Nominations for Top Hacks 2009

[Zhs2]

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! Welcome one and all to the Nomination Topic for Top Hacks 2009! We'll be accepting several nominations for best hacks based on the community's opinions for a few special categories, as well as the best hack overall. The categories are catered to honourable mention of each of the brilliant aspects of Metroid Hacking, and are as follows:

• Best Aesthetics - The one hack that is so beautiful to look at it makes you cry
• Most Creative Gameplay - The one hack that makes use of the most creative concept ever implemented to enhance gameplay in some form
• Best Quick Play - The one hack that is satisfying and short at the same time
• Best Challenge - The one hack that plays difficult time and time again, and yet keeps you coming back for more
• Most Anticipated - The one Work In Progress that makes you squee your pants when you watch the trailers
• Worst Hack (as needed!) - The one hack that just really stank and didn't do much else
• Best Overall - The one hack that outshines all of the others... which will it be?

We ask that you make only one post in this topic, listing which hacks you think are the best. Additionally, you may nominate a hack for one of the specialty categories to be considered as well. Nominees can come from any of the Metroid game hack genres, be it Metroid, Super, or fangame alike! We're not picky. :^_^: We ask that you please try and play all of the nominated hacks at least a little bit so your vote is backed by experience and not just one of the few you've played. This goes mainly without saying, but it's a good point to make!

There will be no official grading or voting. Instead, we will patiently listen to each and every nomination list in this topic, and then put together the official list to be hosted on Metroid Construction's main site along with a short article for each one and links to the hacks in question. The winners of the Top Hacks of the Year contest will also receive a small icon on their badge list on the forums as well as a medium-sized one in their collection for use elsewhere.

Another thing has been brought up thusly: Please don't bring under consideration WIP hacks for the above categories, or said nominations will just be ignored. We will, however, put it under consideration for the "Most Anticipated" category, one I forgot to officially throw up earlier. :P

One more thing: please don't double post or discuss in this topic! Use Talk of the Day instead to discuss votes and the like, or make a new topic in Off-Topic for discussing this topic. We don't care much on that point. :3

And with that, vote away! We got started with this a little late this year, so we will be accepting nominations until January 10th. All hacks that are released this December will still count for nomination!

A (hardly complete, I know I'm missing some) list of the hacks that have been released for 2009 follows. Note that this list will include demos and betas, if they have working patch links. (If anyone wants to add something noteworthy to this list that I forgot, do so with a good nomination, willya? :razz:)


Metroid:
- Metroid: Mission One
- Metroid Simplified

Super Metroid:

- Enigma (Patch Link)
- Grand Prix (Patch Link)
- Grand Prix 2
- Lunar Pull (Patch Link)
- Ice (Patch Link)
- Sadiztyk's Music Hack
- Samus Aran Anti-Virus
- Speed Booster Practice (Patch Link)
- Super Metroid Blitz
- Super Metroid: Celibris (Patch Link)
- Super Metroid: Challenge (Patch Link)
- Super Metroid: Eris
- Super Metroid: Exia
- Super Metroid: Fear
- Super Metroid: Hard Mode
- Super Metroid: Project Base
- Super Metroid: Remake (Patch Link)
- Super Metroid: Second Quest (Patch Link)
- Super Metroid: Stardust (Patch Link)
- Super Metroid: Volta
- TAS Practice (Patch Link)
- Ultimate Avenger's Minis (Hack) (Hack 2) (Torture)
- Vanilla +PLUS
- Wet Dream
- Wet Dream: Extended Edition

Misc. Hacks and Fangames:
- Metroid Petroid
- Pactroid

[Malpercio]

i point you into the M1 section of the forums, and nominate my hack therein for worst hack
also, i nominate SM:Redesign for best challenge

now, i once again leave to enrich my knowledge of what these hacks are like.

[Silver Skree]

Eris for best aesthetics.

[squishy_ichigo]

Best Aesthetics: Project Base
Most Creative Gameplay: Wet Dream (not the extended one, I like the first one ALOT more...)
Best Quick Play: Exia
Best Challenge: Eris
Worst Hack: Vanilla +PLUS (WTF is that shit, physics suck, I hate it... where are the new palettes and physics we were promised, I'm gonna kick someone's ASS!)
Best Overall: Eris
Most Anticipated: Insanity (sorry other kiddies, there are a bunch of good hacks on the back burners... but COME ON!)

edit: apparently I missed the Best Challenge one... <_<;

[Crashtour99]

* Best Aesthetics - Grime's Project Base.  Enough said.

* Most Creative Gameplay - Well, I'm not sure it really qualifies as a "new" hack, but the first time I played it was this year, so I'll have to nominate Redesigned.  Only thing I could never figure out with that one was the IBJ.

* Best Quick Play - Since you mentioned fangames were allowed, I would have to nominate Metroid Confrontation (DoctorM64's Demo for AM2R).

* Most Anticipated - Also by DoctorM64, his AM2R project.

* Worst Hack (as needed!) - Out of the hacks that I've played...  Eris, simply because it was too fucking hard to be enjoyable at all.  Visually it was awesome, but play-wise not so much.

* Best Overall - Eris.  Yes, as you can tell, I have mixed feelings about it.  LOL  Aside from the "I'll kill you in 2 hits" enemies and impossibly hidden items (thank god that people made maps), I thought it was quite excellent.

[FullOfFail]

Best Aesthetics - Predator (I think?)(Black Falcon's Hack) - Simply magnificent detail-wise. Just look at it!!! I don't care if it's released or not..it's got my vote...

Most Creative Gameplay - Grand Prix 2 - Dude... it's a freakin racing game. Doesnt get much more thinking out of the box then that.

Best Quick Play - Grand Prix 2 - ^

Most Anticipated - Aegis - I've been waiting for this one to come out forever! Honestly there's many WIP hacks that I could've placed here. I just decided to go with the one I've been waiting on the longest.

Best Challenge - Eris - Since I used savestates it wasnt that bad, but if I didn't it would've definitely been challenging... especially getting that damn E-Tank from those fleas... maybe I was underpowered, but it took me forever to get that.

Worst Hack - Untitled (FullOfFail's Hack) - Kill it with fire.

Best Overall - Eris - I don't need to explain myself here.

[Scyzer]

I agree with FoF. Whatever Black Falcons hack is gonna be called, it just blows everything else out of the water. Definitely most aniticipated for me =)

Best Quick play would probably be Grand Pirx for me, but I haven't played Grand Prix 2 yet, so that's on my to-do list.

[devonodev]

Wow. I haven't played many new hacks this year.
However, my vote for creative gameplay, and quick play, would go to Grand Prix.  I haven't played Grand Prix 2 yet, so I can't really vote for that.

[Lunaria]

Best Aesthetics - Project Base
It has some visual aspects that are just too awesome to look pass. Grime and DMan both put in a lot of time on making their hacks detailed and making them look alien. But I still have to give it to grime as his looks awesome and I'm not a big fan on how eris handles palette and the like.

Most Creative Gameplay - Wet Dreams (Version does not matter)
This was a though one as I really did not want to put my own hack here. I'm sure a few will vote for the Grand Prix hacks. But to be honest, running on a timer sequence is not new in metroid. On top of that, a hack like these where made way, WAY before. (I don't recall the hacks name but the maker had a number name, but if you want to know more, ask EP, he should know.) So I did not find those to be that creative at this point. (But they sure as hell are fun to play!) But looking at other hacks, it was hard too find one that was to creative. Wet Dreams changes up the gameplay a lot (for the better or the worse is up to the player) and it gives something new that players have not tried before. (Granted, I have made and played hacks like this since I was done with Ice, but that's beside the point...)

Best Quick Play - Grand Prix 1 or 2
These hacks are perfect example of quick play syndrome. You play it, beat it fast. Come back to it again and again as it's fun and try to beat yourself. To be honest, I never went back to them again after beating them. But this is not due to them being bad, I just don't personally like the gameplay very much. But I can still tell that they are well designed! And hey, a lot of people like them, so that just further proves it!

Best Challenge - Exia (I did not see this category in Zhs2s post but everyone is voting in it.)
I would have put Eris, but best challenge is something positive, and not something negative. As it does not nessicerly mean it's the hardest hack, it just got a good challenge for the player. Eris is damn fucking hard. In fact, it's too freaking hard. The lack of offering a easy mode for players that likes to take it a bit more easy would not have hurt at all. It's too hard in the case that it's not enjoyable anymore. And that's not a good challenge, it's a pain in the ass. If it had a easy mode, I would have played that, and most likely enjoyed it more, and sure as hell put it in this category.
Exia, on the other hand is great in the challange aspect for me. I love the grappling beam and this hack is full of puzzles releated to it! It's a bit unforgiving (and that's what gives it the challenge I guess.) But it also mixed it up with some of the best morphball puzzles I have seen in a SM hack!

Most Anticipated - Aegies and Volta (tied for me. :fukken:)
I'm looking forward to them both so damn much. Though, in both cases, I'm not holding my hopes up for any release. Anyhow! Both of them appeals to me due to my soft spot for exploration based hacks! Visually Aegies got some awesome shit... and some really "meh" stuff. On Voltas end, everything looks great. Nothing awesome, nothing bad. But then again, you can't judge a hack on visuals alone. But I'm looking forward to both of them due to the gameplay they are said to offer!

Worst Hack - Ice.
While I'm not sure why this one is even up for voting (I guess due to the "bug fixed" version I did put on M2K2) as it was released years back, but I'm sure as hell voting for it. As it's without doubt the worst thing on that list.

Best Overall - Derp de derp
I will fill this one later once I figure something out!

Most Creative Gameplay: Wet Dream (not the extended one, I like the first one ALOT more...)

<_<
>_>
:\____/OMNOMNOMed

as worst hack I nominate everything that was stolen by Samus-Aran (nothing personal, Crys)

Don't mention it! You have a good point at least! :P

[RT-55J]

I don't play very many hacks, but I might as well vote.

• Best Aesthetics - Eris
• Most Creative Gameplay - AngryFireChozo
• Best Quick Play - dunno... Exia?
• Most Anticipated - Insanity
• Worst Hack - dunno
• Best Overall - Eris

[MetroidMst]

Best Aesthetics: Eris.

Most Creative Gameplay: AngryFireChozo. The only real hack that I think has ever really changed the gameplay dramatically with the gravity. Did I hate the gravity? Definitely yes. Was it creative Metroid gameplay? Definitely yes.

Best Quick Play: Super Metroid Grand Prix 2. I like having this hack, I can just pick it up and beat it in under ten minutes without sweating, and I still want to improve my time.

Worst Hack: I refuse to nominate for this category because all the hacks I have played don't fit this at all.

Most Anticipated: Super Metroid Impulsion.

Best Overall: Eris. This is actually my weakest pick. I don't think it would've made best overall if some other of the "major" full hacks had made it out sooner. Eris is definitely a great hack, but in the grand scheme of Metroid hacks, I don't think it was innovative enough to really be one of the top teir hacks of all time. Aesthetically it blows most out of the water, and I found the challange to be near perfect, but it didn't do anything gameplay wise that made me say wow. It was simply a fun hack. I think in the near future hacks will be much more epic and groundbreaking than the ones of this year.

[paradigm0910]

    * Best Aesthetics - Eris: The palettes were pretty and the way things were put together was excellent. Plus, blue is my favorite color.
    * Most Creative Gameplay - Exia: The way things were used made it a very unique experience.
    * Best Quick Play - Exia: It's short and a lot of fun, enough said.
    * Best Challenge - Exia: It's borderline painful if you're running through it quickly without save states.
    * Most Anticipated - Bounty on Rhizon: No one has seen any level design so far (as far as I know), but Crash definitely has an eye for detail, so I believe that he can do level design as well as sprite editing. Aegis comes in a very close second with Jathys' Trilogy in third.
    * Worst Hack (as needed!) - Didn't play any bad ones long enough to remember them.
    * Best Overall - Eris: Felt like a new game, not a rehash. I don't know about anyone else, but for a very large portion of the game, the way I played it was very different from the way I played the original. It's also a pretty game, difficult, but most importantly, fair.

[GF_Kennon]

So, I shall cast my vote.

   * Best Aesthetics - Eris: Beauty leaked from this game like a charm
   * Most Creative Gameplay - Grand Prix(1): Do I have to say more?
   * Best Quick Play - Grand Prix(1): Wheeeeeeeeee
   * Best Challenge - Eris: Damn this was a challenge to me
   * Most Anticipated - Singularity: Jathys you get this bugger out now YOU OWE ME SOME SINGULARITY BACK IN SEPTEMBER ASDF :FURY:
   * Worst Hack (as needed!) - Ice Brain: you know why :<!>: <-- love this
   * Best Overall - Eris: loved it to bits

[DSO]

Best Aesthetics: Eris
Despite using the same old tilesets (and Grime), Eris created a whole new world and set a new standard to aim for. Just watch the preview vids again. How do you compete with that? Well, other than being Grime or Black Falcon or as some tell me... me. However, the true creative genius whose amazing work I get to see unfold firsthand, who I honestly think can surpass us all... Well, he deserves an honorary mention.
Honorary mention for this category: Super Metroid Fear demo (I'm only basing this off what's in the demo, too. Feel good, MM.)

Most Creative Gameplay: Angry Fire Project Base?
There's no rule stating I can't split a vote between two hacks. Project Base gets a mention because it has the better changes, at least in the sense that it's more fun to play. However, AngryFireChozo actually has a world designed around using and abusing its physics. As for Project Base... well, these two hacks do have a negative I don't like, and it's that they make walljumping pretty much useless or unnecessarily difficult. This hardly affects AngryFireChozo as you can just rise up anywhere you want. Project Base? If you want to do something difficult involving walljumping, you're pretty much going to give up. It took me ten minutes of trying to get out from Bomb Torizo's path on the left side. That is not fun, whereas things like that are some of the more fun things to do in the original.

Also, AngryFireChozo pioneered the "Land from running, keep momentum" change which started the physics change craze. So, I wonder, if there had been no AngryFireChozo, would there be no Project Base?

Best Quick Play: Stardust
I'm not talking about playing a hack from start to finish quickly, I'm talking about what's the most fun to spend a little time on. Stardust feels much like Volta to me, only without the custom graphics awesomeness. It's just fun to play, for any length of time.
Honorary mention for this category: Once again, Super Metroid Fear demo.

Best Challenge: Eris
There are a few moments where the difficultly in finding how to progress seemed too high for me. I can see why people are complaining about enemies. Maybe it's just because I've been hacking for so long, but I know how enemies move and how to avoid them. Thus, I actually enjoyed a hack where that was the point. Forget heat runs and forced damage, this is the way hacks should actually be difficult.

Most Anticipated: Aegis
Wow, I could throw in ten hacks here easy. Why does Aegis win? Because Aegis is win, and also because like Eris I have a little bit of a part involved in the making of it... well, at least I will when I get around to finish the coding project like I awfully should've by now. You know, you guys should keep sending me messages telling me to get to work. Death threats would probably help me work through the boredom.
Honorary Mentions for this category (in no order): Fear, Black Falcon's hack, Impulsion, Grime stuff, Rainbow City, Insanity, Singularity, Trio, Return to SR388, Revolution Z, other cool looking stuff from people such as Webber1900. Also my own hack which I don't believe I have named publicly yet. The future is bright.

Worst Hack: Not applicable.

Best Overall: Eris
Seriously, nothing else this year beats Eris. The only real contenders I see would be Stardust and AngryFireChozo, I personally don't see my own work in that good of a light because I know I'm capable of doing much better. (AngryFireChozo's design is basically 95% skeletal imo). Stardust is fun but lacks the wow factor. That leaves us with Eris as the clear winner here.

[Digital_Mantra]

Best Aesthetics:
I'll have to go with my own, Eris. I played some Project Base and yeah, it's beautiful. But it's only layer 2. His palettes are better than mine too. However under the category of best aesthetics, that doesn't just call for glamor. I truly feel that I created some interesting concepts and area themes. Not bragging or anything. To be honest, Eris is NOTHING after 2009. Everyone has upped their game and the best is on it's way for 2010. I've already seen previews/trailers that look more impressive than Eris. 2010 will be a much harder year to judge in contest. If Project Base finishes Beta and get's released before 09 is up, that would be my honorable mention. I was really blown away yesterday playing it.

Most Creative Gameplay:
AngryFireChozo. This was creative in more than one way. He made an entire world to revolve around the bizarre glitch he'd created, and his landscapes were also creative to make the physics more accessible. Not many other hacks this year that used this kind of intuition. If Up or some other conceptual hack designed to be creative for it's theme were made in 09, I might have nominated them. However AFC was creative start to finish, it simply had to be due to the physics.

Best Quick Play:
Stardust. I'm also placing best replay value into the quick play. Quick play to me should be best mini-hack or something. Either way, Stardust is the one hack in my collection I have no second thoughts to open. I'll play it start to finish on a weekly basis if I'm bored. It's a well rounded re-playable hack.

Best Challenge:
Eris. I will brag on this one a bit. I really did encompass Eris to have a challenge seldom used in hacks. It pissed off most people, but others really liked it. Exploring with caution. Not from lava pits or spiked walls, but enemies. Why the hell shouldn't a hostile alien be harmful the second you land on a new planet totally naked without upgrades. After a few etanks it becomes more bearable. During the development of Eris, more specifically my dry spells, I was playing old games from the early to mid 90s. Namely King's Field. An old fps rpg where the entire world is your oyster but going to far isn't exactly the goal. You needed to grind. Find better items, gain levels. With Eris, it was upgrades and etanks.

Most Anticipated:
Black Falcons hack. I would have said Aegis but after seeing Blacks preview of that ancient brinfair norstar area.. almost fell out of my seat.

Worst Hack:
Anything from that japanese hacker, his glitchy unplaytested cut and paste hacks made in what seems weeks or months at most. I don't know if paddle or seabed was 09, but yeah, anything from him. I'm sure no member here wants a trophy for worst hack, so my finger points outside our community. If I had to pick from our gang, I don't think I could. I've enjoyed pretty much all of them this year. I wish Legacy was made in 09 just so I could nominate it for this.

Best Overall:
Eris. Think of my vote not as the guy that made it, but someone who played it and thought it was the best of 09. Like I said earlier, it's not nearly as good as what's coming next year.

[Parabox]

Well, since I've caught up with alot of wonderfull hacks, I finish my post.

Best Aestethics:
Not sure if this actually is a 2009 release, shove a super shotgun in my face if it isn't:
Metroid Grime - Temporus' latest beta! It looked awesome! Especially when looking into it with SMILE!

Most Creative Gameplay:
This is most definately an '09-er; Metroid Grime - Project Base! This was a very productive year for Grime and it certainly pays off. Seeing Super Metroid being tweaked into sweetness by the Hex master produced very awesome gameplay. It took all the Super Metroidy goodness and buildeth upon that quite some steps to gameplay heaven.
Best Quick Play:
You're gonna hate me for this one (or not); Super Metroid - Grand Prix 2! Still love to play it when I'm bored of most of the rest of the boredomfillers.

Best Challenge:
Super Metroid - Eris! By just putting the difficulty where it belongs this hack is a great challenge!

Most Anticipated:
This is a real tough moofie! I'm really looking forward to alot of hacks; Jathys' Alliance Trilogy, Acheron's Aegis, Black Falcon's Predator, Grime's Temporus (non beta), Bloodsonic's Revolution Ex 2, Squishy Ichigo's Procrasination Train of Side^X-Projects, and many, many more! As I am a pretty big cheat when it comes to gaming, I sometimes wander a bit through hacks to look for pathways, items and the likes. As I scanned Temporus for the last item I needed, Speed Booster, I found so much awesome beta! It felt like spying on Da Vinci painting the Mona Lisa and spying on Michelangelo making the David at the same time so I warn you not to do it! Overall, I'd say Temporus.

Best Overal:
Eris. That is all.

[Nu Zalem]

Alright, time for me to post....this will be tough.

Best Aesthetics: My vote easily goes to Eris here. There's no questioning DMantra's ability to turn old tried and true (and sometimes boring to look at Super Metroid tiles) into something magnificent. I think everyone eho has played Eris can agree that it's beautiful...no beautiful doesn't even describe it. If Eris didn't exist then Grime's Temporus would've taken my vote.

Most Creative Gameplay: This one is split Grime's Project Base. I was always, ALWAYS discouraged about how slow Samus falls, walljumps, etc until I started rom hacking myself and thanks to me becoming acquainted with Drewseph (which led to me receiving some notes about how to make Samus fall faster in 2007). Grime's Project Base pleases me immensly by creating physics that not only speed things up but also once again challenges players to adapt to said physics and adaptability is important in my opinion...not just with gaming but with life itself.

Best Challenge: Eris. Man those underwater suitless rooms annoyed the shit out of me to no end...grr. I found Angry Fire Chozo quite difficult in some areas too (like avoiding Metroids) but I found Eris more difficult overall.

Worst Hack: Hard to say anything I've played this year is utter garbage. I'll go with DMantra and also say that Seabed is pretty wack all around...avoid it if possible.

Most Anticipated: *Whistles*...MAN what a selection to choose from. We have Black Falcon's hack (whatever he decides to call it), Aegis (c'mon Acheron, how long are you going to keep us waiting?). I'm also looking forward to Crys' Ice Metal (which I think will be a nice treat), Bloodsonic's Z, GF-Kennon's hack, that's all I can think of right now. I think my true vote goes to DoctorM64's AM2R fangame. I've been following that fangame since it's inception and I definitely am looking forward to playing that. I would probably pick MSR388 but I haven't heard anything from those dudes in about a year. AM2R takes the vote.

Best Quick Play: Acheron's Exia (I'm surprised no one else besides Squishy Ichigo nominated Exia for anything). Exia is nominated thanks to how creative Acheron got with his puzzles. I can't count how many times I had to retry this or that, but it was still fun and engaging. The hack isn't very long at all, just a few rooms but you'll be surprised to see what puzzles await you. I plan to play this again eventually.

[Zhs2]

Bump. The voting for this event is to be located at http://metroidconstruction.com/TopHacks.php. Vote your hack to victory today, because voting closes at midnight tonight!