players will beat this without savestates. I was planning on releasing it without any previews, but I'm really happy with this particular idea I had, and i figured I'd share it with you all...



I'm always hearing people say that water levels in Mario hacks can never be fast paced. In between working on my hack, and doing some college stuff, I haven't had much time to myself, but I figured I might as well record this video. By slightly altering the game mechanics, one can completely change the nature of a level's design. Water levels are no exception.

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Remember, this level is still a work in progress. I'm just showing of the basic concept; nothing more. The visuals are far from done, and there is a good chance that the obstacles will be tweaked. I haven't added in the custom music or status bar, and there's still a good 2 or 3 rooms I haven't even started yet.



(Constructive) criticism is always appreciated. If anyone wants to help with graphics or asm, feel free to send a PM my way.

As of now, I'm tentatively going with the name "Hacker's Dreams". More to come soon!
I don't think I've ever seen that gimmick in a SMW hack before, where Mario can't really jump, but he somehow maintains swimming physics. Looks to be an interesting challenge. Water levels are often thought of as boring and slow, but this is an exception. Also, this is not that big a deal, but I noticed parts of the rotary lift disappearing at 2:24.
Legacy custom music
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Now I've never seen a water level used like that before. I would definitely play something like this. This shows that water levels are not always slow or boring.

BTW, what's the music in the level?

Wow, this is awesome. I always thought of water levels as completely boring, but this completely changes my opinion. Good job






The idea of this level is quite interesting - This is the first time I've ever seen a water level where Mario doesn't actually swim but rather just floats. It certainly makes for a much more interesting water level.

Professional frame-by-frame time wizard. YouTube - Twitter - SMW Glitch List - SMW Randomizer
Thanks for the support everyone!

@MarioFan22: The song from the video is "Viridian" by "Between the Buried and Me". It's not actually in the game though: I haven't inserted the music to the rom yet, so i just added the most fitting song I had in post production. You probably won't like their other stuff though. It's REALLY heavy. Their kind of like a melodic version of Meshuggah.

\offtopic.
Oh wow. I normally really don't like water levels, but tweak the physics a bit, and... That's pretty cool. And it has a great atmosphere, which is something coming from somebody who nnormally hates it when video games try to be calming. Hopefully you can find some custom music to get a similar feeling. Can't wait to see more of the hack!
Good fucking bye.
Honestly, not being a player or even decent maker of Kaizo hacks I think this is pretty cool. Great Idea!
Wow. I was NOT expecting people to like this so much! Thank you :D!

Originally posted by Name 4 Xmas
Oh wow. I normally really don't like water levels, but tweak the physics a bit, and... That's pretty cool. And it has a great atmosphere, which is something coming from somebody who nnormally hates it when video games try to be calming. Hopefully you can find some custom music to get a similar feeling. Can't wait to see more of the hack!


Thanks! Its funny that you mention the calming atmosphere. The level is actually pretty panic-inducing, so I tried to juxtapose the fast pacing against really soothing atmosphere for extra effect. It helps calm the nerves a little...I think.

Its very ecco the dolphin inspired.



And yeah, if anyone can think of a ported song that would fit the atmosphere, please let me know!


Originally posted by jesus
And yeah, if anyone can think of a ported song that would fit the atmosphere, please let me know!

Donkey Kong Country 2: Stickerbrush Symphony
No, just... no.

Here's a small list of songs that could possibly fit the level, depending on how you want it to feel:
- Chrono Trigger - Schala's Theme
- CUSTOM: Mystery Deeps
- Sonic & Knuckles - Lava Reef Zone act II/Hidden Palace Zone
- Donkey Kong Country 2 - In a Snow-Bound Land
- Mega Man 10 - PumpMan's Stage

Of course, if you really want good songs to use, its better to just download an SPC player and skim through the SMWC's ports.

Professional frame-by-frame time wizard. YouTube - Twitter - SMW Glitch List - SMW Randomizer
Mystery Deeps would probably work pretty well, although if you want to try it old school like, just use DKC aquatic ambience.
Done with SMW for a while.
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Thanks for the suggestions. I'll definitely look into them!

I'm also wondering if anyone has suggestions for how I should continue the stage. As of right now, it needs to be at least twice as long. The thing is, I don't want it to feel forced or repetitive. Any extensions made should feel natural to the player (if that makes any sense).

My problem is that this level happens to be part of a series of 3 'medium difficulty' levels. The other two levels in the series are nearly finished, and are 2 to 3 times longer. If this one is that much shorter, I'm afraid people who choose this one last (or even second) will feel cheated. I'm not going to half-ass this hack; I've worked too long on it to start doing that.



In addition, raocow (who I'm partially making this hack for in the first place) has expressed to me that the level relies too much on shell hopping. How else do I get mario in the air? I've considered upward currents a la SMB3, but it doesn't seem to work very well and I already know that raocow hates wind obstacles.
Wow, yes.. very very imaginative, unique.. I could definitely see a milder version of this in regular hacks, while still fitting for Kaizo hacks. Not sure about obstacles though, I don't think items could work..

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That looked like a really neat level there. You used that new fast-paced approach to making water levels very nicely. :)

And it's nice to see that you're still into SMW hacking! :>
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I'm probably retired tbh
Originally posted by jesus

In addition, raocow (who I'm partially making this hack for in the first place) has expressed to me that the level relies too much on shell hopping. How else do I get mario in the air? I've considered upward currents a la SMB3, but it doesn't seem to work very well and I already know that raocow hates wind obstacles.


Why not just use rising layer 2?
Done with SMW for a while.
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Originally posted by Will_Da_Beast
Originally posted by jesus

In addition, raocow (who I'm partially making this hack for in the first place) has expressed to me that the level relies too much on shell hopping. How else do I get mario in the air? I've considered upward currents a la SMB3, but it doesn't seem to work very well and I already know that raocow hates wind obstacles.


Why not just use rising layer 2?


Awesome Idea. Thank You!

I'm also considering using a custom block snake that generates noteblocks. A vertical level layout will also help.
Maaaan, I really liked this level! It's a good job.

Kaizo