Top Hacks 2009

[Zhs2]

After quite a few days worth of work (and quite a few more worth of laziness,) the Top Hacks review is finally up.

http://metroidconstruction.com/Top09/

Unfortunately, all of the lucky winners are going to have to wait until Bloods finishes the entire set of trophies before they get passed out, so please bug him. Happy hacking, Metroid Construction!

[Lunaria]

-Most Anticipated-
Was a let down for me. While I'm quite sure my hack would not have won it, it would still have been cool round it down to one. :<

I would also like to go out and say that I hope this event will be better organized next year and not as confusing as it was this year.

The idea of nomination is great and it should be set up that you can nominate any hack for anything as long as you give a good reason for why. And as long as someone have nominated it then it should be up for voting in the later part.
I just felt that everything was done in such a confusing manner. The voting would have been better of on the forums IMO. (But still hiding what everyone have been voting on.)

Another cool thing would be if someone on staff (or someone request by staff) wrote a new description for the winning entry in every category rather then reusing what someone said in the nomination part of the whole thing.

Also:

From what hack is the last screenshot from?

It looks like it uses graphics I made but never released you see. :/

[squishy_ichigo]

I like how http://metroidconstruction.com/Top09/top09-2.php has spaces between paragraphs, yet you took mine out. <_<; nvm... since there was more than one winner. ^-^;

Also, for those that are curious: Zeke heavily edited one of my reviews, so I will post both of them here for comparison! :D

[spoiler=Best Challenge: Original Text]What is challenge?

This can mean many things in the world of Super Metroid hacking.  In the past it has meant spikes, hidden paths with no clear indication, mastery of hard to pull of techniques, acid pits, and insane boss fights with little gear.

Everyone has their own opinions on the aforementioned difficulties, and many hacks have been made for the sole reason of cruel and unusual punishment of our fingers, but when does all of this become to much? When we become frustrated with a game, regardless of its genre, its easy to put it off to the side for a time, and play something else.  Sometimes we never go back and finish these games.

Difficulty is truly a fun wrecker at times, but when you finally overcome that obstacle, there is no greater feeling in the world.

Super Metroid: Eris is not an easy game, in fact, its a rather difficult game.  But this game takes us back to the roots of what a Metroid game's difficulty is really about.  Eris does not rely of death traps made of spikes and acid, nor does it take moves like mockballing, ibj, and short charging into account.  Eris is all about tough opponents and exploration.

A true and tried strategy of Metroid fans is to just ignore and run past most enemies that pop up.  They usually do little damage to the powerhouse  that is Samus Aran, and usually take more time than most want to waste on them.  But this ideal does not work in Eris.  Try and damage boost your away around Eris and you'll be in a world of hurt.  No, your best bet is to either kill them, or time your dodges carefully, the latter of which becomes an important strategy later in the game.  But slaying these beast is no cake walk either.  Samus' power beam does little to stay off the onslaught of creatures that await you.  And this bring up the grand importance of finding more and more upgrades.

As you explore the depths of this planet, you will see more and more paths open up to you, and its your duty of scan all of them for items.  But exploration is a tough task on its own.  With so many paths to explore it can be hard to know which way to go next, which path was opened thanks to that new shiny upgrade you just collected.  Searching all of the possible paths can be tiresome, but a lot of the time, you will find useful attachments along the way that will up your ammo counts.

For many these difficulties can be enough to make them stop for a time.  But Eris' bountiful beauty and unique gameplay can hopefully bring them back.  To any of you out there that haven't beaten Eris, I wish you luck.  Your gonna need it![/spoiler]

[spoiler=Best Overall: Original Text]Super Metroid: Eris, the very definition of epic.  This hack is truly a coalition of intense proportions.

With Eris, Digital Mantra created a diverse alien world, filled with unique color schemes, bountiful wild life, and riddled with ruins of a civilization long past.  Its easy to get lost in the aesthetics of this world, but that is not all that this game brought to the table.  Nay, this hack brought us back to the roots of what Metroid is really all about. Exploration.

From the very beginning, you are giving a large canvas to paint your progress on, with multiple paths to explore, but only one that takes you forward.  This allowed you to get a grip of the landscape before you jumped headfirst into the adventures that awaited you.  From that point on, you were sent on a roller coaster of possibilities.

Where do I go next?
I haven't looked over there yet!
I'm lost!
This path wasn't opened to me before!

This non-linear exploration may have been frustrating at times, but due to the linearity of the upgrade route, it became less and less of a problem as time went on.  Exploration became a very large chunk of challenge for many that explored the depths of this world, but it certainly wasn't the only challenge that awaited them.

The obstacles that faced you were much more formidable!  Samus did little to resist these beings with her mere power beam, and she had to rely on the collection of much more devastating gear.  Without it, the beasts of this diverse planet would easily overpower her, making her have to move and act more strategically then missions of the past.  Getting injured was no laughing matter this time around.  But as you assimilated more and more you became a powerhouse!  But even this powerhouse had a hard time with the intense ferocity of the stronger creatures that guarded the labyrinths beneath the surface.  Each boss was stronger then the last, forcing you to either gather more power, or fight more carefully.

As you fought your way through this alien world, you learned the secrets of its lost generations, and became one with the powers of the Chozo warriors.

Between the grand tapestries that were woven, the caverns to explore, and the challenges that awaited you in them, this hack had everything that a true Metroid fan wants.[/spoiler]

:awesome2.0:



And congratulations to all the winners!  Hopefully we will have those trophies for you soon! ^-^

[MetroidMst]

Most anticipated was going to be a hard one to pick, so I don't mind the outcome so much.

I do think some improvements can be made though. I know you've got the TOP HACKS banner, but it wouldn't hurt to put a few screens of the hacks on the pages where they won. I think the writing could have been a bit better. And next year, I think "best exploration" should be a category since these are Metroid games we're talking about here. (Although Eris would've undoubtedly took that home too this year.)

All in all, quite good and fun. If Impulsion, Aegis, Predator, DSO's two new hacks, any new Grand Prix, Super Metroid World, Insanity, GFKennon's hack, Ice Metal, Abstract, and any other surprises that happen to appear... We are going to have a huge fight for votes between these hacks. Sounds like fun.

[RealRed]

Also:
[img]
From what hack is the last screenshot from?

It looks like it uses graphics I made but never released you see. :/

1. You released this a while back when you quit ice metal.

2. You also released wet dream, which was nominated for most creative gameplay. That's why that pic is in there.

[Zhs2]

I would also like to go out and say that I hope this event will be better organized next year and not as confusing as it was this year.

YES

I can only hope from the bottom-most depths of my heart that more people will attempt to aid me in this endeavour. It was our first year doing it; the first time always has the biggest chance of being awkward. :/

The idea of nomination is great and it should be set up that you can nominate any hack for anything as long as you give a good reason for why. And as long as someone have nominated it then it should be up for voting in the later part.

The first sentence was the whole idea of nomination. We can't possibly keep track of all of the possible hacks released this year. Watch as someone forgets to put up SM Phazon on the list for '10. xD

The reason we cut out a few hacks would be because we didn't want the vote to include all of the nominees... We're trying to round it down to a few potential candidates, no? If it was my choice, I would have cut out the vote entirely and just left the nominations to determine the winner since it was clear cut who would be the victors before the vote actually happened... Do you all think the vote was a good idea?

I just felt that everything was done in such a confusing manner. The voting would have been better of on the forums IMO. (But still hiding what everyone have been voting on.)

See, the problem we had with this is making 5 different topics for people to vote in. >_>

Another cool thing would be if someone on staff (or someone request by staff) wrote a new description for the winning entry in every category rather then reusing what someone said in the nomination part of the whole thing.

wat

[Zhs2]

I know you've got the TOP HACKS banner, but it wouldn't hurt to put a few screens of the hacks on the pages where they won.

I had this exact same idea, but I couldn't be bothered to associate screenshots to them all in time since I was the one who was going to have to take said screenshots, and it was a huge pain to get the eight I did for the banner. I hope I can get some help on this front in the future... >_>

Another idea I had was to link to the hacks in question so that they could be played or, at the very least, read up upon and THEN a download link. ;)

I think the writing could have been a bit better.

;(

[personitis]

And next year, I think "best exploration" should be a category since these are Metroid games we're talking about here.

Agreed.

The first time for something like this (especially considering the time frame we set this in) made things hard I think. I'd say put up nominations at the beginning of December and then, have votes last week of December, and then announce New Years day/day after. As for the idea of narrowing hacks down to possible contestants, that doesn't sound too fair. Just list all the released hacks in 2010 (and if that's too hard when the time comes start making a list). Also something to consider: what about the hacks that were released before '09? Should we have a category for best hack ever?

TL;DR If we don't plan early, we're going to have the same crappy decent voting as this year.

[Zhs2]

what about the hacks that were released before '09?

I was quite thinking about a "10 years of Metroid hacking," to say the least. However, it would be quite a large project, and we wouldn't necessarily need the people's eye to accomplish something like that...

Should we have a category for best hack ever?

Nah. Too many flamewars.

TL;DR If we don't plan early, we're going to have the same crappy decent voting as this year.

Leave it to us to do things strictly last minute! I agree, though. If only we didn't think of this so late this year... Oh well.

[Lunaria]

The reason we cut out a few hacks would be because we didn't want the vote to include all of the nominees... We're trying to round it down to a few potential candidates, no? If it was my choice, I would have cut out the vote entirely and just left the nominations to determine the winner since it was clear cut who would be the victors before the vote actually happened... Do you all think the vote was a good idea?

So staff team gets to pick the nominees they see have the most/etc?

Sure I can see why you would want to do that but I prefer it to run by voting and everyone can vote for the one that they think fits the most. After all, this is supposed to be a community event, right?

See, the problem we had with this is making 5 different topics for people to vote in. >_>

Problem is that anyone can vote on the site (kinda) so it's very easy to cheat. (Not that I think anyone did so)
You have to be logged in to vote so that removes such problems right away... I mean, sure there is always a way, but still.

Plus it would have been so much easier (at least if you ask me) to have it on the forums. ^o^

Another cool thing would be if someone on staff (or someone request by staff) wrote a new description for the winning entry in every category rather then reusing what someone said in the nomination part of the whole thing.

wat

Reading the reasons why the hacks that did win won was kinda like reading what you had read before and took away from the awesomeness level. Some new snazzy writing would have been cool!

[MetroidMst]

I hope I can get some help on this front in the future... >_>

I think I may be able to help on a few of those.

I think the writing could have been a bit better.

;(

Tough critic I guess.

[Zhs2]

Reading the reasons why the hacks that did win won was kinda like reading what you had read before and took away from the awesomeness level. Some new snazzy writing would have been cool!

But... we did write new articles for the hacks themselves. Or do you mean that the articles were basically a rehash of what Squish and DSO and DMan said in their nominations? In that case, you may very well just be correct. If it was similar in mine, that was completely unintentional. My articles were straight off of the top of my head and weren't in any way influenced by the nominations topic ):

I blame not having enough people to write. xD