Baby's first romhack: Zero Mission BREAK

[BlueyLewis]

6/21/2018:  0.06 is out. Mostly to cleanup graphical weirdness I was too lazy to fix, but also made a few minor tweaks to some of the less than satisfactory geometry. And finally removed the Charge Beam boss and place the beam in Kraid.


Hi! I originally downloaded MAGE to remove all the dialogue from Fusion to make the game more playable. After playing around with it I got more interested, and started using it to edit Zero Mission. I've beaten the game a million billion times, and there's always been certain things that kinda irked me, so I used MAGE to make some minor tweaks to some of the more irritating level geometry. One thing led to another, and before long I had edited more than half of the rooms in the game to some extent. At first it was just a hack for my own personal use, but I thought others might like the changes too.

So what is this?
It's a minor romhack of Zero Mission which makes over 100 minor tweaks, and over two dozen major overhauls to make the game even better.

What's with the name?
The other intent behind the hack is to add, among other things, new shortcuts to allow for more sequence breaks (hence, BREAK, besides, what's the point of rom hacking if you don't give it a cool name?), and reduce backtracking, while at the same time preserving the integrity of the original game wherever possible.

So what's different?
Waaaaaay too many things to list here. But here are some selected examples to drum up interest:
[spoiler]Power bombs can be obtained early. You still can't get in to Chozodia early though, I can't be bothered to unwind that messy, event addled area. Instead I placed some barriers around there, so don't bother trying to get in until you're meant to. What purpose are the power bombs for then? Glad you asked! To incentivize early power bombs I added a few new things:
      The bubble shaft in Norfair has a quicker shortcut found with a power bomb
      The power bombs can be used in the "fake floor energy tank" room in Ridley for a big shortcut to the boss
      The power bomb can open a new hidden shaft in Tourian for a shortcut to Mother Brain. This also allows the game to be completed without the Ice Beam.[/spoiler]
[spoiler]The bomb room has been overhauled to remove those pesky bugs. You still need an "exit puzzle" using the bomb, or otherwise you lose the spirit of Metroid. Additionally there is a hidden tunnel with a missile pack in it. The missile pack in the second Charge Beam room has been removed for this accommodation. [/spoiler]

[spoiler]The easternmost tower in Brinstar has some platforms added at the top so if you want to get the Varia Suit early you can wall jump instead of bomb jumping if you so choose. And where could that power bomb door lead?  :yay: [/spoiler]
[spoiler] Equipment can be turned on and off.[/spoiler]
[spoiler]The Landing Site has several new things going on!
       The new blue door on the right leads to a map room.
       The missile door is part of a shinespark puzzle so you can get the power bomb early.
       This puzzle makes it possible to reach the Crateria tunnel early. My solution to this is to just grey out the lower left door until after you come back from Chozodia.
       The upper left section with the power bomb is overhauled. The bomb tank has been moved into the new room in the upper left. That way if you want to get it early it
       doesn't "reappear" after you come back from Chozodia.[/spoiler]
[spoiler]A map has been added to Crateria! As you can see there is also a new kinda large area to the right. Really this belongs further up and right of where it is, but sadly the map can't fit that way.[/spoiler]
[spoiler] Two upgrades have been removed form their original locations and placed in the new Crateria section. These are the "unskippable" missile tank in the western Ridley shaft (room before Ridley map room), and the power bomb tank in the upper Chozodia-Crateria tunnel.[/spoiler]
[spoiler]I've always found Chozodia to be tedious, so I put a new shortcut to speed it up. The shortcut is several screens above the power bomb glass tube.[/spoiler]
[spoiler] Additionally I've always found item cleanup in Chozodia to be EXTREMELY tedious. Normally after you get the gravity suit you have to go all the way back to the ship's bridge to get the power bombs, and then AAAAAALLLLLLLL the way back to the upper ruins to get one power bomb upgrade. Screw that! So instead I switched a few items around. You know the shinespark puzzle right after you get the fully powered suit where you fly over the canyon to get an energy tank? Now that's a power bomb tank. Now you can cleanup the ruins section on your first pass through instead having to make a giant backtracking detour. The energy tank has been moved to a different power bomb tank location.[/spoiler]
[spoiler] All of the work robots and almost all of the "bug food" barriers are gone. They won't be missed. Though you still need the power grip to get into the bubble shaft.[/spoiler]

Like I said, there are many many more changes I made, and I can't possibly list them all here. The download includes the IPS patch, as well as a spoiler list that describes all of the changes I made. Though some of the explanations might be confusing, as it's a lot of "the room where blah happens now does blah blah".

Here also is a video showing off all the Brinstar edits I made. Explanations and timestamps are in the description:
[spoiler]https://youtu.be/pDHT-w6HsvE[/spoiler]

Finally here is a link to the IPS patch/spoiler list.
[spoiler]https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1hDCqRjMEPuH5mIkcwSoBFx-jXhWD-eek?usp=sharing[/spoiler]

I downloaded the patch and applied it to a fresh rom, and it worked, so I think it's good. If anyone checks it out let me know if it's wonky or whatever, and I'll fix it ASAP.
There are several more things I want to do to the game, but will require other skills I don't have yet. I may or may not do these in the future.
1. Edit the title screen to reflect the name change. Metroid Zero Mission BREAK
2. Import a custom sprite for Samus to make her look like Super Metroid, probably using SA-X sprite? Though from my understanding this is far easier said than done
3. Remove Beam Beast, and place Charge Beam in a specific room Happy with the change
4. Place Samus's starting position at the landing site, and rework the path to Brinstar
5. Edit Samus's physics to have some inertia and higher speed. Really feel the weight of her power suit like in Super Metroid Done did it

That's all for now. Thanks for checking it out, enjoy!
EDIT: Fixed some graphical junk and a few other things I overlooked. If you're interested in playing it make sure you're playing the latest version, 0.06, otherwise there are some soft lock possibilities with early power bombs.

EDIT: Made a pretty big update where I fixed some issues and made some biggish changes to Norfair.
Video showing off my "intended" 100% route is here:
[spoiler]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNiYsK-cOAQ

If you played through an earlier version then the big thing I added starts at 52:45. There is some other stuff earlier, but this is the meat and potatoes of this edit.[/spoiler]

[biospark]

5. Edit Samus's physics to have some inertia and higher speed. Really feel the weight of her power suit like in Super Metroid

MAGE has a physics editor.

[raygun]

I made a "smooth landing" patch that may be helpful as it gives a better feeling of inertia. Makes it so samus doesn't stop moving every time she lands on the ground.
Here
I also submitted one for fusion but its still pending approval or something.
(it also makes it so speed boost is maintained if samus jumps while running)
**Edit** the patch uses free space at the end of the rom, so if this patch is applied to a non-fresh rom, it may break it.

[BlueyLewis]

I made a "smooth landing" patch that may be helpful as it gives a better feeling of inertia. Makes it so samus doesn't stop moving every time she lands on the ground.
Here
I also submitted one for fusion but its still pending approval or something.
(it also makes it so speed boost is maintained if samus jumps while running)
**Edit** the patch uses free space at the end of the rom, so if this patch is applied to a non-fresh rom, it may break it.

Hey sweet, I'll check it out. Thanks!  :^_^:

[mccad]

5. Edit Samus's physics to have some inertia and higher speed. Really feel the weight of her power suit like in Super Metroid

MAGE has a physics editor.

To my understanding, the main thing that sets apart SM and GBA physics is that samus accelerates in SM instead of having set movement speeds. I haven't used mage myself but if I had to guess, more advanced physics engine changes would need to be made to mimic SM's physics

[FelixWright]

5. Edit Samus's physics to have some inertia and higher speed. Really feel the weight of her power suit like in Super Metroid

MAGE has a physics editor.

To my understanding, the main thing that sets apart SM and GBA physics is that samus accelerates in SM instead of having set movement speeds. I haven't used mage myself but if I had to guess, more advanced physics engine changes would need to be made to mimic SM's physics

It is a bit of both acceleration and an initial fixed speed.

[MetroidNerd#9001]

I guess I'll contrast the talk of physics and talk about the actual hack. I've played through most of it and it's pretty fun. Though some of the changes feel a little bit underwhelming, others are pretty ridiculous and fun. It's overall a nice update to the game, and I hope to see more updates in the near future. I have a few other things to say though.

This door is completely broken, I like the new shortcut and the continuation of the destroyed Tourian, but this has to be fixed because you are softlocked if you do not get the shinespark.
[spoiler]
You fall into an infinite loop of this room and another room when you go through it
[spoiler][/spoiler][/spoiler]

I think you should add speed booster blocks in the circled areas to let players shinespark across the room for more convenience.
[spoiler][/spoiler]

PLEASE change this block to a shot block. I'm sure I'm not the only one with this problem, but my emulator won't let me run and shoot missiles, so this missile tank is impossible to get. The jump is hard enough on its own so it should be fine to take out the missile block.
[spoiler][/spoiler]

Overall a fun half-hack of Zero Mission. I hope to see more out of it soon.

[Jordan5]

I'm sure I'm not the only one with this problem, but my emulator won't let me run and shoot missiles

Using a keyboard? As you are trying to simultaneously press three buttons, it could be ghosting. I have never had that issue playing on an emulator with a controller.

[BlueyLewis]

I guess I'll contrast the talk of physics and talk about the actual hack. I've played through most of it and it's pretty fun. Though some of the changes feel a little bit underwhelming, others are pretty ridiculous and fun. It's overall a nice update to the game, and I hope to see more updates in the near future. I have a few other things to say though.

Hey thanks for the feedback, and letting me know about the softlock, I'll fix it asap. I'll look at the other bits too.

Edit: New IPS is up. I did a few other things, like cleaned up some other bits in Crateria where early power bombs can cause softlocks. I also changed those blocks in Kraid to speed blocks for you. As for the Ridley shinespark puzzle, sorry but I'm leaving that a missile block for now, as I like the puzzle the way it is. If you're really interested in replaying this again some time let me know and I can make some changes for you.

Also, I think I will continue to edit things in the future. I keep getting ideas, and may especially change Norfair up. The return route in a 100% run leads you through rooms you've already cleared out, and it's kinda tedious. So maybe come back in like a week or two and I may have some more fleshed out rooms down there.

[MetroidNerd#9001]

Using a keyboard? As you are trying to simultaneously press three buttons, it could be ghosting. I have never had that issue playing on an emulator with a controller.

So the thing is, on my old computer, the input limit was a problem with shooting Missiles upward. I was still possible but required some input timing to trick the game. It works perfectly fine on this computer, but it suddenly doesn't let me run and shoot missiles. I don't know how to use a controller on a computer, (especially a GBA) and honestly, I don't want to because keyboard is much easier. Is there any other way around this? I've never understood why ghosting happens, or am I just stuck?

[BlueyLewis]

Using a keyboard? As you are trying to simultaneously press three buttons, it could be ghosting. I have never had that issue playing on an emulator with a controller.

So the thing is, on my old computer, the input limit was a problem with shooting Missiles upward. I was still possible but required some input timing to trick the game. It works perfectly fine on this computer, but it suddenly doesn't let me run and shoot missiles. I don't know how to use a controller on a computer, (especially a GBA) and honestly, I don't want to because keyboard is much easier. Is there any other way around this? I've never understood why ghosting happens, or am I just stuck?

I think any USB controller should work, even like a Playstation controller. You may have to install a driver, which it usually does automatically, but if not you could find them online I'm sure. Then you have to map the keys in your emulator, but it's simple.

[MetroidNerd#9001]

So, I finally completed the hack. I really liked it with all of the convenience changes. My completion stats were:
2:12:14
95%
Just one more thing with cleanup to add...
I think you messed up a door index or two in the entrance to Chozodia from the new Crateria area. The door that normally makes the doors change to their Mother Ship form is not working right and the doors look like the doors from the rest of the game. I'm 99.149% sure that this was not intentional.
[spoiler][/spoiler]
[spoiler][/spoiler]

[BlueyLewis]

So, I finally completed the hack. I really liked it with all of the convenience changes. My completion stats were:
2:12:14
95%
Just one more thing with cleanup to add...
I think you messed up a door index or two in the entrance to Chozodia from the new Crateria area. The door that normally makes the doors change to their Mother Ship form is not working right and the doors look like the doors from the rest of the game. I'm 99.149% sure that this was not intentional.
[spoiler][/spoiler]
[spoiler][/spoiler]

Hey thanks, I didn't even notice that, I'll check it out.  I'm also in the process of making some more changes to lower norfair to make the cleanup route even more convenient. So if you're interested I'll hopefully have that out this weekend.

[Ben Plus!]

I honestly feel like this hack is a little sloppy.  Sure, why not put this MISSILE BLOCK at the end of this MORPH TUNNEL?
Why not block off access to Space Jump? I had to use MAGE once so far to make Space Jump accessible! Sorry, but I just don't like this hack.

[BlueyLewis]

I honestly feel like this hack is a little sloppy.  Sure, why not put this MISSILE BLOCK at the end of this MORPH TUNNEL?
Why not block off access to Space Jump? I had to use MAGE once so far to make Space Jump accessible! Sorry, but I just don't like this hack.

I don't know what you're talking about with regards to the Space Jump. I made no changes to that room or the room before it.

Yeah I went back and check and checked some more and the Space Jump is absolutely not blocked off. I made no changes to that section of Kraid.

Then I thought maybe you meant High Jump, which is a section I DID make substantial changes too. And no, there is nothing blocking you from getting to that either.

Could you please specify what you're talking about? It's entirely possible you're going in from a route I don't know about, which in that case I'd want to fix it.

As for the missile block at the end of a morph tunnel, are you talking about the one in lower left Norfair? Because there is something like that in the vanilla game which I didn't modify.

There is also an instance of this in the Easter Norfair bubble shaft from the vanilla game, which again I left as is.
There is yet another instance of this from the vanilla game in the room before Imago, which I didn't modify either. That one in particular is there for a very good reason.

Edit:
Actually, yes, there is a fourth instance of a missile block at the end of a morph tunnel, and it is in Kraid. However, like the others, this is a remnant from the vanilla game. None of these four instances are there by mistake. The one in Kraid and the one in Ridley are there as a sort of "one-way" block. It's supposed to be like that. The two in Norfair are there so that if for some reason you wanted to get into those shortcuts backwards, you shoot a missile to open them up instead of bomb jumping. So of the four instances of this I know of, none of them are something I designed myself, and all four of them are there because Nintendo knew what they were doing.

Then I was wondering if regards to the Space Jump thing you meant when it's unlocked in the Chozo Ruins. I checked that over and over as well, and there's nothing blocking you from getting through there. I honestly have no idea what the problem you're having is. You did patch a clean rom, didn't you?

[C-Dude]

Looks like a really fun half hack.  Excited to try it.  I especially like your vertical shinespark shortcuts.

One note, based on what I saw in your video, at 3 minutes 49 seconds...
https://youtu.be/pDHT-w6HsvE?t=3m49s

For your "to Norfair" speedbooster tunnel, if you make just the opening and exit have the speed block clip data (two tiles tall, one wide), and you make the rest have air clip data, you'll avoid that graphical weirdness with the lava.  Samus will break through the wall and disappear behind the tiles, and then break out on the other side.

[BlueyLewis]

Looks like a really fun half hack.  Excited to try it.  I especially like your vertical shinespark shortcuts.

One note, based on what I saw in your video, at 3 minutes 49 seconds...
https://youtu.be/pDHT-w6HsvE?t=3m49s

For your "to Norfair" speedbooster tunnel, if you make just the opening and exit have the speed block clip data (two tiles tall, one wide), and you make the rest have air clip data, you'll avoid that graphical weirdness with the lava.  Samus will break through the wall and disappear behind the tiles, and then break out on the other side.

Heya, thank you. When I was building this a few months ago I got burnt out on testing after the billionth playthrough. I released it knowing the graphics looked weird in some places, but told myself "screw it, the game is working the way I want it, so I'll fix the graphics later when I can stand to look at the game again." So that's just me being lazy.  :blush:

I'll be going back and polishing this off hopefully pretty soon.
Did it. Quite happy with the project now, though please let me know if there are any glaring issues I overlooked.