Best first time mod for Super Metroid??

[The Envoy of the Beginning]

No one have suggested Ice metal yet?  :sadface:

Ice metal is a great hack to get into if you like the original and want to get into something that feels very similar but still retains new content in the form of a new world. :V

Also, exploration based hacks like Ice Metal; Uninstall, Phazon 0.3, and Metroid Super Zero Mission are fun.

Hmmmm...looks like someone skipped this statement.

Also, Metroid Legacy. Good for a first-time hack since the difficulty and enjoyability are almost at that with the regular Super Metroid.

[Crashtour99]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Super Metroid: Life yet.

[Lunaria]

Hmmmm...looks like someone skipped this statement.

Skimmed would be a better word! :V

[altoiddealer]

I recommended Ice Metal too :)

For first hack, I recommend either Ice Metal or Phazon, both of which have a more graduated learning curve and feature much fairer gameplay

[Quote58]

Well, in terms of a /first/ hack to play, that's a tough choice. There are many great hacks that really seperate themselves from super metroid, such as Phazon hack, Ice metal, Super zero mission, etc. They are all really good hacks, however, I wouldn't start with them.

The hacks I first really liked were by Cardweaver, (I started with the first few hacks around as that's all there was, but I didn't really like them much) and I would say that they are really good to start out with. They're half hacks, so they don't look or feel entirely different from the origional, but they give a different experience. New challenges, new paths, they're the best half hacks out there in my opinion.
Many people say you should start with redesign because a) it looks a lot like super metroid and has the same basic item progression and areas and b) it is the hack that really got hacking going. It made more people want to hack as it showed just what you could do to super metroid. This was thanks in part to coders like Kej and MON.
The problem with redesign though, is that the elements of the game where it really differs, are very very different.
The first hack one plays will either make them stay, and want to play more, or make then never want to play another. If it feels too different/difficult/strange/ASMified, it might turn them off. And redesign, well it has certain elements that are different (the physics), difficult (hell run) and even asm heavy (respin, artifacts, earthquakes, etc.) And if the person doesn't like those changes, they might not want to try others.

All this is to say, I think the best progression of hacks would be the best of the half hacks, IMO Gravy, Pudding, and soup. Then the best of the full hacks which keep the same general gfx and item progression, Redesign, Legacy, Pantheon. And then go to the big leagues once comfortable, with hacks like Phazon, Super Zero Mission, Ice Metal, Eris, etc.

Now, of course it's very subjective as once one is comfortable with hacks in general they will want to play hacks suited to their play style. Some people prefer challenge hacks, some prefer easier ones, and some want a whole new experience so they can have tons of exploration.
In any case though, this was just my opinion on the topic.

[altoiddealer]

All this is to say, I think the best progression of hacks would be the best of the half hacks, IMO Gravy, Pudding, and soup.

I've played through in this order: Redesign, Ice Metal, Eris, Super Zero Mission, Phazon.

Sometime after I completed Eris I gave Soup a try. As much as I like a challenge, something about that hack just rubbed me the wrong way.  Like that one room in red brinstar which requires mockballing over several series of crumble blocks in order to progress; that was just ridiculous.  I think that room took over a half hour for me, alone. Shortly after I came upon the room with the rising lava which was also absurdly difficult, and I had enough by then. I thought Redesign was pretty frustrating, but Soup took it to a whole new level

I also tried out Gravy not too long ago, but I gave up on it because I simply for the life of me cannot figure out where to go after reaching the flooded room before Spore Spawn. I combed through the entire map twice, tried searching the web for a hint, and also posted a thread in the SM forum which never had a reply.

Personally, I wouldn't recommend either of those as a first hack :)  I consider myself a good gamer, but obviously not good enough yet for hacks like Soup and Gravy. I can picture them being great for Super Metroid masters, though

[E1SUNZ]

Shadow96, i dig what you say man at the beginning when i first played Redesign i kinda hated it for some reason  then played some more and slowly my interest just keep on growing, now im completely stuck with the Redesign hack until i finish it :) im just at the bit afterthe hell run and got Ice beam and Varia suit. altoiddealer, lol you sound like you had a bad experience with those 3 mini hacks :P

Btw thanks alot for the suggestions and opinions guys appreciate it will save me the trouble of playing through bad ones :D
Too many suggestions im beginning to get puzzled now lol now
Anyone based on yours and others suggestions a list of best 5 start hacks? :D

[Quietus]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Super Metroid: Life yet.

Life and Stardust

:razz:

Either way, I second this notion. :^_^:

[MetroidMst]

If you are going to try for just five, then you might want a variety of hacks. (There are way more than five good hacks though, and even some hacks most generally dislike can be entertaining for some.)

I will throw this out there for a list a five hacks for "variety," and I'll include Redesign since you're already playing it.

• Redesign
• Oxide
• Ice Metal
• Final Stand
• Phazon Hack 0.3

I think that will give a pretty wide range of different Metroid experiences and difficulties. Of course, it is entirely up to you, and there are many excellent choices which I would recommend. I made this just to keep something different in mind if you plan to take a break from Super Metroid hacks for a little bit, that way you have a better understanding that hacks can be varied widely in how they play.

[E1SUNZ]

Thanks will play them all

[Plutia]

Legacy is pretty good too, although it's pretty old. It's close to the difficulty of the original.

[MetroidMst]

I threw Final Stand in because it offers something very different than most of what you will find in Metroid hacks.

I do also want to echo Legacy. It is older, but it is by far the closest thing to the original Super Metroid, while still being a completely changed hack.

And I certainly hope you eventually give them all a try. But stopping to pick something else up in-between is certainly understandable, and probably warranted.

[Quote58]

Well, since I wrote a whole bunch about hack progression, I'll list 5 I think you might want to start with.
Side note, Final Stand is one of my favourite hacks, but it is a) crazy hard, b) glitchy at points (giant metroid, crashing) and c) super bloody dark hack. I'd say give it a shot if you're really good at fighting metroids, and want an interesting challenge with entirely different gfx.

Anywho, top 5 starting hacks:
1.Gravy/Puddin/Soup depending on the difficulty you want, iirc soup was the most difficult, also most interesting.
2.legacy - one of the oldies, but great in that it's a full hack which feels very much like Super metroid.
3.Mochingbird Station - (another of my favourites) makes use of some interesting ideas, however it does become very difficult after a while, certainly worth trying out though
4.Ice metal - a very large, and very fun hack. New gfx that never stray too far from a metroid feeling, and an incredibly open world. Item progression is extremely non linear, you can beat the hack without even beating certain bosses or picking up many items.
5.Super Zero Mission - It's zero mission, but better. and made in super metroids engine. Play it.

And Bonus 6th of course is Phazon hack 0.2/0.3 (in some ways I still prefer 0.2, in most others, 0.3 is best).

[MATHGODpi]

The hacks I first really liked were by Cardweaver, (I started with the first few hacks around as that's all there was, but I didn't really like them much) and I would say that they are really good to start out with. They're half hacks, so they don't look or feel entirely different from the origional, but they give a different experience. New challenges, new paths, they're the best half hacks out there in my opinion.

I wholeheartedly agree that half hacks are the way to go for starting hack players. It, in a way, is kind of like a transitional gateway from the familiar experience of SM, to the new experiences provided by the hacking community.

Definitely do not pass up MSZM, that is my personal favorite to date. I believe it to be the most fine-tuned, professional quality SM hack out there.

I would personally give that nod to Phazon. SMZM comes across as very professionally put together and everything, but I found the navigation to be quite difficult and time consuming, if not outright facetious. Had to look at walkthroughs many a time to figure out how to proceed.

[E1SUNZ]

Cheers! Yep so all the hacks mentioned in this thread so far will definetely be played ;D sheesh that's alot to go through but now i know which order i should play em all :)

[Weterr123]

Not my top 5, but rather my entire playthrough order and opinion so far:

1) Super Zero Mission, by SB - Amazing, clever, and surprising in many places. Also, tributes galore, wherever you look! I really did experience what I did when I played through the original all those years ago. I stand by the review I linked you to. (review by Infinity's End)

2) Cliffhanger (original version), by Digital Mantra - Hardest hack to date for me, brilliant level design, superior tile arrangement with original tiles to make entirely new designs. However, abusing savestates is an understatement in my playthrough! The puzzles are fantastic.

3) Temporus (mini hack), by Grime - short and sweet, but very pretty to look at with interesting physics changes. Take about an hour or 2, may die a few times though.

4) Oxide, by Cyclamen32 - Very interesting, right from the start. An huge pack of missiles at the beginning, lock and load.

5) Ice Metal Uninstall, by Crys - This was a real joy to play. Eye-pleasing, fun and interesting. Also, non-linearity was brilliant.

6) Wet Dreams (extended Version), By Crys - I enjoyed this one quite a lot too. The entrance to Tourian drove me insane.

7) Phazon Hack Version 0.3, by Red Monkey - The most overhauled, finely tuned Super Metroid hack ever. The attention to detail is superb, and EVERYTHING is different. Enemy GFX, place names, even the intro/title screen video.

8) Project Base Version 0.5, by Grime - Colour changes - lots of them. Also physics changes. Fun, interesting points like Phantoon's behaviour and speed, but for me, ultimately too short for someone who's played the original to death. A veteran player will blast through this exceptionally quick. You can jump AND REACH the other side (without walljumping) of the spike pit where wave beam is LOL.

9) Eris 2012 Version, by Digital Mantra - Oh my GOD - and I don't believe in god. Up until this point, I was thoroughly enjoying the overall hack experience, 2 faves were Phazon and Super Zero Mission. Then I play this, and now I can't decide what my favourite is. Eris has everything though, really. Absolutely gorgeous to look at.

10) I'm finally going through Redesign, I've just got supers. I've been putting this off for some time as I heard walljumping is an item you have to collect - walljumping is my ultimate Super Metroid crutch, I NEED it lol. I was happy to find the lack of W/J is short lived, although it's use is compromising in the manouvres I was expecting to do!!


The order was random out of a bunch a had looked at the descriptions for and picked out to go through. 10 on this list is just a coincidence, I have 2 more to go through on my original list.

....And that's all I can say, there's my experience as a long time player of Super, introduced to hacks several months ago. Take from it what you will  :grin:

Promising works I can't wait for are:

Rise, by Grime,

Fear, by MetroidMST

Parasite Echo, by Red Monkey

[Cloud20]

And about Darkholme Hospital? No, I'm just kidding :lol:
Is not the best hack to begin :)

In a order of "remakes" hack to different stuff , I recommand :
- Legacy
- Redesign
- Life
- Pantheon

- Ice Metal
- Oxyde
- Eris
- Super Zero Mission
- Phazon 0.3

[E1SUNZ]

Yep main ones mentioned again will play them :), just the Wet dreams one i never heard lol

[Quietus]

I've experienced wet dreams a few times, and can confirm that each time was good.

[Metaquarius]

I've experienced wet dreams a few times, and can confirm that each time was good.

Best comment in this thread. All of this shameless self-promotion has just become pretty much boring.  :lol:

[E1SUNZ]

I've experienced wet dreams a few times, and can confirm that each time was good.

LOL  :grin: