General Hack Ideas

[snarfblam]

Until it's a hack it's an idea.

[personitis]

No one around here is going to do the bulk of the work for your idea. Everyone has their own agendas.
Your idea(s) is not tangible or physical; especially not until it exists in some playable (and preferably completable) form. Expecting to lay claim to it is silly.
Adding onto the above, your idea is also 99.9% likely to not be original.
Ideas are cheap, time is not. Putting that in perspective: try telling someone to paint you a detailed picture based off of an image you perceive entirely inside your head and having it look exactly like you imagined.

Yes, I'm tired of seeing ideas laid out as if others will act on them (maybe that's why those threads were merged into the ideas thread, hmm...).
Yes, my day has been less than stellar. Don't let that affect you, but keep it real folks. Remember that you aren't dealing with a singular artistic medium when you decide to do some game design.

[Suphacker_Temmie]

THank you, evreybody, I am thinking of having a general team to work on it.

Coder
Assitant Coders
Sprite Designer
Music Editor
Map Designer

For now, that is all.

[dewhi100]

Alternatively:

Zebes, SR388, and Phaaze, are all destroyed.
Phazon, Metroids, and the X Parasite, are all extinct.
There remains only one problem.

Samus herself.

The sole witness to and cause of this destruction, Samus is now considered a threat by the GF due to her combat strength and knowledge of GF secrets (cover-ups of the events on the destroyed planets, metroid breeding experiments on the Bottle Ship, Ceres, BSL, etc.)

It could take place from Samus' perspective (losing her gear in an assassination attempt, and rebuilding her arsenal as bounty hunters hound her across the galaxy) or from a GF agent's/bounty hunter's perspective (split between collecting/studying/integrating Samus' power-ups, and tracking Samus herself before the inevitable conflict).

If only we all had access to an unlimited labor force that would perfectly execute our creative visions.

[Kazuto]

^Not to be a Debbie Downer, but everybody sure is all about the idea of the Federation hunting Samus.

Back in the day, I recall all of the fangame demos that came about where, the storyline revolved around Samus running from the Federation, following the events of
[spoiler]Metroid Fusion. It was such a popular idea, but I'm really just baffled that so many people thought it would go that way. Looking back on the actual outro text of Fusion, Samus talks about how the Federation will hold tribunals regarding whether her actions of crashing the B.S.L. into SR-388 were warranted for the situation. This is already suggesting they're not "hunting" her; she's gonna go to trial. Furthermore, she mentions that she's angered at the idea that they're questioning her reasoning, to which Adam consoles her by saying, "One of them will understand." This goes against the "being hunted down" idea, as well. Somebody from the Federation is going to agree that she was right in her actions.

This is the point where I think a new game could come in. Most of the Federation believing Samus was wrong, and wanting to revoke her license as a bounty hunter, except for one higher-ranking member who believes that the worth of the B.S.L. was less than the threat of the X to the universe (indeed, seeing the X AS a threat, as Samus did). How do we resolve this dispute between Federation members? Prove Samus' worth.

Task her with going to the remnants of SR-388 (which, I think the planet actually survived the collision from the B.S.L.) and exterminating the X on the planet. Her more powerful equipment would have been revoked pending a verdict, which nicely takes care of landing her on the planet without her being fully-powered up.

She could encounter all sorts of X-mutations of the creatures found in Metroid II, and perhaps some of the SA-X even survived from Fusion... Either way, it'd be a way for them to make a game that takes place post-Fusion, and it'd tidy up basically the last huge threat in the universe: the X.[/spoiler]

[dewhi100]

lol debbie, there are no new ideas. the storyline where a corrupt govt hunts the true patriots is always a popular cliche. art often imitates life

[personitis]

So this is more of an idea for discussion and to appease my own curiosity: how feasible is the task of making a single sub-map with the size of FF x FF for Super. Very likely this would have to forego the existence of other sub-maps and I'm not sure of the affects on setting rooms outside of the default map boundaries (64 for x, 32 to y, both decimal).

[AnimeOtakuDrew]

Moderator note: thread split and merged somewhere more appropriate. Please be sure to familiarize yourself with the rules.

Hi, everyone! I am a complete noob to ROMhacking and I have no idea how to even get started. I have a complete story laid out for a Super Metroid hack I want to create, and I want to do some very bold things with it, but I know nothing about programming or coding. The problem is that the rules here say that I can't make a topic without putting up screenshots, but since all I have is the story and plan for the hack, there is nothing to post screenshots of at this point. I apologize for jumping into someone else's topic with this, but I didn't know what else to do. As this topic is about making a hack, I figured this would be a good place for my initial inquiry, but I will at some point probably need a new topic of my own, I'm just worried since, as I said, I have nothing to post screenshots of at present.

So, how do I start making a ROMhack? How do I change maps and add areas? How do I add new enemies and bosses to my hack without replacing the ones that already exist? How do I change the colors of tiles? How do I add a new things (for example, I heard about a hack that made the wall jump into a new upgrade rather than an ability Samus had from the start)?

I think I need to explain a little more on that last one, actually. There are a few things I want to add. First, I want to limit the range of Samus' blaster cannon so she starts with only short range fire and has to get the long beam as an upgrade like in the original Metroid. Second, I want to add an upgrade that will allow Samus to dash while in morph ball mode. Third, I want to do as I mentioned hearing another back did and make the wall jump into an upgrade rather than an innate ability. Fourth, I want to recreate the new abilities Samus gained in the games since Super Metroid. Fifth and finally, the most complex of all, I want to add a menu and sub-menu upon entering the ship. The first menu would offer the options "Recharge," "Recharge & Save," and "Take Off." If the player selects "Take Off," the game would show the take off animation and then bring up the second menu, which will prompt the player to "Select Destination." Initially, the only option would be Zebes, but during the course of their exploration, the player will discover location data for four other worlds that will be added to the "Select Destination" menu as the player obtains the data for each (which they will download from a console similar to the map stations). In true Metroid fashion, players will need to travel back and forth, visiting and revisiting not only the various areas, but the five different planets in this hack.

Yes, this is undoubtedly a very ambitious project I am undertaking, and the resulting ROMhack will probably be the most expansive Metroid hack ever created, but I have a clear picture in my mind of what I'm doing and I truly believe it can be done. My brother is already teaching me how to create sprites for the new enemies and bosses I want to add, and there are sprites, tiles, and animations already in the game for everything else I want to do, I just need to know how to vary the colors and what not as I asked. I will undoubtedly have numerous other questions as I progress, but I think this is enough to get started. My deepest thanks in advance to anyone able and willing to help me out! You can message me directly with any help you may be able to provide  (I'm trying to keep as much under wraps as I can until I have a completed game so nothing is spoiled for any potential players; I want it to be a surprise for everyone). Thank you all, and I look forward to your responses!

[Quietus]

The problem is that the rules here say that I can't make a topic without putting up screenshots, but since all I have is the story and plan for the hack, there is nothing to post screenshots of at this point. I apologize for jumping into someone else's topic with this, but I didn't know what else to do. As this topic is about making a hack, I figured this would be a good place for my initial inquiry, but I will at some point probably need a new topic of my own, I'm just worried since, as I said, I have nothing to post screenshots of at present.

There's a thread for that. :^_^:

So, how do I start making a ROMhack? How do I change maps and add areas? How do I add new enemies and bosses to my hack without replacing the ones that already exist? How do I change the colors of tiles? How do I add a new things (for example, I heard about a hack that made the wall jump into a new upgrade rather than an ability Samus had from the start)?

You can start with the Mod Manual. It contains a veritable shit-tonne of information, and will cover almost everything you'll need to get started. Once you've got a grasp of that, you can then look into editing graphics, then progress on to learning ASM (a programming language) for the more advanced stuff.

Most importantly, make backups, expect to break a few ROMs, and have fun while doing it all. :^_^:

[dewhi100]

@AnimeOtakuDrew before you begin your masterwork, do a smaller project for practice and learning. I made a mini-hack and it still took weeks, just to release a buggy piece of junk. Now I'm trying something even smaller, and it's still tough, due to all kinds of surprises.

Anyway, since I posted in the ideas thread I guess I should post an idea. Samus is searching an old Chozo outpost for an Ice Beam mod that will dispense soft-serve ice cream.

[AnimeOtakuDrew]

Okay, I've got SMILE downloaded on my laptop and am trying to get started, but I've hit a bit of a roadblock. I need a ROM to work from! The mod manual here says, "Google "Super Metroid (JU)[!]" and look at the first few results. It will be a .SMC file that is exactly 3,072 KB (don't worry if the filesize is 3,073 KB; that just means that the ROM has a header, which is easily removed)." I did this, and I am not finding anything like that; everything I'm finding seems to be a .zip with a file size of about 1.5 mb. So, what do I do? Could someone PM me with a URL where I could find the appropriate ROM (since clearly a link in the public content of the forum would understandably be taboo)? I appreciate any and all assistance getting started! Thanks, everyone!

[Quietus]

A .zip file is simply a form of file compression. Windows (and probably other operating systems) has a built-in ability to open the .zip to got to the file inside, which should be your .smc file.

[AnimeOtakuDrew]

But how do I see if the .zip contains the proper size .smc I need before I download it?

[Quietus]

Generally speaking, .zip files are named using the same format as the file they contain, so "Super Metroid (JU) [!].zip" should contain "Super Metroid (JU) [!].smc".

[AnimeOtakuDrew]

And the difference in file size? The mod manual is very specific about the file size I need, at 3072 kb, while all the .zip files I'm finding are 1.5 mb. I just don't understand how to look at the contents of a zip file before I download it to make sure the .smc inside is the right size, And I don't want to download the wrong one

[Quietus]

I already said that .zip is a form of compression, therefore the filesize is smaller, since the original 3,072KB file, has been compressed in size. It doesn't matter if you download the wrong one, as you can just delete it and try again. You need to download it, open it, get your file, and away you go.

[AnimeOtakuDrew]

Finally found the right ROM and got it running in SMILE. I'm following the steps in the mod manual, however, and have run into another hiccup. I got the hex editor and got a room copied as the manual says, hen saved in the hex editor. I next went into the mdb folder as directed and added the new number to the room list like the manual said, but when I try to save it as directed, I get an error message stating, "You don't have permission to save in this location. Contact the administrator to obtain permission." This is my personal laptop, not a public or even a family computer, so there is no administrator to contact. What do I do?

[Quietus]

That doesn't sound like anything to do with what you're trying to achieve (or a general hack idea), and sounds more like it's a simple folder permission issue within Windows. Try right-clicking on the file / folder, and check that it doesn't have 'Read Only' ticked. If it does, untick it.

[AnimeOtakuDrew]

It

That doesn't sound like anything to do with what you're trying to achieve (or a general hack idea), and sounds more like it's a simple folder permission issue within Windows. Try right-clicking on the file / folder, and check that it doesn't have 'Read Only' ticked. If it does, untick it.

Yes, it very much has to do with what I'm trying to achieve, AND a general hack idea, because this issue has been preventing me from doing what I'm trying to and implementing my general hack idea. The advice on how to deal with the problem is appreciated and will be tried out, but the backhanded stab at relevance almost comes across like you're trying to get me thrown off of here, which is a very troll thing to do and is not needed. If you can't offer assistance without saying something uncalled for, then just leave it for the next person to answer.

As it has been said before, "until it's is a real hack, it's just an idea." And until I reach a point where I can post screen shots, it is not something I can post my own thread about, so I've been told to use this thread to discuss it. Ergo, any technical difficulties or misunderstandings I have in the early/beginning stages as I try to turn this idea into a real hack are very much relevant to the idea and, therefore, the thread. Trolls looking to get me thrown off of the are the ones who are irrelevant.

[Quietus]

Take. Thine. Chill. Pill.

I was talking about the problem you're having - not your hacking work. :^_^:

I was simply clarifying that it didn't sound like anything to do with what you were trying to do with your hack, and was likely just an operating system issue.

For posting screenshots, you'll need to upload your images to a hosting provider, such as imgur, then copy the forum link into your reply here.

[liamnajor]

I use github, but yeah.

[Scyzer]

It

That doesn't sound like anything to do with what you're trying to achieve (or a general hack idea), and sounds more like it's a simple folder permission issue within Windows. Try right-clicking on the file / folder, and check that it doesn't have 'Read Only' ticked. If it does, untick it.

Yes, it very much has to do with what I'm trying to achieve, AND a general hack idea, because this issue has been preventing me from doing what I'm trying to and implementing my general hack idea. The advice on how to deal with the problem is appreciated and will be tried out, but the backhanded stab at relevance almost comes across like you're trying to get me thrown off of here, which is a very troll thing to do and is not needed. If you can't offer assistance without saying something uncalled for, then just leave it for the next person to answer.

As it has been said before, "until it's is a real hack, it's just an idea." And until I reach a point where I can post screen shots, it is not something I can post my own thread about, so I've been told to use this thread to discuss it. Ergo, any technical difficulties or misunderstandings I have in the early/beginning stages as I try to turn this idea into a real hack are very much relevant to the idea and, therefore, the thread. Trolls looking to get me thrown off of the are the ones who are irrelevant.

Not to burst your bubble or assume that your assumption about the purpose of this thread is completely incorrect, but this thread is actually for people to post ideas so others can give feedback; it's not a troubleshooting thread. By that logic, I could ask why my car won't start, because by not starting, I am unable to get home, and therefore unable to work on my hack. Relevent?

Quietus was just giving a suggestion about what the problem could be. It does sound like a folder issue with your computer, and has absolutely nothing to do with hacking or SMILE. You can try either checking the folder permissions, or putting folder elsewhere on your computer. Never put any hacking folders into a synced Dropbox folder though; it tends to cause problems.
On another note, Quietus is one of the most respected members on Metconst, and he's been around for years. To go around saying he's trolling and trying to get you thrown off this site is just downright obnoxious and stupid, and does not put you in a good light. If you really took offense to what he wrote, then the internet is not for you.

[C-Dude]

This is half-idea and half-question.  Has anybody ever swapped the item order for suits?

That is, has anyone ever built a hack or tribute where you get the Gravity Suit before the Varia Suit?  How might level design change if water traversal and crushing pressure damage (lava) were unlocked before being able to enter hot/cold zones?

[Scyzer]

This is half-idea and half-question.  Has anybody ever swapped the item order for suits?

That is, has anyone ever built a hack or tribute where you get the Gravity Suit before the Varia Suit?  How might level design change if water traversal and crushing pressure damage (lava) were unlocked before being able to enter hot/cold zones?

It probably wouldn't be that drastic of a change. The only real changes would be that you'd have to change the palette priority for the suits, and alter the damage reduction on Gravity. Arguably, underwater sections are easier than heated sections gameplay-wise, as there's no sense of urgency which can cause the player to make mistakes and get themselves killed.
That said, water generally is a huge limiter in exploration, which is why most hacks give it out last. It's just much easier to block off late game areas with water rather than with heat, which can sometimes give players the illusion that they could run through it with enough energy, while water just outright prevents exploration until after Gravity. Personally if I were to switch the suits around, I'd put a much harsher heat damage into rooms I wanted to block off as it's a pretty clear indication of "Back off, come back with Varia".

[Aran;Jaeger]

There's hacks in which one can obtain Gravity before Varia (such as Project Base, Y-Faster, Stardust, Hyper, Legacy, and surely some more) but not in all of these one is intended to do it this way (and there's some hacks that have Gravity but not Varia, such as Hangtime).